No One

The bitter cold air nipped at the raven-haired youth's face as he drudged along the sidewalks of the city. All around him newly fallen snow graced the ground, bring children out to play in the frozen slush. But he was not filled with happiness.

This time of year, Christmas to be exact, was Shun's least favorite. It hadn't always been that way, but certain twists and turns in his life brought him to where he was at. He stopped walking and looked into the window of a store. It was decorated with garlands and lights around the door and window, and the interior wasn't much different.

Tiny Christmas trees filled shelves, along with other Yuletide related items for the holidays. Shun sighed and continued on his way, not wanting to dwell on the times past. People walked by him, not even so much as paying him any mind as they chatted away on their phones with loved ones, all while juggling overstuffed bags from stores whose contents would soon be wrapped and placed beneath a tree.

Shun only adverted his gaze from them. He hadn't had a reason to engage in such festivities and traditions in years, for there was no reason. Anything that mattered to him was no longer with him, so why should he celebrate another family-oriented holiday?

He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, shaking his thoughts away before they drug him down into that pit of self-pity that he fell into every so often. Of course, there were his friends, but he hadn't seen or spoken to them in years. He could just see them now.

They were probably gathered around at Murucho's, which had been a tradition for them for several years. They would be wrapping each others presents in secrecy and placing them beneath an oversized tree in the center of the Marakura mansion.

Of course, they had tried to invite him on several occasions, but Shun didn't want anything to do with the holidays. He had spent one too many years pretending to enjoy the so-called 'wonderful time of the year,' but he had grown tired of the act recently and was no longer ashamed to hide himself away the moment the Christmas songs began to play in department stores.

Some people would probably call him bitter, but in all actuality, he had no harsh feelings towards the holidays; he simply had grown sick of spending it by himself and grieving in it. As far as he was concerned, he pretended that the holidays didn't even exist anymore due to the fact that it made the burden a bit more tolerable.

As the youth continued on his way down the sidewalk, he found himself at his stop; the post office. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and he knew the post office would most likely close early the next day. So, he wanted to get any mail that he had then and there so he wouldn't have to wait till the holidays passed.

He stepped inside, not surprised by the 'jolly' décor inside. He sighed and walked over to his assigned post box, stuck the key inside, and retrieved the mail. Once he locked the door back, he made his way over to the trash can so he could sort through what he needed to keep and what he could throw away.

As he sorted through the junk mail, he caught a glimpse of an all too familiar penmanship and address. It was a letter from Murucho and the rest of his friends, inviting him to their annual Christmas party, like they did every year. Shun was just about to toss the letter into the trash, thinking that he would be unable to handle being around them and their time of merriment.

But for some reason, he hesitated. Surely he didn't want to go; it would only bring bag the pain and grief that he was still feeling with knowing that all of his family was now gone. He didn't want to go and only bring the high-spirits down. That wouldn't be right. He couldn't bring that upon his friends.

But instead of throwing the letter away like he should have, he held onto it, slipping it into his coat pocket. Maybe he wanted to read what they had to say within the contents of the letter, he wasn't sure. Seeing that his trip to the post office had come to an end, he left with the mail he needed and stepped outside.

It was growing dark, and the streets weren't all that safe at night, even during this time of giving and cheer. Not wanting to risk getting jumped or mugged on the streets, Shun found the nearest bus stop and sat on the bench as he waited for the bus that would take him home.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long before the massive vehicle rounded the corner and came to a halt in front of him. Letting out a hissing sound, the double doors slid open, allowing Shun entrance into the bus. He paid the fee and took a seat towards the middle.

There weren't many people riding with him; an elderly couple, somebody that looked like they could have possibly been intoxicated, and the bus driver. The vehicle started to move, and he looked out the window to watch cars drive by and buildings fly past. Shun ended up being the last person dropped off.

He wasn't immediately dropped off at his house, for the bus driver couldn't do that, much less drive out that far out of the city limits.

Instead, Shun was deposited at the nearest bus stop to his house, leaving him about a mile walk till he reached his home. Thankfully, he had no chances of being mugged in these rural, outskirts of the city. He clutched the collar of his jacket around his neck to retain some warmth, and started the walk back towards the dojo.

Marakura Residence

Dan and the others sat around in the main lobby of their short friend's home, sipping on warm drinks and bundled up in long-sleeve shirts to shield themselves from the chill that hung within the confines of the massive mansion. The brunette pulled out his phone, checking to see if he had received any calls without realizing it.

Runo noticed him do this and asked him worriedly, "Still no response from Shun?" Dan shook his head. They had sent him another invitation to Murucho's Christmas party like they had done every year, thinking that maybe he'd show up this time. But it was seeming like this would be nothing but a repeat of the years prior.

Dan was really hoping to see his friend again, for he hadn't heard from him in a couple of years. He knew Shun was most likely fine, and doing nothing more than shutting himself off again, but it always seemed to get worse at Christmas time. Dan didn't blame his friend though.

The brunette had known about Shun's act since the Christmas after his mother's death, even though the raven-haired youth never admitted it until a couple of years ago. That had been when he stopped attending Murucho's annual party, and started to close himself off more than usual.

What made it worse, Shun never had told anyone that he was going to stop attending the parties. He basically just vanished the moment the Christmas lights started going up. Dan, being concerned for his friend's well-being, ended up dropping by the dojo after the holidays had passed.

It was then that Shun finally admitted that it had all been an act since his mother's passing, that he had been forcing himself through the grief that the holidays brought to him, and that he could no longer handle it. Shun had resided in Dan with this information and told the brunette not to tell that others, for it would only cause them concern.

Dan promised not to say a word to the others about it, and he had kept that promise, despite the fact that he had a feeling that his friends knew about Shun. But overall, it saddened the brunette to know that this friend was suffering like this, and that there was nothing in his power that he could really do to change anything.

Dan sighed, no longer wishing to remember those dark days. He checked his phone again, not surprised that there was nothing new on the screen other than the time. "I don't think he's going to show," Dan stated. Julie smiled sadly and said, "Well, there'll be an empty chair for him, just in case he does show up."

The brunette highly doubted that his friend would show; he hadn't shown up for a party for nearly five years. What would give him a change of heart now? An idea then came to Dan's mind. It wouldn't hurt if the brunette dropped by the old dojo and paid his friend a visit, would it?

Doing that would give Dan an excuse to catch up with Shun a bit, and even maybe coax him into going to the party for the sake of the raven-haired youth's health, because surely locking yourself away like Shun was doing could not be good. Dan smiled at his idea, feeling that maybe this Christmas would be a bit different that the rest.

No One

Shun pushed open the large wooden gate that stood between him and his home. The doors creaked open, but the raven-haired youth had no worries of waking anyone up, for there was nobody but him that inhabited this place now.

His grandfather had passed several years ago, and that had been another reason that he had quit his Yuletide act once and for all. With the fact that there was none of his family left to even enjoy the time with. Sighing, Shun strode across the front lawn and towards the main door, where he rummaged for the keys that unlocked the door.

He finally found the one that he needed, and was about to stick the key inside, when he stopped. It always seemed difficult for him to go inside this dojo during the holidays. He would always think about when he was younger and would come here to visit his grandfather, and found out that his mother had snuck away and helped to decorate the dojo, much to the old man's displeasure.

When she passed away, his grandfather had tried to add some kind of festive decorations when the time rolled around, but they were never the same. Shun closed his eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over, and stuck the key into the door.

The dojo was at a comfortably warm temperature, but Shun left his jacket on anyway just so he could have some extra heat. He entered the living room, tossing the mail onto the coffee table and flipping on the lights as he walked past the switches. Shun sat down on the couch and reached for the letter from his friends.

Tearing the envelop open, he read the words on the page. They were asking for him to go to their Christmas party, which he figured that's what they were doing. But they were also saying how they all wanted to see him and catch up, and how the party would be the best way to do that.

Shun sighed and folded the letter back and slipped it into the opened envelop, not wanting to look at the paper again. Yeah, he kind of wanted to go and speak to his friends again, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to feel the full extent of his melancholy and thrust it upon them and ruin their good time.

The raven-haired boy sat there on the couch for a moment, then stood up and walked down the hall, passing his room and the room that used to be his grandfather's, He then came to a storage room. Hesitating, he opened the door and flipped on the lights.

Plastic totes were stacked against the wall, each one marked what was inside with Sharpie markers. Shun strode over to the box that was labeled with Christmas ornaments. He brushed the dust off of the lid and popped the tote open. Plastic ornaments were stuffed in the box, but one stood out above the rest.

It was wrapped carefully in newspaper, and rested in the center of the pile of ornaments. "Almost forgot to do this," he said quietly, a hint of hurt in his voice. Shun reached into the box and pulled out the newspaper-wrapped ornament, and gently unwrapped it.

Inside, was a glass star that was colored with the starkest of royal blues, and a glass angel rested in the center of the star, its wings slightly unfurled as it held its hand outstretched, as if showing that it was there for whoever needed it. Shun held the ornament for a moment, observing how the lights reflected off of the glass and made it sparkle.

This had been his mother's favorite ornament, the one that she always wanted to put on the tree, regardless of whether or not its colors matched the scheme of the other adornments that were on the tree branches. Shun stood up and left the storage room, taking the glass prize with him.

He walked through the dojo and outside to the backyard, where a small fir tree sat towards the back corner of the property. He recalled when this tree was nothing more than a twig years ago, and now, its was nearly as tall as him. Had that many years really passed?

Shun stopped before the tree, and carefully slid the ornament onto a branch. The weight of the glass pulled the limb down a bit, knocking off some its snow, but it stayed put nonetheless. This had been his way of keeping his mother's tradition alive.

Even though Shun didn't go out and put a tree up in the house, he felt that he at least owed her enough to continue to put her favorite piece of Christmas out on display. Snow fell around the blue stared angel, bringing out its colors in contrast to the stark white and deep green of the tree.

Shun lowered his head some and cast his eyes down, then felt the warmth of tears starting to roll down his face. But he didn't wipe them away; he had to let them out, or else they'd rip him apart from being holed up.

He stared at the ornament with his watery eyes and said, "Another year." He ended up staying out there for several minutes, and would have probably stayed longer if it hadn't been for the cold getting to him. Shun then reluctantly left the tree and retreated back into the dojo.

yup. Christmas special time! this is going to turn out as three chapters. (i swear it will). the christmas eve chapter will be on none other than, christmas eve. (duh) as you all may have noticed, i'm attempted to write in third person. you know why? because i'm panning on doing Take Me To Wonderland and possibly The Crown in this style of writing, and i want to get some practice in. check out my profile for a poll! read, review, and other things! ~Copperpelt~