It was a week before Christmas and Konoha was buzzing along with the last minute shoppers. Decorations hung giving some places a bright merry mood. Scarlet was walking around the shopping area finishing her Christmas shopping. She got something for everyone. Here's what she got for each person...
Sakura- A whole new outfit for training.
Naruto- LOTS of Ramen Coupons.
Kakashi- A new make out paradise book (courtesy of Jiraiya).
Ino- Some hair accessories and make up.
Shikamaru- Lots of puzzle games.
Choji- Basket full of goodies.
Asuma- A new lighter.
Hinata- A Necklace with a swan on it.
Kiba + Akamaru- Doggy toys and treats.
Shino- An ant farm.
Kurenai- A replica of the sword card brooch.
Tenten- New sets of kunai and such likes.
Neji- New zori sandals that wouldn't wear out when he did his `rotation` technique.
Itachi- A brand new Katana. Lee- New set of Leg weights and leg warmers.
Guy- The same as Lee.
Tsunade- Sake coupons.
Shizune- Bracelet.
Kero- New bed.
Yue- A pair of reading glasses.
Kimi- Sais with the Sayron symbol on them.
Now all was left was Sasuke. Scarlet stopped to think for a moment. She groaned in frustration, "Ugh! I have no clue what to get him!" She yelled causing some of the surrounding people to look her way. She sheepishly smiled embarrassed. "Uhhhh...he he...carry on" she said. The citizens did so. Scarlet let out a huff and walked on by herself. She stopped at the ramen stand and held her rumbling stomach.
"Ugh. I'm so hungry," she looked in her wallet. There wasn't enough to even get a bowl of soup. She sighed "Rats."
"Hey"
She jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice. She shot a glare at him "NEVER! Do
that again." she growled. He chuckled. "Sorry. What's up with you?" he asked.
Before she could answer her stomach rumbled loudly. "Ahh, I see. Come on I'll treat you to some Ramen," he said. Scarlet shook her
head "You don't have..."
"I insist" he interrupted. He took some of her shopping bags and beckoned her
to follow him. They entered the ramen stand already finding Naruto going on
his seventh bowl.
"Two bowls of ramen please" Sasuke said.
"Comin' right up!" The ramen man said getting to work. Scarlet and Sasuke sat
down next to Naruto who was yet to notice them. Scarlet got a mischievous look on her face and pulled out a card she recently caught...that was one crazy day.
`Sleep can you put Naruto down then wake him up after... oh, 5 seconds.'
Sleep squealed and came out her card silently. She sprinkled her dust on Naruto who yawned "Soooo sleepy," he mumbled before going face first into the very hot bowl of ramen. Scarlet held up her fingers "3...2...1..."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! !" Naruto yelled.
Sasuke and Scarlet laughed at the blond ninja who was crying "Why Scarlet! You're so mean" he pouted.
"Aww. I'm sowy Naruto." she said in a baby voice. She hugged him and kissed his cheek "Better?"
Naruto grinned. "Yeah much better," he said blushing. Scarlet giggled and tucked into the ramen that arrived. She looked up at the roof of the stand. "I can't wait till it snows!" she squealed. Naruto laughed. "Snow? In Konoha? Yeah right, that's never gonna happen. It's never ever snowed around here ever. He told her. Scarlet's smile quickly went to a frown "Never?" she asked. Both the boys and the ramen cooks shook their heads. Scarlet's expression turned sad. "oh...um well I'm gonna go home right now...thanks for lunch Sasuke." She said walking away quickly with her bags. Sasuke swore he saw her eyes tearing up. He and Naruto looked at each other.
"What's her deal? It's just snow." Naruto said. "Maybe to us it is but for her it must be something a little more" Sasuke said looking in the direction Scarlet went.
"It is Sasuke!" Kimi said appearing beside Naruto who yelped in fright. "How do you do that?" He demanded. She put a finger to her lips. "I have my ways." She said winking. "Well you scared me! i hate it when you do that!" Naruto yelled shaking a fist at the card captors partner.
"Knock it off you two. Anyway How's snow important to Scarlet?" Sasuke asked. Kimi sighed. "Well before her Mom died it used to snow every year before and during Christmas giving both of them like a warm fuzzy feeling since they were so close. After her mom died it still snowed keeping a piece of her mother's memory with her."
she sighed and looked to the sky "Poor Scarlet. This'll be the first time in her whole life with no snow on Christmas day. She'll be really sad" Kimi finished.
That gave Sasuke and Naruto a little sympathy and guilt. The one thing Sasuke hated was seeing Scarlet sad.
"Aww man I feel bad for her. We gotta do something for her." Naruto said.
"Like what?" Sasuke asked.
"We have to get her the most awesomest present in the world!" Naruto yelled with a grin. Kimi sweat dropped.
"Dramatic much Naruto?" she said. The bell dinged signaling another customer.
"There you are Kim," Shikamaru said coming up behind her. She smiled and laced her fingers in his "Hey Shika. What's up?" She asked. Shikamaru draped an arm over her shoulders.
"I've been looking everywhere for you. My mom is DEMANDING
for you to come over and show her how to bake cookies," he said.
Kim grinned, "Happy too. Naruto! Sasuke! You're on your own!" Kimi said dragging Shikamaru away.
The boys sighed "So what do we do?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto slammed his head on the table "I have no clue!"
(Scarlet's pov)
I jumped on the trees in the forest outside Konoha with a box in my arms. I tried to smile but it was no use. No snow? How could Konoha have no snow? It's preposterous! It's...not gonna be the same as any other Christmas.
Even though I'm in the Naruto world I should still celebrate Christmas with my Mom in my heart. No snow is taking that bond away from me. I stopped and sat on a branch and rested my chin on my hand.
"Scarlet!" she heard a voice silently call.
"Over here Itachi!" I called back. He landed beside me and gave a small smile. Ever since our last encounter, he turned up at the village often to check up on me and Sasuke. I was surprised by how easy it was for him to slip in and out undetected at first. Now I had gotten used to it. I weakly smiled back.
"Hey what's wrong?" he asked. My smile faded "It's nothing for you to worry about" I said. I handed him the long box "Here. Merry almost Christmas" I said. He opened it and took out the new Katana I got him.
It was the same size as his old one but it had a black handle with the Uchiha
and Clow reed symbol. He gave it a swing "I have something for you as well." He said, handing me a box.
"You didn't have too." I said, opening it. It was a small tin flute with the Clow symbol on it (Man, that thing was everywhere).
"I wanted to. You did say you wanted to learn how to play one, am I right?" He asked with a smirk. I laughed and set it down. "Thanks. That cheered me up a bit" I said.
He rubbed my head, "Come on. What's up?" he urged. I sighed. "Since I was a kid it's snowed every Christmas and before my mom died we would always go out in it and have so much fun. Then we'd get hot chocolate and watch movies together...It always gave me a warm feeling. Even after she died I continued to do all that with dad and my brother Gary. Sasuke and Naruto told me that it's never snowed in Konoha and it won't ever...it just makes me sad." I explained.
Itachi's eyes became soft and he did the unthinkable. He hugged me around the shoulder! "Uh…Itachi?"
The Uchiha chuckled. "Sorry, just trying to cheer you up." Scarlet smiled and nodded. "Thanks. Sorry I just…"
"It's okay. I understand," He told her "I think I should go though. Thank you for my gift. Try and have a happy Christmas. Check in with Sasuke, I'm sure he can help."
"Yeah…maybe," she said softly
Scarlet waved Itachi off as he left, returning to whatever Akatsuki base he was hiding out in. So that left Scarlet alone to stumble around, thinking about her Mom and remembering what the snow felt like even after her death.
"Maybe... I should try going back home. The others would understand…oh, but then how would I do that? I've made summoning contract, so I couldn't do what I did last time…" And such half-baked ideas stumbled out of Scarlet's mouth as she continued to walk around the outskirts of the village hidden in the leaves.
0oo0o0oo0o0
Sasuke and Naruto were also walking around Konoha, speaking about half-baked ideas. When eventually it seemed that there was just nothing that they could do to make Scarlet happy and replace the feeling of loneliness that she surely felt without her Mother at Christmas time.
"Urg!" Naruto huffed, throwing his hands in the air, after Sasuke pointed out the many flaws of Naruto's latest idea. "Well I don't hear any good ideas from you, you idiot! And what are we even supposed to do? It's not like we can make it snow or anything."
Sasuke froze suddenly. The gears in his head whizzed around and an idea began to form. "That's it," He declared quietly. "We'll make it snow in Konoha."
Naruto looked at Sasuke, wondering if he was crazy and the idea passed through Sasuke's own mind but only briefly. He was sure that this would work. If he could make it snow, then Scarlet would have no need to have any sort of substitute for her mother. She could relive those memories and better, she could relive them with him and all her other friends in Konoha. It would be perfect.
"How exactly do you want to make it snow?" Naruto asked, putting an end to Sasuke's snow-filled fantasy.
Sasuke groaned, as though he thought the answer was obvious and didn't want to explain it. "We'll just get a few Ice Style ninja to help us and then we can make snow out of that," He answered simply.
Naruto wasn't known for his brains, but he did enjoy trying to outdo Sasuke and poke at everything he said and that gave him motivation. "Do you know how many Ice Style users there are in the world, let alone in Konoha? I think Kakashi-sensei is one of the only ones that could do it and besides, how would we make it snow. Your fire would probably just melt the ice and our Chidori and Rasengan techniques would probably just try it into ice chips."
Sasuke froze again. He couldn't stand that Naruto of all people was pointing out the flaws in his full-proof idea. This couldn't be and he was so intent on making it snow. But what else could he do? …Wait. There was one more option.
"Come on!" Sasuke snapped, beginning to run and drag Naruto along with him. "Huh, what? Where are we going?" Naruto screamed, beginning to run as well. "Shikamaru's house. We need to talk to Kimi."
(At Shika's house)
"It's okay Mrs Nara you did good. Thanks for the spare batch of cookies. They're really yummy!" Kimi said, coming out of the Nara household, leaving with a basket of an assortment of different shaped Christmas cookies. One was in her mouth.
"Kimi!" Naruto and Sasuke screamed, pouncing upon her. The cookie fell out of her mouth as she screamed. "What the heck you two? is this revenge for earlier?"
The two shook their heads. Sasuke took it upon himself to explain. "Kimi. I have an idea. You said that this will be Scarlet's first Christmas without snow, well I want to make it snow." Sasuke said, determinedly.
"Make…it snow?" Kimi repeated, confused. "How?"
Sasuke smirked. "That's where you come in. You can seal Clow Cards right? I need you to come with me and find the 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards. Scarlet told me about them last week. I think we can use them to make it snow."
"Oh," Kimi thought about it and it made sense. It would be great for Scarlet and it would be an even greater present than the new battle outfit, she had made her. "Okay, but we can't let Scarlet find out, we'll need a few of the Clow Cards and then we'll need Yue and Kero to help us track snow and freeze down."
Sasuke nodded. "We can tell Scarlet we're all going on a mission and we can go to your place to get the cards and Yue and Kero." Kimi nodded. The plan sounded good. It might certainly be 'the most awesomest present ever' as Naruto had put it.
o00oo00o0o00oo0
Later at the large apartment where Yue, Kero, Scarlet and Kimi all lived, the group of three were explaining their plan to Yue and Kero. Both of them agreed that it sounded a bit crazy, but if they could pull it off, it would be a great present for Scarlet.
"Okay, you go collect all the Clow Cards we might need. Yue and I will try to track down the approximate location of the 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards." Keroberos said, before he walked off and awkwardly tried to pull a scroll out of the library in the apartment. It was a world map. Yue went off to get some of the needed artifacts that would help them to search for the Clow Cards through the map.
Meanwhile, Kimi was trying to get some of the Clow Cards. "Which one should we get?" Sasuke asked.
Kimi hesitated and then looked at Sasuke. "I've been meaning to ask, what's your deal exactly? You can use Clow cards, in fact, you own the 'Thunder' card but you can't summon any other ones nor can you seal them. I mean, what's with that?"
"Oh," Sasuke said, softly, thinking about it. It wasn't something that he really understood either but Kero had explained it to him, so he just repeated what he had been told. "Well, I wanted to help Scarlet, so I trained with Kero and learnt how to bond my chakra with Clow Reed's magic. Later, the 'Thunder' card came and it took to me. It bonded with me and it sealed itself. From there, it could always summon itself, just by using my chakra to help it. And I can use other Clow Cards, if they're already summoned, but I don't actually have magic like you and Scarlet do, so I can't summon or seal them and I can only sense them a little, if they're close."
When Sasuke finished his explanation, Kimi said nothing. It seemed very complicated and she wondered who had come up with that idea. It sounded so weird, how did he even learn how to bond his chakra with magic? This must have been Keyblade King 12's work, she realised.
KK12- Yeah well Merry Christmas to you too. Excuse me for trying to make the character a little bit cooler!
Kimi- Put a sock in it Keyblade it was only a thought
01Shadow Angel- Knock it off you two! we need to get on with the story!
KK12 + Kimi- Sorry...reader. Continue
"Anyway…" Kimi said, she pulled out all the cards that she had on her and in her own chest. She knew that Scarlet always kept cards like the 'Dash', 'Windy' 'Fiery' and 'Fly' cards with her at all times, in case of emergencies, so they wouldn't be able to use them for this. But Kimi had ended up owning a few of her own cards. She hadn't captured many; some had just ended up bonding with her and then some she had borrowed from Scarlet.
At this point, she had in her possession, the 'Shadow' card (which had become her signature), the 'Loop' card, the 'Illusion' card and the 'Sword' card. (Both Scarlet and Kimi share it)
"I don't think this is going to be enough to be able to capture the 'Freeze' and 'Snow'. Those guys are both really violent and powerful. It won't be easy to capture them, especially without the 'Fiery' card."
Kimi began to look worried. She wasn't confident enough that she would be able to take on both of the cards, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that Yue, Kero, Naruto and Sasuke would be with her as well. Together, they would be able to take on those two. "But still we're going to need a few more cards. Scarlet's book is under her bed." Naruto bent down and was able to find the intricately designed book, exactly where Kimi had said it was. He tried to open it but couldn't. "Huh? It won't open." Kimi shook her head. "When Scarlet captured the 'Lock' card, she decided to use it to keep the Book of Clow and the Clow Cards safe. Only she can get it to open."
"Then what are we going to do?" Both Naruto and Sasuke asked, astounded that Kimi was only telling them this now.
"Easy!" Kimi smiled, pulling out the 'Sword' card. She summoned the card and in one quick slash, she broke the small force field that the 'Lock' card had created around the book.
The 'Lock' card fell onto the floor and Kimi looked through the captured cards, looking for something to use. "Hm…I'm not sure what might come in handy. I guess the 'Watery'. 'Mist' might come in handy too. And the 'Shield' of course. Okay, I think that's all we're gonna need!"
Kimi closed the book and picked the 'Lock' off the floor. "You can go back to protecting the book now. Be sure to open when Scarlet tells you to, just because I'm gonna be the one summoning you."
Kimi, Naruto and Sasuke re-entered the living room. The map was put away and Yue was writing a letter to Scarlet, explaining their absence, while Kero was on-looking, making sure that Scarlet wouldn't figure them out if something about the letter sounded suspicious.
"Hey." Kero said, noticing the kids.
"So, did you figure out where the 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards are?" Kimi asked, plopping herself on the sofa reading the letter for herself and eventually giving it her own seal of approval.
"Yes, we did." Yue said, gravely.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, sensing Yue's discomfort about the situation. Yue sighed. "Both the Snow and Freeze are in the exact same place. The land of Lightning or more specifically The Village Hidden in the Clouds. That's a long way, which is partially why we're worried but also…through our connection with the cards, we think that the cards may be being tricked into helping a group of criminals."
"What?" All three of the kids exclaimed. "Would they really do that?" Kimi wondered.
"If the cards are given enough reason they'll do it," Answered Kero. "Up in the mountains of the Village Hidden in Cloud, the 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards were probably very lonely. This gang of crooks are probably keeping them company and since both cards have a very misguided sense of justice and are violent besides that, they wouldn't be above hurting other people so long as to keep their new friends."
"All they want is to have someone else to spend Christmas with." Naruto realised, sadly.
"Well, we gotta show them how to spend Christmas with people the right type of people and not criminals!" Kimi exclaimed.
"Right!" The room echoed. "But how are we going to get there? It's gonna take a pretty long time, filled with a lot of climbing, probably a few miniature adventures and an awful lot of running." Kero said
Kimi giggled. "Yeah, but thankfully since this is a Christmas special, we can just skip all of that and arrive in the Hidden Cloud Village by the time that I've even-
"-finished my sentence. You see?"
"Uh…" The others looked around witnessing the sight of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. In the end, they all decided to just ignore it and carry on with their mission. "Okay, we gotta go and get the 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards. They'll probably be near the top of the mountains in this area." Kero said. "Who wants a lift?" He asked, offering his back.
"I'll take that."
"Me too!"
So Kimi and Naruto clambered onto Kero's back, who broke into a sprint, sometimes deciding to glide when the mountain's terrain allowed him too. Yue could easily fly as well and Sasuke was fast enough to trail just slightly behind the others. "How much longer?" Kimi asked, eyeing the sky, which had been a never ending grey, ever since they had arrived. Snow was falling and the higher up the mountain they got, the more snow was on the ground and still falling. That made it harder for all of them to travel. "It's gonna take a little bit longer. If what I think is correct and these criminals are at the peak, then it'll take us maybe ten more minutes to reach them…I just we can last that long."
The weather continued to grow colder and it became increasingly more difficult for the group of five to travel, until it seemed almost impossible for Kimi and Naruto to go on. They hadn't worked up any heat, riding on Kero and although his fur retained some heat for them, it wouldn't be enough to keep them going much longer. While Yue was immune to the cold and Sasuke was warm from the run.
"We need to stop and rest for a bit and get these guys warmed up." Kero said refering to Kimi and Naruto, searching for a cave in amidst all of the snow that was blinding him.
"Right." The other two agreed and began to search for one as well.
It hadn't taken long exactly, the cave they had found was perched at the top of one of the mountains. Yue had been the one to spot it, despite the entrance being covered in snow, he had managed to catch a glimpse of it and between Sasuke and Kero, they had managed to melt the ice and make camp.
"This has been lived in recently." Yue noted. There wasn't any equipment, but the signs were everywhere, from the cave walls to the cave floor, everything was clean and devoid of animal life. Unusual for a natural cave. Someone must have inhabited it recently. "Do you think they'll be back?" Sasuke asked, huddled next to the other kids and a large fire he had created in the middle of the cave.
"Perhaps. Be on your guard." He warned, looking out to the outdoors, where the snow seemed to be stopping.
Kimi and Naruto were getting warm by the fire and they both hoped nothing happened when they weren't prepared for it.
However, that may have been one Christmas wish they wouldn't be getting.
"Knock, knock. Who do we have here?" A long brown haired, robed man stepped into the cave. He obviously wasn't a native. He kinda reminded Kimi of what Egyptians looked like. Behind him stood a man, who was though, he held a sword in his hands, with a menacingly look on his face. There was also a girl, dressed for the cold weather, but her coat also seemed to be bundling up a bunch of weapons and explosives.
But what really got the group from Konoha were the creatures standing either side of the robed man. One was a woman of pure white, wearing a kimono, despite the cold. The other was some sort of odd fish-like creature made entirely out of ice; they did not seem at all pleased to see the group.
"The 'Snow' and 'Freeze' cards!" Kimi said, jumping up.
"Oh," The robed man said, apparently surprised. "So you know about our little friends huh? Well that's interesting. Are these guys your friends too?" The last part was addressed to the Clow Cards present, they both shook their head in a silent 'no'.
"Somehow I didn't think so," The robed man chuckled. He turned his eyes to the other group. "Well, if you're not these guy's pals, I suggest you leave and don't tell anyone about us. You see, things can get quite ugly otherwise."
"Oi! What are you making the Clow Cards do? You shouldn't take advantage of them, they were lonely so what…you offered to be their friends in exchange for attacking people and stealing their possessions right?"
The robed man stopped. Then he cracked a smile. "Let me introduce myself," He pulled out two long swords, known as Kiba blades. "My name is Raiga Kurosuki. I'm a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Kimi gasped, suddenly remembering him from one of the filler arcs. But he must have not have deflected from the group yet. This would probably be his final mission for the Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Freeze, Snow, go get them!" Raiga ordered, the two ninja behind him also sprang into action.
The group moved backwards, as Freeze began to freeze over the cave floor, causing large sharp shards of ice to rise up, nearly impaling them. Snow sent a complete blizzard their way.
"Fire Style: Fire ball jutsu!" The Uchiha screamed, putting his fingers to his lips and breathing out a massive orb of flames which engulfed the snow, as it came. The woman jumped up over the group and opened up her coat, as expected, it was full of explosives and paper bombs, enough to blow a hole in the side of the mountain. She took off her coat and threw it down, the detonator in her hand, she returned to the others where the Clow Cards made a protective barrier.
Yue was fast to act. "Your so called 'friends' are not the only ones with the ability to freeze objects." He said, raising his hand and freezing the explosives and then lifting his leg and smashing them into tiny little particles.
Raiga sneered. "Okay, now we get serious, let's go!" He ordered the other man in his group. "You guys cover us." He told to everyone else.
"Lightning Ball technique!" They both cried, Raiga creating a ball of electricity in between his swords and the other man; in between his hands. The two launched the twin balls of electricity straight at the group.
Sasuke came forward. "Thunder. I call upon you, lend me your strength. Release and Dispel!" Sasuke's hair shot straight up and his body was hunched over, like an animal and electricity swirled around his body.
His body absorbed both of the attacks, while he remained unfazed. "Is that all you've got?" "Ahh!" The man stumbled back, afraid, he stayed motionless for a moment until he saw the woman just sprint off out of the cave concerned for her own wellbeing, rather than anyone else's. The man followed her example.
Raiga looked around. He didn't like his odds. It was five against three and despite his own strength it seemed that these five were not amateurs. But he did still have the Clow cards with him. "Okay you two, time to help your friend. Get them!"
The Freeze rushed in quickly, sending massive ice blocks their way. Naruto jumped forward. In fact two Narutos. One had his hand held out flat, while the other was doing something to it; a blue orb was beginning to form. "Rasengan!" They both shouted, pushing the orb straight into the ice smashing it to pieces.
The two Narutos smirked at each other, but the Freeze shot another large chunk of ice at them. There wouldn't be enough time to create another Rasengan. "Loop card!"
Just centimetres from the Narutos, the ice block disappeared and reappeared behind the Freeze card knocking aside into the Loop card's magic and stumbling out again, dazed.
Kimi returned the Loop card to its card form and got out another, just as Kero poised himself to take on the Snow, using his own fire magic against its ice magic. "Let's go Mist card!" She cried.
A green, ghastly, maiden appeared, opposing the white maiden that was the Snow card. A wordless exchange seemed to pass between them before the Snow sent a twister of snow straight at the Mist card, who simply seemed to spread herself out and dissolve the snow as it came forward.
The Snow floated backwards, unsure of what to do next, it didn't seem as though she could do much more. Raiga cursed. "Right. Snow. Freeze. To me. We must use the Lightning Dragon Storm technique." He told them, which they seem to understand.
The three readied the attack and suddenly a dragon made of snow, sleet, wind and lightning came to life inside of the cave. Kimi's eyes widened. "Everyone behind me!" She screamed and nobody dared object. "Shadow. Shield. I call upon you, lend me your strength. Release and Dispel!"
The two cards began to fuse with her body. Kimi's normal outfit was replaced with a hoodie and ripped jeans. Her hair hung down and her eyes turned a vicious red, on her arm was a gauntlet, like that of a knight would wear. "Shadow and Shield style; Ultimate Shadow Wall!" She cried, raising her hand. Energy began to pour out of her as a thick ball wall divided up the cave. It didn't seem like much but it easily held back the powerful technique they were faced with and easily drained Kimi of her energy.
"Dang, whoever heard of a giant battle for a Christmas special?" she whined
"I'm sure it all has a special message and we'll learn something at the end." Naruto groaned.
Kimi nodded and then huffed. "Right Sasuke. You need to take this guy down. I'll let you pass through the wall, but I can probably only give you one attack, so it has to be good."
"I'll need the Sword card." He told her. She nodded but didn't look happy about it. She would be utterly exhausted by the end of it.
"Sword." She said, taking a breath, as though she was finding it hard to breathe.
Sasuke took the rapier blade in hand and readied himself to jump through the wall. "Sword and Thunder style: Chidori blade technique!" He cried, jumping through the wall and slashing at Raiga once he made it through.
The Ninja Swordsman of the Mist took a step back. His chest had a long gash along it. It didn't seem to be very narrow, due to how quick Sasuke had to make the attack but he would bleed to death if he wasn't taken care of soon.
But he remained and smiled. "So you got me, but here's the real thing. You obviously came here for the Clow Cards but will they really come to you. I gave them a companion, I may have been using them, but will you really not do the same?
"Tell me that you didn't come after them with the intent of just using them for something you had in mind and then putting them away in this book they keep telling me about."
Kimi's barrier dropped and Raiga smiled in victory, due to her pained expression. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You see, you're no better than I am. In fact you're even worse, you're gonna lock them up after you use them and only let them out if they're useful to you. They'll never be free and they'll never be happy. That goes for all the Clow Cards!" Sasuke shook his head. "You're wrong. The Clow Cards may never be truly free, they can't be, it's all part of their design and unfortunately there's no changing that until they learn how to cooperate with the world and not make trouble." He eyed the Snow and Freeze cards with a look that a father might give when he's telling off his child.
"But they will be happy. The current master of the Clow cards is a very kind one. She'll look after these guys. And as for using them, we only wanted to ask them if they would make it snow in Konoha, because a very special girl is going to be without snow for the first time in her life. This Christmas, they'll be nothing to keep the memory of her mother alive."
The Snow and Freeze cards looked at each other. A wave of guilt and a pang of heartbreak rushed through them. How could they be so selfish as to go along with Raiga, who wanted to use their powers for evil purposes, and be free than go with a group that genuinely seemed to care for them and only wanted to use their powers so a girl would be happy on Christmas? The two cards looked down at the ground and then at Kimi. They both nodded. She took out her special sword and began the sealing ritual. "Clow cards. Return to your power confined." She breathed, weakly.
The two glowed for a few moments before seemingly being sucked into two cards that appeared inside of the cave. They both floated into Kimi's hands. "Thank you." She whispered to the two of them. "I think I need to start treating all of you a lot better." She said, almost in realisation.
"So, I guess all we need to do now is get back home and make it snow!" Naruto said.
"But how-
"Will we get…oh never mind." Sasuke muttered finding that their current location was already Konoha.
"Sasuke, you go and find Scarlet. I'm gonna go to the top of the Hokage building and make it snow!" She said, excitedly, skipping as she walked over to tallest building in Konoha.
Sasuke sped off, after returning the 'Sword' card to Yue and making sure his connection to the Thunder card was broken and it also returned to its card form.
o0o0o00oo0o00o0o0o
It took a while for Sasuke to finally locate Scarlet in the street "Hey!"
Scarlet spun around on the spot. She had a small box in her hands. "Oh! Sasuke!" She quickly put the box behind her back but she smiled at him.
"So you're back from your mission?" She said, trying to act casually although it was obvious that Sasuke had come at the wrong time he couldn't do anything about that now. "Yeah, sorry if I came at a wrong time but, could you come with me?"
"Oh," Scarlet said, she looked down at her feet and then behind her back. "Well before I do... it's basically Christmas anyway…here Sasuke." She put the box behind her back into Sasuke's unsuspecting hands.
"Oh," Sasuke said, blinking. The box wasn't particularly pretty, although it was pretty big. Inside was a framed picture that showed both Scarlet and himself on their first date. In the picture Scarlet was smiling holding his arm while he was looking at her with a small smile on his face.
"I couldn't think of what to get you? I know it isn't much? I can take it back, if you don't like it." Scarlet said, looking down at her feet, her face red.
"No, it's perfect. Thank you. Merry Christmas." Sasuke said smiling. "Now I think it's time for your present." Sasuke also produced a box, although his was much smaller.
Scarlet took it and opened it, revealing a very intricate necklace. The design was that of an angel holding the sun and moon. It sparkled in the light. "Oh wow it's so beautiful Thank you!" She screamed, hugging Sasuke.
The Uchiha continued to smile and then remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "Come on. You've got another present waiting." he said taking her hand and dragging her towards the Hokage building.
`another one?` Scarlet thought. Sasuke didn't say another word. So the Cardcaptor had no choice but to follow.
The two arrived in front of the Hokage's building. All of Scarlet's friends had gathered, although the majority of them seemed as confused as she was.
"What's going on?" Scarlet asked. Nobody answered her.
Instead, Kimi lifted her head and screamed, "Snow! Freeze! Now!" The temperature suddenly dropped in the air. A fish-like creature went around freezing over the lakes and turning them into skating rings. While a woman dressed in white hung above the village, she moved her arms as though she were orchestrating. The sky turned grey and then little white specks fell from the sky.
"Ah!" Scarlet gasped. She put her hands to her mouth feeling tears come to her eyes. Her friends who were in on the plan just smiled.
"Merry Christmas Scarlet!" They all said in unison, before giving her a hug and then running off to have their own fun in the snow.
Sasuke remained with her. "You like it?" he asked. Scarlet turned to him "You went through all the trouble with Kimi and Naruto to capture The Snow and Freeze...for me?" she whispered. He smiled "I didn't want you to be sad. Now you can keep your mothers memory with you" he said.
Scarlet laughed a little "Oh Sasuke what am I gonna do with you?" she said. Sasuke wiped away her tears. He glanced up "Uhhh Scarlet...look up" he said blushing. She looked up and blushed ten shades of red. Some mistletoe was hanging above their heads.
They heard giggling and turned sharply finding the flower card was the culprit as was Kimi.
Scarlet shot a look saying `i'll get you later`
She turned to Sasuke "well uh...i-it's tradition" she stuttered. Sasuke nodded "Y-yeah"
He slowly leaned closer as did she `Almost there!` Scarlet squeaked mentally
A snowball suddenly hit Sasuke on the face. He growled and turned seeing Naruto and Kakashi point to each other. He ran to them and began a snowball fight with them. Scarlet pouted but shook it off. She didn't get the kiss but she got to keep her mothers bond in her heart.
Scarlet smiled, inaudible to anyone else she said, "See Mom? These are the people I told you about. The people from the Naruto universe? Aren't they the best?"
MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS FROM Keybladeking12 and 01Shadow Angel