Disclaimer:
Christmas time! Mistletoe and wine! (Gets duck thrown at her)
Ow...
A/N: Whoa, here's a surprise, I didn't expect to be
writing for a lot longer, but it looks like I can't stay away! So
I've decided to throw together a Christmas one shot!
Twas
Christmas time in Shugazoom and all around there were signs of the
festive season. Shops were decorated with lights and holly to try and
attract customers to buy their wares for loved ones; there were
people giving each other warm greetings and beaming jolly faces; even
the weather decided to join in as snow gently fell on the citizens'
heads. Yes, all around there was cheer and merriment as everyone's
favourite time of the year approached...
"Bah!"
Well,
except one person's.
"What's wrong, Onyx?" asked Ichigo
as she watched the black and white striped monkey sit and scowl out
at the picturesque scene below them, "Why are you so
miserable?"
Onyx humphed and turned away, signalling he wanted
to be left to sit and scowl alone. However, Ichigo didn't get
'subtle' messages like that and she quickly stopped decorating
her cake and walked up to him. She gently touched his shoulder,
almost as gentle as the falling flakes outside,
"Are you
feeling alright?" she asked softly and flinched when he smacked her
hand away.
"I'm fine!" he snapped, attracting everyone's
attention.
"Don't be rude to Ichigo" said Antauri,
briskly, as he put his hands on his hips. Onyx snorted and rolled his
eyes before looking away again out of the window at the quickly
darkening city. He welcomed the night and its darkness but watched in
horror as bright coloured lights flickered on in every window, making
the night as bright as the day. He stood up suddenly and turned away
from the window, everyone watched him warily as he stomped out.
"Do you think he's got out to get presents?" asked Otto
eagerly, he was more enthusiastic about this season than his children
were. Both of whom watched as their uncle stormed out,
"I don't
think so, Dad" said Malachite carefully. "I think he looked
pretty upset about something"
"Upset?" repeated Ichigo
questioningly, before turning to Onyx's sister, Jet. She sat curled
up neatly in a chair by the fireplace and sighed as she put down the
book she'd been reading,
"Onyx... doesn't like Christmas"
she revealed slowly, to the astonishment and aghast team.
"Why?"
demanded Zakuro shrilly, looking incredulous. Jet eyed her before
slowly continuing,
"Because... it holds no real meaning to
him. All this laughing, singing, being with people you care about,
and having fun; he's not used to that!" she sighed heavily before
leaning back in her chair and letting it sink in. The others bowed
their heads sadly,
"No one should feel sad at Christmas time"
muttered Otto, the bright exuberant expression on his face whisked
away by the sadness of knowing his brother in law wasn't having
fun.
"We should do something" said Otogi quietly, looking
sadly at Topaz and putting an arm around her to pull her near.
"Yeah..." agreed Ichigo, before her eyes flashed as she got an
idea. "And I think I know what!"
Onyx scrunched heavily
through the snow, his breath forming clouds before him then rushing
away in the wind. He sighed as he watched the clouds of mist vanish
and almost felt like he was blowing away with them.
He looked
around at the happy families everywhere, children playing together
and parents watching on proudly. He looked away fast, so the tears
wouldn't be seen by the passer bys.
"W-who needs family"
he muttered, before harshly wiping his face. He continued past all
the families and found himself in a darker, more ugly side of
Shugazoom. He saw rubbish strewn everywhere, houses with windows
broken and people in raggedy clothes huddled on the streets, curled
up tight to try and keep some warmth in them. Onyx's eyes stared on
at all those around him, huddled in the streets with no warm home or
family to be with at this time of togetherness.
Onyx walked
around, past the homeless and he noticed some of the people were
barely teenagers, some even younger, he sighed and closed his eyes,
"I know how you feel" he murmured before continuing further down
the street that Christmas forgot about.
He finally came to a
shelter; people were being served hot soup and sleeping in the
building. Curious, he walked up,
"Uh oh, another one" said a
girl and another person, a larger older woman, came out to him.
"Sorry, shelter's full tonight" she shooed him away and the
door was closed, leaving him out in the dark and cold. Onyx shivered
against the sudden harsh icy wind and looked down,
"To think I
left my friends and family in the Robot for this" he looked up at
the groups of people huddled together and looked down again. "I
shouldn't have taken what I've got for granted"
He closed
his eyes and curled up against the wind, the icy cold blizzard
tugging at his fur.
"Onyx..." murmured a distant voice,
"Onyx..."
Onyx opened his eyes slowly and, as everything
came into focus, he looked up and saw his family and team there.
"G-guys?" he asked, looking surprised as he sat up. "What are
you doing here?"
Jet smiled,
"We couldn't let you stay
out here alone on Christmas!" she smiled and handed him a flask of
hot chocolate. He drank it and felt the warmth fill him, "now,
let's get back to the Robot"
Jet helped him up and they
started walking, but Onyx stopped and looked at those around him.
Those who still without families or homes.
"What about them?"
he asked quietly. The team looked down sadly,
"Onyx..." Jet
started but didn't get to finish before a massive streak of red,
gold and, suspiciously, Irn Bru cans flew past them. It whizzed up
the street before turning around and skidding to a halt in front of
them, causing snow and sleet to fly around it.
When it subsided,
the monkey team looked up and facevaulted at the sight before
them.
There, decorated in Santa suit and standing proudly in a
sleigh that was brimming with gifts, were Caitlyn and Amanda. Out
from behind them came a flickering orb of light that seemed to change
colours, the light seemed to fade away revealing a tiny person
"Fae!" cried Ichigo happily to the orb. "Cait, Amanda! What are
you guys doing here?"
"We couldn't leave out our creations
at this time of year, could we?" grinned Cait as she jumped down
and pulled Ryou into a furious kiss. Amanda laughed;
"Besides,
everyone needs some Christmas cheer!" she took a big gulp of Irn
Bru and started jittering around.
"Plus, we came to share good
tidings with those not as fortunate" said Fae calmly, raising her
wand. Sparks shot out the heart shaped tip and whizzed around the
street, causing the people lying on the ground to jump up in
surprise.
Everyone gazed up as the sparks caused decorations to
appear, lights shone out of the windows and orbs popped up to fill
everyone with warmth. Everyone watched as the doors to run down
houses burst open and light shone out, revealing brilliantly
decorated homes which everyone crowded into. Feather soft beds lay in
wait for after the evening's fun, and delicious smells wafted from
the kitchens.
"I'll help with the cooking!" cried Caitlyn,
pulling up a shirt sleeve.
"That's ok, Cait, I've got it"
replied Fae gently, but Cait shook her head and sped into one of the
kitchens.
"No way! I'm gonna help!" everyone paled as they
heard sounds of scraping and swearing before suddenly the kitchens
exploded. People coughed out black smoke and saw the houses burn out
with bright red flames that devoured everything.
"Uh...
sorry?" said Cait, grinning sheepishly. Everyone sighed sadly,
"Now what?" asked Zakuro, rather dejectedly. Ichigo hmm'ed
"There's plenty of room in the Robot, lots of food too" she
said.
"Ok!" cried Chiro, "follow us!"
The team led
the citizens back to the robot, where soon everything was laid out
and people began to enjoy themselves like they should.
Onyx
grinned around at all the happy faces before spotting Ichigo hard at
work, a little stab of guilt got him in the heart.
"Hey, Ichi?"
he said, walking up to her. She stopped working and looked up at
him,
"Yes?" she asked, untying her apron.
"I... just
wanted to apologise for snapping at you earlier, and hitting you, I
know you were only bugging me because you care about me" he looked
down, "I-I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive-" he
felt a small dainty finger on his lips and he looked at her.
She
smiled warmly,
"It's ok, after all it's Christmas, time to
forgive and forget" he beamed at her.
Suddenly something brushed
on the top of his head;
"Kissy!" cried Otogi and Topaz as
they dangled some mistletoe over Onyx and Ichigo. Onyx blushed
furiously and growled.
"Why you lousy..." he drifted off when
he felt Ichigo peck his cheek quickly then she giggled and got back
to her baking.
"Uh..." he stuttered before feeling a tap on
his shoulder.
"Care to dance, Onyx?" asked Krystal quietly
and he grinned,
"Sure!" he said as they started to dance
around the main room. Soon, everyone found partners and joined in and
they danced and danced until everyone was yawning and tired, they all
promptly fell asleep where they were.
In Cait's case, that was
on top of a large crate of Sprite with a label saying 'from Santa'
on it.
