Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the associated franchises. I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the characters, plot, and other story elements that I had to create

Chapter 12

A Merry Christmas

Rika woke up the next morning to her alarm clock. She checked it and saw it was 7:00. She stretched as she looked over and saw Renamon stirring, the alarm clock waking her up as well. Rika was showered and dressed in about 15 minutes. Renamon was awake and waiting for her when she left the bathroom, and the pair walked to the living room.

Seiko and Mukino were already sitting in some chairs beside the Christmas tree. When they heard Rika and Renamon come in Seiko turned and smiled as she said, "Good Morning you two, and Merry Christmas."

Rika nodded as she took a seat on the couch beside her grandmother. The night before, while Roy and Renamon were out fighting Night Sword, Seiko, Rika, and Mukino had brought all the presents out from there hiding places and put them under the tree. Now, was the big moment, time to open the brightly wrapped packages.

Rika stood up from her seat and walked over to the tree. She knelt down and looked at the many colorfully wrapped packages. She counted them quickly and saw there were eleven. Something about there being eleven presents bugged her a second, but she quickly dismissed it as nothing and grabbed the nearest present. It was from Rika to Seiko. She gently slid it across the floor, and Seiko opened it gently. She smiled when she saw it was a book, but not just any book. It was a book she had wanted to read for several weeks, but the copy at the local library had always been checked out.

The second gift was from Mukino to Rika, and it wasn't a big surprise to find it was a couple dresses and a nice hat. Rika put on a thankful face, but was happy to see the receipt at the bottom of the box. The third was from Rika to Mukino, and this one was more appreciated. It was a bottle of Mukino's favorite perfume, and she had just run out a few days prior.

The next gift was from Seiko to Rika. It was a set of five digimon cards, and they were extremely rare and powerful cards. Rika couldn't wait to use them in a card battle or with Renamon in the field. The fifth gift opened was from Mukino to Seiko, and it was another book. This one was different though. Through her connections, Mukino had gotten a hold of advance copy of this book which wasn't supposed to be released until 10 days later. The sixth gift was from Seiko to Mukino, and it was a set of ear rings. As Mukino looked at the ear rings Rika smiled. She guessed that her grandmother had been shopping for those earrings when she saw the necklace she had bought for Renamon.

Speaking of which, the seventh present to be opened was from Seiko to Renamon. To say the least Renamon was surprised to be getting presents, but she hid the feeling well. She took the present and with gentle hands opened it without ripping the paper. When she opened the box she was over whelmed. The necklace was so beautiful, the sleeping fox locket was stunning, and she was happy to see a picture of herself and Rika had already been inserted into the locket. She hugged Seiko, thanking her for the gift while Rika grabbed one of the four remaining presents.

The eight present to be opened was from Mukino to Renamon, and it was just as special. It was a silk scarf that had images of foxes running on a grassy field the entire length of it. It was so warm, and yet light. Renamon thanked Mukino for the gift, and wrapped it around her neck, wanting to put it to use straight away. The ninth present to be opened was from Rika to Renamon.

When Rika handed Renamon the gift Renamon was a little surprised by the present's weight. She opened it gently, and her eyes widened as she gazed upon the beautiful box. She picked up the key that had been wrapped with the box and gently unlocked it. She lifted the lid, and almost cried when it began to play and the small statue of two kitsunes dancing began to spin to the music. She gave Rika a loving hug as she continued to look at the box. She gently shut the lid and set it off to the side. Seiko smiled and stretched as she said, "Well, that should be everything."

Rika shook her head as she said, "No, there are two more presents under the tree."

Mukino shook her head as she said, "No, that can't be right. I gave three presents, Seiko gave three, and Seiko gave three. There were only nine under the tree last night."

Rika shrugged as she pulled the last to gifts out from underneath the tree. They were both wrapped in the same pure red paper. Rika checked the tags. One was to her, which wasn't a big surprise. The big surprise was that the other was to Roy. Rika handed to one that was to Roy over to Renamon and Seiko while she opened the one addressed to her. When she opened the lid she almost dropped the whole thing. She reached down into the box, and pulled out the little device inside it. It was a digivice, almost exactly like hers except it was a base color blue with the white trim around the screen and other small parts. She held it gently as she pushed one of the buttons that was underneath the screen and it responded to her.

Renamon was looking at the present to Roy. It was thin, light, and not very big. She passed the present to Seiko to look at as she looked to see Rika holding a second digivice. Rika stood up and went over to where Renamon was sitting. She took a seat beside her as she said, "Who would give me a second digivice? Who could give me a second digivice?" Renamon shrugged as she looked at the digivice that seemed to be the color opposite of Rika's. If you held the two up to one another they would be so similar. Where Rika's was white the new one was blue, and vice versa.

Now, there was only the gift to Roy that was left, and Renamon wasn't quite ready to tell them about what had happened the night before. Luckily, she didn't have to. After a few minutes of just looking at the unopened package Roy came walking into the room in his mega form, dressed in his white robes. To say the least, Rika almost had Renamon attack this new strange digimon, that was before Roy put his hands up and said, "Whoa, wait, it's me Rika, Roy."

Rika eyes bulged, and Roy soon found himself recounting the entire fight from when he and Renamon entered the park till they left. Seiko and Mukino sat and listened in silence, and Renamon was mentally thanking Roy for skipping over the little conversation they had in the park and the carriage ride back to the house. When he finished, Rika was silent for a few seconds before she said, "Well, I guess that explains this."

Roy looked at the new blue digivice for a few seconds, and then said, "Hmmm, I guess it only makes sense. Now, I guess you have two digimon partners."

Rika nodded as she said, "I can't wait until Henry and Takato find out about this. We'll officially have them over powered." Roy chuckled and shook his head at Rika's ability to think about fighting at a time like this. He then noticed the present sitting in Seiko's lap and said, "So, is that present for you?"

Seiko shook her head and held it toward Roy as she said, "Actually it's for you Roy.

Roy looked surprised and puzzled as he took the box from Seiko and opened it. He reached into the box, and pulled a picture frame out of it. The frame was decorated with intricate designs, a yin-yang symbol on each corner, and a heart in the middle of each side of the frame. Inside the picture frame was a note. Roy took the note out of the picture frame, and gently opened it. He cleared his throat as he read:

To the Nonaka Family

This frame holds a special power that once a picture is put into it, the picture will never age. It will remain as clear and colorful as the day it was taken. I hope you five put it to good use, and take a family picture on this perfect Christmas day.

S.C.

Roy looked at the note for a few more moments before he passed it around the group. After everyone had read the note for themselves, they all found themselves wondering who S.C. was. Seiko soon broke the silence that had settled on the room by saying, "Well, I think that a photo sounds like a wonderful idea." Mukino smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Soon, Rika, Renamon, Roy, and Mukino were standing in the yard while Seiko set up a camera. She set locked the tripod into place and then set the ten second timer. She quickly walked into place and the whole group smiled as the flash went of. Well, almost everybody, Rika was satisfied with not scowling and just having a straight face. Afterward the family, which had grown in the past week, went inside to enjoy the rest of the holiday season.

The End

Merry Christmas