CHAPTER TEN
Chase had ignored Jack's question, and instead had glared at him before marching off to watch Omi play Blitzball. Jack laughed to himself and then found him self-heading over towards Shinra who was watching the Blitzball game with disinterest. Jack sat down next to the computer whiz. Suigintou was busy telling Dojo all she knew about the game the others were playing and Jack took the time to ask Shinra a few things.
"Clay's great huh?" His question made a bright red blush appear on the older man's face. Shinra was 21 years old and still looked as if he was 16. Jack wasn't sure if it was the way he lived or if it was because his family was all natural young looking.
"He's very nice, but he's still young. I'd feel horrible, like I was taking advantage of him." Jack had to snort softly to himself at that. He couldn't see Clay being taken advantage of by anyone. The Texan was a big boy and he could handle more than enough on his own. Little Shinra really didn't stand a change in hurting him.
"Clay's not your average teen Shinra. He's seen the end of the world and came back from it unharmed. I'm sure he can stand to be in a relationship with an older man. Look at Omi. He's like 12 and dating someone who's like 50." Jack had to duck under Chase's hand as it swiped at his head. Jack wasn't sure at Chase's real age, sense his potion kept him young. But he knew that he was older than he looked. Chase seemed to take major offense to Jack calling him 50 and continued to swipe at Jack's head with his fist. Jack continued to dodge the blows as Shinra and Suigintou laughed openly. Jack had a smile on his face and he knew that Chase wasn't really attempting to hurt him. If he wanted to, Chase could snap Jack's neck.
"Sorry Chase, I didn't think you were so sensitive about your age! I mean you do look like your 20, but looks can be deceiving. Just look at Wuya, she's the prime example." Jack ducked under a rock as Wuya chucked it at his head. The Blitzball game had stopped so the people playing could watch Jack duck and dodge the rocks and punches sent his way. Jack was full out laughing by the time Omi and Raimundo had gotten involved. Even his cousin Vidina had decided to join in tossing the Blitzball at Jack's head. Jack had ducked just in time and watched the ball fly towards Wuya who did a neat flip to the side and kicked the ball back towards Vidina. Shocked at the kick the red haired teen was unable to dodge the ball and got hit in the chest and got the wind knocked out of him. Wuya rushed to his side to check to see if he was okay and seemed extremely scared she had hurt the boy. Jack's uncle Tidus and Wakka were laughing as Jack ducked under one of Omi's attacked. Jack was growing tired of having everyone attack him and quickly ducked behind a new person who had just arrived.
Said new person glanced unemotionally down at the pale boy behind him and then neatly stopped Chase's round house kick which he had started before Jack had hid. Shocked Chase fell to the ground in a heap and Omi kneeled down to check him. Raimundo was shocked and was blinking as Jack sighed and stepped out from behind the new man. He glanced up to thank him and found himself squealing with delight.
"PAPA AURON!" Jack launched himself at the older man and wrapped his arms around him. Auron for his part wrapped his one free arm around Jack and held him with a soft smile on his face. Suigintou soon joined Jack and Auron had to free his other arm from his coat to hold the other girl. Jack's squeal had gotten the attention of everyone around and Jack's parents walked over to great the latecomer.
"It's nice to know that I am received with such excitement." Auron's voice was deep and held a hint of a laugh. Jack nuzzled into the older man's neck before pulling himself away. Auron was a friend to Tidus and Yuna's fathers before they died. Jack had never met them but was told time and again that Auron was just as good of a father to the all of his Aunts and Uncles as any real father. Auron rarely came to visit Jack and Jack wasn't even sure where Auron lived most of the time. But when he did come to visit he normally had Jack training with some new type of weapon, or just sitting back and watching the sky with Jack. Auron didn't talk much, and Jack found himself at ease with him. If asked who his favorite family member was, Auron would be at the top of the list, right after his Aunt Lulu, Sister and mother.
"I didn't think you were going to be here. I haven't seen you in years! Where have you been? Have you been eating? Did you get married? Are you staying for good?" Jack was out of breath as he rattled off his questions. Auron was glancing down at him with his one good eye and gave him a soft smile and a pat on the head. Suigintou had only met Auron once, the last time he had come to visit. But the man had made such an impact she was just as excited to see him as Jack was.
"I got a letter from Tidus that you were turning 16 this year and that they were planning to celebrate it at the Temple. I've been traveling many places; yes I've been eating. No I have not gotten married, nor do I plan to any time soon. As for staying for good, I don't have any plans at the moment. So I will be staying for a little while." Auron ruffled up Jack's hair before setting Suigintou on the ground and eyeing Dojo who was curled around Suigintou's neck. "Dojo, it's been awhile." The small dragon nodded his head; very sleepy from all the food he had eaten.
"It's been a long time Sir Auron. I wasn't aware that you knew Jack though. Though I guess with dodging skills like his, he had to learn from somewhere." Dojo gave off a big yawn before closing his eyes. Jack was a bit confused but figured that Auron was a world traveler and had probably been to the Xiaolin Temple on his travels. Jack felt someone's hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his mother looking down at him a smile on her face.
"I think it's time to open your gifts now that everyone who is coming is here." Jack nodded his head and ran towards the temple. Raimundo and Omi following him closely. Both interested to know who the red-cloaked man was.
Suigintou watched her brother go with a frown and looked over to Wuya. Wuya was looked towards Auron and had her face flushed. The witch had seen many men in her years, but none like the mysterious man before her. Suigintou sensed Wuya's crush forming and grabbed the older man's hand. She then proceeded to drag Auron over towards Wuya. Auron watched Wuya's face glow softly in the setting suns light and couldn't help himself from smiling. He was never one to settle down. He had lived a long time and planned to live a long time to come; yet he always figured he would spend forever alone. Watching as everyone around him fell in love and started families. Looking into Wuya's unnatural green eyes Auron thought that maybe it might just be his turn.
"Wuya, Auron. Auron, Wuya." Suigintou's soft voice called out to the both of them as she stopped in front of the Heylin Witch. She then backed off and left the two to stare at each other. Chase bent down and lived the small girl onto his shoulder's letting her ride piggy back, all the way back to the temple.
Jack had been seated on a very plush over stuffed blue chair near the present table as his mother looked through the gifts. Raimundo and Omi sat on either side of him with Clay and Shinra leaning on each other by the steps leading to the Chamber of the Fayth. When Chase entered he set Suigintou down who then ran to sit in front of Jack and Chase went to see if he could help Paine. The woman aloud him to help her and he suggested that Jack open his own present first. Saying that it would not like to be in the box much longer.
Jack was presented with the box and had to blinked when he heard it start to purr softly. Looking down to Chase who was sitting with Omi in his lap next to him he started to rip of the paper. Once the paper was gone Jack found himself looking at a metal carrying case with a cage like door. He looked through the metal door and gasped at the small white tiger that lay staring at him from the inside. He glanced back at Chase and blinked a few times. Chase told him that the cub's parents were two of the natural tigers that he had. The cub would react only to Jack's orders and would be just as obedient as a dog. Ashley had squealed when she seen it and demanded Jack let the "poor kitty" out of the cramped box. Jack did and watched as the tiger cub curled up at his feet with its head in Suigintou's lap. The little girl giggled and started to pet it, seeming extremely happy that she had two odd pets with her.
The next few gifts Jack opened were from Ashley and Leblanc. All of which were different parts to outfits. Jack got three new pairs of boots, one with steal toes, two pairs of normal stone washed jeans, a pair of leather pants (Raimundo had whispered that he wanted Jack to try them on first making Jack duck his head to hide his massive blush), a package of black wife beaters, several novelty t-shirts, two new belts, and the coat Ashley was looking at when she ran into the monks in the mall. He thanked the two women for all the clothes and promised to send Leblanc pictures of the new outfits when he got the chance.
Nooj had decided to give Jack the materials needed to create his very own giant laser canon, even the plans to do so. Paine had slapped Nooj hard for that one and Jack had squealed like a little girl at the plans. He was already making plans in his head to make the thing.
His Uncle Wakka and Cousin Vidina had given him a set for a game of Blitzball, including a new ball that orange with red swirls around it that resembled his goggles. They even game him a uniform of the team that they both were on back on Besaid. Jack had thanked them and gave the ball over to Raimundo who seemed to be drooling over it.
His Aunt Lulu's gift was just what he expected, a new odd-looking doll. This one resembled a lion and Lulu called it a Moomba, it was black and white and had a collar on that claimed he belonged to Jack. Lulu also gave him an odd-looking arm bracer that looked like a bunch of black swirls in odd directions. It shimmered multi colors in the light but mostly showed black.
Megan had made him a necklace out of a rainbow shell that she had found on the beach and made him wear it instantly. Wuya (who had entered arm and arm with Auron after he had opened Chase's gift) had commented that the shell matched Jack's complexion. Leblanc agreed and said he looked fabulous.
His Uncle Tidus had been very nervous when he handed over the long brightly wrapped package to Jack. He told Jack that it had belonged to his father and since Yuna and him were never having another kid, he wanted Jack to have it. Jack had been intrigued and had ripped the gift open quickly. Sitting inside of a glass-covered case sat a bright blue sword whose blade seemed to be made up of glass with water flowing inside of it. Omi had lit up at seeing the blade and Tidus commented that he had first learned to wield the blade when he was 16. Jack stared at the sword for a while before thanking Tidus greatly and setting the sword off to the side. Omi instantly going to check it out.
His Aunt Yuna had gotten him a small wrapped sphere grid, which had within it a bunch of different dress spheres. Yuna told him that each sphere had been reworked to fix him and if he ever needed something different to fight with, the grid would help him.
His Aunt Rikku had by far the best of the gifts, at least in Jack's opinion. Her gift was of a giant robot dog, which she called the Machina Maw. His father had frowned and told Rikku that she was spoiling his son, but Jack was sure that he was just jealous that she had given the Maw to him.
His Uncle Baralai had given Jack a staff with had on either end a blade made of pure opal. He told Jack that the weapon could also be used for white magic spells, and had handed over a book on how to learn such spells. Jack had thanked him and told him that he'd get to learning about the spells as soon as he learned how to work the Machina Maw, earning lots of laughs from everyone in the room.
Buddy, Brother, and Cid had all joined in getting Jack a small condo in the resort community that Cid lived it. It was a spacious 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms condo that over looked the water. Jack promised that he'd get tons of use out of it and was already making plans to use the condo for a vacation very soon.
Shinra had handed over his gift, which turned out to be a new laptop. Jack had thanked the man and told him that his old laptop had over loaded completely after its last upgrade. Shinra promised him that his new laptop would never over load and was built to withstand even the end of the world.
Wuya decided that it was time for her gift and had handed over the box she had neatly wrapped. She told Jack that he better not screw up on her gift and then looked away as if she was disinterested. Jack took time to carefully unwrap the gift and even tied the plum ribbon into Suigintou's hair, before he opened the box. Inside he found a small black pearl just like the one Wuya was wearing, it was glowing a soft green color and Jack was sure it was infused with Heylin magic. Also in the box was a box that Jack noticed was Wuya's Book of Shadows. The book in which held all the secrets to her magic and the ways to learn it. He smiled and thanked the Heylin Witch making her blush brightly.
Auron had pulled out of his coat pocket an overly large egg and handed it over to Jack telling him that he had found the creatures who hatched from said eggs in a valley hidden away from the world. He called the creature a Chocobo and was in fact a very large chicken. He told Jack that depending on how he raised it; it could be a range of different colors and have different abilities. Jack had thanked him and gave the egg to Suigintou who cradled it like a baby.
Clay's give had been of a black cowboy hat and a certificate that claimed he now owned a black stallion pony that was being held on Clay's home in Texas. Jack had thanked him and then told him that he didn't know how to ride a horse. Clay then told him that he'd be glad to give him lessons if he was truly interested.
Omi's gift had shocked Jack. The leather hat worked perfectly with most of his outfits in his wardrobe. But what really shocked him was that the young monk had also placed a picture of Raimundo in Speedos inside of a black metal frame that could close and open like a book. Jack felt his face heat up at the picture and thanked the young monk who grinned brightly. Jack then hid the picture before anyone could see it.
Dojo's gift was of a book that was a copy of the Shen Gong Wu scroll along with a blood sample and hairs. Dojo said that the book was thought of by Master Fong and he was told to give it to Jack as a birthday gift. The samples were Dojo's actual gift and he told Jack that if he did clone a dragon that Dojo wanted to be the first to meet the new dragon.
Raimundo had given Jack a few CDs from some Bands that Jack had never heard of before and a new black CD player. He also got Jack a surfboard and promised the teen that he'd take him to Brazil to learn how to actually surf. The surfboard was bright orange and had the Heylin symbol on it along with the red swirls that went on his goggles. On the very bottom was a drawing of four dragons around a ball of dark energy, each of the dragons a different color and style. Raimundo said he had drawn it himself to represent all four of the Xiaolin Dragon and the Heylin fighters. Jack had given him a kiss on the cheek for the gifts making Raimundo blush brightly and everyone else laugh.
Jack sat nervously as he watched his mom and dad talk over who would give him which gift first. His father ended up winning and handed over a small box no bigger than Jack's palm. He opened the box quickly and found a small picture and a small silver key. The picture showed a black convertible with bright orange leather seats. The license plate on the front of the car said "EVLGENIUS" and on the sides of the car was the green flames that Wuya always uses. Jack also noticed that on the hood of the car was a drawing of Chase in his dragon form looking ready to kill. Jack blushed as Chase asked where the idea came from. Gippal commented that Jack had many drawing of the dragon form in one of his art books, and Gippal had taken that one and had it painted on the car. On the trunk of the car was another drawing Jack did; it was of Suigintou curled around a ball of dark energy. The dress she was currently wearing adorning her body, a small rose resting on her chest in a bright lavender color and spreading out from his back two bright white wings. Jack thanked his father and closed the box the key was in.
Paine for her part was very calm when she handed over a small envelope. Her and her husband had talked endlessly about what Jack would want and use more. Paine was sure that her gift would bring tears to her eyes, so as she handed over the envelope she turned away from her son.
Jack quickly opened the envelope and was surprised at finding papers inside. Reading through the papers he felt his jaw drop. The papers were to a deed to a house in China near the Xiaolin Temple. It was a new house just finished and was set up so Jack could work anywhere in the house on any invention that he had. The house had enough rooms for each of the 4 monks, Chase, Wuya, his sister, and his parents, to live comfortably. The lab that was shown in the pictures was three times the size of the Xiaolin Temple itself and nearly made him fall over in his chair.
"You can't be serious." His voice was small and he felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut. He watched as his mother shook her head and then be pulled into a tight hug by his father.
"Your mother and I know that we are never home. A few days here and there and then we are gone again. We also know that you hate living where we are, the lab is far to small for you and you're so far from your friends." Gippal felt himself choking up as he spoke. Jack's face lit up and he jumped up from his chair and launched himself at his parents hugging them both. "We just want you and Suigintou to be as happy as you can be. With this new place, you can be."
Jack nuzzled his head into his parents and felt his father lift up his little sister to bring her into the hug. The four of them stood there for what seemed like hours before Jack found his voice.
"I love you both so much!"
AUTHOR'S NOTEThis is the end of the fic… I can't believe that I wrote it all in one day. It's now 2:40am on Tuesday July 11th, 2006. I might write an epilogue or something tomorrow but for now it's over! I hope you all enjoyed my great first try at a XS fanfiction.
