The Christmas Spirit
Chapter 7: A Gift to Remember
The day was finally here, it was christmas morning in the valley of peace; the snow gently fell to the ground, and every child jumped with joy at their gifts. The jade palace was the same, while getting ready for everyone to come, Po and the five were already unwrapping their presents. Po was real happy to get a present from his dad, it was a poster of the legendary warrior Tsui-Ling. Tigress was acting mature on the outside, but Shifu could tell that on the inside she was happy from the necklace that had the chinese symbol for strong on it. The others also got presents from their parents, Crane got a new brush for his caligraphy, Viper got a violet ribbon for her ribbon dance, Monkey got the book of tricks volume one, and Mantis got new acupuncture set. It looked like everyone got what they wanted, but after a sudden realization Po asked, "Hey, where's Ren and the twins?"
"Wait, they're not here?" Tigress asked
"I saw them go somewhere together, but I thought they'd be back by now," Viper answered "You think they forgot about their presents?"
"Presents?!" Shifu exclaimed
Shifu had forgotten it all, he forgot about buying Ichi a present through the week; there was no way to buy him one now, all seemed lost now. Meanwhile, Ichi, Fu, and Ren left the valley and ventured off to a graveyard, there laid Ichi's parents. Fu asked, "How did you know they were here, Ichi?"
"Shifu brought me here before we gave them our thank you dinner," Ichi answered. "I wanted to show you at least where they were, but why'd you come Ren?"
"I deserved to know too," Ren replied. "Besides, my mom is right behind your parents."
Ren was right, the two looked to see another tombstone behind their parents; the stone had the name Ayano 'Kagi' Aisu on it, Ichi was surprised and said, "So that's why, I guess it's ironic that they were together. Where's your dad?"
"Don't know, I never found him," Ren answered. "Sometimes I'd come here and see my mother's grave, I'd always bring something for her too."
"Like what?" Fu asked
"This."
Ren focused his powers and created a flower entirely of ice, "It's a rosemary, it symbolizes remembrance. I wanted her to remember me, even though she's up there."
Ichi placed a hand around Ren's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I can tell that both of our parents are watching the three of us right now. It kind of helps when you have a persona that's a god of death."
"So you can tell their watching us," Ren asked. "So, can you tell my parents that I'm sorry for not being strong enough? If I had the power to stop Jong, they would still be alive."
"I don't have to, cause they never hated you for it," Ichi answered. "Just like my parents, they still love you no matter what."
With that in mind, the twins did the same as Ren and made a rosemary out of ice; after that they hurried back to the palace. Meanwhile, Po stayed close to the door to wait for all the guests to come. The first one to come was Kaguya, he said, "Hey Kaguya, thanks for coming."
"Of course, it is christmas after all," Kaguya said, smiling. But after seeing the mistletoe above she said, "I get it, do you want a kiss Po?"
"W-Well, if you don't I under-!?"
Po was cut off after Kaguya kissed him, when she moved back for air she said, "Merry christmas, Po."
"You too." Po said, blushing
Po tried to get his composer back before the next guest came, but it was all for nothing since it was the white lotus group; Tian di was the first to see the mistletoe, but Po quickly reacted and said, "Thanks for coming guys, and I'd like to say that you guys are an honorary part of our family."
"Thanks Po, we feel the same way." Tian said, smiling
"Sweet, is that eggnog?" Mac asked
"Mac wait a sec, we shouldn't eat yet." Juu explained
"True, we should wait." Don agreed
Po felt a little at ease, but he made sure to get ready for the rest; the next was Jubei, Shiisaa, Xiaomu, and Uncle Lao, Po smiled and said, "Merry christmas, help yourselves to some food."
"Thanks Po." Jubei and Lao said, smiling
"I'm good, I'll just wait till later." Shiisaa assured
"How about you, Xiaomu?" Po asked, blushing
Xiaomu kissed Po and said, "I'm fine, merry christmas Po."
Po was ready for the final guest to come, and the next person was Saya; what was surprising about her was that she was wearing a Mrs. Clause outfit. Without even hesitating, Saya kissed Po with a little passion. She smiled and said, "I knew this would happen, merry christmas Po."
Po couldn't even speak, his whole body turned red from his last kiss; but as the door opened again, he regained his composer to see Ren and the twins come in. With a concerned look he said, "Where have you guys been?"
"We were visiting our parents for a little while." Ren answered
"Your parents, I won't ask about it." Po assured
"By the way, I love you big brother." Ichi said, smiling
"I love you too, little bro," Po said, hugging him. "What's that you got in your hand?"
Po pointed to a book in Ichi's hand, he smiled and said, "It's a manga I got along the way back, it's also your present."
Po was happy a little, but when he read the title he just couldn't believe it; the book was called 'The adventures of the furious five' the first ever book telling the adventures of the five, Ichi smiled and said, "I know you live with them, but I bet that wasn't enough for a fanboy like you. I hope you like it, merry christmas."
"You are the best brother ever," Po said, hugging him "I so love you man!"
"Po, please... choking... not... breathing... let go!" Ichi pleaded
Po quickly let go of his brother who was gasping for air, but he was still as giddy as a school girl; but he only got even more giddy when he saw the newest person open the door, a young panda who looked exactly like him said, "Hey guys, glad I was able to make it here in time."
"Musaki!" Everyone greeted
"Good to see you buddy, merry christmas." Ichi greeted
"You too, Ichi." Musaki said, smiling
(A/N: Animation Universe wanted me to do this, here you go buddy.)
Ichi just watched as Musaki talked to the others, he felt happy to finally celebrate christmas for the first time; but when he saw Shifu walk towards him, he could see how he looked depressed and asked, "What's wrong, Shifu?"
"I-I'm sorry son, I was never able to get you a present," Shifu answered. "I was trying to help you get your spirit back, but I forgot all about it. Please, forgive me."
Ichi was surprised, but he still felt happy and gave him a big hug; he smiled and said, "It's ok Shifu, you didn't have to give me one anyway. You gave me my life back, I'll treasure it always."
"Thank you Ichi, and merry christmas." Shifu said, smiling
"Hey Ichi, you got a present." Po called
"Who's it from?" Musaki asked
Ichi looked at the present carefully, it was in the shape of a rectangle; when he saw a letter that came with it he read, "Dear Ichi, I'm so happy that you were able to get your christmas spirit back. You were always full of spirit when you were younger, and because of your new family you're beginning to regain some of it back. I wanted to give you something so you could always remember to be happy."
Ichi opened the present to find something that shocked him, it was a picture of him as a baby with his parents; he was holding Teddie in his hands while his mother held him close, the three of them were smiling happily like a real family. The tears started rushing down from his eyes, he was so happy that he couldn't hold it in. When Po saw the tears he asked, "Who's the letter from?"
"I don't know, it just says S.C," Ichi answered, but while the thought of the name ran through his head he realized something and said. "S.C, could it be... S-S-Santa Claus?"
"No way, he's real!?" Shiisaa exclaimed
"He gave me a present, he really did," Ichi said, smiling. "I can't believe it, this is the best thing to ever happen to me. But I think the real thing that was the best was having everyone celebrate with me."
Everyone smiled and were happy, in the end they all enjoyed the rest of their party; while everyone wasn't looking, Ichi turned around and said, "Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all have a merry christmas."
The End
Yin and Yang, light and darkness, good and evil, what if each person had a part of themselves that had yin and yang? What if one boy lost his other half long ago? But now, yin and yang will finally be together. "You're... me?"
Next Story, Demon Slayers: Yin and Yang