No One

Shun woke up that morning, trying his best to keep things like any other day of the year. He was going to try and keep his mind off of what this day really was, for it would only torment like it had every year since things changed. But this was proving difficult for him, if not impossible.

How could he ignore the fact that it was Christmas? He couldn't, that was all there was to it. The raven-haired youth sat down at the kitchen table, eyes scanning over the morning paper that he had picked up from the mailbox earlier. Headlines read about the holiday season, and articles spoke of happy occasions.

Even the comics were holiday themed. Unable to handle looking at the paper for another moment, he folded it back and slid it away from him. Now, he sat down at the table, head resting in the palms of his hands and elbows propped up on the mahogany surface. His thoughts then drifted back to the events that transpired the other day.

Dan had stopped by, and in a futile effort, attempted to get Shun to go to Murucho's Christmas party. Of course, the raven-haired boy refused and asked for Dan to leave before things got ugly, for Dan's presence hadn't been helping Shun push the memories away.

At the time, Shun had been positive that he wanted nothing to do with the party, or anything relating to the season. But after the brunette left, Shun's eyes had kept drifting towards the invitation that sat on the coffee table, and doubt had been filling his mind ever since.

The raven-haired boy thought back to something else his friend told him yesterday. He had said that Shun had to move on, and the raven-haired boy knew he was right. How long had Shun been grieving and suffering like this? Since he was twelve or so?

That was far too long when he thought about it. There had been times when Shun tried to move on, continue with his life and allow the past to finally rest, but there was just so much weight on his shoulders at the time, that even the most simple things felt like impossible tasks; moving on was no exception.

Maybe it was time for him to try and let the past die and stop dwelling on it. Perhaps now he had recovered a bit more from that overwhelming time, and now was able to let old demons go. He certainly didn't want to live this way anymore; it was just too much at times.

Shun ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair and sighed. But what if it wasn't his time to go on with his life? It scared him to know that he might not be fully prepared to let go of the past, because he knew that that would mean pain for more years to come.

But Shun would never know unless he tried, right? His eyes drifted back over to the invite. And what better way to find out if he was ready to move on, than to go into the center of what he had been avoiding for so many years? He got up and picked the envelop, and took the letter out.

His eyes scanned down the letter, looking for a date and time that he vaguely remembered being typed on the parchment.

He then found it. The party would be later on that night. Knowing this, Shun felt like he had plenty of time to think it all over, and if he did decide to go, he would still have time to get ready and show up with time to spare. Shun sat down on the couch and stared at the letter in his hands, debating on whether or not to go.

No One

Dan hated going back to Murucho's after his conversation with Shun the other day; it only reminded him that he had failed in getting his friend to return to them for the holidays. Now, the brunette sat on a couch in the main living room at the Marakura mansion.

Around him, the others were chatting and smiling, allowing the full effects of the holiday season to influence their attitudes. The party wouldn't be till later on in the day, and it was quite apparent that Julie wanted the party's designated time to hurry up.

Dan couldn't blame her, for Murucho's parties had never disappointed. But knowing that he had failed in getting his friend to show up, put somewhat of a damper on Dan's Christmas spirit. The brunette continued to sit on his couch, wishing that he had something to occupy his time.

And just like his silent pleas had been heard, Murucho approached him and asked, "Dan, could you help me carry presents down and put them under the tree?" Seeing that this would put an end to the brunette's boredom, he agreed to help his blond friend, who, in turn, led him to where the presents were being stashed.

Some weeks back, they all had gone out to buy gifts for one another, and Murucho had taken it upon himself to get everything boxed and wrapped. Now, Dan walked behind Murucho, arms full of wrapped packages with ribbons tied around them. A single tag waving around in the air as he walked, caught Dan's attention.

It had Shun's name written on it, obviously in Kato's handwriting. They always got him a gift each year, regardless of whether or not he showed up; they did this just in case he did show up. So that way, if he did, perhaps he wouldn't feel excluded or forgotten about.

But Dan knew that this would be another year that his friend's gift sat under the tree, untouched. The brunette didn't say anything though. Everyone knew that the odds of Shun showing up were slim, like every year. Dan and Murucho arrived back in the main room, where they quickly deposited the gifts beneath the tree.

Julie clapped her hands together and said excitedly, "I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they open their gifts! That's my favorite part of today!" Dan had to admit, it was his favorite part as well. There was no other feeling like seeing somebody's face light up when you got them just the right gift.

It gave him a sense of accomplishment. Murucho made sure to carefully set down the last of the presents he was holding. And when his hands were freed, he told Julie with a smile, "Well, you'll have to wait till the party tonight." Julie pouted for a moment, then smiled brightly.

"Alright! I'll wait," she said cheerfully and skipped off into another room. As Christmas day went on, several people that were friends of Murucho's parents showed up for the night's party. The adults migrated into one room to socialize, leaving the five friends to themselves.

Murucho pulled out a piece of paper that was filled with names. His eyes trailed down the list before he said, "I think that's everyone on the guest list that we know of that's coming to the party." He folded the paper up and tucked it back into his pocket. Kato, the loyal butler, walked into the room, giving everyone a formal bow.

He then cleared his throat and said, "There seems to be a surprise guest." Confused, the five friends looked past the butler, only to have their eyes widen in surprise when Shun stepped out from behind Kato.

No One

Shun felt like all eyes were on him; probably because they were. His old friends stared at him, clear surprise in their eyes. From what he could tell, none of them had changed that much. Perhaps Murucho had grown a bit taller, but that was it. Slowly, Shun raised his hand and gave them a slight wave.

"Hey, gu-" He was cut off mid-sentence when Murucho, Julie, Runo, and Alice rushed up to him and embraced him in a group hug. He stood there, a surprised look on his face. Murucho laughed and said, "Shun! We thought you weren't going to show up this year!"

There were choruses of agreements coming from the three girls as they continued to hold the raven-haired boy in their affectionate hug of death. Dan, who hadn't moved from the spot he was standing in, only stared in disbelief. The brunette was sure that his friend wasn't going to show up.

So, seeing Shun right before him was a unexpected turn of events for him. The four ecstatic friends finally let go of the raven-haired boy, all of them smiling brightly with happiness because their long lost friend had returned to them. Dan then approached Shun, and the air tensed up a bit.

The brunette said calmly, "I thought you weren't going to go this year." Shun shrugged his shoulders and told his friend, "Somebody told me that nobody deserves to be alone on Christmas, and I decided that they were right."

Shun grinned slightly, causing Dan to realize that his words actually had gotten to the raven-haired boy. Dan smiled and said, "Awesome. Well, you made it just in time for the party."

No One

Shun had to admit that he had felt a bit apprehensive when he first showed up. But after seeing the happy expressions of his old friends and seeing how they had missed him, he eased up a bit, thinking that this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

There was also a sense of release for him that he hadn't felt at all since the Christmas lights went up around the city. For the first time, in a very long time, he felt like he might have actually been able to enjoy himself. Although, there was still that slight hollow feeling nagging him, for this wasn't celebrating with his family.

Nowhere was this near the gatherings that his mother would put together, or the same traditions that had been passed down from generation to generation. But there was still a warm sense of comfort. A few moments after Shun's arrival, the party truly began.

The guests were asked to move to the dinning room for dinner. The massively long table's seats were filled for the first time that Shun knew of; it had always been he and the others eating at the table. He had never seen enough people in one gathering to fill up every seat.

As everyone sat and ate their food, that sudden feeling of dread began to creep up on Shun as he recalled previous Christmas dinners that he went to with his mother. He knew he would have to recompose himself quickly, or else he would allow these memories to take over him again.

Politely, Shun stood up and said to his friends, "Excuse me for a moment. I need some air." He then stepped out of the room and outside of the mansion, where he stood in the cool night air for a bit. Back in the dinning room, Murucho stated, "Guess Shun gets a bit claustrophobic in large groups."

Runo shrugged and crossed her arms. "Doesn't surprise me," she said and wiped her mouth with her napkin. Dan knew better than that though. His friend most likely wasn't stepping outside because he didn't like the large crowd. No. He knew Shun too well for that.

Most likely, the raven-haired boy had excused himself before things turned bad for him. Dan had noticed that up until then, Shun appeared to have been having an honest to good time at the party. The brunette then stood up and said, "I'll be back in a moment. I'm just gonna go check on Shun and make sure everything's alright."

They nodded and continued to eat what was left on their plates. Dan asked several partygoers that he passed if any of them had seen Shun. Not many of them were sure, but one woman saw the raven-haired boy step outside of the front door. Dan thanked her and exited the mansion.

Outside, Shun was leaning against one of the massive support columns. He had to stop this. He was trying to move on and leave his past memories behind, for goodness sake! How would he ever resume a normal life if he kept letting these kinds of things weigh him down?

Shun shook his head. He had been having a good time, much to his surprise. He was sure that he would have been having a semi-pleasant time for a while, then perhaps slowly warmed up. But he had almost immediately started to enjoy himself and the warm company of his friends and total strangers that were in the Christmas spirit.

Was it possible that he had missed all of this without realizing it? "Everything okay?" a voice asked from beside him. Shun turned and saw that Dan had joined him outside. The raven-haired boy told him, "Yeah. Everything's fine. It almost wasn't, but I think I've got in under control now."

Dan smiled slightly and told him, "Good. Now, better get back inside before everyone starts thinking that you're having some kind of panic attack." Shun tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Panic attack?" he asked curiously. Dan chuckled and waved his hand nonchalantly.

The brunette then said, "Don't worry about it." Shun shrugged his shoulders and followed his friend back into the mansion. The raven-haired boy knew for a fact that none of the others knew of his grief at Christmas time, so he could only assumed that the panic attack reference was something of their doing, seeing as they were completely in the dark of what Shun had been going through.

When he and Dan got back to the others, dinner had been finished. Julie ran up to the raven-haired boy and told him, "You okay, Shun?" The others had joined behind her, worried looks on their faces. Shun chuckled a bit and told them, "Yeah."

Their worried expressions vanished just as quickly as they appeared. Murucho then snapped his fingers together to grab everyone's attention. He told everyone, "It's time to open presents!" Julie clapped her hands together and ran off into another room before anyone else could. We followed her dust-trail into the main room, and suddenly she was pushing boxes into everyone's arms.

Alice, who had been quiet and reserved for most of the night, nearly dropped hers. A slight blush crossed her face at her near-fail, but when she saw that nobody noticed, she quickly straightened up and joined the others. The six friends sat around, Julie still passing around the wrapped boxes.

One was then handed to Shun, who was taken aback by it. Cautiously, he took it and stared down at the neatly wrapped package. Shun then told his friends, "If I had known that I was going to be here tonight, I would have gotten you all something. I kind of feel embarrassed now."

It was true. He felt like he was imposing now, and it made him feel somewhat guilty as well. Alice smiled warmly at Shun and told him, "It's alright. Having the original group back together again is better than anything that we could get for Christmas." Runo smiled brightly and added, "Yeah. Alice is right."

Everyone was nodding and smiling in agreement, and Shun didn't feel as embarrassed as before; but it was still there. As presents were opened, and thanks exchanged, Shun stared down at his gift. When was the last time that he had opened a Christmas present? Surely it was the last time he went to Murucho's Christmas party.

Deep down, he could feel the dark memories trying to resurface, but he quickly pushed them back down. He would let them rule his life no more. Shun was going to return back to his old self, before misfortune befell his life. No longer would grief control him. Alice asked him with a smile, "Aren't you going to open your's?"

Shun snapped back to reality, leaving his triumphant thoughts behind. He tore the paper off of the box and opened it up. Laying in the center of the box among a sea of newspaper, was a picture. It was an old one, from when they were all about twelve or so. It was of the last Christmas that he had before his mother died, and before everything became so difficult.

It was of the last time he had a somewhat true and genuine smile. The picture had all six of them gathering around at Dan's for Christmas that year. In the picture, Runo was wearing a Santa hat that Dan had put on her last minute before the picture was taken.

Shun recalled how she yelled at Dan, but after seeing the picture and realizing that it looked pretty good, she had actually thanked him. A 'Christmas Miracle' as Dan had called it. Murucho spoke up and told Shun, "We had been saving that present for you for the past several years, waiting to give it to you when you showed up."

It was later did Shun find out that it had been a group gift. Now, he was officially caught up with them, returned back into the loop that was their friendship. Shun smiled and said, "Thank you, guys." The party lingered on a bit longer into the night.

The six friends stayed and caught up with each other until it got way too late to be reasonable. So, they dispersed, returning back to their respective homes. Shun was one of the last ones to leave Murucho's, his gift tucked away underneath his arms as he approached the nearest bus stop.

He then heard somebody running up behind him, and turned around to see Dan. The brunette halted in front of Shun, a sly grin on his face. Shun arched an eyebrow and asked, "What?" Dan kept his grin and narrowed his eyes, then said matter-of-factly," Admit it. You had a good time tonight."

Shun rolled his eyes and looked down the street, seeing the bus coming his way. "I don't have time for this, Dan. My bus is here." Dan ran in front of Shun, blocking his access to the bus stop. "Admit it, and I'll move out of the way," he said with a smile. Shun rolled his eyes, finding his own self to be smiling.

The raven-haired youth said, "Yeah. I did. I'm glad I went." Dan gave a satisfied smile and asked, "Can we expect to see you at next year's party?" Behind Dan, the bus driver honked the horn in annoyance; Shun knew he would have to wrap this conversation up soon, or else he would have to wait for the next bus. He then turned back to Dan and told him, "Of course. Wouldn't miss it for anything."

The brunette smiled triumphantly and said, "Good. Well, I better let you get on your bus before you're walking home. See ya." Dan then walked around Shun and returned back to Murucho's mansion. The raven-haired youth quickly climbed onto the bus, taking his usual seat.

But rather than looking out the window with a depressing disgust at the Christmas decorations, he grinned slightly, no longer minding what they reminded him of. For years, he thought that he didn't have any family to celebrate the holidays with. But he had been so wrong.

He had family this whole time, and they had been in front of him this whole time. Back at Murucho's, Dan placed the last of his gifts into the trunk of his car and slammed the lid closed. He had felt rather victorious, knowing that if he hadn't confronted Shun, his friend would probably had never shown up.

Dan walked around his car and sat down in the driver seat, turning the vehicle on and allowing the engine to warm up before leaving. While he sat there, he couldn't help but think that this was another 'Christmas Miracle' for him and his friends.

something short and sweet. i hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that Santa brought them what they wanted (or some of what they wanted) ;P check out my profile for a poll and read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~