Chapter 23

The weather was rather chilly and somewhat snowy as it was the day before Christmas. Most of the citizens in the city were doing last minute Christmas shopping or hurrying their way home to spend the holiday with their families. Currently at the Shiba Household, Jayden, Nariko, Mia, Kevin and Mike were in the living room hanging up Christmas decorations. While doing so Ji showed up at this time carrying a big Christmas tree.

"Ho, ho, ho! Now that's what I call a Christmas tree!" declared the samurai mentor

The group stopped what they're doing and looked, all four of them smiled as they set eyes on the tree. The boys immediately went over to help Ji setup the tree in the living room, while carrying it in the samurai mentor said "It's the biggest one they had!"

"Oh it's looking a lot more like Christmas! Let's decorate!" Mia excitedly said who then ran over to the men, bringing Nariko along.

Before decorating, the pink ranger couldn't help but ask "Do we have pink tinsel?"

Mike chuckled a bit at this "Well wait till we finish setting the tree up first."

While Kevin, Mike and Ji were finishing setting the tree in the living room, Jayden noticed his fiance was simply standing there watching and went over to her "Something wrong Nariko?"

She shook her head "No…I was just simply admiring our Christmas tree…"

"What do you think of it?"

"I like it a whole lot."

"So do I."

Nariko smiled at the red ranger and soon was approached by Mia "Come on Nariko! The guys are done setting up the tree so let's get to decorating!" the Yamada princess giggled a bit as she was dragged over to the tree by the pink ranger.

During this time Emily happened to be in her room, she was currently sitting at her desk preparing to write an email to her sister Serena. Just as she opened her laptop, Mike showed up at this time "Hey Em, Mentor got a tree come check it out!" "I will in a little bit, I'm gonna write my sister a Christmas letter first." "All right."

With that the green samurai ranger took his leave and Emily focused her attention on her laptop, thus beginning her letter to her sister.

"Dear Serena, this year has been the most exciting of my life. Ever since I received the message arrow, it's been a nonstop journey of discovery. It's hard to believe how much has change ever since that day, I've met the best friends anyone could ever have. Mike is so excited for Christmas I think he might burst, he's such a kid at heart, we've become really close. I tried to help him when he hurt his back, he's always looking for the fun in life and he introduced me to my first ride on a rollercoaster. He's such a funny guy, he loves dancing and always wants to have fun, but when he first became a power ranger he had a harder time adjusting more than anyone. Being a samurai isn't all fun and games, improving our skills take hard work and isn't always fun. What we need to do is ready ourselves for battle; he was a bit of a rebel. It took him awhile but he worked real hard, Mike really had something to prove and when the time came Mike proved he had what it takes. He really arose the occasion that day but it wasn't just Mike who had a lot to learn. Mia was so good at everything she did; I'm so lucky and really glad she took me under her wing."

Emily stopped her typing for a bit then glance to her right to find a photo frame right by her laptop. In it contained a photo of her, Mia and Nariko, all three of them happily smiling with their arms linked. The yellow ranger couldn't help but smile at this and turned her attention back to her laptop, continuing on with her email.

"And of course I can't forget about Nariko, the first time I met her she looked so bold and confident. At first I thought Nariko was a strict person but I soon found out that she's really kind and puts others before herself. Not only that Nariko is also a princess, can you believe that Serena? I was really surprised when I found out; I had no idea that Nariko was a princess and next heir to her clan. She also happens to be engaged to be Jayden, our samurai leader. Those two make a wonderful couple; they're practically made for each other. Nariko sometimes reminds me of you sometimes Serena, she was also very ill at the time when we first met but later on she got really better, all thanks to Kevin. Mia, Nariko and I being the only girls have really bonded. There was one time where we had to throw an elaborate fake wedding to trick the nighlok; of course Nariko played a beautiful bride perfectly with Jayden being her groom. At first I thought it was really their wedding but they really haven't set a date for their wedding, but when they do I can't wait to see it! Mia also had to play a beautiful bride since Nariko got kidnapped at the time. She always dreamed of being in a wedding but not like this, Mia was so good that even the guys got emotional I really look up to both Mia and Nariko."

Just as that was being typed both Mia and Nariko entered the yellow ranger's room. "Hey Em! Do you have any tape left?" asked Mia, Emily grabbed a roll of tape and held it out to her "Yeah sure, here." The pink ranger smiled and took the tape "Thank you!" As she left the room, Nariko went over and gently grabbed her shoulder "You gonna come out and help us decorate Emily?" "Yeah I'll be out there in a little bit, I'm just currently writing my sister an email." "Ok I was just wondering, you take your time and I'll leave some things for you to decorate." "Ok thanks Nariko."

The Yamada princess smiled at the yellow ranger and rubbed her back before leaving the room. Emily couldn't help but smile as she watch Nariko leave the room and thought "Mia and Nariko are definitely my best friends now."

Back in the living room Nariko arrived to see Jayden and Kevin putting some colorful ribbons upon Mike's body. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight and thought "Oh I can never get enough of those three, somehow they always managed to make me laugh with their little antics." The princess soon spotted some more ribbons upon the table; she walked over and grabbed two before proceeding to sneak up behind Jayden. Once behind him Nariko reached up and placed the two ribbons upon his head. He automatically felt this and turned around; Nariko giggled at the sight of her fiance and ran off with Jayden chasing after her.

"I'm gonna get you for that Nariko!" the red ranger playfully said

"If you can try and catch me!"

"We'll see about that!"

They ran into the dojo and went back to the living room where Jayden caught Nariko by the waist. He picked her up and placed her over his shoulder and began spinning around. Nariko laughed as the red ranger did this and lightly pounded on his back "Ha, ha, ha! Jayden put me down!" "I don't think so, love!"

Kevin and Mike chuckled as they watched the two while Mia walked into the room at this time. She stopped and smiled as the pink ranger watch the couple and thought

"I'm so glad that Jayden has learned to let go and have fun. I remember when we went to the amusement park, at first he didn't go but then he showed up and we had such a good time. The reason he didn't come along with us at first was because he couldn't help himself from working towards perfection. For Jayden training never stopped and he went too far. Jayden needed to find a balance between life and training but both Mentor and Nariko were there to watch over him, mostly Nariko. Both she and Jayden are one in the same, always keeping an eye out for each other, caring for one another; it's no wonder why they're engaged."

Mia then turned her attention to the blue ranger who was now chuckling at how Mike looked with the decorations on him and thought

"But Jayden's loyal follower and admirer is Kevin. He respects the samurai life so much that he wants to be just like Jayden. They're both incredible skilled and they practice together and have learned to trust each other completely. When Jayden chose Kevin to be the one to get the swordfish disk, Kevin was so determined he would have gone to any length to get it. He brought it back and the new power really did mean that the sky was the limit to what he could do. Kevin is the perfect teammate for Jayden; he inspires all of us to the commitment of the samurai. Just like Jayden, he never stops working to get better, to be the best. Kevin is always the last to be and first to rise. Even in his sleep he thinks of new ideas, you can always count on Kevin."

Jayden finally put Nariko down who was now a bit dizzy from the twirling; she stumbled a bit only to have the red ranger caught her in his arms. He chuckled at his fiance "You ok there?" she playfully hit his shoulder "Hey you're the one who was twirling me around!" Jayden chuckled once more and placed a kiss on Nariko's forehead.

Kevin then turned to Mia as she was messing with a bow "Hey Mia…Did you find that tape? Because we have a lot of presents to wrap."

She handed him the tape that Emily gave her "Here…I'm gonna go check on my cookies in the oven real quick."

And as she left the living room, the blue ranger couldn't help but say "Oh…Mia's cookies…Can't wait…"

Mike grinned and took off the bells that Jayden put on his ears "Remember when she almost burnt down the kitchen cooking that chicken?"

"Mia was so sweet…But that burnt chicken was so sour! I just didn't have the heart to tell her how it tasted…" admitted Kevin

Nariko soon put up one last decoration on the tree and stepped back to admire it. The guys joined too and happen to like how the tree looked. Mike patted Kevin's and Jayden's backs "All right, eggnog for everyone!" while the guys went on ahead to the kitchen, Nariko watched as they left. Once seeing the guys head down the hall, the Yamada princess quietly made her way to the front door.

Little did she know as Nariko was putting on her coat, Jayden was watching her from the corner and thought "Just what is she up to?" Once covered up in her winter gear, the Yamada princess made her way outside with the red ranger quickly following after.

Out in the cold, snowy atmosphere Nariko trudged her way through the snow, making her way over to the snow covered garden. There she stood by the frozen pond, looking down at her icy reflection. Nariko sighed at this and thought "So much has happened this year…With Master Xandred awakening…The samurai team being brought together…My illness….The nighloks…Deker…It makes me wonder just what is my role in all this? Just what is my purpose other than being a damsel in distress princess who's the next heir to her clan, always having to be protected by her fiance and friends? Is it because I'm weak or not good enough? Maybe that's it then…"

Nariko let out a sad sigh at this thought and gazed at her reflection in sorrow, with a few tears running down her cheeks.

"Nariko?"

She quickly turned around and was surprised to find her fiance standing there in the snow "J-Jayden! What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing…I thought you were going to get some eggnog with Kevin, Mike and me."

"Y-Yeah…I'll get some in a minute…I just wanted to be out here for a bit…"

Noticing how her voice sounded, the red ranger immediately approached his fiance "What's wrong Nariko?"

She quickly turned away from him "It's nothing Jayden…"

"Like I'm going to believe that…"

Once reaching her, Jayden cupped his loved one's cheek and made her look at him. The red ranger immediately spotted the fallen tears "Nariko…You're crying…"

The Yamada princess pushed the red ranger's hand away and began wiping her cheeks "N-No I'm not!"

Jayden immediately grabbed Nariko's hands and cupped her face, gently wiping away her tears "You're not doing a good job lying to me, love…How come you're crying? And don't even start with it's nothing because that's not going to cut it."

"I've just been thinking…That's all…"

"Thinking about what?"

"This year…About what has happened…And how do I fit in all this…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I…I don't belong here at all Jayden…"

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it…What have I really done this whole year? Nothing, absolutely nothing!"

"That's not true Nariko."

The princess pulled the red ranger's hands off her face and turned away from him "Of course it's true Jayden! You and the other rangers are out there fighting Master Xandred and his nighloks while I'm here at the Shiba household doing absolutely nothing! God I'm so useless!"

Jayden grabbed her shoulders "No you're not useless Nariko, don't put yourself down like that."

"And yet here I am, next heir to a strong samurai clan being sheltered from danger when I'm supposed to face it in order to protect the innocent…I'm so pathetic…"

The red ranger frowned at this and made his fiance look at him "Listen to me Nariko…You're not pathetic nor are you useless. You're strong, very strong even when you were ill that never stopped you. Remember that time when Kevin left to go capture the swordfish zord while the other rangers and I got poisoned from that nighlok? Even though you were ill that didn't stop you from going out to deal with that nighlok yourself. Even at the time when you were kidnapped by Dayu, you remained calm when Dayu threatened to hurt you if Mia didn't tell us your false whereabouts. You told Mia not to do what Dayu said, not even once caring what would happen to you. You're not pathetic or useless at all Nariko…Out of all of us…You have a very strong and brave spirit, one that we all admire. It makes me proud to have you as my fiance and I look forward to the day when this is all over and we can finally marry each other."

The Yamada princess couldn't help but stare at her fiance in awe "Jayden…"

The red samurai ranger leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss, Nariko lightly blushed at this but slowly closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Jayden then wrapped his arms around his fiancé's waist and brought her closer to him, deepening the kiss. Slowly the two pulled away and stared into each other's eyes, the blush was still present on Nariko's cheeks as she saw the love and adoration in Jayden's eyes.

"Promise me you'll never think that way of yourself again." Said the red ranger

"I promise Jay…" said Nariko

She soon covered her mouth and sneezed, Jayden rubbed her back "Come on, let's get back inside before we get sick." "Yeah lets…"

Thus the couple made their way back inside the Shiba household to join up with Mia, Mike and Kevin in the kitchen.

The day soon progressed into the night time and everyone was making their way to bed. Inside Nariko's room, the princess was sitting in front of her mirror brushing her hair. She lightly hummed while running the brush through her hair when someone knocked on her door. Without even stopping her brushing, Nariko said "Come in!"

Her door opened to reveal Jayden behind it "Nariko…"

She stopped brushing her hair and looked at him "Oh Jayden…"

"Mind if I come in?"

"Course not, come in."

The red ranger stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, then made his way over to his fiance.

"So what brings you to my room at this time? I thought you would have been asleep already." Said Nariko

Jayden sat down on the princess' bed "I can't seem to sleep at all…Besides I wanted to see you…"

Nariko put her brush down on the table and made her way over to the bed, sitting right next to her red ranger "I bet you're excited that Christmas is tomorrow and that's why you can't seem to sleep."

Jayden chuckled a bit at this, then tucked some of Nariko's hair behind her ear "You know…Your hair is starting to get real long now."

She ran her hand through her locks "Yeah it is, isn't it? Should I cut it short then?"

The red ranger shook his head "No…I like your hair the way it is."

Nariko smiled at this and soon covered her mouth to yawn.

"I think it's getting close to that time where we go to bed." Said Jayden

Before he could get up from the bed, Nariko grabbed the red ranger's hand "Wait Jayden…"

"What is it Nariko?"

"Sleep here with me tonight Jayden, please?"

He smiled a bit and caressed the princess' cheek "Sure…Like I can say no to you."

With that said the couple got off the bed and pulled the covers back. Nariko was the first to climb into bed, followed by Jayden. He then pulled the covers over them and Nariko snuggled close to her fiance. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on her fiancé's chest, Jayden smiled at this and kissed her forehead. Soon the couple fell into a deep sleep, wrapped in each other's warm embrace.

The next morning, fresh new snow covered the grounds and the sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky. Mike who happened to have spent the night in the living room was the first to awoke. Excitement filled him as the green ranger exclaimed loudly "It's Christmas! Wake up everybody! Santa came!"

While Mike began to check the presents and looked outside the window, the other rangers, Nariko and Ji entered the room with smiles on their face.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" told Ji

"Merry Christmas!" the group exclaimed and giving each other a big hug before turning their attention to the presents.

Ji began handing out all the presents that belonged to the rightful person and once all the gifts were passed out, everyone except for Mike began opening their presents.

Sadden by not receiving one present, the green ranger couldn't help but ask "Did Santa forget me?"

"Now wait…I think there's an envelope underneath the tree." Said Ji

Mike looked at him in confusion "An envelope, that's it?"

As the samurai mentor handed the green ranger the white envelope, the others gave each other knowing glances before turning their attention to Mike.

He opened the envelope and read the card that was inside "Go to the front door…"

The green ranger got up from his seat and went to the front door, upon opening it there in the yard was a green sports bike.

"No way!" exclaimed Mike

He then turned to his friends and hugged them tightly "Thanks guys so much!"

Kevin handed his fellow ranger a jacket "Here go for it."

"Have fun!" said Mia

Mike quickly put on his jacket and shoes then ran over to his new bike, riding off on it.

15 minutes passed and the remaining rangers, Nariko and Ji were gathered in the living room happily chatting and drinking some hot chocolate. When all of a sudden Mike came walking in taking off his jacket.

Surprised to see his sudden appearance Nariko said "Mike? I didn't hear your bike outside…Did you run out of gas?"

"No…I gave it away…"

His answer caught them all by surprise "What?"

"I saw these two guys at the park who had nothing at all…And it made me think about everything I had here…I wanted them to have something special." Explained the green ranger

Emily smiled at this and went over to her fellow ranger, giving him a hug "Mike…You're something else."

The others joined in on the hug and the rest of their day was filled with laughter and cheer as they spent the Christmas day with each other, deepening their family bond.