Aika woke up early in the morning and dug out her calendar. She smiled at the date, Christmas Eve! Today was the day she was going to sneak out of the palace and go shopping for the Suzaku Warriors. She got dressed and managed to sneak out of the palace after leaving a clone in her place. She soon made it to the market area and began looking around.
"Okay, so I need something for Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake, Chiriko, and Kurama! Then there's Tamahome's father, and his siblings, Chuei, Gyokuran, Shunkei, and Yuiren," She said looking over the list. She saw a shop and smiled a bit when she saw something that she thought Nuriko, Gyokuran, and Yuiren would like. Three down, ten to go! She kept looking around and soon found everything she needed for everyone. She bought some wrapping paper and wrapped what she could after putting the items in boxes. She then marked them all for whose present was whose. "Man, I can't wait to see the look on their faces!" She smiled before going back to the palace. She snuck in and hid the presents under her bed. There was a knock on the door.
"Aika, you in there?" Tamahome asked.
"Yeah! Just a minute!" Aika called before hurrying to the door and opening it. She walked out and closed the door quickly making Tamahome raise an eyebrow.
"Okay, what are you hiding?" He asked.
"Me? Nothing! Whatever gave you that kind of idea?" Aika asked with a nervous laugh until she saw Tamahome's face. She sighed. "Fine…but it's a surprise until tomorrow so you'll just have to wait!" She told him.
"Eh? Why tomorrow?!" Tamahome asked her almost pouting.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Aika giggled a bit. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I have some errands I need to attend to. If I find you you've went into my room, snooping around, you won't like the outcome!" She said giving a firm look that made Tamahome gulp slightly.
"Got it, got it," he said putting his hands up in surrender.
"Good," Aika smiled before kissing his cheek and going to the kitchen. Time for Christmas cookies!
~0~
Tamahome sighed as he watched her leave. He looked at her door and groaned, his hand itching to open the door.
"Dammit! What the hell is she hiding in there?!" He exclaimed.
"Tamahome, is something wrong?" Hotohori asked walking up with Tasuki and Nuriko.
"Yes, Aika's hiding something and she won't let me see until tomorrow!" Tamahome complained.
"Eh? What could she be hidin' in there?" Tasuki blinked a bit.
"I don't know! That's why I want so bad to go in there, but she threatened me about going in there!" Tamahome sulked. Nuriko giggled.
"Maybe she got you something and doesn't want you to see it," he said to his friend. Tamahome blinked.
"G-got me something? A present? Why would she feel the need to do that?" He asked.
"Isn't that what lovers do? I thought they bought presents for each other once in a while, ya know," Chichiri said walking up as well with Mitsukake, Chiriko, and Kurama. Kurama's eyes widened.
"Wait, what's the date today?" He asked.
"December 24th. Why?" Chiriko asked. Kurama went bug eyed.
"Crap! I totally forgot! I have to go! Bye!" He said before running off to the market place.
"What's the big deal about today's date?" Tasuki asked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Tamahome muttered before going to the kitchen. The others followed and they soon saw Aika baking in the kitchen.
"Aika, if you wanted something baked, you could have asked the chef," Hotohori said making the poor girl jump with a yelp.
"Don't scare me like that!" Aika whined while the others were amused.
"I apologize for scaring you. What is it that you're doing?" Hotohori asked.
"Oh….making cookies," Aika replied.
"You know you could have asked a cook to make some," Nuriko pointed out.
"They don't know how to make these types of cookies. Now, all of you, out!" Aika pointed to the door.
"Why do we have to leave?!" Tasuki asked.
"You'll see tomorrow! Skedaddle!" Aika told them as she pushed them out.
"What is happening tomorrow, Aika?" Mitsukake asked.
"Like I said, you'll just have to wait and see tomorrow."
"But we don't wanna wait!" Tamahome said to her.
"Too bad!"
"But, Aika…" Chiriko pouted.
"Nope!" Aika closed the door in their faces. She let out a sigh of relief. "Good, back to work!" She said after locking the door and going back to baking.
~0~
In Hotohori's office, the Suzaku Seven were discussing what they should do to figure out what tomorrow was and why Aika was being so secretive. Hours passed and they had nothing.
"I got nothing! There's nothing happening tomorrow," Nuriko said.
"I guess we have no choice but to wait for tomorrow," Hotohori said with a sigh while everyone slumped. Suddenly something came under the door. Tamahome raised an eyebrow and picked it up.
"It's addressed to all of us," he said to the Warriors. He opened it and looked it over. "It says to meet in the ball room tomorrow morning at ten o'clock," he said to them.
"What the hell is that girl plannin'?" Tasuki asked ready to rip his hair out.
"Like Hotohori said, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow," Mitsukake said.
~0~
The next day came and everyone made their way to the ball room, having a feeling that Aika was already there seeing as she wasn't in her room.
"Kurama, do you know what's going on?" Chiriko asked.
"Yup, but trust me, you'll all like it," Kurama grinned.
"I hope so," Tamahome muttered before they opened the door. What they saw surprised them all into awe. It was decorated with beautiful decorations. There was red garland around with gold and green metallic bulbs hanging on the arches of the garland. They saw a feast that seemed to fit the theme. Then there was a large tree that was decorated with garland and ornaments with a star on top. Under the three were wrapped packages. Aika appeared and smiled.
"Merry Christmas, guys!" She said to them.
"I-it looks beautiful," Nuriko said looking around.
"Aika, what's Christmas?" Tamahome asked walking up to her with the others. Aika smiled warmly at them.
"It's the day we spend time with our family and friends. We open presents, have some yummy food, and sing carols. Well, we can skip the carols if you want. This is why I haven't been around for the past few days. I was getting all this ready. I bought presents yesterday morning then cooked all day. I…I wanted share this day with you guys because its meant for family and friends," she said to them. Everyone was touched from hearing that. "Oh, and I invited your family," she said to Tamahome who was surprised. He looked over and saw his family walking over. He smiled and hugged them.
"Aika invited us a couple weeks ago, telling us about a special day we all get to share," Tamahome's father said.
"Yeah! And we get to see you!" Yuiren said hugging her brother's leg. Tamahome chuckled and hugged her. Aika smiled as she watched them.
"So, what first? Breakfast or presents?" She asked.
"I am rather hungry. When we first went to the dining hall, there were no chefs and nothing on the table," Hotohori said.
"Oh…I-I kinda told them to take the day off and spend it with their families. I hope that's okay," Aika said sheepishly.
"It's all right, Aika. That was quite thoughtful of you," Hotohori smiled at her. With that, everyone sat at the table and ate breakfast.
"Wow. That was amazing!" Chuei grinned.
"I'm glad you liked it, Chuei," Aika smiled at him. "Now, I say we let the children go first and get their presents. Your names are on the boxes so you'll be able to find them," she said to the four children who grinned and ran to the tree. They all grabbed the present that had their names on them. Chuei opened his to find a sheathed dagger.
"Whoa, this dagger looks incredible!" He said looking it over.
"Well, with Tamahome here, I thought you might need something to protect the family with. I can teach you how to use it," Aika said to him. Chuei grinned and hugged her.
"Thank you!" He said to her as Aika hugged him back with a small giggle.
"These are so pretty!" Gyokuran said as she and Yuiren pulled out kimono like dresses. Gyokuran's was a pale red with a pink sash. Yuiren's was a light pink with a light blue sash.
"Can you help us put them on, miss?" Yuiren asked Aika. The Priestess smiled and nodded.
"Of course, come with me," she said leading the two out of the room for a moment.
"Big brother, look! I got a sling shot!" Shunkei said showing Tamahome who smiled.
"That's pretty cool. Maybe I can teach you how to shoot it," he said ruffling his little brother's hair. The three girls came back with the now beautifully dressed Gyokuran and Yuiren.
"You two look so beautiful," their father smiled. Aika smiled and handed him a present. "Oh, Lady Aika, you didn't have to."
"I wanted to. I didn't want you to be left out, sir," Aika smiled at him. He opened it to find a framed picture of his family.
"So that's why you decided to use that thing on us," Tamahome said.
"That thing is called a camera. As for how I got the picture to show was a miracle. Developing photos isn't easy in this world," Aika mused. Tamahome's father smiled as he held the picture.
"Thank you, Lady Aika. It's a wonderful gift," he said to her. Aika smiled at him and gave his shoulder a small squeeze.
"I'm glad you like it," she replied. She then passed out the presents to the Warriors and Kurama.
"Beef, beef, and more beef…Aika, you know me too well!" Kurama grinned before he started munching on his beef. Chiriko opened his present and found a new flute. He was surprised to see it was made out a silver and gold metal.
"This is beautiful, Aika. Thank you!" Chiriko smiled.
"I had noticed your old one was getting worn out and thought you might need a new one. It was my mother's. I can't play it to save my life, but I thought it would be put to great use with you," Aika smiled back.
"I shall take great care of it, Aika," Chiriko promised. Mitsukake opened his to find journals. He looked through them and was surprised.
"Medical journals and recipes. Aika, where did you get this?" He asked.
"Back home. My friend Sakura gave me some medical journals to help me with some remedies for my shop. I have the recipes and such copied down. I thought you might like it," Aika said while Mitsukake smiled.
"I do like them. Thank you, Aika. I shall make great use of them," he promised. Next was Tasuki who took out a sheathed sword with a ruby on the handle.
"That is a special sword. You concentrate energy into it and the blade will be engulfed with flames," Aika smiled at him. Tasuki grinned and unsheathed the sword before concentrating some energy into it. Suddenly the blade was as said, engulfed with flames.
"Cool! I could use an extra weapon in case of something," he said before the flames disappeared and he sheathed it. Aika smiled at him and nodded. Chichiri was the next to open it and found scrolls with jutsus on them.
"Seeing as what you do is close to what ninjas can do in my world, I thought they might come in handy," Aika said to him.
"I love them, ya know! They will definitely come in handy when we go against Kutou, ya know!" Chichiri grinned. Nuriko was staring at his with shock.
"Do you like it, Nuriko?" Aika asked hopingly. Nuriko pulled out a gold kimono like dress with transparent sleeves, and over the skirt was a transparent skirt as well. The sash was red and silk.
"This must have cost a fortune," Nuriko said looking at the beautiful robes.
"Well, I gave them some money from my world. It's real gold so that's worth a lot around here. "Do you like it?" Nuriko hugged her.
"I love it. Thank you, Aika," he smiled before going to change into it. He soon came out, looking more like a woman and a beautiful one at that. Hotohori opened his to find a handled mirror. He picked it up and looked at it. It was gold that had been molded into an elegant design. On the back was a phoenix like Suzaku.
"People are always saying how beautiful you are, but you rarely get to see it for yourself," Aika said to him. Hotohori smiled and hugged.
"I love it, Aika. Thank you," he said to her making Aika smile, glad he liked it. Now it was time for Tamahome's. Tamahome opened it up to find the yin of yin yang. It was on a black leather cord that he picked up.
"Aika?" He went to ask until he saw she pulled out yang from under her shirt. She was already wearing half of the necklace. She took his part of the necklace and put it on him before connecting the pieces of yin and yang together.
"To show we are always together, no matter what. We're like yin and yang," Aika said to her lover.
"One half of the other," Tamahome smiled at her before kissing her softly. Aika smiled as she kissed back. They pulled away before he hugged her. "Merry Christmas, Aika," he whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Tamahome," Aika whispered back as she smiled. This was definitely one Christmas she wouldn't forget.
To all of you lovely readers from the author and characters Ninja Priestess: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!