Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Yui's Christmas Wish ❯ Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi. The original story and characters belong to Yu Watase. Any characters that did not appear in the original story are my own creation.

Rating: G

Notes: The story picks up shortly after the end of my last fanfic, "A Story Retold. If you haven't read "A Story Retold," you can still enjoy this one-shot fic, but make sure you read the info below first. (Warning: contains spoilers from the first story.)

Info to know: Yuiren is Yui's daughter. Like Tamahome, she has two selves, one who was born in the Universe of the Four Gods and one in the real world who has yet to be born. When Yui and Miaka left the book, Yui and her daughter had to be separated. Even though Yui knows she will see Yuiren again, she became very attached to her child while in the book and found it hard to leave her. Now all Yui wants for the holidays is to see her daughter again. Can Miaka make her best friend's dream come true? When you make your wish on a Christmas star, anything is possible.

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Christmas Wishes: Chapter 4
By Katrina Kadabra

After their encounter with Santa Claus, Miaka was anxious to take Yuiren around the mall some more. Unfortunately, the little girl didn't seem as anxious as she was. As they walked along past the various stores, Yuiren began rubbing her eyes a bit and yawned.

"Hey, Miaka," said Yui. "I think maybe we should head back. Yuiren's getting a little tired."

"Aw..." said Miaka with a disappointed look to her eyes.

"Come on," said Yui, taking both their hands.

The bus to get back to Miaka's house was bit delayed, due to the amount of snow that had begun to fall. But Miaka wasn't about to let precious Christmas eve bonding time go to waste. As soon as they arrived back at the house, Miaka quickly rummaged through the pots and pans.

"What are you doing?" Yui wanted to know.

"Making Christmas cookies, of course," Miaka replied. "Come and help me, Yui."

"Coming," Yui sighed. Miaka baking Christmas cookies. This could prove to be interesting.

A few hours and several lost bags of sugar, flour, and milk later, the house was filled with the sweet aroma of gingersnaps, snickerdoodles, and every other cookie recipe the two girls had managed to scrounge up. Miaka had sampled at least two of every type, "just to make sure they were okay and all." Yuiren delighted in helping pour the ingredients in, but after everything was mixed and ready to bake, her sleepiness had gotten the better of her and she went into Yui's room to have a nap.

It was now late afternoon. Miaka was trying to salvage the last, and rather burnt, batch of cookies, while Yuiren was still in her room, so Yui supposed she would take the time to do a little light reading. She had a new mystery novel she had picked up at the mall that looked more or less interesting.

"I wonder where Tetsuya is…?" Yui asked. "I thought he'd be here by now." She sighed at and sat down to begin reading. As if on cue, the phone started ringing.

"Hey, Yui, could you...?" Miaka started to ask.

"I've got it," Yui replied, her hand already on the receiver. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Yui!" called a friendly voice on the other line. "How's it going?"

"Tetsuya?" Yui asked. "Where are you?"

"Still at the mall," Tetsuya replied. "Listen, I gotta cover some other guy's shift tonight so I won't be over until late, maybe not until tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine," Yui replied. "You just be careful. It's been snowing since Miaka and I got back."

"Snow is nothing for a Christmas elf!" Tetsuya replied loudly, to which Yui couldn't help but giggle. "Anyway," Tetsuya continued. "I'll see you as soon as I can. Take care, okay?"

"You too. Good-bye," Yui sighed as she hung up the phone. It was going to be a quiet evening. She picked up her book and sat on the couch, feeling the warmth of the glowing fire on her skin. Just then, Yuiren wandered into the room wearing the new pair of pajamas that Miaka and Yui had picked out for her at the mall. In her arms she held a doll that Yui had been fond of when she was younger. If Yui's memory served her correctly, Miaka had given that doll to her as a birthday gift one year.

"Watcha doing?" Yuiren asked.

"Reading," Yui replied.

"Oh," Yuiren said. There was a long pause. "Will you read something to me?" she finally asked.

Yui looked up surprised. "Well, of course, I will. Hang on a minute." She went to glean through the bookshelves; Miaka had to have at least one age-appropriate piece of reading material here, right? There was one thinner book with a colorful hardback cover. That looked promising. Yui pulled it out and read the title. The First Christmas. Perfect.

"Here you go," said Yui, sitting down on the couch, as Yuiren climbed onto her lap. "I think this will be just right."

As Yuiren made herself comfortable, Yui opened the book and read the cover page aloud, "This is the story of the first Christmas." The characters in the illustrations were simple, drawn with basic shapes and colors. The first page showed a girl standing next to an angel.

"It started when an angel came to visit a girl named Mary," Yui read. "The angel told Mary that she was going to have a baby boy named Jesus, who was going to be the Savior of the world."

"Did Mary ever see an angel before?" Yuiren wanted to know.

"No, I'm pretty positive she didn't," Yui replied as she turned the page. Yuiren thought deeply for a moment.

"Did Mary ever have a baby before?" she asked.

"No," Yui answered with a smile and a shake of her head. "She wasn't even married yet. She was going to marry a man named Joseph. See here?" Yui pointed to the illustration in the book now showing a man next to the girl and continued reading,

"Mary and her husband Joseph traveled to Bethlehem. And while they were there, it came time for the baby to be born. But Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable, because there was no room at the inn."

Yuiren clutched the doll in her arms tighter. "That's so sad," she said. "I bet Mary was really scared, huh?"

Yui nodded. "Yes," she said quietly. "Yes, I guess she was." She slowly turned the next page as Yuiren watched ever intently. The girl's questions touched something deep inside of Yui, something she couldn't quite explain. Gently she passed her fingers over the illustration on the page, the classic nativity scene of the virgin mother, her husband, and the newborn Christ. Odd as it was, Yui couldn't help but wonder. What was it really like to be there, in that scene? Mary was a young girl in a strange place, ready to give birth to a baby that was not only completely unexpected, but also the world's Savior. No pressure there. Yui thought back to when Yuiren was born. What a shock that was. Yui remembered yelling at Toki how she wasn't ready. How she couldn't handle it. And yet look at how everything had turned out. The past was unimportant. The present was so much more than Yui could have ever hoped for.

"No, I'm sure Mary was scared," Yui said. "Anybody would be about something like that. But I think she was also very happy."

"Happy?" Yuiren asked.

"Well, sure," Yui replied. "She loved the baby Jesus very much. And she knew that God had a plan for her, even if she didn't understand everything at the time. I think looking back on it, that night was probably the happiest in her life." Yui continued reading the text on the page,

"After the baby was born, Mary and Joseph were visited by three wise men and also some shepherds. The shepherds had been told where to go by an angel. They were told that the baby Jesus had been born, and they wanted to come and worship him. And together everyone celebrated the first Christmas." Yui shut the book and looked lovingly over at her daughter. Yuiren was sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Come on," said Yui. "Let's get you into bed."

"Okay," Yuiren agreed, slipping on Yui's lap. "Mama?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you sleep next to me?"

Yui smiled. "Of course I will."

Yuiren waited patiently while Yui slipped into her nightclothes. It was strange, Yui thought. The whole day she and Miaka had been so involved in doing as much as they could as fast as they could. Yet those peaceful moments Yui spent reading to her daughter and pondering what a privilege it was the spend the time with her; they were probably the most meaningful of all.

Yui slowly pushed open the door to her room. The bedroom was dark except for a soft light emitted from the reflection of the moon on the white snow. Yui got under the blankets, and her daughter quickly scurried in after her. Once Yui was settled, the girl pulled herself into a little ball, pressing her face against Yui's chest and gripping her pajamas tightly.

"I love you, Mama," she said softly as she closed her eyes.

"I love you too," Yui replied. "You're so precious to me. You know that right?" Yuiren nodded. The night was quiet, a few snowflakes had just begun to re-coat the ground. "Merry Christmas, Yuiren," Yui whispered before finally drifting off to sleep.

Author's Notes: Okay, believe or not, there is one chapter to go, kind of the aftermath chapter. I'll try to have it up by tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed reading the story and Merry Christmas to you all!