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"And since we know how much you adore this place," Quil continued.
"We wanted to do a nice celebration of your 23rd birthday and a little congratulations for inheriting your powers party," Aki revealed.
Yoshi walked over to where I knelt, Urufu still happily jumping and rubbing her paws on my knees. "Normally on your 18th birthday, a huge celebration is held with family and friends to present the individual with their weapon and confirm that they've received all their remaining powers," he revealed. Yoshi offered his hand, and I placed mine in his. He helped me stand again before releasing me. Then he walked over to where the other guys stood in line, most of them wearing jeans or dress pants and dress shirts.
My mother made her way to me, a big smile on her face. "I know your birthday has never been celebrated properly all these years. Even though it hurt you, not once did you express your sadness about not getting what other shifters got on theirs. I wanted you to be able to have something you'd remember, and well, we thought this would be the perfect chance to celebrate, even though we are a few days late,” she explained, holding out her arms for a hug.
I let out a nervous giggle and blinked rapidly, trying my best to stay composed, even though my heart swelled with overwhelming joy.
I stepped into her embrace, and she hugged me tightly.
"I'm so proud of you, Crimson. So very proud of my baby girl who proved to the world she wouldn't be broken down. You showed that no matter how little confidence anyone had in you, it wouldn’t stop you from achieving what you wanted." She pulled back to give me a kiss on the forehead.
She then looked to Father, who had a soft, prideful expression on his face. He was holding something in his hands, and it took me a few seconds to realize they were the twin swords that I'd retrieved from Konashi's office that held my power.
He stepped forward until we were face to face. A radiant smile formed on his lips while his pink eyes glittered in delight.
"Crimson. My sweet, strong, compassionate daughter. Words cannot express how proud I am of you. When all the odds weren't in your favor, you never let it stop you from pushing yourself and reaching your goals. When people thought you'd do nothing to support yourself, you proved them wrong by using your talent and creating artwork for the masses," Father explained.
"I apologize that I couldn't be the father I should have been, and there's no excuse for it. However, the least I could do was support you from afar. Because of that, I have walls full of your art that would always make me smile when I woke up in the morning and brightened my mood whenever I had a bad day. You went against all odds to show that you can be successful and achieve many things without being what society wants you to be."
He looked down at the swords in his hands that lay sheathed in their scabbards. "Twin swords are hard weapons to use because they require each to be in sync and balance one another in strength. Having an individual bestowed with two swords in our culture tells the world that big trials are ahead for this individual and thus, they need two swords to fight and conqueror whatever challenges they must face."
His eyes lifted to meet mine. "With that being said, you've proven yourself worthy to carry these swords, and their magic and strength are at your disposal. Your mother and I have also blessed them with a bit of our power and offer these back to you as you step into the shifter world and work towards change. We are both so proud of you and hope that you will continue to make us proud as you become the woman our ancestors wanted you to blossom into. We love you. Happy 23rd birthday, with many more to come."
I smiled and lifted my hands to receive the two swords. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I could feel my Kitsune’s sadness and urge to comfort me.
"Thank...you," I choked out as my vision blurred because of my tears.
I sobbed quietly, and Father pulled me into a hug, patting my back.
"Thank you, Crimson, for being such a wonderful daughter and making our family proud. I could never be more honored and excited to be in your life. I love you so much, and even though many years have passed, I pray to our ancestors we’ll have plenty more years to enjoy our time together as a family."
I felt Mother hug me from behind as I cried, unable to fight the tears that rolled down my flushed cheeks and the sobs that escaped my lips. All this time, I'd craved my family’s love. To be able to experience how it felt to be cared for, accepted, and to hear the words, ‘I'm proud of you’.
Now that I received it, I didn't know how to feel. It was like my heart couldn't handle how amazing it felt. How satisfied and cherished I felt to receive such love. My ears tingled upon hearing those words after so many years of longing for them. I was so happy that all I could do was cry because it felt like my struggle was finally over.
I was a shifter. I was a part of something. I was no longer an outcast or a lone wolf in this world that made me feel so lonely. I was here, and now people would see me and not pretend I was invisible.
People will finally acknowledge me.
"Shh, Crimson, my sweetie. Don't cry," Mother consoled.
I could tell she was also crying as she tried to comfort me. We'd had our differences, and though she couldn't be there for me as she would have liked while I was growing up, she at least gave me life and tried her best to provide me with a few of the memories I cherished and held dearly.
Now that the truth was revealed and we got a chance to restart as a family, it thrilled me to start from scratch and work on making new memories.
My real family.
"No more tears, you two. We're supposed to be celebrating," Father pointed out as he pulled away and rubbed our backs.
I noticed his eyes were just as glossy and grinned.
"You're about to cry too."
He blinked his eyes a few times to stop his own tears.
"You're seeing things,” he insisted, which only made my mother and I laugh.
