Special effects: Starting with Ultraman Tiga

December 25th, Christmas Day.

Today is Christmas Day, and two weeks have passed since the battle with Rakshasa.

The remaining two, Jiaojiao and Abaiba, seem to have vanished without a trace, with no news of their whereabouts for a long time.

"Eh~ It's snowing. Is it a white Christmas? That's a good omen. Maybe something good will happen." Taiga Sae sat in the kotatsu, looking at the snowflakes falling outside the office window through the glass door, and exclaimed in amazement.

"Superstition, superstition! How could something good happen just because it snows?" Washio Gaku lay half-reclined on the tatami mat, propping his face up with one hand and pressing the TV remote with the other, changing TV channels as he complained.

"Yellow! You're such an unromantic guy." Taiga Sae glared at Washio Takeru and said with displeasure.

"Christmas?" Oogami Tsukima muttered to himself.

This is his first time celebrating this holiday. What should he do?

"Speaking of which, after Christmas comes the New Year, right? Have you prepared everything you need for the New Year?" Ushida Sotaro asked.

"Ah! Oh no, we completely forgot about that!" Everyone was stunned for a moment, and after a few seconds of silence, they exclaimed in surprise.

"There are only six days left until the New Year. Is that enough time?"

"Don't worry, it's just some glutinous rice, amulets, and ema (votive plaques). There's plenty of time," Shen Yun said calmly, looking at the panicked crowd.

"That's good~"

"Speaking of which, today is Christmas. Are we having a Christmas party? And Christmas presents, and most importantly, the gift exchange?" Taiga Sae asked expectantly, counting on her fingers.

"No problem, holidays are for having fun," Shen Yun said with a smile.

"Okay! Leave the cooking to me." Tidom raised his hand excitedly.

"And Christmas decorations," Samezu Kai added.

"Yoshi! Let's set off now!" Lion said enthusiastically as he put on his team uniform.

"Let's split up then. Here are the shopping lists." Shen Yun handed different shopping lists to everyone.

"oh!"

"I'll stay and watch the house," said Oogami Tsukima.

"What are you saying? It's such a joyous holiday, of course we should celebrate together!" Lion said, grabbing Oogami Tsukima's arm.

"That's right, this is your first Christmas, Silver, how could we leave you out?" Washio Gaku grabbed Oogami Tsukima's other arm, lifted him up, and rushed outside with him.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Braving the falling snowflakes, the group happily descended the mountain and arrived at the city streets.

The streets were filled with a festive atmosphere, with Christmas decorations everywhere, tall Christmas trees standing in front of shops, and couples strolling along the streets.

After arriving at the shopping street, everyone split up, shopping for items on their lists and choosing Christmas gifts to exchange.

"Christmas presents..." Shen Yun scratched his head, feeling a bit of a headache.

He didn't know what kind of gift to choose.

"Dolls?" Shen Yun glanced at a nearby doll shop, then shook his head, thinking to himself, "Not really, dolls are only suitable for Tidom and Taiga Sae."

"Buying cookies doesn't feel like a sincere gesture."

"This is really a headache."

After much deliberation, Shen Yun finally chose a fountain pen as a gift. After having the shop assistant wrap it up, she went to the cake shop and ordered a three-tiered strawberry cream cake.

After buying what they needed, Shen Yun returned to the entrance to meet up with the others, and they carried their bags back to the shrine.

Time passed as everyone decorated the office, and before they knew it, evening had arrived.

Winter nights always come exceptionally early.

Outside, snowflakes fluttered down, covering the shrine and its surroundings in a silvery blanket.

Inside the office, the lights were bright and the atmosphere was warm, like springtime. The lobby was decorated with bright red Christmas ornaments, and the dim yellow lights cast a soft and warm glow on the snow.

In a corner of the hall, there was a Christmas tree that was nearly three meters tall, covered with colorful lights and various Christmas decorations.

Under the Christmas tree, there were gift boxes of different colors piled up; these were gifts that the Gaolangers had bought to exchange.

On the table were Japanese Christmas dishes such as fried chicken, roasted potatoes, roast beef, and teppanyaki.

In the center of these dishes, a three-tiered strawberry cream cake is placed, exuding a sweet aroma.

The Japanese tradition of eating fried chicken and strawberry cake for Christmas originated in the 70s when KFC in Japan launched a campaign that made it a Christmas tradition to eat KFC. Eventually, eating fried chicken for Christmas became a new custom for the holiday.

Strawberry cake, too, was marketed and eventually became a holiday tradition.

The group gathered around the table, eating fried chicken and chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

After dinner, it was time to exchange Christmas gifts.

Shen Yun packed all the gift boxes under the Christmas tree into identical boxes, then shuffled them, saying, "Alright, everyone, just pick one. If you've chosen your gift, you can put it back and choose again."

Everyone stepped forward one by one, each choosing a gift box, and then gathered together to open their chosen gift boxes.

"A scarf?" Shen Yun opened the gift box and looked at the brand-new scarf inside, and asked in surprise.

"Ah~ This is the gift I chose," Taiga Sae exclaimed in surprise.

"Really? You have great taste. I really like it." Shen Yun smiled and accepted the scarf.

He just randomly picked one, and to his surprise, he got a gift from Taiga Sae.

"I'm glad you like it, Doctor." Taiga Sae said with a grin.

"Wow! The latest game disc!" Tidom opened the gift box, his eyes shining as he looked at the game disc inside, and exclaimed in surprise.

"This is a gift I bought. I'm glad Tidom likes it," Samezu Kai said with a smile.

"Arigato~"

"Is that a fountain pen?" Lion asked, taking out the expensive fountain pen from the gift box with delight.

"This is a gift I bought, and it suits you very well," Shen Yun said with a smile, looking at the pen that Shi Zi Zou had received.

Veterinarians are doctors too, so a fountain pen would be the perfect Christmas gift.

"I will cherish it." The lion walked with a touching expression.

"No need for that," Shen Yun said, embarrassed.

"Mine are cookies." Washio Gaku opened the gift box, which contained beautifully packaged cookies.

"These are the gifts I bought. I didn't know what to buy for Christmas, so I just bought cookies and the like," said Niu Da Cao Taro, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Eh~ My gift is a camera?" Taiga Sae opened the gift box, and a brand new camera was lying inside.

"This is a gift I bought. I originally planned to use it for taking a group photo, but I thought about it and realized that it would be a waste to just put it away after taking a photo, so I gave it to you as a Christmas present." Tidom glanced at it and smiled.

"Oh, I see..."

"A gift?" Oogami Tsukima looked at the gift box in front of him, feeling a slight stirring in his heart.

This was the first time he had received a gift from someone; it was a really nice holiday.

Upon opening the gift box, a crystal ball music box filled with snowflakes began to play Christmas carols.

"How's this gift?" Washio Gaku raised an eyebrow and asked.

"very nice."

"Let's put the gifts aside for now, everyone come over and take a group photo," Sae Taiga said with a smile, holding a camera.

"Oh!" Everyone put down their gifts and gathered in front of the camera.

After setting the timer, Sae Taiga quickly ran in front of everyone and smiled at the camera.

Merry Christmas!

As a flash illuminated the camera lens, the image was frozen in time.

The radiant smiles of the Gaorenz were also preserved in this photograph. (End of Chapter)