Hallooo, mina-san!
So, I participated in Honoka-chan's Secret Santa, and, as you can see, my giftee is none other than the awesome, fabulous Lotus Sword! I'm so glad I got her. This is an amazing way to show her how much I appreciate her.
Att-chan, you've always been a huge help to me, and you're there for me when I need it. Your reviews always leave me with a great feeling inside, and a smile on my face. So here. THIS IS FOR YOU. I'm sorry to hear you won't have Christmas at home this year, but I hope you like my humble gift. (Which is EXACTLY 2,500 words. My OCD is so happy with me right now...) It's one of my favorite one-shots I've written. I really hope you enjoy it, because every word was written for you, and with you in mind. :)
So, without further ado... enjoy! And Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: I don't own IE: GO. Or much of anything else, ahahaha...
"Welcome, welcome!" Matsukaze Tenma stood by the door of Raimon's soccer club, greeting people excitedly. "Welcome!"
Nishiki grinned at the younger boy as he escorted his date into the room, "Having fun there, Tenma?"
The brunet nodded, "Yup!"
Nishiki chuckled and shrugged at Midori, "He is far too happy, doncha think?"
The vermilion haired young woman just proceeded to punch him in the arm. "Like you have room to talk, genius."
The boy rubbed his arm with fake pain written upon his face, and the pair continued to argue as they made their way into the room. Tenma shrugged. The pair always acted like that. His attention was soon diverted from the comedic couple as another group of people approached the doorway.
"Hi guys! Welcome!" He greeted happily, his grin nearly splitting his face as the cluster paused by the door.
One of the boys in the group, with shoulder length wavy, gray-brown hair, smiled softly. "Thank you, Tenma."
Another of them, a teen with teal hair, crossed his arms, "What're you, Tenma, the welcome committee or something?"
Tenma chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "W-Well, actually yeah. Endou-kantoku, Natsumi-san and Akane kicked me out… they said I was messing up their decorations."
A salmon-pigtailed boy in the small cluster chuckled lightly, "Go figure. You can be a bit of a disaster, Tenma."
Kariya Masaki, the teal haired youth, rolled his eyes, a glint in their golden cat-like depths. "Sounds like you, captain," He teased.
Tenma's face flushed, "Ne ne, that's not nice, Kariya-san!"
Shindou Takuto, the boy with the brown wavy hair, shrugged. "Since when was he ever nice, Tenma?"
Kariya frowned and protested, "Hey, I can be really nice!"
Shindou chuckled as he, Kirino Ranmaru, and the rest of the group entered the building, "Prove it."
Kariya stumbled after them, muttering under his breath.
Tenma laughed at their actions. Man, I love my friends! He sighed in contentment, the slight winter breeze blowing through his chestnut hair. His gray eyes scanned the area for incoming partygoers, and he wasn't disappointed. "Ne, Tsurugi-kun, Aoi-chan, welcome!"
The couple slowed at the entrance, and Tsurugi smiled slightly, nodding, "Hello, Tenma-kun."
Aoi's face was already split in a smile, her white-mittened hand tucked snugly in the crook of her boyfriend's arm. "Konbanwa, Tenma-kun! Chilly, isn't it?"
The boy shrugged at the blue haired girl, "I hadn't noticed. I was just too excited about the party! Winter is awesome!" He pumped a slim fist excitedly in the air, causing the navy haired ace striker of Raimon to chuckle.
"But not as awesome as soccer, ne?" He asked jokingly.
"Of course not!" Tenma put a hand over his heart. "Nothing is more awesome than soccer."
Tsurugi refrained from commenting on the fact that the boy's reasoning was the cause of him still being single, and just smiled. "Well, we'll see you inside."
Aoi waved her free hand at her childhood friend as she and Tsurugi entered the clubroom. Tenma rubbed his hands together as he followed after them, closing the door quickly behind himself. All the guests had arrived, and he wanted to be part of the fun!
A merry and warm scene greeted the young teenager, and he paused for a moment to admire it. The entirety of the Raimon soccer players and instructors were gathered in the spacious clubroom, along with select guests from other schools. Gold and red decorations practically covered the area, tinsel and streamers everywhere. The winter holiday party looked about as festive as one teenage girl and two adults could get it.
"Ne, Tenma!" A cheery voice hailed the boy from across the room, and he looked around before spotting its owner.
"Taiyou!" He trotted over to the orange haired teen, grinning wildly. "It's been a while."
Amemiya Taiyou nodded in agreement, "Yeah it has. Nice party you guys have got here!"
Tenma's grin widened, "Thanks Taiyou-kun!"
The two boys continued their excited conversation, and Kariya snickered over by the refreshment table.
"Ne, Kariya-kun, are you okay?" The teal haired boy jumped at the sound of the voice, and whirled around to see Kageyama Hikaru looking at him curiously.
"Ah! Hikaru-kun! I'm fine." He smirked, his golden eyes full of mischief.
The purple haired boy shrugged, "Okay then. Wait, what's going on over there?"
Kariya looked over to where his friend was pointing, and giggled quietly. Kirino looked in confusion at the glass in his hand, and the water that now decorated his elbow and a bit of the front of his green polo. He frowned and tipped the cup over above the table, and saw it begin dripping out the side. Sighing, he set the object down on the table and left for the restroom.
"Hey, that was a dribble glass, wasn't it?" Hikaru inquired of Kariya, who nodded.
"Oh yes, it was… hehehe…" Kariya rubbed his hands together mischievously, and Hikaru blinked.
"You seem to know a lot about that, Kariya-kun…" He observed, putting a finger on his chin.
Kariya waved a hand, "A-Ah, well, I know about lots of pranks! I'm the master of them."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow, finally catching on. "Wait, did you give Kirino-senpai that dribble glass?"
Kariya chuckled, and the other boy sighed. "Kariya-kun!" He scolded, "You should just be nice to people for once. No more pranking."
Kariya sighed and whined, "But it's so fun!"
Hikaru shrugged, "Do whatever you like." And with that, he walked over to talk to Shindou and Amagi.
Kariya frowned. "Hey! I can be nice…" He muttered, glancing around the room. Lots of teens were talking in clusters, the noise level nearly deafening to the poor boy. There were all kinds of groups. Groups of teen guys, groups of teen girls, the grownups, the happy couples… he scoffed at the last one, crossing his arms as he saw Tsurugi, Aoi, Nishiki and Midori conversing contentedly. Tsurugi had an arm around his beloved's waist, and Midori wouldn't let Nishiki touch her in public, lest her face turn beet red. Immediately Kariya's brain was flooded with ways to ruin the couples' evening, and he smirked. But then, the words of Shindou and Hikaru rang through his head, and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "I can be nice…" He mumbled again, shuffling his feet and feeling lonely.
Suddenly, he was struck with an idea, and he smiled. "I'll prove it…" He said softly, exiting the room with as much secrecy as he could muster.
"This is a great party, Akane-chan!" Midori stopped the shorter girl as she passed, her chestnut hair down in curls rather than up in its usual twin braids.
"Ah, arigato gozaimasu, Midori-chan!" Akane thanked her in her soft voice. "Endou-kantoku and Natsumi-san helped me a lot with it."
The vermilion haired delinquent manager grinned and patted her rather roughly on the shoulder, "Of course they did! How could a little sprite like you do all this yourself?"
Akane smiled and rubbed her shoulder tenderly as she responded softly, "Yeah…" And wandered off.
Aoi giggled, "I think maybe you hurt her, Midori-chan."
Midori gasped, "Did I really?!"
Her boyfriend chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder, causing the girl to blush and immediately brush it off. "I'm sure you didn't, Midori-chan. Much," He added with a grin.
A screeching tone sounded, startling all the guests, and a voice called out, "Gomene, mina-san! I was just fixing up some music…!"
"Kariya?!" Shindou whirled around, but the boy was nowhere in sight. "He must be up to something…" He murmured, and excused himself from his conversation with Yukimura to find the teal haired defender.
After a moment, another earsplitting noise rang out, and then the lilting notes of a waltz floated out from the speakers placed around the room. Kariya's voice was once again heard in the large room, "Hey, couples should totally dance to this very romantic music!"
Kirino raised an eyebrow, "Did you guys hear that?"
Kurama nodded, his pale green hair covering one of his eyes, "Yeah. Kariya sure can be weird, huh?"
Hamano snorted, "Dude, you have no idea…"
Nishiki grinned across the room from the group of boys, oblivious to their conversation, and turned to his girlfriend. "Care to dance, milady?"
Midori's face turned a deep shade of crimson, and she said softly, "But that's, like, really romantic… and there are people watching…"
Nishiki shrugged, "Come on, I'm sure you're not that bad a dancer!"
The girl punched him in the arm, "Hey! I'll have you know I can dance just fine!" She exclaimed, clearly irritated.
The black-ponytailed young man held his hand out, a clever smile on his tan face. "Prove it."
Midori sighed and took his hand, the color on her face not subsiding. Grinning triumphantly, Nishiki led her out into the center of the room as all the people there cleared the way for them, and pulled her into an open social position, and the pair began to waltz.
"Aww, how romantic…" Aoi sighed, leaning her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Tsurugi turned his head to see her face, and the tranquil expression on it, and his lips curled upward slightly in a smile.
"Well, would you like to dance?" He asked softly.
She lifted her head to look up at him, her light blue eyes sparkling. "Really?"
The navy haired teenager shrugged, "Why not?"
Beaming, Aoi took his hand and dragged him out onto the makeshift dance floor, and the two joined their friends in a waltz.
Endou Mamoru turned to his auburn haired wife, smiling. "Would you like to dance, Natsumi?"
The woman put a hand on her cheek, considering. "Hmm… well, I suppose you're an okay dancer." She winked playfully, and he chuckled.
"I'm an awesome dancer!"
"That's debatable, dear." Natsumi giggled and pulled him over to the dancing space before he could object further.
Kariya glanced out at the three happy couples waltzing along in the middle of the clubroom, and grinned. "Score one for my niceness!" He chuckled to himself.
A shuffling sound startled him, and he craned his head from out from beside the pillar he was hiding behind. Eyes bulging, he saw Shindou, on the prowl, suspicion all over his face. "Oops," He whispered, scurrying to find a different hiding place.
Shindou looked around for Kariya, but didn't see him among any of the partygoers. "Come on, Shindou, think like Kariya…" He muttered to himself, checking behind one of the decorative pillars that had been erected for the party. "Nope, not there…"
Kariya sighed in relief and tiptoed off to find the next piece of his plan.
Tsurugi Kyousuke smiled down at his girlfriend. Her pale, sweet face was practically glowing as they glided along, circling in a traditional waltz.
"Wow, Kyousuke-kun! You're a good dancer!" Aoi marveled as he led her through the steps of the dance flawlessly.
"What, were you not expecting that?" He asked gently, a teasingly lilt to his deep voice.
Aoi flushed guiltily, "Well, actually, I was kind of surprised that you could dance," she admitted.
Tsurugi chuckled, spinning her under his arm. "Well, I can."
The petite teen girl nodded as she looked up at him, "I noticed."
"Ne, Ryouma, not that way, you'll hit Aoi-chan and Tsurugi!" Midori chastised her dance partner, who immediately changed course, a sheepish smile gracing his features.
"Sorry about that, Midori…" The young man chuckled lightly.
"Baka…" Midori muttered, trying to follow the rather jerky motions of her partner. "I should have known from our time in the Sengoku Era that you couldn't waltz…"
Hurt flashed across Nishiki's face as he protested, "I can so waltz!"
Midori opened her mouth to reply, but stumbled when Nishiki missed a beat. "Told you," She said smugly.
Nishiki pouted slightly as he pulled her upright again, getting back into the waltz. "Hey, it's not my fault that modern dancing is more my style," He complained.
"More like your pace," Midori shot back.
"Hey!" Nishiki started to complain again, but Midori just laughed, and he joined her, the pair
chortling softly as they danced.
A pink haired teen sat on a chair along the wall, smiling at the sight. "They look like they're having fun, don't they?" She turned to the boy sitting to her left, smiling.
The boy nodded, a gentle smile gracing his features. "They do." He looked down at his wheelchair, then glanced back over at her. "Thank you for sitting over here with me, Yuuka-chan."
Gouenji Yuuka blushed slightly and smiled, "It's no trouble at all, Yuuichi! I'd rather sit over here and talk to you than most of those other people, anyway."
Tsurugi Yuuichi chuckled lightly, "Well, thank you anyway."
The girl just nodded, grinning widely.
A tall, platinum haired man stood across the room, glaring at the wheelchair-bound teen. "I'm watching you…" He muttered.
A laugh beside him startled the tall man, and he glanced to his right to see a black haired man snickering.
"And what's so funny, Toramaru?" He demanded.
Utsunomiya Toramaru grinned and ceased his laughter. "I don't think Yuuichi is going to eat Yuuka-chan, Gouenji-san."
Gouenji Shuuya shrugged, shooting another glare over at the boy that sat beside his little sister, conversing happily. "He could do worse…"
Toramaru snorted, "Leave her alone, Gouenji-san, really. She deserves to have fun."
"But not too much fun!" Gouenji seethed.
Toramaru sighed, "I highly doubt he'll even touch her, Gouenji-san. Just give Yuuka some space. Come over here and talk. To, uh… whoever's over there." And with that, the young man grabbed the man, who was only his senior by a few years, and dragged him off to another section of the room.
The waltz music came to an end, and all the people in the room clapped as the three couples in the center melted back into the crowd, finished dancing.
Kariya snickered as he rubbed his hands together, his final task completed. "Finally…"
"Found you!" A call from behind made the boy yelp in surprise, and whirl around only to be faced with Shindou.
"A-Ah, Shindou-senpai, how can I help you?" He asked smoothly.
The brunet frowned, "Don't act all innocent. I know you're up to something, Kariya."
"Up to something?" The boy parroted, wiping all traces of victory from his face.
"Yes, up to something. And I'm not going to let you ruin this party," Shindou said.
Kariya smiled, "Ah, being heroic are we, Shindou-senpai?"
The boy sighed and responded, "Don't get off track. What are you planning?"
"What?" Kariya smiled innocently, "Can't a guy do something nice for his friends?"
Shindou's reply was interrupted by a voice nearby, "Ne, look Kyousuke-kun." His dark eyes roamed until they found Aoi, standing several feet away, pointing at the ceiling and tugging lightly on her boyfriend's arm, "Mistletoe."
Tsurugi smiled down at her lovingly, and Shindou looked at Kariya disbelievingly.
The shorter boy shrugged, grinning proudly at the shocked look on his friend's face, and said, "Hey, like I said. Just doin' something nice."
There ya go, Att-chan! (And other readers. XD) As you can see, pairings were Kyousuke/Aoi, Nishiki/Midori, Endou/Natsumi, and slight Yuuichi/Yuuka (Looked up Yuuka on your profile when it was on your favorite stories - twice were Yuuichi/Yuukas! xD) I kinda made Kariya centric for ya (wink wink nudge nudge) and I couldn't resist the idea of him trying to ruin the party, but then being the awesome hero. :3
I really hope this was good enough... I highly doubt anything will ever show how much I care about you, though, Att-chan... have a very Merry Christmas! Oh and please review. Y'all can make that my gift. XP
~Swaggy-chan
