u.p.girl123: Hi everyone! A happy happy new year to all of you!
The New Year traditions that'll be mentioned in this fic are all believed in our country… so yeah… and it's is now edited!! Woot!
Special thanks to 11kyuketsuki for beta-ing this fic! Huggles Kyu-chan
Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince Of Tennis
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Jump: Seigaku New Year Special
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The New Year always brought out a lot of noise.
"BURNING!!!! It's the New Year, BABY!!! GREAT-O!!!"
Who gave Taka-san the racket?! Looking around, the regulars could swear Fuji was chuckling a bit too sinisterly… figures… It was a good thing his parents took it away from him before he could damage the sushi that he was also holding.
"Oi, Oi! Happy New Year everyone, nya!"
Kikumaru was jumping around, much to the delight of the younger siblings of the other families and some of the elders as well. His parents were proudly standing to one side, graciously entertaining questions of other families about their son's flexibility and energy.
"Fssshhh… happy new year…"
Kaidoh was trying to avoid the other people as much as possible… he was bored… Oh! Was that a cat? How cute!... Now Kaidoh wasn't that bored anymore as he followed and soon played with the little kitty.
"Yo! New Year's almost here! Where's the food?"
Momo hungrily sped towards the buffet table. His parents had to warn him not to eat too much lest he suffer from indigestion, but they knew all too well that their words were falling on deaf ears as the power player placed enormous amounts of food on his plate… make that plates. They decided that they should help him carry the other plates that were quickly forming mini mountains made of food when they saw that their son was struggling to balance them. They approached him with a fond smile.
"Saa, how long before the new year?"
Fuji was still smiling as per usual, but he was particularly smiling a bit brighter today as he watched his younger brother Yuuta enjoy some of the fire crackers. His sister and parents seemed to be enjoying as well.
"Exactly 37 minutes and 28 seconds – no, wait – make that 27…26…25…"
Inui answered as he wrote on his notebook. He was observing the others' behavior during the festive occasion.
"Hey! Be careful with those fireworks! Don't touch that!...Ack! What was that explosion! Did anyone get hurt?... I knew we should've just gotten noisemakers!"
Oishi was busy looking out for almost everyone in the party. He knows that he shouldn't fuss around so much since a lot of adults were already present, and his parents might be worried about him, too, since he was all over the place checking up on his teammates. But he couldn't help but be concerned when he heard an extremely loud 'pop'.
"Mada mada dane, sempai. It's just a little fire cracker."
Echizen casually glanced around the area, smirking at his sempai-tachi every once in a while, sometimes glaring at them, too. He was also looking for Karupin who walked away from him a while ago… when he saw him again, he was playing with his Kaidoh-sempai… he smirked again. Then he tried ignoring everyone else… especially his father that was currently being scolded by his mom, Rinko, for not dressing appropriately for the occasion.
"Everyone! Don't let your guards down!"
Tezuka couldn't possibly assign laps now since it is a party and it would be impolite to create a commotion in front of the adults. He settled for warning them, instead, and for extra precaution he took an extra dose of aspirins.
Somehow, the Seigaku tennis club regulars' families decided to spend the New Year together.
"Why are we doing this again?" Echizen gruffly asked to anyone who could hear him.
"What? (munch) Spending the New Year together? (chew) Because it's fun!" Momo said in between bites.
"Our parents also agreed that it'll be a good team bonding activity and a celebration party for our wins…" Taka explained calmly.
Echizen glared at no one in particular. He just hated things that caused too much noise. He could have very well skipped the event but…
"But why are we doing this at my house!" Echizen glared even more.
"Because Ochibi's house has the biggest space, nya!" Kikumaru answered while bouncing around.
"Just have fun, Echizen! Here have some food!" Momo handed a sushi roll to Echizen, who was still glaring.
"Fsshhh, stupid peach, always thinking about food…" Kaidoh commented, while petting Karupin.
"What?! You're saying something Mamushi?!" Momo angrily retorted.
"Who you calling Mamushi, idiot peach?!" Kaidoh got into a fighting stance, still holding Karupin.
"Wow, I'm so scared at a stupid Mamushi that's holding a kitten!" Momo sarcastically replied while he, too, got into a fighting stance.
"Guys, stop fighting! It's bad for the New Year!" Oishi attempted stopping the rivals' quarrel.
"Wait!" Echizen neared the fighting duo. He glared at them first then he proceeded to take Karupin away from his Kaidoh-sempai. Then walked as far as possible away from the two. "Okay, you can start."
Everyone sweat dropped.
"Ii data...Echizen cares deeply about his cat. Would go between Momo and Kaidoh's quarrel to save his pet…" Inui mumbled as he proceeded to write in his notebook.
Echizen for the nth time that day, glared.
"Saa, Echizen, you shouldn't glare too much, or else you'll keep that glare for the whole year ahead." Fuji warned while still smiling placidly.
"Nya! Maybe that's why Ochibi glares too much. He was probably glaring last year, too!" Kikumaru theorized, nodding to himself at his amazing analyzing skills.
"…(glare)" – Echizen
"Oh no! That's bad, Echizen stop glaring!" Oishi fussed around the freshman.
"Um, Fuji… Is that even true?" Taka sheepishly asked the tensai while rubbing the back of his head.
"Who knows…" Fuji gave his ever-present smile.
"Fuji." Fuji turned his head to Tezuka.
"Yes, Tezuka?"
"Stop making up stories."
"But, Tezuka," Fuji pouted, "I'm not making that up!" the other tennis players stared at him, unbelieving.
"Fuji…" Tezuka warned.
Fuji laughed, "That's a New Year tradition that my sister told me. Did you know that there's this other tradition where you need to have round fruits at your table?"
"Why is that Fuji?" Inui asked, pen and paper ready. This could be good data… good data indeed.
"It's so that for the next year, you're sure to have more money… or something like that." Fuji said.
"Nya, it's like what my sister told me. But she said you have to wear polka dotted clothes!" Kikumaru added, while raising his pants to reveal polka dotted socks.
"Sempai, you believe that (munch)?" Momo asked, and then he looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it (bite) fire crackers are another tradition… (Munch)…"
"Fssshh, idiot! Finish eating before you talk! You're spraying fruit bits!" Kaidoh shouted.
Momo ignored Kaidoh, though he was thinking of fighting with the Viper later, "The loud sounds are supposed to ward off evil spirits…" He continued.
"Don't you think that's quite a dangerous tradition? Using noisemakers would have been much safer." Oishi commented.
"We should just not let our guard down." Tezuka said.
"See, there are a lot of traditions, like you have to open your windows to let the luck come in…" Fuji said.
"My dad told me that you should stay awake till the New Year, because if you sleep, luck will fall asleep on you, too…" Taka contributed.
"There seems to be a lot of traditions… Ii data…" Inui said.
"Nya, what other tradition do you know Fujiko?" Kikumaru asked. He never knew there were so much. The others seemed to be interested about the topic, as well.
"Hmmm, let's see." Fuji happened looked at Ryoma (who was minding his own business with Karupin, thank you very much) and he remembered another one. He said in a voice loud enough for the freshman to hear. "My sister said that when the clock strikes twelve…"
"Like in Cinderella?" Momo interrupted.
"Fssshhh, who knew you believed in fairytales too… baka (stupid) Momo…" Kaidoh automatically responded, which earned another fight with his rival.
Fuji laughed at the scene the two created before resuming, "… at the beginning of the New Year, you're supposed to jump so that you'll get taller…"
Everyone turned to look at Ryoma. They burst out laughing.
"Oi, Oi! Ochibi, you should try that so you could get taller, nya!"
"Yo, Echizen, no wonder you're still so small, you're probably too lazy to jump during the new year!"
"Ii data…"
Echizen glared at the group, but especially at his Fuji-sempai because he was the one that gave the idea. Annoyed, he turned around and left the laughing group.
"Stupid sempai (senior)…" He muttered while petting Karupin. But he thought about what Fuji said. Maybe he should try jumping? But his pride wouldn't allow that…
"Everyone! Let's start the countdown!" Someone shouted out.
"10…"
"…9…"
"…8…"
Everyone gathered towards the clearing to view the fireworks display. It was set-up to explode at 'zero'. Parents gathered up their kids, warning them not to get too near to the unlit explosives.
"…7…"
"…6…"
"…5…"
The regulars (sans Ryoma) huddled together. They were forming some kind of plot. Some snickered while turning their heads to look at the young tennis prodigy, who was content in standing alone, a bit far away from the group.
"…4…"
"…3…"
"…2…"
They neared to a wary Ryoma. They were all grinning widely.
"…1…"
Ryoma tried to back-off, but it was too late because his sempai-tachi already grabbed him. He struggled to be released but they were all holding him at once, and he was definitely no match for his eight older, taller upperclassmen.
"…0! Happy New Year Everyone!" Everyone shouted together as the fireworks were set off. Colorful sparks set off at the dark sky, forming various shapes. The crowd awed at the view.
"Everyone together now! GO!" The tennis players hoisted Ryoma then proceeded to throw him upwards repeatedly.
"S-sempai!" Ryoma, who was in mid-air, shouted out of shock,
When he was finally returned safely to the ground, he glared at the seniors, "What was that for?" he tried to stand up straight. His feet were still a bit unsteady after the unexpected action.
"…you let your guard down…" Tezuka stoically said, but he was fighting the urge to give a small smile.
"Because it was fun (nya)!" The others said in unison, grinning from ear to ear.
"Because we knew that you would be too proud to jump by yourself!" Fuji explained giving off one of his widest smiles.
Ryoma tugged at his cap, hiding the blush that was on his face. Then he mumbled something that almost sounded like a 'thank-you'.
"What was that Echizen?" Momo asked.
Ryoma turned his back towards the others, and headed towards the direction of the food. "Mada mada dane, sempai-tachi…" he waved at them with his back turned. "And thanks… Happy New Year…"
"Akimashite Omedetou!" They all greeted each other.
The fireworks seemed especially bright and beautiful this year.
oOo
Happy New Year everyone! Hope you liked it! Review if you want!
Akimashite Omedetou – Happy New Year
Sempai-tachi – group of upperclassmen