Meant to post this on either the 31st or the 1st, but then life and bad time management made it over a week late. Oh well. Happy belated New Years, and special thanks to MiniPrinny for inspiring me to write this. Sorry if this sounds a bit fake with my extremely sporadic update times, but see it as a promise for more.
"Ahhh~! Everything is so bright and colorful - it all looks so pretty!" Zero Two cried out happily as she danced around, spinning in circles to try and take in as much of the festive decorations as she could. The light of countless lanterns reflected in her eyes when she turned to beam at Hiro, who couldn't help but smile and laugh along with her contagious excitement.
It was the final day of the year and the students of Dorm 13 were following their annual custom of attending the New Years Festival at the local Shinto shrine, just like so many others across Japan. A tradition started in middle school, the group would go down together and stay until midnight for the countdown to the start of another year, as well as the much-anticipated fireworks. Tonight was special though, for tonight was also the first time Zero Two would be able to celebrate welcoming in the new year with Hiro and his friends, something she was more than excited about.
So excited, in fact, that she had enlisted the help of both Miku and Kokoro to get ready for their night out at the festival, and they had more than delivered in preparing their friend. Wearing a stunning pink kimono with small sakura designs, a salmon red sash around her waist and her hair tied up in a bun pinned by a beautiful flower comb, Zero Two beamed as she spun another time - both as a way to display her excitement as well as a way to slyly show off her outfit to her darling. Hearing his appreciative compliments certainly didn't hurt.
Hiro himself had also donned Japan's traditional garment, his own dark blue kimono being much plainer than hers. The only accessory he had was the black sash around his waist but nonetheless, it took all that Zero Two had to not drool over her positively delicious looking darling.
Thankfully the festival had more than enough distractions. Dozens of stalls filled the area where the event was taking place, each offering food, selling items, or challenging people to games. Countless paper lanterns illuminated the night, held up by the colorful ribbons and banners strung from stall to stall.
"C'mon darling, hurry!" Zero Two whined as she dragged Hiro along. "I wanna try everything before the fireworks!"
He laughed, his other hand already full with a bag containing all of their prizes from various games they had already torn through in their time there. "Calm down, Zero Two, we still have plenty of time." A couple of stalls caught his attention. "Here, why don't we get something to eat? Freshly made mochi is the best, and don't even get me started on takoyaki."
Zero Two followed his line of sight, her eyes lighting up at the sight of two practitioners pounding mochi. She pointed excitedly as she hugged Hiro's arm. "Oooh, that looks cool!"
"Why don't you go ahead and check it out? I'll buy some food and find a table for us."
She hugged him, pressing a kiss against his cheek. "Thanks, darling! Love you!"
"Love you too." Hiro smiled.
With another kiss, Zero Two ran off.
He chuckled. Even after almost two hours wandering the festival, Zero Two still had plenty of energy to spare.
Turning his attention to the tables, Hiro searched the area for a free spot. His eyes lit up when he spotted Futoshi and Naomi and quickly made his way over, taking his seat and placing down his and Zero Two's bag of prizes.
"Hey Naomi, Futoshi." He greeted.
Naomi gave a silent two-fingered salute, busy texting on her phone, while Futoshi mumbled back a response through a mouthful of yakisoba.
"Aw Futoshi, don't tell me you've been here this whole time?" Hiro teased with a grin.
Futoshi swallowed and grinned back. "Actually, I'll have you know this is my first plate." He laughed heartily at Hiro's mock face of surprise. "Yeah yeah, I'm surprised too. Got tired of hearing Zorome and Miku bickering."
Naomi rolled her eyes, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Pretty sure I can still hear them." The two boys laughed at her dry delivery. "Anyways, where's Zero Two?" She wondered.
"Yeah," Futoshi agreed, "it's rare that you two are separated… well, ever."
Hiro vaguely gestured in the direction he came. "She's checking out the people making mochi over there. Told her that I'd find us a seat and grab some food." He looked around. "Where's Ikuno? I thought she'd be following Naomi around like a lost dog-"
Something bopped him on the head. Ignoring the other two's giggles and turning around, Hiro smirked at a slightly blushing Ikuno. "Shut up," She grumbled, taking a seat at the table. She passed a small paper plate of takoyaki to Naomi and began to nibble away at one of her taiyaki.
Futoshi shrugged. "He's not wrong."
"I will hurt you."
Hiro laughed, getting out of his seat just in time to avoid Ikuno's under-the-table kick. "I'm going to go get some food now. Mind watching my stuff?"
"No, it's fine." "Yes, we mind."
Ikuno ducked, barely dodging Naomi's swipe and almost dropping her taiyaki in the process. "Jesus woman, calm down."
The brunette ignored her, smiling at Hiro. "Go ahead Hiro, it's fine. We're not going anywhere."
Mimicking her two-finger salute from earlier, he chuckled when Naomi smoothly responded with a middle finger.
Hiro wandered the nearby food stalls for a bit, eventually buying okonomiyaki for himself and a plate of karaage and some yakitori for Zero Two.
He made his way back, nodding and smiling at Mitsuru and Kokoro who responded in kind when he passed the two waiting in line for slushies.
When he got to the tables he found that Futoshi was gone with Zero Two sitting in his place, rather viciously tearing apart a plate of mochi as a disgusted Ikuno and an amused Naomi stared on.
As he got closer Zero Two suddenly stopped, sitting straight up and wildly looking around. Only when she spun around to look behind her did she spot him, her eyes lighting up in delight. "Dahling!"
"Thank god she stopped," Ikuno muttered.
"You're back!"
Hiro smiled, holding the food he brought high up and softly grunting as Zero Two flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"They-noticed-me-staring-at-them-while-they-were-making-mochi-and-then-they-offered-to-let-me-try-but-then-I-almost-hammered-that-guy's-fingers-and-said-sorry-so-they-took-the-hammer-away-but-they-also-gave-me-a-plate-of-mochi-and-then-I-got-lost-but-then-I-found-Futoshi-who- told-me-to-come-here-and-now-you're-here-too!" Zero Two blurted out all in one breath.
"That's great," Hiro laughed, slipping into the seat next to her when she finally released her grip on him. He placed down the plate of karaage and yakitori in front of her. "I got some food for you. It's mostly chicken, to be honest, but I had a feeling you wouldn't mind."
Zero Two gasped in delight, and she had to quickly wipe away a bit of drool. "Darling, why are you so perfect?" She sighed happily as she pressed a kiss against his cheek before beginning to dig in.
Hiro shrugged, a small smirk on his lips. "I amaze myself sometimes too." He ignored Ikuno's rather scornful scoff and Naomi's giggle.
"Mmmh! What is this?" Zero Two asked, humming in pleasure.
"Karaage is basically deep fried anything, mainly chicken though. Yakitori is just skewered chicken," a reluctant Ikuno eventually explained after the pink haired girl stared at her for an uncomfortably long time.
"It's delicious!" Zero Two cheerfully said.
Ikuno rolled her eyes. "I'll take your word for it."
"Hey, Hiro."
He looked up at Naomi, his mouth still full of okonomiyaki. "Hmm?"
"Have you two gotten your o-mikuji yet?"
Hiro swallowed before responding. "Nah, I was planning on waiting for the crowds to die out a bit first."
Naomi nodded. "Smart."
"We were actually going to go after eating."
Zero Two perked up from where she easily holding off Ikuno as she stole one of the girl's taiyaki. ("Goddamnit Zero Two!") "Go where?"
"To get your o-mikuji, which are little fortunes on strips of paper. They basically predict what your luck in the coming year will be like." Naomi smiled.
"It's usually bullshit though."
"Oh shush you," Naomi laughed as she swatted at Ikuno, who once again dodged.
"That sounds fun!"
Hiro laughed, wrapping an arm around Zero Two and pulling her close to press a kiss to her temple. "We'll go once we finish eating, alright? The o-mikujii are all the way up at the shrine, so we're going to have to walk for a bit."
"Fireworks start soon," Naomi reminded them. "Ichigo did say she wanted us to watch them all together."
"Ooh!" Zero Two looked excited as she glanced at Hiro. "Then let's go right now! I wanna watch the fireworks with everyone!"
Hiro frowned, staring down at his half-eaten pancake. He looked back up at Zero Two's big shiny puppy-dog eyes. With a sigh, he got up out of his seat. "Alright, let's go."
She grinned and gave him a big kiss. "Love you, darling!"
He couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah, yeah, let's go."
Naomi spoke up from where she was still seated. "I hope you realize that we're totally gonna eat your food." Beside her, Ikuno nodded along to her words in agreement.
Hiro's expression soured. "You didn't have to tell me though."
With a shrug, Naomi wryly grinned. "Ehh, I think I kinda did."
Hiro grimaced even further as the two girls began to laugh, at least until Zero Two began pulling him away by his arm. When she gently tugged, he offered no resistance, the two getting further and further away.
"I'll make it up to you," he felt her whisper in his ear. "Promise?"
He smiled, his food the last thing on his mind. "Promise," he whispered back.
Soon the two were away from the festival and its crowds, the hustle and bustle nothing but faint background noise as they walked along the tree covered path to the Shinto shrine.
Shadows danced along the edges of their vision as they quietly made their way up the stone stairs, dimly lit lanterns illuminating the path. The night sky seemed to shine even brighter in the darkness, and Zero Two took a look upwards.
She softly gasped, stopping in her tracks and pulling Hiro's attention away from the stairs before them. He glanced at her in confusion and couldn't help but smile at her amazed expression.
"I've never seen the stars so bright!"
"The pollution of the cities isn't as strong when we're this far out." He followed her gaze skywards. "...it's beautiful, isn't it?"
Zero Two nodded firmly, a small but happy grin on her lips. "Mhm!"
Hiro directed his eyes up the stairs and spotted the torii gate that marked their destination. "Come on, we're almost there." He looked back the way they came, the noise of the crowds just on the edge of their hearing and the lights of the festival just barely visible through the trees. "Who knew the stairs would take so long?"
Zero Two shrugged as they passed under the red wooden gate signifying them entering the shrine grounds. There were a couple people still there, idly wasting time away until the fireworks. A small group shuffled past the two and back towards the stairs.
Stepping ahead of Zero Two and taking her hand into his own, Hiro led the way to where a shrine maiden stood beside a large wooden box. He offered the matronly looking woman two five-yen coins.
"Two o-mikujii, please."
She accepted the coins with a small smile and stepped aside, gesturing to the box. "Please, feel free to help yourself."
As the two approached the box, Zero Two quietly whispered to Hiro. "One for just five-yen?"
Before Hiro could answer the shrine maiden spoke up, startling Zero Two. "It's considered good luck, as well as a donation to the temple, I suppose." She smiled gently. "But really just for the luck."
Zero Two nodded in understanding, a small blush on her cheeks from being caught. She weakly swatted at Hiro when he quietly snickered at her embarrassment.
They each pulled a small folded strip of paper from the wooden box and after thanking the shrine maiden, walked a couple steps away.
With a fortune in either of their hands, Hiro looked at Zero Two with a small smile.
"Together?"
Zero Two grinned back.
"Always."
They pulled open their o-mikuji, reading the small text written on them.
"Hm, nothing too interesting," Hiro said out loud as he read his rather mediocre fortune. "A medium blessing, moderate success in my future… heh, looks like it's gonna be a boring year. What about you, Zero Two?" He asked while looking up.
She was reading her own o-mikujii with a small but adorable pout. "Darling," she complained, flipping the strip of paper to show her equally dull predictions for the coming year. "These are boring. And what is this?"
A rather furiously pointed finger poked at a line in her fortune. "'"Low chance of improvement in romantic relationships?!' What's that supposed to mean?!"
Hiro laughed, wrapping his arms around a still pouting Zero Two and drawing her close to her chest. She huffed, returning his embrace and resting her chin in the crook of his neck. "Ikuno was right," she grumbled.
Another small chuckle came from Hiro. "Hey, maybe you're interpreting it wrong."
Pulling away from him so she could see his face, Zero Two tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"
"Maybe our relationship is so good, it's already reached its highest potential?" He offered with a small smile.
Zero Two frowned for a second, deep in thought, before brightening up. She pressed a quick kiss against Hiro's lips and beamed at him. "That's exactly it!" She lunged forward and wrapped her arms back around him, causing him to stumble back with a laugh. "Oh darling, you're so clever!"
He grinned cheekily. "I try my best."
A bell suddenly rang out, it's massive chime echoing throughout the night.
Zero Two gasped, her eyes widening. "That's the bell! The one they ring a hundred and eight times, right?!"
Hiro glanced back behind him toward the temple. "Yep. A hundred and seven times on the 31st, and once on the 1st."
Frantic hands grasped his own, and suddenly he was being pulled towards the stone stairs that led back to the festival.
"We have to hurry, darling! We can't miss the fireworks with the others!"
Hiro laughed. "Alright, let's go."
The two hurried down the steps, periodic gongs cutting through the silence of the night.
As they approached the last flight of stairs, Hiro laughed again. "You really want to see the fireworks with everyone else, don't you?"
Zero Two nodded vigorously. "This is the first New Years I get to spend with everyone. It has to be special!"
At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped.
It took Zero Two only a second to notice him no longer following after her, and she also stopped to turn around and look at him in confusion.
"Darling?"
He sheepishly grinned. "Then sorry about this."
"Huh? What do you me- hey!"
In her moment of bewilderment, he lunged forward, scooping her up into his arms in a princess hold.
"Wha-what are you doing?!" She sputtered, arms and legs flailing.
"I'm going to have to steal you away just for tonight." He rather unhelpfully explained.
"Darling?!" It was adorable how completely baffled she looked.
Turning away from their original path to the fireworks viewing area, Hiro made his way along a more obscured side route that seemed to go right back up the hill they just came down from, albeit at a lower incline. Trees hid the festival stands from view but allowed plenty of light through to illuminate their path.
"Darling, where are you taking us?!"
"You'll see."
Zero Two pouted but resigned herself to her fate. "You better not tear my kimono," she ordered, wrapping her arms around Hiro's neck and tucking in her legs.
He chuckled. "I'll be careful."
In the distance, the bell continued to ring. Zero Two had been counting along on their way down the stairs but had lost count during Hiro's impromptu kidnapping. If she had to guess, there was just a bit over a hundred chimes left to go, maybe less.
After what felt like forever but was really a bit over a minute in reality, Hiro emerged into a clearing. Zero Two's jaw dropped as he gently placed her back down on her own feet.
A cliff-side area clear of all trees, revealing an absolutely breathtaking and unobstructed view of the night sky. The light of the nearby festival was just barely visible through the trees behind them, and if she were to crane her neck over the edge, she would be able to catch a glimpse of where crowds of festival-goers were waiting for the fireworks.
Instead, she had barely moved from where Hiro had placed her, shock filling her every pore.
"Like it?" Hiro asked, looking out into the distance. "It's a little place I found when I was younger, but more importantly-"
"This is where we first met."
Hiro turned around with a small smile, meeting Zero Two's glistening gaze with his own teary eyes.
"...yeah. This is where we first met."
Trembling hands clasped themselves over Zero Two's mouth in a vain attempt to hold back her quiet sobbing.
"Y-years ago."
Hiro nodded in confirmation, quickly wiping at his eyes with the sleeves of his kimono.
"T-this might be the first New Years you get to spend with all our friends… but it's also the first New Years we get to spend together since we met."
Hiro laughed shakily.
"And I'm sorry if it's a bit selfish, but I wanted for this to just be between us… and only us."
The bell rang.
"So here's to a New Year. And many more together."
Without another sound, Zero Two lunged forward into Hiro's embrace. Her hands cupped his jaw as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Their lips met in tandem.
In the distant, the bell rang its final time, harkening the New Year, and fireworks shot up into the air with deafening booms. The night sky was illuminated with explosions of color and light.
But to the couple in the clearing, the only thing they noticed was each other.
The taste of each other's lips.
The whispered words of love.
And the memory of promises made years ago honored to this day, as well as the knowledge of newer promises they were determined to keep.