Title: New Start
Summary: A new year means new beginnings and new relationships right? While that's good and all, I can't help but wonder… who exactly is that fellow who has been following us around ever since we got to the festival today? And why has he been following us?
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. The anime and its canon characters belong to their rightful owners.
"This festival is just like last year's isn't it?" Ryoma questioned his two boyfriends as they walked around the festival grounds for New Year's Eve.
"It sure is," Fuji said, a smile on his face. "Just without all of the danger of Halloween of course," he added, a sad smile on his face which was mimicked by the most stoic of the group of three.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it wasn't your fault?" Ryoma asked, sighing at the two's behavior. "That was months ago. No need to still be so upset about it," he added, trying to reassure his two boyfriends.
"We just worry about you," Tezuka said, wrapping an arm around both Ryoma's and Fuji's shoulder before tugging them close. "We wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here with us," he added, gently kissing Ryoma's forehead.
"You are so cheesy Mitsu," Ryoma teased, kissing his stoic boyfriend back on the lips before pecking Fuji's lips. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon you know."
"We know," Fuji answered, smiling at the youngest of the group. "Come on. Let's win some prizes," he said, gently wrapping the two's wrists and starting to drag them along.
"Slow down," Tezuka scolded lightly, a small smile on his face as his more mischievous lover.
Ryoma just rolled his eyes at Fuji's behavior before going along with it. It was either they followed Fuji, or they get dragged through the entire thing. Following along was a lot less painful considering how strong Fuji was due to playing tennis for so many years.
"Do you think that Hanako is helping with the festival this time around?" Tezuka questioned, looking at his two boyfriends.
"She might be to be honest," Ryoma answered, nodding just slightly. "She's been helping with past festivals as well. Ever since two years ago."
"Just about two years yes," Tezuka added, nodding his head at the statement. "We first met her at the fourth of July festival just about two years ago. Then we just kept meeting her every festival after that."
"Maybe she had moved here just that year and began to help her family with the festivals," Ryoma suggested, shrugging his shoulders just slightly.
"That's right Ryoma-kun," a female said, rushing past the group of three and handing out small firecrackers to everyone at the festival before making her way back to them. "I had moved to Tokyo the month right before the fourth of July festival that year. Now I help my family out whenever I can. Oh yeah! Here's a firecracker you three!"
"Thanks," Fuji said, taking the three offered firecrackers and pocketing them for later.
"Oh! I never got to ask you this last year," Hanako said before turning her head and handing out more firecrackers to passing people. "Are you three going to kiss each other at midnight? I didn't see you do that last year."
"Kiss at midnight?" Fuji questioned, looking at Hanako with a strange look.
"Oh that old tradition," Ryoma said, palming his forehead and shaking his head slightly. "I usually don't follow that tradition."
"What tradition?" Tezuka was genuinely confused at the moment. He had never heard of a tradition where people would kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve.
"It's an American tradition I picked up when I was visiting family there a couple of years ago," Hanako answered, smiling at the group of three before turning around again and handing out more firecrackers. "Oops. I gotta run now. I ran out of firecrackers to hand out. I'm sure I'll see you all later though. Ryoma-kun, you explain the New Year's Eve American tradition to the two will you?" With that said, the girl ran off immediately with a wave of her hand over her shoulder.
"She didn't even give me a chance to answer," Ryoma commented, scoffing at the girl's behavior with a small smirk on his face.
"So what is this little tradition hmm?" Fuji asked, giving Ryoma a sly smile.
Ryoma chuckled just slightly before starting to explain. "The American tradition on New Year's Eve is to kiss someone at midnight. The tradition states that the two who kiss will be happy together for the rest of that year. At least… that's what I've heard back in school when I was still in America."
"That's an interesting tradition. Why haven't you told us that before?"
"I didn't really think it was that important," Ryoma said, already walking away toward another booth in the area. "I mean. We've never done that silly tradition, yet we're happy aren't we?" he asked, smirking at the two over his shoulder.
Fuji and Tezuka looked at each other with smiles on their faces.
"That's true Ryoma," Tezuka answered the other, walking up to place a gentle kiss on the younger's temple. "We are happy together."
"Good because I don't want to rely on a simple kiss to be happy with the people I love," he remarked, smirking at the two of them again and making the two other chuckle at his own behavior.
"Come on. Let's go for a few booths," Fuji suggested, already looking toward another booth.
"Alright then," the other two agreed, walking alongside Fuji with small smiles on their faces.
It would be a good change of pace to just walk around the area instead of rushing through the festival like they had the year before. But then again, they had brought the entire Seigaku team with them that time around. This time, it was just going to be Fuji, Tezuka, and Ryoma.
The others were spending time with their families in other areas, or they decided to go shopping. Some of them had to clean their homes for the New Year however, so that was also an excuse.
Ryoma looked up as he held a plushie that Fuji had just won for him at one of the booths at the festival. Looking around, he stopped when he noticed someone watching the group of three from afar.
Blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing anything, Ryoma took in the other's look. The other man was clearly staring at the three of them, but he didn't wear anything that seemed familiar, and the shadow of a lamppost hid his features except for the black eyes staring at them.
"That's strange," he whispered to himself, turning around but making a note to himself to keep an eye on this guy for the rest of the festival. He had been noticing that someone had been watching the group ever since they arrived at the festival, but he didn't have any proof about it. Because of that, he didn't mention it to the other two so that he would be able to avoid worrying them.
"What's strange Ryo-chan?" Fuji questioned, walking up to Ryoma and gently grabbing Ryoma's hand into his own as they began to walk to get some food from nearby.
"Nothing is wrong at all," Ryoma said, shaking his head slightly. He glanced over his shoulder discreetly and saw that the other person was still watching them but was turned away just slightly to avoid being obvious.
"Are you sure that nothing is the matter?" Tezuka asked, concerned for his younger boyfriend.
"I'm just fine you two," Ryoma reassured them with a small smile. "No need to worry about me."
"Alright," Fuji shrugged, grabbing Tezuka's hand as well and walking toward the nearest food booth.
"Hey again you three!" a female yelled, rushing past them as they reached the food booths, still handing out firecrackers.
"Hello there Hanako," Tezuka greeted the girl as the other two nodded in greeting. "Do you happen to have any suggestions for something to eat?"
"As a matter of fact – oh, the fish booths are down this path and then turn a left at the piñata booths – I do have a suggestion," Hanako answered them, pausing in her sentence to answer another person's question at the same time.
Smiling at them, Hanako turned her head left and right as she took a look at the booths. "Umm… there are some popcorn stands over there along with some grilled fish over there. Even some takoyaki and teriyaki booths over there as well," she said, pointing each of the booths out when she said them aloud.
"Thanks," Fuji said, already taking Tezuka toward the booth.
"I'm going to talk with Hanako for a bit," Ryoma said, earning two nods in return.
"Is something the matter Ryoma-kun?" Before Ryoma could answer, Hanako gave him an apologetic smile before turning to someone else and answering their question real quick. After finishing with that person, Hanako turned back around for Ryoma to answer her.
"Umm… I'm not really sure if I'm just seeing things here," Ryoma started off, tapping his chin in thought.
"Yeah?" Hanako asked, twirling her arms around to see if Ryoma would explain further.
"Well… I've had this feeling that someone has been following Syuu, Mitsu, and I around for the entire festival ever since we've arrived," Ryoma explained, looking down at the ground.
"Really? And you are sure that someone has been following you?" Hanako asked, narrowing her eyes in concern.
"Well earlier, Syuu won a plushie," Ryoma paused to hold up the cat plushie that Fuji had won for him, "and I looked up to see someone staring at us. And I do mean us. He may have had his body turned elsewhere, but I could definitely feel his eyes on us."
"You mean like how that guy near the booth five down the path to the left of us is staring at you?" Hanako said, gesturing her head just slightly in the direction she mentioned.
When Ryoma glanced out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but blink in surprise when he saw the same male he saw earlier before just an hour ago.
"That's the one," Ryoma answered her, being quiet to avoid alerting Fuji and Tezuka who were just coming back with food.
"Alright. Just keep calm and make sure nothing happens okay," Hanako advised, winking at Ryoma to avoid Fuji and Tezuka knowing the situation.
"What were you two talking about?" Fuji questioned with a small laugh as he kissed Ryoma on the forehead and handed him some grilled fish to eat.
"Thanks," Ryoma answered, taking the food with a grateful nod.
Hanako saw the quick glance that Ryoma threw her and answered for the boy. "We were talking about what types of booths he should avoid today."
"And what would those be?" Tezuka questioned, a bit worried about it. After what happened at the Halloween festival, Tezuka couldn't help but feel a bit cautious about the booths they passed by now.
"Definitely the fireworks booth because sometimes the owner keeps a lighter on," Hanako advised them with a shy smile. "I have to go back and remind her every half hour to turn the lighter off before she sets her entire booth on fire."
"Anything else?"
"The ice cream booth. She keeps the freezer open way too long, and it tends to frost the ground around the booth. Keep away from that if you don't want to slip and slide," Hanako said with a small giggle. "I've slipped on that several times already actually," she admitted with a chuckle. "I have to go back every hour and makes sure she closes it. Then I have to help her defrost the ground."
"That's tough work," Fuji told the girl with a smile.
Hanako nodded before she excused herself to check up on the rest of the booths.
"Enjoy the rest of the festival!" Hanako called out as she left.
"She's still as perky as ever hmm?" Fuji asked, chuckling as they all waved back at the girl.
"She sure is. But I guess that's why her family keeps asking her to help out at the festival," Tezuka reasoned. "Even if she wasn't their family, I believe that the head of these festivals would most likely still hire her."
"Do you think she still does her painting?" Ryoma questioned, remembering how not once had they seen the girl paint portraits at festivals ever since the first time they met. There was the time where Tezuka and himself had asked Hanako to paint the team portraits the year they met her, but that was it. They had never seen her paint another thing again.
"I believe she still does," Fuji reassured her with a smile as he looked around.
"What's makes you say that?"
"Take a look at each of the booths. What do you see?"
Ryoma took a look before giving a small smile. "Each of them have her signature touch… the curlicue bird."
"Precisely. Now then, let's go and have some fun," Fuji said, smiling at his two boyfriends as they rushed off to other booths.
"What do you want to do first hmm?"
"Let's just go and do whatever we want. It's the start of a new year tomorrow after all," Fuji exclaimed with a laugh.
"Alright, but I definitely want to go onto the Ferris Wheel at midnight."
"Alright Ryo-chan. We will," Fuji and Tezuka both agreed with a smile on their faces.
"Hey!" a random male called out from far behind them. "Watch out! The horses got loose and are running around everywhere!"
"What?" the three exclaimed with wide eyes before turning their heads as they heard the signs of stomping feet.
"Run!" Ryoma called out, seeing the horses running right at them.
Fuji and Tezuka didn't need any words as the three just started to run, hoping to outrun the horses along with everyone else at the festival.
Ryoma looked behind him to see how close the horses were getting before tripping over a toy that a child had left behind. "Ah!" he yelped as he fell to the ground. "Mitsu! Syuu!"
They both turned at the sounds of their names and yelled in surprise. "Ryo-chan! Hang on!"
Ryoma looked behind him to see that the horses were just a few feet away. Tezuka and Fuji were never going to make it in time even with their tennis training as they were several yards away from him. "Oh dear Kami…" he whispered, praying that someone would save him from being trampled.
His wish was granted.
Right as the horses were about to trample over his body, someone rushed over and grabbed his body from the ground with enough speed to move over to the side of the path, in between two booths.
"Ryo-chan!" Ryoma heard his two boyfriends call as he was dragged to safety.
Ryoma sighed in relief as the horses rushed past and looked up to his savior with wide eyes. He stared for a few seconds before blinking in confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked, blinking at the male. "And why have you been watching us S-"
The other gave him a stern look as he placed a finger against Ryoma's lips, signaling him to be quiet.
"Here," the other said, handing him a brightly wrapped present. "Contact me later," he said, before standing up and walking away as he stuck to the shadows to remain hidden from other eyes.
Ryoma only blinked in confusion before looking down at the gift presented to him and pocketing it to look at it later.
"Ryo-chan!" he heard from behind him, causing him to stand up and smile at his two boyfriends as he launched himself into their arms.
"I was so worried about you," Fuji exclaimed, nuzzling the younger's neck. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?"
Ryoma shook his head as his answer and said, "No. Another person was able to save me right before they could hurt me."
"Where is this person? I would like to thank him personally," Tezuka said, turning his head to look around.
"He's already gone," Ryoma said, glancing over his shoulder in the direction the man had left.
"Well that's too bad," Fuji said, a pout on his face before shaking his head. "Well… let's not just stand around here hmm? It's a festival after all. Let's have fun," he said, a smile replacing the pout on his face as he gently grabbed his two boyfriends' hands and started walking with them.
"Try to be more careful and don't let your guard down next time around," Tezuka whispered into Ryoma's ear, kissing the top of the younger's head gently.
Ryoma nodded in response before they were both dragged by Fuji to the closest game booth. 'I wonder why he would be watching us of all people…' he couldn't help but think to himself as they played the booths and enjoyed the food there.
"How about that one?" Fuji asked just an hour later, pointing at the mirror house in the festival.
"How did they manage to get that?" Ryoma asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… it is Hanako's family," Fuji reasoned with a sheepish smile on his face. "You know how she gets with festivals. She loves to go all out if she can."
"True," Ryoma agreed with a small nod of his head. "Let's go then."
The three walked inside, after being given some plastic gloves to wear, only to be automatically confused as reflections of themselves kept appearing everywhere around them.
"Yup… Hanako definitely had a say in this," Ryoma joked, knowing that only Hanako would want to make someone as confused as this.
"How are we supposed to get out again?" Fuji chuckled as the three began to walk around, occasionally splitting up and then meeting again in another path in the mirror house (not that they knew).
"Where are you two anyway?" Ryoma asked, staring around with a critical eye. "There are too many mirrors in here that I can't even tell how we came back in," he said, holding his hand in front of him just slightly to make sure not to crash right into a mirror.
"Oof!" Ryoma yelped as he crashed into someone, tossing them both to the ground. "Well… that's one way to find you."
"Very funny Ryoma," Tezuka teased with a small smile on his face as he held Ryoma close before standing up from the ground. "Let's go find Fuji before we all lose each other."
"A little too late for that!" they heard Fuji call out from the other side of the room.
"How did you manage to make it all the way over there?" Ryoma called out, already taking Tezuka's hand and walking toward where he heard Fuji's voice.
"I don't know. I just started walking, and I ended up all the way over here."
"Just keep talking, and we'll find you," Ryoma reassured him, using his sense of hearing to try and find where Fuji was.
"Alright, but I don't know how long to talk," Fuji said before rambling on about different topics in order to give Ryoma some time to find him.
They found each other alright. After bumping into each other and sending the group to the ground on top of each other.
"Again?" Ryoma chuckled, nuzzling his two boyfriend's necks before leaning up and kissing the two of them on the lips before standing up and helping his boyfriends up as well.
"Apparently," Tezuka said, pecking Fuji on the lips before kissing the top of Ryoma's head as Fuji did the same.
"Let's get to the Ferris Wheel before something else goes wrong," Ryoma said.
After finding their way out (after a good half hour), they made their way to the large attraction on the edge of the park.
The three went onto one of the carriages in the Ferris Wheel and just stared out the window as they ascended into the sky. It turned out they were just in time in order to make it to the top as soon as the New Year's countdown was going on.
"Are we going to countdown too?" Ryoma questioned the two, glancing at them from over his shoulder only to earn shrugs in response.
"Sounds fun," Fuji said, looking toward Tezuka with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Tezuka understood exactly what Fuji was trying to do before nodding to Ryoma's question.
"Alright then," Ryoma said, shrugging his shoulders and turning back out the window.
"Ten," Ryoma started as they heard the number being heard all around the park.
"Nine," Fuji continued before being followed by Tezuka.
"Eight."
They continued until Ryoma finally said, "One."
"Happy New Year," Tezuka and Fuji said before gently tugging at Ryoma's chin and kissing him soundly on the lips one after the other just as the fireworks went off.
Ryoma blinked in surprise before smiling at his two boyfriends and sitting in their laps. "It looks like we followed that tradition after all," he said before kissing them back.