Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (花祭)

By Hal

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere.

Sumomo89: Oh, thanks dearie for liking my story! -:huggles:- sorry to keep you waiting I don't know Spanish but thank god you know English! Must be tough on you reading English but still, I hope you enjoy this.

Blue-eyed Fox: Arigatou, here's the next chapter!

Harry Draco Malfoy: Oh, I used to love Draco/Harry! Oops, out of topic. Haha. Anyway, I can't explain this ficcie yet because it's quite a big thing that I am planning. But I assure you it will be interesting and not stupid or anything (I HOPE!). Yar, there's the Prince thingie that is bugging everyone…this is in MODERN setting, so why is there Prince? Well, let's just say they are special "people".

Sillyme: GOMEN FOR KEEPING YOU WAIT! -:gives you cookies:-

Amanda: -:gets killed by Amanda:- Really really sorry! I hope you are still reading. If not, I will be sad. T.T

Sou: -:gives cookies:- -:runs away before getting killed again:-

Aiken: thank you -:curtsy:- sorry for slow update… need time to think of something to write… -:gets dragged away to be punished:-

Mariesolsd: T.T sorry!! I write this chapter a little longer to compensate. I am forgiven, ne? Please say yes.

Momiji: HAI!! HERE -:Hal's kicked for slow update:-

A/N: Once again, I am sorry for slow update. Please do not shoot me! I didn't know University will take up so much of my time. I was going mad with my timetable and we had to bid for our modules. It was like a battle and we had to monitor other people's bidding so that we can respond and change our biddings so that we can get the module. It felt like monitoring the stock market. Ok, sorry, this is so irrelevant. I should stop ranting. Haha. On with the story!


Chapter 6: Hanabi(1)

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Lalalala lalala, lalalalalala!" A tall boy with flaming crimson hair was singing happily as he hang the blue, yellow, silver and red balls all over the two-metre tall Christmas tree in front of him. This would be his first time celebrating the famous western festival properly.

When he was a child, Christmas was not celebrated as his family was not well-off. With the death of his parents, he chose to forget about festivals. Though he always had his best friend, Mito Youhei, by his side on those days that made him felt more alone than usual, it had never been a proper celebration like now. He still remembered the snow globe with a Santa Claus and his sledge that he saw in a shop when he was five. He had secretly wished to own it, and hoped that Santa would materialize out of the snow globe and make his wishes come true.

"Urusai(2)!" Rukawa, who was helping with the decoration, chided. Hanamichi spun around and threw a decorative ball at Rukawa. It bounced off his head and the ice prince narrowed his eyes before grabbing another ball from the box and hurled it back at Hanamichi.

"Baka kitsune! How dare you despise the Tensai's singing?"

"It's noise pollution," Rukawa shrugged his shoulders.

"Teme! You are looking for a fight!" The red head threw himself at the other tall boy and soon, the infamous kitsune-saru(3) fight started again. The usual intervention from Sendoh did not come this time. He had gone out to get the turkey which Hanamichi had asked for, with those big innocent eyes shining with hope.

The fight continued for a while, until both boys laid fully stretched out on the living room floor, panting. A few bruises could be seen on their arms, everything else was fine though. From the initial vicious battles, their fights had now gradually evolved into more of a way of communication. Like puppies playing with each other. It just felt natural for the two to "fight" things out but deep in their heart, neither really wanted to hurt the other. Well, not too much at least.

"Ne, kitsune," Hanamichi turned his head to look at the other boy. "You do know that presents will be exchanged tonight when the clock strikes twelve, right?"

Even though they had only been living together for a couple of weeks, Hanamichi had decided that Rukawa was not such a bad person after all. His mouth might be foul and his look all icy and irritably arrogant, Hanamichi could not help but felt some the warmth from the ice prince. It was like he could sense and even see the flame burning deep within the icy exterior. It was all unexplainable – it was just a feeling after all. But Hanamichi, as the ultimate innocent baby, always followed his feelings when he made decisions.

"Hn," Rukawa closed his eyes as his breathing slowed down. He was not bothered with the nickname because it felt like it was a special name just for him, like he had reserved the word "do'ahou" for the other. He was another person who went about things as he liked as well.

"Ne, kitsune," The red head on the right started again, but did not continue.

"What?" Finding the silence a little strange, the "kitsune" turned right and looked straight at the innocent face of Hanamichi.

"I'm thinking, what should I give you for Christmas?"

"…"

"Hey, say something. What is with that look? So what if I haven't buy them yet?" Hanamichi blushed hard as Rukawa continued to look at him quietly. "Well, Akira doesn't let me go out alone but I don't want to buy presents for you and him with either of you tagging along. I want it to be a surprise! I… I…" His words were lost as he could not continue without any response from the other boy. So he averted his eyes to look at the Christmas tree.

"You."

"What?" Hanamichi did not understand. Before Rukawa can reply, Sendoh's voice floated from above them.

"What are you two doing on the floor?" Sendoh asked smilingly, but his eyes were narrowed on Rukawa after seeing the disheveled clothes on them.

"Akira! You are back!" the red head regained his energy and bounced up from the floor to pounce on the bag in Sendoh's hand.

"The turkey is heavy, be careful," Sendoh said lovingly as Hanamichi took the turkey from his hand eagerly. "What you two doing on the floor?"

"Oh that," Hanamichi blushed again without realizing. "Nothing much."

Sendoh narrowed his eyes at the pinkness rising up on the younger boy's cheeks.

"We were just taking a break, nothing happened," Rukawa shrugged and walked past Sendoh towards the door. "I'm going out for a while."

The older boy looked at the closed door for a while before setting off to prepare for the much anticipated Christmas dinner. He and Hanamichi were bustling around in the kitchen for a couple of hours preparing food, enough to feed more than six people (Hanamichi insisted it), before they went to prepare their Christmas presents individually. Hanamichi wanted to invite Youhei over for dinner but Sendoh said it was still not advisable for Youhei to appear anywhere near the house. But he let Hanamichi call Youhei for a while because he could not stand the sad look on the younger boy.

Rukawa came back just a little before dinner and placed two small wrapped up boxes beneath the Christmas tree with the other presents. The three sat down at the dining table filled with festive food. The roasted turkey, grilled sausages, baked pies, crispy potatoes and sweet log cake filled the dining table. Hanamichi was talking happily throughout the whole dinner and Sendoh joined in the chatter while Rukawa remained as his stoic self.

It was a couple of minutes to the actual Christmas Day and the three boys sat on couches around the Christmas tree. The tree was twinkling with light and the star on the tip was shining gaily. Hanamichi was curling up with a blanket and sipping hot chocolate from the cup he was holding with both hands. Sendoh was reading a book and Rukawa was sleeping (as always). It was a peaceful and quiet night. Hanamichi smiled slightly to himself as he watched the warm glow from the fireplace danced across the faces of the other two companions. The weather had made a turn to be colder as the hours ticked by but he felt warm and happy. It was a wonderful Christmas, it could have been better if Youhei could be here but this day was the best, there was no doubt about it.

Hanamichi threw off his blanket and woke Rukawa immediately when the old grandfather clock chimed twelve in the night. Christmas was here.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS AKIRA AND KITSUNE!" Hanamichi beamed. Sendoh smiled back and hugged him while wishing him Merry Christmas.

Rukawa stood there with an indifferent look as Sendoh and Hanamichi exchanged presents. He himself had thrown Sendoh his present and received his from Sendoh before he pushed the present he had prepared for Hanamichi into the red head's hands. The smile on Hanamichi's face was burning his eyes so he looked away as Hanamichi passed him his.

"Can I open my presents now? Can I, can I?" Hanamichi asked, like a child. Both Sendoh and Rukawa nodded. Soon, the room was filled with the tearing sounds of paper wrappers; all three boys were fully immersed in the festive atmosphere of Christmas.

Sendoh had given Hanamichi a red scarf, which he helped to wrap around Hanamichi's neck, to match his hair and gave Rukawa a pair of headphones. Hanamichi, been unable to go out to buy presents, had made his own Christmas cards and photo frames to give each of the other two boys. He had even inserted photographs of the three of them together. The only difference was that Sendoh's frame was blue based and Rukawa's was black. Sendoh had gotten a tub of Gatsby's Moving Rubber (extra strong holding) from Rukawa and he chuckled loudly and thanked Rukawa good naturedly when he saw the purple tub. On the other hand, Hanamichi was surprised when he opened Rukawa's present.

"How did you…" Hanamichi gaped at the snow globe in his hand. It looked exactly like the one he had dreamt of getting when he was young.

Rukawa just shrugged and went upstairs to his room. Hanamichi stared at the retreating back and Sendoh raised an eyebrow before telling the younger boy to go to bed early. Nodding absentmindedly, Hanamichi grabbed the snow globe tightly.

Maybe it was just a coincidence; he could not have read my mind.


Christmas was over. The year's footsteps quickened and it was soon New Year's eve. They did not have as much activities as Christmas for one reason: Hanamichi had been drifting into sleeps more often. He could not explain why he felt so tired day after day even after he had slept for long periods and did nothing much. While Sendoh worried about this abnormal symptom, Rukawa was getting a little suspicious but his confused feelings towards Hanamichi was interfering his judgment.

New Year was approaching with every ticking of the clock. Hanamichi had retired to his room after dinner to sleep straight away. Sendoh was locking himself in his room to contact Youhei regarding Hanamichi's "sleep disease". He had set up an invisible wall of aura just in case Rukawa popped by.

The curtains flapped in the chilly night wind and the pale moonlight once again fell on the sleeping form. His red hair was soft, his nose cute and his lips kissable. A sigh came from the dark body kneeling beside the bed.

"Mmm… Kitsune?" Hanamichi mumbled in his bed as his eyes opened slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hn," Rukawa, startled by the sudden voice, pretended to be calm.

"It's…eleven fifty pm, are you losing sleep?" the boy in bed looked at his alarm clock and asked.

"Maybe."

"What's it, Kitsune?" Hanamichi been too tired to start his usual bickering with the darker boy, decided to be nice. But the other just shrugged. He sat up on his bed and sighed. "Are you sick?"

"No…" the blue-eyed fox replied. "Well, maybe."

"So are you sick or are you not?" Hanamichi was getting irritated.

"It's my birthday tomorrow," Rukawa suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"First of January is my birthday."

"Oh…oh! Really? Oh my god, you didn't tell me!" Hanamichi jumped up from his bed. "Let me go tell Akira and we will get you something!"

"No," Rukawa stopped the excited Hanamichi. "I…I just want to talk to you."

"Is something wrong?" Hanamichi sat back in his bed again.

Something is very wrong with me… Rukawa thought as he looked at the honey-brown eyes of the big kid in front of him.

"AH!" The boy in the bed suddenly exclaimed. Rukawa frowned slightly at the abrupt noise.

"Come on, come on. Let's go to the roof! Quick!" Hanamichi grabbed Rukawa's arm and dashed out of his room.

They took a ladder and climbed up to the roof. The cold wind of the winter night was making them shiver slightly. Their noses were red and white clouds puffed from their mouths as they breathed. Sitting on the roof, they faced the dark horizon.

In the silent and stagnant night sky, colourful bursts of flowers appeared along with soft bangs. It was the New Year hanabi. The hanabi lit up the dark night with soft colourful glows. They were breathtaking and beautiful against the black canvas.

"Happy birthday, Kitsune!" Hanamichi smiled at the stoic boy beside him. Light bounced off the dark hair boy's face, illuminating him with red, purple, orange, green and other colours.

Rukawa turned to look at the beaming red head. Their eyes met and they held the gaze for a while. Rukawa leaned slightly forward awkwardly and Hanamichi nervously closed his eyes. Their lips grazed, sending a jolt of electricity down both of their spines. The dark hair boy put his hand on the back of the red hair boy's head and gently pulled him closer, pressing their lips harder together. Both were new to kissing so they just maintained the position for some time before Hanamichi pushed Rukawa away, gasping for air. He had forgotten to breathe. Rukawa seemed to have made the same silly mistake as white puffs were exhaled out rapidly from his mouth. The two boys' cheeks were equally red.

Hanamichi avoided eye contacts with Rukawa. His heart was still pounding and he could almost hear his blood rushing to his ears.

What was that? He thought. Kiss…We kissed…

The silence between the two was deafening and the hanabi had stopped just after they had kissed. The red head shifted uncomfortably on the roof but he forgot that the snow had made the tiles slippery. So down he slipped from the roof with a loud yup like a puppy with its tail stepped on. Rukawa, lost in his thoughts, responded a little too late. As he lunged towards the falling boy, trying to grab his hands, he too slipped off.

"'Ahou!" the nickname slipped from Rukawa's mouth, loudly. He had never shouted so loud before.

"Orf!" Hanamichi landed on his butt in the ankle-deep snow. Within a split moment, Rukawa fell beside him. The latter turned to see Hanamichi lying in the snow with eyes closed. His heart skipped a beat.

"'Ahou?" A quivering call.

"Hmm?" Hanamichi breathed out loudly and opened his eyes. "Man, that hurts. I think my butt just cracked. Haha."

Rukawa let out a sigh in relief. He was alright.

"HANA!" Sendoh's voice came closer with each step. "What are you doing on the ground? What happened? I heard a shout and loud thumps. I thought it was some stupid burglars or something."

"Haha, it's nothing. We just fell off the roof, that's all," Hanamichi smiled sheepishly as Rukawa and him stood up from the ground.

"What are you doing up on the roof?"

"Er…"

"Hanabi," Rukawa cut in.

"Yes, we were watching the New Year's hanabi. They are so beautiful! You should have seen it! Achoo!" Hanamichi sneezed loudly. He was only wearing his sleeping attire after all.

Frowning, Sendoh ushered the sneezing teen into the house. "Come on, you better get into the house to get warm. You are catching a cold! You said you won't hurt yourself again, you remember?"

"Sorry, Akira…" Hanamichi stole a glance at the stoic fox and let Sendoh lead him away. Sendoh sighed as he gave in to Hanamichi's adorable face (with a red nose). This red head was definitely making him weak at heart.

What an adventurous night it was for Hanamichi and Rukawa.


(1) Hanabi: Fireworks

(2)Urusai: Shut up, keep quiet, noisy!

(3) Kitsune-saru: fox-monkey a.k.a. Rukawa-Hanamichi. XD


A/N: Yay, done with another chapter! -:throws confetti:- -:coughs:- ok, shoot me. I deserve it. SORRY TO MAKE YOU PEOPLE WAIT. -:bows down:- A little step (kiss?) ahead for Rukawa, ne? Haha. Ganbatte Sendoh!!

Sendoh: …I AM trying my best…it's YOU who are in the way!!

Author: -:whistles:- What? I didn't hear anything. -:walks away quickly:-

Sendoh: Stupid author. I'm gonna kill her one day. GIVE HANA TO ME OR I WILL BITE YOU!! -:shouts after Author:-

Rukawa: -:smirks:-

Hana: Oi, I AM NOT A THING!

Author: -:already hiding in a hole far far away, shouts back:- I LOVE YOU MORE THAN RUKAWA, SENDOH! (-:adds softly:- but Hana's Rukawa's…)

Sendoh: I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE! I WANT HANA'S!

T.B.C.