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Day 12: Happy New Year!
The eight boys of RimFire stood on their rooftop awaiting the first sunrise of the New Year. They waited with bated breaths as the sun slowly peeped from over the hills and when fully emerged, they broke out in cheers. Tanaka filmed it all, never missing a dull moment of his boys. The eight were dressed in their jerseys; Tanaka himself wore a RimFire jersey shirt as well, with number one but had "Coach" hovering above the number. He wasn't their coach since he barely knew anything about the sport, but that showed him how much his boys cared and respected him.
Last year had been a very hectic one, as not only did they have Inter-High and Winter Cup to deal with, but the numerous streetball competitions that they entered. It was a wonderful experience, as when they had just started out; it was just the five of them, Tatsuya was still in America at the time.
They took the courts by storm, conquering all those that stood before them. But throughout all this, they've forged new friendships with teams like Blue Danger and Skyscraper, somehow becoming momentary teachers to numerous teams who wanted their advices.
It was almost as though they became celebrities, as everyone in the Japanese basketball world knew of RimFire. And thanks to them, streetball has been steadily rising in the country, but the competitions in the Tokyo and Kanagawa areas are the most supportive since those are the ones RimFire attends due to proximity to their house. The spectator and participants turn-out is always high, so much so that the organizers have to turn away spectators because the venue was full and participants because streetball is only a one-day thing. If they had allowed all the teams who wanted to participate to do so, then they'll be having matches for three days or more.
"To the New Year!" Shouichi shouted with a smile on his face. He threw up a basketball in the air, with the other boys shouting and hooting.
"Let's continue to take the courts by storm!" Yukio added, catching the ball and throwing it up the air once again.
"Let's be the best streetball team in the country!" Shuuzou said, doing likewise Yukio.
"Let's do our homework on time!" Kazunari added.
"Let's learn how to bake cookies properly!" Tetsuya chuckled.
"Let's set up Yukio on a girl and hope he gets married! I want to be best man!" Kotarou said with a wide grin, the Blue Elite nearly kicking him into oblivion.
"Let's set up Tanaka-san on a fine woman so that we can have little nieces and nephews to spoil!" Shige added.
"O-oi…" The landlord stuttered out.
"Let's keep our bond forever! Let nothing drive us apart!" Tatsuya shouted. "Let's grow old together!"
"RimFire!" the eight boys shouted in unison, holding the basketball and throwing it up in the air together one last time. When it finally fell, they huddled up together with Tanaka for a picture.
The man settled his phone on the tripod and set the timer so that everyone could get into positions quickly. Doing that, Tetsuya was in the middle because he was the shortest ―on his right was Yukio with Tatsuya behind the Blue Elite. Shige was directly behind Tetsuya in the centre, with Shuuzou beside him. On Tetsuya's left was Kotarou with Kazunari and Shouichi behind him like the others. Tanaka stood beside Kazunari at the end.
Done with that picture, in the next, the eight mobbed Tanaka, dragging him in the centre of them. And this time, they twisted their faces like gangsters while Tanaka still looked a bit shocked.
But, he never minded.
He loved his boys and their crazy antics and would do nothing to change that. Even though they can be a handful, he wouldn't want them any different.
Thank you for reading~! And Happy New Year to you all~!