MadokaKotone: Okay! On with the totally-out-of-place story of mine! I'm still laughing at the sneezing… I wonder if that actually works in real life (if you talk about somebody, they sneeze)… Hmmm… (Sora thinking pose. lol) Well, that's superstition…
Kotone: Umm…D-
Madoka: Then move so you don't get squashed like that other time.
Kotone: (Moves out of the way)
DISCLAIMER: (Sniff) Mada Mada Da Ne… (Yells) MADA MADA DA NE!
(Grabs racquet and runs off)
After An Eternity
Snow caked in fluffy, white layers on everyone's windows, invading and spreading throughout all the nooks and crannies. If you swabbed the frostbitten glass and peered outside into the street; you would see snow-capped Christmas lights illuminating in their own shade, staining the streets with a plethora of colors ranging from rosy red to cobalt blue. Trees lining the rainbow roads had a white lining of their own.
A fair-haired teen was looking into this very scene from his bedroom window, and decided to keep the beautiful memory with him; so he swung open the window, and snapped a picture with his camera.
The person smiled to himself and seemed to whisper to the chilly, winter wind, "Merry Christmas,"
Someone called him from a distance, "Breakfast, Fuji!"
The male teen carefully clicked the window back into place, got in his best clothes, and rushed to his bedroom door-OOF! He tripped.
If you were to experience seeing this silly fall; you would've seen brown locks of hair sail through the air, limbs (slightly) flailing, and everything ending with a big thump on the floor.
The distant voice called again, "What was that?"
The fallen tensai muffly called from the floor, his cranium bobbing up on his chin with every syllable, "Betsuni! …Itai,"
Fuji rubbed his neck and sat up, shook his head, and laughed, "I saw it, too," he brushed his chin and flinched, "That's going to leave a mark…"
He clutched a small box sitting next to him and brought it to his face, "And after all the trouble I went through to get you… Unlucky gift," He held it between his hip and arm and exited his room.
"Ohayou!"
-Sleigh bells ring-
After they all finished their breakfast and opened gifts, Fuji got up and headed for the door, "Ittekimasu! I'll be back later!"
"Ja Fu---"
Fuji shut the door lightly and strolled down the white sidewalk. He was humming a tune softly to himself when he heard a distant, "Fuji-sempai! Chotto Matte!" followed by a husky, "Fsshhhhhh,"
The Seigaku tensai turned around to be clomped by a Momoshiro Takeshi, who was hissed at by a Kaidoh Kaoru. Momo, who was towering over his elder, involuntarily scrubbed Fuji's head, "Merry Christmas, Fuji-sempai!!!"
Fuji chuckled, "Ohayou," He was slightly annoyed, but still held that sweet smile on his profile, "Echizen residence?"
The Seigaku powerhouse nodded, "Let's go-"
"-HOI HOI! Chotto matte, nya!" Suddenly an ecstatic redheaded teen and two other Seigaku regulars came bounding down the street, their shoes hurling chucks of early snow behind them.
"Slow down, Eiji!"
"OI!!! LET HIM GO!!! BURNINNNNGG!"
Oishi was trying to keep up with the acrobat and the human volcano dashing in front of him. He sighed while running to catch up, "It's no use."
When Oishi got there they all shared their 'Good Mornings' and 'Merry Christmas's and a booming, "MEEERRRRRRYYY CCCHHHRRIIIIISSSTTTMMMAAASSS BBBAAABBBYYY!!!"
Fuji looked over Taka's flaming shoulder, "Where's Inui and Tezuka-buchou?"
Everyone looked around as well, and Eiji then spoke up, "Oh! They said they would meet us at the house,"
They all nodded, and six former Seigaku regulars headed towards the Echizen residence.
-Snow glistening-
Sakuno lifted her eyelids and turned to her bedside clock. It read 9:30. The party was supposed to start at 10:00. Oops…The dazed girl then stumbled out of bed and crawled to her drawers. "Hmm… What to wear? Oh, yeah!" Out of the many stores her and Tomoka pit-stopped at yesterday, Tomoka got her a cute Christmas dress: it was a knee length, crimson dress, which folded at the bottom (like a school uniform skirt). The thing was, it had spaghetti straps, so she had to wear a white, faux fur coat over it.
Simple, but elegant.
Sakuno grabbed the dress off the chair she flung it on. She held it to her chest and sighed in relief, "Arigatou, Tomo-chan!"
"Sakuno! Are you ready?!"
"Ah, Coming!"
After a quick in-and-out of the shower, she then wrapped the towel around her slim figure and curled her hair. When she was done, it looked like swirling tresses of silky red chocolate. Then she got into the dress and put on a pair of dangling silver earrings.
Sakuno ran down the stairs while her grandmother stared at her, smiling, "You look…was is it you teenagers say now… hot?"
Sakuno made a surprised face, "Nani?!"
The old woman laughed softly, "Kidding, kidding…Woke up late, huh?"
Sakuno blushed, "H-hai,"
Sumire chuckled, "Just get your presents and let's go,"
Sakuno smiled back, "Hai!" She scampered down the hall and over into the living room, grabbed the bags, and scuttled back to the front door. She exhaled and plopped the gifts onto the floor.
"Do you have everyone's?" Sumire absent-mindedly said, while glazing over all the different designed bags and boxes. "Tezuka's? Fuji's, Oishi's, Momo's, Kaidoh's, Taka's, Inui's? Eiji's? You know he will be bothering you until you hand it to him."
Sakuno, overwhelmed with the sudden flow of questions, nodded over and over, "Hai…Hai hai hai hai hai…"
Then the old lady grabbed some bags and burst out the door, "Then let's go! Hurry up we're gonna be late!!! I still need to get a cake!"
Sakuno sweat-dropped and murmured to herself while picking up the gifts, "The outbursts always come around Christmas time…But-"
"-SAKUNO! Come on!" Sumire reappeared right beside her granddaughter and ushered her out the door.
"… this morning has the others beat by a long shot," Sakuno climbed into the car, arranging the gifts around so that she could sit comfortably. Sumire locked the house door and trotted toward the vehicle.
On the way to the bakery, Sakuno's brain clicked and halted. Her eyes widened. The auburn head shift the bags around and searched the attached tags, reading the inscription to see whom it was for. No Ryoma-kun in sight. Great, I must have left it at the house. Oh, well, I can always bring the gift tomorrow to Nanako-chan. She voiced out her train of thinking in a whisper, "It's not like Ryoma-kun's going to be there to receive it,"
Sumire glanced in the mirror while listening to her granddaughter's wandering thoughts. She smiled; she forgot to tell Sakuno that Ryoma was going to be there. She just kept silent.
-A beautiful sign-
Ryoma woke to the sound of American voices singing "Jingle Bells" right in his eardrum. His eyes fluttered open and his arm instinctively bashed his so-called-annoying alarm clock.
"Itai!"
Ryoma looked up to see his own father next to his bed caressing a big bump on his head. He was holding a radio, "Man, no wonder I have to keep buying you new ones," He then looked over at his son's trashcan. It looked like am alarm clock graveyard.
Ryoma's eyes widened, "O-O-Oyaji?"
Nanjirou glared at him, "Nani?" he snapped.
Ryoma changed expressions and glared right back at his father, "Betsuni,"
Nanjirou rolled his dark eyes, "Tch, whatever, just get dressed and get your butt downstairs. Everyone's on their way already."
Nanjirou left Ryoma alone so he could change.
"Oh, joy," The tennis prince pushed off the covers and walked to his drawers. He chose a simple setup; khaki pants and a white, thin red striped, long-sleeved over-shirt with a white undershirt.
Ryoma looked in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. He then rolled up his sleeves up to his elbow; left his shirts untucked, and didn't even bother with his hair.
Trudging down the stairs, with a little indigo blue box clutched in a hand that dug into his pocket, Ryoma walked into the kitchen to say Merry Christmas to the girls in the house. He strolled in, still half-asleep, and leaned sideways on the opening, "Merry Christ- Achoo!" He held his mouth and frowned. Geez…What is wrong with me?
Nanako ran up to him, "Daijoubo, Ryoma-san?"
Ryoma walked towards the sink, "Betsuni," He unleashed the tap water, "Merry Christmas,"
"Merry Christmas Ryoma-san!" Nanako cheerfully said as Ryoma was now ringing his hands in a paper towel.
"Merry Christmas Ryoma," Rinko Echizen turned away from icing her cake and smiled at her son. She then turned back to squirting sweet white streams of flavor on a dessert dish, "Did you get a gift for anyone?" She turned around to figure out she was talking to no one but thin air. She smiled and spoke to herself, "Must be a girl,"
Ryoma went into the living room and plopped on the couch, staring at all the reds, greens, and whites embedded in the Christmas décor around his house. Then his thoughts wandered to the box inside his pocket… and whom it was for.
He discreetly smiled and shook his head. She probably doesn't even know he's here, and he wanted to surprise her.
The doorbell rang, snapping Ryoma out of his previous thoughts, but he didn't budge because he saw his dad prancing to the door like a flower girl. Deciding on a warm drink, he got up off the couch.
Everybody came at once, minus the Ryuzaki's. When Nanjirou slid the door open he came face-to-face with eight former Seigaku players holding gifts. He grinned like a joker, "Merry Christmas!" He then gave them all a big bear hug (but when he came to face Tezuka, the last, he just rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly), "C-Come on in!"
Momo and Eiji were the first to scamper inside the enormous mansion, seeking for their little O'chibi. The others looked at each other, and discovered that they wanted to see their kouhai as much as Eiji and Momo did. Soon all of the ex-Seigaku regulars, even Tezuka (though maturely), darted around every corner, dashed down every hallway, and bounded room-to-room searching for Ryoma."O-CHIBI!" Their cries bounced from wall to wall and echoed into the kitchen.
Ryoma's ears perked up. They're here. He turned and made for the door.
"Merry Christmas…Echizen."
Ryoma froze mid-step; frown evident on his features. He slowly turned around. For a few moments, the atmosphere was still and unmoving. Suddenly an emotion inside Ryoma's heart burst its seams when he saw his ex-teammates standing before him, and a small tear escaped his eye. Ryoma smirked while wiping his face, "Merry Christmas,"
They all smiled warmly and went towards Ryoma in one big, red and white mass; giving him bear hugs and slapping his back.
Ryoma led them into the living room while being bombarded by questions concerning nothing but what his life was like in America; the people, the fans, and the games. He was suffocated by the enormous questionnaire. It hadn't even been five minutes when Momoshiro instinctively sniffed the air, "MMM…What does my young nose smell?"
Kaidoh huffed, "Your reeking body odor,"
"Don't get me started, mamushi," Momo retorted, nose still hanging.
"No one's going to start anything," Tezuka cut in.
Ryoma blinked, then collected himself, "My oka-san's making the dishes. Just go into the dining room. There's not much,"
All of them decided to go in the dining room, and faced a schmorgasbord of dishes, Western and Eastern. Inui was rambling to himself the different percents in which the foods were; like '15 percent sushi' or '40 percent greens'. Momo just licked his lips hungrily while Eiji leaned on Ryoma with those anime anxious eyes. Then Rinko walked in the room to place a glass cover over the cake she iced a few minutes ago.
Taka stared at the sushi laying by the deviled eggs and spoke to Rinko, "That's what I brought you yesterday, right Rinko-san?"
Inui muttered to himself, "One-hundred percent chance-"
"Hai, Taka-san. Arigatou. Dig in, minna!"
Momo and Eiji dove into the numerous delicacies before them, swiping one of every dish. The rest followed, but Ryoma went upstairs to take a breather. Right after he got into his room there was a soft knock at the door, which only Tezuka and Fuji heard. Tezuka nodded to Fuji.
He walked to the door and slowly opened it, revealing… an old hag.
"Hoi, Hoi, Fuji!!! Merry Christmas!!''
The tensai's mouth twitched at his former coach's outburst, still smiling sweetly, of course. He then opened the door all the way, "Merry Christmas Ryuzaki-sensei," Then he noticed the still shy Ryuzaki girl holding the gift-bags on her petite arms. He brightened, "Merry Christmas to you, too, Sakuno-chan," I wonder if she knows that Echizen is here.
She blushed from Fuji's sweetness, "M-merry Christmas, Fuji-sempai," She then shivered from the chilled breeze that waltzed in, and Fuji shut the door, hiding that sadistic, lunatic smile he's done so many times back in the good old days.
He needed to get Sakuno upstairs, "Sakuno-chan, I think you have something on your face,"
Her face flared, "N-Nani?"
"Hmm…" he pretended to scan her face, "It looks like a make-up stain. Go up the stairs and keep opening doors until you find the bathroom, I'm sure there's one up there,"
"Isn't there one down here-"
He opened his eyes to show their sizzling azure shade for a millisecond, "Momoshiro-kun used it," And then shut them up again.
Sakuno made an amused face as she raised an eyebrow, "Oh," She then told her overjoyed grandmother where she was going, then headed up the stairs.
There was a bunch of doors, but fate guided her hand to turn the knob of that bedroom.
When she opened the door, Echizen stood there, looking at her, "Oi, what are you doing in here… Hmmm,"
Sakuno's eyes widened, "G-Gomen nasai, Echizen-san!" She then slammed the door shut just as Nanjirou started to protest.
Abruptly someone emerged from his room and walked into the hallway, "Oi! Oyaji?!" Then he eyed the girl by his parent's room.
Sakuno froze in place. Wait… That isn't…She slowly turned around, but she only saw the hallway with a bunch of doors. Her heart sank as she slowly trudged down the hallway, "I thought I heard…-"
Sakuno then felt someone's warm hand grasp hers; and before she could look down at it, the person swiftly yanked her inside a doorway.
The girl yelped as she stumbled into the room. She ignored her surroundings because she wanted to find out who pulled her in there in the first place (and because she was too scared to think about scanning the room).
When she turned around, she got the biggest surprise of her entire life; her tennis prince, who has been gone for…
About an eternity,
staring down at her with those same feline eyes she melted in, "Ry…Ryoma-kun,"
Ryoma smirked in return, "Ryuzaki,"
To Be Continued…( A/N: ) WAH! Okay… I lied. But unintentionally! I'm working on the next chapter right now so it should be up here as soon as I'm done. Sorry, this will turn out three chapters.
Okay, the little –indents- have something to do with the story, so no, they are not random. Trust me, they tie into the next chapter, so if you didn't already get them, you will next chapter!
And also, I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I am currently moving, so I've been busy packing and stuff like that, so Gomen Nasai Minna! (Hint: That's why I gave you guys a (hopefully) long chapter.)
Okay, reviews would brighten up my day so much, but I'm not forcing anything!
Catch You Later!
R.E.