This fanfic has supposed that Takashi and Naoko lived in other cities than Tomoeda, but because it kind of obstacles the plot from advancing, I decided to get them back to Tomoeda at the end of the year. Pardon me for not writing the story of their return.
Composed by Keisei Limited Express for Sakura
Translated by Yuki Neco
Hatsumode is a Japanese custom of new year. People visit shrines or temples for the first prayer of year during few days of new year. During those days, major shrines in Japan are crowded with those who visited for hatsumode.
Narita International Airport held tens of thousands of passengers returning from foreign countries. At the arrival lobby of the terminal 1, boys and girls were waiting for Sakura and Syaoran to come out. Because of the promise made at the firework festival in the summer break, (See Chapter 2) they had to visit Hong Kong. On the other hand, the cheerleading squad planned to go hatsumode, which involved Takashi and Naoko who had returned to Tomoeda at the end of the year, and also Sakura and Syaoran. So they decided to pick them up at the airport on their return, before taking them to the nearest temple of Mt. Narita.
“I wonder if their plane has arrived,” Naoko said looking at the people coming out of the arrival gate.
“No idea, too many people coming out of the gate,” Miki said in a perplexed look.
At this moment, Kamio noticed Tomoyo taking out her camcorder, “Hey, Tomoyo... you start videotaping again?”
“Of course, I do,” she replied with starry eyes, “this is titled Lovely Couple Returning to Japan with Memory of Marvelous New Year’s Days in Hong Kong!”
“Camera 2 is ready!” Yuuki uttered turning on the camera on his cell phone.
“Yuuki, you’ll be beaten up for sure,” Koichi narrowed his eyes.
“Hey, look!” Tokashi shouted to find the two people—a loving couple of movie stars dressed in stylish outfits wearing sunglasses? No, it was Syaoran and Sakura dressed in everyday clothes. Stepping closer, Yuuki reported in a manner of a gossip TV reporter, “Out of the arrival gate, here comes that Syaoran Li who had ran away to Hong Kong with the pop star named...”
Thud! The report was interrupted with a knock on the head.
“Awwww....” Yuuki crouched wincing in pain in the head.
“What do you think you are doing?!” Syaoran glanced down on him.
“Welcome back, Sakura. How do you like it in Hong Kong?” Sayuri tapped Sakura on the shoulder.
“Hi, everyone. I enjoyed my visit. And it was warm there,” Sakura replied, “I didn’t know it’d be this cold in Japan.”
“It’s unsual this winter. They have much snow in Hokuriku,” Takashi remarked.
“By the way, Syaoran, where is the old man with beard and mustache that’s always accompanying you?” Rika asked looking right and left.
“Oh, Wei has something to do in Hong Kong. He’ll back at January 7,” Syaoran replied.
Chiharu turned to the gang and said, “Now, everybody’s up here, so let’s go.”
“OK,” Yukie agreed.
They got on the train for Keisei Narita, the nearest station to Mt. Narita. Out of the ticket wicket, they walked on the entrance path to the temple.
“Really crowded,” Syaoran sighed.
“Yeah, it is,” Takashi sorted, “Temple of Mt. Narita is one of the most major three shrines for hatsumode; the others are Meiji Shrine and Kawasaki Taishi Shrine. Those places have millions of visiters every year.”
“Is that true?” Koichi widened his eyes.
“Yep, it’s true.”
“Speaking of which, Temple of Mt. Narita is visited by many kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers,” Tomoyo supplemented the information.
“Oh, I know. Like setusbun, right?” Miki joined.
Setsubun is February 3, corresponding to the new year of luner calendar. Japanese people scatter soybeans to drive demons away from bringing bad luck.
“She’s right. I once came on the setsubun, and saw sumo wrestlers throwing soybeans,” Chiharu said.
“There aren’t anyone we know in this place, anyway,” Yuuki commented coolly.
At this moment, Sakura stopped looking at a direction, and mumbled, “It seems you might be wrong, Yuuki.”
“What do you mean,” Naoko looked the same direction. In that direction was Youko Nakagawa reporting in front of a TV camera, “Breaking from Mt. Narita, Shinshoji Temple is full of people who visit for hatsumode.”
Everyone in the party sweatdropped.
“I didn’t know you were here, Sakura,” said Youko. A few minutes later, Sakura and gang, Youko, and TV staff were enjoying tea at a teahouse on the entrance path of the temple.
“Since when are you a TV reporter?” Sakura asked.
“Quite recently. It’s just one of my trial,” Youko replied.
“You mean you’re looking for the appropriate area in the show biz for you?” Rika asked, “Like, you’re doing dramas?”
“Uh-mmm, I’m not good at dramas...” Youko replied and laughed nervously.
“How come she thought so, even though she’s good at theater performance and TV reporter,” all of them thought it funny, sweatdropping.
At this time, her agent Kimiko Sugawara interrupted, “Hey, Youko, it’s time to go to the main temple.”
“It’s already? Too bad, we just talked only twenty minutes or thirty...” she groaned, “Ah, I know. Wait...”
“What’s wrong?” Kimiko said looking back at Youko.
“I suggest shooting those guys at the main temple, what do you think?” Youko suggested. Sakura and others opened their mouths in disbelif and astonishment.
“Interview your friends? Sounds like a put-up job,” Kimiko scowled.
“There’s no problem. People don’t know they are my friends,” running to the camera staffs, Youko winked her eye and said, “I’ll tell them.”
When she told the cameraman about her idea, the interview of Sakura’s gang was settled.
“OK, I’ll shoot you walk from the path to the entrance,” the cameraman called the gang. In the crowd, the cameraman was shooting the gang with camera on his shoulder, walking backward with very accustomed steps. In contrast, the gang were not accustomed to shot by TV camera, acting like:
Yuuki was cautioned by a director, since he was so self-assertive that
he walked ahead of the group.
Syaoran and Sakura were walking like robots because they were nervous
being shot by camera.
Tomoyo, not caring about being shot, was videotaping Syaoran and Sakura
as usual.
The rest of the group were walking and chatting not caring about the TV camera.
The cameraman who found the way they walked said to them, “You two, just relax, and take hands each other.”
“What?” Sakura gasped.
“He want you to act like a loving couple so he can take a marvelous footage,” Youko explained.
“How about Chiharu and Takashi?” Syaoran replied with a red face.
“They might be cute, but you are the best couple ever,” Youko answered.
“Wha-” He blushed even redder.
“Why are you so nervous?” Yuuki grinned with a meany manner, “They mean you look nice on the footage, and that’s all.”
“Shut up, Yuuki!” Yukie warned.
After they prayed at the main temple, they drew a good luck lot.
“Hey, I got a big luck. How ’bout you, Chiharu?” Takashi exclaimed with a joy.
“What should I say? I got a little luck...” replied Chiharu.
“I got the same one,” Yuuki said.
“Good you guys got luck at least...” Koichi lowered his head to get a misery.
Kamio breathed a sigh of relief to get a luck, “My lot says Lost stuff appears soon. Is that the member’s card of the karaoke bar I’ve lost the other day, or what?”
“You guys are happy,” Sayuri was depressed by the misery she got.
“Mine says the same thing, but I haven’t lost anything lately,” Rika said.
“On the contrary, mine says Lost stuff never appears hidden behind,” Naoko complained even though she got a big luck despite of her expectation.
“Mmmm... just a little luck... I wonder if I can say I’m happy,” Miki graoned.
“Never mind, I got the same,” Yukie said.
“Hey, I got a big luck! How about yours, Syaoran?” Sakura exclaimed with joy.
“Mine’s a big luck,” he repled, “Oh, it says about you.”
“Hey, let me see.”
His lot said:
Love: No one else than thou currently hast.
“It seems like we’re all right for this year,” Sakura smiled.
“Not for this year... but forever,” Syaoran corrected.
Those two teenagers blushed each other, and walked back to the station hand in hand.
“Dad, happy birthday! This is a little something for you,” Sakura gave her father a birthday gift, on her getting home, as his birthday was January 3.
“Thank you very much, Sakura.”
“Dad, I bought you something, too,” Touya, who had been on the journey with Yukito and other friend in his collage, said giving him a gift. He had been traveling around Hokkaido including Hakodate and Sapporo from the new year’s day—the gift was frozen crabs.
“Thank you, Touya. Then, let’s defrost it and eat,” the father said to his son and daughter.
Their dinner was ready and they started eating, when the TV set that had been kept on began a new year special program. “Ten entertainers: actors, comedians, and theater actress dove into various places all over Japan in these new year days!” the narrator shouted, “New Year Report Special Star Report from Head to Toe of Japan 2006! Two-hour live broadcast of their report! ...”
“Youko e-meiled me that she’s in this program,” Touya said.
“Oh, I saw her,” Sakura said immediately.
“Huh? Where?”
“Sakura dropped by the temple of Mt. Narita on her way home from the airport,” Fujitaka explained, “where she stumbled across the shooting.”
The time went by... and the program went to its latter half. The host announced, “The next up is Youko Nakagawa, chllenging multilateral career like a model and a theater actress. She’s just been to Shinshoji Temple in Mt. Narita today. Now check it out.”
The screen shifted into the VCR in which Youko held a microphone, “Hi, this is Youko Nakagawa reporting! I am in Shinshoji Temple in Mt. Narita, the major shrine of hatsumode. This is my first report on television, and I’ll give it my best shot!”
~*~*~* Skipping a few minutes *~*~*~
Youko’s report ended with the narration, “Those teenagers are students at a high school in Tokyo. They picked up two friends coming back from Hong Kong, and dropped by Mt. Narita on their way home.” During the narration, the gang were walking side by side, when Yuuki stepped ahead showing a V sign to the camera, causing laughter in the studio. Later, Sakura and Syaoran were shown on the screen when they were walking happily hand in hand.
Squash! The empty beer can in Touya’s hand was crushed with a sharp sound. To make matters worse, the two teenagers in love remained on the screen for a while. “Those couple are cute and sweet,” commented one of the entertainers. Sakura blushed lowering her head, beside Touya steaming with growing anger.
“What’s wrong, Touya?” Sakura found her brother strange, getting over the embarrassment, when the program was over.
“That little brat...” Touya clenched crushing another empty beer can. Seeing his strange attitude, Sakura put on a puzzled look.
This chapter is about hatsumode, out of season, though. I thought it would be Tsukimine Shrine first, but I reconsidered making it Mt. Narita because I live in Chiba Prefecture. The next chapter might be about Valentine’s Day, or what?