Tennis no Ojou-sama: A Prince of Tennis Fan Fiction

Chapter 147: Following Tradition

When Ryoma and Ryouko reached the second shrine on the border of the next town, there were still a lot of people going in and out of the establishment. After going up the stone stairs towards the Torii gate, they looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at the same time.

"I was told it gets really crowded and busy on the first three days of the New Year, but I honestly didn't think it'd be like this..." Ryouko commented.

Ryoma gave a nod. "But it's not a bad experience for the first hatsumōde (first shrine visit of the New Year) in our lifetime... I feel my Japanese roots so strongly this year and the crowd adds up to that..." he remarked.

"Same... We should try to attend hatsumōde each year as much as possible," Ryouko said.

Living overseas all their lives made them miss out on the lifestyle of Japanese people and they both felt quite elated to be doing something that boasts of their Japanese roots.

After going through the same procedural etiquette at the entrance of the shrine, they wasted no time and went to stand in line for their prayers and offerings.

"The temple near your house must be quite bustling as well... Were there many visitors before you left?" Ryouko asked Ryoma to pass time as they wait their turn.

"There were a lot of people but not as much as the Shinto shrines..." Ryoma answered. "Mom and Nanako-san were about to help out in the temple just before Ryoga-nii and I went out. They helped us first with our kimonos and saw us off the gate," he added.

"That reminds me..." Ryouko said and all of sudden took a couple of steps back from Ryoma. She then started to look him up and down, smiling in amusement.

"Someone looks quite dashing today..." she remarked in a teasing tone. "Who knew you'd actually look good in a kimono..."

"I object to those remarks. I don't just look dashing today, I look dashing every single day," Ryoma told her whilst smoothing out the neckline of his robes with his chin in the air.

Ryouko gave a short chuckle. "Why, I'm so sorry, Mr. Dashing. I stand corrected," she said.

Ryoma gave a shrug and a grin. "Well I do admit Mom and Nanako-san gave the outfit a lot of effort. It's probably the first time in my life that
I let them doll me up without shooting my mouth off with complaints..."

"I bet they loved that," Ryouko snickered.

"They were practically ecstatic. This was the third outfit they coordinated and they weren't quite satisfied with it. They just let me go wearing this because we're losing too much time with just dressing up," Ryoma told her.

"Knowing how my Mom coordinates clothes for me, it must've taken ages. You did a good job keeping up with that," Ryouko said, quite amused.

"Well, what can I do? I want to look my best for a certain someone..." Ryoma remarked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I wonder who that someone is... What a lucky person..." she said, faking a wondering tone.

Ryoma gave a snort and shook his head. "Well, you showed up very prettily dressed as well... But I was still pleasantly surprised even if I already expected it," he said as he touched one of the silver swan accessories sitting on Ryouko's head and traced his finger from her hair to the fabric of her kimono sleeves. "Licht really knows how to make you shine, but I kinda would like it better if he tones it down... You stand out too much already, such clothes make you stand out even more and there were so many guys staring at you while we were in the water pavilion..."

"There were women admiring my outfit as well. Why is it that you only notice the guys? You shouldn't be bothered by them anyways since there's only one pair of eyes I want to steal in this place," Ryouko joked with a wink.