Chapter 1: The return

"Ladies and gentlemen. We will be landing at the Kanagawa International Airport in a short while. Please make sure that you remain seated and that your seatbelts are buckled securely. We hope that you have enjoyed the flight, and we look forward to flying with you again. Thank you for flying with Japan Airlines, and have a nice day."

We're finally here...

"Excuse me, miss?"

Hanayuki looked up at the flight attendant standing in front of her. "Yes?"

"Can you please buckle your seatbelt?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry," Hanayuki replied, putting on her seatbelt at once.

"It's ok. Thank you." The flight attendant smiled at her before moving on to the next passenger.

Hanayuki rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes, before letting out a deep sigh and turned her head to look at her sleeping companion. Her hand reached out to caress the face gently.

We're finally here...

---

At the Kanagawa International Airport...

"Calling for all passengers on the MS652 flight to America. Please proceed to Gate 9..."

"Oh, that's our plane, Kenji," exclaimed Mrs Fujima. She took one last look at her son and ruffled his hair. "Now you take good care of yourself, alright?"

"Yes, okaasan. I will. You take care too. Send my regards to oneesan," said Fujima.

"I will. I'd better get going. Bye!" With a wave of her hand, Mrs Fujima went off in search of the said gate.

Fujima waved back and made his way in the opposite direction. Best be using the men's room before going home.

---

On the first day of school, in the classroom of 2-5, Shohoku High School...

"Of all the rotten luck in the world, I'm in the same class as the stupid kitsune," Sakuragi muttered to himself. He glanced across the room to the other end of the class, where said kitsune was already snoring away on his desk. (A/n: Long story cut short, they're both sitting at where they used to sit during their first year; Sakuragi next to the window on the right-hand corner of the class (looking from the front of the class, that is), and Rukawa next to the wall on the left-hand side.)

Stupid kitsune. Why? Why can't I be in the same class as Youhei, like last year? Or Hana-chan? Or even-

"Sakuragi-kun?"

Sakuragi blinked at the sound of Haruko's voice. Slowly, he looked up to see Haruko standing beside his table. "Ha-Haruko-san?"

"Sakuragi-kun, I can't believe that we're in the same class this year! And Rukawa-kun too. Don't you think it's great, Sakuragi-kun?" she asked cheerfully.

Sakuragi was too busy registering the fact that Haruko was to be his classmate that he didn't hear whatever it was she had said to him. Haruko-san is in the same class as I am! Oh, thank you Kami-sama!

"Sakuragi-kun, are you alright?" came Haruko's voice again.

Sakuragi quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "Nyahahahaha! Of course, Haruko-san. Nyahahahaha!"

"Do'aho."

Even with the distance between the two of them, somehow Sakuragi managed to pick up Rukawa's famous and exclusive one-liner.

"Teme Rukawa!"

And so, on the first day of school, before the first lesson had even started, Sakuragi and Rukawa got into their first official fist-fight of the year.

---

Later that week, in the gym...

"Shohoku fight!

"Fight! Fight! Fi-"

BAM!!!

Ayako slapped her forehead. "Sakuragi Hanamichi, you're the only person I know who can actually run into a wall during practice."

Sakuragi got up quickly from the floor, rubbing his forehead. Kuso! It's all that stupid Rukawa's fault. If it wasn't for Haruko-san paying so much attention to him, I wouldn't have to run faster to catch her attention and slam into the wall.

"Sakuragi-kun, are you alright?" Haruko asked.

"Daijoubu, Haruko-san! I'm the Tensai, remember? Nyahahahaha!" Sakuragi laughed, putting on his Tensai pose.

"Do'aho."

"Teme!"

"Shhhh! Quiet, Hanamichi," said Miyagi, putting one finger to his lips. "I think I hear something."

"Huh?"

"What is it, Ryota?" asked Ayako.

"Shhh! Listen, Aya-chan," he instructed.

Everybody strained their ears to hear what their captain had heard. At first, it was very faint and distant, but slowly, it became louder and nearer.

Miyagi and Ayako stared at each other. "Is that...?"

"Ryota, I think it's..."

"Hohoho!"

"Anzai-sensei!" the third-years all chorused together. They turned towards the door, and there he was, their long-lost coach, Anzai-sensei.

"Hohoho! Konnichiwa," Anzai-sensei greeted the shell-shocked players of Shohoku.

"Anzai-sensei!" All the third-years (Miyagi, Ayako, Yasuda, Kakuta and Shiozaki) crowded around Anzai-sensei. "Sensei, you came back!"

"Hohoho! Yes, I came back."

"But how is your health condition, sensei? Are you really fit enough to come back?" asked Ayako.

"Yes, yes. I've been resting in America for a year already. I'm perfectly well. Hohoho!" he replied. He looked over at the second and first-years. "I see there are a lot of members I have yet to meet."

"Ah, yes sensei. Let me introduce them to you one by one," said Miyagi. He beckoned to his juniors to approach, which they did. He pointed to Sakuragi. "This is Sakuragi Hanamichi, sensei."

"Hohoho! Hana-kun, hisashiburi ne. Look at you. You have grown so big and tall. Hohoho!"

"Oya- I mean, Anzai-san, it's nice to see you again," Sakuragi greeted and bowed, much to the surprise of his team-mates.

"Hohoho! Please, no need to be so formal with me, Hana-kun. You can call me ojisan. That's how you used to call me back then, remember? Or, you can even call me otousan if you like. After all, Hana-chan calls you oniichan, doesn't she?" said Anzai-sensei.

"Hmm... I think I'll stick to ojisan," said Sakuragi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Do'aho."

"Rukawa..." Sakuragi growled in warning. He didn't want to start a fight in front of his old man, or Hanayuki's old man to be exact.

"And this is Rukawa Kaede, Anzai-sensei," Miyagi quickly interrupted, sensing the tension rising between the two boys.

"Nice to meet you, Rukawa-kun. Hana-chan has told me a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you too, sensei." Rukawa also bowed in greeting.

Miyagi proceeded to introduce the rest of the second-years (A/n: Ishii, Kuwata and Sasaoka.), before going on to ask the first years to re-introduce themselves again (they already did before Anzai-sensei arrived).

This year, there were quite a number of newcomers, which included 184-centimetre-tall, 75-kilogramme Mikage Yuuhi and 190-centimetre-tall, 75-kilogramme Tendo Yasuo. Also, there was Mizusawa Ichiro, who joined the club not as a player, but as the assistant manager.

After the introductions, practice was resumed, but Sakuragi stayed behind for a while and asked, "Ojisan, where is Hana-chan? I didn't see her at school the whole week."

"Hana-chan had something to do, which was why she didn't come to school for the whole week," Anzai-sensei answered.

"Why is that, ojisan? It's been like, 4 months since I last saw her. I miss her so much," said Sakuragi.

"Hohoho! She misses you a lot too. Don't worry. She'll be here next week," Anzai-sensei assured him.

"Oi, Hanamichi! Are you coming back to practice or not?" Miyagi shouted at the redhead.

"Coming, Ryochin!" Sakuragi shouted back, before running over to where the team had gathered.

As soon as he was gone, Anzai-sensei's cheery façade was immediately replaced with a grim-faced one.

---

One week later, in the classroom of 2-5...

"Ohayo!" Hanayuki shouted into Sakuragi's ear.

Sakuragi sat up so quickly he almost fell off the chair. "Huh? What? Who?"

"Hahaha! It's me, oniichan!" said Hanayuki laughingly, and was instantly enveloped in a bear hug.

"Hana-chan, it's you! I missed you so much."

"Yeah, I missed you too," said Hanayuki, hugging him back.

"Are you in this class too, Hana-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

"No. I'm in the next class," Hanayuki replied, shaking her head, before breaking into a smile again. "But Haruko-chan is here. And Kaede too."

"Che! Who cares about the kitsune?"

"Do'aho."

"Nani??!"

Hanayuki turned around to see Rukawa standing behind her. She curved her lips into a smile and greeted, "Ohayo, Kaede."

Instead of getting a verbal greeting in return (which wasn't surprising, since this is Rukawa we're talking about), she got a non-verbal one, which came in the form of another bear hug.

Note that this happened in front of all his other classmates, in which half of them were female. The sight of their beloved Rukawa-sama hugging another girl other than themselves immediately sent them into a screaming and wailing frenzy. Even Sakuragi had to cover his ears to protect them from further damage, and the teacher came running into the classroom in a panic, thinking that something had happened to his precious students, which of course, turned out to be a false alarm.

Hanayuki sweatdropped at the commotion she had unintentionally caused. "I think I'd better go back to my class. The two of you had better get along with each other in class. My classroom is just right next door. I may be hearing-impaired, but if it's a fight, then it should be loud enough for me to pick up."

She looked at each of them pointedly, before continuing, "This year, I want our basketball team to be formidable. To do that, I need your unbeatable partnership. Now don't go giving me all those 'I can do better without him' crap. You know very well yourselves how good you can be when you work together."

Sakuragi and Rukawa glanced at each other, before looking away quickly. Hanayuki shook her head. "Fine. I don't care if you guys can't get along off the court, but on the court, you have no choice. I'll see you in practice after school. Ja ne!" With one last smile, she exited the classroom.

---

After school, in the gym...

Having been let off early from her last class, Hanayuki was the first to arrive for practice. She was about to enter the gym when somebody called out to her.

"Hey there!"

Hanayuki turned to see two boys walking towards her. "You called me?" she asked.

"Yeah. Who are you? What are you doing here?" asked one of them. He had longish black hair, and wore a pair of glasses.

Instead of answering, Hanayuki gave them both a long appraising look, before asking, "Are you new members of the basketball team?"

This time, the other guy, with brown spiky hair, answered. "Yes, we are. I'm Mikage Yuuhi," he introduced himself, and pointed to his companion. "And he's Tendo Yasuo. Nice to meet you, er..."

"Hanayuki. My name is-"

"Hanayuki-san, very nice to meet you. Are you here to watch the team practise?" Mikage asked, extending his hand, which Hanayuki took.

"Well, actually-"

"You're quite tall for a girl. Do you play basketball?" asked Mikage, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.

"As a matter of fact, I-"

"You don't right? I mean, if you did, your hands wouldn't be this smooth." Only then did Hanayuki realise he was still holding her hand.

"Um..."

"How about I give you a lesson or two on basketball? I'm sure you'll love it."

Without waiting for Hanayuki's answer, Mikage pulled her into the gym and onto the court.

He's not really going to give me basketball lessons, is he? Hanayuki thought to herself.

"Alright, Hanayuki-san. Shall we begin?" Mikage asked, holding a basketball in his hands.

Ok... so he is going to give me basketball lessons. Deciding to play along, Hanayuki nodded, and soon, she was being introduced to the wonderful world of basketball. It hadn't been easy playing along though, because she had to restrain herself from bursting into laughter every time he 'imparted' his skills to her. On top of that, Hanayuki could see that his enthusiasm wasn't just because he loved basketball.

If oniichan or Kaede should see this now, I don't think Mikage-kun can make it out of this gym alive, thought Hanayuki with amusement, as Mikage put his hands on hers, trying to 'teach her how to get a better grip on the ball'.

Just then, the rest of the team arrived. To say that they were surprised to see Mikage 'teaching' Hanayuki how to play basketball would be correct, but to say they were horrified would also be accurate, especially on Sakuragi and Rukawa's part.

What the-?! What on earth does that stupid freshman think he's doing?! He'd better keep his hands to himself if he doesn't want to die anytime soon!

"Mikage, what do you think you're doing?" shouted Sakuragi, and was about to stomp towards them when Hanayuki stepped forward.

"Gomen nasai, minna-san. Mikage-kun here was just teaching me how to play basketball. I'm sorry if I am disturbing your practice." The tone of her voice, and the very obvious mischievous twinkle in her eyes, were enough to tell Sakuragi and the others that they were not to interrupt the lesson.

Ayako was quick to see what Hanayuki was planning to do and said, "Oh, it's ok. You guys go ahead. We don't mind, do we, captain?"

Needless to say, Miyagi quickly agreed with his Aya-chan. "Yes, yes! Go ahead. Take your time. We can wait. Continue teaching, Mikage."

"Don't let the whole team down," Ayako added.

"Hai!" Mikage replied happily, and returned to his 'teaching'. "Ok, Hanayuki-san, now let's go on to the jump shot."

He proceeded to show her how to hold the ball, and it was all Sakuragi and Rukawa could do not to rush forward and beat the crap out of Mikage, and Miyagi and Ayako not to burst out laughing, when they saw how Mikage's hands were all over Hanayuki's.

"...and then, when you jump, you raise the ball like this. No, that's not right. Let me show you." Mikage stood behind Hanayuki and took hold of her hands, which was holding the ball. "Like this. Yes, that's right. The left hand only assists."

Rukawa almost lost it, if it wasn't for Ayako pulling him back.

"Now, go ahead and give it a try," said Mikage, stepping back.

"Ok." Hanayuki jumped up and shot, and the ball went into the basket without even touching the rim.

Mikage was surprised. "That was very good, Hanayuki-san."

"It is?" asked Hanayuki. I didn't practise all this years for nothing, you know.

"Yeah. In fact, you are way too good for a beginner," Mikage remarked. "Anyway, let's go on to the three-point shot." He grabbed Hanayuki's hand and pulled her to the three-pointer line.

This time, it was Sakuragi who almost lost it, but Miyagi pulled him back.

"Now, the three-point shot-"

"Anou, Mikage-kun, I think I can handle the there-point shot already," said Hanayuki, cutting him off. "I mean, the only difference between a jump shot and a three-point shot is the distance and the power in which you release the ball, right?"

"Well, quite, but not quite, Hanayuki-san. You see-"

"Just let me have a go. If it is wrong, then you can correct me."

"Um, ok. Go ahead then."

Hanayuki dribbled the ball on the floor, before jumping up and launched the ball, which flew through the air in an arc before landing in the basket with a swish.

Mikage's jaw fell open, and so did the rest of the first-years', while Miyagi, Ayako, Sakuragi and the rest of the second and third-years cheered.

"How was that, Mikage-kun?" asked Hanayuki, smiling at him.

"Are... are you sure you don't know how to play basketball?" Mikage asked, still shocked from what he had just seen.

"I never said I didn't know how to play basketball," said Hanayuki, still smiling. "You assumed I didn't."

"Who are you?"

"Nani??! Are you saying that you do not know the Tensai's sister?" Sakuragi boomed.

"Tensai's sister?" Mikage looked from Sakuragi to Hanayuki, disbelief clearly written on his face. "You mean Sakuragi-sempai's your brother?"

"Not by blood, but yeah, he's my brother," Hanayuki replied.

The colour drained out of Mikage's face, as he recalled what one of his other sempais had once told him. He pointed a shaky finger at Hanayuki. "You... you're Anzai Hanayuki, the assistant coach?"

Hanayuki smiled. "Hai. Yoroshiku."

Miyagi and Ayako finally burst out laughing.

"B-But why didn't you tell me earlier..." Mikage stammered.

"You never gave me the chance. You kept cutting me off," Hanayuki pointed out.

When she saw that his face was getting paler and paler by the second, she quickly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep it from you. I mean, I didn't have the chance, besides, I thought it would be a very good opportunity to see how well your sense of basketball is. Gomen, ne?"

Mikage gave her a weak smile. "I must have made a total fool of myself."

"On the contrary, Mikage-kun. Your sense of basketball is very good, to say the least. With more experience, you would make a very fine player, and later, a very fine coach." Hanayuki smirked. "Of course, you'll have to learn how to keep your hands to yourself, especially if you are to be a coach at a girls' basketball team."

Mikage turned red after hearing this. "Gomen. I... I just thought that you are very attractive and... well..."

"Just forget it," said Hanayuki, blushing a little.

By then, the rest of the team had walked up to them.

"Mikage, you had no idea how dangerous your position was back there," said Miyagi.

Ayako nodded and giggled. "You were practically signing your own death warrant."

"And the warrant is still valid," Sakuragi added, cracking his knuckles. Beside him, Rukawa was giving Mikage his deadly ice glare.

Hanayuki squeezed in between the two people and linked her arms with theirs. "Come on, oniichan, Kaede. Mikage-kun didn't mean anything. Don't be so sensitive."

"Sensitive??!!" Sakuragi roared.

Hanayuki covered her ears. "Ouch! Oniichan, are you trying to make me completely deaf?"

"Oops! Ehehehe... sorry..."

"Never mind them, Yuki-chan. Now come here and give me a hug," Ayako ordered.

Hanayuki laughed and readily complied. "Ayako-san, you have grown more beautiful over the months. Miyagi-sempai is a very lucky man, ne?" Hanayuki winked at Miyagi who was standing behind Ayako.

"Ehehehe..." Miyagi scratched his head in embarrassment.

Ayako playfully whacked Hanayuki on the head with her fan. "I see you have grown naughtier over the months, Yuki-chan."

Hanayuki laughed again. "I see you still have that fan. But, perhaps you're right, Ayako-san." Turning to face the others, she said, "Alright people, no time to waste. Start practising now."

"Don't we have to wait for Anzai-sensei, Yuki-chan?" asked Miyagi.

Hanayuki snapped her fingers. "Oh, right. That reminds me of something I'm supposed to tell you people. Otousan won't be coming to watch you guys practise everyday. He'll only be coming once in a while. I'll be here everyday though, you can count on that."

"That's fine. Come on, let's go sit down," said Ayako.

Not long after that, Ichiro and Haruko walked into the gym together.

"Yuki-san!" he exclaimed, when he spotted Hanayuki sitting on the bench. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Yeah, Ichiro. I missed you too," said Hanayuki laughingly.

"What happened to you? Why didn't you come to school for the past whole week?" Ichiro asked.

For a fleeting moment, Ichiro thought he saw a flicker of change in the cheery expression on Hanayuki's face, but it was gone before he could be sure, so he brushed it off as his imagination.

"I, er, had something to do," she said. "Didn't otousan inform you guys about it?"

"He did, but he didn't tell us what was it that you had to do," said Ichiro. "What was it anyway?"

Hanayuki playfully tweaked his nose and said, "Since when are you so nosy, Ichiro?"

Ichiro laughed. "Since I became the assistant manager, I guess. Well, whatever it is, I'm glad that you're back. Anyway, I've got to go talk to Miyagi-sempai about something."

He walked onto the court to where Miyagi was standing, leaving Hanayuki watching his retreating back.

I'm glad to be back too...

---

Author's notes: First chapter of the sequel... done!!! Yay!!! I must tell you firsthand, it is going to be rather difficult for me to update for this sequel, because from here on, I have to write my own storyline. I mean, I have the storyline, yes... but to put it down in words is not easy. I hope that you will bear with me. Oh, and the chapters won't be as long as the prequel's. Gomen ne... I hope you bear with the significantly shorter chapters.