REMEMBERING
By nightjade
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Slam Dunk...whoo boy! Here we go again...
Chapter 1: What can I do...
Ryota Miyagi whistled a happy tune on his way home from basketball practice. He was feeling good about how his team played today. They had very good recruits: 4 freshmen and 3 sophomores, all of them having great potentials and driving spirits. He felt proud for all of them for making it into the team.
It had been a grueling past year for all of them. Ever since the seniors had left for university, he was afraid that he couldn't handle them as well as Akagi did. As time passed, however, things were turning out pretty well. Most of the members were being cooperative especially the new recruits. Thank God, there were no smart asses this year! As if having Rukawa and Sakuragi on the team wasn't enough already. But he had to hand it to them, they have improved a great deal especially about how they treat each other. At least, the bickering lessened and the practice increased...for the time being, that is.
He also felt good about his decisions regarding the future of the team. For one, Anzai-sensei didn't seem to have a problem about them. He was forever patient and forgiving especially during their two troublemakers' usual routine...fighting in court. Well, some things are destined to stay the same.
Best of all, he felt good to be working side by side with the one person he truly admired and loved ( no people, it is not Mitsui! ). Having been appointed as the next team captain made a very big difference in his life. He felt more mature and responsible for his teammates and for her. She was a very good manager and everyone in the team respected her greatly. So it was up to him to maintain that stature. He would do everything in his power to build up the team...for sensei and for her.
In fact, he felt so good he could not help but actually start singing aloud.
"I feel good! Nanananananana..I know I do! Nanananananana..." He danced as he sang the familiar tune in his head.
"So good!...dan-dan!...(with a slight shake of his shoulder)...so good! -- I got you!...dan-dan-dan-dan-dan-dan-dan..(shaking his whole body with each note)."
He did a final strut and finished the song with a loud Michael Jackson "Whoo!" After a few seconds, he took a deep breath before continuing on his way. Anyone who had seen him then would think he was a trying hard James Brown wannabe but he didn't care. He was free...he was happy. And he didn't give a damn to anyone who would stand in his way of getting to the top.
He was about to open his mouth to sing again when from afar he heard a faint all too familiar tuneless voice singing (or reciting) "Tensai, Basket-o-man". Grinning lopsidedly, he turned around and saw the tall redhead sophomore happily strolling and singing on his way home too, oblivious to the discomfort of everyone around him.
Che! He's happy, too!
"Oi, Sakuragi!" he called out, mainly because he wanted to talk to him alone and partly because he wanted him to keep quiet.
Hannamichi Sakuragi stopped singing (much to everyone's relief!) and saw Ryota ahead waiting for him.
"Ryochin!" he replied, his eyes lighting up in delight. He hurried to catch up with his buddy. "You're on your way home?"
"Hai! You look happy, Hanamichi." he commented, putting his hands in his pockets as they started walking home together.
"Hai! Hai! Haruko-chan told me I was very good during this afternoon's practice. Gori didn't clobber me and that kitsune did not get in my way. Hahahaha! Tensai Basketman Hanamichi in action!" he replied, scratching his usual SD head.
He stopped laughing and turned to Ryota who was regarding him with an amused smile.
"How about you, Ryochin? You look happy, too!...Yappari! You were with Ayako-san the whole time, ne? You looked very intimate. What were you two talking about?" he asked, suddenly turning SD eyes at him.
Ryota smiled at the memory of Ayako's voice shouting "Nice, Ryota!" and "Don't give up, guys!" from the sidelines, the way she crosses her arms whenever she didn't approve, and every time she would pull out that mighty fan of hers and whack some poor arrogant player on the head (sigh can you make a guess on WHO that unlucky person might be?). It fact, her voice is so fresh in his mind; he could almost hear it as if she was right there beside him.
"Oi, Ryochin! Come back, Ryochin!" Sakuragi said all of a sudden, his SD form moving around the dreamy eyed team captain, waving his hands in front of his face to catch his attention.
Ryota jolted back to reality, shaking his head to clear it.
"Ah.gomen! Aya-chan is just so pretty and smart! I would love to hear her voice again and again--even if it's me who's getting hit by that big fan of hers!" he said, reverting to his dreamy eyed SD self.
Sakuragi head locked Ryota in his arm and messed his hair with his fist.
"Hehehe. Such a lover boy, ne? No wonder you're so inspired. There's nothing in that curly head of yours except Aya-chan! Hahahaha!"
"Gaaa! Sakuragi! Yamero! Yamero! I can't breathe!" Ryota complained, struggling against the redhead's strong grip.
Sakuragi let go and Ryota gasped thankfully for air, filling his lungs. After a few seconds of recuperating, he adjusted his bag over his shoulders and fixed his hair.
"Ikuze, Sakuragi. I'm starving! Let's eat!"
The tall redhead slung his arm around the captain's shoulders and raised his fist up in the air.
"Hai! Let's eat!"
Arm in arm, they strolled down the road towards the nearest fast food, singing "I feel good!" as they did. They stopped by the intersection, waiting for the light to turn red before they cross. After a minute of waiting, the light changed and the cars stopped.
Then fate decided to play a little game.
It was one of those unfortunate days when Sakuragi's shoelaces came loose and he was unaware of it. As soon as he stepped on the road, he tripped on them and fell flat on his face. The shock was quite hard and left him a bit disoriented.
"Oww!" he wailed, shaking his head a little to clear it.
Ryota, who had gone some distance past him, looked back. He had to keep himself from laughing and instead, turned to help his friend up. As soon as he did, a speeding car came into view, swerving uncontrollably from side to side. Sakuragi was in the middle of the road, still half dazed from the fall.
"Watch out!"
Sakuragi looked up at the sound of Ryota's voice and saw a pair of wild headlights heading straight at him! He raised his arms instinctively to shield his eyes from the blinding light and tried to move out of the way. However, his body was not responding! He could hear the screeching tires very near him and suddenly felt a strong force push him out of his present position. He fell back and heard a simultaneous thud and crash as he landed on the sidewalk. It took a second or two for him to recover and he rubbed his head. As his vision cleared, he looked around to check what had happened.
The first thing that caught his eye was Ryota's body lying lifeless on the road, alongside the car that crashed into the nearby post. His eyes widened in horror as he ingested what had just taken place.
Ryochin--Ryochin got hit!
Scrambling on his feet, he rushed to where Ryota lay to check his condition. His horror grew as he saw blood stain the ground, trailing from his body. His blood...Ryochin's blood!
"Help! Somebody help!" he cried to no one in particular. He did not bother checking the driver of the car. Based from the strangled moan he heard, he figured the guy was alright, although he wanted to kill him for doing this to his friend.
Seeing that no one was coming to help, he got up and rushed to the nearest house to call for an ambulance. After a few minutes, he came out and went back to stay with Ryota.
"Hang on, Ryochin! Help is on the way. Sakuragi has taken cared of it. You'll be alright. Hang on!" he said, sitting beside the lifeless body. He couldn't touch him. He was afraid he would add to the damage already done.
He stayed there until he heard the welcoming sound of sirens coming a few minutes later.
The phone kept on ringing and Ayako came out of the bathroom to answer it. Grumbling as she went in her room where the phone was while drying her hair with a towel, she picked up the receiver.
"Moshi moshi?" She felt annoyed at the fact that whoever was calling could not wait until she finished taking a bath. This had better be important!
"Ayako-san? It's me, Hanamichi!"
Ayako stopped drying her hair as she heard the familiar voice on the other line.
"Hanamichi! What is it?"
It sounded serious. She could hear the anxiety in his voice, something very different from the one she's used to whenever there's a game. She was suddenly afraid that something bad happened.
She could also hear noises in the background, like he was in a busy place.
"Where are you, Hanamichi?"
There was tense silence on the other line. Ayako wanted to scream in angst! What was happening? Why wouldn't he speak up?
"It's...its Ryochin! He's been run over by a car!" came in the broken reply.
Ayako almost dropped the receiver. Her hands quivered and she suddenly felt faint at this information.
No...no, it couldn't be! I must have heard him wrong! Please let him be wrong!
"Nani? This is not the time for jokes, Hanamichi! Tell me you're just kidding, right?"
She was praying hard that his answer be different from the first one. She held the cord around her fingers tightly, praying silently...hoping he was wrong..hoping she was right...
When he answered again, the tears that were tenderly brimming in her eyes finally coursed freely down her cheeks.
...to be continued...
Whew! Now that was hard! I found it really, TREMENDOUSLY difficult to write something like this about Ryota (sniff! sniff! My poor baby!) so sorry it took so long. Anyway, here's the promise I made to my anti-yaoi friends (especially to the one who kept egging me on to post this fic...wala! here it is! ) I hope you enjoy this. A usual, reviews would be greatly appreciated! ..by the way, I was listening to The Corr's cd while writing this so please excuse the title of this chapter...their songs are very inspiring, ne Yui-chan? ...hehehe