After crashing his bike into a trashcan for the millionth time, Rukawa stood up and yawned. He checked himself for any broken bones. When he didn't find any, he picked up his bike and pedaled away.
He felt the wind on his face, and the heat of the sun on his skin. Saturday practice had just ended, and he wasn't looking forward to spending the rest of the day in an empty house. Who would? On weekends, his father went off to God knows where, while his mother… Well, he just had to go to the nearest casino in case he needed her. As if he ever would. He smirked to himself. Things were better when they were apart anyway. They couldn't stay in the same room, without hurling furniture at each other.
That was life for him. Being the number one rookie was all he really wanted anyway. And he had it. "It's that simple," he thought, as he pedaled on.
He was passing the ocean now. The wind was stronger, he realized as it ruffled his hair. He looked at the ocean, which was as blue as his eyes. It was so calm, so peaceful, so—What the hell was he seeing? He blinked a few times just to make sure it was real. Was Akira Sendoh, one of the most arrogant players he had ever met, fishing?
He got off his bike, and pushed it until he was near enough. He smirked and said, "I always thought you were weird, but I didn't know it was this bad."
Sendoh chose to ignore Rukawa's snide comment. Standing there with his fishing rod, he could understand why someone like Rukawa wouldn't understand. It was obvious that Rukawa's world revolved around basketball. Nothing or no one else mattered. Plus, there was such a contrast between fishing and basketball. Basketball was intense and it never gave you time to think, while fishing allowed you to clear your mind.
He was just like Rukawa one year ago. His world had been basketball. He disregarded everything else, until… he met Seiji. He smiled to himself when he remembered her. It was on that very spot that he met her. That time he was angry with himself because they just lost a game. It was all because of him. He missed the winning shot, the one shot that mattered.
He could still picture it in his head. The clock was ticking. Eleven more seconds to go. He dribbled the ball, flanked by two guards. The score was 42-43, and they were on the losing end. He took a step back, and the two guys stepped forward at the same time. He turned and laughed. He had tricked them. He did it. All they needed was two more points, and victory was theirs. Everybody was cheering him on. He was within the three-point range already. This was it. He aimed for the ring, and felt the ball fly out of his hands. Three. Two. One. He missed. The buzzer sounded. He felt as if he had been punched in the gut. How could he have missed it? He could shoot the ball for three points with ease during practice. Why did he have to miss it now? Because of him, the team lost. He lost.
In the locker room, he didn't speak to his teammates. They all said it was okay, that they'd win next time. Deep down, he was sure that they blamed him. He didn't come through for them when they needed him. After he left, he walked on, not knowing where his feet were leading him. He just wanted to be away from people. He walked on, and he saw the he was near the ocean now. He kept on walking until he saw a girl. She was about his age, and she was standing there with a fishing rod in her hands. Her jeans had been folded up to her knees.
"What are you doing here?" he said, unaware that the words had even left his mouth.
"I should be the one asking you that," she said, looking him up and down. Sendoh got the feeling she was sizing him up. Suddenly, she smiled, destroying the wall between them, and said, "What's wrong? You look like Atlas."
"Who?" he said, not knowing what she was talking about.
It turned out that Atlas wasn't a real person. She explained to him that Atlas was mythological Greek character who carried the world on his shoulders, which was, as she put it, how he looked.
"My team lost a game," he said. When he saw the question in her eyes, he added, "A basketball game."
"Oh," she said. Then, she uttered the words that set her apart from the girls who chanted his name at basketball practice. "It's just a game."
"Just a game?" he said, not believing what she just said. "To you it's just a stupid game, but it's my life. It's the only thing I strive for." He kept on talking, letting his frustrations out on a mere stranger. For a while he went on, until he noticed she was just staring at him. She bit her lower lip, obviously trying to stop herself from laughing. "Is there something funny?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
"It was just your reaction," she said, and finally let out a soft chuckle. She raised her left hand, motioning for him to stand beside her.
"You shouldn't be so trusting," he said, shaking his head. "How do you know I'm not an axe murderer?"
"Axe murderers usually don't obsess over basketball games," she said, and motioned for him again.
He had no choice but to follow. When he was standing next to her, she thrust the fishing rod into his hands, he looked at it like he'd never seen it before.
"What am I gonna do with this?" he said, handing it back to her.
"Just hold it until you feel a tug." She pushed his hand away. "Then, you rein it in."
Sendoh shook his head again. He couldn't believe he'd let this girl talk him into fishing of all things. Wait, he didn't even know her name. Before he got the chance to ask, she started talking again.
Looking up at him with her brown eyes, she said, "Would you rather see a sunrise or play basketball?"
"Play basketball," he said, not even thinking. That was easy to answer. He doubted if he'd even seen a sunrise in his entire life.
"I knew you'd say that," she said, smiling up at him. He became even more puzzled, but not for long. She started explaining everything. "Basketball and seeing the sun rise have one thing in common. To see the sun rise, you have to wake up really early. To be good in basketball, you have to practice a lot. But the similarity ends there." She looked at him like he was supposed to figure out the rest. When he didn't say anything, she went on, "Basketball was invented by man. You could play it all day if you want. A sunrise, on the other hand, happens only once a day. You can't see it just because you want to. It makes me think that there's something bigger than me out there."
Sendoh just watched her with his mouth open. He had gotten everything all wrong. This girl he barely knew had put things into perspective for him, something no one else had been able to do. Then, suddenly, he felt something tugging on the fishing line. He turned his attention from the girl for a second, and stared at the water. Did he just catch a fish?
"Rein it in!" she squealed at him, excitement in her eyes.
"That's what I'm doing!" he said, pulling at the lever on the fishing rod. Then, he saw his catch. A fish dangling on a hook, glistening with water.
Once they got the fish off the hook, she packed it into a cooler. Glancing at her watch, she said, "I gotta go." She took the rod from him and started packing everything up.
Sendoh just stared at her. She was leaving already? She was a few meters from him when he realized he didn't even know her name. "Wait!" he called out to her. "What's your name?"
She stopped and turned to look at him, like she just remembered she even had a name. "It's Seiji. You?"
"I'm Sendoh," he said, grinning at her for the first time.
"Nice meeting you!" she called out. He saw her smile one last time. She started running again, without even looking back. Before he knew it, she was gone.
Sendoh snapped himself back to the present. He was no longer watching Seiji run away. Instead, one year later, he was standing there with Kaede Rukawa behind him. That was the end of the story, really. For more than a year, he had been going fishing in that same sport, hoping to see her again. He never did. Maybe one day they'd meet again, and he'd be able to tell her about the first time he saw the sun rise.
"Ei, Sendoh, you still alive?" Rukawa said.
"Yeah," he said, loosening his grip on his fishing rod. "I was just thinking about a girl.
He turned and saw that Rukawa was looking at him like he was crazy. Sendoh smiled to himself. He really had been like Rukawa once.
Author's Note: Okay, I've prepared my shield for all the tomatoes you're about to hurl at me. I just think that sometimes happy endings aren't the best endings. I kinda like the ending in this fic, bittersweet yet hopeful. Who knows? They might meet again, or Seiji might show up in another one of my fanfics... Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you could review this fic.