Mitsui Hisashi.
Basketball captain.
Takeishi Junior High.
Most Valuable Player.
It should have been so simple. It was so simple, once upon a long time ago.
Blame it on the match with Yokota Junior High. Blame it on Akagi Takenori. Blame it on the injured knee. Blame it on the doctors who couldn't fix him.
Mitsui didn't want to admit that it was all him. He was the one who was to blame, really.
There were dreams and a future for him once. Basketball, National Championship … Things he believed, knew deep down that nothing was going to stand in his way there. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could stop Mitsui Hisashi.
"Mit-chan! Are you alright?"
Dammit. He didn't realise the VIP seats were so close. His knee hurt somewhat, from colliding with the wooden table.
12 seconds to go.
White hair. Gleaming glasses. "Never give up."
And Mitsui didn't.
Takeishi beat Yokota that day, and emerged as the champion. Mitsui was subsequently named MVP.
See? Life was good. Better than good. It was fantastic.
"First year, Class 1! Akagi Takenori, 193cm, 88kg! Position – center!"
Giant. Big, clumsy giant. Mitsui smirked.
After Kogure Kiminobu's stammering introduction, Mitsui spoke up.
"First year, Class 10! Mitsui Hisashi, 176cm, 63kg! I can play any position!"
Whispers. "Mitsui Hisashi?" "Cocky freshie…" "He's that middle school MVP…" "Did he say any position?"
Mitsui ignored them all. "My goal is to lead Shohoku to victory in the National Championship … We'll be Japan's No. 1 team!"
Long ago words that were the foundation to his being.
Akagi was just as Mitsui predicted. Despite the former's impressive height, he was nothing more. He fumbled on his dribbling. He messed up guarding. He couldn't shoot. He couldn't score.
But Mitsui underestimated him. There were some things Akagi could do – defend and slam dunk.
And Mitsui's knee gave when he tried to evade Akagi.
Two days into hospital stay, Mitsui escaped the vigilant eyes of his nurse.
He watched the team practice without him. Nationals was only a week away.
On the third day, Mitsui played basketball, alone, on an outside court.
Doctors … What did they know? He was fine, perfectly fine.
His left knee was throbbing slightly. Mitsui fell to the ground as the tiny ache roared into full-blown pain.
He watched the opening game for Shohoku in the bleachers, propped up by crutches.
Mitsui hobbled out halfway through the game. He never returned to the basketball team afterwards.
His first two years of high school flew by without the glory he had yearned for, along with the hopes and dreams he had cherished once.
He grew a couple of inches. He let his hair grow long. The muscles he had gained from basketball were now put to use in street fights and bar brawls.
Mitsui was now someone he didn't recognise. Where was the boy who had claimed to single-handedly bring Shohoku's basketball team to the forefront?
Everyone was to blame for his downfall.
Everyone but him.
His pride prevented him from going back. But that didn't mean he couldn't make trouble for the team.
After all, that young punk, Miyagi Ryota, started it.
He was just defending his pride, he justified.
Mitsui refused to consider any other reason.
"Take off your shoes."
Akagi's voice was quiet, but anger leaked through the deceptive stillness.
Mitsui glared at the boy who had taken his place in everything.
He should have been the one. He should have been captain. He should have been the one to take them to Nationals.
He should be the one looking upon Akagi with disdain, not the other way around, like now.
Smack.
Smack.
Akagi's first slap did not move him. Neither did the second.
It was Kogure's rare show of temper, his sudden flare of testosterone. The disappointment behind his round spectacles.
That, and the appearance of Anzai-sensei. Those kind, twinkling eyes.
"Never give up."
The ghost of the coach's words came to haunt him now. He fell to his knees; bloodied, broken, but his spirit was renewed.
"I–I want to play basketball."
"Shorter."
"You sure, kid? You've already taken off three inches…"
"Shorter."
Mitsui stared at the mirror as the barber lopped off more of his blue-tinted hair. Already he felt lighter.
Right hand shoots, left hand assists.
Just outside the three-point line, Mitsui springs from the ground. Beautiful posture.
The basketball flies through the air, sure and steady. It doesn't miss. It never misses.
Swoosh.
Three points.
"Two years, and you haven't lost your touch. I underestimated you," Kogure sheepishly says.
"Damn right you did." Mitsui grins, elated at his shot.
It feels good to be back.
Better than good. It feels fantastic.
He is Mitsui Hisashi.
Three-point shooter.
Shohoku High.
National champions.
It's so simple. It really is.
There are dreams in his mind and a future that is reviving. Basketball and the upcoming Inter-High Tournament … He had gotten sidelined along the way, and he knows it was never anyone else but him at fault. But no matter now – he belongs in this world of basketball, he knows it; and nothing will make him forget that again.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop Mitsui Hisashi.
END
AN: I love Hisashi. I feel he has the most depth among the characters. He's pretty hot, too;) I suppose I'm flooding the Slam Dunk archive page with my works but I can't help it; the writing bug set in a couple days ago and I've pretty much been writing nonstop since. I did churn out some crap like my OC story which I really don't like:( I hope this is better.