Author's Notes: I was thinking, almost everybody has a love interest in Shohoku, so I don't see why there's any reason to leave Akagi out of the excitement (non-yaoi).^^ I had a bit of trouble characterizing Akagi, so he may be a tinny bit OOC. Anyway, here's to the best center in Japan!
"Great job, Akagi-san!"
"Ganbarimasu, Akagi-senpai!"
"Who's going to the Inter-high National Tournament, eh, Takenori?"
"Ike, Akagi!"
Akagi Takenori received the praises and congratulations from winning against Ryonan with a small smile and a modest "The team did it, not me."
But when he got to his seat in class and put his arms behind his head, he couldn't help enjoying it immensely. Beating Ryonan was no small feat, especially without Anzai-sensei's comforting presence to lead them. But they had managed to do it, and it didn't hurt to lean back and take the rewards of their hard-earned win.
"Looks like Shohoku's all fired up for winning the Inter-high, ne, Akagi?" said Kogure when they made their way towards the gymanasium for practice.
Akagi grunted in agreement. "If we had done a single more wrong move, Ryonan could have creamed us."
"Oi, oi, senpai! Chotto matte!"
Both Akagi and Kogure turned at the sound of the voice. When Akagi saw the speaker, he gave an audible groan.
"Ah, Yoko-san!" Kogure called pleasantly, waving.
Akagi hastily grabbed Kogure's arm and pulled it down, muttering, "Don't mind her, let's just go!"
"Demo, Akagi-"
"Let's go, Kogure!" Akagi's face frighteningly resembled a gorilla all at once, hustling Kogure quickly.
"Oi, Akagi!" A hand grabbed Akagi's shoulder.
Akagi froze.
"Ganbatte ne, Akagi-senpai!" something terrible blared into his ear, defeaning him for a second.
For someone so tall and so huge, Aota Yoko was strikingly attractive. Only a few centimeters shorter than Akagi, she was usually a head taller than the boys. She had short, black locks and her face was fair and honest. She was well-built and could wrestle and pin any boy down.
This was probably because she was the younger sister of Aota Tatsuhiko of the judo club.
Who, unfortunately, happened to be Akagi's rival.
"That was a smashing game you had with Ryonan!" said Yoko, shaking poor Kogure's arm until she almost pulled it out. "And I just love the way you did your trademark Gorilla Dunks, Gori-senpai!"
"Who's a gorilla?!" flared out Akagi.
"You should let me in the team, Gori!" Yoko's eyes sparkled. "I may be a lot better in judo because of onii-san, but I can still do a mean Gori Dunk if I can!"
"For the last time, Aota Yoko, there can be no girls in the team!"
"What about Ayako-chan?"
"She's our team manager!" Akagi crossed his arms. "And as far as I know, the only thing you can manage, Aota-san, is your food!"
Yoko's face reddened. She grabbed Akagi's collar and bayed, "What's wrong with eating a lot?"
"Plenty!" Akagi's nose bumped into hers. "You can grow fatter and fatter without noticing it!"
"Get yer nose off my nose!"
"Maa, maa!" Kogure tried to pull them away. "When will you two learn to stop hating each other?"
Akagi pulled away and crossed his arms with a grunt as he tried not to notice how Yoko was making faces at him.
"Sumimasen, Yoko-san, we have to practice now," said Kogure, relieved at the moment's peace.
"Tell me when Gori here collapses and you need a new captain," said Yoko, sticking her tongue out at a fuming Akagi.
"Bakemono onna," grumbled Akagi.
"Baka gori," retorted Yoko.
"Nani?!" And Kogure had to restrain Akagi from knocking her down.
"Your loss, Akagi-senpai," said Yoko, traipsing off with her huge frame.
"A pox on the house of Aota!" said a furious Akagi when Yoko was out of earshot. "Why do they have to get on my nerves all the time?"
"Ne, Akagi, you know that Yoko just likes you, ever since she first came to Shohoku," said Kogure good-naturedly. "Where could she find another boy as tall as her?"
"Sakuragi would be a good choice," answered Akagi, waving his fist. "Two idiots. Perfect match."
Kogure chuckled. "And have Aota Tatsuhiko finally get his hands on our star rebounder? I don't think you'd like that, Akagi."
Akagi just snorted.
"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!"
Ayako covered her ears as Akagi's great voice resounded in the spacious gym. "Gomen ne, Akagi. She just wanted to watch practice, and I thought, what harm could it do?"
"Aota Yoko is harm incarnated!" Akagi pointed at the glaring Yoko.
"Oi, Akagi." Sakuragi sided to his captain, a naughtly smile on his lips. "You like her, ne?"
BAMMM! Sakuragi huddled, his arms rubbing a new bruise on his head.
"Out!" Akagi pointed at Yoko once more.
Yoko scowled. "Make me!"
"Kogure, escort her out!"
"What?" Kogure jumped up, his eyeglass sliding to his nose.
"Be violent if you have to, Kogure," said Akagi. "Aoto-san won't leave without force."
"M-me?" Kogure's eyes widened.
Yoko cracked her knuckles. "No offense, Kogure-senpai, but I could pin you in three-and-a-half seconds, tops."
Kogure gulped.
"Mitsui!" Akagi barked. "Take her out."
Mitsui took one look at Yoko and shook his head immediately. "No can do. Anzai-sensei made me promise not to fight."
"Sakuragi!"
Sakuragi dutifully stomped towards Yoko. But Yoko cannily said, "Hey, aren't you Tensai Basket-o-man Sakuragi? Your dunk is wonderful!"
And Sakuragi gave a "nyahahaha" laugh and said, "I can't evict a smart Sakuragi fan, can I?" He patted her on the shoulder and said, "By all means, stay, stay!"
"Baka!" Akagi gave him another whopper. "Miyagi! Rukawa!"
"Look, Akagi, if you can't even get me out of your gym yourself, how can I expect you to win the national tournament?" Yoko was serious now. "I'll see myself out, thank you." And she marched off.
"Yoko-chan..." Ayako called after, but Akagi cut in, "Don't mind her, she doesn't know what she's saying." Then he raised his head and said, "Do we want to win or not?!"
The team yelled in assent.
"Then let's get practicing! SHOHOKU!"
Outside, Yoko shook her head.
The next day.
"Yoko looked awfully hurt yesterday, Akagi," said Kogure when they met in the classroom. "Maybe you should apologize."
"And give her the satisfaction of making me look like a fool?" Akagi crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Masaka."
"Akagi-senpai."
Akagi opened an eye.
Just by his desk stood Aota Yoko.
"Maa, ohayou, Yoko-san," said Kogure, nervously edging away from them.
"I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday," said Yoko to Akagi, her face a mask and taking no note of Kogure. "I had no right to come barging in your gym and disturbing your practice." She bowed. "Sumimasen."
And without giving Akagi a chance to answer, she left the room.
"What...what was that?" Kogure scuttled back to Akagi.
"I'm not sure myself," said Akagi, a mixture of emotions written all over his face. "I think she just apologized to me." He scratched his head thoughtfully.
For the rest of day, Kogure noticed that Akagi had gone quite absentminded. He frequently tuned out when the teacher was lecturing and even talk about the Inter-high didn't quite wake him from his reveries.
But what shocked Kogure most was what Akagi told him before practice.
"You go ahead, Kogure. I have some things to do. I'll be there soon." Akagi picked up his bag and left, leaving a very befuddled Kogure.
"Where's Akagi-senpai?" Ayako had asked later on.
Kogure had a quiet smile on his face as he said, "He's getting in touch with his more sensitive side."
"I didn't know he had one," Sakuragi had commented rather triumphantly.
Akagi knew where to find Aota Yoko. He wasn't joking when he said Yoko knew how to manage food. What puzzled him most was how she could stay so fit and pretty despite of the tons of food she shovelled into her mouth everyday.
The little gave a small tinkle when Akagi opened the door to the ice cream shoppe.
Yoko sat at the booth at the far end of the room. She was playing with a melted scoop of ice cream in a bowl, looking rather downcast.
"Is this seat taken?"
Yoko, not even looking up, said to her ice cream, "That must be the worst pick-up line I have ever heard. Sit down."
Akagi obligingly dropped his bag to the floor and took the seat opposite to Yoko. "Chocolate?" he said conversationally.
"No, mocha."
"Oh." Akagi drummed his fingers on the table nervously. It was so ironic. Here he was, the powerful gorilla that could manage to psyche out any hardened player from making a shot. And he couldn't even make a decent conversation with a girl who wasn't even saying anything to him.
Maybe that was the problem.
"Say something," he said abruptly.
Yoko looked at him, her brows crossed. "What?"
"I'm not used to all this silence."
"Hn." Yoko continued to twirl with her spoon. "Aren't you supposed to be in practice right now?"
"Had to take care of something first."
Something like a faint shadow of a smile played on Yoko's lips. "Something more important than basketball?"
Trapped. Akagi racked his brains for a diplomatic answer.
"But then I guess it would be cruel to ask you that," Yoko continued quietly. "You're aiming for the national championship and...well, you're not supposed to be here." She looked at him. "Your team is waiting for you. You'd better go."
"Not before I clear something up."
"And what may that be?"
She's baiting me, thought Akagi. But he stopped. What was he trying to clear up? He had just wanted to apologize to her, but now...
"Yoko-san, we both know you like me...ah, a little too much." Akagi paused, waiting for a violent reaction. But Yoko shrugged and said, "I know."
Akagi was surprised. But he had to go on. "And I'm not the sort of person that wants to be liked like that. And I'm not sure that I like someone trailing me and...making a show of herself."
Not it was Yoko's turn to be surprised. "Making a show of..." She shook her head and playfully bonked Akagi's head with her other hand and said, "Baka ne, Akagi-senpai."
Akagi waited for an explanation.
"I have long known that you're not the type who wants to be liked by...well, the sorts of me. I got wise and finally admitted that it was a hopeless case." Yoko shrugged. "You have a lot more important things to do."
Akagi thought she was the most frank person in the entire world. But...
"Thank goodness you don't like me anymore," he said a little too jovially, praying he didn't sound too disappointed.
"Mmm. I just wanted to watch you guys play. I mean, just because my brother is your rival doesn't mean I know nothing about basketball. Love playing it at home. I've got the size, don't I?"
"So you just wanted to watch us?"
"Yes." Yoko looked at him curiously. "What were you thinking, senpai?"
Akagi couldn't think of what to say.
"Ah, yes, I rememeber. You thought I was making a show of myself." A mischievous glint flicked in Yoko's eyes. "Yare yare, senpai. I'm more creative than that."
"Hm mm. I'm sorry then," Akagi managed to say.
"Apology accepted," said Yoko graciously.
No one spoke.
"Well, now that that's all cleared up, I think it's high time for you to return to your faithful team, Akagi-captain," Yoko broke in. "You do have a very important tournament coming. You don't want to be left behind."
"So yo." Akagi didn't move.
"Yes, I suppose that's your cue to leave already?" Yoko's voice was a bit strained.
"You want me to leave?"
Yoko stared at Akagi as if he had just sprouted three heads. Then she threw up her hands. "That's it. I give up. I have no idea how to deal with such a contradictory gorilla as you."
Akagi was confused. He had done what he had to do, but he felt like he still had to get something out of his system.
"Yoko-san..."
"Let's try to keep this at a logical level, shall we?" Yoko looked a little tense. "Talking with a someone who just about lost his last, living brain cell can be a little tedious."
Akagi lost reign over his emotions. He half stood up and roared, "Chikusho, Yoko, I'm just trying to say that this isn't the right time for us to...to..."
"Sit down, Akagi," Yoko said quietly.
Akagi stopped, noticing the heads that had turned to their direction. He quickly sat down, looking beaten.
"Now, calmly and quietly, Akagi, tell me what you mean." Yet Yoko's voice was already jumping a few octaves higher.
"I - I don't exactly hate you." Akagi chose his words carefully.
"No, I suppose not, because if you did, you'd be practicing basketball with your team right now."
"Can you please stop saying that?!" Akagi was reddening. "You make it sound like I don't care for anything else than basketball!"
"Well, don't you?!" The spoon in Yoko's hand was trembling as she brandished it. "I've already admitted it to myself. It was pretty painful. So don't make me waste all that because you're not making sense at all."
"What...what are you talking about?"
Yoko threw the spoon down to her bowl, making some ice cream splash on Akagi's face. "There is nothing more important to you than basketball. And nothing ever will. It took some time for me to swallow that down, but I managed to do it. And I'm proud I trashed my emotions so Shohoku's basketball team could have its best captain to itself. I'm glad," she continued as her voice wavered, "I'm glad I did my part."
Akagi stared at the liquid eyes, the quivering lips, and the proud arc of her chin. "Yoko-san. That's not true."
Yoko snapped, "What do you mean?"
"I know it's very presumptuous and proud of me to say this, but I'm afraid you still -"
Yoko quickly stood up and said, "I have to go now," but Akagi grabbed her arm and threw her back to her seat.
"Listen," he said, not letting go of her arm. "If I don't say it now, I probably never will." He heaved a breath. "Once a feeling is sparked, you don't get rid of it just like that. You have to face it. Like basketball. Once someone blocks you from making a shot, he doesn't let go of you until you both face off and see who can elude who. There is no in-between."
"When did you become an expert in feelings, Akagi?"
"You've never faced me before you 'admitted' to yourself. What makes you think basketball is all that's in my head? Is it because you think my brain is so small that only one thing can fit in?"
Yoko laughed in spite of herself.
"No. You weren't sure of that. So I'll clear it up for you now right now. Basketball may take a great priority in my life now, but..." Akagi paused, and took the fateful leap, "I will have space for another. Soon."
Yoko closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said, "You've got ice cream on your nose, Akagi."
"But-"
"Here, let me." She took a paper napkin, and as she leaned over to wipe his nose, she kissed him on the cheek and whispered to his ear, "Then I'll wait."
When she leaned back on her chair, Akagi's ears were as red as a fire truck and his face as scarlet as a tomato. He clutched his bag and with a clumsy, "Sumimasen", rushed out of the shop, almost tripping over the door.
Seconds later, Yoko heard a victorious gorilla roar.
"Arms wide! Don't let them get through!"
Akagi, with his arms on his hips, watched as he saw his team play a scrimmage with each other. "Sakuragi! Remember what I told you about defense!"
"Oi, oi, Gori! You were late! Shouldn't you be ashamed of yourself?" Sakuragi retorted as he unsuccessfully tried to block Mitsui from passing through.
"Why were you late, Akagi-senpai?" asked Ayako curiously.
"It's not very important," said Akagi calmly.
"A-ha! It's a girl, isn't it?" teased Ayako, nudging him at the ribs. "The way you're trying to keep off a smile from your face, it has to be."
Akagi lifted an eyebrow, blew his breath from his nose, and stared at her. Then he looked back at the game.
Then he smiled to his heart's content.