THE THIN LINE CALLED HOPE
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters or the series Slam Dunk. I'm just a college student with a very hyperactive imagination. I don't have money and heck, my brother has even more than I do, so sue him, not me!!!
Author's Comments: This story has some Jap words in it. Since I'm so nice, I'll be putting their meanings in the end of this story (or somewhere along the way)… Those who are already into the Slam Dunk series or have watched it religiously are meant to read this fan fiction. That's why you call this a fanfic!!! I made this story in such a way that Sakuragi would be seen as someone serious with things, not just a goof ball, as the series would ordinarily show. But in some of the OVAs and episodes, Sakuragi is portrayed with a softer and a serious side, which is somewhat unusual. In this story, placed in a few surprises along the way. Well, what are you waiting for, on to the story!
PROLOGUE
Sakuragi stretched his arms lazily and squinted his eyes. He sighed. Running a hand through his red locks, he yawned sleepily. As a high school student now going on his second year at Shohoku high, he still is the same plain tall, quite intimidating fellow that everyone tried not to vex. Having a reputation of being notorious, it wasn't easy for him to get acquainted with the rest, save for a few chosen people, which we would later stumble upon in this story. To the relief of the populace of Shohoku, Sakuragi decided to devote his energies to the basketball team, which is one of his greatest achievements to date. It was sort of a blessing that he came upon the team by accident, for it was one of his uplifting and turning points in his life. From there, he met a lot of colorful characters that somehow made his high school life a lot less ordinary.
The sun's rays made its way through his window, right to his eyes. Making a mental note of rearranging his bed away from the window, he began to get up. He had a dream last night about a date with Haruko, the only girl naive enough to enjoy his company. He first met her in the freshmen building's hallway. Their meeting was sort of fate, in the sense that a series of events happened after the mere mention of the words, 'Are you a basketball player?' by Haruko. Sakuragi wasn't surprised that he dreamt about her. She had always been on his mind ever since she had the nerve to say to him the tabooed word – basketball. The dream was getting to the good part – Haruko about to give him a good night kiss -- only to be rudely awakened by the sun's rays. Rubbing his eyes, he trudged to the bathroom to wash up. 'Just my luck. Everytime I have this amazing dream about Haruko, there is always something or SOMEONE who jolts me out…'
He soon finds himself sitting on the floor. 'That's one rude awakening if I do say so myself. That was pretty stupid too.' Placing a hand over the bump that was now growing in his forehead, he glared at the doorpost. "Iteeee! What a way to start a morning… and to me of all people!" Now wide-awake, he enters the bathroom and proceeds to do his morning ritual…
* * * * * * *
It was mid-summer, one of those seemingly long and boring days for Sakuragi – which also meant that the start of a new school year was a few weeks away. He couldn't wait until vacation was over, so he could show to Shohoku and the rest of the prefectures in Kanagawa what a tensai he is in basketball. For the rest of his summer vacation, he spent his time training and perfecting his shots with the motive of beating Rukawa and Sendoh once and for all.
"Yes!" Sakuragi said with much conviction, "I will show them what a tensai would do! I will beat them all! Especially that kitsune and that cactus head ace man of Ryonan! BWAHAHAHA!" Dressed up in white shorts and a plain sky blue shirt, he proceeded to the outdoor basketball court, which had a beautiful view of the ocean. On clear mornings, it glittered like diamonds spread out on a blue blanket. It was his favorite place in the world, because besides the practice, he had many fond memories of his goddess of beauty, Haruko.
"Haruko-chan." Sakuragi blushed when her name escaped his lips. Losing his concentration for a moment, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Haruko-chan wouldn't like it if I was not practicing and perfecting my shots." Dribbling the ball, he made a perfect lay-up shot. Rounding the net again, dribbling the ball with less effort, he leaped to make a dunk shot. "Too easy for a tensai," he smirked.
"Whoo-hoo! There he goes again! Don't you ever tire of what you're doing, Hanamichi?" Dropping the ball, Sakuragi whirled his head around, looking to where the voice came.
'That's weird,' Sakuragi thought to himself. 'I could have sworn I heard Yohei's voice…' He peered into the bushes. It was rustling.
"Yappari," Sakuragi mumbled to himself as four figures popped out from the bushes: a thin, fair-haired guy, a horizontally challenged one, a guy with a moustache, and lastly, a raven-haired one. In other words, Yuji Ookusu, Nozomi Takamiya, Chuichiro Noma, and Yohei Mito, who are famously known as the Sakuragi no guntai (Sakuragi's army). Dropping the ball, he waited for them to approach him.
"It's 6 in the morning. Most people just sleep. NORMAL people sleep." Yohei said thoughtfully.
"Speak for yourself. Normal people don't go spying just for kicks, like a retard!" Sakuragi shook his fist in the air.
"Touché," Yohei shrugged his shoulders.
As Sakuragi was about to shout a retort, Yuji cut him off. Turning to Yohei, he grinned, "Well, that's just it, Yohei-kun. Sakuragi is not 'most people'…"
"That's right! I'm a tensai!" Sakuragi puffed his chest out. "The great Sakuragi Hanamichi is not like those ordinary, mediocre people who lay in their butts and sleep without a care in the world… BWAHAHAHA!"
Yuji sweat-dropped as he watched Sakuragi pick up the ball to continue his practice, "That's not what I meant."
"So what? Even Rukawa sleeps during that time, not to mention a lot, and he's still better than him…." Nozomi murmured behind Yohei. Sakuragi abruptly stopped.
"Uh oh…" Yuji, Yohei, and Noma said in unison.
"I take it back! I take it back!" a panicked Nozomi said while flailing his arms.
Too late. A towering Sakuragi heard every word and was approaching with inhuman speed.
"Kunouyarou!" Sakuragi slammed his forehead to Nozomi's forehead, as well as to the rest of his gang. "That's for disturbing my practice!"
Going back to where he left off, Sakuragi began practicing his free throws. When five of his shots didn't enter the ring, he slammed the ball in the ground in frustration. "Kuso! What the hell is going on? The wind's too strong! It's blowing the ball away from the ring!"
Yohei rolled his eyes. "The way you hold up your right arm is wrong. It has a wide angle, thus your ball tends to hit the side of the ring. Close up your arm like this." Yohei gestured to Sakuragi, holding his right arm high with his elbow facing downwards, so his arm looked like it made a 90-degree angle. "And when you shoot, use the power of both your knees and wrist."
"Who made you an expert on free throws?" Sakuragi said in a huff. He was a little embarrassed with himself for being corrected by a non-basketball player.
"Just reminding you of what Anzai-sensei said when making free throws. Or have you forgotten it already?" Yohei raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Of course not!" Sakuragi's cheeks reddened. How could he forget about the training he underwent with Anzai-sensei? How could he ever forget being left behind with a white-haired Buddha, while his teammates went off to train in a basketball camp? How could he ever forget his 20,000 shots that made him feel his arms were about to fall off? And of course, how could he ever forget how wonderful those moments were, because he was with Haruko-chan everyday? Sakuragi closed his eyes and smiled inwardly, 'Such blissful times…'
Knowing that Sakuragi would have another stroll on memory lane about you-know-who, Yohei said aloud, "Sakuragi-kun, we have to go. We have got to set up our little barbecue shack in the beach. Hope we could sell lots of barbecue and soda today! Ja!" With a wave, Yohei and the rest left Sakuragi to his thoughts.
Sakuragi shook his head. "Unbelievable." Bouncing the ball, he decided to do another free throw shot, following Yohei's advice. Lessening the angle of his elbow from his body, he aimed for the ring. Using both knee and wrist power, Sakuragi threw the ball. He smiled in satisfaction.