Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and all of its original characters is not mine. This fic, including all the other characters not mentioned in the original TV/manga series, is mine though. Hope you like it! ^_^
Short Author's Note: Their thoughts are in italics. Enjoy!
Ikiru: To Live
By sophomoric genius
Chapter One
He stepped out of the stuffy shuttle train and onto the familiar platform. People of all ages were hurriedly passing him, others even giving him a dirty look for standing in their way. He adjusted the strap of his backpack before picking up the suitcase next to him. With a deep breath, Mitsui started to make his way towards the exit.
Once out on the streets, he set his luggage down on the pavement, followed by the backpack. He stretched for a moment, rubbing his muscles, which were stiff from all that standing and bustling about in the jam-packed train. He took in the familiar sight of residential homes, shops and business centers.
Finally, two whole months of nothing but the old, non-hectic peaceful days in Kanagawa…
Mitsui closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh, sweet scent of summer, a quiet smile in his face. When he opened his eyes, he noticed someone running straight in his direction."Hey!" He tried to step away but it didn't do any good. The girl wasn't exactly looking at where she was headed and didn't notice Mitsui's backpack on the ground. Her left foot got caught with the strap and she went flying anyway.
Mitsui's hand quickly reached for her arm and steadied her. "You alright?"
"Uh, yeah, thanks," she replied, dusting her pants. She shot the backpack a dark look. "What kind of idiot would leave his bag right in the middle of the sidewalk anyway?"
Mitsui froze. A wave of annoyance came over him and it showed plainly in his face. "Well if your eyes weren't wandering elsewhere while you were running, you could've easily dodged it."
She noticed the sudden change of his tone and decided this wasn't the time to gather enemies. "Truce," she sighed. She looked up to him with a sheepish smile. "I wasn't looking and I'm sorry. It's just that I'm kind of in a hurry."
"Fine, whatever," Mitsui told her shaking his head. He noticed the huge hiking backpack strapped on her back. "Just watch where you're going this time."
The girl, who had started walking away, turned back. "Hey, you don't, by any chance, know where Shohoku High is, do you?"
Mitsui raised an eyebrow. "You were running without the least bit idea where you're going."
Now it was her time to be annoyed. "Hey, I said I was sorry, didn't I? If you don't want to tell me where it is, fine. I'll just go look for it myself." She started marching away.
Mitsui's irritation turned to amusement as he watched her stomp away with her large, bulky backpack covering half of her retreating back. She looked quite comical.
"Just go straight and when you see the traffic light, turn left. Keep on going straight and you'll see the school," Mitsui instructed.
She turned around. "Straight. Left at traffic light. Straight again," she nodded at the end of each sentence. She grinned. "Thanks!"
"Sure," Mitsui picked up his own bags and returned the smile.
Then he frowned. With that thing on her back, she should've fallen flat on her face when she stumbled…but only her knee touched the ground…that girl's got a pretty good a balance… He started walking the opposite direction, which leads him back to his house.
***
"I'm home!" he announced when he opened their front door with his key. He sighed. He knew no one was home. He closed the door and pocketed his keys. "Such a warm welcome," he muttered as he dived on the couch.
Actually, he didn't really mind that nobody's there. He knew his father was still in his office and his mother is probably out doing the groceries. His younger brother wouldn't be due from Junior High for an hour.
Looks like I have the whole house to myself…ah…the sound of summer vacation…no ridiculously thick books, no boring professors, no impossible projects, no noisy roommates…yeah, just the golden sound of silence…
He sat up. "I'm sick of it already!"He stood up and carried all his bags to his room, knowing his mother would lecture him for the rest of the evening if he left them in the living room. Then he rushed back down to the kitchen, gulped down some orange juice and scribbled something on the note pad.
When he was in high school, he didn't leave notes for his mother and would usually come home late, sometimes even badly bruised. His mom would nag and nag but his father would simply turn around and ignore him, knowing no amount of beating or nagging would do a single thing. During those days, Mitsui Takashi knew no one named Mitsui Hisashi. But on his senior year, his love for basketball and the encouraging words of a certain jovial coach brought him back to the ex-MVP he once was.
And the family was whole again, yadda yadda.
A small smile was playing on his lips nonetheless. He posted the note on the small bulletin board in their kitchen.'I'm home. Went out. Be back soon.'
"All this silence is making me dwell on the past and it's killing me," Mitsui muttered as he slipped on his basketball shoes. He locked the door behind him and headed for his old school. "I need to hear some rubber shoes squeaking and some balls bouncing."
***
"Mitsui!" Miyagi called out when he noticed him. "What are you doing here?"
The group of sweaty boys stopped running around and turned to see the newcomer. Mitsui just smiled and nodded his greeting. He stepped inside the gym and looked at his old teammates. He closed the door behind him and walked toward the sidelines.
"Oi, Mitchy! Don't tell me you still cut classes in college!" one of the tallest boys, the one with bright red hair, gave him a shrewd grin.
"Baka yo!" Mitsui scoffed. "I can see you haven't changed a bit, Sakuragi. For your information, it's already our summer vacation."
Sakuragi was about to reply when Miyagi cut him short. "Let's finish this game first before having a five-minute break. Iku, iku!" He clapped his hands the way Akagi used to. "Hands up, Yasuda! Shiozaki, tighten your defense! Use some footwork!"
"Well, looks like Shorty's the Big Man now, eh?" Mitsui commented as he sat down next to Ayako.
The manageress grinned. "You'd think he's the type who couldn't handle this team very well. But he's actually doing great. He's almost as strict as Akagi-sempai used to be."
Mitsui just smiled and watched them practice. A guy he didn't know, probably a freshman, was dribbling the ball. He was about to run ahead when Sakuragi tapped the ball forcefully away, sending it flying out of the boundary line and towards the gym doors.
Mitsui was about to remark about Sakuragi's skills when suddenly the doors slid open. There was a split-second silence before the ball made straight contact on the person's face.
"WAA--"
They heard a broken scream, then a person falling down, then a mingle of muttered curses and the bouncing of the ball.
"Shimatta!" Miyagi rushed to see what happened. Mitsui was right behind him. Soon, the whole team was gathered around the door, straining to see who the casualty was.
It turned out to be a girl.
"Ow, dammit…" she grumbled, trying to sit up. Her right hand was massaging her forehead, where the ball hit her, no doubt, while her left was rubbing her sore back.
"Are you okay?" Miyagi asked her, helping her stand. She nodded.
"We're so sorry." Ayako was supporting her on her other side. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to go to the nurse's office?"
"No, no, I'm fine…" she mumbled. "Just a bit dizzy…" The girl took her hand away from her face to dust off her back.
Mitsui recognized her as the girl who stumbled on his bag earlier.
"Okay, five minute break!" Miyagi announced as they helped the girl inside the gym.
"Sakuragi, get me some ice," Ayako ordered once the girl was settled down.
"Eh? Why me?" the redhead complained.
"Just do it!" the manageress snapped.
"No, no, it's okay," the girl told them. "Really. I'm fine. See?" She stood up and waved her arms. Having made her point, she quickly sank back to seat again.
"You're not studying here, are you?" asked Ayako, handing the girl a cold drink.
She took it gratefully and drank a few gulps before answering. "No. I was looking for Anzai-sensei."
"He's not here," Mitsui finally spoke up. He noted the absence of his beloved coach the moment he stepped inside.
The girl looked at him dejectedly. "Oh." Then a sparkle of recognition filled her dark green eyes. "Hey, you're the one earlier, right? The bag guy."
"Yeah," Mitsui smiled at the memory of the girl's ridiculous predicaments. First the bag incident, now the ball accident. Talk about bad luck. "So we meet again. By the way my name's Mitsui Hisashi, not bag guy."
Observing the friendlier atmosphere of Mitsui now, the girl laughed. "Sorry. I'm Ikeda Sora." She stood up and bowed politely. "Yoroshiku."
"I'm Miyagi Ryota, and that's Aya-chan, Sakuragi, Rukawa…" Miyagi started pointing out his members.
"Er…hi…" She gave them a small wave. She tried to keep up with Miyagi's introduction but she was putting the right names in the wrong faces, and ended up remembering none but the first couple of persons.
"So, why were you looking for Anzai-sensei?" Mitsui asked her.
Before she could reply, a short, fat man came through the door. "Oh, Sora-chan! What are you doing here?"
The green-eyed, dark-haired girl turned around. She was instantly frozen. Her mouth opened and closed, in an obvious effort to speak but no words came out.
Anzai-sensei just smiled wider. "I've changed, Sora-chan."
It was as if he read her mind. Her eyes widened for a second before leaving the calm, chubby face and traveling on the shiny floor. She could feel the rush of warmth to her cheeks and ears. She knew it was rude, but she couldn't take her eyes off when she saw him. To say that he's changed is an understatement. He's morphed into a totally different person! What happened to the old terror that used the scare the hell out of me?
"Su--sumimasen," Sora whispered, sneaking a glance back up. "Oji-san."
Oji-san?
Mitsui looked at one figure to the other. Well, I'll be…I couldn't have guessed it…they have nothing in common, at least at first sight."Iie."
His voice was soft and gentle. She never imagined the stern, harsh tone he used before could ever change. But then again, it had been twelve years since she last saw him. Expecting to find the cold, surly coach to be colder and surlier, she had prepared herself for anything. Anything but this.
Anzai-sensei motioned for Miyagi to continue the practice with a nod. The captain understood the signal and blew his whistle.
"Iku, iku! Let's continue this practice! Get your lazy butts over here right now!"
"Hai!"
Sora still couldn't bring herself to look at her grandfather. She noticed a faint shadow fall upon her, but her eyes remained glued on the gym floor. A warm hand rested lightly on her shoulder. Finally, she brought her deep green orbs to meet his baby blue ones.
"Welcome back home, child," he told her, his face full of warmth and tenderness.
Tears formed at the corner of her eyes at the sound of his words, but she kept it back. Her heart felt like it was about to burst.
Nobody has ever greeted me with kindness in such a long time…I can't believe I'm hearing it from the person I least expected it to come from…and the one person I desperately wanted to hear it from doesn't even know where I am right now…
It came over her like a flash. She closed her eyes. In one sudden movement, she wrapped her arms around his plump neck and simply held on. Tightly. She felt his hands pat her back lightly.
"O ho ho ho! I've missed you too, granddaughter."
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Author's Notes:
As the title suggests, the Japanese word Ikiru means 'to live.' So, what do you think? I really want to know if this fic is worth the time - yours and mine. I'm still experimenting on my writing and your reviews would mean a great lot of deal to me. Creative criticism is very much welcome too. Thanks for reading and please review!! ^_^