"Miyagi Katsu has scored again!" The announcer yelled, and the crowd surged to their feet, cheering and screaming. The stadium was packed, camera's focused on Japan's current #1 Basketball Team as they scurried across the court.
Haruka Miyagi stood on top of her seat, unable to contain her excitement. Once her father's team won this game, they would have won one of the biggest basketball tournaments in the world!
"Go chichi!" She called, and felt a flush of joy when her dad glanced up at her and smiled, giving her a thumbs up. She returned the sign, and smiled brightly when he nodded seriously and returned to the game. It was intense, and she could feel the tension even this high up in the stands. At the worldwide level there were no bad players, and their only real problems were holding back enough that no one would get hurt. But still, her eyes were glued to the game, excitement boiling up in her.
"Haru, sit down, I can't see the game!" Momoi complained to her friend, pulling her back to her seat.
"Sorry, momo! I just can't sit still when I see Dad play!" She squealed to her friend, who rolled her eyes at her. Her friend's attention returned to the game, her amazing strategy skills keeping track of the high-paced play with unwavering consistency.
Haru glanced sideways and winced slightly when she saw her mother. Kameko Miyagi was breathless, her eyes fastened to her husband as he dribbled the ball down the court. She didn't share her daughter and husband's love of the game, and every time she watched, she would be clenching her fingers tightly, just like she was now. Her heart pained to see her mother like this, but her overwhelming excitement of the moment drove everything else out.
Haru impatiently turned away from her worried mother, shoving her glasses back as they tried to slide off of her nose yet again. Her prescription had changed slightly over the years, so she couldn't wear her contacts today, which made it a little bit more difficult to see. But if it meant that she got to see her father play the biggest match of his life, then she would wear her horrible glasses.
It was down to mere seconds in the last quarter of the match, and the teams were separated by one point, with her dad's team in the lead. If they missed a shot or had the ball stolen than the other team might be able to pull together and win . . . The tension drew her to the edge of her seat, and she clutched her hands together, the sweat making her glasses slide down her nose again.
Katsu Miyagi dodged almost easily around the opposing teams power forward and center, who were both ready and waiting for him. But the ace of the strongest team Japan had ever known was not going to back down from such a challenge.
Later Haru would wonder if things would have changed if he'd passed the ball to another player. She would ask herself why the center had to be nearly a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her dad.
Katsu went into one of his miracle shots as the seconds were ticking down. The center, who was guarding him, trying to block him, jumped just as the ball left Katsu's hands.
Then something happened that would give Haruka nightmares for years. Just as the ball went through the hoop, (eliciting cheers from the crowd and bringing them to their feet) The blocker pitched forward, and almost uncontrolled, started falling; taking her father with him. Haruka stared speechless as Katsu attempted to get out of the way, but not quick enough, and the larger man cried out as he landed heavily on the smaller player and then both of them tumbled to the floor with a thud that echoed loud enough through the stadium to silence the cheers.
Haruka didn't hear the whistle blow, or her mother's scream. She didn't hear Momoi's cry to come back. She simply scrambled through the crowd, pushing people out of the way frantically, a small part in her brain wondering furiously why she was so much shorter than everyone else. Panicking, rushing to get to her dad, knowing that surely he was fine. They'd just won the game! He'd swing her up in the air, and laugh, and then he'd take her and mom out for ice cream to celebrate, and they could go and play basketball in the park tomorrow while mom made dinner, and then when she got to school on Monday she could tell Kuroko and Kise all about the game, and they'd pester her, and basketball practice would be perfect as usual as she played one on one with Aomine, and everything would be just . . . Just fine.
Haru froze, her eyes widening with horror as she skidded to a halt on the edge of the court.
The center from the other team had rolled off of her dad, leaving him lying there on the ground at an unnatural angle. He was so still.
His team mates were next to him, calling his name, and his coach was off to the side, his face pale as he called an ambulance. The medics that were on the scene were hurrying over with a stretcher. There were bustles of activity around her, but she felt like she was frozen; People were screaming, but all she heard was a buzzing in her ears and the heartbeat resonating quickly in her head as she saw his body, limp, on the ground. 'What's going on?' She thought dimly. 'Why is everyone screaming? What happened? Where am I?'
"Haruka? Haruka sweetie, come over here." Haru turned slightly to stare blankly at Kikuchi Ami, the manager of her dad's team. Although the woman looked pale and worried, she pulled the girl into a hug and led her back towards the stands, where Haru could see her mom hurrying down towards her, tears on her face and fear in her eyes. Haru followed blindly, wondering vaguely if it was raining inside.
"It's going to be alright, they're calling an ambulance, and Katsu-kun will be perfectly fine then." Ami-sensei was babbling, Haru realized dimly. 'He'll be fine?'
She glanced back just as her dad's eyes opened. They were filled with pain, but he was still trying to smile, and as she watched, he forced himself to give her a thumbs up.
Her eyes widened and teared up as he gave her their special sign. 'When you come to my games, even if I can't see you, I'll give you a thumbs up to tell you that I'm playing my hardest, just for you.'
As tears started to roll down her cheeks, she returned it, but in that moment she felt something snap inside her. It was basketball that had done this to her father. The game that he loved, the game that he had taught her all those years ago, had been the game that had nearly taken him away from her. Why?!
She was herded out of the stadium, and she remembered dimly getting into an ambulance and hearing sirens as they drove down the road, but all she could think of was her father's words to her right before the game. 'I will win this game, No matter what!'
Water started dripping outside the dark windows, and it echoed the pain in her heart.
Wow, this was intense! I was on the edge of my seat just writing it! This is just the prologue, so I hope you guys will enjoy the rest of the story!
Ja ne!
Alya
