Chapter Six

The boy's locker room is a very disgusting place to say the least. The smell of fermenting boy sweat covered up by the suffocating cloud of Axe body spray that attacked me the moment I opened the door made me recoil before holding my breath and stepping in. I looked around for Hanamiya, but the only things inside this small room were the rusty lockers, discarded gym socks, a vandalized bench, and a cracked mirror.

Not knowing what I should do, I turned for the door to head out of our designated meeting spot. There was no way I was going to sit in this room longer than I had to. As I was about to grasp for the door handle, the door swung open revealing the very person I was looking for.

"Sorry for making you wait." The sarcasm rolled off his tongue as he stepped in practically pushing me aside.

"This place is totally gross. Aren't you guys supposed to at least try and keep it clean in here?" I looked around the room again, still peeved over how disgusting it actually was.

When I looked back over at Hanamiya he was siting on the bench, leaning back on his hands, his head resting on his shoulder and he was looking straight at me, smirk and all.

"What?"

"Did you put extra effort to look nice for me today?" His amused expression made me feel extremely self-conscious at that moment.

"Well yeah, I didn't know what you would have me doing, so I figured that maybe I would be doing something formal. I didn't want to make a fool of myself by being underdressed." My answer immediately sent him into a laughing fit.

"You really are a total idiot!" He managed to say between breaths.

"It's not like I went all out. I am just wearing a skirt and some mascara." I tried justifying.

"I wish that was the only thing that you were wearing." He teased. And before I knew it I found myself walking up to him, palm out and ready to leave a big ol' handprint on his otherwise perfect skin, but before I could make any contact he grabbed onto my wrist twisting it back. I gasped in pain and contorted my body to try and alleviate myself from the discomfort that the position he had me was inflicting.

"How about you come and sit over here?" He looked at me invitingly, almost as if he wasn't two seconds from snapping my arm in half. I obliged and he released me from his grasp so that I could move over to the bench. I sat down next to him, but tried to keep a bit of space between us. Why? Because I hated him with every fiber of my being and his very presence seemed to repel me away from him, that's why.

"I won't bite." He smirked in response to my obvious body language. I glared back at him and held my ground.

"So what is it that you are going to have me do, huh? I'd rather just get it over with and leave." At this point I was more or less disinterested in the whole thing. I really just wanted to do whatever it took to get this kid to stop what he was doing and move on with my life. I figured that he just abused players cause he wanted an advantage on the court and if I did something for him, like do all his homework, he would have more time to practice actually playing basketball.

What I hadn't understood at the time is the real reason he did what he did. What the true meaning was behind all of the abuse, physical and mental, that he put people through. I didn't know who Hanamiya Makoto really was, but it was in this locker room that I started to put together the pieces.

"It is simple. If I can't let my frustration out on the players during the games, I am just going to have to let it out on you, before the games, instead."

"Dude, I am not just going to let you beat me up. You try and fight me and I will fight back."

"Baka, That's not what I meant, although you probably will leave with some bruises." I looked back at him puzzled, trying to figure out what he could have possibly been trying to say. Looking back, and you probably would agree, I really was stupid. It was so obvious now what he was trying to get at, but I couldn't even begin to imagine that what he was thinking of doing at the time.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" And when I stared back at him, clearly clueless, he slid across the bench until he was uncomfortably close to me, locking eyes with me, "Let me fuck you Kiyoshi Chouko."

The way he spoke to me was enough to drain all of the blood from my body, let alone what he said. His words snaked out of his mouth and filled the room with venom that bit at my skin with every syllable. I tried to come back with some snarky comment but I seemed to forget all language and all I could do was stare at him in shock.

After what seemed like forever I managed to squeak out a pathetic, "You can't be serious," before falling back into my lost state.

I was so focused on his mouth, scared of what he might have said next that I was totally taken back when he touched his hand against my thigh. Despite this being one of the only times this boy would ever touch me softly, I jerked away immediately. It was as if his fingertips electrocuted me.

His cocky smirk seemed to dissipate into annoyance as I snapped out of my dazed state and began yelling at him. "You pervert! I thought you were joking before. I can't believe you were being serious! What is wrong with you? I would never even think about doing something as disgusting as that!"

I headed to the door, having enough with the conversation. But right before I rushed out Hanamiya mentioned, just loud enough so that I could hear, "You know, I am going to be playing your brother again this year." I stopped dead in my tracks; "It would be such a shame if right after he got back on his two feet he ends up in the hospital again."

"You wouldn't." I shot back turning around to face him.

"Oh you know I would."

"He already has to stop playing basketball because of you. Isn't that enough?"

"Do you think I really care about that?" He scoffed, "Right now all I can think of is the agonizing cry of pain he made that day, and how much better it would sound when I ensure that he will never be able to walk again."

The anger that bubbled in me caused my body to physically shake. I stomped up to him and grabbed him by the collar looking his dead in the eyes, "That's sick, even for you, Hanamiya."

"You have no idea sweetheart." He made no attempt to free himself from my grasp, but he didn't even need to; I couldn't be this close to him. That repulsive energy that seemed to ooze out of his pores began to burn my skin forcing me to let go and take a step back.

"I am so sick of your shit."

"My next game is next week, it's an away game, but I will meet you before that back in here. If you don't show up I will take that as a 'no' to our deal. I warn you I will be angry and I promise I will let all of that anger on the players. So choose wisely."

"Yeah whatever." I headed toward the exit, "I hope you lose your game today."

"Oh I assure you, I won't."