Sakuragi watched the expressions crossing Kogure's face as the vice-captain grew lost in thought. The Inter-High Games has tested all of them to their limits, physically and emotionally - none more so than the hotly contested game with Sannoh High School. They had given their all for that one game - and had Anzai-sensei not physically restrained Sakuragi, the red-headed player would not have considered the end of his basketball career too high a price to pay for the victory.
Kainan swept the Inter-High that year, of course. The battle-weary, injury-laden Shohoku team knew that their chances of winning, even at full strength, were slim. After the Sannoh game, the odds dropped to non-existent. But they had to try, they had come so far and through so much to surrender without giving the opposing team a fierce fight.
They returned without the championship. But they had won the respect of the student body and the grudging admiration of the faculty, and the team considered it a fair enough trade. Slowly, life returned to normal; though subtle changes were working their way through the fabric of the team.
Miyagi and Ayako had grown closer, and there was a new confidence in the point guard's stance whenver he was around her. Sakuragi had started the slow, painful process of physical therapy, bullying the doctors into letting him stay an outpatient for as long as possible. Mitsui and Rukawa had developed a practice routine that suited them well; while Mitsui was willing to acknowledge Rukawa as Shohoku's resident ace, he was not going to hand the title over to the younger boy without teaching him some of the finer points of the game. Akagi was busy studying for university; Haruko had placed herself under the tutelage of Ayako in preparation for her duties as assistant team manager.
As for Kogure...true to his word, he had retired from the basketball team in order to prepare for the gruelling university entrance exams. Old habits were hard to break, however, and he continued to visit the team's practice sessions, watching from the sidelines and always ready with words of encouragement for them. If anyone noticed that he arrived and left the gym minus the company of Sachi, they kept their speculations to themselves.
The team knew, of course, that Sachi, like the other third-year "family" members, was busy preparing for entrance exams. It was only logical that she would have little time to spend watching the team practice. They also knew that her greeting for Kogure upon their return from Hiroshima might have been more enthusiastic, if not for the presence of Kinume in the welcoming party. Having lived in each other's pockets for the better part of two years, they had drawn their own conclusions, and heaved a collective sigh on their former vice-captain's behalf.
Kinume's presence at courtside was invariably greeted with a mixture of dismay and antagonism, primarily because of the proprietary attitude she had adopted over Kogure. In addition, she managed to get on the wrong side of everyone who mattered : Mitsui, Rukawa, Miyagi and Ayako. Even soft-spoken Kentaro could not get out of her way fast enough, especially after she berated him soundly in the the presence of her friends. His offence? He had landed four-square on her foot during a particularly lively practice session.
It had been Kinume's own fault for standing too close to the sidelines, and everyone present that day could not help contrasting her shrill scolding with Sachi's silent look of reproach after a wild pass by Yasuda had slammed four-square into her back. What a great pity, they all agreed in the locker room, that events kept conspiring to keep Kogure and Sachi from having a proper talk to settle things between themselves; especially with graduation nearing and the seniors heading in separate directions.
It was a situation, reflected Sakuragi, that needed the skill of a tensai in its solution. Aloud, he said, "You should have gone and camped on Sachi-sempai's doorstep the minute you hung up the phone on Mr. Haneda. That way, at least, you would have had a chance to talk to her before we all left for Hiroshima."
.../tbc