CHAPTER XIV

HIT YOU HARD

Back in black

I hit the sack

I've been too long, I'm glad to be back

Yes I'm, let loose

From the noose

He hummed the lyrics of ACDC's Back in black as the music blasted from his stereo while he was driving her to the office. He was preoccupied into driving, concentrating on the street and the words of the song as it registered in his head that he didn't even notice her staring at him with an annoyed expression on her face. She instantly lowered the volume to zero, well, in that case, turned the music off which abruptly caught his attention.

"Hey!" he bolted up, looking at her with a what-the-hell look on his face.

"It's noisy! That song is practically destroying my eardrums!" she complained reasonably.

"That song?! That song is one of ACDC's greatest hits! It's classic rock!" he explained to her, clearly explicating his emotional attachment to the song.

"What? Who? ABCD?" she crunched her eyebrows.

"A-C-D-C. I can't believe you don't know them! Have you ever watched Supernatural?"

"That show of two brothers who hunt ghosts, vampires, spirits and other wacko stuff?" she asked and he nodded. "No. It's a freakshow," she said with conviction. "Besides, it scares the living crap outta me."

He laughed at how she'd make terrible remarks of almost all the things he's into. He just watched her there beside him, complain about his atrocious taste of music, tv shows, how she couldn't put other food on the fridge during Saturdays because it's full of beer and all other tiny things she could think of.

"And just this morning, I found the tissue roll empty in the bathroom! You should've changed it with a new one. Don't you know bathroom etiquette?" she looked at him, expecting an answer to the long speech she gave, but instead, he just stared at her with a smirk on his face.

"So?" she asked again.

"Huh? What babe? Sorry, I just lost track of what you've been saying. Your beautiful eyes just burst into flames when you make this long speech of complaint and the way that your lips would purse in irritation. It's cute," he flashed his sexy award-winning grin.

And indeed she pursed her lips in irritation, and maybe restraining herself to smile at the compliment he just said. "Bullshit." She tried to look straight at the cars in front of them, avoiding that smug face.

"What?" his playfully defensive voice was so annoying yet sexy that she hated it. She hated it because it always got to her.

"Stop doing that to me," she crossed her arms on her chest. "That… that thing you do. Whatever it is. It's annoying."

He chuckled and started to tease her. "I bet it turns you on."

"Oh if it turns me on, I would've already been naked five minutes ago," she said sarcastically.

"Oh really?"

"Wanna bet?" she smirked, slowly removing the first two buttons of her blouse.

"Okay, stop. You win," he sighed and parked the car right in front of her office building. "Jesus, Kari. The things you do to me." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and the brunette just laughed in victory.

"Relax honey," she teased, patting his shoulders, gliding her touches just below his nape and playing with his hair.

He groaned and rubbed his face with both his palms. "God. Go! You're late for work. I'm gonna die because of you."

She just emitted a triumphant melody of laughter before opening the door and getting out of the car.

"Don't forget to watch later's game alright. I've got the best seats reserved for you so you better not bail on me," he playfully threatened her. "And I've got your friends' tickets covered."

"Sure. I'd like to watch you lose," she joked. And even if she did it condescendingly, the way she always does since day one, he found it adorable and fascinating which made him snicker in amusement.

"I'm sure you'd be disappointed," he shifted the car to drive. "See you later babe!" And she slammed the door shut watching him speed off with an unstoppable grin on her face.

For what it's worth, he admitted, he liked seeing her on the bleachers, cheering for him, shouting his name, put on that cute worried look on her face whenever the team's score was at a disadvantage. He liked it. Because moments like those – the tension rising in the atmosphere which makes every fan rise up their seats and put on a certain expression without them realizing – make Tk see how she really feels inside. As if the mask she puts on, all that snob appearance and cool demeanor, all of it goes away and shows her authenticity. Because he knows she isn't the type to open up, to talk about what's going on or the sparks that are obviously flowing between them. If she'd ever broken down in front of him, it was once. Just once. And he realized how breakable she was that he couldn't bear seeing the pain in her eyes.

Putting her out there made her seem different than her usual self because she reacts on instinct. No facades. No fraudulence. Just pure Kari, and for once, he'd like to see that from her. They may have uttered a few I-love-you's and demonstrated in countless x-rated performances their love for each other, but they will never be substantially open with it. He could still feel the cold hard cement wall between them.

He thought about how he told her he loved him that cold Saturday night after their fight and if deep down inside, she believed him. Because like her, he couldn't be open about it too. He could never put words together and construct a coherent sentence of how real everything he feels for her. It was crazy actually. He just laughed to himself.

How ever did it happen that one day, a crazy woman waltzed in his house and gave him a life full of crap and for a moment, fell in love?

Boy, he got hit good. Too good.

He stood up and washed his face in the locker room trying to rid of the thoughts and concentrate on the game that was going to happen in a few minutes.

The coach called out to his players and huddled the group in one big circle. "Remember boys, this is finals game 2. We may have won the 1st game but that doesn't mean we're safe. We have to win this season's play-offs. So you all do better than your best out there. Losing is for idiots. And you damn well know you aren't one."

He looked at all his players in the eye one by one. "Sunrisers on three," and they all put their palms on top of each other in the middle. "1, 2, 3 Sunrisers!"

And the announcer called off the team and everybody appeared on court, jogging towards the middle to shake their opponent's hands.

"Ladies and gentleman, the JBL Play-offs Finals, Game Two! The Hitachi Sunrisers vs Hokkaido Sparks! Let the game begin!"

The tallest of both teams motioned to the center, ready for jump ball. The referee blew the whistle and tossed the ball in the air. Both players sprinted up and… it's Sunrisers' ball.

The guy smacked it and Tk got hold of the ball, dribbled it towards their court with speed and shot their first two points. Now, it was the Sparks' turn. The opposing made a couple of shots before the Sunrisers could put their game face on.

After the first quarter which was led by the Sparks, Tk started o feel the heat. It was show time. No beating around the bush, no chill dribbles. They're gonna play offensive because no way in hell was he losing this game.

He hastily drank water like he's never had some before and wiped off the sweat on his forehead and neck. From a far, he noticed Kari watching him and he held her gaze. She smiled an encouraging smile to him and he smiled back. His breathing was incredibly fast and seeing her smile at him didn't help bringing his normal breaths back.

The referee's whistle signaled the start of another quarter. The players were back on the game.

Kouji was dribbling his way towards their ring when Tk shouted open. He got the ball and was about to shoot it when the other team's player smacked it right from his hands.

"Dammit," he cursed as he jogged his way to retrieve the ball.

The Sparks were giving them a hard time to raise their score, having been stuck to 33-28 for the past two minutes. Whenever Tk's team would aim for a shot, the opponent would block it. The Sunrisers were all playing in offense which left some of the Sparks players open and ready to shoot some points.

Now, Ken has the ball and dribbled it to their court. He passed it to Ryo who luckily made a three-point. Sparks steals the ball and made a run for it. Tk was at the opponent's back. He blocked him and tried to snatch it away which he did in success. He now owns the game, dribbles it to their side, running in fast pace when an opponent blocked him. He jerked to the side to avoid him but the opponent fell to his ass making it look like Tk knocked him.

The whistle noised and the referee signaled foul.

"Aw c'mon!" Tk shouted.

This gave the Sparks a free throw which much to their dismay were prefect shots. It was now 50-39.

Second quarter ended with frustration on the Sunriser's faces. "C'mon guys, level it up. We're not losing to these sons of bitches," he spoke out to the team in irritation.

Everyone was hot-headed and it was obvious on the looks on their faces. Their coach devised a strategy and shoved it up to his players' heads. For all it's worth, this was his career. And even if he's still a millionaire, a magazine cover, a renowned basketball player after losing, failure was not an option. Because for him, you don't work your ass off, burn muscles and extract a bull load of sweat for losing. That was his principle. You don't give off everything and receive nothing in return. That's bullshit. Failing for him is a sign of incompetence, not being good enough. And he knows he's better than that.

The game resumed and everyone was back on track. Tk tried to own the game. He stole the ball, did most of the points and raised the score from 39 to 54. Call it a miracle but he was able to make five 3-points by himself. The crowed cheered wildly as Tk was aiming for the ring. Ryo shouted open but the blonde thinks he got a better chance. He charged in even if the opponent was blocking him and shot the ball.

It missed.

It bounced back from the headboard to the hands of the Sparks.

They jogged to the other side of the court and Ryo appeared to his side. "What was that man? I was wide open."

"Yeah, sorry bout that," Tk apologized but did not sound sorry at all. All he could think of was winning. He cannot afford himself to lose.

The Sparks scored a couple of times before Tk could retrieve the ball again. This time he got fiercer and everytime his teammate would call out open, he'd just ignore and shoot the ball himself.

Now, coach called out a time-out. And when Tk approached him, he just yelled at the blonde. "What in hell's name were doing out there boy? Are you an idiot? This ain't a one man show."

"But coach! We're losing! I can still raise up our score high enough to make it difficult for them to catch up!" he reasoned out. Coach looked at the score board and found it on 65-65.

"Look son, you might be the best shooting guard in the team but the others have a better chance of making the points when they're wide open. So you better deflate that ego of yours or help me god I'm not sending you out on the fourth quarter! For god's sake be professional."

Tk locked his jaws and suppressed himself from lashing out.

"Now, go. You have three more minutes before third quarter ends."

Everybody returned back and Tk tried to calm himself down. Kouji patted him on the shoulders and said, "Don't worry man. We're winning this one."

The Sparks scored before Ken could snatch the ball away. He passed it to Tk who threw it to Kouji and they scored another three point. Their other teammate caught the ball and shot another point. By the time the ball fell through the ring, the Sparks caught it. They moved fast towards their court when Tk was able to seize it. He zoomed from the opponent's side towards their court when one of the Sparks hit him by the shoulder causing him to twist his ankle and fall down the ground. He cried in pain when the whistle blew as his teammates helped him up.

From the crowd, Kari jolted up in shock of what was happening.

They called in time-out and the paramedic rushed to the middle of the court. The guys helped him to their benches as he winced in pain. He walked with all his weight shifted on his right foot, trying his best not to move a muscle on his left foot because it hurts like hell. Cramps in the middle of a game was a demonic son of a bitch.

"Fuck! Dammit!" he kept on shouting a string of profanities while the paramedic massaged his ankle and took the situation under his control. The game continued on and Tk was left stuck on the benches for the rest of the game.

"You alright?" coach asked and looked at his left foot. "Sorry son. You might be sitting out on the forth quarter. You better start praying," he said as he saw the scoreboard turn to 78-70 in favor of the Sparks.

Tk punched the bench with his fist in frustration. He wanted to stand up, start pacing but all he could do is run his fingers through his hair and rub his face with his palms in desperation. "Stupid bastards!"

Exasperation was all over his face and Kari could see it from meters away. He noticed her stare at her even at a distance and he saw utter worry in her eyes. She frowned and he just sighed and looked away. This was probably the worst thing that could happen to him. To get sprained in the middle of a losing game! This was an absolute unforgiveable event.

Everything happened in a breeze and now it was the last quarter. He was helplessly sitting there, shouting to his teammates what he thinks they should be doing. And he saw how fiery and raging the game was. Offense to offense and defense to defense. They were playing each other and he couldn't do anything about what was happening inside the court. He saw how his teammates were playing like hungry predators and they were all fighting for the same meat. He looked at the time with panic written all over his face. One minute left and the score was 95-89.

They were in deep shit.

He couldn't take it. He couldn't watch this. With all his anger, he stood up even it pained him to do so. He walked out of the gym, into the locker room and banged the wall.

"ARGH!" he shouted and kicked the door of his locker with his good foot. Finally, he heard the announcer.

"Congratulations Hokkaido Sparks!" And their fans cheered for them.

She waited inside the gym for him. Minutes ago, she bid goodbye to her friends who were also there to watch the game, and sadly they had to watch the particular game where everything falls apart. But the saddest part of all was to see him get hurt because she cared more than she ever thought she could for a person.

When he emerged through the entrance with a sore ankle, she immediately stood up and rushed to him, burying herself in his chest. "Thank god you're okay."

He was a little bit surprised with her actions but he encircled his arms around her and rested his nose on top of her head, closed his eyes and inhaled the floral scent of her smooth hair. "Yeah, I'm good," he managed to say but winced in pain. "But I can still feel my sore muscles burning."

All the anger he felt during the announcement of winners faded away the instant she tucked herself in his arms.

She untangled herself and snickered, "You're such a baby."

He was dumbfounded by her change in reactions, yet he was amazed how intriguing she could get. He couldn't suppress his laugh, watching her make fun of him again on his worse day. "You happy now? We lost," he pouted.

She actually felt sorry for him but of course she played along. "Truthfully, no. It turns me off seeing you like a washed out puppy," she mirrored his pout and he just looked at her in disbelief, with his breath taken away at how she's so good at ridiculing him that it made him laugh.

"Now c'mon," she snatched the car keys from his fingers. "You're tired and I'm driving."

He laughed. "No, it's fine. I'm driving."

She rolled her eyes and replied with heavy sarcasm. "Alright, alright babe," she held her palms up in defeat yet the keys were still clasped between her fingers. "You're the man. You call the shots."

She was so adorable, he couldn't help it. He snatched her by the waist and pulled her closer to his chest. She tilted her gaze up towards his towering height and whispered, "C'mon babe, let me take care of you."

"Nice try," he smiled. "And I should be the one taking care of you. I'm still driving," he insisted and took the car keys from her. To his surprise, she pinched him on the waist and he outbalanced himself, grimacing in pain, "Ow!"

Luckily, he was able to grip the railings by the benches but his left leg, which had the sore ankle, wobbled.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she panicked and reached out to him.

"HAHAHA! Gotcha!" He was in that instant in hysterics and stood up straight.

"Hahaha," mocked Kari. "Very funny. Now, let's go and you drive your precious car."

"Damn right. I'm the only one who can drive my baby."

"Yeah, go marry miss Lamborghini," she said sourly.

"What? You jealous of me marrying somebody else?" he teased.

"I didn't mean that!" She got all touchy now on the subject. Yes she was awesome at the whole teasing and fooling around, but sometimes, she gets so stuck with the ideas that they tease each other about. Maybe jokes are half-meant. Maybe she was just scared to turn this whole shebang a serious matter. Maybe she didn't want to take this seriously because… because she wouldn't know what to do if something bad ever happened.

"Geez Kamiya, I'm just kidding."

"Oh so we're on last name basis again?" she arched a perfect eyebrow.

He gazed at her beautiful face, how fierce yet serene she looked. There was something about her that draws him in, and it's not just the late night sex, the long chase, or the feisty attitude. He didn't really know what triggered him to feel this way for her, but one thing's for sure, she grew on him. And if ever he'd find himself, one day, alone in his bed without her in sight, it would be the most miserable thing he'd have to go through. Because she'd already made her mark on him. She touched him, held him and stuck with him like a tattoo.. and if ever it were removed, it'd be the most painful torment he could live with. Worse than a losing game, a terrible sprain or a sore muscle.

He sighed aloud. "C'mere," he pulled her to his side, around his arms and squeezed her under his hold. He stole a kiss on the cheek and murmured to her ear, "I love you."

He just let the words slip, not being cautious or anything, but decided to simply go with the flow and live in the moment.

She paused and turned her head slightly towards his direction by her side, "I love you too," she replied quietly and pressed her lips on the corners of his. Her hands reached down for his and their fingers intertwined.

The warmth both their bodies emitted was irremovable. It felt so good and they wanted to stay there, closely beside each other because it meant them the world. They stood there for a long moment, her head buried in his chest with his arms wrapped around her.

"This feels good," she whispered, inhaling his strong masculine Tk scent and kissed his throat.

"Mm hm."

They came out of the gym and walked tightly side by side to the parking lot, giggling. As soon as they got in the car, he turned on the engine and noticed her staring at him with an unhappy look on her face.

"What?" he asked softly as he reached to touch her face. "What's wrong?" He inched his face closer to hers at the same time he tugged her forward.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm sorry for tonight's game." She was telling him the truth, and she rarely did. She never tells him what she really thinks or feels about any situation and it takes a lot of persuasion to do so. But this time, she let it out aloud by her own choice. He was grateful for that.

Instead of letting out a sigh, he smiled. But pure sadness was evident in his eyes. "It's alright."

"I know how much it means to you and I wish… I wish it just ended differently," she spoke with so much sympathy.

"Yeah, I wished so too," he agreed and for a moment, they just stared at each other's eyes while he held her face and stroked her cheeks with his thumb. Her eyes really are beautiful, and his hearts swells with joy at thought of being the only man who could have her.. because it pains him to just simply imagine her with another man who doesn't deserve her, and for a moment there, he wanted to be the one for her – the one she'll need and want. He wanted to be her everything.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, marveling the wonderful beauty before him, stroking her soft, flawless cheek. "Don't leave me, Kari. If you do, it'll be my greatest loss.. worse than any other game I've played."

Her chest was stung, with the most magnificent feeling ever. There he was, confessing his most horrifying fear to her, deliberately. And it shows how much he trusts her with this, to let her know how much she was worth to him… and it made him so vulnerable just doing that. But he still did, he chose to put down the walls because she was worth all the love he could give… and pain he could endure.

She didn't say anything, but only leaned forward and kissed him reassuringly on the lips.

After a little while, they pulled apart and he started driving the way home.

The ride home was mostly subtle and quiet, both of them enveloped in their own thoughts. He stared straight to the road, while she on the other hand gazed outside the windowpane. The silence between them was not in any case awkward. It was peaceful and soothing, which made her realize that if she didn't take this seriously, it would never become real. She know and she feels and somewhere deep down, it's all real. And she wanted it. She wanted this.

Tk's face suddenly turned rigid and she became aware of this when she looked at him. Confused with the sudden change of manner, she asked, "Why?"

He motioned to the rearview mirror and watched the black van following them. "It's the paparazzi."

Consequently, he stepped on the accelerator and speeded off, in dying need to escape the reporters. He can't have this right now because he was beat and tired and he just wanted to go home and rest. With all the news about Kari being pregnant, the game they lost, the stunt in the gym, they all want a juicy little piece of information from every happening in his life. He doesn't want that. And he definitely doesn't want it right now.

He drove faster than Paul Walker ever did in the Fast and the Furious, veering the car in sharp turns just to lose them. Thankfully they were out of the city streets so there was no traffic. To his dismay, the paparazzi were still tailing behind them like a hungry cheetah charging for its prey. For a moment, he thought the gas pedal might break due to the force he exerted pushing the damn thing. He was already going on 80 km/h and they were still there!

The empty street was the one thing that made Tk accelerate the speed. For almost fifteen minutes of zooming away and racing around attempting to get rid of them, it was no use. They managed to catch up, persistent on pestering the blonde with some details they could sell in any media organization.

They were nearing the city when Tk instantaneously swerved to the left in high speed and they were blinded by the brightest white light and deafened by the loudest beep of a horn. On instinct, Tk motioned his arm protectively in front of Kari and all he could think of was no, not her.

It was all too fast to process that everything turned black and the sound disappeared.

Unconsciousness hit them both hard.

Cancercute ©opyright

[AUTHOR's NOTE]

Date Posted: o9.o7.12

Hi guys! Send in those reviews and make me happy! Thank you for reading and I hope you like it.

Song in the chapter: Back in Black by ACDC