A/n: OLA! I'm alive and back! Thanks for the reviews; I honestly got tired literally writing down chap 5. LOL. Anyway, I'm back for the next chapter of my long and plot-less fic. Hope you enjoy this one! I need a triple dose of senru love that is why I have been reading fics from way back 2006-2008-2010 They are all awesome; lots of interesting and awesome plots- how I wish this fic of mine would be one of them JOh and its fixed- I won't be changing my title anymore, haha! I can't seem to think of any appropriate title! This'll do! :D Kinda lame, but- who cares?
SD is not mine; Songs, etc- not mine! The sad truth? I don't think I'll be able to finish this before Christmas! Waah! I got a few engagements to attend to, and it's getting a bit busy in the household, but I promise to finish this! :D
Warning/s: No Beta Reader. Not a Pro-writer. Typo errors. Grammatical Errors. This is a LONG one. SenRu. OOCness and more of them J
ADDICTED to SD: Thank you so much! :D I personally loved that scene too, I intended to make Rukawa sounded 'bossy' there without him realizing it (uh, something like that!) Oh, you want Rukawa to realize first? Hahah- let's see! But yeah, you kind of have a point- I loved it as well if Sendoh's gonna be the one to court- I mean, it's always been his role anyway. HAHA! And I love portraying Ruru as the shy one- to me he seems like it :D
CHAPTER 6
After the briefing of events which made a few players 'tsk' and 'hmph' in mixed emotions- but mostly of disdain, they decided to get ready for the first friendly match coming up in about two hours- mainly Shohoku. Uozumi requested his team to be left behind inside the lounge though. Akagi nodded in his direction, somewhat surprised to see Uozumi gather a mini meeting or some sort.
"Sendoh, come forward." Uozumi demanded. The aforementioned name, stood up almost lazily- a hand behind his head, a smile on his lips. 'Am I going to be scolded?' He inwardly thought. Almost all of the Shohoku members have gone out of the room with Rukawa trailing behind. He heard that Uozumi called Sendoh and wasn't able to help but looked back a bit to see what's up. He saw the taller guy walked in front of everyone else- looking unreadable. Most of the Ryonan Team paid in attention. This must be something important. It is rare to have Uozumi-san calling in a few minutes. Rukawa sighed and closed the door behind him slowly. 'I wonder what that is about.' But he, Rukawa, also wondered as to why is he wondering as well in the first place? He went bug-eyed. 'He's not your team mate, get over it- you're about to play with Shoyo, you dork.' Rukawa can't believe that he is actually berating himself.
When the Shohoku team was out of the room, Uozumi cleared his throat.
"Known to everyone, that this is the last year for me…" Uozumi started. "It is with great pride and joy that I am able to play with the likes of you, I know that I might not have led our team to the IH- I honestly failed at this… but, I know that with Sendoh being your new Captain, he will be able to deliver what I have failed to do so…" Uozumi stated- silence filled the room. He looked at his right and saw a confused Sendoh staring back at him.
"Taichou…" Sendoh muttered. He honestly didn't want this kind of speeches. He feels as if Uozumi is blaming himself. He shook his head disapprovingly. Hikoichi thought he was about to cry. The others remained silent. Ikegami then decided to stand up as well and delivered a short message.
"Uozumi and I have been very glad up to this moment to be able to play for Ryonan, this season might not have been ours to take but we will be there to claim the next- with Sendoh as your new Captain. Now, all we request of you is for you to give him your full support in every decision he has to make." Everyone nodded- Koshino smiled. He knew that Sendoh would make a great Captain. Sendoh on the other hand was neither frowning nor smiling. He was taken aback when Uozumi turned to his direction and ask him if he wants to say something.
"You might want to say something, Captain." Uozumi smiled. Ikegami nodded at his direction. Sendoh turned to look from his senpai's to his teammates. They were all smiling at him in return- expectant of course to hear something from him as well. He puffed out a huge sighed that earned a few chuckles from around him.
"Well- this is certainly uncalled for, I would have brawled like a kid." Everyone laughed. Fukuda tugged his lips upward. Sendoh shook his head slightly. He seemed to think for a moment before breaking into a smile- the ones he often gives.
"First off, Uozumi-taichou, Ikegami-senpai, you two were never a failure, you led your team with high spirits and we all saw that, I saw that personally, second…we need to recruit members, given that you two will be graduating soon." He grinned. Everyone chuckled softly. It was obvious. Sendoh then decided to continue. "… I don't think I can handle all the positions on court- so yeah, we need a strong backup. Hikoichi, I entrust the scouting to you, if I may." He winked at Hikoichi to which the exuberant freshman nodded cheerily. "You can bet on it, Captain!"
"Truth is… I never saw myself as the leader of this team. I just want to play for my team- be there when you need me the most. I love playing basketball, it's my passion- it's our passion. Every time I am on that court, I see not only myself- I see everyone else. I see all of your skills, your efforts… your passion. It's one of the many things that drives me- honestly. And I'm not standing here, saying all of these just to impress you guys- all I wanted to say is that, I stand before you as your teammate- your colleague, your… friend as I see all of you in return." He paused and smiled. "It's actually an honour to be regarded as a 'leader' but I believed that there's so much meaning to the word—for me, leadership is having the capacity to translate vision into reality- and you know what? My vision says that I am in a room full of real leaders- that's you guys. Real leaders are ordinary people- like us, with extraordinary determination."
Uozumi and Ikegami was stunned. Hikoichi was trying hard to fight back his emotions. Fukuda's eyes were a bit widened, but he was happy. He knows that Ryonan indeed is in good hands. Uekusa was smiling. Koshino grinned and put up a thumbs up to which Sendoh nodded and added further…
"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time… more wisely. Ryonan, we are a team, and everything we do comes out of the heads of the people who works here."
They all clapped and hooted with Sendoh's final sentence. Uozumi smiled- he knew he made one great decision. Sendoh grinned back boyishly, suddenly feeling all too embarrassed.
"That was… that was perfect, senpaiii!" Hikoichi literally cried, everyone laughed. Sendoh rolled off his eyes in amusement and decided to put on a small humour. "Sheesh, you guys—you made my armpits sweat." They all laughed.
"I thought playing against Rukawa on court is the only thing that makes you sweaty." Ikegami butted in… trying perhaps to tease the young Captain- he knows of the intense rivalry between those two. No one saw it coming. Koshino scowled. 'The brat…' Everyone chuckled some more. Sendoh smiled amusedly. "That is… a different story. Hikoichi, we truly need more recruits. One super rookie is hard enough to handle on court." He grinned. They all laughed.
"I have them on list already senpai!"
"Hmp, very well said- and I assumed that being the Captain now, you would be arriving on time?" Uozumi leered. Everyone laughed harder this time, very much aware of their Ace's habitual tardiness.
"I'll try Uozumi-senpai…" And he bowed & grinned.
"Do NOT just try, do IT." The bigger guy sounded strict… but he smiled. "Taoka-sensei is ready to skin you alive, you know." And Sendoh could only chuckled in response. He suddenly remembered his good ol' coach. Although, Sendoh wondered as to why Rukawa was injected suddenly into the 'scene'- but he doesn't really seem to mind now, does he?
++++
Room 5.
Rukawa dragged his feet inside the room and took note of the time. It was 10 am. In a half an hour, they will be having a friendly match against Shoyo. He ought to get ready. He opened the cabinet and decided to get his jerseys readied. He sighed inwardly. Still contemplating about the rules, although it makes much more sense now- all he think of now is how to win on their block. He somewhat knows that this will be an extra challenge for him since each pair would be a deadly combination of one Shohoku talent and Ryonan player all wound up in one pair. 'But what's there to worry about anyway?' Did he forgot that he was with Sendoh Akira of Ryonan? If there is any, it's the two of them that they (the others) should be worried about. Rukawa wondered as to what kind of teammate the spiky-dude really is. Is he as what everyone says he is on court? Or he's just all smiles and waved-off? Does he have the determination to win as well? Do they need to come up with a strategy? Would he like Sendoh's strategy? Would Rukawa listen to him? Will Sendoh listen back in return? Does Sendoh mind if…? Suddenly his head was bombarded with inquiries he never thought he had with him. He puffed out a huge sighed once again and suddenly landed his gaze on Sendoh's… bed. He sweat dropped.
'What a snake…' He thought Sendoh of as a snake because, he simply crawled up from his bed without even bothering to fixed the sheets. Just like a snake that changes its skin when the season comes- it leaves its skin somewhere, and crawls off.
He was about to change his clothes when he did the impossible—he decided to fixed the latter's beddings first. Rukawa is not the type to see such a distraught bed. He himself, knows that he's somewhat a spic and span kind of guy and it irritates him to see a bed all messy like that. He absent-mindedly fixed the pillows, the bed sheets until it was all spic and span. Satisfied with what he has accomplished- he was about to step into the washroom when the door opened and in came a Sendoh. The tall guy smiled his greeting and Rukawa simply shrugged.
Sendoh came in and settled himself on the coffee table- carrying with him a folder. Rukawa went inside the washroom and settled for a quick shower before their game. Sendoh sat down and scanned the folder containing papers with pictures on it- it's the list that Hikoichi told him about, there about twenty applicants for their team and Sendoh personally said that he'll be looking into their files first. He fished out for his celphone inside his jacket pocket and randomly played in a tune.
It's late in the evening
Glass on the side I've
been sat with you
for most of the night
Ignoring everybody here
we wish they would disappear
so maybe we could get down now…
(Sing, Ed Sheeran)
Minutes later, Rukawa came out the washroom- all dressed up in Shohoku jersey. He sat down on the mini couch just outside the washroom- and was busily towelling his hair dry- wordlessly doing everything. He was beginning to tie his shoes then… done doing so, he abruptly stood up to place his clothes inside the cabinet on a hamper…
"…I need you darling, come on set the tone If you feel you're falling, won't you let me know… If you love me come on get involved, feel it rushing through you from your head to toe…" (Sing, Ed Sheeran)
His voice was very manly but soft… and Rukawa heard it clearly. He briefly took a sec to look at the only person inside the room- and found Sendoh somewhat singing along with the tune from his phone while flipping onto some pages; his head swaying softly thru the RnB beat of the song- it was a familiar song. 'I wonder what those papers are…' Rukawa inwardly thought, but the truth is, he was just surprise to hear his rival sing just a few lines and yet… he actually thought that the older guy has a great voice. His eyes widened a bit- really. He almost want to hear another few lines from his senpai but shook his head inwardly. 'Baka... What are you getting hyped up again?' He felt his cheeks heat up a bit… But really, what bothered him as well was the almost-meaningful lyrics that Sendoh just sang- he almost felt his heart—thump. 'Idiot, those are just lyrics of the song- it doesn't mean anything, it can't mean anything…' He went bug-eyed.
"Did you do the sheets?"
Rukawa stopped at his tracks- hands already over the knob ready to get out. He looked behind and saw Sendoh's smiling and handsome face staring back at him. 'Handsome?! What the-?!' He gulped involuntarily. Shrugging his shoulders he answered nonchalantly, "Yeah, sort of." It was short and crisp. It's not like he could actually lie. 'What's to lie about?' The precise question inside Rukawa's head should have been, 'Why did you do the sheets anyway?' Ugh. He almost want to just dash off the room and shout 'I did your sheets because you're too much of a big lazy prick to do it!'
Sendoh closed the folder he's been scanning and grinned. "Thanks Rukawa-kun, and sorry about that- I mean, I kind of noticed how much of a neat freak you are…" Rukawa rolled off his eyes and went out of the room.
"Oi wait up!" Sendoh managed to stand up from his seat and followed the raven-haired boy in three big steps, he opened the door and saw Rukawa standing there, looking at him blankly.
"Wait for me… please?" And he smiled.
"We got game." He said passively.
"Yeah, I know… I'll be watching too, you see."
"You seem busy… why don't you just continue what you're doing…" The pale boy softly replied. Somehow, Sendoh felt a bit endeared. He wondered why.
"Nah, I'll probably do it later this evening." He cheekily grinned. Rukawa shrugged. "Well, hurry up, Senpai." Rukawa shot back coolly. Sendoh rolled his eyes in amusement. "I told you to drop it, Kouhai." Rukawa went bug-eyed- a vein popped on his temple, Sendoh rolled his eyes in amusement & simply chuckled.
Minutes later- Sendoh exited the room dressed up in Ryonan's jersey and his jogging pants, both walked towards the elevator and straight into the gym.
"So, you think you can upset Shoyo?" Sendoh asked without restraint. He honestly thinks Shohoku can pull an easy win on Fujima's team but, he's not really quite sure as well. 'Fujima is a playing coach after all, he might have some tricks rolled up in his sleeves.' Sendoh didn't know but he kind of found himself silently siding with Shohoku. He honestly want for them to win this friendly match.
"Yeah, maybe. I hope so." Rukawa answered- eyes looking blankly ahead of him as they neared the gym.
"They'll be double-teaming you again, for sure." A soft chuckle escaped from Sendoh's lips as he turned to look at his junior's blank face. Rukawa did not reply. 'What to say anyway?'
"I'm kinda feeling it already…" Rukawa said almost admitting-ly. Sendoh laughed. Rukawa's short- straight answers are really amusing him and he almost wanted to make the latter talked a bit more. Maybe, tonight- he could have a chat or two with the so-called one-liner of Shohoku. 'Talked to him about our strategy for the play, I hope...'
They arrived at the gym and everyone turned to look at the both of them. Maki specifically has been eyeing them both as they both arrived together- Sendoh smiled and jokingly waved to everyone. The gym was amazingly big and clean. It could probably hold a thousand audience. Uekusa from Ryonan and Jin from Kainan was the referee- obviously Kainan team were on the same side of the Shoyo bench. Maki is even seated beside the bench with Fujima, Hanagata, and Hasegawa. They have warmed up and was hurdle into a semi-circle. Not from a far, Sakuragi can be heard cackling his merry voice as he share a few rants with Miyagi and Mitsui. Ayako and Haruko were looking at some papers. Surprisingly, the Ryonan team was at the side of Shohoku…
"Sendoh, over here." Uozumi called his successor on one bench. As Sendoh was about to sit down, he shot back Rukawa a few words; the said stoic boy looked back and simply hn'ed.
"Beat them, Rukawa-kun…" And he smiled.
Koshino rolled his eyes as Sendoh sat beside him. "Who do we side now?" Koshino almost asks irritatingly. "Shohoku, of course." Sendoh said affirmatively. Not quite needing an explanation as to why he wants to side with the red jersey peeps. Uozumi was scanning his eyes- looking over to Shohoku and nodding faintly when Akagi met his gaze. Ikegami put on a thumbs up and Hikoichi was busy taking in a few pictures from here and there.
"Smile, senpais!" Hikoichi decided to take a picture of Sendoh, Koshino, Uozumi, Ikegami, and Fukuda on the bench. The said boys looked and some smiled- some didn't. Sendoh grinned and flashed a V-sign that earned a chuckle from Hikoichi. 'It's a good thing, Sendoh-senpai is soo cool!'
On the other side of the court though… Maki, Fujima, and Hanagata were busy talking about plays.
"So are you playing?" Maki asks Fujima. Fujima simply smiled, "Of course, a little bit later perhaps." Maki shrugged and smiled back.
"Fujima, I think it would be best if we do a man-to-man defense…" Hanagata suggested to which the Captain, agreed. "Sure, that's what I intent to do anyway."
"Maki-san, are we on Shoyo's side?" Kiyota dumbly asks. Maki ruffled his junior's hair and rolled off his eyes.
"Yes, apparently- would you like to go to Shohoku instead?" He asks, eyes beaming with an unknown glint. Kiyota shuddered, to which Maki softly chuckled.
"No freaking way, the redhead freak is on that team!"
Just a few more minutes passed and the friendly matched between the two teams ensued.
Surprisingly, when everyone thought that Shohoku will be easily beating team Shoyo, well that is not what happened. Shoyo proved to be formidable, they seemed to have improved a lot. Kogure was getting worried already. In the first half of the game, Shohoku was able to pull off a 3-2 run. Five more minutes into the first quarter, Shoyo was able to outrun them thus, leaving Shohoku behind by 10 points. During the last time-out though, everyone on Shohoku seemed tired. Akagi was shaking his head- clenching his fist, he was disappointed. 'Truly, there are days like this.' He looked disturbed and shaken. Shoyo's defense has greatly leveled up and they have quite simmered down Rukawa's gunning style-plus the fact that it was Shoichi Takano who was guarding him; the said guy was towering over Rukawa by 8 centimeters! Mitsui seems to be trying to have a double triple but he has only succeeded one basket so far. Sakuragi is doing okay but his shots seems to be off the hook lately. The redhead was obviously furious- he was throwing expletives and calling barbaric names to the Shoyo members. The Shoyo dudes were irritated at Sakuragi. Sakuragi has 3 personal fouls, Ryota has two, Mitsui has two, Rukawa has none yet, so as Akagi. Kogure shook his head disapprovingly. One thing that has been limiting them- it's at times like this that they desperately need a coach. Easy for Shoyo, their coach is their star player as well! Akagi and Kogure has some plays on their minds but they can't seem to execute it well- Miyagi is doing well being the point guard, but he too, is being suppressed because it was Fujima himself who was guarding him. 'Fujima seems inspired to play, ugh. Is he in love?' Miyagi inwardly thought, shrugging off the last part of his question though- then he took a quick glimpse on the other bench and saw the light aura over- well, who wouldn't have a light aura when you're leading by 10 points by now and with almost 3 minutes left in the game. 'Tsk, we better pull this one off!' Ryota gnarled.
"Oi Gori, why don't you just get all the rebounds and pass it all to me?" The fuming Sakuragi was obviously annoyed to hell.
"Stupid, what do you think I'm doing?! I'm the Center- it's my job of course, just focus on getting a goddamn basket!" But Akagi knows that Hanagata has been simmering down his moves smoothly.
"Teme, these baboon-faced Shoyo freaks are a bummer! I'll dunk it all, just keep on passing to me, Ryo-chin, Micchy-kun!" The redhead fumed. Miyagi & Mitsui went bug-eyed. 'Yeah right, dream on!' Both inwardly thought.
"I wouldn't pass on to you, doaho. You can't get a shot in, anyway." Rukawa said coolly- hands on his hips. Sakuragi flared up in anger- stomping towards with eyes of a killer; he was held back by Akagi though.
"Am I talking to you?! Why you- Kitsune, you can't even get away from that moronic-looking Takano freak!" Sakuragi pointed accusingly at the stoic looking boy.
"I'll get away, just you wait, hn!" Rukawa seethed, he too, is furious. 'K'so, I hate taller bastards.'
"Eat your goddamn balls, pussy-faced Kitsune, teme!"
"Go fuck yourself, doaho Saru."
"Okay that's enough- Sakuragi, Rukawa! Stop acting like dorky bastards!" Akagi snapped. Both forwards disgustingly looked at opposite directions. 'Pain in the ass!' Akagi could only mutter.
"Guys, settle down- we need a clean play, we're trailing behind- we need two 3-point plays if possible…" Ayako tried to butt in. Haruko nodded, obviously worried as well.
"Just when I needed these shots to go in, fuck!" Mitsui seethed while wiping off the sweat from his forehead.
"Calm down, Mitsui…" Kogure stated.
"Oi, that spiky-haired dude that looks like Sendoh sure is flipping you over Micchy-kun, nyahaha!" Sakuragi was even able to pull off a silly antic. Mitsui raised his middle finger in annoyance. "That's Kazushi Hasegawa, freak. Goddamn fucktard asshole."
"Fucktard?!" Sakuragi asks dumbly. 'Tch, Micchy-kun sure knows a lot of gangster vocab, though!'
"FuckingRetard, Tensai!" Mitsui grinned almost maniacally- Sakuragi smirked back in return, he cackled in response. He liked the word. He decided he would use it to whomever once a while. 'I'll use that on this Kitsune brat!'
Kogure sweatdropped, Mitsui sure is a grade-A swearer.
'He doesn't look like Sendoh.' Excuse me. Never. Rukawa went bug-eyed, unbelieving the annoying comment he just heard. He thought Sendoh looked more… nice. 'Nice?!' He could only inwardly defy. He shook his head momentarily and looked at the clock. Three minutes. How is he supposed to pull this off? He took a glance over Shoyo's bench and was a bit surprised when he saw Maki somewhat coaching in Shoyo. Rukawa went bug-eyed for the nth time. 'No fucking way. Unfair! Old bastard Maki.' 'Damn, we need a good play as well…' He clenched his fist to his side- he seems useless for the time, he wasn't getting into the basket very often because of one giant Takano bastard. 'K'so…'
Miyagi clapped his hands, gaining attention. "Okay let's get a play done- we'll try to get a three-pointer and possibly one 3-point play... an easy two is also very much appreciated, let's do this forwards! I'll pass to either two of you- Kitsune & Doaho, I want you to stick the ball into your hands- do NOT lose it, Mitsui- get yourself away from that fucktard, Hasegawa. Captain, get your tail away from Hanagata aka the scientist- and I'll try to break free from baby-face Fujima."
All four were dumbfounded, then there were a few snickers. Rukawa almost tugged his lips upward. Miyagi grinned- glancing his look towards their forwards, Rukawa and Sakuragi. Both nodded- but with a vein popping on the redheads temple. So did Mitsui. Akagi was slightly amused on how Miyagi was able to command attention. He smiled to himself, if Uozumi finally found whose Ryonan's would-be Captain… Akagi nodded. 'I think I might have found ours, as well…' Akagi felt glad and contented.
Sendoh was quietly looking from the clock then to the bench of Shohoku that seems to be in a quite mess. He then gaze over to where the Shoyo bench was and saw Kainan hovering as well. His mouth opened a bit and before he was about to say something, Uozumi beat him to it.
"Oh boy, looks like Akagi and his troopers are going down…" Uozumi shook his head and worriedly looked over to his far right.
"The problem is their weak bench- plus the fact that Sakuragi is a foul trouble." Ikegami butted in. Fukuda simply looked stoic. He stood up from where he was sitting and walked behind Sendoh- he tapped the latter's shoulder.
"Uh- Kicchou?" Sendoh inquired, looking behind his back.
"I'll go practice." He stated flatly. Sendoh smiled and nodded. They will be playing next in the afternoon. Fukuda seems the guy not to slack off in a way. "Sure!" He grinned and Fukuda simply quietly exited. Koshino's gaze followed Fukuda, "Aren't we suppose to practice as well- Shohoku seems to be losing this game anyway, there's only less than 3 minutes left, they're behind by 10!" Koshino decided to stand up- keen on following Fukuda out, when he was taken aback.
"They can't lose. I won't let them. Tondemonai." (No way) Everyone gape and turned their heads towards the owner of the said determined and manly voice- Sendoh smiled and stood up slowly to where he is about a minute ago and started walking over to where Shohoku team was. Uozumi moved from his seat- he almost intended to stop the spiky-haired dude. "Oi, matte, Sendoh what are you doing?" The said lad, simply looked back- a smile on his boyish features- hands on his nape, "Uh, they need a coach, I think?" And he grinned. Ryonan's bench seemed to drop their jaws six-feet under, also making their eyes bulged and swell—it seems as if Sendoh has just grown three heads or something.
"Uuwaahh?!" For the second time, Hikoichi got the award as the gaping goldfish in a blue jacket.
"What the fuck are you-?! Get back here, oi!" Koshino stood up, literally gnarling in damn annoyance. 'What the hell is happening to him anyway?!' Koshino thinks Sendoh seems to be acting a little bit weird- 'is it because he's sharing room with that brat from Shohoku?!'
He's never done this before- coach another team? A rival team particularly? Nah. This is a first- and he doesn't know as to why he is bent on doing this. Probably because, he saw Maki, Fujima, Hanagata- executing all the plays as smooth as possible. 'It's Maki anyway- and Fujima…' Those two are Kanagawa's Aces and it's only a matter of minutes until Shohoku bows down in defeat. Sendoh wasn't sure if he wants to see the perky boys of Shohoku all cast down- besides… he's supposed to be teammate with Shohoku's Ace as well. 'Why not start being teammates now?' He grinned to himself. He realized he needs to somewhat get into the raven-haired boy's radar. 'If he loses- he might not cooperate with me…' And Sendoh thought that it's not an option. Besides, he just honestly wants to help Shohoku due to some unknown (yet) emotion that has been seeding its way into him. Sendoh's confident strides surely isn't failing him. 'Oh boy… I might get a sock up face, here goes nothing…' He softly chuckled to himself. 'Why am I doing this again, anyway?' He smiled to himself. He's anticipating Sakuragi's blow on his face or even Mitsui's kick on his stomach. Akagi might even make his hair a broom to sweep off the linoleum floor of the court. He almost want to back out- but one look at him and Sendoh knows that he can't back down now… Sendoh took a brief glance at the pale guy who was busy downing a pocari sweat. He saw frustration and anger on the latter's eyes. Just like he suspected. 'That's so much like you, Rukawa-kun…' He felt somewhat akin to endearment.
He stopped just as he was about an arm's length away from the manager. Ayako was surprised- she almost did not noticed Sendoh standing beside her. Sendoh smiled at her.
"Okay then boys- uh?! Sendoh, what are you doing here?" Ayako asks. Haruko too, was curious. 'Sendoh-san?'
Everyone was about to get back on court to execute their would-be play when they were taken aback by Ayako's element of surprised. Akagi looked back so as the others, and they seemed- curious.
"Teme, what now Sendoh? What do you want, why are you standing over there?" Sakuragi asks suspiciously.
"Oi, Mr. Skittles, not this time- I'll ask for more candies later…" Mitsui somewhat goaded. Miyagi cocked his head slightly and put his hands on his hips. "Something wrong, Spiky Captain of Ryonan?" Sendoh sighed a bit and rolled his eyes. 'Oh boy… here goes nothing.' He momentarily looked back to see Rukawa looking back at him eyes clouded with confusion.
Rukawa was too trained to hide his surprised at that time- but he was eager to know as to why his roommate suddenly decided to walkover to their side. 'Are you going to mock us?' He furrowed his brows in thought. Could he possibly do that? Much so, is Sendoh there to mock him? Well, it is as if he was, after all—he feels as if he is not being useful to the team, they're trailing behind by 10 points. 'K'so…' Rukawa felt his blood boiled a bit.
"I just want to help you guys out… if you will let me coach you, that is." He mustered the warmest smile he could give, sincerity spilling out from his lips. There was a moment of silence. 'Great going Akira, shoot yourself now. Farewell, Japan.' Kogure was the first to recover. He walked towards to where the taller guy was standing and looked at him softly.
"I…well, Sendoh-san that's kind of you but…"
"And you would do that because…?" It was Rukawa. Everybody was surprised. They didn't saw this coming. Rukawa, too, surprised himself because he of all people was able to blurt that one out. 'Ugh, I should have just shut up.' He inwardly thought. It seems as if everything dissolved at that moment- Sendoh's gaze was locked to the person who questioned his intentions to help. He found himself yet again in a deadlock stare with no other than the person occupying the same room as he is… 'Rukawa, truly you are a cute puzzle…' To which he answered sincerely as possible, "Because we're teammates."
And he smiled charmingly. Thump. Rukawa's eyes widened a bit- he almost felt his cheeks flushed yet again. But he was able to somehow control it. He simply 'hned' at Sendoh and decided to just keep his mouth sealed. A minute passed by and the team found themselves hurdled once more- with one certain spiky haired dude in the centre drawing multiple lines-crossing one another in what seemed to be a brilliant strategic play.
"Well, shall we have a go on it?" Sendoh asks the five red jersey peeps from Shohoku. He chuckled softly to himself. 'If this fails, I'm a fried porcupine.'
"You sure that's not a trap? The Tensai will kill you if we lose out there, teme!" Sakuragi seemed to threat. Sendoh sweatdropped. He decided to amuse Sakuragi. "I'm sure with you, the Tensai being around- you could do it, perfectly."
Snickers were heard- coming mostly from Akagi, Mitsui, and Ryota- who were obviously trying their best not to laugh their asses off. Rukawa went bug-eyed. 'Sendoh, you moron…'
Sakuragi cackled, amused and happy that Sendoh seemed to finally approved of his 'Tensai-ness'. "Nyahahah, I told ya, even this Smiley, believes in the Tensai! Let's go then, Shohokuuu~!" Sendoh found himself laughing softly in amusement. He nodded and soon, the game was about to resume. He sighed deeply before a paper fan landed on his spiked hair.
"Why are you doing this?" Ayako teased the charming Ace of Ryonan.
"Well, let's just say that I want you guys to win…" Sendoh grinned back at Shohoku's manager.
"Is that it? Are you sure it's not something else?" Ayako replied, grinning, not quite convinced. But she was grateful. It is truly rare to get acquainted with such an all-around person. Sendoh is truly a warm person and Ayako almost wished that he's on their side. 'Such an adorable sophomore…' She smiled and decided to cheer for her team. Sendoh briefly looked over to the Ryonan's bench and still saw the surprised looks from his senpais and juniors. He saw Uozumi approaching him and sat beside him. "Sendoh, it's not that I disapproved of what you're trying to do but—you do know that we still have a game later?"
"Shitte iru, Taichou…" (I know, Captain)
"Then, how do you do it later in our game when your plays are already seen by Maki?" Uozumi stated as a matter of factly. Sendoh remained his composure. "Maki hasn't seen everything about me, though…" Sendoh said in a very serious tone, but he continued to smile. 'Besides, he's been coaching Shoyo as well for the past 35 minutes…' Sendoh thought that Kainan has been using its forces over Shohoku a bit overly and he just thought of giving the red team a boost. He took notice of the stare being thrown at him by no other than Maki across the other side. Sendoh smiled and nodded. Maki nodded in return. "He's probably wondering what you are doing on this side, though." Uozumi said. Sendoh merely shrugged, "I'm Anzai Sendoh, hohoho, I'll tell him later." Uozumi laughed and placed his hand on top of the spiky-haired dude, Sendoh chuckled- amused at his own insanity. 'Whatever, Akira…'
Uozumi grinned, "You and your confidence… hn." Sendoh smiled, "Don't worry Captain, I got a hundred more plays to be executed later…" And he winks. "I just want Shohoku to win." He shrugged as he watched his would-be play being perfectly executed on court. The ball was caught by Akagi- and he passed it over to Ryota- they made for a fast break, then the orange ball was thrown into the hands of… Rukawa who stood from behind the 3-point range and fired a three, but he was tipped from behind by his guard, the giant Takano- Uekusa saw this, and drew a foul against Takano- to Shoyo's horror because the ball went in. And Sendoh smiled, stood up and clapped his hands. "Nice one, Rukawa-kun… that's 3-baskets." Uozumi looked at his junior, surprised… 'Sendoh, you absolutely looked as if… this is what you truly lived for…' In Uozumi's eyes, he saw his successor's eyes flicker something akin to… happiness and warmth. Sendoh looked back to Uozumi, and grinned. "One game play and they nailed 6 points instantly, guess we're just down now by four." 'We?' Sendoh thought it almost sounded right.
…and when he was about to threw the last free throw, Rukawa could only wonder as to why he truly felt glad and warm as well. 'Sendoh… you wanted us to win, but why?' But for now, as the ball went in to the shock faces of Shoyo's bench- Rukawa was feeling more thankful to the Ryonan Ace who walked his way out of their bench to coach them… 'And probably, teach me a thing or two as well, like what you truly said awhile back.'
The game ended, in favour of Shohoku: 90-88. The red jersey peeps celebrated in glee. They slapped and give each other's high five- the Shoyo bench was a bit disappointed but they knew otherwise. They were happy with the game nonetheless. Soon, it will be Kainan versus Ryonan after lunch.
The cafeteria was mainly occupied by mostly Kainan & Ryonan players since the Shoyo & Shohoku guys were still fixing themselves up in the washroom. Kainan was gathered up on one corner, so as the Ryonan boys. Uozumi seems to be talking at his players seriously. He took a glance over their Ace who apparently was currently choosing something to eat. He sighed. 'I can't believe that he's this too carefree.'
"Do you want me to call him?" Ikegami asks in a low voice.
"No, let him eat- he might throw a fit if we stop him." Uozumi smirked. Everyone chuckled.
Sendoh chose to eat just a few- mostly choosing protein-rich foods at that moment. When the game ended, he hurriedly went back to his team and decided to eat a quick lunch because, just like Fukuda, he still wants to warm up a bit. He decided that he can't play without filling his stomach first. Sendoh smiled when his lunch was given to him. A tapped on his shoulder and he saw the scowling face of Koshino. "You eat like a road driller, you know." Sendoh smiled at Koshino and simply shrugged. "I'm hungry most of the time." The Ace replied chuckling. "Besides Kosh, the last play I put on for Shohoku surely drained my brain cells… whew, that was some risk." He laughed in amusement. Koshino snorted and both decided to sit on a bench nearby. 'Oh you have brain cells?!' Koshino sat first and decided to pull off a prank- a prank that sort of irritates him but is unforgettable as well.
"Oi, get me a juice though, Sendoh." He stated flatly- and with his bug-eyed expression. Sendoh laughed in amusement while filling in his own glass. He rolled off his eyes and walked towards the bench- annoying Koshino to the fullest.
"Get your own, Kosh... You're too old for this." Sendoh chuckled in response. Koshino's eyes widened and he almost gritted his teeth in annoyance. 'Ch, what was that?!' He pouted and stomp to get himself a glass nonetheless.
"So what made you coach them, huh?" The shorter guy decided to start a topic. He saw their Ace shrugged- while digging on his own food. "Nothing… I just thought of trying a play that's been on my mind for quite some time." He grinned and continued seeping on his glass. "Apparently it worked, though." He chuckled in amusement. Koshino simply snorted. "That brat roommate of yours ended the game, as expected." Sendoh's lips twitched upwards- he seemed to think for a moment before breaking into a smile once more. "Yeah, he did well- and oh, by the way, his name is Rukawa- I'll introduce you two, later." Sendoh chuckled. 'Why does Koshino always calls him 'brat' anyway?' He was trying to humour his uptight colleague. Koshino scowled some more. 'I don't care- he is a brat still!'
"No thanks, I know him alright- Rukawa the 'Brat' Kaede-kun." Sendoh simply chuckled and rolled his eyes in response. "If he hears you, you'll be dead, you know…" Sendoh thought of the possible things the pale guys might do to Koshino- and he almost laughed in amusement.
"Yeah right, whatever. Did they even thank you? You helped them win, anyway. I doubt that though."
"Well, they can always thank me later, heh." Sendoh seemed not bent on gaining something in return. He smiled as he continue to eat his lunch quickly. "Oi Kosh, lets hurry- we need a warm-up. Kainan's been running, we only have two meetings every week… we're too much chilled…" Sendoh stated as a matter of factly and Koshino simply nodded in return.
Rukawa sighed as he turned off the shower. He towelled his hair briskly before wrapping the towel onto his waist. He opened the door and was welcomed by the merry voices of his teammates. Apparently they were all happy since they won over Shoyo. Rukawa momentarily placed his stuff on the tiled sink- absently looking at his reflection on the mirror. He took note of his paleness and slightly 'slimmed' frame but shrugged it off anyway. He was contemplating still about the play a while ago. There were a few scenes that sort of got stuck into his mind- the last two time outs especially… He thought Sendoh looked truly serious awhile back while writing onto the white board. Akagi and Kogure were sort of 'helping' him with the play and Rukawa saw that the Ryonan dude was very positive. 'He seems to listen to my senpais, though.'
There was a moment when Sendoh seemed to even forgot their 'names' because he was busy instructing the play. Sakuragi reminded him though to call him 'Tensai' into which the latter readily agreed. They all laughed. Rukawa almost twitched his lips upward, especially the part when Sendoh instructed for Sakuragi to try to steal the ball. He told Sakuragi, "Okay, Tensai, I want you to get the try to get a steal, without the foul of course- and passed it on to Micchy-kun, which he will passed on to- Kitsune over here…" Sendoh even grinned. Sakuragi laughed that time and in a few seconds, those two even high-fived. Rukawa of course went bug-eyed during that time. He even told Sendoh that he's a 'doaho' and the latter simply shrugged it off. It is as if… everything and everyone seemed happy…
'You're an odd ball, alright…' Mitsui and Miyagi looked amused though and were injecting humours and insults that makes their time-out truly crazy but… memorable. Rukawa thought he kind of enjoyed the mood; it was almost as if they aren't down by 10 points. He honestly thought that he truly felt calm – and he is willing to bet that his teammates are feeling the same as well… He truly wondered as to how Sendoh is able to pull off that 'calmness' around everyone else. 'And to think that they're not even officially 'teammates'.
He even remembered Sendoh saying that he wants to help them win because… they're 'teammates' in the camp. He sighed softly, his musings suddenly being broken down by the cackling voice of Sakuragi.
"Lunch first, Ryo-chin, Micchy-kun, Gori, Megane! Then we watch Ryonan! The Tensai will be cheering for Spiky's team!"
"Sure-sure, I'm damn hungry anyway." Mitsui countered.
"Oi, Rukawa are you still there?" Miyagi hollered.
"Don't mind him Ryo-chin, he probably drowned already in the shower, he'll just float later. Ahahah!" Sakuragi menacingly hollered, and he walked out of the shower room, slamming the door shut. Rukawa peeped from where his teammates was awhile back and decided to finish fixing himself up. He went back on his blue pullover and jogging pants and out of the washroom…
'Yare yare… I guess, I'll be watching too, as well…'
1:00 PM
Ryonan and Kainan were both on the gym already- warming up on each side of the court. Kainan can be seen, running, passing, and doing lay-ups. The referees were Kogure from Shohoku and Hanagata from Shoyo. As usual, Fujima was on the Kainan bench with some of his Shoyo members. Maki and the rest of the team were on the court, doing some warm ups. Ryonan were doing the same, with Sendoh mostly doing the passing to his teammates- while they shoot from the three-point goal. Fukuda can be seen on one corner, doing some dribbling skills- apparently enjoying his own solitude.
"Okay, your turn, Uekusa…" Sendoh commanded. Uekusa nodded, he caught the ball that his Captain threw at him and threw in a three; the ball went in and Sendoh smiled.
Fujima was sitting quietly on his bench- eyeing one spiky-haired dude from the blue team, when he decided to stood up and quietly walked over to the other side- a smile on his lips. Truth is, Fujima is simply curious… 'Well, curiosity kills the cat, but I'm no cat apparently.' Upon reaching the other side- he paused for a moment as Sendoh dribbled a bit- before throwing in a fade away; of course the ball went in smoothly. The ball bounced once, twice, thrice- right in front of Shoyo's captain and Fujima used his foot to stop the ball from rolling further. Sendoh followed the ball with his gaze until it was stopped by a certain foot by stepping on it. He looked up and saw the grinning face of Fujima. He gave the shorter guy a smile before walking towards where the Shoyo leader was.
"One on one?" Sendoh joked. Fujima chuckled and shrugged off. "Nah, I'll pass- besides, I just ate you know." Sendoh grinned. "All the more that we should burn it." Sendoh chuckled. Fujima simply shook his head- a smile playing on his lips as well. The Shoyo Captain kicked the ball lightly back to Sendoh and the tall guy caught it with his right foot and talentedly made the ball roll on top of his legs to have it bounce back as if it has a life of its own before dribbling it for a few; he run for back to the court and did a smooth lay-up on the basket. Fujima placed himself not far from the pole of the basket, arms crossed- eyes clouded with somewhat a mischievous glint.
"So, I noticed you coached Shohoku well." Sendoh was still practicing some dribbling tricks but he heard the latter's statement alright. He softly chuckled to himself. "Yeah… it was worse." Fujima rolled his eyes in amusement. "The worst indeed, that it beat us by two points- whatever Sendoh." Akira grinned and threw the ball hardly on the board- causing for the others to glanced his direction; the ball bounced once and he caught it with one hand- he jumped into the air and dunk it with a force that made the basket reverberate in fear. From a corner, one can here a few hoots and shout from Hikoichi. Everyone was stunned. They knew of Sendoh's skill and to be able to see it at a moment- they were partly shaken, somewhat stupefied… and glad, especially on Ryonan's side.
"Impressive as always." Fujima commented. Sendoh simply grinned, a back on his nape. "So, why did you decide to coach Shohoku- you want them to win?" Fujima grinned. Sendoh chuckled. "I don't know… I got inspired to help, I guess." Sendoh honestly didn't know why he said that. Truth is, he doesn't have a specific reason. 'Why? Why indeed?' He doesn't know.
"..Is it because, you're roommates with their Ace, perhaps, hmm?" Fujima somewhat pressed further- grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Haha- probably." Sendoh laughed a bit. If there is one valid reason though, that maybe it. Because they're roommates- and teammates as well in the camp. 'Ugh, I don't know anymore- but he seemed to have listened to me awhile back…' Sendoh thought it was a good start. He softly chuckled to himself.
"Anyway, just so you know- Maki and I are teammates as well. We'll see you and Rukawa-kun at the end, perhaps?" Fujima winked- an unknown glint on his eyes. Sendoh was a bit surprised at the information, but not totally. 'So- he and Maki?' 'Oh boy, this is going to be tough alright.' If there is one thing, this is one pairing that is tough to beat. Sendoh found himself nodding and almost looking serious but smiling still, he managed to say something like, "See you both on the court, then…" Great going Akira, now you really need to be in that raven-haired boy's radar… and Sendoh simply chuckled to himself.
Maki was eyeing them both from a far. He was expecting this kind of play with Sendoh later and he just can't wait to face the tall number seven of Ryonan. Of course, he is also taking note of the fact that his Kenji has been talking with the Ace for a few minutes already. But he's not jealous. He was just a bit curious… 'I wonder what these two are chatting about.' Kiyota simply growled in annoyance, "Ugh, I hate that porcupine head- I'll beat him later!" Maki simply looked at his junior interestingly and chuckled softly.
"Nyahaha, showing off there, aren't we?" Sendoh not need to look around to see who it was. He smiled while catching up with the ball he just dunked. He turned around and saw the Shohoku team lined up on their side. Akagi nodded at his and Uozumi's direction. Mitsui has that gangsta grin on him, Miyagi, Ayako, Haruko were smiling and waving back at them.
"Bwahaha, the Tensai is here to support you, Ryonan, Spiky, you should be thankful and honoured." Every Ryonan member rolled off their eyes in annoyance. Sendoh simply nodded and smiled. From a far, one word destroyed Sakuragi's mood sending the red head in a glare vs glare.
"Doaho." The pale guy found himself sitting on one corner of the bench; arms clutching his bag- an exasperated look on his face. Sakuragi stomped his way onto where Rukawa was, ready to give the blue-eyed boy a blow on his pretty face, apparently, Akagi was there to stop him.
An hour later, it was almost time to start the game. The players gathered on their respective sides and hurdled in a circle. The two other teams simply sat on the benches nearby, and can be seen chatting with their colleagues, mostly talking about match-ups and plays. Sakuragi, the ever hyper forward of Shohoku wasn't able to help himself but to approach the Ryonan team causing for the blue-jersey boys to be surprised. He earned of course a lump on the head courtesy of Akagi. Akagi bowed and excused his redhead's animosity.
"Teme Gori, I am just going to coach them as well!" Sakuragi protested. Akagi shook his head.
"The game is just about to start, they already know what to do!" Akagi hollered. A few chuckles can be heard on the Ryonan's bench, even Sendoh smiled and shook his head- amused on how Captain Akagi seems to manage his two twin terror towers, 'Especially when they bicker- damn, they both swear a lot…'
"Spiky needs me, Boss Monkey needs me, and the Ryonan dudes needs the Tensai, teme!" He almost whined like a kid. Everyone sweatdropped. "Oi Sakuragi, get here you dimwit, you're embarrassing us all- just watch will you, and learn!" Mitsui gnarled, somehow it pacified the red head. Ryota, and Ayako simply shook their heads. From a far, both Kainan and Shoyo have poker faces- and they all just sighed in resentment. Kiyota was laughing hard- he finds Sakuragi funny and stupid. He was softly bonked in the head by Maki, asking him to quiet down and concentrate.
"Guys, are you ready?" Kogure blew the whistle and just about in time, the first half is about to start. Ten players made their way on the centre, and a few minutes more- the game in the afternoon started. A battle ensued mostly between Kainan's the tank, Maki Shinichi and one Spiky-haired Captain of Ryonan. Rukawa could not bring his eyes to a halt since both teams were very keen on their defence. Sendoh played the point guard as he smoothly passed from here to there without even looking at his teammates. This made a lot of mouth gape even on Shoyo's side. Rukawa felt his chest thump with every breath-taking pass his older roommate delivers. 'Monster…' he inwardly thought. He is almost certain that Sendoh has his eyes all over the court. The first few minutes were mainly from Ryonan- they pulled off a 4-2 run on Kainan sending Kainan a bit surprised. Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Ryota were obviously hooting and cheering for the Ryonan as they lead the score board with 20 points to 10.
Rukawa took noticed as well on how Sendoh seemed to fake-ly attack on the basket only to pass the ball to an open guard thus earning once again two additional baskets. Everytime the ball touches the Ace's hand, a double-team was being made: Maki and Kiyota seems to pressed the smiling player and when Akira could not bring about to get away from both players, he would simply chuckle in response and just throw the ball over head for a long range three-point shot… surprisingly, the ball still went in- with the bench of Ryonan-Shohoku going wild as they extend the lead to 25-10. Hikoichi's was taking in some photos as he cheered on the bench and almost cried in glee. "Unbelievable! Awesome! Uuwwahhh- Sendoh-senpai, you're a GOD~!" And indeed he is, as one blue-eyed boy can't seem to get his eyes off of him. Rukawa found himself hoping Ryonan would win… 'What are you getting at again, baka, Rukawa Kaede?' He went bug-eyed.
"Hahaha, way to go Spiky- take that old man!" Sakuragi's voice boomed and when the first time out was called, Maki and Sendoh slapped hands- both players smiling as the first quarter was made intense.
"Impressive play…" Maki said in between heavy breaths. Sendoh simply shook his head and smiled.
"Nah, I'm willing to bet you'll be back later…" Sendoh grinned. Maki simply nodded- a resolved forming on his strong features. "Well, apparently Sendoh, I will be beating you." Sendoh momentarily felt the need to looked at his far left, he kind of felt that a pair of eyes were boring at his back- and true that because when he decided to look to his left, he saw Rukawa looking at him- eyes clouded with determination and something else. Sendoh smiled back at his younger roommate and winked causing for the other to be surprised.
"No Maki-san, someone asks me to beat you…" Sendoh grinned. "… and I don't think I can say no." And to this, Sendoh warmly smiled, causing him to be more charming than ever and causing for one certain pale, lanky Rookie to see, that made his heart beat in thumps.
'Baka Sendoh Akira, what did you just say?!' Rukawa found his cheeks heating up a bit before he decided to just look down at his own hand, clutching his bag.
TBC
a/n: uwaah! Okay that's it…tell me what you think! This is 16 pages once again… lol! Sorry, I know it took me a while, it's beginning to get a bit busy in our household and we're often outside lately- you know, reunions and stuff. I honestly want to upload a back to back chapter but I guess, I should just upload this first! I'll be working on chapter 7 instantly! Phew! Thanks so much to those reading this- and for the reviews! Addicted to SD, you're a deary… hahaha! I hope I made you smile on this chapter as well! :D Merry Christmas! I'm contemplating if I will make Ryonan win this one or make them lose to Kainan! Wahh- dilemmas! :D I seriously wanted Sendoh to be the ultra-charming guy here, I hope I'm getting into it, though! ^_^ Rukawa-kun is sure a cutie and I love making him feel 'shy'. LOL! *fangirl mode* RnR please if you have time…