Warning/s: No Beta Reader. Self-Edit. SenRu. Standard Disclaimers Apply. Non-pro writer. Typos and grammars probably.
CHAPTER 16
Some say, uncertainty is caused by a lack of knowledge, and hesitation is the product of fear. Fear. It reverberated in his thoughts like a bass drum thumping like crazy. Sendoh felt himself gulp involuntarily as he walked towards the door—wearing his very heart on his sleeves. Why did he have to do that? He knew he saw it. He saw the surprised look in Rukawa's eyes and probably a hint of… sadness? Disappointment? He can't figure out exactly but he knew he saw something flashed across that beautiful pair of cerulean orbs that belongs to the one and only person his mind has been pre-occupying lately. He knew he faltered a while back; Sendoh honestly wanted to stay in a few more minutes inside the washroom and talk things over before they start the game. He wanted to ask Rukawa a lot of things. And by means of a lot, it is indeed a *lot*-and the thing is, he almost called him Kaede as well—but he hesitated. Yes. Sendoh knew, while hesitation might be the product of fear, it could mean wisdom as well. One has to know when to push and when to pause. Sendoh reached for the door knob and was about to twist it open when he decided to look behind him—Rukawa was simply standing on one corner, eyes being obscured by fringes; he seems to be staring at nothing in particular.
"Are you…" But he was cut—to his own surprise.
"I'm always ready… Sendoh." Rukawa muttered in his usual voice. A bit softer but firm. The younger guy pushed himself off the wall and walked slowly towards the door making Sendoh stepped a bit on one side. Rukawa held the knob on one hand, twist it open and went outside, leaving a slightly bewildered Ryonan Ace inside. Sendoh was left to stare at the back of the Rookie—down to his jersey number that was printed in black and bold letters. 11. Rukawa. Sendoh didn't know what caused for him to remember the words that says a moment of hesitation may cause you a lifetime of regrets. Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret and he did not want remorse. Coming up with nothing in mind, he as well, decided that it's about time they went outside.
The gym was obviously packed with their colleagues and a few employees from the camp who probably has nothing to do since they were only catering to four schools that week. Some have witnessed a few matchups for the past few days and they were quite impress with the way these high school students play. Never did they know that Kanagawa has indeed four powerhouse schools that plays serious basketball. Nevertheless, Hikoichi was on the verge of crying since the one matchup he has been waiting for has finally arrived. He was basically readying his camera for the many shots he vowed he would take. The others wait anxiously on their benches as if there was a championship going on. Mitsui was of course busy counting the total of bets he has gathered—checking in on his small notebook, a pencil on top of one of his ear and that smug grin on his face. He was being assisted by Ryota and Hanamichi and the three seemed to be engaged in a small talk since Sakuragi is cackling almost evilly. Akagi and Uozumi was of course chosen to be the referee for the final games and judging from the looks of both centres, they knew that this will probably a mini slug fest.
Fujima inhaled deeply as he sat down quietly on their bench, eyes looking straight ahead at their two opponent across. Rukawa was busy tying his shoelaces while Sendoh seemed to be just browsing nonchalantly on his phone. Funny thing is there was some space between them—it seems that it was their bags who was occupying the said space. Fujima found himself smiling. "Do they always looked like that?" He chirped in. Maki looked at his right while busily rummaging into his bag, looking for his favourite towel. "Looks like what? Who?" Fujima snorted. "Duh, our opponents of course?" Maki briefly glanced across at what seemed to be disturbing Fujima and saw Sendoh and Rukawa just across the bench—the pale guy now was drinking in his own bottle of Pocari while the Captain of Ryonan has still his eyes fixated on his phone. Well, nothing seems to be wrong with them, or so Maki thought. He decided to observe further. Rukawa was now rummaging into his bag and Maki saw the rookie got his iPod and a few sec more, the pale guy has his ears plug in with some music probably. He saw the younger guy stood up from the bench, got the ball and started dribbling on one corner, eyes fixated on the bouncing leather. Sendoh on the other hand seemed to be glued on his own phone—face looking expressionless. Maki almost snorted. 'Sendoh you idiot… now what did you do this time?' He smirked to himself but gape when he saw Fujima standing up and walking towards the other two across. "K-Kenji?!" He muttered, but he was late, Fujima was already half across.
Fujima decided to approach first the unassuming Ryonan Ace- a grin on his face. Sendoh somewhat felt that someone might be approaching him as he instinctively looked up to see a standing Fujima before him. He was a bit surprise. "Hey there!" Fujima greeted. Sendoh straightened up a bit and smiled his usual, wondering what made Fujima walked up to him. Nonetheless, he decided to engage in a brief discourse. "Hey..." He stated back. The Shoyo Captain simply chuckled softly and shrugged. "You looked busy that is why I decided to approach you! Everything alright?" A grin. Sendoh was literally lost for words, truth is he doesn't really know what to specifically say, so he settled for the usual. "Y-yeah, I was just browsing randomly." He snorted. Fujima turned his gaze to his right to see Rukawa on one side who was busily practising a few dribbling techniques, he was completely shut off from the world.
"He seems pretty serious." Fujima stated. Sendoh cast a brief look to the said raven-haired guy and nodded. "Yeah, he's always like that." He found himself muttering softly. Fujima shuddered playfully. "Ugh scary! I feel like Rukawa-kun will be coming onto me with all of his might later. Hahaha!" Fujima exclaimed cheerily earning a few looks from the spectators within the gym. They wondered why Sendoh is conversing with Fujima. Maki seemed to be just glued on his seat and is showing no signs that he will be standing up anytime soon. Sendoh simply smiled and shook his head lightly. "I…well, I don't know. Maybe." A pause. "You better be prepared." Sendoh added and he grinned. Fujima simply laughed a bit and shrugged. "Well of course, I am prepared!" He winked. Sendoh simply chuckled and wondered to himself where do Fujima's cheeriness is coming from.
"And you? What is your drama? Why aren't you practising?" Fujima joked. Sendoh found himself laughing a bit. What is his drama? Well, he doesn't have any. He is just simply in love. That's all. Nothing big. He found himself smiling wistfully. "Well?" Fujima prodded. "I'm not practising because I want you guys to win." He rebutted jokingly, earning a chuckle from Fujima. "You bastard, Sendoh." The spiky haired dude found himself laughing a bit too as he shook his head nonchalantly. "Isn't that nice of me?" Fujima chuckled. "Never make friends with the enemy." Fujima squeezed in between his chuckles. "I'm not, you're the one who came up to me." Sendoh instantly said as he grinned back. By this time, Rukawa have noticed Fujima talking with Sendoh and an approaching Maki- he stopped dribbling, catching the ball with one hand, he stared from the two to the approaching Captain of Kainan. The tanned guy noticed him and curtly nodded his greeting. Rukawa simply stared and nodded as well. He was wondering what the heck Fujima is doing on their bench— well, he was just curious, nothing else really.
"Sendoh." Maki said in his usual low and somewhat husky voice. The blue-eyed player looked up and smiled his greeting. "Maki-san, hello." He muttered. "Oi Rukawa-kun, you might want to move over here for a minute?" Fujima exclaimed. Rukawa honestly did not heard what Fujima said, but he saw his surname on the brown-haired boy's lips formed. He pulled one earplug from his ears but did not bulged from his spot. This earned a chuckle from Fujima. "Come here! You looked like an outcast there." Rukawa saw Maki and Sendoh looking at him—he didn't mind Maki though, but Sendoh. For some reason, he found himself averting Sendoh Akira's unperturbed gaze a bit. He furrowed his brows and walked a few steps only to stop. Now what? Aren't they going to start yet? Its past one in the afternoon already. Fujima then smiled. "Hey guys, let's have a good game later, alright? Plus, I got a swell idea for tonight's party." It was clear that Sendoh and Rukawa was surprise to hear this—well, Maki too. He snorted softly and all three waited as to what does the great Captain of Shoyo is up to. Sendoh was waiting for Kenji to speak up, not that he's worried—he was busily thinking of something else; more like someone else. On the contrary, Rukawa was half dreading the said 'idea'. He never liked the idea of someone's idea. He always thought that these so-called notions are either a pain in the head or something more to be wary of; nonetheless he kept his silence on.
"Let's see, every school team will get to perform a number for tonight's celebratory party. Plus—the winning duo amongst us will get to perform a solo! Deal?" He chuckled to his own amusement. Silence.
Truth is, both Sendoh and Rukawa almost went bug-eyed. Perform? Where the heck did that came from? It was Maki who seemed to have recovered first. "Ken, what is this, what do you mean?" Fujima pouted a bit and shrugged. "Look, I'm one of the preparing committee for tonight's event and truth is, no one wants to perform for the party, apparently we need a program, this is like a Christmas event as well." He almost whined.
"Well that's because everyone here are players, Ken. We're not performers." Maki stated. Fujima simply clacked his tongue, thinking everyone are killjoys. "Whatever Shin. My team are not killjoys…" He smirked. "We love parties." He chuckled. Maki sweat drop. So does that mean, team Kainan are a bunch of losers instead? That cannot be.
Sendoh found himself chuckling—earning him stares from the three. Ryonan too, love get-togethers but he hasn't remember any of them doing something else other than basketball. "If that is the case, I want to lose now." Sendoh stated—this made Fujima laughed as well earning a chuckle from Maki. Rukawa too, well, he almost gasps, but settled for a twitch on his lips. Although he partly contemplated if he wanted to lose as well. Apparently he doesn't want to.
"Wow, the great Ace player of Ryonan, admitting defeat. Isnt that a bit out of character?" He grinned. Sendoh shook his head. "As you said Maki-san, we are not performers." He smiled back. Just then, Akagi and Uozumi approached the four of them. Apparently, everyone seemed to be wondering as to why the four players are gathered in a semi-circle. Mitsui, Hanamichi, and Ryota are wondering if the four are planning on a treason that would compromise their stakeout.
"Oi, what are you four doing? Game's about to start. Huddle on the centre now!" Akagi boomed, he remained unfazed even though it's Maki. The four looked at each other and nodded nonetheless. Fujima sighed and belt out a few final words. "Look guys, think about it after the game, alright? It'll be fun. I mean, it's a party anyway! You don't just plan on getting drunk and chatting now, do you?" He grin. Thing is, they can't commit yet, nonetheless, the three simply nodded their heads off just to wave off Fujima.
"Well, good luck you two, I guess." Maki said. Fujima went on ahead on the middle earning him a few claps and hoots from his very own team. He waved at them earning him a few cheers and laughs from the people around him. Sendoh simply nodded his head off, a smile on his lips. "Likewise, Maki-san." The tanned player offered his hand for a shake to which Sendoh gladly accepted then to Rukawa who likewise did the same. Soon after, both Sendoh and Rukawa was once again left on their own benches, looking at the broad back that is owned by none other than 'The Tank' himself, Maki Shinichi. In the back of their minds, they both knew of the calibre this average-heighted player possessed and Sendoh and Rukawa knew best than to underestimate the Captain of Kainan that has probably led its team to the Interhigh for the past years. Somehow, the regard they have for him is quite high as well.
Sendoh sighed and stood up from his seat-somehow, he felt a bit relief. Any remaining awkwardness was washed away when he got engaged in a small pep and light-hearted talk with the other two. It felt nice to be in good terms with all the players in Kanagawa. To him, they are only opponents when on court, but off court, he knew that everyone could remain as good friends as well—and it was nice. He looked at his left to see Rukawa stuffing in his iPod in his bag and soon after, the pale rookie adjusted then his arm band to start walking towards the centre; but this time he was able to make the quiet Rookie stop on his tracks. "Hey wait…" he muttered softly, but loud enough for the other to turn his gaze back on him. For some reason, everything closed in between them, for some reason, it feels like it was only Sendoh and him alone inside the gym, for some reason, Sendoh wasn't looking for words, and for some reason… Sendoh thinks that he was able to find them and was able to say them.
Rukawa could honestly feel himself a bit lost when he heard Sendoh calling him to wait. Truth is? He doesn't know whether he would pretend he didn't hear it or to just simply…wait. He found himself settling for the latter. He stopped amidst his track and slightly turned his head to his right, eyes blank. Rukawa found himself staring at the guy who made him feel like sometimes no matter how much you want for things to happen, all you can do is wait. And usually waiting is the hardest part. He felt himself furrowing his brows a bit, unaware that he had these silly thoughts in his mind with a game on any minute now.
Sendoh once again, steeled himself, he found his throat a bit clogged but decided to bury down any form of hesitation that might get in his way again. "I just want to say…" He gulped. Silence. Rukawa blinked twice, not really getting any form of idea as to what might the other say. Sendoh heaved a small sigh. "I just want to say good luck and…" A sigh escaped the older guy's lips. "…let's win this." Soft but firm. Those were his words.
Rukawa partly opened his lips, almost wanting to say something back, but hesitating at the last second. Let's win this? Good luck? He found himself snorting softly. He could almost roll his eyes—seriously, Sendoh seems to be… anxious still; the uneasiness never leaving him totally.
Rukawa wanted to bang his head on the wall if only, he know he shouldn't be referring to Sendoh as the restless guy between them two… he knew, Rukawa knew that he, too, feels uneasy. Troubled. And for Rukawa, he wanted to remind himself to put aside all anxious thoughts and be at peace; amidst the fact that his brain has been starting to revved up again and feel hyper. Love is full of anxious fears alright.
Rukawa almost widened his eyes in surprise—love. Did his mind suddenly passed on the word? Love; a profoundly passionate affection for another person. That feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection. The rookie gulped involuntarily, eyes suddenly roaming around into nothing in particular, he rather found himself nodding. "Sure." He found himself muttering rather softly. As for Sendoh, one word is an enough reason to have his smile plastered on his face. I don't think you realize how easily you make me smile… Kaede.
Game time. From the benches and the people surrounding them, from the noise and the loud cheers and hoots coming from different players around them, the four top players in their district placed themselves on the centre for the much-awaited and final game for that day.
Rukawa tried to mute the maddening crowd as his eyes fixated on the ball before him; held by his very own Captain, Akagi. Sendoh was simply a foot apart from him; from the way he stood up, almost calmly and sure-one cannot be complacent at the fact that the spiky-haired Ryonan Captain has no tricks under his nose; his calm and cool demeanour tells Maki Shinichi otherwise.
The collected but intimidating Captain of Kainan has that glint in his eyes, and from the way he looks on the other two, one can tell that this is the man that has come to face many teams, most of which he toppled down only to bring his own team to the top for the past years. Not from afar, amidst the enormous stature of the other three, one cannot simply overlooked Shoyo's almost reserved and calm playing coach; Fujima cannot be erased from the list as he, too, once brought his own team to the top four; and with is coaching abilities and playing skills almost at par with that of Maki's, he is as well, someone not to be reckoned with.
Akagi looked at the four with his trained eyes as he held the ball in the middle—it was Sendoh going up against Maki for the jump. The blue-eyed Ace player lift the corner of his lips, eyes fixated on the orange leather as any minute now, the round ball could be tossed and he knew best where to tap it so as to get the first basket. It was given, he was destined to face Maki of Kainan as he let his younger companion take care of Shoyo's Captain. Sendoh knew that Rukawa's skill on court is quite as deadly as he could be and he trust his younger protégé to pull this one on Fujima. As for Maki though… Sendoh almost squinted his eyes, he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
The crowd's noise gathered up around them as loud cheers erupted and cackled. And as Akagi firmly lifts the ball in between the two players, he blew into his whistle and tossed the orange leather onto the air and upon reaching the peak of its flight, the ball finally halted and was slowly pulled down by the force of gravity but not long before when Sendoh and Maki simultaneously jumped into the air to fight over the descending orange leather. The crowd held their breaths as the ball was tapped from the left side and into the hands of two players who rallied to get the ball first; but the ball fell right into the awaiting hands of Shoyo's Captain, Fujima.
Fujima didn't wait as he sped off towards their side while dribbling the ball. He knew he was being pursuit at from behind by Shohoku's oni and Fujima knows best than to slack off; the younger rookie obviously has the reputation of being one of the fastest in their team. Just three more feet away and he was sure as hell he'd place the ball in and to score the first two points of the game with the crowd cheering and up on their feet. The score was 2-0. Fujima grinned and flashed a V-sign to his teammates earning him a nod from Hanagata. Maki simply kept his usual smiles at bay with his eyes darting slightly at Sendoh who was approaching the ball as he readied himself for an inbound pass. "Don't mind it…" He heard the taller guy muttered at his companion who simply nod his head off and went on dribbling the ball as both blue-eyed boys walk towards their side of the court with Maki and Kenji has been almost ready, waiting for them. Sendoh wiped his chin with his jersey and tried for another short conversation. "Hey, don't mind it…we'll get the next one." He smiled. Rukawa blinked back and not really knowing what to say, simply nod his head off. Sendoh snorted softly and almost smiled his usual. "Let's show these two now, shall we?" He further added in his low voice. "Show them what…" Rukawa responded back. Sendoh almost grinned and shrugged. "Show them who's got the whole of Kanagawa betting onto?" He grinned. Rukawa blinked back his surprise and almost chuckled softly; but settled for the usual roll on his eyes. Sendoh simply chuckled a bit. Rukawa almost felt his face heat up a bit as Sendoh's stare seems to be boring holes on his face. He partly open his lips to say something though but failed miserably yet again. "Whatever. Sure…" He rather found himself responding dumbly. Silence. Then he heard Sendoh chuckled. Rukawa as well, almost found his lips slightly in twitch. Seems like the atmosphere has gone a bit lighter between them, and it actually felt nice…
Even though he hasn't been looking directly at his companion he knew, Sendoh knew that this game means a lot to Rukawa and by Gods, the older boy knew best that they had to win this. Somehow, he had to. It is known to many that of between the two of them probably it was the younger boy who has that burning will of fire and sense of competitiveness when it comes to the sport they both share, and for Sendoh, he can somewhat sense that Rukawa's perseverance seems to reach everything that is his target.
Rukawa seems to be in deep thought as he approach his defender Fujima. He wasn't really feeling any kind of remorse awhile back when he wasn't able to stop the shorter guy's offensive attack; after all it was a fast break that is rather unstoppable. And no, he wasn't even mad at himself for not being able to block it the least. Don't mind it. He was actually contemplating at the fact that Sendoh actually cared to remind him not to 'mind' it. Was he by any chance worried at the fact that maybe he, Rukawa, was deeply affected by it? Probably. The thing is, Rukawa honestly thought that Sendoh seemed concerned a while back—yes, concerned at him. He. Rukawa Kaede. And he almost felt a slight burning on his ears as he came to realized so. Come to think of it, there was indeed a few instances that flashbacked at him that literally proved his tiny musings that his older roommate might actually care about him. He almost felt himself gasp at his own thoughts. And as for Rukawa? He honestly cared as well for his taller companion. And to some it may never seem so but the worst feeling is pretending you don't care about something… or rather someone, when it's him or all you think about. And most of the times as well, when you truly care for someone, the mistakes may never change our feelings, because it's the mind that gets angry but it's the heart that still cares.
He gulped involuntarily as he felt his hands got hold of the ball, only to dribble it back again and into a changing pace so as to elicit a small confusion on Fujima. The world seemed to have pulled him back into reality as his eyes finally focused on the fact that Fujima is now running towards him to possibly ensure a steal but he was too quick to read the shorter guy's move as Rukawa expertly turned counter-clockwise, escaping the latter and running towards their goal; he was accompanied by shouts of hoots, cheers, and whistles as his almost languid move made him looked cool. Ironically, that is. Maki tried to catch up with the dark-haired freshman with a trailing Sendoh behind but was a tad bit too late to do so because the shot has already been made, earning the blue-eyed boys two point, tying them with the first two minutes of the game.
Fujima dribbled once, twice, as he got hold of the ball and pursuit on forward—he stopped though when Rukawa blocked him. He grinned at the taller and younger boy from Shohoku. "You wouldn't let me pass, would you?" A grin. Rukawa simply held his cold stare at the guy who just talked at him as if they weren't in a game. If he were like Sakuragi, he would have blasted Fujima with words that arose from hell. Fujima bent low, dribbled a bit faster and tried to charge head-on against his taller defender—Maki was trying to escape Sendoh's defence though and was successful enough; Sendoh obviously was a bit surprised at himself. How could he let Maki passed away easily? He shook his head and ran after the older guy. Fujima saw Maki in position and made a long pass diagonally across the court earning a wide-eye from Rukawa. Maki was quick enough to get the ball and went on head to head but not without Sendoh beneath the basket.
From around the gym, loud noises erupted as two of Kanagawa's top players met yet once again for an engagement. Akagi and Uozumi were both on sides of the court, the whistles in between their lips as their eyes held fervently on the four players that has the whole gym rocking for the past few minutes. Maki held Sendoh with his challenging stare and the taller one wasn't really naïve not to notice it; he almost nodded in acceptance and prepared himself to guard the impending attack from Kainan's captain. Rukawa knew better and he readied himself as well as he thought of blocking Maki from the side; disregarding Fujima who was running towards them in hopes of helping his beau.
Maki jumped into the air, ball held against his hand as he readied himself for a possible collision against the taller Captain from Ryonan; his eyes widened a bit when his view from the basket was blocked by Akira but his experience on the court proved everyone that even the genius Sendoh Akira wasn't enough to stop him. He forced his way in, instantly bumping himself onto Sendoh and made his power known as he rammed the ball hard into the basket. Kainan's bench was on their feet as the crowd once again made their voices be heard. The whistle was blown though to the surprised of almost everyone.
"Foul, blue, number seven." Collective gasps, groans, and hoots was heard and even Sakuragi was baffled; the redhead was throwing expletives once again as Kogure and Ryota tried to stop him from the corner with Ayako's paper fan silencing him for a while. Obviously, Uozumi saw a foul and called it on Sendoh who was a bit surprised and a bit confused but held his hand up nonetheless. Foul? With only almost four minutes in the game? He opened his mouth; wanting to protest but choosing not to, nonetheless. Uozumi gave him the nod that spoke of, I'm sorry but I saw it. You know the rules. From a far, Ryonan's bench was booing Uozumi and some were calling him names that made the others laughed in merriment. Sendoh too found himself lifting his lips up a bit as he shook his head in slight disbelief.
"Boo Uozumi-senpaiiii! How could you do that to Sendoh-saaan!" Hikoichi wailed.
"That's not a foul, Uozumi!" Ikegami butted in.
"Nyahahah! You Boss Monkey traitor!" Sakuragi goaded and continued cackling evilly.
Not from afar though, Rukawa saw Maki tapped hands with Fujima, the two obviously liking the turn of events. He heaved a sigh as Maki went to the line and stole a glance on Sendoh who was bent low on one side of the free throw line, both hands on top of his knees. He actually wanted to approach the older guy and asked him. Yes, asked him if he was… well, okay perhaps the least. Having a foul is perhaps not the end of the world but, Rukawa honestly thought that it was a bit too early for that, knowing the calibre of Sendoh. Swish. The ball went in and claps erupted. Maki and Fujima leads now with three points; 5 to 2. The ball was held by Akagi, passed on to Sendoh who stood briefly outside the line to have an inbound pass to him, Rukawa. The rookie held the ball with his left and dribbled while walking; stopping a bit suddenly when Sendoh jogged past him—earning him a surprised look from the Ryonan dude. Sendoh momentarily halt to a stop and stare at the younger kid who seemed to be in deep thought. "I'll guard Maki." Sendoh couldn't have misheard that. He blinked his eyes twice and partly opened his lips in surprise. Rukawa seemed bent on stressing the fact that he wants to guard Maki. "I'll take on Maki." Sendoh snorted softly and shrugged a bit though. "L-look, its fine. I'm okay." A pause. Rukawa kept his stare placid and unreadable. "I'll get Maki-senpai, you take care of Fujima." Sendoh stressed and he grinned a bit. Truth is? Sendoh honestly think that Rukawa must have thought that he wasn't fully concentrated probably on court that made the younger guy said that. But Sendoh knows best, besides, its just the start of the game—and his first personal foul. Rukawa said no more and simply nodded his head off as he sped towards the awaiting Fujima. "Whatever."
"Hmm, I don't get this two though." Ayako softly said, her hand beneath his chin as her eyes follow the four players on court. She was, as always, seated beside Miyagi who was busy following the game as well, a toothpick on his lips. He momentarily looked at his right side as he could not have heard Ayako said something. "What's that, Aya-chan?" Ayako heaved a sigh and shrugged. "Oh nothing big really, Ryota. I'm just wondering who'll end up victorious." A pause. "I mean, they're four of the most talented players around Kanagawa." Ryota simply shrugged. "Whomever. It could be Maki and Fujima or Sendoh and Rukawa. I don't really mind. The ball is round." A pause. "But yeah, I'll probably dig in for that brat freshman of ours. I gotta admit, Rukawa has been the it guy in our team for the past few months. The kid is simply unstoppable. It's almost like he hates everyone on court. Ugh." Ryota stated with a shrugged and an almost bug-eyed expression.
Ayako found herself giggling a bit as her eyes widened a bit; Fujima was about to take a jumper but failed to do so, sending the ball bouncing back to the hands of Maki but Sendoh was able to get a hold of it; Ayako grinned and pumped her fist on the air as a few people did the same so; did Ryota just mentioned the word hate?
Meanwhile on court, Sendoh feigned a three-pointer to which Maki miraculously fell for but the Ryonan sophomore dashed suddenly to the surprise of Kainan's captain and in a swift solid motion dunked the ball into the basket to make the score 5 to 4; still a one point lead by Maki and Fujima. And the crowd cheered.
Ayako too found herself cheering and hooting in glee as she cast an eye to a grinning Ryota. "Oh and I don't think Rukawa-kun actually hates everyone on court. Not everyone." A pause. "In fact, I actually think he likes everyone… except for one though." She found herself giggling. Ryota squinted his eyes and shrugged. "Let me guess, Hanamichi?" Ayako blinked her eyes twice and chuckled. Ryota snorted but he grinned. "Obviously he hates this idiotic redhead." Ayako laughed. "Silly, except for one because I actually think that he might more than like this one." And the all-knowing manageress of Shohoku could only squint her eyes knowingly as a clueless Ryota simply stared at her blankly.
The game went on for ten more minutes with the crowd enjoying it as shots exchanged for the past few times. When Maki and Fujima delivers, Sendoh made sure that he and Rukawa too, close in the seven-point gap to five. Yes, the score was now 50-45. And with only five more minutes remaining in the first half, Fujima called for a timeout and soon after the whistle was instantly blown. The two seniors, immediately walked towards their bench as Hanagata and Kiyota awaits them to bring in their towels. As usual, Kiyota started his rants about how great his Maki-senpai is but the tanned guy heed no attention. Fujima graciously accepted the water offered to him and nodded his thanks to Hanagata who adjusted his glasses. "Phew, I'm tired Shin. Those two are monsters." He then grinned. Maki simply gulped from his tumbler and nodded. "Yeah. They're good." He said simply. Kiyota grinned and started ranting his usual antics. "Hahaha, never mind them Maki-senpai, you guys are leading now, I can very well predict that this game is yours for the taking! Yosh! Kainan is really at its peak today. Hahaha!" Maki simply shrugged off Kiyota's silly antic and found himself fixated across the other two. "I don't think they are, Ken…" Fujima adjusted one of his arm band and slightly tilt his head on one side. "You were saying?" Maki simply lifted one corner of his lips. "I don't think they're tired yet." Fujima simply shrugged and went for a cheeky grin. "Well, let's just hope they will feel soon."
Timeout. If there's one thing running on Rukawa's mind, honestly, it's that five-point lead. Truthfully. Not that he's totally sulking about it, he is just being himself; the typical Rukawa Kaede who's basically trying to know of a way to outdo his opponents; and no, he's not even being mad at the fact that he has been facing Shoyo's Captain rather than Kanagawa's main man, Maki Shinichi.
Truth is, he honestly thought that Fujima is also quite the elusive guy on court, and his moves can be confusing. People always mistook him for being the serious type, but to Rukawa Kaede, too many people seemed to confuse being serious with being solemn. He's just that type to be into a game, and yes, he does know that this is just a game—and he wants to win it. For some reason he just wants to, and for the raven-haired rookie, it's not enough that he wants to do something because it makes sense; he wants to do it because it feels right.
Rukawa stared blankly at the tumbler on his hand, aware of the plainness of its colour. The past fifteen minutes has been intense in a way; and the thing is…he and Sendoh seemed not to be quite in sync a while back. There were a few good mistakes that actually made him sometimes double-looked to see if the awkwardness was either coming from him or… the other guy. But Rukawa kept on going; he played as if playing was the one and only natural force ever present in his system right now… but deep inside of course, he knew. Rukawa knew—that there may be something else. There is something else. Emotions; or those so-called feelings of the heart.
He almost found himself gasping a bit as his eyes focused on the noise around him; aware now of the fact that he might be a tad bit off somewhere… he was a bit taken aback though when he heard his very own name being called by someone. Rukawa turned slowly to his right and was met by a towel held by Hikoichi Aida of Ryonan. He was surprised at this. Truly he wasn't expecting the exuberant guy to be that concern.
"Rukawa-kun? Eh… anou, here's a towel?" Hikoichi said, his voice a bit unsure-his stare in a curious look. Rukawa met his gaze then averted his eyes at the blue towel being offered at him, reluctant to take it but feeling the need to do so. He found himself taking it nonetheless. Rukawa nodded his thanks and looked past Hikoichi to see Sendoh sipping onto his very own tumbler while talking to Fukuda. Sendoh has his own towel around his neck as he kept nodding at what Fukuda has been probably saying in a low voice. They seemed to be in deep conversation. Rukawa silently wondered if it's about the play. It's a bit funny though because he wasn't expecting the Ryonan dudes to be there for him; truth is, Rukawa was actually expecting someone probably from the Shohoku bench to come over and hand him a towel—but it just had to be that freshman guy from Ryonan. He could only roll his eyes. Whatever. Shohoku seems to be busy with the damn bet. He silently thought. He wiped the sweat off of his face and placed the towel on top of his mouth, eyes looking at nothing in particular.
If there's one thing Sendoh Akira is thankful for, it's the time-out. He's not beat. Not yet. He can still run around on court for the next thirty minutes or so; he just needed a short break. Five point lead is nothing. He knows he could actually catch up with it… they could actually catch up with it; the thing is Sendoh wanted to have that break just so he could grab a moment or two from his companion. Moment. Did he just thought of the word? Not the romantic kind of course, he actually wanted for them to "talk" things over about the game, because to Sendoh, he and Rukawa seemed to be scattered on court. They seemed to be playing on their own. They're not playing as if they're teammates and that seems to be the main problem. One can easily see the space between them. When Sendoh passes, Rukawa made sure he finishes it off quickly.
The thing is, there were other things to consider; like having a give and go so that they will be able to ensure victory; plus the fact that Rukawa seems to be back on his very own self again—refusing to pass when the ball comes in contact with his hand. Sendoh was trying to fathom if he should be expecting a pass or a play, and in that moment of hesitation, Maki would find a way to elude him and go for a steal and a dash to their own court. For some reason, these things actually makes him… cringe in a bit. As a point guard, Sendoh knew of his companion's calibre to deliver a blow, the thing is, he cant seem to make a hold of the latter's skill because the raven-haired guy also refuses to cooperate; insisting on that one-on-one he has been executing against Fujima for the past minutes.
"I don't know what I am doing here." Fukuda flatly stated. Sendoh seemed to be taken aback as he looked at his right to see the blank face of Fukuda. Sendoh simply stared and shrugged. Fukuda snorted and almost smirked. "I mean, I don't know why I came up to you. I should be going back to my seat I guess." Fukuda said and was readying himself to stand up when Sendoh halted him. "Hey Kicchou wait up…"
A pause. "The thing is, I don't know as well why you are here." Silence. Then they both chuckled, no specific reason though, but it is as if there was something funny going on their conversation. "Hey look, I appreciate that you and Hikoichi came over for some moral support and all…" Fukuda snorted. "What moral support? We just came in for the extra towels." Sendoh chuckled lowly, deep inside he knew it was a little lie. "Whatever Kicchou." Silence again. "Look, if you're going to berate me because we're down by five points, go get Koshino." Fukuda smugly smirked and shrugged. "I don't actually care if you're down by ten or fifteen. I know you can pull it off anytime soon." Sendoh kept his silence. Can he really pull it up like what Fukuda said? Arent they being a bit too presumptuous of him sometimes?
"Are you okay?" It was more of a statement. Sendoh heard that clearly enough. And with that query, he knew he had to answer. "Yeah." Sendoh replied a bit breathily. He heard Fukuda snort a bit. "No, I mean, are you really okay?" Sendoh heaved a sigh; expect Fukuda to throw in a few silly questions that really means something else. Sendoh nodded his head and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine." Fukuda was about to throw in another when Sendoh beat him to it. "-look, I'm good. Really." A pause. Fukuda was silent. Sendoh heaved another sigh. "Okay, maybe I'm not. The thing is, I feel like I'm with a… robot." Sendoh stated; their voices obviously low and soft. Fukuda chuckled a bit. "Thought so. So, your sunshine is back again in his cave. Funny one you got there." Sendoh smiled wistfully and shook his head. "I don't know, I feel like… I can't get through him." A soft sigh escaped Sendoh's lips. He suddenly remembered again that fateful evening; their small act of tryst that led one thing to another… the unfinished alphabet game… and that- kiss. Sendoh actually felt like blaming himself all over again. "Have I not done that, maybe things are much easier today…" But was a bit cut when Fukuda butted in.
"Stop it Taichou. Never regret the things that once made you…happy." Sendoh paused. Truth is, he was surprised. Maybe Fukuda has a point. Most of the times, the worst feeling is regretting not having done something when you had the chance because of fear… yet in the end, our fears will passed while regrets lasts forever.
Fukuda held his stare for a while longer. "Look, never regret anything, because at one time, it was actually what you wanted." Silence beheld them for a while. The noise inside the gym suddenly diminishing into a sound that is all blurred. Sendoh Akira was a man of words, but for now, right at this moment, he chose to listen for a while. And listening sometimes is good. After all, people are given two ears and one mouth so that they can listen twice as much as they can speak.
"Look, just talk to him-I really think he wants to win this. But, I don't think you can if you're both acting as if you're seeing each other physically on court, but you're not technically connected?"
Sendoh had his eyes blinking twice. He was about to say something but pursed his lips nonetheless. He was surprise to hear those words coming from his very own power forward. "Be brave enough to start conversations that matters. That's all."
Fukuda stood up alerting Sendoh and Hikoichi who was seating between Sendoh and Rukawa who was at the other end of the bench, busily scrolling on his iPod. "Aida, let's go." Hikoichi was surprised as he was busily looking at the shots he took during the game and was about to say something like, I want to stay here longer; but was drag down by the stoic Fukuda earning a sweat drop from Sendoh Akira. Rukawa simply looked at the retreating form of the two Ryonan players as his ears was practically stuffed with some loud music.
Sendoh looked as Fukuda and Hikoichi walked away from them to be with the crowd. He sigh to himself and looked at his left—at Rukawa who was practically just staring ahead, earphones stuffed in his ears, a space between them, more like, their bags in between them. Sendoh took note of the dying minutes on the digital clock above them and glanced at Rukawa who was just sitting on one edge. Sendoh grab the towel around his neck and leaned forward, both arms on top of his lap as he stared at his companion. He gulped involuntarily. "Hey Rukawa-kun…" Sendoh stated in his usual tone. No reaction though. Sendoh almost rolled his eyes and sighed, this time he grab his towel and softly threw it on the pale rookie. Now this earned him a reaction. Rukawa actually looked at his right, eyes a bit wide, lips partly opened as he was just surprised. Did Sendoh just threw in a towel at him?
Their eyes met… his blue against his cerulean orbs; and just like that, Sendoh found himself staring yet again at the eyes of the one person he honestly hold of as someone dear to him. He felt his chest race a bit as he willed his brain to say something. Rukawa, having no place to go, found himself pulling out one earpiece from his ear, wondering what now. Silence. Sendoh licked his lower lip, eyes staring at nothing in particular before averting them again onto Rukawa's blank ones. "I was wondering if you have a minute…" Rukawa kept his silence.
Sendoh clacked his tongue, obviously not liking his own choice of words. "I m-mean, do you have a minute…?" He trailed off softly. Truth is, he can somewhat feel the fast beating of his heart against his chest; and no, he's not feeling afraid or anything—just a bit anxious probably. It's not like things have been completely… cleared between the two of them.
Rukawa was feeling rather… surprised. Yes, surprised probably because, this moment may be the first 'serious' talk they will ever had. And judging from the way the spiky-haired guy asked him if he has a minute to spare, Rukawa certainly has. If only, he actually wanted to say, yeah, I have actually five minutes. He almost felt his ears burned a bit but decided to ignore his own train of thoughts. He would have bang his forehead on the nearest wall if he had the chance. And so Rukawa nodded; he nodded his acknowledgement. "What about…" The rookie said rather in his quiet and soft voice.
Sendoh blinked back and… smiled. It is often said that the moments of happiness we enjoy takes us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us. And for Sendoh Akira, he reminded himself to be happy for this moment, for this moment is his life. Finally he found himself smiling, and yes, the genuine kind.
"Pick and roll?" Rukawa echoed. Sendoh nodded. "Yeah, kind of screening." He paused. Sendoh decided to continue. "I figured, you might want to give it a try…then we could proceed with that give and go thing we had with Sakuragi-kun and Fukuda." Sendoh smiled a bit, eyes a bit bright and all. He did not need to discuss further, he knew Rukawa understood and with only less than two minutes left in their first timeout, Rukawa found himself nodding his head. "Unless if you have something else…" Sendoh almost stammered. "I m-mean, if you have any strategies in mind then maybe we could…" Sendoh trailed off.
He was rather babbling or some sort. Rukawa, for some reason almost found himself snorting a bit; he settled for a twitch in the lips instead and shrugged. "No I don't have." Silence. "I mean…I don't have any strategy for now." For some reason Rukawa somewhat felt his ears heating up, embarrassed at the way he actually admitted that he had almost nothing in mind. He just wanted to win. That's all. Silence. "I supposed you would want me to pass the ball around." Rukawa found himself stating in an almost childlike and naïve manner.
He heard Sendoh chuckled a bit though—and for some reason, in that simple and final moment, as the clock finally died down its final seconds, Rukawa, too, found the corner of his lips lifting up a bit. "Yeah, could you please do that?" Sendoh added with a chuckle plus a grin.
"You thought I forgot already, huh." Rukawa said in his low and soft voice, eyes darted somewhere but they were of bright blue. Sendoh continued chuckling as well. "Yeah, for a while I thought about that." Silence. Rukawa held his stare at the floor for a while. Is Sendoh for real? Did he just said the word forget? It is said that often in life, we forget the things we should remember, and remember the things we should forget. But, the thing is, how do you forget someone, who gave you so much to remember? Rukawa surely doesn't have the answer at the moment, but he wished he had. Because sometimes, he does want to forget—but as they also say, trying to forget is almost as good as wanting to remember.
Nonetheless, he shook off those unwanted thoughts in his mind as he tried to focus more solely at the impending game. Sendoh suggested something about screening. It may be a good strategy but Rukawa wondered if it will truly worked against someone as cunning as Maki. The buzzer went off to their surprise and once again the place was filled with hoots and cheers as the final five minutes of the first half is about to start. Sendoh stood up and looked momentarily at Rukawa who just placed his iPod randomly on the bench and started adjusting his arm band. From across, Maki and Fujima started walking towards the center as Uozumi and Akagi went back to their own positions as well as the referees. Rukawa, being the indifferent guy he is, started walking a few steps as well ahead, keen on getting the upper hand this time.
"Rukawa…"
Sendoh didn't know where did that come from, but he was hell sure it was his own and almost shaky voice. They say love is the virtue of the heart, sincerity is the virtue of the mind, decision is the virtue of will, and courage is the virtue of the spirit; for some reason Sendoh decided to be courageous. He remembered Fukuda's words when he said to be brave enough to start conversations that matters. And for him, without communication, there is no relationship, without respect, there is no love, without trust… there is no reason to continue.
"Do you trust me?"
Rukawa felt his eyes wide a bit. He could not have misheard that. Did Sendoh just… asked him if he trust him? The raven-haired guy suddenly felt as if he was splashed with something cold on his face—at that given moment he wondered; he wondered why so; he wondered the power of the words that came right out from the heart of someone, and how they are able to find a place in the heart of another. For Rukawa, it takes a lot of courage and trust to look past what you've been through, and trust someone new not to put you through it again.
"When I tell you I trust you… don't make me regret it." He found himself saying back softly—but firm. And as cliché as it may sound, truly, it's hard to wait for something you know might ever happen; but its even harder to give up when you know it's everything you want.
To Sendoh, its not what a person tells you that matters; it's how they treat you that reveals their true feelings. And for him, Rukawa may not be the showy type to be of concern to most people around him, but within this past five days, Sendoh saw better. Rukawa is not that indifferent bastard everyone thinks of him to be. He is probably the most sincere, simple, and honest person he had come across with—his almost guileless personality and his quest to be the best, all of which came tumbling down and before he knew it, he had fallen in love. And for the sophomore Captain of Ryonan, its more than just the dates, holding hands and the kissing. It's about accepting each other's weirdness and flaws. And Rukawa just said that he trusts him. Sendoh found himself beaming up-his lips smiling his usual yet his eyes reflecting a more profound light; it's about being yourself and finding happiness together—and most of all, seeing an imperfect person , perfect.
"I promise."
Rukawa almost felt his ears burned but he just shrugged it off with a snort; he heard Sendoh chuckled and and as the last few seconds of the timeout died down, for some reason, he actually felt wonderful. "Hey Rukawa-kun…" The aforementioned name stopped yet again, brows raised this time and facing a grinning Sendoh, he almost rolled his eyes. "Game's about to start, doaho."
Sendoh chuckled a bit and shrugged. "I was wondering though…if you're still interested to continue where we left off…"
Rukawa felt his face flushed. What the heck is Sendoh talking about- he opened his mouth to let out a protest when he was beaten to it by no other than the Ryonan guy himself, instantly feeling a bit embarrassed at himself for thinking otherwise. He should have let Sendoh finished his sentence. "Uh, I mean the alphabet game…what letter are we again, can you still remember?" He smiled.
Rukawa clacked his tongue, eyes piercing from beneath his fringes but he was sure as hell that he felt his chest raced a bit. "I don't know. I can't remember." He rebutted rather flatly earning a laugh from the taller guy. Rukawa almost frowned in annoyance. "Right. I'll probably just try to remember later." A pause. "But I think, we're already in L, if my memory serves me right." Sendoh stated, hands on his hips as his eyes sparkled with a known feeling that he longed to keep.
"You're memory serves you alright, aho." Rukawa said and almost curled his lips up. Sendoh squinted his eyes and almost smirked back. "Hey, I thought you don't remember?"
"Well, I lied." A pause. Sendoh blinked his eyes. "Oh, that's my L by the way." Rukawa suddenly added- and started walking towards the centre of the court. Sendoh paused and found himself chuckling, earning him a few looks from some of the people who silently wondered. "Haha- hey don't you wanna hear mine?" Rukawa briefly looked back at him, eyes squinted a bit and shrugged.
Sendoh grinned and started walking as well towards the centre. And as the four of them once again gathered at the centre in preparation for the second half, Sendoh wondered if it will elicit a reaction from the younger guy. "Lose." Rukawa darted his eyes to his right to see a grinning Sendoh. "We need to lose this." Rukawa simply snorted and almost rolled his eyes. "We won't."
"But I don't dance." Sendoh stated in his low voice, suddenly remembering what Fujima said awhile back that the winning might need to perform. "I don't sing, I cant act…" Sendoh trailed off, enumerating the many possibilities of the people that will probably make him do. Rukawa would have laugh if he were the type but was able to contain it so.
"Just remember, if we win this and they force us to do something, you're deaf and I don't speak English." A pause. "I'm mute." Rukawa added with a bug-eyed expression; keen on winning but not wanting to perform as well. Sendoh found himself laughing suddenly. "Mute? Deaf? You're my kind of weirdo, you know, hahaha."
Rukawa simply rolled his eyes, snorted and found his lips tugging up a bit. "Whatever. Doaho."
It's funny how the word smile suddenly found its way in him, whereas before it was non existing and infrequent; and for Rukawa, he has this certain person to thank for; it's quite amazing how quickly your mood can change, how deep your heart can sink and how much one person can affect you, for happiness is not something you find at the end of the road… because it is just right here… right now.
TBC
Notes: Its been 10 years. Hahaha! No long notes for now, just like my other fic My Girl, took me long enough. Let me be honest with you when I say that I suddenly felt like I lost it? I guess its true that when you let off the story for so long, its hard to get back. But I know that I need to finish this because there are readers and followers. *sniffs, cries* Thank you so much! A few good words means a lot! Hugs everyone! I'll try to write CH17 asap and, I hope you guys won't mind if I suddenly skipped on the game between them, I must admit that it is the hardest part to write. Oh, last one, yes, I might be continuing the alphabet game! Yay!