Her Version
by Annie D
the_80s_chick@lycos.com
PART 4
Miyuki stared at her reflection in the mirror. There were more red streaks winding through her hair and she felt tempted to chop them off, hair by hair if necessary.
Red was a horrid colour, she decided. It brought unwanted attention and created inaccurate preconceptions about her. Not that she didn't like attention, which liked very much in fact, but she wanted the attention because of her abilities, not because of her physical appearance.
"K'so…" she muttered, fingering the red streaks. "Sakuragi, why are you giving me red hair?"
The talk she had had with Yohei the previous day had calmed her down considerably. Yohei had explained his theory to her, and it fit pretty well with what Miyuki had been experiencing since she first recovered from the accident. Sakuragi had been in her head, probably with unfinished business, and he had guided her back to Shohoku (kinda sorta) for some reason she couldn't quite figure out yet.
"I am so kawaii already!" Miyuki told her reflection. "I don't need red hair!"
The door creaked open, and the soft patter of shoes indicated the entrance of another into the school's third floor girl's bathroom. Miyuki drew her eyes away from her red streaks reflected in the mirror, and saw that standing behind her was none other than Akagi Haruko.
"Ha-Haruko-san!" Miyuki stammered, whirling around.
Haruko smiled wistfully. "You even sound like him."
Miyuki bent her head to stare at the floor. "I'm sorry about the scene I made in the gym yesterday. I… I don't know what's going on, really."
"Yohei-kun told us his theory," Haruko said. A little timidly, Haruko stepped up to Miyuki to look into her eyes. Miyuki didn't know what she was looking for, but she must have seen something because she suddenly turned away and said, "You better get to class."
"H-hai…" Miyuki slowly made her way to the door. "Um… Haruko-san?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry about everything," Miyuki said. "Sakuragi died to save my life. I know he was your good friend, and this must be really difficult—"
To Miyuki's horror, Haruko's eyes were starting to flood with tears. Miyuki waved her hands quickly. "No, no, no! Sorry! Please don't cry!"
Haruko blinked quickly and forced a smile. "Yes, Sakuragi-kun was a very good friend. And if he's in you, I want to make sure he gets done whatever he wants done as soon as possible. Do you agree?"
Miyuki nodded.
"We are going to the witch doctor after school today," Haruko said. "Is that okay?"
"Yes. Of course."
Haruko nodded, then took one last look at Miyuki before walking past her out of the washroom.
Miyuki swallowed, then sighed with relief. She had been afraid that Haruko was going to be angry with her, because she was almost certainly responsible for Sakuragi's death, and hurting Haruko was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.
Adjusting her ponytail one last time, Miyuki stepped out of the girl's bathroom and headed for class.
As she passed by a classroom, a hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her back sharply.
"Eeeep! Nani?!" Miyuki spun around and was face to face (or more accurately, eye to chin) with the tall bike boy, and his name jumped out at her from the depths of her confused memory: Rukawa. That flare of anger and annoyance burst inside her, and she tilted her head up to glare at him. "What do you want? Oh I know, you're worried that the tensai's unfinished business would be to get the better of you! Your competition is back so you're worried! Isn't that it?"
Rukawa looked at her for a moment, then hmphed under his breath and turned to walk away.
"Don't walk away from the tensai, kitsune!" Miyuki shouted, and she rolled her sleeves back in preparation for a physical assault on the tall boy.
"What did you call our Rukawa?!" Shrieks of a dozen girls momentarily defeaned Miyuki, and she found herself being bodily lifted, carried and thrown down another corridor.
"How dare you touch our Rukawa!"
"Who do you think you are?"
"He's ours!"
Miyuki blinked up dazedly at the leader trio of the gang who were standing side by side in front of their little pigtail-wearing mascara-applying army. They were glaring down at her as though she were some sort of really disgusting bug, and the three leader girls each had a blouse over their uniform, one sketched with "RU", the middle with "KA" and the third with "WA".
The girlie mob shouted a few more idle threats at Miyuki before bolting back down the corridor.
Miyuki scowled daggers at the floor. "Stupid kitsune. No wonder Sakuragi couldn't stand him."
A hand reached out to help her. Miyuki looked up and saw that the hand belonged to Yohei, so she took it gratefully.
"The Rukawa Brigade giving you trouble?" Yohei chuckled.
"It was the kistune's fault," Miyuki said, brushing herself off. "I didn't even do anything! Pssh. Don't know what his problem is. Oh, might as well go to class. See you after school, okay?" She waved at Yohei and then bounded off down the corridor.
Yohei watched her leave, then sighed. "She's as clueless as Hanamichi."
*****
Classes were over. Miyuki had made a quick pitstop at home to change into her casual clothes before returning to the troupe that had gathered for the trip to the witch doctor. Although it was a given that the gundam would be going, Miyuki was rather surprised that Haruko, Ayako, Miyagi and Rukawa were also going.
"Why is he here?" Miyuki whispered to Yohei.
"I have no idea," said Yohei, widening his eyes in an innocent gesture. "But don't start a fight now, okay Miyuki. You know Haruko-san…" he trailed off and sighed.
Miyuki nodded, figuring out that Haruko still had that ridiculous crush on Rukawa. And as Haruko was still upset about the whole Sakuragi thing, Miyuki figured that she ought to shut her mouth just this once.
The party was quiet. Yohei and the rest of the gundam were leading the way, since they were the ones who knew where the witch doctor's place was. Miyuki walked just behind them, hands in pockets and eyes kept forward. Haruko walked just slightly behind/beside Miyuki, every now and then taking careful glances at her. Ayako and Miyagi walked behind them, also carefully watching Miyuki. Rukawa trailed the rear, and to their general surprise he didn't fallen asleep anytime during the way (except once when they had to stop for the traffic light).
"Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko whispered.
"Hai?" Miyuki answered without thinking. Then she flushed and quickened her pace. "Gomen."
Miyagi also quickened his pace until he was right beside Miyuki. He narrowed his eyes up at her. "What is that baka doing in your head?"
"Don't call him a baka!" Miyuki snapped, slowing down to glare at Miyagi. "He was the tensai! TENSAI!" She poked him hard in the forehead.
Miyagi stared. "He really is in there, isn't he?"
Miyuki looked away. "I guess." She shrugged. "I don't know."
Suddenly Miyuki stumbled forward with a loud shriek, a foot having made hard contact with her rear end. She scrambled off the pavement and glared at the guilty perpetrator, who happened to be Rukawa.
"What's your problem, kitsune?!" Miyuki shouted.
"You're holding up the group," he shrugged, walking past her.
"Aieeee!" Miyuki screeched, ready to launch herself at him. A sharp THWACK! of contact between a paper fan and her head stopped her. She rubbed her head and looked at Ayako. "What was that for?"
Ayako flushed, and pulled the fan off Miyuki's head. "Force of habit." Haruko looked like she was about to cry again.
"I don't even know why he bothered coming," Miyuki muttered, glaring at Rukawa's back. "He doesn't even count as Sakuragi's friend, righ?"
"Are you coming or not?!" Yohei shouted from quite far off.
"Hai!" Miyuki called, running after them with the rest of the group quickly following.
They finally reached the place. There wasn't any point in describing it beyond its oldish house-hut form, with one too many stray animals wandering outside. Miyuki wouldn't even be able to describe the way to get there.
Yohei told them to wait while he went inside first. After a while he came back out and said, "Miyuki, you go in."
Miyuki entered. The place was much bigger on the inside that it looked on the outside, and it smelt vaguely of dried fish and old banana skins. Faced with a black curtain, she carefully pulled it aside to find a small circular table with two chairs, and in the one facing her sat a wrinkled old woman dressed in a kimono three times her size.
"Sit, Takemoto Miyuki," said the old woman. Miyuki sat on the other chair. "So, Takemoto. You believe the spirit of the dead Sakuragi Hanamichi is in your head?"
"Uh… I have no idea, really. It's Yohei's theory."
"Put your hands on this talisman," said the old woman, gesturing at a gold object in the middle of the table.
Looks like a glorified spoon, thought Miyuki, and when the old woman glared at her, she wondered whether the old biddy could read thoughts. She put her hands on the talisman anyway.
"Close your eyes."
Miyuki did as she was told. The talisman was cold under her fingers and started vibrating gently, although that last bit was probably just her imagination. The old woman began muttering soft words she couldn't make out, and she got the feeling that even if she could she wouldn't understand what they meant.
There was a feeling of lift, floating, detachment, as though she were being drawn from her body. It felt kinda nice.
And then…
Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Miyuki jerked as she felt a cold hand pass through her.
Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Miyuki stared into the darkness, not knowing whether she really was only looking into the back of her eyelids or something else entirely.
Takemoto Miyuki… She recognised this voice as that of the old woman.
Hai?
Are you alone?
I think so. Wherever this is.
I am going to search through you. Don't be afraid.
The tensai is never afraid!
If it were possible to sweatdrop in the spiritual plane, the old woman managed it. The searching began, and the same cold hand swept through Miyuki, slowly and deliberately in its meticulous search.
The old lady spoke again. Who are you?
Miyuki answered. Takemoto Miyuki.
Who are you?
Takemoto Miyuki.
Who ARE YOU?
Takemoto Miyuki.
Pause. Who were you?
Sakuragi Hanamichi. Miyuki shrieked at her own unexpected answer. Gomen, I didn't mean to say that…
No, you did. You cannot lie here.
Nani?
She felt the old woman smile in the darkness. You are Sakuragi Hanamichi. Or, to be more accurate, you were.
Miyuki's spiritual mouth gaped open. I don't understand…
It is simple. You were Sakuragi Hanamichi in your past life.
Nyeh? I'm sixteen years old, lady. Sakuragi Hanamichi died four and a half months ago.
Your body may be sixteen, but *you* are four and a half months old. At the accident, both of you were injured. By that link of sacrifice, and because both of you died at the exact same time eight days later, something strange happened. Miyuki, the old Miyuki, left her body for you. You should have died for her, but instead she died for you.
Could it be just some cosmic mix-up?
That's possible, too, but it's more romantic to think that Miyuki died for you, ne? Giving up her body for you to be reincarnated in her place…
But then… Why all the memories? I have memories of being Miyuki and all that.
With the body automatically came the memories of the old Takemoto Miyuki. But memories alone cannot shape a person. You, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and your soul is very different from hers. It would not conform to the memories she had. You were not happy living old Miyuki's life, and because of that you subconsciously sought out your true life and your true friends.
… Wah, I am the tensai after all!
*spiritual plane sweatdrop*
So I basically switched bodies with the old Miyuki.
Yes.
Does she mind?
Pause. No. There is no anger. Only a willingness. She let you have her body.
But why?
Who knows…?
There was another pause as Miyuki (aka new Miyuki / Sakuragi reincarnated) thought about it. So I was a guy, and I'm a girl now?
Looks that way.
Wow. And I thought I was going crazy. Nice to know the person inside my head is myself, ne?
Comforting.
I am the tensai no matter what gender! Woo hoo! Can I go back now?
There was a sensation of falling, and then nothing. Miyuki slowly pried her eyes open, blinked a few times and then looked down at the table to see that her fingers were pressed tightly against the talisman. Cautiously, she pulled her fingers free.
Miyuki grinned. "I understand now."
"You will need something to complete the transition, since you have already begun it," said the old woman. "Something strong that will trigger the return of all of your memories. Then, Takemoto Miyuki, you will have your new life to live."
"That's it."
"Hai."
"Wah." Miyuki rocked in her chair a bit. "My friends are outside. How can I explain to them that I am the reincarnation of their dead friend? I mean… It was probably as much a shock as when I – I mean Sakuragi – I mean… GAK!" Her eyes crossed from her efforts to understand the situation. "See, even I don't get all of it!"
The woman cursed under her breath, although she was half-laughing. "Go out the back way. I'll explain it to them myself."
Miyuki stood up, barely able to contain the wide grin on her lips. "You know… I finally feel complete. I was feeling so lost the past few months."
The old woman nodded. "Welcome to the world. No many people get the second chance you have, so you better make the most of it."
"Damn sure I will," Miyuki nodded. "And by the way, what shall I call myself? I mean, I can't use my old name Sakuragi Hanamichi since he's officially dead, and Miyuki isn't my name either."
The old woman snorted, but not unkindly. "You'll figure it out."
"Chih." Miyuki bowed deeply anyway. "Doumo arigato, old woman." She turned to leave.
"Woi, aren't you going to pay?!"
*****
The old woman gave Miyuki a two-minute head start before calling for her friends to enter the hut for their debriefing.
"Takemoto Miyuki is Sakuragi Hanamichi," the old woman told them. "Your friend was reincarnated in Takemoto Miyuki's body." She proceeded to explain about the memories et cetera.
For a long while nobody said anything, and the silence was broken when Haruko finally burst into tears.
"So Sakuragi is… alive?" Yohei breathed.
"No, Sakuragi is dead," the old woman corrected. "He's just been reborn in Takemoto's body."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Miyagi asked.
"No, it isn't," the old woman snapped. "You kids are always so slow to understand."
Eight pairs of eyes stared at her.
"So… where is she? He? She?" Yohei frowned. "He?"
"She," the old woman grumbled. "She's left already. There's one last thing she needed to do."
For a long while nobody said anything. Haruko stopped crying and slowly digested exactly what the old lady had said. She whispered, "Sakuragi's alive."
"Sort of," Ayako said, but she was close to tears, too. Mourning Sakuragi had been a horrible time for all of them, and although it was shocking to know that he had somehow come back, once the shock wore off they'd be able to see that the insufferable arrogant idiot whom was also their close and fiercely loyal friend was with them once again. A miracle. Or cosmic mix-up, but miracle sounds nicer.
"Sakuragi was given a second chance, by powers even I don't understand," the old woman said solemnly. "Now he… she has a rough idea of what has taken place, hopefully from now on things will be less complicated."
Takamiya was the next to speak. "Doesn't this mean that Hanamichi is now…"
The gundam plus Miyagi chorused, "A GIRL!"
They all bowed their thank you's as they started to file out of the room.
The old woman then shouted after them, "Hey, aren't you going to pay?!"
*****
Later. It was night, but Miyuki had wandered onto the Shohoku High campus alone to use the basketball court, which also had the lighting means for her to walk around. (Padlocks? Heh, no problem for the tensai!)
While Sakuragi's memories were still scattered, Miyuki knew that he had been playing basketball for a year. Not a long time as far as the game was concerned, but it was his raw love for the game that had triggered the return of the memories in the first place. So she figured it was right that she relive her life in the gym where it all started.
She didn't have his red jersey, but she pictured it in her head, the number 10 clearly printed on it. She didn't have basketball shoes either, but neither had Sakuragi when he first started. It was like going full circle.
Miyuki took a basketball from a rack in the corner, and idly rolled it in her hands.
She stood on the court.
Completely devoid of any human company, and with only the sound of her own shoes against the floorboards to fill in the emptiness, Miyuki's world faded away as Sakuragi's opened up.
Hana-kun, did you get into trouble again? Sakuragi's mother.
That boy is such a hard-head! His father.
Miyuki half-shut her eyes as memories of Sakuragi's childhood appeared to her, and this time she didn't try to fight it – perhaps that was why this time there weren't any bad headaches.
Head-butting the other kids at kindergarten who had laughed at his hair… Getting into his first fight at 5 and winning it… Being scolded again and again by his father… His mother would always be watchful and quiet… School was a blur, he had few friends… Always got into trouble, slept in class…
"Yohei," Miyuki muttered, remembering their first meeting. Yohei had been his first real friend, and best friend. The others of the gundam had joined not too long after, becoming his buddies, his brothers. They had been there for him when his father had dided. They had laughed together, fought together, sometimes cried together.
Slowly, Miyuki started to bounce the ball, and bouncing soon turned to dribbling. She started cautiously , since her current hands had never actually handled a basketball before.
We're going to Shohoku High together! We'll rule the school! Of course, with the tensai leading you, no one will mess with us! Hahahahahahahaha!
Then that girl, Haruko… Do you play basketball?
"Haruko-san," said Miyuki, tripping slightly on her own feet. It was her that had introduced him to basketball, as well to the hope that perhaps one day he'd find… Miyuki pushed that line of thought aside for a moment, wanting to get through the rest of the memories first.
"Kitsune… Gori… Megane-kun… Ayako-san… Oyaji…"
Miyuki paused, held the ball in her two hands and looked up to see that she had stopped right in front of one of the hoops. She backed up a bit, jumped and executed a rather messy lay-up. The fact that it went in on her first try was good enough for her, so she leaned back with her hands on her hips and laughed. "King under the basket! Hahahahahaha…"
The more recent memories were more vivid and came faster, following the events of the previous year with the Kanagawa trials, other adventures he'd had with the team, the final pivotal Sannoh game…
Miyuki shrieked suddenly, recalling all too clearly the memory of the sharp pain that had struck Sakuragi's back. She fell backward, collapsing on the floor with no tensai grace whatsoever. She shut her eyes, remembering the disappointment and the helplessness of that moment… He had been having treatment, and was on the way to getting better but… but…
She saw herself – or to be more precise, the old Takemoto Miyuki, stumbling on the road. There was a truck coming! What else could she do but run out there and…
All went black.
*****
Rukawa stepped out of hiding place within the shadows of one corner of the gym, blue eyes regarding the fallen girl. He slowly walked toward her, and he raised his eyebrows briefly when he saw her hair. It was no longer brown streaked with red, but just pure fiery red.
He sat down next to her and looked up at the gym ceiling for a while. Then he looked down at her again, and reached out a hand to gently push aside a few strands of loose red hair from tickling her nose.
"Welcome back, Sakuragi," he whispered.
*****
You cannot die.
Why? Why did you do this?
Why do you think?
You have as much right as I do to live.
No. I was meant to die that day, like you are meant to live now.
Not a cosmic mix-up?
No, Sakuragi.
Sakura.
What?
Sakura. My name's Sakura. It reflects who I was, and who I am.
Ah, poetic.
Of course, I'm the tensai.
… Right.
And thank you. For everything.
Thank me by living your life to the fullest.
I will.
*****
And so it came to pass that Takemoto Sakura (although officially her given name was still Miyuki), reincarnation of the tensai Sakuragi Hanamichi, came to be. On the floor of gym after the flooding of memories, she woke up about an hour later alone and unaware that Rukawa had been sitting with her the whole time and had only left when she had started to stir out of her sleep.
Sakura returned home to a rather concerned mother, whose eyes had practically popped out of their sockets when she saw her daughter's new firey-red hair. But everything was feeling so perfect, so right, and that was the best thing she could have ever possibly asked for. She was back with her friends and she sure as hell was going to settle back down in her former life as much as she could, the limits of gender change being the only obstacle.
Sakura also got her mother to chop off her hair that very night, so the next day she went to school with new do – not boyish, but just slightly longer than chin-length and with bangs, the wavy style more in sync with the type of do that Sakuragi would have had, had he been, well, a girl. And now he was.
Her opinion on red hair was also revised, seeing the way the way that Haruko's eyes lit up when she saw her and practically leapt into a hug with her. The gundam had welcomed her back when they saw her, as did Ayako and Ryota. There were jokes about the change in gender, but Sakura's perfect headbutt silenced them swiftly. Only they would know who she really was, which was fine by her since everyone else would soon realise what a tensai she was once she settled into Shohoku properly.
And so Sakura marched off to class with her friends, hands in pockets and 'singing' loudly, "Ore wa tensai… Tensai, tensai… Basket Sakura kawaii…" More than a few eyebrows were raised, but there were always such responses when Sakuragi, or Sakura, were concerned.
Rukawa watched from the sidelines. Anyone watching him would have been
given the shock of their lives, since his usually stoic expression melted
briefly into one that beheld a soft smile.
FIN
PS. Yes. 'Tis just a elaborate scheme to turn Sakuragi into a girl. Woot!