His Version
by Annie D
the_80s_chick@lycos.com
PART 2
The next couple of hours were spent taking part in its usual safe daily routine that consisted of more sleeping in class and then actually waking up for basketball practice. It seemed to him like it was just any other practice that would involve him pushing himself as far as he would go.
And so it was also no surprise that he didn't notice when he became the topic of conversation of those at the side.
"Rukawa just keeps pushing himself," Ryota said. "Look at that, oh come on! He hasn't even finished his warm-ups and he's already doing slams. Oh sure it's fine if Rukawa strains his upper body strength—"
"Rukawa-kun just wants to be the best," Haruko protested softly. "And he's trying his hardest."
"He's still only human," Ryota said. "I don't know what he's trying to prove, really."
Ayako sighed. "Let him be. No one can talk any sense into him once he sets his mind on something. Right, sensei?"
"Ho ho ho ho."
Nakajima Ryu, one of the new freshmen, leaned closer into the inner circle. "I heard that he had found a place on the All-Japan High School team. Why did he come back to Shohoku?"
Ayako shrugged. "Nobody knows. He just did."
"Will you look at that!" Ryota snapped. "Rukawa! Keep to your side of the court, this is not the time to start a full-fledged one on one!"
Rukawa turned and gave Ryota a look.
"I mean it! Stick to practising your long shots!" Ryota ordered. Softer, so only those around him could hear, he added, "This is a first. A captain telling his player to slow down instead of push harder."
"Strange behaviour," Nakajima said. "Or stupid."
Haruko flushed angrily. "Rukawa-kun is not stupid."
Ayako waved her fan. "Stop it. His business is his business, whether we approve or not. Right, Anzai-sensei?"
"Ho ho ho ho."
"Argh, he's doing it again!" Ryota stomped across the court and grabbed the ball that had been in Rukawa's hands. "That's quite enough! Slow it down a bit, for crying out loud."
Rukawa looked down at the captain. He reached out to take the ball back, but Ryota shook his head.
"I mean it."
Rukawa looked at him for a while, then shrugged and walked away to get another ball from the rack.
*****
After-school practice was followed with after-after-school practice, as had been his usual itinerary. Rukawa's only focus was to be in the best shape possible for the oncoming IH eliminations. That, and he wanted to shut up the little nagging at the back of his skull.
His practice spot was the court near his house, and there he began with basic dribbling. After a while he made a long shot that sailed in just nicely.
"Oi!" someone shouted behind him.
Rukawa half-turned, annoyed that someone dared interrupt his practice.
"You a basketballman, yea? You don't look that good to me." It was a girl's voice, reason enough for Rukawa to pay her no attention. He chose to make a perfect three-point shot.
The girl snorted. "I can do that! I bet you think you're so good, eh? Am I right? Ah, but I don't think you're that good. Look at that, I can do better."
Rukawa blinked, struck by how much the way she spoke reminded him of Sakuragi. It even riled on his nerves the same way. But the thing that annoyed him the most was that this nosy girl had the audacity to speak to him in that way. No one had that privilege, except for Sakuragi.
No, I'm not thinking about Sakuragi this way.
He went to the ball and picked it up, wishing that the girl would go away and let him practice in peace. He bounced the ball of a few times, then turned to make another shot.
"Hey, don't ignore the tensai!" the girl shouted.
Rukawa froze. Tensai? TENSAI?!
Slowly, he turned around, finally giving the girl his full and undivided attention courtesy of his blaring icy blue eyes. Th girl stiffened, equally surprised by his reaction.
She was tall, not taller than he was of course, but quite tall for a girl. She looked as though she had been in a fight, with messed up clothes and scratches on her face, but all in all he didn't recognise her. Not that he would anyway, since he could barely recognise his own classmates.
"Oh, you scared ah?" the girl taunted proudly, hands on hips.
Then something clicked, and Rukawa immediately remembered the laughter he had heard earlier that very day. It was the same voice, the same proud tone, the same hair. Wait a minute… Rukawa's eyes flicked to her hair. Was it just him, or was her hair now streaked with red? He could have sworn that her hair had been brown.
The girl frowned. "What's wrong with you? Cannot speak? Mute?" To Rukawa's surprise the girl bounded up to him and knocked him a few times aside his head with her knuckles, as though rapping a door. "Hello!" she shouted into his ear.
How was he supposed to respond to that? Annoying, brash, proud and stupid. Just like…
The girl tried to take the ball from his hands but he pulled it away sharply, causing her to stumble a bit. That was when she noticed his Shohoku jersey.
She pointed at it. "Shohoku!" she shrieked. "Ooooh you're on the Shohoku basketball team! My friend Fuji says you're really good, but if you're on the regular team then I don't see how good they can be. Are they all weirdoes like you? Hello? Can you hear me?"
So that answered the question of whether she knew him. Rukawa went through the other possibilities. Perhaps she had known Sakuragi, or maybe she was a relative of some sort. Rukawa didn't know much about Sakuragi, and that was hardly surprising given the nature of their relationship. Rukawa grunted inwardly, knowing that it was not the time to start on the regrets.
But there was something about her radiance… Her eyes were bright, wide and innocent, but at the same time they were hardened into a self-contained confident glare. And then there were other things, like the way she spoke, the way her eyes twitched, the way she put her hands on her hips, even the she walked with that semi-bowlegged way…
"Whaaat?!" the girl snapped at him when he still refused to open his mouth. "I know, I'm very pretty, muahahahahahaha!" The same arrogance. "But don't think I'll date with you, because I have standards you know."
Arrogance + stupidity + annoyingness + loudness + radiance + innocence = …
Rukawa opened his mouth, and out jumped the only word appropriate for the situation. "Do'aho."
Something strange happened to the girl. She suddenly stumbled forward, gasping sharply as though she was having a heart attack. Her hands flew up to clamp her head in place and she let out a soft pained sound.
What the…? Rukawa took an uncertain step toward her.
The girl blinked up at him, her eyes wide with suppressed pain. "You…" she growled, then she punched him.
Her fist made sharp contact with Rukawa's jaw, which caused his teeth to click together loudly under the force, and he stumbled backward slightly. The girl's strong! Blinking through a slight daze that came from surprise rather than pain, Rukawa recovered and immediately looked for the girl. But she had run off, her form just barely visible in the distance.
Who…? What…?
Rukawa didn't believe in coincidences. Especially those as big as this one.
*****
For the first time since recorded history of his life, Rukawa went to school early. Not too early, but early enough as to be able to wait for the strange brown-and-red-haired girl's arrival. The fact that he was paying some attention to a member of the female species was shocking enough when he realised it, though that seemed insignificant in comparison with the fact that it was Sakuragi in the centre of his thoughts.
Soon enough, the tall girl appeared at the school gate, walking in her usual long strides, her hands in the pockets of her blazer. Rukawa leaned back into the shadows of the building.
The girl was craning her neck as she walked as though she was looking for someone, and that was why she didn't notice when a running Miyagi Ryota slammed into her.
"Watch where you're going!" the girl shouted.
Ryota glared at her. "You watch it! Baka…"
The girl's eyes practically popped from their sockets. "What did you call me?!" The girl raised her hands into fists.
Rukawa heard a gasp from Ayako, who had been walking past with some girlfriends. She immediately ran toward the two, her face in a frustrated huff. "Ryota-san, stop it!"
As per usual, Ryota went pink and scratched his head. "Aya-chan."
"He started it!" the girl protested, pointing at Ryota. "Cannot see where he's going, bumping into a girl… So rude!"
"What kind of girl are you?" Ryota snapped back. "Not a girl at all, if you ask me…"
"What?!" A fight surely would have followed had it not the Sakuragi Gundam appeared and grabbed the girl by her arms to pull her back. Rukawa raised his eyebrows in surprise. The Gundam knew her, too?
"Miyuki-san!" Yohei scolded
Miyuki. Rukawa rolled the name over in his head. No, it did not ring any bells.
Ryota looked at Yohei. "Mito-san, you know her?"
"She's a friend," said Yohei, who carefully waved his arms in a peaceful gesture. "No problem."
"He started it!" Miyuki screeched.
"I did not, you bumped into me!"
Miyuki's face was flushed, eyebrows knitting angrily and her eyes themselves practically glowing. Just like Sakuragi's when he was angry, and I certainly know *that* expression well.
Another new voice entered the way, this one belonging to Haruko, who had appeared out of nowhere as she tended to do. "What's going on here?"
Rukawa watched as Miyuki slowly turned to look at Haruko. The tall girl's eyes widened and her mouth opened in horror/embarrassment, as a red blush spread over her nose and cheeks. Just like how Sakuragi reacted whenever that girl was around.
"Gomen," said Miyuki, who sounded as bewildered as she looked. "Uh, uh… I think I'll be going to class now." She ran off, leaving a smoke trail in her wake. Everyone watched her leave with general sweatdrops.
"What was that?" Ryota asked, after recovering from the shock of the situation.
"I have no idea," said Yohei, but he didn't look like he meant it. "Haruko-san, do you know her?"
Haruko shook her head. "No. Never saw her before."
Another girl, possible one of those girls that kept following Haruko around not that Rukawa would have noticed anyway, stepped up and said, "That's the Miyuki I was telling you about. The new girl in my class, remember?"
"Oh," said Haruko. "She seems familiar, doesn't she?"
Very familiar, Rukawa agreed from his hiding place. The group began to disperse, so he eased off his leaning against the wall and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Sakuragi, you do'aho. Can't even leave me in peace after you're dead. He made an annoyed sound. Stupid boy. Stupid girl. He turned to leave when he heard Yohei shouting at him.
"Oi, Rukawa-san!"
Rukawa cursed quietly, but turned around anyway.
"Um," began Yohei, who scratched behind his head as he struggled to phrase his words. "So… I take it you've had a look at Miyuki-san?"
Rukawa nodded.
"Doesn't she seem familiar to me you? I mean, really familiar?" Yohei lowered his voice into a conspiratory whisper. "Like someone we knew?"
Rukawa paused, realising that Yohei knew something. Or at least he thought he knew something. He gave a cautious nod.
Yohei looked at the wall, and when he spoke his eyes had a far-away look. "I'd known Sakuragi for years. He was my best friend, almost my brother even. I know him as well as…" He gave a little sigh. "I just know him well. There's something about him that cannot be described, something that is truly him. I know I'm being silly but…" Yohei gave Rukawa an apprehensive look. "…Did you see it in her?"
The Sakuragi glow. Rukawa gave another small nod, suppressing the little flip in his stomach.
"I can't tell the others because they'll refuse to give it a chance," Yohei went on. "But I have a theory. That Sakuragi is somehow in her. You know, his spirit. Partially possessing her, I think. I know it sounds stupid, but I can't deny what I see." Yohei cocked his head. "Do you think it's possible, Rukawa-san?"
Rukawa looked away for a moment. "Anything's possible."
Yohei grinned. "Exactly. And I intend to find out what's going on. You see, Miyuki doesn't know what's happening to her either. She gets these headaches whenever she hears or says something that related to Hanamichi. I think what we need to make her realise what's going on would be a trigger. Something strong that could even perhaps bring Hanamichi out into the open."
Rukawa thought about it, and it sounded right. "Basketball."
"Exactly!" Yohei hissed softly. "Yes, that's it, basketball. Hanamichi loved the game. If we could just get her on court, perhaps hold a ball… All right, I'll get on the court, you just…" Yohei waved his hands.
Rukawa nodded in understanding.
"Thank you, Rukawa-san," said Yohei, bowing. His eyes glistened momentarily. "I know you miss Hanamichi as much as I do."
No, I don't! Rukawa glared at Yohei, who wisely raised his hands in a surrender gesture and backed off. Once a safe distance away, Yohei turned and ran off to class.
Rukawa slumped against the wall, letting out a soft sigh as he did so. Sakuragi Hanamichi. Possessing that girl. Possible. He shut his eyes, letting the preserved memory of Sakuragi's laugh ring in his ears. Don't think this changes anything, do'aho. I hate you. Just when I think I can finally put the past to rest, you do something stupid like this. Typical. He opened his eyes. *If* that's what's happening. Which it has to be, because I cannot believe that there can be another human being in the world like you.
Rukawa covered his face with his hands. Stop it. Stop thinking of the do'aho this way. Not rare. Not precious. Not irreplaceable. Hate. Hate you. Hate.
It was only when the school bell rang that Rukawa was able to pull himself away from his thoughts and head to class.