His Version
by Annie D
the_80s_chick@lycos.com
PART 4
Perhaps a state of mind, but the rest of the classes were long and draggy, and yet at the same over too soon. It was a conflict reflected in Rukawa's own anticipation. He wanted to know, but he also feared what he would be told. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted the answers to be, anyway.
The group waited at the main gate of the school for the guest of honour. For the record, the gundam were talking to each other softly, Ryota was chewing on his tongue and Haruko still looked like she was going to cry.
"Do you think Hanamichi's possessing Takemoto-san?" Ryota asked Ayako.
"There are lots of things we don't understand in this world," Ayako said softly. "But I do know that that girl… She has something that I've only ever seen in Sakuragi Hanamichi, and that's a fact. My mind is open to any possibility." She winked at Ryota, who blushed.
And then finally she arrived. She was scowling as she approached them, and the scowl only intensified when she saw that Rukawa was there.
Of course I'm coming, do'aho, Rukawa said in his head, but he refused to look at her.
The little party started its travel. Yohei, who knew the way, lead on with the rest of the gundam flocking behind him. Takemoto followed just behind them, hands in pockets, and legs still moving in that large non-girlie stride. Haruko creeped beside her, every now and then stealing glances up at Takemoto. Ayako and Ryota were just behind them, and they too, were taking cautious glances at the tall girl.
Rukawa settled for bringing up the rear, where it was the safest because he'd be able to watch Takemoto without anyone else noticing. He figured he was already lucky enough that none of the others had questioned his presence in the little troupe.
Why did you come back?
Rukawa's eyes flicked toward Haruko, annoyed that the girl was suddenly much closer to Takemoto. Suddenly the much shorter girl whispered, "Sakuragi-kun?"
"Hai?" Takemoto answered completely on reflex. Realising what she'd done, Takemoto flushed with embarrassment and quickened her pace. "Gomen."
Ryota jogged a bit to keep up with Takemoto. "What is that baka doing in your head?"
Takemoto stopped walking and glared down at Ryota. "Don't call him a baka! He was the tensai! The rebound king!"
She poked him hard in the forehead, causing Ryota to stumble a bit. "He really is in there, isn't he?"
Surprised at the question, Takemoto looked down at the pavement and shrugged. "I guess. I don't know."
I hate you.
Rukawa kicked Takemoto from behind, sending the girl sprawling onto
the pavement. She scrambled quickly back to her feet and glared at him.
A fresh rush of blood surged in Rukawa's veins, strangely grateful as he
was to be the recipient of that blazing glare.
"What's your problem, kitsune?!" Takemoto shouted.
You. But he just walked past her while saying, "You're holding up the group."
"Aieeee!" Takemoto screeched, just before a loud THWACK! signalling the descent of Ayako's infamous white paper fan onto her head.
"What was that for?" Takemoto grumbled softly.
"Force of habit," said Ayako, who sounded embarrassed herself.
Rukawa walked on, willing himself not to turn back and hit Takemoto herself. He heard her say, "I don't even know why he bothered coming. He doesn't even count as Sakuragi's friend, right?"
No, I don't. That's why I hate you even more.
"Are you coming or not?!" Yohei shouted at the lagging group.
"Hai!" Takemoto shouted back, and ran past him to catch up with the rest of the gundam.
They arrived at their destination not too long later, and that was when Rukawa felt the dread build up within him. Answers he wanted, answers he feared.
"Okay, Miyuki, you go in," Yohei said once he had confirmed things with whoever was inside.
Takemoto gave a little nod and then disappeared behind the old door.
Rukawa turned away, hands stuffed in pockets. Well one thing's for certain. You didn't come back for me. He made a soft huh sound. But you better not have come back for *that* girl, either.
"Remember that time Hanamichi pulled down Gori's pants?" the short gundam guy said. The rest of them laughed a little.
Another one of them picked up the thread. "Yeah, and the time…"
Rukawa almost rolled his eyes, refusing to take part in their conversation. They're hoping too much. He clasped his hands together, allowing himself to touch the scars that marred his right hand. I've already let it go. Gotten over it. The do'aho's gone, and this doesn't change anything. Once we find out what he wants, he'll go again.
"Why can't we go in and watch?" Ryota asked. "Hanamichi was our friend, we should be allowed—"
"There's a little something called trade secrets, Ryota," Ayako said.
"You know I was thinking," one of the gundam said, "Maybe Hanamichi came back to tell us something."
"Maybe," Yohei said.
"Even if it's only for a short while," Haruko was saying, "I'm glad he's back."
Yohei nodded. "Only for a short while, but it's enough."
No, it isn't. Who're you kidding? Sakuragi, you inconsiderate IDIOT, you're doing it again: hurting me – ME! – the supposedly ice-cold emotionless super rookie like you did four months ago. Once was bad enough, thank you very much. Curse you.
Then the door creaked open. It wasn't Takemoto, but another guy who looked like he lived in that particular hut-like building. "The Lady calls for your presence."
Yohei nodded and entered, followed by the rest of them. Rukawa again trailed the rear, having to bow his head a bit from hitting against the low beams, and then found himself in a small dark room with a circular table, at which an old lady in an oversized kimono sat, looking rather pleased with herself.
"You are Sakuragi's friends, yes?" she said.
"Hai," said Yohei.
"You believed that Sakuragi was possessing Takemoto, is that right?"
"Hai."
The old woman cleared her throat. "Well, things maybe a slight more complicated than that. Takemoto Miyuki is Sakuragi Hanamichi." She took a pause. "Your friend was reincarnated in Takemoto Miyuki's body."
"When Sakuragi saved Takemoto's life from the truck that day, a link was formed between them. Did you know both of their bodies shut down the exact same moment eight days after the accident?" Not waiting for them to answer, she continued. "Well, because of that, something really unusual happened. I don't understand it myself, but the old Takemoto died, while Sakuragi was reborn – or reincarnated – in Takemoto's body. Because he was in her body he took all the memories of her life, but his soul in its determination did not adapt well to that life, and he subconsciously sought out his old life with all of you."
A stunned silence fell upon them, and that was soon broken by the sound of Haruko bursting into tears.
"So Sakuragi is… alive?" Yohei asked.
"No, Sakuragi is dead," the old woman corrected gently. "He's just been reborn in Takemoto's body."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Ryota asked.
"No, it isn't," the old woman snapped. "You kids are always so slow to understand."
Eight pairs of eyes stared at the old woman.
"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."
Haruko whispered, "Sakuragi's alive."
"Sort of," Ayako added softly.
Rukawa had gone numb as his brain slowly digested all the information. Sakuragi is alive? Alive?
"Sakuragi was given a second chance," the old woman, her voice all serious, "by powers even I don't understand. Now he… she has a rough idea of what has taken place, hopefully from now on things will be less complicated." On that last bit she didn't sound too convinced.
The short speccy guy then said, "Doesn't this mean Hanamichi is now…"
The gundam plus Ryota chorused, "A GIRL!"
The only thought in Rukawa's head was: Sakuragi's alive… alive…
*****
Rukawa walked on in a daze, one foot dragging itself automatically before the other. Some time during the trip back he knew that he had separated ways from the others. Probably they were all heading back home just to wait to see Miyuki / Sakuragi-reincarnated the next day.
But Rukawa knew he couldn't wait that long.
Four months prior he had made his peace with Sakuragi's going, even if that peace involved him constantly cursing and hating the do'aho for making him care. But now things were radically different and the do'aho was back. And judging by the numbness in Rukawa's fingers, he had no idea what to do about it. Except that he had to see her again. Quickly.
The old woman had said that Miyuki had something to do, but she hadn't been specific with it. It could have been anything, really, but by some unspoken guidance, Rukawa found his feet had lead him to the Shohoku High school building.
He looked up, and saw the light in the gym was on. He was not as surprised as he should have been.
Stealthily, Rukawa entered the campus and quickly walked toward the gym doors. He pulled a door open as quietly as he could so not to attract any attention, and peeked in the crack.
There was Miyuki, dribbling a ball across the court.
She was muttering under her breath, and her eyes were slightly glazed as though nothing else existed in the world but her and her basketball. Rukawa craned his ears, just able to make out a few words of Miyuki's mumbling.
"Kitsune… Gori… Megane-kun… Ayako-san… Oyaji…"
Kitsune.
Miyuki then dribbled to the other side of the court and looked up at the hoop. The girl backed up a bit, jumped and executed a messy lay-up. She grinned, then leaned back with her hands on her hips and laughed. "King under the basket! Hahahahahahaha~"
King under the basket.
The girl stopped laughing and paused for a moment to gather her breath. Then she picked up the ball and started to dribble again.
As Rukawa watched her, the foremost feeling was that of deja vu. It was Sakuragi, and every movement she made strengthened that fact. Even if in a different body, the do'aho was still the do'aho. Something as material as a human body cannot limit the strength of the spirit.
Suddenly Miyuki let out a shriek, and fell to land on her back. She just lay there, breathing gently, until she shrieked again and then fell all silent and still.
She'd passed out.
Certain that the girl wouldn't be waking up any time soon, Rukawa stepped out of the shadows and approached her cautiously. His eyebrows jerked up in surprise when he saw her hair, which was no longer brown streaked with red but pure fiery red from each root to tip.
You do'aho.
He sat down next to her.
You're still so stupid, and so inconsiderate. Just when I thought I could be satisfied with just hating you, you had to go and pull this stunt. You just *had* to come back for good, didn't you? You hurt me so much when you died, you know? No, you'll probably never know. Huh. Took me so long to actually acknowledge it as hurt. To acknowledge that *you*, of all people, could hurt me. I hate your stupidity, your arrogance, your ignorance…
He considered her face.
I hate that I can't hate you anymore.
He reached out a hand to push aside a few strands of loose red hair from tickling her nose, and then whispered, "Welcome back, Sakuragi."
Rukawa sat quietly next to her, and he let that last train of thought dissipate calmly as he watched her eyes move behind their lids. Rukawa wondered what was going on behind those eyelids, in the turmoil of her mind. A lot, probably. Deciding how to cope with his/her new life, and all that. Planning how to regain the basketball tensai title.
After about an hour, the girl started to stir out of her sleep. Rukawa stood up and quietly left the gym, leaving no sign that he had been there.
*****
The next day, Rukawa went to school with new vigour. Basketball had new meaning, as did (dare he say it?) his life.
After arriving, he waited in his usual shadow spot for her to arrive.
Soon enough, she did. Practically bouncing on her feet, eyes sparkling unusually bright, in she came. The others, which were the gundam, Haruko, Ryota and Ayako, had also been waiting for her, and all proclaimed their surprise at the sight of her shocking red hair. Rukawa felt pleased that he was the first to see her with her fully red hair.
"I'm calling myself Sakura," she told them. "You know, refers to who I was and who I am?"
"Sakura," said one of the gundam members. "Works for me!"
Sakura. Perfect.
"Oh, it's so wonderful to have you back!" Haruko exclaimed, just about leaping into a hug with Sakura, who started blushing furiously.
"So now you're a girl, eh?" Ryota nudged her wickedly.
"Hee hee hee, right…" the rest of the gundam chuckled.
Sakura roared and took a pose. "I am the tensai, no matter what gender!" And she headbutted all of them in swift succession. As the five smoked from their foreheads around her, Sakura stepped over them and rubbed her hands in a determined fashion. "Now to convince the school board to let in a girl tensai into the basketball team…"
Rukawa watched Sakura walk off, crooning a slightly modified version of the tensai song.
"Ore wa tensai… Tensai, tensai… Basket Sakura kawaii…" That certainly got a few surprised looks from bystanders.
Rukawa looked up at the sky. Thank you.
Then a corner of his mouth curved into a soft smile that would have
made countless of Shohoku girls swoon right there and then, but luckily
for him there was no one watching. No one would have to know.
FIN