Ore Wa Tensai Sakura: Last Chance
Part 3

by Annie D
the_80s_chick@lycos.com



"I'm so excited, Sakura-chan!" Haruko exclaimed, bouncing on her little feet.

For the first time in months, the 'excited' in question had nothing to do with basketball, nor the fact that they had been winning match after match after match in the Inter High. Neither did it have to do with the fact that there were one game – ONE GAME – away from winning nationals. In actuality, it had to do with the Shohoku High Senior Ball, which was just around the corner. An excuse to dress up was always good.

"Hai!" Sakura agreed, nodding.

"Will you be taking anyone?" Haruko asked the rest of the gundam. They had all gathered together to hang out outside the cafeteria during lunch break for the usual useless chatting when Haruko had come along.

Immediately five faces went red.

"Ah…" "Um…" "Well…"

Takamiya watched as a pretty girl strolled past. He jumped to his feet and ran after her. "Will you go with me to the ball?!"

Haruko sweatdropped, then giggled. "How about the rest of you?"

"I think I'll go stag," said Yohei.

"There's this freshman girl I think I might ask," said Noma.

"I have no idea," said Ohkosu.

"How about you, Sakura-chan?" Haruko asked.

Eeeeeek! Sakura laughed. "Heh heh heh… Well…"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find someone, or someone'll find you," Haruko said chirpily. Suddenly her eyes went all heart-shaped, which was a sure sign that Rukawa had appeared somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

Sakura steamed quietly until the heart-shaped effect went away and Haruko was back to coherent thinking.

"Do… do you think Rukawa-kun will be going?" Haruko asked timidly. "I mean, I know there are many girls that like him and…"

You want to go with the kitsune?! Sakura blanched, then scowled. "Don't know, don't care." Hopefully he won't go at all, heh heh…

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Haruko said suddenly, her eyes lighting up with an idea. "How about we go shopping together for outfits to wear at the ball? This is our last chance to do so, so we better get it done now. Fuji would be sure to come along, I'm not too sure about Akemi, though…"

"Shopping? With you? Of course, I'd love to! Nyahahahahahaha!"

"Great! How about this weekend? Then maybe afterward we can go over to my house and watch that Hideaki Takizawa show that's on."

"Oh, he's so kawaii," Sakura, in total girlie mode, added seriously.

Yohei looked at Sakura with an amused expression. "I'm sure."

(To those who don't know, Hideaki Takizawa is a very kawaii young Jap actor who's famous for playing characters that are stoic, rarely smile, and perceived to be cold and distant, but in the end turn out to be total sweethearts. ^_^)

In the background, the school bell rang.

"Oh, we should be going. See you at practice, Sakura-chan!" Haruko said before running off.

*****

So Sakura was in a good mood. That was always a good sign.

Rukawa watched through near-closed lids as Sakura crab-walked toward her desk, humming that ridiculous theme song of hers under her breath. After months of sitting next to her, he had perfected the art of watching her through a tiny slit of open eyes in order to let her think that he was sleeping. Well, okay, most of the time he was sleeping, but that wasn't the point.

"Ore wa tensai… Hmm hmm hmm…" Sakura plopped into her seat.

You going to the ball with anyone, Sakura?

"Hmm hmm… tensai tensai…"

Rukawa willed the thought as hard as he could out of his head as though he were a transmitter, in the hopes that some brain would receive it.

It may have worked, because then some silly girl he couldn't recognise came up to Sakura and asked just that. "Are you going to the ball with anyone, Sakura-san?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nobody's asked me or anything," Sakura said. "How about you, Fuji?"

"Oh, Satou-san asked me during lunch break," the girl said, blushing a bit. "Is there anyone you want to go with?"

The tell-tale blush appeared on Sakura's cheeks. "Ah, well… We'll see. Hey, Haruko-san and I want to go shopping for our outfits this weekend, Saturday I think. You want to come?"

"Oh, I don't think so, I'm having my dress tailor made," the girl said. "You guys have fun, though."

"Okay well, your loss."

The other girl walked off and Sakura rocked in her chair a bit, still humming that theme song happily. The happy factor was because of Haruko, which in Rukawa's book, did not make it good timing to ask her.

*sigh* More waiting was in order, it seemed. Damn.

*****

Shopping is a delicate art, as most girls would agree. One cannot be satisfied with merely just one dress, or one shop, or one shopping mall. One ought to scour as much of the market as possible before settling for the dress that would be absolute definite and without a doubt, THE ONE. Most guys don't agree with this point of view, though, but that's just guys.

Sakura, having the internal wiring of both guy and girl, should have been torn apart by the need to search and the need to just quickly settle for one – just any one for God's sake! – but seeing that her shopping mate was Haruko, she was all: pile on the shops and the dresses, woo hoo!

"How about this one?" Haruko asked, lifting a baby blue spaghetti strap.

"Oh, that'll look nice," Sakura said, nodding eagerly.

Haruko giggled. "You've said that about everything I've tried on!"

Sakura scratched her head. "Well, you'd look nice no matter what you wear."

"Hee hee, thanks Sakura-chan. But seriously, I must find one that is… is… you know, one that will make me stand out. Then maybe Rukawa would… would…" She blushed.

Sakura scowled at the blushing Haruko over a shelf. Trying to distract her from those thoughts, Sakura lifted an outfit from the hangers. "How about this for me?"

Haruko sweatdropped. "That's a suit."

"So?"

"It's a suit."

"I'm trying it on anyway." Sakura jogged off to the changing room. After a while she stepped out and struck a pose. "So how does the tensai look?"

Haruko raised her eyebrows. "It's still a suit."

"You think I should get a ladies pants-suit?" Sakura asked, tapping her forefinger against her chin. "The cut would be better and all…"

Haruko giggled again and shook her head. "There you go, Sakuragi's taking over again." She smiled. "I think you should wear a dress. It's not often we get to dress up like this, Sakura-chan. And it's our final year and all…"

"A dress?" Sakura pondered this. "Not a suit? I was hoping to wear a suit."

"A dress," Haruko said firmly, stepping over to another selection to flip through the outfits. "Here, how about this?"

"That's strapless. And it's got a bodice. And a slit." Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Too girlie-girl!"

Haruko laughed. "Change out of that suit, Sakura, and let's find something right for both of us." Sakura started to open her mouth when Haruko raised her finger sternly. "A dress for you. No choice."

Sakura sighed, but nodded in surrender.

"Takemoto-san!"

Sakura looked up just in time to see a tall girl walking toward them. It took her a moment, but once she did, she gave a little shriek of recognition.
"Ryoko-san!"

"Fancy meeting you here," Ryoko said. "This your friend?"

Sakura nodded. "Err, Haruko-san, this is Ryoko, a friend from my old school."

"Old school?" Haruko asked, slightly confused.

"Old. School." Sakura blinked meaningfully. "She was the volleyball captain when I left."

"Oh. Oh! Pleased to meet you, Ryoko-sempai," Haruko said, bowing. "I'm Akagi Haruko."

"Ah yes, the Shohoku team manager, I'd read about you somewhere. Don't look so surprised, Miyuki-san." Sakura blinked at the usage of her old name as Ryoko continued, "Once we heard that you'd joined your new school's basketball team, we were very stunned. And quite proud of you, actually. Even though you never kept in touch with us."

"Err, well…" Sakura scratched her head in embarrassment.

Ryoko gave a stern but gentle smile. "It's great to see that you've settled in well into your new school."

Sakura gave a genuine satisfied smile. "Thank you. I'm really sorry for losing touch with you guys… How is everyone doing? And is there anything I can do to make up for—for—for?"

"Everyone not doing too shabbily, if I do say so myself," Ryoko said. "Actually there is one thing you can do, now that you're this hotshot basketball player for Shohoku…"

Sakura grinned. "Anything."

Ryoko took out a pink card about the size of her palm and gave it to Sakura, who scrutinised it. Ryoko cleared her throat. "Erm. Can you get Rukawa Kaede's autograph for me?"

Sakura's head shot up so quickly it was a surprise that she didn't sprain her neck right there and then.

Haruko giggled. "You're a fan of his."

"My sister is," Ryoko said, a little too quickly. "I… I better go… You can get that signed for me, right? I'll be seeing you, Miyuki-san. Ja ne." She walked off.

"Ja ne!" Haruko called to Ryoko's retreating back. "She was nice. Wasn't she nice?"

Sakura calmly gave the little pink card to Haruko. "Can you get the autograph for her? I don't think I'll be able to stomach asking for his… his…"

Haruko took the card. "Aww, Sakura-chan, you can be so silly sometimes." She giggled.

While it was customary for Sakura to blush at such a moment, this time she merely managed to give a sickened little smile. She was allergic to Rukawa Fangirls, after all.

*****

"You're so predictable when it comes to Rukawa," Haruko sighed.

Sakura sighed. "Oh, come on, Haruko-san. Are you still on that topic?"

After a whole day of manic dress-shop visiting, Sakura and Haruko finally settled on what they wanted, paid for it, then took refuge at the Akagi household where they spent the early evening eating popcorn in front of the telly.

"Hmm," Haruko muttered, flicking a fallen piece of popcorn off her top. "It's been a fun day, hasn't it? I think this has been out first time just the two of us have gone out together, other than the times we went looking for your shoes."

Sakura gave a gleeful little smile and quietly threw some popcorn into her mouth. She was feeling more comfortable around Haruko, if at least that meant that she had finally stopped blushing every single time the girl spoke. "Yup. It's been nice."

"I've been meaning to ask this for a while now…" Haruko said slowly. "It's just that I didn't know how to put it into words before. Erm. Oh, please don't get mad at me okay?"

"Mad at you? Never!" Sakura nodded earnestly.

"What do you think about Rukawa?"

Sakura's facial expression stiffed. "Rukawa?"

Haruko looked at her hands shyly. "Yes, Rukawa-kun."

Sakura gave an almost inaudible sigh, then leaned back to scrutinise her friend. She simply could not understand how Haruko, sweet wonderful kind Haruko, could possibly have a crush on the kitsune of all people. It was so wrong, and not only because the conversation topic of that day had skewed toward Rukawa almost every ten minutes, for reasons Sakura could not understand. She shook her head in disbelief. "Why do you like him, Haruko-san?"

Haruko's gaze drifted off. "Well… He's… He's such a good basketball player."

"Just basketball?"

"Well, no… He's good-looking and… well, very good-looking…" She giggled.

Basketball and good looks? Sakura scowled. How can you like someone for reasons as material as those? "Is that it?"

Haruko looked at Sakura in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is that it? Why you like him, it's just because of that?"

"Well…"

Sakura felt the anger bubble in the pit of her stomach. And so she aimed all of it at Rukawa, as such was the default setting of her target-seeking anger missiles. "What about him? You don't know anything about him! Good looks, psssh. Basketball talent, psssh. That's all those dumb cheerleaders see in him."

"It's not just that!" Haruko said, her voice rising shrilly.

"Then what?"

Haruko herself started to look a bit angry. "You should know, Sakura-chan. You should know him better than I do, having played with him for so long. Why don't you tell me about who he is?"

Sakura paused. She had never actually thought about Rukawa past the always I-can't-stand-you-because-Haruko-likes-you-and-you're-better-than-me-on-the-court-not-that-I'd-admit-it thoughts that circulated her head.

"He plays for himself, I know that much."

"Not anymore," Haruko said firmly. "Haven't you noticed? He passes more, does team plays more. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Sakura started in surprise, and her memory flashed back into the numerous games they had played recently. Her eyebrows jumped up. Goodness gracious, Haruko was right! The kitsune had become more of a team player! Why hadn't she noticed? Maybe that had been because she could barely ever think straight whenever the kitsune had the ball. She felt rather embarrassed that she hadn't.

"He changed his playing style since before the Inter High eliminations last year, I can't believe you haven't noticed," Haruko said, sighing.

Before the Inter High eliminations? A particular scene in a particular basketball court suddenly popped up in her mind's eye.

You play for yourself, not for your team.

She had told him that, hadn't she? It had been said in passing, in the heat of the moment. She hadn't even thought the kitsune had been listening! Well, maybe he hadn't, maybe it was just coincidence. That was more likely.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Sakura said softly. "I admit, he's more of a team player now."

"What else?" Haruko pressed. "Come on, Sakura, I know you can't stand him, but please, don't talk about him like he's a cockroach or something, especially not in front of me. You're my friend, Sakura. Tell me, what else?"

Sakura leaned forward onto her folded knees, eyebrow scrunched up as she struggled to think. Such a request for her to spout Rukawa's good points would have impossible on any other day, but this was Haruko asking. And since the ball was already rolling, it made it a teensy weensy bit easier…

"He's determined," Sakura said finally. "He doesn't give up when he wants something. And he's loyal."

"And he's a good captain," Haruko added, pleased that Sakura's rather narrow mind was opening up. "He watches out for the rest of the team."

Sakura looked at Haruko through narrow disbelieving eyes. "Does he?"

"Sure he does," Haruko said. "What, you thought he riles you on because he's got nothing better to do? No, it's because that's his way of firing you up to play!"

Sakura blinked slowly.

"Rukawa was the one who recommended point guard training for you last year," Haruko told her. "He told me his idea himself. Doesn't that go to show that there's more to him that you think? Doesn't it?"

"He recommended the training for me?"

"Yes, and it was a good idea," Haruko said. "You were so upset about your height at the time, having point guard training really was the best idea to stop letting you from getting all upset about not being able to dunk and rebound."

"Rukawa did that?"

"Hm-hm!" Haruko said, head nodding quickly.

Sakura managed to manoeuvre her mouth into an almost O.

"And there's one more thing…" Haruko said, starting to blush again furiously. "I know this may sound silly, but…"

"Hm?"

"Well…" Haruko eyes sparkled brightly. "Everyone says he's cold and distant, but… You see, I believe that someone who keeps to himself as much as he does has the greatest potential to love. It's like, well, he keeps all of his emotions wrapped up within him, not sharing it with anyone, so, the person that does get through to him will… will be the luckiest person in the world."

Sakura stared.

"That's why I like him," Haruko said, finishing off her speech. "I hope to somehow reach into that emotional core I believe he has within him, waiting to be unleashed."

Love? The kitsune?

"Haruko-san, I think I need to go home now. It's getting rather late, and…"

"Oh, so it is," Haruko said, glancing at the clock on top of the telly. "Oh, that's all right then. I'll see in school on Monday."

"Uh… hai."

*****

The sidewalk was dimly lit from the lamplights, not that Sakura noticed. She was too busy in her own thoughts, and might as well have been walking through the gunfire of ground zero for all she knew.

For the first time since she had known Rukawa, she was thinking about him from a different point of view. It scared her.

He passes more, does team plays more. Don't tell me you haven't noticed.

Rukawa was the one who recommended point guard training for you.

What, you thought he riles you on because he's got nothing better to do? No, it's because that's his way of firing you up to play!

He cared? Rukawa actually cared about something other than his own glory? Was it possible? Why hadn't she noticed? Why hadn't she seen it?
Various scenes replayed themselves in her mind. Rukawa riling her after she had had a bad performance on court, which had resulted in her getting so angry she played one of her best games ever. Rukawa watching her whenever she was scolding herself mentally. Rukawa always having some comment or the other whenever she messed up, which inevitably caused her to try her best not to mess up.

Rukawa getting her to fight him in order to lift her out of the depression of losing the Inter High last year.

Oh my god.

Sakura had hated him so long and so much, that the sudden switch of perspective flooded all her thoughts all at once. The fact of the matter is this: if you hate someone with as much passion as she did Rukawa, you could just as easily love them with the equal amount of passion, if not more. All you needed was a push in the right direction and everything would slam into place, like a compass needle.

No no no no no no no…

She was not thinking about Rukawa like this! She wasn't! He was her rival!

I believe that someone who keeps to himself as much as he does has the greatest potential to love.

Sakura would never admit it, but she was a simple-minded one-track person. Her train of thought would either go this way or the other, and rarely ever paused to switch tracks. The belief that Rukawa was nasty, horrid, cold, selfish and arrogant and all other terrible things had been imprinted in her head not because she thought they were true, but because she had wanted to believe they were true.

Now that another possibility had opened itself up to her, one where Rukawa was actually capable of caring and had a heart to do it with, that particular steaming locomotive charged through her brain and sent an express delivery of realisation straight into her own heart.

Oh no.

Sakura slammed her forehead against the sidewalk.