Ore Wa Tensai Sakura: Last Chance
Part 5

by Annie D
the_80s_chick@lycos.com



"You're leaving for the All-Japan team?" Haruko asked in disbelief.

"Good move, Captain," said Nori. "When will you be leaving?"

"The 25th," Rukawa said.

"Two days after the national game!" Haruko exclaimed. "So soon?"

Rukawa nodded.

"It's a good move for you, Captain," said Nakajima, patting him on the shoulder.

"Never should've left the team in the first place, I say," Nori muttered.

Shun, a freshman who didn't know the whole story, leaned close to Nori. "Why did he leave again?"

Haruko pressed her hands to her mouth in horror. Oh no oh no oh no! Her eyes moved from Rukawa, who went to show Anzai-sensei the letter of confirmation, to Sakura who was underneath one of the hoops practising her lay-ups.

They pair had ignored each other in class and in practice ever since the ball. Haruko had watched them both, debating with herself over and over whether she should tell Rukawa about what she had heard, and such internal debates caused her to stall and stall and stall. She also knew that Sakura would kill her if she knew that she had overheard the conversation, and she had no idea how Rukawa would react. If he reacted negatively Sakura would get majorly upset, and not to mention…

Sakura had said: I'm sure she can make Rukawa happy.

Haruko, who had had the crush on Rukawa for what seemed like forever, was truly touched that Sakura had said so about her. Haruko truly wanted to make Rukawa happy, more than anything in the world, and if she could do that, she would try her best.

But the real question was whether Sakura could make him happier.

And then there was this. Rukawa was leaving again. And so soon! There would be no hope for either of them if Rukawa left. Sakura would be angry no matter which way Rukawa responded, because he was leaving anyway, and and and and…

I don't know what to do!

*****

"What?" Sakura half-snapped.

"Nothing," Haruko said quickly, turning away.

Sakura sighed. "Sorry, Haruko-san, I didn't mean to sound so mean. It's just that, you know, the final game is so close…"

"Yes, I understand," Haruko said. At her sides, her little fists were clenching and unclenching themselves quietly. She took another moment to stall, looking around the cafeteria as though in doing so she'd be able to figure out what to say. "So… is class okay?"

Sakura looked at her. "Err. Yeah. Why?"

"Oh no, no reason," Haruko said. "I just wanted to ask about Rukawa—"

Sakura's face changed. It drew inward and stilled, as though something deep within her had suddenly been switched off. "Hm?"

Haruko bit her lower lip. "Nothing. Never mind." In the background, the school bell rang.

"I guess I better go," Sakura said, standing up. "See you in practice."

"Ja ne." Haruko slowly got to her feet as Sakura was already walking off in the distance. Haruko was just gathering her little notepad when she felt somebody tapping her shoulder. She turned, and saw Yohei. "Yohei-kun."

"Haruko-chan, what's been bothering you?" Yohei asked, his face full of concern.

Haruko blinked rapidly. "I… I…" She backed away. "I can't talk about it, I'm sorry!" She sped off in a panic.

I can't keep this to myself, but I can't tell anyone either! She ran up the stairs and down the third year corridor, taking a moment to look into Rukawa and Sakura's class, where both of them were sitting calmly in their own seats and pointedly acting as though the other didn't exist.
It was true that Rukawa and Sakura were two sides of the same coin, alike in many ways. One of the shared traits they had, unfortunately, was that they were both totally and utterly clueless. One would think that two people, who were so mad about each other, sitting next to each other for a week straight, would at least notice something.

But they refused to even acknowledge each other, let alone take notice of the other's mannerisms. They had simply shut off their worlds from one another.

*****

The final game of nationals had arrived at last. Shohoku's opponent was Rokin, the defending national champions, and the team that had beat them in the Inter High the previous year.

Both Rukawa and Sakura decided to put aside their feelings for an hour, because the game was It. They would play as a team, and win. And with all the adrenaline and rushing blood in their veins as the game spun around them, they couldn't really think about anything else.

It was a gruelling game as expected, and Rukawa played his heart out because it was the game he'd been waiting for, and the reason (or one of the reasons) that he had left the All-Japan team. In the first few minutes Rokin had continuously underestimated Sakura, but her incredible stamina worked to her advantage as she continuously made steals with her now very refined point guard skills.

Then they were down to the last 3 minutes, and the score was 62 to 59, Rokin's favour, and currently their ball.

"We take our time," Rukawa told his players. "They take advantage by making us rush, but the pressure is on them."

Shun wheezed a bit. "They're so tall, it's hard to keep up."

"Baka!" Sakura snapped, thumping Shun on the head. "Height – ppbfft – what advantage? It's skill that counts! We take our TIME, GOT IT?!"

Nakajima, Nori and Shun shouted one loud, "Hai!"

Sakura looked at Rukawa and nodded. They spread out onto court.

(Play by play, so watch out!)

Rokin's ball. 14 made a high pass to 6, but Nori jumped to block the shot, sending it slamming down hard against the floor. It bounced up.

Sakura jumped for it, a half-second before Rokin captain Hashima did.

In the audience, the old Shohoku team gathering of Ryota, Ayako, Akagi, Mitsui and Kogure watched the game with near heart-attack interest.

"The Sakura jump!" Ryota shouted.

"Hashima's too tall!" Akagi roared.

Sakura's eyes widened. She was closer to the ball, and would easily tap it first, but with Hashima's extra height he'd able to catch it as it flew toward him. Mid-air, she changed the direction of her hand, then tapped.

"Backwards tap?!" Kogure shouted.

The ball sailed backward, and was caught by Rukawa, who then started dribbling fast to the hoop. "Take our time," he said to the trio of Nakajima, Nori and Shun that had flanked him quickly. Sakura ran after them as the rest of the Rokin players moved for zone defense under the hoop and some major smackdown jumping.

Rukawa leaned back and made a toss – but not at the hoop.

Akagi's eyes popped. "Fake?"

Shun got the ball and moved to the other side of the hoop zone. He passed to Sakura, who passed back to Nori, who passed to Rukawa, who passed back to Shun.

Hashima frowned. "What are they doing?"

Shun raised his arms – overzealous 8 and 6 jumped to block – but it was a fake and it went to Rukawa, who has also jumped with perfect timing – he caught the ball midair and shot swiftly from behind the three-point line.

Kogure jumped to his feet. "Too far!"

The ball had barely managed to bounce off the rim before Nakajima's hand appeared out of nowhere to complete the dunk. The audience roared.

"Where did he come from?" Ryota shouted.

"Element of distraction and putting pressure on the opposite team," explained Kogure. "Shohoku isn't afraid to take their time, which is what separates them from Rokin. With someone like Rukawa as captain, it's easy to be cool under pressure."

Ayako glanced at the scoreboard. "One point behind, less than two minutes to go."

"Defense, Shohoku!" Haruko shouted from the bench. Please, Rukawa-kun… Rokin is losing concentration. All we need is one more shot, and we can win!

Rokin 6 tried to pass to 14, but Sakura tapped their ball in the pass, and Nori caught it. He bounced it for a moment, then passed to Rukawa, who headed for the hoop. The Rokin players started to scatter in a slight panic.

Rukawa jumped to dunk, but Hashima jumped to defend. Rukawa then did his change-direction-in-midair trick, and slid past Hashima's arm, only to find that Rokin 8 was there waiting for him and swiftly blocked the ball.

All of them landed. Rukawa scowled.

Rokin 8 grinned, but it quickly disappeared when he saw that the one who caught the ball was not one of his teammates, but Sakura. She quickly made a blind backward pass to Shun, who jumped and made the shot. Hashima realised in horror that Shun was behind the three-point line. Swish!

"We're leading! 64 to 62!" Ayako screamed, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"42 seconds left," Mitsui muttered, a little hard on breathing.

Kogure nodded and said softly, "They can do it."

On the court, the ball was passed around. Rokin then went in for the final attack – their posture said clearly: now or never.

"Fish-boy, stop him!" Sakura shouted.

Nori tried to block, but Rokin 8 dribbled around him and passed to Rokin 12. To be more accurate, he only thought he did, because Rukawa – with apparent superhuman abilities – was suddenly in front of Rokin 12 with the ball in his hands.

Ryota tugged at his hair frantically. Being in the audience was different from being on the court, especially when the team you're supporting was your own. "Steal! Shohoku! Shohoku!"

Rukawa dribbled swiftly toward his hoop.

Sakura ran after him, shouting, "Rukawa, don't play macho! We don't need to rush, we're leading! Hey, stop it! Stop it!"

Rukawa being Rukawa, made the shot anyway.

Ayako started wheezing. "66 to 62. 21 seconds left."

In the stands the Rukawa brigade started cheering. Next to them, the newly formed Sakura brigade started shouting at them. There was a moment of stillness as they looked at each other, and then simultaneously both sides started a manic cheering competition.

Rukawa gave Sakura a sideways look. She snorted, then turned away, muttering, "Stupid kitsune…"

Rokin's ball. They started passing frantically, but had just about lost most of the coordination that was their trademark. They hadn't expected Shohoku to catch up suddenly and with so little time left. Rokin 6 then got the ball and jumped to shoot.

Rukawa suddenly appeared in front of him, arm outstretched. Rokin 6 panicked momentarily but made the fade-away shot. Rukawa's fingertips just managed to graze the bottom of the ball.

"Rebound!" Akagi shouted.

Nakajima got the ball, beating Hashima and Rokin 12. He landed with a loud slam.

The buzzer screeched in the background.

"Game end! Shohoku wins 66 to 62!"

Old Shohoku cheered. The gundam cheered. Both the Rukawa brigade and the Sakura brigade started to hug each other admist cheers before realising who they were and quickly separating into different celebration crowds.

The rest of the Shohoku team, plus Haruko, ran out onto court to cheer with the players.

Captain Rukawa Kaede just looked at the floor.

We won. We're national champions.

We did it.

A ghost of a smile just barely touched his lips before disappearing. He started to walk away to the bench to get his towel when he felt a hand clasping over his wrist.

He turned, and found himself looking into the face of a gently smiling Sakura, whose own eyes were glistening with tears. Without saying a word, she suddenly jerked at his arm, pulling him close and into a soft hug.

Rukawa was shocked at first, but then leaned into the hug, eyes closing partially. We won, Sakura.

Sakura then pulled away and laughed before thumping him on the back. "Not bad work, captain! Although you wouldn't have done it without the tensai. And what, did you think you could run off without celebrating with the rest of us, hmm? We're a team, remember, you baka!"

There was a mesh of hugs and tears on the court, the like of which that Rukawa had never experienced before. Truly, he had never felt more proud of an accomplishment before in his life. This was what basketball was all about.

He looked at Sakura, who was jumping up and down with Haruko.

I'm going to miss you, do'aho.

*****

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go… (sorry, couldn't resist.)

Rukawa lifted the last of his suitcases into the boot of the taxi cab, then closed it with a soft click. He shut his eyes briefly and sighed. He was doing it, he was really doing it. All-Japan, here I come. Again. It's my fault, really, for not telling Sakura when I had the chance. I'm an idiot. Ah well, if Sendoh makes her happy, what can I do? He sighed.

"You were a great captain, Rukawa-san," said Nakajima. The rest of the team, plus Haruko and the gundam (for some strange reason) had gathered outside his apartment to see him off to the airport. Sakura, however, had not. He told himself it was for the best.

"Hai," chorused the rest of the team.

"You're national champions now. That's really… something," Yohei said, feeling a little embarrassed that he wasn't able to come up with a better word. "You must be so proud."

Rukawa nodded.

"Sakura's sorry she couldn't see you off," added Yohei. "But she said she's busy and had something else to do. She wishes you good luck, though."

"I believe she also said, 'Just because you're on the All-Japan team doesn't mean you're better than the tensai'. I think," added Takamiya.

Rukawa nodded a thank you, then bowed in front of all of them. They bowed in return, then stood back as he entered the taxi cab.

Haruko, who had been silent the whole while, suddenly shrieked, "Wait!"

Rukawa looked up.

The girl ran to his window. He rolled down the window and watched dispassionately as her fingers gripped the glass nervously. Her eyes were darting this way and that, as though she had some sort of internal dilemma.

Oh, just tell me you like me and get on with it. I've got a plane to catch. Rukawa sighed.

"Rukawa-kun," Haruko said slowly. "There's something I need to tell you…"

*****

People could make jokes that the reason Sakura liked sunsets was because her hair was red, but she didn't mind. They could make fun of sunsets all they wanted, because it was just ridiculous that something so beautiful would bother with what anyone had to say about it. Which kind of mirrored the attitude she had towards criticism on her own self, although she didn't look at it that way.

She sighed.

Shohoku had won nationals, and were now the best team in the country. The enormity of the accomplishment was too big for even her to comprehend properly just yet, Maybe in a few days or weeks after the newspaper articles and interviews had all passed, she'd finally be able to really understand what that meant.

School was over. Basketball was over. Rukawa was gone.

She sighed again and kicked off her shoes to toe the sand. She'd forget him. Sure she could. She had to believe she could, or she'd go nuts. Not that she wasn't nuts already, but the other sort of nuts was a different kind, a more dangerous kind. Maybe if she started hating him again, things would settle down.

Sure, she could hate him again. If she kept telling herself that over and over, she might be able to believe it. And if she started believing it, the memory would fade and… Life would go on. Things would go back to normal. Yes, the tensai shall overcome.

A screech of burnt tire behind her made her turn.

Oh. I'm hallucinating.

She shrugged. Well, if being nuts means I'll see Rukawa practically jump out a taxi and start running toward me as though his pants were on fire, I guess being nuts is not so bad. Oh cool, this hallucination looks really real. Hmm, I should make a note of this and—

Sakura landed with her back on the sand, the definite real weight of a body on top of her.

She blinked, then reached up a hand to poke Rukawa in the cheek. "Real?"

Rukawa nodded.

"Don't you have a plane to catch?"

Another nod.

"So what are you doing here?"

"Do'aho."

"Teme kitsune!"

And there it was, the whole enchilada: fireworks, blood-pounding explosions et cetera - the reality of the first kiss between two people who were mad about each other. Sakura, who had used her head as a weapon on people and stationary objects without much trouble throughout her life, discovered for the first time what it felt like to almost pass out.

Rukawa pulled away. "Baka."

Sakura heaved for breath, then shrieked. "You're smiling? You're smiling! I didn't know your facial muscles could do that!"

"I gave you the keychain."

"Oh." Her rather slow brain caught up on current events. "Oh!"

He nodded.

Sakura smiled a little sadly. "You still have to go."

"You will write to me."

"Hah! What makes you think I'll do that?"

"Because I love you."

Sakura's mouth opened and closed in shock. The action drew Rukawa's attention to her lips, so he kissed her again.

"Gerroff!"

"Hm."

"Yeah, I love you, too."

"So you will write."

"You write to me first."

"Hai."

And they fell silent, just looking at each other and smiling wordlessly.

"So… You gotta go now."

He nodded, but didn't move.

"Go, you baka!" She shoved him off her. "And play hard, but don't let that ego of yours get any bigger that it already is."

He ruffled her hair. "Hm."

"Go. Go, go, go!" She kicked him in the shins until he got the idea and started to leave. He did walk back to the taxi, but backward, as though he wanted to keep his eyes on her for as long as he could. Finally his back bumped against the car and he stood there for a moment. Then slowly, he entered the vehicle and shut the door.

Sakura waved. "Ja ne."

He waved back. The taxi drove off.

Sakura quietly watched the vehicle disappear into the distance. Then she raised both her fists to the sky, squealed at the top of her voice, then did a crazy little happy dance while laughing maniacally.

Last chance, indeed.

FIN