Part 6: Two men and a bunch of basketball players

Thursday afternoon: Kanagawa Memorial Park

Jin slapped Kiyota's head. "Shhh... stay quiet will ya? You making a lots of noises, we might as well announcing to them we're here!" Jin hissed to his teammate.

"They looked really serious." Hikoichi observed. They were seated on the grass, behind the bush on the park across the road from the cafe. And in there, two tall young men seated next to the window, ready to start their conversation.

*********

Thursday afternoon: Kanagawa Youth Cafe.

"Thanks for seeing me." Maki started the conversation.

"No problem Maki-sempai. Anything I can help?"

**********

"Woi! what are you peeking at?" Mitsui startled them with a question. He was standing next to the grinning Miyagi, with a smirk on his face.

Jin could only rub his heart. He was shocked of course, but that didn't stop him from exchanging daggers with his rival three-pointers specialist.

"Shh....Sendoh and Maki." Hikoichi answered.

"Ohh.... interesting...."And the two Shohoku students invited themselves in.

************

Sendoh looked at Maki in anticipation while sipping his coffee. He was wondering why Maki wanted to see him when Hikoichi told him about Maki's intention. Neverthless, he agreed to meet the Kainan captain. He suspected it has something to do with the Kainan's thief. And he also knows better to let Maki direct the conversation if he wants to find out the reason behind all this.

"It's about... the Halloween Ball at Kainan." Maki started.

Sendoh nodded, urging him to continue.

"Were you there?"

*************

"BOO!"

Everyone practically lost their balance and sprawled on the grass.

"Ha ha ha!!! You should see your face!! " Sakuragi laughed. But Sakuragi's laughter was cut short when a bicycle hit him, with a sleeping biker on the loose.

"Kitsune!!!!!"

"Do'aho. You're in my way."

"Shhhh!!!!! " Five angry faces looked back at the two of them. Glancing at each other, Miyagi and Jinn took Rukawa down, and the rest took Sakuragi.

"Now be quiet!"

"Sendoh… with Maki?" Sakuragi realised the scene in front of him.

Now Rukawa was awake and Sakuragi went quiet instantly.

********

Sendoh pondered at the question.

"It's about the thief isn't it?"

"I need to find him."

"But he has returned the Bird, without a scratch."

"I know...but this is more...personal to me."

*************

"Hikoichi! They you are! Coach Taoka is really mad at you and at Sendoh too for missing today's practise. What do you think you're doing here with a bunch of, of...." Koshino trailed off when he realised there are a group of people who look ready to kill him anytime for calling them a bunch of whatever.

"Sendoh sempai is having a very important meeting." Hikoichi whispered loudly.

"Oh! With who?"

"Maki."

"Maki?" Koshino asked.

"Maki?" Fukuda repeated.

"Yes Maki, can you now be quiet?" Miyagi hissed at his rival point guard.

Koshino and Fukuda quickly seated themselves on the grass.

********

Interesting... Sendoh thought. Personal?

"I don't think I understand Maki."

"I don't understand it myself too. That is the reason I need to find him, so that I will understand." Maki urged him.

"You have a certain feeling about this man." Sendoh finally said what he wanted to say.

Maki was surprise. Was he that obvious?

******

"Eh?" The picture of a bunch of basketball players from rival teams in Kanagawa seated closely together on the grass behind the bush startled Hanagata.

"Hush now. And Hanagata, you're too damm tall. Do you want Sendoh and Maki to see you?" Mitsui hissed.

Fujima looked at them with an amuse expression. "I didn't know the basketball players can be a bunch of gossipers."

"hmp! Look at them, it had been confirmed." Hanagata said.

"But...I am curious" Hanagata continued. "hehehe..." One could have swore they saw the devil in Hanagata's eyes.

Fujima shrugged. But he didn't say anything. Then, even the serious multi-tasking Shoyo player stayed.

*******

"I can read people quite well. Most of the time, I was right. That's what I'm trying to tell Sakuragi all along."

Maki raised his eyebrows, questions splattered across his tan face.

"Really?"

"Yea, I'm trying to tell him Rukawa is not that bad. Maybe both of them can survive a day without attempted killing of each other. "

Maki snorted, those two will kill each other. Period.

***********

"Popcorn anyone?" Jin offered while munching his popcorns.

Ten hands reached the popcorn bag at the same time, and when the same ten hands withdrew, the only things left in the bag was some popcorn seeds.

"Eh?"

Not only the basketball players are a bunch of gossipers, they're also a bunch of junk food junkies.

*****

"Seems like an impossible task."

"Well, at least both of them don't try to kill each other that often anymore. Which could serve as a big problem to both our teams. If the Tensai and the Ace decided to at least pass the ball around, well, let's just say… Kainan will need to scrap the title champion."

Maki thought about it. He didn't know whether to kill Sendoh now or later.

"Things I do for my country Maki. They should thank me one day when Japan win the Asian Games Gold medal." Sendoh grinned.

Damm he's right.

Rukawa and Sakuragi…Suddenly, a thought occurred to Maki and Sendoh nearly had to stiffle his laugh in seeing his reaction. "Wait…They're not… couple or anything are they?"

"Oh! No…" Sendoh almost shuddered at the thought. "They're soulmate. They have this sort of… unique hate-understanding relationship, which I envy sometimes." Sendoh added.

**************************

"Achoo!" A sneeze came at the same time from both Rukawa and Sakuragi. They breathed in while glaring at each other.

Why must I sneezed at the same time with that Kitsune/Do'aho?

They glared again.

Is he following my thought?

Another glare.

"Stop thinking what I'm thinking Do'aho…/Kitsune!!" Both of them ordered each other at the same time.

Everyone could only blink at the sudden burst of temper from the Shohoku duo.

********

Another thought occurred to Maki. Meeting Sendoh here, even listening to him yapping on about those Shohoku duo, the feeling he had about the mystery man, called it a hunch or whatever, became stronger than before. He knew Sendoh knew something.

Could it be Sendoh himself? He looked at Sendoh. The glimmer in his eyes almost looked the same. The blue eyes looked lighter during the day. Probably it will be different at night. The skin, Sendoh's tan skin as opposed to the pale one. Make-up? Imagine Sendoh's spikey hair with the flowing style of the mystery man. Could be. It's familiar, but not similar.

"You knew." Maki said quietly.

"Well...." Sendoh wanted to say something, but he couldn't do it here. Not here in this crowded cafe.

"This place is too crowded. Are you free tonight?"

"Yes."

"The basketball court in District 20. 8 o'clock."

Maki just nodded.

*******

"Ohh...Maki look like he's agree on something." Koshino said.

"Agree on what?" Sakuragi asked.

"I don't know...I don't have a bionic ears for God's sake!"

"We've been spotted." Rukawa said quietly.

"He's right! Maki is looking at our direction. eek!" Kiyota squealed.

*********

"Oh Lord!" Maki just rolled his eyes at the gathering across the road. "They might as well announcing to the whole country we're here!"

Sendoh just laughed. It was refreshing to see Maki act this way. Sendoh looked outside the cafe window. There they are, the troublemakers from Shohoku, the ever-curious players from Ryonan and the deadpan serious Maki's teammates from Kainan were all there. Even Fujima and Hanagata, with their we-wouldn't-caught-dead-peeking expression on their faces were there, caught peeking behind the bush.

Sendoh smiled and waved at them. Maki, meanwhile, gave them the get-the-**toot**-out-of-here glare.

Like on cue, everyone waved back with the similar he-he-he expression on their faces, except for Rukawa who managed to do it while sleeping. Then, they quickly broke out and scattered all over the place.

"I see you tonight then."

-tbc-