Ayako was walking out of the gym behind Team Shohoku, when a slim hand tapped her on her shoulder. When she turned, she saw Jesse grinning down at her, her eyes twinkling. "Congrats, Ayako!"
Ayako laughed, and jumped onto Jesse, hugging her tight. "Arigatou for being there for us, Jesse-chan."
Erin approached them then, her face also alight with her smile. "You didn't really need our support. You guys did it all on your own."
"But having you around helped us, especially where the morale is concerned," Kogure said with a grin as he approached the two girls.
"Nah, you didn't really need us," Erin said with a wave of her hand. "You did it all on your own. You did especially well, by the way."
Ayako's eyebrow went up slightly when she saw Kogure blush. Nani? What's wrong with Kogure-sempai?
Her musing was cut short when Sakuragi stalked over to them. "Well at least you two girls are supportive of us! Those other girls betrayed us!"
Ayako blinked. "Huh? What're you talking about, Sakuragi-kun?"
It seemed that Sakuragi's tempter was at its limit already, because he suddenly yelled, "JUST LOOK AT THEM!!!!!"
Ayako looked around, and understood immediately what Sakuragi meant. Ciel was walking amidst a group of rather miserable-looking Shoyo players. She was busily trying to cheer up a sulking Fujima and Hanagata.
CJ and Melina, on the other hand, were happily chatting with Team Ryonan, particularly to Sendoh and Koshino. The four people mentioned seemed to be having a good time in each other's company.
And as for Aleine, hers was the most shocking. She seemed to be chatting with Maki, Jin and Kiyota of Kainan.
"You see?!" Sakuragi hissed. "They betrayed us!"
"Who betrayed who?"
Ayako whirled around, and saw Melina looking at her with a curious expression. She grinned ruefully at the girl, and began, "Ah, well, you see…"
She hadn't even begun her explanation when Sakuragi turned to her, furious. "I thought you were our friends, Melina-san! Why did you go off with Smiley and his pals?!?!"
"Smiley?" Suddenly, Melina laughed. "Oh, you mean Sendoh! And what, may I ask, is so wrong with that?"
"They're our rivals! If you're really on our side, then why did you go with them?!"
"Like I said, what's so bad about that? Shohoku isn't the House of Capulet, and Ryonan isn't the House of Montague. I can be friends with anyone I want."
Sakuragi blinked, his anger quelled suddenly. "Capulet? Montague?"
Ayako sighed. Sakuragi-kun doesn't understand Melina-san's analogy. After all, not a lot of people used Shakespearean comparisons as if they were nothing.
But Melina just laughed at him, and shook her head. "Nothing, Hanamichi." With that she skipped off towards Ryonan, to be greeted by Sendoh Akira, who seemed to be smiling more than usual.
Ayako grinned. Looks like the girls are more popular than they think.
* * *
"So how long have you been here?"
Melina shrugged. "Oh, a week or so. When you're on vacation, you tend to forget how much time passes."
Sendoh laughed in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."
"Where DO you live, by the way? I mean, when you're not on vacation?" asked Koshino.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" CJ asked with a laugh. "We're New Yorkers, boys. Most of the time you can find us in the high circles of Park Avenue, but if all else fails, we'll be downtown, West-side."
"That means ghettos, in other words," Melina explained.
Koshino seemed surprised. "But isn't it dangerous there?! Why would you go there anyway?"
"Basketball," replied CJ and Melina in unison.
"Basketball?" Sendoh quirked an eyebrow upwards. "Why basketball?"
Melina sighed. "Our parents don't allow us to play what they call a 'boy's game'. They always insist that we play tennis or badminton or all those sissy games. But we don't want to. So whenever we feel the urge to play a game, we drive downtown and look for a court to play in.
Sendoh nodded slightly. "Oh."
* * *
Ciel patted Fujima's arm lightly. "Oh come on, don't be so sad! You did a great job!"
Fujima huffed, and pointed his eyes at the ground. He didn't want to talk much, not even to Ciel. The defeat by Shohoku was still too fresh for him. I can't believe they actually beat us… It's all my fault. If I had played in the game earlier then maybe we would have won… Why did I have to be so damn overconfident?!?!
"This is such a crushing blow to us, Ciel-san!" Hanagata
exclaimed. "We were the second in the Top Four of Kanagawa, and Shohoku was
nowhere near that point yet! Do you have any idea what this does to us?!"
Fujima looked up just in time to see Ciel give a wry smile at Hanagata. "That's what ALL men say when they lose; can't you just accept defeat with the same grace you possess when playing?" She narrowed her eyes at the tall, black-haired, bespectacled teen. "But as for crushing blows, it looks like Hanamichi managed to nail one on you."
Hanagata's hand reached up, lightly touching the bandage beneath his right eye, on the point where Sakuragi's elbow came in contact with his face. "Oh, this? Don't worry about it, it's nothing…"
"Maybe to you, but it looks pretty bad to me." Ciel pulled Hanagata to a nearby bench, forcing him to sit down. "Sit. Let me take a look at it."
Fujima felt the bile rise to his throat as he watched Ciel and Hanagata interact. He watched as Ciel carefully removed the bandage with her right hand, while her left she placed beneath Hanagata's jaw to prevent him from moving too much. For some odd reason, he began to wish it was him who got hurt.
Ciel looked at the wound critically. "Hmmm…it's a little bruised around the edges, but other than that, it looks okay. At least it won't need stitches to hold it together." With that, she replaced the gauze covering, flattening it gently with her fingers. "Just be careful with it, okay? It could get worse if you don't watch out."
"Hai," Hanagata whispered as he fingered the wound. He grinned then. "It doesn't hurt half so much now."
Ciel laughed. "What are you trying to imply, Hanagata? That I have a healer's touch?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no. But if I were to answer you truthfully, I'd have to say…yes."
Ciel laughed, but it was tinged with a hint of sadness, something that Fujima hadn't heard in her voice yet.
Knowing that Hanagata had touched a nerve, Fujima moved towards Ciel, and asked, "Why did you go back to your friends, Ciel-san?"
The cloud of sadness disappeared quickly, and she smiled up at him. "Well, you and Hanagata were playing already, and I felt a little out-of-place on the bench. You said I could leave anytime I wanted to, so I did. I hope I didn't offend you or anything…"
"Oh no, you didn't offend, I assure you," Fujima said with a smile. "After all, a gentleman should not let a lady wait for him."
"Oh ho, so you're a gentleman now, eh? Did you bump your head sometime during the game, Fujima Kenji? Because I swear you didn't call yourself a gentleman when we first met!"
Fujima only laughed with her, sliding a sideways glance at Hanagata. Okay, so maybe physically I didn't bump my head, but finding out that your best friend likes the same girl you do…well, that's a big enough bump all on its own.
* * *
"So you live near Central Park?"
"Uh-huh."
Maki grinned. "Honto? Is it really as big as everyone claims?"
Aleine shrugged as they walked down the parking lot. "Maybe. It's got a water reservoir, a few lakes, a castle, and a zoo. If you count the wooded areas, then yeah, Central Park is pretty big."
Maki smiled to himself. Maybe this girl isn't so bad after all. He continued to watch as Aleine strode over to a bright red car, and sat down on the back of it, facing them.
He felt his pupils dilate involuntarily when he realized WHAT kind of car she was sitting on. "Aleine-san, don't sit on that car!"
The girl coolly raised one eyebrow at him. "Give me one good reason why."
Maki was dumbfounded. "Err…ahh… Aleine-san, do you know what car that is?"
"Of course I do. Do you think I'm blind? It's a Ferrari V-35W; top of the line, actually. And very expensive."
Jin tried his luck with her. "If that's the case, why don't you get down? I'm sure that the owner won't be too happy to find a strange girl sitting on his car."
That did it. Aleine's eyebrows went up, and her eyes became tinged with a hint of ice. "HIS car?" She got up from the back, and walked over to the driver's side of the Ferrari. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a small object.
Maki squinted to see it better. It was a key-chain in the shape of the Ferrari logo, and had a key dangling from it. His eyes widened. It can't be…
Aleine tossed the key upwards, and caught it in her hand. "It's not a man's car, it's MY car." So saying, she unlocked the door, and slid into the driver's seat. She started it up, and pulled out of the parking space. She paused in front of him. "Ciao people. Be seeing you sometime…maybe." With that, she stepped on the pedal, and drove off, leaving Team Kainan to choke on her dust cloud.
Maki followed her with his eyes, and watched as she stopped in front of Shohoku. He noticed her say something to Mitsui, then drive off. In the meantime, Mitsui looked rather pissed off. Just what is up with those two, he wondered.