Sumire sat in front of her dressing table, carefully braiding her hair into one long rope. She smiled as she started tying it off with a rubber band. They're going to need quite a bit of luck today. Though Fujima-sempai keeps on saying that Shohoku is nothing, nevertheless, they're going to need it…
Just as she was twisting the last bit of rubber band around the tail of her braid, the rubber snapped, suddenly loosening its hold on her hair.
Huh? Sumire held the thin band between her fingers, staring at it with a thoughtful gaze. The practical side of her told her that it was nothing and that she should just replace it, but her gut sense told her that it was a sign, that something bad was going to happen, and that her braiding her hair for good luck wouldn't make any difference…
"Mire-chan!" Toru called from the other side of her door, knocking on it more than usual. "Mire-chan, hurry up! We're going to be late!!"
"Hai, hai!" Sumire called in response as she picked a new rubber band from the others on the table, and used that to tie her braid. That done, she picked up her bag, and opened the door of her room. Toru was standing there, looking like he couldn't decide between being nervous and being excited. "Let's go, Toru-kun!"
* * *
Mitsui surveyed the crowd that had gathered in the stadium, very impressed with the number of people who had shown up. This seems to be a bigger crowd than the ones we've had before.
"All of those are fans of Shoyo," Miyagi said quietly, looking at the opposite side of the gym. He whistled quietly. "Damn, but there's lots of them! Kind of freaky, if you think about it…"
"The morale of Shoyo will probably be pretty high then," Mitsui muttered darkly. "They're going to feel confident about it. That can work for them, but we can make it work for us, too."
Ayako came walking up to them then, her expression unusually serious. "They have a good reason to be confident aside from the support their school has for their team. Team Shoyo is extremely talented. Their ace, Fujima Kenji, is reputed to be one of the best point guards in all of Kanagawa."
Mitsui glanced at Miyagi, and noticed the latter's suddenly determined expression. "Heard that Miyagi?"
"Hai," Miyagi muttered with a nod. A small smile appeared on his features. "Let's see how good he is, ne?"
Mitsui chuckled, and shook his head. Miyagi, you can be extremely competitive sometimes. Guess it comes with being short, eh? He turned around, intent on heading back to the locker room.
It was then that Ayako uttered a cry of surprise. "I didn't know Shoyo had a female manager! I thought that it was Fujima Kenji who handled that!"
Nani? Mitsui turned around, and looked towards the Shoyo side. What he saw there made his eyes widen involuntarily… Impossible…impossible… I thought that she had disappeared two years ago!! What's she doing here?!?!
* * *
Fujima smiled as he surveyed the stadium, feeling something akin to pride as he watched his teammates go onto the court. They were in the best shape yet, and what was more, they had just defeated Takezato, which was the third best in the prefecture. Shohoku wasn't even close to fifth. We have nothing to worry about.
"Why aren't you going to play, Fujima-sempai?"
Fujima glanced at Sumire, who was seated at the table nearby. He noticed with a smile that her hair was braided. For good luck, like always. "I don't think I'm needed yet, Sumire. Shohoku shouldn't be that dangerous an opponent. Although I do have to admit that the fact that they beat Takezato worries me a little, it isn't all that much. The others can handle them for the meantime."
Sumire gazed at him for a while, then she smiled, and returned to her seat. "Well, whatever you say. You're the coach." She turned to the team on the court then, and shouted, "Ganbatte, minna! You can beat them!"
Fujima smiled when he saw her do that. She always wishes us good luck. Maybe having her around is a good luck charm of some sort? He suppressed a laugh at that. That wouldn't be so bad…having a good luck charm everywhere…we could use some more good luck, especially when we face Kainan…
The whistle blew, and Fujima immediately focused on the game, though a small percentage of his mind was drawn to the girl beside him.
* * *
Sumire sighed when the buzzer rang, signaling half time. At last, a breather! She put her papers together, and watched as her cousin came walking up towards her. She grinned as he approached. "Very good game, Toru-kun! You sure showed Shohoku's lumbering oaf of a center just what you could do!"
Toru laughed, and wagged a finger at her in seeming disapproval, though he had a smile on his face. "Now, now, Mire-chan, you can't call him that! That's not the kind of attitude you're supposed to have! Give him some credit! He's reputedly one of the best centers in Kanagawa!"
"I don't care. He looks weird on the court. He belongs in a club – as a bouncer," Sumire said, though she toned her voice down a little so that only Team Shoyo could hear what they were talking about. And that particular comment earned snickers from the rest of the team.
"Don't be mean, Sumire," Fujima said as they went over to the locker room that was assigned to them. "Akagi Takenori is indeed one of the best centers in the prefecture. Though he is something of an oaf, you can't deny his power on the court. And he IS a very good captain."
Sumire nodded. That's right, I haven't gotten their names yet. "By the way, Fujima-sempai, could you tell me their names? I don't exactly know who they are…shows how out of the loop I am, ne?"
Fujima just laughed then. "Well, I've already mentioned Akagi. He plays center for Team Shohoku, and wears the Number Four jersey. He's also the captain of Team Shohoku. Then there's Rukawa Kaede, small forward and ace of Shohoku. He's the one in the Number Eleven jersey."
"Right. The guy with the mean dunk," Sumire said with a nod.
"Hai. The power forward would be the redhead, Sakuragi Hanamichi. He's the one in the Number Ten jersey."
Sumire giggled. "The redhead, huh? He's so…violent. Just like his hair color." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't like him all that much. Though his rebound WAS pretty clever. Came just in the nick of time – too bad for us though."
Fujima smiled at her. "I like how you observe the players, Sumire. Hmm, who else? There's Miyagi Riyota, point guard and the shortest one on the team. He wears the Number Seven Jersey."
Point guard? "A challenger, Fujima-sempai?"
"There have always been challengers, Sumire-san," Ito said then. "Though Fujima-san IS one of the best, second only to Maki Shinichi of Kainan."
"If we win this, Maki will no longer be the best point guard, because Fujima-san will challenge him for it," Hasegawa said confidently.
Fujima grinned, and shook his head. "Let's just play the game for the meantime, ne? There will be enough time to think about Kainan AFTER we win this one." He turned to Sumire, and continued, "And lastly, there is Mitsui Hisashi, shooting guard and perhaps one of the aces of Shohoku as well. He was an MVP during his junior high days, and that was mainly because of his superb shooting skills. He's the one in the Number Fourteen jersey."
At the mention of the name "Mitsui Hisashi", Sumire stopped dead in her tracks, halting at the entrance of the locker room. Her veins suddenly ran ice instead of blood out of shock. Mitsui…Hisashi? Memories suddenly came crashing back into her mind…of a dark night two years ago…in the streets of Kanagawa…
"Mire-chan? Mire-chan, is something wrong?"
Sumire snapped out of her trance-like state with a gasp. Her eyes came sharply into focus, and she saw Toru and Fujima peering down at her with concern. Her cousin's hands were placed firmly around her upper arms, where they had been shaking her for a couple of seconds. "I…what…"
Toru let go of her arms, and placed his hands on her cheeks, rubbing them gently as if to bring back some semblance of warmth into them. "Mire-chan, are you alright? You looked like you were struck by lightning or something. What's wrong?"
Sumire took a deep breath to steady her voice before she answered, "I-iie, it was nothing. I just…I just remembered something important…something back home with Mom and Otoo-san." She put on her smiling face again, waving them off. "I'll be okay, I just remembered something. I'll fix it in no time."
"You're not okay," Toru said, his tone seemingly final. "Your hands still feel cold. And that look in your eyes a while ago…it was pure dread."
Sumire laughed then, glad that it sounded quite natural to her ears. "Oh come ON, Toru-kun, stop fussing over me! I'm sixteen turning seventeen, for heaven's sake!! I can take care of myself! And besides, shouldn't you be worrying about something else? Like how to beat Shohoku? That should be your priority right around now."
Toru's gaze was analytical, and for a moment Sumire thought he wouldn't believe her. But in the end, he backed off, and smiled slightly. "You scared me back there, Mire-chan. Don't do that ever again, you hear me?"
Phew. Sumire giggled, and nodded. "Hai, hai Toru-kun."
* * *
Toru kept a close eye on his cousin, watching as she organized her notes on the first half of their game with Shohoku. Something is clearly wrong with her.
He hadn't bought into her little act of a few moments ago, when she said that she had just remembered something about her mother and father back in the Philippines. She can tell a lie beautifully if she has to, but not this once. No, definitely not this once.
Fujima approached him then, trying to be as discreet as possible. "What is wrong with her, Hanagata?"
"I don't know," Toru replied, and he hated giving such an answer. "I don't really understand. When you said Mitsui's name, I think that was the one that made her stop."
"Do you think she has something to do with Mitsui?"
"None that I know of. As far as I know, she has never met Mitsui." Toru's eyes narrowed then. Or maybe she hasn't told me anything yet…
Sumire turned to them then, a cheerful smile on her face. "Fujima-sempai, half-time is nearly up!"
Fujima sighed, and stood up. "Alright then people, let's get moving! Remember, we're in the lead, and this second half shouldn't be a problem for you. We can beat them easily."
Toru grinned; feeling very much motivated to win the game. There was nothing in the back of his mind to trouble him…except for the way Sumire had been acting.
But that can wait until another time, he told himself as he and the rest of the team stood up to head back to the court. For now, all I have to think about is beating Shohoku.
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle giggles madly: Ooh-la-LA!!!! And they meet once more on the court!!!
Maia shakes head, though still smiling: You evil, evil author!!! You are so nasty to your OC's!!!
Chibi-Sumire nods vigorously: Hai, hai!!!!! She tortures us OC's, and she LOVES watching us squirm!!!
Chibi-Eli (one of my OC's from my LOTR fanfic) nods as well: Yeah, she's very mean!!!! Imagine having to be sick for at least one-fourth of the fic, and THEN forcing me to choose between a pair of twins!! TWINS!!!!!!!!
Chibi-Ryu (another OC from my Legend of Dragoon fanfic) scowls: You can't IMAGINE what it's like to be an OC for HER!!! First she brings me out of my wonderfully normal life, plunks me down IN A PRISON, makes me run around with some whackos, and THEN springs a couple dozen dreams on me telling me about my past life!!! And all the while, I have conflicting feelings for a certain King…
Chibi-Riana (an OC from my Fushigi Yuugi fic) sighs: That's nothing. Imagine pretending NOT to have feelings for the guy you love just because he loves someone else, find out that a GOD is head-over-heels in love with you, and THEN have your first crush turn around and say he loves you, while at the same time trying to prevent a stupid Miko from making any more mistakes and getting her Seishi all killed!
Harle waves hand lazily: Aw come on, don't give me that!! The troubles you had to go through are important. It's called PLOT, honey, something that a LOT of fics don't have anymore. And besides, I ALWAYS reward you guys in the end, don't I? Eli, didn't I marry you off to Elrohir – the twin you ACTUALLY liked? I could've given you to Elladan, but NOOOO, I was nice, wasn't I? And Ryu, you can whine all you want about me dragging you out of your normal life and giving you a somewhat abnormal one, but hey, if I didn't do that you wouldn't have met Albert, would you? And as for you, Riana, didn't I give you away to Hotohori in the end? I could've had Suzako just kidnap you, but NOOOOOO; I was NICE about it too, wasn't I? So you can't complain that I am mean to you, because even if I am initially, you all get your happily-ever-afters.
Chibi-OC's all bow their heads: …
Harle smiles satisfactorily: Good. Now then, let's get this show on the road!!
P.S: It seems that a lot of Pinoys are reading this fic ^_^. Just so you know, this is probably just the first of a larger set of stories that I might write involving Filipinas (whether mixed or pure) and the SD boys. However, I will use the not-so-popular ones, like Fujima, Hanagata, Maki, Jin, and Koshino. And there might be some Sendoh-bashing at one point or another, so…Sendoh fans, GOMEN NASAI!!!!! Oh yeah, and I would just LOVE to meet you Pinoys out there who have read this fic!! Give me your cellphone numbers and landline numbers (the landlines are only for those who live inside Metro Manila). And if you're in college already (like moi) or if you hang around Taft Ave. within the vicinity of La Salle on Wednesday afternoons, then let's meet! Maia and I get together every Wednesday at the McDonald's beside La Salle, and we discuss…oh, just about everything ^_^. So, what do you guys think? EB tayo laughs? Anyway, my cell number is 0917-481-83-10, while my landline is 551-07-79. I live in Paranaque. That's it peeps! Au revoir!!!