Carnival Delight!

By coolpriss

Disclaimer: SD still ain't mine, but Korky, the hotdogs, and the poor vendor belongs to me… ^_^

Chapter 2: All for One and One for All!

"Oooohhhh…."

The Shohoku Basketball club members were now standing in front of the tall, fairy-tale-like gates of the carnival. The words 'The Lost Paradise' shone in red and gold lights. Behind the open entrance were hundreds of booths, rides and hundreds more people of all ages. [Well, of course, they were mostly kids. ]

"Sugoi!" Haruko squeaked, jumping up and down. "There're so many! Hayaku, minna-san! Let's try all of them, ne?"

"Haruko-san…" Sakuragi followed dreamily after the exhilarated Haruko. Then he felt a strong hand holding him by the collar of his shirt. "Hanase, Gori!" He tried desperately to wriggle free of Akagi's strong grip.

"Haruko! Come back here!" Akagi called out to his sister, who was hurrying from one booth to another.

"It's been a long time since I last set foot in a carnival, but I don't remember it being this huge," Kogure remarked as the rest of the team entered and gawked.

"That's because The Lost Paradise is one of a kind!" a cheery voice exclaimed beside Miyagi.

"YAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" The curly-haired point guard rushed behind Ayako, pushing the surprised manager towards the newcomer.

"Sumimasen! I didn't mean to frighten you," the man bowed. He was wearing a blue-and-white striped jumpsuit, over a large yellow shirt with a red-and-yellow polka-dotted ribbon. His shoes were ten times bigger than his feet, and his face was painted white with a yellow star on his right eye and a pink heart on his left. There was a large, red ball stuck on the tip of his nose and his lips were painted blue. On his head was hat with two plastic flowers sticking out. "My name is Korky the Klown, and I am here to welcome and guide you through…The Lost Paradise!" He stretched out his hand dramatically.

"Er…Thank you, but we don't need your guidance…" Ayako smiled weakly at the clown. Then she turned to Miyagi who was still shaking behind her. "Ryota, let go of me!"

"I'm afraid you do," Korky insisted. He showed them their tickets. "You got the 'Lucky Seven Plus One!' package, which includes a free guide along with the ride-all-you-can privilege."

Akagi looked around and started counting. Then he sighed defeatedly. "Alright. You can tag along if you want to." Then he turned to his team. "Yosh. We're all gonna stick together, understood? No one is allowed to go his or her own way. This is part of our practice for our teamwork. If somebody wants to ride something, everyone else rides along, is that clear? Miyagi, daijobou desu ka? Why are you hiding behind Ayako?"

Miyagi let go of the half-lidded manager and gave a strained laugh. "Ehehe…nani mo, Captain…"

"Don't tell me you're scared of clo--" Ayako glared at him, rubbing her shoulders which were sore from Miyagi's tight grip.

"Oi, Sakuragi, where are you going with Haruko?" Miyagi asked loudly, cutting Ayako's sentence, hoping to divert the attention from him.

Everybody turned to see the redhead creeping slowly away from the group, with Haruko behind him.

"Sakuragi!" Akagi slammed his fist on Sakuragi's head. "Haruko, we have to stick together. You shouldn't go wandering off alone especially with this baka!"

"Onii-chan!" Haruko tried to say something in defense but was distracted by the carousel behind Akagi. "I want to ride there, onii-chan!" she jumped up and down excitedly, pointing at the ride with ponies and horses going round and round.

"Ah! The Musical Carousel! Every girl's favorite!" Korky the Klown nodded appreciatively. "What an excellent choice…"

"I am NOT riding there!" Mitsui protested, glaring at Akagi. "No way!"

"Me neither," Rukawa stared at the ride with distaste.

"But Anzai-sensei said we should go together…if one wants to ride something everyone should ride too…c'mon, it shouldn't be that bad…" Kogure smiled uncertainly.

"No." The two said flatly.

Haruko was looking like she was about to cry. "Sakuragi-kun, you'll ride with me, won't you? Won't you, Sakuragi-kun?"

Sakuragi looked at the boring, girly ride, then to Haruko's hopeful, puppy-dog eyes, then gulped. Everyone was staring at him.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a warm, delicious smell. "Hotdogs! Look, Haruko-san, there's cotton candy too! Why don't we eat first? I'm really starving! We can always ride later, ne, Haruko-san?" Sakuragi rushed to the hotdog stand and started drooling.

"Ah! The hotdogs here in The Lost Paradise are extremely delicious! They are all made from one hundred percent pure meat and are guaranteed to satisfy your hunger…" Korky the Klown started blabbering again.

Haruko looked crushed for a moment. Then a loud, gurgling noise was heard. Haruko placed her palm over her stomach and blushed slightly. "Well, I am a bit hungry…"

Akagi and Kogure let out a sigh of relief. They all walked over to the agitated hotdog vendor who was yelling at Sakuragi to pay for his hotdogs.

"Sometimes, I really think Sakuragi's a tensai," Kogure said to Akagi.

"Well, I'm just thankful I didn't have to ride that stupid carousel," Akagi replied, placing his order of a foot-long hotdog.

"Hey, you," Mitsui nodded at Korky who was still gabbering away with how tasty hotdogs are in this carnival. "Since you decided to tag along with us, you might as well suffer the consequences." He jabbed a hotdog through the clown's mouth, finally silencing him. "There. We endure your senseless noise, you join in our teamwork practice."

Ayako was staring at Miyagi who was staring at the choking clown, as if cursing him. "What's the matter, Ryota?"

"Nothing, Aya-chan!" Miyagi grinned at her and stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth. He took one last glare at the clown who drank all the soda Kogure handed him and was panting heavily. "I'm just glad you're here with me, Aya-chan…"

"Nani?" Ayako raised an eyebrow and backed away from Miyagi.

"It's too bad they don't sell bananas here, ne, Gori? You'd just have to do with a foot-long hotdog," Sakuragi snickered.

"Baka! Why don't you just start paying for your own ten hotdogs!" Akagi returned.

"Eh? They're not included in the package deal?" Sakuragi looked confused. Then he grabbed Haruko and ran. "Look, Haruko-san! The Roller Coaster!"

"Ah! The Exciting Roller Coaster! It is one of our carnival's best rides! It would most certainly give you a thrilling sense of adventure…" Korky the Klown hurried after the two.

"Ooh! I love the Roller Coaster!" Ayako grinned excitedly. She grabbed Miyagi's hand. "C'mon, Ryota! This is gonna be fun!"

Miyagi, who was eyeing the ride like someone who's had a bad experience before, suddenly brightened and flushed as Ayako's hand held his. "Hai, Aya-chan! I love the Roller Coaster too!"

Akagi stared at them, three huge crosses forming on his head. "SAKURAGI!!!" But his shout fell on deaf ears.

Rukawa shrugged, and started walking behind Ayako and Miyagi. "Do'aho…" he mumbled glaring at the redhead.

"Akagi…" Kogure tried to calm the fuming captain. He looked at the vendor who had called a couple of tough-looking security guards.

"That would be ten Beef Franks and five cans of cola for him," the pissed vendor pointed at Sakuragi who was snatching backward glances at them. "Plus one Foot-long hotdog and a bottle of mineral water for you." The angry man held out his palm. "Pay me now or they'll throw you out."

Akagi paid the man before stalking towards the redhead who was hurriedly seating himself in the Roller Coaster car.

Kogure scratched the back of his head. "Looks like this 'teamwork training' isn't working as Anzai-sensei thought it should be…"

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A/N: Would Akagi succeed in getting Sakuragi to pay him back? (I don't think Sakuragi's got any money with him…) Has Haruko really forgotten about the Carousel? Did Miyagi really have a bad Roller Coaster experience before? Is Ayako finally showing some feelings towards Miyagi? Am I starting to scare you with all these questions? Gomen ne! All I really wanted to say is: Please review!!!! Thanks!