Chapter 6 – Basketballers & Street Racers…
"You sure you're ok to play in the game?" Haruko asked Tsuki with a concerned tone before the game.
"Daijoubu Haruko-chan. I'll be fine. Akida sensei said I can play, although it's not for long." Tsuki replied, and stuck her tongue out mischiefly.
"Hey, neko-chan, make sure you don't give the tensai any troubles on court." Sakuragi said, followed by his infamous laugh. "Nyahahaha…"
"Do'aho." Rukawa commented with his eyes closed.
"TEME Kitsune!" Sakuragi began to charge toward Rukawa. "Itai!!!" And he was hit by Ayako's paper fan before he got anywhere.
"Sakuragi, will you stop this meaningless nonsense?" Ayako snarled at Sakuragi with her arms folded.
"Listen to Aya-cha, Sakuragi." Said their currently puppy-faced captain, who was standing behind Ayako.
Tsuki, who was supposedly the central character of the quarrel just stood there feeling entertained by her teammates. A delightful smile clung to her lips, making her already attractive face lit up more.
Tsuki thought cheerfully: Although these guys are rather problematic in their own ways, they're still my trustworthy teammates. She smiled to herself.
This was the first game to be played by Shohoku in the prefecture's summer contests. The game was against Ryofuku High School (everyone do know which school this is right?).
"Okay team, let's go do some warm-ups on court then." Miyagi said with full confidence, and led everyone onto the court for pre-game warm ups.
Tsuki bounced the ball she held a few times and made a shot that went into the hoop swiftly. One of the freshmen, Goto Suya picked up the ball she shot and passed it back to her. She smiled and nodded in a gesture of thank you. Goto blushed upon seeing her smile.
Standing relatively close to her was the raven-haired boy. When Rukawa saw Goto blushed, he felt rather unhappy, and he had no idea why he had that sudden surge of emotion. He frowned. But he soon released the frown and turned back to his normal aloof self. This change in expression went about so quickly that no one on court noticed. However, Haruko saw it and was surprised (who wouldn't be? *grins evilly*). Although she had no idea why Rukawa frowned suddenly, she finally confirmed to herself that what she thought was true: Rukawa's not as cold as he seemed to be, and he isn't the ice king everyone thinks he is, he has emotions, but he just doesn't show them. Haruko smiled to herself upon learning this.
The team did a few more passes and shots then returned to the benches as the announcer announced that the game was about to start in five minutes. Tsuki sat down at the bench as soon as she got to the sidelines since she knew she won't be playing as one of the starting five.
Anzai sensei asked everyone to gather around, naming the starting players.
"Today we start with Miyagi, Kakuta, Sakuragi, Rukawa, and Goto kondachi." He then turned to Tsuki, "Fujima kondachi, you will sub in for Goto kondachi in the last five minutes of the first half."
Tsuki nodded. "Hai sensei."
Anzai sensei nodded and turned back to the team. "Remember, you are strong." He said with a smile.
The team huddled up and shouted, "We are strong! Fight Shohoku, fight!"
With that, the team huddle broke up and the starting players of Shohoku and Ryofuku entered the court.
As the game progressed, Tsuki sat on the benches observing each player of the opposing school carefully. She jotted down the strong and weak points of their opponent, analyzing them in detail. In less than ten minutes, she'd found ways to break through their opponent's defenses, which she was to carry out once she stepped onto the court.
Finally, it was five minutes before the first half ended. Shohoku team asked for a member change, and Tsuki sub in for Goto. As she stepped onto the court, murmurs can be heard through out the stadium. Members of the audience and Ryofuku were all wondering who Shohoku's female player was.
Tsuki ignored all the commotion going on and stepped onto the court casually.
Miyagi walked over and smiled, "Welcome to the game finally."
Tsuki smiled back. "Thanks. Should we trade roles then? I'll start the attacks from this point onwards?"
Miyagi shrugged, "Sure, why not? But sure to annihilate them totally." He finished with an evil grin.
Tsuki raised an eyebrow playfully. "No problem." (^_^;)
Tsuki hi-5 Miyagi and the game started again. Just as Miyagi was going to pass the ball to Tsuki from the sidelines, someone from the audience shouted, "It's Kainan!"
Everyone in the audience, including members of Shohoku and Ryofuku turned to look at the reigning champion of the Kanagawa prefecture. Amidst the Kainan players, there was a female student. Due to the distance between them, Tsuki couldn't see her clearly, but she knew that girl was the girl whom Anzai sensei referred to when he invited her to join the Shohoku team.
Tsuki noticed that members from both teams were distracted by Kainan's presence. She clapped her hands a couple of times to bring everyone back to earth.
"Miyagi sempai, pass!" Tsuki called out to Miyagi.
Everyone was once again concentrated on the game and Miyagi passed Tsuki the ball he had been holding. Tsuki caught the ball and began dribbling on the spot. Miyagi ran into an assisting position as soon as he passed the ball out. Ryofuku's players immediately reacted and switched on their defenses. Tsuki watched as the opponent's players moved into placed. One of them ran over to guard her.
Tsuki thought: This guy's not bad as a point guard, but too bad I'm better than him.
A sly smile curved Tsuki's lips. She dribbled the ball constantly whilst eyeing the court to scan where her teammates were. Without any warning, Tsuki dodged the player guarding her and dashed to the three point zone, jumping to shoot. All these were done so swiftly that the other team hadn't the time to respond. The three pointer went in and the crowd went wild, shouting and cheering her on.
The Shohoku players came over to Tsuki giving her friendly pats on the back. Whilst the Ryofuku players had surprise in their eyes, and written all over their faces was: 'What the heck just happened!?'
"That was great Fujima." Miyagi congratulated Tsuki.
Tsuki smiled. "Thanks sempai."
Out of the blues, Rukawa's voice was heard. "I see now. Thanks for the pointers Fujima."
Tsuki looked at Rukawa and smiled a pleasing smile. "So you've noticed."
Rukawa nodded and his lips curled up to show a tiny smile (if you can call that a smile at all X_x).
On the sidelines, Anzai sensei smiled cheerfully and murmured to himself. "She's showed them how to break their opponent down. She is truly a great player."
In the Kainan camp, their new captain Jin Soichiro raised his eyebrows. "That girl sure is good. She showed the traits and the meaning of an 'ace' player in that one shot."
Looking at Jun in confusion, Kiyota Nobunaga, "What do you mean, Jin sempai?"
Takato Riki, Hainan's coach answered Kiyota's question for Jin, "Her moves just now were enough to tell her teammates where the weaknesses of Ryofuku lie, so that they can attack from those weak points of their opponents." Takato paused and turned to Hashima Senko, Kainan's female player, "Watch her closely Hashima, you can learn a lot from her."
Senko nodded to her coach's advice and continued to watch the game with more focus than before.
Kiyota looked on and mumbled, "She's not that good…"
Jin snapped at Kiyota before he could continue further, "Baka, this Fujima is stronger than she seems! I can guarantee that she plays at a level way above you, her speed alone is not what you can match up to."
Kiyota scowled and shut-up immediately.
At one other corner of the spectator stands, Fujima Kenji, Hanagata Toru and Maki Shinichi were also watching the game between Shohoku and Ryofuku.
"Tsuki-chan's gonna thrash Ryofuku." Hanagata said playfully.
Kenji and Maki grinned at that.
"From the looks of things, Rukawa, Sakuragi, and Miyagi took in the hints Tsuki dropped them with her shot just now. Things are really gonna get interesting from here onwards." Maki commented with a smile.
"Yeah." Agreed Kenji. "That new player of Shohoku's not that bad either."
Hanagata and Maki looked at the player Kenji mentioned, who wore the number 12 jersey.
Nodding, Maki commented, "He has potentials. With Tsuki on court, she's bringing out the best of every player, so each of them down there should start to notice where their strong points lie."
Hanagata and Kenji both approved what Maki said. The three of them continue to watch the game, with Shohoku extending their lead by the minute. By half time, Shohoku were leading Ryofuku by 20 points.
When the game finally ended, Ryofuku was truly thrashed by Shohoku, and Shohoku played without three of their main players in the second half. This game was a display of Shohoku's strength and a challenge to all the other teams in the prefecture.
* * * * *
After the game, Tsuki exited the stadium with her teammates to find Kenji, Hanagata and Maki waiting for her outside. They were talking to players from Kainan. She skipped (literally) over to Kenji and grabbed his arm. Hanging onto Kenji's arm, she shouted his name while smiling cheerfully. "Kenji-nii chan!"
Kenji smiled upon Tsuki's arrival. "That was a great game Tsuki."
Meanwhile, the Shohoku members gawked at Tsuki and Kenji. They were extremely surprised by them and their closeness. Like anyone would under such circumstances, the Shohoku members started making conclusions about Tsuki and Kenji in their own heads. Different expressions could be seen forming on different faces, except Rukawa (as usual -_-;), and by the look of things, their thought were not getting anywhere close to the truth.
Whilst the Kainan group were not startled by the situation because Maki had told them about Kenji and Tsuki being cousins before hand.
The silence coming from the Shohoku group made Kenji and Tsuki, also the Kainan players to turn to them.
"Ano…what's that expression with you guys?" A confused Tsuki asked still clinging to Kenji.
Ayako snapped out of the reverie she was in and asked, "You and Fujima sempai…err…you guys…" Her voice trailing off as she didn't know how to put what she wanted to ask into the exact words.
Tsuki looked at Ayako, and a sudden realization came to her. She threw a laughing fit. Kenji also started to laugh, whilst Hanagata and Maki attempting their best not to burst out like Tsuki and Kenji.
Tsuki finally stopped laughing after god knows how long. But once she laid eyes upon her teammates, she laughed again. When she regained composure, she mischievously grinned. "Minna san, I would like to introduce you all to my cousin, Fujima Kenji."
Everyone jaw-dropped, but Rukawa just raised an eyebrow upon the news.
Although Rukawa didn't show much interest in the situation, he heaved a mental sigh of relieve. As to why he did that, he had no idea himself, so he gave himself a mental kick too. (*snickers* the smell of blooming romance, perhaps? Hehehe…)
"What!? You're the substitute's cousin?!" Yelped Sakuragi.
"Substitute?" Tsuki raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Do'aho." Rukawa rolled his eyes at Sakuragi (well, well, well…we've finally got a reaction from dear Rukawa-kun :P hehehe…)
"Teme kitsune!" Sakuragi got ready to jump on Rukawa to start another of their brawls but was held back by his gundan who got there just in the nick of time.
It was Miyagi who was kind enough to explain to Tsuki with a grin. "That's the nickname Hanamichi gave to Fujima."
Tsuki turned to Kenji, "Why did Sakuragi-kun call you that Kenji-nii chan?"
Kenji shrugged. "Guess it's because when we first met, he saw be sitting on the benches rather than being one of the starting players for Shoyo."
Tsuki nodded, "I see." She then turned to Sakuragi. "Sakuragi-kun, my Kenji-nii chan is 'definitely not' a bench warmer." She said to him in a disapproving tone, with strong emphasis on the words 'definitely not'. This surprised everyone, especially Kenji.
"Yare yare…" Sakuragi waved off the tensing atmosphere.
"Anyways, please don't call my cousin substitute again, okay? Sakuragi-kun?" Tsuki smiled lightly as her request to Sakuragi.
Sakuragi blushed a little when he saw her smile, and nodded as reply. Tsuki's smile brightened as his agreement.
Ayako stepped up to Tsuki and Kenji, studying them from head to toe. "Hmmm… looking at you two now, you do have some similarities. Especially your eyes and hair."
Tsuki let go of Kenji's arm and walked over to Ayako. "You're right there Ayako-san." She smiled. "Brown hair and blue eyes are the trademark of our family. Also, basketball runs in the family." She winked at Kenji and Ayako on that.
Kenji smiled and hugged Tsuki warmly. Letting go, he turned to face everyone smiling, "Yap, she's my cutest and prettiest little itoko. The one and only."
Tsuki blushed a little at Kenji's words and smiled sweetly at him.
"Oi! Speed girl!" A familiar voice was heard above the little chatter between the Kainan and Shohoku players.
Tsuki turned to see Akida Hiroshi walking towards her together with two guys who she'd seen at the fuel station.
Tsuki waved at them. "Akida-san!"
"Hey, you guys played a great game just now. The other team was totally thrashed by you." Hiroshi congratulating her and their team.
"Thanks." Tsuki smiled, and turned to introduce Akida to everyone. "Everyone, this is Akida Hiroshi, a friend of mine."
Upon seeing Hiroshi, Rukawa recognized him. He thought to himself: This is the guy from that fuel station. What's he doing here?
"Hi." Hiroshi waved in gesture. Everyone nodded in acknowledgment.
Hiroshi then introduced the two guys with him to Tsuki. "This is Yoda Kentaro and Kuno Yohji. They are both my team members and co-owners of the fuel station."
Tsuki nodded, "I see, nice to meet you both. Yoroshiku."
"Same here." Yoda and Kuno replied in unison.
Kuno showed a thoughtful look, "So, you are the owner of that N1 huh? Ever think about racing that immaculate machine of yours?"
Tsuki raised an eyebrow at Kuno then snarled at Hiroshi. "You didn't tell them did you?"
Hiroshi laughed dryly. "Ano…hehe…I forgot?"
Tsuki rolled her eyes. "Forget it. You'd better explain the situation to them, pronto!"
Hiroshi sheepishly agreed. "Hai."
Kenji suddenly shrieked as he took a look at this watch. "Tsuki, we're gonna be late for the dinner at Bunta ojisan's!"
Tsuki quickly glanced at her watch. "Yiaks! We're dead. Iko, Kenji-nii chan, hayaku!"
Kenji and Tsuki dashed to a silver Honda S2000 parked next to a Red Mazda RX-7 FD3S in the stadium's car park. The players of both schools and Striker's members heard Tsuki shouting to Kenji as they ran. "I'll drive!" And Kenji threw her the keys to his car. Then they saw Tsuki and Kenji jumping into the car and sped off with tires screeching.
"Err…what was that about?" Asked Ayako.
"They're going to Akina (a town in the Gunma prefecture, for those of you who don't know :)) for Tsuki's ojisan's birthday dinner tonight. By the look of things, they're gonna be late." Maki replied.
"Aa. I see." Ayako nodded her head.
"So…shall we go then?" Hanagata asked everyone.
They all headed for the exit, with the Shohoku players in one direction and the Kainan players in another.
"Nice car you got there." Commented Hiroshi to Maki as Maki reached his RX-7.
"Thanks, but I'm not racer, so don't bother asking me anything about the car or races." Maki replied.
Hiroshi was rather taken aback by Maki, but he soon laughed. "Guess speed girl's complained about me before huh?"
Maki smiled and nodded.
Hiroshi then bit his goodbyes to Maki and Hanagata before settling himself in his MR2 and drove off with Kuno in his white Nissan Silvia S13 and Yoda in his Red Nissan Fairlady 300Z.
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akane の tea house~
Another chapter done…finally -_-;
Again…comments and flames are welcomed J
Cheers~ =^.^=