Disclaimers: I don't own SD or Initial D, which is really really sad …. *sigh*
A/N: For those of you who are following this fic out there…sorry for the lateness in updating. (akane was out of the country for quite a while :P hehehe…) Anyways… here's chapter 12, hope you guys enjoy this. =^.^=
NB: … Thoughts
(…) akane's ramblings
"…" character's speech
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Chapter 12 - Argh! What Should I Do?
Every member of the Shohoku bball club gathered in front of their school's gate on Monday morning. Ayako was conducting a role call to make sure that everyone's present. In the middle of the role call, someone's cell phone rang. Rukawa reached into his pockets and pulled out his cell. Everyone stared at Rukawa as he was doing so, Rukawa has a cell phone? Who rings him anyways? He doesn't talk! (^_^;;)
"Moshi moshi."
From the other end Kenji sounded a little worried. "Rukawa, Tsuki's taken off for Sendai on her own. She's driving there, so tell Anzai sensei this. Also, can you please keep an eye out for her? She hasn't been herself since that night, so please just look out for her?"
(Wondering why Kenji has Rukawa's cell number?? He got it from Rukawa after the BBQ party of cos! Hehehe… *grins*)
"Don't worry, I will." Rukawa replied softly.
"Arigatou Rukawa. Sou … matta ja."
"Ja."
Rukawa ended the call and put the phone back into his pocket. He turned to face Anzai sensei that'd just arrived. He bowed courteously, "Sensei, Fujima sempai from Shoyo had just called to inform us that Tsuki-chan had gone to Sendai ahead of us, so we don't have to wait for her."
"Ho. Ho. Ho." Their coach laughed his trademark good-natured laugh. "Sou ka? Then we shall leave for the train station now, as we do not want to miss our train. Ho. Ho. Ho."
Ayako commanded for the team's attention energetically with her trusty fan (^_^;). "OK! Let's go then everyone, we have games to play when we get to Sendai, so liven up and start our journey to victory!"
"Hai!" Everyone replied. "We're the strongest! Fight Shohoku, fight!"
"Ho. Ho. Ho." Anzai sensei was pleased with how spirited his team was.
o o o o o
When they boarded the train, Rukawa was arranged to sit next to Sakuragi. To everyone's surprise, those two so called mortal enemies weren't going for each other's throats. This is all because of Rukawa's silent treatment towards the red head. Every time the red head tried to provoke the kitsune, the kitsune just remained silent and ignored the red head. So, after five minutes or so, Sakuragi gave up and leaned his head against the window and dozed off. Meanwhile, Rukawa was lost in his own little world. He thought about what Kenji told him after Tsuki's rejected him.
~*~*~*~*~ Flashback ~*~*~*~*~
Kenji sensed something was wrong seeing Tsuki running into the house as if something's after her life. He left the chattery (I made this word up :P hehehe…) bunch of Sendoh, Maki, and others to look for Rukawa. He found the Shohoku Ace sitting on the bench next to the pool house staring into the open blankly.
"What happened Rukawa?" Kenji asked as he sat himself down next to the younger boy.
Rukawa didn't stir from his position and remained silent. Kenji didn't rush him into saying anything, he just waited. After the long silent pause, Rukawa finally spoke.
"She rejected me." Rukawa said in coldly, but there's no hiding of the pain he was feeling in his cerulean eyes.
Kenji noticed how badly Rukawa was hurting. He really loves her. He smiled.
"She just needs some time to digest your confession. Give her some time to think things over, and everything will be fine."
Rukawa looked up at Kenji confused. "What do you mean?"
Kenji sighed then smiled. "Remember that I told you how Tsuki closed herself to the world after she lost her parents? Well, there's something else that I didn't tell you then, which could've been the other reason for her to shut herself up."
Rukawa stared at Kenji. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Tsuki was in love once. She was so in love with that person that she was willing to give up her dreams for him." Kenji said unhappily.
Rukawa could feel his jealousy and anger flaring up by the second. "What happened?" He said through clenched fists and gritted teeth.
"The guy was an American and was her senior. He definitely had the looks and family backgrounds to make any girl brand him as prince charming. Because of my uncle's position in the company he was working for, he knew that guy's parents through work and quickly became close friends with them. Both families will meet regularly for weekend BBQ or other formal and informal occasions, and Tsuki finally fell for the guy after his persistency in chasing her, and she fell heavily. It was such sweet romance that you'd think it's impossible to see it in reality, but then came the horrid truth. The guy only courted Tsuki because of a bet he had with his friends. He didn't love her at all. The prize of the bet was a Porsche 911 GT coupe." Kenji's tone was extremely disgusted at that point.
Rukawa was shocked at hearing this. How can anyone be so cruel to play with another's emotions? He shook his head in disbelieves.
Kenji glanced at Rukawa and continued. "Yes it's true Rukawa, that guy played with Tsuki's feelings. He crushed her heart. Tsuki was so hurt that she cried herself to sleep everyday and cried again when she woke. She was always in agony when she was dreaming too. That's why her parents decided to take her to Boston for a family trip, hoping that it'll lighten her up and allow her the environment to recover from her heartaches. But the worst situation possible happened."
Rukawa gasped in shock. "The accident."
Kenji nodded. "The accident happened when they were on their way to the airport. Both events happened so closely to each other devastated her, and she broke down mentally."
Rukawa was speechless. Kenji looked at the kitsune-eyed boy and patted him on the shoulders. "Don't force her to answer to your feelings at the moment, give her some time to think over things slowly, and use your love to heal her heart. She will see how much you love her eventually."
"But what should I do? What can I do?" Rukawa asked weakly.
"Just stay by her side and be her friend for now, and support her whenever she needed supports. In other words, be her shoulder to lean and to cry on. Your gentleness and your love will be the key to her heart."
Rukawa looked at Kenji in bewilderment. "Your crazy right?"
Kenji laughed. "Rukawa, just be yourself, you don't have to hide behind your icy façade in front of me; I see the gentleness of your soul through how you treated Tsuki." He paused and continued, "If you really want to be the key to her heart, you have to forget about your icy mask. Understand?"
Rukawa's face was somewhat twisted upon hearing this. He didn't know how to relent his iciness, he's been cold for so long. But his heart told him otherwise.
Seeing the kitsune's reaction, Kenji laughed some more. "Just try okay?"
Finally sighing, Rukawa gave in and nodded. "Hai."
Kenji patted the younger boy on the shoulders once more and pulled him up from the bench. "Common, this is a party, so let's enjoy it."
Rukawa was led back to the party mutely. He was wracking his brains about how to reach Tsuki's heart.
~*~*~*~*~ End of Flashback ~*~*~*~*~
What the hell am I going to do? Lose my ice façade … that's easy for him to say! Rukawa sighed for the nth time, and shook his head slightly. Whatever, I'll think of something when I see her later. And…he fell asleep with that thought (-_-;).
o o o o o
Tsuki swerved in and out of traffic on the highways, which got her on the receiving end of some rather outraged drivers. She ignored them however and increased her speed by a notch, leaving those drivers to eat her N1's dust. Sure she was speeding way over the speed limit, but she still knew what she was doing and definitely not driving recklessly (guess that's only from a racer's POV? Hehe… ^_~).
She turned to the arrows pointing the direction of Sendai as her cell phone rang. "Fujima." She answered flatly through her hands free kit.
"I'm so hurt Tsuki, how can you be so cold towards me?" Kenji whined playfully.
Tsuki rolled her eyes but smiled. The stoic expression she had on since she woke up that morning was gone with that smile.
"Kenji-nii chan, you know I could never be cold to you. Not to a clown who always make me laugh." She teased.
"Nani!? Clown!? How dare you call me a clown Fujima Tsuki, I'm not that hentai Sendoh!" Kenji said with playful fury.
Tsuki laughed. "Yare yare … so… why've you called me?"
"To make sure that you're not driving recklessly."
"Me driving recklessly?" Tsuki said in shock, "You should know what I'd never drive recklessly to endanger myself or other drivers on the roads."
"Yeah, I believe you and pigs can fly." He snorted sarcastically.
"Gees, such sarcasms, and here I thought that you're a nice guy. Tsk tsk tsk…" Tsuki replied in equal sarcasm.
Kenji laughed. "Anyways, just checking up on you that's all. Also, promise me to kick those Sendai basketballers' asses!" He finished meanly.
"Don't worry, I will." Tsuki laughed at Kenji's childishness. "Anyways, I'm getting back to my driving; I'll call home when I get there."
"OK, take care of yourself then. Ja."
"Ja."
Tsuki ended the call and she felt her mood lifting for the better. She smiled. Concentrating back on the roads, she floored the accelerator and her N1 zoomed through the traffic.
o o o o o
One of the toughest race courses in Japan can be found at Sendai. Tsuki drove pass the course as she headed towards her destination, Michiba High School.
Wonder if I'd get a chance to go through that course while I'm here. A playful smile crept onto her face on that thought.
Michiba High School has a basketball team that's been seeded top for the past ten years in the Sendai prefecture. However, every year they always met up with the one of the strongest teams such as Sannoh and Kainan during the IH, therefore they never had a chance at getting into the top four and needless to say, even the top eight in the IH tournaments. This year, one of Anzai sensei's ex-student had taken up the vice-coaching job at Michiba, thus through this ex-student came this one week training camp.
Tsuki arrived at Michiba a couple of hours ahead of her team. She sat in her car and surveyed Michiba High briefly. Nice surroundings. She especially like the main entrance that was decorated with tall sakura trees on both sides. It'll be so nice in spring when the sakuras are in full blossom.
She had the urge to step out of her car and go wondering in the foreign school, but senses kept her back. It's not polite to wonder in other's school without proper invitation, therefore she decided that she should grab some lunch first then come back to Michiba and meet up with her team mates.
Driving into the town centre of Sendai, she found a nice little western styled café just off the main roads. After scouring ten minutes for a parking space, she found one that was just across the road from that café. She armed her car's security system and noticed a few nicely 'done up' cars around. She shrugged mentally, Must be the local street racers.
Steeping into the cosy little café, the pleasant aroma of roasted coffee beans and freshly baked bread and cakes filled Tsuki's olfactory system. She took in a couple of breaths and walked to one of the empty table next to the window and sat down.
A waitress with a friendly smile greeted her once she's sat down. "Irashaimasen." The waitress handed her a simple menu. Tsuki skimmed through the menu and decided on having the soup of the day, which was creamy mushroom served with freshly baked rolls and a cup of mocha. The waitress took down her order and went into the kitchen.
While waiting, Tsuki look about her surroundings. The café was small but had a warm homey feel. It was decorated with mahogany coloured floorboards, whilst the table and chairs were made of pine and silver coloured iron. Strong colour contrast, but they blended together nicely. The glass vases on each table were filled with one stem of gerbera, each a different colour, simple yet elegant. When looked at, the gerbera seems to be smiling at you. The walls were decorated with framed paintings of various flowers or fruits, but one painting stood out amongst the rest. It was a large painting of an open field under the setting sun. This was hung on the wall behind the cash register. Looking at this painting, Tsuki felt her heart open up making her feel contented and happy.
Tsuki's order soon came and she thanked the waitress. Just as she was about to dig in, a group of males in the late teens, early twenties walked into the café.
"Hey, wonder who that N1 out there belong to." One of the males said.
Another from the group said, "Who knows, probably some rich kid who only know how to show off their car and don't know how to use it."
Tsuki raised an eyebrow at the guy's comment but decided to ignore them. Ch, what do they know?
She returned to enjoy her scrumptious lunch while the group of males continued ranting on about this and that, but she was really irritated when she heard them said that her car's just another street car out there with no harm.
Too bad I don't race anymore, if not, I'll let you guys taste true defeat. Tsuki screamed mentally. She put down her spoon and stood up to pay for her meal. She lost her appetite and previously happy mood.
She paid for her meal and bought a fresh wholemeal roll for later when she regains her appetite. Walking out, she paused for a split second when she neared those males and stared daggers at them, and then she continued to walk out. All the guys sitting at that particular table sweat dropped since they had no idea why this drop dead gorgeous girl stared icicles at them. But they found out soon as they watch her crossing the road and disarmed the security system of the N1.
Tsuki opened the door and looked up glancing at those males who'd humiliated her and her N1 unintentionally. She shot them another icy glare and curved her lips into a menacing smile. After strapping herself into the bucket seat securely, she started the engine and rev it a little to bring up the temperature. Putting on her sunglasses, Tsuki put the gear into reverse and reversed out of the parking spot in the most perfect J-turn those guys had ever seen, and then sped out of there. Those guys who were sitting in the café got off their seats and stared in the direction the N1 took. What shocked them more was that the N1 went into a drift effortlessly and turned the corner not far away from where they were. Their eyes bulged in disbelief.
How can anyone reverse out of that tight spot that easily and flawlessly? How can anyone take such a corner so easily and put a car into drift at such low speed? Who the heck is that girl? …These were the thoughts going through their minds at that moment.
"That should show you chauvinists not to comment on others so thoughtlessly again." Tsuki said aloud with a satisfied grin.
She drove around town for a while and found a park where she decided to stop and have her bread roll at. There's still some time left before she had to head back to Michiba and meet up with her team mates. She parked at one of the shady spots under the tree and sat back to her favourite tunes, eating her bread roll little by little pushing it down with the bottle of spring water she took with her from home.
Momentarily, she was lost in her own little world where nothing's a worry. But reality is still reality. She sighed with satisfaction at what she's just enjoyed. This sigh was followed by a frown. A frown caused by her knowing that she still had the one problem that she needed to solve desperately. The problem with her friend and team mate, Rukawa Kaede. She thought back to that faithful day when Rukawa had confessed to her and groaned.
What have I done? I must've hurt him really badly; anyone would be hurt by what I said to him. Worse still is that I haven't tried to rectify my wrongs but running away and avoiding him. But…what can I do? I really don't want to feel the heartache again…
She slummed onto the steering wheel and rested her forehead on it. She thought about the last couple of days.
I was in shock after he confessed. Thought one.
I'm been trying to kick out the stress and awful feeling because of what he said and what I said to him by almost pushing my poor car over it's limits the last two nights on Kanagawa's mountain pass. The result? It didn't work. Thought two.
Argh!!! What the hell am I suppose to do? Kami-sama, give me a sign or whatever to direct in the right direction please? Thought three, which ended with her lifting her head away from the steering and looked up into the skies.
But…no signs, no nothing from kami-sama up there. She sighed again, for the nth time that day.
Guess the only thing I can do is to talk to him again. Talk him out of this crazy idea of his that is! She smiled weakly on that, That is, if he listens…
o o o o o
As Tsuki pulled up in front of Michiba, her team mates had just arrived also. Stepping out, she waved at them. "Hi guys." The Shohoku members waved back and smiled in acknowledgement.
Tsuki took a bow in front of Anzai sensei. "Gomenasai sensei, I didn't ask for your approval before taking off alone instead of travelling with the team."
"Ho. Ho. Ho. It's okay Fujima kondachi, as long as you get here safely then there is nothing to worry about. Ho. Ho. Ho."
"Arigatou sensei." She bowed again deeply in gratitude.
Anzai sensei smiled at Tsuki gently like a grandfather to his grandchild, then patted her shoulders lightly. He then turned to his team and announced, "Let's go inside and meet our ally."
"Hai." Everyone replied eagerly.
"Ho. Ho. Ho." Anzai sensei led the way as he laughed his trademark laughs.
"Sensei!" A tall male about thirty years old shouted at the Shohoku members as they entered the Michiba gym. The guy ran towards them then bowed deeply with full courtesy at Anzai sensei. "Sensei, I'm honoured to see you again."
"Ho. Ho. Ho. Tachibana, it's nice to see you again too." Anzai sensei said softly, and offered his hand to his ex-student.
Tachibana Naoki took his ex-coach's hand and shook it full-heartedly. "I'm so glad that you'd agree to come to train with us sensei, it'll be a great experience for me and out players."
"Likewise Tachibana, likewise."
Anzai sensei then introduced his team to Tachibana. "These are my team members, the Shohoku basketball club."
Tachibana scanned the new faces quickly and smiled at them. "Please follow me and I'll introduce the Michiba team to you all."
They followed the vice-coach of their soon to be opponent into the gym. Tachibana gathered the Michiba team members and they started their introduction.
"Watashi wa Kobayashi Ensuki desu, Michiba's captain." A boy about 180cm stood out from the Michiba camp said. He then pointed at members of his team, naming them. "This is Itsuki Makoto, vice-captain of our team; Hayashi Konosuke, Matsushita Jun, and Sugai Masashi. Including myself, we are the starting line-up of my team. The rest of my team mates are … Yoroshiku"
After Kobayashi had finally ended with his introduction, it was Shohoku's turn to introduce themselves.
"Miyagi Ryota, captain. The rest of our starting line-up are Rukawa Kaede, vice-captain; Sakuragi Hanamichi, Goto Suya, and Kakuta Satoru. Also, Fujima Tsuki, our other vice-captain who plays when she feels like it and when we need bailing out." Miyagi ran through the player list briefly and ended with, "Doumo yoroshiku."
Kobayashi then shook hands with Miyagi. "I look forward to our games in the next few days."
"Likewise." Miyagi said with a cheeky grin.
"I'll show you to your quarters now and you can rest for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will be our first game, so I don't want you guys to feel tired then." Kobayashi said teasingly.
"Teme! We don't …" Sakuragi began one of his outbursts again, but was stopped soon by Ayako and her trusty fan. "Itai! …" (Hana-kun, please behave yourself? Pretty please? *akane's begging here!! * ~_~)
Everyone sweat dropped.
"Ano, can I ask a question?" Tsuki stepped up in front of Kobayashi.
Kobayashi was stunned by Tsuki's looks. She's beautiful! "Aa… y… yes?"
Ignoring his stuttering, Tsuki smiled. "You see, I drove here and I'm wondering if there's any car park available for me to park my car at here."
Kobayashi nodded a few times and swallowed hard. "Y… yes there is. You can, err… use the staff… staff's car park, since it's summer vacation, and most of the staffs are… are on leave." He said while blushing.
Tsuki beamed at his answer. "Great! I'll go and move my car into the car park later then. Thanks." She turned back to her team mates and stood next to Haruko to continue with their chat earlier.
Kobayashi coughed a few times to regain his composure whilst the rest of his team mates tried very hard to contain their laughter and the Shohoku team, well, they couldn't care less, so they just busted out laughing. Rukawa was an exception of cause, since he's staring daggers at the older boy. (*snickers* suffer Rukawa? :P hehehe…)
After the little commotion, the Shohoku players were led to their quarters by Kobayashi. They grouped themselves into fours to share the rooms since each room can accommodate four persons. Before Tsuki went into the room she was sharing with Ayako and Haruko, she said softly to Rukawa, "We need to talk. Meet me at the main gates at eight tonight."
Rukawa smiled and watched her entered the room. He felt a heavy weight has been lifted from his chest. At least I don't have to be the one to make the first move. *phew* He walked on and into the room which he was sharing with Miyagi, Goto and Yasuda. (You think they'd allow Rukawa to share a room with Sakuragi!? Not in a million years! :P Hahaha~)