Author's note: uh-hmmm. I don't know if I'm going to make this a RuHaru. I'm just in the process of thinking of it. But I think not. Take note: no yaoi/shonen-ai in this fic! I really made this chapter looong. Reviews of any sort are entirely welcome!
Rukawa's POV
Italicized paragraphs = flashback
Jekyll and Hyde
Chapter 2: The other half: Nightmares
"Rukawa," this time I turned at the person addressing me. I stared at her directly, keeping my face impassive. It was the curly-haired girl's turn to avoid my eyes now. "He's here now," she whispered.
I followed the source of the sound, glimpsing at every painful look of the people around me. Finally I found him. It wasn't another basketball practice; he wasn't wearing the usual bright-colored shirt. Instead, he donned his blackest shirt with the gloomiest eyes, carrying the unusual black eyes bags below. He wasn't the guy I knew. The strength always found in him dispersed, ending up in his hands as he struggled to steady them. A thin, white candle he lighted was placed on the center of the table, then he settled himself beside Kogure, exchanging meaningful glances with the guy.
The candles glowed, and my gaze was locked in it, like a firefly tempted by the flame. Trapped.
I opened my eyes gingerly, and when I did, something like a hundred pounces came into me, my head twisting, my eyes darting here and there aimlessly. I was in the verge of going unconscious again when I realized I was lying on the ground, feeling the rough texture made by the cemented road, not on the driver seat of the car I was driving earlier. My eyes bulged as I spotted the heap of black car and dislodged parts, the gas leaking, dropping on the ground drop by drop. A blinding light and a sudden force threw me out of my reclining position, and like a doll, I lay flat on the ground, my mind blackened.
The light flickered due to the wind and died. Automatically, I stood up, snatched the lighter on the table and carefully lighted the single candle. My hands were distant and blurred, everything was obscured. I was dead tired, but it seemed to me that I can't close my eyes and sleep. I just have to overcome myself.
A large hand weighed on my shoulder. Without looking, I knew it was captain Akagi. And without him talking, I knew he wanted to talk about something. Yet I can't penetrate in his thoughts.
"I need to talk to you," I faced him, head tilted so I can have eye contact with Akagi. I nodded silently, following his giant steps towards the patio. He stopped just beside the flowerbed, his back facing me. Obviously, he was too uncomfortable having eye contact. Fear of being found weak enveloped him, yet his voice remained that of a true Gori.
"Are you still going to play?"
"Play what?" I stubbornly asked, longing for that word. I wanted to hear it. I desperately want to hear it once again.
"Basketball," he said simply, but painfully. It was a stabbing word. So painful.
I knew he will ask this question. Part of me was glad that I'm not the one who must arouse the topic, and the other part was glad he knew me. But I'm still confused.
"I don't know," three words. Meaningless.
"Nyahahahahahaha!" Sakuragi howled with laughter as he scored a three- point shot. His hands were akimbo, showing off.
Somewhere near the exits, a high-pitched "Nice shot Sakuragi" was heard. Sakuragi's ears became big and turned red as he saw Haruko cheering for him. "Ore wa Tensai!" he muttered to himself as he gave Miyagi a high- five.
"Do'aho," I grumbled under my breath, dribbling the ball to our side of court. Kogure was guarding my every move, however, he's too slow to spot my pivoting heel. With my back towards him, I jumped then shoot. But Sakuragi was always there to intervene, the very short red hair shining like a basketball. He jumped so high and then slapped the ball on mid-air. Miyagi retrieved the ball, dribbling past me. It's possible sometimes, I thought to myself.
"Dream on kitsune no baka!" Sakuragi ran past me in his full speed. Sighing, I ran after him, taking my position, sweat trickling from my face.
Minutes later, the game subsided. As usual, Rukawa's team won, making Sakuragi fume again, for the Nth time. The team went to the showers, meanwhile, I practiced by myself.
While shooting some baskets, a girl in a ponytail came out from the dark. I knew she was there; I can feel her eyes surveying me. I know she was trying to say, "the moon is luminous tonight."
I stopped and signalled an 'OK' sign to her.
"Oi baka kitsune, do you know the meaning of cleaning?" Sakuragi taunted, leaving as he arrived, giving me a different/weird expression.
"You have to," Akagi coaxed. I want to see his face. Is he sincere? Is he not? I thought he was going to say the cliché "for your loved-ones". But as I stood there in silence, he thought of tactics of convincing me, like basketball, but more of it.
/- Why? -/ I thought
"Do it for us. For everybody. It is the only way to make them - me - happy. You owe me, Rukawa," his voice cracked. I long hated situations like this.
"I'll think about it," I monotonously replied, then left the patio silently, swallowing the lump in my throat. I am weak, I thought as I went in again the familiar room. /- I don't watch weak people, they just make me weaker -/ I sat down and buried my face in my hands.
To be continued…