DISCLAIMER:
Only the OC's and the storyline belong to me.
Author's Notes: The longest chapter so far, I should think. I crammed almost
everything into this one. So maybe the next chapters will be a wee bit shorter
than this one. You'll still read it, won't you? *puppy eyes*
Kyo: I'm sorry, but this fic is especially for RuHana day, so I can't
change my original plans.
OrOoo: Well…I might go back to my old ways *grins*…if my Author's
Block is attacking me…
kristel, SephirothduMatrea, Keitsu Han'ei, jaded-puppet: ^^ Haruko's
kiss isn't that effective, so don't worry…eh, wait…A kiss can be effective? O.O
Scary thought…
Crescent Quetzalcoatl, akane, M.S.Renae, sLL, Joana, : Thank you! I'll
be uploading this fic daily until its ending—providing I have time to type it
into my computer…
Keax: O.O; There're dungeons in his mansion? How come I didn't know? Who
renovated his place without informing me? *chuckles*
Leonora Cosmos: You'll do fine in fic-writing. I'm not really a good
writer, anyway ^^. Good luck!
~
"Thanks for dinner, Hisashi," said
Kogure politely, bowing.
Mitsui grinned joyfully. "No
problem, Min-kun. You won't hesitate to join me for dinner again some other
time, will you?"
Kogure laughed. "I'll come, I
promise."
"Good boy. See you in school
tomorrow." Mitsui gave an affectionate peck on his forehead.
"Good night, Hisashi…"
"Good night to you too. Sleep
tight."
Kogure left Mitsui's house. On
his way home, he passed by a basketball court. Hearing the sound of a ball
being dribbled, he approached the court. Sure enough, he recognized instantly
who the player was.
"Rukawa?" he blurted
incredulously.
The freshman straightened,
turning his head to look in Kogure's direction. He did not say anything, but
his raised eyebrows hinted his minor surprise.
Kogure neared him. "What
happened to you?"
Rukawa looked away. "Nothing."
"Rukawa, you were absent from
school today. You…you didn't, by any chance, skip school to pay a visit to
Sakuragi…did you?"
Rukawa did not move.
"Sempai…you…"
Kogure folded his arm. "You
did."
The younger boy nodded once.
"You won't tell?"
"I won't, so don't worry. It's
true, then? That you do have something towards Sakuragi?"
"…it's true." Rukawa only told
Kogure because he had respect to his senior. Respect, and trust.
"Are you going to see him
again tomorrow?"
"Most probably."
Nodding, Kogure continued
thoughtfully. "That's good. Why don't you come along with us, Rukawa?" he
offered. "We're planning to end tomorrow's practice a tad earlier…"
"The whole team?"
"Yes, and if I remember
rightly, Haruko's joining us. She's the one who suggested it in the first
place."
Damn.
"So what do you say?"
Rukawa was in two minds, torn
between reluctance because of Haruko's company and his immense desire to see
Sakuragi.
"Rukawa?"
"Fine."
"Tell me you've left your paper-fan
behind," said Mitsui to Ayako.
"For the last time, sempai, I
have!" insisted Ayako. "I know it was unwise of me to have spanked him that
day!"
"Old habits are hard to get
rid of," interjected Haruko, defending Ayako.
"Thank you!"
"Can we go now?" asked Akagi,
impatient. "I need to lock the gym, and you guys are still taking your own
sweet time."
"Sure, sure," said Kogure.
"Rukawa, are you ready to go?"
Rukawa slung his bag over one
shoulder and walked alongside Kogure. He was careful none of his physical
appearance betrayed his eagerness to see his beloved Sakuragi again.
He peeked inside the room. Needless
to say, there was Sakuragi Hanamichi on the bed. He knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" asked Sakuragi
automatically. That can't be Rukawa…he just walks straight in…
"It's me." He grinned.
"Don't you remember me?"
Wait, I know that voice…
"Sendoh?"
"Right-o!" Sendoh pulled
Sakuragi's hand for a handshake.
"But—what are you doing here?"
asked Sakuragi, clueless.
"I was visiting my aunt. She
got discharged today. Then I saw your name in the register, and here I am."
"I see."
"Why are you in hospital? You
look healthy to me."
"I'm NOT." There was a tinge
of vexation and bitterness in his tone. "Why else would the genius be confined
in bed?"
"Sorry, OK? Mind telling me
what happened to you?"
"An accident. Long story. Wipe
that silly grin off your face, Sendoh."
"But I'm not grinning…"
"Oh yeah? I thought you were."
"Uh…" Sendoh waved a hand in
front of Sakuragi's eyes. No reaction. Which could only mean…
"Hanamichi-kun…are you…blind?"
The reply he got in return was
full of asperity. "Hell, yeah! I'm blind! I can't see anything! Happy?"
Sakuragi yelled.
"Hanamichi-kun…" stammered
Sendoh, unsure how he should react.
"You can grin all you want,
Sendoh, because I'm not capable of stopping or seeing you."
"That's not what I mean…"
"What do you mean,
then, I'd like to know?"
Before Sakuragi knew it,
Sendoh had pulled him nearer. Sendoh was hugging him.
"I'm sure Hanamichi will be happy to
know all of us are visiting him!" squealed Haruko delightfully.
"You're calling him Hanamichi
now?" asked Akagi, surprised. "Since when? Why was I left in the dark?"
Haruko chose to ignore the
questions. She stormed in Sakuragi's ward. "Hanamichi! We're here—HUH?"
Sendoh became aware he and the
redhead were no longer alone. What he did not know was a pair of eyes, filled
with anger and dislike, was on him.
"The entire team is here to
see you, Hanamichi-kun," Sendoh told Sakuragi. Sendoh loosened his hold and
almost unwillingly, released the patient.
"Kogure
and Mitsui are seeing Dr. Matsuyama," said Ayako, explaining their
non-appearance.
"Fancy seeing you here,
Sendoh," Akagi mused. "How'd you know Sakuragi's here?"
"Oh, a little bird told me…"
Sendoh smiled mischievously—one of his smiles that never failed to annoy Rukawa
to a great extent—with a good reason. Not to mention that the smile was also
enigmatical. His hand never left Sakuragi's shoulder.
Rukawa looked daggers at his
long-time adversary. Sendoh merely omitted the glares; instead, he gave Rukawa
an innocent smile.
Chalk that one up to add
another point in Rukawa Kaede's list of Sendoh Akira's Most Hateful Smiles.
Cheeky guy, thought
Rukawa, his eyebrows knitted.
The whole team? Including
Rukawa? Sakuragi pondered. Plus Haruko?
"How're you today,
Hanamichi?" asked Miyagi.
"I'm fine," replied the blind
boy flatly. Frankly speaking, their presence was, to Sakuragi, making him feel
worse than ever. He was touched, nonetheless.
"By the way, I brought soup
for you. I made it myself." Haruko uncapped the flask she had brought along and
poured the soup into a bowl. She laid it in Sakuragi's hands.
Sakuragi sipped it carefully.
"How does it taste?" asked the
girl.
"It's…nice…" The last word was
said somewhat indecisively. Fortunately the timbre was unobserved by his
visitors.
"That's great, Hanamichi!"
Haruko put his hand into hers. "I'll make some more, just for you!"
Akagi looked at his sister
strangely. Rukawa, on the other hand, was trying his very best to ignore
her—without much luck, since Haruko's high-pitched voice was by all means
irritating to be overlooked.
Mitsui and his secret
boyfriend, Kogure joined the party shortly afterwards.
"Hey, Sakuragi," greeted
Mitsui, while Kogure wished him a good afternoon.
"You two went to see Dr.
Matsuyama, didn't you?" asked Sakuragi. "What did he say?"
"Um, not much," replied
Mitsui, candidly. "He's still looking for a solution to this whole—mess."
Sendoh
pulled Kogure aside, earning himself another death glare from a suspicious
Mitsui.
"But…this
is a really rare case! I find it hard to believe the only result of his
accident is only blindness," he whispered to Kogure.
Nodding,
Kogure replied, "I get what you mean. Dr. Matsuyama—Sakuragi's doctor—is
equally perplexed. Usually in these kind of cases, the patient is bound to
suffer other injuries as well—for instance, a broken neck."
Mitsui
pulled Kogure away from the Ryonan player. Sendoh stared at him blankly.
"This sightlessness is
temporary, doesn't it?" A note of hopefulness in Sakuragi's shaky voice.
"Even the doctor can't give a
precise answer to that question," said Kogure softly.
"Hanamichi! Don't worry!"
Miyagi patted the patient's hand. "You're a lucky guy. You'll get your vision
back!"
"Rukawa?" Ayako nudged him
from behind. "Aren't you going to say anything to him?"
Ayako's elbow put a brief end
to Rukawa's glaring game. In response, the boy shrugged.
"Don't tell me you're going to
keep quiet the whole time we're here."
Another shrug from the
freshman.
Ayako sighed in defeat.
Rukawa, in fact, wanted to
speak with Sakuragi badly—but in front of everyone? Ni, he had to control his
desire. No privacy, meant his conversation with the redhead would be limited.
Talking right now would only make he, and perhaps Sakuragi as well, feel
awkward. No, thank you. He would rather think of several death threats to a
certain Ryonan player…
"So, at the cafeteria today, a
classmate of mine named Miyuki—she bought a piece of sausage," Haruko was
saying. "She was about to eat it when suddenly someone bumped into her. You
know how Miyuki's temper is, right? She whacked poor Ishida with the
sausage—and it bounced of his head!" Haruko laughed.
In the background, Akagi
slapped his palm across his forehead. He was embarrassed.
Sakuragi could not see the
humour in Haruko's little tale, since he was not a witness to the event, but he
laughed all the same. Rukawa rolled his eyes. Sendoh, as always, smiled.
"Going already, Rukawa?" asked
Miyagi. "Basketball practice?"
Rukawa only said "Aa."
"Why don't you stay a little
longer?" asked Mitsui. He whispered. "Try saying 'hi' or something."
Rukawa stared at him as if
Mitsui had just suggested him to do something unthinkable—like telling him to
jump off the hospital building. He shook his head.
Kogure glanced at his junior.
For some unknown reason, he understood Rukawa's predicament.
"Fine, if you insist." Mitsui
shrugged.
"Ne, Sakuragi…Rukawa's
leaving," Kogure told the patient.
"Ah…" That was the only
syllabus Sakuragi could utter.
Rukawa departed, leaving all
of them thunderstruck.
Sendoh, who was watching the
anecdote without blinking even once, detected something was afoot with those
two freshmen. He decided to get Rukawa talking, although he knew he would have
a better chance in making a mute person talk than squeezing a word out of the
raven-haired player—especially if it involved Sakuragi Hanamichi.
"I guess I'll have to get
going as well," Sendoh voiced out. "Well, I'll see you later, Hanamichi-kun."
He patted Sakuragi's red head and left.
For the second time the ones
who were still there froze, due to shock.
"Wait up!" he called breathlessly.
"Kaede-kun, wait up!"
Rukawa, disinclined, stopped
walking. Prickly, he glared at his rival.
"We need to talk about
something," Sendoh spoke.
"There's nothing to talk
about," argued Rukawa.
"That's where you're wrong,
Kaede-kun."
"Don't call me that."
"You mean 'Kaede-kun'? Why
not?"
"It's disgusting—coming from
you."
Patience, Akira…be patient…Sendoh
put on a rather strained smile. "So, can we talk, Rukawa-kun?" Sendoh
perceived the sound of Rukawa's edgy sigh.
"What about?"
"Ah, you know exactly what I
want to ask you."
Rukawa folded his arms, his
mouth set in a thin line. He shook his head.
"It's about Hanamichi-kun."
That did the trick. Sendoh's
alert eyes could make out every inch of Rukawa's muscle tightened.
"What about him?"
"You and him…" Sendoh raised
an enquiring eyebrow, expecting Rukawa to get his meaning.
And Rukawa did. "That's none
of your damned business."
"Tsk, tsk. Language,
Rukawa-kun, language."
Rukawa, displeased, was about
to walk away, but Sendoh caught his wrist.
"It's true, then?"
"It doesn't concern you."
"It does, Rukawa-kun, it does.
More than you could ever imagine,"
Rukawa's eyes widened. God,
no…
"You see it now, don't
you?"
Gritting his teeth, Rukawa had
one hell of a time restraining himself from assaulting the Ryonan Ace.
Sendoh, discounting Rukawa's
fury, casually whispered in his ear. "We're the same…don't you agree?"
"We'll be going now," said Kogure.
"Take care, Sakuragi."
"Yes, megane-kun," answered
the blind patient.
"See you tomorrow!" Haruko's
fingers outlined Sakuragi's hand. "In the meantime, follow the doctor's orders,
OK?"
"Don't do anything stupid,"
interrupted Mitsui.
"Micchy!" cried Sakuragi,
indignant.
Mitsui merely laughed
good-humouredly.
As soon as they had departed,
Sakuragi sighed and leaned. Everyone visited him that day—first it was his
bunch of Army; less than one hour later it was Sendoh Akira…and approximately
half an hour after that, the Shohoku Basketball Team together with Haruko.
He should feel happy—but why
didn't he feel that way?
Could it be…the reason of his
disturbance…
"Rukawa?" he ejaculated,
oblivious that he had voiced out his innermost thought.
"Hn."
HUH? He's here? What on
Earth… "When did you get here? And how long have you been…"
"Just came." Rukawa, who was
leaning against the wall, murmured. He was waiting for the rest to go off
before opting to visit Sakuragi—for real, this time.
"You sneaky fox!" commented
Sakuragi, half comically. "You should've warned me!"
He shrugged. "What for?" His
thoughtful face is certainly a sight to behold…
Funny how fate toys around
with you.
"You came back?"
"Aa," responded Rukawa. "The
visit earlier was not idea of a proper visit."
"I agree. It didn't seem as if
you were there at all, what with you being quiet all the way through."
"Sorry."
Sakuragi laughed. "Nah, I
don't mind in the least. I'd rather have you visiting me like this."
"What do you want us to talk
about?"
A-re? "What did you
say?"
"I asked you, what do you want
to talk about?"
"That's not what you said the
first time."
"Your hearing has improved."
"I have to rely on it, since I
can't…well, you know."
Rukawa drew a chair to his
side, closer to the patient. "You want to talk about it?"
"Are you willing to listen?"
"Yes."
"Since you're already here,
I'll just talk. It won't make a difference. At least other people won't think
I'm crazy seeing I talk to myself with you here with me."
Rukawa leaned back on his
chair, preparing to listen intently.
"Do you know what question I
hate most? It's 'How do you feel today?' and such." His grips on the blanket
tightened. "I can't see anything, so you can't expect me to feel fine, do you?
It's all complete darkness to me! I feel vulnerable, lost…"
Rukawa listened in silence. He
knew he was affected by his words.
"If this blindness goes one
and on...I won't be able to do anything! I can't read, I can't walk like most
people without any assistance, I can't go to school like normal school kids, I
can't play basketball…and most of all…I can't see everyone's face anymore…
"That means one day, I'll
forget the gorilla's face, oya-ji's fat tummy, Micchy's scar, megane-kun's
glasses, Ayako-san's paper-fan, Ryochin's earstud, Sendoh's spiky and upright
hair…"
Rukawa frowned. Why would
anyone want to remember HIM?
"…Youhei…Haruko's face…"
Another frown, deeper this
time.
"…your fox-like eyes…"
Rukawa's face softened at the
mention of him.
"…and maybe my own face."
Sakuragi's hands clinched over his face. Sighing, he unclasped his façade. He
reached for a glass of water, but missed it. "Damn…" He tried again.
"Do'aho, you'll knock it over
like that."
"It's not like I enjoy it,
Rukawa!"
Rukawa held Sakuragi's wrist,
and his free hand too the glass. He placed the glass in Sakuragi's hand.
"I can't even take care of
myself…" He gulped the water down, emptying the glass.
Rukawa took the bare glass
from him, refilled it, and returned it to him.
Sakuragi sipped his drink
without a word. Rukawa could only stare at him, not without feelings of
sympathy.
"Are you still there?" Sakuragi
asked suddenly.
"I am."
"I thought you've left—or
maybe you fell asleep."
Again silence.
"What did you last see
before—this?" asked Rukawa.
"Why?"
"Curious."
"Haruko—I last saw her." His
smile was no longer conveying sadness—at least, not entirely. "I guess, it's
okay…because it's her…and not an escaped gorilla or something like that…"
"Oh." He's happy because he
saw the captain's sister…why did I even bother hoping he'll…
"Mou…you could in any case
laugh at my attempted joke. I'll feel better if you do."
"Idiot."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Laughing
is not in Rukawa Kaede's vocabulary. How long are you going to stay here?"
Rukawa shrugged.
"How long?"
He can't see you, idiot! "I
don't know."
"What do you know other
than basketball?"
Rukawa shrugged again.
Getting no answer, Sakuragi
teased, "Does that mean you know nothing else?"
"I shrugged, do'aho."
Immediately Rukawa realized his error.
Sakuragi turned away from him.
You're not helping him
Kaede. Rukawa scolded himself. You might as well leave before you hurt
him any further…ah? He saw a card beside the glass. He picked it up and
scrutinized it.
"Sendoh gave this to you?"
asked he.
"What? The card? Yeah. The
writings on it are embossed—so I can roughly estimate the words."
That sly, loathsome devil
of a…Rukawa got up from his chair.
"You're leaving?" asked
Sakuragi.
"Yes." He turned, his back
towards Sakuragi.
"Rukawa…are you mad at me?"
Rukawa clenched his fist. "No.
Why should I?"
"I could sense your anger…"
Rukawa, without another word,
left the room.
"Rukawa? Hey, Rukawa?
RUKAWA!!"
Rukawa, now in the elevator,
crouched down. He knew he was doing Sakuragi injustice, when he vented his
frustration towards Sakuragi just because Sendoh had decided to interfere in
Rukawa's goal in pursuing Sakuragi.
But Rukawa could not help
it—not when he was helplessly in love with Sakuragi. Losing him, especially to
Sendoh, was not an option.
Rukawa banged his forehead on
the doors. Why must Sendoh be my competitor in everything I do?
~{to be continued}~
More
Author's Notes: At
the rate I'm going now I don't think I can finish this fic by RuHana Day. I
daresay this fic might finish later than the 10th of November. I'm
too busy with other matters to take care of! T_T
Ne,
ne, review, onegai shimasu? *bows*