INTRODUCING - JAPAN !
Part 6
"Pan?! Japan?! Is that you?!" The tall, spiky-haired basketball player from Ryonan said in disbelief.
Japan turned around. Eyes widen in surprise, then in delight. "Akira!" She exclaimed, running towards him with one arm flung open.
"It is you!" The said Akira opened his arm not a moment too soon as the girl hurled herself at him. "God! It's been what - nine years? - since I've seen you. Hey, what's wrong with your arm." He frowned as he inspected her left arm, which was wrapped in a sling.
"Fight. Flung the guy over my shoulder but he was too heavy for me so I sprained a muscle in the process." Her eyes clouded as she remembered the incident, the unfortunate guy being Aota, the Judo club captain.
"You never change."
"I grew a few inches. And this-" She pointed to the silver lock lying on her forehead. "Was not this colour when we last saw each other."
"That's physical change but inside you're still the same." Sendoh Akira smiled at her. Pan smiled back.
"Hey! Now I remember why she looks so familiar!" A voice exclaimed from among the Shohoku group. It was Mitsui. "I've had my suspicion but now it's clear - both of you are related!"
"Eh?" Both Sendoh and Pan assumed an incredulous expression.
PRAK!
"Itai! What was that for?!" The former MVP growled at Ayako. Miyagi immediately stepped in front of his beloved Aya-chan, arms spread out in a protective gesture.
"Didn't you hear what she told us yesterday?" Ayako voiced out in exasperation.
"About what?" Mitsui asked in irritation while rubbing the lump on his head.
~The previous afternoon~
"Nani?!" Pan shouted.
Everyone turned to look at her. Pan green eyes were as large saucers.
"Daijobu Pan-san?" Asked Ayako.
Pan ignored her but grabbed hold of Akagi's shirt. "Did you just mentioned Sendoh?" Akagi nodded, not knowing what else to do - if it was Sakuragi or any of the team members, they would have received a Gori punch. (Sakuragi : Prejudice Gori! Itai! - a lump immediately formed.)
"You know him?" Sakuragi asked.
"Know him?! He was my hero!"
"Nani?!" This time everyone (even Rukawa - however only mentally) shouted. Kazuha merely continued with her practicing, ignoring the outbursts around her.
"Yeah - well," Pan counted with her fingers. "About eight or nine years ago. Why? What is it?" She asked as everyone let out a breath of relief.
"If you want to know, Sendoh Akira is one of the biggest and tallest wall we have to climb in order to get to the nationals." Ayako explained.
"So. He did it.." Pan muttered, not really talking to anyone.
"How did you two meet?" Asked Yohei. Nearly everyone nodded with their ears opened wide, not wanting to miss anything.
"Hmmm.?" Pan broke out of her stupor. "Meet? Oh! Well it's a long story, I suggest you guys better make yourself comfortable."
With that everyone abandoned the practice (even Akagi, who was very curious) and spread themselves on the gym floor.
"It all started when I was about six and he was eight. He had just moved into the neighbourhood where the orphanage was. Yes, I was raised in an orphanage." Pan told them as a few eyebrows raised. "I was quite skinny and easy target for bullies. Luckily I had my five brothers, although we were not related by blood but we took care of each other then - still do - and sort of became a group of yakuza (gangsters). Kids in the orphanage were not given enough care and we often broke loose out of the place. My brothers and I found a neat place.well.more like a hole behind one of the sheds where we can slip through out of the orphanage."
Pan inhaled for a moment before continuing. "We often went through this hole to the outside world but eventually always came back to the orphanage, sort of like coming home at the end of the day. One day I went out by myself and heard a something I've never heard before. It was the sound of a basketball bouncing. I followed the sound to the nearby open court and found - Sendoh Akira." She smiled at the memory. Her eyes turned dreamy and she had a far-away expression.
Rukawa, seeing this narrowed his eyes. [Sendoh.]
"Hoi! Continue!" Sakuragi hollered.
"Eh? What? Oh right! As I was saying I found Akira. He was dribbling a ball across the court and did a beautiful lay-up; well at least that's what I think it was called. He saw me and invited me to play, smiling all the time. I refused, I know nothing of the game and was at that time more interested in fights but we became good friends after that. I learnt how to control my temper and became a more cheerful person I am now."
"You have a temper? I don't believe it!" Mitsui intercepted.
"Care to find out? I do have my limits you know - and it's not five minutes. That 5 minutes rule was just for fun. It takes more than laughing at my face for the angry me to surface."
"So how terrible was your temper at that time?"
"Let's see. I would have to say terrible enough to pick a fight and bite the head off anyone who crosses my path, not caring who the person was, be it the warden or the master there. But not smaller kids though."
"How did you guys, you and Sendoh that is, part?"
"That - has got something to do with this." She fingered her silver lock.
"What? You dyed your hair so young? You were only six!"
"Six and a half - six months. We were friends for six months. My brothers found out and after meeting him themselves, they all agree he's a good influence on me. But we all knew the adults won't approve of it, after all, kids from orphanages usually turn out bad in their life - drugs, jails, etc." Pan stopped to rub her aching left arm. Something seemed to be wrong with it after the fight with Aota.
"Some kids - not from the orphanage - but from around the neighbourhood found out about us. They came to one of Akira's practices, the last one I've ever been to." Pan stared into space again, sadness briefly engulfing her before she continued. "They taunted me and Akira defended me. They became rough and started pushing the two of us around. I fell and hit my head on the concrete ground. I remembered blood coming out of the cut here -" She touched a place on her forehead, where her silver lock lay.
"I fainted and the next thing I know I was in a hospital bed, the front part of my head shaved and the cut stitched. Akira and his family moved away a week later, he wrote a letter which I received a month later saying that his parents were upset by the incident and decided to move to a more 'safe' neighbourhood. Me and my brothers were transferred to another orphanage not long after that and Akira and I lost contact ever since."
Everyone was silent, even Sakuragi. Each was digesting the story and contemplating the fact that tomorrow would be a big day for Japan - meeting Sendoh Akira after all those years.
The silence was broken when Miyagi voiced out. "How does that relate with your hair?"
"Yea." The others realised the same thing.
"My hair grew back. Not black. But Silver-white. Yes-" Pan nodded at their incredulous expression. "It grew back this colour. Something to do with pigments in my hair altered their chemistry. I don't mind it though. It makes me look tougher." She laughed, returning back to the cheerful Pan.
"What about your name?" Ayako asked. She raised her hands in a defensive gesture. "No offense but it's a rather strange name to give to a girl, or anyone for that matter."
"I was abandoned in front of a hospital wrapped in nothing but the Japan flag. I was about ten months at that time. Nobody knew who left me there and the nurse who found me named me Japan. She was a foreigner, so I'm Japan not Nippon." She explained the confusion on her name. "Hiroshe is a family name my brothers and I agreed on when we moved out of the orphanage."
"So the eldest of your brother adopted all of you?!"
"Hai, the minute he turned legally adult. He moved us out into a small place but we later moved to a larger place as each of my brothers found a job. The move to Kanagawa is the our fifth move - and I hope the last."
"Hai hai" They agreed in unison.
"So tomorrow you meet him again eh?" Mitsui nudged her. "Nervous?"
Pan smiled up at him. "More like excited but I don't have the energy to jump up whooping loudly. Guess I better go home before my brothers start a search party."
"Do you need someone to walk you home? Your arm doesn't look like it can protect you from night critters." Ayako frowned as Pan repeatedly rubbed her left arm, occasionally wincing. "Sakuragi! You-"
"He can't. He had to do basics practice tonight." Akagi intercepted. "Rukawa! Walk her home!"
Rukawa opened his mouth to refuse but shut it when he saw a flicker of pain briefly crossing Pan's features. He had planned to practice that night, to prepare himself against Sendoh but seeing that he changed his mind.
"No no. I can take care of myself, please, it would worry my brothers-"
"It's good for them to worry. Letting a young girl learn fighting techniques, allowing you to fight - Yes, they definitely need to worry about you."
"But-"
"Iie. Not another word."
~Back to present~
"Ah, souka." Mitsui let out. "But the resemblance in their personalities, except for the fighting stuff, is really visible."
"Yes." Ayako said slowly as she watched the persons mentioned talking animatedly. "I see what you mean. Anyone could mistake them as siblings based on their unfaltering smiles, either that or as a couple - they have such great rapport after nine years not seeing each other!"
Rukawa, on hearing the last bit of conversation as he warmed up, narrowed his eyes. [Couple? The two of them? Pan and Sendoh?] He looked at them. There were certainly lots of touching going around, with Sendoh slinging his arm over Pan's shoulder and occasionally hugging her close. Pan's right arm was wrapped loosely on his waist. And they were talking in low voices.
"Cheh! What is she doing?!" Rukawa turned towards Sakuragi, who uttered those words. [Not you too!] He thought, thinking Sakuragi was interested in Pan in 'that' way. Not that he cared. [I don't] He tried to convince himself but the thought that anyone else with Pan struck something in him and he was feeling something very alien rising in him.
[Jealousy.] His mind whispered.
He brushed the thought aside with a (mental) snort. He focused on Sakuragi and let out a small breath he didn't know he was holding when he heard the 'ahou next words.
"She's introducing that Smiley to Aisu!"
*****
To be continued.
Rei : This story is getting way too complicated than I intended and I don't know how the hell I'm going to end it. So bear with me while I let my imagination runs wild.
Part 6
"Pan?! Japan?! Is that you?!" The tall, spiky-haired basketball player from Ryonan said in disbelief.
Japan turned around. Eyes widen in surprise, then in delight. "Akira!" She exclaimed, running towards him with one arm flung open.
"It is you!" The said Akira opened his arm not a moment too soon as the girl hurled herself at him. "God! It's been what - nine years? - since I've seen you. Hey, what's wrong with your arm." He frowned as he inspected her left arm, which was wrapped in a sling.
"Fight. Flung the guy over my shoulder but he was too heavy for me so I sprained a muscle in the process." Her eyes clouded as she remembered the incident, the unfortunate guy being Aota, the Judo club captain.
"You never change."
"I grew a few inches. And this-" She pointed to the silver lock lying on her forehead. "Was not this colour when we last saw each other."
"That's physical change but inside you're still the same." Sendoh Akira smiled at her. Pan smiled back.
"Hey! Now I remember why she looks so familiar!" A voice exclaimed from among the Shohoku group. It was Mitsui. "I've had my suspicion but now it's clear - both of you are related!"
"Eh?" Both Sendoh and Pan assumed an incredulous expression.
PRAK!
"Itai! What was that for?!" The former MVP growled at Ayako. Miyagi immediately stepped in front of his beloved Aya-chan, arms spread out in a protective gesture.
"Didn't you hear what she told us yesterday?" Ayako voiced out in exasperation.
"About what?" Mitsui asked in irritation while rubbing the lump on his head.
~The previous afternoon~
"Nani?!" Pan shouted.
Everyone turned to look at her. Pan green eyes were as large saucers.
"Daijobu Pan-san?" Asked Ayako.
Pan ignored her but grabbed hold of Akagi's shirt. "Did you just mentioned Sendoh?" Akagi nodded, not knowing what else to do - if it was Sakuragi or any of the team members, they would have received a Gori punch. (Sakuragi : Prejudice Gori! Itai! - a lump immediately formed.)
"You know him?" Sakuragi asked.
"Know him?! He was my hero!"
"Nani?!" This time everyone (even Rukawa - however only mentally) shouted. Kazuha merely continued with her practicing, ignoring the outbursts around her.
"Yeah - well," Pan counted with her fingers. "About eight or nine years ago. Why? What is it?" She asked as everyone let out a breath of relief.
"If you want to know, Sendoh Akira is one of the biggest and tallest wall we have to climb in order to get to the nationals." Ayako explained.
"So. He did it.." Pan muttered, not really talking to anyone.
"How did you two meet?" Asked Yohei. Nearly everyone nodded with their ears opened wide, not wanting to miss anything.
"Hmmm.?" Pan broke out of her stupor. "Meet? Oh! Well it's a long story, I suggest you guys better make yourself comfortable."
With that everyone abandoned the practice (even Akagi, who was very curious) and spread themselves on the gym floor.
"It all started when I was about six and he was eight. He had just moved into the neighbourhood where the orphanage was. Yes, I was raised in an orphanage." Pan told them as a few eyebrows raised. "I was quite skinny and easy target for bullies. Luckily I had my five brothers, although we were not related by blood but we took care of each other then - still do - and sort of became a group of yakuza (gangsters). Kids in the orphanage were not given enough care and we often broke loose out of the place. My brothers and I found a neat place.well.more like a hole behind one of the sheds where we can slip through out of the orphanage."
Pan inhaled for a moment before continuing. "We often went through this hole to the outside world but eventually always came back to the orphanage, sort of like coming home at the end of the day. One day I went out by myself and heard a something I've never heard before. It was the sound of a basketball bouncing. I followed the sound to the nearby open court and found - Sendoh Akira." She smiled at the memory. Her eyes turned dreamy and she had a far-away expression.
Rukawa, seeing this narrowed his eyes. [Sendoh.]
"Hoi! Continue!" Sakuragi hollered.
"Eh? What? Oh right! As I was saying I found Akira. He was dribbling a ball across the court and did a beautiful lay-up; well at least that's what I think it was called. He saw me and invited me to play, smiling all the time. I refused, I know nothing of the game and was at that time more interested in fights but we became good friends after that. I learnt how to control my temper and became a more cheerful person I am now."
"You have a temper? I don't believe it!" Mitsui intercepted.
"Care to find out? I do have my limits you know - and it's not five minutes. That 5 minutes rule was just for fun. It takes more than laughing at my face for the angry me to surface."
"So how terrible was your temper at that time?"
"Let's see. I would have to say terrible enough to pick a fight and bite the head off anyone who crosses my path, not caring who the person was, be it the warden or the master there. But not smaller kids though."
"How did you guys, you and Sendoh that is, part?"
"That - has got something to do with this." She fingered her silver lock.
"What? You dyed your hair so young? You were only six!"
"Six and a half - six months. We were friends for six months. My brothers found out and after meeting him themselves, they all agree he's a good influence on me. But we all knew the adults won't approve of it, after all, kids from orphanages usually turn out bad in their life - drugs, jails, etc." Pan stopped to rub her aching left arm. Something seemed to be wrong with it after the fight with Aota.
"Some kids - not from the orphanage - but from around the neighbourhood found out about us. They came to one of Akira's practices, the last one I've ever been to." Pan stared into space again, sadness briefly engulfing her before she continued. "They taunted me and Akira defended me. They became rough and started pushing the two of us around. I fell and hit my head on the concrete ground. I remembered blood coming out of the cut here -" She touched a place on her forehead, where her silver lock lay.
"I fainted and the next thing I know I was in a hospital bed, the front part of my head shaved and the cut stitched. Akira and his family moved away a week later, he wrote a letter which I received a month later saying that his parents were upset by the incident and decided to move to a more 'safe' neighbourhood. Me and my brothers were transferred to another orphanage not long after that and Akira and I lost contact ever since."
Everyone was silent, even Sakuragi. Each was digesting the story and contemplating the fact that tomorrow would be a big day for Japan - meeting Sendoh Akira after all those years.
The silence was broken when Miyagi voiced out. "How does that relate with your hair?"
"Yea." The others realised the same thing.
"My hair grew back. Not black. But Silver-white. Yes-" Pan nodded at their incredulous expression. "It grew back this colour. Something to do with pigments in my hair altered their chemistry. I don't mind it though. It makes me look tougher." She laughed, returning back to the cheerful Pan.
"What about your name?" Ayako asked. She raised her hands in a defensive gesture. "No offense but it's a rather strange name to give to a girl, or anyone for that matter."
"I was abandoned in front of a hospital wrapped in nothing but the Japan flag. I was about ten months at that time. Nobody knew who left me there and the nurse who found me named me Japan. She was a foreigner, so I'm Japan not Nippon." She explained the confusion on her name. "Hiroshe is a family name my brothers and I agreed on when we moved out of the orphanage."
"So the eldest of your brother adopted all of you?!"
"Hai, the minute he turned legally adult. He moved us out into a small place but we later moved to a larger place as each of my brothers found a job. The move to Kanagawa is the our fifth move - and I hope the last."
"Hai hai" They agreed in unison.
"So tomorrow you meet him again eh?" Mitsui nudged her. "Nervous?"
Pan smiled up at him. "More like excited but I don't have the energy to jump up whooping loudly. Guess I better go home before my brothers start a search party."
"Do you need someone to walk you home? Your arm doesn't look like it can protect you from night critters." Ayako frowned as Pan repeatedly rubbed her left arm, occasionally wincing. "Sakuragi! You-"
"He can't. He had to do basics practice tonight." Akagi intercepted. "Rukawa! Walk her home!"
Rukawa opened his mouth to refuse but shut it when he saw a flicker of pain briefly crossing Pan's features. He had planned to practice that night, to prepare himself against Sendoh but seeing that he changed his mind.
"No no. I can take care of myself, please, it would worry my brothers-"
"It's good for them to worry. Letting a young girl learn fighting techniques, allowing you to fight - Yes, they definitely need to worry about you."
"But-"
"Iie. Not another word."
~Back to present~
"Ah, souka." Mitsui let out. "But the resemblance in their personalities, except for the fighting stuff, is really visible."
"Yes." Ayako said slowly as she watched the persons mentioned talking animatedly. "I see what you mean. Anyone could mistake them as siblings based on their unfaltering smiles, either that or as a couple - they have such great rapport after nine years not seeing each other!"
Rukawa, on hearing the last bit of conversation as he warmed up, narrowed his eyes. [Couple? The two of them? Pan and Sendoh?] He looked at them. There were certainly lots of touching going around, with Sendoh slinging his arm over Pan's shoulder and occasionally hugging her close. Pan's right arm was wrapped loosely on his waist. And they were talking in low voices.
"Cheh! What is she doing?!" Rukawa turned towards Sakuragi, who uttered those words. [Not you too!] He thought, thinking Sakuragi was interested in Pan in 'that' way. Not that he cared. [I don't] He tried to convince himself but the thought that anyone else with Pan struck something in him and he was feeling something very alien rising in him.
[Jealousy.] His mind whispered.
He brushed the thought aside with a (mental) snort. He focused on Sakuragi and let out a small breath he didn't know he was holding when he heard the 'ahou next words.
"She's introducing that Smiley to Aisu!"
*****
To be continued.
Rei : This story is getting way too complicated than I intended and I don't know how the hell I'm going to end it. So bear with me while I let my imagination runs wild.