Wah! I'm late…
Before anything else, Meri Kurisimasu, Minna-san!!! I've been busy with stuff. I hope you guys forgive me for not updating my fics. Anyway, this my present to all of you.
Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 7 - Disclosure
He threw the ball aimlessly into the air and it perfectly went in the hoop, making the rusted rim vibrate along with the moss-covered wooden board. Sweat rolled down his forehead all the way down to his neck, he rigorously wiped it with the hem of his shirt and ran after the ball.
It felt good. It was like nothing he ever felt before since he moved to Nagai. He missed playing basketball. It was the one thing he always loved and loved him back.
Once again he dribbled and tried to go farther away from the gray-white border line and made an instant leap throwing the ball into the air. He sent the ball flying towards the ring and into the hoop. The board then vibrated again. He quickly dashed after the ball, and dribbling it again towards the center of the court.
The peaceful and cool bay area breeze of his new town rushed in, enveloping his tired body, sending chills run down his spine. He took a deep breath and focused his bright big blue eyes at the hoop and then he closed it, slowly…
There is was - the sound of squeeky shoes scouring along the gym floor. Each sole made a different kind of noise depending on the move. Then there was the dribbling of the ball, hitting the polished wooden surface, making the sound of a heartbeat. It made his heart throb even faster. He can feel it pounding against his chest. Lastly, the voices. The cheers of different people rooting for their team. Shoyo. The screaming and shouting his distinguished name. Fujima.
The crowd loved him and his team looked up to him. He beamed a smile as he opened his eyes, flashing directly at the ring. He could still hear the echoes of the cheers, he could also hear his heart, his breathing. He dribbled the ball gracefully and constantly. His eyes narrowing from each corner, looking at both sides. Fujima made a crouch, continuing to let the ball touch his sweaty palms and his fingers. Then a tall hazy figure appeared before him, wearing a red jersey.
Shohoku. 11.
The face was blank but he knew who it was. Swiftly he made a side-step backward as the figure tried to reach for the ball. Quickly, Fujima dribbled the ball behind him sending it to his left hand and caught it, then he made a clockwise turn and eluded his opponent. He dashed towards the hoop as another tall and sturdy figure suddenly emerged before him.
Kainan. 4.
With its face still blank, the figure had his hands raised, covering Fujima's sight of the ring. He narrowed his eyes and made a sudden jump backwards. His body was leaning on an invisible slanted wall, his sight of the ring was slowly getting farther but he knew what he was doing. He lifted his arms, making a perfect fade-away jump shot form, tossing the ball into the afternoon air once again.
It went in, of course. As Fujima landed back on both feet he heard a sound. An applause.
He looked behind his shoulders and saw a woman clapping her hands with a cheerful look on her face.
"Wow, you were great!" She said, still clapping her hands.
Fujima turned around, breathing heavily. "Nishimura-san." He bowed his head.
Sen approached him with a smile. "I never knew you could play basketball."
"You never asked." He replied picking up the ball and placing it against his hips.
She laughed. "Of course. That move was quite something, Fujima-san. Are you in the basketball club in your school?"
"Back in senior high."
"How about now?"
He shook his head. "I'll try out next year. I want to concentrate on my studies first."
"I guess. I'm sure you will make it." Sen approved.
"Thanks." He heaved. Sweat continued to trickle down his entire body. "I think, I need some rest now. Let's go back to the car"
Both of them walked side by side towards his Celest. Fujima opened the trunk and placed the basketball back in and reached out for his water jug. When he finished drinking, he looked at Sen who was just staring at him, then he smiled.
"You have this habit of surprising me. What brings you here?" He asked.
Sen laughed again. "I was on my way to pick up Arisa, when I saw your car parked. I was wondering what you were doing, so I came to stop by."
"Ah. Where is Arisa-chan now?" He placed the water jug back and reached for a towel.
"She's at a friend's birthday party."
Fujima wiped his face and continued to ask questions. "What about your husband? Why won't he pick her up?" He asked casually.
"I don't have a husband." Sen answered proudly.
He stopped wiping his face and frowned. "But… I thought, you…"
"I'm a single mother." She cut him off. "I didn't want to tell you yesterday because I don't want Arisa to learn about her father." She looked a little embarrassed.
"Why not? All children deserve to know and have a father."
Sen looked away from his stare. "He's not important. Arisa doesn't deserve a father who would just abandon his family." Her voice hardened.
"I'm sorry." Fujima gulped. "I didn't mean to say that."
Her expression went back to normal. "It's okay, Fujima-san. It's not your fault. You see, three years ago when I was still in senior high, I had a boyfriend. I loved him so much and I never wanted for us to be apart. That's why… I thought, if we had a baby or got married…"
The former Shoyo capatin listened, his face pale.
"Then when I told him I was pregnant, he left me." She continued, her voice shaky and her face was red. "He said, it wasn't his child. He got mad because he said I was having an affair with another man. He didn't want to love a woman who was carrying another person's baby. I told him I would never do that to him and it was his baby I was carrying, but he didn't believe me." Sen paused. "I was carrying his baby, Fujima-san!" She cried out, collapsing on the ground, crying her heart out. "He left me after that and never came back!"
Fujima kneeled on the ground, his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, don't cry. Maybe… maybe you really didn't deserve him. It was all a test." He comforted her. "Calm yourself, Nishimura-san. You can't turn the past now. What's done is done."
Sen wiped her tears and looked at Fujima. "I'm very sorry, Fujima-san. I didn't mean to yell at you."
"I should be the one to say that. I'm sorry for asking." He said. "Just be glad you have Arisa. At least she will never leave you."
She nodded as Fujima helped her stand up. "Arisa must be waiting for me. I have to go now. Thank you for understanding, Fujima-san." The young mother smiled and walked away.
Fujima smiled back as Sen left him alone in the court. The sun already set and his wrist watch beeped 6:00 pm. He remembered that today he was spending dinner with his roommates. Fujima hurried back in the car and headed to his apartment.
* * *
Fujima reached the apartment after a few minutes and immediately headed towards the bathroom. He heard Teru shouting outside, telling him to go to Kazuya's room when he finishes. Then there was a loud bang of the door and then it was quiet.
"What are we having today?" Teru asked. He was sitting between an empty chair and Kazuya. His long blue dyed hair was wet and tucked behind his ears.
"Guess." Kazuya grumbled as he took a seat and raised his feet on the surface. The table was round and it has 6 chairs. Kazuya sat between Eichiro and Teru.
Eichiro laughed and pounded a fist on the table. "You really don't have to ask, Teru. You already know."
"Hey, stop making fun of my sister's cooking! At least she can cook." Kazuya defended, then he pointed a finger at Eichiro. "If ever she hears you laugh, Eichiro, she's going to bash your brains out."
"Yeah, yeah. As if you didn't laugh at her cooking before." He rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." Kazuya sneered, scratching his chest.
Teru leaned back on the chair and crossed his arms to his chest. "What's taking her so long? I'm starving."
There was smoke coming out of her kitchen. Kana quickly opened the door to let the air out. She stepped outside and waved her hands back and forth to let the smoke disperse. At the same time, the freshly bathed Fujima went out of his room. He started to cough.
"K-Kana-san?" He choked.
"Sorry about that. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Kana replied going back in her room and leaving her door open,
Fujima followed.
"Smells good." He sniffed, surprising Kana. She was wearing a yellow apron and her hair was tied in a bun, revealing her neck and her shoulders.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks."
Kana looked at Fujima with awe. He appeared different after talking a bath. She never saw him with his hair dripping wet and smelling fresh. Again, she could whiff out the aroma of his aftershave. He smelled really nice.
She took off her apron, displaying her belly ring to him. He smiled.
"Hey," She called, arching an eyebrow. "Stop staring."
"Oh yeah, sorry." He scratched the back of his head.
"Anyway…" Kana said, looking away from him. "Can you bring these to Kazuya's room? I'll carry the rice."
"Sure." He moved closer to her as Kana handed him the pot. Their skin touched slightly.
Kana quickly took the rice bowl and walked out of her room with Fujima behind her.
"Finally!" Teru exclaimed, pushing Kazuya's feet of the table, almost letting him fall of the chair. Kazuya glared back at him.
"Whoops. Sorry." Teru made a face.
"Is that smoke?" Eichiro tilted his head, looking out the door. Then Fujima entered with their main course.
"No." Kana replied flatly.
As Fujima placed the pot on the table, Teru stood up and raised his hands on top of the pot and closed his eyes. He made a humming sound and pretended like he was some sort of magician.
"Let me guess… Braisedbeef?" He opened one eye and looked at Kana.
"That's it!" Kana shouted at him. "You're not going to eat!"
"Just kidding!" Teru shrank back to his seat. Fujima sat on the empty chair beside him while Kana sat beside Eichiro. There was an empty chair bordering them.
Kazuya opened the pot and more steam emerged from it. "Whoa." He coughed.
"You burned it?" Eichiro raised an eyebrow.
"So? Are you going to eat or not?"
"Nevermind." He said. Eichiro took a scoop of rice and the semi-burned beef with his chopsticks.
When all of them got their share. Kazuya started to speak. "I heard you're getting a phoneline, Kenji."
"By next week maybe." Fujima answered.
"Our landlady usually doesn't want to have phonelines in this apartment. I wonder what happened." Kazuya pondered.
"She said it was all right. She knew I was going to use it for the internet." Fujima explained.
"She must have a crush on you. That old hag hates us." Kana teased.
"Probably." Eichiro added.
Teru spoke up. "That adds up to our bill."
"You're not paying anything, Stupid!" Kazuya snapped then he looked back at Fujima. "We could use it too, right?"
Fujima nodded. "Yeah, sure."
"Cheapskates." Kana said under her breath, taking a quick glance on Fujima. He had his sleeves rolled up, exposing his upper arms. She noticed that he was broader now than before.
"How's school so far?" Kazuya asked Fujima again. "Are you enjoying, Daigo?"
"It's okay. I'm just getting the hang of it." He replied after swallowing a piece of beef.
Eichiro took a drink of his beer can and spoke. "I told him that he could hang out with us sometime. We could show you around."
"Yeah, Eichiro. Take let's take him to your favorite spot---" Teru pointed his chopsticks at him.
"Quit it, Teru!" Eichiro growled. "I wasn't talking to you."
"Oh yeah, before I forget. We have to pay our rent by the end of the month. I still haven't received your share, Teru."
"Uh... well, y'see, Kazuya…" Teru began. "We didn't get paid from our last gig." He confessed. "I'll make a double for next month. I swear."
"Be sure you do. I'm working my ass off that construction site. I dunno if I can even continue college. I might as well let Kana finish first."
"No way! You can't do that!" Kana protested.
"We'll see. Maybe I could ask money from Grandma, back in Shibuya." Kazuya stroked his chin. "Don't worry about it."
Fujima was first to finish his dinner and then the rest of them followed. Kazuya fished a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket. He took one stick and passed the box to Eichiro. Eichiro took a stick, lighted it and passed the box to Kana.
Kana stared at the box. She could feel Fujima's eyes on her. She sighed and passed the box back to Eichiro.
"Sorry, I quit." She announced.
All eyes were suddenly on her.
"Excuse me?" Teru said, looking a little surprised. "Did you just say, you quit?" Then he snickered as Kana nodded.
Kazuya placed his stick on the ashtray and stared at his sister. "Since when?"
"Yeah, since when?" Eichiro raised an eyebrow, puffing some smoke of out his mouth.
Kana avoided Fujima's eyes and took a deep breath. "Since I read that article about lung cancer." She lied.
"You can read!?" Teru's eyes were wide.
"Duh!" Kana shot back.
Kana rolled her eyes and gave Fujima a worried look. Trying to get some answers from his stare, she took another deep breath and started explaining.
"Lung cancer," She repeated. "It has the highest death rate compared to heart cancer. Usually, the disease has already spread to the other parts of the body before it is detected. Uh, there are only aboit 10 percent of people with lung cancer saved." She seized her chopsticks and took out a piece of left over beef from the pot and showed it to them "Once your cells turn into cancer cells because of the effect of nicotine in cigarettes, the mucus in your lungs is trapped. The cancer cells form a mass called tumor… it looks like this. If this---" She shoved the beef on Eichiro's plate "---is not taken out from your lungs immediately, you die. Get it? And I don't want to die." She finished.
They all became quiet for a moment. Eichiro swallowed the lump in his throat and threw the cigarette into the ashtray. Kazuya did the same thing.
"Maybe you should have transferred to med school instead." Fujima told Kana, ignoring the others.
"Uh… I…" She found it hard to breathe all of a sudden. She really didn't have any idea of what she just said.
Fujima smiled at her. "That's really impressive, Kana-san. My mother is a doctor. I've heard her discuss those topics with me back then."
Kana felt a slight tingle of relief inside her. Fujima just saved her life, again.
"Cool!" Teru finally spoke up. "We're all non-smokers here now!"
"Shut up!" Kazuya and Eichiro exclaimed in unison.
Both of them looked at each other with winning smiles on their faces.
"Thank you." Kana mouthed.
Fujima fixed his eyes on the girl and grinned boyishly. Kana returned a faint smile and nodded helplessly.
The former Shoyo captain had just completed his first week in Nagai. So far, everything went well. His apartment was good enough, his roommate was cool, his schooling was fine and he met nice and interesting people which made everying quite okay. As the days pass by, more expectations and excitement awaits him.
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*huggles*