TO HOLD ON 2
Mitsui was on his way to the hospital to get his sprained wrist checked. Three days has passed since that fun time at the fair with the Ryonan team. Now, here he was in the hospital once again, a place that he had tried to avoid ever since that knee injury, and ever since he got that burning sensation in his knee, he became a regular visitor to the hospital. Mitsui pushed the glass doors open, entering the orthopedics department, smirking at the irony of it all. Yeah sure, him being careless, why wouldn't he be a frequent visitor to the hospital?
Dr. Hajime changed the bandage on his wrist. Mitsui felt a slight stinging sensation when Dr. Hajime bent his wrist in a rather painful manner that a hiss had escaped Mitsui's lips.
"Now, avoid putting too much pressure on this hand okay?" He said and gave him a tube of ointment. "This will help soothe the pain outside the bandaged areas. Now run along."
Mitsui thanked the man and got up from the stretcher he'd been sitting on. He headed out of the hospital when he remembered Koshino's younger sister. He went to a flower shop near the hospital and bought a bouquet of yellow roses for the girl. He signed a card and headed to Sakura's room. When he entered, he found the room dim and the curtains drawn close, Sakura lying peacefully on her bed, sound asleep. He placed the roses on an empty vase, leaving the card beside and gave one last look at the girl. He did not know what to feel, since no emotion washed over him. He did not understand this. He left the room, feeling a little bit hazy on the inside.
He thought about Koshino and Sakura's position at that moment. According to Koshino, both his parents were dead. It made Mitsui wonder. If both his parents are dead, who is paying for Sakura's hospital bills? Surely whatever part time job Koshino has taken would not be sufficient to cover such huge expenses.
Unless, he found another way. Mitsui thought. He suddenly felt worry bubbling up inside him.
*
Koshino stared at the mirror in front of him. It was four in the morning and he had just got home. Every bone in his body throbbed with pain. His vision has doubled and his head swirled in different directions. And to top all that, he had a screaming bruise on his left cheek. He lifted a hand to touch the bruise, and winced.
"Ouch." He hissed, closing his eyes tightly. He washed his face, the cold water bringing about wild painful sensation to the already hot bruise on his cheek. "I deserved that." He said, and headed for the shower. At the cold water, his body shook as if 100 volts were passed through him. After the shower, he was slightly thinking clearly. Not bothering to dress, he made his way to the bedroom, collapsing on the bed, not bothered to pull any clothes on. He fell asleep immediately, only to awaken by the shrill ringing of his alarm clock three hours later. He forced himself to get up and take another cold shower to get his mind in to working mode. He changed in to his uniform, collected his books and headed for school. He did not even bother with breakfast since he still felt awfully queasy about last night's events. Food would only make his stomach worse.
All eyes fell on him. He gave them the coldest and angriest glare that he could muster, causing them to step back a bit, since they knew better than to mess with Koshino in a foul mood.
"Koshino!" Sendoh sang, plopping down the chair beside him in homeroom. "So, how are we today - OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?"
If Koshino had not been too tired that morning, he would have pounded Sendoh's face on the desk and used his head as broom after all the pounding. But because of the lack of energy, he simply settled for a silent and deadpanned answer.
"I walked in to a door."
Sendoh blinked. "Koshino, that is so unlike you." Koshino threw him a glare. Sendoh gulped. "Then again every human being makes mistakes." Sendoh gave out a nervous laugh. However, deep inside, the spiky-haired teen was worried. Koshino and a bruised cheek plus him walking in to a door gave a negative answer to the whole equation. Or maybe he did walk in to a door, Sendoh did not know and he figured that he never would. So he changed the subject. "Ryo-kun is inviting me and you to his house along with the rest of the team for dinner and a movie. Would you like to come?"
"When?" Koshino asked, turning to look at Sendoh, finally.
"This Friday night." Sendoh beamed, just the thought of being with his cute point guard lover was enough to send the ace to cloud nine.
"Can't." Koshino said.
"Why not?" Sendoh asked, as if he was just slapped in the face, and he was actually, metaphorically speaking.
"I've got work to do." Koshino simply answered, and everything was left till there. Koshino gave Sendoh a look saying that he should not press on the issue any longer. Sendoh had the brains not too, and Koshino was more than thankful.
Classes went by smoothly for Koshino till practice came. He suddenly felt unbelievably sick. He skipped practice, causing several of his teammates to turn and look after him as he took off to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall. Once inside, he puked his guts out. Everything he had eaten, which was basically a tiny sandwich the night before his job, came out and later on, he was puking clear sticky stomach acid. He was not aware of the pounding on the bathroom stall door. His mind was elsewhere, his breathing was ragged, and his chest and ribs hurt from all the hurling of stomach acid, not to mention that his throat burned.
"Koshino Hiroaki! Open this door this instant!" Sendoh hollered from beyond the green painted door.
Koshino wiped his mouth with a roll of tissue, and got to his feet, opening the door as if it was the most difficult task in the world. Sendoh had jerked it open only in time to catch a collapsing Koshino.
"Hiroaki!" Sendoh gasped, the slightly shorter boy grabbing on to his white practice shirt to regain his balance. "Hiroaki? What on earth is happening to you?"
Koshino looked up in to the deep blue eyes of his good friend. "I - I don't feel too good." Koshino's cheeks puffed out and he hurriedly turned, just in time to puke in to the toilet seat once again, without creating a mess. Sendoh knelt before him, rubbing reassuring circles in his back as Koshino continued to throw up.
By the time Koshino was done, practice was over and the entire team was talking about the poor boy. Sendoh walked him home that late afternoon, and asked him if he needed anything. Koshino merely thanked him and told him that he would be fine.
That night, Koshino looked at himself in the mirror in his working clothes. It would be something he would despise for the rest of his life, but it was also something that made him who he was right now.
He only needed it for a little while. He just needed the money. Honor and pride no longer mattered to him. It was just the money.
Koshino pulled on a black coat over his working clothes. It was time for work.
*
Mitsui left the gas station, counting his pay. He needed groceries; he was running short of food. Lucky for him, there was a 24-hour grocery store just next to the gas station he worked in. He gathered all the things he needed, mostly canned foods, since he was not the type to cook because he never had time to do so in the first place. Paying for the goods he bought which came in two paper bags, he collected his change and waltzed out of the grocery shop, heading for home. He had gone over time, staying till two thirty instead of one, and he did not have an excuse for himself on why he did that. If it were because of the money, then he would be doing that ever since he got his job in the first place. But it was some unknown, and nagging feeling that made him stay. He was hoping to catch eye of the late nightlife.
Just as the thought passed his head, a shiny black Lexus limousine passed by in front of him while he was checking for cars before he crossed the road. He could have sworn he heard anguished screams coming from that car. Then again, maybe it was just the lack of sleep. It was after all, nearly three in the morning.
He went home, took a shower and took advantage of the three-hour sleep he would be getting. He would definitely wake up with dark circles under his eyes that same morning - oh hell! It did not matter.
No one would care anyway.
*
Mitsui went to school the next day looking like someone had just given him good hard punches in both his eyes. He dragged his feet when he walked, and his head hung low. He could not stop himself from yawning every ten seconds, not matter how hard he tried too. Things did not improve at all during his classes. He got four detention slips from falling asleep. He tried to assure the teachers that he was indeed very tired from his work the previous night, and they would hear none of it. So he had to sort out library books as his punishment.
During basketball practice, he had to deal with him colliding in to his fellow teammates, Sakuragi's constant bickering words, Akagi's ordering voice, Ayako's wild paper fan, Kogure mothering nearly every person he saw, and a very, very annoying Miyagi.
"Look Mitsui, I'm just concerned for you. I know we've been on bad terms before, but let's just forget that for one minute and think about your current condition - which, if I may point out, is not very good." Miyagi went on and on, while Mitsui merely listened with half an ear, incase the boy did ask him something. If Mitsui was not paying attention to Miyagi a few minutes ago, he was all ears now. "I mean, I don't want you to end up like Koshino. Akira-kun told me that he was really sick yesterday that he missed the entire of practice puking his guts out. Really, Mitsui, you are my teammate, and I try my best to look out -"
"Koshino is what?" Mitsui demanded, turning around sharply, a wild look in his blue eyes. Miyagi was very startled at the sudden spur of attention. He was also beginning to take interest at the whole turnabout of Mitsui listening attitude. "What happened to him? Is he all right? Was it indigestion? Well? Damnit shorty! Say something! Stop gaping at me that way!"
"Interested in Koshino, eh?" Miyagi said in a teasing voice.
Mitsui blinked at the words that came from Shohoku's point guard. Then, as if he was blessed with knowledge and wisdom, he remembered the way he blurted out his concern about Koshino. Mitsui suddenly looked as if he was splashed by red paint on his face.
"It's not like that you stupid idiot!" Mitsui snapped, and if possible blushed even more. Yeah right. It's not like that at all. If anyone knew what was going on in Mitsui's head whenever the name 'Koshino' was mentioned, they'd laugh then and there.
"What's not like what?" Miyagi asked, a silly grin on his face. "Wait till Akira-kun gets a whiff of this."
Mitsui turned around in a blink of an eye and had Miyagi pinned on the tiled floor of their locker rooms. They were in rather inappropriate positions, that if anyone should walk in would get very nasty and wrong ideas.
"Listen shrimp, and listen good. You want what's best for you; you'll do well by starting to keep your mouth shut. It's bad enough Ryonan has Hikoichi. Shohoku does not need one. So zip it and zip it tight!" Mitsui leaned close to Miyagi's ear. "Or else, you know Tetsuo is just around the corner right?"
The locker room door swung open and there was a loud gasp. "Ryochin, how could you two time smiley? I thought you loved him! And why Micchy of all the people in the planet?"
"Shut the hell up!" Mitsui and Miyagi chorused, both bouncing up to their feet, blushing like mad.
"He pushed me to the ground just because I found out that he fancies Koshino!" Miyagi blurted out. Mitsui slapped a hand to his forehead. Trust Miyagi's mouth to act as a microphone to his personal life.
"Who likes Koshino?" Kogure walked in.
"Mitsui-san does." Miyagi answered, jerking a thumb in Mitsui's general direction.
"Mitsui fancies Koshino?" Rukawa asked, as he planted a kiss on his precious red-head's shoulder.
Mitsui gave out a scowl and grabbed his bag. He was already indeed very red and it only brought more amusement to the whole situation.
Great. Mitsui thought. Now the whole team knows. First, I don't get any sleep. Then I get detention for absolutely nothing, followed by fixing about a dozen shelves of books in the library and finally, some big-mouthed shrimp decide to blurt out my secret crush making it the biggest issue in the face of the earth. My day has turned out worse. How much worse could it get?
*
Rain poured down hard once Mitsui was in the open. Mitsui looked up the sky and glared at it. "Damnit! You guys up there really like making fun of me don't you? It's always me! Me! Me! Why can't you pick on someone else for a change?"
"Mitsui-san?"
Mitsui turned around and found the porcupine head of Ryonan, holding a gray umbrella, looking at him with curious yet shocked blue eyes. "S - Sendoh?"
"Who are you talking too? Are you all right?" Sendoh asked. Mitsui did not need to know what he was doing in the middle of the road leading from the main street to Shohoku high. It was quite obvious that some shrimp back in the school grounds was waiting the arrival of its beloved hedgehog.
"No I'm not fine! That stupid lover of yours finds it very amusing to turn my love life in to the headlines of the tabloids! So I happen to fancy Koshino, big deal! I've kept it a secret for quite some time now, and because of that stupid, stupid shrimp, everyone knows! Geez! If I did not promise Anzai-sensei that I wouldn't beat the living shit out of people anymore, I would have loved to see how that shrimp would look in a pot of boiling water and vegetables!"
Yup, Mitsui was definitely pissed off.
"You fancy Koshino?" Sendoh asked, clearly amused, since he had this huge, big, shining, megawatt smile plastered on his face. It was far brighter than his normal, everyday, average ones.
Mitsui slapped his forehead. "Right! Me and my stupid big mouth!" He mumbled to no one. "Goodbye Sendoh! You heard nothing, you will speak of nothing and you will remember nothing! Goodbye!"
With that said, Mitsui rushed to his part time job at the gas station. There, he drowned his sorrows by acting like a broken record, asking customers what kind of fuel they wanted and wishing them to drive safely. It didn't really mattered, since the words flowed out of his mouth in a very robotic way.
It was going to be another long night for the former MVP.
*
The next morning was no better for Hiroaki Koshino. He skipped breakfast again, simply because he felt sick. He had the urge to throw up, but there was really nothing to throw up. He was pale the entire day during school that teachers actually had to stop by his desk to see if he was even breathing.
During basketball practice, Koshino puked his guts out once again. Taoka had told him - no, ordered him to go home and not attend practice for the next three days until he is fit and no longer hugging the toilet all the time.
Koshino had to smirk sourly at the words of concern coming from Taoka. Nothing was going to change. That was the drawback of his evening work. He felt sick the next day.
He spent the early evenings with his sister in the hospital, telling her about the latest things in the outside world, the news, and the gossips and even brought her some fresh red apples. When it was time to leave, Koshino felt was if his insides were being ripped. He did not want to leave his sister ever. He did not even want to think of the day when she would leave him permanently to a world where her pain would be non-existant. No, he had too much in his mind already.
Entering the silent and dark apartment of his, Koshino headed straight for the bathroom and took a quick shower. While he was drying he turned to look at his reflection in the mirror. Thin was an understatement. He poked his sides and winced. He barely had any resistance, meaning he has to pay attention to how his body was reaching its decline stage from 'over work'. Money. Yes, that was all that mattered. He tore his gaze from his reflection and got ready for work. This time, he vowed to obey his masters. He did not want a bruises and other 'visible' physical assaults inflicted upon him.
He did not fear them. Hell, he never would.
Koshino knew he was being a coward.
*
Mitsui woke up the next afternoon and tried twisting his left wrist. When he felt no pain, he jumped with joy and immediately rushed to see Dr. Hajime. Dr. Hajime was pleased with recovery and for once in all his visits; Mitsui did not get a lecture, but praises instead. Mitsui had dutifully brought a bag of apple with him again, round about a half kilo just for Koshino's sister.
He was walking down the children's ward and stopped in front of Sakura's door, ready to enter, when he heard the girl's tired and small voice inside.
"Big brother, please just do what I asked. It's better anyway. Look! You're getting hurt. I don't know where you get money from, but I know that it's hurting you. Please, big brother. Just do this so I can be with mama and papa."
Mitsui took a step back and decided that it was not the time to interrupt the siblings. He went to the nurse's desk and requested that the apples be brought to Sakura's room. Mitsui left the hospital, concerned. So the kid did have brains. And his curiosity was satisfied. Koshino was working alone to support both himself and his sister.
The only question Mitsui had was - what did he work as?
*
A week passed in a blur. Koshino was tired to the limit that he could barely think nor see straight. Many of his aims during basketball practice were ruined due to his tiredness. He had not been focusing at all and to top all of that, through the course of the week, he had earned himself several bruises on his torso.
He was not focusing at all until he found Hikoichi shaking him. "Koshino- kun? There's a phone call for you."
Koshino blinked and nodded, murmuring low thanks and heading for the direction of the administration building where his phone call was waiting for him. For some reason, he felt unbearably cold. His hands shook and his heartbeat increased its pace. He felt panic rise in his throat and forced himself to remain calm. He reached the office and took the phone.
"Koshino Hiroaki speaking." He said, and the latter on the other side of the phone began to speak. Koshino trembled. Koshino shook. Koshino froze. He did not breathe. Everything the person was saying on the other line was merely a dream. A sick illusion. He refused to believe it, but in the end, all he could say was, "I - all right. Thank you."
Even at times like these, Koshino marveled at how polite he could be. He blindly headed back for the basketball court. He shivered in the cold. He suddenly felt so alone. He practiced idly, his good friend Sendoh giving him curious and concerned glances. At the end of practice, Koshino locked himself up in a toilet stall and just sat there. He wondered why no tears came out.
"Akira-kun!" Koshino heard. It was Miyagi's voice.
"Yo! Sendoh!" It was Mitsui's voice.
"Wait okay. I'm just going to gell my hair." There were other voices and Koshino knew that there was another outing. It was a Friday after all, and Koshino knew of this outing. He just didn't feel like going. He should go see Sakura. Yes, he felt that he should do that. He came out of the bathroom stall and was met by Sendoh gelling his hair in front of the mirror.
"Oh! Koshino!" He said, beaming. "Coming?"
"Yes." Koshino said, against his own will. But he did change to formal attire and joined the group in their outing. They went for dinner then for a movie, all the while Koshino moved like a zombie.
They were moving their separate ways and soon Mitsui was left behind with Koshino in a rather semi-deserted road, watching as Rukawa and Sakuragi walked away through the night, hand in hand, although the two were still busy bickering at each other. Mitsui smiled inwardly at the sight, but at the same time felt bitter bile rise in his thought. He had always wanted something those two had. Someone to hold, someone to hug, someone to say that he cared, someone to protect, someone to love - or maybe just have someone in his life other than himself. If there was something he learned in his gangster days it would be that you had no one other than yourself and the bitter darkness that every human being possessed - unless he or she was an angel from heaven. Mitsui Hisashi was definitely no angel, at least not by their standards.
Speaking of angels, Mitsui turned to look at Koshino, who seem to be staring at nothing in particular. His eyes were fixed on some invisible white spot on the black iron lamppost, the white light cutting through his dark eyes, making some sort of emotion glow fiercely that remained unknown. The boy had been quiet. Really, he would make a perfect Rukawa version two. Mitsui was really beginning to worry. Koshino was not the type to zone off to la-la land. He called his name and got no reaction. Rain was beginning to poor, but Mitsui did not mind getting soak a bit. It would feel a bit refreshing. He called out Koshino's name once again, the rain coming down faster. Mitsui called his name again, and frowned when Koshino gave no response.
"Koshino!" Mitsui shook him lightly. The boy blinked out of his reverie and turned to look at Mitsui, with a lost look on his face. "Are you all right? It's getting late." A car zoomed past them, causing a few droplets of water to fly from the road and land on their legs.
"Yes, I should go. Good night, Mitsui-sempai." Koshino said and walked away in a zombie like manner. Mitsui watched as the boy began to walk away, his mind in turmoil, trying to think of reasons why the shorter boy would act this way.
Mitsui turned to walk away when he saw bright head light of a blue car glowing and moving fast. He turned to find Koshino just smack in the middle of the road. "Koshino!" He yelled, and no response came. The car was moving fast, so Mitsui did the next best thing. He dashed forward and shoved Koshino out of the way, both of them falling on the wet concrete floor and car zoomed past them. "Damnit, Koshino!" He said, helping the boy sit up a bit, who was now acting like a complete rag doll. "What's wrong with you? You're zoning off! You're not yourself! You look really ill! And for crying out loud!" Mitsui shook his harshly. "You nearly got run over by a car! What's wrong with you?"
Koshino looked up, his eyes filled with tears and he choked for a response. "My sister." He said and sniffed. "My sister is dead." Mitsui's eyes widened. Koshino covered his face with his hands and cried his heart out, Mitsui simply looking at him. A few seconds later, he hugged him, saying nothing, because he could say nothing to ease the pain.
The rain poured on.
TBC
Ne? Watcha think? More to come soon.
Mitsui was on his way to the hospital to get his sprained wrist checked. Three days has passed since that fun time at the fair with the Ryonan team. Now, here he was in the hospital once again, a place that he had tried to avoid ever since that knee injury, and ever since he got that burning sensation in his knee, he became a regular visitor to the hospital. Mitsui pushed the glass doors open, entering the orthopedics department, smirking at the irony of it all. Yeah sure, him being careless, why wouldn't he be a frequent visitor to the hospital?
Dr. Hajime changed the bandage on his wrist. Mitsui felt a slight stinging sensation when Dr. Hajime bent his wrist in a rather painful manner that a hiss had escaped Mitsui's lips.
"Now, avoid putting too much pressure on this hand okay?" He said and gave him a tube of ointment. "This will help soothe the pain outside the bandaged areas. Now run along."
Mitsui thanked the man and got up from the stretcher he'd been sitting on. He headed out of the hospital when he remembered Koshino's younger sister. He went to a flower shop near the hospital and bought a bouquet of yellow roses for the girl. He signed a card and headed to Sakura's room. When he entered, he found the room dim and the curtains drawn close, Sakura lying peacefully on her bed, sound asleep. He placed the roses on an empty vase, leaving the card beside and gave one last look at the girl. He did not know what to feel, since no emotion washed over him. He did not understand this. He left the room, feeling a little bit hazy on the inside.
He thought about Koshino and Sakura's position at that moment. According to Koshino, both his parents were dead. It made Mitsui wonder. If both his parents are dead, who is paying for Sakura's hospital bills? Surely whatever part time job Koshino has taken would not be sufficient to cover such huge expenses.
Unless, he found another way. Mitsui thought. He suddenly felt worry bubbling up inside him.
*
Koshino stared at the mirror in front of him. It was four in the morning and he had just got home. Every bone in his body throbbed with pain. His vision has doubled and his head swirled in different directions. And to top all that, he had a screaming bruise on his left cheek. He lifted a hand to touch the bruise, and winced.
"Ouch." He hissed, closing his eyes tightly. He washed his face, the cold water bringing about wild painful sensation to the already hot bruise on his cheek. "I deserved that." He said, and headed for the shower. At the cold water, his body shook as if 100 volts were passed through him. After the shower, he was slightly thinking clearly. Not bothering to dress, he made his way to the bedroom, collapsing on the bed, not bothered to pull any clothes on. He fell asleep immediately, only to awaken by the shrill ringing of his alarm clock three hours later. He forced himself to get up and take another cold shower to get his mind in to working mode. He changed in to his uniform, collected his books and headed for school. He did not even bother with breakfast since he still felt awfully queasy about last night's events. Food would only make his stomach worse.
All eyes fell on him. He gave them the coldest and angriest glare that he could muster, causing them to step back a bit, since they knew better than to mess with Koshino in a foul mood.
"Koshino!" Sendoh sang, plopping down the chair beside him in homeroom. "So, how are we today - OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?"
If Koshino had not been too tired that morning, he would have pounded Sendoh's face on the desk and used his head as broom after all the pounding. But because of the lack of energy, he simply settled for a silent and deadpanned answer.
"I walked in to a door."
Sendoh blinked. "Koshino, that is so unlike you." Koshino threw him a glare. Sendoh gulped. "Then again every human being makes mistakes." Sendoh gave out a nervous laugh. However, deep inside, the spiky-haired teen was worried. Koshino and a bruised cheek plus him walking in to a door gave a negative answer to the whole equation. Or maybe he did walk in to a door, Sendoh did not know and he figured that he never would. So he changed the subject. "Ryo-kun is inviting me and you to his house along with the rest of the team for dinner and a movie. Would you like to come?"
"When?" Koshino asked, turning to look at Sendoh, finally.
"This Friday night." Sendoh beamed, just the thought of being with his cute point guard lover was enough to send the ace to cloud nine.
"Can't." Koshino said.
"Why not?" Sendoh asked, as if he was just slapped in the face, and he was actually, metaphorically speaking.
"I've got work to do." Koshino simply answered, and everything was left till there. Koshino gave Sendoh a look saying that he should not press on the issue any longer. Sendoh had the brains not too, and Koshino was more than thankful.
Classes went by smoothly for Koshino till practice came. He suddenly felt unbelievably sick. He skipped practice, causing several of his teammates to turn and look after him as he took off to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall. Once inside, he puked his guts out. Everything he had eaten, which was basically a tiny sandwich the night before his job, came out and later on, he was puking clear sticky stomach acid. He was not aware of the pounding on the bathroom stall door. His mind was elsewhere, his breathing was ragged, and his chest and ribs hurt from all the hurling of stomach acid, not to mention that his throat burned.
"Koshino Hiroaki! Open this door this instant!" Sendoh hollered from beyond the green painted door.
Koshino wiped his mouth with a roll of tissue, and got to his feet, opening the door as if it was the most difficult task in the world. Sendoh had jerked it open only in time to catch a collapsing Koshino.
"Hiroaki!" Sendoh gasped, the slightly shorter boy grabbing on to his white practice shirt to regain his balance. "Hiroaki? What on earth is happening to you?"
Koshino looked up in to the deep blue eyes of his good friend. "I - I don't feel too good." Koshino's cheeks puffed out and he hurriedly turned, just in time to puke in to the toilet seat once again, without creating a mess. Sendoh knelt before him, rubbing reassuring circles in his back as Koshino continued to throw up.
By the time Koshino was done, practice was over and the entire team was talking about the poor boy. Sendoh walked him home that late afternoon, and asked him if he needed anything. Koshino merely thanked him and told him that he would be fine.
That night, Koshino looked at himself in the mirror in his working clothes. It would be something he would despise for the rest of his life, but it was also something that made him who he was right now.
He only needed it for a little while. He just needed the money. Honor and pride no longer mattered to him. It was just the money.
Koshino pulled on a black coat over his working clothes. It was time for work.
*
Mitsui left the gas station, counting his pay. He needed groceries; he was running short of food. Lucky for him, there was a 24-hour grocery store just next to the gas station he worked in. He gathered all the things he needed, mostly canned foods, since he was not the type to cook because he never had time to do so in the first place. Paying for the goods he bought which came in two paper bags, he collected his change and waltzed out of the grocery shop, heading for home. He had gone over time, staying till two thirty instead of one, and he did not have an excuse for himself on why he did that. If it were because of the money, then he would be doing that ever since he got his job in the first place. But it was some unknown, and nagging feeling that made him stay. He was hoping to catch eye of the late nightlife.
Just as the thought passed his head, a shiny black Lexus limousine passed by in front of him while he was checking for cars before he crossed the road. He could have sworn he heard anguished screams coming from that car. Then again, maybe it was just the lack of sleep. It was after all, nearly three in the morning.
He went home, took a shower and took advantage of the three-hour sleep he would be getting. He would definitely wake up with dark circles under his eyes that same morning - oh hell! It did not matter.
No one would care anyway.
*
Mitsui went to school the next day looking like someone had just given him good hard punches in both his eyes. He dragged his feet when he walked, and his head hung low. He could not stop himself from yawning every ten seconds, not matter how hard he tried too. Things did not improve at all during his classes. He got four detention slips from falling asleep. He tried to assure the teachers that he was indeed very tired from his work the previous night, and they would hear none of it. So he had to sort out library books as his punishment.
During basketball practice, he had to deal with him colliding in to his fellow teammates, Sakuragi's constant bickering words, Akagi's ordering voice, Ayako's wild paper fan, Kogure mothering nearly every person he saw, and a very, very annoying Miyagi.
"Look Mitsui, I'm just concerned for you. I know we've been on bad terms before, but let's just forget that for one minute and think about your current condition - which, if I may point out, is not very good." Miyagi went on and on, while Mitsui merely listened with half an ear, incase the boy did ask him something. If Mitsui was not paying attention to Miyagi a few minutes ago, he was all ears now. "I mean, I don't want you to end up like Koshino. Akira-kun told me that he was really sick yesterday that he missed the entire of practice puking his guts out. Really, Mitsui, you are my teammate, and I try my best to look out -"
"Koshino is what?" Mitsui demanded, turning around sharply, a wild look in his blue eyes. Miyagi was very startled at the sudden spur of attention. He was also beginning to take interest at the whole turnabout of Mitsui listening attitude. "What happened to him? Is he all right? Was it indigestion? Well? Damnit shorty! Say something! Stop gaping at me that way!"
"Interested in Koshino, eh?" Miyagi said in a teasing voice.
Mitsui blinked at the words that came from Shohoku's point guard. Then, as if he was blessed with knowledge and wisdom, he remembered the way he blurted out his concern about Koshino. Mitsui suddenly looked as if he was splashed by red paint on his face.
"It's not like that you stupid idiot!" Mitsui snapped, and if possible blushed even more. Yeah right. It's not like that at all. If anyone knew what was going on in Mitsui's head whenever the name 'Koshino' was mentioned, they'd laugh then and there.
"What's not like what?" Miyagi asked, a silly grin on his face. "Wait till Akira-kun gets a whiff of this."
Mitsui turned around in a blink of an eye and had Miyagi pinned on the tiled floor of their locker rooms. They were in rather inappropriate positions, that if anyone should walk in would get very nasty and wrong ideas.
"Listen shrimp, and listen good. You want what's best for you; you'll do well by starting to keep your mouth shut. It's bad enough Ryonan has Hikoichi. Shohoku does not need one. So zip it and zip it tight!" Mitsui leaned close to Miyagi's ear. "Or else, you know Tetsuo is just around the corner right?"
The locker room door swung open and there was a loud gasp. "Ryochin, how could you two time smiley? I thought you loved him! And why Micchy of all the people in the planet?"
"Shut the hell up!" Mitsui and Miyagi chorused, both bouncing up to their feet, blushing like mad.
"He pushed me to the ground just because I found out that he fancies Koshino!" Miyagi blurted out. Mitsui slapped a hand to his forehead. Trust Miyagi's mouth to act as a microphone to his personal life.
"Who likes Koshino?" Kogure walked in.
"Mitsui-san does." Miyagi answered, jerking a thumb in Mitsui's general direction.
"Mitsui fancies Koshino?" Rukawa asked, as he planted a kiss on his precious red-head's shoulder.
Mitsui gave out a scowl and grabbed his bag. He was already indeed very red and it only brought more amusement to the whole situation.
Great. Mitsui thought. Now the whole team knows. First, I don't get any sleep. Then I get detention for absolutely nothing, followed by fixing about a dozen shelves of books in the library and finally, some big-mouthed shrimp decide to blurt out my secret crush making it the biggest issue in the face of the earth. My day has turned out worse. How much worse could it get?
*
Rain poured down hard once Mitsui was in the open. Mitsui looked up the sky and glared at it. "Damnit! You guys up there really like making fun of me don't you? It's always me! Me! Me! Why can't you pick on someone else for a change?"
"Mitsui-san?"
Mitsui turned around and found the porcupine head of Ryonan, holding a gray umbrella, looking at him with curious yet shocked blue eyes. "S - Sendoh?"
"Who are you talking too? Are you all right?" Sendoh asked. Mitsui did not need to know what he was doing in the middle of the road leading from the main street to Shohoku high. It was quite obvious that some shrimp back in the school grounds was waiting the arrival of its beloved hedgehog.
"No I'm not fine! That stupid lover of yours finds it very amusing to turn my love life in to the headlines of the tabloids! So I happen to fancy Koshino, big deal! I've kept it a secret for quite some time now, and because of that stupid, stupid shrimp, everyone knows! Geez! If I did not promise Anzai-sensei that I wouldn't beat the living shit out of people anymore, I would have loved to see how that shrimp would look in a pot of boiling water and vegetables!"
Yup, Mitsui was definitely pissed off.
"You fancy Koshino?" Sendoh asked, clearly amused, since he had this huge, big, shining, megawatt smile plastered on his face. It was far brighter than his normal, everyday, average ones.
Mitsui slapped his forehead. "Right! Me and my stupid big mouth!" He mumbled to no one. "Goodbye Sendoh! You heard nothing, you will speak of nothing and you will remember nothing! Goodbye!"
With that said, Mitsui rushed to his part time job at the gas station. There, he drowned his sorrows by acting like a broken record, asking customers what kind of fuel they wanted and wishing them to drive safely. It didn't really mattered, since the words flowed out of his mouth in a very robotic way.
It was going to be another long night for the former MVP.
*
The next morning was no better for Hiroaki Koshino. He skipped breakfast again, simply because he felt sick. He had the urge to throw up, but there was really nothing to throw up. He was pale the entire day during school that teachers actually had to stop by his desk to see if he was even breathing.
During basketball practice, Koshino puked his guts out once again. Taoka had told him - no, ordered him to go home and not attend practice for the next three days until he is fit and no longer hugging the toilet all the time.
Koshino had to smirk sourly at the words of concern coming from Taoka. Nothing was going to change. That was the drawback of his evening work. He felt sick the next day.
He spent the early evenings with his sister in the hospital, telling her about the latest things in the outside world, the news, and the gossips and even brought her some fresh red apples. When it was time to leave, Koshino felt was if his insides were being ripped. He did not want to leave his sister ever. He did not even want to think of the day when she would leave him permanently to a world where her pain would be non-existant. No, he had too much in his mind already.
Entering the silent and dark apartment of his, Koshino headed straight for the bathroom and took a quick shower. While he was drying he turned to look at his reflection in the mirror. Thin was an understatement. He poked his sides and winced. He barely had any resistance, meaning he has to pay attention to how his body was reaching its decline stage from 'over work'. Money. Yes, that was all that mattered. He tore his gaze from his reflection and got ready for work. This time, he vowed to obey his masters. He did not want a bruises and other 'visible' physical assaults inflicted upon him.
He did not fear them. Hell, he never would.
Koshino knew he was being a coward.
*
Mitsui woke up the next afternoon and tried twisting his left wrist. When he felt no pain, he jumped with joy and immediately rushed to see Dr. Hajime. Dr. Hajime was pleased with recovery and for once in all his visits; Mitsui did not get a lecture, but praises instead. Mitsui had dutifully brought a bag of apple with him again, round about a half kilo just for Koshino's sister.
He was walking down the children's ward and stopped in front of Sakura's door, ready to enter, when he heard the girl's tired and small voice inside.
"Big brother, please just do what I asked. It's better anyway. Look! You're getting hurt. I don't know where you get money from, but I know that it's hurting you. Please, big brother. Just do this so I can be with mama and papa."
Mitsui took a step back and decided that it was not the time to interrupt the siblings. He went to the nurse's desk and requested that the apples be brought to Sakura's room. Mitsui left the hospital, concerned. So the kid did have brains. And his curiosity was satisfied. Koshino was working alone to support both himself and his sister.
The only question Mitsui had was - what did he work as?
*
A week passed in a blur. Koshino was tired to the limit that he could barely think nor see straight. Many of his aims during basketball practice were ruined due to his tiredness. He had not been focusing at all and to top all of that, through the course of the week, he had earned himself several bruises on his torso.
He was not focusing at all until he found Hikoichi shaking him. "Koshino- kun? There's a phone call for you."
Koshino blinked and nodded, murmuring low thanks and heading for the direction of the administration building where his phone call was waiting for him. For some reason, he felt unbearably cold. His hands shook and his heartbeat increased its pace. He felt panic rise in his throat and forced himself to remain calm. He reached the office and took the phone.
"Koshino Hiroaki speaking." He said, and the latter on the other side of the phone began to speak. Koshino trembled. Koshino shook. Koshino froze. He did not breathe. Everything the person was saying on the other line was merely a dream. A sick illusion. He refused to believe it, but in the end, all he could say was, "I - all right. Thank you."
Even at times like these, Koshino marveled at how polite he could be. He blindly headed back for the basketball court. He shivered in the cold. He suddenly felt so alone. He practiced idly, his good friend Sendoh giving him curious and concerned glances. At the end of practice, Koshino locked himself up in a toilet stall and just sat there. He wondered why no tears came out.
"Akira-kun!" Koshino heard. It was Miyagi's voice.
"Yo! Sendoh!" It was Mitsui's voice.
"Wait okay. I'm just going to gell my hair." There were other voices and Koshino knew that there was another outing. It was a Friday after all, and Koshino knew of this outing. He just didn't feel like going. He should go see Sakura. Yes, he felt that he should do that. He came out of the bathroom stall and was met by Sendoh gelling his hair in front of the mirror.
"Oh! Koshino!" He said, beaming. "Coming?"
"Yes." Koshino said, against his own will. But he did change to formal attire and joined the group in their outing. They went for dinner then for a movie, all the while Koshino moved like a zombie.
They were moving their separate ways and soon Mitsui was left behind with Koshino in a rather semi-deserted road, watching as Rukawa and Sakuragi walked away through the night, hand in hand, although the two were still busy bickering at each other. Mitsui smiled inwardly at the sight, but at the same time felt bitter bile rise in his thought. He had always wanted something those two had. Someone to hold, someone to hug, someone to say that he cared, someone to protect, someone to love - or maybe just have someone in his life other than himself. If there was something he learned in his gangster days it would be that you had no one other than yourself and the bitter darkness that every human being possessed - unless he or she was an angel from heaven. Mitsui Hisashi was definitely no angel, at least not by their standards.
Speaking of angels, Mitsui turned to look at Koshino, who seem to be staring at nothing in particular. His eyes were fixed on some invisible white spot on the black iron lamppost, the white light cutting through his dark eyes, making some sort of emotion glow fiercely that remained unknown. The boy had been quiet. Really, he would make a perfect Rukawa version two. Mitsui was really beginning to worry. Koshino was not the type to zone off to la-la land. He called his name and got no reaction. Rain was beginning to poor, but Mitsui did not mind getting soak a bit. It would feel a bit refreshing. He called out Koshino's name once again, the rain coming down faster. Mitsui called his name again, and frowned when Koshino gave no response.
"Koshino!" Mitsui shook him lightly. The boy blinked out of his reverie and turned to look at Mitsui, with a lost look on his face. "Are you all right? It's getting late." A car zoomed past them, causing a few droplets of water to fly from the road and land on their legs.
"Yes, I should go. Good night, Mitsui-sempai." Koshino said and walked away in a zombie like manner. Mitsui watched as the boy began to walk away, his mind in turmoil, trying to think of reasons why the shorter boy would act this way.
Mitsui turned to walk away when he saw bright head light of a blue car glowing and moving fast. He turned to find Koshino just smack in the middle of the road. "Koshino!" He yelled, and no response came. The car was moving fast, so Mitsui did the next best thing. He dashed forward and shoved Koshino out of the way, both of them falling on the wet concrete floor and car zoomed past them. "Damnit, Koshino!" He said, helping the boy sit up a bit, who was now acting like a complete rag doll. "What's wrong with you? You're zoning off! You're not yourself! You look really ill! And for crying out loud!" Mitsui shook his harshly. "You nearly got run over by a car! What's wrong with you?"
Koshino looked up, his eyes filled with tears and he choked for a response. "My sister." He said and sniffed. "My sister is dead." Mitsui's eyes widened. Koshino covered his face with his hands and cried his heart out, Mitsui simply looking at him. A few seconds later, he hugged him, saying nothing, because he could say nothing to ease the pain.
The rain poured on.
TBC
Ne? Watcha think? More to come soon.