Slam. Dunk. Does. Not. Belong. To. Me. (do I haf 2 repeat this all de time?
I'm sure u guys get the message.)
Chapter 7
I'll beat you, Sendoh. I won't lose. I won't ever lose again.
Rukawa's thoughts were in a whirr, his mind spinning, and he was breathing hard. Every breath he took was a torture to him, but he held on as long as he could. Though his legs threatened to give way anytime, his mind did not. He hung on with all his might his willpower could muster. One idea had lodged itself firmly in his brain; I will not lose.
He could feel the boiling fury within him, the fury that Shohoku were still behind Ryonan by a few points. And he could also feel the ravenous hunger inside him. The hunger for victory, the hunger to defeat his rival. He could barely understand what was happening in the game, all the sounds of the gym, the noisy cheering of the spectators and Sakuragi's loud voice booming through the court all seemed to be drowned by the silence in his ears. He was running, playing in a vacuum, where there was no sound. Wait, there was one sound, which he concentrated hard on. The thudding of the basketball everytime someone dribbled it. He knew he had to get that ball and somehow throw it into the basket. He must not let his pain defeat him and bring him to his knees.
Sendoh dribbled the ball slowly, flashing his ever-present smile at his rival who was blocking his way to the basket. The icy determination was back in his cold eyes, determination etched with pain. Suddenly, with one lightning fast movement, Rukawa stole the ball from him and without wasting time ran to the basket, dribbling the ball. Sendoh moved to block him, and Rukawa aimed the ball above his head slowly. Sendoh, thinking it was a fake, did not bother to try and block. It was a mistake. Rukawa jumped high and did a three pointer. The crowd went wild, screaming and cheering.
"Sensei, Ayako, about Rukawa, is anything wrong with him?" asked Kogure looking worriedly at the super rookie who was now signaling Miyagi to pass the ball to him.
"I don't know, Kogure-sempai," said Ayako. "He never talks much, and I don't know if there is anything wrong with him. Or maybe he's just tired."
"Sensei, do you think he should be substituted? I mean, he is playing very well after playing poorly in the first few minutes of the game. But, there's something wrong with the way he moves, like he's in pain or something," said Kogure.
Anzai-sensei replied, "Right now, we need him to help catch up on the points with Ryonan. But during half time, we will see if he's still fit to play."
******************
"Kaede. I didn't know he could play like that," said Mizuki softly. She could feel her pride and tears brimming in her brown eyes. "He'll certainly make his dreams live if he continues playing like that."
"Kaede seems to be interested in nothing except basketball," said Harusumi. "When Kiyo and I visited him he seemed to have no interests except basketball."
Kiyomuri did not reply. He watched Rukawa make another lay-up shot and frowned. No doubt that he was playing very well, after the poor start, but he was not moving naturally. His movements were forced, and he looked like he was going to drop anytime. Is there something wrong with him, or is he usually like that? He mused.
******************
The referee blew his whistle for half time. The score was 45-49, in favour of Ryonan. Rukawa immediately went straight to the lavatory, where he had a violent coughing fit. The blood came out, and by the time he stopped, he was exhausted. He went to join the rest of his teammates, who were listening to Akagi.
"Rukawa," said a familiar voice.
"H - hai, sensei," said Rukawa uncertainly. He was sure to be substituted now.
"Is there anything wrong?"
Rukawa was suddenly struck by a wave of emotions. He wanted to spill everything out to Anzai. All his problems, his disease, his mother and brother, his loneliness, but, pride held him back. His pride restrained him from spilling out his heart. And he could feel the pain, a deeper pain then the one in his chest, as he said, "No, sensei. There's nothing wrong."
There was a short silence before he said, "Sensei, please don't substitute me. Let me play this match."
Anzai merely gazed at him and smiled behind his twinkling glasses. "Pride gets in the way, does it, Rukawa? You want to beat Sendoh, don't you?'
"Hai." This time, the response was firm and full of fresh determination.
***************************
"Pass!" Rukawa shouted to Mitsui who was having the ball. Mitsui was about to shoot when a Ryonan player moved in front to block him. He tried to elude the player, but another appeared. He had no choice but to pass to Rukawa. Rukawa moved with fluid grace and vicious speed. Within the next few minutes he had scored many more points. The score was tied now.
Sendoh was also doing a good job, and he was surprised at Rukawa's sudden recovery. Still, he thought, there's something wrong with him.
Rukawa played his hardest. He scored whenever he had the chance, doing magnificent dunks, lay-ups, three points and many others. His teammates were amazed at Rukawa's burning spirit. Little did they know that all the flaming determination masked the pain inside. The pain that burned harder and harder. Hold on, Rukawa told himself again and again. Another three minutes. I am not going to collapse like the game against Kainan. If I pass out now, how will I manage in the IH? I need stamina. I need to win.
The clock ticked the second away. Twelve seconds before the game finished. The score was 78-78. "Rukawa!" cried Akagi and threw the ball to him. He dribbled the ball to the hoop. Seven seconds.Koshino tried to block him, but he eluded him easily. He made a huge jump and was about to slam the ball through the ring when Uozumi, Sendoh and Fukuda leaped up to block him. Four seconds, three, two.
With all his might he slammed the ball in. He had jumped higher than all of them. The clock buzzed time up. The crowd went crazy. Rukawa Kaede, Shohoku Ace and Super Rookie had beaten Ryonan. But, by now, Rukawa was nearly at the end of his energy. The moment his feet touched the ground, he fell onto his knees. He could feel the mixed emotions running through him. He had beaten Sendoh.
**************************
Mizuki felt her tears flow openly up in the stands. "My Kaede," she whispered softly to herself.
Kiyomuri and Harusumi also cheered, but Kiyomuri could feel a strange warm feeling inside him towards Kaede. For the first time, he truly regretted leaving Kaede behind all those years ago. What a pity he has grown up into such a cold, unfeeling person.
Then, Kiyomuri's eyes widened when he saw Rukawa collapse on the court after scoring. "Is he going to be all right?" asked Mizuki anxiously, her face twisted with worry.
**************************
"Rukawa-kun, daijoubu ka?" asked Kogure anxiously as he came running towards Rukawa. Rukawa lay on the floor gasping for air.
"K'so," Rukawa muttered. His chest and his lungs burned. His throat burned painfully. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
"Kitsuneeee!" bellowed Sakuragi. "What's the matter, kitsune? Are you going to collapse like Mitcchy?" Rukawa felt his anger burn at Sakuragi's words. He felt his temper rising.
"Shut up, Sakuragi!" shouted Mitsui hotly. Rukawa stood up. The game's over, anyway, and I have won. I have beaten you, Sendoh, he thought. He staggered a bit as he stood up, and he had to clutch Kogure's shoulder to hold himself up. Then he walked slowly to the benches where Anzai- sensei was sitting, Kogure supporting him all the time. When he reached the bench, he just collapsed on the floor again. He could feel all the exhaustion and pain. Pain like he had never felt before raging in his chest, in his lungs, in his whole body.
Then, the Shohoku team and Ryonan team gathered in the middle of the court. The referee announced the score, "The score is 78-80. Shohoku win!" The gym resounded with wave after wave of cheers, but the Rukawa Brigade's cheers could be heard over the noise. Captains Akagi and Uozumi shook hands. "I will beat you another time, Akagi," said Uozumi. "But today, you were the better team."
"Nyahahaha! Thanks to the tensai that we won!" shouted Sakuragi. Sendoh only smiled. He realized that someone was missing. Rukawa was sitting on the bench next to Anzai-sensei, sweat pouring down his face and neck, and his hair was dripping. He thought he saw a dark stain on the front of Rukawa's jersey, but then dismissed it as sweat. He walked towards Rukawa.
"Rukawa," said Sendoh. The rookie looked up while Sendoh flashed him a smile. "You beat me today, Rukawa. But, as Uozumi said, I will beat you another time."
Rukawa just stared at him icily. He opened his mouth to respond when - "Kitsune! You couldn't have done it without the tensai, could you? You just won't admit that the tensai is better than you!" came Sakuragi's voice.
Rukawa was going to reply with his famous "Do'ahou" when he suddenly felt dizzy. The burning pains in his chest seemed to lessen, but the room was swimming in and out of focus. Without warning, he suddenly doubled over and coughed his lungs out. He could see, through blurred vision the scarlet that came out of his mouth and onto his jersey. When he finally stopped, the room was still swaying. He could vaguely hear the gasps of shock coming from the people around him. The darkness was closing in from all corners of his blurred vision and he knew he was going to pass out. He tried to sit up, but he had no more strength left.
Rukawa could feel himself falling slowly into a black void, empty of all sights and sounds, and the last thing he saw was a blur of colours and images all messed up. "Do'ahou, why are you spinning?" he mumbled before blackness closed on him completely.
Tbc.
Ah! Finally..another 2 chapters or so and I'm finally done wif this stupid fic. OK..so how wuz it? Is it getting crappier each chapter? Really sorry bout that..tell me what u think ok?
Chapter 7
I'll beat you, Sendoh. I won't lose. I won't ever lose again.
Rukawa's thoughts were in a whirr, his mind spinning, and he was breathing hard. Every breath he took was a torture to him, but he held on as long as he could. Though his legs threatened to give way anytime, his mind did not. He hung on with all his might his willpower could muster. One idea had lodged itself firmly in his brain; I will not lose.
He could feel the boiling fury within him, the fury that Shohoku were still behind Ryonan by a few points. And he could also feel the ravenous hunger inside him. The hunger for victory, the hunger to defeat his rival. He could barely understand what was happening in the game, all the sounds of the gym, the noisy cheering of the spectators and Sakuragi's loud voice booming through the court all seemed to be drowned by the silence in his ears. He was running, playing in a vacuum, where there was no sound. Wait, there was one sound, which he concentrated hard on. The thudding of the basketball everytime someone dribbled it. He knew he had to get that ball and somehow throw it into the basket. He must not let his pain defeat him and bring him to his knees.
Sendoh dribbled the ball slowly, flashing his ever-present smile at his rival who was blocking his way to the basket. The icy determination was back in his cold eyes, determination etched with pain. Suddenly, with one lightning fast movement, Rukawa stole the ball from him and without wasting time ran to the basket, dribbling the ball. Sendoh moved to block him, and Rukawa aimed the ball above his head slowly. Sendoh, thinking it was a fake, did not bother to try and block. It was a mistake. Rukawa jumped high and did a three pointer. The crowd went wild, screaming and cheering.
"Sensei, Ayako, about Rukawa, is anything wrong with him?" asked Kogure looking worriedly at the super rookie who was now signaling Miyagi to pass the ball to him.
"I don't know, Kogure-sempai," said Ayako. "He never talks much, and I don't know if there is anything wrong with him. Or maybe he's just tired."
"Sensei, do you think he should be substituted? I mean, he is playing very well after playing poorly in the first few minutes of the game. But, there's something wrong with the way he moves, like he's in pain or something," said Kogure.
Anzai-sensei replied, "Right now, we need him to help catch up on the points with Ryonan. But during half time, we will see if he's still fit to play."
******************
"Kaede. I didn't know he could play like that," said Mizuki softly. She could feel her pride and tears brimming in her brown eyes. "He'll certainly make his dreams live if he continues playing like that."
"Kaede seems to be interested in nothing except basketball," said Harusumi. "When Kiyo and I visited him he seemed to have no interests except basketball."
Kiyomuri did not reply. He watched Rukawa make another lay-up shot and frowned. No doubt that he was playing very well, after the poor start, but he was not moving naturally. His movements were forced, and he looked like he was going to drop anytime. Is there something wrong with him, or is he usually like that? He mused.
******************
The referee blew his whistle for half time. The score was 45-49, in favour of Ryonan. Rukawa immediately went straight to the lavatory, where he had a violent coughing fit. The blood came out, and by the time he stopped, he was exhausted. He went to join the rest of his teammates, who were listening to Akagi.
"Rukawa," said a familiar voice.
"H - hai, sensei," said Rukawa uncertainly. He was sure to be substituted now.
"Is there anything wrong?"
Rukawa was suddenly struck by a wave of emotions. He wanted to spill everything out to Anzai. All his problems, his disease, his mother and brother, his loneliness, but, pride held him back. His pride restrained him from spilling out his heart. And he could feel the pain, a deeper pain then the one in his chest, as he said, "No, sensei. There's nothing wrong."
There was a short silence before he said, "Sensei, please don't substitute me. Let me play this match."
Anzai merely gazed at him and smiled behind his twinkling glasses. "Pride gets in the way, does it, Rukawa? You want to beat Sendoh, don't you?'
"Hai." This time, the response was firm and full of fresh determination.
***************************
"Pass!" Rukawa shouted to Mitsui who was having the ball. Mitsui was about to shoot when a Ryonan player moved in front to block him. He tried to elude the player, but another appeared. He had no choice but to pass to Rukawa. Rukawa moved with fluid grace and vicious speed. Within the next few minutes he had scored many more points. The score was tied now.
Sendoh was also doing a good job, and he was surprised at Rukawa's sudden recovery. Still, he thought, there's something wrong with him.
Rukawa played his hardest. He scored whenever he had the chance, doing magnificent dunks, lay-ups, three points and many others. His teammates were amazed at Rukawa's burning spirit. Little did they know that all the flaming determination masked the pain inside. The pain that burned harder and harder. Hold on, Rukawa told himself again and again. Another three minutes. I am not going to collapse like the game against Kainan. If I pass out now, how will I manage in the IH? I need stamina. I need to win.
The clock ticked the second away. Twelve seconds before the game finished. The score was 78-78. "Rukawa!" cried Akagi and threw the ball to him. He dribbled the ball to the hoop. Seven seconds.Koshino tried to block him, but he eluded him easily. He made a huge jump and was about to slam the ball through the ring when Uozumi, Sendoh and Fukuda leaped up to block him. Four seconds, three, two.
With all his might he slammed the ball in. He had jumped higher than all of them. The clock buzzed time up. The crowd went crazy. Rukawa Kaede, Shohoku Ace and Super Rookie had beaten Ryonan. But, by now, Rukawa was nearly at the end of his energy. The moment his feet touched the ground, he fell onto his knees. He could feel the mixed emotions running through him. He had beaten Sendoh.
**************************
Mizuki felt her tears flow openly up in the stands. "My Kaede," she whispered softly to herself.
Kiyomuri and Harusumi also cheered, but Kiyomuri could feel a strange warm feeling inside him towards Kaede. For the first time, he truly regretted leaving Kaede behind all those years ago. What a pity he has grown up into such a cold, unfeeling person.
Then, Kiyomuri's eyes widened when he saw Rukawa collapse on the court after scoring. "Is he going to be all right?" asked Mizuki anxiously, her face twisted with worry.
**************************
"Rukawa-kun, daijoubu ka?" asked Kogure anxiously as he came running towards Rukawa. Rukawa lay on the floor gasping for air.
"K'so," Rukawa muttered. His chest and his lungs burned. His throat burned painfully. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
"Kitsuneeee!" bellowed Sakuragi. "What's the matter, kitsune? Are you going to collapse like Mitcchy?" Rukawa felt his anger burn at Sakuragi's words. He felt his temper rising.
"Shut up, Sakuragi!" shouted Mitsui hotly. Rukawa stood up. The game's over, anyway, and I have won. I have beaten you, Sendoh, he thought. He staggered a bit as he stood up, and he had to clutch Kogure's shoulder to hold himself up. Then he walked slowly to the benches where Anzai- sensei was sitting, Kogure supporting him all the time. When he reached the bench, he just collapsed on the floor again. He could feel all the exhaustion and pain. Pain like he had never felt before raging in his chest, in his lungs, in his whole body.
Then, the Shohoku team and Ryonan team gathered in the middle of the court. The referee announced the score, "The score is 78-80. Shohoku win!" The gym resounded with wave after wave of cheers, but the Rukawa Brigade's cheers could be heard over the noise. Captains Akagi and Uozumi shook hands. "I will beat you another time, Akagi," said Uozumi. "But today, you were the better team."
"Nyahahaha! Thanks to the tensai that we won!" shouted Sakuragi. Sendoh only smiled. He realized that someone was missing. Rukawa was sitting on the bench next to Anzai-sensei, sweat pouring down his face and neck, and his hair was dripping. He thought he saw a dark stain on the front of Rukawa's jersey, but then dismissed it as sweat. He walked towards Rukawa.
"Rukawa," said Sendoh. The rookie looked up while Sendoh flashed him a smile. "You beat me today, Rukawa. But, as Uozumi said, I will beat you another time."
Rukawa just stared at him icily. He opened his mouth to respond when - "Kitsune! You couldn't have done it without the tensai, could you? You just won't admit that the tensai is better than you!" came Sakuragi's voice.
Rukawa was going to reply with his famous "Do'ahou" when he suddenly felt dizzy. The burning pains in his chest seemed to lessen, but the room was swimming in and out of focus. Without warning, he suddenly doubled over and coughed his lungs out. He could see, through blurred vision the scarlet that came out of his mouth and onto his jersey. When he finally stopped, the room was still swaying. He could vaguely hear the gasps of shock coming from the people around him. The darkness was closing in from all corners of his blurred vision and he knew he was going to pass out. He tried to sit up, but he had no more strength left.
Rukawa could feel himself falling slowly into a black void, empty of all sights and sounds, and the last thing he saw was a blur of colours and images all messed up. "Do'ahou, why are you spinning?" he mumbled before blackness closed on him completely.
Tbc.
Ah! Finally..another 2 chapters or so and I'm finally done wif this stupid fic. OK..so how wuz it? Is it getting crappier each chapter? Really sorry bout that..tell me what u think ok?