Cupid

Chapter 7

" You like him, don't you?"

Rukawa froze. He stood there, in front of the door of the locker room. Makoto looked at his tensed back view, knowing the impact her comment had on him. A few moments passed before Rukawa turned, his face still expressionless.

"What are you talking about?"

Makoto hid a smile. It was rare for Rukawa to have any expression on his face, but if one looked close enough, his eyes reflected everything he felt inside. And now, they showed shock and a little pain. She looked at him straight in the eye.

" The heart throb of Tomigaoka having love problems. You like Hana. Sakuragi Hanamichi. Don't deny it."

Rukawa stared at Makoto, defeated. She always managed to understand him, even if they had not seen each other for half a year. He leaned back against the door, closed his eyes and frowned.

" He hates me."

" ...Oh? What makes you think so? You think he hates you because of Haruko-san?"

Rukawa clenched his fists tightly at the mention of HER name. He had to suffer Hanamichi's insults and the sight of the object of his desire brighten up at the sight of that girl. In short, he had gone through hell for half a year because Akagi Haruko had a crush on him. Worse still, she treated the do'aho so nicely that he actually thought he had a chance! Well, maybe the redhead did. And he was not willing to accept the possibility that he could lose Hanamichi to the girl. Frowning even more, he nodded slightly.

Makoto glanced at Rukawa after she was finished with the towel. She walked up to Rukawa and put a hand on his shoulder.

" If you want my opinion, he doesn't hate you. He's just jealous. You stand a pretty good chance I guess. Ever tried telling him, hinting even?"

Rukawa stared at Makoto as if she had grown a few more limbs. He snorted.

" He'll beat me to death if I ever confessed. Hell, I might even kill myself if I ever tried."

" I think you're kinda compatible with Hana, you know."

" I wish I were."

Makoto lost her cool there and then. She grabbed Rukawa by the collar and pulled him closer.

" Where's your guts, Kaede? It won't hurt to tell him." Makoto gave him a menacing look.

Rukawa pulled away roughly.

" It's too difficult, damn it! He's your friend! You don't feel the hurt like I do. You won't understand even if you have known me for 10 years or more. I don't want to be in your situation 2 years ago!"

Makoto froze at the memory. She sighed and headed for the showers. Just before she left the room, she returned Rukawa a sad smile.

" Maybe I don't, Kaede. But I want you to know this. I care for Hana. A lot. More than just a friend. I want him to be happy. And if you hurt him real bad, I won't forgive you. But I'll be there for the both of you if you need me."

Rukawa widened his eyes in shock.

******************************

It had been a week since Makoto transferred to Shohoku. And she made a few more observations, confirming the fact that she would never ever have a chance with Hanamichi. Hanamichi had many admirers in school. She simply could not believe that Hanamichi had lamented that no girl loved him. It seemed quite obvious that there were enough of Sakuragi admirers to overthrow the Rukawa Shinetai ( she was still disrupted by their screaming. READ: VERY PISSED OFF), just that they dared not tell him because of his renowned crush on Haruko as well as his also renowned quick temper.

She wanted to see both her best friends get together though. But she did not want to hurt anyone, so she settled for watching the situation and saving it if it came to the worst. Makoto sighed in exasperation. Rukawa had yet to make a move on Hanamichi yet. He simply refused to do so, saying that it was not the right time yet. She had not seen Kaede being so cowardly before. It was as if he ever make a move on Hanamichi, Hana would shatter to pieces like glass. Maybe it was because of the impression she had given him when she was hurt by her first love. He had seen how broken she was. Maybe that was what scared him off. Rejection. She mentally slapped herself for that.

 'See what you've done to him!' she scolded herself. Makoto sprung up with all her strength, releasing whatever frustrations she had and dunked the ball in. She let go immediately and landed on the floor on her butt. Makoto had taken to herself to practise a little extra after every practice to buy herself time. Sometimes she moped around her duty so that she would leave later than her partner. It seemed that no one had any suspicion that she was a girl. It was one more week to their match with Ryonan. She knew that they were a good team, but she was excited because it was her first official game since her third year in Tomigaoka. She also wanted to meet the ace of Ryonan, Sendoh Akira, since both Rukawa and Hanamichi spoke of him as if he was their greatest enemy. After staying on the floor for a little while more, she decided that her frustrations could not be vented just by the usual way. She quickly changed and left for home.

Makoto strolled in the cool night air, bouncing the basketball in her hand leisurely. As she passed by an alley, she spotted a girl in Shohoku school uniform. The usual gang that bothered her was hitting in the girl. Disgusted, she threw the basketball at them. It hit the leader right on the head, sending him sprawling on the floor, out-cold.

" Change in taste, eh?" Makoto proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the gang. After she was done, she turned to the girl who was sitting in the corner of the alley, shivering in fear. Fuji-san! Makoto realised in horror. She knelt down and held Fuji's shoulder to support her.

"Fuji-san, daijobuka?" the shocked girl could only nod numbly. Makoto waited for her to calm down before walking her some distance to a safer area. Fuji thanked her profusely the next day, but she just waved the issue off. She was getting the habit of thrashing that particular gang anyway.

It was the night before their match with Ryonan. Makoto decided to play one-on-one with Hanamichi again, since both were supposed to do cleaning duty, and it was a long time since they had done so. It had ended in a tie of 45-45. Exhausted, they were both lying on the gym floor, trying to catch their breath.

"eh...Hana-kun, why do you always pick fights with Kaede?"

"......? Teme! Mak-chan, that's a stupid question! The tensai has to defeat the kitsune, of course!"

" Why? Haruko-san's noticing you a lot these days."

"I know! Bahahaha!...er...then..."

"Say the truth?"

"..........."

"Hana-kun?" Makoto got up and looked over Hanamichi. He was blushing deep red. She waved a hand in front of him. " You scared of telling?"

" I don't know..." Makoto face-faulted, and sweatdropped.

"Then why the heck are you blushing so hard?"

"I am!? Oops. But it's terrible! I don't hate the kitsune! I don't have a reason to beat my greatest nemesis! I don't hate my greatest enemy!" Hanamichi grabbed Makoto by her shirt collar and shook her really hard.

"Ano..." A dizzy Makoto struggled to avoid the urge to throw-up. In the back of her mind, she noted that Rukawa's gauge of chances of a returned love was filled a little more. That brought a slight smile to her face. But of course, Hanamichi did not see it because he was still shaking Makoto like mad.

tbc