Chapter 3 – A Tensai's Dream
"Your cousin? You never told me you had a cousin."
"What's it to you, Kitsune? And anyways, Ami-chan used to live in Australia, which is why I haven't seen her for years."
The two basketballers were walking home after the yearly try-outs. Night was descending upon them, and as they strolled along the path, lights began to switch on inside the houses that they passed. The street lights flickered hesitantly, before shining a bright trail down the street.
"Hana."
"Nani?"
"What do you think about these first-years?"
"There's some talent there… did you notice that kid Sagara? 184 cm, not bad for a 15 year-old."
"Hn."
At this point, they arrived at Rukawa's home, and without another word, the raven-haired boy proceeded through the gate and into his apartment building. Hanamichi shook his head at his friend's retreating back and sighed tolerantly, long used to this kind of treatment.
"Bye, Kitsune."
The tall redhead continued down the path, whistling his Tensai song absent-mindedly as he walked. He knew that Kaede didn't mean to act so cold and… well, silent all the time. It's just that the other boy had difficulty showing his emotions; not because he didn't have any, but possibly because he felt too much.
"Well, I don't have that problem! But of course I don't, I'm the Tensai! Mwahahaha!"
After that sudden, loud outburst, which drew wary looks from passers-by who swerved to avoid this redheaded lunatic, Hanamichi's thoughts wandered away from his dark-haired friend, to the sudden reappearance of his cousin.
He could hardly believe that his Ami-chan was now a fully-grown young woman of sixteen. The last time they had seen each other, she had still been wearing frilly pink dresses, with her long, shiny hair in adorable pig-tails. Although that hair was now cropped short and she had grown at least 20 cm, he would still recognise that heart-shaped face and those chocolate-brown eyes, so similar to his own, anywhere.
Hanamichi's mind, with a will of its own, then wandered even further, to its favourite topic of thought: basketball. In fact, if the redhead's mind were to wander any more, it would probably fall off the face of the earth, so he stuck to this subject and hung on for dear life. But the nagging thought that was constantly lingering in the back of his wandering mind, and had been all summer, was that he and Kaede were third-years now. This was their last chance of playing high school basketball, and hopefully attracting the attention of the university scouts.
He knew that he had tasted success before; after all, they had won the National Championship last year, hadn't they? They had swept the floor with Kainan, Shoyo, Ryonan, Sannoh and the rest.
But it was different. This year, everything was different. Because this year, Hanamichi was the captain. And he now had immense responsibilities that he alone had to carry on his broad shoulders. Even though it was only the start of the year, he was already beginning to feel a respect for Akagi Takenori and Ryota Miyagi that he never had before now.
They had led their teams through tough battles, always ready to be the first to jump into the fray. They had pushed and wheedled, and, in the Gori's case, even tutored the team into becoming the smooth, unparalleled champions they were now. And most of all, they had taken a brash, over-confident beginner under their wing, and transformed him into the star player that he was today.
And for that, Sakuragi Hanamichi would always be grateful.
"We'll win the National Championship again this year! 'Cos I am the Tensai, and the Tensai never lies!"
