Author's note:
Hagaki: Konninchiwa Minna-san!!!! Here's chappy 5!!!
Minami: Sorry, it took a while. There's so much schoolwork.
Hagaki: We would like to answer some who reviewed.
Both: Here it is!!!!
(Note: Hagaki is the only one answering these reviews because Minami is too busy)
Shinomori no Kami Daiji: Hahaha!!!! What happened? Rukawa saw me!! Just joking. Nope. Nothing happened while he was in the national team. Read this chapter and you'll know why. And, what's the meaning of Beta-read? ;p
Tensaispira: Yup. They're really poor. Mit-chan's the poorest here...oops!
To all Sakuragi fans: Waahh!!! Don't be mad at me!!! I just LOVE Rukawa-san!!!! To be true, I hate...Sa-ku-ra-g-never mind...
There you have it! For the others, maybe I'll answer you on the b\next chapters. Bye bye!!!! SANKYUUU!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: SD and its characters don't belong to me. Takehiko-sensei does. NO STEAL!!!!!!!
Chapter 5: The Black Wrapper Gift
" What a day." Mitsui said, holding his head. Today was their 3rd day being a national player, but still, they haven't fought other teams. He was slightly getting used to the so-called " BASICS" of the national team, but being a low-stamina person, he often collapses during practice.
While he was walking in the low-lighted way towards their house, he spotted a man around his age and a bit taller than him. Mitsui, quite shocked in the man's appearance, stopped on his tracks. He then looked at the man curiously, but he wasn't able to see the man clearly because the place was dark.
" Hi." the man greeted. His voice was nice. It seems like this man was an innocent one, probably like Kogure. : p
Mitsui looked even more confused. Who was this man, suddenly blocking his way, and then saying hi?
" Hey, who are you? Have we met before?" Mitsui asked, taking another step to have a better look at the man.
" Nope, but I know you...Hisashi Mitsui, jersey number 14 when he was in the Shohoku basketball team, shooting guard, 184 cm tall, 70 kg, birth date: May 22. Former MVP in junior high, now a coach, and at the same time, a national player." The man said with a smile.
" Who are you anyway?" Mitsui said a bit irritated. He does not want anybody who doesn't have a relationship with him know his personal data.
The man walked closer to the now very confused three-point sharp shooter.
" Tamura Itoe."
Suddenly, Mitsui felt someone punch his chest. It was so strong that his sight went black...
" The others will follow you too." Mitsui managed to hear before totally losing consciousness...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ryota, as usual, was escorting his precious Aya-chan to their house again. But he wasn't on his usual jumpy mood. He was walking as if he drank 10 cases of beer, stomped by elephants, and punched by a dozen of gorillas (Akagi didn't though: p).
" Aya-chan..." he said groggily.
" Nani?" Ayako asked, facing the drunken-like Ryota Miyagi beside her.
" Nothing." Ryota said with a smile. * Seeing Aya-chan adds up to my adrenaline. *
As they were walking, they noticed a familiar person lying at the ground. Black hair, a bit tall...it's...
" Mitsui!!!"
" Sempai!!!"
They ran towards Mitsui and helped him to stand up.
" Sempai, daijobu ka?" Ayako asked a worried expression traced on her face.
" Oi!!! Mitsui!! Wake up! Wake up!" Ryota exclaimed, panicking.
Mitsui opened his eyes slowly. The pain was killing him so much that he only managed to see colors, not clear pictures. He then looked at his chest. It was bleeding! He wasn't punched after all. He was stabbed, approximately 3 inches from his heart, by a somewhat blade by that...who was that? Who was that guy again?
" Mitsui-sempai!!! You're bleeding badly!!! Ryota!!! Let's rush him to the hospital! Faster or he'll die!!" Ayako exclaimed, her tears forming in her eyes.
" Hold on Mitsui, please. We'll get there and save you in no time." Ryota said as he carried the taller boy to the nearest hospital. He didn't mind the pain he had while he was practicing. What's important now is to save Mitsui's life. He needs to go as fast as he could, or else...
At a near hospital, two authors, namely D@gger and A. Pikachu, were talking before the nurse station. : p
" I heard that Akagi Takenori, Miyagi Ryota, Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure Kiminobu, and Sakuragi Hanamichi are national players now." D@gger reported happily to A. Pikachu.
" Wow!!! I'm happy for them...that's a nice advanced gift for Christmas...
Hey...Have you watched Gensomaden Saiyuki last night? Hakkai-san is soooooooooo cute!!!" D@gger sweat dropped.
" You and Hagaki are the same, drooling over the same guys. SIGH*"
(Hagaki: Ha! But they're all mine! A. Pikachu doesn't like Rukawa, so he's mine!!! All mine!!!)
(Minami: Ah...can we go back to the story?)
Just then, their friend, a doctor/author, named Hagaki Ozuno, and her sister, with the same occupation, named Minami Ozuno-Ishigami, was running in the hallway, their high-heeled shoes clicking. Behind them was a rolling emergency bed, which was pushed swiftly by their nurses.
" An emergency?" A. Pikachu and D@gger asked in unison.
" CLEAR THE WAY!!! EVERYBODY, PLEASE CLEAR THE WAY!!!!" Hagaki exclaimed, waving her hands in the air.
" Aaah...isn't that?"
The two authors looked closely at the figure lying at the rolling bed. It was Mitsui, gasping for air. Beside him running was Ryota and Ayako, looking worried, saying things like " Hold on." or "Don't die".
After they disappeared in sight, the two authors were left open mouthed.
" What the hell happened to them?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
" Haii, this is Akagi Takenori, may I help-what?! Mitsui's in critical condition?! Why?! Yes...yes...ye-WHAT?! Where are you now? Calm down Miyagi. I'll call the others and inform what happened. We'll go there right away. You should also call his parents. Okay." Akagi placed the phone back hurriedly and grabbed his jacket and shoes.
" Oni-chan? What's wrong? Why are you in a hurry?' Haruko asked curiously, spotting her tall brother tying his shoes as quickly as possible.
" It's an emergency." He said, slipping his jacket on.
" What emergency?"
" Mitsui's been stabbed by someone unknown."
Haruko nearly dropped the glass she was holding.
" So-sou na...."
" Do me a favor Haruko."
" H-haii?"
" Call the others and report what happened. Tell them to go to NAME hospital."
" H-haii!" Haruko answered back as she rushed to the phone. Akagi ran outside, hoping that his team mate, Mitsui's condition wouldn't get any worse...
Haruko looked outside. It started to snow. White, cotton-like things fall lovely from the sky. They look simply beautiful, but not at a time like this. The glass she was holding a while ago, that she now placed on top of the table, fell and crashed to the floor. It was a symbol of bad luck...
The happening today was a bad gift for the near Christmas...indeed a bad gift... :(
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
" Please wait here. I assure you he'll be fine despite having a critical condition." Hagaki said to Ryota, hoping her words would comfort him.
" Arigato Gozaimasu." Ryota said with a bow.
Hagaki then rushed inside the emergency room and shut the doors close. Ryota sighed and sat down beside Ayako who was very, very worried about Mitsui's condition. He moved a little closer and tapped her shoulder, as if telling her 'It's alright'. Just then, they saw Akagi running towards them.
" Akagi! Good, you're here." Ryota said, standing.
" Where is he now? How's he doing? Where is he?" Akagi said, dusting the snow in his jacket.
Ryota pointed the Emergency room.
" The doctor said he'd be alright." Ryota said with an unsure face.
Silence filled the air.
Christmas season shouldn't be like this...it should be happy...it should be carefree... but this tragedy may change their Christmas this year...
Mitsui was their friend since before, despite the fact that he once fought them and disrespected the basketball court. He did make amends in all the wrong things he did. He helped a lot in bringing the Shohoku team to the Inter-High. If it wasn't for his three-pointers...if it wasn't for his help...
About 10 minutes had passed when the three were waiting in front of the emergency room. They were sweating so much, not because it was hot. They were very nervous. Then, they spotted Haruko coming with Sakuragi and Kogure behind her. Akagi greeted them with the news Ryota told him recently. Kogure and Sakuragi were really shocked at the sudden appearance of events, to be exact, horrible events. Haruko explained that Rukawa would be coming soon; he still needs to do something. Everyone was speechless until Hagaki went out of the door and took off her mask.
" Here's the news..." She said. Everyone became extra nervous now.
" Mitsui-san lost a big amount of blood, almost 50%. We need a donor. He's type A."
Everyone was glad that Mitsui wasn't dead. Their only problem now is the donor.
" Now, who's type A?" Everyone looked around, making eye contacts to each other.
" Oni-chan and I are not type A." Haruko said sadly.
" I'm not a type A also." Sakuragi said.
" Me neither." Kogure said.
" I'm type B." Ryota said.
" So am I." Ayako said.
" I am." They all turned around and were shocked. Rukawa was there. He was raising his hand. " I Am." he repeated.
" Good. Rukawa-san, follow me. There's no much time." Rukawa followed Hagaki.
Rukawa seemed to be a man who doesn't care about others. But when it comes to these emergencies, he feels that he needs to do something too. He also knows the meaning of the word 'TEAM' deep in his heart. A team helps each other, no matter what happens. A team isn't a team without cooperation and unity. That's what he was clearing to his mind these years. He wanted to change for the better.
Everyone didn't have the time to be curious on Rukawa's acts. They were busy worrying about their other friend, the great 3-pointer, former MVP, Mitsui Hisashi. :(
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day, Nobuhiro new the news that happened. He noticed the new members, plus Rukawa, looked gloomy and lifeless, unlike the past days that they were really full of energy that was often used up in doing the basics.
After one round of their basics, Ayako was seen rushing towards them with a big smile on her face. She nearly banged the door open in her excitement.
" Aya-chan!!!" Ryota exclaimed.
" Minna!!" Ayako said, panting. It took a while before she could say something again. It looked like she just ran from one place that was far away from the gym.
" Aya-chan, what happened?" Ryota said, as the other players crowded around her.
" Mit...Mitsui-sempai..." She said in between breaths. " Mitsui-sempai is..."
" MITSUI-SEMPAI IS AWAKE AND IS FAR FROIM DANGER NOW!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone rejoiced. Mitsui was safe now! They were jumping and shouting as if they won as the best team in the whole world. A cheerful one now replaced the dark, gloomy atmosphere a while ago.
Ayako looked at Rukawa and smiled.
" You know what? If it wasn't for you, Rukawa, Mitsui-sempai would be dead by now."
Everyone then looked at Rukawa now.
" Nani?" Rukawa said curiously.
In all of a sudden, he felt that a big group carried him and threw him up to the air, shouting " THANK YOU RUKAWA!!". It's also a miracle that Sakuragi joined. :)
" This is only for now!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he and the others threw Rukawa again on the air.
Rukawa felt that he wanted to smile again. He smiled again, but no one noticed that. He felt happy helping others, especially those in need.
" And one more thing." Everyone stopped when Ayako spoke again.
" Mitsui mentioned a name, that he said was the name of the one who attempted to kill him."
" Who's this darn guy?!" Sakuragi said, looking fierce.
" He said the man was named Tamura Itoe."
" Tamura Itoe? Ha!!! Where's that guy? Where's that guy? Whe-" Akagi punched the worm-like Sakuragi now. He gave the red head a death stare, saying: ' Shut up will ya'.
Ryota then noticed Nobuhiro looking nervous.
" What's wrong captain?" he asked.
" Tamura Itoe...Tamura Itoe...is...He is........."
Before Nobuhiro could say anything else, he spotted the man named Tamura Itoe at the Gym door, his arms folded behind his head, wearing that smile that Mitsui saw.
" Koninchiwa! Are you talking about me?" Tamura said.
" Hey, who are you?" Akagi asked.
" whistle* You're talking about me and then you don't know me? Akagi-san, you, make me cry. Huhuhu..." Tamura said in a mocking voice that irritated Akagi so much that he was just like a volcano now that is going to explode.
" Masaka...are you..."
" Boku no namae wa Tamura Itoe desu. You can call me Ii-chan for short." He said, still using his irritating voice tone.
" So you're the one who wanted to kill Mit-chin...no...Mitsui! Why?" Sakuragi shouted in anger.
" Oh? Well, he was the first one I saw. The truth is, you're the one that should be first. And my original plan was to kill ALL of you, including you, captain Nobuhiro."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's note:
HAgaki: Now there you have it!!!! Rukawa smiled again and was the cause of Mitsui's recovery. And who really is this Tamura Itoe guy? Find out in the next chappies!!!
Bye Bye!!! R&R!!!!