Disclaimers: I do not own Slam Dunk and its characters. However, some of the characters in this wonderful work of fiction belong to me.
Author's Notes: This fic is set after 5 years from the original series.

Dedication: This one's for Kyo-chan

I Wanna Be Your Angel

By: nagi_silvermoon

Chapter 3

"Hey! You still owe me a discman." She pointed at him with confirmation and a hint of steel in her voice.

Mitsui messed his hair slowly, a blush creeping on his face. "Yeah, I remember."

Everybody in the room was looking at them, perplexed by what was transpiring between the teenager and the man. It was Yatsura Toshi who first broke the silence. He cleared his throat audibly and turned to the two, his brows furrowing.

"You two know each other?" He inquired.

"Not really," Yatsura Kyori replied, a bit flushed. She seemed to be a bit embarrassed about the whole thing. "I was jogging yesterday in the city and then Mitsui-san bumps into me. He apologized because he was in such a hurry. But he broke my discman so he promised me one. He even gave me a calling card just to reassure me that he will really replace it." She looked at Mitsui, pleading and forcing him to say something about the matter. It was as if she's saying 'don't let me suffer alone'.

"Uh… yeah," Mitsui replied, getting her look. "The traffic was really bad that I had no choice but to run." He related that day nonchalantly but remembering it pained Mitsui very much. "Don't worry, though. Your sister wasn't the only one I bumped into," he added as an afterthought. "Lots of people… Really messy…" He laughed but with a hint of nervousness.

He looked at Kyori and somewhat gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back slightly, almost blushing at the process. Mitsui, too, blushed although much more brightly, still somewhat entranced by her like that day he bumped into her.

"Why are you too embarrassed about it?" Rukawa asked quietly. "Sempai, you're blushing."

Mitsui wished he'd never been born.

~@~@~

The hospital room suddenly became quiet. Miyagi, Rukawa and the Yatsuras left for lunch leaving Mitsui to look after Hiro. The ambiance was not as tense as it was earlier and the twenty-three year old coach finally found it easy to breathe.

"I didn't know you knew my sister, kantoku," Hiro commented, smiling sweetly after he broke the precious silence. "But I guess that will help you in your promise. I do hope you did not forget that."

"Why would I?" Mitsui asked. He sat by his bedside and looked at him. "Tell me, why don't you want Kyori to know?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you this but I guess you deserve to know." Hiro's features turned pensive and this caught Mitsui's attention. "My mother died giving birth to me. Onee-chan was eight years old at that time. At that young age of hers she became a mother to this young baby. I grew up knowing that onee-chan is my mother. I know she's my sister and all, but to me, she's a mother.

"If I'm sick, she takes care of me. If I'm troubled, she comforts me. Like I said, she's my mother. She doesn't look like it at first but she's really very responsible and caring. She'll do anything for me but I don't abuse her kindness.

"Now, if you're in my position, what's the least thing you'd want to do to her?" Hiro inquired.

Mitsui paused and thought about what his ace player told him. As usual, the kid had some wisdom that was too mature for his age. Mitsui can't really help but admire the kid. Perhaps the wisdom came from experiences and reflections? Maybe.

"She went through all the pains just to raise me up, sacrificing many things along the way and all that. I guess the least thing I want to do to her is hurt her," came the reply. Then, slowly, he understood. He turned towards the boy and smiled slightly. "Have I told you that you're just too smart and wise for your age?"

"You just did."

"Yeah, looks like it."

"Please don't tell her anything about it, kantoku. I'd die if she knew."

"Aren't you about to?"

The young boy erupted in laughter, filing the room with sounds of cheerfulness. The older man laughed as well at his own joke.

Hiro calmed down and settled after a while. He turned to look at Mitsui and he smiled at him. "Kantoku… Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

Mitsui stopped laughing and looked at his player straight in the eyes. Was Hiro doing the right thing of keeping the thing a secret from his "mother"? Being on the hot seat was hard for him especially if it was about something he was uncomfortable with.

"You don't want her to get hurt," Mitsui began. "But, in my opinion, don't you think she'll get hurt more when it does happen? We can't avoid hurting people, to be quite honest. But, if you told her about it beforehand, it might help lessen the pain she might feel later on. She'll have time to accept the fact and when it does happen she will be prepared for it."

Hiro closed his eyes and sighed slowly. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at his coach. "Maybe I don't want to get hurt." Seeing the perplexed look of the older man, he continued his remark with an explanation. "Because I get hurt every time I hurt her. Maybe what I'm doing is not for her sake but for mine."

~@~@~

Kyori ignored the conversation going on at the lunch table. Her brother, Toshi, was conversing with a man named Miyagi Ryota while her soon-to-be sister-in-law was coaxing the silent Rukawa Kaede to eat the pesto in front of him. While everybody was in a more festive mood, Kyori was pensive, her thoughts lying toward her younger brother.

She had this weird feeling at the back of her mind that something was very wrong with the picture but she doesn't know what. If there was one thing she was really proud of, it was her instinct. Right now, her instinct tells her just that.

For the record, it was the second time Hiro broke down and was brought to the hospital. The doctor told them that it was only anemia and that they should not worry themselves too much because with just the right medication and all, Hiro will be fine.

But why is it that Hiro collapsed again when he was following everything the doctor said word for word? Kyori was so frustrated while pondering on her thoughts that she actually put too much pressure on her food that it went flying towards Miyagi's plate.

Everyone was staring at her in alarm but she shrugged them all off. "Sorry," she mumbled, almost inaudibly, to them and pretended to mind her food.

"Are you alright, Kyori?" Toshi inquired.

"Yeah." Another mumble.

"You sure, honey?" Mizu asked.

"Yeah."

Then, they left it at that and continued to converse with each other while Kyori continued to ponder on her thoughts. Absent-mindedly eating a macaroni noodle, a thought suddenly came up in her already full mind.

Who is he?

To be continued

Author's Notes: Isn't Hiro just too saintly??? I know… kinda weird for a kid… but he might have gotten loads of wisdom from his sister whose character I will reveal further in the next few chapters… if you know me personally then you'll have an idea that I based part of Kyori's character from the original Kyori (the one I'm dedicating this fic to)… anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this fic so far… it's a bit slow but we're still in the intro part… till then…