Title: Alone… and Forgotten… A/N: Right… again, I have to say sorry for taking so LONG to update, and writing another REALLY LONG chapter… gomengomengomen…. This is really getting terrible… plsplspls forgive me-ne, minna-san… well, then read on!!!

Cools: Yup, am writing more chapters, thank you….

Nothingmatters: NICE penname u have there… good thinking. Yeah, am writing more, thanks for your support… *hinthint*

Yuriko: Nah… I didn't explain why Mintei is hurt, so you're not blur on anything at all!! It will come, though I'm not sure when… I can't seem to slit it in.

Faithncourage: Hehe… sorry I took so Long to update, you have it here though… thanks for your support!!!

Unquestionable: Che… I thought u were going to say finally I uploaded…. Mengada!!! U just wait till I find something that irritates u,… matilar u then…

 Teh Tarik: Err… mail disappeared? Seriously? Then I'll just have to amil u again… hehehehe… *laughs evilly* Well… I dunno y she can't ignore Sendo. Maybe she fells obligated to follow what he says because he is older and she has too much moral values such as menghormati orang yang lebih tua… and dunno wat crap lar… that nilai pretty long wan right? I know, I know, they change syllabus already….

Miracle: Thanks… midterm is MORE than I can bear… oh, so, anyway, yeah… Sendo… don't worry, he'll be coming back to ur Sendo soon… hehehe

Chapter 6-Acceptance

            'Ohayo… Mintei!' Hatina called out in a draggy voice.  

            'Ohayo, Ti-chan Mintei said back, a smile plastered to her face. Both looked at each other for a while, then for some reason, broke out into hearty laughter… yesterday's events not forgotten maybe, but forgiven.

            'Ne… about yesterday, gomen-ne?' Hatina muttered softly, her eyes twinkling. Mintei just nodded, hoping that she won't bring the subject up again.

            'So…,' Mintei started, hoping to divert her attention as Shoyo High slowly came into view.

            'Wait, Mi-chan. I know you don't want to talk about it… but before you start talking about whatever things that are on you mind, can please hear me out?'

            'Hati…'

            'No, look… I mean listen. I only want you to hear me out! That's all, just listen to the whole situation. See the big picture before you just push it aside like that, please,' Hatina said in a pleading tone, walking over to a more secluded area, pulling Mintei along with her.

            'So, if you would just lis…'

            'To hell with your just listens!' Mintei suddenly lashed out. In her, she felt her anger bubbling, trying to pour out of her.

            'Do you think it's not the same? Do you think listening won't open my wounds and make me remember it all again? You don't understand do you? You've never been what I went through… and goodness, you said that you would help me out… to pull me out and help me stand up!'

            'Yeah I did promise you, but I didn't think you'd be so selfish,' Hatina said back, coolly.

            'Huh? You're the one being selfish here. You don't care about what I'm feeling…'   

            'Me? Okay, I admit that I'm not really paying all that much attention to what you are feeling… but you're also being a little selfish here, don't you think?...'

            'NO!'

            'Err… that was a rhetorical question… wait… don't be so rash okay? You are being selfish in a way because you're too scared to let go of your past. You're clinging on to it, knowing that it would hurt you, but still doing so anyway.'

            'Do you think it is that easy to let it go? Do you think that I don't want to let it go? Hell… I want to, but it's not so easy that I can just say it and do it.'

            'Nobody said it was easy… but it is possible. It's not like you were hurt just a week ago… it wasn't even a year ago. It was two years ago… and you're not opening up yet. You're still too scared to talk about it,' Hatina held up a hand when she saw that Mintei was about to interrupt, 'no… listen first. I know it hurt you, and I'm your friend, and I hated seeing you get hurt, and that's one of the reasons I'm making you spill everything. I hated seeing you get hurt,' Hatina repeated.

            'Well, that's a helluva thing to say considering the situation,' Mintei muttered bitterly.

            '… and we have a new friend now,' Hatina continued, as if she hadn't heard Mintei at all, '…and I don't want to see her hurt herself the same way.'

            'I took care of myself, she should learn to take care of her own self.' Mintei said softly, hardly realizing that she said it until it left her mouth. Hatina's eyes narrowed.

            'What is the point of you going through that if you're not going to learn anything and lead others on?

            'I didn't ask for this.'

            'No you didn't, but it happened. Not everything will go your way. And if you don't buck up and stand up straight, you would never ever succeed. Your past is drowning you… drowning your mind… and you're hardly doing anything to stop it. If you were given a chance to relive that part of your life again, wouldn't you want to do so? But you can't! And that's a cold hard fact that you would have to learn to accept. And since you can't, the closest thing you can do is to not let others make the same mistake you did, and live that particular part of their life happily so that they won't regret in the future… like you are doing.'

            'But…' Mintei stopped, not knowing what to say. Her short illogical surge of anger disappeared, and two large tears rolled down her cheeks instead. Hatina was always the smartest one, and no one could win an argument against her. From where they were, they could hear all the students babbling on their way to school.

            'Look, Mintei… we were already close friends with you when that happened. At least, at that time, you knew that there were people you could lean on… but Meia... Meia didn't even know how to smile. Don't you feel sorry for her? We tried our best to help you at that time, we tried to feel empathetic towards you, but we couldn't. We didn't go through what you were going through, and all we could do is stand several feet back, making sure that we could catch you if you fell. We did our best in our own way, but that was the way of the world… one can't fully comfort another without really knowing what it felt like going through what the other did… trust me, we hated to see you sad, to see you crying… and the worst thing I felt was… helplessness. I couldn't do anything to help you, accept to cheer you up… to try to cheer you up,' Hatina's voice was lowering every second… and Mintei could swear that she heard her stumble once or twice, and suddenly, Mintei just felt like taking back all she ever said. To just hug her and say that it was alright, what she did had been sufficient. If they hadn't been there, she might have done worst things that would have put her life in mortal danger.

            'But you… now you have the privilege of helping another,' Hatina looked up, into her eyes. Mintei noted that her eyes were a little bloodshot.

            'I'm not saying it like it is a good thing… but I mean, that's a law. There has to be a good thing that comes out of every bad. You can do something that we couldn't. You could help prevent Meia from going through as much suffering as you went through if say… anything were to happen to her brother.' Hatina grinned a little.

            'I know it's not your nature to poke your nose into other people's business, and if you had told me two years ago to help someone like Meia, I would have looked at you in a weird manner… but after seeing how it takes a lifetime to love someone, and yet, to be able to lose it in a matter of a second, it taught me something I never forgot. You can look at them and ask them to shut up on the "what ifs" but in reality, those what ifs do happen, and if we don't prepare ourselves, those two words could kill us.' Suddenly Mintei threw herself on a shocked Hatina, and started sobbing. Hatina smiled slightly, and hugged her back. They stood that way for a while, savoring the quietness that couldn't be broken by the chirping of birds, or by the babbling of the students. Savoring the calmness that only they two shared at that time.

* * * * * * * *

            'Hey Meia!' A day had passed, and now, Mintei was a little more collected and controlled.

            'Mi-chan!' Meia called back cheerfully.

            'Do you have anything on tomorrow night?'

            'Err… I don't think so. Why?' Meia asked, now beside her.

            'Well, we were planning a sleepover in Va-chan's house, and were wondering if you could make it.'

            'Well…' Meia thought it over, her insecurities surfacing automatically.

            'Great! We can go to her house straight away after practice!' Mintei exclaimed. Meia merely shook her head and laughed at her friend's antiques. But inside… she had always felt that Mintei understood her more than anyone else in their group did.

            But first… I'm seriously surprised that I was actually accepted into their group in the first place. Meia thought with wonder.

            'What makes you think I had nothing on?' Meia asked back playfully.

            'Hmmm… well, it's Friday night, and I don't think that you have a boyfriend that would actually be willing to go out with you…' Mintei ducked a blow from Meia.

            'Anyhow, if you really can't make it, we would postpone it to Monday maybe. Saturday isn't possible, cause Ken-san and Toru-san has tuition on that day.' Meia stared at her. She found it amazingly hard to believe that she was able to be actually accepted that well that they would actually postpone something if she couldn't make it.

            And what's more? They're basketball players…

            Suddenly Fujima appeared.

            'Here you guys are. I've been looking everywhere for you! We have to cancel our sleepover cause all six of us can't make it!'

            'Says who?' Mintei asked.

            'Says me. I just found out that there's going to be a party for all the basketball players in Shoyo, Kainan, Shohoku, and of course, Ryonan. It's compulsory for all… so, we can still come to my house after practice and proceed to Akagi's later.' Fujima said, hardly giving himself time to recover from his search for them

            'Akagi's house? Does that mean Haruko would be there too?' Mintei wrinkled her face.

            'Yup, and Rukawa-kun would be there too,' Hatina muttered, appearing beside Mintei. With her, was Varoa.

            'Nii-chan! What are you doing here? Practice is going to start in five minutes!... let us just forget about Haruko and the love-of-her-life, oh-my-ever-so-dear Rukawa-kun, shall we?'            Varoa said, making a face. It was pretty obvious that she disliked Haruko.

            '…' Fujima stared at the four girls, amused.

            'How do all of you know Haruko-san anyway?' Hanagata asked, appearing magically behind Meia.

            'Wait, wait… is it normal for all of you to pop out of nowhere in the middle of a conversation and know everything that we are talking about?' Meia butt in.  

            'If so, I don't think I could really get use to that,' she continued, shaking her head comically. Mintei noted the glee in her eyes, and cracked. The rest followed to suit.

            'The manageresses had a meeting that day, and all Haruko talked about was that Rukawa of hers,' Hatina explained after their laughter subsided.

            'Ei? I didn't know the manageresses had meetings,' Hanagata replied.

            'She's exaggerating,' Meia muttered.

            She's feeling accepted. When she's in the midst of us, she's accepted, but she doesn't realize it… only when she's not with us, she'll start feeling insecure and lonely… but then again, most people are like that, right?... but… maybe Meia is a little worse of… I think, Mintei smiled, wondering how to help the girl in front of her.

            'Mi-chan here, is Ayako-san's second cousin. We ran into them while eating in Mc Donalds that day. She was with Haruko. Few minutes later, this tall guy with messy hair stepped in, all sleepy and drooling, and then needless to say, she went all lovey-dovey, giving us free lessons on Rukawa's history… goodness,' Varoa muttered.

            'Maa, maa, I think this is getting a little too serious. Relax, she's not all that bad… and anyway, plenty of girls are like head-over-hills in love with Rukawa from what I heard. You gals are one of the few who aren't… and that may only be because you haven't really met him yet,' Fujima teased. The girls however, did not pay attention to his teasing.

            'Yeah,' Mintei said darkly, 'Compared with the three head of the Rukawa Brigade who entered seconds later…' a shudder passed around the four girls.

            '…' Fujima stared at the four girls.

            'You know Fujima, if those girls managed to scared these four, I certainly do not intend to meet them,' Hanagata murmured. Beside him, Fujima nodded vigorously.

* * * * * * * *

            'Okay, dismiss!' Fujima shouted. The players started filing into the changing room, talking.

            'Is there anyone who's staying late to practice?' Meia suddenly asked. Slowly, the talk faded away, and all the players were staring blankly at Meia.

            'We're going home early today, so the once who wants to stay late will have to lock up by yourselves,' Meia explained, assuming as always that they all knew who the we were referring to. They did, as suddenly questioning looks were thrown their way.    

            'Ti-chan, I've realized that Meia is not all that… how shall I put it… like scared and insecure if you don't give her time to think about her actions… and put her amongst people who, are, you know, familiar with her,' Mintei whispered.

            'Yeah… but if you give her time to think through her actions, no matter where she is…' Hatina left her sentence hanging, as both of them walked over to the girl's changing room. Out of the corner of her eyes, Mintei saw Meia handing the gym keys over to Hasegawa.

            As soon as all six of them were cleaned up and ready, they left for Varoa's house. They had about two hours till the party started, so were currently taking their own sweet time. Meia, for one, felt very nervous about the party. She kept running her hand through her hair, hardly paying attention to what was going on around her. Mintei, being the most observant one of the gang noticed that immediately. As far as Mintei knew, Meia was pretty interested in nature, and would point out a lot of interesting facts while walking, especially in the dark… something which was probably the last thing on her mind now. Mintei felt that she knew what Meia was worried about, and kept it to herself.

* * * * * * * *

            I didn't even tell onii-san that I'm in the basketball club… what if he's shocked to see me and suddenly cracks? And anyway… I don't think I really like the idea of going to a party together with him… I would be grateful, but not exactly happy. Crap… why do I look up to him so much?!! And… what about Koshino-san and so many others? Maki-san, Jin-san… goodness… what would they say when they see me at the party? Sure, they don't know me… but what of they chase me out saying that this is only for basketball players and not for some dunno-what-crap  like me? And goodness… so many other things to worry about. Almost all the basketball players have an uncanny ability to attract attention to themselves… especially onii-san…and I'm the only sick one there… gosh… Meia sighed.

            'Meia, daijoubu?' Hanagata asked softly. Meia started a little. She had assumed that the rest had gone into the house and would not miss her as soon as they reached. She had stayed outside, taking in deep breaths of fresh air, trying to calm herself down, not realizing that Hanagata, wondering where she went, had came back out to look for her.

            'Ei? What are you doing here?' she asked, grinning a little nervously.

            'Hmm… let's just say, I was looking for a girl who seemed to have disappeared from our side when we entered into the house,' he answered playfully. Among all of them, while Meia felt that Mintei understood her best, she had always, in the same way, felt closest to Hanagata compared to the others. He had always treated her a little differently…

…like a sister…

            Meia shook her head a little, clearing her mind.   

            'Ia-chan?' A note of care and worry could be heard in his voice. She flashed him a smile.

            'Nah, I'm okay.'

            'You wanna stay here the rest of the night? I wouldn't mind, you know, leaving you here and all.' Meia shoved him playfully.

            'Meanie,' she muttered, and both proceeded inside.

He reminds you of Ra-nii, doesn't he?

            Meia stopped, startled at that flashing thought. It had crossed her mind involuntarily, not by will… and yet, the truth in it was undeniable. He did remind her of ra-nii before they had began to grow apart.

            'You sure have an inkling to stopping and staring off into space now a days don't you?' Hanagata's voice pierced through her curtain of thought, and she quickened her pace, trying to catch up with Hanagata.

* * * * * * * *

            'Konnichiwa,' Akagi greeted them all.

            'Hey, Akagi,' Fujima replied pleasantly. As they proceeded inside, Mintei caught sight of Ayako, raised a hand in greeting, and then continued into that large double-story house.

            'I seriously don't understand what girls see in him,' Hatina suddenly said, looking at a tall freshman, who currently, wasn't sleeping, but punching a redhead.

            'Teme! Rukawa! Dare you punch a Tensai? If it was just any Tensai that would be forgivable, but Tensai Sakuragi?!!'

            'Do'aho…'        

            'TEME!!' The six of them sweat-dropped.

            'Err… I think it would be more understandable at least, compared to falling for that red-head Sakuragi,' Varoa said. As a manageress, or captain or sub-captain, they were obligated to be able to match a basketball player's name with their looks, but need not necessarily know the person's attitude. And thus, they were all pretty shocked at his antiques.

            'Meia-san, here's the gym key,' Hasegawa, who was passing by said, digging into his pocket. When he did produce the gym key, she fainted.

            'Why didn't you give it back to the office?'

            'Ei? I thought it was yours…'

            'Baka! We only use our keys during emergencies! Hanagata half-scolded.

            'Oh… o…k…a….y…. Gomen, minna-san… I'll give the key back on Monday,' Hasegawa said, his shoulders dropping at the thought of giving the key back, and of course, the scolding he would receive.

            'Nah, it's okay,' Meia muttered, holding her hand out.

            'I'm responsible for it. I'll give it back,' she continued.

            'Are you sure? I mean…'

            'Yeah, I'm sure,' Meia interrupted, a small smile surfacing. Fujima shrugged, his manageress were responsible, and he was glad for it. Hanagata, who had the clearest view of the door, suddenly said, 'Looks like the Ryonans decided to come together.'

            Meia's head snapped up to the door so fast and so hard that Mintei swore she could almost hear her bone crack. Instinctively, Mintei put her hand up to her neck, and then dropped it. Hanagata, on the other hand, was shocked at the reaction he had drawn out of Meia with his casual sentence. However, if not for the two of them, Meia's actions went unnoticed.

            There at the door stood Uozumi, Ikegami, Koshino… and Sendo. Behind them, there were of course, another long line of people, but Meia's eyes was focused on a certain person… only.

A'N: I hope that this wasn't too long… Do tell me what you think, even if it is bad, okay? Oh… yeah, while I was writing, I was wondering, should I pair Meia up? I didn't plan to pair her up with anyone… but should I pair her up with Hanagata? Or Fujima? or no one?