Yo, minna-san! Here's the sixth installment of my fic, which shows Sendoh's very first appearance and Sakuragi's first moments with Haruko in their love-filled date! Woohoo!! This is one of my favorite parts, since their date would be a lot crazier than Hanamichi expected, so hold on to your seats!
Got two more reviews! ^_^ Cool, I'm feeling energized again!
Frozenfemale – Hello! Thanks for staying with me! I upload pretty fast? Wow, I thought you guys would kill me if I post it one by one. Besides, your reviews keep me ALIVE! Hope you like this next one! ^_^
luv-anime-4eva – Hey, thanks for the nice words! Sure, I'll try really, really hard! Also, it's ok if you want to speak up. After all, if you can't say what you think about it, then what's the point of having a review corner? ^_^
These two are THE best! Mwah! Sankyu! ^^
Ok now, without further ado…
Itadakimasu!!
6 ~ Sendoh and Ellyta
Akagi went towards his school with a determined look on his face. Pretty soon his entrance examinations on the college he picked will be next on his calendar, and he's excited in studying to make sure he goes straight to the passing mark.
It was bad for him at first that the best college team who once invited him wouldn't let him join anymore (thanks to Akagi's cheeky talk about Shohoku going to the top in Inter-High ^_^). But immediately he decided it served him a new purpose. He was going to work it out to get there step by step. And the first plan is for his own college basketball team to beat the others at the games. The scenes of him playing alongside professional teammates created butterflies (if not butterflies, maybe bananas).
Another reason regarding his feeling was about his high school team: Shohoku. He hoped Miyagi would fulfill his dream of leading their club to the championship in the Winter Tournament and the upcoming Elimination/Inter-High. He knew his teammates have the potential and the will to win all challenges. His mind pictured the fine plays of Rukawa, Miyagi, Sakuragi, and Mitsui during the year. More good freshmen and they'll surely bring the trophy for the school.
Akagi smiled at the cloudless blue sky. So many memories flooded even from the gate of Shohoku High School. It would be hard to let go, but it'll be also be fun to remember the club that made this player realize his dreams and overcome the limits of his strength. Yes, it was one year he will never forget for the rest of his life in basketball.
Ellyta hunched over at her book in the train going to Ryonan and scrutinized the letters in the pages, though she didn't fully understand the whole plot. It was about a girl who fell in love with a boy who went to the army at only fifteen years of age. They decided to break up at first, but for years they still thought about each other, and couldn't bear anymore the days of separation. In the end the boy quit the army and married the girl, and the rest is needless to say.
She sighed and glanced at the window and watched the sea of people go by in a flash. It made her think of the times she loved and left the ones who mattered most to her. In the end she became alone who had neither hope nor future. Corny as it may be, would she ever attain a happy ending like the girls in fantasy books?
"Oi, what made a beautiful girl like yourself so unhappy?" The familiar tone of voice sent her to look away from the window. Her face registered happiness and surprise. "Sendoh-san!"
"Hey, Ellyta! Is that spot next to you taken?"
Ellyta shook "no". Sendoh smiled and sat on the vacant space. "I was supposed to go to Ryonan to see you, but now it seemed like I wasted my money!" Ellyta said half-jokingly. "Where were you?"
Sendoh smirked a little as he told her what happened. "I went to Shohoku—looking for YOU! I heard a few days ago about a new babe in the other school, so I tried to see if you want to go to that new fair that just opened at Ryonan. I paid for the trip there and back, so don't complain!"
The blond girl laughed a little at the image of Sendoh spending his two-weeks' allowance in vain, and soon Sendoh joined in. Moments later the people present in the train looked at them in question as they laughed in uncontrollable fits. Sendoh let out a huge snort, which made both of them laugh harder.
"Whew!" Ellyta giggled. "Next time we'd better call each other before we go to different prefectures, shall we?"
Sendoh clutched his stomach. It was obvious the poor boy got a pained stomach from laughing so hard. "It's a deal! So are you still up on that fair?"
Ellyta smiled at him. Sendoh can be so funny at times, and that was great. She really needed a break right then. "You're on! But you pay for the ice cream cones this time."
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi yelled from the table. "Here! Here!"
"Konban wa, Sakuragi-kun," Haruko greeted him as she took the seat across the blushing redhead. "Sorry I'm late. Did you wait long?"
Sakuragi shook his head. "No! I'm so happy you made it here!" So kawaii, Sakuragi thought as he looked at Haruko's sleeveless bright red shirt and black pants. She looked much prettier and older than the days when she is wearing her regular school uniform. I've died and gone to heaven!
"Hi, Hanamichi!" Takamiya yelled as the Sakuragi Guntai reached the corner where they sat. "Good thing you didn't order anything yet."
"Yeah, or going here will be a waste!" Souichiro grinned as he eyed Haruko. "Yo, you look good, Haruko-chan."
Haruko smiled back at the group. "Hontou? Arigato!"
Okay, so I'm still not in heaven. This scene caused Sakuragi's happy head of dreams to descend to reality once again. He totally forgot Yohei and the others have to be here so he wouldn't get an earful (and a fistful) from Gori when they practice tomorrow. His plan was totally ruined!
Or maybe not. Sakuragi grinned slightly when he remembered his deal with the gang. He glanced sideways at Haruko, who was engrossed in a conversation with Takamiya about the History test they were supposed to take up this week. Her dark brown hair gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the restaurant and made the freshman's heart melt at the sight of his love across the table. Then after a few minutes—which seemed like an hour or two for impatient Hanamichi—the moment finally came.
"Pssst!" Sakuragi hissed at Yohei while hiding behind a plant pot. "It's time!"
"What! Already?" Sakuragi immediately jabbed Yohei's ribs in panic. "Hai, hai." He sighed as he rubbed the sore spot where his leader hit him.
After showing up their super-secret group signal, the group apologized to Haruko. "We forgot, we had to get something from the…um…school! Don't get up, though, it's only for us guys—guy secrets you might say. Well, see ya later!"
Haruko frowned a little as the Guntai scrambled out of the main door. "Is there anything wrong with them?" she inquired Sakuragi when he got back to their table. "They sounded so natural talking to us until now."
"Them? Nah!" Sakuragi shook his head, although in the deepest of his feelings he said, Yeah, there's a lot wrong about those bakas! I'm sure glad they ditched us!
He went back to his original seat and smiled shyly at the kawaii (not to me, she ain't) girl. "Well, can we now…"
He stopped in mid sentence staring at the door in shock. He couldn't believe the ones who were entering the premises just then: Miyagi and Ayako!
~*Next Chapter – Triple Dates*~
There! Done! What will happen to Sakuragi's dream of spending time ALONE with Haruko? Hehehehe, it won't be a straight one, of course.
PS It'll be our tests soon, so it may be a while for me to post another. Pls don't kill me.