Let One's Heart Decide
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.
Chapter 6: Secrets
"Sakuragi Hanamichi! Where did you go halfway through practice the other day? And you didn't even come for practice after that!" Ayako told the tall red-head, smacking him on the head with her paper fan.
Sakuragi turned to look at the basketball manageress and walked off without saying anything. He didn't even yelp like he usually does when he gets whacked.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi?" Ayako called him, surprised.
Sakuragi continued to trudge to his class ignoring everyone and everything around him. He just had a lot on his mind. Even when Hatsuko tried to cheer him up that morning, he didn't even pay much attention to her.
"Yo, Hanamichi!" Yohei called out to him, with the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan behind him.
"Yo," he mumbled.
"Hanamichi, what's wrong with you? You finally got dumped by Haruko? Not like the both of you were even dating in the first place…" Takamiya said, grinning, when he saw the forlorn look on his friend's face.
Yohei gave him a glare and grabbed Sakuragi's arm when he saw bruises on it. Sakuragi, as usual, was wearing his white shirt with his uniform trousers.
"Did you get into a fight?" Yohei asked seriously, as he tried to look into his friend's eyes but somehow, Sakuragi was avoiding his gaze.
"Hanamichi, you got into a fight and didn't even tell us?" Noma asked.
"Yeah, how could you?" Ohkusu continued.
Sakuragi pulled his arm away from Yohei and continued walking to class. Since Yohei was in the same class with him that year, Yohei continued to interrogate him. Takamiya, Ohkusu and Noma were left behind, as usual.
"Hanamichi, so how was it?" Yohei asked. "Who was it?"
"It was nothing. It wasn't even a fight," Sakuragi muttered.
"Then how do you explain this?" Yohei asked angrily, pointing the bruises on his arm.
He grabbed Sakuragi's shoulders hard and forced him to look at him. Sakuragi winced and Yohei immediately released his grip.
"Hanamichi," he whispered, wondering what could be hurting his friend so much. He always shared his problems and Yohei always did his best to help.
"I don't want to talk about it," Sakuragi said, finally looking down at his best friend.
Yohei's eyes widened at the sight of the purplish blue bruise on the side of his right eye, and watched as Sakuragi went to his seat and slumped into it.
~*~*~*~*~
Hatsuko felt the wind whipping her hair and she shut her eyes. It was wonderful. It felt as though she was one with the wind and that she could almost fly. She opened her eyes once again and looked down from the rooftop.
She was on the rooftop of Shohoku High. She was feeling tense. There was something wrong with her brother ever since he got home a few nights ago. She knew that he probably got into another one of his fights but he was usually satisfied and quite happy after them. However, he was depressed instead. He refused to eat dinner and he was silent, a trait that her brother never possessed.
"Nii-chan, what's wrong with you?" she whispered, her eyes stinging. She tried all she could this morning to cheer him up but he ignored her most of the time although he did accompany her to school as usual.
"Oi, you okay?"
Hatsuko turned and found Rukawa behind her. She took a deep breath and after ensuring that her tears won't spill, she smiled.
"Uh-huh," she said. "What are you doing up here, Rukawa-san?"
"I always come up here," Rukawa answered.
Before Hatsuko could ask the reason, he continued. "To sleep."
Hatsuko giggled and said, "Sou ka?"
"Omae?"
"Er… betsu ni. I just wanted to relax. The wind up here's great," she said in a rush.
Rukawa nodded and looked at the girl in front of him. He knew that something was troubling her but he dare not ask. It was only a few days ago that she commented on his talking more than usual. Rukawa watched as Hatsuko struggled to neaten her hair which was getting messier and messier from the wind. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He then began to search his pockets.
"Rukawa-san, what are you doing?" Hatsuko asked Rukawa as he continued to search his pockets.
Finally, he pulled his right hand out of his right trouser pocket and extended it to her.
"Here," he said.
"Huh?" she said, stretching out her right hand, palm up.
Rukawa dropped the item into her hand and turned to walk off.
"A scrunchie? Rukawa-san! Chotto matte kudasai!" Hatsuko hurried up to catch up to his huge strides. "Doushite?"
"You look better with a scrunchie than that hideous red cap," Rukawa muttered, and continued to walk away.
"Oh! Er… arigatou! I'll get you something too!" she shouted at him, but he shook his head.
"Rukawa-san sure is weird… but in a sweet sort of way," she whispered with a smile playing on her lips.
~*~*~*~*~
'D'aho, why did you get her the scrunchie? What are you trying to tell her?'
'Nothing. She needed it and I got it for her. No big deal.'
Somehow, Rukawa knew that that was not the answer. He didn't know how to explain it but she was different from the rest of the girls he knew. Most of the girls in school idolize him. The rest are rather fearful of him. Not that he minds of course. The fewer the better.
Rukawa scratched his head and sighed. He felt really at ease around her. Eventhough Ayako-san was his senior back at Tomigaoka Junior High and still his senior at Shohoku, he didn't feel as comfortable around her as he did around Hatsuko.
Walking along the hallways, Rukawa ignored the girls gawking at him.
'Stop staring,' he thought angrily. 'Don't you have anything better to do?'
Although he was feeling frustrated inside, he did not let his feelings show. His exterior was as cold as usual. Actually, it was colder. The crowd of students made way as he passed; pausing their conversation to admire him or to just make way.
Underneath his bangs, Rukawa glared straight ahead and continued to walk.
~*~*~*~*~
"Nee, Riko, did you see Rukawa just now? Isn't he just so kakkoii?" a girl with short brown hair asked her friend.
"Rukawa Kaede soretomo Rukawa Kazuo?" her friend asked.
Kazuo who was at his locker, listened to their conversation.
"Yahari Rukawa Kaede! Mysterious guys are always cooler! Compare them and you can see that Rukawa Kaede is also better-looking."
Kazuo's eyes narrowed as he continued to listen.
"Sou sou."
"Too bad he's not into girls…"
"I think he likes someone though… that red-head's sister…"
"Hatsuko? She's in my class! She's the innocent sort though… I doubt she even realizes that Rukawa has his eyes on her…"
"Hatsuko-san?" Kazuo whispered. "Yappari."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm in Rukawa's fan club and he doesn't even notice me!"
"I know…"
Kazuo sighed and shut his locker softly so that the girls wouldn't know that he was eavesdropping.
"Shimatta," he cursed.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hanamichi!" Ryota called out as he entered the gym.
"He's not here, Ryota."
"Aya-chan!" Ryota blushed as the love of his life walked over to him. After composing himself, he continued by asking, "Where'd he go?"
"I don't know but this is already the seventh practice that he's missed. He's never like this…" Ayako said, a frown creasing her forehead.
Ryota turned and walked out of the gym.
"Ryota! Where are you going?" Ayako shouted.
"I'm going to look for him. He should be around this area. Tell Yasu to take care of everything," he shouted back as he increased his pace to a jog.
"Uh," she said as she watched him go.
Ayako then saw Hatsuko and Haruko walk in from the other entrance.
"Hatsuko-chan! Where's your brother?"
"Nii-chan? Eh? He's not here?" Hatsuko looked surprised.
"Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko echoed.
"But Nii-chan told me to come here…" Hatsuko's voice trailed off.
"Where can he be? If he's fighting again, Anzai-sensei will be furious," Ayako said worriedly.
"Ah… daijoubu, Ayako-san. Sakuragi-kun promised that he wouldn't fight, ne?" Haruko said.
When Ayako didn't reply, Haruko began to look worried.
'Sou na…' Hatsuko thought as she bit her lip. "Daijoubu! I bet Nii-chan is just playing around with Yo-chan and the rest."
"Well, he shouldn't," Ayako said angrily, crossing her arms.
"Maa maa. Sakuragi-kun has been working so hard," Haruko defended.
"Still! Do you know that Ryota went to look for him?"
"EH?"
Hatsuko's eyes widened but she kept silent. She has to protect her brother, no matter what.
All the basketball players who were already present listened on to Ayako and Haruko, except for the Rukawa brothers who were watching Hatsuko. When Hatsuko turned to leave, Rukawa walked to her.
"I thought your brother told you to stay here," he said with a straight face. Inside, his heart was pounding so hard. It was as though he had just played a one-on-one against Sendoh.
Hatsuko looked up at him and smiled. Rukawa noticed that her eyes weren't smiling, unlike the usual smiles that she gave him.
"I'm just going to stay around school. I'll come back when training's going to end," she said.
"Ah…" a tinge of pink appeared on Rukawa's pale cheeks. 'Damn, what was I so worried about?'
"Rukawa-san, if Nii-chan is still not here by then, will you walk me home? I promised him that I wouldn't go back by myself and…" she said, almost inaudibly.
Surprised, Rukawa nodded. With a tiny smile, Hatsuko walked off.
Rukawa turned and saw everyone looking at him.
"What?" he asked, with a stony expression.
Everyone immediately turned away and pretended to do something else. All except for Kazuo, who glared back at him with an equally stony expression.
'Rukawa-kun,' Haruko's heart called out to him. She couldn't believe what she saw, yet, it did happen. She felt a sharp pain in her heart and her eyes began to sting.
Suddenly, Ryota rushed in.
"I found Mito and the rest of the gundan. Hanamichi wasn't with them. He wasn't with them during the other times either!"
Author's note: Ah! Sumimasen!! *bows* I know that I took exceptionally long with this chapter! ^^6 Anyways, you can tell that something's up, ne? ^^
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.
Chapter 6: Secrets
"Sakuragi Hanamichi! Where did you go halfway through practice the other day? And you didn't even come for practice after that!" Ayako told the tall red-head, smacking him on the head with her paper fan.
Sakuragi turned to look at the basketball manageress and walked off without saying anything. He didn't even yelp like he usually does when he gets whacked.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi?" Ayako called him, surprised.
Sakuragi continued to trudge to his class ignoring everyone and everything around him. He just had a lot on his mind. Even when Hatsuko tried to cheer him up that morning, he didn't even pay much attention to her.
"Yo, Hanamichi!" Yohei called out to him, with the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan behind him.
"Yo," he mumbled.
"Hanamichi, what's wrong with you? You finally got dumped by Haruko? Not like the both of you were even dating in the first place…" Takamiya said, grinning, when he saw the forlorn look on his friend's face.
Yohei gave him a glare and grabbed Sakuragi's arm when he saw bruises on it. Sakuragi, as usual, was wearing his white shirt with his uniform trousers.
"Did you get into a fight?" Yohei asked seriously, as he tried to look into his friend's eyes but somehow, Sakuragi was avoiding his gaze.
"Hanamichi, you got into a fight and didn't even tell us?" Noma asked.
"Yeah, how could you?" Ohkusu continued.
Sakuragi pulled his arm away from Yohei and continued walking to class. Since Yohei was in the same class with him that year, Yohei continued to interrogate him. Takamiya, Ohkusu and Noma were left behind, as usual.
"Hanamichi, so how was it?" Yohei asked. "Who was it?"
"It was nothing. It wasn't even a fight," Sakuragi muttered.
"Then how do you explain this?" Yohei asked angrily, pointing the bruises on his arm.
He grabbed Sakuragi's shoulders hard and forced him to look at him. Sakuragi winced and Yohei immediately released his grip.
"Hanamichi," he whispered, wondering what could be hurting his friend so much. He always shared his problems and Yohei always did his best to help.
"I don't want to talk about it," Sakuragi said, finally looking down at his best friend.
Yohei's eyes widened at the sight of the purplish blue bruise on the side of his right eye, and watched as Sakuragi went to his seat and slumped into it.
~*~*~*~*~
Hatsuko felt the wind whipping her hair and she shut her eyes. It was wonderful. It felt as though she was one with the wind and that she could almost fly. She opened her eyes once again and looked down from the rooftop.
She was on the rooftop of Shohoku High. She was feeling tense. There was something wrong with her brother ever since he got home a few nights ago. She knew that he probably got into another one of his fights but he was usually satisfied and quite happy after them. However, he was depressed instead. He refused to eat dinner and he was silent, a trait that her brother never possessed.
"Nii-chan, what's wrong with you?" she whispered, her eyes stinging. She tried all she could this morning to cheer him up but he ignored her most of the time although he did accompany her to school as usual.
"Oi, you okay?"
Hatsuko turned and found Rukawa behind her. She took a deep breath and after ensuring that her tears won't spill, she smiled.
"Uh-huh," she said. "What are you doing up here, Rukawa-san?"
"I always come up here," Rukawa answered.
Before Hatsuko could ask the reason, he continued. "To sleep."
Hatsuko giggled and said, "Sou ka?"
"Omae?"
"Er… betsu ni. I just wanted to relax. The wind up here's great," she said in a rush.
Rukawa nodded and looked at the girl in front of him. He knew that something was troubling her but he dare not ask. It was only a few days ago that she commented on his talking more than usual. Rukawa watched as Hatsuko struggled to neaten her hair which was getting messier and messier from the wind. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He then began to search his pockets.
"Rukawa-san, what are you doing?" Hatsuko asked Rukawa as he continued to search his pockets.
Finally, he pulled his right hand out of his right trouser pocket and extended it to her.
"Here," he said.
"Huh?" she said, stretching out her right hand, palm up.
Rukawa dropped the item into her hand and turned to walk off.
"A scrunchie? Rukawa-san! Chotto matte kudasai!" Hatsuko hurried up to catch up to his huge strides. "Doushite?"
"You look better with a scrunchie than that hideous red cap," Rukawa muttered, and continued to walk away.
"Oh! Er… arigatou! I'll get you something too!" she shouted at him, but he shook his head.
"Rukawa-san sure is weird… but in a sweet sort of way," she whispered with a smile playing on her lips.
~*~*~*~*~
'D'aho, why did you get her the scrunchie? What are you trying to tell her?'
'Nothing. She needed it and I got it for her. No big deal.'
Somehow, Rukawa knew that that was not the answer. He didn't know how to explain it but she was different from the rest of the girls he knew. Most of the girls in school idolize him. The rest are rather fearful of him. Not that he minds of course. The fewer the better.
Rukawa scratched his head and sighed. He felt really at ease around her. Eventhough Ayako-san was his senior back at Tomigaoka Junior High and still his senior at Shohoku, he didn't feel as comfortable around her as he did around Hatsuko.
Walking along the hallways, Rukawa ignored the girls gawking at him.
'Stop staring,' he thought angrily. 'Don't you have anything better to do?'
Although he was feeling frustrated inside, he did not let his feelings show. His exterior was as cold as usual. Actually, it was colder. The crowd of students made way as he passed; pausing their conversation to admire him or to just make way.
Underneath his bangs, Rukawa glared straight ahead and continued to walk.
~*~*~*~*~
"Nee, Riko, did you see Rukawa just now? Isn't he just so kakkoii?" a girl with short brown hair asked her friend.
"Rukawa Kaede soretomo Rukawa Kazuo?" her friend asked.
Kazuo who was at his locker, listened to their conversation.
"Yahari Rukawa Kaede! Mysterious guys are always cooler! Compare them and you can see that Rukawa Kaede is also better-looking."
Kazuo's eyes narrowed as he continued to listen.
"Sou sou."
"Too bad he's not into girls…"
"I think he likes someone though… that red-head's sister…"
"Hatsuko? She's in my class! She's the innocent sort though… I doubt she even realizes that Rukawa has his eyes on her…"
"Hatsuko-san?" Kazuo whispered. "Yappari."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm in Rukawa's fan club and he doesn't even notice me!"
"I know…"
Kazuo sighed and shut his locker softly so that the girls wouldn't know that he was eavesdropping.
"Shimatta," he cursed.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hanamichi!" Ryota called out as he entered the gym.
"He's not here, Ryota."
"Aya-chan!" Ryota blushed as the love of his life walked over to him. After composing himself, he continued by asking, "Where'd he go?"
"I don't know but this is already the seventh practice that he's missed. He's never like this…" Ayako said, a frown creasing her forehead.
Ryota turned and walked out of the gym.
"Ryota! Where are you going?" Ayako shouted.
"I'm going to look for him. He should be around this area. Tell Yasu to take care of everything," he shouted back as he increased his pace to a jog.
"Uh," she said as she watched him go.
Ayako then saw Hatsuko and Haruko walk in from the other entrance.
"Hatsuko-chan! Where's your brother?"
"Nii-chan? Eh? He's not here?" Hatsuko looked surprised.
"Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko echoed.
"But Nii-chan told me to come here…" Hatsuko's voice trailed off.
"Where can he be? If he's fighting again, Anzai-sensei will be furious," Ayako said worriedly.
"Ah… daijoubu, Ayako-san. Sakuragi-kun promised that he wouldn't fight, ne?" Haruko said.
When Ayako didn't reply, Haruko began to look worried.
'Sou na…' Hatsuko thought as she bit her lip. "Daijoubu! I bet Nii-chan is just playing around with Yo-chan and the rest."
"Well, he shouldn't," Ayako said angrily, crossing her arms.
"Maa maa. Sakuragi-kun has been working so hard," Haruko defended.
"Still! Do you know that Ryota went to look for him?"
"EH?"
Hatsuko's eyes widened but she kept silent. She has to protect her brother, no matter what.
All the basketball players who were already present listened on to Ayako and Haruko, except for the Rukawa brothers who were watching Hatsuko. When Hatsuko turned to leave, Rukawa walked to her.
"I thought your brother told you to stay here," he said with a straight face. Inside, his heart was pounding so hard. It was as though he had just played a one-on-one against Sendoh.
Hatsuko looked up at him and smiled. Rukawa noticed that her eyes weren't smiling, unlike the usual smiles that she gave him.
"I'm just going to stay around school. I'll come back when training's going to end," she said.
"Ah…" a tinge of pink appeared on Rukawa's pale cheeks. 'Damn, what was I so worried about?'
"Rukawa-san, if Nii-chan is still not here by then, will you walk me home? I promised him that I wouldn't go back by myself and…" she said, almost inaudibly.
Surprised, Rukawa nodded. With a tiny smile, Hatsuko walked off.
Rukawa turned and saw everyone looking at him.
"What?" he asked, with a stony expression.
Everyone immediately turned away and pretended to do something else. All except for Kazuo, who glared back at him with an equally stony expression.
'Rukawa-kun,' Haruko's heart called out to him. She couldn't believe what she saw, yet, it did happen. She felt a sharp pain in her heart and her eyes began to sting.
Suddenly, Ryota rushed in.
"I found Mito and the rest of the gundan. Hanamichi wasn't with them. He wasn't with them during the other times either!"
Author's note: Ah! Sumimasen!! *bows* I know that I took exceptionally long with this chapter! ^^6 Anyways, you can tell that something's up, ne? ^^