Anti-Nostalgia
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.
Chapter 3: Bells…
"Rukawa-kun. Sakuragi-kun."
They were in the midst of their footwork drill when Anzai-sensei called for them. With sweat collected on their brows, they jogged over to their coach, their beads of perspiration reflecting the bright gym lights, sparkling like diamonds.
"Hai, sensei?" Rukawa asked.
"Oyaji, this had better be good. We're training," Sakuragi told Anzai-sensei and proceeded to wobble the fat under the old man's chin, with an amused grin on his face.
"Yamete, do ahou."
"Come on Kaede! It's fun!"
Grabbing Rukawa's arm by the wrist, Sakuragi positioned it under Anzai-sensei's chin and demonstrated the proper technique of wobbling the fat.
"Hora!" Sakuragi laughed, especially when he saw the look of interest on Rukawa's face.
"Stop it, both of you!" Haruko exclaimed and whacked the two on their heads with the fan passed down to her by Ayako.
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi began to snivel.
"Ayako-san told me to do that if any of you misbehaved," she apologized.
Anzai-sensei merely laughed his Santa Claus laugh.
"Taoka-sensei proposed a practice match. Are you interested?"
"Ryonan ka?" Rukawa murmured, in thought.
"IYA!! Sendoh and Fukusuke are not there anymore so there's no challenge from them! Also, with Hikoichi as the captain, what chances do they have? NYAHAHAHA!" Sakuragi laughed.
"Hanamichi, you do ahou. It'd be a good opportunity for the team and this can be part of the preparation for the Kanagawa games," Rukawa told his friend.
"But Kaede!! We shouldn't waste time! We need all the practice we can get!" Sakuragi protested.
"I say we go, since I'm the Captain," Rukawa proclaimed, expressing his authority over the team.
"That's so unfair," the Vice-Captain whined.
"Hohoho, I'll let Ryonan know then," their coach said and got up from his seat.
However, the bickering still has yet to end.
"You're taking advantage of your position!" Sakuragi grumbled.
"That's because I should," came the reply, as Rukawa headed back to the team.
"TEME KAEDE! OMAE…"
The familiar ringing of tiny bells and a little girl's voice calling out to him distracted Sakuragi from ending his statement.
'No… not now. I have to practice…' he thought, willing himself to move, but finding that he couldn't.
The tinkling of bells invaded his mind and crawled through every crevice of his brain. This made him perspire profusely. Pain coursed through his every vein and he began to see spots. Eventually, his vision began to blur.
Rukawa found it odd that Sakuragi would stop in the middle of his taunting, so he turned to irritate the redhead further. To his horror, he found Sakuragi on the linoleum floor – shaking like a leaf. His amber-flecked coffee eyes had also rolled to the back of his head revealing an empty whiteness. Sakuragi's mouth opened and closed as though he was silently calling out to someone.
"HANAMICHI!" Rukawa shouted, surprising everyone in the gym.
Their attention was suddenly focused on Shohoku's Basketball Team Captain as he ran to his friend's aid. Everyone usually ignored the constant bickering between the captains and focused on their training, but it was the first time that they heard Rukawa shout. Although Rukawa was the Captain, Sakuragi did all the shouting.
"HARUKO! CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE!" Rukawa instructed the manager. "NOW!" he added, when he saw that she was too terrified to move.
Yohei and the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan ran onto the court to assist Rukawa.
"Hanamichi! Be steady!" Yohei shouted to his friend.
In fact, all of his friends were shouting to him. But all that Sakuragi could hear were the tinkling of bells… and it hurt.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"From the looks of things, he's been having this epilepsy for quite a while now."
"Epilepsy, desu ka?" Anzai-sensei asked.
"Hai. Epilepsies usually indicate a sign of illness but we've ran every possible medical checkup on him but it seems that he's perfectly healthy."
"Then about the signs that it has been a while since he's been having this?" Anzai-sensei continued to question the doctor.
Only Anzai-sensei seemed to be paying attention. The others in the ward were in a daze. Then Haruko started to cry, and Yohei tried his best to console her.
"He could be stressed. It does that sometimes. We don't know for sure if he's stressed though. What about his parents? Are they coming?" the doctor continued.
"His father passed away a few years ago while his mother… well, we don't know where she is. She hasn't been back for a few months now," Yohei explained.
Rukawa and Haruko's eyes widened in surprise. The Gundan merely looked depressed.
"Yohei…"
Sakuragi's eyelids were half-opened but everyone could see the pain he has been going through as it was visible in his eyes.
In a husky yet soft voice, he continued. "Don't… don't tell them anything else. You guys too…" he pointed a shaking finger at the Gundan.
"Hanamichi…" Noma said.
With a tiny smile on his lips, he shut his eyes and whispered, "You promised."
And Sakuragi was unconscious yet again, but this time, his eyebrows weren't furrowed as before.
The doctor pushed everyone out of the ward to let Sakuragi rest. When all of them were alone, Rukawa cornered the Gundan.
"Tell me what he was talking about," he growled, his sapphire eyes turning cold, and piercing.
"We promised him!" Takamiya shouted, backing away.
"Minna, stop it! This is a hospital!" Haruko whispered fiercely, when she saw doctors, nurses and patients shooting looks of annoyance and disapproval at them.
Suddenly, the pattering of feet and the tinkling of bells could be heard. A girl with short and curled mousy-brown hair was running towards them, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hana-chan! Where's my Hanamichi?!" she demanded.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Sorry for the very late update. I had this written a long long time ago on writing paper but I couldn't find the time to type it up ^^6 *bows profusely* Sumimasen. About this chapter, yes, we find out that Sakuragi has epilepsy and so now you know whose thoughts are in the prologue. I don't really know how anyone can get epilepsy but I've created my own theory for this fanfiction and you'll find that out in later chapters. Hope this was okay enough ^^ And is this RuHana? Saa… read and find out *refuses to give hints in summary or anything else*
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.
Chapter 3: Bells…
"Rukawa-kun. Sakuragi-kun."
They were in the midst of their footwork drill when Anzai-sensei called for them. With sweat collected on their brows, they jogged over to their coach, their beads of perspiration reflecting the bright gym lights, sparkling like diamonds.
"Hai, sensei?" Rukawa asked.
"Oyaji, this had better be good. We're training," Sakuragi told Anzai-sensei and proceeded to wobble the fat under the old man's chin, with an amused grin on his face.
"Yamete, do ahou."
"Come on Kaede! It's fun!"
Grabbing Rukawa's arm by the wrist, Sakuragi positioned it under Anzai-sensei's chin and demonstrated the proper technique of wobbling the fat.
"Hora!" Sakuragi laughed, especially when he saw the look of interest on Rukawa's face.
"Stop it, both of you!" Haruko exclaimed and whacked the two on their heads with the fan passed down to her by Ayako.
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi began to snivel.
"Ayako-san told me to do that if any of you misbehaved," she apologized.
Anzai-sensei merely laughed his Santa Claus laugh.
"Taoka-sensei proposed a practice match. Are you interested?"
"Ryonan ka?" Rukawa murmured, in thought.
"IYA!! Sendoh and Fukusuke are not there anymore so there's no challenge from them! Also, with Hikoichi as the captain, what chances do they have? NYAHAHAHA!" Sakuragi laughed.
"Hanamichi, you do ahou. It'd be a good opportunity for the team and this can be part of the preparation for the Kanagawa games," Rukawa told his friend.
"But Kaede!! We shouldn't waste time! We need all the practice we can get!" Sakuragi protested.
"I say we go, since I'm the Captain," Rukawa proclaimed, expressing his authority over the team.
"That's so unfair," the Vice-Captain whined.
"Hohoho, I'll let Ryonan know then," their coach said and got up from his seat.
However, the bickering still has yet to end.
"You're taking advantage of your position!" Sakuragi grumbled.
"That's because I should," came the reply, as Rukawa headed back to the team.
"TEME KAEDE! OMAE…"
The familiar ringing of tiny bells and a little girl's voice calling out to him distracted Sakuragi from ending his statement.
'No… not now. I have to practice…' he thought, willing himself to move, but finding that he couldn't.
The tinkling of bells invaded his mind and crawled through every crevice of his brain. This made him perspire profusely. Pain coursed through his every vein and he began to see spots. Eventually, his vision began to blur.
Rukawa found it odd that Sakuragi would stop in the middle of his taunting, so he turned to irritate the redhead further. To his horror, he found Sakuragi on the linoleum floor – shaking like a leaf. His amber-flecked coffee eyes had also rolled to the back of his head revealing an empty whiteness. Sakuragi's mouth opened and closed as though he was silently calling out to someone.
"HANAMICHI!" Rukawa shouted, surprising everyone in the gym.
Their attention was suddenly focused on Shohoku's Basketball Team Captain as he ran to his friend's aid. Everyone usually ignored the constant bickering between the captains and focused on their training, but it was the first time that they heard Rukawa shout. Although Rukawa was the Captain, Sakuragi did all the shouting.
"HARUKO! CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE!" Rukawa instructed the manager. "NOW!" he added, when he saw that she was too terrified to move.
Yohei and the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan ran onto the court to assist Rukawa.
"Hanamichi! Be steady!" Yohei shouted to his friend.
In fact, all of his friends were shouting to him. But all that Sakuragi could hear were the tinkling of bells… and it hurt.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"From the looks of things, he's been having this epilepsy for quite a while now."
"Epilepsy, desu ka?" Anzai-sensei asked.
"Hai. Epilepsies usually indicate a sign of illness but we've ran every possible medical checkup on him but it seems that he's perfectly healthy."
"Then about the signs that it has been a while since he's been having this?" Anzai-sensei continued to question the doctor.
Only Anzai-sensei seemed to be paying attention. The others in the ward were in a daze. Then Haruko started to cry, and Yohei tried his best to console her.
"He could be stressed. It does that sometimes. We don't know for sure if he's stressed though. What about his parents? Are they coming?" the doctor continued.
"His father passed away a few years ago while his mother… well, we don't know where she is. She hasn't been back for a few months now," Yohei explained.
Rukawa and Haruko's eyes widened in surprise. The Gundan merely looked depressed.
"Yohei…"
Sakuragi's eyelids were half-opened but everyone could see the pain he has been going through as it was visible in his eyes.
In a husky yet soft voice, he continued. "Don't… don't tell them anything else. You guys too…" he pointed a shaking finger at the Gundan.
"Hanamichi…" Noma said.
With a tiny smile on his lips, he shut his eyes and whispered, "You promised."
And Sakuragi was unconscious yet again, but this time, his eyebrows weren't furrowed as before.
The doctor pushed everyone out of the ward to let Sakuragi rest. When all of them were alone, Rukawa cornered the Gundan.
"Tell me what he was talking about," he growled, his sapphire eyes turning cold, and piercing.
"We promised him!" Takamiya shouted, backing away.
"Minna, stop it! This is a hospital!" Haruko whispered fiercely, when she saw doctors, nurses and patients shooting looks of annoyance and disapproval at them.
Suddenly, the pattering of feet and the tinkling of bells could be heard. A girl with short and curled mousy-brown hair was running towards them, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hana-chan! Where's my Hanamichi?!" she demanded.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Sorry for the very late update. I had this written a long long time ago on writing paper but I couldn't find the time to type it up ^^6 *bows profusely* Sumimasen. About this chapter, yes, we find out that Sakuragi has epilepsy and so now you know whose thoughts are in the prologue. I don't really know how anyone can get epilepsy but I've created my own theory for this fanfiction and you'll find that out in later chapters. Hope this was okay enough ^^ And is this RuHana? Saa… read and find out *refuses to give hints in summary or anything else*