Chapter Four: Caught In The Middle
It was still early in the morning. No sounds of balls being dribbled, players shouting and rubber shoes squeaking as it connected with the floor could be heard from the gym which stood waiting for its first occupants to arrive. The grunting of its door interrupted the silence of gym; as if welcoming the boy who swung it open. The said boy stepped into the gym and closed the door behind him.
Mitsui yawned. He wasn't used to waking up so early but his excitement on putting his plan into action scared off any opportunity for him to snooze off. Now he was tired and probably had bags under his eyes the size of an elephant's but despite that, he felt anxious, even giddy. When he pushed open the door to the locker rooms, he was even whistling a happy tune.
Mitsui relayed the plan through his head once more. "Talk to Miyagi, talk to Rukawa and talk to Sakuragi. Man this is a cinch." He had had enough of being on the losing side. He was going to show Miyagi, the gang and Hideki - ESPECIALLY Hideki - that he ALWAYS won no matter what.
As Mitsui opened his locker, he heard someone enter the room. Mitsui turned around and smiled. Like Mitsui, Miyagi looked tired but unlike Mitsui, the point guard was anything but happy.
Miyagi hesitated upon seeing Mitsui and it looked as if he was going to walk out again. Finally, Miyagi looked away in what Mitsui assumed to be capitulation. With a forced calmness, the new Shohoku captain opened his locker and took out his school shoes, all the while pretending that Mitsui wasn't there.
"Hi," Mitsui greeted. When the other boy didn't respond, Mitsui bit his lip. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Erm, you're early today."
A shrug. 'Well, that's a good start,' Mitsui thought so he continued. "Can't sleep last night?"
"Whatever."
Mitsui smiled. "Thinking about me?"
"Don't start." Miyagi dusted the bits of dirt on his school shoes, which he now wore. He shoved his rubber shoes into the locker, closed it hastily and grabbed his bag. Sensing another walk out, Mitsui quickly grabbed Miyagi's arm.
"Look, I'm sorry okay? Please, I need to talk to you." Mitsui pleaded.
"Don't you dare touch me," Miyagi warned in a subdued tone as he wrenched his arm away from Mitsui's grasp. However, he did calm down. He dropped his bag and leaned against the locker behind him.
"Look, I won't try anything funny okay?" Mitsui pointed out. "Now listen to me."
Miyagi frowned. "What do you want?"
Mitsui took a step closer to Miyagi and hesitantly placed his hand on Miyagi's shoulder. When the boy made no move to get away, Mitsui continued, "This has got to stop! You can't avoid me forever and your attitude is taking its toll on the whole team!"
Miyagi looked directly into Mitsui's eyes. "It's your fault. If you didn't start this whole bet crap, this thing wouldn't have gotten out of hand." Surprisingly, he was able to keep calm and his voice was void of all the anger he felt inside.
"Look, whether who wins or loses depends on Rukawa and Sakuragi. It's out of our hands now. I'm not gonna try anything on you so please stop avoiding me!" There was a hint of despair in Mitsui's voice as he shook Miyagi slightly.
Miyagi found himself saying, "Fine." He could never stay mad at Mitsui. "No funny stuff?"
Mitsui laughed. "Really Miyagi, if I wanted to try something, I would have done it by now, right?" Mitsui casually stepped forward again, smiling. They were only a few inches apart and his arm was practically draped around Miyagi's shoulder and the boy didn't notice a thing.
"Good point," Miyagi mumbled.
The two turned as the doorway swung open, revealing a surprised Ayako. Mitsui grinned and stepped away from Miyagi. "Anyway, see you later at practice. Ja!" he winked and left them both dumbfounded.
Ayako raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What was that about?"
"Nothing."
"What were you doing?"
"Talking."
"About what?"
Miyagi shrugged. He adored Ayako but right now, her questions were starting to annoy him. "Stuff. Anyway, I gotta go." He gave Ayako a weak smile before leaving. He was too engrossed with the thoughts that ran through his head that he didn't notice Mitsui leaning against the gym door, watching him leave.
Mitsui felt proud of himself. He successfully regained Miyagi's trust. Now he needed to talk to Rukawa. It might be classified as cheating, but he needed to gain an advantage over Miyagi in this bet or he would run the risk of losing.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Miyagi was jolted awake from his nap by the school bell, signaling that it was time for their morning break. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes and groped around his desk. He grabbed the first piece of paper he came across and opened it. A huge red F stared back at him. His mind was on other things and his schoolwork suffered terribly because of this. He groaned again and banged his head on his desk a couple of times. "I hate my life," he whined.
Hearing no retort, Miyagi lifted his head and scanned the room. Empty. Everyone must have gone down to the cafeteria for the break. Groggily, Miyagi stood up and placed his hand on the window for support. He peered outside the window, to the passages below.
As usual, Sakuragi was walking along the hallway with Rukawa directly 5 paces behind him. Miyagi could tell by the way Sakuragi's mouth moved that the red head was nagging about something while Rukawa kept silent. Finally, Sakuragi stopped and faced Rukawa, screaming something at him right before leaving him. Rukawa, in the meantime, stayed rooted to the spot, unfeeling. Miyagi couldn't help but smile. This was turning out to be easier than he thought it would be.
Just then, he saw a figure leave a classroom and approach Rukawa. Miyagi's eyes widened in recognition. "What the-"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mitsui tapped Rukawa on the back gently. "Oi Rukawa." He said with a sense of urgency.
Rukawa turned around slowly. His expression stayed the same even when he saw Mitsui. "Its you." He deadpanned.
Mitsui forced a smile despite the cold greeting he received. "Listen, we need to talk."
Rukawa remained silent. Mitsui took it as a sign that Rukawa was waiting for him to continue. "It's about Sakuragi."
Uncharacteristically, this attracted Rukawa's attention. "What about the do ahou?"
"You know," Mitsui casually put his arm around Rukawa, as if they were the best of friends. "Many of us were wondering what's going on between you two. I mean, do you love him or not?"
Rukawa waved Mitsui's arm off his shoulder as if it was a disgusting insect. "None of your business."
"Hey, We're friends aren't we? And it seems as if Sakuragi is getting tired of the game you two have been playing. If you don't tell him how you feel about him, he'll walk out on you."
"I can handle my own life without your help." Rukawa deadpanned, but from the hesitation he could see in his junior's eyes, Mitsui knew he hit the mark.
"Anyway, that's just sound advice okay?" Mitsui waved as he walked away. "Good luck on your love life!"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"That backstabbing idiot!" Miyagi growled, his hand fisted against the window. Even though he couldn't hear Mitsui and Rukawa's conversation it was easy to figure out what they were talking about. I mean, why else would Mitsui talk to Rukawa? Miyagi knew that the ex-gangster was trying to fix things up so he could win.
"Well, if that's the way you want to play it-" Miyagi sneered as he turned around and started to walk out of his classroom.
Two can play in the game.
Out of sheer bad luck, Miyagi had only taken two steps when the bell rang again, signaling the end of recess. He fumed silently as students entered the classroom. He reluctantly went back to his seat.
Fine then. There's still lunchtime.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I am the tensaaaaaiiiii!!!" Sakuragi sung at the top of his voice. He finally knew how to trick Rukawa into being more vocal about his feelings. Wait a minute, what's that again? Sakuragi scratched his head as the details of the magnificent plan he concocted during Math period had suddenly vanished from his memory.
"Oh no!" Sakuragi said in dismay. He stopped walking and cried out. "How could it be that the Tensai forgot such a thing!"
A silent growling answered him. Sakuragi looked down and smiled, as if a light bulb appeared on top of his head. "Aha! The Tensai is just hungry! After I eat, I'll remember." Jovially, he continued walking while singing, "I am Tensai~! I am Tensai~! I am tens-" He stopped. Was it just his stomach or was somebody calling him?
"Psssst!"
There it was again. Sakuragi stopped and turned around but saw nobody. He shrugged it off, assuming that he was hearing things because of extreme hunger. He took a step forward when-
"Hanamichi! Over here!"
Sakuragi turned to the direction of the voice. He knew that voice. "Ryochin? Where are you?"
"Here, you blind monkey." Miyagi grumbled as he stepped out from his hiding place, a huge, old oak tree.
Sakuragi decided to ignore the insult since the way Miyagi looked over his shoulder every other second caught his interest. "Ne Ryochin! You running from the law or something?"
"Idiot!" Miyagi hissed. "Don't talk so loud! He might be watching!"
"Who?" Sakuragi asked, confused. What was going on?
"I need to talk to you. It's very important." Miyagi said seriously.
"I was just about to have lunch." Sakuragi said, smiling. An idea formulated on his mind.
"We can't talk here."
"Why not eat outside?" Sakuragi suggested, his smile widening. "Your treat."
"What?" Miyagi cried out. When he realized he spoke so loud, he looked around once again like a fugitive. Sakuragi saw in Miyagi's eyes that the boy was on the verge of agreeing. Whatever this important thing is, it was more important than money. Finally, Miyagi grumbled, "Fine."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"So," Sakuragi said, his mouth filled with food. "What you wanna talk to me about?"
Miyagi shrugged. "Its just, you know, we're friends yet we never really talk."
Sakuragi nodded as he gulped down his ramen. "Yeah! We should talk more specially if you always treat me for lunch."
Miyagi sighed. The things he did for the sake of winning. "So, I wanna ask you, how's your love life? What's up with you and Rukawa?"
Sakuragi stopped. "Since when did someone like you start meddling in gay affairs?" He narrowed his eyes at Miyagi.
"Hey we're friends!" Miyagi lied. "I just want to be updated, that's all."
This didn't convince Sakuragi. "It has something to do with the bet, right?"
Miyagi was shocked. "How- how did you know about that?"
Sakuragi shrugged. "Youhei and the others were having a bet on who will win the bet." He focused his attention on his 2nd bowl of ramen.
"So, what did they say about my chances?" Miyagi inquired.
Sakuragi smiled, ramen soup trickling down his chin. "You don't have a chance."
Miyagi leaned back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "They're just saying that because they're your friends. Of course they want you to think that Rukawa does love you and that he'll say it."
Sakuragi looked hurt and insulted. "Oi! That's not fair! He does love me, I know it."
"That's what you said about Haruko. Geez, I dunno what's wrong with you. Weren't you really in love with Haruko? Why are you with another guy?"
"He broke the curse!" Sakuragi pointed out. "He was the first one who didn't reject me and the one who really did care! You're jealous because I'm better off in the love department. I have a boyfriend while you are still chasing Ayako."
Miyagi sighed. He was not getting anywhere with convincing Sakuragi to drop Rukawa. "Look, this isn't about me. This is about you. You're my friend and I don't want you to get hurt. There's no love here okay? Just companionship or something. I dunno, but its just plain platonic. Do you really think Rukawa loves you?"
"Of course!" Sakuragi countered defensively.
"Then why doesn't he say anything? Dammit, it's easy to say I love you, you know!"
Sakuragi stopped. Miyagi had a point. "He-he's just shy, that's all."
"Shy?" Miyagi scoffed. "The same guy who is frank with you, insults you, calls you names, and criticizes your plays, shy? I don't think so." Miyagi stood up. "Think about it Sakuragi. I have to go now. See you at practice."
Sakuragi didn't even bother to reply. He looked at his half-empty bowl of ramen and instantly felt sick. For once in his life, he wasn't hungry.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"The camp fire will be tomorrow okay?" Ayako shouted over the murmurs of excited players. "The teams present tomorrow will be Ryonan, Kainan and Takezato. We need the parent's consent form tomorrow morning," she ended, feeling winded. The gym was particularly noisy today but she didn't blame them. For once, the high school sports committee arranged a little camp out for the final four during the last season before the winter cold set in. Naturally, everyone was excited to go and meet the players from the other teams without feeling competitive towards each other.
"I hope there's enough food for all." Miyagi said.
"Yeah," added Mitsui. "With Sakuragi, the buffet table will be wiped out in an instant." To this comment, Miyagi shook his head and allowed himself a small smile.
Ayako smiled too. Things were definitely better between Miyagi and Mitsui. The two were now talking to each other and even joked around a little. Ayako couldn't say the same for Rukawa and Sakuragi though. Ayako sighed. She could never win. When two members finally made up, another two would start a squabble.
But she couldn't describe this one as a squabble. It was more like a silent treatment. Uncharacteristically, Sakuragi was silent while Rukawa, although quiet, seemed anxious about something. She turned towards Miyagi and Mitsui and caught the two looking at Sakuragi and Rukawa respectively. She blinked several times. Something was definitely wrong.
What was going on around here?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hana-"
Sakuragi turned around and faced Rukawa. "What?" he asked, irritated. Practice had just ended and he was looking forward to going home and just mope around.
"We need to talk."
"Talk?" Sakuragi laughed. "That's something you NEVER do, why start now? It doesn't matter anyway because I don't have anything to say to you." He didn't wait for Rukawa's reply as he stormed out of the gym.
Seeing all of this, Ayako asked. "What was that about?"
Miyagi smiled. "Just my luck."
Mitsui groaned. This wasn't exactly the result he wanted. 'Dammit, what went wrong?' he asked himself. Just then he caught Miyagi looking at him.
"Oh well, you win some you lose some." Miyagi smiled triumphantly at Mitsui, who returned it with a glare.
Mitsui suspected that Miyagi did a little backstabbing himself.
"See you tomorrow at the camp out Mitsui san." Miyagi said cheerfully. Ayako stared at Miyagi, confused at the boy's sudden friendliness towards his senior.
Mitsui returned Miyagi's blitheness with his own smile. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." He had another brilliant idea: The camp tomorrow.
It was perfect. It was a secluded area; the atmosphere was seducing, and most of all, no Hideki.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Please C&C minna. Thank you ^______^ As usual, a special thanks to the reviewers:
( miaou mignon : Thanks for reviewing ^____^ that's all I can say. I don't wanna go into all that because my English is pretty - slang ^____^ Thanks for reading and yes, Mitsui and Miyagi make such a wonderful couple ^___^
( qkslvr: Hahahaha! You!!! *tickles qkslvr silly* well, thanks for reviewing this time. So here's the next chappy. Hope you'll review again. Lol
( Ryotski Menchi: wow, I'm very erm.. Flattered, though I'm not that confident in my abilities. Do believe, I'm still learning the craft of Fanfiction writing. Thanks for your faith in me and I WILL watch out for your fic. Your favorite is Miyagi? He's my favorite too. You like SenKosh?
( To those who read, but didn't review: Erm. thanks for reading. Hope you'll review next time or else I would just send a private copy to the e- mail addresses of those who actually review *evil cackle* erm I was just joking, I'm not egoistic. just needing a little boost.*laughs nervously* okay, I shall stop now before I attract flames..
It was still early in the morning. No sounds of balls being dribbled, players shouting and rubber shoes squeaking as it connected with the floor could be heard from the gym which stood waiting for its first occupants to arrive. The grunting of its door interrupted the silence of gym; as if welcoming the boy who swung it open. The said boy stepped into the gym and closed the door behind him.
Mitsui yawned. He wasn't used to waking up so early but his excitement on putting his plan into action scared off any opportunity for him to snooze off. Now he was tired and probably had bags under his eyes the size of an elephant's but despite that, he felt anxious, even giddy. When he pushed open the door to the locker rooms, he was even whistling a happy tune.
Mitsui relayed the plan through his head once more. "Talk to Miyagi, talk to Rukawa and talk to Sakuragi. Man this is a cinch." He had had enough of being on the losing side. He was going to show Miyagi, the gang and Hideki - ESPECIALLY Hideki - that he ALWAYS won no matter what.
As Mitsui opened his locker, he heard someone enter the room. Mitsui turned around and smiled. Like Mitsui, Miyagi looked tired but unlike Mitsui, the point guard was anything but happy.
Miyagi hesitated upon seeing Mitsui and it looked as if he was going to walk out again. Finally, Miyagi looked away in what Mitsui assumed to be capitulation. With a forced calmness, the new Shohoku captain opened his locker and took out his school shoes, all the while pretending that Mitsui wasn't there.
"Hi," Mitsui greeted. When the other boy didn't respond, Mitsui bit his lip. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Erm, you're early today."
A shrug. 'Well, that's a good start,' Mitsui thought so he continued. "Can't sleep last night?"
"Whatever."
Mitsui smiled. "Thinking about me?"
"Don't start." Miyagi dusted the bits of dirt on his school shoes, which he now wore. He shoved his rubber shoes into the locker, closed it hastily and grabbed his bag. Sensing another walk out, Mitsui quickly grabbed Miyagi's arm.
"Look, I'm sorry okay? Please, I need to talk to you." Mitsui pleaded.
"Don't you dare touch me," Miyagi warned in a subdued tone as he wrenched his arm away from Mitsui's grasp. However, he did calm down. He dropped his bag and leaned against the locker behind him.
"Look, I won't try anything funny okay?" Mitsui pointed out. "Now listen to me."
Miyagi frowned. "What do you want?"
Mitsui took a step closer to Miyagi and hesitantly placed his hand on Miyagi's shoulder. When the boy made no move to get away, Mitsui continued, "This has got to stop! You can't avoid me forever and your attitude is taking its toll on the whole team!"
Miyagi looked directly into Mitsui's eyes. "It's your fault. If you didn't start this whole bet crap, this thing wouldn't have gotten out of hand." Surprisingly, he was able to keep calm and his voice was void of all the anger he felt inside.
"Look, whether who wins or loses depends on Rukawa and Sakuragi. It's out of our hands now. I'm not gonna try anything on you so please stop avoiding me!" There was a hint of despair in Mitsui's voice as he shook Miyagi slightly.
Miyagi found himself saying, "Fine." He could never stay mad at Mitsui. "No funny stuff?"
Mitsui laughed. "Really Miyagi, if I wanted to try something, I would have done it by now, right?" Mitsui casually stepped forward again, smiling. They were only a few inches apart and his arm was practically draped around Miyagi's shoulder and the boy didn't notice a thing.
"Good point," Miyagi mumbled.
The two turned as the doorway swung open, revealing a surprised Ayako. Mitsui grinned and stepped away from Miyagi. "Anyway, see you later at practice. Ja!" he winked and left them both dumbfounded.
Ayako raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What was that about?"
"Nothing."
"What were you doing?"
"Talking."
"About what?"
Miyagi shrugged. He adored Ayako but right now, her questions were starting to annoy him. "Stuff. Anyway, I gotta go." He gave Ayako a weak smile before leaving. He was too engrossed with the thoughts that ran through his head that he didn't notice Mitsui leaning against the gym door, watching him leave.
Mitsui felt proud of himself. He successfully regained Miyagi's trust. Now he needed to talk to Rukawa. It might be classified as cheating, but he needed to gain an advantage over Miyagi in this bet or he would run the risk of losing.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Miyagi was jolted awake from his nap by the school bell, signaling that it was time for their morning break. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes and groped around his desk. He grabbed the first piece of paper he came across and opened it. A huge red F stared back at him. His mind was on other things and his schoolwork suffered terribly because of this. He groaned again and banged his head on his desk a couple of times. "I hate my life," he whined.
Hearing no retort, Miyagi lifted his head and scanned the room. Empty. Everyone must have gone down to the cafeteria for the break. Groggily, Miyagi stood up and placed his hand on the window for support. He peered outside the window, to the passages below.
As usual, Sakuragi was walking along the hallway with Rukawa directly 5 paces behind him. Miyagi could tell by the way Sakuragi's mouth moved that the red head was nagging about something while Rukawa kept silent. Finally, Sakuragi stopped and faced Rukawa, screaming something at him right before leaving him. Rukawa, in the meantime, stayed rooted to the spot, unfeeling. Miyagi couldn't help but smile. This was turning out to be easier than he thought it would be.
Just then, he saw a figure leave a classroom and approach Rukawa. Miyagi's eyes widened in recognition. "What the-"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mitsui tapped Rukawa on the back gently. "Oi Rukawa." He said with a sense of urgency.
Rukawa turned around slowly. His expression stayed the same even when he saw Mitsui. "Its you." He deadpanned.
Mitsui forced a smile despite the cold greeting he received. "Listen, we need to talk."
Rukawa remained silent. Mitsui took it as a sign that Rukawa was waiting for him to continue. "It's about Sakuragi."
Uncharacteristically, this attracted Rukawa's attention. "What about the do ahou?"
"You know," Mitsui casually put his arm around Rukawa, as if they were the best of friends. "Many of us were wondering what's going on between you two. I mean, do you love him or not?"
Rukawa waved Mitsui's arm off his shoulder as if it was a disgusting insect. "None of your business."
"Hey, We're friends aren't we? And it seems as if Sakuragi is getting tired of the game you two have been playing. If you don't tell him how you feel about him, he'll walk out on you."
"I can handle my own life without your help." Rukawa deadpanned, but from the hesitation he could see in his junior's eyes, Mitsui knew he hit the mark.
"Anyway, that's just sound advice okay?" Mitsui waved as he walked away. "Good luck on your love life!"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"That backstabbing idiot!" Miyagi growled, his hand fisted against the window. Even though he couldn't hear Mitsui and Rukawa's conversation it was easy to figure out what they were talking about. I mean, why else would Mitsui talk to Rukawa? Miyagi knew that the ex-gangster was trying to fix things up so he could win.
"Well, if that's the way you want to play it-" Miyagi sneered as he turned around and started to walk out of his classroom.
Two can play in the game.
Out of sheer bad luck, Miyagi had only taken two steps when the bell rang again, signaling the end of recess. He fumed silently as students entered the classroom. He reluctantly went back to his seat.
Fine then. There's still lunchtime.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I am the tensaaaaaiiiii!!!" Sakuragi sung at the top of his voice. He finally knew how to trick Rukawa into being more vocal about his feelings. Wait a minute, what's that again? Sakuragi scratched his head as the details of the magnificent plan he concocted during Math period had suddenly vanished from his memory.
"Oh no!" Sakuragi said in dismay. He stopped walking and cried out. "How could it be that the Tensai forgot such a thing!"
A silent growling answered him. Sakuragi looked down and smiled, as if a light bulb appeared on top of his head. "Aha! The Tensai is just hungry! After I eat, I'll remember." Jovially, he continued walking while singing, "I am Tensai~! I am Tensai~! I am tens-" He stopped. Was it just his stomach or was somebody calling him?
"Psssst!"
There it was again. Sakuragi stopped and turned around but saw nobody. He shrugged it off, assuming that he was hearing things because of extreme hunger. He took a step forward when-
"Hanamichi! Over here!"
Sakuragi turned to the direction of the voice. He knew that voice. "Ryochin? Where are you?"
"Here, you blind monkey." Miyagi grumbled as he stepped out from his hiding place, a huge, old oak tree.
Sakuragi decided to ignore the insult since the way Miyagi looked over his shoulder every other second caught his interest. "Ne Ryochin! You running from the law or something?"
"Idiot!" Miyagi hissed. "Don't talk so loud! He might be watching!"
"Who?" Sakuragi asked, confused. What was going on?
"I need to talk to you. It's very important." Miyagi said seriously.
"I was just about to have lunch." Sakuragi said, smiling. An idea formulated on his mind.
"We can't talk here."
"Why not eat outside?" Sakuragi suggested, his smile widening. "Your treat."
"What?" Miyagi cried out. When he realized he spoke so loud, he looked around once again like a fugitive. Sakuragi saw in Miyagi's eyes that the boy was on the verge of agreeing. Whatever this important thing is, it was more important than money. Finally, Miyagi grumbled, "Fine."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"So," Sakuragi said, his mouth filled with food. "What you wanna talk to me about?"
Miyagi shrugged. "Its just, you know, we're friends yet we never really talk."
Sakuragi nodded as he gulped down his ramen. "Yeah! We should talk more specially if you always treat me for lunch."
Miyagi sighed. The things he did for the sake of winning. "So, I wanna ask you, how's your love life? What's up with you and Rukawa?"
Sakuragi stopped. "Since when did someone like you start meddling in gay affairs?" He narrowed his eyes at Miyagi.
"Hey we're friends!" Miyagi lied. "I just want to be updated, that's all."
This didn't convince Sakuragi. "It has something to do with the bet, right?"
Miyagi was shocked. "How- how did you know about that?"
Sakuragi shrugged. "Youhei and the others were having a bet on who will win the bet." He focused his attention on his 2nd bowl of ramen.
"So, what did they say about my chances?" Miyagi inquired.
Sakuragi smiled, ramen soup trickling down his chin. "You don't have a chance."
Miyagi leaned back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "They're just saying that because they're your friends. Of course they want you to think that Rukawa does love you and that he'll say it."
Sakuragi looked hurt and insulted. "Oi! That's not fair! He does love me, I know it."
"That's what you said about Haruko. Geez, I dunno what's wrong with you. Weren't you really in love with Haruko? Why are you with another guy?"
"He broke the curse!" Sakuragi pointed out. "He was the first one who didn't reject me and the one who really did care! You're jealous because I'm better off in the love department. I have a boyfriend while you are still chasing Ayako."
Miyagi sighed. He was not getting anywhere with convincing Sakuragi to drop Rukawa. "Look, this isn't about me. This is about you. You're my friend and I don't want you to get hurt. There's no love here okay? Just companionship or something. I dunno, but its just plain platonic. Do you really think Rukawa loves you?"
"Of course!" Sakuragi countered defensively.
"Then why doesn't he say anything? Dammit, it's easy to say I love you, you know!"
Sakuragi stopped. Miyagi had a point. "He-he's just shy, that's all."
"Shy?" Miyagi scoffed. "The same guy who is frank with you, insults you, calls you names, and criticizes your plays, shy? I don't think so." Miyagi stood up. "Think about it Sakuragi. I have to go now. See you at practice."
Sakuragi didn't even bother to reply. He looked at his half-empty bowl of ramen and instantly felt sick. For once in his life, he wasn't hungry.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"The camp fire will be tomorrow okay?" Ayako shouted over the murmurs of excited players. "The teams present tomorrow will be Ryonan, Kainan and Takezato. We need the parent's consent form tomorrow morning," she ended, feeling winded. The gym was particularly noisy today but she didn't blame them. For once, the high school sports committee arranged a little camp out for the final four during the last season before the winter cold set in. Naturally, everyone was excited to go and meet the players from the other teams without feeling competitive towards each other.
"I hope there's enough food for all." Miyagi said.
"Yeah," added Mitsui. "With Sakuragi, the buffet table will be wiped out in an instant." To this comment, Miyagi shook his head and allowed himself a small smile.
Ayako smiled too. Things were definitely better between Miyagi and Mitsui. The two were now talking to each other and even joked around a little. Ayako couldn't say the same for Rukawa and Sakuragi though. Ayako sighed. She could never win. When two members finally made up, another two would start a squabble.
But she couldn't describe this one as a squabble. It was more like a silent treatment. Uncharacteristically, Sakuragi was silent while Rukawa, although quiet, seemed anxious about something. She turned towards Miyagi and Mitsui and caught the two looking at Sakuragi and Rukawa respectively. She blinked several times. Something was definitely wrong.
What was going on around here?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hana-"
Sakuragi turned around and faced Rukawa. "What?" he asked, irritated. Practice had just ended and he was looking forward to going home and just mope around.
"We need to talk."
"Talk?" Sakuragi laughed. "That's something you NEVER do, why start now? It doesn't matter anyway because I don't have anything to say to you." He didn't wait for Rukawa's reply as he stormed out of the gym.
Seeing all of this, Ayako asked. "What was that about?"
Miyagi smiled. "Just my luck."
Mitsui groaned. This wasn't exactly the result he wanted. 'Dammit, what went wrong?' he asked himself. Just then he caught Miyagi looking at him.
"Oh well, you win some you lose some." Miyagi smiled triumphantly at Mitsui, who returned it with a glare.
Mitsui suspected that Miyagi did a little backstabbing himself.
"See you tomorrow at the camp out Mitsui san." Miyagi said cheerfully. Ayako stared at Miyagi, confused at the boy's sudden friendliness towards his senior.
Mitsui returned Miyagi's blitheness with his own smile. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." He had another brilliant idea: The camp tomorrow.
It was perfect. It was a secluded area; the atmosphere was seducing, and most of all, no Hideki.
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Please C&C minna. Thank you ^______^ As usual, a special thanks to the reviewers:
( miaou mignon : Thanks for reviewing ^____^ that's all I can say. I don't wanna go into all that because my English is pretty - slang ^____^ Thanks for reading and yes, Mitsui and Miyagi make such a wonderful couple ^___^
( qkslvr: Hahahaha! You!!! *tickles qkslvr silly* well, thanks for reviewing this time. So here's the next chappy. Hope you'll review again. Lol
( Ryotski Menchi: wow, I'm very erm.. Flattered, though I'm not that confident in my abilities. Do believe, I'm still learning the craft of Fanfiction writing. Thanks for your faith in me and I WILL watch out for your fic. Your favorite is Miyagi? He's my favorite too. You like SenKosh?
( To those who read, but didn't review: Erm. thanks for reading. Hope you'll review next time or else I would just send a private copy to the e- mail addresses of those who actually review *evil cackle* erm I was just joking, I'm not egoistic. just needing a little boost.*laughs nervously* okay, I shall stop now before I attract flames..