Chapter 4: Hanamichi & Hanayuki

Rukawa got up from his chair and left the classroom. He walked towards the school gym, where basketball practices were being commenced everyday after school. It had been more than a week since he joined Shohoku's basketball team.

So far, so good, he thought. Well, except for that do'aho. Can't believe that he came back after all. Not that I care anyway. He's still a do'aho.

Said do'aho would be Sakuragi Hanamichi, his team-mate, and, at the moment, his number 1 enemy.

It's not my fault that we hate each other. He was the one who had started the fight that day on the rooftop.

Thinking about the rooftop, he was suddenly reminded of Hanayuki. It had also been more than a week since he started walking her to school. Not only that, they had been spending recess time together on the rooftop since then too, for she would always be bringing him a bento. Not that he minded, though. Her cakes and cookies were tasty, and he enjoyed her company.

For one, she didn't try too hard to make him talk; for another, she seemed to understand him better than anyone else ever did. He didn't need to put anything into words; he just had to make a gesture or something to that effect, and she would know, if not immediately, what he was trying to convey.

And although he never asked her anything about herself, he felt that, like she him, he knows her better than anyone else, by means of observing her and the way she acts. He was rather successful with that method, because he had noticed a number of things about her.

First of all, she seemed to be always, as in always, looking at the person's face and no where else whenever she was talking to that person (you know how sometimes, when you are talking to somebody, you tend to look here and there besides the person's face. Well, Hanayuki doesn't). That's the first thing Rukawa noticed, mainly because he was the complete opposite; he doesn't look at the person he's talking to.

The second thing he noticed was how oblivious she seemed to her surroundings, especially towards sound. Once, while they were walking to school, two cats were fighting in the back alley, and made a lot of noise, jumping in and out of dustbins. It had happened quite suddenly, and had startled Rukawa a little, but Hanayuki wasn't the least seemed to be affected by it. In fact, she didn't even show any signs that she was actually aware of it.

Another thing he noticed was, of course, the fact that she had an illness, although he wasn't sure what kind of illness it was, despite knowing that it had something to do with her heart.

And lastly, but not the end of the list, he noticed that she was rather, no, make that extremely sensitive about people touching her out of the blue, be it a girl or a guy. She would practically almost jump out of her skin at the sudden contact, looking fearfully at whoever had touched her, before relaxing again. I wonder what's wrong with her, Rukawa thought as he reached the locker room. He changed, and proceeded to the gym, where the rest of his team-mates were already assembled.

Practice started not long after. Sakuragi was in a corner, doing his basic passings with Ayako. The rest of them were practising on court, when suddenly they heard screams of Rukawa's name. All of them turned to look, and saw three girls standing at the doorway to the gym.

The girls had been appearing more often lately, and were starting to get on the nerves of everyone on the team. Rukawa couldn't be bothered to tell them off, although he was really irritated with their high-pitched voices and shrill screams.

Ignoring them, the team continued practising, when Sakuragi walked up to the girls and asked them politely (blushing in the process; he doesn't talk much to girls, except, maybe to Haruko) to stop screaming so loudly, only to be laughed at and insulted.

As if they would listen to you do'aho, thought Rukawa as Sakuragi slammed the door shut in their faces. They were about to continue practising again when the door opened, and somebody came in.

What is she doing here?

It had been more than a week since the first years joined the team, and for more than a week, Akagi had conveniently forgotten about Hanayuki... until he saw her standing inside the gym. For a while, he was at loss about what to do. How could I actually forget about her? How am I going to break the news to them?

Then, he saw her staring at Sakuragi, and another question popped up in his mind. Why is she staring at Sakuragi?

He was about to approach her when she spoke, in a voice so low it wasn't more than a whisper. And what he heard made him stop in his tracks. Oniichan? Who is she calling oniichan? It couldn't be that baka redhead.

He noticed that Sakuragi had stopped walking too, and watched as he turned around to face Hanayuki. What is going on?

Sakuragi was about to walk off when he heard the girl speak. He didn't quite hear what she said, but he turned around anyway and looked at the girl. She was still staring at him. He felt his temper rising, but struggled to keep it down. It was a girl he was facing anyway.

"Oi, what are you staring at? Never seen a handsome guy before?" When she continued staring, he couldn't control his temper any longer.

"Oi, stop staring at me! Can you hear me? I said stop staring! You'd better stop staring or I'll... ITAI!" Sakuragi broke off when a fist lodged itself onto his head, creating a huge lump.

"Baka! Is that how you talk to a girl? Baka! Baka!" Akagi shouted, punching Sakuragi on the head again and again.

Hanayuki stared at the scene before her. Normally, she would have stepped in immediately to stop it. However, at the moment, her mind was too jumbled up to be able to really process anything. I found him. I've finally found him.

Her left feet took a step forward, and then stopped. But... what if it's not him? What if I was mistaken? But, I couldn't have been mistaken. It must be him.

As she stood there, struggling to come up with a decision, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped (as in, um... jumped in shock or surprise) and looked up immediately. It was Kogure.

It's just Kogure-sempai. Calm down, calm down, she thought to herself, trying to keep her heart from beating too fast.

Kogure looked at her with concern. "Daijoubu ka, Yuki-chan?"

Hanayuki took a deep breath before answering, "I'm fine." She looked in the direction of Akagi and the redhead. "Anou, Kogure-sempai, who is that guy with Akagi-sempai?"

"Oh, that's one of the first-years. His name is Sakuragi Hanamichi, and I must say he... Yuki-chan!"

That was all the confirmation she needed. Before Kogure could finish what he was trying to say, she was already running towards Akagi and Sakuragi. Just as Akagi was about to raise his fist to punch Sakuragi's head again, Hanayuki stepped in between them and spread her arms, blocking Sakuragi from his view. "Stop!"

Akagi stopped and looked in surprise at Hanayuki, his fist still in mid-air. "Yuki-chan?"

"Onegai, Akagi-sempai. I think that's enough. He had the right to be angry, after all. I mean, who would like to be stared at?" said Hanayuki, arms still spread out. When Akagi lowered his fist, she turned around and knelt down beside Sakuragi. "Oniichan, daijoubu ka?"

Despite the pain, Sakuragi turned his head to look at the girl. "What did you call me?"

"Oniichan, don't you remember me? It's me. You promised that you won't forget me," Hanayuki answered, as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Stop calling me oniichan. And who are you?" Sakuragi demanded, getting more and more confused by the second. Something seemed to be nagging him at the back of his mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

The tears started to fall down her cheeks. He doesn't remember me.

"Please oniichan. You have to remember me. You cannot possibly forget about me. You said you wouldn't. You promised," she pleaded with him.

Sakuragi somehow knew that she was telling the truth, but he still couldn't quite place it in his mind. Frustrated, he headbutted the floor, trying to clear his head. When it didn't work, he stood up to leave the gym, only to be stopped in his tracks again when he heard her whisper, "Hana-niichan."

Instantly, a series of scenes started flashing through his mind.

"Hana-niichan, you won't forget me, right?"

One by one, his memories of the past came flying back.

"From now on, don't call me Hana-niichan. Call me oniichan, ok? And yes, I won't forget you. I will always remember you."

The laughter of two children kept ringing in his ears.

"Promise?"

The word echoed in his mind. His eyes began to glisten with tears.

"Promise."

Slowly, Sakuragi turned on the spot, and looked into the violet eyes that he had come to know so well a long time ago, but had forgotten. After what seemed like an eternity, he whispered, "Hana-chan."

Upon hearing him whispering her name, Hanayuki stood up and flung herself into his arms. She held on to him as hard as she could, sobbing her heart out, while laughing at the same time. Sakuragi was also crying and laughing at the same time. The scene continued until finally, exhausted from all the crying and laughing, they sat down on the floor and held on to each other quietly.

Seeing that they have calmed down, Kogure cautiously approached them. "Anou, Yuki-chan, Sakuragi. Do you, er, think you can fill us in about what just happened? I don't mean to be rude but..."

Hanayuki raised a hand to cut him off. With one hand still holding on to Sakuragi's, she used her other free hand to wipe away the tears on her face, and said, "Yes, I think I owe all of you an explanation." She looked at Sakuragi before continuing, "Shall we tell them together, oniichan?" Sakuragi nodded.

Hanayuki took a deep breath before she started telling their story...

-Flashback-

"I'm so sorry, Mr and Mrs Sakuragi, but your daughter... well, her brain is dead, and although she is on a life-support machine, chances of her recovery are almost nil, which means that technically, she is dead. I would advise you to take her off the machine, as I am sure she wouldn't want to spend the rest of her life like this. You could, however, put her organs into good use, by donating them to those who need them. I'm sure she wouldn't object to that. Knowing her, she would be very proud to know that even after death, she could still help others," said the doctor, trying to console and convince the Sakuragi's at the same time.

Mr Sakuragi looked at his wife, and she him. Without saying a word, they came to a decision and took the doctor's advice. After signing the appropriate papers, they left the doctor's room and headed to their daughter's to see her one last time.

Opening the door, they saw their youngest child and only son sleeping on the sofa beside the bed. Tears streaking down her face, Mrs Sakuragi walked towards the sofa and woke him up. Rubbing his eyes, he looked up to his mother, and when he saw the tears on her face, he asked, "Okaasan, what's wrong?" Although he was only 7 years old, he was more mature than his age, largely due to his sister's condition.

Knowing that it was useless to hide anything from her son, Mrs Sakuragi told him what the doctor had said. She watched as he slowly digested what had just been told to him. He looked at his sister lying on the bed with tubes running in and out of her body, and then back to his mother. Slowly, he nodded his head, as tears started to spill from his eyes. Mrs Sakuragi hugged her son and cried, as Mr Sakuragi came over and hugged them both. A while later, the three of them watched in silence as the plug of life was pulled on Sakuragi Hanayuki.

6 months later, in the US...

"Are we there yet, okaasan?" Hanamichi asked his mother for the umpteenth time since their arrival in the United States.

The Sakuragi family was on their way to meet the child who had received Hanayuki's heart for a heart transplant surgery. Normally, the identity of the donor would be kept confidential, but in their case, the Sakuragi's wanted to meet all those who had benefited from Hanayuki's donated organs.

So far, they had seen the recipients of Hanayuki's corneas, liver and kidneys. They were most anxious to see the this one, partly because this was to be their last trip, and also because among all the recipients, her condition was the worst, as she was born with the congenital heart disease, which had taken a turn for the worse over the years. If she was to miss this one chance, she would not be able to survive.

An hour later, they arrived at the hospital where the recipient, a girl was being hospitalised. The director of the hospital was there to meet them, and after the introductions, they were immediately brought to the girl, who was at the same age as Hanamichi.

Upon seeing the Sakuragi's, the girl's parents thanked them profusely, her mother breaking down into tears not long after. The adults then decided to leave the two children together whilst they go down to the cafeteria for a drink.

After his parents had left, Hanamichi walked nearer towards the girl, who was seated up on the bed. Despite looking very pale due to the surgery, she smiled, and Hanamichi smiled back. And that was the beginning of their friendship.

The Sakuragi's stayed in the US for 2 months, and during those two months, the two children bonded deeply with each other, to the extent that Hanamichi had asked her to call him oniichan instead of Hana-niichan.

To him, she was the reincarnation of his dead sister, although she was older than him while the girl was younger. To her, he was the brother and companion that she never had. All her life, she had been confined to bed due to her illness, and never had the chance to play with other children. Having Hanamichi with her was like a dream come true.

But dreams never last long. Soon it was time to say goodbye. On the day of the Sakuragi's departure, the two children had cried bucketfuls of tears, but they made a promise that they would never forget each other.

Just as the Sakuragi's were about to enter the departure hall, the little girl's father came up with a decision. In honour of Hanamichi's dead sister, he would rename his daughter after her, so as to always remind her of her ties with the Sakuragi family.

And so, from then on, the little girl's name became Hanayuki.

-End of flashback-

"We kept in touch by writing to each other for the next couple of years. But, about 2 years back, he stopped replying my letters, and then I found out that he and his family had shifted. That's how we lost contact with each other," Hanayuki finished their story.

"Ah, gomen, Hana-chan. I, er... something came up, and er... well, I'll tell you some other time, ok?" Sakuragi shifted uneasily on the floor. Hanayuki sensed his discomfort and nodded her head, giving him a smile. He smiled back.

There was silence for a while, and then Kogure asked, "So, technically, Sakuragi's not your real brother, Yuki-chan?"

Hanayuki looked at Kogure. "Not technically, no. But to me, he'll always be my beloved brother," she turned to look at Sakuragi with another smile.

"But how did you know that you would be able to find him here?" It was Ayako's turn to ask.

And that reminded Akagi of his task. He cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention before continuing, "Er, minna. Before anything else, I would like to announce something. Anzai-sensei wouldn't be able to coach us for the time being, due to some health problems. He is currently in the US undergoing some surgery, and will be staying there for at least a year. Therefore, we now have a new coach."

"Who is he?" Ayako asked, although she already had a vague idea as to who the new coach might be.

"Well, actually, it's a she," he corrected, confirming Ayako's suspicion. "And she is already here in the gym as we speak." He looked in the direction of Hanayuki as he spoke. Everybody followed his gaze.

There was silence again, only this time, it was much longer. It was only broken when Hanayuki stood up, bowed and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Tsukino Hanayuki. I'll be your new coach for the rest of this year, until Anzai-sensei comes back. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Thud. (That was the sound of jaws dropping onto the floor. As they were many of them, the sound was quite um, noticeable.)

Hanayuki looked at them, a little exasperated. Then, she heard Sakuragi ask, "Er, Hana-chan. Did you just say that your name is Tsukino Hanayuki? I thought it was-"

"Oniichan, we'll talk about this later ok? For now, we have a practice to continue," Hanayuki said quickly, cutting off her brother. Turning to face the others and clapping her hands, she said, "Alright, minna-san. Let's not waste anymore time and continue practising. Come on."

Sakuragi stared at her back for a moment, and then shrugged. I guess she'll tell me the reason later. Wow, she's actually the coach of this team. That's so great. My little sister, the coach of the Shohoku basketball team. Hmm... hey, that would mean...

Suddenly, he jumped up, put on his Tensai pose and started laughing, Tensai-style. "Nyahahahahahaha! My imouto is the coach of this team. That means everybody will have to listen to her. And because she'll be listening to me, since I am the Tensai, it means that all of you must listen to the Tensai too. Nyahahahahahahaha!"

Everybody sweatdropped. Rukawa snorted. Please...

Sakuragi turned around to face Rukawa. "Teme kitsune!" He was about to pounce on Rukawa and beat him to a pulp when he realised that Hanayuki was watching him.

Not wanting to ruin his Tensai reputation in front of his little sister, he changed his demeanour quickly and said, "Ha, kitsune. You're just jealous of the Tensai. The Tensai will not argue with you, for the Tensai have a lot of other things to do."

Watching her brother's antics, Hanayuki could not help but smile. Then, she remembered that she had something to tell them. "Before that, can everybody gather around for a while please? I have something else to tell you."

"Alright, everyone. Fall in!" Akagi shouted, bringing some of the players back from their trance state. They still couldn't believe that their new coach was actually a girl (I wonder what would happen when they find out that she's only 15 years old).

"Before he left, Anzai-sensei had arranged a practice game with Ryonan High School. I'm sure you've heard of them," said Hanayuki, looking at the players one by one.

"Ryonan?" Kogure looked dumbstruck, as were some of the second-years. "Last year they made it into the final four of the Inter High eliminations."

Hanayuki raised her eyebrows. "So?"

"Yeah so?" Sakuragi butted in, still striking his Tensai pose.

So what if they were in the final four last year? Rukawa thought.

"So... er, so..." Kogure trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Hanayuki sighed and smiled. They really need to build up their self-confidence.

Raising her hand to stop the whispering and chattering among the players, she said, "Let's not think about the practice game yet. For now, I want to have a match between the juniors and the seniors. Get yourselves ready, yeah?" With that, she walked towards the bench at the sidelines and sat down.

"Why does she want us to have a match between the juniors and the seniors?" asked Yasuda.

"She wants to see the abilities of the juniors through this match. We have so few second and third-years, so sometimes we have no choice but to put in the first-years as well whenever there is a game," Kogure explained, before turning to look at Hanayuki.

She'll be a good coach, he thought, smiling to himself.

As Rukawa got ready for the match, his mind was still thinking about the incident a while ago. So, the do'aho is her brother, although they are not related by blood. Still, how unfortunate.

His mind zeroed in onto a particular scene. What did he mean by that? If he's really her so-called brother, shouldn't he already know her name? He acted as if that was the first time he heard her name. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the referee blow the whistle to signal for everyone to get ready.

Pushing all thoughts out of his mind, he walked onto the court to face his opponent, Akagi. I am going to beat you, he thought, looking at Akagi.

Coincidentally, Akagi was also thinking along the same lines as he looked at Rukawa. Facing each other, a voice started speaking in their minds.

-Flashback-

"Akagi-sempai, do you want to know why you lost?"

Akagi looked at Hanayuki. Slowly, he nodded.

"It's not because you aren't good enough. Truth to be told, you are very good. However, there is one thing which is holding you back," Hanayuki started explaining. "Do you know what it is?"

Akagi stared at her. So did Kogure and the others.

"Your underestimation of your opponents."

Rukawa turned to look at her. They were on the rooftop of Shohoku High School, eating from their bento, and she had brought up the subject out of nowhere.

"You underestimated me. That made you put in less effort to win the game. By the time you realised your mistake, it was too late to do anything. That's why you lost."

I underestimated her? Akagi thought to himself, as her words began to sink into his head. Yes, I did underestimate her. I thought that I could win over her easily, and that made me relax my defenses and offenses.

When she began to take the lead, I became flustered and started making mistakes easily, Rukawa thought. That gave her an advantage, and she took it, winning the game in the process. No wonder she was so confident that she could beat me. She knew that I would be underestimating her.

Akagi began to realise his mistake. He looked at Kogure and his juniors. He could see that they were beginning to understand too. Turning back to Hanayuki, he bowed and thanked her for her guidance and advice. Before she left, she gave him another advice.

"Remember, to win, there are 3 things you need to have in you. The first is of course, skill. But that is not the most important thing of all. The most important is these next two things; your will to win, and hope. Sometimes, even without skills, you can still win based on your will to do so. But without it, you can never win. The same goes with hope. Without hope, you can never win. As long as there is hope in you, there will always be a way out of anything. And as long as you have the will to win, you will always be a winner, whether you win the game or not." The bell rang, signalling the end of recess time. As they walked down the stairs, she continued.

"The two things that you should not have are these: underestimation of your opponents, and giving up. I've just told you about how underestimating your opponents undermine your own abilities, so I'll go straight to the next point. Never, I repeat, never give up no matter what happens. If you give up anytime before or during the game, the game is already over for you. And, if you give up anytime after the game, then you might as well just give up on basketball. In short, three words. Never. Give. Up. To give up is to lose totally and completely, whether or not in the end your team emerge as the winner." She smiled and left the gym, leaving Akagi and the rest deep in their thoughts.

-End of flashback-

The whistle was blown, and the match began, with the centers of both teams thinking about the same thing.

I will not underestimate you, but I will win!

Author's notes: Chapter 4 done at last. Thank you for reading, thank you. And forgive me for any grammatical errors. Chapter 5 coming up, as soon as I can find the time to write it down.