Chapter 10: Let the games begin!
"Ne, Hana-chan, why aren't we put in as the starting members?" Sakuragi asked his sister, his tone slightly whiny.
Hanayuki smiled at him, before answering, "Trust me, it's for your own good. All 4 of you." She looked past Sakuragi at the other 3 players she had decided not to include in the starting line-up.
"But, Hana-chan, Sakuragi has a point. Why aren't we chosen as the starting members?" asked Mitsui.
"Oh I know! Is it one of those secret weapons thingy again? But then, it's only the Tensai who should be the secret weapon. How come they are not put in too?" Sakuragi chipped in.
"Well, take it as a form of punishment for fighting in that incident a couple of weeks ago," came the reply.
Seeing the shocked expression on their faces, Hanayuki said, "It wasn't really my idea. It was otousan's."
"Anzai-sensei?" they chorused together (except for Rukawa, of course).
"We call each other and talk on the phone once every fortnight, and I keep him up-to-date about what goes on with the basketball team, so naturally, I told him about the incident." She saw the colour drain from Mitsui's face, and continued, "He was very glad that you have decided to come back, Hisashi-niichan, if that's what you are worrying about."
Upon hearing that, Mitsui got down on his knees to say a prayer of thanks, drawing sweatdrops from Hanayuki and the other 3 players.
"However," Hanayuki went on. All of them quickly turned their heads to look at her; Mitsui stopped praying. "He wasn't happy that you guys got into the fight, and wanted some sort of a punishment to be imposed on all of you, so as to remind you not to fight ever again."
Mitsui gulped. Miyagi hesitantly asked, "What kind of punishment?"
"Well, it was because of basketball you guys got into the fight, so he had decided that as your punishment, you would not be allowed to play, at least for the first game of the Inter High Preliminaries," Hanayuki answered.
"But... but the game, we might lose if we are not allowed to play," Sakuragi protested. "Without the Tensai, there's no way Shohoku can win."
"Oniichan, if you could just sit down quietly and let me finish what I have to say..." said Hanayuki patiently, but not without the dangerous gleam in her eyes. Sakuragi sat down.
It always works. Hanayuki fought back the urge to smile at the sight of her brother's meek obedience, before continuing, "Otousan left it to me to decide when you will be allowed to play."
Immediately, all of their faces turned hopeful (minus Rukawa again, although deep down inside he was probably screaming that he be allowed to play at once). Hanayuki quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I will go soft on you. You will not play for now, until the time comes when the need arises. End of discussion. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to concentrate on the game."
With that, she turned her attention to the court, where Akagi, Kogure and 3 other Shohoku players were fighting it out (in terms of basketball, of course) with the Miuradai basketball team. It was their first game of the Inter High Preliminaries, and it was crucial that they win this game so as to be able to move on into the next round.
Beside her, Mitsui, Miyagi and Sakuragi were beginning to argue among themselves about whose fault is it that they were being grounded. Rukawa, being Rukawa, insulted the other 3 players and got them to round up on him.
"It was all your fault. You were the one who hit me first, you short-tempered fool!" said Mitsui.
"Teme Rukawa! If it wasn't for you, the Tensai would have been allowed to play."
"How dare you insult your sempais!" said Miyagi.
Rukawa looked at them with the same-old bored expression on his face. "You're blocking my view."
"Arrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Anyway, back to the game...
The score was 4-18, in favour of Miuradai. Getting desperate, Mitsui turned to Hanayuki and pleaded, "Hana-chan, don't you think it's about time we are put in. If the gap between the scores becomes too big, we won't be able to catch up."
Hanayuki knew that Mitsui was right. She couldn't afford to put them off any longer. The consequences could be disastrous. Turning to face them, she said, "Ok, I'm going to sub you guys in. But first, you need to promise that you wouldn't fight anymore."
Mitsui was the first to agree. "I promise I won't fight again."
The rest were quick to follow, except for Rukawa (again), who just muttered, "Maybe."
It didn't escape Hanayuki's sensitive hearing aids. "What did you say, Rukawa-kun?" Rukawa just shrugged and continued watching the game, not looking at her. Hanayuki sighed in defeat, before requesting for a substitution.
Up in the audience stand, the Ryonan team were watching the game. It didn't take Aida Hikoichi long to notice Miyagi and Mitsui, who he labelled as Mystery A and B respectively. Recognising Miyagi, Koshino Hiroaki, Hikoichi's second-year sempai asked him to pay attention to Miyagi.
As for Uozomi, he was wondering to himself why Mitsui seemed so familiar. It was only later when Mitsui jumped up to make a three-point shot did he recognise him as Mitsui Hisashi, the ex-MVP of junior high school, from the beautiful form of shooting that was Mitsui's trademark.
Back to the game again...
Sakuragi tried to go for a lay-up shot, but was stopped by Miuradai's number 4 player. It was a foul, so Sakuragi was awarded with 2 free throws. Suddenly, everybody in the Shohoku team realised that he knew nothing about free throws, since nobody had taught him about it. Akagi tried to reassure Sakuragi by telling him that he (Akagi) used to be really bad in free throws too. To Akagi's horror, Mitsui butted in to confirm it, prompting him to yell at Mitsui to shut up.
Anyway, Miyagi and Mitsui started giving Sakuragi conflicting advice on how to put in the free throws. Hikoichi, who had long admired Sakuragi (ever since he met Sakuragi and mistook him for Rukawa the night before the practice game between Ryonan and Shohoku), thought it would be helpful to remind Sakuragi that if he was to succeed getting the 2 points from the free throws, Shohoku would be tied up with Miuradai.
In the end, Sakuragi missed the first free throw for violating the 5-second rule, much to the shock and surprise of everybody in the stadium, especially the Ryonan team, who fell over in shock. Hanayuki could only manage to utter, "Ooops..."
For the second free throw, Sakuragi decided to have a change of strategy and threw the ball towards the hoop, baseball-style. What he was planning to do was to catch the ball on rebound and then do a slam dunk, thus getting back the 2 points which he couldn't get through the free throws. Unfortunately for him, Rukawa was there first and did the slam dunk.
Then, later during the game, Miyagi kept on passing to Rukawa and not him. Furious, he confronted Miyagi, but not for long when he saw Hanayuki looking at them, an eyebrow raised.
"Ehehehehehe..." Sakuragi quickly slung his arms over Miyagi and Rukawa's shoulders, only to have Miyagi inch away and Rukawa dusting off the imprint of Sakuragi's hand on his shoulder, to which Sakuragi responded by wiping his hand on his jersey in a panic. Hanayuki could stand it no longer and started laughing at his antics.
Meanwhile, back on the court, Miuradai decided to send out their own secret weapon, a bald-headed guy named Naito Tetsuya, who used to be a rugby player (a fact that nobody else but the Miuradai team knew). Following his captain's instructions, he kept on making Sakuragi foul.
Finding Sakuragi an easy target, Naito decided to switch to marking Rukawa. Sendoh, Uozumi and Maki Shinichi (Kainandai basketball team's captain, who was also watching the game from the audience stand) realised his intentions, and Hanayuki not too long after (she was relatively new in coaching after all). Sendoh remarked that it wouldn't be easy targeting on Rukawa, and was soon proved right, as Rukawa quickly discovered the Naito's weakness (he kept on running in a straight line).
As for Sakuragi, he kept on asking for the ball, but nobody heeded his calls. Towards the last few minutes of the game, Sakuragi was finally passed the ball. Determined to show his abilities as the Tensai, he raced to the basket for a slam dunk.
It was a dunk alright, but not a slam dunk. Later on it would be known as the death dunk (or skull dunk), but for now, it was nameless, as it was probably the first time anyone had ever seen it. And the recipient of the soon-to-be popular death dunk was none other than Naito himself.
The dunk efficiently put Sakuragi and Naito out of commission, but even without Sakuragi on the court, Shohoku won the game with the score of 114-51.
In the hallways...
Sakuragi was feeling dejected from being thrown out of the game. Hanayuki was trying her very best to comfort him, with Miyagi and Mitsui adding in little advices of their own, when they bumped into Sendoh. He gave them a small nod, with the same ever-ready smile on his face, before walking past them. Rukawa was surprised that he didn't stop and start talking to Hanayuki. He didn't have to wait long to find out why.
"Hana-chan, I don't want to be kicked out anymore. Tell me what to do, onegai!" Sakuragi pleaded with Hanayuki. Before Hanayuki could reply, she was cut off by a voice coming from behind.
"Hanayuki-san?"
She turned around to see who was calling her. "Sendoh-san?"
Sendoh walked up to her. "Hanayuki-san, is it really you?"
"Of course it is me. Who else can I be?" said Hanayuki, a little surprised at his reaction, though she had a vague idea as to why he didn't recognise her in the first place.
Sendoh looked at her from head to toe, before continuing, "How come you are dressed like that?"
"Dressed like what?" asked Hanayuki.
"Well, you look like a woman in her early thirties or late twenties in that suit of yours," he said without hesitating. Hanayuki smiled, impressed with his straight-forwardness.
"Thanks for your feedback, Sendoh-san. I really appreciate it," said Hanayuki.
"No, really, Hanayuki-san, why are you dressed like that? Though I must say you look kind of good in it, but still, it makes you look so much older than you really are," asked Sendoh again, as he began to take in what he saw. She was wearing a white collared long-sleeved shirt underneath a black form-fitting coat with long black pants and a pair of black strapped sandals on her feet. Her hair was tied back into a knot. In short, she looked like one of those career-women you see walking on the streets, minus the handbags and briefcases.
"That's because she wants to look more like a coa- mmmpptthhhbbbb..." The last word was muffled when a few pairs of hands reached out from behind to cover Sakuragi's mouth.
"Do'aho."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmpppppppptttttthbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb!"
"What were you saying, Sakuragi?" asked Sendoh, who was getting more and more curious by the second.
"Mmmmmmmmppppppptttthhhhbbbbbbbbbbb..." came the reply. Sendoh sweatdropped.
Hanayuki smiled and said, "It's nothing, Sendoh-san. I just like to dress this way, that's all."
Sendoh raised his eyebrows. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you are Shohoku's coach, judging from the way you are dressed."
Almost immediately, the whole Shohoku team (except for you-know-who) started coughing and clearing their throats at the same time. Sendoh looked around at them in surprise.
Hanayuki shook her head and sighed. "I think we'd better get going, minna-san. Anyway, it was nice seeing you again, Sendoh-san. See you around. Ja."
They weren't even 5 steps away when they heard Sendoh calling out to Hanayuki again. He ran up to her and said, "Hanayuki-san, do you think we could go for a drink or something? Perhaps now, or maybe later? There's something I would like to talk to you about."
Hanayuki regarded him for a moment. Then, much to the horror of Sakuragi (and Rukawa, though he didn't show it), she agreed. "Ok. How about now?" Sendoh nodded his head enthusiastically. "Don't you have to go back to Ryonan for practice?" Hanayuki asked him.
"Nah. Practice doesn't start until much later, so I have plenty of time. Anyway, shall we go?" He held out his arm to Hanayuki, the way the gentlemen in the olden days used to do when they escort a lady.
Hanayuki laughed at his gesture, but took his arm anyway. Then, turning to Sakuragi and the others, she waved good-bye. "Ja, minna. I'll see you guys later." And off she went with Sendoh.
Sakuragi freed himself from the hands which were still clamped over his mouth and shouted after them, "Sendoh, if anything happens to Hana-chan, be prepared to face my wrath."
Sendoh turned and gave him a thumbs-up sign, while Hanayuki shouted back, "Don't worry, oniichan. I'll be back before you know it. Practise hard, ne?" She smiled and waved one last time before finally disappearing from view along with Sendoh.
A few hours later, at the Shohoku basketball gym...
"Konbanwa, minna-san," Hanayuki greeted her fellow team-mates.
"Yuki-chan, you are back," Ayako exclaimed. She smiled mischievously at Hanayuki. "So how was your date with Sendoh?" Sakuragi, who was drinking from his water bottle, choked at the question.
Hanayuki returned her smile, and said, "Ah, I hate to disappoint you Ayako-san, but it wasn't a date. Anyway, it went well. We just talked about some things, and then played a short one-on-one game before he had to go back to Ryonan for practice."
"A one-on-one?" Sakuragi, Mitsui and Miyagi exclaimed together. Hanayuki nodded.
"So did you show him who's boss or what?" asked Sakuragi eagerly.
Hanayuki shook her head. "Nope. I lost by 10 points," explained Hanayuki. Seeing the disbelieving look on their faces, she continued, "He is a very good opponent. For one thing, he didn't commit the same mistake most of you committed when you guys played with me. You know what I'm talking about."
There was silence for a while, before Miyagi spoke up, "Ok. Then what did you guys talk about?"
"Nothing much. We just talked about my role in Shohoku's basketball team and stuffs like that," Hanayuki replied.
"Did you tell him, then?" asked Kogure.
"Yes, I did. I don't see much point in hiding it from him any longer. He was getting suspicious after that scene of you guys coughing and clearing your throats together, you know."
There was another moment of silence. "So, Sendoh knows that you are our new coach?" asked Akagi slowly.
"Yup. He said that he wouldn't tell anybody, although I told him that it wouldn't be necessary," answered Hanayuki. She looked at Akagi for a while. "Is there a problem, Akagi-sempai?"
"No, there's no problem at all. I was just wondering about it. I guess that means we don't have to say that we haven't got a replacement coach yet anymore, Yuki-chan?" asked Akagi.
Hanayuki shrugged. "Well, it's really up to you guys. I don't mind, nor do I care." She gave a small smile, and continued, "Though I doubt that anyone would believe you even if you told them, don't you think?" Nobody answered her; they knew that she was probably right.
Not wanting to waste time, Hanayuki clapped her hands together and said, "Alright. Let's get back to practice. We have another game coming up. Anyway, before we continue, what is our goal again?"
There wasn't even a second of hesitation as all of them shouted together at the top of their lungs, "THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!"
The stadium, in the Shohoku basketball team's locker room...
Shohoku won the next three games against Kakuya, Takahata and Tsukubu with the scores of 160-24, 103-59 and 111-79 respectively. Just like in the Miuradai game, Sakuragi was kicked out of all the 3 games for fouling 5 times in each one, but each time, his performance improved, especially during the game against Tsukubu; he almost broke the high school record of 22 rebounds caught in one game, but unfortunately only managed to tie the record after fouling for the 5th time in the process of getting the 23rd rebound that would break the record. Despite that, he received the loudest cheer of all on that day.
Back to the present time, the atmosphere in the locker room was strangely quiet. Everybody, especially the starting members, was rather tensed, as this would be their first time encountering such a strong team. Not to say that the past teams which they had gone up against were weak, but compared to Shoyo... well, they're incomparable. After all, Shoyo was one of the best teams in the Kanagawa prefecture, second only to Kainan.
Hanayuki sensed their tenseness, and prayed silently that she would be able to say something to help them relax. As they were about to get ready to enter the court, Hanayuki jumped up from where she was sitting and stopped them. She still hadn't figure out what to say, but time was running out, and she had to say something before the game started.
She looked at each and every one of them, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm sorry. I know that all of you are nervous about this game with Shoyo, and as your coach, I should know how to pacify you guys. But... to tell you the truth, well... I don't know what to do or say to be able to do that. Gomen," she bowed to them, causing a sudden rush amongst the players as they bowed to her in return.
Then, straightening back up, she said, "However, there is one thing I would like to say, and I hope that all of you, especially the 5 of you," she looked pointedly at Akagi, Mitsui, Miyagi, Sakuragi and Rukawa before continuing, "would remember this. Kimitachi wa tsuyoi." She gave them a small smile and walked out of the room, leaving them to ponder over her words and hoping that she had at least helped a little.
The game started about 15 minutes later. The jump ball was taken by Akagi and Shoyo's Hanagata Toru. However, tension on Akagi's part made him accidentally mistimed his jump and the possession of the ball went to Shoyo. It wasn't only Akagi who felt the tension; the whole Shohoku team felt it too, especially the players on the court (except you-know-who). As such their movements were very stiff and their defense suffered.
Just as I feared, thought Hanayuki as she watched from the sidelines. Come on, guys. You have to fight back. Remember, you are the strongest.
The score was 0-13, in favour of Shoyo. Rukawa was the first to break the mood and score. In fact, you could say that he practically single-handedly played against Shoyo during those first few minutes. The rest of the team didn't like Rukawa's attitude of self-centeredness and approached him.
"Rukawa, you shouldn't be playing as if we don't exist," said Akagi.
"Yeah. You can't force your way through their defense by yourself all the time," added Mitsui.
"Stupid kitsune, trying to steal the limelight for himself." No prizes for guessing who said this.
Rukawa looked at them and said, "I had to, since all of you were too stiff to play," before walking away.
It was like throwing a lighted match into a tank filled with gasoline.
"Who do you think you are, Rukawa?"
"How dare you talk to your sempais like that!"
"Freshmen these days have no respect whatsoever for their seniors!"
"How dare you say we are stiff, kitsune. The Tensai has the most graceful defense moves!" And the self-acclaimed Tensai started showing off his defending skills. Akagi, Mitsui and Miyagi could only sweatdrop. Hanayuki clamped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud again, like the way she did during the previous games.
Nevertheless, Rukawa's insult did them good in a way. With fire blazing in their eyes, they sprung into action, the first being Miyagi. Facing Shoyo's Ito Taku, who was taller than him by at least 20 centimetres, Miyagi managed to get past his defense and passed to Sakuragi, who did a lay-up and scored. Since it was his first two points scored ever, Sakuragi started crying and imagined everybody congratulating him, when in reality, they were actually congratulating Miyagi instead.
Later on, Miyagi managed to elude two other Shoyo players and scored by himself, much to the surprise of the crowd, and the admiration of Hikoichi (he was with Taoka-sensei, while the rest of the Ryonan team were in their locker room), who decided there and then that Miyagi would be his role model, given the fact that they were about the same height. Anyway, after scoring, Miyagi deliberately pointed a finger at Fujima Kenji, Shoyo's captain and coach (he wasn't in the game yet), as an act of challenge, prompting him (Fujima) to call for a timeout.
After the timeout, Shoyo decided to play zone defense, rendering Akagi or the others unable to score, unless they succeed in breaking through Shoyo's tight defense. Seeing the situation, Hanayuki lips formed a small smile. It's your turn now, Hisashi-niichan. Sure enough, Mitsui caught the ball and jumped up to execute a perfect three-point shot.
A sudden movement from Shoyo's side of the bench caught everyone's attention. It was Fujima, who made a move to call for a substitution, but was stopped by Hanagata. After reaching a silent agreement, Fujima sat back down, and Hanagata shouted encouragingly to his team-mates to show their true abilities. Which they did, so much so that the first half ended with the score of 22-31, with Shoyo in the lead.
It could have been an 11-point difference, if it hadn't been for Sakuragi, who, at the last minute, caught a spectacular rebound, despite being surrounded by 2 Shoyo players and one Rukawa. For this, Hanayuki was thankful, because although she was inexperienced, she knew that had the difference between the scores been 11 points, there would be no hope of winning for Shohoku. Plus, Sakuragi's rebound had renewed the team's confidence, which was very much needed if they really want to win this game.
6 minutes into the second-half of the game, the score swung in favour of Shohoku at 36-35, thanks to Sakuragi's domination of the offensive rebounds. Even Hanagata couldn't stop Sakuragi, hard as he tried. Finally, seeing that things weren't going smoothly for his team, Fujima requested for a substitution and put himself in the game.
His joining the game caused quite a sensation amongst the crowd, which was largely made up of Shoyo's supporters. Even Kainan and Ryonan, who were in their respective locker rooms, came out to watch the remainder of the game as soon as they received the news of Fujima entering the game (conveniently, both teams were notified by the same person, that being Kiyota Nobunaga, a freshman from Kainan, whose ego was as big as Sakuragi's, as discovered by the Ryonan team, when he mistakenly burst into their locker room instead of Kainan's).
With their captain and coach in the game, Shoyo's fighting spirit was boosted to the maximum. In less than one minute, Fujima changed the score to 36-37, with Shoyo in the lead once again. Loud enough for all to hear, Fujima pointed at the Shohoku players and said, "Shohoku is not yet qualified to become one of the final four teams." Naturally, the Shohoku players were angered by his remark.
However, Fujima's addition to the team made Shoyo a bigger threat to Shohoku. Soon, the score was 40-46 in Shoyo's favour. Sakuragi, in his attempt to stop Fujima at one point, committed his 3rd personal foul. Hanayuki quickly called for a timeout.
As the Shohoku players sat on the bench, a little disturbed by the sudden change of events, Hanayuki racked her brain for something to say. Again unable to come up with anything, she did the only thing she could think of. She stood in front of the players, and then, after a brief silence, she asked, "Do you still remember what I've told you earlier on before the game started?"
All of them looked at her. Slowly, but surely, Akagi replied, "Of course we remember, Yuki-chan."
Together, they chorused, "Oretachi wa tsuyoi!"
Hanayuki smiled, glad that she had at least brought back their confidence. "Good."
Meanwhile, over at Shoyo, Fujima called for a man-to-man defense strategy. But Hasegawa Kazushi requested Fujima to let him mark Mitsui. Mitsui and Hasegawa had met up in the past during their junior high school days, but back then Mitsui was the MVP and Hasegawa was no match for him. At the moment, Mitsui, who hadn't played basketball for 2 years, was showing signs of fatigue.
The game restarted, with Hanagata trying his very best to stop Sakuragi from getting the rebound. A clever fake by Sakuragi got him into the better position, but Fujima was prepared for it and was about to steal the ball. In reflex, Sakuragi snatched the ball protectively and accidentally elbowed Hanagata who was behind him, thus earning himself his 4th personal foul. He only needed one more to be sent off the game.
As for Mitsui, he was looking really tired and facing Hasegawa, whom he couldn't remember. He was, however, angered by Hasegawa who told him to his face that he wouldn't let him score more than 5 points. All fired up, and remembering his past and Anzai-sensei's advice, Mitsui started to retaliate by shooting in 4 three-point shots consecutively. The score changed from 46-58 to 58-60, Shoyo still in the lead.
With 5 minutes left in the game, Mitsui once again got a pass, but was intercepted by Fujima. The ball was about to go out of bounds when Mitsui, summoning all his strength, raced after the ball and saved it to Rukawa, who then successfully scored. Shohoku was finally tied with Shoyo, 60-60. Mitsui, having used up all of his energy, was replaced by Kogure, and was applauded by the spectators for his excellent spirit and performance.
Sakuragi, on the other hand, had since his 4th foul shrunk away from defending the basket. What am I going to do? I can't play like this, but if I keep on defending, I might be kicked out of the game. What am I going to do?
"Oi, you still here?"
"Nani?" Sakuragi was snapped out of his thoughts. He turned and saw that it was Rukawa talking to him.
"Why are you acting like a coward?" asked Rukawa. He cocked his head to one side, before continuing, "That's not like you isn't it?"
Sakuragi looked at Rukawa in surprise. For once, he had nothing to say back to Rukawa. The rest of the team and the audience in the stadium watched them in silence. Kogure said nervously, "They're not going to start a fight now, are they?"
Hanayuki smiled a little, before answering, "Don't worry, Kogure-sempai. They are not. They will not." And she was right. They didn't start fighting, but Sakuragi did bang his head down on the floor hard, to the surprise and horror of everyone watching, except for Hanayuki, his team-mates and the Sakuragi gundan, who had come to watch the game by the way.
With a sheepish and rather dazed grin on his face, he asked Rukawa, "Who are you calling a coward, Rukawa?"
"You."
"Teme Rukawa!" Since they were still in the middle of the game, Sakuragi restrained himself from lunging at Rukawa. I'll show him, that stupid Kitsune.
The revival of his courage and spirit was just in time. Hanagata attempted a shot, the keyword here being attempted. It didn't go in, and Sakuragi got the rebound. He passed the ball to Miyagi, who went up against Fujima and passed the ball to Rukawa who then did a lay-up. Although the ball teetered on the edge of the basket for a while, it eventually went in, putting Shohoku in the lead with the score of 62-60.
It was Fujima's turn to be disturbed by the sudden change of events. As he looked at both Sakuragi and Rukawa, he thought, Sakuragi and Rukawa. This new partnership...
His team-mates looked at him, hoping that he would give them instructions on what to do, but Fujima just stared back at them, not knowing what to say or do.
You didn't count on their wonderful complement of each other, did you, Fujima-san? As happy and excited as she felt for her team, she also felt sympathy towards Shoyo. I guess your time is over, and now, it's our turn.
Back on the court, Kogure passed to Sakuragi who immediately raced to the basket, intending to do a, yes, you got it, a slam dunk. Fujima shouted to Hanagata, "Stop him, Hanagata! Even if he gets a free throw it won't go in!"
Hanagata jumped up to block Sakuragi together with another team-mate Mitsuru Nagano, while Sakuragi jumped up to dunk. With all his strength and momentum, Sakuragi slammed the ball into the basket, knocking both Hanagata and Nagano aside at the same time.
There was a long moment of silence before the whole stadium erupted into cheers. However, the referee blew his whistle, signalling that it was Sakuragi's 5th personal foul.
As he walked off the court, he was stopped by Rukawa.
"Oi."
Sakuragi turned his head slightly to look at Rukawa, fully expecting him (Rukawa) to insult him (Sakuragi) for being kicked out of the game again.
His face expressionless, Rukawa said, "That was too bad, even for you," and then walked away. For the second time, Sakuragi was surprised and rendered speechless by Rukawa.
On the bench, Mitsui said with a smile, "That baka has louder cheers than mine."
Hearing the remark, Hanayuki also smiled and said, "Well, what did you expect, Hisashi-niichan?"
The game went on. Fujima attempted a three-point shot, but Kogure jumped up and managed to graze the ball with his fingers. Last few seconds, Fujima yelled, "There's no more time! Attack!" Last 3 seconds, Hanagata shot forcefully, this time the keyword being forcefully. The ball rolled around the rim before falling on the outer side.
Buzz!
Shohoku had won the game by two points. The whole Shohoku team jumped up and started screaming and shouting with joy. They had defeated the second best team in Kanagawa, and had made it into the final four teams. They were now one step closer to their dreams.
Sendoh watched as Mitsui swung Hanayuki around while they hugged. I wonder if I will have the chance to do that. He continued watching as Hanayuki ran towards Rukawa and gave him a hug. He was a little surprised to see the Super Rookie hugging her back. Hmm... interesting...
Back in Shohoku's locker room...
Kogure and Hanayuki exited the room quietly so as not to disturb the 5 players who were sleeping soundly inside. Turning to Hanayuki, Kogure asked, "Would you like to get something to drink, Yuki-chan?"
Hanayuki nodded with a smile and said, "Let's go to the vending machine downstairs then." They proceeded down the stairs to where the vending machine was situated.
As Kogure fed some coins into the vending machine, Hanayuki looked around and saw the Shoyo team coming their way. She watched as they walked past her and Kogure, and was surprised when Fujima stopped and turned to look at her.
Extending his hand, he said, "Congratulations on your team's victory, er..."
"It's Hanayuki, Fujima-san," said Hanayuki as she shook his hand.
Fujima nodded and bowed a little. "Congratulations on your team's victory, Hanayuki-sensei."
Kogure's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, while Hanayuki raised her eyebrows. Trying to fight the urge to laugh, she cleared her throat several times, prompting Fujima to ask out of concern, "Are you alright, Hanayuki-sensei?"
Unable to hold back any longer, Hanayuki burst out laughing. Kogure could only grin sheepishly. "Please, Fujima-san. Don't call me sensei," said Hanayuki, still laughing. The Shoyo players looked at her, getting more and more confused by the second.
Seeing that Hanayuki was laughing too hard to be able to explain, Kogure decided to do it for her. "Um... you see, she's actually younger than all of you by at least one year. In the case of Fujima-san and Hanagata-san, it's two."
Hanayuki chipped in, "And to think that you called me sensei, when I should be calling you guys oniichan," and continued laughing.