Chapter 15: Ichiro Mizusawa
As the sun began to set, a lone figure could be seen walking along the beach barefooted, her sandals dangling from her hands. She took a deep breath, breathing in the slightly salty but refreshing air.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Eh?" She looked at the dog standing in front of her, eyes unblinking.
"Yumi?"
"Woof! Woof!" The dog went nearer to her, and she dropped down to her knees.
"Yumi! It's really you!" she said, as she gathered the cocker spaniel in her arms, running her fingers through its hair. "It's been so long. Did you miss me?"
"Woof! Woof!"
She laughed. "I guess that's a yes. I missed you too." She continued ruffling its hair, and then stopped when she remembered something. "Wait a minute. If you're here, that means he's here too."
"Woof!"
"Will you take me to him then?"
"Woof!" The dog freed itself from her grasp and started running forward.
"Oi, matte!"
---
Shohoku basketball gym...
"Ah, tough, tough," muttered Miyagi. Beside him, Sakuragi was putting his head under the tap to let the water run over his head.
"You know, Rukawa is incredibly energetic these days," said Mitsui, as he straightened up and wiped his face with his shirt. "To be honest, I'm glad to be his team-mate during practice."
"Me too," Miyagi agreed.
"Mitchy. Ryochin."
"Huh?" They turned to look at Sakuragi, whose head was still under the tap, and stared as steam began billowing from his head where the water came in contact with.
"Nanda yo, Hanamichi?" asked Miyagi.
"Rukawa... Rukawa... won't you guys shut up?! Can't you guys see a more energetic Tensai in front of you?!" demanded Sakuragi.
"What? A Tensai?" Miyagi sweatdropped.
Mitsui put his hand above his eyes and pretended to look around. "Where? Where is the Tensai?"
"Grrrr.... Teme! One after another..."
Akagi, Kogure and Ayako watched as Sakuragi stormed off in a huff.
"Surely, there's one more guy burning like the hot summer sun," commented Kogure.
"A self-appointed Tensai," added Ayako.
Akagi only smirked in reply.
---
In another part of Kanagawa...
Articular tuberculosis.
The words kept on repeating themselves in Ichiro Mizusawa's mind as he tossed and turned on his bed endlessly.
There's no effective treatment for this illness, therefore an after effect might remain.
"Kuso..." Ichiro cursed under his breath. He pulled the blanket over his head, trying to block out the voice.
In order to avoid the remaining after effect, he needs to undergo an operation. However, it doesn't mean that after the operation, he would be able to do high-impact exercise like basketball.
He covered his ears with both his hands.
You won't be able to play basketball anymore.
His whole body started to tremble.
You won't be able to play basketball anymore.
"No..."
You won't be able to play basketball anymore.
"NO!!!" Ichiro sat up on the bed and started to throw everything within his reach on the floor. "NO!!!"
The door opened immediately, and a girl came in. "Ichiro! Are you alright?"
Ichiro ignored her and continued with his tantrum until he felt a pair of hands wound themselves around him. Gradually, he began to relax, and then, he buried his head into his hands. It wasn't long before his shoulders started shaking with sobs.
"I... I want to play basketball again... with Rukawa-sempai... Is that too much to ask for?" he said amidst sobs.
"Shhh... I know. I understand," she said, stroking his hair. As she did so, her eyes travelled along the NBA posters pasted on the walls and came to rest on a large piece of paper, also pasted on the wall, with some writings on it.
The main phrase, 'THE NATIONAL CONQUEST WITH RUKAWA-SEMPAI' was scratched off with a big cross. At the bottom corner of the paper, another phrase was written beneath the original one. This one read: I want to play basketball with Rukawa-sempai once more.
Rukawa-kun...
---
Recess time, Shohoku High School...
"I wonder what they're talking about."
"Who knows? But by observing the situation, we can safely presume that it was an attack by Haruko-chan."
"Haruko-chan's quite a lady. This could mean..."
The gundan looked at each with wide grins on their faces.
As they continued watching, something came into Youhei's mind, and he quickly said, "Don't you dare tell Hanamichi, ok?"
"If he knows, there'll be a blood bath," said Ookusu.
Takamiya nodded his head. "A blood bath for sure. Right, Hanamichi?" he asked Sakuragi beside him before turning his attention back to the scene before them.
It took him about 3 seconds before he realised that Sakuragi was actually squatting down beside him.
"Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!"
The gundan sprang into action and proceeded to block Sakuragi's view and hold him back.
"What are you guys doing here?" he demanded.
"Y-you too!!! What are you doing here?!"
Sakuragi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You guys must be hiding something from me. Get out of my way!"
Even with the four of them holding on to him, he still managed to march forward and see what they were looking at.
"Ah! Haruko-san!"
"No, don't!"
Sakuragi looked past Haruko to see who she was talking to.
"R-Rukawa!!!"
It was like witnessing first-hand the eruption of a volcano.
Rukawa is together with Haruko-san alone!!!
"Calm down! Calm down, Hanamichi!"
"How dare you Rukawa!!! I'll kill you! I'll kill-"
"Oniichan?"
Piku.
To the gundan's relief, Sakuragi stopped struggling when he heard Hanayuki's voice. They were about to thank the stars when something else came into their minds.
Uh-oh! Hanayuki is here, and Rukawa is with Haruko-chan!
Apparently, the same thing went through Sakuragi's mind, as he joined the gundan in trying to steer Hanayuki away from the place.
"What are you guys trying to do?" asked Hanayuki curiously, standing firmly on the ground as they tried to pull and push her away.
"Iie, nothing Hana-chan. It's a... um... a guy's thing. Yeah, that's it. A guy's thing. Right, guys?" said Sakuragi nervously.
"Yeah. That's right. A guy's thing." The gundan nodded their heads so vigorously it was a miracle it didn't fall off their shoulders.
Hanayuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Sakuragi and the gundan continued nodding their heads.
Hanayuki regarded them for a moment, before saying, "Ok. I'll go then."
As they breathed a sigh of relief, Hanayuki made a show of retreating, before quickly turning around and darted past them, much to their horror and surprise. They froze on the spot when they saw her stop in her tracks and stare straight ahead.
This is so not good. Damn that stupid Kitsune! Stealing my Haruko and cheating on Hanayuki... wait a minute, he's not Hanayuki's boyfriend. So why am I so anxious for?
Sakuragi was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't realise Hanayuki was swinging her hands in front of his face, trying to get his attention.
"Oniichan? Hello... anybody home?"
"Huh? Oh, Hana-chan..." said Sakuragi, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Are you alright?" asked Hanayuki.
"Of course, Hana-chan. I am the Tensai after all. Er... what about you?" he asked in return.
Hanayuki smiled at him and replied, "Of course I'm alright."
"Um, ok. That's good," said Youhei.
Hanayuki smirked. "You know, it's not nice eavesdropping on other people's conversation."
"Ehehehehehe..." The gundan smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of their heads.
"Anyway, don't be too upset, oniichan. They're just talking, that's all. No need to worry, ne?" continued Hanayuki while looking at her brother.
To his credit, Sakuragi managed to shrug and smile. "I guess. By the way, what are you doing in school, Hana-chan? Aren't you supposed to be at home resting?"
"Well, I had something to do. But I guess I'll go now. Practise hard, ne, oniichan?" she winked at him before turning around and walked away.
As soon as she was out of sight, the gundan again heaved another sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
"Rukawa! I'll kill you!!!"
"Hanamichi, calm down!"
---
Later that evening...
"Oh, naruhodo..."
"I'm sorry that I have to ask you for this during our important season, Yuki-chan. But, I really hope that you would agree to hold a practice game for Mizusawa."
Hanayuki watched as Akagi, who was sitting opposite her on the sofa in the living room of her house, lowered his head and looked at the floor.
"For basketball players, to give up playing basketball is as hard as losing our arms and legs. In fact, when I thought that my injury was serious... I could just feel that his problem is my problem too," he continued.
There was a brief silence before Hanayuki spoke. "Shikashi, how's um... Mizusawa-kun's condition?"
Akagi looked up and said, "The doctor said that he should be able to play just one more game."
They exchanged stares for a moment, and then, Hanayuki smiled and said, "Wakarimashita."
After seeing Akagi out of the house, Hanayuki walked into the kitchen. Pulling out a chair, she sat down and poured herself a glass of water, drinking from it a little before putting it down on the kitchen table.
"So, what do you think about this matter," asked Hanayuki, addressing the person who was sitting on the other side of the table.
"Rukawa-kun?"
Rukawa looked at her with the usual bored expression on his face.
"To think that, in one day, 2 people came to me and asked for permission to have a practice game for Mizusawa. It just goes to show that our players are, in fact, full of heart and compassion. Not bad..." said Hanayuki. Rukawa didn't say anything.
"Anyway, tell me, how did you know about Mizusawa-kun's condition?"
Rukawa looked as if he didn't want to tell, but after a moment of hesitation, he said, "The captain's sister told me this afternoon."
Hanayuki raised her eyebrows. "Sou ka? So that's why I saw the both of you talking today at the back of the school grounds."
It was Rukawa's turn to raise his eyebrows. "You saw?"
"Yup. Oniichan and the gundan were there too. You should have seen his reaction when he saw the two of you together. He practically blew his top." Hanayuki smiled as she recalled the incident.
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Were you jealous?" he asked softly.
Hanayuki blinked at the question. "What? Of course not. Why should I be?"
Rukawa didn't answer. He just kept on looking at her. And then, slowly, he said, "You are jealous."
Hanayuki blinked again. "No, I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"I said I'm not!"
"Yes you are."
---
Later that night...
Yawn.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
Yawn.
"No I'm not."
A few hours had passed since they first started the argument. They had argued all the way through dinner, and now, as they were seated in the living room, the argument had yet to stop. Hanayuki yawned for the umpteenth time that night.
"Yes you are."
"Oh please, Rukawa-kun. For the millionth time, I am not," said Hanayuki. She stretched herself on the sofa, resting her head on the armrest and facing Rukawa, who was sitting opposite her.
"Yes you are."
Hanayuki sighed exasperatedly. "Ok. I give up. I am so tired of this. (Yawn) I'm going to sleep." She shifted a little to make herself more comfortable before closing her eyes, hoping that sleep would claim her at once.
"Do'aho."
Upon hearing that, Hanayuki opened her eyes again, and said, "I thought that was exclusively for my brother."
"Why aren't you sleeping in your room?"
"And wake up to find you sleeping beside me? I think I'll pass, thank you very much." Yawning again, she said, "Now go to sleep. It's way past your bedtime already. No wonder you sleep everywhere else; you don't get enough sleep at home."
"Do'aho."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Good night, Rukawa-kun."
One hour later...
After making sure that she was soundly asleep, Rukawa stood up quietly and walked towards Hanayuki. Lifting her up as gently as possible, he carried her to her room and tucked her in her bed, before settling himself beside her, in a way so that her back was against his chest. Then, wrapping his arms around her, he dozed off to sleep immediately, not caring in the least of the manner he would be awakened the next morning.
---
A few days later, at the Shohoku basketball gym...
"Hey, junior, do not hesitate. Just do your best!"
"Hai, I will. Thank you for the game. Please be gentle with me," said Ichiro as he bowed again and again to the Shohoku players.
Akagi nodded his head in response. "It'll be a game with the regular rules, and 20 minutes of half-time break. Take this like a real game, ok?"
A hand was raised in the air.
"What's wrong, Rukawa?" asked Akagi, a little surprised.
"Why do we include a junior in the game?" came the monotonous question.
As a shocked silence filled the gym, everybody looked at Rukawa with mixed reactions; some with disbelief, some with disgust.
"Rukawa, you cold-blooded animal!" said Sakuragi furiously.
"Do'aho."
"Anyway, you will know that Mizusawa is the number one forward in Kanagawa. If you cut corners in the game, you will suffer a stinging defeat," said Akagi, recovering from the shock.
"Then, let me join the red team. It's awkward to play with a junior."
In the end, Ichiro was changed to the red team, while Rukawa remained in the white team. (A/n: In case you didn't get it, Ichiro, Miyagi, Mitsui, Sakuragi and Yasuda are in the red team, meaning they are wearing the red jersey, while Rukawa, Akagi, Kogure and two other players are in the white team, wearing white jerseys.) At the sidelines, the gundan, Haruko and Ichiro's sister, Akane couldn't believe what they had just seen and heard.
"Rukawa is so selfish as usual," said Youhei.
"Cold-blooded fellow," added Takamiya.
Sakuragi, who was also in the red team, approached Ichiro. "Don't worry, junior. Just follow my lead, ok? This Tensai will exterminate that cold-blooded fox."
Up in the audience stand, hidden from the view of the others below, another person had witness the whole exchange.
"What do you think, Yumi? Do you think he is a cold-blooded fox too?" she asked the furry companion in her arms.
Yumi licked her face in reply.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see."
Meanwhile, on the court, Miyagi said, "As usual, we will do the man-to-man defense. Hanamichi, you guard Akagi. I'll mark Rukawa."
"Nani??! Wait a second, Ryochin! Rukawa is mine. I'll kill that cold-blooded kitsune," said Sakuragi. As he said so, he was practically burning with fire, prompting Miyagi to fan himself from the heat the fire was emanating.
Anyway, the jump ball was taken by Ichiro and Kogure, and Ichiro succeeded in reaching the ball first. He tapped the ball to Mitsui, who then passed the ball to Miyagi. Running to their goal, Miyagi passed to Ichiro, only to have Rukawa steal the ball and score with a fade-away shot. Later, the ball was once again intercepted by Rukawa, and Ichiro ran after him.
"He's fast," remarked Akagi.
Mitsui agreed. "Yeah, he's too good for a junior high player."
As the game went on, Rukawa didn't once let Ichiro have the chance to get the ball.
"Rukawa won't let Ichiro-kun be active in the game," said Youhei.
"What a bad personality," said Takamiya.
"Maybe he doesn't want him to stand out more than he does," suggested Ookusu.
Back to the game, Rukawa was having the ball, and Ichiro was guarding him. As he dribbled the ball, he spoke.
"You said you wanted to play with me... it means that you wanted to have a game with me, correct?"
Slightly taken aback, Ichiro answered, "Hai."
Just then, Akagi moved a little to the left, catching Rukawa's eye. Ichiro saw this and, thinking that it was a fake, he moved to the right to stop Rukawa. However, Rukawa drove to the left and was about to shoot when Sakuragi jumped up from behind him.
"Die, you cold-blooded kitsune!"
Slapping the ball from behind was not a very good idea; at least, not for Sakuragi, who lost his balance and landed on top of Rukawa on the floor. Some milliseconds later, they were back on their feet, glaring at each other.
"Do'aho."
"Nani??! You cold-blooded kitsune!"
"You guys, cut it off!" shouted Akagi.
They turned away from each other, and then, an idea suddenly popped up in Sakuragi's mind.
That's right. This Tensai has his last resort... He recalled the times when he had dunked the ball on Akagi and the baldhead from the Miuradai team (their head), and imagined doing the same thing to Rukawa. It's the Skull Dunk! (A/n: I remember calling this the Death Dunk, but I guess it's still the same...) One dunk, and Rukawa will be knocked out.
"The ball, Hanamichi!"
Because he was too busy thinking about his 'wonderful' plan, he didn't notice Miyagi passing the ball to him, and it hit him right on the face.
The game continued, and Miyagi had the ball. He made a pass to Yasuda by bouncing it through Kogure's legs, but before Yasuda could catch the ball, he was pushed aside by Sakuragi, who caught the ball.
"Hey, baka Hanamichi! That was my exquisite pass!" cried Miyagi.
Ignoring him, Sakuragi ran towards the basket. Rukawa was already there guarding the basket, and Sakuragi charged towards him, ready to slam the ball on his head. Unfortunately, Rukawa moved away, and Sakuragi was left somersaulting through the air until he hit the floor.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The gundan laughed their heads off at the hilarious scene before them. "What are you doing, Hanamichi?"
"Teme..." Sakuragi sat up red-faced.
BAM!
"Don't disgrace the team, baka!"
"It's already embarrassing, Gori..." whined Sakuragi, as a lump formed on his head. The gundan continued laughing.
The first-half ended with the white team leading by 9 points, and the second-half started with Akagi and Sakuragi taking the jump ball. To Ichiro's amazement, Sakuragi actually got to the ball first, but he tapped the ball to no one.
"Baka! There's no one there," said Miyagi.
"I'll get the ball myself," replied Sakuragi, and get the ball he did, passing it to Ichiro who was once again amazed at his abilities.
Dashing to the basket, Ichiro was quickly guarded by Rukawa. At the sidelines, Haruko remarked to Akane, "Look, Akane, Ichiro-kun is not losing to Rukawa-kun." Akane nodded in reply.
At that moment, Ichiro managed to elude Rukawa, and was about to shoot when Rukawa came up from behind and swatted the ball away.
Landing on the ground, he looked at Ichiro and said bluntly, "Do you think you could win with such techniques?"
It didn't take the red team long to catch up to the white team. Soon the score was 45-48, still in favour of the white team.
Ichiro, who was having the ball, passed to Mitsui, who then passed to Miyagi. Miyagi passed it back to Mitsui, who tried to shoot a three-pointer, but missed. Sakuragi managed to tap the ball, and it was about to go out of bounds when Sakuragi raced after it and swiped it back into the court to Miyagi, before slamming into the wall himself.
Ichiro was left utterly speechless at Sakuragi's never-give-up spirit, even more so when Sakuragi jumped up to his feet almost immediately and ran back onto the court as if nothing had happened.
Having scored, the ball was now in the white team's possession, and Rukawa went for a quick attack, with Ichiro following closely behind.
"Try to stop him, Mizusawa!" shouted Akagi, encouraging the boy.
"Hai!" Ichiro ran after Rukawa, catching up with him in no time at all. Desperate to stop Rukawa, he jumped up and tried to slap the ball away. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach the ball, and while falling to the ground, his hand caught hold of Rukawa's jersey and tore it a little.
The impact of the fall caused Ichiro to feel a pain in his leg and unable to stand. Akagi and Kogure ran up to him, while the rest of the team, especially Akane and Haruko, watched anxiously.
"Mizusawa, are you alright?" asked Akagi, as Ichiro held his leg.
Sakuragi marched towards Ichiro and swiftly gave him a headbutt, much to the horror of the others.
"What did you do that for?" asked Ichiro, who was now holding his head, his leg forgotten.
"That pain will help you forget about you leg," said Sakuragi.
Then, another voice came up. "Stop behaving like a kid."
It was Rukawa. "The game is not over yet. Play hard until you have nothing to regret."
Hearing these words from his most admired idol was more than Ichiro could ever ask for. After taking a deep breath, he stood up, gritting his teeth from the pain in his leg. He bowed to Akagi and said, "I'm sorry. Please let me continue. Please."
"Captain!"
Suddenly, the whole gym was filled with shouts and cheers for Mizusawa, and everybody looked up to see the entire Tomigaoka basketball team standing in the audience stand, including the coach.
"Ichiro, don't lose to Rukawa!"
"Captain, keep going! Do your best!"
"Tomigaoka! Tomigaoka!"
Fired up by the support given to Ichiro, Akagi pumped his fist in the air and said, "Yosh! Let's go on!"
"Hai!" everyone chorused.
With his confidence and spirit regained, Ichiro lived up to his reputation as the number one forward in Kanagawa and played like how he used to before his injury, scoring quite a few points. There was only 15 seconds left in the game, and the red team was trailing behind by 2 points.
The ball bounced off the rim, and Sakuragi jumped up to get the rebound. At the same time, Rukawa also jumped up to get the ball, but Sakuragi beat him to it and didn't even foul in the process.
"Hanamichi got Rukawa!" said the shocked gundan. "And it wasn't a foul."
10 more seconds, and Sakuragi passed the ball to Miyagi, who passed to Ichiro. Catching up with him, Rukawa said, "You won't get through."
The remark only made Ichiro more determined than ever, and to everyone's delight, he managed to elude Rukawa, passing the ball to Sakuragi who was already waiting in front.
"Hanamichi, go for the dunk!" shouted the gundan.
Sakuragi jumped up for the dunk, with Rukawa behind him and Akagi in front. Without so much of batting an eyelid, he slammed the ball in, and just in time too. The game was tied with the score of 78-78.
"Sakuragi-san!"
"Alright, Hanamichi!"
"Good job, Sakuragi!"
"Told you I'm a Tensai! Nyahahahahahaha!"
Everybody clapped in appreciation, and Ichiro stepped forward. "Thank you for the game, minna-san! I have nothing to regret now."
"Ichiro-kun, why don't you come to Shohoku and take over my place as the 2nd manager of the team?" asked Ayako.
The rest of the team quickly embraced the idea.
"That's a great idea," said Akagi.
"I'm sure you'll be a great manager," added Kogure.
"Alright! Let's win the National Championships together!" chipped in Sakuragi.
"Hai!" said Ichiro happily. He looked at Rukawa, who looked back at him with the same expression on his face, which is the no-expression expression. Then, turning to the others, he again bowed his thanks when he felt something soft thrown to his back.
Catching it, he realised that it was Rukawa's torn jersey, and that it was Rukawa who had thrown it.
"R-Rukawa-sempai..." Completely overwhelmed, tears started to run down his cheeks, but he didn't bother to hide them or wipe them off. He was too happy to care about anything else.
Akane, who was crying herself, suddenly remembered something, and stood beside her brother. "Arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san, for fulfilling my brother's wish. My parents would also like thank all of you for everything you've done for Ich-chan. As such, they've asked me to invite you to our house for dinner tonight. I hope that all of you can come."
"Well..." Akagi hesitated, but was cut off by Ichiro, who had wiped off his tears and was looking very excited at the invitation.
"I really hope that all of you can come. Please, just to show you my appreciation, and my family's. Besides, I have a basketball court behind my house. We can play a short game of basketball after that if you want."
After more persuasion from his team-mates, especially Sakuragi, Akagi agreed to the invitation, and so, after packing up their things, the whole team, mainly Akagi, Kogure, Mitsui, Miyagi, Ayako, Sakuragi and Rukawa (he only agreed after Ayako pulled him aside and threatened him about who-knows-what) followed the Mizusawa's home. Haruko, being Akane's friend, went with them.
On their way to the train station, they decided to call Hanayuki and ask her to come along as well. Whipping out his handphone, Mitsui (yes, Mitsui has a handphone) dialled her number and waited for her to pick up the call.
"Moshi moshi," came the voice from the other line.
"Hana-chan. Hisashi-niichan here. Guess what, me, Akagi, Kogure, Miyagi, Ayako, Haruko, Sakuragi and Rukawa are going over to Mizusawa's house for dinner. Why don't you come along? We'll drop by your house and pick you up before going to the train station."
Before Mitsui could say another word, the phone was snatched away by Sakuragi. "Hana-chan, so are you coming or not?"
There was a pause as he listened to her answer. "But, why?"
This time, it was Rukawa who snatched away the phone.
"Teme kitsune! Give me back the phone!"
"Do'aho."
While Kogure and Miyagi held Sakuragi back, Rukawa put the phone to his ears.
---
At the train station...
A girl, who looked in her teens, could be seen talking on her handphone. "It's not as if I'll be running around the place. I'll be staying over at a friend's place, that's all."
"I got to go now. Enjoy yourself. I'll see you around," she said when she saw the train that she was waiting for arriving at the station. Turning off the phone and putting it into her bag, she bent down, picked up her canine friend who was sitting obediently beside her while she was on the phone, and stepped into the train.
"Let's go home, Yumi, before the others do."
---
Mizusawa's house, about an hour later...
"We're here, minna," said Ichiro as he led the Shohoku players to his house. He opened the door and held it open for the others, before closing it behind them.
"Tadaima!" he shouted. There was no response.
"Maybe okaasan and otousan went out to buy something," said Akane.
Ichiro shook his head. "They might not be at home, but someone else should be." Having said that, he shouted again. "Tadaima!"
"Okaeri!" The voice seemed to come from the kitchen.
Funny, the voice sounds so familiar, thought the Shohoku members. They didn't have to wait long to find out why.
"Yuki-chan?"
They gaped at her as she stood before them, wearing an apron and holding a pot in one hand, while the other was stirring the contents with a wooden spoon. Her hair was tied back into a scarf, with only a few stray fringes falling down her face.
She looked at them with a smile on her face. "You're finally here."
"Yuki-san!" As if they were not surprised enough, Ichiro moved forward and was about to hug her, if not for the pot she was holding. Laughing, she put it down and hugged him after wiping her hands on the apron.
"So how was the game?" she asked.
"Sugoi, Yuki-san! It was great. Come, let me tell you all about it." He wanted to pull Hanayuki into the living room, but Hanayuki stopped him.
"Not now, Ichiro. I have a lot of cooking to do," she said, pointing to the pot.
"It's ok, Yuki-chan. You go join the others and leave the cooking to me."
"Mizusawa-san!"
Mrs Mizusawa, who had come out of the kitchen, smiled and nodded her head. "Just go. I'll call you if I need help."
"Thanks, okaasan. Come on, Yuki-san! I have lots of things to tell you," said Ichiro.
"Ok, ok. I'm coming." She let Ichiro pull her to the living room, gesturing to the others to follow them.
In the living room, Ichiro proceeded to tell Hanayuki everything single detail of the game, while the rest of the people just sat down quietly and watched their conversation.
Taking out the jersey Rukawa had given him, Ichiro said, "Look, Yuki-san. Rukawa-kun gave me his jersey."
Hanayuki's eyes widened with surprise. "He did?" She glanced at Rukawa and took the jersey, running a finger along the torn sleeve. "I didn't see that. I knew I should have stayed longer."
"Huh?"
"I was there to watch the game."
"You were?" asked Ichiro.
"Oh yes. Yumi was there too, weren't you Yumi?" she asked. As everyone began to wonder who Yumi was, a cocker spaniel appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto Hanayuki's lap.
"Woof! Woof!"
Hanayuki laughed. "There you go. He said yes."
"But how come I didn't see you?" asked Ichiro.
"I was up in the audience stand, hiding," answered Hanayuki. Ruffling his hair, she continued, "You played really well, Ichiro."
Ichiro smiled. "So you were the one who informed the team about my game with Shohoku."
Hanayuki shrugged. "Well, I guess I kinda mentioned about it. Anyway, knowing you, you cried when he gave you the jersey, didn't you?"
"Ahahahaha..." Ichiro rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Taking her hand in his, Ichiro said, "Thank you so much for everything, Yuki-san."
"Don't thank me. The ones you should be thanking are sitting right there before you." She pointed to Akagi and the others.
It was only then did Kogure decide to interrupt the conversation. "Err, sumi masen, Yuki-chan. Don't you think you should explain to us about this? I don't know about the others, but I'm getting very confused."
Ichiro looked at Hanayuki. "They didn't know?"
"Nope, they didn't know. Why don't you tell them?" said Hanayuki.
"Ok." Turning to the others, he said, "Minna, Yuki-san is actually my private coach," and earned himself a light punch on the shoulder.
"Nonsense. I am not your private coach. All I did was watch while you play," protested Hanayuki.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean by watch him play?" asked Ayako.
"I used to watch him practise back in junior high school," answered Hanayuki. "In fact, most of the time when he was practising alone at the basketball court behind his house, I was there to either watch or practise with him."
"Ok. But that doesn't really answer the question. How did you know him in the first place?" asked Mitsui.
"Simple. We went to the same junior high school," said Ichiro.
"Oh." It took them a while to digest the information before Ayako suddenly burst out, "Wait a minute. Both of you went to the same high school? But, Ichiro-kun went to Tomigaoka."
"Yup." Ichiro nodded his head.
"You mean, you were at Tomigaoka too?" asked Mitsui, who had caught on to Ayako's question.
"Yup." Hanayuki nodded her head.
"That is impossible. I was in Tomigaoka too. How come I've never seen you before?" asked Ayako again.
"Well, that would be because I only went to Tomigaoka in my third year. You were already in Shohoku then," Hanayuki explained.
"Sou ka? No wonder you seemed to be so close to Rukawa," said Kogure. "Both of you have known each other since junior high."
"Actually, Rukawa-kun and I didn't know each other back then. Or, to be exact, I knew who he was, but he didn't know me. I don't think he even knew I exist," said Hanayuki.
"But that's just impossible..." Ayako argued, and was interrupted by Hanayuki.
"Ayako-san, perhaps for you it would be impossible not to know that I exist. But for Rukawa-kun, well, you know how he is. We weren't in the same class, and even if we were, I doubt that he would actually notice me. The only reason I knew who he was is because he was the star basketball player and the captain of the school team," said Hanayuki, with her eyebrows raised.
Ayako was about to say more, but thought better of it and grudgingly agreed. "I guess you do have a point."
Beaming, Hanayuki clapped her hands together and asked, "Anymore questions?"
Sakuragi started waving his hands madly in the air.
"Oniichan?"
"Which junior high school did you go to before you went to Tomigaoka?" he asked eagerly.
Before she could answer, Ichiro interrupted her. "She went to a Japanese school in America before that."
"Eh? I thought she went to Negishi Junior High School. I mean, I remember her mentioning about it back then during our practices. That is, before I er, disappeared," said Mitsui.
Everybody turned to look at Hanayuki for clarification. As they did so, they noticed that her expression had visibly changed.
"Hana-chan?"
"Huh? Oh, um... I did go to Negishi during my first year of junior high school. I um... only went to the Japanese school in America the following year, and came back to Japan the year after that."
It was very obvious that she wasn't too enthusiastic about the topic, and everybody was willing to drop the conversation. But not Sakuragi.
"Hana-chan, why is it that one year you went to Negishi, another year you went to America, and the next you went to Tomigaoka?" he asked.
Miyagi elbowed him in the ribs. "Keep quiet, baka! Stop asking so many questions."
"Teme Ryochin! What did you do that for?"
"Baka! Just stop talking. You're being very noisy," said Mitsui.
"Nani??!"
Meanwhile, the colour was slowly draining away from Hanayuki's face. Ichiro touched her lightly on the shoulder and asked, "Yuki-san, are you alright?"
Hanayuki looked at him and smiled. It was a forced smile; everybody could see that. "Nothing. I'm fine."
Before anyone could say anything else, Hanayuki stood up and said, "Enough of the explanations. I'd better get back into the kitchen and help Mizusawa-san. She's cooking for like, what, 12 people? She'll need all the help she can get."
She quickly made her way to the kitchen, but not before saying to Ichiro, "Ichiro, why don't you keep them occupied at the basketball court. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
---
That night...
The dinner was very fulfilling, as Mrs Mizusawa had made sure that there were at least 12 dishes, one for each person. It took a lot of effort on everybody's part to finish everything laid on the table, but being 'fighters', they managed to put all of them away into their stomachs.
After dinner, Hanayuki had insisted on doing the washing, despite the protests from Ichiro, Mrs Mizusawa and Sakuragi. How did she manage to make them let her have her way? Well, first, she hinted a threat to Ichiro, saying that they wouldn't stay the night (during dinner, the Mizusawa's had asked them to stay the night, and Hanayuki had agreed, saying that the team could go for their morning run on the beach the next morning) if she didn't have her way. Ichiro, in return, persuaded his mother to let her do whatever she wanted, lest she really wouldn't stay the night.
As for Sakuragi, she didn't have to do much; just knit her eyebrows and already she had him twisted around her finger. In the end, she was left alone in the kitchen, just as she wanted.
Well, maybe not quite alone.
Hanayuki sighed. "Why aren't you joining them, Rukawa-kun?"
From behind the doorway, Rukawa stepped into view and leaned against the frame of the door.
"You aren't too."
"I'm washing the dishes, in case you didn't notice."
He shrugged and kept quiet. Hanayuki just ignored him and went about with the work in hand.
"What are you trying to hide?"
The plate that Hanayuki was holding slipped from her hands and dropped to the floor, breaking into tiny pieces. For a moment, both Hanayuki and Rukawa didn't move from their positions. Then, when Rukawa made a move to clean up the mess, Hanayuki stopped him and said, "Do me afavour, Rukawa-kun, and leave me alone, ok?"
She knelt down to pick up the broken pieces, and while handling one particular piece which was rather sharp at the sides, she accidentally cut her finger. Quicker than you can say 'Ouch', Rukawa was already at Hanayuki's side, taking the finger and checking the cut.
Hanayuki pulled away her hand and stood up. "Rukawa-kun, please. I just want to be alone right now."
Slowly, Rukawa also stood up and took a step forward. "Yuki..."
"Just leave me alone, damn it!" said Hanayuki angrily, trying not to shout so that the others wouldn't hear her.
At that moment, Kogure walked into the kitchen. He stopped when he saw the broken plate on the floor. "Yuki-chan, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?"
It took all of Hanayuki's self-control to keep her voice as calm as it always was and smile. "I'm fine, Kogure-sempai. Since you're already here, why don't you take Rukawa-kun with you? He's distracting me from my work, and at the rate I'm going, I won't be done even by midnight."
"Er, ok. Are you sure you don't need help?" asked Kogure uncertainly.
"Yup. I'm fine. Now go and enjoy yourself. And don't forget Rukawa-kun."
"Ok..." Kogure cleared his throat. "Ruka... wa..." He stared at the empty space beside him. Getting more confused than ever, Kogure left the kitchen and found Rukawa with the rest of the team outside the house at the basketball court. Rukawa, who had stolen the ball from Sakuragi's possession, ran towards the basket and slammed it in so violently, the whole backboard was shaking from the impact.
Something's wrong, thought Kogure.
---
Early the next morning...
"Shhh... Yumi. If you want me to bring you along, you'd better not wake the others," whispered Hanayuki as she tip-toed down the stairs. To her relief, Yumi the cocker spaniel did as he was told and walked after Hanayuki obediently without so much of a whine.
A minute later, she was out of the house. On the front door, a note was pasted on it. It read:
Minna,
I've already prepared breakfast; it's in the kitchen, so help yourself. I'll meet up with you guys at the beach when you go for your morning run. See you there!
P/S: Ichiro, I took Yumi with me.
Hanayuki
---
Author's notes: Okay... so now we know how Hanayuki knew who Rukawa was in the first chapter. To rj-chan the nutty imp, if you are still reading, I hope this chapter will answer your question. By the way, Negishi JHS really does exist in the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa. And there's also something else. The part where Rukawa wanted to go to the US, it's later. I know it's not quite right, but for my story it will have to be that way. Gomen. Oh, and thank you for reading and reviewing!!! Thanks a lot!!!