Chapter 19: Toyotama
Hanayuki sat quietly in the train, her eyes never once leaving the pages of the guide book she was holding in her hands. Ok... so we're in the same group as Sannoh and Aiwa. Is that supposed to be good or what?
Beside her, Mitsui was saying, or more like complaining, about the arrangements. "What kind of rotten luck are we having, being in the same group as Sannoh? And not to mention Aiwa."
Sakuragi, who was sitting on Hanayuki's left, his mouth munching on a piece of donut, asked, "What's wrong with Sannoh? No matter what, Shohoku will beat them, because you have me, the Tensai, on the team. Nyahahahahaha!"
"How ignorant can you be, Sakuragi Hanamichi? Sannoh was the champion of last year's championships, and the year before that, and the year before that," said Ayako.
"Che! So what if they were the champion for the past 2 years? This year, it will be our turn, because the Tensai is here. Nyahahahaha!" Sakuragi laughed again.
"Actually, Hanamichi, it's 3 years. And, it's because you're in the team that we might not win against Sannoh," said Miyagi. Of course, he knew very well that it wasn't true. Still, he couldn't help but squash his friend's pride once in a while.
"Nani??! Ryochin, how could you say that to the Tensai?"
"Urusai, baka!" Akagi could barely restrain himself from bonking Sakuragi on the head like always. It was bad enough that the redhead was making so much noise on the train. He didn't want to add to the commotion by losing his temper over the guy.
Fortunately, Hanayuki came to the rescue. Looking up from the book, she put a smile on her face and called to Sakuragi. "Oniichan."
Upon hearing his sister calling him, Sakuragi stopped ranting and turned to face her. "Hana-chan?"
"If you don't sit down and keep quiet, I'll give you the opportunity to prove to us just how much of a Tensai you are by throwing you out of the train and let you run all the way to Hiroshima." Her smile grew wider. "How would you like that?"
"Ehehehehe... I think I'll just take the train, Hana-chan. I don't need to prove that I'm a Tensai. I am one, remember? Ehehehehe..." With that, he sat down, and to everyone's relief, continued munching on his donut quietly (there was a whole bag of them).
"Thank you." Hanayuki returned to scrutinising the guide book. Now let's see... First, we have to get past Toyotama, before facing Sannoh. After that, it's Aiwa. Toyotama is rated as A class, Sannoh is rated as AA class and was champion for the past 3 years, and Aiwa is ranked 4th in the nation. On the other hand, Shohoku is rated as C class, and is relatively new to the national championships, thus lacks in experience and confidence. I hate to say this, but the odds are definitely against us in every way.
She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't see a Toyotama player approaching them from the other side of the train. The next thing she knew, an argument had started between Sakuragi and the guy, Kishimoto Minori. He claimed that Shohoku had insulted Toyotama when they didn't think of Toyotama as any competition and just some third rate team. It could have been resolved easily, if Sakuragi didn't anger Kishimoto further by tripping him when he was about to return to where his team was.
Hanayuki could only sigh and shake her head. Seeing that even Akagi wasn't really successful in restraining the very angry redhead brother of hers, and that the conductor of the train and Toyotama's coach had gotten themselves involved as well, trying to break up the argument, Hanayuki stood up and decided to intervene herself.
Now, according to past experiences, whenever she tried to do something like that, she would always be on the receiving end of something bad, not to mention painful. This time, it was no exception. Just as she stepped in between the two parties involved to act as the pacifier, Kishimoto managed to free himself from the grasps of his coach and the conductor and practically charged at Sakuragi with his fist raised. Only thing was, it wasn't Sakuragi that he had hit, but Hanayuki, and Hanayuki was thrown aside from the force of the blow.
What the hell??! Why is it that I'm always the one injured whenever I try to prevent someone else from being injured?! Slightly dazed, she shook her head a little and moved her jaws about, wincing in pain as she did so. It was a miracle that the punch didn't knock her out or took out a tooth.
In the meantime, Kogure and the rest of the team had joined in to restrain not only Sakuragi, but Mitsui and Rukawa as well, from launching themselves at Kishimoto, who was so horrified that he had hit a girl that he just stood there, looking at Hanayuki on the floor with eyes as wide as saucers.
Instead of rubbing her bruised jaw, her hands reached up to massage her head. For the first time ever during her time with the team, a vein could be seen popping out of her forehead, and much to everyone's surprise, she jumped up and yelled at the top of her lungs, "URUSAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
She regretted her actions immediately, because her head started throbbing badly. Gritting her teeth, she forced the pain away and pointed a finger at her now gawking-and-gaping-at-her team-mates. "One more move from any of you, and I'll personally make sure that you're all disqualified from entering the National Championships," said Hanayuki, in a deliberately slow manner, so that she could emphasise on each word.
"Sou na... Hana-chan, you can't possibly do that," Mitsui argued. Sakuragi nodded his head in agreement.
Hanayuki narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Perhaps you would like to see me try. If so, all you have to do is move one single muscle, and your wish is granted immediately." She pointed to Kishimoto. "There he is. Right now, he's too shocked to move. It's your golden opportunity to pounce on him and beat the crap out of him, and in return, I shall request that you are disqualified from the championship. Simple enough, is it not?"
Nobody said anything.
"Yuki-chan..." said Kogure weakly.
"Don't Yuki-chan or Hana-chan me! I've had enough of all this... this whatever!" snapped Hanayuki. She couldn't care less that it was good old Kogure that she had snapped at. At the moment, she couldn't even be bothered if she had snapped at the emperor of Japan himself.
Feeling her heartbeat going faster and faster, Hanayuki took a deep breath to calm herself. The last thing she needed was a heart attack. She massaged her still throbbing head and continued, "Damn it! My head is aching, my jaw is hurting, and my heart is beating faster than this stupid train."
By now, there was no need to restrain anybody. All of them just stood there in front of Hanayuki, worry and regret written all over their faces. They didn't dare move from their positions, lest Hanayuki really carried out her threat.
It was Ayako who had finally gathered enough courage to step closer to Hanayuki. "Yuki-chan," she called gently. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe you should sit down. You don't look too well to me."
Are you kidding me? Of course I'm not well! What, you think anyone could actually feel alright after having to go through all this crap? thought Hanayuki.
"Come on, let's get you to sit down," said Ayako. As she took moved closer to Hanayuki, the younger girl took a step back and raised both her hands in front of her.
"No. I just need to be alone; to have some peace and quiet. That's what I need." Nevertheless, she was about to return to her seat when a hand reached out from behind and pulled her back.
"Chotto matte kudasai!" It was Kishimoto.
He withdrew his hand almost immediately after pulling her back, and stood before her, not knowing what to do or say. He could feel the fire emanating from the Shohoku players, mainly Sakuragi, Mitsui and Rukawa, and he didn't want to do anything that would make matters worse.
Indeed, the three of them were about to go berserk again, had it not been for 'the glance' which Hanayuki bestowed on them. After making sure that everything was under control, she bowed to Kishimoto. "Gomen nasai. Please forgive them. They didn't mean to insult your team. I'm sure it was all just a misunderstanding."
"No, no, no! I should be the one saying sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I was going for the other guy. Gomen! Gomen!" Kishimoto bowed repeatedly, while apologising again and again.
"It's ok. Forget about it." Before he could continue, Hanayuki cut him off, "If you don't mind, I'd like to return to my seat. You'd better go back to your team too. I'm fine, so please don't worry about it anymore." She gave him a small smile before turning to face her team-mates. She opened her mouth to instruct them to go back to their seats and remain seated until the train came to a stop, but because she was exhausted from her earlier outburst, she couldn't get the words out and ended up imitating a goldfish, as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly for a couple of times. In the end, she settled for waving her hands about, gesturing to the seats before sitting down herself.
Thankfully, the rest of the journey went on without a glitch, and it wasn't long before they reached Hiroshima. Hanayuki kept to herself throughout the remaining of the journey, and didn't speak to anyone except when spoken to, which didn't happen, because everyone was still worried that she might still be angry, and didn't want to make her angrier. The truth was, she had calmed down considerably throughout the ride, and by the time the train stopped, she was almost back to her old self.
Until...
"Nozaru!!! Jiji!!!"
"Akage-saru!!!"
Not again...
Hanayuki took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worse. She smiled in greeting to the Kainan team, despite their untimely presence (in her opinion, that is). "Konnichiwa."
"Eh? Aren't you Hanayuki-san, Shohoku's new coach?" asked Kiyota.
Hanayuki forced herself not to roll her eyes when Kiyota circled around her, looking her up and down. She was wearing her school uniform, and her hair was tied into two braids. Naturally, she looked much, much younger than the last time he saw her.
"Oi, nozaru! What do you think you're doing, looking at Hana-chan like that?"
"Shut up, akage-saru! I'm trying to think here, unlike you, who I'm sure has never used your brains before. That is, if you ever had one in the first place."
"Teme!!!" Sakuragi took one step forward, stopped, and started whistling, looking at everywhere else except Kiyota.
"Ha! What, can't find anything to say, akage-saru?" taunted Kiyota. When Sakuragi continued to ignore him, he became puzzled. He didn't realise that Hanayuki had given Sakuragi 'the glance', and that he himself was currently being subjected to it.
Maki, however, noticed this, and quickly intervened by punching Kiyota on the head, before apologising to Hanayuki. "Sumi masen. Please don't mind this baka, Hanayuki-san."
Alright, Hanayuki. Now put a smile on your face.
She put a smile on her face. "Forget it. I don't exactly blame him."
"Anyway," Maki continued. "I'm sorry to hear that your team is grouped up with Sannoh and Aiwa. I must say, you guys are in for a rough time."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Maki-san. We will have to overcome Sannoh sooner or later; it doesn't really matter when. But, you can be sure that we will not be defeated by your team again."
"You mean, if we ever meet again," said Maki with a smirk.
Hanayuki smiled back. "Oh, we will. You just have to make sure you make it into the finals, because that's where we'll be waiting for you."
"Impressive. You sound very confident that Shohoku will be in the finals," Maki remarked.
"I'm afraid you got it all wrong, Maki-san. I don't sound confident. I am confident."
They stared at each other for a while, before Maki asked, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your jaw? There's a nasty bruise on it."
Hanayuki touched the mentioned spot lightly. "Well, let's just say that it's a souvenir, courtesy of the Toyotama basketball team."
"Did I hear someone mention my team's name?"
Me and my big mouth, thought Hanayuki wearily.
"You're Maki Shinichi of Kainan, right?" asked Kishimoto. "You know, I thought that your team wasn't too bad, but I guess I was wrong. You must be having some problems this year."
"What do you mean?" asked Maki coolly.
"Well, if you could actually let a team like Shohoku cause you so much trouble, it means that Kainan is slacking."
Before Maki could answer, Sakuragi beat him to it. "Alright, that's it! This time you have gone too far!"
"Yeah! You are so going to pay for all those rubbish you just spurted out!" said Mitsui, rolling up his sleeves.
Beside him, Miyagi flexed his legs. "I may look small, but don't underestimate me. You'll soon get a taste of my famous flying kicks!"
Rukawa, as usual, didn't say anything, but the look on his face showed clearly what he thought of the player and his remarks, and what he intended to do with them.
"Baka! What do you think you are doing? Stop all this nonsense at once," warned Akagi.
"But, Gori, you heard them! They were insulting us!"
"I said enough, Sakuragi!"
"But-"
"You heard him, oniichan."
Hanayuki's voice was soft, but it had more effect than Akagi's booming one. Not wanting to risk another outburst from his beloved sister, Sakuragi snapped his mouth shut. He fidgeted nervously when Hanayuki glanced at him, and was glad and surprised at the same time when Hanayuki gave him a small smile, even more so when she said, "Watch me while I handle this." And watch he did, as Hanayuki walked up to Kishimoto, with the smile still plastered on her face.
"Is it just me, or is your favourite past-time insulting every other team you meet or bump into, Kishimoto-san?" asked Hanayuki sweetly.
"Well, excuse me, but I believe your team started it first," said Kishimoto.
"Indeed, and you got your revenge." She lifted a finger and tapped at the bruise on her jaw lightly. "Right here. Isn't it more than you had bargained for?"
The smile on her face disappeared completely without a trace, and her voice went down a notch. "There are limits to one's patience, Kishimoto-san, and mine is nearing the end of it. If you think they're short-tempered, then you haven't really seen anything at all, because... hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. You've heard that phrase before, haven't you?"
Kishimoto gaped at her.
"But I guess even if you have, it wouldn't stop you from continuing to do so, because that's how you play. That's how your whole team plays. You insult your opponent, making him angry and unable to concentrate on the game, and take advantage of the situation. Isn't that so, Kishimoto-san?"
"What the-"
"I've said enough. We'll see you on the court tomorrow, and then, we can decide whether it is Kainan who is slacking, or Toyotama." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of the station, the team following behind her.
Once out of earshot...
"Sugoi, Hana-chan! You were great back there!"
"Sou da ne! You should have seen the faces of the other Toyotama players. Hahaha! I'll never forget this incident, ever."
"You go, girl!"
Hanayuki held up a hand to silence them. "Alright. I got it. Anyway, you heard what I've said. Toyotama plays by insulting their opponents. They specialise in attacking, and in all of their games this year except for one, they have won with scores of over 100. Because they attack more than they defend, they tend to be rather bullish, even violent at times. When we go up against them tomorrow, I do not want to see any of you responding to their insults. At least, not negatively, but positively. Do you understand me?"
"Hai!"
"Good. We'll show them tomorrow what Shohoku is really made of."
---
The next day, at the stadium...
For some reason, the audience which had gathered at the stadium to watch the game between Shohoku and Toyotama particularly disliked Sakuragi.
"Perhaps it has something to do with your hair," said Miyagi.
"Shut up, Ryochin!" Because of this, Sakuragi was not in a very good mood.
"Don't mind them, oniichan. Remember what I've said yesterday. Do not give in to any insults." Hanayuki patted him on the shoulder. "That goes for all of you as well. Is it understood?"
"Aa!" Everybody chorused.
A while later, the game began, and one minute into the game, Toyotama was already leading by 9 points, with the score of 9-0. The first 2 points were scored by Kishimoto, followed by Iwata Mitsuaki with 2 points, Itakura Daijirou with another 2 points, and Minami Tsuyoshi with 3 points.
The first straw came when Kishimoto insulted Sakuragi about his not being able to do anything (the truth was, Miyagi was the first to be insulted by Itakura, and the topic of insult was none other than his height). Angered, Sakuragi asked Miyagi to pass him the ball, and without another thought, he jumped up to shoot the ball. However, because he wasn't concentrating and was angry, the shot went wide and actually landed in the hands of Kiyota, who was in the audience stand. Hanayuki slapped her forehead. So much for 20000 shots.
To emphasise on the importance of not giving in to Toyotama's insults, Hanayuki substituted Sakuragi with Yasuda. This proved to be successful, as slowly, Shohoku began to regain the lost points. 10 minutes later, the score was 14-15, Toyotama still in the lead. Even so, it turned out that Iwata was no match for Akagi. Besides that, Rukawa was also able to score easily.
It was at this time that the ugly side of Toyotama reared its head. Minami was having the ball, and Rukawa was already marking him. Lifting the ball high up, he purposely brought down his elbow hard onto the side of Rukawa's head, near the eye area.
The whole Shohoku team went into an uproar, especially Sakuragi and Akagi, while Hanayuki rushed to his side with Ayako. Because Rukawa suffered from a shock to the brain due to the 'accident', he had to be taken off the game, and was escorted to the locker room where he could get some rest and medical attention. Being the coach, Hanayuki had to stay behind, and watched with a heavy heart as he left.
Meanwhile, Sakuragi was arguing with the referee (the referee ruled that it wasn't an intentional foul), and not wanting him to get into any further trouble, Hanayuki pulled him away with the help of the others. However, she wasn't about to let go of this matter without doing anything, and with that thought in mind, she walked up to Minami, who was talking to Kishimoto.
"What do you want? I've said this many times already, it was an accident," said Minami to Hanayuki, who was looking at him coldly.
Hanayuki let a small smile form on her lips. "You and your fucking team-mates can go to hell."
"Huh? Quit it with the English already, will you?!" said Kishimoto. "What a show off!"
"Oh, I am so sorry. You see, I usually only speak in English when I get really angry, and that rarely happens since I'm the peace-loving kind of girl," said Hanayuki, the smile on her face never once wavering. "However, you have succeeded in doing the impossible by pissing me off, and so, I am more than willing to make an exception in your case. Here's what I said just now."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, but was loud enough for them to hear. "You and your fucking team-mates can go to the hell." (A/n: I wonder if there are such words in Japanese. I mean, Japanese is one of the most polite languages in the world.)
She left them with their mouths wide open and returned to the sidelines, where her team had gathered. "What did you say to them, Hana-chan?" asked Mitsui.
"I told them that they and their fucking team can go to hell," Hanayuki replied, folding her arms across her chest. Ignoring the blank and surprised looks from the team, she continued, "From now on, I want all of you to be careful." Her mouth was set into a grim line. "Because, like it or not, things are going to get very rough."
True to her words, as soon as the game resumed, the Toyotama players began to unleash their bullish way of playing in full gear, their next target being Akagi. Whenever he got the ball, he would be guarded by 4 players, all of whom would then use dirty tricks to foul him in order to stop him from scoring. Miyagi too, was unfortunately given a taste of their violent playing; to stop him, he was knocked forcefully out of the court into the chairs located at the sidelines.
But by far, the most unfortunate thing was that the referee never seemed to be around to see them, and this went on until the first-half ended.
---
Half-time break, in the locker room...
BAM!!!
"Damn them all to hell!" growled Sakuragi, as he banged his fist on the lockers lining up the wall.
"How I wish I could wring off their necks one by one!" shouted Mitsui. "You just wait and see. I'm going to do just that after we win this game."
"I can't believe they actually pushed me out of the court like that! And to think that the dumb referee DIDN'T see it was a push! I tell you, he's conspired with that team from hell!" Miyagi accused furiously.
"Please, calm down everyone. Have you already forgotten what Yuki-chan told us? We must not give in to their insults," said Kogure.
"Megane-kun, you have just asked us to do the impossible of the impossible. How can we calm down??!"
"Sakuragi's right. We cannot calm down, and we will not calm down. Even if you guys will, I, Mitsui Hisashi will not!"
"In that case, I think it would be best you sit out of the rest of the game, Hisashi-niichan," came a voice from the door.
All of them whirled around to find Hanayuki, Rukawa and Ayako standing at the entrance of the locker room.
"Rukawa, how is your eye?" asked Kogure, taking a step forward as they came in.
Rukawa shrugged in reply.
"Well, at least the knock didn't do any damage to his head. The fact that he answered Kogure-san's question the way he did is proof enough that he's still the same old Rukawa," commented Miyagi.
"That means he's still a kitsune. Nyahahahaha!!!"
"Yeah, like how you're still a baka!" Everyone laughed at Mitsui's joke.
Hanayuki smirked at the sudden change of atmosphere in the room. "I was so sure that I heard plenty of complaining and shouting coming from this room, even when I was all the way down the corridor on my way here."
"Aww, come on, Hana-chan. The least we can do is vent our anger and frustration here if we can't do it out there," said Mitsui.
"Uh-huh. So, does that mean I don't have to sit you out of the second-half of the game?" asked Hanayuki teasingly.
"Nope. If there's one person you can't sit out of a game, it's-"
"The Tensai! Nyahahahahaha!" Sakuragi interrupted, putting on his Tensai pose and laughing some more.
"Do'aho."
"Teme kitsune!!!"
Ignoring Sakuragi, Rukawa went on to say, "No matter what, we will win this game."
"Whoa! Rukawa just spurted out a whole sentence!" Mitsui mockingly gasped in amazement.
"Never mind that, Mitsui. Rukawa, you are not thinking about playing in the second-half, are you? I mean, with that black eye of yours, you will only be able to see with the other eye," Kogure asked in concern.
Rukawa shrugged again.
"Nani??! You think you'll be able to play with only one eye, kitsune??! How arrogant you are!!! Hana-chan will never let you join the game. Right, Hana-chan?" He waited for Hanayuki to agree with him, or confirm his statement. There was none.
"Hana-chan?" Sakuragi looked at his sister in disbelief.
Hanayuki sighed, before saying, "I don't like it as much as you do, oniichan, but... I have faith in him. I have to have faith in him. I didn't tell you this before, so I'm telling you now. Minami Tsuyoshi, that f-, er, I mean, stupid guy who hit Kaede with his elbow, is the number one scorer in their district. Kishimoto is the second, while Itakura is the third. These three people are the reasons why Toyotama always managed to score above one hundred points in every game they play. We cannot let them do the same with us; therefore, we need to make use of every ounce of energy we have. And that means I cannot afford to sit anyone of the strongest five, which includes Kaede, out of the game."
She turned to Rukawa. "However, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you sure you are able to continue playing?" She resisted the urge to touch his face.
"I'm playing."
"Very well. Just be more careful from now on, alright? You too, oniichan. You'll be playing in the second-half. I need you to give them a surprise. Scare them if you have to. You know what I mean." She winked at Sakuragi, and he caught on immediately.
Grinning, he said, "Hai. Wakatta!"
---
The second-half began with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, Mitsui and Miyagi on the court. Needless to say, Minami was surprised to see Rukawa still playing despite the black eye he gave him, and so were the audience.
The score was 28-34, still in favour of Toyotama, and Shohoku was having possession of the ball. Miyagi, who was getting angrier by the second as Itakura continuously made fun of his height, sped past him and passed to Sakuragi. At first glance, it was a bad pass, as the ball was thrown too high in the air, and everyone wondered if anyone would be able to catch it. But, Miyagi and Hanayuki knew better. There is one who could do it.
And that person was Sakuragi, who jumped up and caught the ball nicely, stunning the Toyotama players in the process. Unfortunately, when Sakuragi landed with the ball, he was charged with interference foul (he committed the same foul in the game against Ryonan), and that earned him a pull in the face by Miyagi, who berated him for wasting such a good opportunity to do an alley-oop.
Toyotama gained possession of the ball, and in no time at all, Itakura executed a three-pointer and scored. Undaunted, Rukawa retaliated, and succeeded in scoring even without the use of one of his eyes. At one point, Rukawa was having the ball, and he jumped up to shoot, but Kishimoto and Itakura jumped up to block him. Rukawa tried to lob the ball in, and although he missed, he was given two free throws for being pushed.
Just when everyone thought that he wouldn't be able to get the shots in, since it was impossible to judge distances with one eye, Rukawa closed his eyes, and using his instincts, he got the first shot in, much to the amazement of the audience, the Toyotoma team and his own team-mates.
The only person who wasn't amazed was Sakuragi, and that was only because his amazement was quickly replaced by jealousy. He was jealous that Rukawa had already reached such a stage, in which just based on instincts alone, he was able to score.
As for Hanayuki, it took a lot effort on her part not to swoon in admiration like the rest of Rukawa's fans in the stadium. Luckily, she managed to pull herself together, and settled for smiling to herself. Is there anything you can't do, Kaede?
On the second try, he missed, and Sakuragi got the rebound as expected. When he tried to do a jump shot, he was quickly surrounded by Toyotama players and the ball was stolen. Toyotama scored another 2 points, and Shohoku regained possession of the ball. Akagi initially wanted to pass to Rukawa, but finding him heavily guarded and Sakuragi free, he passed to Sakuragi, who tried to jump-shoot again, and scored.
"Yosh! Oniichan, ganbatte!" Hanayuki jumped up and cheered, something which she normally didn't do. But this was an exception, since Sakuragi was her brother and all. Besides, it was hard not to do so, given that she knew how hard he had worked to learn and perfect his shooting skills.
As for Kainan and the rest of the Shohoku members, they were shocked and surprised to the core. The line of thought that went through each of their minds was one and the same: Sakuragi had learned how to jump-shoot! And it's only been what, 4 months?!
Anyway, back to the game, the score was 33-43. While Kishimoto and Itakura didn't stop attacking and scoring points off Shohoku, Minami was a different story altogether. Faced with Rukawa's determination to become Japan's number one player, he began to feel unsure of himself, and this affected his shooting abilities. Each time he missed, Shohoku would surely get the rebound, and attack to score. By the time there was only 5 minutes left in the game, the score was even, and Toyotama requested for a timeout.
"Nyahahahaha! Did you see that, Hana-chan? Did you see?"
"Of course I did. Oniichan, you did great!"
"Nyahahahaha! Of course. I am the Tensai after all. Nyahahahaha!"
"You guys did very well, too. We're slowly but surely gaining on them. And, it wouldn't be long before we overtake them, isn't that right?" Hanayuki asked the others.
"Right!"
"Of course!"
"We will not lose to some team who uses force to win their games. Even if they really do have the skills."
She smiled at their responses and sat down beside Rukawa. "How's your eye doing?"
Shrug.
"Well, I'm glad to hear, I mean, see that. Anyway, I'm sure you noticed that Minami is beginning to... what's the word...? Crack, yeah that's it, crack, under the pressure you're giving him."
Nod.
"Out of desperation, he might try to injure you again and put you out of the game. So, please be extra careful out there, alright?"
Nod.
"I guess you're too tired to talk right now. I'll leave you to your rest then." Before she could move, she felt his hand lacing its fingers through hers.
"Stay."
She complied, and he relished the feel of her hand against his until timeout was over. As his other 4 team-mates walked onto the court, he stayed a little longer, long enough to bring her hand to his lips, and then say, "I'll be fine, and we will win."
The game resumed, and Shohoku continued with their relentless 'slaughter' of Toyotama, while Minami continued to miss his shots. When Rukawa performed a spectacularly powerful dunk, Minami decided that the time has come for Rukawa to be KOD (knocked out) for good. After getting the ball, he rushed to Rukawa and jumped, his knee poised and ready for action.
At the sidelines, Hanayuki again stood up, this time with worry and anger. She could see what Minami was trying to do, and she knew that Rukawa could see it too. Judging from the looks of it, Rukawa was going to meet him head on and challenge him to try and knock him out again.
If you dare lay another finger, or any other body part of yours on Kaede, Minami Tsuyoshi, I swear you'll not live to see through the day. No, scratch that. I'll make sure you live to see through the day, and for the rest of the days in your life, with your arms and legs chopped off!
On the court, Rukawa had indeed seen this coming, and using the only eye available, Rukawa issued a challenge to Minami, daring him to try and go ahead with his plans. In a miraculous turn of events, the tables were turned. Minami blacked out and hit his head on the floor, cutting his forehead in the process. He was taken off the game, and needless to say, Shohoku had an easier time breezing through the game after that.
They were ahead of Toyotama by 10 points, with the score of 91-81, when Minami rejoined the game. Heeding the advice of the retired and former coach of Toyotama, Jiei-sensei, who was there to watch the game and was with Minami when he blacked out, Minami started to play with enjoyment, letting loose his three-point shots at the same time. In less than a minute, he had put in 2 three-pointers.
Unfortunately, time was running out for Toyotama, and as Akagi and Sakuragi leaped up to grab the rebound in the last few seconds of the game, all hopes of catching up were dashed, and Shohoku won with the score of 91-87.
---
In the hallways of the stadium...
"Hanayuki-chan?"
Hanayuki turned to find herself face to face with Jiei-sensei. He was her father, Anzai-sensei's old friend, and she had met him quite a few times before.
"Jiei-sensei." Hanayuki smiled at him before bowing. "O-hisashiburi."
"Yes, yes. It has been a long time. How is your father, Anzai-san?" asked Jiei-sensei.
"He's doing very well. Thank you very much for your concern," Hanayuki replied.
"That's very good. I see you have taken over his place as Shohoku's coach for the time being. Judging from their performance so far, I'd say you've done a great job, Hanayuki-chan."
"No, the players have done a great job, not me. I didn't do anything. It was relief enough that I didn't spoil their chances of entering the National Championships with useless advice and strategies."
"Now, now, no need to be so modest. I've been watching you for a while, Hanayuki-chan, and I can see that you have the very essence to be a good coach. Besides, I have more than once given you a few pointers myself. They should be able to keep you going, even if it's only for a while," he joked.
"On the contrary, Jiei-sensei, your advice will keep me going for as long as I am a coach. It is you who shouldn't be so modest," said Hanayuki, before dropping her eyes to the floor and shifted a little in her position. I wonder if I could ask him...
"Is there anything you would like to ask me, Hanayuki-chan?" When Hanayuki looked up in surprise, he continued, "I know you, Hanayuki-chan. Perhaps not as well as the back of my hands, but enough to tell that there is something which is bothering you right now. Don't worry, nothing's changed. You can still tell me." He smiled reassuringly at her.
Hanayuki smiled back. "Anou... it's about Sannoh."
Jiei-sensei nodded knowingly. "I should have guessed. So what about Sannoh?"
"Well, when I told otousan that Shohoku had made it into the National Championships, he sent me a tape containing the match between Sannoh and Kainan from the previous year. I've watched it myself, and now, I'm wondering if I should show it to the team," Hanayuki explained.
"Hmm... I see. You are not sure whether it would be right to show them the tape, because you are afraid that they might be intimidated after watching it. On the other hand, you wanted them to be ready and know beforehand who they're up against, and the only way to do that is to let them watch it," Jiei-sensei concluded for her.
"Hai."
"Well, I can understand your concern. After all, Sannoh is not classified as an AA team for nothing. I share your worries, Hanayuki-chan, really I do. But unfortunately, I cannot tell you what to do. You are their coach now. It is your decision whether you would like to show them the tape or not. In the end, whether it is right or wrong, you will have to stick to the decision. You cannot ask anyone to make a decision for you, or let your decision be influenced by anyone. That's one of the many things you have to face as a coach."
He put a hand on Hanayuki's shoulder. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Hanayuki-chan?"
Hanayuki nodded her head. "Hai. Wakarimashita. Anou... can I ask you just one more question?"
"Of course."
"If you were me, what would you do?"
"Hmm... perhaps, it would be better if you let me ask you first. What would you do?"
Hanayuki looked into the kindly face of Jiei-sensei. In her mind, she could see a clear picture of the whole Shohoku team; Akagi with his arms folded, Kogure adjusting his glasses, Sakuragi striking his Tensai pose and laughing, Mitsui smirking, Miyagi with a thumbs-up sign, Ayako brandishing her trusty fan, Rukawa with the same stoic expression on his face, and the rest of the team. (A/n: Gomen... I can't think of how to describe the rest of the team. Gomen...)
"I will show them the tape," said Hanayuki, making her decision.
Jiei-sensei smiled. "Well, since you have already come to a decision, I guess there's no need for me to tell you mine now, is there?"
At first, Hanayuki frowned a little, but as she pondered over his words, she began to understand the true meaning behind them. Smiling, she nodded her head again and bowed to Jiei-sensei. "Hai. Arigatou gozaimasu, Jiei-sensei."
---
Author's notes: Ok... Long chapters ahead!!! It's the game against Sannoh... and it took like, what, about 5 books to finish the game? Anyway, I need some help. Can anybody tell me if they know any songs which are most suitable for a male dancer to dance seductively or something to that effect? Thank you to Kiku Rukawa who had reviewed. By the way, I read the newspaper today, and I saw about three Japanese names; Satoshi something, Yasuo Fukuda and Mariko Hasegawa. Just thought that it was kinda funny... And one last thing, didn't want to tell at first, but... well, it's this: I've already finished the next 2 chapters. So basically, I'm just waiting to upload it. Don't worry, be happy.