Chapter 21: Sannoh II
Seeing the stunning performance by Sakuragi and Rukawa, Sannoh's bench began to worry for the lack of points they had converted in the last 4 minutes. On the court, Sannoh's offense was once again interrupted by a steal from Sakuragi, and the ball was picked up by Rukawa, who raced down the court.
As the Sannoh players chased after him, Eiji held them off, saying that Rukawa was his. Very soon, Eiji caught up with Rukawa as the latter attempted a dunk and blocked it from behind without fouling him. Picking up the unclaimed ball, Eiji ran past Miyagi, Mitsui and Akagi. With only Sakuragi in his way, he scored with a perfect lay-up between the hands of Sakuragi.
As the crowd cheered, Sakuragi complained about Eiji using the lay-up against him, for he still thought that lay-ups were nothing. However, Masashi told him that this was the first time Eiji was playing so seriously in Japan.
Meanwhile, Rukawa was being trapped by Eiji and Masashi, and passed the ball to Miyagi. Anticipating the move, Fukatsu intercepted the ball and bounce-passed to Eiji between Miyagi's legs. Eiji ran to the other end of the court, with Sakuragi catching up with him, but using the lay-up again, he successfully evaded Sakuragi's block. The lead rose back to 12.
Very clever. By using the lay-up, he would be able to avoid oniichan's blocks, thought Hanayuki.
Shohoku's offense, Rukawa was having the ball, and Eiji, who was marking him, asked, "Hey, do you want to be Japan's number one player?"
"Shut up," came the reply.
"Hmm, maybe you will, but only after I've left Japan at the end of this summer." The Sannoh player smirked. "I'm going to America."
Rukawa's eyes widened, as Eiji continued, "Luckily, I found you before I left, and before I go, I am going to totally destroy the person named Rukawa."
He knocked the ball out of Rukawa's grasp and threw it forward, challenging Rukawa as they raced for the ball. Even with the rest of the Shohoku players after him, he easily slammed the ball into the basket. Later, Rukawa and Eiji were battling it out again, and as Rukawa went for a lay-up, Eiji slapped the ball away. Unbalanced, Rukawa fell to the ground, and when Eiji offered his hand to help Rukawa up, the look on Eiji's face was more than Rukawa could bear.
You can't beat me one-on-one, Rukawa.
Getting back up, Rukawa told Eiji that it isn't over yet. Although he didn't give up, the result was obvious. Rukawa had lost, and even though he knew that it wouldn't go in, he still attempted to shoot.
As the ball rimmed out, Masashi blocked out Sakuragi, and instead of jumping up to catch the ball, he waited until it landed in front of him before catching it. This way, Sakuragi would no longer get the rebound, and the lead increased again. The score was 55-69.
"Rukawa teme! You want to be kicked out of the championships at this game? Akage-saru, think of something! What kind of representatives of Kanagawa are you?!"
It was Kiyota. His actions surprised his own team and the audience, not to mention the players themselves, but not as surprised as he was going to be.
"The best kind, nozaru-kun!"
Kiyota's eyes couldn't have gone any bigger than it already was as he gaped in shock at Hanayuki. Of course, the others were as shocked as he was. Who would've thought that it would be Hanayuki who had yelled back? And to see her smiling at him too. For one brief second, Kiyota felt as if he was floating on air, but he quickly shook the feeling away. No way! I, Kiyota Nobunaga, the number one rookie in Kanagawa, am not going to like a girl who dresses up like an old lady! Nope! Absolutely not!
Back in the game, Eiji got past Rukawa again, and as he jumped up, Sakuragi, Rukawa and Akagi jumped up together to block him. Without even a slightest hint of hesitation, Eiji's momentum carried him forward, evading the 3 of them in mid-air and scored with a reverse lay-up.
Telling Rukawa to surrender, Eiji got a negative reply in return (what did you expect?). When Rukawa faked a shot, the ball was knocked out of his hands again.
"Do you not know that even during a fake, you still have to be on guard?" mocked Eiji. As he prepared to shoot, Rukawa fouled him, but even in mid-air and unbalanced, Eiji threw the ball up, and Rukawa watched as the ball began to drop into the basket.
-You are still not up to Sendoh-san's standards yet.-
-Flashback-
"Well, I guess I better get going. It's getting late," said Sendoh, panting a little from the one-on-one with Rukawa. They had been playing since evening, and the game was still a tie.
"By the way, why did you want to play with me?" he asked.
Instead of getting an answer, he got a question. "Is there anyone better than you in the National Championships?"
Sendoh thought for a moment, before replying, "Well, there is one, I suppose. I played with him when I was still in junior high school. His name is Jiei."
-End of flashback-
Do'aho. It's Eiji, not Jiei.
After the ball went in, the referee signalled for two points and one free throw. The score was 55-73, and there were only 5 minutes remaining in the game. Everyone believed that Shohoku had lost, even most (repeat, most) of the starting players. But the strange thing was, Rukawa didn't feel any shame or despair. Instead, another feeling came up, so fast and insistent that he was unable to stop it, and so, he just let it come...
Thank Kami-sama that I am a true genius...
...and smiled.
"Argh!!! The kitsune has finally gone mad!!!" cried Sakuragi, with mixed feelings of horror and glee.
On the bench, Hanayuki also saw him smile. Have you finally realised what you lack, Kaede?
-Flashback-
Ring, ring!
Hanayuki picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi."
"Hana?"
Hanayuki raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Aki?"
"Yeah, am I bothering you or something?"
"Oh, no. Not at all."
"That's great. I was hoping to talk to you about something."
"What is it?"
"You know, I thought that perhaps you would like to know about it."
"Um, ok. So what is it?"
"Say, have you eaten dinner yet?"
"Aki, please say what you want to say before I hang up on you," Hanayuki threatened.
"Hahahaha! Ok, ok! Well, it's about Rukawa."
Hanayuki frowned a little. "Kaede?"
"Kaede?" Sendoh repeated, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"What about Kaede, Aki?"
"You call him Kaede now?"
"Yes... I call him Kaede now," said Hanayuki, stifling a sigh.
"Aw man, this is not good."
"Aki, I'm warning you..."
"Hai, hai." He sighed, before going on, "He came to find me in Ryonan today."
Hanayuki raised her eyebrows again. "He did? Whatever for?"
"He wanted to play a one-on-one with me," explained Sendoh.
I should have known... "Hmm... I should have known," said Hanayuki, voicing out her thoughts.
"We played from evening until nightfall, and the game was a tie. He has improved."
"Yeah, I guess he did."
"Anyway, before I left, he asked me if there's anybody in the championships who's better than me."
"What did you tell him?" asked Hanayuki curiously.
"I told him there's probably one."
"Oh. Is that all?"
"Well, no actually. While we were playing, I told him that his attacking pattern is always the same, no matter if it's during a one-on-one or a game."
"What did he say then?"
"He didn't say anything. I didn't expect him to anyway, so I went on saying that because basketball is a team game, his one-on-one skills could restrict Shohoku's chance of winning. Even in a one-on-one, attacking is only one of the tactics available, and I told him that he will need to understand it to use it. Until then, I said, I don't think I will lose to him."
-End of flashback-
On the court...
"Oi. I'm going to America too," Rukawa said to Eiji.
"Oh? And when will that be?" asked Eiji.
"Today, after beating you."
Recalling what Sendoh had told him, Rukawa drove to Eiji's left before stopping suddenly. Seeing the change in his attacking pattern, the others thought that Rukawa was going to shoot, only to see him turn and pass the ball to Akagi. With the ball in his hands, Akagi shot, and was fouled by Mikio. The ball went in, and Akagi was to take a free throw.
Hanayuki smiled and stood up. "Sugoi, Kaede! Ganbatte!" she cheered, totally forgetting about Rukawa's fans, who, after hearing her call him by his first name, almost went through the roof with anger and jealousy.
Akagi's free throw missed, and Sakuragi caught the rebound. Wanting the ball, Rukawa got into the position of receiving it, but the ball didn't leave Sakuragi's hands.
"I'm going to America too," said Sakuragi, as he was being trapped by Masashi and Fukatsu. The ball was given to Miyagi, who instantly passed to Rukawa. Being guarded by Eiji, he passed it back to Miyagi, who was going for the basket. Mikio jumped up to block the attempt but it was only a fake. The ball went to Akagi again, and he scored another 2 points. Sakuragi got his 10th rebound after Sannoh missed their next shot.
Everyone knew that if Shohoku made the next shot, they have every chance of making a comeback. Thinking Rukawa was going to pass, Sakuragi got ready to receive the ball.
The last 2 passes were a set-up, oniichan, in order to lower Eiji's defense. This time, Kaede will not pass.
Just as Hanayuki had thought, Rukawa eluded Eiji and was about to shoot when he crashed into Sakuragi, who was in the way. The ball went out of bounds, and Rukawa's fans and Shohoku's bench began to complain, accusing Sakuragi of doing it on purpose.
"Oniichan didn't do it on purpose, minna," said Hanayuki. "He thought that Kaede was going to pass, so he put himself in a good shooting position, a position where he knew he would be able to shoot most accurately. In his case, it's at the 45-degree point on the right hand side of the basket." On the audience stand, Youhei was explaining the same thing to the rest of the gundan.
Rukawa, on the other hand, was telling Sakuragi that he knew what Sakuragi was going to do as he had already calculated Sakuragi's stupidity, adding that Sakuragi was still a beginner. Naturally, Sakuragi was enraged, but he forced himself to calm down and ignore 'the baka kitsune' by pulling his own face. His friends were very surprised, and Hanayuki was very happy.
If oniichan was still the old Sakuragi Hanamichi, a fight would have erupted there and then, even if the game was still going on. The fact that it didn't happen is proof enough that he had grown up. He had finally become a true basketball player.
Sannoh's offense, Eiji was holding the ball, and said to Rukawa, "It's payback time." He easily drove past Rukawa, when suddenly, Sakuragi leaped out of nowhere, blocking him.
"Yeah, it's payback time!" Sakuragi shouted.
Unable to stop, Eiji crashed into Sakuragi, who was already in a proper defense position. As a result, Eiji was called for an offensive foul.
(A/n: Sakuragi was hiding behind Mikio, therefore Eiji didn't see him. Mikio knew what Sakuragi was doing, but he didn't do anything about it.)
Sakuragi then told Rukawa that he had calculated that Rukawa couldn't stop Eiji, and that he was right. He went on to say that he was no longer in Rukawa's debt, and that he would beat Sannoh.
Anyway, on the next Shohoku offense, Miyagi noticed that Rukawa had changed, and decided to pass the ball to him. Knowing that Eiji wouldn't know what he will do next, Rukawa drove around Eiji, who thought that he was going to pass. Then, just as Eiji thought that Rukawa was going to shoot, the latter jumped up and passed to Mitsui.
Instantly, Matsumoto went over to guard Mitsui, only to have the shooting guard pass to Akagi, who scored. Walking past Matsumoto on his way back to their own side, Mitsui said that he was too tired to bring his arms up, annoying the Sannoh player.
3 minutes and 32 seconds left in the game. Sakuragi believed that Eiji would be the key, not Mikio (whom he was marking). With this thought, he left Mikio alone and moved towards Eiji, shocking the ace. Rukawa took the opportunity to steal the ball from him and raced down the court. When he was about to jump up to shoot, he found Eiji and Fukatsu in front of him.
Knowing that he would not be able to get pass the two of them, Rukawa turned around and passed the ball to Mitsui, who was directly behind him. Matsumoto, who thought that Mitsui wouldn't shoot, didn't bother to guard him, and so, Mitsui released the ball with ease. It was a shot that was much higher than any of his previous attempts, creating a perfect arc high in the air, but it went into the basket all the same.
The sound of the ball falling cleanly into the net will clear my head every time...
Miyagi and Sakuragi rushed to congratulate Mitsui who gave the credit to Rukawa, while the crowd were stunned at Shohoku's performance as the lead was cut back to 10 points again. Meanwhile, Eiji asked Mikio to tell him where Sakuragi's position is for the remaining of the game. Hearing this, Miyagi realised that the Sannoh ace was taking notice of Sakuragi's strange actions because of the previous foul. To confuse him even more, Miyagi said to his friend, "Do some good defense, 1031 (it's supposed to mean Tensai)."
Eiji was confused alright, but Fukatsu told him to keep a 'balanced heart'. After receiving the ball from Fukatsu, Eiji eluded Rukawa and shot. However, because he was afraid of Sakuragi, Eiji's jump shot failed to enter the basket, and Sakuragi's attempt on rebounding caused the ball to fly out of the court.
Fortunately, a quick reaction from Rukawa sent it back into court, hitting Eiji's knee before finally going out of bounds. All eyes are onto Rukawa as he got hold of the ball again, and knowing that no one knows what he will be doing next, he advanced to the basket, got past Eiji and shot.
Rukawa's shot was the perfect copy of Eiji's 'perfect' lay-up, the one that he had practised so that he wouldn't get blocked when playing in America. The score was 66-74, with an 8-point difference. Sakuragi was telling Akagi that Rukawa couldn't stop Eiji, and then whispered something into his captain's ear.
Just then, Eiji received the ball from his team-mates and began another one-on-one against Rukawa, before driving past him and went for the hoop. Sakuragi jumped up to block Eiji, who evaded him in mid-air and went for a reverse lay-up.
At the same time, Akagi recalled what Sakuragi had told him earlier.
-Flashback-
"Gori, Rukawa can't stop Eiji by himself. You should leave the Gori-man and help him."
"Not guarding Masashi is a big risk, Sakuragi," Akagi protested.
"Eiji won't pass, because he had never lost before"
-End of flashback-
As Eiji threw the ball up, Akagi appeared and swatted it away.
Outside the stadium, the storm began to cease, and the sun began to shine... (we all know what this means, don't we?)
Everyone was all hyped-up by the fact that Eiji was blocked and Shohoku might actually win. Seeing the score board, Sakuragi told Akagi that there's still a chance and that they must catch up to Sannoh. Hearing this, Akagi froze; he remembered saying the exact same thing to his senior years ago.
At that moment, Fukatsu knocked the ball away from Miyagi's hands, and the ball hit Miyagi's knee. If the ball goes out, possession of the ball would go to Sannoh. Mitsui went chasing after the ball.
Don't give up, can't give up!
Even so, the ball was certain to go out of bounds, when suddenly...
"Mitchy! Move out!"
Mitsui turned and saw Sakuragi diving after the ball, crashing into the reporters table (officials table) in the process. To the amazement of the audience, the ball was still alive, but that was the least of their worries. The referee stopped the game immediately and the Shohoku players rushed towards the non-moving Sakuragi, the upper part of his body covered under the table cloth.
Akagi recalled what Haruko had once told him.
-Even though he is only a beginner, he will become the saviour of the team. His name is Sakuragi Hanamichi.-
Oniichan... Hanayuki prayed fervently that her brother was alright.
"Good job, do'aho," Rukawa deadpanned as he stood in front of the redhead.
The unspoken rule here was that if you want Sakuragi Hanamichi to come back from the dead, all you have to do was get the right person to say the magic word. That having been done, Sakuragi jumped to his feet and shouted, "Who are you calling do'aho?"
"This is an important ball, Shohoku!"
"Ganbatte Shohoku!"
"Go, Shohoku!"
"You're nearly there!"
The stadium was full of voices shouting and cheering for Shohoku. It seemed weird, but understandable. Shohoku's determination to win was the same as Sannoh's. No matter what Sannoh did, Shohoku just wouldn't give up.
Sakuragi, of course, was happy about this. "Nyahahahaha! That's it! Go on cheering! It's not enough, cheer loud-" he broke off when he felt a pain in his back. Thinking that it was just temporary, he shrugged it off and returned to the court.
Since Sakuragi had saved the ball, it was once again Shohoku's offense. Seeing that Sannoh had left only Mikio to guard Akagi, Miyagi passed to his captain, telling him to score. Masashi, who knew that his brother couldn't handle the Shohoku's center, rushed back to help, only to find Akagi attempting a fade-away shot. However, the shot missed and Sakuragi prepared to catch the rebound. In mid-air, the pain came back, and Sakuragi was only able to slap the ball away from the Sannoh players.
Nobody noticed this, except for Hanayuki, who frowned, and Rukawa, who decided to insult some sense back into the redhead.
"Do'aho, you are not concentrating enough."
"Nani?! Are you saying that I, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who has exceptional concentration, am not concentrating?"
"Yes, not as much as last time."
"Eh?" Question marks appeared on top of Sakuragi's head.
"At that time, you forced me to play my best."
At once, Sakuragi remembered what had happened during the night when he had challenged Rukawa to a one-on-one. He had been outmatched and outclassed, but he did not give up, not even once.
"If you do not want to be taken off, follow me."
Hearing this, Hanayuki smiled, and Sakuragi shouted, "Who are you to command me?!"
The ball was in Rukawa's hands again, and everyone wondered if he was going to pass the ball or drive.
"You've forgotten something," said Rukawa to Eiji in front of him, and released a three-point shot, scoring another 3 points with ease.
This was the last straw, and Doumoto-sensei finally called for a timeout. The Shohoku team went back to their bench as their team-mates came out screaming. One by one, Rukawa slapped their hands, all except for Sakuragi's (not surprisingly).
Hanayuki approached her brother. "Oniichan, is there something wrong with your back?"
"Nah. It's nothing. Don't worry, Hana-chan. I'm fine," Sakuragi assured her. "It's just a little pain in my back, that's all."
Ayako, who was listening to their conversation, quickly interrupted, "What kind of pain is it, Sakuragi?"
"It's nothing really, Ayako-san," Sakuragi started to say, but was cut off by Ayako.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi, this is very important. It could be a matter of a player's life."
"P-Player's... life...?" Sakuragi repeated disbelievingly.
Ayako instantly regretted telling him about it and mentally scolded herself. Ayako, look at what you've done! This is no time to dishearten anyone, especially him.
"A player's life? You mean I could no longer play basketball? My basketball life has ended?" Sakuragi muttered to himself.
"Oniichan..." Before Hanayuki could say anything to calm him down, he walked towards Rukawa.
Pointing to him, Sakuragi said, "You are talking about him, Ayako-san, not me! I am the Tensai! How can you compare me with the others? Nyahahahaha!" He turned to Akagi. "Gori, are you crying? Don't cry in a game, it's embarrassing!" Then, taking a peek at the score board, he asked Hanayuki, "We are going to win this, right, Hana-chan?"
Although realising full well that he was trying to change the subject, Hanayuki went along with him. "Of course, oniichan," she said, before adding, "Your rebounding skills and spirit-lifting actions; Hisashi-niichan's three-point shots; Kaede's skills and determination, Kogure-sempai and Akagi-sempai's basic skills; and Miyagi-sempai's sharpness and speed. All of you are what Shohoku is today."
Smiling, she continued, "You have broken your promise, and just this once, I'll overlook it. But only if you keep the promise from now on." She put out her hand, and asked, "Do we have a deal?"
It didn't take long for the others to put their hands on hers, and shout out the answer.
"YES!"
Sannoh's offense, Fukatsu attempted to use his height advantage against Miyagi as he moved towards the basket. Spinning past Miyagi easily, he found Akagi in his way and passed the ball to Masashi, who dunked.
Shohoku's offense, Miyagi found himself trapped in Sannoh's full-court press again. As he tried to get past Eiji and Fukatsu's double-team, Fukatsu taunted him that he was too slow. On the other side, Ayako called out to Miyagi, encouraging him to get past his defenders. Hearing his beloved cheering for him was more than enough to get him going. He slowly made a crossover-dribble (between the legs) and as Eiji moved to guard the flank, Miyagi sped through the gap in the middle.
However, Sannoh's superb defense only allowed Shohoku to pass the ball around, and everyone knew that the burden of scoring was now rested on Akagi's shoulders. Seeing Akagi with the ball, Uozumi yelled to him, "Face your opponent with your height and strength, because that's what it's for!"
At the same time, Akagi finally faced up to Masashi, who fouled him, and shot. The ball hit the rim and bounced out, but Sakuragi jumped up and slammed it back in. Unfortunately, the referee had already called for a foul, and so, the dunk was not awarded.
On the bench, Hanayuki's hair clip suddenly broke, and her hair came tumbling down her shoulders. What the... it can't be... She looked up, just in time to see Sakuragi about to collapse to the floor.
"Oniichan!!!"
Akagi caught him just before he made contact with the floor. As the two walked back to the bench, a hundred and one thoughts ran through Sakuragi's mind. (A/n: Ok, so I exaggerated a little... ehehehehe...)
It doesn't count? It's the Tensai's dunk...
"If you do not want to be taken off, follow me."
Shut up, kitsune! I will beat you one day... I don't want to be subbed off...
In his half-unconscious state, he heard someone asking Ayako what was wrong with him.
Ayako-san... don't tell them... don't... tell them...
"Sakuragi Hanamichi, this is very important. It could be a matter of a player's life."
Player's life...? You mean I am finished? You mean... I... Sakuragi Hanamichi... can no longer... play basketball...?
"Do you like basketball?"
Haruko-san...
"You're so tall! I wonder who's taller, you or Rukawa-kun?"
Che! Of course I'm taller, Haruko-san!
"Oniichan..."
Hana-chan... I... I'm the Tensai... right...?
"Of course you are, oniichan."
Hana-chan, I will lead the team to win the National Championships.
"I'm sure you will. You promised me that, remember?"
Yes... I remember...
"Do you like basketball, Sakuragi-kun?"
... Yes...
"Do you really like basketball, Sakuragi-kun?"
"Daisuki desu. This time it's the truth." (A/n: Daisuki desu means I like.)
Sakuragi suddenly got up and put a hand on Haruko's shoulder (she and the gundan had come down to see him).
On the court, Akagi had scored his first free throw (he had to; his team-mates had threatened to kill him if he missed) and was taking his second (which went in, by the way) when he noticed Sakuragi walking to the referee table to request for a player substitution.
"No, oniichan, I won't sub you in," said Hanayuki, who cancelled the request.
"Hana-chan..."
"No! I won't sub you in. I don't want you to make a mistake which you will regret for the rest of your life."
"Hana-chan..."
"I said no. Oniichan, listen to me-"
"No, Hana-chan, you listen to me!" said Sakuragi loudly, holding her by the shoulders. He forced the pain in his back out of his mind and continued, "I have to play! I promised you that I will lead the team to victory, and I don't want to break the promise."
"I don't care about that stupid promise!" Hanayuki shouted. "All I care about is you! Can't you understand that?"
"No! It is you who don't understand!" Sakuragi shouted back. "Why is it that when Rukawa got injured, he can still play, but when I get injured, I can't?"
"Oniichan, this is not the time to be jealous-"
"I am not! Listen! You said that it was because you have faith in him that you let him play. Why is it that you cannot have the same faith in me?"
Hanayuki looked at Sakuragi, shocked and speechless. As a lone tear made its way down her cheek, Sakuragi cupped her face in his hands. "Please, give me some of the faith you have in him. Just a little would be enough."
Hanayuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she reopened them and looked into her brother's eyes, she could see her reflection in them. (A/n: In my opinion, when somebody is determined, his eyes are very clear, and you will probably be able to see yourself reflected in it.) Her hands reached up to touch his.
"No. You are wrong. I have all the faith in the world in you," she said softly. "Very well. You will play. And you will lead us to victory."
With Sakuragi back in the game, Shohoku was going to give it everything they have got. Sannoh's offense, Masahiro noticed Sakuragi's injury and passed to Mikio. Sakuragi couldn't hold his position because of the pain in his back, and Mikio was about to shoot.
However, gritting his teeth, Sakuragi bounded back and slapped the ball away. Miyagi got the ball and passed to Mitsui, who shot and scored 3 points. He was also given a free throw because Matsumoto had accidentally pushed him, and so, all in all, he got in 4 points.
The score was 75-76. Next Sannoh offense, Masahiro was going to slam the ball into the basket. Fortunately, for the first time ever, Akagi swiped the ball away and stopped Masahiro's attack. Sakuragi recovered the ball, and was immediately surrounded. Because of the pain in his back, the ball slipped away from his hands.
Eiji caught the ball and was going to dunk, but Sakuragi still leaped up and stopped Eiji. Rukawa ran and picked up the ball, and wasting no time, he charged to score, but was stopped by Fukatsu and Masahiro who was double-teaming him when the ball was knocked out of his hands. Out of nowhere, Sakuragi appeared and scooped the ball back to Rukawa who successfully scored this time.
30 seconds left, and Shohoku was finally in the lead with the score of 76-75. Sannoh was quick to retaliate, as Masahiro blocked Rukawa, and Eiji received the ball and shot. The score was 76-77, and once again, Sannoh took the lead.
10 seconds left.
Just when everyone thought that it was over, Sakuragi was running back to Sannoh's side of the court, getting ready to attack.
9...
Sannoh realised this and ran back to defend.
8...
Akagi tried to pass to Sakuragi, but Mikio blocked him.
7...
Rukawa signalled for the ball and received it.
6...
Running with all his might, Rukawa drove past Eiji.
5...
Rukawa was about to shoot when Fukatsu, Masahiro and Eiji jumped up to block him.
4...
Rukawa saw Sakuragi standing on the right hand side of the basket at the 45-degree point, unmarked.
3...
Rukawa passed the ball to Sakuragi.
2...
Sakuragi jumped up and shot.
1...
The ball flew through the air as if in slow motion. To every single living thing standing on 2 legs in the stadium, it was probably the longest second ever.
0...
The ball fell into the basket without so much as touching the rim.
Buzz!
On the score board, the score for Shohoku changed from 76 to 78. And then, there was a mad scramble, as every Shohoku member, every Shohoku supporter, madly charged onto the court. The photographers were madly clicking away, and the audience were madly screaming and madly shouting and madly cheering their heads off.
On the court, the people were madly laughing, madly smiling, madly crying, madly hugging, madly patting each other on the back and shoulder, madly ruffling each other's hair, madly congratulating each other, madly giving high-fives here and there... Speaking about high-fives, even Rukawa and Sakuragi exchanged high-fives right after the buzzer sounded. They quickly turned away from each other after that though, but then, who cares? They can get right into a fight there and then and nobody would care. The only thing that mattered was they had won, and that's all about it.
The only person who was not involved in the mad frenzy was Hanayuki. She had been standing up ever since Sakuragi entered the game with his back injury, and when the buzzer had sounded, she didn't move an inch, even as people kept bumping into her on their way to the court.
We... we have won...
Tears began to cascade down her face like a raging waterfall. Sliding down to the floor, she covered her face with her hands and started crying like she had never cried before.
We have won! We have won! Otousan, we have won! We have won!
Feeling a pair of arms encircling her, she looked up to see Mitsui smiling down at her and buried her face on his shoulder. She could vaguely hear Mitsui laughing at her for crying and saying that they had won. She also heard her brother's voice, asking Mitsui to move aside so that he could hug her, and found herself in another familiar embrace.
It took her quite a while before she could finally stop crying, but the tears never stopped flowing. And, with a very tear-stained face, she joined the team for a photo session.
It was only one picture, but it was more than half an hour later before the picture could be taken, because this is Shohoku we are talking about, and Shohoku doesn't go through anything without stirring up trouble first.
See, Sakuragi wanted Hanayuki to stand beside him, but Rukawa wanted her to stand beside himself as well. Then, Mitsui decided that he wanted Hanayuki to stand with him too, and before long, Ayako thought that it would be for the best if Hanayuki stood beside her instead. Miyagi, who wanted to stand beside Ayako, got himself involved and ended up being forced to choose a side between Mitsui and Sakuragi.
A few punches and kicks and threats later, the picture was finally taken, with Hanayuki and the five starting players crouching in front and the rest of the people standing behind them.
So how did they solve the who's-standing-with-who problem? Quite simple actually.
Just put Mitsui on Hanayuki's right, Rukawa on her left, Sakuragi sitting on the floor in front of her with her arms wrapped around him, Miyagi beside Mitsui with Ayako standing right behind him and Akagi beside Rukawa. Add in some smiles, a few laughs, and a couple of grins, and there you have it; a nice picture of the Shohoku team and their supporters taken from the memorable National Championships.
(Note: The picture was meant to be used as the front cover of the next issue's basketball magazine, but it never made it there, because Shohoku lost the next game to Aiwa due to over-exhaustion from the Sannoh game and Sakuragi's absence.)
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Author's notes: Phew! Finally! The Sannoh game is done. It hadn't been easy, but the time spent to write it was satisfying. Anyway, one or two more chapters and this story's wrapped up. Look out for the continuation, though. Thanks to devil-gurl and YunCyn for reviewing! Thanks to all who read anyway.