Silent Love
By: Kuroi Neko-kun
Summary: Rukawa's mute sister returns to his life after years of separation. With the new school year coming, he expects a better life. Meanwhile, Sakuragi suffers his 51st rejection. To top it off, Haruko rejects him for Megane-kun. But a turn of events made him meet Rukawa Kinaki and finds out about her secrets, giving a chance to make peace with Rukawa. Could this be the ultimate boon or will it turn to something else?
Chapter 5: No Games, Just Balls
Key:
"Spoken"
'Sign language'
Thoughts
'Mental messages'
-----------------------------------------
"In a week's time," Ryota turned to the panting teammates of his. They were all waiting for his usual pep talk. "In a week's time," he repeated," We'll be having a match with Ryonan."
"Ryonan?!" The first graders exclaimed, shocked.
"They're our rival team and Anzai-sensei accepted Taoka-sensei's challenge," Ryota huffed," We've beaten Kainan, Shoyo and Ryonan but this is still no picnic. No matter what, we'll be winning that match!!"
"For all you freshmen, we have not enough uniforms so," Ayako spoke to them," I'll be monitoring you all and see who will take the remaining numbers as reserves. Some of you are shoo-ins but I'll take your performance in regards to all this." She smirked at the freshmen who were now groaning.
"Dismissed!"
~~~
The two star players have not left the court when they were dismissed. Rukawa resumed practice but Sakuragi went up to the already sleeping Kinaki and covered her with his jacket. She's beautiful sleeping… Sakuragi smiled before brushing her hair off her face.
"Sakuragi," Rukawa called out, making the boy jump.
"Nani?"
"Want a game?" Rukawa passed the ball to him. Sakuragi caught it and dribbled slowly towards the on guard Rukawa. He smirked.
"Interesting… the former Super Rookie wants to challenge the Rebound King," Sakuragi mocked laughter. Rukawa sighed.
"Just play, do'ahou…" Sakuragi dribbled, watching Rukawa closely. He knew that Rukawa was a lot better than him in defense. I have to feint. If I get to beat him here, it will prove that my offence has improved. He watched Rukawa's eyes, looking to the left. Rukawa tensed as Sakuragi moved forward, first towards the left. His defenses reacted to it and followed him but Sakuragi dribbled the ball to the right and passed him, dunking the ball in. He smirked at the raven-haired boy.
"That's one," he said. Rukawa smirked back at him as he passed the ball. "Let's see if I can stop you."
"Let's see you try…"
~~~
After a tiring game, the three returned home. Sakuragi still had some energy to carry Kinaki on his back while Rukawa walked with them, his bike on his side.
"Worried about the game, Rukawa?" The raven-haired boy smirked. "I thought not. Sendoh's pretty tough now, I hope we can keep him under our foot."
"You've got to keep your emotions in check," Rukawa muttered," after all you've got Fukuda to counter."
"Yeah…" Sakuragi muttered. He was not worried about the game at all. He was becoming good friends with Rukawa now. He did not want to ruin it by telling him he liked his sister. Sakuragi sighed inwardly. Was there anyway he could resolve this? He just needed to know about Kinaki at this moment.
~~~
The girl enjoyed the fact that she could share her thoughts with Ayako. Having a female friend was better than confiding with only her brother. She told Ayako about how she felt, letting out some emotional burden. Ayako found it surprising that she found out about the Haruko ordeal but her reaction was expected. Realizing that this girl was serious about Hanamichi, [after all, kissing him was serious] Ayako knew that she needed to intervene.
~~~
"Oi, Sakuragi Hanamichi," the curly haired girl tapped him on the shoulder. The redhead turned, giving notice to the captain's girlfriend.
"Nani, Ayako-san?" he asked, still with his gentlemanly manner. Ayako noticed that even with his rough demeanor, Hanamichi would never harm a lady. And that made him perfect for Kinaki. After all, even he needs someone in his life.
"It's about time you asked her out," she said, winking at him. The redhead blinked, feeling the blood unconsciously rushing to his head.
"What are you talking about, Ayako-san?" he mumbled before running off to practice. Ayako smiled, knowing her part of the mission was accomplished.
~~~
Pacing about in the locker room got Hanamichi thinking. Moments earlier, Ayako had hinted him to ask her out. Does Ayako know about his feelings or was she taking a stab in the dark? Splashing water to his face, the redhead tried cooling his head. Should he? Maybe the feeling was leaning towards pity or he was using her as rebound? What if he did break her heart? Could he put so much at risk and still come through? What if he didn't? What then? The questions placed more stress to him than anyone. Rukawa Kinaki may be able to read minds but could she sense his feelings? It would be easier if she could.
"The mirror will break if you keep one glaring at it, do'ahou," Rukawa drawled. Sakuragi managed a weak smile. What about Rukawa? They were becoming friends and he especially did not want to ruin that. Can he take the risk? "Oi, daijoubu ka?" Hanamichi blinked, nodding mechanically.
"Just zoning…" he mumbled.
"Well stop it and shower do'ahou…" Hanamichi did just that, making Rukawa slightly shocked.
~~~
He may never show it but Rukawa noticed that there was something different about the way Hanamichi acted, especially around his sister. The raven-haired boy thought about countless possibilities but one was drawn when he took notice of Kinaki. She had a dazed look when she watched them practice. He should know; it was the same look that cast on every one of his fans. He just chose to ignore it. He smiled to himself. He could never really stop his sister from liking someone, even if it was someone he hated. He felt lucky that it was Hanamichi. A year back, he would murder the redhead and blamed it on Akagi, who would also have a better reason to murder Hanamichi. But now… he did not want anybody else to court his sister. It was almost perfect. Almost. It was still Hanamichi here. Rukawa shrugged. With the current situation, he thought it would be best. But he did not want to intervene at all. It was at best that the two figure things out by themselves. He'll just kill Hanamichi if he ever hurt his sister.
~~~
The flower he held in his hand was an orange rose, much like his hair. Hanamichi had spent days finding the right one to give Kinaki. After all, she had got him a sports band, signifying their friendship. He paced about in his room, thinking about what to do or say. He could not help feeling nervous about asking the girl out, after doing it so many times before. He let out a sigh. But I've never managed to court the girl. I thought getting to walk the girl home was enough. Now, I live with her!! What am I going to do? Before he could pull himself to another panic, he heard the door opposite him open. Without thinking, he opened his door and caught Kinaki's door before it closed.
"Kinaki-san," he mumbled, staring into the girl's blue eyes. She smiled at him warmly.
'Hai, Sakuragi-san?' He smiled nervously at her.
"I… I… Here!" He bowed, thrusting the flower at her. She looked at it before turning to the blushing Hanamichi.
'Arigatou,' she plucked the flower from his hands, examining it closely, wondering what it symbolizes. She wanted to ask but Hanamichi explained it for her.
"It's a Hybrid Tea, a very common rose. The color symbolizes enthusiasm and desire," he mumbled, still blushing. He knew she liked it as she looked at it forlornly.
'It's like you… I like it very much. It should be called the Hanamichi rose, don't you think?' She smiled foolishly, knowing how ridiculous it sounded. Hanamichi enjoyed her smile because it proved that she was genuinely happy.
"You like it then?" She nodded before hugging him.
'I love it… arigatou, Sakuragi-san…' Despite the fact that the girl he had feelings for was in his arms, Hanamichi felt bolder."Would you like to go out with me, Kinaki-san?" he blurted out. She blinked. Did he just say the words that she had wanted to hear? Or was she going deaf as well? "Kinaki-san?" She snapped out of her thoughts. Hanamichi did ask her out. She nodded, shyly. "Hontou?" She nodded again, making the redhead slightly overjoyed. "I… I… I'll make the plans! You just sit tight and think about what to wear!! I'll even do that for you—" Kinaki smiled at him.
'Sakuragi-san… You just make sure you win the Ryonan match, okay?' He nodded, still excited that he had a date.
"I promise!" At that, he left her room with a stupid grin on his face.
~~~
The two stared at the basketball court, anticipating the match to come. Hanamichi knew that he had to win this. He promised and he was a man of his word. He turned to the silent raven-haired boy.
"So, you worried?"
"No," was his short answer. The redhead expected that from him. He sighed.
"Well, we can't afford to lose the match." Rukawa nodded, uncrossing his arms.
"I promised Kinaki-chan that I wouldn't lose it."
"I did too," he mumbled.
"I heard that you're going out with her this Friday," Rukawa said, shocking Hanamichi slightly. He stared into those foxy blue eyes. "You break her heart, I'll break your legs," the raven-haired boy said. Hanamichi nodded.
"We can't lose the match," the boy repeated, with a smirk.
~~~
The halls were packed with both Shohoku and Ryonan supporters, cheering hard for their favorite team [or most likely their favorite players]. Ryota was nearly a nervous wreck. The match had not started and it was intense outside. Coach Anzai already picked the starting players, all seniors but he readied a few of the freshmen to play for the last two minutes of the first half. It was a good strategy, hopefully throwing the other team off. He turned to his teammates, who oversized him by at a good twenty percent. They still looked at him with great respect.
"This is the first match we're in for this year and it's with our rivals, Ryonan. We beat them once and we'll beat them again. Let's make Ryonan remember how tough Shohoku can be, got that?!" With a loud 'yeah', the team had given him the strength he needed. The double doors of their locker room opened and Shohoku High's team streamed out of it, welcomed with loud cheers, especially for the two strongholds of the team. Hanamichi scanned the crowds for Kinaki, finding her next to the team manager. A mental message was pushed to his head.
'Remember your promise, Sakuragi-san.' He nodded, planting a small smile on her face.
~~~
After a huddle, Shohoku faced off with their rivals. Rukawa glared annoyingly to his own rival, Sendoh Akira who grinned at him in response.
"So how is your sister doing?" he asked lightheartedly.
"She's fine," he answered curtly.
"Well, is she still available for a date?" the spike head asked. Rukawa smirked, knowing that Kinaki was not interested with the grinning spike head at all.
"She's not interested."
"I know but nobody can resist the Sendoh charm." At that, Sendoh smiled, swooning many of his fans. Rukawa sighed.
"Unless they're taken," Rukawa retorted. Sendoh gave him a look.
"By whom?" The boy's eyes darted to the redhead, who was currently having a glaring contest with Koshino. Sendoh looked his way as well.
"Him?! You're kidding me, right?" Rukawa shook his head. "No way!! Koshino never even met her, how could he have a date with her?!" The raven-haired boy resisted the urge to smack his opponent on the back of his stupid spiked head.
"Not Koshino, do'ahou," he muttered. Sendoh looked like he was going to faint, realizing that Hanamichi beat him to dating. "Stop that," Rukawa muttered, snapping Sendoh to reality," the match is about to start unless you want to lose."
"Oh, bring it on," Sendoh said, firing up for the match.
~~~
"Pass!" The redhead shouted, getting ahead from his opponent. Koshino was great at defense but never a match for speed. Ryota would love to pass to him, if he was not blocked off by a tall first year. He knew Taoka-sensei's strategy was to choke Shohoku from doing any fast breaks and, he had to admit, it was a good strategy. But he never counted for was Shiozaki, who literally took the ball away from him and made the pass to Hanamichi. The ball was in the hoop in seconds. Sendoh gave him a shocked look.
"Wow, he's improved," he muttered, only to see a smirk on Rukawa's face. "And you've changed. Is your sister that much of an inspiration?" The smirk changed to a scowl.
"Shut up and play, do'ahou."
-----------------------------------------