I'm sorry if this chapter may turn out to be a long bore for some of you...but it just didn't feel right for me to leave out the details. I'm sure I'll finally be able to get to the good part next chapter, so please bear with me!
Part 3: Paying Respects
"At 12:10 noon on Saturday in this very gym, Sakuragi Hanamichi, 16 year old student of Shohoku High School and indispensable member of our basketball team, was pronounced gone. But heaven knows that his strength will always be with us as we play." Captain Miyagi Ryota's voice rang loud and firm throughout the gym, but one could tell he almost choked on the word "gone".
As the team listened to the captain's eulogy, those who knew the redhead personally—namely Mitsui, Yasuda, Shiozaki, Kakuta, Kuwata, and Ishii—had their heads bowed down very low to hide their tears.
It had been two days since the incident. Shohoku High's basketball team decided to hold their own private ceremony for Sakuragi, one completely separate from his official funeral.
None of the other schools were to know about this tragedy yet; Shohoku had to salvage whatever decent reputation it had left by suppressing the news of the accident for as long as possible. The police had written it up as a trivial sabotage turned disastrous, possibly done by students jealous of the basketball team's popularity.
The graduated seniors and the coach stood in the corner to witness the team members pay their respects. Anzai sensei's normally jolly face remained grimly solemn throughout the whole team honor ritual, his grief from losing his most mischievous yet promising student evident behind his thick spectacles. By contrast, Akagi Takenori's usual dead serious face was weakened by pain. Out of all the team members they had to help train, only the outrageously childish yet strong-willed Sakuragi was able to draw out a true fatherly instinct from them. Both he and the coach had trouble keeping their cheeks dry. A red-eyed Kogure had vented his tears the previous days, but fresh ones were bound to spill out.
Mitsui shifted his damp eyes around the gym and suddenly interrupted, "Hey, where the hell are Rukawa and our manageresses? Especially Rukawa, the very person Sakuragi gave up his life for!"
Akagi turned to him. "Haruko and Ayako insisted on going with Sakuragi's friend to help out on some other business, but I'm clueless about Rukawa. He'd better not come up with some shitty excuse for missing this honor ritual, or else..."
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Unfortunately, Rukawa Kaede would not have a decent excuse, at least not in their eyes. He was crouched down in a small alley, stroking tiny stray kittens with a gentle hand; the tall brunette just needed to be some place where no one could reach him for the time being. Although he still maintained his calm exterior, the rising inner turmoil threatened to break out any minute.
After the raven head finally snapped out of his shock that day, he remembered having to throw up in the toilet several times the following nights. The horror of the moment...and he did nothing but stare at the last agonizing minutes of Sakuragi's life. He knew he was the least squeamish one on the team, yet...the way the redhead expressed his suffering—eyes insanely wild with pain; body convulsing madly; saliva and foam from his mouth; voiceless screams and hyperventilating pants—it traumatized him like nothing else: so real, so painful and sickening to watch, but he could not tear his gaze away...and then the redhead was gone before his eyes. But what's happened has happened, right? No way to reverse it. So, he should go on with his empty, routine life, and put the memories aside...
Rukawa stared at his left palm, stained with Sakuragi's blood from a few days ago. It has dried up and blackened by now. For some reason, he could not bring himself to wash off the crimson substance that covered his hand; it was the very reminder why he's still alive and standing.
He sagged himself against the alley wall, feeling strangely numb, yet simultaneously overwhelmed by so many feelings that left him breathless. Just how is he supposed to feel about the whole thing? Why can't he grieve and let out those emotions? Is it because of that stubborn, stupid pride of his, or...he still couldn't accept the fact that his always-there bickering partner was truly gone forever? And there are too many unanswered questions about the whole incident...
Why did he save me at his own risk? Why, after claiming that I try to ruin his life? It was just the do'aho's impulse?
"...Hana's body is going to be shipped out of the hospital, and into the mortuary tomorrow. We should clear out his living room, so they can set the body casket and the funeral altar in there..."
A familiar voice suddenly pierced into Rukawa's pondering mind. He turned his head and saw Sakuragi's friend along with the team's two manageresses. They were headed the opposite direction. Living room? Are they going to the do'aho's house? Rukawa wondered. The boy paused and stared at the threesome with a thoughtful expression. Then he got up and tailed silently after them.
A while later, in the Sakuragi residence
Youhei hauled the last piece of furniture out of the living room. "Done, as empty as the first day Hanamichi moved in." He said quietly. "Now there should be enough space to set up the altar and drapes here."
Ayako looked around. "Ano...Mito, aren't some of Sakuragi's relatives supposed to come over and help?"
"They excused themselves from coming due to some last minute urgent business," Youhei responded in a matter-of-factly tone of voice. "All of his relatives are very reluctant about paying for Hana's funeral expenses. They ostracized his father long ago, because he was too honest of a man to play along with their self-serving way of life. No one knows anything about his mother's family, because she left home during her teens."
"That means...Sakuragi kun had been all alone for so many years..." Haruko whispered.
"Yep, Hanamichi was an orphan since he started elementary school, at least that's what he told me."
"Poor Sakuragi kun...having lived and died so unhappily." Haruko sank against the wall and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, it's my fault. If I had inspected the gym a little more closely, maybe..." She started to swoon as she recollected the moment of the accident. But at least he is free of his loneliness now.
Ayako went to her side and put her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Shhh...no one could have known. If it is your fault, then I'm just to blame as much as you. Don't start fainting again, just breathe deeply, breathe..." she crooned.
Youhei left her in Ayako's care while he wandered into Sakuragi's bedroom. His eyes took in the familiar surroundings; it was messy like any typical boy's room, and way too small for the oversized, hyperactive teenager. Yet, it looked as cozy as can be.
The young brunette suddenly banged his fist against the plaster wall and squeezed his eyes shut. Damn it! If only I had gone to find Hana...if only I didn't leave him that night!! Maybe I would've changed his mind for real...I'll never have the right to call myself his friend, now...
Ayako gently interrupted his self-berating. "Mito, I need to head back to the gym; the last part of their ceremony should be starting. Haruko better come with me, too."
"Dai...sniff...Daijoubu, Ayako sempai, you go ahead first. I want to talk to Mito kun a little bit more. Tell oniisan not to worry about me."
"Well...all right. Just don't take too long." She leaned toward Youhei. "I'm sure Sakuragi would appreciate it if you joined us, Mito." She murmured softly.
As the older manageress walked out the house, she failed to spot a tall young man with ebony hair crouching beside the window, listening intently.
"D...don't you think it's rather odd, Mito kun? The police reported the rescue as a mere coincident...but Sakuragi kun rushed in so on time, as if he somehow expected the accident."
Her question rendered Youhei speechless momentarily, as he didn't prepare himself for it. Should I lie or tell the truth? Oh well, why the hell would it matter? Hanamichi's gone already.
"Actually, whether you believe it or not..."
And Youhei proceeded with the story, both he and Haruko unaware that Rukawa right by the window, listening intently.
"...how uncanny. So, Sakuragi kun still decided to help Rukawa kun, even with you actively trying to dissuade him?"
Youhei shifted his eyes down in slight discomfort. "Try to understand, I hardly know Rukawa, and Hanamichi is a really close friend."
"It's all right. At least...Sakuragi kun succeeded in saving Rukawa kun's life. And hopefully, Rukawa kun will be out of danger now. I just wish there's some way to tell him how grateful Rukawa kun and I feel..." she murmured wistfully.
You rather Hana died instead of Rukawa, huh? Well, FYI, Hana had a lot to look forward to in life, too! Your thankfulness to him for saving your damn crush won't do him shit! He ranted bitterly in his head. She's biased towards Rukawa the same way he was for Sakuragi, except her reasons are still too shallow for him to accept. After all the effort, Sakuragi's sincere affections still weren't enough to capture even half of her heart.
"I need to leave now. Are you going to stay here, Mito kun?"
Youhei breathed deeply. "No. There's nothing left to do here, at least for today. I might as well join you." He told her as he followed her out the door. Suddenly he paused. "Don't tell anyone else of this incident, okay? It'll just make them more distressed than they already are. And no need to tell Rukawa, either." Even if he cares one bit, I'm betting he'll be the last person to attempt help.
"Don't worry, Mito-kun, the secret is safe with me." She promised, and they made their way to the Shohoku gym.
When the two were out of sight, Rukawa emerged from his hiding place.
A foretelling vision? A fortune teller who hates my family? The do'aho's very own choice...to risk his life for mine...? It was too incredulous for him to grasp for the moment.
The raven head fumbled with the back door latch and slipped in. He felt a little uneasy about intruding, but he did want to pay Sakuragi a visit...in his own way. The redhead's abode was incomparably smaller and run-down than his own.
So...the redhead and his friend encountered a mystical being, who supposedly hates his family. He hardly even bothered to meet half of his family members, let alone their history. And people who believed in that supernatural crap made him sneer inwardly. But that Akagi girl had a point, it did not seem like a mere coincidence...
But so what? And if that crap is really true, something else'll happen to me, and I'd probably be meeting that do'aho soon, anyways. Not that he was worried about it, of course.
Rukawa surveyed the bedroom. Unused textbooks were tossed everywhere. The redhead had pasted the secretly shot photos of his 51 rejections all over the wall. On his bed was a small, worn-out kiddy blanket with cute black kittens and teddy bears printed all over them. Casually picking it up, the brunette found himself gazing at the object with softened eyes. Despite his fearlessness of pain, shame, and challenges, a do'aho will always be a do'aho; needing someone to look after him lest he makes dumb mistakes...but no one was there to when he made the biggest mistake of taking his own life...
His eye then caught the photo of their Sannoh victory taped right above his bed; Sakuragi had circled himself with a red marker, and wrote on top, "Due to the tensai's effort". Unknowingly, Rukawa reached out and rested his fingertips on the image of the squatting redhead. Yes, it was your effort, do'aho. Without that last basket...
"Ha ha ha, you have to admit now, stupid fox, don't you?" The raven head's ears perked up and his eyes grew wide. "You and our fellow teammates are all too dependent on the TENSAI! Whatcha guys gonna do without me now, huh?" A haughty voice rasped itself into his attention.
Startled, Rukawa spun around. "Do'aho, you...!" The room was empty.
Sweating slightly, Rukawa cursed aloud...at himself. Was it just my imagination? Oh shit, now I'm getting auditory hallucinations! Or maybe...because Sakuragi made his presence so known all the time, it was too unsettling for his mind not to hear him.
Basketball practice took on an entirely different meaning when that irritating loudmouth jumped in the team. Will he ever get used to not hearing his childish taunts, his triumphant laughs, not feeling that firm fist across his face? Maybe not...
It was the redhead's own choice, Sakuragi's best friend said.
That means he CHOSE to die for you. For YOU, Kaede. As those words echoed in his head, a feeling swelled inside of him that almost resembled...warmth?
He let out a loud grunt and slammed his forehead against the wall, as he'd seen the redhead do so many times. Unfortunately, his skull wasn't as thick as Sakuragi's, and a throbbing pain shot throughout his head a second later. Dammit. When did I ever become so pathetic?! Ever since I met the do'aho...it's all his fault! He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead deeper against the wall.
"I freaking hate you...and you'd better believe me. Why couldn't you have minded your own damn business? Why put me through this...?" he murmured out loud. Your stupid sacrifice is meaningless to me...I'd rather you—
Riiingg, riiingg...the loud clanging of a nearby phone snapped him back to reality. Rukawa was in a bad enough disposition as is, and that sudden disturbance just did it. Glaring, the raven head stormed across the room to snap the phone cord in two, when the answering machine went on...
"Hello, to whom we may be speaking, this is Narita of the Kanagawa district police. We feel it is now necessary to inform the Sakuragi household that the body of Sakuragi Hanamichi is formally to be reported missing after two days of intense search. Allow me to apologize for declining to reveal this news until completely certain it was lost. So far, there no leads, no any clue of possible theft motives. Thus, it may be necessary to delay any funeral preparations, until..."
That made the raven head stop dead in his tracks. Sakuragi's body...missing? Two days ago, when the accident had just occurred? Who could've...?
Without thinking any further, Rukawa sped to the gym, seeking Youhei, the only one who may provide him with a better explanation.
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In what seemed to be utter emptiness, a conscious human thought stirred. W..what happened? Where am I? What am I? Wait, I remember...that crashing sound...big pool of blood...that appalled fox face...the horrendous pain that followed...those screams... then...because I was trying to...
A woman's voice suddenly penetrated his awareness.
"...you see? Asking me to do so just ruined your own plot. Be glad that I perceived the outcome; I went through all that trouble to disguise myself as a paramedic staff and preserve his being just before the last breath, and sneak it back here."
Huh? That voice sounds familiar...it's that weird woman's voice. The weird lady with the black curtain draped around her.
"Shit. What the hell are we gonna do with him now?"
A man's voice popped up, He never heard of that voice in his life, but at the same time he strangely felt that he had known it forever. He can hear just fine, but...why can't he see anything? Why can't he feel anything?!
"...keep him as he is, I guess. He didn't have a role in your purpose against Rukawa Kaede to start with and never will now..."
"You mean just leave him like that forever?!"
"For now, yes. Since your pointless request caused his death...we are additionally forced to take full responsibility of him."
"What the hell do you understand?! I have my own good reasons for doing what I did, so just stay out of it!" the man snapped irritably.
"...you'd better tone down that attitude; I've been assisting you faithfully all the way. And besides, it's all up to you to decide how to dispose of him after the matters between you and Rukawa are concluded..."
"Believe me; I will succeed in manipulating our destiny...no matter the cost...and even if the whole damn world decides to turn against me again. I'll fight against fate with my own hands, until it goes my way..." the man's tone was full of deadly determination.
What the hell's going on? Just where am I??! Goddamn it, someone answer me!! He cried hysterically yet soundlessly, in the desperate attempt to make himself heard amidst the nothingness he may very well be part of.
TBC
No one has to tell me, this is a pretty sucky chapter; and sorry if you guys feel you've wasted time reading it. It's my first fiction after all...but it'll get more interesting in the following chapters, I promise!