I think this story's unfortunately going to take longer than I thought to finish...--; hopefully it can still retain someone's interest till the end.
Just as a note, this chapter takes place a few days after the last one. Pls R&R again!
Part 8: Alterations
BANG. A loud gunshot sound echoed throughout the still air. What the hell...? Sakuragi thought to himself as the vision before him took form. It's midnight...at the roof top of some run-down abandoned building. Wait a minute...this looks like our Shohoku high school roof top! A heavy, painful panting broke into his awareness, and he turned around to see...himself again, yet in a strangely dejected condition: worn-out clothes, hair cropped yet again and his whole being looking much paler than before, almost like an escaped convict. He was apparently straddling someone, but that person was lying out of view. The redhead's eyes were unbelievably wide, body trembling with disbelief, as he fixed a frozen stare at a tall brunette pointing a smoking pistol at him...Rukawa Kaede. The watching Sakuragi could tell the man was indeed Rukawa, but he stood too far away to perceive his facial emotions.
"Kaede...? Rukawa...Kaede...?" The redhead's quivering voice was hardly above a whisper. Blood suddenly splurted out from the young man's chest, but he didn't seem to notice at all, let alone try to clutch the running wound. Nothing but pure shock remained in the redhead's eyes, yet hot tears started to trickle from them. "You'd rather take my life, Kaede...to save this scummy bastard's...?" His voice finally broke, the rush of abundant tears rivaling the life flowing out of his chest. Wordlessly, the raven head answered by firing another shot at him. Sakuragi jolted as if struck by lightning, and slowly slumped to his side. As he was falling, his grief- stricken eyes never left his assailant.
Too appalled to notice before, the envisioning Sakuragi finally saw the person being straddled by himself...a gorgeous young man with freckles. He sat up, coughing and clutching his throat, as if someone had been choking him. Although his beautiful face was contorted with pain, he still looked recognizable...Hold on...isn't that the freckled face body guard I saw a few visions ago? Suzuki Masato.
Why...what's this supposed to mean? That Kaede's one day gonna kill me for someone else...?? A crazed, agonizing feeling seized him. NO! It's a damn lie!! LIAR!!!
"Hanamichi...."
As if awakening from a nightmare, Sakuragi jerked himself back to reality. Still panting slightly, he searched the familiar surroundings...he was in his best friend Youhei's room, and there was Youhei, sitting right in front of him. His best friend regarded him with worry.
"You okay, Hana?"
"Youhei...?" Calm down, Hanamichi, calm down. It must've been one of those fake, messed up visions. He hastily assured himself. Don't be a total moron, Hanamichi, cause there's no way in hell Kaede will EVER try to hurt me, let alone do such a freaking horrible thing! "Youhei, what am I doing here?"
The shorter brunette smiled in relief. "I summoned you, of course. About time I wrapped up with this damn research, it's been ten days. I can't believe how much I missed you, o' buddy!"
Finally composing himself, the redhead grinned back joyously. "Yeah...the tensai has to freaking admit that he misses you as well, pal." It's already been ten days since we last met...but time sure flies when I'm with my fox. Still, not seeing Youhei for more than a week is way too long!
"Hana, before anything else, I really apologize for leaving you with Rukawa for so long...it must've been hell of a week for you." Youhei told him rather guiltily.
"Hey, don't sweat it at all, Youhei buddy...Kaede's actually learning how to have fun now, believe it or not!"
Youei raised his eyebrows. "...Kaede?"
The redhead grinned shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahhh...I mean Rukawa. But I've gotten too used to calling him Kaede."
A sudden pang of jealousy poked at the shorter brunette, but he quickly repressed it, chastising himself. What's wrong with you, Mito Youhei? Shouldn't you be happy Hana has one less person to hate? "Mind filling in your best friend about this past week?" Youhei asked inquisitively.
Sakuragi blushed even harder, almost as if confessing his feelings to a girl. "Will you still...be my best friend if I told you I like guys now?"
Youhei's jaw dropped, but quickly moved to shut it again. Hanamichi? Gay? Just what has being with Rukawa done to him...? "...why wouldn't I be, Hana? You're still Sakuragi Hanamichi no matter what you like, aren't you?"
Sakuragi drew a sigh of relief. "Of course. Nothing will change me from the tensai you know! Yeah, so this is what happened..."
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Rukawa opened one eye. 10:30 a.m. already? Oh crap! The redhead's gonna give him another earful for making him wait through his dozing time. Still lying down, the raven head hastily took out the amulet and started summoning...two minutes have passed, and no sign of the mist that transported Sakuragi's soul. Rukawa blinked, then summoned again. Then again. Nothing happened. The brunette sighed impatiently. Shit. What is taking that do'aho? Or is this stupid necklace malfunctioning? Wait a minute...could that woman Kimura have done something? He just recalled...her mentioning almost a week ago that she's going to figure out what to do with the redhead's body...has she decided something? A sudden panic surged up in the brunette's heart, and he sprung out of bed. Not even bothering to change, he quickly grabbed his keys and wallet, and sped out the door.She had better left Hana alone...or else there'd be hell to pay!
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The shy look never left Sakuragi's face as he recounted the events that brought the unexpectedly close friendship with the fox-faced boy, and eventually led to relationship beyond that. Youhei listened so intently as if he were in a trance.
"...Kae—I mean Rukawa takes me wherever I want everyday, even if that meant cutting three hours from his practice time. And you know what? That fox hasn't dozed off once these days he was spending time with me. In fact, he actually smiles secretly whenever he wins our bet in the arcade. He thinks I don't notice, but I DO." The redhead gazed off in the distance with a loving look in his eyes. "Rukawa Kaede trusts me with all his heart, Youhei...and you know how he proved that? When I asked if he was worried I'd abandon him too, he told me to place my hand on his chest and search his heart again. He actually encouraged me to read his mind about how he really feels!"
Youhei had been slouching forward, resting his chin on his folded hands. He sat up straight. "So...Rukawa's become both a best friend and a crush, just like Haruko." He hoped his voice didn't give away any of that childish bitterness he was feeling.
"He's not a crush at all, stupid!" Then murmured in a timid voice. "We feel the same way bout each other, and know it like no other...but I can't see him as a best friend like you, Youhei." The redhead looked down. "Something damn freaky's been going on this whole week. I've so wanted to tell someone, but...I can't trust Kaede to understand."
I'm still irreplaceable in his heart...Youhei realized, a sense of pride and relief filling him. "Heh...it was the last thing I would expect, Hana...you finding love in such an unusual relationship. But I gotta tell you, I'm happy that someone's finally returning your feelings." Then his best friend's kind voice turned all serious. "We'll chat some more fun stuff later, but for now...we'd better get to business here, Hana." "Just what are the freaky things that were happening the past week?"
Sakuragi scratched his chin. "Well...just a lot of visions. Many of them don't seem to make any damn sense at all, though." I can just hope so.
Youhei leaned even closer to his friend. "Tell me about them, Hanamichi. As detailed as you can."
So Sakuragi proceeded to narrate what he envisioned every day of the week. It mainly took place the day right after his father passed away: during his first year in middle school.
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In Sakuragi's vision:
Right near the corner of the Shohoku District Hospital, a 12 year old red- haired youth moped aimlessly around the block, his fiery brown eyes unusually dull and sad. Oyajii...it was all my fault! Now, I have no one who truly cares about me! The young Sakuragi quickly brushed away the tears that had welled up in his eyes.
"...ano...are you all right?" a familiar, cute feminine voice asked softly. It was Akagi Haruko, except with more childlike features and uniform that was unmistakably from a junior high school.
The young redhead eyed her briefly, then paced away. "Yeah, I fine." He muttered carelessly.
"You've been pacing around here two hours since I went in to get a health check up. Are you sure...?"
"Geez, don't you have better things to do?" He snapped at her irritatingly, but a look of guilt immediately crossed his face.
Totally unintimidated by his attitude, the young girl knitted her eyebrows. "You sure are rude. I was just trying to be..."
"All right, I'm pacing around here cause my dad just died from a heart attack right in that damn hospital! Get it?!" He spun away to hide his tears, but could not hold back a choking sob. "I'm...just starting to miss him a lot, that's all."
For a minute or two, Haruko gazed at the trembling figure wordlessly. Then she placed gentle hands on his back. "I'm...so sorry to hear that. It's the most terrible thing in the world to have lost someone you love." She whispered tenderly. The girl fished out a handkerchief from her purse and turned the boy around to scrub his tears away. He covered his face shyly.
"No...don't!" He protested, but Haruko persistently removed his hands and wiped his cheeks dry.
"You'll catch a cold if you stand out here all night. Let's go to a coffee shop and get you some tea, so you'd calm down a bit." She took him by the hand.
Still sniffling, Sakuragi turned bright crimson. He tried to thank her, but felt too embarrassed to open his mouth.
"I'm Akagi Haruko. And your name?"
"Hanamichi. Sakuragi Hanamichi."
"Hanamichi...?" She gave him a warm smile. "That's such a lovely name."
A week later after they've met...
"Hana-kun!" The junior-high redhead looked behind him and saw a petite figure waving at him. "Ohayo, Hana-kun!"
"Hey, why don't you ever call me 'Sakuragi'?"
"Because 'Hana-kun' sounds so much cuter!" She giggled as Sakuragi blushed. "Besides, I'll never have the chance to call you that in front of everyone else, especially my parents and Takenori oniisan. They'll misunderstand." She grabbed his sleeve. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd call me 'Haruko', instead of addressing me as 'hey' from now on."
Embarrassed, Sakuragi hastily said. "No problem...Haruko. I just didn't know what you preferred to be called."
"I never thought boys can be so shy...we've known each other for a week, Hana- kun! Unfortunately, we go to different middle schools..." She said rather disappointingly. Then her eyes lit up. "Do you know what, Hana-kun? Oniisan promised me he's going to make it as the team captain of the Shohoku High basketball team in his senior year! That means if you happen to enroll into Shohoku in your freshman year, you could be on his team! That is...assuming you like basketball, of course..." Haruko added somewhat embarrassingly.
"Basketball? What's that?"
Haruko stared at him pensively. "Hmmm...sounds like you're a complete novice. Maybe I can get you into the sport, Hana-kun! It's real fun!"
"Really?"
"Of course! I'll come over tomorrow after classes end, and show you how to apply to Wakou's basketball team!"
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Reality:
"It's real odd, Youhei...cause in real life, I remember being kicked out of the hospital area real shortly, after some freaking SOB lied to a nearby cop I was bothering bypassers. If they'd left me alone, I wonder if I'd really have met Haruko chan that time..."
"You lied to me, Hana. About your dad's death."
"What? Oh..." Sakuragi looked down. "I...I didn't mean to, Youhei. I was just so ashamed...about failing to save him." He explained anxiously.
Youhei drew a deep breath. "There's no need to be ashamed about anything with me, Hana. Just tell me the truth no matter what from now on, okay?"
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Vision:
A few months later:
Scowling, Haruko backed a panicky young redhead against the wall. "Hana- kun, I caught you talking to those mean-looking boys at your school again. Are you thinking about fighting with them?!"
"Ah...you mean Mito and his gundan? No sweat, Haruko...we made a pact not to beat each other up anymore after you yelled at us. Besides, that Mito Youhei isn't too bad of a person..."
"All they do is bully people all day, and you have better things to do than that, Hana-kun!" She started to tremble slightly. "You can do whatever you want...just nothing violent ever again, okay, Hana-kun?" She pleaded softly, tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh god...Haruko, I'm so sorry! I won't ever fight again, just please don't cry...!"
The girl brushed her tears away. "It's all right. I just don't want you in any trouble." A cheered smile then lit her face. "At least there's some good news...your coach told me he's amazed with your performance on the team. Even though you've started only two months ago, he's positive you'll become a court sensation real soon!"
Blushing, the young redhead rubbed the back of his neck. "That's cause...you've always come all the way to my school gym to support me, Haruko. I'd never pull through the beginner stage without you." He then noticed the brunette girl was looking at him strangely, with a tint of red on her cheeks as well.
"There's something I wanted to tell you since you joined your school basketball team, Hana-kun...I was reluctant to say this before, because my oniisan's real protective of me." She suddenly grabbed his hand with both of hers and leaned forward to him. "I can't keep this to myself anymore, Hana-kun. To tell you the truth, I...I like you. You've been a great friend ever since we've met, but...the way you'd always rush to my side when I sound upset...and all those times you'd chase off those bullies, made you someone unique in my heart." The tinge on her cheeks darkened and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Of course...there's also the fact that you dazzle everyone, including me, with your performance in the basketball court. I look forward for classes to end just so I can see you play."
Feeling a large, warm hand on top of hers, the young girl opened her eyes, and saw the redhead returning the same gaze, cheeks as crimson as hers. "I...I like you too, Haruko. You're the one that's always been there for me."
They both experienced their very first kiss that day.
And true to the coach's prediction, Sakuragi Hanamichi of Wakou Junior High shortly became known as a rare basketball prodigy. Some say his coach, holding high hopes for him, pushed him relentlessly harder, almost to the point of exhaustion...but that only drove him to love the sport even more. His pretty and perfect girlfriend Akagi Haruko was so preoccupied watching his progress she never got to visit a nearby junior high school, Tomigaoka, where another reputed basketball player with black hair and blue eyes was passionately honing his skills, too.
Events shift to Sakuragi's freshman year in high school.
"Why didn't you tell me about your relationship with Sakuragi?!" Hands on his hips, Akagi Takenori glared sternly at his younger sister.
Ashamed, Haruko hung her head down. "I'm sorry, oniisan...but you and dad are so strict about boys, and...and Hana-kun's really special to me. I didn't want to lose him." She then lifted her head to stare back at her brother, eyes filled with tears. "Please don't kick him out of the team, oniisan! He's been so good to me...and he really loves basketball as much as you do!"
Akagi's stern glare faded, and he let out a deep sigh. "Coach Anzai and Kogure wouldn't be happy if I did, anyways. Sakuragi's too valuable of an asset on the team, no one can deny that. And he's not too much of a nuisance to work with." Then his voice hardened again. "If he does you any wrong at all, Haruko, then he'd be thrown off without any second chances...so make sure you report to me any mistreatments!"
Sakuragi's grace and power left the whole gym astounded. His teammates looked at each other. "...is he really just a freshman? He plays like a pro!" He heard them whisper. "Maybe...with him, we can enter the interhigh championships this year!"
Smirking like no other, the redhead's thoughts were clearly written on his face. Heh, all that three years of hard work, along with my naturally born tensai potential...! A giant, powerful fist suddenly whacked him out of his egotistical joy.
"Don't get too confident just yet, you idiot...haven't you heard about those in Kanagawa that match up to your skill, if not surpasses it? Especially that freshman Rukawa Kaede, who just joined Kainan University high this fall, and that's plain bad news for all its competitors, including us Shohoku!"
Rubbing the bump on his head, Sakuragi muttered, "Hmph. Who's to worry about this Rukawa Kaede, Gori?! Just watch, I'll crush him during our match with Kainan!"
The scene shifts to Shohoku's match against Kainan University High. On the Shohoku side, Akagi Takenori, Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure Kiminobu, Miyagi Ryota, and Sakuragi Hanamichi represent their team. On the Kainan side, Maki Shinichi, Jin Soichiro, Kiyota Nobunaga, Takasago Kazuma, and Rukawa Kaede represent their high school. The two teams lined up against each other on court, two well known opposing super rookies made their first eye contact.
The redhead scrunched up his face. "Huh. I've been waiting to beat your egotisitical self in front of an audience for a long time, fox face!"
Rukawa Kaede narrowed his eyes. "Do'aho...don't disappoint me."
After an extremely intense playoff, the two teams ran into overtime. Sakuragi proved to be the very backbone of his team's strength, with his amazing stamina and skills that very much rivaled Kainan's silent rookie's. In the end however, Shohoku still lost by two points. Fist clenched and eyes burning with unwilling defeat, Sakuragi stood by his teammates as the Kainan players marched by them.
"What a pity..." Sakuragi heard the reticent Kainan player mutter, as he passed by the redhead. "...we'd have made a perfect team, working together." When Shohoku got back to their assigned locker room, Sakuragi found a slip of paper stuck in his locker. Call me. Phone #: xxx-xxx-xxxx. –Rukawa Kaede.
As it turned out, Rukawa Kaede had been so impressed with Sakuragi's performance that he implicitly wanted to challenge him again—personally, one-on-one in a park basketball court. Each time, they'd always end up in a deadlock; neither one making progress until they passed out on the ground with exhaustion. Of course, they'd always bash each other after every stalemate, each claiming himself as the true winner. Without knowing it, the two rookies had become inseparable practice partners, despite the distance and disparity of their social status.
"Just tell me one thing, Rukawa...why are we spending more time practicing with each other than with our teams?"
"...that's what I'm asking myself, do'aho."
And life pretty much stayed that way for Sakuragi Hanamichi and his new found practice partner, until summer break neared.
"So...what's the freaking deal about this, Ryochin?!" The redhead grabbed Miyagi Ryota by the collar, eyes burning with jealous rage. "Steal my girlfriend when I'm not around, will you?!"
The short point guard pulled himself free and glared back at the redhead defiantly. "You brought this upon yourself, Sakuragi Hanamichi! You being so obsessed practicing with Rukawa and forgetting about your own team, forgetting about her!" He then quieted down as the redhead appeared taken aback. "Look, I'm sorry things turned out this way, Hanamichi...at first, I posed as a comfort companion for Haruko-chan because Ayako asked me to as a favor. Then...our feelings for each other escalated just like that."
Infuriated, the redhead lifted his fist to punch out the sophomore. "And you think that justifies...!!"
"Hana-kun, stop!" Tears streaming down her face, Haruko ran up from behind him and grabbed hold of his raised arm. "It's not Ryota kun's fault...I'm the one to blame! I was the one who insisted on starting our relationship!" Sobbing openly, "Please...please don't hurt him, Hana-kun..." she begged desperately.
Frozen in place, Sakuragi stared down at his crying girlfriend, then slowly turned back to his guilt-stricken senior. He brushed Haruko's hand off of his and strutted off silently, pushing Miyagi roughly out of his way.
That night, he received a call from Rukawa. "Why didn't you show up at the park today, do'aho? You had me wait three hours..."
"We're through practicing together, fox." The redhead replied sullenly.
"What the hell's gotten into you, do'aho?"
"Well, unlike you, Rukawa, I happen to have a life outside of basketball! And playing with you all this time freaking ruined it!" He blurted out angrily, and slammed down the phone receiver. After a week or so, when the redhead eventually got over the pain and anger, he started to feel guilty about his attitude towards the raven head that night; how was that fox to know, anyways? The reluctant Sakuragi finally decided to phone Rukawa and...admit his attitude wasn't all too justified. A servant picked up, and to the redhead's dismay, Rukawa just left for Narita airport to go to America; he wouldn't be back for at least two years. Seized by desperation, Sakuragi hastily made up his mind to catch the raven head before he boarded the plane. Panting and gasping for breath, the redhead caught the tall brunette just before he passed through the passport check.
Rukawa blinked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I...uh...I—I shouldn't have yelled at you the last time we talked, Rukawa. It had nothing to do with you."
"You came all the way here just to apologize? Such a do'aho."
"Hey, shut up and accept my apology, fox! It's not everyday the tensai confesses his damn mistakes!"
"Fine; apology accepted. Now out of my way..."
"One more thing, Rukawa..." the redhead tried to sound as gruff as he could, but he could not hide the disappointment in his voice. "I've improved a whole lot playing with you...but since you're running off to somewhere else on such short notice...well, see you in a few years!" He abruptly turned to run off, but a hand caught his, and started dragging him off in another direction.
"Hey, what...!" The completely perplexed Sakuragi started to protest.
Rukawa stopped at the ticket counter, and ordered another plane ticket to the states.
"Huh?" Sakuragi scratched his head. "Whose ticket is that for, fox? You lost yours?"
"It's for you of course, do'aho. You're coming with me to the states." The raven head replied nonchalantly.
"WHAT?!!" Sakuragi yelled so loud it was a wonder the security alarms hadn't gone off.
"It doesn't seem you have the resources to train in the states anytime soon, so this'll be a great opportunity for you anyways."
"B—but I didn't pack any of my clothes, and I still have bills to take care of at home!!" The redhead cried incredulously.
"We'll buy you some more clothes, and maybe a fake passport when we get to America, do'aho. I'll arrange one of my servants to take care of things back at your house. Now stop whining, or we'll miss our flight."
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Reality:
"...so that's what I've been dreaming up so far." Sakuragi finished. "They're just plain senseless, but then again, I can somewhat connect them together."
Youhei snapped his fingers. "That's it...that must be it! Sendoh was absolutely right about all that alternate reality crap!"
"Huh? Why'd you talk to that smiley for?"
"To be honest, he provided me with loads of info...My research would've taken so much damn longer if it weren't for him." Youhei then sat up excitedly. "Believe it or don't Hana, but I'm positive all those visions of yours are true...everything in reality was supposed to happen the way you envisioned, but someone—or something from another time period intervened."
"Just what are you talking about, old buddy?"
"Remember you were saying you might've met Haruko outside the hospital that time, if someone didn't ask a police officer to drag you away? Someone must have been trying to prevent you and Haruko from meeting up that time!"
"Okay...even if that crap is real, why the hell would someone do that? It's plain ridiculous! Besides...in my vision, Kaede went to Kainan, not Shohoku! How do you make sense of that."
"Welll...there must be some explanation about that. Maybe the culprit manipulated Rukawa's path for whatever reason." The brunette replied thoughtfully. Then he suddenly smiled amusingly. "Did you notice, Hanamichi, that if events followed how your visions went, your fantasy of Haruko being your girlfriend, and you being a true basketball genius would've been realized1"
Sakuragi pondered over his friend's remark for a little, and then frowned. "My previous stupid fantasy, Youhei. Everything's all so different now."
A series of sudden, sharp knocks on the front door startled the two friends. "Who the hell could that be?" Youhei wondered. He cautiously opened the door, and "Rukawa. I should have known." With an unusually fuming look on his face, the tall raven head wordlessly brushed past Youhei, and made his way swiftly to the bedroom. Uh oh. The shorter brunette thought as he quickly followed along.
"Kaede! What are you doing here?" came a happily surprised greeting from the redhead.
"What am I doing here, do'aho? You had me worried to death when you didn't answer my call! Why in hell didn't you tell me you were coming here?!!" Rukawa demanded, not bothering to hide his exasperation.
"I...uhm...really didn't mean to make you worry, Kaede. It's just that Youhei got to me first, and I...missed him so much, I kinda forgot how you might..." The redhead said in a tiny, sheepish voice, his head bent in embarrassment.
The raven head's face tensed with anger and...something that almost resembled jealousy. "So that's how it goes...I'm just some crappy diversion to toss aside when your real companion comes to pick you up, is that it?!"
Hurt and resentment surfaced onto Sakuragi's features when he heard the accusing tone. "You're taking it too damn far, Rukawa Kaede! You can't deprive me of my right to miss someone else...!"
"Hey...hey...that's enough, you two! My parents are gonna storm up here any minute!" Huh. They sure don't hate each other anymore, and yet their fights seemed to have become more serious... "Just cool it, okay...?" He stopped short when the tall raven head suddenly turned to him with dangerously narrowed eyes, as if he were the direct cause of their conflict. Geez...who does he think he is! Better not assume I'm the type to submit to his irrational threats! Incensed, Youhei threw back a challenging glare. A timid voice suddenly cut into the two brunette's glaring contest.
"I'm sorry, Kaede, you're right...I was being damn inconsiderate. Please don't be so mad at me." Turning to the redhead, Rukawa's expression softened immediately as they looked into the redhead's sincerely remorseful, tear-filled ones.
"I'm not mad at you anymore, Hana. But you have to let me know where you are at all times." The tall raven head ordered in a gentle but stern voice.
Youhei gawked at his best friend, not believing his eyes. Just how in the world could that cold bastard possess so much influence over Hana's emotions? It's not right!
"Come on, Hana, let's go. I need to talk to you." Rukawa beckoned to the redhead briefly.
"Oh, all right. But what about Youhei?"
The raven head scowled. "What about him?"
Hell, not again. Youhei drew a deep breath. "Don't worry about me, pal. We'll just catch up on things some other time." He assured his best friend.
As Sakuragi followed the raven head outside, a menacing realization suddenly hit him. If Youhei's right, if all of the visions are real, then the one I had this morning...god, no!! Oh please, Youhei, be wrong this once, just this once! He turned his gaze to the pale young man walking in front of him. Kaede...just how long will our feelings and trust for each other last? No...! I have to believe in him, no matter what! Nothing will stop me from helping him get over his past! The redhead vowed heatedly to himself, determined to dispel the fearful uncertainty forming in his mind.
TBC