The Death of Sakuragi Hanamichi
Prologue
(Sakuragi's Neighborhood 4:00 p.m. after school)
Sakuragi Hanamichi is a self- proclaimed basketman and genius. He is now walking down his street with his gundan.
"Nyahahahahaha! I love this new water bottle Haruko-san gave me!" laughed out the annoying red head. Today, he laughed so loud that everyone at the street started looking at him. Being regulars there, they should have already been used to the boy's loud laughing. They weren't. They all stared, the restaurant owners, the people selling stuff on the streets, one or two bums and a few gang members. However, he did not know all of the people looking at him.
About a day ago, Haruko gave Sakuragi a water bottle as a belated birthday gift. (Everyone but his family and the gundan didn't know it was his birthday and just played tricks on each other.) He was very excited over the gift even though it was something Haruko picked out suddenly at the spur of the moment. He drank out of it many times.
*****
( Shohoku Gym 4:00 a.m.)
Everyone groaned as they got dressed for practice. They had just had a late night practice the day before, and now, they had to go for an early morning practice, too. Things were well with them, making it to the nationals and all, but the rigorous training could be skipped. The Shohoku basketball team would die of exhaustion before they even started playing in the Nationals.
"Hey, has anyone seen Sakuragi?" Yasuda asked. It seemed weird without Sakuragi in practice. He seemed to always go to practice religiously.
Akagi just grunted a bit.
"He probably forgot. Baka."
After everyone changed they all entered the gym room. But before anyone could even begin to think about practicing, a horrible sight filled their eyes.
*****
( Shohoku Gym 4:30 a.m.)
"So can you tell us exactly what happened?" the police officer asked. He was planning on giving his report to the station. It wasn't everyday things like this happened in the area, so it was a bit of a shock for him, too. Sure, there were plenty gang fights, thieves, even murders here and there, but suicide was definitely rare. He couldn't even remember the last time he had to report one. But even though it was clearly a suicide, these hard-headed high-schoolers thought otherwise.
"Listen officer, I don't know what else you can say about this, but this definitely was not suicide! It was murder! He wouldn't do something like this! .Would he?" This quote brought to you by Ayako. She had been last to arrive at the gym, but she was to talk to the police man as her duty as manager.
"Okay ma'am, listen and pay attention. I don't know how old you are so you probably weren't around when suicide and self-mutilation was common. But I've been around, and I know what's what. This was definitely a suicide case! There was no proof that anyone killed him, and no one found anything to prove it!"
Ayako was now on the verge of tears. She had already cried enough after finding out that Sakuragi had died, but not even listening to her part of the story was a killer! The officer took a look at the woman's face and sighed.
"Look, the most we'll do is have a second search and an autopsy for him. Now, will you tell me exactly what happened in your own words?"
Ayako gulped back her tears, looked straight into the man's eye and began.
"The Shohouku basketball team had just made the finals and they were going to the nationals. Everyone was so excited. Akagi-sempai was so excited, that he started making a few early morning practices. This was about the third one. The boys were already supposed have started practice. I came five minutes late. By then, everyone had gotten Sakuragi off the rope and called the hospital."
The police officer, all right his name is Takeshi, called for all the men to gather around. (I'm talking about his co-workers, not the basketball players.)
"Okay men, did anyone find anything?"
His replies didn't help a bit of anyone's comfort.
"Nothing over on my side, sir."
"Nothing in the locker room."
"Nothing behind the bleachers."
"Nothing around the body-"
"Except for blood."
The last one caught Takeshi's ears, and a question formed into his mind. How come there was blood on the death scene if the victim died from hanging himself. Takeshi suddenly thought that maybe the kids were right and weren't that far from the truth. He began to speak again.
"Since we can't find any clues on how he died, we'll just have to wait until we see the autopsy. Everyone, get as many versions of the story as you can from these students. We might have a murder on our hands."
*****
If I were to tell you that everyone was shocked, that would be considered the understatement of the year. By that afternoon, everyone knew that there had been committed in Shohoku's very own gym. And not only that, but it was one of Shohoku's very own students that had been the victim. The victim was Sakuragi Hanamichi, the rebound king.
16-year-old Hanamichi was found dead in the Shohoku gym. He was hanged from the ceiling with blood dripping down from an unknown source. He still had his uniform still on, but it was torn and filled with dirt. A stool was found almost directly under the hanging corpse. Although the setting had blood, there had been no indication that he had walked into the gym. Besides the fact that there was blood on it, the floor was completely clean. The only thing comforting was the look on Sakuragi's face. He looked like he died peacefully.
(Note: All the basketball players were given a choice wether they wanted to go to school or not. Most of them did.)
Everyone close to Sakuragi was beyond devastated. They all had faced tough times, but this was one of the worst. They all tried to hide how much it really impacted them, but to no avail. When Haruko found out, she was crying so hard, she was sent home. A death was something she never faced throughout her life.
Akagi on the other hand, managed to stay strong. He managed to get through school without crying. Hw had run out a long time ago. But somehow, if you heard his voice, if you saw him move, and if you felt his skin, there was nothing but pain. He felt something sting in his heart. Was it regret? No, he knew it was not his fault, it was someone else's. Was it anger? No, at times like these, Akagi knew it was worthless to get angry. Was it sadness? No, well, maybe, but that was something he hardly ever felt. Whatever it was though, it hurt. Maybe it was worry. He suddenly started getting even more concerned for his sister.
Mitsui kicked a nearby wall! Damn! It really hurt! However, it did not hurt as much as his heart. It was only in that instant that he found out Sakuragi died that he realized something. Sakuragi would never again call him Mitchi. He would never see him smile or hear him laugh. Like Akagi, he didn't shed any tears. Nobody needed to see him cry. Not before the funeral. He didn't know why he died or even questioned it. All he knew was that, whoever murdered Hanamichi was gonna pay. Dearly. He looked at the school itself during the lunch break and secretly adored the fact that basketball practice was cancelled. He couldn't stand to look at the place where Sakuragi was killed. With a sigh and a few deep thoughts running through his mind. Mitsui did a thing that he hadn't done since he was with the Tetsuo and the gang. He skipped the rest of school.
Miyagi patted Ayako's back in comforted. She had cried along with Miyagi while they were going to her house. Miyagi had offered to walk her home since they both decided that they wouldn't come to school today. Although they didn't talk at all to each other that day, they didn't need to. They knew exactly how the other felt. You could say it was a strong connection between them. Their relationship may have just been one-sided love, but that didn't mean they didn't know each other enough to not know how the other feels. By the time they had reached Ayako's house, Ayako had stopped crying and was beginning to go up the steps. Miyagi began to say something, but Ayako moved closer to him and put her fingers on his mouth. She mouthed the words, "I know.I know." and went up to her house.
Rukawa sat on one of the chairs in the gym. The police had left about an hour ago, and he decided to stay for school. At first, he wanted to practice while everyone was mourning their lost companion, but he couldn't bring himself to do that. Damnit! Why did that do'aho's death affected him? He didn't really care about him, did he? Damnit! Why? Why? Why? He took a basketball lying on the ground and threw it at the wall in anger? Why, Damnit! He felt like his head was going to explode. That do'aho made him not want to play basketball. He hated him more than ever now. And the worst thing was, he couldn't even call him do'aho! Rukawa then found himself with his back against the wall, slowly bringing himself down. Like Haruko, he never faced a death before. He wiped away his eyes, feeling something wet around them. They were tears. What was wrong? This was not like him. Damn it all.
Kogure had just been given the worst errand in all of history. He had to tell the Sakuragi gundan that their red-haired friend was forever gone. He didn't know exactly why he volunteered, there was just something inside of him telling him to do that. It was in the middle of the morning, and he had put himself in front of the school. He waited for them to arrive soon. He waited and waited until he saw the four boys coming towards the school. The four boys were laughing about something Noma had done while in Junior High School. All of a sudden, Kogure didn't have the heart to tell them that their quintet was now officially a quartet. However, he had somehow gotten the guts to go up to them.
"You guys, I have something to tell you."
And so, the vice-captain told Sakuragi's friends exactly what happened in detail. The shock was pretty big for them. They didn't know what to say. At first, they all thought he was joking. It took one look at Kogure's cold- serious eyes that he, unfortunately, wasn't. No matter how much he wanted it to be, it wasn't. Soon, the strong gundan was now weak in the knees. No more would they every get head-butted for saying the wrong things in front of him No more would they see him foul in a game. No more will they hang out along side each other. They were even denied the laugh they were so used to hearing. The gundan was completely quiet and completely separate the rest of the day.
*****
(Sakuragi's neighborhood 4:50 p.m.)
Yohei walked. He didn't know where he was going, nor did he care. Just this morning, he had found out that his best friend had died. He was the only one that could truly say that he knew Sakuragi Hanamichi the best. He didn't like being alone, but this time was all right. The rest of the gundan had gone their separate ways. They were probably going home, but Yohei kept walking to the unknown destination. He had walked for a long while thinking about his past memories with his red-haired friend. He didn't stop until he noticed he was right in front of Hanamichi's little house. After some self-thought on what he should do, he went in, thinking that he could at least comfort his best friend's mother.
Inside, he walked in. He called out.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
After taking off his shoes, he went in more. He began to wonder where Sakuragi's mom was. They knew each other and were on good terms. He found her in the kitchen. It looked like a mess, like someone had torn the place apart in anger and frustration. Yohei guessed that she had done it herself. Mrs. Sakuragi was sitting down on a chair in front of the kitchen table. Her head was on the table with her face, facing the table, and she was shiver as though she was crying. She probably was. Her hair was messed up, her arms had scratches and marks on them, and her clothes were ripped.
"Auntie?" Yohei asked. He was clearly worried about her. The only indication that she was alive or conscious was her shivering and the crying sounds she made. Slowly, he out his hand on her shoulder gently. Immediately, she put up her head in an alert fashion. She calmed down when she saw Yohei's face.
"Yohei.Is that you? Come! I have something for you!" Her face brightened when she said that remark. She snatched Yohei's arm and headed towards Hanamichi's room At first, Yohei wanted to protest, but he couldn't deny it since the woman probably never got anything to this kind of close relief ever since she got the news. Normally now, she would be at work, because she liked it. Hanamichi would enjoy the privacy. But now was different; she seemed like a different person now. The only way to find out anything was to follow her.
The two burst into Hanamichi's room. Mrs. Sakuragi went onto one side of the room were Hanamichi's desk was. She opened a drawer built in on the side and took out a notebook. She held the book in her arms for a while, even stroking it a bit before handing it to Yohei.
"Here. He wanted you to have this." With that being said, she fled the room in tears. Since Yohei didn't want to disturb her anymore than she already was, he left the house quietly. Although, it seemed as though Mrs. Sakuragi looked like a heavy burden has been taken off of her shoulder and was now just crying as she wanted to. While walking down the street, he opened up the notebook to see what was written.
*****
(Sakuragi's notebook No official time. Big Note: The journal was originally filled with bad spelling, awful grammar, and messy drawing, so, very few people could truly read it. Yohei was one of those people. We have done the honor of fixing that up. That way, it's all clearer to everyone! That's why it may not seem like his journal. There was also Japenese slang.)
Hey! This is the first part of the "promise journal!" Actually, I'm not too sure how this thing sorta works yet, but I guess I'll just write whatever in it. If you're probably reading this, Yohei, then it means I'm dead. (Like that's gonna happen any time soon. But then again, you never know!)
***** Yohei stopped reading for a second. He suddenly remembered the promise. It was about the time when Hanamichi's father died. It took a while for him to come back to normal, but he did. It was just a day after the funeral when they made a simple promise that he thought was just to make Hanamichi better.
**** (Flashback conversation No indicated time A year ago)
"Yohei!"
"Oy! Hanamichi! You're better all ready?"
"."
"Hanamichi."
"Yohei, I've been thinking."
"That's new."
"I'm serious!"
"Okay, okay. What is it?"
"After seeing otousan (father) die like that. I thought about how quick it was for anyone you know to suddenly. You know, die. I've also thought about how angry I was for not being able to help. I would hate to die and not let anyone I know something I always wanted to tell them but never do."
"What are you saying? This isn't like you."
"I haven't been like me at all lately. I just thought that I would hate dying without ever confessing things I always wanted to. You know, like apologizing to people you never would have if you were alive."
"What do you mean?"
" Yohei, will you promise me."
"."
"If either of us were to die, the other would carry on the other's last wishes?"
"Nani?!"
"We would each write in a notebook with out thoughts, feelings, and other things that you'd want someone to know if you'd die. The first one that dies gets their notebook sent to the other!"
"Hanamichi."
"Okay, can you promise me that?"
".Whatever will make you happy."
"Yosha!"
A few weeks later
"I got my notebook"
"I got mine!"
"Oo! Lemme see!"
"No, Hanamichi! This is for when we die! No looking until I die. It has important secrets in here!"
"If that's the case, I'll just kill you now!"
"Ahhhh~!"
"Nyahahahahaha! Like I'd ever do that! I can't kill the person who's going to fulfill my last wishes! At least not yet!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Both boys were laughing that day and the other boys of the gundan didn't understand why.
*****
That had happened years ago. In reality, there was nothing in that notebook, because he thought that Hanamichi was kidding at that time. Apparently, he wasn't. He actually took it seriously! He read on further:
Well.actually.I have no idea what my last wishes are at the moment! Ah, I'll just write it later.
23 pages later of procratination, angry notes of revenge, "nevermind I did it all ready," and all the thoughts of his 50 breakups.
Yohei.Haruko-san is soooooo wonderful. She's the one Yohei. I don't care whether or not she likes that Kitsune or not. She's the one I want. I love her. If I die. (Which I tell you, is NOT gonna happen soon.) I want you to tell her how I felt about her. I wonder how much she'll be crying at the funeral. Oh well, better not think about that! Oh yeah, don't you dare confront Rukawa for me! I'll finish him in hell. No, change that. I'll bring him to hell.
Yohei was quite amazed at how much he wrote. He even kept changing his last wishes. Right now, it seemed that all he had to do was confess to Haruko for him, avoid a fight with Rukawa, tell his Mom that he loved her, (although it might not work since she seemed to have already read the jourmal) and take revenge for him if he was murdered. The reading continued.
Yohei, do me a favor and rip up Ayako's fan for me. I'd like to do it, but I'll get in trouble and I would be dead.
Okay, he had a few more things to do.
Can you also punch Miyagi and Mitsui for me? They were doubting the tensai's abilities.
Now it seems as though he was doing too much. Eventually, he came to the last part of the book. By this time, he had to give flowers to Haruko while confessing for Hanamichi, tell his mom he loved her, avoid a fight with Rukawa, take revenge if he died, and never allow anyone to gain the name Tensai Basketto-man and Rebound King. It was amazing how Hanamichi kept this promise even after so long. He normally would give up something like this. A whole year of feelings written on a few pieces of paper suddenly made Yohei even closer to Hanamichi then he already was. He even learned a few things about him he would never admit in public. However, what shocked him most was the last paragraph:
Yohei~ I feel so weird today. There's this weird headache I'm having. (Which is weird since the Tensai never has headaches!) But for some reason, I feel soooooo~ good. This feeling is soooooo~ nice. I really love that new water bottle Haruko-chan gave me. This feeling almost makes me as happy as when I'm with Haruko-chan. Harujo-chan~ (That's right, he misspelled Haruko- chan.) I hear these scratchy noises-no wait! I think I hear people whispering. Ah, forget it, it's probably my headache. Did I ever mention you're by best friend? You better say "yes." Mommy is such a nice lady. I wuv her. Somethimes I ish I die and Momy 2 so wee can C Dady again. Nyahahahahahahaha! Just kidding, Yohei. I ain't gon' dei soon. Nooooo~ way. I go sleep now 'cause I feel so good.
This disturbed Yohei. Not only did most of it not make sense, but it looked like he wrote a bit in English. Like Hanamichi could write that. The first part looked something like Hanamichi's writing, but the rest just looked very screwed up. He closed the book along with his eyes as he stopped where he was. Hanamichi was definetly murdered. This book proved that.
He began walking down the street. He had a plan and the murderer was gonna pay.
Prologue
(Sakuragi's Neighborhood 4:00 p.m. after school)
Sakuragi Hanamichi is a self- proclaimed basketman and genius. He is now walking down his street with his gundan.
"Nyahahahahaha! I love this new water bottle Haruko-san gave me!" laughed out the annoying red head. Today, he laughed so loud that everyone at the street started looking at him. Being regulars there, they should have already been used to the boy's loud laughing. They weren't. They all stared, the restaurant owners, the people selling stuff on the streets, one or two bums and a few gang members. However, he did not know all of the people looking at him.
About a day ago, Haruko gave Sakuragi a water bottle as a belated birthday gift. (Everyone but his family and the gundan didn't know it was his birthday and just played tricks on each other.) He was very excited over the gift even though it was something Haruko picked out suddenly at the spur of the moment. He drank out of it many times.
*****
( Shohoku Gym 4:00 a.m.)
Everyone groaned as they got dressed for practice. They had just had a late night practice the day before, and now, they had to go for an early morning practice, too. Things were well with them, making it to the nationals and all, but the rigorous training could be skipped. The Shohoku basketball team would die of exhaustion before they even started playing in the Nationals.
"Hey, has anyone seen Sakuragi?" Yasuda asked. It seemed weird without Sakuragi in practice. He seemed to always go to practice religiously.
Akagi just grunted a bit.
"He probably forgot. Baka."
After everyone changed they all entered the gym room. But before anyone could even begin to think about practicing, a horrible sight filled their eyes.
*****
( Shohoku Gym 4:30 a.m.)
"So can you tell us exactly what happened?" the police officer asked. He was planning on giving his report to the station. It wasn't everyday things like this happened in the area, so it was a bit of a shock for him, too. Sure, there were plenty gang fights, thieves, even murders here and there, but suicide was definitely rare. He couldn't even remember the last time he had to report one. But even though it was clearly a suicide, these hard-headed high-schoolers thought otherwise.
"Listen officer, I don't know what else you can say about this, but this definitely was not suicide! It was murder! He wouldn't do something like this! .Would he?" This quote brought to you by Ayako. She had been last to arrive at the gym, but she was to talk to the police man as her duty as manager.
"Okay ma'am, listen and pay attention. I don't know how old you are so you probably weren't around when suicide and self-mutilation was common. But I've been around, and I know what's what. This was definitely a suicide case! There was no proof that anyone killed him, and no one found anything to prove it!"
Ayako was now on the verge of tears. She had already cried enough after finding out that Sakuragi had died, but not even listening to her part of the story was a killer! The officer took a look at the woman's face and sighed.
"Look, the most we'll do is have a second search and an autopsy for him. Now, will you tell me exactly what happened in your own words?"
Ayako gulped back her tears, looked straight into the man's eye and began.
"The Shohouku basketball team had just made the finals and they were going to the nationals. Everyone was so excited. Akagi-sempai was so excited, that he started making a few early morning practices. This was about the third one. The boys were already supposed have started practice. I came five minutes late. By then, everyone had gotten Sakuragi off the rope and called the hospital."
The police officer, all right his name is Takeshi, called for all the men to gather around. (I'm talking about his co-workers, not the basketball players.)
"Okay men, did anyone find anything?"
His replies didn't help a bit of anyone's comfort.
"Nothing over on my side, sir."
"Nothing in the locker room."
"Nothing behind the bleachers."
"Nothing around the body-"
"Except for blood."
The last one caught Takeshi's ears, and a question formed into his mind. How come there was blood on the death scene if the victim died from hanging himself. Takeshi suddenly thought that maybe the kids were right and weren't that far from the truth. He began to speak again.
"Since we can't find any clues on how he died, we'll just have to wait until we see the autopsy. Everyone, get as many versions of the story as you can from these students. We might have a murder on our hands."
*****
If I were to tell you that everyone was shocked, that would be considered the understatement of the year. By that afternoon, everyone knew that there had been committed in Shohoku's very own gym. And not only that, but it was one of Shohoku's very own students that had been the victim. The victim was Sakuragi Hanamichi, the rebound king.
16-year-old Hanamichi was found dead in the Shohoku gym. He was hanged from the ceiling with blood dripping down from an unknown source. He still had his uniform still on, but it was torn and filled with dirt. A stool was found almost directly under the hanging corpse. Although the setting had blood, there had been no indication that he had walked into the gym. Besides the fact that there was blood on it, the floor was completely clean. The only thing comforting was the look on Sakuragi's face. He looked like he died peacefully.
(Note: All the basketball players were given a choice wether they wanted to go to school or not. Most of them did.)
Everyone close to Sakuragi was beyond devastated. They all had faced tough times, but this was one of the worst. They all tried to hide how much it really impacted them, but to no avail. When Haruko found out, she was crying so hard, she was sent home. A death was something she never faced throughout her life.
Akagi on the other hand, managed to stay strong. He managed to get through school without crying. Hw had run out a long time ago. But somehow, if you heard his voice, if you saw him move, and if you felt his skin, there was nothing but pain. He felt something sting in his heart. Was it regret? No, he knew it was not his fault, it was someone else's. Was it anger? No, at times like these, Akagi knew it was worthless to get angry. Was it sadness? No, well, maybe, but that was something he hardly ever felt. Whatever it was though, it hurt. Maybe it was worry. He suddenly started getting even more concerned for his sister.
Mitsui kicked a nearby wall! Damn! It really hurt! However, it did not hurt as much as his heart. It was only in that instant that he found out Sakuragi died that he realized something. Sakuragi would never again call him Mitchi. He would never see him smile or hear him laugh. Like Akagi, he didn't shed any tears. Nobody needed to see him cry. Not before the funeral. He didn't know why he died or even questioned it. All he knew was that, whoever murdered Hanamichi was gonna pay. Dearly. He looked at the school itself during the lunch break and secretly adored the fact that basketball practice was cancelled. He couldn't stand to look at the place where Sakuragi was killed. With a sigh and a few deep thoughts running through his mind. Mitsui did a thing that he hadn't done since he was with the Tetsuo and the gang. He skipped the rest of school.
Miyagi patted Ayako's back in comforted. She had cried along with Miyagi while they were going to her house. Miyagi had offered to walk her home since they both decided that they wouldn't come to school today. Although they didn't talk at all to each other that day, they didn't need to. They knew exactly how the other felt. You could say it was a strong connection between them. Their relationship may have just been one-sided love, but that didn't mean they didn't know each other enough to not know how the other feels. By the time they had reached Ayako's house, Ayako had stopped crying and was beginning to go up the steps. Miyagi began to say something, but Ayako moved closer to him and put her fingers on his mouth. She mouthed the words, "I know.I know." and went up to her house.
Rukawa sat on one of the chairs in the gym. The police had left about an hour ago, and he decided to stay for school. At first, he wanted to practice while everyone was mourning their lost companion, but he couldn't bring himself to do that. Damnit! Why did that do'aho's death affected him? He didn't really care about him, did he? Damnit! Why? Why? Why? He took a basketball lying on the ground and threw it at the wall in anger? Why, Damnit! He felt like his head was going to explode. That do'aho made him not want to play basketball. He hated him more than ever now. And the worst thing was, he couldn't even call him do'aho! Rukawa then found himself with his back against the wall, slowly bringing himself down. Like Haruko, he never faced a death before. He wiped away his eyes, feeling something wet around them. They were tears. What was wrong? This was not like him. Damn it all.
Kogure had just been given the worst errand in all of history. He had to tell the Sakuragi gundan that their red-haired friend was forever gone. He didn't know exactly why he volunteered, there was just something inside of him telling him to do that. It was in the middle of the morning, and he had put himself in front of the school. He waited for them to arrive soon. He waited and waited until he saw the four boys coming towards the school. The four boys were laughing about something Noma had done while in Junior High School. All of a sudden, Kogure didn't have the heart to tell them that their quintet was now officially a quartet. However, he had somehow gotten the guts to go up to them.
"You guys, I have something to tell you."
And so, the vice-captain told Sakuragi's friends exactly what happened in detail. The shock was pretty big for them. They didn't know what to say. At first, they all thought he was joking. It took one look at Kogure's cold- serious eyes that he, unfortunately, wasn't. No matter how much he wanted it to be, it wasn't. Soon, the strong gundan was now weak in the knees. No more would they every get head-butted for saying the wrong things in front of him No more would they see him foul in a game. No more will they hang out along side each other. They were even denied the laugh they were so used to hearing. The gundan was completely quiet and completely separate the rest of the day.
*****
(Sakuragi's neighborhood 4:50 p.m.)
Yohei walked. He didn't know where he was going, nor did he care. Just this morning, he had found out that his best friend had died. He was the only one that could truly say that he knew Sakuragi Hanamichi the best. He didn't like being alone, but this time was all right. The rest of the gundan had gone their separate ways. They were probably going home, but Yohei kept walking to the unknown destination. He had walked for a long while thinking about his past memories with his red-haired friend. He didn't stop until he noticed he was right in front of Hanamichi's little house. After some self-thought on what he should do, he went in, thinking that he could at least comfort his best friend's mother.
Inside, he walked in. He called out.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
After taking off his shoes, he went in more. He began to wonder where Sakuragi's mom was. They knew each other and were on good terms. He found her in the kitchen. It looked like a mess, like someone had torn the place apart in anger and frustration. Yohei guessed that she had done it herself. Mrs. Sakuragi was sitting down on a chair in front of the kitchen table. Her head was on the table with her face, facing the table, and she was shiver as though she was crying. She probably was. Her hair was messed up, her arms had scratches and marks on them, and her clothes were ripped.
"Auntie?" Yohei asked. He was clearly worried about her. The only indication that she was alive or conscious was her shivering and the crying sounds she made. Slowly, he out his hand on her shoulder gently. Immediately, she put up her head in an alert fashion. She calmed down when she saw Yohei's face.
"Yohei.Is that you? Come! I have something for you!" Her face brightened when she said that remark. She snatched Yohei's arm and headed towards Hanamichi's room At first, Yohei wanted to protest, but he couldn't deny it since the woman probably never got anything to this kind of close relief ever since she got the news. Normally now, she would be at work, because she liked it. Hanamichi would enjoy the privacy. But now was different; she seemed like a different person now. The only way to find out anything was to follow her.
The two burst into Hanamichi's room. Mrs. Sakuragi went onto one side of the room were Hanamichi's desk was. She opened a drawer built in on the side and took out a notebook. She held the book in her arms for a while, even stroking it a bit before handing it to Yohei.
"Here. He wanted you to have this." With that being said, she fled the room in tears. Since Yohei didn't want to disturb her anymore than she already was, he left the house quietly. Although, it seemed as though Mrs. Sakuragi looked like a heavy burden has been taken off of her shoulder and was now just crying as she wanted to. While walking down the street, he opened up the notebook to see what was written.
*****
(Sakuragi's notebook No official time. Big Note: The journal was originally filled with bad spelling, awful grammar, and messy drawing, so, very few people could truly read it. Yohei was one of those people. We have done the honor of fixing that up. That way, it's all clearer to everyone! That's why it may not seem like his journal. There was also Japenese slang.)
Hey! This is the first part of the "promise journal!" Actually, I'm not too sure how this thing sorta works yet, but I guess I'll just write whatever in it. If you're probably reading this, Yohei, then it means I'm dead. (Like that's gonna happen any time soon. But then again, you never know!)
***** Yohei stopped reading for a second. He suddenly remembered the promise. It was about the time when Hanamichi's father died. It took a while for him to come back to normal, but he did. It was just a day after the funeral when they made a simple promise that he thought was just to make Hanamichi better.
**** (Flashback conversation No indicated time A year ago)
"Yohei!"
"Oy! Hanamichi! You're better all ready?"
"."
"Hanamichi."
"Yohei, I've been thinking."
"That's new."
"I'm serious!"
"Okay, okay. What is it?"
"After seeing otousan (father) die like that. I thought about how quick it was for anyone you know to suddenly. You know, die. I've also thought about how angry I was for not being able to help. I would hate to die and not let anyone I know something I always wanted to tell them but never do."
"What are you saying? This isn't like you."
"I haven't been like me at all lately. I just thought that I would hate dying without ever confessing things I always wanted to. You know, like apologizing to people you never would have if you were alive."
"What do you mean?"
" Yohei, will you promise me."
"."
"If either of us were to die, the other would carry on the other's last wishes?"
"Nani?!"
"We would each write in a notebook with out thoughts, feelings, and other things that you'd want someone to know if you'd die. The first one that dies gets their notebook sent to the other!"
"Hanamichi."
"Okay, can you promise me that?"
".Whatever will make you happy."
"Yosha!"
A few weeks later
"I got my notebook"
"I got mine!"
"Oo! Lemme see!"
"No, Hanamichi! This is for when we die! No looking until I die. It has important secrets in here!"
"If that's the case, I'll just kill you now!"
"Ahhhh~!"
"Nyahahahahaha! Like I'd ever do that! I can't kill the person who's going to fulfill my last wishes! At least not yet!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Both boys were laughing that day and the other boys of the gundan didn't understand why.
*****
That had happened years ago. In reality, there was nothing in that notebook, because he thought that Hanamichi was kidding at that time. Apparently, he wasn't. He actually took it seriously! He read on further:
Well.actually.I have no idea what my last wishes are at the moment! Ah, I'll just write it later.
23 pages later of procratination, angry notes of revenge, "nevermind I did it all ready," and all the thoughts of his 50 breakups.
Yohei.Haruko-san is soooooo wonderful. She's the one Yohei. I don't care whether or not she likes that Kitsune or not. She's the one I want. I love her. If I die. (Which I tell you, is NOT gonna happen soon.) I want you to tell her how I felt about her. I wonder how much she'll be crying at the funeral. Oh well, better not think about that! Oh yeah, don't you dare confront Rukawa for me! I'll finish him in hell. No, change that. I'll bring him to hell.
Yohei was quite amazed at how much he wrote. He even kept changing his last wishes. Right now, it seemed that all he had to do was confess to Haruko for him, avoid a fight with Rukawa, tell his Mom that he loved her, (although it might not work since she seemed to have already read the jourmal) and take revenge for him if he was murdered. The reading continued.
Yohei, do me a favor and rip up Ayako's fan for me. I'd like to do it, but I'll get in trouble and I would be dead.
Okay, he had a few more things to do.
Can you also punch Miyagi and Mitsui for me? They were doubting the tensai's abilities.
Now it seems as though he was doing too much. Eventually, he came to the last part of the book. By this time, he had to give flowers to Haruko while confessing for Hanamichi, tell his mom he loved her, avoid a fight with Rukawa, take revenge if he died, and never allow anyone to gain the name Tensai Basketto-man and Rebound King. It was amazing how Hanamichi kept this promise even after so long. He normally would give up something like this. A whole year of feelings written on a few pieces of paper suddenly made Yohei even closer to Hanamichi then he already was. He even learned a few things about him he would never admit in public. However, what shocked him most was the last paragraph:
Yohei~ I feel so weird today. There's this weird headache I'm having. (Which is weird since the Tensai never has headaches!) But for some reason, I feel soooooo~ good. This feeling is soooooo~ nice. I really love that new water bottle Haruko-chan gave me. This feeling almost makes me as happy as when I'm with Haruko-chan. Harujo-chan~ (That's right, he misspelled Haruko- chan.) I hear these scratchy noises-no wait! I think I hear people whispering. Ah, forget it, it's probably my headache. Did I ever mention you're by best friend? You better say "yes." Mommy is such a nice lady. I wuv her. Somethimes I ish I die and Momy 2 so wee can C Dady again. Nyahahahahahahaha! Just kidding, Yohei. I ain't gon' dei soon. Nooooo~ way. I go sleep now 'cause I feel so good.
This disturbed Yohei. Not only did most of it not make sense, but it looked like he wrote a bit in English. Like Hanamichi could write that. The first part looked something like Hanamichi's writing, but the rest just looked very screwed up. He closed the book along with his eyes as he stopped where he was. Hanamichi was definetly murdered. This book proved that.
He began walking down the street. He had a plan and the murderer was gonna pay.