The Death of Sakuragi Hanamichi
Author Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Actually, the reason why Hanamichi was killed off particularly, if anyone wants to know, is because I'm planning on making this a series. There will each be an alternate universe in which a character is killed and someone like that finds out who dun it. Hikoichi, of course, will have to be the detective in each one, but that doesn't mean that other characters won't shine also. It's mostly minor character that will, though. Anyway, as the main character of Slam Dunk, Hanamichi gets the right to go first. Don't worry! The murder(s) of Sakuragi will pay. In fact, I am taking requests as of now on what to do to the person/people who killed him. And just to tell you, in my opinion, Hanamichi didn't deserve to die. The character(s) that killed him seem(s) to think so, though.
Chapter 1: The Deal
5:00 p.m. Entrance of Ryonan High Gym
A figure approached the door of the Ryonan High School gym. He took a minute to look through a notebook in his hands before entering. Yohei had to find the guy quick if anyone ever wanted to find anything. It was already late, but the sooner he found him, the sooner he found out who had done the terrible crime against his late best friend. He stepped forward, into the gym.
"Is anyone named Aida Hikoichi here?" Yohei said as though he had seen a fire, "I need something from him."
Not only did that came out not sounding right, he had just pissed off the team's one-and-only-angry-for-life guy, Koshino.
"What the hell do you want with him?!" Koshino yelled out, "I recognize you! You're one of that redhead's friends. Yohei, right?"
Yohei took a deep breath, calming himself before opening his mouth to speak again.
"I really need to talk to him. It's urgent!" Okay, so maybe he didn't sound as calm as he tried to make himself.
Koshino just seemed to get angrier at the response.
"I don't believe you."
"Listen buddy, I just wanna talk to him! Just five minutes! Where is he?"
"Like we're gonna tell you. Now remember this, you mess with one of our team members, you mess with all of us!"
Suddenly, all the starting team members were in a peculiar pose that consisted of all of them looking like the Genyu Force from Dragon Ball Z. Yohei's suspicions were correct, they were on something. Definitely, they were one something. However, his confirmations were destroyed when Uozumi came up behind him, put a hand on one of Yohei's shoulders, and began explaining.
"Kid, allow me to explain," Uozumi took a deep breath and sighed before continuing on, "Ever since we lost the inter-high match with Shohoku, these guys have been practicing as hard as ever. They done good. Since I sometimes visit, us leaving seniors decided to give them a treat for a good job. Ikegami was supposed to bring them apple cider while I brought the food. Somehow, Ikegami ended up bringing them some kind of strong, alcoholic beverage that wakes these guys drunk. I don't even know how they got out of the ropes. 'Don't wanna know, though."
"Ohhhh." Was the only answer Yohei could come up, listening to Uozumi's speech as Sendoh seemed to be running around without a shirt while screaming about dead pineapples, Koshino yelling at everything that looked human to him, and Fukuda attempting break dancing and failing badly at it. The black eye on Uozumi told Yohei that even their ex-captain couldn't stop them at the state they were in. It was five minutes of pure amusement before Yohei remembered what he was here for. That thought was probably the only reason why didn't fall over laughing at the sight.
"Hey," Yohei began, "Where's Hikoichi? The kid with some notebook that always gathers information or something?"
Uozumi paused to think.
"I saw him running towards the bathroom with a few other basketball players. Those guys can't take liquor very well."
Nearly immediately, Yohei left to look for the bathroom. Unfortunately, he was in such a hurry, he forgot to ask Uozumi where it was and got lost. Nothing looked familiar to him at all, and there was absolutely no one to ask directions. That is, until he saw someone at the corner.
"Oy!" yelled Yohei. The person stopped and turned around to see who was calling them. Yohei continued, "Do you know where the bathroom is? I'm looking for someone."
"Yes," the girl said. She smiled sweetly and added, "Go forward to the hall you were before, take a right instead of a left, and you keep going, and you eventually see the boy's bathroom. Don't worry you won't miss it."
"Thanks."
Yohei continued running.
*****
Hikoichi did not feel well at all. Ikegami told them that the drink was apple cider. He had no idea it was alcohol. He also thought that the guy next to him didn't notice, either. He was puking like crazy. Well, now he felt a little better, at least enough to get him back to the gym again. And so, he started off towards his destination, until he collided with a boy in a Shohoku uniform.
"Ow!" They both yelled.
"Sorry. Hey! Do you know where the bathroom is?" Yohei asked. Sadly, he had no idea who he just bumped into.
"Oh," said Hikoichi, getting out of his dazed state from the fall and the liquor. "It's right behind me."
"Thanks," Youhei replied, as he was about to go in. However, Hikoichi suddenly recognized that uniform somewhere.
"Hey wait a minute! You're from Shohoku High! What are you doing here? You're definitely not from the basketball team, although you look vaguely familiar."
"I'm just a fan," he replied. A thought suddenly came to him, "Hey, you're not Hikoichi are you?"
Hikoichi looked a bit shocked for the moment but replied, "Uhh, yes. Yes, I am. Why do you a-Mmmph!"
Hikoichi never finished his sentence, because Yohei responded to his answer like a bullet. He grabbed the Ryonan freshman while covering his mouth and dragged him into a conveniently empty classroom in front of where they were talking. Yohei shut the door immediately and turned to face the boy he had shoved on the floor. Hikoichi did not understand what was going on, nor did he want to stay where he was. In an instant, he was up and yelling back at his "kidnapper."
"Waaa! What are you doing, mister?! What are you planning?! I don't underst-Mmph!"
Yohei had once again covered the youth's mouth so he could explain himself.
"Shhh! Be quiet! I have to tell you something, but you have to be quiet!"
Hikoichi nodded and Yohei continued.
"I want to ask you help for something, but-Why don't I just start from the beginning. Listen, I don't want you to yell or freak out at anything I say. I want this to kept quiet. You hear?"
Hikoichi nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm a friend of Hanamichi. You know, Basketto Man, Sakuragi? Yeah, him. You probably recognized me cheering in one of the games. Anyway, something terrible happened. Hanamichi's dead. Somebody killed him, although the police keep on thinking that he killed himself. Those idi-"
Again, Yohei was greeted by more of Hikoichi's annoying voice.
"NANI~! Sakuragi-san is dead! How did it happen-I mean." Hikoichi stopped when he thought about how Yohei might have felt at the moment. A silence lingered in the room for the longest time, and Hikoichi wished for nothing more then the heartbreaking silence to stop. Finally, Yohei broke it.
"It's all right." Said Yohei, "Just let me finish. Anyways, he was killed in the gym late at night. It wasn't until early morning that the basketball team found him."
"But Yohei-san, why are you telling me this?"
Yohei took a deep breath and continued. "Kogure-san, the co-captain, told us when we went to school in the morning. We didn't say a word to each other at all. We avoided each other. I guess being together kept reminding us on who was missing. It was the loneliest day ever for me. After school, I went to Hanamichi's house to check up on his mother. She hardly seen him since she was always working because of the divorce. She gave me a notebook that told me everything. Written by Hanamichi himself. I could hardly believe it. It was a notebook on a promise we made about a year ago. I have to avenge Hanamichi and finish off his last requests. It wasn't suicide, this notebook proved that."
"That doesn't answer why you called me. It doesn't even explain how you know me!"
"I'm getting to that," replied Yohei as he took out the showed Hikoichi the notebook, "By the promise, I have to avenge Hanamichi, but I don't know who it is. I only thought of what I was going to do to the damned murderer, and how to catch him. Finding out who it was another story. That's where you come in. From this notebook, Hanamichi said that you were supposedly the best info-gatherer in Osaka. I want you to use your skills to help me find the bastard. Together, we will be able to find out who dun it. Will you do it?"
Hikoichi thought about it for a long time. If he were to get into this, there was no coming back. He might actually be risking his life. But then again, this could enforce justice on those wrongly murdered. Another thought raced in his head. What if they were after other basketball players, too? A long silence passed before Hikoichi gave his answer.
"I am," began Hikoichi, "very scared. Sakuragi-san wasn't exactly a normal guy, and I don't know what would happen if the person who killed him were to do with us if we were to find him out. I'm not even sure if I would do a good job."
Yohei's expression dismayed as Hikoichi's words struck his ears, but Hikoichi continued on.
"Nevertheless, I will still do it!" answered Hikoichi in a really loud, Genki-voice. Tears were formed into rivers on his face. The story touched him, and he couldn't do anything about it. It felt like he was doing his duty. He will do his very best.
Author End Notes: That turned out to be more of a sillier chapter. Don't worry! There is still much action, mystery, suspense, and all that other stuff you wanted (except romance) in here! (Well, maybe except killing off characters you don't like. Maybe.) Again, I say. I am taking requests on "punishments" to give the murder of Sakuragi. Anyone who wants to avenge Hana-kun, just review in your punishment, and I'll try my best to write it in the story at the end. Hopefully. Oh yeah, the whole "drunk Ryonan" thing actually will serve some kind of significant purpose to the plot. Don't ask how. Just wait. Thank you very much for reviewing and reading. I hope you enjoyed it so far!
Author Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Actually, the reason why Hanamichi was killed off particularly, if anyone wants to know, is because I'm planning on making this a series. There will each be an alternate universe in which a character is killed and someone like that finds out who dun it. Hikoichi, of course, will have to be the detective in each one, but that doesn't mean that other characters won't shine also. It's mostly minor character that will, though. Anyway, as the main character of Slam Dunk, Hanamichi gets the right to go first. Don't worry! The murder(s) of Sakuragi will pay. In fact, I am taking requests as of now on what to do to the person/people who killed him. And just to tell you, in my opinion, Hanamichi didn't deserve to die. The character(s) that killed him seem(s) to think so, though.
Chapter 1: The Deal
5:00 p.m. Entrance of Ryonan High Gym
A figure approached the door of the Ryonan High School gym. He took a minute to look through a notebook in his hands before entering. Yohei had to find the guy quick if anyone ever wanted to find anything. It was already late, but the sooner he found him, the sooner he found out who had done the terrible crime against his late best friend. He stepped forward, into the gym.
"Is anyone named Aida Hikoichi here?" Yohei said as though he had seen a fire, "I need something from him."
Not only did that came out not sounding right, he had just pissed off the team's one-and-only-angry-for-life guy, Koshino.
"What the hell do you want with him?!" Koshino yelled out, "I recognize you! You're one of that redhead's friends. Yohei, right?"
Yohei took a deep breath, calming himself before opening his mouth to speak again.
"I really need to talk to him. It's urgent!" Okay, so maybe he didn't sound as calm as he tried to make himself.
Koshino just seemed to get angrier at the response.
"I don't believe you."
"Listen buddy, I just wanna talk to him! Just five minutes! Where is he?"
"Like we're gonna tell you. Now remember this, you mess with one of our team members, you mess with all of us!"
Suddenly, all the starting team members were in a peculiar pose that consisted of all of them looking like the Genyu Force from Dragon Ball Z. Yohei's suspicions were correct, they were on something. Definitely, they were one something. However, his confirmations were destroyed when Uozumi came up behind him, put a hand on one of Yohei's shoulders, and began explaining.
"Kid, allow me to explain," Uozumi took a deep breath and sighed before continuing on, "Ever since we lost the inter-high match with Shohoku, these guys have been practicing as hard as ever. They done good. Since I sometimes visit, us leaving seniors decided to give them a treat for a good job. Ikegami was supposed to bring them apple cider while I brought the food. Somehow, Ikegami ended up bringing them some kind of strong, alcoholic beverage that wakes these guys drunk. I don't even know how they got out of the ropes. 'Don't wanna know, though."
"Ohhhh." Was the only answer Yohei could come up, listening to Uozumi's speech as Sendoh seemed to be running around without a shirt while screaming about dead pineapples, Koshino yelling at everything that looked human to him, and Fukuda attempting break dancing and failing badly at it. The black eye on Uozumi told Yohei that even their ex-captain couldn't stop them at the state they were in. It was five minutes of pure amusement before Yohei remembered what he was here for. That thought was probably the only reason why didn't fall over laughing at the sight.
"Hey," Yohei began, "Where's Hikoichi? The kid with some notebook that always gathers information or something?"
Uozumi paused to think.
"I saw him running towards the bathroom with a few other basketball players. Those guys can't take liquor very well."
Nearly immediately, Yohei left to look for the bathroom. Unfortunately, he was in such a hurry, he forgot to ask Uozumi where it was and got lost. Nothing looked familiar to him at all, and there was absolutely no one to ask directions. That is, until he saw someone at the corner.
"Oy!" yelled Yohei. The person stopped and turned around to see who was calling them. Yohei continued, "Do you know where the bathroom is? I'm looking for someone."
"Yes," the girl said. She smiled sweetly and added, "Go forward to the hall you were before, take a right instead of a left, and you keep going, and you eventually see the boy's bathroom. Don't worry you won't miss it."
"Thanks."
Yohei continued running.
*****
Hikoichi did not feel well at all. Ikegami told them that the drink was apple cider. He had no idea it was alcohol. He also thought that the guy next to him didn't notice, either. He was puking like crazy. Well, now he felt a little better, at least enough to get him back to the gym again. And so, he started off towards his destination, until he collided with a boy in a Shohoku uniform.
"Ow!" They both yelled.
"Sorry. Hey! Do you know where the bathroom is?" Yohei asked. Sadly, he had no idea who he just bumped into.
"Oh," said Hikoichi, getting out of his dazed state from the fall and the liquor. "It's right behind me."
"Thanks," Youhei replied, as he was about to go in. However, Hikoichi suddenly recognized that uniform somewhere.
"Hey wait a minute! You're from Shohoku High! What are you doing here? You're definitely not from the basketball team, although you look vaguely familiar."
"I'm just a fan," he replied. A thought suddenly came to him, "Hey, you're not Hikoichi are you?"
Hikoichi looked a bit shocked for the moment but replied, "Uhh, yes. Yes, I am. Why do you a-Mmmph!"
Hikoichi never finished his sentence, because Yohei responded to his answer like a bullet. He grabbed the Ryonan freshman while covering his mouth and dragged him into a conveniently empty classroom in front of where they were talking. Yohei shut the door immediately and turned to face the boy he had shoved on the floor. Hikoichi did not understand what was going on, nor did he want to stay where he was. In an instant, he was up and yelling back at his "kidnapper."
"Waaa! What are you doing, mister?! What are you planning?! I don't underst-Mmph!"
Yohei had once again covered the youth's mouth so he could explain himself.
"Shhh! Be quiet! I have to tell you something, but you have to be quiet!"
Hikoichi nodded and Yohei continued.
"I want to ask you help for something, but-Why don't I just start from the beginning. Listen, I don't want you to yell or freak out at anything I say. I want this to kept quiet. You hear?"
Hikoichi nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm a friend of Hanamichi. You know, Basketto Man, Sakuragi? Yeah, him. You probably recognized me cheering in one of the games. Anyway, something terrible happened. Hanamichi's dead. Somebody killed him, although the police keep on thinking that he killed himself. Those idi-"
Again, Yohei was greeted by more of Hikoichi's annoying voice.
"NANI~! Sakuragi-san is dead! How did it happen-I mean." Hikoichi stopped when he thought about how Yohei might have felt at the moment. A silence lingered in the room for the longest time, and Hikoichi wished for nothing more then the heartbreaking silence to stop. Finally, Yohei broke it.
"It's all right." Said Yohei, "Just let me finish. Anyways, he was killed in the gym late at night. It wasn't until early morning that the basketball team found him."
"But Yohei-san, why are you telling me this?"
Yohei took a deep breath and continued. "Kogure-san, the co-captain, told us when we went to school in the morning. We didn't say a word to each other at all. We avoided each other. I guess being together kept reminding us on who was missing. It was the loneliest day ever for me. After school, I went to Hanamichi's house to check up on his mother. She hardly seen him since she was always working because of the divorce. She gave me a notebook that told me everything. Written by Hanamichi himself. I could hardly believe it. It was a notebook on a promise we made about a year ago. I have to avenge Hanamichi and finish off his last requests. It wasn't suicide, this notebook proved that."
"That doesn't answer why you called me. It doesn't even explain how you know me!"
"I'm getting to that," replied Yohei as he took out the showed Hikoichi the notebook, "By the promise, I have to avenge Hanamichi, but I don't know who it is. I only thought of what I was going to do to the damned murderer, and how to catch him. Finding out who it was another story. That's where you come in. From this notebook, Hanamichi said that you were supposedly the best info-gatherer in Osaka. I want you to use your skills to help me find the bastard. Together, we will be able to find out who dun it. Will you do it?"
Hikoichi thought about it for a long time. If he were to get into this, there was no coming back. He might actually be risking his life. But then again, this could enforce justice on those wrongly murdered. Another thought raced in his head. What if they were after other basketball players, too? A long silence passed before Hikoichi gave his answer.
"I am," began Hikoichi, "very scared. Sakuragi-san wasn't exactly a normal guy, and I don't know what would happen if the person who killed him were to do with us if we were to find him out. I'm not even sure if I would do a good job."
Yohei's expression dismayed as Hikoichi's words struck his ears, but Hikoichi continued on.
"Nevertheless, I will still do it!" answered Hikoichi in a really loud, Genki-voice. Tears were formed into rivers on his face. The story touched him, and he couldn't do anything about it. It felt like he was doing his duty. He will do his very best.
Author End Notes: That turned out to be more of a sillier chapter. Don't worry! There is still much action, mystery, suspense, and all that other stuff you wanted (except romance) in here! (Well, maybe except killing off characters you don't like. Maybe.) Again, I say. I am taking requests on "punishments" to give the murder of Sakuragi. Anyone who wants to avenge Hana-kun, just review in your punishment, and I'll try my best to write it in the story at the end. Hopefully. Oh yeah, the whole "drunk Ryonan" thing actually will serve some kind of significant purpose to the plot. Don't ask how. Just wait. Thank you very much for reviewing and reading. I hope you enjoyed it so far!