(Chapter 13: Cheerleader without the Pom-pom)
"I'm so excited, this is the first basketball game of the season!!" Yumi said excitedly as she and Kira tried to find their seat among the large crowd of people. "I've been wanting to see Mitsui, he's number fourteen, play for the longest time! Finally, all my waiting has paid off!"
"Yeah." Kira was trying to see her footing among the rows of people.
"Aren't you excited to see Rukawa play?"
"Uh huh."
"Hey! Rukiko! Syukehara! Over here!!" Kira raised her head and saw Mito, Sakuragi's closest friend, waving wildly at them from the front row. "OVER HERE!" He bellowed, as if fearing they couldn't hear him above the noisy crowd.
They finally made it through all the feet and arms and flopped down next to Mito and Sakuragi's three other closest friends, nicknamed "The Sakuragi Brigade."
"I can't believe I'm so excited to see Sakuragi play." One of them said. Another snickered.
"I remember last year, he could barely stay in the game, he was always fouling everybody." A pretty girl from beside Mito turned, her brows in a disapproving frown.
"Are you still making fun of him for that?" She asked hotly. "He's gotten a lot better and he's one of the most valuable players in the whole team."
"He would be, if Akagi wasn't still on the team." The third guy from the Sakuragi Brigade, a lightly more heavy-weighted guy put it. "Your brother is suppose to be in college, isn't he, Haruko?"
"Yes." Haruko nodded, her soft cinnamon colored hair swinging with her movement. "But Couch Anzai allowed him, Kogure, and Mitsui to continue playing on the team, even though they don't come to this school anymore."
Then, noticing Kira and Yumi for the first time, she held out a hand and said with a smile. "Hi, I'm Akagi Haruko."
"I'm Rukiko Kira, nice to meet you."
"I'm Yumiko." Yumi put in, flipping her hair dramatically, allowing the fragrance of her shampoo to intoxicate every males sitting around them.
"Look, there's Shohoku!!" She popped her gum, and pointed. Right after she said that, a plastic soda bottle was immediately thrust into their hands.
"Our cheering equipment." Mito explained as they turned their questioning gaze toward the boys, who were all waving their bottles. "We've been working on drinking them all summer. Now we've got more than Shoyo."
Rolling her eyes at their exaggeration, Haruko peered down at the players and waved cheerfully, calling at the same time, "Go, Shohoku!! Sakuragi, I'll be cheering for you!"
Kira noticed that Sakuragi's face turned as red as his hair as he stared up at the girl, with his mouth open and his eyes starry. It was a droll sight, but anyone with eyes could see who Sakuragi really cared for.
"Go Sakuragi!" Mito called down with a smirk. "We're all waiting for you to become a bench warmer!!"
"Shut up! What kind of a friend are you?!" Kira turned anxiously over to Yumi.
"I don't suppose there's going to be much people cheering for Rukawa, is there? He's usually so distant and rude to everyone. We'd better do a good job, Yumi, cheering for him, so he wouldn't feel left out." One of Sakuragi's friend heard and laughed aloud.
"Are you kidding?! Look over there!"
They turned toward the other side of the stadium, and found that ninety-percent of the girl population from Shohoku were there. And Kira was stunned to see the huge banner with Rukawa's name on it hanging below them.
"If we're the Sakuragi Brigade," Mito explained. "Then they're the Rukawa Cheerleading Brigade, made up of almost all the females that goes to Shohoku."
"You don't have to worry about Rukawa, girl." Yumi grasped Kira's arms. "Just help me cheer on Mitsui. Hey, there's Aiko! She can help us cheer for Mitsui. Aiko!!" She stood up and waved. The blonde spotted them and jogged over, flopping herself next to Yumi just as Shohoku's opposing team entered the gymnasium.
"Look, here comes the Ryonan players!" Haruko cried. "And there's Sendoh, as popular as ever." She added as the crowd deafened them with a cheering roar.
And the roar continued when Rukawa entered the court, when Sakuragi caught all rebounds, when Mitsui shot a three-pointer in his picture perfect posture, when Ryota Miyagi cleverly and nimbly slapped the ball away from another player, and when Akagi did his famous slam dunk. The crowd cheered all the way through. Even the Rukawa Cheerleading Brigade screamed loud enough to be heard in the other schools.
But simply cheering was not enough, for while Shohoku had gotten stronger, Ryonan was stronger than ever. The game soon ended with the score 93-91, Ryonan in lead.
"How could they have lost?" Kira asked, sitting very still, her voice no higher than a whisper. "I don't know much about sport or basketball, but wouldn't Shohoku have won from Sakuragi's last slam dunk?"
"No." Mito was grim. "Because it was a foul." His voice was disgusted. "I suspect he wouldn't be the most disappointed on the team."
"Who would it be then, Akagi? Mitsui?" Yumi wanted to know.
"No, they had already graduated, it doesn't matter to them whether they lose or not anymore." Haruko's lips quivered just a little as they watched the Shohoku player file into the locker room, drooped shoulders dejected.
"Miyagi tried hard too, during the second half, but though he was still playing strongly, he also knew that they were going to lose. He was prepared for it. Besides," Mito added. "He has Ayako to cheer him up."
"Sakuragi, then?"
"No. He doesn't get disappointed. He gets mad. But since he had a chance to slam dunk in front of Haruko, he is a winner at heart."
"It's Rukawa, Kira!" Aiko interrupted. "Haven't you seen? He was the one that kept the game going when they were loosing. He tried his hardest to bring their points back up, and knowing him, he thought they would. Too bad time ran out for him."
Kira looked confused. Yumi saw this and said consolingly,
"Don't worry, Kira. Rukawa's just disappointed that's all. Of course he would be. He has always been very confident in himself, and when he sets out to do something, he always succeeds. But this time…the odds were against him. He, Miyagi, and Sakuragi were the only ones that's truly motivated in this game."
"And you know how headstrong and ambitious he was." Mito shook his head. "To try for something and not succeed… That's not him at all."
Kira reverted her eyes toward the dejected back of the players, where Rukawa's did stand out.
"Oh!" She breathed softly. "Poor Rukawa…" Aiko snickered beside her.
"Maybe he lost on purpose." She put in deviously. "Maybe he wants something more than winning a game. Maybe he already has a price in mind. Go and comfort him, girl! If you know what I mean." She added under her breath. But Kira heard, and a surge of rage simmered through her. It took a great deal to arouse Kira from her good nature, but every girl has its own limitations, and Kira's had been reached.
"How dare you say that? I'm sick and tired of hearing people whisper behind their backs about Rukawa and I. And I know what they're saying. It is not true! How can you…you, Aiko! Bring that up when you know it isn't true!"
Kira looked so threatening that Aiko trembled before her, discovering that when the gentlest girl was roused, they were more impressive than any other dangerous creatures in the world, for even doves peck gallantly to defend their nests. Mito and the Sakuragi Brigade looked on nervously as Aiko stammered for a response.
"I-I'm sorry, Kira. I—" Yumi quickly cut in, fearing that if this continued, she could lose two of her dearest friends.
"Do go comfort Rukawa, Kira." She coaxed, allowing her sincerity to flow with her words. "I'm sure you're the only one he needs and wants right now, for he hasn't got anyone else but you"
"What can I do?" Asked Kira, looking ready, but ignorant how to begin.
"You've got the gift of love and sympathy and the rare ort of showing it without offending. Show him that you care and that it didn't matter if he didn't win the game for the team."
Kira found out soon that she was needed. For when she knocked as asked to go into the locker room, the door was swung open without a question, and she found herself in the thickest, most heavy atmosphere possible.
"I…" Among the group of half-dressed—but decent—boys, she found that it was hard to say anything. The heat radiating from the warm bodies and the smell of sweat was strong, but she ignored the masculine factors. "I watched the game." She finally said slowly, then hesitated. The boys slumped around the benches didn't look up.
"I-I don't know much about basketball, b-but I really liked the game." Her soft words were gauche, but no on in the room doubted the sincerity heard through her small lilting voice. She twisted then hem of her uniform between her fingers, trying to find the right words to say.
"I never was a sports person, but somehow, seeing the game made me wish I was in a team sport that trusted and depended on each other so well." Her voice was weak, but several basketball players looked up. "Piano players are mostly alone, because they need time to think and to compose themselves for the beauty and emotions of the music through their fingers, so I never had much friends in that area."
Kira felt encouraged as some of the boys nodded understandingly, and her voice grew stronger. "Watching you guys play basketball touched me, even though it was not a winning game, because I think an even more important part of being on a basketball team is learning to trust your teammates, to stick together through good and bad, to encourage each other, to develop a bond like no other. Isn't it true?" She looked at the young man closest to her, which happened to be Kiminobu Kogure. He smiled and nodded.
"I think you're right." He laid a hand on her shoulder lightly. "Even though we didn't win, we didn't lose either. The feel of winning disappears, but friends don't. And no one will ever have a relationship as strong as ours."
Inspired, most of the players grinned, and the as if the gray clouds just disappeared from above them, they realized that loosing a game isn't the end of the world. When they walk out of the locker room, that day, they'll have each other. They'll be a team, no matter what, and they'll face everything that come their way together.
"She's right, we're all winners!" One clapped his friend on the back.
"Remember when Sakuragi fouled Sendoh for the second time, that look on Sendoh's face was priceless!" Another piped up and they laughed.
"Shut up!" Sakuragi defended hotly. "I'm the genius of the whole team. You guys wouldn't have made it this far without me."
"We all have winning days and loosing days. I won't let this get me down." Miyagi threw his clothes on and set off to find Ayako.
"Are you off to find Aya-chan?" Someone teased. Miyagi stiffened and turned around, before proceeding to yell at that guy, and possibly, pummel him.
"We'll win the next game for sure!" Kogure called, before turning to Akagi to discuss the strategy for their next game.
Seeing that the atmosphere had lightened, Kira looked around for the one person she came for, Rukawa. But realized that he was nowhere to be seen.
Another young man who'd be eyeing her from the beginning with a respectful look in his eyes, apparently read her mind and spoke up, motioning toward the back of the room,
"Rukawa's in the back. He took this loss harder than any of us." He folded the jersey in his hands and Kira saw that the basketball jersey he held had the number fourteen on it.
Mitsui Hisashi! The guy that holds Yumi's heart within his grasp. But worrying more about Rukawa by himself than Yumi's new crush, Kira didn't say anything besides smile, and stepped quickly toward the back.
Rukawa's head and face was covered with a towel as he sat very still. His sweat, like great drops of blood, fell to the ground. Kira's heart lurched as she saw him.
"Rukawa…" She reached toward him. But he turned away, his muscle tense, saying quietly.
"Go away."
Wisely, Kira said nothing. But she sat down quietly next to him in a fashion that's so devoted and constant that Rukawa couldn't bear sending her away.
As for Kira, she resolved to stand ready to offer sympathy, if nothing more, whenever the confidential minute came. For the next fifteen minutes, she merely sat beside him, offering him her steady undying dedication and loyalty, humming softy to herself, crossing and uncrossed her ankles with feathery movements, and played with the long silky locks of her hair. Though she did nothing and said nothing, her quiet, earnest manners were so kind, so comfortable, that Rukawa felt its silent magic through her silence and grew more gentle in the quiet atmosphere of the twilight. Slowly, his heart made peace with itself and pulled the towel from his face.
He looked over at Kira, only to find that she'd been watching him all along with gentle, sympathetic eyes. And seeing in his friend's face something that had never been there before, he put his arm about her, and leaned his tired head against her shoulders, tucking himself under her chin, as if, when least expected, he found the consolation he most needed.
Mitsui, the only other person still in the room, had been watching their sweet little conduct. And as he watched Kira quietly stroking the sweaty strands of black hair with love from her every movement, he felt a stirring little tug on his heart.
Cold, rude, distant Rukawa, in his moment of weakness, had found somebody to lean on. Would he, Mitsui, the once wicked, ex-gangster, cruel fighter, ever have that chance?
The tall basketball player shouldered his bag and not wishing to interrupt the heartfelt scene behind him, soundlessly slipped out the door, where he soon got his answer.
Yumi turned toward him the moment his stepped out, a dash of blush sprinkled across her cheeks and nose. She walked toward him shyly.
"Hi, Mitsui." She looked up at him through long lashes, pushing a red tress of her hair nervously behind her ear. "Y-you played really well today. I like it. I-I really… I think I better go." With her face an embarrassing shade of red, Yumiko was just about to make her escape, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Wait." She turned and saw that the eyes of the stern-looking basketball player were wistful and grateful.
"Please," his voice was low. "May I walk you home?"
Rukawa stopped his bike in front of Kira's house and got off, giving her a hand while doing so. She turned around at the door and gave his a sisterly kiss on the forehead, saying heartily,
"It is a good game today, Rukawa. And no matter what you think or what people say, I'm proud of you and of who you are. Remember, I care, that's all it matters." Those words sounded familiar to Rukawa's ears as he had said those almost exact words when she was doubting herself.
And when they said good night, after looking at the twilight sky, he kissed her forehead. They stood under the starry, starry night, wrapped in the gentle whisper of the wind, his kiss resting like the sweetest soft petals on her skin.