Disclaimer : Slam Dunk is owned by Takehiko Inoue.
Author's Note: I would like to thank all those who reviewed Christmas Gift. I am so touched.
I also would like to express my feelings about the tsunami that hit many parts of Asia. It was a sad event but by looking at it on the bright side, it made me realize that all is not lost. What happened brought out the best in all of us and we realized that we are not alone, that we are all connected. It made me think that humans are not hopeless after all, that underneath all the hatred and prejudice, we still have a heart.
Opo, ako po ay tubong Pinas, pero nasa Ohio, USA ngayon.
Since I am writing again, one of these days I am going to update Follow Your Dream and I Couldn't Ask For More, maybe after the holidays since I am writing RuHaru one-shots in time for the seasons. I just hope I won't get writer's block and my muse won't leave me again.
By the way, Shogatsu means New Year. Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimazu, minna! (Happy New Year, everyone!)
Shogatsu
He craned his neck to get a better view of the beach. Even though it was still dark at 4:45 in the morning, there were already a lot of people by the seashore. He is not really a traditional kind of guy. It's just that he got up so early so he thought he might as well go. School being off since Christmas Day, he had a lot of time for practicing basketball and sleeping. Probably, he already got too much sleep that when he woke up earlier, sleep wouldn't come anymore.
Yes, it is definitely that time of the year when people get to enjoy a three-day holiday and for most Japanese, the best way to start a New Year is to participate in the traditional viewing of the New Year's first sunrise. It is indeed a very special time. But the first day of the year has a different significance for Rukawa Kaede. He just turned a year older that day.
But who would remember a birthday that falls on the most important holiday in Japan? This is the culmination of an occasion which most everyone prepared for. Most people spent the past few days cleaning their houses, preparing food and paying their debts so that they could start a clean slate for the coming New Year. This is why on the first of the New Year everyone is laid back, full of joy and free of stress.
He walked through the crowd looking for a spot where he thought he could get a better view when he saw someone he thought he knew. Haruko Akagi. He almost did not recognize her. She looked very dainty in a kimono. It's the first time he'd seen her in one. Most of the time, she'd be wearing the school uniform. During basketball practice, he had seen her wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts. He looked at the people around her. Not one he thought was familiar. She must have felt that someone is looking at her because she looked at his direction. The girl waved at him and smiled.
He treaded lazily into her direction, walking tall in the middle of the crowd.
"Waiting for the sunrise, huh?" He said as soon as he came near her.
"Hai," she answered, looking up to him. Then she greeted. "Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! Rukawa-kun!"
"Hm. Same to you." He answered.
"Oh, and Happy birthday, too!" She added.
Rukawa's eyes grew wide. So somebody remembered.
"How did you know?" He inquired.
"Uh… well… I keep the profile of all the team members," she answered.
"I see."
"It must be cool to have one's birthday on a very significant holiday, ne, Rukawa-kun?"
Rukawa looked at the horizon where the ocean meets the glow of the coming sunrise, then answered, "No. Not really."
From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl in kimono smile. Her eyes glowed in happiness, just like everyone around them.
"It's so unusual to see you alone."
The girl smiled then explained. "Onii-chan is still asleep because he stayed up late with Kogure-sempai and Mitsui-sempai. Last night, I watched the countdown and fireworks with Matsui and Fujii."
"Hm. What about the do'a--- I mean Sakuragi?"
"Sakuragi-kun? I think he and his gang went out of town for New Year together. I heard they are going skiing somewhere."
"That's weird." Rukawa uttered as he looked at the crowd that gets bigger and bigger by the minute.
"Huh? What's weird, Rukawa-kun?"
"You. Being alone."
Haruko giggled. "If I may say something, Rukawa-kun. You're being weird too!"
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" He inquired.
"For some reason, you are talking a lot today."
Rukawa shrugged his shoulders. Doesn't he have any right to loosen up once in a while? It is his day, after all. Furthermore, he couldn't understand why Haruko would say such a thing since they have been talking to each other in school, most especially during basketball training. Not that they talk a lot but still, they do talk. Ever since she was appointed as assistant manageress for the team after the Inter-High games, he had come to know her. It is impossible not to.
For some reason though, he could barely get anywhere near her in school. He reckoned that Sakuragi Hanamichi liked her and is probably very jealous every time he would talk to her.
"Do you have anything special planned for the New Year or your Birthday, Rukawa-kun?" The girl standing beside him asked.
"Iie," he answered while scratching his head as if still trying to wake up, then he joined his hands and stretched his arms in front of him. "Can't really plan anything since I live alone," he answered matter-of-factly.
Haruko looked at him. Was it a look of surprise or pity in her eyes?
"Don't give me that look," Rukawa remarked.
"Um… gomen," Haruko apologized and looked away.
There he goes again. Maybe he is really a natural born snob. Sometimes he couldn't help it. He is still Rukawa after all. "My fault, shouldn't have snapped at you. What about you?"
The girl looked up to him before, "Oh me? I am going to the shrine after this."
Rukawa looked at her in amazement. At a time when Japanese traditions are slowly fading, here is a girl who is still very much into it. Wearing kimono, watching the sunrise and going to the shrine, who would have thought?
Ever her bubbly self, Haruko continued. "It's been like a tradition for me. Every year, I would come here and see the first sunrise, then go to the shrine!"
"Hm."
"Oh, it's there!" She exclaimed as she pointed to the partial glow.
As the sun slowly rose up at the horizon, some people in the crowd started taking pictures while some prayed for their wishes for the coming year.
"It's so pretty, ne?" She said to him, smiling.
"Hello!" A lady in her mid-thirties came up to Rukawa. "I am a photographer. Can I take a picture of you and your girlfriend?"
"Uh…" Rukawa looked at the girl beside him and saw that Haruko was blushing furiously.
Embarrassed, Haruko waved her hand in front her. "Oh, no, no! I am not his girlfriend. We are just school mates!"
"Really? That's nice," the photographer said while looking at the sunrise. "Do you know that in other cultures, it is believed that when you are with somebody on a New Year celebration, you will get to spend the whole year with that person?"
Rukawa faked a cough. Haruko on the other hand, felt like she simply wanted to disappear. Fortunately for her, the photographer noticed the odd situation.
"Oh I'm sorry." The lady photographer apologized and let out a giggle. "I just couldn't help it," she said with a smile. "You two look so good together."
Haruko timidly smiled at the lady photographer.
"Gomen nasai ne? And Happy New Year to both of you." The photographer said before she left.
"What's wrong?" He asked when he saw Haruko patting her cheeks to calm herself down. It didn't help too, that some of the people around them were staring and whispering, obviously beginning to recognize the goodlooking and popular basketball player. "Why are you so defensive? Let them think what they want to think," he added.
Rukawa jammed his hands on his pants pockets and headed to the nearest train station. When after a few steps he noticed that Haruko was not beside him, he turned around and saw that the girl was still in a state of catatonic. Rukawa shook his head and blew some air. Women!
"Oi! Are you going or not?" He called out.
"Uh… hai! Coming!" Haruko lifted the side of her kimono as she hurriedly walked towards him.
Rukawa started to walk again as soon as Haruko caught up with him, intentionally walking slowly thinking that Haruko, in her kimono would have a hard time trying to keep up with him.
"So… which shrine are we going?" He asked.
"Uh… w-we? Are you going too, Rukawa-kun?" The girl asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"Hm," The boy nodded slightly, making his bangs wave on his forehead. "Can't let my girlfriend go to the shrine alone, you know," he answered, still wearing a serious look on his face even though he was actually teasing her.
He could have sworn Haruko's jaw almost fell to the ground.
"Rukawa Kaede, stop it!"
Rukawa, being Rukawa, he wouldn't stop. Isn't he known for provoking and taunting his team mates? As Haruko's face started to turn pink again, he on the other hand, was enjoying every minute of it.
He chuckled. "You know, it's not a bad idea," he said as they climb up the stairs leading to the train stop.
"No!" Haruko protested.
"See? Even you agree," he said as they stopped to wait for the train.
"Nani?" Haruko asked in panic, lost in their conversation.
"Stop pretending, Haruko. I know you like me," Rukawa said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Rukawa Kaede knew he just hit a nerve. Why, that deep shade of red on Haruko Akagi's face cannot lie. He looked up and found that for some reason, the sky looked bluer than usual. A feeling of excitement is brewing inside of him that he felt like he wanted to soar in the air and dunk a ball. Somehow, something is telling him that the best of the year is yet to come.