"Hey Hanamichi, let's hang-out at the noodle restaurant." Mito approached Sakuragi.
"No, thanks. I still have to practice basketball so that I could be a bigger genius. Besides, Haruko will be watching. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Sakuragi bragged.
"Are you sure you are the one Haruko would be watching? Or is it Rukawa? Ha! Ha! Ha!" Takamiya teased back.
"Ah!!! You again big, fat pig!" Sakuragi chased Takamiya.
POINK. Akagi just punched Sakuragi on the head when he saw him chasing Takamiya.
"Sakuragi! Practice time already. No more time for foolishness." Akagi told Sakuragi.
Sakuragi couldn't do anything but to follow, be annoyed and leave Takamiya behind.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Bye Hanamichi. I'm sure Haruko would enjoy watching your practice because Rukawa is there. He! He! He!" Takamiya teased Sakuragi first before he left.
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Kogure was preparing for their practice in the gym. He was in the basketball team's room. Then he went out. When he opened the door and was about to get out of the room, he heard loud laughs of some students, of some first year students. They seemed to be so happy and that they were really so close to each other. Suddenly, something made his eyes glow. It was the same thing that always makes him stop -- Colline. But it also made him turn blue. It's because he saw her with those group of freshmen having so much fun, with four guys and a girl. All in all, they're six.
BLAG!!! Kogure's back fell down on the floor when Sakuragi passed him in entering the basketball team's room.
"Ei glasses bro, what are you doing there lying on the floor? This isn't the time for sleeping. Get up and go to practice." Sakuragi told Kogure briefly after he bumped him.
"Ah… thanks for the concern, Sakuragi." Kogure replied with his eyes spinning.
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You could hear the sound of the basketball players' shoes on the gym floor. They're having a practice game among themselves. Miyagi was dribbling the ball when he came face to face with Mitsui, so he passed it to Kogure. Kogure caught the ball that was passed to him. He was about to shoot when he heard a cheer from the gym door.
"Go vice cap!" It was a lively cheer from Colline that Kogure heard.
Kogure's ears enlarged and then looked to his right. He saw Colline waving her hand to him, smiling. He felt so much happiness and aimed for a perfect shot. And WOW! A three-point shot! The teammates of Kogure tapped him at the back and praised him for what he did. Kogure was so happy and looked again to the right to see the person that made him shoot that one. But this time, he wore a light frown on his face. It's because he saw her with those freshmen again she was with a while ago.
Akagi called for a break and tapped Kogure on the back. Kogure went to the side of the court and then Haruko came to him and praised him for the shot that he made.
"Nice Kogure. It was a good shot. It was like your shot in your fight with Ryonan. It was really good." Haruko told Kogure in a fast manner as if she wasn't breathing.
"Thanks Haruko." Kogure replied.
"Hey Haruko, did you see my play? My slam-dunk was even better, right? Ahahahahaha!!!" Sakuragi just suddenly interrupted.
"Oh yes Sakuragi. That was also a nice play." Haruko replied gladly.
Kogure was watching Colline and her friends. And then tried to ask Haruko.
"Ah, Haruko, is Colline really close with those people?" Kogure asked timidly.
"Colline? Oh yes! She is. Those with her are her closest friends. That's her gang.
The girl with her is Abby Myers. She's our classmate also. The guy behind her is her best friend, Jeff Yi."
"Best… friend?" Kogure repeated curiously.
"Yes. Best friend. The other guy with blonde hair is Leon Lee. The one whose hair has a line in the middle is Arch Ming. They're both in section two."
The guy beside Colline put his arm around Colline's neck and whispered something in her ears. Kogure turned red and stiff when he saw that. His eyes got round and big.
"And that guy who has his arm around Colline is Phil Salvu, section one also, her cousin." Haruko continued.
Kogure's ears enlarged when he heard Haruko's last words.
"Her… cousin?"
"Yes, her cousin." Haruko repeated.
Kogure was relieved after Haruko had cleared things up. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he saw Colline waving her hand again to him and it seemed that she was making him go there. Kogure went near them and stopped when Colline started talking.
"Hi vice cap. That was a nice shot. Ahmm… I was just wondering if we could do an interview with you and your teammates for our project. We should choose people to ask and the basketball team was the one we chose. Is that possible?" Colline asked him in a nice, charming way.
Kogure paused before making a reply.
"Ah, sure. I'll just ask our captain." Kogure answered, smiling.
Then, Phil Salvu, Colline's cousin, interrupted.
"So, you are the one whom Colline li…"
SLAP!!! Colline slapped the mouth of his cousin and started talking.
"Ei thanks. That would be so nice. Ah…we gotta go now. Nice play again. Bye."
Colline thanked Kogure and gave him a sweet smile and then pushed his cousin's back away from the gym.
Kogure smiled and closed his eyes as if he was in another world. Akagi suddenly tapped him at the back and he quickly turned to him.
"There's something with that girl, right?" Akagi asked Kogure like he was teasing him.
Kogure looked down and had been quiet.
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"Hey, why did you slap my mouth a while ago?" Phil asked Colline in a teasing way.
"How will I not slap you on the mouth when you are about to tell him…."
"Tell what? The truth? Guilty." Phil teased her.
"Ahhh!!! You know that it's true. You can't tell him."
"Hey guys, our little boyish girl is now turning into a lady. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Phil laughed.
"Why? I'm still the same old cool girl." Colline bragged.
"Well it's just fine lil' cous'. At least we know now that you're growing up. Because we thought that you'll never grow up and that Abby will just leave you behind. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Phil made a big laugh again at his cousin.
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It's kinda long now. But I hope you'll catch up with the next chapter to clear things up. He! He! He! $;p
--nopickup