A Love Within Three Hearts
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk, and its original characters do not belong to me. It belongs to Inoue Takehiko. All the unoriginal characters in this fic are mine, though. What If?, A Fling and A Love Within Three Hearts is a trilogy. If you haven't read the other two stories, read those first
Chapter 9
Just as quietly as he opened the door, he exited the roof quietly, as not to disturb the two people hugging each other. Len walked away from the roof with a heavy heart.
"Congratulations, Rukawa Len -san for winning the Male Solo Category," shouted a reporter from the school's newsletter club. "Can you tell us how you feel?"
Len changed his sombre expression to a happy one. "I feel very happy about it. Although I didn't expect to win,"
"Now that you've won the contest, are you changing clubs?" asked the reporter.
"No, basketball is my love, and it will always be my love," Len answered.
"What about the girl you talked about, the one you dedicate your songs to. Can you tell us who she is?" asked the reporter.
"I'm sorry, I won't disclose her name. She's someone very dear to me, that's all, and I want to go home," Len answered.
There's no practice that afternoon because of the event (they have class in the morning), so, Len went to the auditorium changing room to take his clothes and cycled home.
*****
Home...
"I will always love you," he whispered to the framed photo of Hana.
"Young master Len, your otoosan requested you to join them for dinner," said the butler, who entered the room after a knock.
"Hai, I will be down as soon as possible," he said.
*****
A few minutes later...
"I'm sorry for being late, Otoosan," Len apologised to Mr. Rukawa.
"That's okay. Taka, where's Kaede?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"I've no idea, dad. He's supposed to come home a few minutes ago," answered Taka.
"Young master Taka, young Master Kaede wished to talk to you," said the butler, handing over the cordless phone.
"moshi moshi. Kaede. You couldn't come to dinner at home? Why?" Taka asked, on the phone. "Okay, I'll tell dad about it,"
"What is it?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Kaede's getting tutoring lessons from Hana. And Mrs. Sakuragi insisted that he stay for dinner," Taka explained.
"Mrs. Sakuragi would love to get the two to be together again," Mr. Rukawa sighed. "I'm in for it too,"
Len just listened to what his father wants to say. "Sakuragi-san may not own a factory or two, like us, but he's very talented in his profession, what's Hana's father doing again, Taka?"
"If I'm not mistaken, he's a shareholder in the company he works for. I don't know, father," Taka answered.
"And Hana's very beautiful, a perfect match for Kaede. Why do he broke up with her at the beginning?"
"I don't know, father," Taka answered again. Taka glanced at Len, who remained silent. Taka had listened to Kaede, and knew that Len's the one who helped and fell in love with Hana in U.S. Keisuke also told him the same thing when Taka asked about it.
"Are you in the same faculty as Keisuke?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"No, he took either pharmacy or medicine, I don't really remember. While I'm taking accounting," Taka answered. "We bond through badminton,"
"So, Len, what do you think about Shohoku and Japan so far? You already spend almost 3 months here," said Mr. Rukawa when he noticed that Len was unusually silent.
"Hmm, it's ok, I kinda enjoyed Shohoku. I just wished I could drive. It's weird not to have the lessons taught in English though," Len answered. "Except well, English grammar class and English oral class,"
"Have you get on with your teammates at the basketball team?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Why yes, just last match, Kaede and I did a combination play that startled Taoka-san, and then we did a triple combination play with Hana," answered Len.
After the third course...
"Otoosan, aniki, can I be excused? I want to catch up with my homeworks," Len said.
"Well, work comes first, I'll have Smithers send the remaining courses to your room," said Mr. Rukawa.
And Len went off to his room.
After that...
"Is it my imagination, Taka, or does Len admire Hana as well?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Nope, dad. Len does not admire Hana, he *loves* her," Taka answered.
"Nandato? How could that be?" asked Mr. Rukawa, obviously surprised that his twin sons are in love with the same girl.
"Well, remember when Kaede and Hana broke up?" asked Taka. Mr. Rukawa nodded. "Hana went to the U.S. to at least try forget Kaede, since she's not herself,"
"There's where she met Len, and Len picked up the pieces that Kaede had broken, and mended it," Taka continued. "They were a couple for a month before they broke up because Hana's going back here,"
"Why'd they broke up?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Hana doesn't want to burden Len if he falls in love with another. And vice versa," Taka explained. "Turned out Kaede couldn't forget Hana, and Len couldn't forget Hana as well,"
Mr. Rukawa sighed. "I do hope that I didn't hurt his feelings just now,"
"One of them has to be heartbroken. Hana has to choose. It's either Len or Kaede," Taka said.
*******
In Mr. Rukawa's bedroom...
Rukawa Ren walked towards the locked cabinet. He opened it and took out the contents. One of the contents was a nearly faded monochrome photograph of a beautiful Chinese woman.
"Mei Li Ann, our boys fell in love with the same girl. I don't want any of them to get hurt, Mei Li Ann. Help both Kaede and Len solve the problem because, I noticed Len and Kaede only talked to each other in front of me, during basketball practices, yes, I knew about it. And during tutoring," Mr. Rukawa said to the photograph. "I'll always love you, Mei Li Ann,"
And he placed the photograph back into the cabinet. Next, he took out another old monochrome photo. This one showed a handsome Japanese youth, getting married to a beautiful young, Chinese woman.
Somebody knocked on his door.
"Come in," Mr. Rukawa said, not bothering to place the old picture back. Taka walked in.
"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Taka.
"Nothing, just reminiscing the past. Years had passed without us noticing it. You are already 21 years old. I still remember the day when I picked you up in Hokkaido. Your grandparents were reluctant to give you back," Mr. Rukawa answered.
"This is Kaede and Len's mother?" asked Taka. Mr. Rukawa nodded. "She's beautiful, very beautiful, father,"
"I know, I was enthralled by her beauty that time," Mr. Rukawa replied.
"And this is you. You look like Kaede, except for your eyes. He has his mother's eyes," Taka said. "Father, is Kaede and Len's mother's hair reddish?"
Taka asked this because he noticed that Mei Li Ann's hair was shown to be greyish, which meant it's not blond, or it would be white, and it's not dark either, or it would be black, and so, he guessed it must be reddish.
"Yes, it is. She inherited it from her mother, who's Scottish American," Mr. Rukawa answered.
"Dad, if you see her closely, I think she looks like Hana!"
"Are you sure?" asked Mr. Rukawa and looked closely. "There are some resemblance, but no, she doesn't look like Hana,"
"I asked Keisuke once, where the Sakuragi siblings got their red hair. Keisuke explained that his father is half Canadian half Japanese, while his mom, half Scottish half Japanese," Taka said.
Mr. Rukawa nodded absentmindedly. "All of you inherited my black hair. But unfortunately none of you inherited my brown eyes. You have your mother's eyes, Taka,"
Taka smiled, his green eyes twinkling. Mr. Rukawa could see Taka's mother when he smiled like that, Oshin smiled the same way. "And your mother's smile, too bad we don't love each other, and didn't do anything to save the marriage,"
"It's not your fault, Otoosan. Even if you didn't get divorced that time, you could be divorced anytime. And, if you were still married to Okaasan, both Kaede and Len will cease to exist," Taka answered. "Both of you didn't love each other, it's already a broken marriage from the start. I wonder how in the world both of you got me,"
Hearing that, Mr. Rukawa smiled. "Your grandparents badly wanted a grandson. I fulfilled my duty to do so. I may not love Oshin, but I cared for her. Oshin didn't love me as well, and fell in love with your step-father, Tonomura. We parted in peace, and I gave the custody to Oshin because I went to New York just after our divorce. And met Mei Li Ann Adam,"
"Okaasan always told me not to refer Tonomura-san as otoosan, I only knew why after she died with Tonomura-san during the unexpected air-crash," Taka answered.
*****
At the Sakuragi's...
They waited for Keisuke to return home before having dinner, as Hana tutored Kaede in her room.
"Hana, Kaede, dinner!" shouted Keisuke.
"Hai!" Hana shouted. "Let's take a break first,"
"Arigatou. I'm bored looking at the book," Kaede admitted. "What do you think are on the menu?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Knowing mum, maybe something original that she whipped up," Hana answered. "Last two nights, she asked me to help her make sauced squids cooked using the microwave,"
******
At the dining table...
"Eat more, Kaede, you need it for basketball," Mrs. Sakuragi insisted.
"Arigatou, Mrs. Sakuragi, but I think I've had enough," Kaede answered weakly. He felt really full. Mrs. Sakuragi's cooking was great as always. "What's the recipe of this chicken? I'd love to have father's chef cook it for me sometime,"
"Kaede, if you ever want to eat it, you are always welcome over here," Mrs. Sakuragi answered instead. "Are you and Hana back together?"
Hana choked at her iced tea. Kaede choked at his water. But both answered, "Probably,"
Mrs. Sakuragi looked really pleased. She'd love to have Kaede as a son-in-law, and Hana knew that.
******
Hana's room...
"When will you make up your mind?" asked Kaede.
"Kaede, please," Hana answered. Kaede nodded.
"I will be here for you, Hana. Remember that, I love you," Kaede replied. Hana nodded.
*****
Rukawa Mansion - Len's Room
Len stood at the window. Kaede had not yet come home.
'Oh Hana, please make your decision,' Len wished.
End of Chapter 9 - Please read and review
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk, and its original characters do not belong to me. It belongs to Inoue Takehiko. All the unoriginal characters in this fic are mine, though. What If?, A Fling and A Love Within Three Hearts is a trilogy. If you haven't read the other two stories, read those first
Chapter 9
Just as quietly as he opened the door, he exited the roof quietly, as not to disturb the two people hugging each other. Len walked away from the roof with a heavy heart.
"Congratulations, Rukawa Len -san for winning the Male Solo Category," shouted a reporter from the school's newsletter club. "Can you tell us how you feel?"
Len changed his sombre expression to a happy one. "I feel very happy about it. Although I didn't expect to win,"
"Now that you've won the contest, are you changing clubs?" asked the reporter.
"No, basketball is my love, and it will always be my love," Len answered.
"What about the girl you talked about, the one you dedicate your songs to. Can you tell us who she is?" asked the reporter.
"I'm sorry, I won't disclose her name. She's someone very dear to me, that's all, and I want to go home," Len answered.
There's no practice that afternoon because of the event (they have class in the morning), so, Len went to the auditorium changing room to take his clothes and cycled home.
*****
Home...
"I will always love you," he whispered to the framed photo of Hana.
"Young master Len, your otoosan requested you to join them for dinner," said the butler, who entered the room after a knock.
"Hai, I will be down as soon as possible," he said.
*****
A few minutes later...
"I'm sorry for being late, Otoosan," Len apologised to Mr. Rukawa.
"That's okay. Taka, where's Kaede?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"I've no idea, dad. He's supposed to come home a few minutes ago," answered Taka.
"Young master Taka, young Master Kaede wished to talk to you," said the butler, handing over the cordless phone.
"moshi moshi. Kaede. You couldn't come to dinner at home? Why?" Taka asked, on the phone. "Okay, I'll tell dad about it,"
"What is it?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Kaede's getting tutoring lessons from Hana. And Mrs. Sakuragi insisted that he stay for dinner," Taka explained.
"Mrs. Sakuragi would love to get the two to be together again," Mr. Rukawa sighed. "I'm in for it too,"
Len just listened to what his father wants to say. "Sakuragi-san may not own a factory or two, like us, but he's very talented in his profession, what's Hana's father doing again, Taka?"
"If I'm not mistaken, he's a shareholder in the company he works for. I don't know, father," Taka answered.
"And Hana's very beautiful, a perfect match for Kaede. Why do he broke up with her at the beginning?"
"I don't know, father," Taka answered again. Taka glanced at Len, who remained silent. Taka had listened to Kaede, and knew that Len's the one who helped and fell in love with Hana in U.S. Keisuke also told him the same thing when Taka asked about it.
"Are you in the same faculty as Keisuke?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"No, he took either pharmacy or medicine, I don't really remember. While I'm taking accounting," Taka answered. "We bond through badminton,"
"So, Len, what do you think about Shohoku and Japan so far? You already spend almost 3 months here," said Mr. Rukawa when he noticed that Len was unusually silent.
"Hmm, it's ok, I kinda enjoyed Shohoku. I just wished I could drive. It's weird not to have the lessons taught in English though," Len answered. "Except well, English grammar class and English oral class,"
"Have you get on with your teammates at the basketball team?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Why yes, just last match, Kaede and I did a combination play that startled Taoka-san, and then we did a triple combination play with Hana," answered Len.
After the third course...
"Otoosan, aniki, can I be excused? I want to catch up with my homeworks," Len said.
"Well, work comes first, I'll have Smithers send the remaining courses to your room," said Mr. Rukawa.
And Len went off to his room.
After that...
"Is it my imagination, Taka, or does Len admire Hana as well?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Nope, dad. Len does not admire Hana, he *loves* her," Taka answered.
"Nandato? How could that be?" asked Mr. Rukawa, obviously surprised that his twin sons are in love with the same girl.
"Well, remember when Kaede and Hana broke up?" asked Taka. Mr. Rukawa nodded. "Hana went to the U.S. to at least try forget Kaede, since she's not herself,"
"There's where she met Len, and Len picked up the pieces that Kaede had broken, and mended it," Taka continued. "They were a couple for a month before they broke up because Hana's going back here,"
"Why'd they broke up?" asked Mr. Rukawa.
"Hana doesn't want to burden Len if he falls in love with another. And vice versa," Taka explained. "Turned out Kaede couldn't forget Hana, and Len couldn't forget Hana as well,"
Mr. Rukawa sighed. "I do hope that I didn't hurt his feelings just now,"
"One of them has to be heartbroken. Hana has to choose. It's either Len or Kaede," Taka said.
*******
In Mr. Rukawa's bedroom...
Rukawa Ren walked towards the locked cabinet. He opened it and took out the contents. One of the contents was a nearly faded monochrome photograph of a beautiful Chinese woman.
"Mei Li Ann, our boys fell in love with the same girl. I don't want any of them to get hurt, Mei Li Ann. Help both Kaede and Len solve the problem because, I noticed Len and Kaede only talked to each other in front of me, during basketball practices, yes, I knew about it. And during tutoring," Mr. Rukawa said to the photograph. "I'll always love you, Mei Li Ann,"
And he placed the photograph back into the cabinet. Next, he took out another old monochrome photo. This one showed a handsome Japanese youth, getting married to a beautiful young, Chinese woman.
Somebody knocked on his door.
"Come in," Mr. Rukawa said, not bothering to place the old picture back. Taka walked in.
"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Taka.
"Nothing, just reminiscing the past. Years had passed without us noticing it. You are already 21 years old. I still remember the day when I picked you up in Hokkaido. Your grandparents were reluctant to give you back," Mr. Rukawa answered.
"This is Kaede and Len's mother?" asked Taka. Mr. Rukawa nodded. "She's beautiful, very beautiful, father,"
"I know, I was enthralled by her beauty that time," Mr. Rukawa replied.
"And this is you. You look like Kaede, except for your eyes. He has his mother's eyes," Taka said. "Father, is Kaede and Len's mother's hair reddish?"
Taka asked this because he noticed that Mei Li Ann's hair was shown to be greyish, which meant it's not blond, or it would be white, and it's not dark either, or it would be black, and so, he guessed it must be reddish.
"Yes, it is. She inherited it from her mother, who's Scottish American," Mr. Rukawa answered.
"Dad, if you see her closely, I think she looks like Hana!"
"Are you sure?" asked Mr. Rukawa and looked closely. "There are some resemblance, but no, she doesn't look like Hana,"
"I asked Keisuke once, where the Sakuragi siblings got their red hair. Keisuke explained that his father is half Canadian half Japanese, while his mom, half Scottish half Japanese," Taka said.
Mr. Rukawa nodded absentmindedly. "All of you inherited my black hair. But unfortunately none of you inherited my brown eyes. You have your mother's eyes, Taka,"
Taka smiled, his green eyes twinkling. Mr. Rukawa could see Taka's mother when he smiled like that, Oshin smiled the same way. "And your mother's smile, too bad we don't love each other, and didn't do anything to save the marriage,"
"It's not your fault, Otoosan. Even if you didn't get divorced that time, you could be divorced anytime. And, if you were still married to Okaasan, both Kaede and Len will cease to exist," Taka answered. "Both of you didn't love each other, it's already a broken marriage from the start. I wonder how in the world both of you got me,"
Hearing that, Mr. Rukawa smiled. "Your grandparents badly wanted a grandson. I fulfilled my duty to do so. I may not love Oshin, but I cared for her. Oshin didn't love me as well, and fell in love with your step-father, Tonomura. We parted in peace, and I gave the custody to Oshin because I went to New York just after our divorce. And met Mei Li Ann Adam,"
"Okaasan always told me not to refer Tonomura-san as otoosan, I only knew why after she died with Tonomura-san during the unexpected air-crash," Taka answered.
*****
At the Sakuragi's...
They waited for Keisuke to return home before having dinner, as Hana tutored Kaede in her room.
"Hana, Kaede, dinner!" shouted Keisuke.
"Hai!" Hana shouted. "Let's take a break first,"
"Arigatou. I'm bored looking at the book," Kaede admitted. "What do you think are on the menu?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Knowing mum, maybe something original that she whipped up," Hana answered. "Last two nights, she asked me to help her make sauced squids cooked using the microwave,"
******
At the dining table...
"Eat more, Kaede, you need it for basketball," Mrs. Sakuragi insisted.
"Arigatou, Mrs. Sakuragi, but I think I've had enough," Kaede answered weakly. He felt really full. Mrs. Sakuragi's cooking was great as always. "What's the recipe of this chicken? I'd love to have father's chef cook it for me sometime,"
"Kaede, if you ever want to eat it, you are always welcome over here," Mrs. Sakuragi answered instead. "Are you and Hana back together?"
Hana choked at her iced tea. Kaede choked at his water. But both answered, "Probably,"
Mrs. Sakuragi looked really pleased. She'd love to have Kaede as a son-in-law, and Hana knew that.
******
Hana's room...
"When will you make up your mind?" asked Kaede.
"Kaede, please," Hana answered. Kaede nodded.
"I will be here for you, Hana. Remember that, I love you," Kaede replied. Hana nodded.
*****
Rukawa Mansion - Len's Room
Len stood at the window. Kaede had not yet come home.
'Oh Hana, please make your decision,' Len wished.
End of Chapter 9 - Please read and review