SLAM DUNK: A PLAYER'S HEART
Chapter 11: The Reasons Why We Can't Be Together...
"Sacrifice not choices is the measure of true knowledge!"
Vanessa Arrha A. De Leon
She watched them in silent contempt. She too, had tears in her eyes, falling continuously although no one was there to brush it all away. Her knees felt weak on seeing her love's endearments to another, and yet she chose to stay, to watch them from afar.
A few minutes later, she walked away. Her knees felt weak and shaky and her lips trembled in the partial cold of the gradual emergence of dusk. She walked her way home in total silence, once in a while, wiping off the traces of tears on her face.
She reached home, almost drained and limping.
"Okasan, Otousan, I'm home!" she called after she got through the front door.
"Aww... Haruko-chan, dinner will be ready in a minute, get changed, okay?"
"Hai..." she whispered softly then went upstairs.
She got to her room in slow motion and afterwards, sank to her bed. She reached for her pillow and hugged it tightly as tears again began to trickle down her face. "Rukawa..." she murmured softly.
After a few minutes, her mother came knocking onto her door asking her to go down and eat but she remained in her bed. Her mother, after realizing that coaxing her won't work, decided to just let her rest.
"Rukawa-kun..." she whispered over and over, until she felt crying again. She laid on her bed quietly except for the few muffled sobs she made. Afterwards, because of exhaustion, she fell asleep.
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"Konnichiwa, Ha-ru-ko-chan!" Sakuragi greeted early that morning.
"Ohayou! Sakuragi-kun!" she greeted back.
They continued walking together, while Sakuragi blubbered things about basketball, the Inter High and many other stuff.
As they were about to cross a street, Haruko, accidentally tripped on an uneven road block, making her land on her knees. Her knees afterwards were bruised and scratched all over.
"Waahh! Haruko-chan! Daijobu?" Sakuragi blurted out as he ran to her side.
"It's alright Sakuragi-kun, it doesn't hurt that much!"
She stood up but was limping when she was taking a step. "Do you still want to go to school?"
"Uhmm..." Haruko insisted so Sakuragi just assisted her through the way.
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That day, Haruko was not herself. Avoiding her two pals and Sakuragi and not watching the training of the players. She rarely talked, but when she does, her face would flush and it would seem like she's going to cry.
After her afternoon class, she decided to walk around the campus by herself. After grabbing her things, she immediately went down and settled at the back of the gym.
But as she was heading there, she tripped "again" this time in a rather large rock that was placed near the flowers as a decoration.
"Itai!" she softly murmured as she knelt in agony on the yard's cool pathwalk.
"Daijobu?"
Her eyes widened at hearing the voice. She lifted her head up and saw a pair of uncaring, sapphire eyes looking at her.
"Ah...ah...ah...heha.." she tried to reply.
Rukawa stood, then assisted Haruko up.
Haruko's heart fluttered at the sensation his every touch was giving her. When she was finally all up and not limping anymore, she stayed glued to the ground while Rukawa started to walk away.
"Rukawa-kun..." she called out shakily.
Rukawa stopped then turned his head to look at her, although he did not say anything to her.
"Arigatou!"
Rukawa nodded then left. But as Haruko, finally came to her senses, she picked up her things then ran after him but stopped at a corner, when she found him talking to Ayako.
"Ran's at the hospital, she's there for her check-up!" she heard Ayako say.
Rukawa did not reply but sat beside Ayako. "Uhmm..."
The two sat in silence for awhile until Ayako spoke up again.
"You've changed, Rukawa..."
Rukawa nodded then looked up in the sky. "I don't know about that?"
"Yes! You have!"
Rukawa looked at Ayako questioningly, "I think it's because of Ran!"
Ayako answered in a soft voice, "I think so, too!" then added energetically, "Ikou, Rukawa, practice is starting!"
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"Sensei, am I going to be okay?" Ran asked worriedly after the doctor had came in with the result of the examination.
"Ran..."
"Am I going to die?"
She watched in misery, the way the doctor held her check-up results. His face was tightened in a scowl and his forehead was wrinkled into deep furrows.
She understood it at last, she finally spoke up in a hoarse voice, "Sensei, I'd rather go!"
She stepped out of the office, neglecting the doctor's objections. She walked faster as each heartbeat came across as lightning onto her frail body.
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She went outside in such a hurry that she did not notice someone in front of her. At the spur of the moment, she hit him, although she was the who one fell to the ground.
"Ran, are you okay?"
Ran's eyes widened at the mention of her name. She lifted her head and saw a familiar pair of green eyes.
"You looks like you've seen a ghost!" the "stranger" jokingly said.
Ran shakily stood up with his help. "What are you doing here, Eikawa?"
The pair of friendly green eyes instantly transformed into a glare, "To get you, Ran!" he said as he smiled slyly, immediately sending up shivers down her spine.
She shook her head to regain her sense, "Nani Yo, Eikawa! I'm fine here!" she replied, trying to act cheery and energetic.
"You are, but I'm not!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You ran away, Ran! You ran away from me!" the boy suddenly yelled out.
Ran was shaken from the sudden outburst that she backed up a few steps. The boy seeing Ran's surprised face, grinned and returned to his "normal" facet.
He sweeped his black hair back and let out an annoying, quite amused laugh. "It's okay, Ran! Don't be afraid!"
Ran let out a nervous laugh trying to hide her fear and surprise.
"By the way, my father had found a terrific doctor in Germany! He wants you to come with me to see him!" Eikawa said as he reached for and seized Ran's left arm.
Ran pushed away his advances, then replied, "Gomen, Eikawa! I'd rather stay here than waste my remaining time going to insignificant places..."
As she said this, she began to walk away. Hurriedly and in fast pace, she tried to ignore his calls and shouts to her until...
"I'll see you with Kaede-san tomorrow at Shohoku High!"
Ran's heart missed a beat. How did he know about Rukawa? She turned to look at Eikawa, but found no one.
-------TO BE CONTINUED;)-------