AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter 10 is up, you guys! Wow, it took me a long time to
upload another chapter. As always, review please. Comments and criticisms
are deeply appreciated.
GUIDES:
{...} - flashback
... - thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Same old, same old.
**************************************************************************** ***
Sakuragi tried to catch a few naps during the flight. But his sadness and anxiousness weren't helping in making him fall asleep.
The thought of meeting his grandmother left a queasy feeling in his stomach everytime. According to the stories Henry told him, his grandmother has a quick temper and a rather sharp tongue. But Henry assured him that she misses his grandson - that would be him, Sakuragi Hanamichi - and couldn't wait to see him after 16 long years. But that still didn't erase any lingering doubts on Sakuragi's mind.
What would he say to his grandmother he barely knew? He imagined a scenario in which they will just be staring into one another the whole time. His head hurts by just thinking about it.
And then, there was the incident earlier. Why didn't Haruko come? Weren't they friends?
{"To Sakuragi!" Ayako said, raising her punch glass high up in the air.
"TO SAKURAGI!" the Shohoku basketball team chorused. Sakuragi was actually blushing. He was surprised that his teammates would go this far for him. He looked around, grateful that they cared about him.
"Arigato, minna! The tensai is really happy! NYAHAHAHAHAH!"
"Do'aho....Just don't bring your stupidity to England. You'll be bringing shame to the Japanese people..." Rukawa said quietly.
"NANI!?! What did you say, kitsune! Hmph! The tensai forgave you just for now. If I know, you're just jealous. HAHAHAHAHAH"
"Do'aho...."
"TEME KITSUNE!"
"Maa maa, Sakuragi, Rukawa. You shouldn't fight, " Kogure tried to step in between the two hot-blooded teenagers. Kogure was enjoying his semestral break together with Akagi and Mitsui. The three decided to help in putting up a farewell party for the self-proclaimed tensai after they heard the news of Sakuragi's lineage.
After that slight disruption, the whole team proceeded to fill their stomachs with the sumptous foods prepared by Mitsui and Ayako.
"Hmmmmm, this cheesecake is really delicious Micchi! Wow, I didn't know you're a great cook! What, are you trying to find a wife?" Sakuragi said between mouthful of the cheesecake.
"First, stop calling me Micchi! Second, I'm too young to get married!"
"Wow, you're touchy. So who's the lucky girl?" the red-head continued.
Akagi immediately gave Sakuragi a whack on the head. "SAKURAGI HANAMICHI! WHEN WILL YOU EVER GROW UP?"
"Itai, Gori. That hurts. How can you do that to royalty?"
The former captain gave Sakuragi another whack before walking away. "Because I can do that to you and I don't give a damn even if you're the king of the whole universe,"
"Do'aho..." Rukawa said while slowly sipping his punch.
"GRRRRRR....." Sakuragi rubbed his sore head. He looked around and immediately became sad. Where is she? He looked around and waited for Haruko's arrival but it was in vain. Until the party ended, no Haruko came to bid him what might be a final goodbye between the two of them. Sakuragi left the court with a heavy heart.
"Hey, we'll be landing in a few minutes,"
Sakuragi opened his eyes and gazed at Kathleen's smiling face. He returned the smile and said, "Where's my mother?"
"Oh, she just talked to some clients on the phone. So, are you nervous or what?"
"A bit,"
"Don't be. Lady Sophia may be quite, well, a feisty lady. But she's a real softie," Kathleen assured Sakuragi.
"Thanks,"
"Hey, no prob. You'll love England. It's a wonderful country, believe me. And I'll be your tour guide. That is, if you want me to be your tour guide," the girl blushed towards the end of her speech. She cast her gaze downwards to avoid meeting Sakuragi's eyes.
"Why not?"
"REALLY!" Kathleen acclaimed, then composed herself, "I mean, that's great. We'll have some fun!" With a slight wave, she returned to her seat with a slight bounce on her step.
Sakuragi smiled at her retreating figure and closed his eyes once again.
After 30 minutes, he heard the pilot speaking over the PR system, "Please fasten your seat belt, we'll be landing in 5 minutes,"
Sakuragi put his seat belt around and prayed to whoever was up there to give him strength.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, below on the private airport, a grand woman was walking back and forth. She was well passed her 60's but her face still had that youthful glow. Her lofty stature was evident in the way she carried herself, even if she was a bit agitated.
"Madame, please compose yourself," Jane, one of the Duchess consort, said to the pacing lady.
"What is taking them so long?" Sophia said as she sat down on her chair. After 16 years, she would finally see her grandson.
"I'm sure they will be here any minute, my lady, "Jane replied.
"Very well...please get my glasses Jane. I wanted to see my grandson clearly," with a dignified air, Sophia sat regally and proceeded to wait for the arrival of the plane.
After a few minutes, the plane carrying Sakuragi, Yui, Henry, Kathleen and James touchdown at the airport.
"They're here, my lady. Here's your glasses," Jane gave the glasses to Sophia andr retreat immediately.
The Duchess put her glasses swiftly and smiled as she saw clearly the descending form of her grandson. "So very much like my Lance..." Sophia said to herself. "Come on, let's meet them," the Duchess said, her consort following behind her footsteps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakuragi's heart was thumping as he descended from the plane. The moment of truth has arrived.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Henry said,"Oh, look, here's mother to greet us. She's reckless as always, coming out here in the freezing cold," he finished with an amused chuckle.
Sakuragi just stood ther, gaping at the incoming figure of her grandmother.
"Well, come on. Don't just stand there. Is that how you greet your grandmother?" Sophia addressed him with a thick British accent, standing face to face with Sakuragi.
If there's any lingering doubt on Sakuragi's mind about him being a future duke and a relative of Sir Henry of Lancaster, it was completely erased now.
The woman, his grandmother, standing in front of him, has a head full of red hair.
GUIDES:
{...} - flashback
... - thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Same old, same old.
**************************************************************************** ***
Sakuragi tried to catch a few naps during the flight. But his sadness and anxiousness weren't helping in making him fall asleep.
The thought of meeting his grandmother left a queasy feeling in his stomach everytime. According to the stories Henry told him, his grandmother has a quick temper and a rather sharp tongue. But Henry assured him that she misses his grandson - that would be him, Sakuragi Hanamichi - and couldn't wait to see him after 16 long years. But that still didn't erase any lingering doubts on Sakuragi's mind.
What would he say to his grandmother he barely knew? He imagined a scenario in which they will just be staring into one another the whole time. His head hurts by just thinking about it.
And then, there was the incident earlier. Why didn't Haruko come? Weren't they friends?
{"To Sakuragi!" Ayako said, raising her punch glass high up in the air.
"TO SAKURAGI!" the Shohoku basketball team chorused. Sakuragi was actually blushing. He was surprised that his teammates would go this far for him. He looked around, grateful that they cared about him.
"Arigato, minna! The tensai is really happy! NYAHAHAHAHAH!"
"Do'aho....Just don't bring your stupidity to England. You'll be bringing shame to the Japanese people..." Rukawa said quietly.
"NANI!?! What did you say, kitsune! Hmph! The tensai forgave you just for now. If I know, you're just jealous. HAHAHAHAHAH"
"Do'aho...."
"TEME KITSUNE!"
"Maa maa, Sakuragi, Rukawa. You shouldn't fight, " Kogure tried to step in between the two hot-blooded teenagers. Kogure was enjoying his semestral break together with Akagi and Mitsui. The three decided to help in putting up a farewell party for the self-proclaimed tensai after they heard the news of Sakuragi's lineage.
After that slight disruption, the whole team proceeded to fill their stomachs with the sumptous foods prepared by Mitsui and Ayako.
"Hmmmmm, this cheesecake is really delicious Micchi! Wow, I didn't know you're a great cook! What, are you trying to find a wife?" Sakuragi said between mouthful of the cheesecake.
"First, stop calling me Micchi! Second, I'm too young to get married!"
"Wow, you're touchy. So who's the lucky girl?" the red-head continued.
Akagi immediately gave Sakuragi a whack on the head. "SAKURAGI HANAMICHI! WHEN WILL YOU EVER GROW UP?"
"Itai, Gori. That hurts. How can you do that to royalty?"
The former captain gave Sakuragi another whack before walking away. "Because I can do that to you and I don't give a damn even if you're the king of the whole universe,"
"Do'aho..." Rukawa said while slowly sipping his punch.
"GRRRRRR....." Sakuragi rubbed his sore head. He looked around and immediately became sad. Where is she? He looked around and waited for Haruko's arrival but it was in vain. Until the party ended, no Haruko came to bid him what might be a final goodbye between the two of them. Sakuragi left the court with a heavy heart.
"Hey, we'll be landing in a few minutes,"
Sakuragi opened his eyes and gazed at Kathleen's smiling face. He returned the smile and said, "Where's my mother?"
"Oh, she just talked to some clients on the phone. So, are you nervous or what?"
"A bit,"
"Don't be. Lady Sophia may be quite, well, a feisty lady. But she's a real softie," Kathleen assured Sakuragi.
"Thanks,"
"Hey, no prob. You'll love England. It's a wonderful country, believe me. And I'll be your tour guide. That is, if you want me to be your tour guide," the girl blushed towards the end of her speech. She cast her gaze downwards to avoid meeting Sakuragi's eyes.
"Why not?"
"REALLY!" Kathleen acclaimed, then composed herself, "I mean, that's great. We'll have some fun!" With a slight wave, she returned to her seat with a slight bounce on her step.
Sakuragi smiled at her retreating figure and closed his eyes once again.
After 30 minutes, he heard the pilot speaking over the PR system, "Please fasten your seat belt, we'll be landing in 5 minutes,"
Sakuragi put his seat belt around and prayed to whoever was up there to give him strength.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, below on the private airport, a grand woman was walking back and forth. She was well passed her 60's but her face still had that youthful glow. Her lofty stature was evident in the way she carried herself, even if she was a bit agitated.
"Madame, please compose yourself," Jane, one of the Duchess consort, said to the pacing lady.
"What is taking them so long?" Sophia said as she sat down on her chair. After 16 years, she would finally see her grandson.
"I'm sure they will be here any minute, my lady, "Jane replied.
"Very well...please get my glasses Jane. I wanted to see my grandson clearly," with a dignified air, Sophia sat regally and proceeded to wait for the arrival of the plane.
After a few minutes, the plane carrying Sakuragi, Yui, Henry, Kathleen and James touchdown at the airport.
"They're here, my lady. Here's your glasses," Jane gave the glasses to Sophia andr retreat immediately.
The Duchess put her glasses swiftly and smiled as she saw clearly the descending form of her grandson. "So very much like my Lance..." Sophia said to herself. "Come on, let's meet them," the Duchess said, her consort following behind her footsteps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakuragi's heart was thumping as he descended from the plane. The moment of truth has arrived.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Henry said,"Oh, look, here's mother to greet us. She's reckless as always, coming out here in the freezing cold," he finished with an amused chuckle.
Sakuragi just stood ther, gaping at the incoming figure of her grandmother.
"Well, come on. Don't just stand there. Is that how you greet your grandmother?" Sophia addressed him with a thick British accent, standing face to face with Sakuragi.
If there's any lingering doubt on Sakuragi's mind about him being a future duke and a relative of Sir Henry of Lancaster, it was completely erased now.
The woman, his grandmother, standing in front of him, has a head full of red hair.