part 08 - the tensai returns
"Okay, thanks for coming. Yeah, see you tomorrow." Miyagi grinned and waved towards the departing crowd in return for their formality.
They were standing outside the school gate with the dimly lit silhouette of the hall in the background, preparing to leave after a day of strenuous practice session.
"Hai, senpai! Ashita ne!" they exclaimed before pacing forward, engulfed by the increasing darkness at the other end of the street.
Miyagi turned back his attention towards the girl before him, casting admiring stare on her beautiful face which was framed by elegant dark ringlets. Her eyes glinted like stars under the dimly lit street as she darted them from the crowd towards him.
"Shall we? It's getting dark, and I don't want to be caught scampering along the Mikane junction without a light. You know how dark in can be in that area, ne?" she voiced out while shouldering a bag and eyeing her wristwatch.
Sheepishly he gestured for them to make a move.
As they walked along the road, suddenly she spoke with compressed excitement in her voice, trying to keep it low. "You saw that?"
He had to admit he was caught off guard, and it showed when he frowned an inquiry, "Saw what?" Miyagi coyly scanned the area with suspicious eyes, but still he could not find anything amusing to note.
Her steps dwindled as she took a glance back. "Just a moment ago before we left. Have you not notice it?"
He tried to rekindle the moments, and suddenly remembered something. "Oh...that!" He smiled a bit, his stare to the ground. "That's nothing new. Haven't we noticed it several times before?" he stressed.
Ayako smiled cheekily, "I know, but still, isn't it something to shout about? He has changed! And did you see the way he looked at her? There's something, all right."
He chuckled, shaking his head in the process. "And knowing him, I think it is better to leave things as it is, no need to make a fuss of it...ne, Aya-chan?"
She absorbed the thought, and slowly nodded. "You probably got a point there. I'm just a little carried away, I suppose. I mean, finally she's able to get his attention, and it was a long wait. But at first I didn't think they could get this far! Just look at it; their friendship even reflected positively on the way he played with the other team members!"
Ayako heaved in a breath, and added excitedly, "Not only that, but also I've noticed that sometimes they would walk back home together! Ryota, isn't that an indication that...well, something is in the air between them?"
Miyagi just shrugged his shoulders, but a smile was still playing on his lips. "Whatever it is, things should be left just between the two of them, okay? The last thing they need is another meddler."
Ayako pout, "Who are you calling a meddler? And who is the other one? It's you, I suppose?" she snickered, glancing at him now and then.
He shook his head while trying to contain his laughter. "No, my dear. Your curiousity and capacity to meddle is large enough that it could be split into two!"
She laughed out loud and whacked him at the backside with the bag. "You're so bad, do you know that?"
* * * *
Miyagi was left with a smile still eminent on his lips even after he had left her for the opposite bend. He had waited until she safely entered the house before finally turning away. The expression and happiness portrayed on her face accompanied him all the way home.
"I'm glad things turn out the way I hoped them to be. I'm happy to see her radiant with smile each time Rukawa turned her way. And also the look in his eyes...it's something soothing to note that it's no more cold and unyielding."
He rekindled her words, and admitted the truth. The change in Rukawa, from his perspective, also changed the way the others performed around him. Once intimidated with his aloofness, they ceased feeling that way towards him, ultimately the ease channeled a feel of comfort being with him.
Thoughts of Rukawa was left as it is when the facade of his house loomed into view. Miyagi quicken his steps as he saw the bulb of the front porch was alighted. Kaa-san must be downstairs, waiting for me...he thought.
Miyagi pocketed the set of keys and unlock the door to his simple abode. Once inside, he exclaimed his presence, "Tadaima!" and stepped out of his shoes. A pair of warm slippers awaits his tired feet.
He entered the living room and was greeted by his mother who was astutely ironing some clothes while having her views faithfully on the TV screen. It was at the time of the day where the stations would air their primetime dramas, and being an ardent fan, Mrs. Miyagi would never miss out on an episode.
"Okaeri...a little late today?" she replied, her tone somewhat intimidating.
"Gomen ne, kaa-san. Is dinner ready yet? I'm famished!" He cried out while patting his noisy stomach and peeked in the kitchen adjoining the dining room not far off.
Still with her eyes pasted on the screen, Mrs. Miyagi stated as if addressing it to a 5 years old son of hers. "Not until you have your bath, dear."
Miyagi grunted his disapproval and made a slow departure for the stairs. As he scaled the stairs with lazy steps, he was stopped in his tracks at his mother's voice once again.
He turned to look into the eyes of his middle aged mother. For a while she eventually stopped ironing and was having her attention to him, her brows brought together forming a deep frown.
"Ryota, there was a phone call from Hanamichi this afternoon. He wanted for you to call him back as soon as possible. It sounds urgent...by the way, he is the hospitalised player, isn't he?"
Miyagi was astounded and wore a similar frown on his face as the name came to his lips...Hanamichi?
* * * *
He sat quietly in the lobby, ramming both his hands in the pocket and trying to control his breathing. He was not nervous, for it was the last thing he would feel being in a place he was so used to, but he could not stand the smell of a hospital's.
Miyagi generalised that these hospitals have one kind of smell he could not tolerate. It smells like the whole hospital was doused in disinfectant, so it seemed, and that Sakuragi was not helping any further by being late.
He had returned the latter's phone call before dinner last night, and was made stunned when Sakuragi requested for him to come by and fetch him the next day. It wasn't expected, for Haruko had not mention a thing about Sakuragi coming home to neither him, nor Ayako.
Slowly he gasped for air while awaiting his appearance, now and then he would glance at his wristwatch and sighed ruefully.
Then the elevator sprang open and out came its passengers, and lastly, emerged the person he had been waiting for, his steps slow and seemingly slothful. He glanced around as if trying to find someone.
Instinctively Miyagi stood up, speechless with what meets his eyes.
"Hanamichi?"
As though able to hear his whisper, the mentioned person turned to his direction. An air of happiness adorned his face as he raised a hand and grinned from ear to ear, "Senpai!"
Without further delay, the red head took large strides and reached the astounded team captain in no time.
"Hisashiburi ne!"
Before he could realise it, Sakuragi was already hugging him. All he could do was to laugh out loud until finally Sakuragi let go of him. Subsequently the latter let out a laugh as he observed his face, and asked him, "Senpai, what is it with you? From the moment I came out of the elevator, you seems to be in a state of shock! Doushite?"
Miyagi said nothing, instead, his eyes scrutinised him from top to bottom. Finally he uttered slowly in disbelief, "Hanamichi...you've changed...and the hair! You've kept them longer!"
Again he studied the tall being, and noted things that were not known of him, physically. Apart from the slightly grown hair, he noticed the fine lines along Sakuragi's face, as if weather beaten, and also those visible at the corner of his eyes whenever he laugh.
Thinking again, he concluded that perhaps the lines were the testimony of the pain Sakuragi had to endure, and he felt sympathy for the younger one.
Delving deeper, he sensed there were other changes in him, but no words could well express his feelings at the time. He had changed beyond physical appearance. Miyagi knew that through time and pain, it was not the same Hanamichi he used to know standing before him.
The lanky first year player fingered his hair and combed it back in a slow manner while beaming smugly, "This one won't last long. Anyway, it's on the doctor's advice. She thought I look more irresistible."
Miyagi laughed again. "Terusawa-san even took care of your hair? That doctor is really something!" Then he added with a grin, "But it suits you."
"Nah...this length does," he retorted, indicating a measurement of less than an inch with his index and forefingers, "The red haired monk aka tensai will return soon!"
* * * *
The journey home from the bustling city of Yokohama was filled with laughter and updating each other's on the latest news. Miyagi learned that all is well with Hanamichi, and that for the next 2 weeks he could not strain his body too much in fear of a reoccurring pain on his back.
Hanamichi in return had been asking much about the team's well-being as well as inquiring more about Shohoku's upcoming schedule. He missed a lot of things back home, he said, and was eager to set his feet once again in Shohoku, and also to return to school.
After a hectic train ride and a long walk thereafter, they finally reached the Sakuragi's dwelling. The time indicates that lunch was just around the corner, and promising to see someone, Miyagi could not stay long.
"Well...if there's nothing left, I'll see you on Monday then?" he inquired before wanting to part.
"Hai, see you, senpai. And thanks for the trouble," Sakuragi acknowledge with a grin and then threw his vision behind his back. "Anyway, oka-san must have been wondering, so I'd better get in quick.
Miyagi apprehended with a slow nod, eyeing Sakuragi's face intently at the same time. "Okay then. If anything, ring me. Ja ne."
He turned around, but before he could go far, Sakuragi's voice halted him.
"Senpai, wait! I've missed out on something." He heard Sakuragi's hurrying steps and he looked back just as the former's figure neared him. "Haruko...how is she? I haven't been writing to her for the past month."
He looked back and found himself staring into Sakuragi's zealous eyes. He was made restless with such intensity in his gaze, and for him, it seems that words were lost at the sudden inquiry.
A tinge of sympathy for the red head before him clouded his sense and slowly, the remembrance of Ayako's words filled his mind,
"I know there is something between the two, and I can see it from the way they look into each other's eyes."
Miyagi contemplated...But how could I tell that to Sakuragi?
He knew he had not the courage, and the will to break his heart. Therefore, with a bitter smile, he stated softly, "She doing fine, don't worry."
With that, he waved a final time before leaving, the same bitter smile accompanying him and lingered in Sakuragi's mind.
He traced Miyagi's departing figure in silence, though his conscience wanted for him to inquire further. But upon seeing the captain's final expression, the urge died, and his perplexed mind tried to ascertain...was it a look of pity?