A young boy stood in front of the Tsukamoto residence, seemingly nervous to ring the doorbell. His arm held a basketball to his waist as he contemplated pressing the button. Suddenly, the residence's door slid open, revealing a nun coming out of the premises.
"Yakumo, I'm off to do my church service. See ya later!" Sarah said as she put on her shoes for church.
As soon as she finished putting it on, she noticed the boy standing in front of the gate.
"Shuuji-kun is here too!" Sarah relayed.
The nun opened the gate for the boy and motioned him to set foot in the residence. It was the second time for the boy to visit Yakumo for the week, and now it seemed like he picked up a new hobby. At first, Sarah didn't know why the boy visits from time to time, but then she realized from the way he was acting around Yakumo. The boy liked her, yet Sarah knows that Yakumo is in love with someone else. A child like him possibly wouldn't understand the full concept of love yet, and so she just let him be. A child shouldn't experience the pain of love so soon into his life.
"Good morning, Shuuji-kun!" Sarah cheerfully greeted Shuuji.
"G-good morning, Sarah." The boy grumpily replied.
"You can go inside, Yakumo is just cleaning up."
As Shuuji stepped inside, he was greeted by the strong smell of curry. His eyes darted toward the kitchen, spotting his crush, Yakumo Tsukamoto.
"Good morning, Shuuji-kun. Have you eaten breakfast? Would you like some curry?" Yakumo said as she turned around to face the young boy.
"U-um… sure…" Shuuji shyly responded.
Yakumo smiled as she went to prepare his meal. Shuuji sat on the kotatsu, which has a stack of papers sitting on it. 'This is Yakumo's work stuff, huh?' Shuuji thought as he inspected her stuff. There was an odd-looking pen on top of the stack. It looked like a pen that is made of fishbone. The quality of the pen has obviously deteriorated, with cracks and small patches of tape covering it. 'Can this thing even write anymore? Maybe I should buy her another pen.' Shuuji thought.
"This is a weird looking pen you got here, Yakumo-san. Isn't your work going to get compromised if you continue to use this pen? Why won't you buy another one? I can buy you one, if you'd like." Shuuji offered.
Yakumo stopped what she was doing and stood still for a couple of seconds, her back still towards Shuuji.
"Ummm, Yakumo-san?"
"That pen…. was owned by someone I deeply care about. It's the only remembrance I have of that person, and that's why I haven't replaced it, nor will I ever consider replacing it." Yakumo finally answered.
Shuuji became flustered, knowing that his choice of words could have insulted Yakumo. He didn't know that it was that case. After all, what could a child know about love?
"I-I'm sorry Yakumo-san… I didn't know…" Shuuji apologized.
"It's okay Shuuji-kun, you couldn't possibly have known." Yakumo said with a soft smile.
"Did you recently take an interest in basketball, Shuuji-kun? I couldn't help but notice you brought a ball with you today." She said as she tried to divert the topic away from Harima.
"Yeah, I watched some basketball anime and it got me really pumped up. I thought that if I started now, I might become a really good player one day. That, and I kind of want to follow in my older brother's footsteps. There were rumors circling around that he was a basketball player back in high school." Shuuji told his story.
Hearing Shuuji's story made Yakumo recall the time when she was pushed into joining the Outlaw basketball team by her older sister. It was no surprise that Harima was also in the team, given that Tenma was the one rounding up the players for their battle with the high school's girls basketball team.
"You know, I also joined a basketball team when I was in high school, but all I really did was pass the ball to the open man." Yakumo said.
"Really?! That's so cool Yakumo-san! You gotta teach me how to play too!" Shuuji said in awe.
"E-eh?! Like I said, I only passed the ball to my teammates. I don't really know how to shoot the ball or dribble it past other guys…" Yakumo said.
The two spent the day talking about basketball, more specifically, Yakumo's experience in playing basketball. Yakumo didn't really take credit for all the greatness that came with being a member of the Outlaws basketball team. She shifted the success of the team from her teammates who were passionate in their own way. She described her teammates one by one, from her passionate little sister to the loud man from another class, and to the pervert who lost his shoes to the other team. When it came time to describe Harima, she was at a loss for words.
"My last teammate was someone really reliable. He was a rough character, and he always tries his best when he has the motivation. His determination is yet to be matched by somebody else. Even when he is surrounded by multiple misunderstandings, that doesn't stop him from doing what he wants." Yakumo said.
Shuuji noticed Yakumo's expression change from jolly when describing Tenma and her other teammates, to gloomy when describing this character. He wanted to confirm his thoughts directly.
"By any chance, did you like this person?" Shuuji bluntly asked Yakumo.
Yakumo was surprised that a child was able to deduce her feelings from just storytelling alone. Was she that transparent when talking about him that even a child can tell that she has pent up feelings for him? She was hurting inside, yet she still bottles up these feelings. She remembered the time she broke down in front of Sarah when the feeling of love was still new to her. It was the same reason she broke down then. For the longest time, she sacrificed her feelings for the sake of others, thinking that it was the right decision to make. But now, her overwhelming feelings for the one she loves was too much to bottle up. She can't take it anymore.
"Yes, I still like him – love him, in fact. He was the one that left me with this fish bone pen." Yakumo confessed as she grabbed the keepsake pen. Her tears started to well up, and she bowed her head, trying to hide her tears from Shuuji. Her attempt was futile however, as a single tear dripped to the table.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this Shuuji-kun… I just miss him very much." Yakumo said as she tried to get a hold of herself.
"Don't worry Yakumo-san, I'm here, I'll be the one to protect you!" Shuuji declared.
Shuuji doesn't want to see Yakumo hurt like this. It's all that man's fault! If that man had even at least one brain cell, he'd see how lucky he was as the receiver of such feelings from Yakumo. Who is this man? How did Yakumo even fell for him? Such thoughts made Shuuji angrier, but at the same time, the feeling of jealousy slowly took over.
"Thank you, Shuuji-kun." Yakumo smiled.
The streets of late-night Milwaukee were full of life and lights. Harima and Mackenzie were inside one of the café stores in downtown Milwaukee, doing some catching up and to formulate the next set of steps they need to do for Harima to be selected in the NBA draft.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. First tell me, how are you here in the first place?!" Harima slammed his hands on the café table as he shouted. He drew the attention of the entire café with this outburst.
"How ignorant can you be? I was an exchange student from Milwaukee when I first transferred Yagami High." Mackenzie explained.
"What? You were a foreigner this whole time?!" Harima said begrudgingly, as if he was betrayed this whole time.
`I heard rumors from 2-C back then, but his stupidity is something else…` Mackenzie facepalmed from Harima's slow wit.
"Anyways, now that we had time catching up, it's about time we take your basketball career a bit more serious." Mackenzie explained as he took off his sunglasses.
"Look out the window to your right, Harima."
Harima turned his head to his right, looking out the window of the café. Across the street, he saw an enormous stadium, with people flowing in and out by the minute. In front of the stadium there was a billboard hanging on top of the entrance. On it, there were 5 men with a serious look on their faces, along with the words – History in the Making.
"What about it?" Harima said as he looked back at Mackenzie.
"I'm not used to that kind of attention, if that's what you're implying." Harima said as he took a sip from his latte.
"Think about it Harima, not only will you get crazy rich, but your fame will also net you a ton of advantages. Companies will start to seek you for their ads, women all over America will fall head over heels for you. You can do basically whatever you want at that point." Mackenzie said as he tried to convince Harima.
'Women all over America…' Harima focused on this statement as he looked down at the latte he was holding. The paper cup had a large, well-built, dark-skinned young man with his arms crossed designed onto it. Beside him, his name was displayed along with his jersey number – Antetokounmpo, 34.
'I'm already having trouble with English words and names, but this? At this rate, my tongue will fall off on its own if I try to pronounce his name.' Harima thought, giving up on approaching how to pronounce the name of the athlete.
'What if Tenma-chan notices me when my face and name start being printed on things like these?' Harima pondered.
After an intense and close battle in an NBA game, Harima's team emerged victorious. His teammates cheered for him after he made the game-winning shot.
"Let's go, Harima!" "That's the way it's done" "You're the best!" his teammates shouted as they threw Harima up in the air.
As they let him down, he was approached by an exhausted Tenma, it looked as if she ran a great distance just to be there.
"T-Tenma-chan?! What are you doing here?!' Harima exclaimed.
"Well, while I was taking care of Karasuma-kun, I watched your game on TV…. It made me realize that I want to be with you instead, Harima-kun!" Tenma exclaimed as she pulled something out from her bag.
"Also, would you please sign this t-shirt I bought?" Tenma showed Harima her t-shirt.
It was a white t-shirt with a printed Harima posing on the front of the shirt with the words – 'I LOVE HARIMA' written across. Printed on the back was his last name, Harima, along with his jersey number, 30.
"If you don't mind me asking, why DID you pick 30 as your number, Harima-kun?" Tenma asked Harima, her eyes sparkling like the stars.
"You idiot… I picked 30 after November 30th, the most important day of my life, the day you were born." Harima whispered as he leaned towards Tenma for a kiss.
"Uh, Harima? You've been making that face for 10 minutes now. It's scaring the waiters and customers." Mackenzie waved at the drooling Harima, trying to get his attention.
The voice of Mackenzie was enough for Harima to snap out of his fantasy. Escaping from his trance, Harima wiped the drool from his face and shook his head, returning to reality.
"I've decided. Please help me get into the NBA." Harima said with a determined look on his face.
"That Samurai determination again, huh?" Mackenzie smiled. "I am honored, Samurai-san."
Shuuji is preparing to go back home from the Tsukamoto residence. Shuuji sat on the porch and put on his shoes and prepared to say goodbye to Yakumo.
"I'm off, Yakumo-san! Thank you for the curry!" Shuuji said as he waved goodbye to Yakumo.
"Thanks for all the stories of your team from back then, now I'm all pumped up. For sure, I'll surpass you guys, Yakumo-san! Count on it!" Shuuji declared.
"I'm glad, Shuuji-kun. I'll see you next time!" Yakumo said as she waved goodbye to Shuuji.
When Shuuji disappeared from the horizon, Yakumo went back inside the house. The smell of curry still lingered around the house as she saw the finished curry plate of Shuuji.
'Time to clean up' Yakumo thought. As she went to pick up the plate, she noticed something round in the corner of her eye. It was Shuuji's basketball rolling around, he forgot to bring home his basketball and now Iori has taken a liking to it. Iori meowed as if it was asking Yakumo to play.
"This ball is too big for you, Iori. You might get hurt if you get hit by this." Yakumo said as she picked up the ball.
"I'll buy you a cat's ball toy if you li-" Yakumo was cut off by something written on the ball. She inspected it once more to see if what she read was true, and as soon as she confirmed it, she dropped the ball in shock.
"Shuuji…. H-Harima?!" Yakumo repeated what was written on the ball. The full name of its owner is etched onto the rubber, and with it, the truth has been exposed to Yakumo.
"Shuuji-kun is Harima-san's little brother…?" Yakumo muttered out of her trembling breath. It hit her like a truck, all this time, she was entertaining someone related to Harima's blood. There was no other explanation… or was there? The boy might also be his son, she supposed.
'D-Don't be stupid, Yakumo! Harima-san would never…' Yakumo kicked herself as she dispelled the malignant thoughts from her mind. Of course, he wouldn't. She knew Harima too well to assume he was engaging in inappropriate acts.
Yakumo ran outside and tried to find Shuuji, she sprinted along the street which she saw Shuuji go, but to no avail. She consulted the local police station to see if they had seen a young boy, but many young children pass through their neighborhood, and Shuuji didn't really stand out much from a group of children. She finally gave up after asking around the neighborhood thrice.
She went home exhausted, still catching her breath as she opened the front door of their house. She was greeted by a frantic Sarah who looked worried, as if she was lost or something. She expected Yakumo to be there when she got home from Sunday service since she didn't text her about going out.
"Yakumo! Where have you been? I got worried as soon as I went home to an empty house!" Sarah exclaimed as she met her on the doorstep.
"I'm sorry Sarah, but I learned something that's very alarming and I wanted to investigate it right away. I was so surprised that I forgot to text you." Yakumo apologized.
"Well, are you going to share it with me? What did you learn that warrants this kind of reaction from you?" Sarah said as she tried to calm Yakumo down.
"Shuuji is Harima's son!" Yakumo exclaimed.
"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Sarah exclaimed, her shout almost rang throughout the whole street.
"A-Ah, I m-meant—"
"Wha-? How? When? With Whom?"
"N-No, Sarah, I meant that he's—"
"Damn that Harima for betraying you like this!"
The two continued to talk over each other and no one understood one another. The calm Yakumo tried to inform the enraged Sarah that she just misspoke, yet she couldn't find an opening to slide the thought into Sarah's mind. Yakumo remained silent as Sarah continued her outburst.
"Why aren't you saying anything Yakumo? Do you even know how serious this is? The man you love has betrayed you!" Sarah tried to instigate a reaction from Yakumo.
"Um… Sarah, I just misspoke. I meant that Shuuji-kun is Harima's little brother." Yakumo clarified.
"What? Now I don't know if I should believe you Yakumo. You say one thing at this moment and then say something else after. I need some proof Yakumo." Sarah demanded.
Yakumo handed Sarah the ball that Shuuji left them. Sarah palmed the ball and rotated it until she saw the writings on the other side – Shuuji Harima. Déjà vu struck as Sarah dropped the ball, the second time this day.
"We need to find Shuuji, now!" Sarah exclaimed as she turned to Yakumo, her eyes as wide as a hawk.
"I already tried, Sarah. But no one noticed where Shuuji went…" Yakumo responded.
"We shouldn't give up that easily! This is the love of your life we're talking about!" Sarah once again exclaimed.
Sarah's word affected Yakumo, if she was Harima, how far will she go to find the love of her life? Yakumo realized that Sarah was right, she should not have given up that easily. Harima would be disappointed with her if he saw her right now. Not to mention that Eri is going such great lengths, as far as to get a job as a flight attendant to get a clue where Harima went. She, on the other hand, is still at the comfort of her home, only with hope beside her.
"You're right, Sarah. I shouldn't have given up so easily. Where should we start to find him?" As if assimilating Harima's determination, Yakumo eyes showed a strong sense of seriousness.
"First, do you know who might be related to Shuuji?" Sarah asked as they scrambled for ideas.
"I don't know…" Yakumo delved into deep thought, trying to remember if there is someone related to Harima that they know of.
"Wait, Itoko-sensei is Harima-san's cousin, right? Then she is Shuuji's cousin too! We might learn something if we ask her." Yakumo said as a lightbulb lit on top of her head.
"Great idea Yakumo!" Sarah said as they prepared to go out.
Author's Note: Sorry, third chapter came late. I focused on my studies this past week, however I did manage to sneak in paragraphs of text in between each day of the week. Thank you for reading!