Chapter 11: Stratagem
There were moments when Mizuki felt really thankful that Sakuragi became her friend. It is true that the two of them started on the wrong foot, but those misunderstandings are all in the past. Despite the redhead's reputation of being a delinquent, there is no denying the fact that he is fiercely loyal to his friends. Sure, he can be a total pain in the ass most of the time, but when one of his buddies gets into trouble, expect him to be in the front line of the battle.
But that's not the reason she's feeling grateful for his camaraderie. At present, there's no flying fists and broken nose involved. Right now, there are only peals of laughter and hilarious antics.
Together with Sakuragi and Takamiya, the three of them took shelter offered by the massive cherry blossom tree located at the far corner of the school ground. Sitting cross-legged on the grass covered earth; Mizuki laughed her heart out as she listened to the redhead's amusing recap of what occurred during the audition for the role of prince charming. Truthfully, she didn't quite understand what he's talking about as he keep giggling during the entire duration of his storytelling. But as they say, laughter is contagious, so she and Takamiya couldn't help but join him in his giggle fest. Students, who were already familiar with Sakuragi and his crazy attitude, as well as his equally demented friends, chose to simply ignore the laughing trio.
"Stop! My tummy can't handle all this laughing anymore." Takamiya begged as he removed his glasses to wipe the tears coursing down his cheeks.
"I don't even know why we are laughing in the first place. I can barely understand what you are saying." Mizuki said, her face slightly flushed from all the giggling.
"Will you two dummies try listening for once." The redhead reprimanded his friends with a playful tone. "As I was saying, me and Ohkusu were so tired of Noma bragging about how the power of his mustache will land him the male lead, so what blondie and I did - *laugh* oh man- you should have seen - *laugh* I can't even -" Once again, Sakuragi's words were garbled as he went into another fit of giggles.
Lips twitching in amusement, Mizuki and Takamiya were unable to resist the bubble of laughter that threatened to spill from their mouths, and not too long, the two were seen clutching their stomachs in uncontrollable amusement.
'Yep. We are such a happy bunch.' Mizuki thought, not the least bit annoyed that she never gets to hear the whole story from her dummy of a friend.
Which brings Mizuki back to her previous reflection about how grateful she was for the redhead's friendship. Amidst all the drama surrounding her life, it was Sakuragi that always pulled him out from the dark alley she's currently trapped in. He was her constant. The one person she can rely to make her forget her problems.
She knew Sakuragi was aware that she and her cousin, Mito, got into an argument. She didn't ask him to elaborate further on what he knows about their fight. When he and Takamiya went to accompany her during mid-morning recess, she tried to persuade them to go with Mito and the others, immediately feeling guilty that their usually tight knit group was now divided into two, and it's all because of her. Her red head friend just shrugged and quipped that he's getting bored of Mito's company.
It's not that she's extremely angry at her cousin. A bit disappointed maybe, and hurt that he's keeping things from her. She didn't exactly like the accusing tone on his voice when he mentioned the bruises on Ohara's arms. She should have explained to him that the girl provoked her, which made her channel her inner-Sakuragi. But no, she was not able to explain to him what really happened; instead, her mind went haywire and ended up with verbal insults.
She was not entirely certain whether Ohara heard all about the accident from Mito or if she's the mysterious muffin provider, but she was sure that he's not entirely being truthful. And his refusal to give in to her demand to let her see the contents in his pockets only strengthen her allegation of him that he still had not given up smoking. He made an oath to her and his mom that he will stop smoking, and he broke that promise. And that is something she's not ready to accept.
xxxxx
Mizuki covered her mouth as she let out a huge yawn, tears springing from her eyes as she doodled aimlessly on her notebook in an attempt to wake her senses. She was not one to fall asleep during class, and she's mustering all her will power so that she will not be consumed by drowsiness. She doodled, bit her knuckles, slapped her cheeks, pulled her eyebrows, but all of her efforts to keep herself awake are deemed futile as she cannot prevent her eyelids from drooping. And the monotonous voice of their teacher and the gloomy weather outside were making things worse for her. She let out another yawn, her 25th yawn - not that she's counting, and stared blankly at the blackboard, her eyes glazing over.
Thankfully, after long torturous hours, free period has finally arrived. Mizuki was fully intent on spending that free time on taking a power nap. As the rest of the class busied themselves with all kinds of student activities, Mizuki buried her head in her arms on the table, not caring that her posture is the exact replica of the sleeping guy situated behind her.
It had been almost four days since her fight with Mito, and the two of them are still not on speaking terms. Well, they did talk to each other, if you consider answering in a one word reply a conversation. Things are awkward between them and she wondered if everything will be back to normal. She was glad for the part time work, not only does the job helps her with her financial burden, but it also serves as a distraction amidst the chaos surrounding her life. The only downside was that all those hours spend working was draining all of her energy. Not to mention that the gargantuan son of her boss was such a slave driver. 'Boss Monkey.' She thought bitterly before drifting to sleep.
But it seems that she can never get the rest she desired, as her siesta was rudely interrupted by Takamiya.
"Hey, Mizuki-chan." Called the portly guy, poking her on the shoulder. She stirred a bit but did not wake. "Mizuki-chan, yoohoo!" Takamiya called her name again, slightly louder this time.
Mizuki, whose head was still buried in her arms on the desk, immediately recognized the voice of the inconsiderate person and asked in an annoyed tone. "What do you want, Nozomi?"
"Well..." He faltered for a second then continued. "You wanna go to the canteen to buy some snacks?"
"No." She replied quickly, wishing he would just leave her alone. Now she knows what Rukawa feels when his sleep was disrupted.
A frown formed on her lips when she heard Takamiya's voice again. "The thing is…" She heard him say and his next remark popped up a few veins at the back of her head. "I was hoping you could let me borrow some cash?"
'Seriously?'
Mizuki look over her shoulder and cracking one eye open, she hissed at him. "Are you kidding me?"
"Nope." He answered, popping the p.
'Unbelievable'. She thought. Here she was slaving herself away so she could be a lesser burden to her aunt and uncle and Takamiya actually had the gall to borrow money from her so just he could satisfy that bottomless stomach of his. Talk about insensitive.
"Haven't you eaten enough already?" She just saw him devoured an enormous size of burger during history class. And that was only a few minutes ago.
Takamiya simply shrugged and pat his massive belly. "You know me, I'm a growing boy. Besides, there's always room for more."
Mizuki straightened up in her seat and regarded the bespectacled boy sitting across from her with undisguised irritation. She knew she was being cranky, but she'd spent an entire evening scrubbing floors and washing dishes and she had to stay up very late to prepare for the exam, which was being given the next day. She didn't know whether to be grateful or frustrated when the teacher decided to be generous when he postponed the quiz.
Noticing the dark circles under the short-haired girl's eyes, Takamiya couldn't keep his big mouth shut as he exclaimed, "Whoa!You look like a freaking zombie!"
'Great. Maybe I should add that to my list of growing problems.' She thought sardonically.
Ignoring the bulky guy's frank observation, Mizuki stretched her arms over her head to knock the kinks out. Smothering a yawn, she asked, "Where's the rest of the henchmen?" She briefly wondered why the boy with the insatiable appetite had preferred to bug her into borrowing money when it's no secret that Yuji Ohkosu was the most affluent among the group.
Takamiya didn't need to answer her spoken query as her attention turned in front of the class, and instantly noticed two familiar figures huddled at the blackboard. Curiosity filled her and she strained her neck to get a better view and what she saw written on the board had her almost falling from her seat.
What the heck?!" She cried out, all thoughts of drowsiness vanished at once.
Chuichirou Noma, looking much younger now that he is moustache free, (courtesy of a certain redhead) paused dramatically, the chalk suspended in mid-air. He slowly turned around and saw a visibly red Mizuki glowering in anger. "Oopps." He drawled, not sounding the least bit sorry. "Looks like she caught us."
The blonde guy standing beside him seems unfazed by Noma's revelation and silently continued with his artwork.
She rushed towards the front of the room and elbowed the two guys away from the blackboard so she could erase her and Rukawa's name enclosed in a large heart shape.
'What is wrong with these people?' She thought angrily as she hastily wiped the board. First, Takamiya woke her up so he can borrow cash from her when he's very much aware that she's totally broke, and then she discovered what these two idiots had drawn on the board.
'Was annoying the hell out of me their ultimate goal in life?'
When she had finally made sure the board was spotless, she whipped her head around to glare at the two mischief-makers, who didn't even flinched from her poisonous stare.
Their nonchalant attitude made her blood boil even more. Noma was leaning casually on the wall and picking his nails while Ohkusu pulled out a manga from his back pocket and began reading.
Mizuki took a deep breath and exhaled, in an effort to calm her frazzled nerves. It wouldn't do her any good if she lost her temper now because it could drain her out of what little was left of her energy. She let out a tired sigh before marching back to her seat to do something useful with her free time.
But for some reason she couldn't fathom, the two seems hell bent on aggravating her.
"Wait," Ohkusu said. "Aren't you going to chase us so you could beat us up?"
Mizuki glared heatedly at the blonde haired boy. However, she remained silent, refusing to take the bait. She shifted her attention to her biology book and busied herself with reading. Deep inside, her mind was in turmoil.
'Do they honestly think I'm that violent?'
"Awww,you're no fun." Ohkusu grumbled when he wasn't able to get a rise out of her.
Mizuki flipped through the pages of her book, pretending to be engrossed with the topic of evolution. When she didn't hear any more teasing from the two, she smiled secretly to herself. She will not fall victim to whatever scheme they were planning. Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, Ohkusu and Noma managed to come up with a new tactic.
And this time, the pair succeeded in getting her all riled up.
"Zuki and Kaede sitting on a tree," The troublesome duo chimed in a singsong voice.
'That's it. They are so dead.'
"K-I-S-" They weren't able to finish their childish teasing as Mizuki quickly lunged from her seat. The two guys took off with her running after them.
"Come back here, you bunch of cowards!" She yelled as she chased them along the corridor.
Ohkusu and Noma, who had goofy grins on their faces minutes ago, were now sweating profusely as they tried their best to avoid being caught.
Who would have thought she could run so fast?
Just when they thought that their fate were doomed, they spotted Mito on the opposite side of the corridor.
Mizuki skidded to a halt when she saw her cousin walking with his head down as if in deep thought.
"Mito, my friend!"
The raven haired boy raised his head up when he heard Noma's extremely winded voice. "Yo." He greeted and lifted his hand to give a small wave.
The two gruellingly approached Mito and positioned themselves between him. "Oh boy, I am so glad to see you." Ohkusu said, panting heavily.
Noma bent forward and rested his hands on his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath.
"Whoa." Mito let out a laugh when he saw his friends' current condition. "What in the world happened to both of you?" He asked with a grin.
Noma straightened from his crouched position and eyed him warily. "We're supposed to meet you in the cafeteria." He demanded a little breathlessly.
Mito seemed confused as he tilted his head to one side. "Huh? Says who?"
Ohkusu and Noma slapped their hands on their forehead at the same time. Expect that redhead to forget and screw their plans. He probably got distracted by Haruko. Again.
Any response that Mito's about to say got stuck in his throat when he caught sight of Mizuki standing several feet before him, looking so lost and awkward as she fidget with the hem of her blazer.
The abrupt silence caused the other two boys to turn their gaze to her as well.
"Hey." Mito spoke first in an effort to break the ice.
She glanced briefly at him, before dropping her eyes once more to her twiddling fingers. "Hey." She replied quietly, unsure of what else to say.
An uncomfortable silence ensues. After a moment, Ohkusu and Noma both shake their heads in disappointment.
"Gee," Ohkusu muttered under his breath. "This is awkward."
Noma clucked his tongue impatiently. "Will you two just talk already?"
Mito shot him a stern glare which prompts Noma to hold his hands out in surrender. Ohkusu followed suit and then made a gesture of zipping his mouth.
Convinced that he wouldn't be hearing any sort of comments from the pair, Mito tentatively took a step towards her.
Mizuki remained rooted in place, still fiddling with the edge of her blazer.
When he was within a short distance from her, he asked in a hushed tone. "You okay?"
Slowly, she nodded.
"You tell me if those two buffoons are bothering you, alright?" He added as an afterthought while pointing to the two guys behind him.
She made no response, so he continued. "Listen, about what ha-"
His words were cut off by a squeaky male voice. "Ah! There you are, Yohei-chan."
All four of them turned to look at the diminutive student who was walking at a brisk pace in their direction. Positioning himself between Mizuki and Mito, and facing the former, the meddler began asking her a barrage of questions about the article.
Ohkusu and Noma were quite surprised and at the same time miffed by the rude behaviour of this particular student. How dare he just barged in and interrupt a conversation?
Temper flaring, Noma barked at the intruder. "Oi, short stuff! Can't you see that she's busy?"
The student ceased talking, and shifted his attention to glower at Noma. "Excuse me," He said, crossing his arms indignantly. "Are you talking to me?"
Rolling his eyes, Ohkusu added scathingly. "Duh?" Do you see any midgets around here besides yourself?"
"Guys, that's enough." Mizuki said in an almost scolding manner. She then mumbled her apology to the petite guy. "Sorry about that, Iwata-senpai."
The school newspaper's Editor-in-chief turned to look at her, and in an incredulous tone, he asked, "You know those rascals?"
Mizuki let out a sigh as she answered, "Unfortunately." Her response garnered a throng of protests from the two hooligans.
Iwata clucked his tongue in disapproval on her choice of friends. "You need to teach them some manners, Yohei-chan. Such rude fellows."
Noma and Ohkusu were about to pummel the small guy for his remark, if not for Mito restraining their actions.
Dragging the pair away from Mizuki, Mito offered her a small smile as he said, "We'll just talk some other time, Mizu."
Mizuki simply nodded her head in response and watched the three of them walked away. She frowned and mentally slapped herself for acting so stupid. Her cousin was making an effort to reconcile with her and she just stood there saying nothing. She let out a loud sigh.
The irksome high-pitched voice of Iwata-senpai disrupted her pity party. Again, he bombarded her with inquisitions about the update on the Rukawa article. The discussion consumed the rest of her free period and Mizuki felt more exhausted than ever.
As she made her way back to the classroom, her eyes strayed to the students lingering in the corridor. A familiar looking boy with a bowl haircut managed to catch her attention. The said boy was engaged in a heavy discussion with his classmates that he didn't notice Mizuki's gaze.
A plan began to formulate in her head. She knew it was a low blow on her part, but she's running out of time. She wants this interview done with so she can have Iwata-senpai off her back.
Giving the boy one final glance, Mizuki was pretty sure that this will not be the last time that she would be seeing him. After all, she was planning on giving her new found friends a visit as soon as class ended.
xxxxx
A trio of boys, all wearing tight spandex pants, were chatting animatedly as they headed towards the field for practice. They were discussing various strategies necessary to get to the national tournament.
It was the boy with the funny haircut who saw her first. Immediately, he stilled and his face paled as if all blood were drained from his body. His two companions noticed his discomfort and asked him what's wrong, and the oldest of the three even commented that the stunned boy acted like he'd seen a ghost. Laughing at his own joke, he patted his underclassman's shoulder and advised him to lay off the coffee for a while. His mirthful face suddenly morphed into a mask of horror when he finally discovered the reason for his kohai's abrupt change in demeanor.
Leaning back against the chain-link fence was second year student Yohei Mizuki; the girl with whom the senior student recently had an altercation that leave both of them unconscious. That incident in the garden was something he wants to forget; as he utterly made a fool out of himself by passing out. Worst of all, it was not only his teammates who had witnessed that embarrassing spectacle but also his beloved Ohara-chan. He let out an audible gulp when the short haired girl drew closer and he resisted the urge to run away.
"Hello boys, long time no see." Although Mizuki greeted them with a friendly smile, the three guys remained stiff and frozen to the spot.
"Awww, why so serious?" She said in a teasing tone, secretly pleased to see their petrified faces. After all, instilling fear is necessary in order for her plan to work.
"Anyway, about what happened last time-"
What they did next caught her off guard. She wasn't able to finish her sentence as the three boys started kneeling in front of her. "Please forgive us, Yohei-san!" They cried out in unison, bowing with their foreheads rested on the ground.
"Ummm, guys….Geez, please stand up." She pleaded to them, clearly uncomfortable with their behavior. She saw some students looking their way with a curious expression written on their faces. "Come on,guys. This is so embarrassing." She said with a hint of panic in her voice.
But it appears that the three of them were not going to budge until Mizuki had accepted their apologies.
Mizuki huffed, blowing her bangs off her forehead. "Listen, I acce-"
"We will do anything you ask from us, just please, forgive us, Yohei-san!" Bowl cut boy blurted out, his face still hidden as he remained in a bowed position.
"-cept your-" She stopped when she realized the words he uttered. One of her eyebrows lifted up as she considered his statement and a wicked smile appeared on her lips. That turned out to be much easier than she expected. And she hasn't even brought up Sakuragi's name yet.
"Anything?" She asked sweetly.
Still kneeling on the ground, the three of them answered her query without any trace of hesitation. "Yes! Anything."
Her smile turned into a triumphant grin upon hearing their response.
The second stage of her plan must now begin.
'It's time to put on the big guns.'
xxxxx
"OK, guys! Practice is over!" Miyagi announced, to the extreme relief of several players whose feeling the strain in their arms and legs from the strenuous workout.
"What?! It's over already?!" A loud yell was heard in the gymnasium, coming from Shohoku's number one troublemaker, Sakuragi. "And here I thought we were just warming up." He remarked while dribbling the ball with his right hand. A smug look appeared on his face as he cast a glance over his teammates' worn out bodies. "What a bunch of weaklings." He added before letting out his trademark laugh.
The players groaned loudly at his haughty remark.
"Is that so?" Ayako chimed in. Within seconds, she appeared at his side, carrying a mop and wearing a mischievous smile. "Well, Sakuragi, since you're so tough and bustling with energy, why don't you take over today's cleaning and spare your poor teammates the burden of scrubbing the floor?" She said while offering the mop to the now stunned redhead.
Miyagi burst into laughter as he heard Ayako's suggestion. The first years, who were in charge of today's cleaning, mumbled their sincerest thanks to the still stupefied Sakuragi.
The minute Sakuragi managed to recover from his shocked state, he began protesting vehemently. "Hey, that's not fair!" He complained while stomping his foot like a spoiled brat. He went on like this for quite some time until Haruko took pity on him and offered her help.
"I'll help you, Sakuragi-kun."
The redhead's ears perked up as soon as he heard Haruko's soft voice. A wide grin replaced the scowl on his lips as he shifted his full attention to the pretty girl in front of him.
"Thank you, Haruko-chan! That is so nice of you." Sakuragi responded amiably. There is no way he's going to miss a golden opportunity like this. He giggled like a lunatic at the thought that the two of them will be spending some quality time alone at the gym.
Ayako simply rolled her eyes at his silly antics.
"Listen, guys. Before you leave, just a short reminder." Miyagi abruptly declared. The team gathered in a circle to listen to their captain with the exception of Sakuragi who's still daydreaming.
"The Regionals is already near. For Shohoku's first game, we will be playing against Yokosuka High school. Although their school is not in par with Kainan or Ryonan with regards to skills, we should never be complacent. I want you all to give your very best. Everyone, remember our final goal is-"
"National Championship!" Sakuragi; who had woken from his short stupor, piped up.
Miyagi ignored him and continue speaking. "Basketball not only requires you to be physically prepared but also mentally ready. You should adequately prepare your body and free your mind from unne-"
"Blah,blah,blah. Geez, Ryo-chin! Enough with the zen stuff already!" The redhead's whining earned him a solid whack from the team manageress' paper fan.
"Thank you, Aya-chan. As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," He paused for a moment to give the redhead a withering stare and then proceeded with his talk. "You should free your mind from unnecessary thoughts once you're in the game. Keep your focus on you, and your responsibility inside the court."
After what seemed like an eternity to Sakuragi, the captain finally finished his boring speech. He desperately wanted the meeting to be over and done with so he can have Haruko all by himself.
"Thank you for a good game today, team. See you all tomorrow." Miyagi stated.
"Yeah, it was supposed to be over like…like three hours ago!" Sakuragi interjected.
Miyagi didn't show any indication that he heard him and went directly to the bench to retrieve his stuff. Ayako was extremely pleased that he was not retaliating and was acting like a matured person for once.
"Good practice, guys! Now go home and get some rest."
"You too, Ayako-san." One of the players replied.
After changing from their sweaty jersey and exchanging goodbyes, the players began leaving the gym, including Ryota, who left in a hurry as he just recalled an important errand that his mother had given him this morning.
Yasuda, who was arranging the clothes in his sports bag, noticed Rukawa frowning at the contents of his bag.
"What's the matter, Rukawa?" He inquired.
Rukawa simply pointed to his Nike duffel bag. Feeling extremely curious, Yasuda lean in to take a peek inside their ace's bag and his jaw slacked open at what he discovered.
"Eh?! What are those rocks doing inside your bag?!"
Ayako, upon hearing Yasuda's perplexed voice, went over to investigate.
She let out a disappointed sigh when she learned what the fuss is all about. "Looks like somebody's pulling a prank on you, Rukawa-kun."
"Who would do something childish like that?" Yasuda asked, wondering who's the crazy person that consumed an enormous time collecting rocks of different sizes just so he can pranked Rukawa…
...Oh wait. He did know of someone insane enough to pull this kind of stunt.
"Do you even have to ask, Yasuda?" Ayako said to him.
Right on cue, Sakuragi sauntered back to the gym after terrorizing a few players who's still in the locker room. Humming to himself in an off-key tune, he proceeded to mopping the floor alongside Haruko, oblivious to the stares Ayako and the two boys were giving him.
The redhead was completely captivated by the presence of Haruko that he failed to notice the rock flying through the air and heading towards his way. The stone hit his forehead, and he fell face down on the gym floor.
Haruko let out a loud shriek when she saw Sakuragi lying on the ground and quickly come to his aid.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Rukawa acted as if nothing happened. Lifting his bag, he casually dumps the contents on the floor. The sound of clattering rocks reverberated throughout the gymnasium, catching Haruko's attention. She turned her head on the source of the noise and had her eyes bugging out of their sockets when she learned who the culprit was. She composed her face when she realized how funny she must have look to them and then threw a questioning glance towards Ayako.
The team manageress arranged her cap as she answered her unspoken query. "Well, I will grant Sakuragi a score of B for the effort." Her reply befuddled the younger girl even more. "And an A for Rukawa's marksmanship." Ayako concluded.
The raven haired boy merely shrugged, and then left the gym. Anyway, it was not his turn to clean the gym today so he didn't give a damn about the mess he made. It was the Dou Ahou's fault anyway.
Rukawa adjusted the straps of the duffel bag on his shoulder while heading towards the bicycle parking area. As he neared the shed, he noticed a group of boys standing to the spot where he usually parked his bike. He paused momentarily, confused with the unfamiliar scene before him. He was used to girls waiting for him, but to see high school boys wearing spandex pants pining for him was something he haven't encountered yet. He felt himself backpedalling and decided that he will just take the bus to get home.
But it's too late to escape now as he heard one of them called out his name. "Ah! There he is! Rukawa-senpai!"
He turns slightly, his stoic features providing no clue of what was on his mind.
The three boys bowed simultaneously to him and one of them, the leader, Rukawa assumed, held out both of his hands to him. He spotted the small paper on his hand but made no move to take it.
"Please, Rukawa-kun, we hold no grudge against you. We were merely paying the penalty for our inappropriate deeds to a certain someone. You see, the three of us made a promise to her and we have no choice but to fulfill them." The boy said in a rehearsed tone.
Rukawa had absolutely no idea what he's babbling about. Annoyed by the fact that somebody is always disturbing him, he moved passed them to get his bike so he can head home and be free of those wackos.
But there is one problem….
His particular mode of transportation is currently missing.
'What the hell?'
He looked back at the three students, eyeing them suspiciously and they began to fidget under the intensity of his glare. As he started moving towards them, one of them trips from the uneven pavement when he tried to step back away from him.
"W-we were just mere pawns! We swear!" The gangly boy nervously piped up. His hands were shaking badly as he once again proffered the small paper towards him. "This is from Yohei-chan."
Rukawa blinked, surprise registering briefly in his eyes.
'Rooftop girl? What is she up to now?'
After the so-called love letter incident last week, she never made a move to pester and harass him to give an interview, and he assumed that she had conceded already. Which was fine by him since he consider her as an annoying busybody.
It would seem that his assumption that she had dropped off the whole stupid interview was incorrect. This girl just won't give up.
He glanced warily at the letter, contemplating whether he should take it or not. In the end, he yielded and took the paper from the other boy. As soon as Rukawa got hold of the letter, the three boys ran away like madmen.
'Tsk. This school is such a breeding ground for idiots.'
His focus returned to the small piece of paper on his hands. Curiosity took over him and he began to unfold it and started reading. Slowly, a crease formed on his forehead as he read the letter again.
Dear Rukawa,
This is to inform you that I have your bicycle. If you still want your precious bike in one piece, meet me at the library today after basketball practice.
Sincerely,
Mizuki
'She stole my bike?' He thought incredulously. 'Is she for real?'
The only plausible reason Rukawa could think of was that since she's always hanging out with that Dou Ahou, her brain cells were severely affected and had gradually diminished.
He stood there for some time, unsure of what else to do. Common sense told him that he should not pay heed to her silly threat, but as he concluded a while ago, Shohoku is really a breeding ground for idiots. Guess he's one of them now….
….And that's how Rukawa finds himself heading in the general direction of the library.
