A glimpse into the abyss

Youhei sat casually at a cafe; his body slumped as he sipped on his freshly squeezed orange juice. His eyes followed the movement of a tall figure across the room, his gaze glued to the redhead as he attended to different tables, practically sprinting as he shifted from one table to another. 'They must be shorthanded again' he thought as he sighed at the sight of the redhead as he repetitively smiled, greeted and wrote down orders for different tables. Youhei couldn't help but smirk at the unfamiliar sight, never once would he imagine that his friend would actually take up the challenge and occupy himself with a part time job. It's not the part about having a job that perplexed Youhei the most though; it is the role that he decided on that surprised him. He understood why Sakuragi decided to occupy himself with jobs and activities since the past year had left him emotionally drained. Despite what the redhead might say or what his reason may be, there was no doubt that part of the reason of his sudden exertion on himself was so that he could focus on different things, different people and different environments. His main priority would always and continue to be the sport he loves but even that wasn't enough to erase a lingering figure haunting his waking existence.

Distraction. That was what this was. Something, anything to divert his thoughts. No matter how hard Sakuragi tried to bury the memory of a painful past, Youhei could somehow see the glimmer of grief that envelops the boisterous redhead. Even though it wasn't technically a long relationship, he understood the complexity and influence that both Rukawa and Sakuragi had on one another.

He felt his cheeks tense as he watched Sakuragi repetitively greeted and smiled at customers entering the cafe. He was scared that if Sakuragi grinned anymore his jaw might fall off. The door swung open as a familiar figure entered the cafe. Sakuragi turned instantly to greet the person when he stopped, his smile curved wider than usual.

"Haruko!" he greeted cheerfully, waving at her in an excited manner. She smiled at the redhead, waving her hand at him. "Hello, Sakuragi."

"Youhei is over there," he pointed at the table near the window. "My shift is almost done; I'll join you guys soon." Haruko nodded then proceeded to walk over to where Youhei is currently sitting. He smiled at her, waving his hand in a friendly gesture as he straightened his posture slightly. "Yo, Haruko."

"Sakuragi looks pretty busy today." She said, noticing the almost frantic movements of the redhead. "You know how it is with Hanamichi; he's always so driven no matter what he does." Youhei chuckled under his breath, imagining indestructible soldiers of Sakuragi's marching in a substantial line with a threatening and unyielding scowl etched on his face.

"I'm glad he's enjoying his work." Haruko said optimistically. "You mean, you're glad he managed to forget about Rukawa, right?" Youhei continued which made Haruko's expression drop, her eyes instantly widened and unblinking as she suddenly remembered her earlier encounter. Youhei immediately noticed this and cast a questioning look at the girl, waving his hand in front of her face. When Haruko snapped out of her trance her expression gradually knotted into a guilty one, her eyes softened apologetically as she remembered her conversation with the raven haired boy.

"Youhei,"Haruko started as she motioned him to come slightly closer. Youhei cocked his head and leaned his body slightly forward, tilting his head ever so slightly to listen in. "I saw Rukawa today." She said in a low whispering tone. Youhei's eyes immediately widened at the news as he leaned backwards sharply. "What?"

"Rukawa is back, I talked to him earlier." Haruko repeated herself, her voice still in a hushed tone. "You're sure it was him?" he questioned seriously. The girl nodded confidently, "I am not wrong, I recognize that face anywhere." A light blush crept on Haruko's cheeks as she recalled the familiar handsome features of her past fantasy. Youhei rolled his eyes at her reaction, detesting the look of admiration on her face. "Fine, I get it." He said bitterly, his voice expressing a light tinge of jealousy.

"We can't tell Hanamichi..."

"Tell me what?" As if on cue, Sakuragi chimed in as he took an empty chair and sat down. Haruko and Youhei was caught off guard by the sudden presence and tried anxiously to cover the obvious apprehensive look on their faces.

"We can't tell you that you're such a genius!" said Youhei, internally slapping himself in the face for coming up such a lame cover up.

"Yeah, because it's so obvious, who doesn't know that?" Haruko continued, fuelling the sorry excuse for an explanation. But for some reason it seemed to work as Sakuragi confidently puts his hands on his waist and grinned proudly and began to laugh hysterically, "Of course, I'm glad you guys finally understand me." 'Thank God his ego is the size of his foot' Youhei thought reassuringly.

"Oh Haruko, did you know Youhei bought a car?" said Sakuragi excitedly.

"Wow, really?" she replied, surprised. "You did? That's great, it must be expensive."

Sakuragi nodded, "he worked his butt off at that damn job of his, and he deserved it."

Youhei smiled at his friend, "It's time to invest on a good vehicle anyway, and the old vespa couldn't afford to take anymore abuse."

Haruko chuckled at the thought of the old, run down vehicle Youhei had since first year, amazed at the sheer endurance of such vehicle even after being able to support five guys on one seating.

"Do you have practice today, Hanamichi?" asked Youhei. Sakuragi stood up from his seat as quickly as he sat down when he suddenly remembered his usual practice schedule with the basketball club. "I'm late!" he wailed.

"I'll drive?" Youhei dangled the car key temptingly in front of him as a wide grin slowly stretched the redhead's cheeks. "Come on Haruko, come with us." Sakuragi motioned her to follow them. "We get to experience Youhei's bad driving first hand." the redhead chuckled.

"Are you sure?" asked the girl hesitantly. Youhei grabbed her hand and gently pulled her over to them, "Yes!"

Rukawa yawned as he shifted in his comfortable bed; his bloodshot eyes wearily scanned his surroundings. He sighed as he felt his tired body unable to lift itself up from its natural position. 'Ugh, jetlagged." He thought as he glanced wearily at the clock sitting on the table next to him. The time read: 8:30 am.

Suddenly, a knock came knocking on his door. Rukawa stayed silent, too tired to answer, too tired to care. The door lightly creaked open revealing a middle aged woman with dark black hair, her expression slightly weary but at the same time somehow still carried a sense of youthfulness to her that thread between the lines of old and youth.

"Are you awake yet?" the woman said lowly, careful not to wake her son in case he was still sleeping. Rukawa buried his head under his pillow in an attempt to block out the ray of light penetrating through his room and the sound of intrusion of his mother. He groaned in despair as his mother tiptoed into his room, lifting her head ever so gently.

"Kaede?" she hummed in a cheerful tone.

"I'm up, I'm up." He said, raising one hand in assurance. His mother smiled brightly at the response of his son, "breakfast is ready for you so come join us okay." Rukawa nodded, his head still buried deep in the comfort of his pillow. One of the things that he missed about living alone in America is definitely the privacy that comes with it.

He raised himself up and started to pandiculate before hesitantly dragging himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom where he rid himself of the germs that he managed to collect from the flight yesterday. He slipped on his usual grey hoddie and black varsity jacket with dark blue jeans to match his stylish appearance. If there was anything he managed to take back with him from America, it is definitely the fashion sense. Usually he would go for the simplistic, but since curiosity got the better of him, why fight it?

He entered the dining room and was greeted with two surprised looking parents.

"Wh-what are you wearing?" asked his father in a not so casual tone. His parents know him well enough to know that his fashion sense was usually simple and to the point, but now he looked as if he had finished a modelling shoot and ran way with the clothes.

"It's American." Said Rukawa simply.

"Well, that's different." His mother added. Rukawa shrugged at their reaction and sat down on the chair. They said their blessings and ate the array of delicious food prepared on the table.

"How long are you staying, Kaede?" asked his mother.

"Two weeks."

"Oh, that's short." She said disappointedly. Rukawa shrugged and said, "I can't be away too long, I need to get back and train."

"Isn't this your home?" said his father as he raised a questioning eyebrow at his son.

"Yes, but I can't come home if I've not reached my goal."

His parents looked at each other; their expression mirrored a worried frown. "I'm sure a long needed vacation is ideal then."

Rukawa shot his father an ominous look as soon as the words escaped his mouth. Without words, his father lifts both his hands up in a hesitant stance and cleared his throat.

"There are other important things than basketball, you know!" Rukawa's mother shot up suddenly, her eyebrows crumpled in frustration at her only son. Rukawa stared at his mother momentarily realizing the seriousness of the atmosphere and the inconsiderate words that they managed to hurl at him since his arrival. Rukawa stood up, his tall figure towering over his parents. "Thank you for the food." He managed to say before picking up his bag and headed to the front door.

"Kaede!" his father shouted from the dining room but it was too late, Rukawa had already slipped through the gate and out of the tension filled house.