Chapter 4: Close Encounter

Youhei leaned against the wall of the gymnasium, his attention absentmindedly fixed on the centre of the court where figures move against each other. He watched Sakuragi swiftly dribble the ball, gracefully dodging every other challenger blocking him.

"Sakuragi has been improving alot, hasn't he?" a voice chimed in beside him. Youhei looked to the left to see Haruko standing next to him, smiling at the energetic redhead with a proud glint in her eye. Youhei nodded at her words and the improvement his friend noticeably made over the years.

"Sakuragi! Pass!" a teammate shouted, signalling his free hand. Sakuragi nodded and expertly mauver his position, passing the ball to his free teammate.

"Go Takamune!" Sakuragi cheered with confidence.

"And an astounding team player too." Haruko added with a meaningful curl on her lips. Youhei smiled sincerely at the comment, for the first time acknowledging the truth in the fact that his friend really has changed by at least a bit. It's a miracle by most to see the difference a year or so could do to even someone as coarse as Sakuragi Hanamichi but as much as people doubt his potential, he has so much to offer, so many sides to him that surprise people day by day. Confidence is a trait Sakuragi have an abundance of and it's his confidence and sincerity that ultimately moves people. It even moved the popular, impenetrable icy Rukawa. Okay, maybe moving him was an understatement since it did more than just that.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Haruko chimed in, turning her attention to Youhei, her eyes slightly concern. "I mean, it's been 2 years since Rukawa and—"she stopped, unable to continue her sentence. If he was honest, he wouldn't know how Sakuragi would react if he were to casually bump into him. Sure, it was easy to predict his response before back then but with these new improvements to his character, he couldn't really tell and that kind of scares him.

"I don't really know how to answer that." Youhei answered honestly. "For the first time, I don't know how he'll react."

Haruko stayed silent briefly before turning her attention to Youhei, "whatever happens, he won't have to face it alone." Her blue eyes gently reassuring him. Youhei fidgets slightly under the girl's gaze, feeling his cheeks suddenly emitting some heat. His eyes modestly move down to meet hers as they stood there entranced in each other's gaze. Beautiful blue smiled at him and he swears to this day that he's never seen anything as captivating and compassionate as hers.

"Are you guys okay?" a voice chimed in immediately breaking out from their day dream.

"Oh, practice ended already? That was fast."

"Well, not really, Ryo-chin let us go 10 minutes ago. I kind of just waited for you guys to finish..." Sakuragi eyes them suspiciously, "whatever it is you're doing."

Haruko furiously blushed at the suggestion. Sakuragi snickered at their reactions, amused at the tension growing between them. "Come on, I'm hungry." Sakuragi smiled, walking towards the exit of the gymnasium. "Youhei is paying for dinner today."

Youhei's eyes widened at the declaration, "wait, what? Again?"

Sakuragi laughed a boisterous laugh as he walked out of the gymnasium with Haruko and Youhei following behind.

Sitting on a street bench, Rukawa Kaede finds himself surrounded by the soothing setting of the sun melting into a moonlit star studded canvas. The air crisp and sharp, an atmosphere he missed after so long. New York was beautiful in its own right but perhaps there was something about Kanagawa that even a fast paced and fancy lifestyle couldn't replace. He gazed up the sky, breathing in clear air. "2 weeks..." he whispered, breathing out slowly. "Just 2 weeks" that was all he needed to relieve this inconvenient feeling of homesickness.

He thought about his parents and the squabble they had earlier today. Maybe it was slightly of a dramatic exit but their words really did struck a nerve. Basketball was never an ideal career path his parents planned for him, no, it didn't held too much prestige in their mind to merit approval. From a young age they had exposed him to the idea of becoming someone more 'relevant' and 'respectable' but he was never interested in the idea of imposed futures or any of the sort. For as long as he could remember, basketball never stopped being his priority, a dream he wanted and promised to fulfil.

He realized that being good enough was never going to be a good enough standard. He wanted more out of basketball; he wanted to play with the big leagues in America, to be better, to be recognized for his skill as a sportsman outside Japan. Few get to experience that success but then again, few had his passion and that was a huge difference. Besides, being 21 years old now is a mature enough age for him to at least make his own descisions.

Bzz Bzz

Rukawa's slid his hands in his pocket for his phone, swiping at the one unread text message notification on his screen.

'Kaede, are you coming home for dinner?' – Mum

Rukawa looked down at his watch and slides his phone back into his pocket. He stood up, picking the orange ball sitting next to him. As much as he likes to contemplate his life longer, his stomach seems to detest the idea.

"You always do this Hanamichi!" a familiar voice chimed in. The familiarity of the voice and the name sends a strange sensation in Rukawa's chest, He scanned his surroundings, trying to pin point the source of the voice.

"I'll pay you back if you let me drive your car." Sakuragi grinned sheepishly at his friend.

"Fine," replied Youhei, dejectedly with his arms folded against his chest. "But you better take care of that car, and don't tell Noma I lend it to you either."

"Sure, "Sakuragi agreed. "But you know, I bet Haruko thought you were a real gentleman for paying for dinner." Sakuragi said teasingly. Youhei blushed at that and cleared his throat.

Sakuragi chuckled at Youhei's immediate change of colour on his cheeks.

Rukawa eye the two figures from the distant approaching his direction, the distinctive colour of red stood out from the two.

Rukawa stopped dead in his tracks, finding it difficult to move. It felt as though his legs were frozen on the ground. His first instinct was to act natural and unfazed by the situation. A normal Rukawa tactic. For the first time in a long time, Seeing Sakuragi and being able to hear his voice after 2 long years, he felt a sudden sense of dread mix with longing wash over him. Rukawa realizes the reality of the situation and that this was more than just a scenario he visualises in his mind. No, this was actually happening. Imagining the situation is different from actually experiencing it. Sure, confronting familiar faces was always on the agenda but to see them this quick was frankly quite intimidating.

"Oh, wait my shoelaces. Here, hold this," Sakuragi stopped and hands Youhei his duffel bag as he kneels down on one knee to tie his disruptive shoe laces.

Suddenly, blue eyes met jet black ones as their gaze lock momentarily in a stare. Mito Youhei, Sakuragi's best friend caught sight of him with a stern and an unsurprising look in his eyes, a gaze fierce yet protective, as if Rukawa was somehow a thief out to steal away something precious. Youhei's reaction was shows no sign of surprise, instead it was one that was akin to expectancy. As if he always knew they would cross paths.

"Youhei, are you okay?" Sakuragi said, cocking his head to side.

"Hanamichi, I think this is the wrong way," Youhei quickly turned his friend the opposite direction, pushing him forward in a frantic manner. Sakuragi raised his eyebrows questioningly, "But the car park is—"

"I'm still kind of hungry," Youhei lied, insistently pushing the red head away from the bench where Rukawa stood. They were so close now that if Sakuragi were to pay attention a bit more he could surely spot the blue eyes staring at them.

"You ate one bowl less than me, how could you still be hungry?"

"Come on, help a friend out."

"But Youhei, I'm tired after practice—"

"Hanamichi, please!" Stunned by Youhei's sudden urgency, Sakuragi nodded and walked towards to the direction of the city. Youhei glanced over his shoulder to still see Rukawa planted firmly on the ground with his eyes fixed on the oblivious redhead. Youhei sighs under his breath and pat Sakuragi's back, "I'll buy drinks too."

Sakuragi grinned at the shorter man as his eyes lit up briefly before he stopped and narrowed them questioningly at his friend, "I'm not washing your car though."

Youhei chuckled softly, shaking his head, "Don't worry, I wouldn't want you to either."

Rukawa watched as the two figures disappeared of sight. He heaved a sigh of relief at the close encounter. Whatever confidence or notion he had before this meeting quickly disappeared and in its place was an anticipation of foreboding future confrontation.