Chapter 5

The next day, the Guntai met up at the rooftop. Little did they know that some raven-haired someone was dozing off beside the water tank.

'OK, it's my turn to read it aloud for you.' Takamiya said excitedly, motioning to Youhei to hand him the diary.

'Here goes-'

Dear Page 3,

Sempai looked very hot indeed. I wonder why I have more fangirls than he has. I wonder why he has more fangirls than him.

But he didn't drink from my water jug today. Which sucks. He drank from his water jug. Which sucks even more. He smiled at me again. Which doesn't suck. I wanted to smile back but he might think I'm a perv. So I just stared. Which sucks.

I think he likes Sempai too. I won't let that. He sucks. I don't. I rock, Sempai and I rock.

Love

Again, they exploded with laughter. Takamiya was practically rolling on the floor. Likewise, tears were already building up in the corners of Youhei's eyes.

'OK, it can't get any more ridiculous than this. This is even more comical than Sakuragi and Miyagi's busted checklist!' Ookusu said, his statement barely comprehensible between the laughter and snorting.

'And he's not the only one out there, would you believe? I didn't know that the basketball team keeps more secrets than the Egyptian pyramids.' Noma informed everyone.

'It gets complicated; I can't wait to read the next page.'

'I wonder who the other guy is though.' Ookusu volunteered, much to the others' excitement.

And they went on making comments about how cheesy the owner could get.

Rukawa stirred awake. He rose to find another spot where he could sleep.

Noma was about to offer his sarcasm regarding the latest entry they had read when he noticed that they were not alone. And just as the other three were ready to hear his pun, he pointed towards Rukawa's direction.

They all stared at the Shohoku's ace, saying nothing. Rukawa was unsurprisingly displeased to see other students sharing his favorite spot in the school building. Knowing that these students were Shohoku's most boisterous pranksters, he decided to just continue his sleep in his classroom; after all, the bell had rang.

The Guntai just continued to stare wordlessly as Rukawa made his way to the stairs. They were still silent even after the door had closed behind the ace.

A few moments had passed when Youhei turned out to be the one to commence the deliberation.

'Can it be?'

'It must be.' Takamiya answered.

'Even Sakuragi doesn't loiter around in here...' Ookuso said with sheer enthusiasm.

'I agree, we can observe for a few more days but I've heard from fangirls before that Rukawa always sleeps here on the rooftop during lunch breaks. The school bell must have startled him from sleep and left his poor diary, or something.' Noma speculated eagerly.

'That's it, then? It's solved. But... what about the boxers?' Youhei asked.

They all fell into a silent pondering. It was resolved when Takamiya suggested that they could just simply return it to Sendoh on Thursday at the practice game.

...

During class, Noma and Youhei were still talking about the accursed diary which seemed to have grown from a common interest into an obsession.

They were whispering to each other, a manner of conversation which was useless because the longer they talked, the more oblivious they became of their surroundings. As expected, it reached a point when Youhei was making noticeable gestures in the air to emphasize his points.

'But it didn't look like he was looking for it though.'

'Yeah but what's the use of looking for it when it has been gone for at least three days? Besides, we know nothing about him; for all we know, he can be that cheesy and corny and horny. I mean, it couldn't have been Miyagi or Mitchy or Megane-chan.' Noma explained.

'Yes but'- Youhei was not able to make his point because their math professor had pinched his sideburns and threw them both out of the classroom.

Seeming that nothing had happened, Youhei continued, 'Yes but if we are to make conclusions right now, that means an investigation must follow. We'll have to observe Rukawa Kaede from now on, then if we end up wrong, we'll be starting over again.'

'I don't mind. There are four of us. It won't be a difficult assignment if you ask me.' Noma answered, rubbing his moustache.

'OK. I'll go tell Ookusu and Takamiya while you start with Rukawa now.'

After school at the gym,

The team was again split in two for the practice game, where team blue was composed of Miyagi, Mitsui, Shiozaki, Kakuta and Rukawa and team red was formed by Akagi, Sakuragi, Yasuda, Kogure and that freshman with curly hair.

The Guntai observed Rukawa the whole time. As things were, it wasn't only until the end of the game that they found leads.

'Rukawa, may I have a sip?' Mitsui asked when he was already in the process of opening the freshman's jug. It seemed to be a common occurrence; the senior had always been lazy. Naturally, he found carrying an extra liter of water every day to school is such a burden. The freshman didn't mind at all; it was obvious that the senior had always been his jug's customer.

After watching what took place, the Guntai stared at each other for a very long time.

-TBC-