Disclaimer: All characters are property of our dearest Takehiko Inoue. Thank you for everything!
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Help me to feel
The National Championship qualifiers were becoming increasingly tough. Shohoku's last match against Kainan High School, despite being lost, was very productive for the team led by Coach Anzai...even for poor Sakuragi, who spent an entire day crying for making a mistake in a pass and causing his team's defeat. To punish himself for such an error, he cut his hair, so his teammates and friends laughed until their stomachs hurt; the only one who didn't mock him was Haruko, who caressed his head a little, pricking her palms with the newly cut tips.
"Don't mind them. I think you look very handsome," she affirmed, tapping him like a puppy.
Despite being almost shaved, Hanamichi continued dyeing his hair, and thanks to that, they started calling him "red-haired monk." Students of all years went to classroom seven looking for this peculiar character, who, if he had previously attracted attention, now it was much worse. Noma, Takamiya, and Ookusu didn't take long to charge admission, and Yohei was about to faint from laughter caused by the new nickname.
Even Haruko peeked into Hanamichi's classroom to admire his red head, still impressed by the beautiful Slam Dunk he executed perfectly during the game with Kainan. Matsui didn't accompany her, but Fujii did, of course, and as Haruko was so fascinated with Sakuragi's new haircut, she completely forgot about her friend's presence.
A shy Fujii looked towards the classroom, her lower lip caught between her teeth, trying to pretend that her chocolate eyes were looking for Yohei. What she didn't expect was that he was looking at her. She froze for a second, seeing herself discovered, then lowered her gaze to focus on her fingers, which she twisted at her lap only out of nerves.
She studied him again. His shiny black hair fixed in the usual way, his usual way of moving with his hands in his pockets, his haughty smile in contrast to his warm black eyes...She swallowed hard. Everything she had ever sworn went straight to hell for falling in love with a guy with a bad reputation in just three months. Darn it!
Yohei gave her a mischievous expression from a distance and subtly pointed towards the roof. He was so careful that no one would have caught the hidden message in that careless gesture, but of course, Fujii didn't need a translator to understand that he was inviting her to talk on the rooftop of the building. Her heart played a bad joke on her again with that irregular beat that she still wasn't used to, sometimes seeming to reverberate, and others believing it had disappeared. The million-dollar question was: was she going to accept to meet him alone? She had done it in the infirmary, but thinking about it better, she thought that her behavior was due to being upset after seeing so much fighting and blood. It had been a long time since she had mixed with violence; she supposed that she was not going to be able to escape forever, neither that nor what she had been feeling for Yohei. So, gathering all her hidden courage, she briefly nodded once.
But that was where her bravery ended. She ran to her classroom and sat at her desk trying to calm her nerves until the second break, where she would climb the stairs by any means necessary.
She wanted to have Yohei within her reach again to hear his melodious voice. Perhaps, if she looked into his eyes long enough, she could decipher more edges that determined his way of being, so special to her.
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Notes:
I want to apologize in advance for the mistakes you've found in this chapter (and the previous ones). Since english isn't my main language, I know I lack of the knowledge of grammar rules in this kind of literature. So I'm doing my best to get better writing in english :)
Thanks for your support!
Love and happiness for everyone.
Stacy Adler.