The Past Part X – Rukawa and Sakuragi
He still doesn't know how good he can be, Rukawa thought to himself as he looked over at his Shohoku teammate, who was currently needling Maki about his team's deficiencies on the other side of the court. He's taking apart all of us throughout this game so far, and he still has the energy to engage in some trash talking … unbelievable! Still, it's not that surprising, considering … Rukawa then thought back to the last real confrontation he and Sakuragi had been involved in …
"Bah! You'll never beat Sendoh like that, Fox!" Sakuragi yelled at Rukawa after he lost the ball to Mitsui during their scrimmage. Rukawa, frustrated, turned on the red-head. "What about you, idiot! Showing off with your athleticism and freakish power! You can't even beat me, let alone Sendoh!"
Sakuragi grabbed Rukawa's jersey, cocked back his right hand for a massive punch, and … hesitated. Rukawa then saw a change in his teammate's facial expression. From pure rage, his expression melted into one of intense seriousness. Suddenly, Sakuragi let go of Rukawa, and noded his head. "You're right. I can't beat you … yet. But I want to. So … show me, Fox."
Rukawa snickered, but when he saw that Sakuragi just kept looking at him with that serious expression, he began to think. As he did, Mitsui, who had seen everything transpire with the rest of the team, walked over and put his arm around the red-head. "Rukawa, this is a pivotal moment in our team's future. If he …" slapping Sakuragi on the shoulder "… really wants to be taught by you, why don't you do it? We've all helped Hanamichi as much as we can ... all except you. Why? After all, he's not unteachable …."
Rukawa looked at the two player in front of him, and sensed that something had changed in the dynamics of his relationship with the rest of the Shohoku team. Could it be that … they needed him as more than just an ace? All of a sudden, and to the shock of everyone in the gym, Rukawa began to cry.
Mitsui and Sakuragi put their hands together in front of Rukawa, and then Miyagi walked over to do the same. After doing so, Miyagi looked at the other three players, and said, "There's just four of us now, after Kogure and Akaigi left us. Four, but we can still conquer the nation, if we get the most out of each other. We have to depend on each other, trust each other, to be all that we can be, at all times. Rukawa, only you can truly bring out Hanamichi's offensive skills, make him into what he can truly be, one of the best all-rounders in Japan. It's a challenge … but, then again, you like challenges, right?"
Rukawa thought back to his dream of playing in America, and how Anzai-sensei had basically told him that he had to be the best in Japan first. And, honestly, what better way to be the best than to mold Sakuragi into someone who he could measure himself against? He had to admit, the red-head was a great defender, as good as if not better than himself already …
Rukawa put his hand on those of his teammates. "Okay. Truce, dou ahou. If you want to be the best basket-man you can be, I'll help you. But, it will take a lot of time and energy."
Sakuragi smiled, and said, "I'm up for it."
Rukawa began dribbling up the court. Seeing Fujima break right to throw off Jin, and then seeing Kiyota back off guarding Maki to rotate over to cover Fujima, Rukawa took advantage of the momentary chaos in the other team's defensive coverage to slash towards the baseline for a quick jumper.
"Fox! Don't even think about it!" yelled Sakuragi as he darted in front of Rukawa. Rather than just simply standing there, though, Sakuragi aggressively reached forward with his long arms to both block the interior passing lanes for Rukawa as well as try for a quick steal. Doing what I told him, but he's left the jumper open … why … was all that Rukawa had time to think before a hand reached in from behind to steal the ball mid-dribble.
"Sendoh!" Rukawa snarled as his rival began to turn the other way to initiate a fast break opportunity. Sendoh, hearing Rukawa, looked back over his shoulder and smiled before quickly saying, "Miss me, Super Rookie?" With that, Sendoh was away, with Kiyota and Jin running on either side of him.
Rukawa, though, stayed where he was, with a smiling Hanamichi beside him. "Poetry in motion, Fox, that Sendoh. He's a hard nut to crack!"
Rukawa turned to face the red-head. "You knew he was there?" As Sendoh threw a behind-the-back pass to Kiyota, who began testing Maki's defense by pushing into the former MVP with his left arm while dribbling with his right hand, Sakuragi nodded. "You taught me to be aware of my surroundings. I saw Sendoh begin to move off of Akagi, assumed he was coming to double-team, and …"
Rukawa nodded. Up the court, he saw Maki reach in to knock the ball out of Kiyota's hands, right into Fujima's, who lobbed the ball up the court to where they were standing.
Sakuragi scratched his head, and then lowered himself to begin pushing against Rukawa for positioning. "I need challenges to improve, Fox. You and I, we go at each other all the time, and since we made peace, you've taught me a lot, but Sendoh … he is truly the ideal basket-man."
Rukawa, facing the ball and holding back Sakuragi with one hand, caught the ball with the other hand and began to dribble. "He's good …" Rukawa agreed, and spun to face his former nemesis, "… but so am I." With that, Rukawa spun first to his left, and then to his right. Sakuragi stayed with Rukawa throughout these moves, but the second spin move drew the red-head straight into Akagi, who acted as a block while Rukawa sprinted by to lay the ball up and in the hoop. Upon landing, Rukawa looked at Sakuragi, who smiled and said, "Nice one, Fox! But, it won't work a second time, count on it!"
"I wouldn't expect it to, not if you've been listening and watching" said Rukawa, watching to see Youhei change the scores to reflect the now 1 point difference before running back to his side of the court.
