The Past Part XIII – The Cerebral One

The Cerebral One. The Silent Assassin. The Thinker. Toru Hanagata had heard all of the names applied to him before. They were not ones he would choose for himself, but he knew why people thought those ways of him. Always thinking, leading by example, and studying notes on players from opposing teams whenever possible, all to help lead the team to victory.

He had led Shoyo … and yet he hadn't. He was the one who had been the leader on court in many games during various tournaments, but he hadn't been The Leader. No, that was Fujima. Or, it should have been ….

As Hanagata did some deep knee bends to loosen up before joining the game, he dwelled on this thought for a while. Yes, he could lead, and still did on occasion as a first year on his university team, but really, he just wanted to play basketball, play it the right way, an honest way, a pure way. That was why he and his former captain got along so well, and still did, despite attending different universities. That was why he was here, today, at this game.

Hanagata looked over at the other players on the court, and sighed. He didn't really want to play on a team with Maki … being a crowd pleaser wasn't really in his repertoire as a player, and it wasn't something he aspired to be. Playing with Fujima again was something he looked forward to, sure, but they did that when they got together on holidays, at the local gym or street court. That was a pleasure that he didn't have to share with anyone else.

And Sendoh … well, him and Fukuda were two versions of the same time of player. All offense, often at the expense of defense, though admittedly Sendoh was much better at playing in his own half of the court, and less touchy too. Kiyota … actually, he respected him more than Sendoh and Fukuda, due to his desire and willingness to lay everything on the line to win, not to be so ice cold about it like Sendoh. The rest … well, it was good to see everyone, but passion was what had brought him here ….

With that though, as he stretched his arms, Hanagata turned to look at the reason he was really here. The only one who he felt deserved all of their presences on the court at the same time. Sakuragi Hanamichi … the self-proclaimed Tensai in the eyes of others, but in his opinion, that proclamation was more correct than everyone else realized.

Hanagata knew that it takes more than just skill and desire to be a great player. You have to live the game, breathe the game, be the game. The red-head did those things, was driven to be the best and to constantly surpass his limits by making new ones. Hanagata had been that way once, wanting to be the best, but the role which Fujima had needed to take on, as player-coach, had made his desire for the game weaker, because he knew that Shoyo would never reach its fullest potential, that he would never be the best basket-man he could be, because Shoyo had always been playing with one hand tied behind its back. It had been depressing, and forced a level of concentration and focus on his past which had not always sat well with him, and led him to become withdrawn from the team

Sakuragi Hanamichi, though, didn't respect those limitations, or any limitations. He just wanted to play the game, to be worthy of the game, and that was something Hanagata himself had missed, and which he had been looking for the past few years. It had left him cold and distant as a teammate, too much of a strategist to compensate for the lack of Fujima's prowess on the court. The time on the court with Hanamichi, though, had reawakened something within him, and watching these past few months, seeing how well Shohoku had been playing under the influence and leadership of the red-head, made him … eager to play, for the first time in a long time.

Hanagata tightened his shoelaces, and stepped toward where Akagi's sister indicated there would be a jump ball, and to the player already waiting for him. Fujima smiled as he walked by, and as he stopped, his opposite grinned.

"Nyahhahahah! Number two Megane-kun, have you come to see how much better this Tensai is since we last played? I'm better than even Gori or Boss-Monkey were! I won't go easy on you now!"

Hanagata smiled. "I wouldn't expect you to, Sakuragi Hanamichi, but you still have much to learn."

Sakuragi looked confused. "Eh? Number two Megane-kun, if I can beat the Fox, then I can beat you too! No problem!"

Haruko threw the ball up in the air, and the pure power of Sakuragi in his explosion upwards made Hanagata's hair wave around. As Hanagata met Sakuragi at the apex of their jump, with neither player unable to tip the ball toward their respective side, he turned his body to block Sakuragi from leaning forward, to stop him from further reaching toward the ball. That done, Hanagata managed to get ahold of the ball, and flip a short pass to Maki on the right side of the court to start their attack.

Both tall players landed, and Hanagata heard a complaint. "What's the big idea, Megane-kun?! You can't block this Tensai like that!"

Hanagata laughed, a deep joyous laugh. "Class is in, Sakuragi! Let us begin."