Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Shohoku's Pride ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

CHAPTER SIX:

Kogure stood waiting outside the administrative building, hoping he would see Mitsui. But the shooting guard was nowhere to be found.

Clutching his newly bought textbooks to his chest, he sighed in sorrow. Mit-chin, please show up. I want to make amends with you, and simply to talk, sort things out between us. After what happened, even I could no longer deny the feelings I have for you.

"Megane-kun!" a cheerful voice jolted him out of his reverie.

Kogure lifted his head and smiled at the self-proclaimed Tensai. "Sakuragi-kun! Have you enrolled already?"

"Nope, not yet! I'm waiting for someone."

"If you're talking about Haruko-san, I think she left with Akagi earlier. They were going to Shintai University to get some course materials."

Surprisingly, Hanamichi shook his head in a clear negative. "No, it isn't Haruko-san." An inquisitive brow was raised as he looked at the older boy. "You seem to be waiting for someone as well."

"Mitsui-san..." Kogure revealed hesitantly. "I was hoping I could see him today."

Seeing the sadness on the Senior's face, the redhead prodded, "Why? Did Missy do something to you?"

There was no lying to Hanamichi, but he couldn't disclose the entire truth either. "Hai, something happened between Mit-chin and I. I hurt his feelings so badly because of it."

Kogure was expecting the power forward to brush the incident off. Instead, Hanamichi became somber.

"Sometimes, we do things we regret," he said quietly. "But things could be made right if you're willing to make amends."

"I want to apologize to Mitsui, but...I'm...afraid...of what might come after."

"What is there to be afraid of, Senpai? If you don't make that step forward, then you'll never know what lies beyond." Hanamichi scratched his head impatiently. "Aaargh! Late again! Megane-kun, listen. I'll search for Mit-chin. I'm sure he's just hiding somewhere in the campus. Once I find him, I'm going to drag his sorry carcass here."

The redhead was about to stomp off, but Kogure cried, "Hanamichi, it's all right! I thought you were waiting for someone."

"Nah!" Hanamichi replied, grimacing. "He might make good on his threat and run over me with his bike again. I'll be right back!" Saying this, the Tensai of Shohoku ran off.

Fifteen minutes after the redhead had gone, a rather pale Rukawa arrived. Seeing how the ace was favoring a limp, Kogure hurried to his side.

"Rukawa, you look terrible!" the Senior exclaimed, offering the Freshman his able support. "Why didn't you call us up? We'd be happy to help you enrol."

Despite his haggard appearance, the Super Rookie managed to give the elder boy a weak, yet charming, smile. "I had to come. I promised someone that I'd be here today."

"Well, whoever it is, this person doesn't have any consideration for your health," Kogure snorted in disapproval.

"That's where you're wrong," said Rukawa defensively. "I've never met anyone who has shown such great consideration for my welfare than him." With fondness, he added, "I thought I'd show him some consideration for a change. I promised I wouldn't run over him with my bike today."

There was a look of perplexity on Kogure's face, hearing his teammate's words. Hanamichi's waiting for somebody. Now, Rukawa's looking for someone as well. And that comment about the bike... Surely they're not talking about each other!

Then, in answer to his unspoken question, Rukawa inquired with a smile, "Kogure-senpai...have you seen Hanamichi?"

It was the seeming loudness of that whispered question that drew the attention of the two boys to the silence of their surroundings. Looking up, they found themselves surrounded by female students, all carrying large plastic bags. Their cold, expressionless faces were all focused on the ace.

Sudden dread seized Rukawa's heart, recognizing the three girls at the forefront. The Rukawa Shinietai!

Sensing something was wrong, Kogure instinctively drew the taller boy close to him. "Is there anything we can do for you, ladies?"

The answer was a swift-flying rotten tomato that hit the side of Rukawa's face.

---

"Missy Hisashi! I knew I'd find you here! Don't you know Megane-kun is looking everywhere for you?"

Hanamichi found the shooting guard sitting all by his lonesome on the bleachers inside the gym. Mitsui didn't even utter a protest at that feminine nickname. Neither did he object when the redhead sidled up to him.

Seeing the deep remorse on the Senior's face, Hanamichi gently prodded, "Mit-chin..."

"I'm quitting the team, Sakuragi-kun," Mitsui said quietly.

The redhead's reply was a fist on top of the shooting guard's head.

Yelping in pain, Mitsui grabbed his aching head and demanded, "Why the hell did you do that for?"

"I thought I was the only doahou in Team Shohoku. Maybe we should start calling ourselves 'Team Doahou'. Whatever on earth made you decide to quit a mere few months after you got reinstated? I demand an explanation that the Tensai Sakuragi would accept...or else!"

"You won't understand!" Mitsui cried out in despair. "I can't be in the same team with Kogure, not after I...I..."

As his teammate fell silent, Hanamichi asked insistently, "What did you do to Megane-kun?"

Seemingly out of his mind, the shooting guard started to babble, "I don't know when...it...actually started to happen. Perhaps it was that violent confrontation we had months back in this same place. Kogure had stood up to me, made me see the truth inside my heart. Since then, I've developed...feelings...for him. It seemed so easy, after all, we were good friends even two years ago. I tried to keep it on a level of camaraderie. We are teammates. But the more I deny my feelings, the more difficult it is to hold them back."

"Oh, I see," Hanamichi mumbled thoughtfully. "So that explains your persistence in coaching Megane-kun's three-point shots. And that bento of yummy food."

Mitsui nodded. "But it wasn't enough. I had to tell him how I feel or else my heart's going to explode. Two nights ago, I...I..."

"You what?"

The shooting guard lowered his head in shame. "I kissed him."

Hanamichi's laughter rang out, reverberating throughout the empty gym. His teammate's mirth offended the Senior.

"I don't think it's funny, Sakuragi!"

"Why? Isn't it funny? Of all the dumbest ideas I've ever heard, you're quitting the team because of a kiss? Why shouldn't I laugh?"

"Hanamichi, I kissed Kogure on the lips! Another boy!"

What Hanamichi said next stunned Mitsui by the sheer unexpectedness of it. "So what if Megane-kun is another boy. You love him, don't you, because if you're just treating him like some cheap fling, I'll...."

"Of course I love him! I never loved anyone as much as I do Kogure, but I don't think I can face him. That night...he slapped me in the face."

"Probably an instinctive reaction. You did startle him, after all. If you're that concerned about it, you could consider it as payback for the way you hit him during that little gangster affair months ago." Hanamichi sighed. "Kogure's looking for you, Missy, and I could tell that he's worried sick." He gave the older boy an understanding smile. "I think it's best that you and Megane-kun talk about this. You'll never know what Kogure has on his mind if you hide from him like this." Standing, he offered a helping hand to the shooting guard.

Looking up at the younger boy, Mitsui asked in wonder, "Since when did you become a tensai on matters of the heart?"

"Two nights ago, like you," Hanamichi answered, smiling enigmatically. "Since I came to terms with my feelings for someone as well."

Taking the redhead's hand, Mitsui was pulled to his feet. "It's Akagi's sister, isn't it?"

The Senior was surprised when his teammate shook his head. "No, it isn't Haruko-san. I think you'll be shocked when you find out who it is."

As Hanamichi lapsed into silence, Mitsui was dying to ask who had stolen the redhead's heart.

In answer to his unspoken question, the power forward suddenly spoke up, "I'll tell you who it is, once you and Kogure patch things up."

Seeing that he won't get any answers from the Freshman, Mitsui sighed and hurried after his teammate. However, as they emerged from the gym, they heard screams and shrieks of fury coming from the administrative building.

"What's that racket?" Mitsui frowned. "Sounds like a riot."

Turning to the redhead, he saw that Hanamichi's eyes were wide from sudden fear. Breathing out a name, the Tensai of Team Shohoku dashed off in the direction of the shouts, a confused Mitsui hurrying after him.

The shooting guard had heard the name that Hanamichi murmured with dread.

"RUKAWA!"

---

"Stop it! STOP! Why are you doing this?"

Kogure was shielding his trembling teammate as best he could. But rotten fruits and vegetables continued to rain upon them that the two boys had fallen to their knees, helpless prey to the fury of the Shinietai.

A girl shrieked, "Hentai! Pervert!", the tomato she threw connecting with Rukawa's head.

"Damned whore!" another girl roared, hurling a rotten cabbage which struck Kogure's hand that was shielding the ace's tear-filled face. "We believed in you!"

"Why?" Kogure cried out in despair. "What wrong did he do to you that you should hurt him like this?"

"He shamed us!" the leader of the Shinietai yelled in rage, pointing at the Freshman whom they used to idolize. "He disgraced our school!" Lifting her bag of vegetables, she hurled it at Rukawa, screaming, "I hate you, Rukawa!"

Before Kogure could twist his body to shield the ace, the bag hit Rukawa squarely in the lower back, eliciting a cry of agony from his lips.

"RUKAWA!" Kogure exclaimed in panic.

"Senpai, go!" Rukawa mumbled painfully in his ear. "It's me they want. They have every right to be angry with me. But I won't allow that you get hurt along with me."

The Senior shook his head stubbornly. "No, I won't leave you!"

"Please, Senpai! Go! Leave me!"

"Never!"

"Oh, Kogure!" the ace sobbed, feeling the small forward wince as another cabbage struck his shoulder.

"You don't get it do you, Rukawa-kun?" Kogure suddenly said, his voice calm and gentle.

"Nani?"

"You're a member of Team Shohoku. You're part of our family." Kogure embraced the Freshman tightly. "We never abandon our teammates."

"Senpai..." The two boys could only close their eyes and wait, as the enraged Shinietai raised their bags, ready to pummel them with it.

Before a single bag could hit them, the projectiles were pounded away by angry fists. Kogure lifted his head cautiously to find that Hanamichi and Mitsui had taken defensive positions above them.

"What's the meaning of this?" Mitsui demanded. "Is this any way to treat basketball club members who would bring honor to this school?"

"Honor?" the leader of the Shinietai jeered back. Pointing at the Freshman, she declared, "He has already brought dishonor to us all the minute he started selling his body on the streets for money."

Kogure and Mitsui was shocked at that last. Neither of them could speak. Glancing down at the Freshman in his arms, Kogure gasped at the sight of the red hickeys and bruises on the ace's shoulder and neck.

"How sure are you that Rukawa has dishonored Shohoku High?" The icy, menace-filled voice of the redhead caused the two Seniors to gaze up at his anger-hardened form. "You dare to judge him? If any of you should lift a finger to hurt him again, even if you are a girl, I swear I'll hit you!"

Undaunted, the leader hurled another tomato. Hanamichi and Mitsui moved quickly. The tomato landed with a splat on the redhead's shoulder, its juice splattering all over the two boys. Before Hanamichi could take a step forward to make good on his threat, Haruko emerged from the crowd and pushed her way between the two boys.

"Haruko-san..." Hanamichi started to say.

"You don't have to disgrace yourself because of the likes of them," Haruko said strongly, her jaw firm. Going towards the leader of the Shinietai, she decked the girl a good one, sending her sprawling to the pavement, a move that would've made her oniisan Takenori proud. Facing the rest of the pack, she roared, "Who are you to judge Rukawa-kun like this? You do not know anything!"

"It's enough for us to know that he's a whore!" The leader wiped the blood from her mouth. "And don't think the school board doesn't know about this. He's finished here in Shohoku!" Standing, she spat a wad of bloodied spittle at their feet. Turning to her compatriots, she called out, "Let's get away from this trash!" As one, they stormed off, leaving their victims behind.

"Sakuragi, Haruko-san..." Mitsui asked beggingly. "What the hell is going on? Why are they calling Rukawa all those terrible names?"

Before Hanamichi could say he would answer all his questions later, he was distracted by the pinched cry coming from the pale, trembling figure in Kogure's arms. He whirled just in time to see Rukawa slowly wilting to the ground.

"Rukawa! RUKAWA!" cried Kogure, trying to ease the Freshman up to a sitting position. But when he touched the ace's bottom, he encountered something warm and wet. Pulling his hand back, it came away bloodied.

Kneeling beside the hurt boy, Hanamichi was seething at the sight of those love bites and bruises on his teammate's body. There was a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Haruko leaning over him.

"You need to take him to the hospital, Sakuragi-kun," Haruko told him, her calm voice piercing the haze of anger inside his mind. Grinning knowingly at him, she added, "Rukawa-kun needs you."

Hanamichi blinked up at the girl whom he thought he loved, stunned by the sudden realization that Haruko had known all along that there was some kind of connection existing between him and his fierce rival. The redhead didn't have to be told twice. He carefully picked up the Super Rookie's disturbingly cold form in his arms.

"I'm going with you!" Kogure exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

"You're not leaving without me! I'll just go and get a taxi!" Mitsui hastily put in as he ran off. In a few minutes, the shooting guard returned with a cab.

"Go ahead!" Haruko reassured the boys. "I'll tell oniichan what happened."

Nodding, Hanamichi barked at Kogure to get into the back seat, who went inside and sat at the far end. The Senior took the ace from the redhead, who swiftly got in. Before Kogure could settle his teammate onto his lap, Hanamichi took Rukawa from him, cradling the Super Rookie in his tender embrace. Mitsui got into the front seat beside the driver.

The two Seniors stared in shocked silence at their younger teammates, their eyes widening as Rukawa's hand went up to clutch Hanamichi's shoulder.

Smiling tenderly, Hanamichi whispered, "It's all right, Rukawa. I'm here. I won't leave you." Oblivious to his teammates who were watching them, the power forward leaned down and kissed the ace lovingly on the lips.

Embarrassed, Mitsui and Kogure turned away, only to find themselves staring at each other through the small rearview mirror. Kogure gazed at the shooting guard, his lips parting to say something, only to be dismayed when Mitsui looked out the window. Kogure could only follow Mitsui's example in sorrow. Still, he could not help but glance longingly at his teammate.

Remembering the loving kiss that Hanamichi had given Rukawa earlier, Kogure couldn't help but feel envious. Looking at Mitsui's saddened form, he thought, Is it too late, Mitsui? Is it too late for me to say I'm sorry and that I care deeply about you as well?