Glacier in Japan: Chapter 7 ~ [The Pig Pen]

Glacier in Japan

(Chapter 7)

Glacier whirled around and looked at the source of the voice. As a result, the ball she had been dribbling bounced off her foot and rolled away. Her mouth opened to utter an appropriately witty response but her words died in her throat when she got a good look at the owner of the teasing voice. Her jaw dropped. He was the cutest boy she had ever seen. His brown hair was blowing recklessly in the wind and he was smiling at her. And those eyes! They were the same color as Kaede’s and Glacier could feel herself drowning in them. In a daze, she didn’t notice that the boy had already retrieved the ball and was placing it into her limp hands. Finally realizing what was happening, her mouth snapped shut. “A- arigatou,” she stammered. She could feel a blush climbing up her neck and into her cheeks.

Fujima looked at the girl before him. He thought she looked so cute with that red tint on her cheeks. He had no idea if that was because of the cold or because of him. He knw the effect he had on girls. Still looking at her, he had a nagging feeling that she looked familiar somehow. He grinned at her and introduced himself. “No problem. I’m Fujima Kenji. Do I know you? You seem very familiar.”

Gathering her wits about her, she teasingly replied, “Is that a pick-up line? Because if it is, that’s the worst I’ve ever heard.” When Fujima blushed, she hurriedly added, “But seriously, I don’t think you know me because it’s been a long time since I’ve been here. I’m Rukawa Glacier. Maybe you know my cousin, Rukawa Kaede? He’s a member of the Shohoku basketball team.” Fujima laughed. “You’re funny. I like that.”

Glacier blushed again as she shook the hand he offered vigorously; partly because she was freezing and partly because she was nervous. The guy looked nice enough but, these days, you never really know.

“Rukawa? Oh, so that’s why you look so familiar. You look just like him. I’m also a basketball player but I’m from Shoyo. We’ve had a few games with Shohoku though, that’s how I know Rukawa.” Fujima noticed that the hand he was holding in his own was trembling. He looked closer and realized that the girl was shivering. “Hey, it looks like you need something to warm you up. Come on, I’ll treat you to a cup of hot chocolate.

~*~*~*~

Rukawa looked furiously at Hanamichi who was still howling with laughter on the floor.

*How dare he laugh like this after what he’s done?*

Finally, Hanamichi stood up, wiped the tears from his face and turned to face the now spitting mad Rukawa. “Gomen, Kaede. If I had known that THAT’S what you were so angry about, I would have explained immediately.” Rukawa just stared at him, his eyes an icy blue. He looked on impassively as Hanamichi reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. Rifling through it, he retrieved a picture and tossed it to Rukawa. “Here, take a look at this.” Rukawa grasped the picture between stiff fingers and looked at it. In it were Hanamichi, Sendoh, an attractive middle-aged woman with red hair and a handsome dark-haired man. All of them were dressed somewhat formally. He lowered the picture and looked at Hanamichi again, his eyes still cold and distant. “That’s my family,” said Hanamichi.

Rukawa showed no outward reaction to this so Hanamichi sighed and explained. “When mom came back a few weeks ago, she told me that she had remarried. Turns out that the guy she married was Sendoh’s father. So now, Sendoh and I are stepbrothers. At first, I couldn’t believe it. But Sendoh and his dad were so nice that I’ve accepted them now. They live at Sendoh’s house now but I preferred to stay at our old house since it’s closer to Shohoku. And to you.” Hanamichi paused for a while and looked at Rukawa, to see if he believed him. When he saw that Rukawa’s eyes now held a slight look of disbelief, he continued. “That day that you say you saw me with Sendoh, that was probably the day we went shopping for a birthday gift for mom. I didn’t tell you about it before because I knew how you felt about Sendoh. I was waiting for the right time to tell you and I guess now is the best time of all.”

Rukawa’s eyes were no longer icy but they didn’t hold any of the warmth they usually contained when he looked at his Hana-kun either. Hanamichi sighed again. He knew Rukawa wouldn’t believe him that easily. He needed proof. But at least now, it seemed that he’s been forgiven. When Rukawa spoke, his voice was neutral. “Your story seems plausible but you’ll have to prove it to me. You’re forgiven for now but if I find out that you’re lying to me, it’s over for good, Hanamichi.” Hanamichi sighed in relief. Smiling brightly, he said, “Yosh! I’ll take you to their house this weekend. I’ll introduce you to my mom too. Then you can see that I’m telling the truth.”

Rukawa gave no response. Instead, he stood up and went to his closet. He took out a sleeping bag and a pillow and tossed them to Hanamichi. “You can sleep over there,” he said, pointing toward an empty corner. Hanamichi nodded mutely and arranged the sleeping bag on the floor. Before long, both boys were sleeping soundly. Hanamichi had a faint smile on his face.

Chapter 6

Chapter 8