Akagi walked up the steps in the front area of the campus to go to his first class in a building nearby when he saw a familiar form climbing up the same stairs a few feet in front of him.
"Kogure!" Akagi called but the person did not even turn around. At first he thought that he has made a mistake but the brown jacket worn by that person told him otherwise.
The tall young man bounded the stairs three steps a time and when he caught up to his friend, Akagi grabbed him by the arm and turned Kogure around.
"Kogure?"
Akagi was shocked to see the red eyes set in the pale haggard face which was normally bright and cheerful, except for now.
"What's wrong with you?" demanded Akagi, "You look terrible."
Kogure's lips began to tremble and before Akagi knew what happened, the spectacled-teenager has leaned his head against Akagi's chest and began to cry.
~~~~
After the day's lectures and tutorials, Kogure and Akagi went to Mitsui's house to talk. The three of them have been close since pre-highschool and knowing Mitsui being more closer to Kogure than he was before he moved out to Ryonan, it was him, Akagi, who suggested that they talk with their scarred-face friend about what has happened between Kogure and Sakuragi.
Upon arriving there, it was Mariko who greeted them at the door, the young woman also expressing concern when she saw Kogure's weakened state. Ushering the two inside, she began to busy herself preparing refreshments for her guests as they waited for her fiancee to arrive.
"Summimasen kudasai," Kogure called out to Mariko who was still inside the kitchen, making them some oolong tea, "For intruding everytime I have a problem."
"That's alright," Mariko smiled as she walked out with a tray of resfreshements, "We are all friends here, Kogure-kun."
Kogure smiled before he sipped on his drink, grateful that the warmth helped him calm his nerves even for just a bit.
"What I said about being strong... I was being stupid," said Kogure quietly putting down his mug with trembling hands, "I couldn't even put up a decent smile when I saw him."
Akagi sighed, "Stop being so stubborn, Kogure. Go and meet him to talk. I know you want to."
The spectacled-teenager lifted his hand to rub his face tiredly, "I can't. It's too late."
Mariko sat quietly beside him as Kogure talked, "Remember what happened when we were still at Shohoku? When Hanamichi and I broke up? If it weren't for you and the others, Hanamichi and I would still be separated and this wouldn't have happened."
He sighed, "I don't know. Maybe it's fated for him and I to not be together."
Mariko held Kogure's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Aa. And we're fated to be beside you too."
Akagi smiled, "Hai. We're still your friends."
Kogure smiled back, warmth flooding inside of him from that admission of loyalty, "Arigatou, my friends."
Then there came a knock on the door and Mariko stood up to answer it.
"Who's there?"
"It's me," came Mitsui's voice, "And Sakuragi too."
Kogure gave a visible start and stared at Mariko who stared back at him. Akagi looked at his friend questioningly.
"Hey, will you open up?" Mitsui called from outside.
"H-Hai!" Mariko answered, her hand reaching the door handle when another hand held it to stop her.
"Don't tell them I'm here!" hissed Kogure, picking up his shoes and scrambling inside the small apartment to find a place to hide. Seeing a closet where the couple kept their blankets, Kogure slid the door open and hid himself inside the compartment.
Putting up a calm facade, Mariko slid the bolt from the door and finally let Mitsui in.
"What kept you?" asked Mitsui curiously.
"Ah, gomen," laughed Mariko, "I had something to do in the kitchen first. Akagi is here by the way."
"Sou-na" said Mitsui walking inside after he toed of his shos, "What does he want?"
"To talk to you I guess," Mariko shrugged before she smiled at the redhead standing behind her fiancee, "Konbanwa. You must be Sakuragi-san."
"Ah...h-hai..." stammered Sakuragi bowing to the young woman, "Konbanwa."
When Mitsui walked in, he gave a nod to Akagi which the taller young man gave back in return.
"What's up?" asked Mitsui after he motioned for Sakuragi to sit down.
"Just to visit," said Akagi simply, glancing quickly at the redhead pointedly.
Mitsui stared at him for a second before he nodded in acknowledgement and began to tug his tie off, "Oh, okay. This boy here came to talk. What is it about, Sakuragi?"
"I-I came here because... you have been close with Kiminobu before," said Sakuragi softly so that Mariko, who has gone into the kitchen, wouldn't hear. Then he hesitated, sighing wearily, "It's stupid. I shouldn't bother you with this..."
Kogure who was hiding inside the closet gripped his shoes to his chest when he heard that rough voice that he missed calling his name so much.
"Just say it, Sakuragi," Mitsui was speaking again.
Sakuragi hesitated again, this time making Mitsui sigh, "Sakuragi. It isn't healthy to not talk about your problems. Come on. I won't yell at you."
Letting his head drop, the redhead finally spoke, "I-It's just that I can't fall in love again..."
Mitsui blinked in surprise, "Nani?"
He looked at Akagi who shrugged in response.
"I-I hate myself for saying what I said to Kiminobu. I couldn't promise him anything. Even when I was laughed at by his father I should've been able to control my temper and make him realise that his father was wrong, that I'm not a kid, but I couldn't even do that and I ended up hurting him. I didn't know what to do. If I told him about how I feel I know he'll hurt more."
When Mariko walked in to bring him his cup of team, Sakuragi did not bother to stop. Craddling his head on his hands, he spoke, "I want him to know that what I did was for him. I care for him and I don't want him to hurt anymore because of what I feel. It's who I am. So I tried to move on but I can't forget about him. Let alone fall in love with anyone else."
Kogure bit his lip when he felt tears start to well in his eyes. He wanted to rush out and hold the redhead in his arms but where would that get them? If Sakuragi was still unable to handle his father's taunts, it would only result in more heartbreaks, rejections and disappointments.
"Isn't that enough?" he heard Mariko ask.
"What?" the redhead looked up to see the wise smile on the young face.
"Your love for him," Mariko clarified, "I think that is enough."
As Sakuragi stared at the young woman, Akagi nodded and spoke up, "You, I, Kogure - even Mitsui and Mariko - are still kids in the older people's eyes. We might be hurt by what they think of us but if we dwell on it too much we wouldn't get much chance in growing up the way we want to be. Happy."
"Aa," Mariko agreed, "And in love."
Mitsui gave his fiancee a loving look before he turned back to the redhead, "Where has your confidence gone, Sakuragi? You musn't admit defeat because of his father."
When the redhead did not reply, Mitsui continued, "I thought you were the Tensai? You love basketball, just like me, Akagi and Kogure. If you forget about the game, you'll just disappoint him more."
After a moment of silence, the redhead finally nodded in understanding, "Aa..."
"Try your best in tomorrow's game with Akita. We'll be counting on you to bring Kanagawa to the championships," Mitsui grinned, clapping the redhead on the shoulder.
"Hai," Sakuragi smiled, "Arigato."
A few minutes later, Kogure heard the redhead leave before the closet to the door opened to reveal a cautious looking Mariko.
"Kogure-kun," Mariko said softly, "Sakuragi has gone outside with Akagi and Hisashi-kun. Are you alright?"
"Aa," sniffed Kogure, not yet making a move to come out, "Doumo aritago gozaimas.
...I tried to move on but I can't forget about him....
...Let alone fall in love with anyone else.
Hana-kun...
The next day, the match between Kanagawa and Akita began to determine which team would make it to the championships. Kogure sat with Akagi, Mitsui and Mariko as they watched the game, rooting with the other supporters of the Shohoku team. Everyone in the red and black jersey team were pushed up to their max trying to bring down Akita's Sannoh but it was not enough. The ex-Shohoku seniors could still see that Sakuragi has not yet perfected his techniques but the redhead was clearly doing his best, doing admirable team-work with Kaede that helped them finally achieve a point ahead the opposing team in the last ten seconds of the second half.
Suddenly the star player of Sannoh managed to break through the Shohoku defenses and ran forward to score a goal. Even with the attempt of Kaede and two other players, they were unable to stop the ball from flying over them, making a graceful pathway in the air and slide smoothly into the net. The Sannoh team cheered in victory. But the Shohoku team was not done yet. Kaede caught the ball dropping through the hoop and as he got ready to pass it to Miyagi nearby, a cry was heard from the Sannoh bench, "Watch out! He's got the ball!"
When Miyagi caught the ball, he went like a bullet past the enemy until he came across an unpassable barrier. Fukatsu refused to let the Shohoku captain go through, forcing Miyagi to pass the ball to Sakuragi. The redhead caught it in the air and ran towards the goal...
...8 seconds to go...
Sawakita appeared alongside him and stopping in front of him, Sakuragi found himself going one on one against Sannohs's no. 9 star player...
...7 seconds... Sawakita guarded every inch of possible perimeters that Sakuragi could use to slip through. The redhead searched frantically for a way...
Chikuso! growled Sakuragi mentally.
...6 seconds...
"Sakuragi! You better get that ball in or I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"
Surprised, Sakuragi turned his attention away from Sawakita at Kogure who was standing a few feet in front of him outside the court-line behind the goal post, looking at him with soft brown eyes filled with hope. Seeing that wonderful face again made that dark feeling in his chest to lift and he gave a gasp as he felt his soul breaking free. Then the redhead smiled the most beautiful smile Kogure has ever seen.
Quickly the redhead passed the ball to the awaiting Kaede who faked a jump before the fox-eyed boy threw the ball back to him...
...1 second...
...where he made a easy lay-up without hinderance.
The horn echoed through the hall, signalling that the game has ended. Shohoku won the game 79-78.
The crowd went wild. Kanagawa won, enabling them to enter the championships with the rest of best of the highschool basketball teams of Japan. Joyfully, Kaede and Sakuragi exchanged high fives before the whole of the Shohoku team charged the duo for the victory pile-up.
Kogure laughed, letting his tears stream down his face. Shohoku winning the entrance to the championships was a life-long dream and although he wasn't in the team when it happened he was proud nevertheless. Then he saw Sakuragi walking over to him, the player having succeeded in slipping away from his team-mates. When Sakuragi stopped in front of him, the redhead lifted his own hand to show Kogure the band tied around his wrist. Kogure's eyes widened when he recognised the black and red friendship bracelet around the redhead's hand.
"It was a good luck charm for me. Doumo," the redhead said, his eyes wrinkling from his bright smile.
Kogure's breath turned into hiccups before he finally stepped forward to close the space between them.
Mitsui, Akagi and Mariko smiled watched the pair hugging each other under the net on the court. Mariko sighed, "Oh. That is so romantic..."
Her fiancee chuckled, "A happy ending I must say. I'm glad for him."
However, Akagi frowned, "Well, I'm worried."
"Nande?" the couple blinked up at him in surprise.
"If they don't break away soon, people are bound to notice," Akagi said seriously.
"That's the first step to a relationship, Akagi," Mitsui patted his friend's back heartily, "Speaking of relationships, I heard you got together with that ex-netball captain from Shohoku."
The tall young man blushed, "Mind your own business."
"If I did we wouldn't all be happy in love!" grinned Mitsui.
"Hai!" Mariko agreed.