Class has just ended that afternoon and the two tall boys made their way to the gym for their daily practice. It would've been a peaceful walk in that nice autumn afternoon but the tallest of the two was adamant in breaking it with his pitiful whimpering.
"Will you shut up, Akira," growled Koshino, turning away when his friend gave him an absolutely sad puppy dog look.
"But Hiro-kuuuun," pleaded the spikey-haired player, "It hurts! I think there's a splinter! See!"
A finger was thrust into his face and sure enough, on the pad of it a swelling was evident. It was small but the ace Ryonan player was making such a big fuss about it that Koshino couldn't help but wonder if the splinter has gone too deep or that Sendoh was just intent on bugging him that afternoon.
"Okay, okay," sighed Koshino, "We'll take care of it in the locker. We've got a first aid kit in there."
"Okay," Sendoh sniffed and Koshino would be damned if he believed there were tears in those big blue eyes.
When they reached the gym half of the team was already there, no doubt some of them in the locker changing their clothes before Taoka-sensei comes. Entering their changing room, Koshino set Sendoh down on a bench and rummaged the cabinet for the first aid kit. Upon finding it he turned back to Sendoh and took a look at the finger. Then he took out a pair of tweezer and with care, he took hold of the tip of the splinter visible on the skin and pulled. Fortunately the splinter did not break and when it was fully out, Koshino could vaguely hear Sendoh's sigh of relief.
"My saviour!" Sendoh gushed in a falsetto voice, glomping onto Koshino happily.
"Gah!" cried the shorter boy, trying not to drop the tweezers, "Get off!"
"Nu-uh!" Sendoh nuzzled at Koshino and turned kitty-faced.
"Ano.... sempai?"
The two turned to see their junior looking at them in surprise.
"Ano.... the coach wants to see you two now."
"Right," grunted Koshino, trying to pry Sendoh off of him, "Just as soon as I get this hentai off of me."
"Oh... umm... ok..."
When the boy disappeared, Koshino turned to glare at the unrepentant Sendoh.
"Akira! Let go!"
"Iie," grinned Sendoh, his grip getting tighter, "Not until you promise me that you'll come over to help me with my homework."
"What?" sputtered Koshino, "No way! Sensei said that you're supposed to do that on your own!
"B-But I'm terrible at maths! Please help me!" Sendoh pleaded, "I'm not asking you to tell me the answers. Just to tell me how to work it out."
Koshino's shoulders slumped and with a sigh he relented, "Alright. I'll do it."
"Yatta!" the spikey-haired player cheered before pulling Koshino up from his kneeling position
"Let's go practice then!"
"Wait," Koshino said, pulling at Sendoh's hurt finger for a look, "Is it okay now?"
"It feels a bit sore," Sendoh replied before his face brightened up, "You do care, Hiro-kun!"
"Sore, huh?"
"Aa..."
"Good." And suddenly Koshino gave that finger a slap, making Sendoh yelp.
"Hiro-kun! Hidoi wa!"
With a chuckle, Koshino left Sendoh who was busy sucking at the sore finger.
"I thought you cared for me," pouted Sendoh running after his friend.
Koshino didn't say anything but continued on his way to the courts.
I'm scared. So afraid to show I care. Will he think me weak if I tremble when I speak?
~~~~
Ayako giggled at the antics of the two players, one of them wincing after being given a headbash while the other growling at the redhead in a typical angry 'Gori' fashion. After a while of submitting the redhead into more roaring and growling, the captain stomped towards her, his face red with frustration.
"That kid just won't listen," Akagi growled before snatching away the towel she held for him, "If he keeps practicing with his lay-ups rather than wasting time arguing with Rukawa, we'd have a much better chance at winning next week's match against Toyotama."
"Maybe he should stay in the sidelines for a moment while the rest do the lay-up practice," suggested the manageress, "With Rukawa with him, you know he won't be able to concentrate."
Akagi 'hmmm'ed, "Yes. Then Sakuragi can see how to improve once he sees objectively how the rest do their lay-ups."
Ayako smiled and handed her sempai the bottle of water. When Akagi accepted it and began to drink, Ayako found herself staring at the way the captain took his drink, from the corded muscles of his tilted neck, the bunched up muscles of his arms that held the bottle to the way the water touched his full lips. When Akagi put the bottle down only then did he realised that Ayako was looking at him oddly.
"What's the matter?" the captain asked, wipping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Ayako blinked and then to her horror she felt the beginnings of a blush. Should she say it?
I like you, sempai. Do you like me?
Mentally she knocked her head onto an imaginary wall ala-Sakuragi but it still could not disipate what she was feeling at that moment. Embarassment. And.... And the fear of rejection. What if there's another one he's thinking of? Maybe he's in love.... I'd feel like a fool. Life can be so cruel. I don't know what to do....
Realising that Akagi was still waiting for her to answer, Ayako just took a deep breath and shook her head, "Nothing, captain."
Suddenly feeling concious of eyes on her she turned her head to the side to see Kogure looking at her knowingly. Quickly she turned away and began to ramble off to Akagi the timetable of the team for the whole week.
~~~~
Kogure smiled softly as he turned away from looking at Ayako and Akagi for the girl's benefit. He was somewhat surprised when he realised that Ayako was attracted to their captain but knowing Akagi as a young man with a lot of points he figured he shouldn't be surprised at all that a young woman such as Ayako was drawn to him. Sure, a lot of girls in their highschool was intimidated by Akagi because of his stature and always serious face but it took only a vivacious girl to look past that and into the person who Akagi really was. If his hunch about Ayako is correct then Miyagi would have one hell of a competition. That is if the girl has the gutts to confront Akagi about her feelings. He wished he could speak to Ayako about it but he wanted her to make the first step.
Turning towards one player in particular another soft smile appeared on his face and when that player turned to look at him, the smile widened when the other player smiled at him in return.
I've been there. With my heart out in my hand. But what you must understand is that you can't let the chance to love him pass you by.
"Kogure-sempai," Anta asked, "Why is your face all red?"
"Oh," laughed the spectacled-senior in embarassment as he clapped his red cheeks with his palms, "Must be the heat."
~~~~
"Hey, Micchy! Why is your face all red?" Hanamichi asked the scarred-faced player who seemed to be distracted by something.
"None of you business," snapped Mitsui before snatching the ball away from the redhead's fingers.
The redhead scowled and tried to get the ball back but Mitsui managed to slip past him with a fake left before the three-pointer ran towards the basket to score a goal with a lay-up.
"Hey!" protested the redhead, "You cheated! I wasn't ready yet!"
Mitsui smirked, "Akagi said to practice with our lay-ups and that's what I'm doing."
"Oh yeah!" Hanamichi gnashed before he managed to snatch the ball from a surprised team-mate and charged towards the goal. As he expected, Mitsui was suddenly in front of him to block his way but already knowing the basic steps of faking from Miyagi in addition to those he learnt by himself, he nearly crowed in victory when he managed to slip by Mitsui and was about to score with his own lay-up when he crashed into an unsuspecting player who was about to do the same with an extra ball. With a thud the two players fell onto the ground, shocked and dazed.
~~~~
When he came to, Rukawa found himself in a compromising position with the redhead sprawled on top of him, their legs tangled while his body was pinned down by the much heavier weight of the redhead. The fox-eyed boy couldn't move, not because Hanamichi was holding him down but the fact that they were so close that he could feel the redhead's heartbeat against his heaving chest. A groan came from the redhead and Rukawa nearly shivered by the warm breath coming from the redhead's lips onto his neck. When Hanamichi finally lifted his head up, Rukawa closed his eyes as the redhead's nose brushed past his cheek in a seemingly nuzzling way and then opened his eyes slowly to watch the soft brown eyes slowly regaining conciousness.
Should I tell him? Tell him that the sun and the moon rise in his eyes? Reach out to him?
Rukawa wanted nothing more than to lift his hand and pull the redhead back into his embrace. Hold him close to feel his heart beat.
And whisper tender words so soft and sweet.
"Get a room, guys," a bored voice broke him out of his dream and it was at that moment that the redhead's wits returned.
"What-?" Hanamichi blinked.
"Get off of me, ahou," Rukawa said gruffly, pushing at the redhead ineffectually.
"Temme!" Hanamichi immedietly jumped up, albeit a bit unsteadily, "It was your fault you got in the way! Don't blame me!"
"You were supposed to practice," the brunette said picking himself up, "Not have a stupid one-on-one game."
"You're just jealous coz no one asked you for one," Hanamichi pointed at him.
At Rukawa's snort it came to as no surprise to everyone when the redhead lunged at the fox-eyed boy with an enraged, "TEMMEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"
~~~~
At the same moment, in the same district but at a different school, the Shoyo team was also busy doing their own practice but with more efficiency and less trouble.
When their practice period ended, Fujima called out to his team to gather around him and after a few words concerning their individual and team skills, he let them go after a last encouraging word of victory.
"We'll need to practice more on our offensive strategy if we are to go against Shohoku this year," Fujima commented as he took the bottle of water handed to him.
"How about Ryonan?" Hanagata asked, holding out the towel that was on his shoulder while his other hand held the drink for himself.
Fujima handed the spectacled boy back the bottle to hold onto while he took the towel and as he wiped his sweaty face, he replied in a muffled voice, "We already know how they play. It's the Shohoku that we need to learn more about especially with Sakuragi on the team. He is very unpredictable and from the games that we see them play he has gotten much better after his injury."
"Aa," Hanagata nodded in agreement, when a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead to lay on his lashes, irritating him and making him wish that he could wipe them off but with his glasses perched on his nose he needed two hands to do so.
Seeing that the taller boy's both hands were occupied, Fujima did the job for him.
"Here," Fujima smiled, taking the spectacles off of his friend before he wiped Hanagata's eyes with his towel. After a thought, he continued to wipe off the rest of Hanagata's sweaty face, from forehead to cheek, liking this tender moment with his friend when suddenly his green eyes met with the brown ones looking down at him innocently.
Touch him with the gentleness I feel inside. My love can't be denied. The truth will set me free. I have what's meant to be.
"Fujima?"
The brown-haired player blinked, realising that he was staring, and laughed throatily to cover his embarassment.
"Here," he said taking his bottle from Hanagata's hand and replacing it with the towel he has just used.
"Doumo," the taller player murmured, wiping his neck and Fujima instantly wished he was the one to do that before his stupid attraction on his friend prevented him by acting like a love-sick puppy.
"I'll bring the plan for the new strategy tomorrow and we'll practice it with the team then. I already have an idea..."
While listening to his captain talk, Hanagata, loyal as always, followed Fujima into the locker room to join the rest of his team-mates to change. For these young boys, the next day brings new things for them to explore and new chances for them to exploit.
Including those that matter to the heart.
All in time you'll see.
~~~~
The Toyotama team have just ended their practice session and they were already trailing out of the gym in pairs or alone back to their repective homes for dinner and rest. Kishimoto walked together with Minami, taking the route they've always taken since they were kids.
"Do you think we can make it to the finals this year?" Kishimoto asked his captain as they silently walked along the dark streets of their neighbourhood. Kishimoto would not have said those words if he was with anyone else but the boy beside him knows about his fears and thoughts so it was useless to hide them from him.
"Of course," Minami replied, "We have gotten better and Kenehira has given us some interesting strategy that we can use."
"We have never tried looking at the game in a psychological point of view before," Kishimoto chuckled, "I still can't believe we pleaded to the director to let him stay."
Minami smiled, "It worked for the best, didn't it?"
Kishimoto snorted, "At least you still get to call all the shots. I still can't stand having that guy ordering me around after he punched me on the face last year."
"You asked for it."
Another snort and Minami chuckled.
"We're having fun again, aren't we?" the captain asked his friend.
"Yeah," Kishimoto nodded, "And I think Kitano-sensei is too with those kids. They're kinda cool for nine year-old don'tcha think?"
"You like them because they admire you," Minami huffed.
"So?" laughed the other player, "I don't see you complainin' Mr. Greatest-Sempai-In-the-World. You're putty in their hands!"
Minami sighed, "Alright, I do admit they have that adorable worship look in their eyes."
Kishimoto laughed again and was pleased to hear Minami laugh along with him. When their laughter stopped, Kishimoto took a peek at his friend and his heart expectedly took a quick tempo in his chest, seeing the pure happiness on his friends face that has been missing since Kitano-sensei's 'resignation'.
"Ano... Minami..." Kishimoto began hesitantly. I love him. Of that much I can be sure. I don't think I could endure. If I let him walk away. When I have so much to say.
"Hm?"
When Minami turned to look at Kishimoto with his egyptian-like eyes which were beautiful in the long-haired young man's opinion, Kishimoto felt his resolve to express feelings falter. What if those eyes suddenly turn to regard him in scorn or in pity rather than the warmth of love that he so desire? Minami has been his best-friend since he could remember and he didn't think he could bear having their close relationship wrecked because of his attraction. Decision made up, Kishimoto just shook his head and said, "Never mind."
~~~~
A few miles away, in Kanagawa, another pair of best-friends were also walking home, filling the quiet night air with chatter. Well, one of them actually, as the other one was content to remain silent while his friend did the talking happily for him.
"Ne, Hiro-kun," said the tallest of the two, "It's quite late. Stay at my house overnight, ok?"
'Hiro-kun' just shrugged, "Sure. I need to call my parents later, though."
"Sugoi!" grinned the spikey-haired boy, tugging at his friend's soft hair, "After we finish our homework we can tell each other stories under the covers or braid our hair."
"Don't be silly, Akira," sighed the other boy, wanting to slap his friend's hand away which was busy combing through his dark hair.
Sendoh Akira happy to be able to play with Koshino's hair as long as possible, continued to do so with a contented smile. Normally, the shorter boy would be adverse in allowing Sendoh to show any affection towards him in front of other people, but only when they were alone he would become somewhat more tolerant - like tonight.
"Ne, Hiro-kun."
"What?"
Sendoh smiled when Koshino unconciously leaned closer towards him. Not wanting that precious moment between them ruined, Sendoh said something other than what he wanted to say, "I'll tell you later."
The hand dropped down to rest on his friend's shoulder and together they continued to walk back to Sendoh's house like two best friends - or lovers - out on a night stroll.
Maybe Koshino would hate him for saying it but a Sendoh never hides his or her true feelings no matter what other people say. However, if it all turns favourable he has lots of ways to ensure the boy beside him that his intent is sincere. And they can spend the night, and more, making sure that Koshino understands him.
Seeing that goofy grin on Sendoh's face, Koshino asked his friend in suspicion, "Oi, you wouldn't be planning on doing anything crazy tonight would you?"
Sendoh turned to look down at him and Koshino had trouble believing that innocence on the boy's face and that light tone coming from that silver-tongued mouth, "Of course not. C'mon, let's go home."
And with that he took hold of Koshino's hand and grasped it tightly. Never let him go.
He hoped in all his heart that this would not be the last time that he could be able to touch Koshino like this. Even the bravest of hearts have their fears.
~the end
This fic is based on Celine Dion's duet with Barbra Streisand "Tell Him".