妳愛他嗎 Do you love him?
Sakuragi Hanamichi stood behind some small trees, watching a couple practicing basketball. He misses those days when Haruko used to teach him basketball skills, and it was in that same court aswell. Haruko, yes, she's in the court, but this time it is not him who's practicing with her, it's that stupid fox, Rukawa Kaede.
He peeped through the wire fence, watching Haruko, standing on the side, holding Rukawa's towel and water bottle, while Rukawa was repeatedly doing dribbling and shooting. You stupid Fox, how can you do this to Haruko! She's not your slave! Sakuragi shouted in his heart, he didn't dare saying it out loud, it might make matter worst. He gripped one of the branches of the small tree tightly, as he became more angry.
Not long later, the sky began to grow dark, but the three of them stayed more or less in their same space, not saying a word. There were not a sound, just the sound of the bouncing ball and Rukawa's jogging feets. Rukawa dribbled the ball towards the basket, then shoot a few meters from it. He caught the ball when it bounced on the ground once, then dribbled it back to the centre, turned around, and dribbled towards the basket again. He did it again and again, non stop, just like a robot, and Harako just stood there motionless, except for the slight movement of her head, as she watches her boyfriend.
Suddenly, Rukawa stopped as he caught the ball after a shot, and walked towards Haruko. The sound of Rukawa's heavy breathing made Haruko nervous. She handed him his towel and the bottle and he took them without a word. He wiped the sweat on his face with the towel, then hung it around his neak. He opened the bottle of water and drank in large gulps, thirstily. Haruko watched him as he did all this. She smiled, 'we can go home together after Rukawa finished drinking', she thought.
"You go home first, I want to stay a little longer." Rukawa bursted out after taking a large gulp, then he placed the bottle back to his lips and carried on drinking. Haruko was disappointed, "but it's dark, you can't even see the ball." "The match tommorrow is very important to me, I don't want to regret." Rukawa screwed back the top to the bottle and placed both the bottle and the towel on the floor beside him. Then he got the ball and started dribbling again.
Haruko, with a touch of sadness in her eyes, could do nothing but to follow what he said. "I understand, I'll go home first. But promise me, don't work too hard, save some energy for tomorrow." She was hoping Rukawa would turn round and say 'thanks', but he carried on practicing. It seems that he was too concentrated in practicing that he didn't hear her.
The depressed Haruko said "Goodnight" and headed for the gate. Before she went, she turned round once more to see if Rukawa was looking at her, but he wasn't and she left without hearing a word from him.
"Haruko!"
The sound came from the left, it was Sakuragi. "Sakuragi? Why are you here?"
Sakuragi always felt nervous whenever Haruko was around, but this time he was more nervous, as he didn't want her to know he had been spying on them. "Errr... I was just... walking pass..."
"You were watching us weren't you?" Sakuragi looked at Haruko, she looked really unhappy, 'I shouldn't lie to her', he thought. "Haruko, it's that fox's fault isn't it? He made you unhappy! He should've walked you home! It's his responsibility! It's too dangerous for a girl to be on her own at this time of night! Let me hit him for you!!" Sakuragi's anger came out all at once, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"No, please don't Sakuragi. He's got an important match tomorrow, I don't want to disturb him."
Hearing Haruko's worried but caring voice made Sakuragi forced himself to calmed down. "I see. I'll walk you home then."
"Thanks."
Sakuragi's anger didn't dissappear even when Haruko agreed to let him walk her home. He just want to hit that fox so desperately, but some how, somewhere in his body told him not to, he didn't want to see Haruko hurt. The thought of that made him even more angry, 'why does Haruko treats him that nice but that fox doesn't seem to care about her? Why does Haruko loves him so much? I don't see anything good about him. Why is it that when you don't want something, you'll get it, but the thing you want you'll never get?'
"Haruko..." Sakuragi looked at her and was shocked to see her rubbing her eyes with her hands. "Haruko are you crying?!" She sniffed a little then tears begun to roll down her cheaks. "Haruko... I'll go back and hit him!"
"No Sakuragi! It's nothing to do with him, it's just the dust has gone into my eyes..." 'Haruko, why are you lying to me...?' Sakuragi whispered.
你愛他嗎 你快樂嗎 想哭的夜晚 他的人在哪 是不是直的連我 你也說謊
Do you love him?
Are you happy?
Where is he
When you want to cry?
Are you lying,
Even to me?
Next day...
Haruko was standing on the side of the court, cheering along with the many fans of Rukawa. There were only a few seconds left till the end of the game, and it was clear which side was going to win. The score was 96 - 55. The whistle blew as Rukawa aimed for the last shot. The ball went in and the final score was 98 - 55, Rukawa's team won. The cheering and shouting grew louder, everyone enjoyed watching the exciting game, although most people knew from the start which side was stronger.
Haruko was the only one who wasn't smiling. "Rukawa knew before that they are no match with him. Why did he said he need to practice more last night when they were not a threat? Could it be... could it be..." She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to believe, but is this the reason why Rukawa had always been so cold to her? "Could it be, he hadn't liked me at all?"
Haruko watched Rukawa left the courts with the other players, then not long afterwards, everyone else started to leave. She just stood in that same spot, thinking, until the courts was empty.
That night...
"Hanamichi~!! Phone!" "Comming!" 'Who could be calling me at this time of night?' Sakuragi wondered. Suddenly his heart began to beat so fast. 'Could it be...?' He had a slight feeling that it was the person he had wanted the most.
He picked up the phone. "Hello?" Silence. He tried again. "Hello?" He heard a small sound, he thought it was some giggling. "Hey kid! Stop messing with the phone or I'll punch you in the face!!"
"Sakuragi, it's me."
"Huh? Ha... Haruko?? I... I'm so sorry! I thought it was some prank." He heard the sound again, this time a bit clearer, it was sounds of sniffling. "Haruko? Are you crying?" When she didn't answer, Sakuragi felt worried. "Haruko!? Please talk to me!! Is it him again?"
"I'm so sorry to call you this late, but I'm alright now. "
"Hold on Haruko! Are you just leaving it again, pretending nothing has happened? You can't always forgive him!"
"Sorry to bother you Sakuragi, but really, I'm alright."
Sakuragi could tell from the sound of her voice that she wasn't alright at all.
"Haruko!! Please!!" Suddenly the line on the other end went dead.
心在跳 是你打來的電話 你不講 你是怎麼了 第幾次 你說你是最後一次原諒他 告訴我 這樣的他 你直的直的還要嗎
Heart is beating
It's you that's calling me
You're silent
How are you?
How many times
You said you'll forgive him this last time?
Tell me
A person like him
You still really, really want?
Sakuragi felt uneasy, there's something strange, Haruko had never phoned him this late before, it was nearly 11:00pm. A sense of anxiousness swept through him. He knew something was wrong but couldn't make out what. 'I need to go find Haruko quick!' He told himself. Suddenly he dashed out the front door and ran towards Haruko's house. He knew Haruko won't be in but at least he could get some clues.
He banged on the door when he got there and Akagi opened it for him. "Who's banging on my door?! Huh? Sakuragi? What're you doing here?"
"Gori, tell me quickly, where's Haruko?!" Sakuragi said, out of breath.
"Isn't she with Rukawa?"
An image of Haruko and Rukawa popped up in his mind. 'Of course she's there! Why am I so thick?!' Sakuragi headed towards the basketball court without saying another word to Akagi.
"Hey Sakuragi! What are you and Rukawa doing to my sister?!!" Akagi shouted, as Sakuragi dissapeared out of sight.
The bouncing of the ball became clearer as Sakuragi neared the courts. He rushed along side the fenced off court, he would glance through the fence to see if Haruko was inside, but it was surrounded with high brushes, so he ran through the gate. He stopped once he was inside and took in deep breaths. He looked round quickly and saw Rukawa in his usual spot, shooting, but no sign of Haruko.
Anger starts to build up when he saw Rukawa. He ran towards him and gaved him a massive smack on the back of his head. Rukawa fell on the ground immediately. "You cold blooded fox!! What've you done to Haruko?!!!" Sakuragi let out all his anger which have been stored inside him for the past few weeks.
"You brainless daoi! What do you think you're doing?!!" Rukawa shouted with shock.
'No time to beat him up, gotta find Haruko fast!' Sakuragi told himself. "Wild fox! Tell me quickly where is Haruko?!!"
"How should I know, I'm not her guardian!" Rukawa answered as he tried to stood up, but couldn't as he felt a little dizzy.
'No use asking this fox, he might not even remember who Haruko is, all he cares about is basketball! Better to find her myself!'
He dashed outside again, but doesn't know where to run, so he ran to the opposite direction he had come. Not a while later he spotted a telephone box. There was somebody inside and he knew immediately who it was. "Haruko!!" He shouted in delight as he opened the door of the phone box. He was right, it was Haruko.
Haruko looked up. Her eyes were buring red, she had been crying. "Sa... Sakuragi?? H... how did you know..." She was surprised to see him.
"Haruko! Why did you tell me you were alright when inside you are badly hurt?"
"Sakuragi..."
"Did you know I've been looking everywhere for you? I wanted to find you so desperately because I can tell you were unhappy by your voice, I thought you'd do something bad!"
"Sakuragi..."
"Haruko, you know he is not the type for you, or rather, he is not the type for any girl, so why hanging on it?!!"
Tears began to roll down Haruko's cheeks again, she was surprised that Sakuragi would say such words to her. "It's none of your business!!" She pushed him away and ran.
Sakuragi ran after her and caught her by the arm. He spun her round so that she faces him. "Haruko, you're scared aren't you? You're scared to know that Rukawa doesn't love you as much as you love him."
Haruko didn't say a word, she just dropped her head down, not looking at Sakuragi.
"Do you want to carry on like this?"
你愛他嗎 你害怕嗎 你不願意講 你不願意答 可是你要的未來 是這些嗎
Do you love him?
Are you scared?
You don’t wanna say
You don’t wanna answer
But is this the future
You want
Haruko's eyes began to water again, more and more droplets formed around her eyes at uncontrolable speed.
Sakuragi's heart hurt deeply but he knew he had to carry on.
"Haruko... why do you act as you're happy when you are with him? Why don't you just tell him how you feel, how painful you feel? If you don't express yourself, how can you expect to get what you want from him? Is it because you know he wouldn't accept your kindness? Because you know he is not the type to return your love?"
你愛他嗎 你在哭吧 你為他掉眼淚 你為他裝傻 你愛他嗎 他了解嗎 你要的幸福 怎麼跟他拿 愛情是一種報答 還是懲罰
Do you love him?
You are crying
You shed tears for him
You act for him
Do you love him?
Does he know?
The happiness you want
How can you get it from him?
Is love a repayment
Or is it a punishment?
Sakuragi continued. "Does he deserve to be treated like this?"
Haruko covered her ears with her hands, she didn't want to listen anymore.
Sakuragi looked dissapointed. 'Haruko, there is a way out of this, but only you're not letting me to help you.' Sakuragi thought. He dropped his head too, losing all sign of hope.
你愛他嗎 他值得嗎 你的世界呀 剩下空氣呀 可是你怎麼不懂 我講的話
Do you love him?
Does he worth it?
Inside your world,
There's still room for air
However you're not listening
To what I'm saying
Suddenly, Haruko fell into Sakuragi's embrace. He was so shocked, he didn't expect this would happen. "Haruko..."
"Sakuragi, please lend me your shoulder..." She cried for the final time (in this fic).
Title of original song 妳愛他嗎 Do You Love Him?
Lyrics (in Chinese) by 易家揚 Jia Yang Yi
Vocals by 鍾漢良 Wallace Zhong
Translated by Angel
Comments This is my first attempt for a song fic, I hope you liked it. The fic is set in some time after Sakuragi, Rukawa and Haruko left Shohoku, maybe at the uni? I don't really know, but that's not important in the fic. I hoped to furthur the three's relationship in this fic cos I thought it wasn't enough in Slam Dunk. I got the idea when I first listened to this song and the three poped up in my mind immediately. In order to make this fic to work, Haruko had to be Rukawa's girlfriend, you might be wondering how can this be, but that's another story! Also, you can see what Haruko and Rukawa's relationship is like cos she calls in Rukawa and not Keade.
It was late in the night. Rukawa Keade was practicing basketball in a small basketball court. He was so tired, he had been here since 5:00pm and now it's 11:00pm. He decided to go home. He picked up his towel and water bottle and headed for the exit. Just before he left the gate, he looked back as if he had forgotten something. There was something that he usually do at this time of night, but he couldn't quite remember. He scratches his head, confused, and went.
Angel, 25.03.00