Keep You With Me

One-shot.

Catch my flight, 6 AM. Gonna be gone 'til who knows when.

Rukawa Kaede glanced his flight ticket. Neatly printed on it was his destination.

He was finally going to realise his dream.

He was going to America.

Three years he'd spent, perfecting his craft. Three painstaking years of training, honing his defence, his attack. Three times, he'd been invited to join the All Japan junior camp, including this summer. Twice he attended the camp, but this time, he had to decline the exclusive invitation, because he was going to America.

America, the basketball kingdom.

And barely a week ago, he'd led Shohoku to national victory. The legacy left by former Captain Akagi two years ago had been fulfilled.

He remembered the exact words he said to Sawakita Eiji two years earlier.

"How do you think the no.1 player of Japan should be...? I think it has to be the one who can lead his team to the championship victory. I'll be that one. I won't be no.2 or no.3..."

He'd proved himself. It had been a long, long journey - endless hours of perfecting his shots, trusting his teammates. Though he always regarded the team led by Captain Akagi in his freshman year the best he'd played in, he had to admit, getting teammates who trusted him as much as he trusted them, was partially instrumental in the success that they enjoyed over the summer.

Rukawa learnt to love the beauty of passing the ball. With each fluid pass, he'd be surprised at the plays his teammates would conjure. And from there, he'd learn from them, adding the moves to his already extensive playbook. After all, without his team, he was nothing.

Relentlessly, he'd pushed himself to be the best, which in turn, inspired his team to be the best, as well.

Trust and passion. That was what they had. From the stepping stones Captain Akagi had laid out, Shohoku had slowly grown into a force to be reckoned with. They'd adapted to the game; each and every one of them playing to their own strengths. Where they lacked, another teammate would complement them.

The current Shohoku team was the best in Kanagawa, and all of Japan.

Coach Anzai was right all along.

"Be the best high school basketball player in Japan, Rukawa-kun."

"Are you ready, Kaede?"

Three years, he'd been waiting for this moment. He'd achieved all of his basketball dreams: team captain and ace, national MVP, national champion.

The best high school basketball player in all of Japan. And now, he was finally, finally going to America.

Even so, deep down in his ice-cold heart, he felt like something was missing.

"Kaede?" His mother's concerned tone broke his reverie.

"Yes, okaa-san." Rukawa nodded, and stood up.

This was it.

America.

Here I go.

"Rukawa-kun!"

Rukawa flinched slightly, then turned around. He knew perfectly well whose voice it was. The same voice that had been cheering him on since his freshman days. The sweet, soft tone of Akagi Haruko.

The next thing he knew, Haruko was in his arms, crying her heart out.

Squeeze you tight, one last time.

Rukawa gently wrapped his arms around the petite girl, pulling her closer. He wasn't accustomed to intimate touches, but since he was leaving, what the hell.

"Haruko..."

Absently he leaned his head on top of hers, suddenly feeling sleepy. He could stay like this forever, just holding her, revelling in her warmth, albeit the fact that she was bawling her eyes out.

Use my shirt to dry your eyes.

He could feel his shirt getting soaked, but he didn't mind one bit. He liked the warmth of her body against his, though her erratic sobs was slightly disturbing him. Otherwise, it just felt right. The way she compelmented him like a missing jigsaw puzzle: she was everything he wasn't, and he liked that about her.

Was she he void he'd been missing all along?

The epiphany pierced through his ice-cold heart.

"Oi, kitsune, you have a flight to catch!" A rough voice, heavily tinged with jealousy, called out. Rukawa knew exactly whose it was - it belonged to the red-headed doaho Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was his vice-captain.

Haruko's sobbing had receded, and her bloodshot eyes met his blue ones. For a moment, he could feel it, though he wasn't entirely sure what it was, it was there.

A foreign feeling he'd never bothered to explore before.

He wanted to hold on to it, on to her, and savour what he'd been missing all along. He wanted to see her cheerful smile again, instead of this broken being. Rukawa didn't like the forlorn expression on her pretty face; and he hated that it was all because of him.

A sad smile carved across her pink lips. "I'm sorry, I'm so emotional. But of course I won't stop you from leaving." She took a step backward, bowing her head.

Gotta let go.

"Haruko..." He whispered, as Sakuragi and Mizusawa ambushed him.

"Damn you, Rukawa, you didn't tell us that you're leaving!" Sakuragi was practically yelling, his loud voice echoing throughout the departure hall.

"We only found out from Anzai-sensei last night." Mizusawa Ichiro, the team's second manager, retorted in his calm, though slightly agitated manner.

"You think you're so good, kitsune? Leaving without even telling us? We're your teammates, dammit!" Sakuragi launched into a lengthy tirade, gesticulating wildly.

Rukawa barely heard Sakuragi's rant, as his gaze drifted over to Haruko. He didn't expect to leave this soon, either...

"...upsetting Haruko-san...you fox...an outrage!"

"Senpai." Mizusawa's voice was soft. "You know she cares so much for you."

He didn't deserve her. Not Haruko, for all her kindness, her cheerfulness. The way she treated him differently, with that extra effort - the little smile she routinely greeted him with, her encouraging cheers from the sidelines when he scored for the team.

No matter how much Haruko had cared for him over the past three years, all he'd cared about was basketball, and nothing else.

But now...

"Mizusawa, I have to go." Rukawa said abruptly, his expression unreadable. Maybe if he left, Haruko would stop caring. Maybe if he left, she'd forget about him. After all, she deserved someone better, someone who would reciprocate. Someone who wasn't as emotionless as he was, who would treat her much better than he did.

Mizusawa's eyes bulged in surprise; he didn't expect he ace to shut down so quickly. "Good luck, Rukawa-senpai."

"You too, Mizusawa." Rukawa nodded at his junior. He turned to the red-headed boy who'd been the bane in all of his high school years, whose face was now as red as his hair, with anger.

"Sakuragi."

"What?" Sakuragi stopped mid-rant.

Rukawa never thought he'd ever say this.

"...take care of Haruko."

"You know I will, kitsune."

-owari-