Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl That Time Loved ❯ Volleyball Finals ( Chapter 17 )

Charging towards the basketball goal, Mitsui exploded and muscled his way past two teammates for a lay-up. His teammates looked at each other in awe and fear; the shooting guard ran across the court like a raging bull, as if nothing else mattered but making the basket. They had never seen him on fire like he was on the court then; he was fueled by something they could not define.

"All right, two-minute water break!"

Preoccupied with plays on his clipboard, Coach Miwa sat on one of the chairs by the sidelines. Most of the players straggled to the water fountain to get a drink, and as they stood in line behind it, an awkward hush fell upon them.

"Hey guys," mumbled Keiichi, "is Mitsui all right?"

"Shit, it's like he's a completely different person… I can't keep up with him today! It's hard to guard somebody when you can't even look into his eyes, he's freakin' scary!" murmured Kazuma as he snuck a glance at the shooting guard chugging water from a water bottle on the sidelines.

After quenching his thirst, Akagi straightened up and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his practice jersey.

"I think he'll be all right. He's just a little angry, that's all."

They all caught their teammate staring angrily into space, his muscled forearm clutching the water bottle in silent fury as his brow furrowed at some agitating thought. Miyagi joined the spectating group and threw in his two cents in a low, hushed voice.

"I feel sorry for the unlucky bastard that pissed him off."

Keiichi swung his head towards the point guard. "What makes you say that?"

After pausing to take a drink, Miyagi looked back at the shooting guard with wary, narrowed eyes.

"Gori and I have known Mitchy since high school. He's a lot nicer now… for him to get worked up like that, the guy must've hit a deep, personal nerve." Miyagi took the bottom half of his practice jersey to wipe the sweat off his face. "I bet it's got something to do with Reiko-san."

Akagi turned to him in surprise. "How did you know?"

The point guard took a deep breath. "If ever a prick managed to talk out of his ass and mentioned Aya-chan's name in the same breath, I'd get just as angry, if not angrier. And the way he's looking right now, he's ready to beat the shit out of that poor schmoe, if he was given the opportunity." Pausing to smirk, Miyagi added, "Believe me, I know."

"Let's go, men! Back on the court!"

Taking his glasses off, Tak Nakamichi blinked a few times before sitting in front of his computer. Clicking on the blinking `mail' icon, his eyes scanned the list of new messages on the screen. Seeing the word `urgent' next to Jackson's cell number, he quickly clicked on the link and read the short message with anxious eyes.

`Nakamichi-dono upset. Vitals yet to be taken. Approaching house now.'

He quickly reached for the phone.

"Nakamichi-dono, we have arrived," stated Jackson, his voice betraying a worried tone. It took a few seconds for his words to register in her mind, and she slightly shook her head as if waking from a daydream before stepping out of the Suburban. Fuji threw an inquiring glance at Miller who bit his lower lip as he dug his hands in his pockets.

She gave them her thanks, her voice barely above a whisper. They followed her through the front door and made the usual safety check of the huge house, the older guards checking the bedrooms upstairs, Fuji and Miller the rooms downstairs. As they looked for any sign of entry or foreign devices, their heads jerked up at the sound of the phone ringing. Jackson flew down the stairs to find Reiko standing quietly in front of the flat panel screen by the foyer. The hulking guard was relieved that she waited to see who was calling before picking up.

The screen flashed the name `Dr. Nakamichi' across the panel, and it gave Jackson an even greater sense of relief. By then the rest of the guards returned to the foyer.

Reiko thought she heard Jackson sigh. She forced a faint smile across her lips and nodded their way before pushing the `transmit' button. Her uncle's face appeared before her.

"Hello, Uncle Tak."

"Hi, Rei. Are you all right?"

She hesitated to answer as she coyly glanced at Jackson and the others.

"I will be fine."

With that they gave a quick bow, and Sakai led the younger guards through the kitchen and out the back door, Jackson trailing behind them.

In the foyer, silence.

Broken.

"Rei, tell me what happened."

Gray sadness crystallized in her eyes as she spoke.

"I did something bad, Uncle Tak. I broke a promise."

"How?"

"I solved the one math problem Kamata-sensei told me never ever to reveal to anyone."

Her uncle paused to think. Kamata…. Kamata….

"He was the old mathematician with the limp, am I correct?"

She nodded.

"Uncle Tak, I feel awful… I let my curiosity get the better of me. And because of it, every one in class saw it, including the professor and several of men I have never seen before."

The doctor saw the worry on his niece's brow, but he couldn't quite understand the depth of her anxiety.

"Go easy on yourself now. You've worked so many math problems before.... solving them is probably as easy as breathing. Were you meant to remember each math problem and breath you take?"

He watched her overcast eyes glance down guiltily before looking back at the screen.

"No… just this one."

Unease.

"Rei, what did your professor say?"

"He told me to finish the problem."

"So you didn't completely answer it?"

"I got as far as the fourth equation before realizing what I've done."

"Did the professor make any rude comments toward you?"

She looked away before nodding.

Vexed.

Heaving a sigh, he knotted his brow. "How important is this problem?"

"Kamata-sensei passed away before he could demonstrate its implications in his lab... he didn't want anybody else to know," she said, her voice quivering. "Uncle Tak, I don't know how the math professor knew about Kamata-sensei's work…."

"Calm down, dear. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this." The doctor looked away for a moment, and said, "I need you to take a couple of deep breaths before sending me your vitals. Try to relax, okay?"

"Okay."

He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. She wrapped the blood pressure cuff and black elastic band around her arm and forearm and waited for the values to appear on the computer. As the numbers flashed one by one, his jaw clenched in anger at the thought of his niece's genius being exploited by some faceless pencil neck.

Coach Sato sat in his office chair, staring at the starting line-up he had on his clipboard. His leading player's absence from practice that day threw a kink into his plans that day. Eyeing the names on the sheet one by one, he chewed on the inside of his lip and shook his head slightly. He had relied on Reiko's punctuality and dependability so much that he didn't even think of a back-up plan should she not be there like today. What if it happened on finals day? What if she couldn't make it? He sank back in his seat with a groan.

"Back to the drawing board..." he thought out loud.

In the ladies' locker room, Nanami looked around her. She could feel this aura of uneasiness from the whole team; she noticed that they weren't so vocal on the court during practice that day, like they lost some of their steam. She knew that even Coach Sato detected it. Looking down at her open gym bag, she admitted that the team as a whole had banked all their hopes of winning the championship with Reiko's help. And with their cornerstone gone.... `It was just one day of practice,' she thought. One day. She'll be all right. Tossing her volleyball shoes in the bag, she zipped it up and slung it on her shoulder.

`I hope she's all right.'

On the way out of the gym, she stopped in her tracks, reached for her cell phone and scrolled to find a number.

Mitsui yanked his jersey off his back, took off his other garments and wordlessly hit the showers. In the stall next to his was Akagi. Hearing the shooting guard's familiar voice as he groaned under the blasting showerhead, he chanced to ask him how he felt.

"I'm a lot better now. Thanks, Gori."

Akagi smiled at the nickname. At least he was somewhat back to his playful self. And then...

"Man, I wanna beat the shit out of that professor."

Proving Miyagi to be right, the center's face couldn't decide whether to laugh or be cautious. "You'd have to beat Reiko-san's guards to it first," he replied, testing the shooting guard's emotional waters. He eased upon hearing his teammate laugh and sigh.

"You're right."

Seconds passed.

"Do you think she's okay, Akagi?"

"She did look a little shaken, but I think she'll be all right." Turning off the water and toweling himself dry, Akagi thought back to the morning's events. "Something's weird, Mitsui... who were those men with the professor? I've never seen them before."

"Well, they're probably his little minions who idolize him... jackasses," he muttered.

"But if they were his `minions', we should've seen them tail him around at least once. And today, it's as if he knew that Reiko-san could solve that problem on the board. His reaction when you guys erased the board is proof of that."

After rinsing the suds of soap off, Mitsui finally turned off the water and reached for his towel. "Well... they did look like they were copying down the answers off the board, and I heard them croak in protest when I helped Reiko-san erase the answers.

"I wonder what that problem means," Akagi thought out loud as he weighed himself on the scale just by the shower room.

// It was enough to jolt Reiko that much... // Mitsui was beginning to wonder just how smart his stretch partner was, and the reactions he saw today from her and the professor led him to speculate that they both knew something of great importance beyond his comprehension.

"Gori, can I borrow your cell phone? I need to make a call."

Reiko slowly ascended the stairs to her bedroom, and each step she took felt like leaden weight pulling on her body. She was tired. She sat on her bed and looked up at the skylight before completely resigning to a supine position, eyes still fixed at the tiny twinkling stars of the night sky. The conversation with her uncle had calmed her much, but her disappointment still weighed her spirits down. Professor Kamata from her childhood had been a wonderful math instructor for her level of intellect. He was the first Japanese professor she had, and the old arthritic man taught all her lessons in his native language which helped her retain her speaking ability in an American environment. Like all her other instructors, he was a very dear man to her; he would tell her stories of his childhood whenever they ended lessons early, stories of mischief, of war, and of his dreams. He taught her much of the Japanese history she knew now, and in turn she answered the last problem of his life's greatest work. Ever since she was able to solve that five-step equation, it was as if a great burden was lifted from his shoulders, and with that he decided that he had taught her all he knew and ended her lessons. Later on she was told that he was sick, with some sort of cold. She remembered going to the hospital to visit him. She remembered his hoarse voice reminding her of their promise. And with a pat on the head, he sent her off to go play and not waste her precious childhood with an old bag like him. Young and playful, she grinned and did as she was told, and the next day she heard that her dear old instructor passed away last night in his sleep. The old man's body succumbed to the pneumonia that claimed his life. Reiko wished she understood his condition then; had she known the situation, she could have spent a little more time with her ailing instructor. The least she could have done was keep the pact between them, and even that she wasn't able to do. She shut her eyes in guilt.

A beep from the intercom made her head turn.

"Nakamichi-dono, would you like to have dinner delivered here tonight?" asked Jackson's bass voice.

She hesitated for a moment before getting up to press the button on the intercom unit. "Please tell Yoshi-san to send four dinners. My appetite seems to have abandoned me this evening."

All four guards looked at each other as they sat in the kitchen of the servants' house. Jackson shot Sakai an inquiring look, and his partner just nodded.

"Very well, then."

When she thought he was finished, Jackson's voice echoed again. "If you need us to get you anything, Nakamichi-dono, please don't hesitate to ask."

She smiled faintly at the offer. Pressing the button, she replied, "Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Perhaps my appetite will find its way to my stomach later tonight."

Jackson backed away from the intercom and took a mug from the cabinet above the kitchen countertop. Measuring several tablespoons of coffee, he poured the dark grainy powder into the coffee filter and turned the pot on. Fuji sat back in his chair and looked at Miller who was on the phone with the old man Yoshi. Sakai grabbed a mug from the cabinet and stood next to Jackson as he looked outside the window by the sink.

"Please ask him to send five boxed dinners anyway," Sakai said as he watched the coffee percolate through the drip hole. "And some grapes, if he could."

Miller dictated just as the older guard had said, and when he hung up the phone, Fuji asked why the grapes.

"Her favorite fruit," he said.

Jackson smirked at his reply. Taking a seat by the dinner table, he cracked a few knuckles on one hand before calling the guards' attention. "That math teacher just pushed all sorts of buttons on me. Miller, find out who he is. I want to know more about this bastard... what other companies he's worked for, what he eats for breakfast, what size shoe he wears. Find out everything. Fuji, check out our guns and ammo. Make sure that the batteries for the sat phone are charged, as well as our two-way radios." The bulky guard got up from his seat, poured himself and Sakai a cup of coffee and took a sip. "Sakai and I will go to the garage and check on the Suburban."

With that, the four men dispersed from the kitchen and went their separate ways.

Following Sakai to the garage, Jackson reached for the vibrating cell phone by his hip and answered.

"This is Jackson... Yes... We've got it covered, sir... We will."

Grabbing a toolbox from the garage, Sakai bent down to check the chassis of the vehicle with a mirror. Noting no suspicious objects, he proceeded to pop the hood of the Suburban open. Lifting the hood stand and putting it in place, he checked the oil level and the engine.

"That was Dr. Nakamichi," stated Jackson, checking the air pressure of the tires.

Sakai grunted knowingly.

"Do you think she should play tomorrow, Sakai?"

His partner shrugged. "Are you getting another one of your gut feelings?"

"I'm afraid so."

"And what is it telling you?"

"That we shouldn't be in that gym."

His words made Sakai pause for thought.

"Do you think she'll see it our way?"

"Well... it's really her call. We agreed from the beginning that we would support her decision to play, and we need to stick to it. All we can do now is be prepared." Jackson reached for his vibrating phone again, holding his index finger up for Sakai to pause conversation.

"This is Jackson... Hello, Mitsui-san..."

Sakai grinned as he searched the toolbox for a mini Maglite.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure... I don't know if it's too soon... Wait, where are you?... Maybe it's not such a bad idea. Meet me at Yoshi's restaurant in half an hour."

His colleague peered from the front of the car. "What are you up to, Jackson?"

He shrugged and laughed. "Old man Yoshi has a new delivery boy on staff."

Arching his brow in jest, an impish grin plastered Sakai's face. "Oh? And who might that be?"

Jackson chuckled. "As soon as we finish our checks, I'll take you to see him."

They kept the grin on their faces as they finished inspecting the exterior of the vehicle. Finding everything in order, they proceeded to check the interior panels of the Suburban, folding the back seats down and pressing several hidden buttons under the seats to reveal two 15-inch flat screen panels. Two keyboards detached underneath them, and a black box slid out from beneath the floor board, just above the first aid kit that was attached to the mesh interior with Velcro. Manning each computer, Jackson and Sakai performed several scans that checked the vehicle's circuitry, communications link and the computers themselves. Seeing the words `clear' scroll up the screen, they stowed the equipment away and returned the seats in the upright position. Jackson took the driver's seat, and he waited for Sakai to strap himself in before driving off. As they left the estate, Jackson tossed his cell phone over to his partner.

"Please tell Fuji and Miller to call ahead and tell Yoshi that we'll be picking up the dinners ourselves."

They found Mitsui engaged in conversation with the old proprietor. Raising his head, Yoshi motioned for the two older guards to take the seats next to them, hailing a waiter to prepare some tea for them. Within seconds the teapot and cups arrived, and the old man poured each bodyguard a steaming serving of roasted green tea. Asking the waiter to bring out the orders, Yoshi watched the two greet the shooting guard with a handshake before taking quick sips of their tea.

"Collegiate basketball is one of the two favorite topics my waiters are buzzing about, gentlemen," the old man said, garnering a grin from the shooting guard.

"What's the other?" asked Sakai after taking another sip.

"I think you already know the other topic," the old man answered, winking at the three men smiling before him. Watching the steam rise from their teacups, Yoshi cleared his throat. "Is Nakamichi-dono all right? She usually dines with all of you here.... even Fuji and Miller are gone."

Jackson saw Sakai's and Mitsui's head turn to his direction.

"She's got a few things on her mind..." trailed the bulky guard, taking a sip of his tea.

The old man sighed. "Well, my waiters sure miss her fingers on the piano keys... You know, you men didn't have to trouble yourselves with picking the order up. I could have sent Takumi-kun to deliver the dinners."

"Well," Jackson said as he swirled the tea in his cup, "it's only fair to show your new delivery man the ropes."

"What? I don't think I hired a delivery man recently -"

Jackson slapped his large hand against Mitsui's shoulder. "Well, this one's only temporary, Yoshi-san."

For a moment the old man's eyes widened and he chuckled at the suggestion. "All right, then. Teach him well, Mr. Jackson."

The guard gave him a knowing grin and Sakai rarely saw his partner's eyes shine with mischief. All that time, the shooting guard blinked in confusion at the idea of him delivering food. Thanking them for the tea, they took their leave and Jackson motioned Mitsui to follow them to the Suburban. Getting in, they strapped themselves and sped off.

Phone ringing.

Deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Akagi Takenori, please?"

"This is he speaking.... Nanami-chan?"

"Hi, Akagi-kun, how's it going?"

Panic.

"I-it's so-so..."

"Um... listen. The reason I'm calling is because I want to know if you knew anything about Reiko-chan not showing up for practice. I called Ayako-chan earlier to get Mi-chan's cell number, but she told me he didn't have one. She gave me yours instead."

"Oh..."

"So... did anything bad happen? Is she all right?"

"Well... "

And so the blushing center told Nanami about what happened that morning. The setter found herself getting angry at the math professor, blaming him for ruining everybody's mood that day. She raised her brows after Akagi said that the shooting guard told their professor off and walked out of the lecture hall.

"Really? You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not. I thought at one point he was going to pound the guy through the floor, and I kind of had to hold him back. But after telling the bastard off, he walked off and the whole class gave him a standing ovation as he left."

"Wow, I didn't know Mi-chan had nerves of steel."

"Tell me about it. The guys on the team were afraid to even look at him, let alone play against him during practice. That professor should've never raised his voice at Reiko-san... it's really no big deal if she didn't solve the problem on the board. She's already helped everyone in class more than that nerd has in a whole semester. It's as if the guy was baiting her to solve the problem... and I think Mitsui's right. Even the professor himself can't solve the problem, and he took the chance that someone else would." Akagi paused to think before continuing. "I think he knew that she could solve the problem all along.... that spineless man's up to no good, I just know it."

He heard her groan on the other line. "Sato-sensei looked a little worried during practice today after Mi-chan stopped by to tell him Reiko wasn't coming. I think the whole team is worried as well..."

"Are you worried?"

Pause.

"I try not to be."

Akagi looked down on the floor and searched for some comforting words to say.

"I just want to know if she'll be playing with us tomorrow night," she continued, a hint of childish hope in her voice.

"I'm sure she will, Nanami-san," his deep voice reassuring.

"What about you, Akagi-san, are you worried about your finals on Sunday?"

"I think we'll be all right," he answered, smiling at her question. "And after seeing Mitsui play like he did today in practice, I think we should do just fine."

"Our whole team will be rooting for you. I wish you the best of luck, Akagi-san."

"Thanks, and I wish you luck for tomorrow as well, Nanami-san."

The line was silent for a few seconds, both reddening at each other's words.

"Oh, you know what? Mitsui borrowed my phone earlier, I think the number he dialed is still on here. Hold on, okay?"

The center looked at all the dialed calls on his phone and scrolled down to the most recent one. "Nanami-san, I've got it. Do you have a pen handy?"

"It's good that you're wearing a cap tonight, Mitsui-san," smirked Jackson as he spoke over his shoulder.

"Why is that?"

"I want you to really look the part," he said, making Sakai laugh quietly in the front passenger seat.

Mitsui smiled at the guard's comment as the vehicle pulled into the estate's driveway and parked. Sakai got out first and took four of the dinners with him, telling the shooting guard to do his job well. With a grin, Sakai left the two by the Suburban. Jackson turned to Mitsui.

"I'll take you to the front door."

Placing the fifth dinner in the shooting guard's hands, Jackson led him up the cobblestone walkway and stopped at the doorstep.

"Mitsui-san, I know you want to see her badly. Am I right?"

"Yes," he answered in a heartbeat.

"I decided to bring you here because I know you can cheer her up. You seem to do a good job at doing that."

Mitsui unconsciously reached for the back of his head. Jackson laughed.

"Well, delivering her dinner is your immediate job right now, so do it well. Please make sure she eats, even if it's just a little. She's going to need the energy for tomorrow's game. Go ahead and ring the bell. I'll tell her it's okay to answer the door."

Mitsui did as he was told, unsure of just how he would react when she answers the door, but the shooting guard was elated nonetheless that he'll be seeing his stretch partner that evening, even if he was a little dumbfounded at the whole idea. Jackson pressed the button of the intercom and glanced at the shooting guard as he spoke into it.

"It's only the delivery man, Nakamichi-dono. It's all right to answer the door."

"Thank you, Mr. Jackson."

Hearing her voice through the black box on the wall made him smile, and the thumbs-up that Jackson gave him as he walked off made his smile grow even bigger. The shooting guard stared at the French door for a moment, discerning a moving shadow behind it that got closer and closer. Grabbing the bill of his baseball cap, he made sure it fit snugly and looked down at the door mat beneath his feet. The door swung open.

"Thank you for bringing the dinners, Taku-" Reiko gasped. "Mitsui-san!"

He grinned as he handed her the packaged meal, delighted at the blue glints that surfaced from the gray depths of her eyes as she blinked at him in surprise.

"It looks like I've found another part-time job, Reiko-san," he said, his hands finding their way into his jean pockets.

She laughed. "So it seems." She fully opened the door. "Please come in, Mitsui-san."

Stepping over the threshold, the shooting guard took his cap off, his eyes immediately scanning the enormity of the house, its vastness always awed him. He often wondered how his stretch partner was able to live alone in such big residence. He returned his gaze to her. // She's a sight for sore eyes... // Opening the paper bag, she saw a smaller box with the packaged dinner and took it out of the bag first.

"What's this?" she thought out loud.

Mitsui craned his head a bit as she opened the box that revealed big succulent grapes still attached to part of a vine. She smiled.

"Grapes... I wasn't even planning on eating tonight."

"Your men must care about you a lot."

She continued to smile. "I bet they sent you here with the food."

The shooting guard had to look away to hide his flushed face. "I guess," he mumbled, the boyish habit of his hand behind his head nearly making her laugh. He remembered what Jackson told him. "It's not good to skip meals, Reiko-san. It's better if you ate."

She stared at the box of food. Yoshi had baked some big pieces of baked salmon for her, with angel hair pasta and capers on the side. She thought back to her stretch partners words. Her men really were thoughtful, and she was beginning to see how they were subtly trying to cheer her up. The gray hardness in her eyes softened. Reiko took two plates from the cupboard and divided the food into two servings onto the plates. Mitsui watched in amusement.

"What's the other plate for?" he asked.

"It's only polite to offer a guest something to eat," she stated quietly, placing the capers artfully on the pasta as she had seen the chefs at Yoshi's restaurant do. "Have you eaten dinner yet, Mitsui-san?"

The shooting guard shook his head. "I didn't have much of an appetite earlier."

"I see..." she trailed off, taking a dinner knife and fork from the cutlery drawer to slice a piece of salmon. Placing the piece on the fork, she held it out at the somewhat surprised shooting guard. Wordlessly, he moved to her side, received her offering and took the bite, the tender texture of the meat against his palate mingling with the mixture of seasonings that made his mouth water for more. Reiko watched as he chewed silently, his gaze locking onto hers. "How about now?" she asked, setting the fork down.

He could only nod as he watched her casually turn to peel a grape over the sink before biting into it. He spied the corner of her mouth spilling a drop of juice that trailed down to her jaw and she wiped it away with the pad of her thumb, the act stoking a feral fire that burned his insides. She had no clue that the little innocuous things she did pushed him to his limits of decency. // What I would give for my lips to be that piece of fruit... //

"Would you mind eating half of my dinner, Mitsui-san?" she asked, her face turning slightly towards him.

Snapping out of his reverie, he chuckled. "Won't you need all of it for your game tomorrow?"

She took another fork and knife out of the cabinet. "Well, I only have half of my appetite to begin with, and I can only eat half of this dinner. And it seems that you now found the other half of my appetite, so it's only logical that you eat the remaining half." Reiko cast a knowing glance at her stretch partner, quickly retracting her gaze to peel another grape. The scene struck a funny cord within him. The look told him that with her logic, the argument had already been won before it began and there was no room left for him to reason. He grinned.

"I'm sorry about what happened today, Mitsui-san," said, her gaze lowering and her voice just above a whisper.

"For what?" he asked, slightly lowering his head and trying to peer into her downcast gray eyes.

"I could not give you the A for your final grade."

"That doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that you're respected, and that lousy professor didn't have that concept down."

Reiko looked up at him and noted a tinge of bitterness in his deep voice.

"That professor sucks, anyway. I hate men with no respect for women."

Reminded of the broken promise, she silently looked down at the two plates she prepared, and Mitsui felt guilty for reminding her of the incident that morning. "Hey, I'm sorry I brought it up. I can be so insensitive sometimes."

"Oh, no... I - I just was not prepared for something like that to happen." She paused for a second before turning around to take two glasses out of the overhead cabinets. "Perhaps we should postpone this topic of conversation, Mitsui-san, before we completely ruin our appetites."

Mitsui heard the uncertainty in her voice, and he agreed to the idea. Looking at the plates of food, he thought of something distracting to say. "Wow, I didn't know that being a delivery boy meant being fed as well."

Not expecting that response from him, her soft laughter rang throughout the kitchen, something he was surprised to hear. He found himself contented with the way he was carrying himself after what happened earlier in the day; he was unsure of how seeing her crestfallen would affect him, he was even a little afraid that he wouldn't be able to get a smile out of her. He understood. All he had to do was be the man he promised to be there for her.

Taking the glasses of orange juice with her to the dining room, Mitsui followed, taking care not to let the salmon pieces slide on the beds of pasta. "Whenever Yoshi-san sends our orders, he usually makes Takumi-san deliver them."

"Good thing you didn't mistake me for him," he said, winking at a wide-eyed Reiko.

"It's difficult not to... you and he are marginally different," she said, placing a dinner napkin on her lap.

"Really... I'm intrigued. Tell me how," he egged on, leaning forward as he mimicked her move.

"Well..." she let her gaze fall on the glass of orange juice next to her plate. "You're much bigger in stature than Takumi-san. He is a person of few words, and he doesn't have that glint in your eyes whenever he talks to me."

The shooting guard playfully arched a brow. "What glint in my eyes?"

Giggling, she replied. "That glint that gives me a reserved impression."

"Huh? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Stifling a laugh, she leaned back in her seat. "I feel like you have something more to say to me whenever you look at me the way you do."

// God, do I ever... // He decided to play along. "Well, maybe I do have something more to say."

"And what would that be?"

He turned his nose up as he closed his eyes in mock arrogance. "That's for me to know and you to find out." She laughed once more as she picked up her fork, both of them digging into their shared meals. Careful to avoid talking of what happened that morning, the shooting guard asked if she would play tomorrow, for Coach Sato looked quite distressed when he told him his stretch partner wasn't coming to practice. She nodded her head.

"Please remind me to call Sato-sensei. There's no excuse for missing practice.... do you think I'll be reprimanded?"

Mitsui laughed. "By him? After relentlessly begging you to be on the team, I don't think that'll happen. He'll be more relieved than angry if you called." // Just like I was to see you, // he added silently.

There was a bout of silence before either of them spoke, ruminating of what to say next as they consumed their dinner. Both turned their heads at the sound of the phone ringing, and she excused herself to go to the foyer. On the flat screen flashed the caller's name and number.

`Ueno Nanami

357-1590'

She picked up the cordless phone. "Hello, Nanami-san... Mr. Jackson did? Oh, good..." She walked back towards the dining room. "Yes, I feel much better about it now, thank you. Oh, Mitsui-san came to visit. He is here now."

At the other end of the line, Nanami was grinning.

"I'm sorry for missing practice, Nanami-san... Yes, I'll be there tomorrow. Where and what time do we meet?... Very well... Oh, sure..."

Reiko handed over the phone to the shooting guard. "She would like a word with you." As he took the phone, she took the plates and silverware to the kitchen.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Mi-chan! I'm so glad you're there..." she teased, the tone of her voice taunting.

His face reddening, he replied, "Did you call just to harass me?"

The setter laughed at his irritation, seeing his annoyed face in her mind's eye. "No, I just wanted to check up on your progress."

"With what?" he stammered.

"With her."

"Nanami-chan," he whined, his embarrassed reply making her laugh.

"All right, all right, I'll let you go. Hey, Mi-chan? Akagi-kun told me what happened. I'm glad you stood up for her. You're a real sweetheart."

He looked down at the floor, the habit of his hand reaching for the back of his head returning. "Thanks. By the way, how did you get this number?"

"Akagi-kun gave me the number you dialed on his cell phone, and it turned out to be Jackson-san's number. In turn he gave me Reiko-chan's number, and here I am talking to you."

"Akagi, huh?" The shooting guard impishly grinned. "So what else did you guys talk about?"

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing, really..."

It was Mitsui's turn to laugh. "Akagi's got a crush on somebody... I'm pretty sure you already know who it is, right?"

Silence.

Seeing Reiko emerge from the kitchen, he straightened up. "Here, let me hand the phone over to Reiko-san," he said as he did just that. Her stretch partner listened and watched as she reassured her teammate she was fine and that she was looking forward to tomorrow's game. Bidding her goodnight, she hung up. "What do you suggest we do now, Mitsui-san?" she asked.

They ended up in the living room. With pillows strewn across the Persian rug, they lazily sprawled out on their abdomens side by side like a couple of kids, looking at a photo album she took from underneath the coffee table. She was much younger in the photos, and most of them included her old instructors. He noticed that none of her family members he saw in her room were in it. She briefly recounted the lessons she learned from each pictured instructor, and when they flipped through the last page, she looked at the remaining pictures in silence. She placed her chin on her forearms which were propped up by a pillow and finally allowing her head to rest on one side.

"This was my math instructor, Kamata-sensei."

Mitsui watched as she looked at the last photograph of her and the old man with a cane, both smiling happily. He made the connection that what happened earlier that morning had something to do with this old man; the somber look in her eyes was enough to give it away. He closed the photo album and put it back under the coffee table, her prone form staying still and her eyes glassy with nostalgia as she stared blankly ahead. Quietly, he mimicked her posture and waited quietly for her to speak. A minute passed by in silence.

"He was the last of my instructors to pass away," she uttered indistinctly, her voice so faint that he had to inch closer just to hear her. "He taught me everything I know about math past calculus..." she trailed off, her thoughts far away. "I miss him..." She closed her eyes for a moment and let a small sigh. "I miss them all."

The shooting guard chose to remain quiet for fear of uttering a word that might reveal his knowledge of her family; he assumed that `all' included her deceased parents and siblings as well. A wave of sympathy washed over him, and he reprimanded himself for feeling sorry for her, for having to grow up alone and in isolation, for being under constant supervision for knowing too much. And yet still he couldn't suppress the pity that swelled in his chest. He let his arm drape across her back and his hand gently tapped her shoulder, hoping he could give some sort of consolation. With a faint smile, she turned to look at him briefly only to return to gaze ahead of her, words escaping them as they remained prone, looking ahead in silence.

"Thank you for being here, Mitsui-san," she finally mumbled, her fingers finding the warm hand that tapped her shoulder. "I find it a little easier to cope with this morning's mishap with you here."

He smiled as he turned her head to look at her. "I'm glad I could be of some help, Reiko-san," he whispered.

And so they remained, their forms lying still on the floor as they took solace in each other's silence.

Volleyball finals in the Kanagawa Arena. The place was packed, and outside the ticket booths was a sign printed in big bold letters: `sold out'. The spectators filled the elliptical arena with noisy chatter as they waited for the teams to come out of the locker rooms. Sportscasters had their booths set up and their camera men were standing by as they did their sound checks for the microphones. On one side of the wooden court was the officials' table, and immediately behind it was a table for the press with telephones that lined the edge. It was so noisy that Coach Sato couldn't hear himself talk to one of the officials; he was practically yelling into his ear. It was thirty minutes before starting time, and he tried to hide his nervousness by looking at the player roster his metal clipboard one more time. This was it. This was the day he thought would never come. His team at long last made it to the finals, and his pulse raced at the realization as the noisy sold-out crowd drove it home. He knew they were the underdogs, but his team managed to get this far, and they had earned every right to be there. His girls had toiled and persevered through a lot, and briefly glancing at his watch, he took comfort in knowing that their performance on the court will be their absolute best. He was able to find his sleep after receiving a reassuring phone call from Reiko that she will be showing up for today's game, and his wife was so thankful for it.

Coach Sato spied Mitsui and Jackson momentarily talking to Sakai before the smaller guard walked off. They were dressed in the same black suits as when he first met them, and he saw Miller hand over a two-way radio to Fuji before they parted their ways, one joining Sakai on the upper level, the other remaining on court level with Jackson on the opposite side of the court. The coach never really asked why she had to be guarded or wondered its importance, but he knew that with a crowd like this, their job would be increasingly difficult. He didn't want his blue chip player to feel unsafe even though he never really got this impression from her. He tried not to think more of it. The guards were doing their job, he was doing his job, and now it's time for the girls to do theirs. He looked back at Mitsui who was engaged in conversation with the brawny bodyguard.

Twenty minutes before the court-deciding coin toss. After shrugging out of their warm-ups, Coach Sato's team huddled in the guest locker room, their faces smiling in excitement despite the palpable apprehension in the air. Nanami got their attention.

"All right, ladies, listen up. This is it. The moment we've been waiting for." The setter motioned for them to cling to each other in a circle, their heads bowed down. Reiko imitated their move. "And now, a moment of prayer. Miki-chan, please do honors."

"All right." She closed her eyes and they all did the same as she spoke. "Dear Lord, our sweat and determination along with Your great help have brought us here today... thank you for our past victories and for giving us this opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of a championship title... we humbly pray that You deliver our opponents into our hands with the strength of a thousand Reikos..."

They all stifled their laughter to let their teammate finish her odd but earnest prayer despite its wording.

"... We pray that You grant us the strength to endure what lies ahead of us now... please forgive us for the many pranks we've committed against our coach... and we thank You from the bottom of our hearts for granting us a kind and pretty weapon to annihilate our enemies. We cannot thank You enough for Reiko, Lord, and we know that we will forge a path and a name for ourselves and our team with Your help. Thank You for believing in us, and we truly believe in You. All these things we pray in Your name, amen."

"Amen," they echoed. As they straightened up, they continued to hold each other in the circle. Once more Nanami took command.

"Ladies, it's all or nothing. We've come this far. Let's talk out there. There is to be no finger-pointing. There is no `I' or `you' in the word `team'. The points we gain we make as a team, understood?"

The team affirmed with a resounding `yes'.

"Then let's get out there and show them what we're made of!"

The ladies roared in enthusiasm and headed for the locker room door. As they exited the room, they were met with yells and cheers from the crowd. They saw the other team who already stood on the back line, eyeing them in scrutiny. As they filed on the line, Miki said in a voice loud enough for her teammates to hear, "Let's kick some ass!"

The team captains of the opposing teams met at the top umpire's post, bowing to each other and to the top official. He took out a coin and the captains called out a side of the coin.

"Tails," Nanami said as she and the other captain watched the coin flip in mid-air before landing on the wooden floor. They moved away to give it space to freely move, and the coin spun on its edge before falling to one side.

Tails.

Nanami took it as an omen and she grinned from ear to ear. She opted to take serve and the other girl chose which side of the court to take. The team captains bowing once more to each other, the top official climbed up to the pole and signaled for the teams to meet in the middle with the swaying arc of his arms. The setter watched as her teammates ran along the borders of the volleyball court and finally towards her along the net. In a show of sportsmanship, they all bowed to each other before hustling back to their coaches on either side of the court. Already the crowd cheered for the teams, and in the stands they could hear some very loud yelling from a familiar group of people. The basketball team showed up, their voices booming out cheers for the Coach Sato's team. Next to the large center sat his little sister Haruko and a pair of two very tall individuals, one with red hair and the other with black, and beside the two were Ayako and Miyagi. Yohei and the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan also showed up for the final match, their raucous presence making the spectators around them laugh. On the sidelines, Coach Sato briefed the ladies on some of the plays they ran in practice, and with that he stuck his palm out for the girls to pile theirs on.

"All right, ladies. Show them what you've got. Team on three. One, two, three -"

"Team!"

Coach Sato kept the same line-up as before, letting Reiko sit on the bench to let her soak in the opponents' weaknesses. Kaname was first up to serve, and as the lineman on the corner of the court bounced the ball to her, Nanami called out to her. "Kaname-chan, winners strike first, so strike hard!"

Nodding with a grin, she stood several feet away from the baseline. At blow of the whistle, she threw the ball up and jumped to meet it in the air, the ball spinning with great speed as it hurtled over the net at the receiving opponents. Their first attempt on a kill ended in the net, and the starting six ran to huddle in the middle of their court, their white uniforms and matching golden ribbons in their hair shining under the bright halogen lights. Keiichi and Kazuma of the basketball team shouted vigorously at the scored point, and the rest of them stood to clap. Kaname briefly smiled before concentrating on her next serve.

On the bench, Mitsui sat next to Coach Sato and helped mark down the stats. He couldn't resist glancing sideways at Reiko, her demeanor cool and collected as she watched the ball with analyzing eyes. She caught him looking at her and she flashed him a quick smile before looking back on the opponents' side of the court. The shooting guard grinned as he looked down at the stat sheet. The volleyball coach sighed.

"You two are way too cute, looking at each other like that," Coach Sato mumbled in Mitsui's ear. "It makes my teeth hurt."

The shooting guard let out a chuckle. He heard Miki and Sayuri call out sets and Nanami set the ball behind her, letting Sayuri pound the ball past the block, the ball hitting the sideline. Another point. The team managed to keep the score going until a player on the other team was subbed out and a rather manly girl stepped in to play for her. The girls on either side of Reiko looked at each other warily; the player looked like she was on steroids. They lost possession of the ball after the other team bounced a hit off Sayuri and Miki's block, sending the ball sailing into the stands. Now on the serve-receiving end, they could not get past their block, and each time ball was set to the masculine girl who pounded the ball at their defense like they were one of Reiko's bodyguards. Coach Sato remained still in his seat, his mind occupied with defense tactics. This was the other team's hitter that he had heard so much about. He grimaced as he looked at her face; she wasn't as nice to look at as the girls on his team. He chided himself for thinking of such a trivial thing at a time like this. Ounce for ounce, she was much bulkier than the rest of his team as well as the opponents' team. He wondered if they had done some steroidal testing on her.

Dr. Tak Nakamichi leaned back in his swivel chair as he watched the volleyball match on the television, quickly scribbling on a post-it note to thank his secretary for getting cable subscription for his office. Reaching for his coffee mug, he took a sip before looking at the wall clock. He had been in the hospital for three straight nights, and the couch in his office doubled as his bed while he was on-call. The emergency room was unusually quiet, and so far no one paged for him to rush to the surgery room. For that, he was thankful.

Seeing his niece's team defend their court with difficulty, he leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair and cradled his head in his hand as he smiled.

"It's time to send Rei in, coach."

They lost the first game. Nanami and the others thanked their teammates who gave up their seats on the bench for them to sit and listen to their coach, the starting six a little winded from the intense play. Mitsui handed them some towels and water bottles so they could cool off. After pointing out some holes in their defense, he sent them back on the court, still keeping his blue chip player on the bench. While they waited for the other team to get onto the court, the shooting guard's eyes scanned the crowd in the stands. He smiled as he saw the basketball team howling madly by the railing with Coach Miwa and his wife sitting beside a more behaved Akagi. His eyes widened at the sight of Rukawa, Haruko and Hanamichi cheering, and he inwardly laughed at the redhead's amusing taunts he yelled at the opposing team. He spotted Sakai to the very far left, and turning around he saw Fuji casually looking at the crowd in the upper level, occasionally talking into his two-way radio. Not too far behind the shooting guard stood Jackson on court level, his face stern as he constantly looked into the crowd. His conversation earlier with the brawny guard made him worry a little. It was true that the arena had enough security guards, but with so many people, he understood the concern underlying Jackson's foreboding. Mitsui looked back at the court and marked down each pass, set and hit as the girls vied for points. The other team held them down at 16 as they climbed their way up to end the second game with 30 unanswered points.

The starting six hurriedly sat on the bench and paid attention to their surprisingly calm coach. He drew several circles on his clipboard and pointed to opposite court's left corner. "You don't have to pound at the ball every time, ladies. Be smart. This spot is always open, and it's difficult for them to cover it because the setter comes out from left."

Once more, they stepped onto the court with determination, Nanami's words reinforcing their moral fiber. "Take it one point at a time, ladies!"

Coach Sato sank in his seat and mumbled something in Mitsui's ear. Nodding, he got up and quietly asked the rest of the team on the bench to follow him out into the hallway, Jackson trailing behind them. The crowd was abuzz with speculation as they watched Mitsui lead the girls out of the arena, and in the stands Coach Miwa sat quietly as he tried to figure out what his colleague was planning.

Once in the hallway, Mitsui told the rest of the team that Coach Sato just wanted to distract their opponents. Laughing, the girls nodded as they recalled this happening once before during a tournament.

"Okay, I think it's okay to go back in now," the shooting guard said. Giving them each a high-five, they filed into the arena again, Mitsui staying Reiko behind as she tailed the others. She blinked at the warm hand on her shoulder. "Reiko-san, he told me to help you warm up."

Quickly glancing at Jackson, she smiled her stretch partner as they walked down the hall where several security guards stood not too far away.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to help you warm up, but -"

"Talking to me will suffice, Mitsui-san." She looked around her. "And besides, there is no net to practice blocking."

They smiled at each other quietly.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she replied. Looking over Mitsui's muscled shoulder, she watched as Jackson spoke into the two-way radio. "Mitsui-san, Mr. Jackson is quite uneasy with me playing before a large crowd like this."

"I know, he told me," he said, trying not to look behind him. "But I think you'll be fine with five people watching over you."

Her head tilted in inquiry. "Five?"

Mitsui laughed. "You're looking at the fifth one."

Her eyes waxed blue at the realization and she let out a giggle. "In that case, Mitsui-san, I better show you how my guards and I communicate without words." She gently tapped on her sternum with her slender index finger, tapping at the corner of her eye twice and finally pointing to her stretch partner.

"What does that mean?" he inquired, his interest peaked.

"I see you."

"Oh." He laughed at the simple meaning behind it, a little embarrassed that he didn't figure it out for himself. She taught him the alphabet in sign language, and the shooting guard learned it on the first attempt.

Complimenting him for learning so quickly, she let him take her by the hand and usher her back into the arena, Jackson following the stretch partners as they made their way to the bench.

"Reiko-san, after this next point, kindly sub in for Kaname-chan," Coach Sato said, his eyes fixed at the vigorous play that ensued.

She nodded and went to the officials' table to inform them of the switch. After the other team scored a point, Coach Sato signaled for a substitution. As she approached the sideline, Coach Sato called out to her. "Go get `em, Reiko-san."

Kaname hurried to meet Reiko at the sideline, her teammate holding her hands up for high-fives and winking as she walked off the court. At this point, half of the spectators stood in their seats and filled the arena with thunderous applause. Barely hearing her name from the bench, she quickly turned to see Mitsui, his hand signing a message. After tapping his chest, he held his hand up spell a word in sign. Jackson blinked as he observed the silent exchange between the stretch partners. His eyes widened as he read the shooting guard's signal. L-o-v-e. He then pointed to her, Reiko's cheeks blushing furiously as she averted her gaze to the serving player. The brawny guard grinned. Mitsui had guts, and he liked him even more for that.

The tide turned for Coach Sato's team as Reiko led her teammates to tie their opponents at 15. The coach grinned at his blue chip player as she defied gravity to deliver a smashing hit at their opponents, the defensive players on the opposite court flinching as the ball bounced off the wooden court. Photographers on the sidelines and the back of the court scurried to get shots of her. The manly girl on the other team threw daggers with her eyes at an oblivious Reiko, getting angrier at the fact that she didn't catch her glare as Reiko met her teammates in the middle of the court for high-fives.

Mitsui had a smile that stretched from ear to ear as he watched his unruffled stretch partner effortlessly pile the points across the scoreboard. The crowd was on their feet and wild with applause, and when the opposing team's coach called for a time-out, the crowd became even louder. As they walked off the court, the shooting guard caught Reiko's azure gaze and watched as she signed back. I-k-n-o-w. Standing by the end of the bench, she listened as Coach Sato encouraged them to keep the offense going, giving Nanami and the others a pat on the back. Jackson approached Reiko with a bottle of water and spoke into the two-way radio as she drank from it. He stepped away as he saw Mitsui walk towards them, giving the two enough distance for a private conversation.

Coach Sato's team won the third and fourth games, and at the beginning of the fifth and final game the other team's coach was yelling in frustration at his team. Coach Sato sat quietly in his seat, watching his girls' reaction to the ball and to each other. Nanami's setting intuition got better and better and the sets she gave her hitters were delivered with accuracy and precision. He felt like he lucked out on getting a setter like her to join the team. She made coaching easier for him; as team captain, she tied down the loose ends that he couldn't get to when it came to managing the girls. He was so proud of her and of the rest of the team. Their level of play reached a level above and beyond his expectations, all because of the presence of one player on the team. It never ceased to awe him whenever Reiko approached and jumped to meet the ball in the air. It was as if she floated right before his eyes, and she reminded him of the nimble ballet dancers his wife made him watch for their fifth anniversary. She was too good to be true; God must have gotten tired of hearing the same prayer from him every night of his life and sent down an angel to further his team and his career, complete with an entourage. He began to laugh at this thinking and the rest of the people on the bench including Mitsui looked at each other in silence, wondering if the wheels of his head still turned the right way. Shrugging at Kaname and the others, he brought his gaze back down at the stat book, briefly looking up to see who did what on the court. A bright gleam caught the corner of his eye and he scanned to crowd to look for the glint. Not seeing it again, he almost dismissed it when he chanced to see a pair of familiar spectacles on a face that wore an arrogant scowl in a seat close to the railing of the upper level.

It was the math professor.

"What's that bastard doing here?" he thought out loud, catching Coach Sato's attention.

"What? Who are you talking about?"

"Our math professor is in the crowd watching," the shooting guard explained, his irritation evident in his voice. "He's the reason why Reiko-san missed yesterday's practice. That sexist asshole made her feel so bad she just wanted to go home. I should've beaten the hell out of him when I had the chance."

"Now, calm down there, pal," the coach said, trying to ease Mitsui's anger with a pat on his shoulder. "So that's what it was all about... well, we can't do anything about him being here. He's a paying spectator and hasn't done anything wrong… well, not yet, anyway."

The shooting guard's level of worry shot up. He knew that the geeky stick with legs had a bruised ego, and he didn't know what to expect from a supercilious bigot like him. He hurriedly scanned the crowd for any of the men who were with the professor that morning, but it was hard to make out faces from the large crowd. Had the gleam from the professor's glasses not caught his eye, he would have never detected his presence. // Since when did he take interest in volleyball? //

He apologized to Coach Sato as he left his seat to alert Jackson standing by the press table. Without delay he radioed the rest of the guards and watched as Fuji and Sakai walked along the railing of the upper level with their heads turned to the cheering crowd.

"Where is he?"

"In the center of the first row of the upper level, straight ahead."

"Are any of those three men from this morning with him?" Jackson asked in haste.

"I can't tell with this many people here," Mitsui replied, his eyes quickly finding Reiko on the court. "Do you think I'm overreacting, Jackson-san?"

"In our line of work, overreacting is absolutely necessary to protect one's life, especially hers," the bulky guard's bass voice replied. "And besides, that man is the type of guy who would rather tell other people how high he can piss than watch one of his students who embarrassed him in front of class play volleyball."

Mitsui looked at the scoreboard. Coach Sato and his team were only four points away from winning their first championship title, and he prayed that they could win it sooner so the guards could get her out of the arena. His gaze returned to the place where the professor sat and he panicked when he was no longer there.

"Jackson-san, he's gone," the shooting guard said in alarm. Jackson brought a hand to Mitsui's shoulder.

"I need you to stay here, Mitsui-san." Jackson paused to look up at the crowd on the upper level. "I'm not asking you to risk your life for her, but," he said as he took his cell phone off its belt clip, "if anything happens to her while I'm gone, push the `send' button. Her uncle will answer."

"Where are you going?"

"To find the skunk and take it outside."

Mitsui watched Jackson as he hurried to the stairs that led to the upper level and speaking into the two-way radio simultaneously. He looked for Miller and found him walking along the border where the arena seats met the hard wood floor of the court. He willed his pulse to slow.

// Calm down, calm down... //

Taking a deep breath, he returned to his seat next to Coach Sato who had just called for a time-out. In the short time he was with Jackson, the other team had gained on Coach Sato's team and led them by one point. He watched the girls walk off the court as the coach stood. Before the playing six sat on the bench, the shooting guard mumbled in the coach's ear.

"What happened, Sato-sensei?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I think they blinked," he replied as he shot him a confused look before turning to the ladies, their breaths ragged and brows knitted as they looked at their coach.

"Did you see that, Sato-sensei? Miss Steroid Queen over there tried to swipe Nanami-chan's leg!" Sayuri spat out, her eyes glaring in anger.

"What?" the coach said, his eyes wide as saucers.

"You didn't see it? Every time Nanami-chan jumped to set the ball these last few times, she would jump with her and try to swipe her leg with her boat feet!" exclaimed Miki, her hands balling into fists. Her teammates were irritated as well, and for the first time in a long time, Reiko felt her temper rise at the opponent's unsporting conduct.

"It's okay, guys. I'm all right."

"Nanami-chan, is this true?" asked the coach in disbelief, and she answered him with a nod. It was just like her to keep her cool.

"Well, shit, maybe I blinked, too..." he trailed off as he rubbed his chin in thought. "No matter. Listen, if they're resorting to dirty tricks like you said, then it means that they're desperate and they don't know how else to win this game clean. I want all passes three feet away from the net to give your setter a leg room. Nanami-chan, are you sure you're okay?"

Again, she nodded and waved him off. "I'm okay, really."

"Just get a side-out. Like I said, you don't have to pound at the ball all the time. Be smart. Take it one point at a time and don't rush things."

Coach Sato heaved a sigh as he watched the girls walk away and onto the court. Taking his seat, he noticed the shooting guard still standing several feet away from him, his eyes looking straight at Reiko.

She felt something amiss and looked over her shoulder, finding it odd to see Jackson gone from his post. Reiko's gaze drifted to the standing shooting guard, his eyes looking so intensely at him she stopped in her tracks. Turning to him, she angled her head in inquiry. Looking at his hand, he signed: b-e-c-a-r-e-f-u-l. She eased and smiled.

"I will," she worded soundlessly before turning back to the court to take her position.

On the upper level, Jackson calmly but quickly scanned the crowd, looking for the skinny professor with glasses. Seeing Sakai at the far end of the seating rows, he pointed to the opposite side of the upper level. Sakai walked around the oval walkway and joined Fuji on the other side. Jackson was about to go down the stairs when he saw a man walking away with a cane, ambling slowly to an empty seat on the first row of the upper level. Getting yet another one of those gut feelings, he decided to approach him when he heard a scream from the court below. Jackson took off running down the stairs.

Lying on her side in a fetal position on the wooden floor, Nanami's eyes were shut tight and her breathing labored as she fought to urge to scream again. Her teammates quickly surrounded her as she laid still, her chest heaving up and down and beads of sweat sliding across her forehead. The crowd's noisy cheer lowered to a buzz of whispers as the spectators looked on. Relieved it wasn't Reiko, Jackson slowed his pace onto the wooden court and radioed his colleagues to hold their positions.

"Nanami-san, what happened?" Reiko asked as she placed a gentle hand on her back.

"My ankle," the setter whimpered, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.

Coach Sato and Mitsui made their way through the cluster of ladies and crouched down. "Nanami-chan, did you twist it?"

She shook her head slowly, her eyes still tightly shut. "I felt this leg kick me when I jumped to set that last ball close to the net... I lost my balance and I think I landed wrong."

Miki just about lost it. "Oh, that manly bitch! She's really going to get it!" she yelled as she looked across the other side of the net to see sneering eyes of the big hitter on the other team. Sayuri held her back.

"Miki-chan, don't!"

"But no one's doing anything about it!"

"That will change."

All heads turned to look at Reiko, her face hardened with a cold, dour look, her remorseless gray eyes glaring at the hulky player. They had never seen her like this before, and they were staggered by her frigid stare.

"Quick, Mitsui-kun, help me carry her off the court," Coach Sato said as he helped the setter to a sitting position. With the coach on one side and the shooting guard on the other, they counted to three and stood her up, Nanami hopping in pain as they made their way off the court. The crowd stood on their feet and applauded the injured player. Reiko and the others took several chairs to help their setter prop her foot up, and the athletic trainer and his assistants came to their aid shortly after giving her a bottle of water. The whole team watched as they carried Nanami away on a stretcher, and Coach Sato quickly got their attention.

"Ladies, that steroid freak of a woman took out your team captain, and that just makes me angry. However, we cannot let our emotions rule us, because it's so much easier to make mistakes if we let them get in the way. We're going to change things a little. Five-one offense, Sayuri-chan setting. Make every pass, set and hit count. Kaname-chan, let them know you're going in. This is no different from practice, ladies. I'll tell the floor official to keep an eye on that grotesque woman."

They walked back on the court, Kaname joining them shortly as they huddled in the middle of the court. Miki was still mad, Sayuri tried to calm her down, and the others were worried that their setter and team captain was pulled from the game.

"Ladies," said Reiko, her teammates' eyes falling on her, "I know that we should do what Coach Sato tells us to do. But, if you could just consider this idea and hear me out..."

In a few seconds the girls all nodded in agreement and took their positions as the whistle blew.

They received the opponents' serve and the pass went to Sayuri, just as Coach Sato had planned. She set the ball behind her just two feet above the net, and Reiko ground the ball down the sideline to tie the game. The arena was filled with roars of cheer, and after a round of high fives, it was Reiko's turn to serve the ball. She looked at the scoreboard. 27-27. The whistle sounded for her to serve, and she directed the ball to the mannish girl. Her pass was good, and as they set out a kill attempt, Coach Sato's team dug the ball effortlessly. The coach smiled as he saw Miki dig the ball, but what he saw next was a big surprise to him.

The girls played the same offense just as before, but this time, Reiko took Nanami's place as the second setter. His jaw dropped.

"Oh my God..." he mumbled in amazement.

"What?" Mitsui asked.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Coach Sato began to laugh. "She is an absolute genius," he said, his eyes glazed with unspoken joy as he watched his girls on the court. "The teacher becomes the student."

"What are you talking about, Sato-sensei?"

He continued to laugh. "She's going to use the one trick even I didn't think of using."

"And what's that?"

He was answered with silence as the coach watched his team intensely, his upper body leaning forward and supported by both his elbows. He was in his own world now.

Meanwhile, Jackson returned to the upper level to look for the man with the cane. He was bothered that the man wasn't in his seat, and suspicion digressed from mere coincidence as he turned around to scan the crowd once more. It didn't make sense. The man didn't even look like he had a limp, and Jackson wondered why he walked with a cane.

On the court, Kaname approached the net to hit a quick set from Reiko, getting past the block and landing the ball down the sideline. 28-27. The ladies cheered on the court, running into a huddle with high fives all around. Before they dispersed, Reiko whispered some words for them to use to call out their sets, her teammates' eyes blazing with determination. They were not about to hand over what they had painstakingly worked for all season, and what their team captain had earnestly pushed them to achieve.

They won the next point, frustrating the opposing team especially their coach. After watching so many tapes of Coach Sato's games, never once had he seen Reiko set. She always played a hitter position. His best hitter out there was not exactly the best passer, and Reiko managed to exploit this weakness. He muttered a curse under his breath as he looked at the scoreboard. 29-27. Gamepoint.

Before going back to their positions, Reiko held their attention in the huddle. "Ladies, Nanami-san wasn't kidding about getting kicked. That big player isn't the only one doing the kicking," she said, pointing to the red spot on the side of her leg. "Instead of getting angrier, let's make them cry instead. Shotgun on a good pass, Yuki-san. Quick sets to the outsides."

They all shouted yes in unison, their faces wearing a gritty smirk.

The ball was served and a rally of volleys ensued, finally ending with a side-out for the other team. Still 29-27.

Rika dug the serve, passing the ball to Reiko, and instead of setting her teammates up for a kill, she set the ball over the net to the far corner of the court, surprising everyone on the court including her teammates and Coach Sato. Before they could react, they got into defense formation to receive an attack.

"Sayuri!" Reiko called out as she dug the ball. "Just behind you!"

She didn't understand what she meant, but she felt a shoe grind against the side of her thigh from the opposite side of the net. She was pissed and at the same time confused: it didn't make sense to set the ball behind her, because she was a front-row hitter and Reiko wasn't, and it would be against the rules if Reiko hit the ball in front of the ten-foot line. But if she jumped from behind the ten-foot line...

Sayuri finally understood. She set the ball high just a foot away from the net. Everyone on the team held their breath as they watched Reiko sprint into a jump, and Coach Sato stood from his seat gaping at the play. Sayuri had set her too far out and the only way to hit the ball was to…. His eyes grew wide and he felt time stand still, his breath catching in his throat as he watched her ascent into the air going in slow motion in front of his eyes as a flurry of flashes from cameras went off in the crowd.

This is it, the coach thought, his heart threatening to leap off his chest.

In the air, Reiko let out a loud cry as she hit the ball with all the force her left arm and body could put into it, crushing the ball in the direction of the brawny girl's position. The ball crossed the net with such velocity that all the mannish girl could do was protect her face with her arms, the impact making her fall backwards as the ball bounced off at an unrecoverable angle. Satisfaction surged through her as she landed nimbly on the wooden floor, her gray eyes glaring at the girl she just hit.

30-27. They had won the match.

Coach Sato jumped from where he stood, and everyone on the team rushed towards Reiko with triumphant screams, her eyes glinting blue as they overwhelmed her with hugs. They carried her on their shoulders as they walked off the court. Coach Sato was so happy, he cried.

In the crowd, Yohei, Hanamichi and the rest of the basketball team including Coach Miwa leapt for joy, yelling from the top of their lungs a triumphant shout. This is the first time in Coach Sato's coaching history that he's won a national collegiate title. Ayako and Miyagi embraced each other as they jumped simultaneously, and Rukawa tried to push his redheaded teammate away as he danced circles around him and Haruko.

From the bench, Mitsui stood from his seat and looked at his stretch partner in awe. A small grin remained on her fair face as she was lowered down to her feet. He quickly approached her.

"You did it, Reiko-san! You won the game!" he exclaimed, picking her up and whirling her around in his arms, this act that had been a wish before finally coming true. She returned the embrace, giggling softly in his ear.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mitsui-san," she said as he stopped to let her down. "WE won the game. It wasn't just me."

The shooting guard laughed. "Are you always this humble?"

"Actually, no... but this game changed me in more ways than I could imagine," she replied, her eyes pools of bright blue intensified by the light reflecting off the polished wooden floor.

Mitsui grinned. "Come on, we have to tell Nanami-chan what happened. That is, if she doesn't already know."

He took her by the hand as he did earlier, unabashed of the public display of affection. People knew all along how he felt about her, and it was never a big secret. She halted to look down at her shoelaces that came untied.

"Just a moment, Mitsui-san," she said as she crouched down to tie her laces.

"Okay. Oh, let me give Sato-sensei the stat sheet. I'll be right back," he said as he turned on his heel to find the overjoyed coach in the midst of his jubilant team. The whole arena blared with euphoric clatter as the rest of her teammates lifted their coach on their shoulders.

She smiled as she turned her attention to her shoe, and as she pulled tighter on her laces, she suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain on the back of her left arm, forcing her shoulder to flinch away. Her face twisted as her hand felt the area of pain, and her eyes grew wide with fear as she saw a needle sticking out from her upper arm. Before she could even gasp, she felt her throat constrict, and she found it extremely difficult to breathe. She called out to her stretch partner but no sound came out, and soon she was fighting to find air. Reiko struggled to balance herself on her feet, and she willed her voice to come out of her mouth but to no avail.

From the upper level, Sakai saw Reiko clutching her throat and immediately ran down the stairwell to court level, alerting all guards of what he just saw.

In a few seconds the guards emerged from each of the four stairwells leading to the court, and the shooting guard saw Jackson running towards the court from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned around to find Reiko on bended knee, one arm hanging limply to one side and the other supporting her upper body from falling down. Within a blink of an eye, Jackson and the others surrounded her. It took a second for the stunned shooting guard to react and hurry to her side.

"Nakamichi-dono, what's wrong?" Jackson hurriedly asked, catching her just as she was about to fall forward, her eyes blinking drowsily as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

"Reiko-san!" Mitsui cried out.

Still struggling to breathe, she slowly brought a hand to the foreign object imbedded in her skin.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Sakai, pulling out the offending needle. "Miller, give me your handkerchief," he demanded, and the younger guard immediately fished for the cloth in his pocket, and Sakai pinned the needle into the middle of the cloth before folding it. "Fuji, the Suburban." Fuji took off running to the nearest exit out of the arena.

"Nakamichi-dono, can you hear me?" Jackson said as he shook her gently, trying to be as calm as possible. The brawny guard moved her body so that her back rested in his burly arms. Seeing her nod, Mitsui watched as she brought a hand to her abdomen, her hand signing a word for them to see.

P-o-i-s-o-n.

With that, her hand fell limply down her side, the sight provoking Mitsui to shout out loud.

"Reiko!"