Title: Standing Still (working title)
Author: Contre
Mail: vide@yyhmail.com
Part: 1/1
Rating: G
Genre: Youhei-POV, One-shot, slight angst
Pairings: Very very very light HanaYou. It's only there if you WANT it to be there. ^_^;
Feedback: You can reply anyway you prefer.
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Slam Dunk, nor do I claim to own it.
Author Notes: Yay, first SD fanfic(let). Well, I'd like to point out that I was partially inspired by a line from the play, Inherit the Wind. I forgot the exact words, but two of the main characters who are now on opposing sides face each other. In reply to the other's query on how they ended up on such different levels, one says that perhaps the first moved away by standing still. It's a lot better in the book, trust me. ^_^; Anyways, I'd like any help you guys could offer me- I don't claim to be particularly good at writing, and I would appreciate any comments tossed my way. Thanks. ^_^
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I think we're losing touch.
If I told you, you'd laugh. <<What the hell are you talking about?>> you'd ask. <<We're best friends, dumbass.>> Then you might get angry and give me another one of your infamous head butts, and stalk off.
Or maybe not. I can't predict you, anymore. You're not the same person that you were, and I don't know if I like that. I think I've noticed it all along, but you didn't really seem... /different/ until lately. Especially after the Shoyo game. You're not a zombie like Rukawa, but that doesn't mean you like to get up early either. I've never seen you so passionate about something before. Not like there was much to latch on to, though. Fighting, getting kicked out of arcades- that was what we did.
Wasn't it enough? You never complained before, but maybe that was because you didn't know any better. You've found something you really like, and you're really fucking good at it, though I'd never tell you that to your face. Your ego would puff up and then it'd be hell to live with you for a few days, you're such an arrogant bastard sometimes. But... You've got something going for you, Hanamichi. Maybe you don't see it yet, but... hell. This is your break. You really are a tensai when it comes to basketball, and this could get you places. College, maybe. A career. A life.
I'm just a jealous idiot. Twenty years down the road, and where'll we be? You'll be some professional basketball star, and I'll just be Mito Youhei, some bum scraping out a living holding down twenty-some odd jobs. I'm not smart, and I've never been good at anything besides fighting. Unless you decide to become a wrestler, you can't even make a living out of that. When it comes to that, will you remember who I am? Or will your head be so full of slam dunks and fast breaks that there won't be any room for some drop-out punk?
But it's not twenty years down the road yet. We're just first-year students, and as far as anyone else knows, you're still Sakuragi Hanamichi, the loud gangster, and not some celebrity. But it's a nice afternoon, the gang is together, the streets are ours, and you aren't /here/. You're in another one of those basketball practices, and normally we'd be there cheering you on in our own way. But we can't sit on the sidelines and cheer you on for the rest of your life, Hanamichi.
Sometimes I swear you're a different person. You can be arrogant as hell, but the question you asked me after the Shoyo game...
"Was what I did really that incredible?"
You didn't have to ask. The old Hanamichi would've known for sure. Didn't you hear all that cheering? Maybe all those beatings you're taking from Gori have made you deaf, but I don't think that's the case.
I think I- Damn. I don't want to admit it, even to myself. It scares me. We've always been close since day one. Noma, Takamiya, and ***** never came quite as near. Even in our little group, they've always hung out on the outskirts a little. It's been Hanamichi and Youhei for as long as I remember.
The nights are getting longer, and you're spending more and more time playing basketball. I have work to do, and the lure of pachinko arcades gets stronger over time. We spend less and less time together, and when I see you, it's like I don't know you anymore.
I'm still the same old Youhei, but you've changed. And even if you won't want to admit it, we're moving further and further apart with every step you take into the basketball world.
And maybe that's for the best.
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