Return of the Tensai

Miyagi and Mitsui stood thunderstruck at the entrance of the gym, stunned by the sudden appearance of their old teammate. An awkward silence settled between the three, no words capable of filling the time that had been lost or the sheer shock that had frozen the two seniors.

Sakuragi's scowl deepened, displeased at the lack of response. "Hey, you guys didn't really forget this Tensai, did you?"

Mitsui managed to recover first. "N-No…"

A bright smile lit the redhead's face. "Micchi! Been keeping that stamina up?"

Whatever remained of Mitsui's shock quickly turned to annoyance, now that he was provoked. "What are you talking about? Of course! And what about you, huh?"

Miyagi finally managed to gather his wits, interjecting before the two could argue any further. "You're… you're better now?"

Sakuragi turned his attention to Miyagi, expression again serious. "I was released from the doctor's yesterday. But apparently all you commoners had already left. Slacking on practice without this Tensai around, eh?"

"And your back?"

Sakuragi thudded the former injury with the back of his fist. "No problems so far. The treatments have been holding up. Doc said I just need to ease back into things and it shouldn't ever cause me trouble again, at least in a game."

"Can you…" Miyagi swallowed, barely able to push out the next words. "Can you play basketball again?"

The solemn look on Sakuragi's face melted, replaced by one of pure, almost child-like joy.

"Yeah!"

Amazing… Miyagi thought, new excitement spreading through his body. Finally, the prayers of Shohoku had been answered in the form of this rambunctious redhead. The rebounding monster, self-proclaimed genius, but more importantly, perhaps the only true successor to Akagi…

"Have you grown taller, Sakuragi?" Miyagi asked abruptly, the fact suddenly dawning upon him. He hadn't immediately noticed since he had grown slightly himself, but now that he had a better look at Sakuragi their previous height disparity seemed more extreme than before.

Sakuragi's face once again gave away his emotions. "Haha! Of course! Before I left, they measured my height and weighed this Tensai. Now I'm 192 cm."

Miyagi shook his head in disbelief. It was almost too good to be true—just moments ago, Miyagi was worrying over the fact that Shohoku had no size advantage and just like that, it was remedied. Life had a quirky sense of humor.

"Have you seen Anzai-sensei yet?" Mitsui asked, a smile now on his face as well. Apparently Miyagi wasn't the only one that had realized the repercussions of Sakuragi's return to the team.

"I haven't seen the old man yet," Sakuragi replied before flexing. "But how could he turn down this Tensai?"

The three laughed amongst each other and despite the fact that none of the three would ever admit it, they were pleased just seeing each other well. The Shohoku team had always shared something; while time had stopped for Shohoku after the collapse against Aiwa and the departure of Akagi, it did not have any effect on the bonds they once shared.

Their laughter was interrupted by the gym doors squeaking open. A tall, well-built young man strode into the gym, one bud of his in-ear headphones dangling in front of his chest and blaring heavy music. At the sight of Sakuragi, however, he paused from his bee-line to the lockers.

"It's you."

Rukawa Kaede's voice was quiet and even-keeled. The sight of his former rival barely seemed to register as a blip on his surprise radar.

Sakuragi glanced over Miyagi's shoulder, locking eyes with his greatest adversary.

"Yo, smelly fox."

That's one thing that hasn't changed, Mitsui thought, knowing the two were destined to always be at each other's throats. Maybe Sakuragi had matured a bit—it certainly wouldn't have been a surprise, after that injury. But at least when it came to Rukawa, this was exactly the type of reunion that Mitsui had expected as soon as he saw the redhead in the gym.

Rukawa simply ignored the insult and brushed past the three, continuing towards his original destination. It was as if Sakuragi's reappearance meant absolutely nothing. However before he could get out of earshot, Sakuragi abruptly spoke up.

"I'm back. To play basketball."

Rukawa again stopped, this time not bothering to turn around. There was a brief, uncomfortable silence before he adjusted the bag on his shoulders and looked up towards the rafters of the gym.

"Are you going to be better than last year?"

"What? I'm the devil of improvement! I haven't even scraped the true potential of my skill! Unlike you, fox!" Sakuragi laughed in self-bravado. Rukawa gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, as if expecting that answer, and continued off to change into his practice clothes. As soon as Rukawa had disappeared from sight, Sakuragi shot Mitsui a knowing glance.

"That Rukawa knows his ace title is now in danger."

"Right, Sakuragi," Mitsui replied dryly.

Before Sakuragi could continue his unsubstantiated gloating, Miyagi tapped the taller player on the shoulder to catch his attention.

"Coach is here." Miyagi pointed towards the double-doors where a plump, bespectacled, white-haired man had appeared and was slowly shuffling towards the group.

Sakuragi whirled around so he could get a good look at Anzai, a huge smile now on his face.

"Old man!"

"Oh…!" Anzai's tone matched the same astonishment that his eyes were now showing. Sakuragi took a few long strides forward, meeting the stout coach halfway.

"Sakuragi-kun," Anzai smiled warmly in greeting, his friendly, Zen-like aura a soothing presence for all those near the genius high school coach.

In contrast, Sakuragi greeted the coach by pulling on Anzai's gut and slapping his double chin before anyone could stop him.

"How about letting this Tensai rejoin the team? Hm?"

"Hey, hey stop it!" Mitsui shouted in alarm, racing over to peel the boisterous Sakuragi off. After separating the two and stopping Sakuragi's customary assault on the chubby coach, Mitsui bowed to Anzai in apology.

"Sorry, sensei. This guy is still a complete moron."

"Ho ho ho," Anzai guffawed, not minding the strange manner in which Sakuragi showed affection. "Not a worry. And of course, Sakuragi-kun– you are always welcome back. The team has been waiting eagerly for your return."

"All right!" Sakuragi pumped his fist in the air, triumph written on his face. "The victorious one has returned!"

"However…"

Sakuragi's ears perked, the mirth gone from his eyes as quickly as it had surfaced upon recognizing the serious tone Anzai was now carrying.

"It has been a long time since you last played any sports, I suspect," Anzai stated matter-of-factly. "I had told you before that you have to practice three times of what Rukawa-kun normally does to catch up to him... do you remember?"

Anzai adjusted his glasses before he continued, still a bit disheveled from Sakuragi's earlier roughhousing.

"With all the time away, you will have a lot of work ahead in order to catch up. You may have forgotten some basketball techniques. If you have not forgotten them, at the very least they will not be as effective as you remember them to be. Now is the time for you to review and eventually improve on these skills. Playoff qualification games will begin three days from today. I hope to put you back in the lineup by then, if you can again become the Sakuragi-kun we saw against Sannoh."

Sakuragi's eyes burned with the same competitive fire he always had when faced with a daunting task. "Don't worry old man, I'll handle it! I'll be back to Tensai game-shape before you know it!"

"Also…" Anzai looked directly into Sakuragi's eyes, confirming what he already knew but asking anyway:

"Do you still love basketball?"

Sakuragi did not even hesitate at answering the straightforward question. A genuine smile spread across his face: innocent, carefree, and painfully honest.

"Yes, old man. I still love it. Very much."