STUDY PARTNERS

Standard disclaimers apply. Slam Dunk and all mentioned characters are not mine, and no money is involved in creating this fanfic. Supposedly one-shot, but I decided to make this one yaoi. It may take 3 or 4 chapters at least ^.^ Anyway, I'm shoving my face into comedy fanfics lately so I can work on my other unfinished ones without the crappy drama *pounds her bloody head on the bloody wall*. Comments, suggestions and all sort of violent reactions are welcomed! ^_^ - [email protected]

CHAPTER 1 - One, Little Two, Little Three, Little Red Marks...

"Onegai! Give them another chance!" Ryota Miyagi, now the captain of the Shohoku basketball team bowed lower, trying vainly to change the teachers' minds. His fists clenched into tight balls of fury, feeling the veins of his head throbbing painfully. Those two...I swear, once this is over, they're going to pay! He started muttering curses just by thinking of the problem, only hoping that the faculty wouldn't hear him.

One teacher with glasses approached him, fixing the rectangular frames on his nose a little further. "Gomen nasai, Miyagi-kun, but those two have had academic problems since last year. I heard they passed their double-checks then, but their grades went down soon after that," he said, giving Miyagi the most regretful look he could muster. After all, Ryota Miyagi was one of the most well-known students who have quite a temper, especially after he became the captain. But thinking back on those two students, he wouldn't be surprised.

"Onegai, sensei! I--iya, the whole basketball team is begging you!"

"Now, Miyagi-kun--"

But just before the teachers could start their reasoning once again, the faculty door burst open. A female figure from Miyagi's batch came in, her auburn curls falling down her shoulders as she herself bowed her head. "Sensei, onegai!"

Miyagi blinked up at the girl beside him. "Aya-chan..." A steady blush came to his cheeks, but he willed himself to calm down. This was serious, and Ayako was there to help him. Steady, steady...she's here to help, don't blow it...

The teachers eyed the two students critically, a heavy sigh escaping most of their lips. The thick spectacled teacher spoke again. "Look, we're very sorry but..."

Ayako raised her head to the teacher, but still retained her bow. Her back was aching, and she was worried that Miyagi's might be as well, but they were desperate. "M-Matte! Please! The whole team is outside, and we're all ready to kneel down if only you can give our two main players a chance. Our team will weaken without them! Do consider, sensei, onegai!"

And thus being said, a loud roar erupted from behind the faculty door. One of the teachers, a short-haired, middle-aged lady, came up to it to see what the commotion was about. To her big surprise, a group of male students in basketball attire were kneeling on the ground, two distinct male figures a few feet behind them. One had flaming red hair, scratching his head as he ushered his whole team to stand up, mostly because of the embarrassment it must've cost him. The other, a pale, raven-haired boy stood the farthest, his head cast down with his cold eyes steady on the ground.

Half of the teachers came to see for themselves. "Oh my," they all muttered simultaneously.

The spectacled teacher moved his head to see as well, his usual calm, half-closed eyes widening to their fullest at the sight of the club on their knees. He muttered the very same "oh my" before he cleared his throat and straightened himself again.

Ayako smirked. Yes, we have them.

The teacher cleared his throat again, fixing his collar in an uneasy gesture as he eyed Miyagi and Ayako. "Very well, we'll see. No double-checks anymore, we're going to see if their grades will improve this whole quarter, and then the later ones. They will be under probation, if their grades don't improve, they're automatically out once and for all."

Miyagi winced. Under probation! This is humiliating! If only it wouldn't be much of yet another disgraceful act, he would've slapped himself. After he and Ayako thanked the teachers, and after they stretched their already aching backs after the door closed, Miyagi shot his deadliest glare at the two, unconsciously gritting his teeth.

He ushered the whole team back to the basketball court, feeling his limbs shake in his own anger. He waited for them to all be there, asking the new freshmen to bolt the doors, just in case. After seeing that the whole team was hidden inside the court itself, he burst out. "RUKAWA...!!! SAKURAGI!!!!!!!"

Half the team covered their ears, while the other half winced at the sound of their captain's voice. But two distinct figures stood up from the rest (and no, not because of their height). Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede were on opposite sides of the group, eyeing each other with death glares while trying to avoid Miyagi's own menacing glare.

Sakuragi was the first to speak, as always. "Oya, Ryochin! Gomen, the tensai must've--"

"SHUT UP!" Miyagi barked, raising his fist and cutting off Sakuragi. "QUIT THE TENSAI TALK, BAKA! YOU'RE BOTH IDIOTS WHEN IT COMES TO STUDYING AND YOU KNOW IT!!!"

Sakuragi stumbled back. "N-Nani?!" this time, he glared at Miyagi himself. "Teme---how dare you say that to the tensai?!"

Rukawa rolled his eyes. "Do'ahou."

Miyagi snapped. He pointed a finger at the other player. "You! Rukawa! Shut your one-liners if they're not going to help! This is serious business!"

Unlike Sakuragi, Rukawa only looked away. Team members have started backing off, some knowing fully that this was the first time they ever saw Miyagi lose his temper this much. And by the looks of things, and the rising color of their captain's face, they knew they did the right thing of backing away.

Miyagi was in the midst of mumbling a hysterical, "Under probation! How dumb can they get?! My team's ace is a moron, my team's clown is an even worse moron...!" before Ayako approached the enraged captain, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Knowing Miyagi, this was gravely effective, and the other members started casting Ayako grateful looks.

Miyagi took a deep breath, fully aware of his beloved Ayako's hand comforting him. He nodded his head at the girl beside him, letting her know that he'll be fine. He then looked at the two again. "All right! You two don't think you'd get away with this, do you?" he asked, folding his arms against his chest.

Sakuragi shook his head quietly, Rukawa remaining still. Miyagi ignored Rukawa's indifference, knowing that he's always been like that even when Akagi was still captain. He sighed, gently massaging his temples as he tried to ease away the headache that started to come in. Those were the good ol' days...when Akagi did all the dirty work. He shook his head and sighed again.

Sakuragi's face was down. "Aw! Ryochin, not another study camp! Gori had already made that experience a nightmare!"

"No. No more study camps," Miyagi replied, much to the relief of the red-haired player. He grinned. "Don't thank the heavens yet, Hanamichi." Yeah, it's payback time... "I'm assigning you and Rukawa as study partners. You are going to tutor each other, clear?"

Miyagi's grin widened at the sudden paleness in both of the players' faces, the pure look of horror evident. Yes, even dear, ice-cold, irritatingly indifferent Rukawa Kaede himself was horror-stricken, though compared to the perfect statue that was Sakuragi Hanamichi who had started to break down on the floor, his was a mild case.

After picking himself from the shiny floors of the basketball court, Sakuragi grabbed Miyagi. "NANI?! Are you out of your mind???" He started shaking Miyagi, their nose and forehead pushed up against each other as both held a steady glare. "I am NOT letting that baka kitsune inside MY house! He'll scare off all my neighbors!"

Rukawa rolled his eyes. "As if you haven't scared them enough..."

"Butt out, kitsune!"

"E-NOUGH!!!!!!!!"

Miyagi grabbed Sakuragi's hand and pushed him away. He pointed a finger at the taller boy. "Study partners. With Rukawa." This he said as he shifted the finger and his gaze to Rukawa. "And you, get along with Hanamichi here. No fighting, or you'll both get kicked out of the team."

Sakuragi jumped in again. "Me and that KISTUNE in one house?! That's impossible!!!"

"All right then, I'll leave the kicking out to the teachers. Even if you two ARE kicked out, at least I have the satisfaction of seeing you both in crutches!" retorted the team captain, a sweatdrop running down the side of his head at the little cringes the whole team made with his statement. He clapped his hands. "All right! Sakuragi, Rukawa, no practice for you both today. I heard that your batch will be having a test tomorrow, go straight to Sakuragi's house and study. Come back an hour later to clean up the court."

"Demo, Ryochin--!"

"CLEAN UP THE COURT!!! NOW GO OR I'LL THROW YOU BOTH OUT MYSELF!!! FOR GOOD!!!"

Much as the two hated to go, the other team members guided them to the door of the court, telling them words of reassurance and words for good luck. They all pushed them out, casting uneasy waves before cowering back to their little group in the middle of the court lest the other two players decide that they didn't want to go out and start beating people up again.

Ayako cast Miyagi an unsure look. "Ryota, are you sure about what you just asked them to do?"

Miyagi snorted, watching as the two figures bickered and faded away behind the school gates, wincing at the sounds of punches and more yells from Sakuragi before turning back to Ayako. "No. I don't really think it'll work out, but I'm letting them do the job of beating each other down anyway." He said this with a light shrug. "And who knows, sweet heaven makes great miracles," he added, after seeing Ayako's glare at him.

He then turned to the team. He started clapping his hands to catch their attention. "All right! Let's practice lay-up shots, move, move, move!!!"

To be continued...