Chapter 22

Disclaimer – Slam Dunk ain't mine.

Rukawa woke up to a throbbing headache and wished that he had never consented to drinking so much alcohol at the party last night. He wanted to go out and play basketball but he thought that it was probably not a good idea. Still, he forced himself to stand up, take a shower, dress up and trudge groggily to his bicycle.

He heard voices at the basketball court and was irritated that there was someone who had gotten there ahead of him. He could hear the thumping sound of the basketball and the carefree laughter that elicited from the players. He peered from the bushes as he parked his bicycle and found out that it was Sendoh and Maki.

"If I shoot this ball, you have to call me 'Master.'" Sendoh said, dribbling the ball between his legs.

"In your dreams, MISter." Maki countered, stealing the ball easily from him. He aimed it and put it in the basket cleanly.

"Hey Saemi, you want to eat out after we play?" Sendoh asked gently, going over to the bench where his sister sat doing her homework.

"No thanks, Oniichan." She said. She didn't even look up from her notebook.

"Aww, c'mon Saemi. You've never said no to food before. I'll treat you." Sendoh said, sitting down beside her. Maki followed suit.

"Are you still depressed because you broke up with Fujima?" Maki asked. He placed the basketball on the floor between his feet.

Rukawa's ears twitched when he heard the news.

"No…I wanted to break up with him." Saemi said. Sendoh peeked over her shoulder and found out that she was drawing something. Or rather, someone.

"Ah, you still like him a lot, don't you?" Sendoh said softly. He wrapped his arms around his sister and she hugged him back, leaving the notebook on the bench. "C'mon. I don't like seeing you so sad. Smile a little." He told her.

"Well…" Saemi looked at him and sighed. "Maybe in a few more weeks, Oniichan. I can't seem to get rid of this heavy feeling in my heart."

"Hey there kids! I've come to fetch you." Mrs. Sendoh called from the car. "I thought we could all go out to dinner together. You can come too, Maki."

"Okay, mom." Sendoh called back, tugging at his sister's hand. They all scrambled into Mrs. Sendoh's car in a hurry. They knew what she was like when she was kept waiting.

Rukawa watched the car drive away and walked up to the bench where Saemi's notebook was left behind. It was open to the page where she was drawing. It was a cartoon drawing of a man with beady little eyes and a little thought bubble that read, 'Doaho.'. He closed the notebook and put it in his pocket. It didn't take a genius to know who the cartoon was, even if the sketch resembled that of a grade school student's. He knew what he had to do, this time.

It was almost 10pm when Saemi and Sendoh got home. Sendoh was the first to arrive on the doorstep and almost tripped over a figure sitting on the steps.

"What the…Rukawa? Is that you?" Sendoh asked, squinting at him in the dark.

"Kae-chan?" Saemi timidly moved away from the super-rookie sitting on her doorstep.

"Saemi." Rukawa said simply. "Can we talk?"

Saemi looked at her brother.

"Well, okay. But just stay here." Sendoh said. Rukawa said 'Hi' to Mrs. Sendoh before she and Sendoh entered the house.

Saemi was frozen to the spot she was standing on.

"Saemi…." Rukawa said. He pulled her to him and she sat beside him gingerly. He was looking into her eyes, trying to read what she was thinking. There was fear in them, but he thought that he could also see hope.

He wasn't about to let her down.

"Saemi, I made a mistake. I'm sorry." He began. Then, he shook his head. "No, not just a mistake. Mistakes."

Saemi didn't take her eyes off him. "Kae-chan…" She started. Rukawa suddenly held her to his chest. "Saemi, I love you. Please forgive me."

It was more than enough for her. There were no fancy stuff, no romantic gifts given. Just plain sincerity. She felt that he was sorry and she felt that he would try to trust her more. That he wouldn't hurt her again.

"Kae-chan, please don't hurt me." She whispered as he stroked her hair.

"Saemi, I won't." He whispered back. Never again.

He just held her tight, both of them not saying a word, until Sendoh opened the front door and told them that it was time for Saemi to go to bed.

Saemi didn't want to let go, but Rukawa held her hands and promised her that he'd be back the next day so they could continue talking.

That night, Saemi slept better than she had in days.

A few blocks away, the same could be said for Rukawa, who even fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Sendoh woke up to find his little sister hugging him on his bed. He poked her with his finger, laughing.

"What are you doing, ne? Imagining I'm Rukawa?"

"Mmmmhhh…" Saemi mumbled, a small smile on her lips. Sendoh was relieved that Rukawa actually had the guts to say he was sorry. He would never have done that to any girl.

Well, maybe if she were as special as Saemi, he'd at least think about it.

He pried his sister off his body and stood up for his early morning stretch. Saemi buried herself in his covers and went back to sleep. He smiled because he was happy at the way things turned out. As long as his little sister was happy, he was okay with that.

He decided to go fix his sister breakfast. All those endorphins she would be releasing would want to be fed.

Rukawa woke up feeling refreshed and raring to shoot some hoops. He dressed quickly and grabbed his basketball from under his bed and headed down to his bicycle. He saw Fujima was already awake and a new basketball court was set up near the garage they didn't use.

"Like it?" Fujima asked, looking satisfied with his work. Rukawa just looked blankly at him.

"I figured that since we both play basketball, we could just set up a court here. It will save you the trip all the way to the public court."

Rukawa didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say anyway.

"Listen, Rukawa. About last night." Fujima said. Rukawa continued to look blankly at him. "I know that you made up with her. Maki told me about it."

So he knew.

"I'm okay with it." Fujima continued. "Saemi and I already had a talk about it. We broke up because she was still in love with you."

Rukawa nearly dropped the ball he was holding but thankfully, his grip didn't slip.

"Anyway, I hope you take good care of her. You're one lucky guy." Fujima said, smiling. "Since we're step-brothers and all, I figured it wouldn't be nice to be fighting over a girl. Besides, you're her first anyway."

Fujima stepped forward until he was just a foot away from Rukawa. "Truce?" Fujima asked, holding out his hand. Rukawa shook it firmly and the two started to play basketball in their new home court.