A Different Path

Disclaimers: Slam Dunk and all mentioned [Japanese] characters are not mine, they belong to Takehiko Inoue-sama. No money is made while making this fanfic.
Notes: Here goes the continuation of this SD fic. I found this last night, unfinished and all. It seems as though I've finished the first half last month, I just failed to continue due to the lack of any inspiring muses I used to have back then, or so it seems. Look at this chapter *points and scowls*, I never in my life have created such a poorly written thing in my life! *hides face in shame* I wish there would be more yaoi authors out there again ;_; You guys are my inspiration, can't you see that!? *bawls over* Also, I would've updated sooner, Oct. 17 to be exact, but FF.net told me that they've put my fanfic on hold and I won't be able to update it until Oct. 29 *sweatdrops* I'm so sorry! *kicks FF.net* As if deleting one of my fanfics isn't bad enough! .

Chapter 7 - When It Comes Out

That day's practice went on quite peacefully. One may say that it had been peaceful enough to verge on being creepy. Of course, peace isn't always associated with anything negative, but then again, the world would seem to turn upside down whenever you're with Kaede Rukawa and Hanamichi Sakuragi.

"Hey, Alex! You going home yet?"

Alex turned back to look at the familiar face of a dark-haired friend, who was carrying his gym bag casually over one shoulder as he stared at him with curious eyes. "What'cha lookin' at?" came his next question and he started walking towards the blonde haired boy. Quickly, he seem to have understood, for his eyes widened in understanding. "Hanamichi and Kaede, eh? You noticed that too?"

"Who wouldn't? Practice today was like some hell of a funeral!" Alex scowled as he said this, because he knew that even if his friend laughed as if his statement was a joke, he somehow meant it to be honest. Their team may be used to them not fighting as much as they were before, but "not fighting" doesn't necessarily mean "silence" when it comes to those two.

He remembered Hanamichi telling him about his little bet with Kaede that would go up until the next week ends. It made him laugh actually, because really, the first time they met Hanamichi, they could've sworn he was born to make Kaede's life miserable. Well, that spoken in a different tongue of course. Because though they seem to fight a lot, they can get along just as well. For some reason, he noticed that their rivalry outside the court is somehow forgotten when they were in a game. Already, the other schools have grown to fear their team, knowing that there are two distinct Japanese players there who have an exceptional partnership.

Partnership. Kaede and Hanamichi of all people. What a laugh.

Alex shook his head. He didn't think those two noticed the unique pair they've made out of themselves. Well, considering probably because they were too busy scowling at each other whenever something as short as a break would come in, he wasn't surprised. He thought it was crazy to get along in something and not get along on everything else, but then again, those two were crazy anyway. Or maybe they just had an agreement about basketball just as well. One may never know.

"I wonder what's up with those two," came his friend's voice again, and that was when Alex had realized that they seem to be staring for quite a while now even if both Kaede and Hanamichi's forms have disappeared out the gym doors minutes ago. They seemed to have been oblivious trying to figure out what was up.

Alex thought for a second. Then in an instant, he had a hand clamped down on his friend's shoulder, his bright grin back on his face again. "Hey, Dale, wanna go for a drink?"

* * * * * * * * * *

"When you said you wanted a drink, I never thought you meant a drink with these two," Dale, Alex's friend and another team member of their basketball team, said with a bright grin that reflected his taller companion's own.

Kaede tried to ignore them. He kept on asking himself why he had allowed himself to tag along these lunatics, in the middle of a street he hardly knew, and in the middle of the night. Well, technically, it was only 10 in the evening, but that's late enough for somebody who's as devoted to bedtime as Kaede was.

"Nyahahaha! Why, you didn't think this gifted genius isn't capable of such a simple act?" asked Hanamichi with his ear-crushing voice that had somehow become his trademark during the short time he had spent with them. Not that Kaede hadn't had the nightmare-like experience of standing but a few feet beside him as he spoke before, of course. And by hell, he may have changed his language, but he still calls himself the same way. Tensai, genius, what difference does it make? He'll bet that the redhead would still go on calling himself a genius even if he had to speak Latin.

Alex laughed. "No, of course not, Hanamichi. It's just that dear Dale here thought you two aren't the type who'd accept an invitation such as ours," he said, patting Hanamichi's back playfully.

So did I, thought Kaede as he continued walking, with but a weary sigh to accompany his confusion. He watched as his breath turned into a light mist from the cold, and he clutched his jacket tighter.

"I think our little fox-eyed friend here's getting cold!" announced Dale when he shifted his eyes from Alex and Hanamichi to see Kaede adjust his jacket. "Don't worry, pal, you'll be pretty warm soon."

Kaede rolled his eyes. But before anybody else could retort about his lack of manners--not to mention words once again, they arrived at the place they were going to. It was just a small bar a few blocks away from the college they were studying in. Despite the lack of crowds and ear-splitting noise as most clubs should have, Alex assured them that it wasn't always so all the time. They just came in in those few rare nights when people stayed home for reasons unknown to them, and he assured them that drinks in that place was just as good as anywhere else.

Of course, Kaede wouldn't have cared less. He wasn't planning in getting himself drunk unlike his three companions, he only intended to stay to see what would happen, and maybe warm himself with a few--with a grave emphasis on few--drinks.

He remembered why he had come. It was because Hanamichi, being the irritating challenger that he always was, had taunted him again in ways that he couldn't exactly consider as fighting. He didn't have much choice really, for even if he would've walked out of the gym, he had a feeling he's going to be dragged along anyway. Now, the only question left was whether he'd go with them looking poised and dignified or get himself dragged by them looking as dumb and stupid as they are. That probably summarizes it then.

They took their seats in a fairly secluded corner on a table that accommodated exactly four people. Alex and Dale sat together on one side of the table, so Kaede had no choice but to take the seat beside Hanamichi. Alex ordered for all of them, and Kaede could've sworn he heard the word "scotch" with those orders. Not that he hadn't tried it before, but really, it wasn't exactly the type of thing he'd think of as nice.

Sure enough, Alex ordered scotch, as Kaede had feared much as it didn't show, and a bunch of other snacks to go with them as well. The blonde-haired boy had just started giving out their share of drinks when an idea suddenly struck him. Either that or some insect was dumb enough to bite off a piece of his skin and made him jump up, Kaede told himself.

"Let's play a game!" he declared, holding up his glass. "It goes like this: Each of us will tell two stories, one that is true and one that is not. The rest of us will guess which of the two are the one that is true. Anybody who loses will have to drink up, all right?"

Eyebrows shot up, but definitely with interest. "I'm in!" grinned Hanamichi, who was obviously confident with himself, as always. Shortly, Dale nodded as well. Everyone waited for Kaede.

"I'm not playing," he stated firmly and looked away.

Hanamichi didn't even need the slightest sign from Alex to know what he was supposed to do. He grinned and poked Kaede on the side. "What, scared already?"

Kaede graced him with an infamous glare. "Don't you even dare start on that."

Hanamichi shrugged. "Oh well, guess it's just the three of us. Don't mind him guys, he's just like that. He knows where he's good at and he knows where he's not. Usually he'd join if he knows he'll win, but whenever he thinks he'll lose..."

"What are you getting at?" snapped a now irritated Kaede who sat there glaring at his red-haired seatmate. "You don't expect me to lose to you, do you?"

Little did the two notice, but their other companions have grinned and looked at each other, as if they were sure their little game would have complete members. And shortly, after a very mild brawl trickling with sarcasm to hide their little "fight" from their agreement, they started.

"Okay, I'll start, since I was the one who proposed the game," Alex said. "First story. When I was three there was a certain block of wood in our backyard. One day, mushrooms started to sprout out of it, and while I played, I thought I heard a voice call out to me every time I get close. I went and asked my mom about it, and she told me that it might probably be little, magical people who lives in mushrooms and other hidden places. Now, second story. I once had a car accident when I was in middle school and was in a coma for quite a few weeks."

Alex counted to three, and his companions were to hold up a finger to indicate their choices at the same time so there would be no cheating. Dale and Kaede bet on the first story to be true, while Hanamichi bet on the second.

Alex grinned. "Hanamichi, you get the drink!" he declared, holding up a peace sign.

"What!?" Hanamichi stood up. "How the hell do you think I'd believe that there are little men on those mushrooms!?"

"I knew it was the first story because I've been with Alex since middle school and I swore he was in no coma," Dale said with a wide grin.

Hanamichi glared at Dale. "That's cheating! We don't know anything about you two for cryin' out loud!!!" He then turned to Kaede. "And you? How did you know it was the second story?"

Kaede just looked away and merely shrugged. "Lucky guess," he said simply.

Hanamichi was in the verge of blowing up again when Alex held up a hand to calm him. "Now now, just take your punishment, then it'll be your turn. You can, well, 'cheat' as you put it if you want to," he said good-naturedly as he handed Hanamichi the small glass.

Grumbling, Hanamichi settled down and drank it. The expected wince came from him, but his companions seem to believe that he had taken it down well enough. "Okay!" declared Hanamichi. "My turn. I was dumped by fifty girls before I went to highschool. Next story, I had a girlfriend back in highschool who was most probably the prettiest, most beautiful girl I've ever met. But her brother was a big jerk who looks a lot like a gorilla and never really did like me."

At this, Kaede snorted and looked away. Alex and Dale blinked up at him, then looked at each other. Whatever they were thinking about, Kaede didn't care. Hanamichi's turn was obviously a give away to him, surely he knew the right answer. Actually, he would've believed that the two stories were true, except for the word "girlfriend" in Hanamichi's statement. He had a vague idea who that girl was though. He never really did like her much. Not that he liked anybody at all, but that's beside the point.

Hanamichi then counted up to three. As Kaede had expected, he held up one finger to indicate that the first story was true, while Alex and Dale held up a two. At this, Hanamichi grinned triumphantly, and handed Alex and Dale their glasses. "Drink up!"

"WHAT?!" they bellowed at the same time, looked at each other, then back at Hanamichi. "You're kidding!"

At this, Hanamichi's grin grew wider and shook his head. "Oi, look at Rukawa's answer why don't you?" he said, pointing at the silent Kaede beside him.

And sure enough, the two looked at Kaede with disbelieving eyes. Kaede, in turn, just shrugged and held up one forefinger again to show them his answer.

Dale shook his head to wake himself up and spoke. "The 50-girls story against the pretty girl with a terror for a brother? Isn't the second story a bit more realistic?"

Hanamichi scowled. "Thanks a lot for pointing that out. But sad to say, yep, dumped by 50 girls. That's a record you know, hehe!"

"You seem proud," said Alex, who was between being amused and still doubtful. "But since Kaede seem to say that you were dumped 50 times, I guess we have no choice." He then raised his glass and quickly took the burning drink in. Dale hesitantly followed suit, but he was still in a daze. Probably asking himself if it really were possible, Kaede thought.

Alex then said that it was Kaede's turn, because he won the last round. They decided that Kaede should take the turn instead of Dale, because Dale made the same mistake with Alex. Not that Kaede would've cared, he never really wanted to join their game anyway. But just for the sake of not being irritated again, he decided to just give them what they want.

"My bike back in highschool was black." He cast them a look that said that was it for the first story. As for the second, he continued. "And once I had a chance to wrestle with a monkey while hanging from a basketball ring."

Alex and Dale burst out laughing, and barely heard Kaede count the usual signal. They both held up fingers for the first story, while Hanamichi, who was scratching his head, held up none. When Alex asked him what was wrong, Hanamichi scowled. "His bike wasn't black, it was pink!!!"

If Alex and Dale laughed hard a while ago, one won't be able to describe their laughter now. "You...You had a pink bike, Kaede?" asked Dale in between laughs and chuckles.

"I had no choice, that's was what was left for me," replied Kaede simply, as if a boy owning a pink bike wasn't anything strange at all. Well, it wasn't for him anyway.

"There, see? But then his second story can't be true, because I don't he'd...fight..." Hanamichi trailed off to think. Wait a second, didn't he and Kaede burst into a fight during their freshmen years hanging from the basketball ring? He glanced at Kaede, and in a split second, he could've sworn he saw those blue eyes twinkle under the dark lights. This was all Hanamichi needed to confirm his guess. "Are you calling me a monkey!?"

Kaede looked away. "I never said anything."

"Yes you did! Who else have you fought with hanging on a basketball ring anyway!?"

"How can you be sure it was only you?"

"Wait just a second here!" exclaimed Alex, as he held up two hands to stop the two from bursting into another fight again, which was supposedly forbidden. "You mean you two fought while hanging from the basketball ring? As in the ring where we shoot the ball into?"

The two just blinked with blank expressions. Hanamichi spoke. "We didn't break it."

"Oh sure you didn't!" Dale said exasperatedly, sitting back on his chair with a tired look. "You two never cease to amaze us, don't you?"

Alex laughed. "But that's good, we get to know more about them this way!" he said cheerfully, and just handed Dale another glass after ordering some more. They then decided that it should be Dale's turn, so all of them would have the opportunity to "take a gulp" as Alex would call it. They went on for a few more rounds, mostly with Hanamichi losing. Alex made it a rule that the stories should be unknown to everybody, so that the game would be fair. Especially now that he found out that Kaede and Hanamichi's stories can't be classified into anything at all.

A few more rounds later, and Alex knew they had to stop. "Er, Hanamichi, are you okay?" he asked, tapping the tired redhead across his seat. "You've had quite a lot of drinks, you know. Maybe we should go now."

Kaede snorted. "It's his fault for being too stupid to lose to those simple choices."

Despite his dizziness, Hanamichi still found it in himself to retort, "The hell're you talkin' about!? You lost jest's much as I did!"

Kaede raised his eyebrows at the obvious tipsiness in Hanamichi's voice. "But you don't see me drunk, do you?"

"Drunk!? I ain't drunk! 'm jes' tired!"

"You're drunk."

"Na-uh!"

A sigh. "You've always had a penchant for denying the obvious."

"'Penchant'? Whas'sat? Have you been reading the English dictionary behind my back again?"

From across the table, Alex and Dale just watched the show with uneasy smiles on their faces. "At least they're back to normal," whispered Alex after elbowing Dale's arm. Dale just shook his head in exasperation. Alex took that as his cue. "Kaede, we think you really should bring him home now."

Scowling yet again, Kaede cast the two Americans with a firm glare. "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

* * * * * * * * * *

He need not bother asking. Sure, he had refused, but the next thing he knew, he was holding the redhead up on his two feet, dragging him back towards the path to their apartment. I must've done something very bad for heaven to hate me so much, he thought over and over. It seemed to have become a mantra to him for some reason.

He listened to Hanamichi blabber about inane things for the past ten minutes. By the time they reached the doors of the first apartment, which was now being occupied by Hanamichi temporarily, Kaede could only look up in thanks. Finally, his agonizing burden and threat of deafness will be over.

"Na, R'kawa? Y've been very quiet l'tely," slurred an obviously drunk Hanamichi as they went up the stairs.

"Do'ahou. I'm always quiet," muttered Kaede.

They reached the bedroom that was supposed to be Hanamichi's uncle's room, which was the very same one that the red-haired boy used during his stay there. Kaede walked Hanamichi towards the bed, and bent forward to guide him as he removed his arms and weight from Kaede's shoulder.

Hanamichi groaned. "My head feels like shit," he complained.

"That's your fault for being careless enough to get drunk," retorted Kaede, who was now on his way out of the room. He intended to leave as soon as he had settled Hanamichi down, but for some reason, he found himself in the kitchen, searching for a glass, which he then filled with cold drinking water. He had heard somewhere that it was advisable to drink plenty of water when you're drowned in alcohol. Though why he was doing this for the redhead, he didn't know for sure.

Eventually, he found himself going up the stairs again. He placed the glass down on the table beside the bed without a word, and was just about to leave again when he heard Hanamichi speak.

"Y'know, I don't mind the headache," he said, his words a bit more understandable now. "Because even if I got myself drunk, at least I know that kitsune's still the same."

Kaede didn't know whether or not the other boy knew he was there. He didn't know if the words were even meant to him at all, just in case Hanamichi did know he was there. But nevertheless, he found himself still in the same place, just by the door. He waited for further words from the other.

Just when he thought that Hanamichi was asleep, he turned off the lights, intending to leave again. But just in time when he had turned his back from the room, Hanamichi whispered something, barely inaudible because of its uncharacteristically low volume.

"It had been lonely back in Kanagawa without you."

But Kaede heard.

End of chapter 7

A/N:

Special acknowledgement to the book "Memoirs of a Geisha", it gave me the idea for that little drinking game. I think it's a cute game...my opinion anyway. Though I doubt I'd play it, I hardly drink ^^;

Finally deciding that Alex's characters is derived from Akira Sendoh, this goes without saying that I'm basing Dale from Hiroaki Koshino. Don't ask, it just went off on it's own ^^; I can't help but notice that it wouldn't be nice for Alex to just butt in between our two main characters without looking like a lonely ass. Let's just say he needs a friend, ne? Whether you'd see anything romantic between him and Dale is yours to decide.

To Dee-chan. Wah, you found me! I'm really sorry if I seem to be neglecting my SD fanfics lately. Ehe...I was a bit taken aback when I saw you reviewing one of my other fanfics (and it just HAD to be that one, huh!? *blushes furiously*) ^^; I'll try to do everything again, okay? I'm even planning to continue Study Partners after I'm done with this fanfic but...Huhu, I am in GRAVE need for RuHana, MitKo and SenKosh...*teary eyes*

To those who're trying to send me emails, please try the new email I placed on my signed name, okay? I'm terribly sorry if I haven't been doing much these days, I really lack inspiration. It seems that RuHanaRu (together with MitKo, SenKosh, FujiHana, etc.) are dying from the SD world (heaven forbid). *sighs* I guess I'm still depressed about it. I don't exactly read fanfics with OCs, so I guess that's it for my SD fic reading. What happened anyway? o.O

- Cherrie [ [email protected] ]