Yay! The first fic that I dared to post!! It's a RuHanaRu fic. But there won't be much... err... 'action' in it cos I can't write those parts well. Gomen.
Slam Dunk is not mine. CHAPTER 1
"I'm sorry Sakuragi. I'm in love with Oda from the basketball team..." Those words echoed in his heart. Had that only been last year? So much had happened, not all of it good, but truly memorable.
He took out his jersey. Number 10. Watch out high school basketball. This tensai is back.
Sakuragi entered the gym. He could see Miyagi giving out orders to the new batch of freshmen. Haruko waved at him and he waved back. She sure has changed a lot. Guess working side by side with Ayako as the basketball manager had caused that change.
He scanned the members. Well, well. Guess he's not here. What? Was he expecting him to wait till he arrived and challenged each other on another one-on-one? One that seemed so unfinished last year? Well, yes, actually. But who cares about that show-off. Sakuragi snickered to himself and started doing basics in the corner.
Dammit. He was late. AGAIN. Miyagi is going to kill him. It wasn't his fault that he had fallen asleep while cycling to school. It also wasn't his fault that his bicycle had crashed into a car, and he had to pay (unwillingly) for the damages.
Upon reaching Shohoku High, he took off his earphones and dashed straight towards the gym, his bicycle forgotten. It's all right. He's a second year now. Surely Miyagi will forgive him...
Rukawa opened the gym door. Miyagi glared at him, but that was the only acknowledgement he made. Hmm. Guess that wasn't so bad. Rukawa started to put down his duffel bag when he saw a flash of red in the corner. Well, well, well... the do'aho's back, huh? A flicker of a grin outlined his mouth, but it disappeared as soon as it had formed. He headed towards him...
Just ignore him, Sakuragi told himself. Pretend that you are better than him. You ARE better than him. He felt Rukawa's hand on his shoulder right before he heard him say, "Oi. You're back."
Sakuragi turned. Act cool. Act like you don't care. He smirked. "Yup. And nobody ain't gonna mess with me."
Rukawa shrugged and walk away. He picked up the ball and started practicing. Sakuragi's eyes trailed him, a look of bewilderment. Ok. Did he say something wrong? Hmm. Whatever. Let that faceless fox practice by himself. Sakuragi Hanamichi is perfectly fine and not at all irritated by his words. Honest. But his eyes kept on wandering back towards the black-haired boy.
The world seemed to be swimming. He blinked. All steady now. Then it started blurring again. Dammit! He cursed, and then gave in to the temptation.
"Rukawa Kaede!" He blinked. A tree is in front of him.... A tree? No. He blinked again. Oh, right. His teacher. Mrs. something-or-other... what subject? He scratched his head. He couldn't remember. He couldn't care less.
"Rukawa Kaede! Do not sleep in my class. Are my lessons that boring? You are already a second year student..." He tuned her out. Teachers. They are all the same. He pushed back his chair and walked out of the classroom nonchalantly. Whatever.
"Get back here! If you get out of there..." He slammed the door. Hadn't done that in awhile. He then walked unsteadily towards the rooftop.
He took a deep breath and sat down. Ah. His own place. A place to just be alone. Maybe he'll just lie down and rest for a while. Just for a while...
Sakuragi stormed up to the rooftop. This is all Youhei's fault. Damn him for causing trouble. Now they are threatening him, and Youhei needed Sakuragi's help to fight them. Those pesky freshmen. They think they are so cool... (He thought he was cool when he was a freshman...)
He slammed opened the door and was shocked to find it empty. Did he get the information wrong again? Hell. He was about to leave when he spotted a familiar-looking figure sprawled on the floor. Teme kitsune? What is he doing here?
Sakuragi walked towards him and started poking him. Nothing. He tried shaking. Still no reaction. Frustrated, he kicked Rukawa hard in the stomach.
"Uuf." Rukawa muttered then stood up. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and muttered. "Nobody gets in the way of me and my sleep. You kicked me, huh? Payback time..."
His fist stopped on midair. "Oh. It's you." He murmured and sat down lazily.
"What do you mean, 'Oh, it's you'?" Sakuragi demanded. He sat down beside Rukawa. "You're not going to punch me?"
"Baka." Rukawa muttered and punched Sakuragi lightly on the cheeks.
"That's all? Come on, don't tell me you have gotten weak." Sakuragi mocked.
Rukawa shot a fleeting glance at him and said, "I don't want to hurt you."
"Why? Is it because you missed me? Or...you realized that I am actually a tensai and you don't want to injure me as you are depending on me for the upcoming matches? I knew it. Of course. Rukawa, you are jealous. You...Are you even listening?!"
Beside him, Rukawa was snoring lightly. Sakuragi grew silent. He does look rather adorable when he's sleeping. Sort of like a girl, if you ignore the muscle and that drool at the corner of his mouth. The drool... Sakuragi took out his handkerchief. He reached over to wipe it.
"What are you doing?" Rukawa's eyes bore down on him.
Sakuragi jumped back. "Nothing, nothing." He looked around. "Hey, do you remember? We first met here. I was so in love with Haruko and got jealous of you. We beat the crap out of each other."
Rukawa nodded. "Those days... you're tough. I had a headache for three days."
Sakuragi beamed. "Of course. I'm a tensai." He laughed. Pressing his palms flat on the floor, he pushed himself up. Holding out his hand, he said, "I have something to tell you..."
Rukawa took it and stood up. He dusted himself and dragged Sakuragi out to the stairway. "We have some unfinished business to attend to. I've been looking forward to this..."
Sakuragi's eyes widened as Rukawa grabbed both his arms and pulled him towards the hallway.