All disclaimers apply. Danke!

You mean, Rukawa has a best friend?

Yamato Kira had always been a cheerful girl. She loved the life she was living, and she made sure that every single human being that is alive currently in God's green earth knows about it. There was not a day that Kira didn't smile once. There was even a time when, after waiting for him, she stood up and hit her head on the low roof, and all she did after saying 'ow' was laugh.

Rukawa Kaede shook his head as he recalled this memory and wondered how on earth did she land a best friend like her.

It wasn't that he was complaining, but she and him were as different as night is from day. He was quiet and liked to be alone, she is the life of the party and enjoys the company of anyone who was withing speaking distance to her, not that she never gets mad, she does but she prefers herself to be bubbly and light.

They were in the park, Kaede leaning by a cold statue, cold but snowless, his arms crossed across his chest, looking intently at Kira who was making snowballs and grinning like it was the first time she had seen snow in her entire life.

Kira must have noticed the fact that Kaede was staring at her, she looked at him and grinned, tucking her rich red hair behind her ear, her moss green eyes sparkling in his direction.

"Hn," he said, acknowledging that they were staring at each other.

Kira broke their staring contest by picking up one of the snowballs and presenting it to him, though they were a good ten feet away from each other. "This is quite fun," she said.

"Hn." Said Kaede again, motioning to the fact that he heard her, though he made no more movements after that.

Kira pouted at him slightly, and threw the snowball at him, hitting him in the arm. "You're no fun,"

"Yes I am," he said, feeling quite offended. He had always thought of himself as fun, though his definition of fun did include a basketball court and a ball.

"No you're not," she said, smiling slightly as she threw another snowball at him, "You're good target practice though."

Rukawa glared slightly at her. He had often wondered how she managed to put up with him. After all, they were extreme opposites of each other and have hardly anything in common. They don't even go to the same school. He's in Shohoku High, and she's going to Ryonan.

But she did put up with him and his silent ways. He had lost many acquaintances by not speaking. He felt that he didn't need to talk to anyone for social reasons. During those times, all he thought about was basketball, and when he answers that when asked what he was thinking, they don't press the matter further.

Maybe if they did I would talk to them more, he thought.

But Kira, she was different. She was content in doing the talking, and Rukawa found it easy to listen to her, her voice wasn't high, shrilly and annoying like some girl voices. She didn't seem to mind at all that he didn't talk much and was contented with his small short answers. If he didn't feel like talking she didn't mind.

Besides, it wasn't like she talked all the time, there were times when she was silent, and they both just sit there and say nothing and that's normal for the both of them. Each other's presence was enough.

Rukawa then noticed that the snow has started again. He saw Kira raise her head up and stick her tongue out, waiting for snowflakes to reach her tongue. She smiled after tasting snow and started making snowballs again.

He glared at the snow that was landing on his gloves. Stupid snow. Stupid cold. If it was warm and sunny, he would be out, but not in thick warm clothes. He would have a basketball in his hands, and he would drag Kira along with him to keep records of how many shots he makes and how many he didn't. Oh, and to bring water too.

He looked longingly at the courts, that were covered with snow. He ordered it in his mind to become miraculously dry and snowless.

Obviosuly, it didn't work.

"You know, Kaede," said Kira suddenly. Kaede turned to her, and she had that ever present smile in her face. "If you stare at the courts long enough it might just agree to marry you."

Rukawa stared at her.

"Of course, it would have competition."

Another quality he liked about Kira was that she was not one of his crazed fans. Sure, she liked him. He liked to think that she liked him a lot, but not in the I'm-one-of-your-crazed-fans-marry-me-now way. She liked him, just enough.

And that was more than enough for him.

Besides, she already has a crush. That idiot, Sendoh Akira.

Rukawa felt himself frown. He didn't see what she saw in him. Sure, he's an excellent basketball player, he'd give him that, but what other qualities does he have? As far as he was concerned, all Sendoh Akira had was a big ugly head with a bunch of spiked on top.

He was about to continue his small tirade about just how stupid Sendoh was when Kira gasped. Rukawa straightened and saw that she was hit at the side of the face by a rather large snowball that came out of nowhere. It was so big and Kira was caught off guard so much that she stumbled sideways.

Quick as a flash, Rukawa was by her side and caught her mid fall.

"You okay?" he mumbled, straightening her and wiping the remaining snow off her face.

Kira nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Her teeth chattered slightly, and she wiped her face with her hankerchief. She flashed him her sweetest smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Oy! YOU!"

Both Kira and Kaede turned and saw a red orange head coming towards them. Inwardly, Rukawa groaned as he recognized who that head belong to. Out loud, he said, quite irritably, "Hn."

Kira raised a red eyebrow (she's a natural redhead…it happens). "You don't seem to happy to see your team mate."

"Not that team mate," he muttered, glaring at the approaching figure.

"Oy, you," the man said when he was withing earshot, "sorry I didn't mean to hit that at you, it was supposed to be for Michy, but he ducked and – "

It was then that the man realized that Rukawa was behind Kira. He promptly took a step back and mouth and eyes wide open pointed quite rudely at Rukawa. "YOU!"

"Kira, you know Sakuragi," he mumbled at her.

Kira had a benign smile in her face an nodded. "Of course he is."