Credits: Slam Dunk was created by Takehiko Inoue. It is owned/licensed by IT Planning, Toei Animation, Geneon Entertainment (USA), Shueisha (manga).

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk characters borrowed for the love and joy of the writing, and not for acquiring profit. The members of the Haneda family and other members of Sachiko's posse are mine. As with all fics, while the goal is to stay as in character as possible, the author cries "mea maxima culpa" to any discrepancies that the discerning reader may find.

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"Hey, hey, look what's coming our way," snickered Hotta, looking down the quiet street lined with small shops. His two companions, Ryu and Junichiro followed his gaze, wolfish grins crossing their faces as they saw the object of his scrutiny.

The afternoon sunlight brought out the warm bronze highlights of Haneda Sachi's silken hair, gilding her fair skin so that she glowed prettily against the dark colors of the Shohoku school uniform. She had stopped by the little mom-and-pop grocery, as was her custom after school, to buy a snack against the ride home, and to greet the elderly couple that ran the place. Having finished that errand, she emerged from the shop in a good mood, ready to make her way home to a hot meal and rest after a day spent in reviewing the applications submitted by hopeful members of the creative writing club.

With her mind thus preoccupied, she failed to notice the scrutiny of the three hulking boys watching her from the end of the street, openly admiring of the pretty legs that moved easily beneath the pleated skirt.

Sachi was contemplating a display of stationery in one of the shop windows when a shadow fell across her view. Looking up, she found herself facing Hotta's leering grin, and realizing instantly that she was surrounded by the trio. Instinctively, she clutched her things against her chest, though the eyes she lifted to Hotta's were brave.

"All alone this afternoon, Sachi-chan?" chuckled Hotta, leaning one arm against the wall of the shop, blocking Sachi's first escape route. "Where's your knight in shining glasses, eh?"

"Kogure is practising with the team, Hotta, as you well know," was the quiet reply. Sachi turned from Hotta and made as if to move back the way she had come, only to find Ryu's tall figure planted square in her path. "If you please, I'm on my way home."

"Aw, come on, Sachi-chan, it's too early to be going home," wheedled Junichiro, looking at Sachi in a way that made her shudder inwardly. "Keep us company for a while, why don't you?"

Sachi took a deep breath to steady herself, despite the frisson of fear that ran up her spine. Hotta and his mates were feared by the student body for their rough and ready ways; Miyagi had already had a taste of their violent methods. Among the girls, many were the whispers of harrassment that stopped just short of real bodily harm, but were enough to leave the unfortunate victims shaken and trembling for days afterward.

For the most part, Sachi had managed to avoid trouble by dint of studiously avoiding Hotta's group, and it was rare that she left school without the company of someone from the basketball team. It was just Sachi's bad luck that on the one day she decided to break the pattern, she should meet up with the very people she had managed to escape.

Hotta's eyes glinted with malicious mischief as he watched Sachi weigh her situation, admiring her brave stance in the face of odds she could not hope to defeat. Sachi's quiet prettiness had caught his eye from the moment she had entered their section -- but she would have none of him, politely but firmly avoiding any chance to be alone with him. So Hotta had bided his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself, as it now had.

"I don't have time to spare," came the firm reply, as honey-gold eyes began to sparkle with rising irritation. "It's a long ride home, and I have a lot to do. . ."

"It can wait," chuckled Hotta, pushing himself away from the wall, and bringing his hand down to give Sachi's firm bottom a familiar slap. With a gasp of outrage, she whirled towards him, a protest forming on her lips as the trio laughed. Ryu ran a finger down the side of her neck, catching her hand as she reached up to slap it away. Taking a deep breath, Sachi raised one foot and brought it down with all her strength on Ryu's. As the boy cried out in pain, she pivoted -- still on his foot -- inward towards his body, using his surprise to half-throw him to the ground.

Books and papers scattered everywhere as Sachi extricated herself from Ryu's grip, only to find herself caught up from behind by Junichiro, and pinned against his chest by his strong arms.

"Let me go!" she cried out in helpless fury, and Hotta could not help but admire the raging fire that made her eyes glow feral in the fading light. "You bullies! Let. . .go!"

"Don't worry, Sachi-chan, we'll let you go," growled Ryu, clenching his teeth against the throbbing pain in his foot and hurt masculine pride. "But not till you learn to ask us nicely."

Hotta nodded, coming up to tilt Sachi's face up to his. "Think you're too good to spend time with us, hey? I think you need to be taught a lesson. . ."

"Hey! What going on here?"

Sachi froze instantly in the circle of Junichiro's arms at the sound of the smoky voice asking the question. The others froze in their places as well, as a tall figure with shoulder-length dark hair moved into the tight circle formed around Sachi. Eyes of midnight blue bored into Sachi's wide golden gaze, their expression inscrutable.

"M-mitsui?"

Sachi's heart pounded painfully in her chest as she regarded her classmate. Two years before, they had started to become friends, in the days when Mitsui Hisashi had arrived at Shohoku as a junior high basketball star -- an MVP, whose accuracy from the three-point line was undisputed. Then came the accident which damaged not only a knee, but hearts and relationships as well. These days, while she and Mitsui still sat beside each other in class, they now moved in different circles -- and Sachi's gentle heart had cried out to see the path of destruction that Mitsui seemed hell-bent on carving out for himself.

"Yo, Mitsui," said Junichiro, chuckling at Sachi's futile effort to escape. "We're teasing our little Sachi-chan here -- care to join the fun?"

Iie, Mitsui-kun, onegai. . . pleaded Sachi in her mind, unable to tear her golden gaze away from the midnight blue depths. You wouldn't. . .surely not?

"It doesn't look like Sachi-chan is having much fun," came the reply, after what seemed to be an eternity. "You'd better let her go, Junichiro."

"What? After what she did to me?" growled Ryu, subsiding as the midnight blue eyes turned on him with a dangerous gleam.

"Hn." Mitsui managed to invest the single syllable with humurous disdain. "If she could do that to you, Ryu, she deserves her freedom. Beaten by a girl. . ."

Hotta looked from Mitsui to Sachi, now smoothing down her school uniform, which had become rumpled in the fray. He opened his mouth as though to say something, then closed it as Mitsui turned his cold midnight gaze upon him.

"We just thought Sachi-chan needed a little lesson, is all," Hotta said with a shrug. "Thinks she's too good to spend time with us. . ."

"That's because she is, Hotta. Too good for the likes of us," answered Mitsui, and Sachi's heart twisted at the words. "Now give her back her stuff, and leave her be from now on. An apology might be a nice thing, too."

"Aw, man. . ." grumped Ryu, handing over Sachi's books and papers. He caught Mitsui's eyes and swallowed, before saying, "Gomen nasai, Sachi-chan. No hard feelings?"

Hotta and Junichiro were quick to add their own apologies, and Sachi glared daggers at her three erstwhile tormentors.

"Apology accepted," she said with a pale, set face. Turning to Mitsui, she bowed low, acknowledging his intervention in her favor. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu, Mitsui-san."

A strange expression flickered in the former MVP's eyes at the extremely formal expression of thanks. But his voice was mocking as he answered, "I do have some shreds of decency left in me, daimyo no hime, no matter what you -- or the rest of the basketball team may think. Better tell Kogure to be more careful with defense. It was always his weak point."

Sachi felt the sting of tears at the words, which spoke volumes of what once was, and what might have been. Without another word, she inclined her head and made her way down the road towards the train station. At the corner, something made her pause and look back -- to catch Mitsui's eyes of midnight blue head-on.

There was no mistaking the expression in them now, as Hotta and his mates stood at the ready, obviously waiting for him to join them. An expression that made Sachi's vision blur with tears long held back as she fled the scene as fast as she could.

The expression of a man who had caught his final glimpse of heaven before its doors closed against him forever.

//owari//