Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk or any character in it.

A/N: This fiction was requested by DisgracedThornyLotus. Each chapter shall be written and published in a single sitting. No beta reader has been used.

Kainan's new Basketball Ace hadn't shown up at the gym in last two days. He also had been unable to focus at practice during the past few months. As his coach feared, he seemed to had fallen prey to some kind of depression. Or had started abusing drugs. The later was much less likely, so the coach assumed that it must had been the former.

Kainan's basketball club was known for its intense training and most of the guys usually used to quit after a few days. It was basically filled with guys who loved basketball and had high endurance. And they weren't any highly attractive guys let after the last batch had passed out.

Hence, despite being in the highschool basketball team for last two years, he had never gotten any love proposals.

Kiyota had fallen in love with a newly transfered girl called Kikyo, who had no interest in Basketball, just like most of his female classmates. She didn't knew him or had ever played Basketball. But, seeing that he was popular among guys and teachers, she had asked him for his notes on mathematics.

He had told her that he'd give them to her, the first thing tomorrow morning as he didn't had them at the time. The poor guy had then worked hard all night to prepare those non-existing notes for her, after having spending an intense training session at the School Gym. He thought that she had probably admired him at the basketball court. Having been to an another school, she had probably been into basketball guys. And that's why she had asked him for his notes even though they weren't acquaintance yet.

The next day, during the early morning hours when his head was the numbest, he had ended up writing things like "I took out some time to edit some words that weren't much easy to read. I generally don't focus on my handwriting during the maths class", " I'm giving my notes to you because girls make better notes than guys and you seem to one of the best students at studies. I hope I can have your notes if I need them in the future" and " I'd need my notebook back within a day. Give it to the guy that sits next to me if I'm not at class" to that girl at the last page of his notebook. He had then absent mindedly crossed the last page instead of ripping the page off and destroying it.

He should had ripped that page off.

He should had known better than to think that someone admired him.

Cause when he came late to school after having slept in, he'd found girls giving him weird stares. And guys were all smiling or laughing at him, asking him about what he had done.

He meet Kikyo near the stairs to his class, and upon getting asked for the notebook, she told him that she had thought that he'd be absent and had given it to the guy that he asked her to.

"I didn't..." was all he said before he realized the blunder he had committed.

Dashing into the class room, he'd found his sidekick Satome showing the last page of his notebook to other classmates, with everyone shaking their heads in disbelief.

Kyota had spend the next week brainstorming day and night. He had to give an explanation to her without telling her about his stupid assumption.

Instead of dozing off, paying attention to the teacher or jokes by his friends, he had started starring at her during the classes, wondering how she felt and thought about him. He had even started making notes and forcing himself to write in a better handwriting.

Finally, he had come up with an excuse.

"And so that guy had called me in the morning and asked me for my notes. Learning that I was going to give you my notes, he has criticised me for being willing to give my notes to someone instead of a friend just because she was a girl. I had been writing on the last page of that notebook while talking to him and had at the end just crossed all the stuff that I had written. I'm sorry about my absentmindedness.

And Satome told me that you called me a psycho for this. That's why I... I guess I probably deserved that. "

"I didn't said anything! It was him who called you a psycho!" was all she said, before heading out to confront Satome. Kiyota followed her and they found that guy standing alone outside the classroom. Seeing her ask him about what the later had said, Kyota slowly walked away towards his class, smiling at himself for finally having settled stuff, only for his heart to suddenly fill up with dread.

He had rushed back, but to find that a group of girls now surrounded the duo. One of the girls asked what had happened to the other, only for the other to respond with "Kyota likes Kikyo. He has a crush on her".

Kyota couldn't speak. He couldn't breath. If you would had cut him open, he probably wouldn't had bleed.

Tightening his fists, he had uttered "You are so dead", drawing everybody's attention. The guy in front of his just laughed and ran up the stairs. Kyota looked at the girl in front of him, only to find her looking away, as if in disappoval. He felt as if something was squeezing his heart in his chest, as he chased Satome up the stairs.

Just as they reached the roof, Kyota grabbed Satome's shoulders and had jumped into the air, hitting the later in the backbone, with a flying knee.

"Darn, that hurt! Why did you hit me so hard?"

"Why did you tell?"

"So.. It's real?"

"Of course not! Wait, why would you tell her this, when you weren't sure?"

"Why are you denying in front of me, but didn't do that in front of her? You just gave everybody the wrong idea!" said Satome who just couldn't stop laughing.

"Fine, that's because I... it's real. But I don't want to... I'm more concerned about my career and studies... And I don't have time for this."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't know!" yelled Kiyota, as he delivered another punch to Satome.

"Ouch, that hurt! But, you should be thanking me. If this didn't happened, she'd had probably put you into her "No" list."

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't knows you yet. And hence there is a possibility that you could be on her "Maybe" list. Every girl categorises guys. If you end up on the Nakama a.k.a. Friendzoned list, it's impossible to change that."

"And?"

"Now, if we play our cards right, she can't put you on her friendzoned list. And unless you propose, she can't reject you. Isn't that great?"

"I have no idea. But, I promise that I am going to kill you if anything goes wrong."