So, like, a few weeks ago I had a dream. KIYOTA was in it. He played quite a part. (Sadly, the contents of the dream are quite... undivulgeable. Made-up words ftw.) And I haven't read Slam Dunk for ages. And I haven't touched Slam Theatre for ages, either. So... IT MUST BE A SIGN.

And this fic was born.

Part I. The End

A gulp.

"Wait, no-"

He swallows deep, his eyes cast about frantically, alighting on the portraits of past principals, before deciding that they look even fiercer than Principal Mayuzumi, if that was even possible, and it's no use appealing to the principal on their behalf.

"Sensei, you can't-"

His throat seizes up again, he hears the hysteria clearly entering his voice. He can't believe that this is happening and that it will all – no, it won't! It can't!

"Please, sensei, give me another chance, it won't happen again, I'll... apologise, pay back-"

"I'm sorry, Kiyota-kun." Principal Mayuzumi says soothingly, in her sexy deep dark voice. He and Teruo and Kumai used to go hot for that voice, but now he only feels resentment and hate. How could he ever have thought that this old plasticked-up hag was hot? The way her tone of voice just sounds so correct, so perfectly consoling is cruel to Kiyota Nobunaga. She would never understand the amount of pain she has inflicted on people like him, and there must have been a lot with the way she's been able to practise – no, she will never, not with her straight As in the uni entrance exams and her tenure at Harvard (announced so proudly in the school prospectus his family had been flicking through only a year before).

"...escalator school, so we have many students in our waiting list," Mayuzumi has been speaking all this time, and he barely catches the end of her sentence. But he can guess what will be coming next. They will try harder, achieve better grades, lead trouble-free school lives, make Kainan proud in ten or twenty years, and he? It's not like Kainan is short of basketball stars. He can see that in her eyes. Cast aside like trash. He'd thought that as a basketball team member, he'd have gotten some special considerations, but no-

"I felt that it was appropriate to inform you of this before calling your parents in," Mayuzumi finishes, and looks at him intently, something flickering in her eyes. For a moment she seems almost like a person – not an untouchable deity, or a merciless demon. Kiyota blinks furiously, angry brows contorting his normally fair face, and when he opens his eyes, it's gone.

"Kiyota-kun, please do not treat this as a setback."

Fuck! How can I not? I'm about to get expelled? I know it! Don't try to...

"I know this was your first time, but in situations like this, the school has a one-strike policy."

It wasn't me! Not my fault! I didn't think, I thought... how will I be the Super Player of Kainan now?...

"I will gladly write up a letter of recommendation to any school you should wish to join. Your athletic talents are formidable and coveted by many."

Then why didn't you try harder to keep me? Don't think I don't know the real reason I'm...

"I hope you understand what you did and will endeavour to make amends. Good luck in your new school."

The finality of her tone washes over him even as he gives the office a good hard look, his last look, he realises belatedly. The basketball trophies are all displayed proudly in a cabinet to a side and yet he is being let go barely a month after their latest victory. If you'd told him then, during the awards ceremony of the Winter Inter-High, that it would be his last time playing with the team, he would have laughed in your face. But now, struggling to accept it, he looks anywhere but at her, unaware of his angry, hateful expression, his clenched fists, his shaking body; and his arms fall to his side in defeat. The silence in the office as she waits for him to exit drives the point home.

It's over.

So uh... who else has been playing Trauma Center 2 recently? -flirty Mayuzumi voice- Ddoctor Stilesss. -British Adel voice- (seriously... wha? AHAHAHA no offence Brits) GOT it! AHmeeeeehzing! -crazy orange eyed Adel- (his eyes were purple before right?) Sorry for spoiling, my rambles won't seem like anything special until you play the damn game anyway. PLAY IT. It's for the DS.

I'll update every few days to a week depending on chapter length! You know you love it when you have few-day breaks in between for the suspense to stretch! And no, they won't be monster late-Slam-Theatre length either.