SUMMARY: There's a new guy on the block and he's bound to loom larger… larger than Rukawa, that is. He's drawing everybody's attention which used to be reserved only for the super rookie with the iceberg personality. The next super rookie? Let's see – this guy's colder than the iceberg that is Kaede, a better player and definitely more good looking. Does a rivalry threaten to ensue?

DISCLAIMER: SD is not mine yadda, yadda, yadda. But my characters are mine.

CHAPTER I

            Following his daily routine, he got up as light was just starting to sneak through the clouds. He got into his favorite pair of jogging pants and pulled out a sweatshirt from the closet. He slipped into his sneakers and went down to the empty kitchen where he drank a glass of water. He then started out on his daily jog around the village.

            He loved the smell of the early morning air. It made him feel so relaxed even though his heart was beating wildly against his chest after circling the whole village. It has been his usual exercise in the morning to keep him fit to be able to keep up with the demands of his only love, basketball.

            The sun was a bit higher now and all the effort made him sweat so he stopped for a while. He shook those raven locks of his revealing clear, blue eyes and well chiseled features that would make every other girl's heart jump in place. He took in the surroundings noting that he had already done two laps then his attention was caught by a well-polished thing of beauty, a motorbike being carried out of a truck.

            "Yokohama Movers," he read to himself. New neighbors. Wonder what happened to the old guy who used to live there, he thought. He started to jog again and as he passed by the house, a guy about his age and almost as tall as him with the same black hair got out of the truck dribbling a basketball and went inside the house.

            Hmmm, new kid. And plays basketball, too.

            And with that, he was on his way to complete his usual five laps.

            After breakfast, he took off on his bike and headed to Shohoku High. People especially females would stop and stare at him as he drove by but he was oblivious to all that. Then without a warning, something hit him and his bike lurched forward. All he could make out was the scorching heat on his skin as his body made contact with the pavement. His head snapped up quickly to look at the culprit.

            With menacing eyes, he saw that the guilty party was on the motorbike he had seen earlier. He had sparkling blue eyes on his pale face which was adorned by his meticulously-styled black hair. He stopped for a while, glancing at the fallen biker, with no hint of emotion at all, except a cool demeanor to regard the ace of Shohoku. Heads turned to look at him, the attention which was previously showered only on the super rookie after the spectacular showing at the InterHigh. Gasps were heard as girls marked him as an official looker. Then he sped on his way. 

            Usually, girls would be swarming around Kaede Rukawa. Not that he didn't pay attention to them but the absence of hands on his body and noise abuzz in his ears told him something was different. His usual fan club didn't rush to him as he fell down. Some half-heartedly took to him but their eyes were fixed on the new kid.

            Oh well, that's fine. They're very annoying anyway.

            "Good morning, class," the teacher automatically said as soon as he entered the classroom. With a quick glance at the students, which made every one sit down and keep quiet, he opened his bag and pulled out the class cards for the day's recitation.

            "Before we start with our lesson, I'd like to introduce to you a new classmate of yours," signaling the tall guy outside to come in. "Class, this is Mr. Lorenzo Enishi Takeno. He just moved in from the Philippines and he's now living with his grandfather."

            Rukawa regarded him forebodingly. Black hair, blue eyes, tall frame. So this is the new kid, the one who bumped me and didn't even bother to apologize. The old guy's got a teenager with him. Wonder if that wouldn't irk him more, remembering the time when a village kid taunted the old man for staying indoors all the time.

            "You could get to know your classmates during your free time as we can't waste time," the teacher told Lorenzo who was looking at his classmates in an uninterested manner. "You may take a seat right here."

            As Lorenzo was about to sit down, he caught the eye of the guy he bumped earlier on his motorbike. Ignoring the dangerous stare coming his way, he sat down and started doodling on his notebook.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fic has no title yet since I can't think of an appropriate one. But rest assured it will have one in the future. Anyway, I hope you like it. This is my first venture into writing fanfics. Please tell me what you think about it so that I'll know if I'll continue it, stop it, change my approach towards my story, or if the story stinks altogether. Thanks for reading!