Standard disclaimers apply.
Summary: Rukawa attempts to square his feelings for Sendoh with his reputation for being an ice prince. One-shot. RuSen.
Ice Prince
Rukawa did not understand why everyone called him the Ice Prince.
He supposed it had something to do with his aloofness and his disinclination to put up with the imbecilities of his teammates.
Like that time Sakuragi had cracked a stupid joke in the locker room about Rukawa only wanting to play one-on-ones against Sendoh because he wanted to get into his pants. Miyagi and Mitsui had laughed uproariously, but Rukawa had only frowned.
"Relax, Rukawa," Mitsui had said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It was only a joke. We didn't mean anything by it."
Rukawa had brushed aside Mitsui's hand.
"But you have to admit," Miyagi had said, wiping a tear, "sometimes it really does look like you're obsessed with Sendoh."
"Yeah, and come to think of it, I've never seen you with a girl. You'd think, with the dozens of fan girls you have following you around wherever you go, you'd have got it on with at least one of them."
"I mean, I already have Ayako, but even I can see that some of those girls are pretty hot."
"If you're not interested in them, just tell us. I already have my eye set on one of them—that Akane in year 2, class 6."
"You can have Sendoh. We don't want him."
More laughter.
Rukawa had punched his locker door at this point with more force than he had intended. Pain had radiated from his knuckles all the way up his arm, and his eyes had threatened to well up from the effort of not tending to his injured hand. But he had forced himself to ignore it.
"I hate you all," he had said and stormed out of the locker room, leaving Miyagi and Mitsui staring bemusedly after him. Sakuragi—that ass—had been too absorbed in coming up with even more lame jokes about Rukawa and Sendoh to notice.
Presently Rukawa was in class with his head on his desk, eyes closed but, in spite of all appearances, awake. He was going over what Mitsui and Miyagi had said that time about him being obsessed with Sendoh.
Was he really obsessed with Sendoh?
And if so, was he really that obvious?
The first time he had laid eyes on that goddamned smiley bastard was during the practice game. He had disliked him instantly. What sort of a fool wore his emotions on his sleeve like that? How shallow and flippant a person did you have to be to smile all the goddamned time?
It had given him great pleasure to whisper insulting words into Sendoh's ear during that game. He had wanted nothing more than to beat him and to wipe that infernal smirk off his infernal face. Once or twice he had thought Sendoh's smile had got a little strained, but it had gone back to its former insouciant radiance in an instant.
That final shot Sendoh had made to win that game, however… where he had outmaneuvered both him and Akagi and scored from under their outstretched arms was just… genius. It was then that Rukawa had realized that Sendoh was not a flippant player, even though he had all the makings of one.
And that smile… What was that smile all about? Joy? Glee? Condescension?
Rukawa did not know.
He felt a chill run up his spine when he pictured Sendoh's smile in his head.
Was it perhaps the smile of one who was certain that he had vanquished his opponent for good?
Was Sendoh really that much better than him?
After that game Rukawa had gone back to believing that Sendoh was just a dilettante who didn't really like basketball all that much. Rukawa would beat him and show him what a passion for basketball really looked like.
The second time they faced each other was in the qualification match.
Sendoh's smile had not changed.
Rukawa got the sudden urge to kick his teeth in and smash his head against the curb.
Stop fucking smiling at me like you've already won!
He relished the times when he hoodwinked Sendoh with his fakes, and scored.
Shohoku was leading, thanks to him.
At one point he overheard Sendoh talking about getting one basket in each minute to close the gap.
"Basketball is not math," he said to Sendoh sententiously.
Sendoh smiled pleasantly in response.
"The gap's wider again," he said when the gap had been widened to a double-digit number again.
This time Sendoh did not smile. He stared after Rukawa with a slightly open mouth.
I have won, Rukawa thought; I have wiped the smile off his face.
Then that ass Sakuragi committed a thirty-second violation, and the ball was back in Sendoh's hands.
Just try getting past me, Rukawa thought, getting into a defensive position.
Sendoh smirked down at him.
Rukawa's eyes widened.
Could it be…?
Sendoh released the ball without missing a beat.
A three-pointer…?
Rukawa stared with wide eyes as the ball soared through the air and fell through the net with barely a sound.
"What?"
Rukawa felt his heart shatter.
Sendoh hadn't even got into position for that shot. He had just stood there and commanded the ball to go into the basket.
Was this Sendoh's true power? Had Sendoh just been toying around with him the whole time? Could it be that Rukawa had completely underestimated how good Sendoh was?
Rukawa barely got time to recover, when Sendoh smilingly lured Akagi into fouling him. Even as the momentum of Akagi's massive frame shook him as he collided with him and sent him crashing to the floor, Sendoh released the ball and commanded it once again to sail through the air. It danced teasingly around the rim, but everyone knew it would go in. It had to. Sendoh had told it to.
Even though Shohoku won that game, Rukawa was left with a bitter taste in his mouth. They had beaten Ryonan decisively, but he had not beaten Sendoh. On the contrary, Sendoh had beaten him.
He regarded the countenances of the Ryonan players as they lined up at the end of the game. Uozumi was crying, Koshino was crying, Fukuda was crying. Uekusa looked too exhausted to indulge any emotion.
Then he looked at Sendoh.
Sendoh stood tall and still, panting slightly, but that was it. He wasn't smiling, but he also didn't look shattered by their loss.
Cry, you idiot, Rukawa thought. Give me some sign that you're sad about losing. Give me some sign that you're human.
But Sendoh wouldn't indulge him.
"Good game," said Sendoh, shaking Rukawa's hand. The infernal smile was back.
Rukawa frowned.
"Call me if you ever want to play one-on-one with me before heading off to the Inter Highs."
Rukawa said nothing.
Sendoh turned around and headed back to the locker room with his team, raising his hand without turning his head in a parting gesture.
Rukawa stared after him.
Even after losing Sendoh was still willing to help him prepare for the Inter Highs?
Rukawa was not sure he would have done the same. He would have been bitter about losing and would have watched with glee as his rival went down in flames at the Inter Highs—especially if he knew that he could have done something to prevent it.
He was even expecting something in the nature of passive-aggressiveness in Sendoh's manner when he called on him a couple of weeks later.
But Sendoh was all smiles throughout their one-on-ones.
It was late in the afternoon when they decided to stop.
"I think we should call it quits now," said Sendoh, panting in the darkness. "We've been tying throughout, and I can't even see the hoop anymore."
"Sendoh."
"Yes, Rukawa?"
"Will there be anyone stronger than you in the Nationals?"
"Uh, I really don't know." Sendoh thought for a moment. "Hang on, there was one person. Someone I wasn't able to beat in junior high. Kitasawa."
"Kitasawa."
"Kitasawa? I'm not so sure."
A few moments of silence passed. Crickets chirped warmly in the distance. A warm breeze blew softly against their faces. Birds returned to their nests in the trees. It was a fine night.
"Sendoh."
"Yes, Rukawa?"
"I think I like you."
Rukawa did not know what possessed him to say it. Perhaps it was the cover of night that gave him the comfort of knowing that Sendoh wouldn't be able to read him as well as if it had been day.
"How do you mean?"
Rukawa inhaled deeply.
"I like you. I want to be with you."
Silence from Sendoh.
Rukawa was so sure he was smiling that he could practically see his smile—even though he couldn't really see anything in the dark. His heart was pounding painfully against his ribcage, and his hands were clenched into fists by his side.
Say something, you idiot!
At length Sendoh spoke.
"Good luck at the Nationals," he said pleasantly.
And then he was off.
Just like that.
Rukawa then got the chilling feeling that Sendoh had only pretended to tie with him in all their one-on-ones that afternoon and that in reality he could have beaten him anytime he liked.
And then Rukawa realized that it wasn't he who was the Ice Prince, but Sendoh.
end.
A/N: I was a bit irked by Rukawa's superciliousness toward Sendoh in the series, and decided to remind him that Sendoh is better than him.
The scenes from the qualification game were taken chiefly from Episode 81 (sometime after Chapter 177 in the manga).