Title: Never Tell

By: FFNPREZ

Note: Slam Dunk is a manga and anime owned by Takehiko Inoue. I am merely a fan- since I was 10 years old and yes, I'm in love with his masterpiece and other works.

All characters belong to him except for Eiri and Reed which are completely mine. Enjoy.

If you've followed this story before, I changed the name of the lead Original Character which was 'Shin' to Eiri Tamaki since i'm using the name Shin in another story. Enjoy!


Chapter 1

"Aaaaah!" Eiri screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw the naked man lying inside the tub with his eyes closed. She clamped her mouth shut at once when realization dawned to her, "Shit- Shit- Shit…" she mumbled, "I'm so sorry. Sorry." She said repeatedly, twirling around to exit bathroom, her right hand on the doorknob while the other clutching the large white shirt she wore. Closing the door behind her she turned left and walked towards her door.

"Idiot." She mumbled to herself on her way to her room, good thing the bathroom door was closed when she screamed or else Reed would have woken up which would make it more uncomfortable.

She was about to open the door to her room which was at the end of the hallway when the bathroom door opened with a slight creak and out came- complete with steam, the man with raven-hair, blue eyes and vampiric complexion. He had on a white robe that came above his ankles, he was tall and daunting at over six feet, but the intense gaze from his cool blue eyes made her feel guilty and uncomfortable.

"I didn't see anything." She said in a flat voice, her face straight, she knew she looked innocent since she had said that phrase a hundred times, it was a rehearsed line and it helped that she looked younger than her actual fifteen-year-old-self and that she was wearing an oversized shirt which probably made her look pitiful. But she could be wrong.

"Who are you?" he asked in a low, warning voice that seemed to send thick vibrations through the air. From his voice alone he didn't look like the kind who'd think twice about snapping someone's neck, but she already knew who he was and didn't think he'd actually snap her neck at the moment.


16 hours ago…

"Well this is it, Eiri. Make yourself at home." Reed Rukawa said to the young girl, walking behind her and ushering her inside his house. Eiri trained her green eyes to the garage where the black Sedan they rode was parked with a red car, before she entered the heavy fiber glass door carrying her backpack while Reed followed behind her with her suitcase.

"The house has two floors, bit standard. All the rooms are upstairs." He removed his shoes and placed them in the shoe rack by the door, Eiri did the same while she stared at the interior of the house or what she can see from where she's standing.

The house itself was bigger than normal, it was built like a white building with two floors. From the front door there was the spacious living room with a long black couch, two black and maroon loveseats, a glass coffee table in the middle and a couple of black and white beanbags facing what seems to be a huge flatscreen TV which she couldn't fully see from where she was. The staircase was positioned after the living room, the design was like an unmoving-escalator, complete with metal and glass railings to keep people from falling over. It was modern, stylish and obviously male. Through the glass she could take a glimpse of a clean kitchen, although the lights were out on that part so she wasn't sure.

The dining area was a couple of meters away from the stairs, she could see a part of the table but unless she steps away from the front door she wouldn't be able to see the whole thing because of the wall.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room so you can unpack and we could eat." Reed Rukawa walked past her.

"Hai, Rukawa-san." Took a step but halted when the man stopped, and turned to the copper-haired girl,

"Eiri, how many times do I have to tell you? I've been treating you like my own daughter for over a year and now that it's nearly finalized you should call me 'father', or if you can't call me otoo-san, you should at least use my first name,"

"Hai… Arigatoo, Reed-san." His thick dark brows creased probably because she chose option number two. But she just stared at the six foot four feet tall man and no matter what she still couldn't bring herself to call her lawyer, father.

Aside from the fact that calling him 'father' made her remember how pitiful she must have looked to people that it pushed him into adopting her, she also noted that physically, they look nothing alike.

He was tall and looked gloriously confident at six-foot-four, muscularly built, with raven hair and dark blue eyes- looking completely respectable in his sleek brown suit, while she looked like a broken matchstick standing next to him, at five-foot-eight with her long copper hair and green eyes.

She liked the man. He was the greatest guy she'd ever met. Of course, she was surrounded by crooks and criminals so Reed Rukawa was an angel compared to them.

She met him two years ago when her stepfather was finally arrested for his illegal activities and he was assigned to her case. Since her stepfather was the closest thing to a family she had, she had no support person, no guardian to assist or take care of her, so Reed Rukawa was assigned by the court to be her guardian ad litem. He was the only person who was trusted to get information out of her and explain everything to her, the entire trial.

The past two years was life altering and also confusing time for Eiri. She wasn't sure if she was being accused or if she was being protected as a witness, but Reed Rukawa was there during her time with the child protection program.

All throughout her stepfather's trial she only felt safe and secure when Atty. Reed Rukawa was with her. As her lawyer and the person in charge of her well-being, he took the time to explain to a thirteen-year-old what was happening and what could happen to her now that it was certain that she was a clear witness to the case and might have been unconsciously involved somehow. She was scared and she looked and felt guilty of something she didn't know, and she was thankful that she was in a care of someone who was not judging her. He brought her food and didn't interact with her like she was dumb, damaged or contagious.

He was protective of her during the countless interviews, depositions, hearings and trial proceedings, a trait which she was incredibly thankful for. She was truly alone now that her stepfather had finally been arrested and the moment the case was over, she'd be all by herself in a world she knew nothing about. She was thirteen.

But Attorney Rukawa's fatherly trait didn't end in court… A month after the 18-month-long-case finally ended, he spoke to her about adoption. After her momentary shock, she declined and ended with the social service program arranged for her- an orphanage, where she learned that there was no place to go but adoption not unless she was eighteen.

A month later Atty. Rukawa visited her again and told her to think about it…

Six months later she was there, in his house, with all her things in a room made up just for her.

Things were slowly sinking in. The thought of her being totally alone in the world, her stepfather in jail, no more of his drug-dealer friends stopping by in their house, no more hiding in her room, no more naked women.

"I remember you saying you liked white." Reed's voice broke her out of her reverie and she allowed herself to soak in the room.

It was a room fit for a princess. The house she lived in with her stepfather was just a standard two-bedroom unit in a rundown condominium. It wasn't well-kept although she made a point to clean it everyday, after work and school, but somehow, her stepfather, his friends and clients always managed to not only dirty the house, but the air and ambiance in it too. Her room had a white cot and a small table in a corner, but it was well-kept and it was her sanctuary. However, Reed Rukawa was presenting her a room that looked like it came straight out of a magazine.

It wasn't pink, but white, she remembered once telling him that she wasn't a fan of pink and he remembered. There was a white princess bed, with glass bed tables on each side of it. A built-in closet was beside the door. There was a computer table in front of the bed with an expensive looking laptop and tablet near it, and a study lamp in the corner. The room was bright and well lit, it was everything she'd ever dreamed of having.

Reed's voice snapped her from her perusal "I think we'll need to go shopping for clothes tomorrow." He gestured to her medium sized gray suitcase, "Based on how this nearly weighs like my pillow, I'd say this is not enough for a teenager,"

"You don't need to go with me, I'll need to go find a job first before I can go shoppi—"

"Don't finish that sentence if you don't want to make me feel bad, Eiri." He said in a sturdy voice, "You will not be working for something that should be provided for you by a parent. You're my daughter now even if the papers are still processing,"

"This is too much already. I don't know what to say. I don't know how to repay you." Eiri stared up at him, he reached out and tucked her copper hair behind her ear then moved his thumb and finger down her chin to lift it for her to meet his azure gaze.

"Listen, you're like the daughter I never had and now that you're finally a part of this family, seeing you happy and successful are all I need to see from you. Now rest up, dinner will be ready in an hour, it'll be just the two of us, sadly, since my kid's in some sort of study group." He said and Eiri just nodded absentmindedly. She still had a lot of thinking to do, but before that she had to let everything sink in first.


Present Time…

Eiri stared at the gigantic man in front of her, his father was a bit taller, but from what Reed told her, his son was just a year older than she was.

"You're Kaede Rukawa." She said, blurting her thought out loud, she saw his nose scrunch up, she wasn't sure but she was certain he was annoyed and his next words proved it,

"I wasn't asking for my name," his voice was low yet clear, with a hint of hostility which sounded like it came with the package.

"I'm Eiri Kanza-ki, I mean," she clenched her teeth at her mistake, she still wasn't used to her new name, "Eiri Rukawa, I… Reed-san…" she shook her head, it was stupid to act nervous or intimidated but her first meeting with Reed's son was not how she pictured it. She planned to be in a more presentable outfit, more like jeans and shirt rather than her bed clothes, which was an old oversized shirt, she was also caught off-guard and unprepared which obviously made him think she's an imbecile since she can't find the proper words to introduce herself in their first conversation.

She had no desire to please him, or anyone, but she had no desire to look clueless or be underestimated either. Taking her hands off from clutching her shirt, she sighed and relaxed, "I'm Reed-san's new daughter." She said blankly, her light green eyes staring right into his dark blue ones, with his wet hair sticking out, it made his blue gaze seem heavier. It reminded Eiri of the sea.

"Ahou." He muttered to himself but Eiri heard the comment nonetheless, he turned his back to her and walked on the opposite side of the hallway, he opened the third door from the bathroom, the one with the white fiber-wood frame then entered, shutting it behind his back without giving the new addition to the family a second look.

Eiri didn't know Kaede Rukawa's personality so she wasn't sure if she should take his actions personally or brush it off. Reed talked about his son from time to time, he mentioned that he played ball, he just started high school, he was a year older than her and that he's aloof and distant to his father although Reed's tone of voice when talking about Kaede Rukawa was fond and affectionate.

Eiri wasn't curious before, but now that she's somewhat part of the family, and, based on papers she's technically Reed's daughter, she'll be a constant part of their lives and they will be a constant part of hers from now on but even she didn't know how to handle that yet.

Shaking her head, she pivoted and walked back to the bathroom, it's empty now so she can do her business. She shook her copper head, there will be a lot of things she needed to figure out from now on in order to live a peaceful life, and, according to Reed, a successful one.

TBC.


Been addicted to writing Slam Dunk ficcies for over a decade now, ever since I was 11-years-old. I couldn't seem to let it go! But now, I am. This will be my last Slam Dunk fanfiction. I think it's time to say Sayonara to Slam Dunk characters altogether.

I don't like to admit why I'm so transfixed with Kaede Rukawa, I think he's my ideal man, or someone I wish to be: Unsmiling, uncaring, tough, strong, sarcastic, lovably defiant yet randomly curious, soft and ill-tempered.

I know, I said I've been writing here since I was 11, had three other old accounts that won't open because my e-mail got jammed. –cry-. So I had to create a new one every-freaking-time.

Thanks for droppin by! Ciaooo!