Nia: hey! I was hoping that I didn't make Rukawa's family life too depressing. I guess you'll be pleased to know that this chapter has A LOT of RuHaru interaction =)

MiKaZuKi239: and you shall have MORE! :D

Guest (5/20/13): Thanks! I'll try to update ASAP, but please understand that I have exams I need to prepare for too!

Guest (5/19/13): Thanks a lot for pointing out that whole 'onee-chan' and 'oni-chan' mix up! Don't feel bad either, I'm not upset at you, I promise! =)


While the tutoring session yielded results for the two older troublemakers, the freshmen left their captain's house with as much knowledge as when they initially entered.

They didn't learn a single thing.

Fortunately not all hope was lost. Sakuragi devised an ingenious scheme that he fully intended to put into play during the exams. Of course he did not tell the other players about it as he was fully aware that their reactions would be less than pleasant.

Nonetheless it was a full proof plan.

The redhead grinned to himself maniacally as he stalked his feeble classmates, pulling a particularly frail-looking student away from the doorway. The involuntary victim squeaked in surprise, nervously pushing his thick-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Ohayo Narimasa!" He wrapped his arm around the cowering student - completely ignoring the poor victim's distress - in what he assumed was a friendly manner. The student flinched under his overpowering aura; he was barely able to muster a reply and keep himself from urinating in his pants at the same time.

"O-o…ha–"

"So listen," Hanamichi scratched the back of his head as he gave his preposition, "I really need to pass these exams so I can play in the winter championships–"

"I understand Sakuragi-san!" The boy – who realised he wasn't about to be beaten within an inch of his life – was eager to fulfil the basketball player's request.

Sakuragi could feel his patience running thin when he was abruptly interrupted midsentence, but the offender's next words completely abolished his uprising anger.

"I'll find out the questions on all the papers and give them to you! Please don't hurt me!"

Sakuragi's eyebrows rose to his hairline. Originally he planned to ask the boy to simply allow him copy off of his paper, but this was a far better plan! "Thanks Narimasa!" With a cheeky grin, the redhead dashed back into the classroom.

A few moments later, the boy's face twisted into horror as he raced after Hanamichi.

"Sakuragi-san! My name's not Narimasa!"


Rukawa was in a pickle.

Although he could easily use his intimidating personality to subtly threaten people into helping him pass the exams like the do'ahou, that would mean he'd have to physically approach these strangers and speak to them.

He was not a people person and he wasn't planning on becoming one anytime soon.

So his problem stayed unresolved for several days.

Of course he could have spent these days actually studying for the exams but he decided against the notion; basketball was much more fun than studying. However, as he played at the outdoor basketball court, he realised that if he didn't get the required grades there would be no more competitive basketball for a while for him.

And if he couldn't get into inter-high because of something as silly to him as his academic achievements, any potential basketball career he could have in the future would burst into flames.

Sighing at his misfortune, he slammed the ball roughly into the basket in a dunk.

After having his fill of basketball for the day, the ace made his way to the benches at the side of the outdoor court, intent on taking a brief nap before returning to his house (he could never call that place his home) when his peripherals caught sight of a girl sitting beside his bag.

When he'd narrowed the distance between him and the person enough to realise it was his captain's sister, Rukawa wasn't sure if it was irritation he was feeling or something else entirely.

"Hi Rukawa-kun." She handed him a small towel, avoiding his unwavering gaze.

"Hn." Making sure that their fingers didn't brush, he took the towel and proceeded to wipe of all remnants of physical effort from his face.

"How's the preparation for exams coming along?"

He looked at her suspiciously, letting silence be his answer to her unusual question. He wasn't one for small talk (or talking at all) and she knew that very well; so why did she bother to approach him at the most inappropriate time (he was about to sleep dammit!) and ask such a nonsensical question?

When she realised that he wasn't going to answer her any time soon, she looked around frantically searching for an escape route and was thankful to have spotted Sakuragi's friends loitering on the opposite street.

"Ahh!" she exclaimed happily, but then masked her happiness to wear an expression of melancholy, "As much as I'd like to stay here and chat with you for longer. I see my friends waiting for me."

He followed her eyes to see a group of four shifty-eyed freshmen; the four troublemakers that normally hang around the do'ahou. What was she doing hanging around them?

Before he could interrogate her on her odd behaviour, she hightailed out of the basketball court in their direction saying nothing else except a cheery "Good luck for the exams!"

Needless to say he was perplexed for the rest of the day.


"Time is up. Put your pens down and hand in your papers!"

In an orderly fashion, the students sluggishly emerged from their chairs and ambled towards their teacher's desks, their exam papers clutched firmly in their hands. The invigilator assigned was a teacher in one of the higher year groups to prevent the freshmen's actual teachers from giving them the answers during the exam.

He gave the stack of exam papers a once over, ticking off the names of the people who submitted their papers in before dismissing the entire class, save for two students.

"Akagi Haruko and Rukawa Kaede come to my office immediately."

As the pair walked to the higher floors to meet their invigilator, Rukawa spared a glance at the petite girl beside him. He could understand why he was being sent to the office; it was probably to remind him that his participation in the winter tournament relied on the outcome of these exams. But why was the goody-two-shoes going too?

Judging by the way she refused to keep eye contact with him today and based on her awkward behaviour the other day he'd be a fool not to realise that she was hiding something. It was obvious that it had something to do with him as well.

Whatever it was, he'd find out very soon.


When they entered the room the teacher looked at both of them knowingly, causing Haruko to fidget under his stare and Rukawa to stare back with indifference. After deciding that he'd made both the students feel uncomfortable enough (well, actually just one of them) he waited to see which one of the two would crack first.

After five minutes of deafening silence, he spoke.

"As I was checking the papers, it has come to my attention that Rukawa-san has handed in not one," an index finger lifted at the number before the middle finger was raised as well, "but two papers."

Rukawa's eyebrows were raised as he pondered the man's words; he didn't bother to cheat: it took to much effort and followed with too many consequences. His eyes shifted surreptitiously towards the girl beside him: her face showed no sign of surprise; it was almost as though this was what she expected. Her eyes remained glued to the teacher's form as if she was waiting for the rest of his speech.

Apparently the older man was also waiting to provoke a reaction from her himself.

Haruko's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "So Takemura-sensei, why am I here?"

The sensei sighed before returning a sickly-sweet smile to the clueless girl, "That's because you haven't handed in your exam script," his smile widened as an emotion akin to shock registered on her face, "at least, you didn't hand in your script with your name on it."

Rukawa's eyes widened in revelation. Was this her plan? What was Haruko hoping to accomplish by doing this?

The younger Akagi stood up immediately, her cheeks tainted with red as she walked up to the teacher and whispered words he couldn't distinguish from his location into the older man's ear. Whatever she said caused the man's eyebrows to shoot up to his hairline and look at the girl in alarm.

Switching his gaze back to Rukawa, he wasn't sure if the timid way in which she picked at her nails and kept her focus glued to the floor was an act or genuine.

But the man – who believed it was the latter – released a hearty laugh and gave her a pen to write her name on the paper that was hers. He threw a shrewd grin at Rukawa and continued to ramble on about 'young love.' What the man didn't notice (but was certainly spotted by Rukawa) was that Haruko didn't write her name on her own paper.

She wrote it on his.

"Arigato Takemura-sensei!" Haruko bowed respectfully before flashing a sheepish grin, "Gomennasai about the whole mix up…"

It seemed as though the man completely changed personality from the moment Haruko whispered in his ear. Instead of being the brooding suspicious teacher he was now being far too friendly, "It's alright!" Wiggling his eyebrows at the ace he chuckled heartily, "Just don't think about him too much!"


Haruko breathed a sigh of relief as they left the office; she didn't expect the teacher to fall for her 'lovesick' act. Considering that the ace did have a fan club (one which he wasn't very fond of at all) she supposed that it would have made sense.

She was about to walk away when Rukawa's menacing figure blocked her escape route, the angry gleam in his eyes showed that he was not impressed with her performance. "Rooftop. Now." He seethed with so much wrath that Haruko couldn't repress her flinch at his harsh tone. Hanging her head in submission, she obediently trailed after the brooding boy in front of her.


The door to the rooftop groaned as it was swung shut. Haruko was vaguely reminded of their previous encounter on the rooftop and she grimaced at the outcome of that day. It seemed that every rooftop meeting they'll have would be one where she ended up getting hurt either physically or emotionally.

Rukawa turned around and met her cerulean pools with an icy glare. She'd only see him glower at people who really irked him: Sendoh, Sakuragi, along with Mitsui and Miyagi recently. Never had Haruko been on the receiving end of such a spiteful look from anybody, let alone the boy who had her heart.

She was frightened.

Slowly moving towards her in the same manner a predator would stalk its prey, he pretended not to notice her shakily stepping backwards in a feeble attempt to maintain their distance.

"Why?" He growled. It was more of a statement then a question and left no room for anything but the truth.

"Y-you…" Haruko inwardly scolded herself for sounding as weak as she felt. Her reason for doing what she did was not selfish; she firmly believed that what she was doing benefitted the entire team. Steeling her resolve, she straightened her posture and spoke calmly, "You have to pass these exams. Shohoku needs you."

In the blink of an eye she was pinned against a wall by her shoulders. While his face maintained its impassive expression, his eyes gleamed with fury. As inappropriate as it was, Haruko was secretly mesmerized: their ice cube of a player never showed emotion and he certainly never let anybody rile him up enough to break through his apathetic exterior.

Yet here he was doing both.

"So you decided to sacrifice your own exam results?" His tone was calm, but she could hear the underlying anger.

She was one of the biggest idiots he'd ever met. Now he wasn't sure whether the do'ahou caught his stupidity from her or the other way round. Just the thought of her foolishness was causing his wrath to reach new heights.

Haruko winced at how his hands tightened on her shoulders; she was running out of methods to calm his rising temper and his grip on her was getting painful. Gently, her hands reached up to hold his on her shoulders in a placating manner; her thumbs moving in circles around the back of his hands.

The contact caused him to rip his hands from her hold as though her touch burned him.

"I'm willing to risk my grades if it's enough to get you into the tournament."

His eyes narrowed sharply at her bold statement. "I don't need your pity."

"You don't have it," was her instant reply. The cowering girl completely vanished and was replaced by a head-strong woman. "If I receive good results, my parents and my brother will be happy. They'll take me out for dinner to celebrate. But afterwards they will put my achievement to the back of their minds and focus on their own lives."

She lifted her gaze from the cement floor to meet his own in a battle of wills. "But if you get good grades you'll be allowed to participate in the winter tournament. Everyone in Shohoku – players and spectators – will be delighted to know their ace player will be with them. They'll have faith and fighting spirit. The players will believe that they have a chance to win with you around and who knows? We might win because of your presence."

Closing her eyes, the corners of her lips lifted into a tired smile. "I'd rather fail and suffer the consequences, knowing you're there to lead us to victory, than pass while kicking myself for being so selfish."

Rukawa's rage cooled at her sincere words; the fury in his eyes melted into an unfamiliar emotion. He was at a loss for words and not for the first time, he was thankful that he barely spoke on a daily basis so he wouldn't be obliged to answer.

After a moment's pause he sighed and placed his forearms on either side of her head, caging her in. Rukawa hated physical closeness (or any type of closeness for that matter), but there was something about Akagi Haruko that – as much as he tried to deny it – lured him in. There was something about Akagi Haruko that called out to him.

Her compassion.

This girl was the most selfless person he'd ever met. Always giving, never taking. She was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for others, for him. She hadn't asked for anything in return for her kindness, simply taking pleasure in bestowing joy in other people's lives. His sole purpose in life was basketball; she knew this but decided to help him anyway completely disregarding the fact that she had nothing to gain from caring for him.

Resting his head on the wall beside hers, he whispered, "Why?"

Shivering from his breath fanning across her left ear, she replied confidently, "Because I care."

That caused a fluttery feeling to erupt in his stomach; his heart suddenly felt very light. He hadn't realised how good it felt to be cared for until those words came out of her mouth. His mother was the last person who was truly concerned for his wellbeing, but that was before she turned into an empty shell of the only woman he'd ever had in his life.

Now that Haruko – a replica of his kaa-san – cared for him, he felt as though that void inside which was deprived of tenderness would be filled.

-RIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG-

The bell sounded, signalling the end of their lunch-break and breaking the ace out of his reverie. Only then did he realise the proximity between him and his captain's sister. With lightning reflexes he moved away from her, shoved his hands into his pockets and left her alone on the rooftop.


Unbeknownst to the two freshmen, their movement from the teacher's office to the rooftop was noticed by their seniors since the office was on the same floor as their classrooms.

"Aya-chan! Do you think it's a good idea to let Haruko be with Rukawa alone up there?"

The team manager smirked. "Don't worry about it. She'll be fine!"

"How are you so sure?"

"Are you questioning me, Migayi Ryota?" Her paper fan appeared in her hand and Ryota swore he could hear thunder in the background.

"I would never Aya-chan!"

"Good! Let's go!" With that, her fan disappeared into her bag and they continued walking towards the cafeteria. She herself would have been worried about the two of them being alone together, if not for that day when she ran into them in the locker room.


Flashback:

With one arm carrying several bottles of water, Ayako used her other hand to push the door open.

"Hey–"

The sight she saw rendered her speechless.

Haruko was sitting down on the floor with her back leaning against the wall. Her eyes were closed and a smile lingered on her features; it looked like she was sleeping peacefully. But that wasn't what shocked the team manager.

For there – with his head nestled comfortably on her lap – was Rukawa Kaede. His eyes were trained on her face, as though he was imprinting the image of her sleeping in his mind. Even when Ayako opened the door, his eyes did not stray once to her direction.

It almost seemed like he was bewitched by Haruko.

This was the first time she witnessed an almost romantic side to their ice block of a player. No frown was present on his face; in fact it looked as though his gaze on Haruko was softened. Did he only act this way towards her when nobody (including Haruko herself) was paying attention? Ryota hinted at something the day he pleaded with Ayako to make Haruko the assistant team manager; was this it?

Tearing her gaze away from their ace's awe-struck face, she noticed her assistant's fingers weaved into his obsidian locks as she massaged his scalp. Even in slumber her fingers continued their soothing ministrations.

Ayako smiled fondly. Haruko's presence – whether she was conscious or not – always soothed others. Judging by Rukawa's reaction to her, she could only assume that he was human enough to be entranced by this girl's gentle nature. It was nice to know that their ace was capable of feeling emotions other than annoyance and competitiveness, even if it was when nobody else was around to witness it.

Deciding that she had intruded on their moment for too long. Their curly-haired sempai quietly placed the bottles on the floor beside the door before exiting without being noticed. She closed the door silently, closing the pair off from the outside world.


'No Ryota,' she mused to herself as her friend raved on about how Haruko could be in danger, 'the only person who's really in danger here is Rukawa.'


YUCK YUCK YUCK. I give everyone permission to flame me for this load of crap. You guys deserve so much better than this! I'm just feeling really out of it, sorry! Feel free to criticize, PLEASE.

Thanks for reading this baloney anyways. :)