A/N update 6-7-2010:

When I first started writing this story - eons ago, this was a sort of challenge for myself to write about something that I wasn't interested about - basketball. I had to watch reruns of the Slam Dunk series and guess what? I totally enjoyed it.

Having that said...

I am very sorry for the long update. Gosh. It's been several months before I finally found the time to update. Work has been eating my creativity juices .… so much that when I get home, I just want to sleep (or read fanfics… hahaha!) Anyway, I really, really promise to put this on my list of things to finish before this month ends.

The good news is, I actually am done with the story, but I'm in the process of cleaning it up. That is what is taking so long. Thanks for bearing with me and hope that you have not given up on this story yet.

6/8/2010: Update! Thanks for waiting! Please enjoy!

CHAPTER NINE

FIGHT! – PART 2

The heat radiating from the court was really something from the moment Megumi stepped in the premises. She checked the timer. 5 minutes left on the clock and Shohoku was behind 5 points from Kainan.

Scanning the crowd, she found Haruko and quickly made her way through the stands. The place was jam-packed with people from different colleges. She recognized the ace player of Ryonan, Akira Sendoh, with his fellow teammates watching intently at the game.

"Haruko-chan!" Megumi waved with her good hand. She was seated just above the team area of the Shohoku to Megumi's delight. The Sakuragi no Guntai were seated in the bleachers below and when they heard Haruko called out to Megumi, they all turned their heads and waved at her. Megumi waved back with her good hand.

"Megumi-chan! You made it! Haruko gave her a big hug. She eyed Megumi's bandaged hand and pointed at it.

"No biggie. It's just a sprain." When Haruko gave her an incredulous look, she added, "Really. Don't worry about it. I'll tell you about it later." She took her seat beside Haruko and asked her what she missed during the last half of the game.

Haruko nodded her head, but then she slapped a hand on her forehead. "I'm so sorry! I'm so engrossed with the game that I forgot to ask you how your tournament went!" Megumi then proceeded to relay to her some snippets of her tournament and when she mentioned her victory, Haruko clapped in glee.

"You're really amazing Megumi!" Megumi smiled at Haruko's compliment and asked her to fill her in on the basketball tournament.

Haruko filled her in to what had happened for the past hour. "Though we have a strong play, our "ace", she motioned with her head towards Rukawa, looks like has reached his limit."

Megumi followed Haruko's gaze and saw that Rukawa was trying to catch his breath, while trying to maintain focus in the game. She worriedly ran her hand through her hair as she observed his stance. She could tell that he was running on adrenaline and at any time, he could collapse. The team should call out for a timeout soon.

As if he could feel eyes boring at the back of his head, Rukawa suddenly turned and looked up the stands to the delight of the Rukawa L-O-V-E cheering trio. Megumi's heart leapt when he acknowledged her presence with a slight nod of his head, before concentrating back on the game.

The crowd made a loud whoop when Sakuragi was able to block the shot of Maki – the team captain of Kainan. He immediately went on the offense and shot to the left half of the court.

'Looks like cousin is having a difficult time as well.' Megumi silently fumed at her cousin's ball-hogging. He should have passed the ball to Rukawa since he's in the best position to do a 3-point shot!

Too late. As Sakuragi tried to do a lay-up, this too was blocked by Kiyota.

"Aaaaaaargh!" Sakuragi ran after Kiyota. "You are so dead you brain-dead monkey!"

Kiyota smirked a reply, "Only a moron like you would do a lay-up on a heavily-guarded ring." From his bickering with Sakuragi, he failed to see Rukawa position himself to block his shot. As he jumped to shoot, his chest caught Rukawa's and the impact knocked Rukawa down. He heard the referee's whistle, "You got to be kidding me! Come on!"

A groan was heard from Kiyota's teammates when the referee called out the foul. At the same time, a loud cheer erupted from the stands at the Shohoku side. If Rukawa can make the shots, they will just be 3 points behind Kainan!

Sendoh grinned from the stands and raised a thumbs-up to Rukawa, who just brushed it off with a smirk. 'Real smooth, Rukawa, real smooth,' he thought to himself.

That was when Kainan's coach, Takato, called for a timeout. Good timing too, since Shohoku could get their bearings as well. If Kainan didn't call for a timeout, then Coach Anzai would have. He could see that the team needed a breather a new game plan.

Sakuragi scowled as he watched Rukawa wipe sweat off his forehead, "Feh. I could have done better."

"Yeah right. You practically handed the ball to Kiyota. You should be ashamed of yourself." Miyagi playfully punched him in the arm as they walked towards Coach Anzai.

"SHAT AP!" Sakuragi's face grew red at the outburst, which earned snickers from the opposing team. But, he quickly calmed down when Gori gave him the eye, with a promise of something very painful later on if he didn't stop his unruliness.

From the stands, Yohei threw back his head, "Yare, yare. That's Sakuragi for you."

Megumi had her hand on her forehead. She was suddenly getting a headache from getting pissed off with her cousin's antics and side comments. It would be a miracle if he actually gave thought to the team and placed their interests before his. That would be the deciding factor whether Shohoku would make it to the nationals. At this rate, they are as good as headless chickens in the court.

Her thoughts were silenced when Coach Anzai signalled to the team for their next play. With only a minute left on the clock, this would mean their ticket to the nationals or another year of tolling to get to the same place they are in right now. Megumi could faintly hear what Anzai was saying, but she could tell that he was gesturing towards Sakuragi, who in turn looked murderous as he was eyeing Rukawa. Straining her ears, he heard a part of the game plan that made Sakuragi fume, and that was the fact that the championships rested on Sakuragi and Rukawa putting aside their differences for once and playing like a team.

When Anzai concluded in giving directions to the rest of the team, Gori spoke, "Sakuragi, Rukawa, I want you both to know that the rest of the team will be on defense. This means that you, Sakuragi, will have to get the rebound after Rukawa makes his final shot at the free throw."

Sakuragi sighed, "Will do."

Gori brought his head close to Sakuragi, so that they were on eye level, "I mean it! No heroics on the court!"

"Okay, okay! I heard you the first time! Good God." Sakuragi gave one last look at Rukawa before walking off to the court. "You had better make those shots count."

Rukawa got up from where he was sitting and smirked, "You had better make that rebound count."

After several comments about Sakuragi, Nozomi lifted a hand to signal that the time out was over and that both teams were heading back to the court. The Sakuragi no guntai directed their attention to Rukawa who had the ball in his hand and was dribbling it, preparing for the free-throw.

Whoosh! The first shot went in. The crowd erupted with a cheer. Rukawa received the ball once more. He righted himself and dribbled the ball before taking aim. As he released the ball in the air, he could see from the corner of his eye, Sakuragi positioning himself to prepare to grab the ball.

Sakuragi watched the ball as it descended towards the ring. He knew that it was going to be another flawless shot and he also knew Rukawa was looking at him. 'Rukawa is such a show off. He's such an eyesore!' He bent his knees as he prepared to leap to grab the ball. He had to time it just right or else risk the ball's possession to Kainan.

'NOW!' Sakuragi leapt up in the air and amidst the greedy hands, he succeeded in taking possession of the ball.

"Yatta oniichan!" Megumi jumped up from her seat. The rest of the team was ecstatic. However, their joyous mood was put to a halt when they saw that Sakuragi was struggling. His arms were around the ball and he just stood in place, not moving. Three players from Kainan were crowding around Sakuragi, preventing him from passing the ball to his teammates.

Coach Takato stood up from his seat and shouted "Defense, defense! Don't let him pass that ball!"

'I can't see, I can't see!' Sakuragi looked around the area quickly to whom he can pass the ball to. When he saw Rukawa break out in a sprint and raised his hands, Sakuragi closed his eyes in frustration, 'In your dreams, Rukawa. Argh! What am I saying! I'm doing this for the team. No heroics.'

He finally released the ball towards Rukawa before he incurred any penalty from having the ball in his possession for a long duration.

Rukawa then passed the ball to Mitsui as he prepared to launch a 3-point shot buzzer beater. Mitsui never failed to impress. When the ball entered the net, Riyota yelled, "All right! Overtime!"

The teams were called on a timeout by their respective coaches. Again, both went into a discussion on strategy and game play.

"Rukawa, how are you holding up?" Akagi motioned for Kogure for a water bottle.

"I have had better days." Rukawa exhaled loudly. He was feeling the strain of the game and it was wearing him down rapidly. He didn't know if he could last another 5 minutes in the court, but he had to give everything he's got. After all, he had a statement to live up to to a certain auburn-haired beauty who was now looking down at him with worry lines creasing her forehead.

He had a mischievous glint in his eyes when he caught her looking at him. Megumi blushed when he winked at her.

Sakuragi could see the whole exchange between him and his cousin and he felt like throttling Rukawa. Was he just flirting with her? He was about to give Rukawa a piece of his mind when he noticed Haruko looking sadly towards Rukawa. Apparently, she too noticed Rukawa's actions towards Megumi.

In retrospect though, he never thought that Rukawa would be the type who would 'open up' and blatantly flirt with a girl. His mind was totally into basketball and basketball alone. Maybe there was something about his cousin that made him turn his head and pay notice.

Sakuragi shook his head. His being a "big brother" to Megumi was coming into play and his protectiveness towards her was showing. He will have to deal with Rukawa later. For now, they had a game to win.

With the ball in Kainan's possession, Shohoku had to work doubly hard to have the game back to their advance. Three minutes into the game, the score is at 84-82, in Kainan's favor. Jin, the famous 3-point shooter of Kainan just received the ball was about to make a shot, but Miyagi was able to snake his way through the defense and tap the ball out of Jin's hands. Miyagi proceeded to run out of Kainan's defense towards Shohoku's home court, but he was blocked by Takasago and Maki from going any further. After a bit of a struggle, he saw that Akagi ran past him with his hands raised, signalling him to pass the ball. Miyagi didn't hesitate to do so.

Akagi shouted his famous roar as he leapt his way through the defense and smashed the ball into the net. Slam dunk!

"We're tied!" Haruko shouted over the excited yells from the crowd. The count-down begins.

1:00.

Megumi was on the edge of her seat. Just 1 more minute and Kainan had possession of the ball. It would take some sort of miracle for Shohoku to gain the lead. She saw Jin pass the ball to Kiyota, who then blitzed through the court and passed the ball to Maki. Even when Sakuragi and Akagi tried to block Maki, he still was able to retaliate with a slam dunk of his own. Kainan was again back in the lead.

0:30.

Rukawa saw Akagi in possession of the ball, dribbling. Akagi raised a finger in the air, which signalled the team to be on their toes. He was about to pass the ball to Sakuragi, when Kiyota, out of nowhere tapped the ball out of Akagi's hold. Mumbling a silent curse, Rukawa raced towards Kiyota, who was making his way to the basket.

Kiyota, positioned himself and jumped to make the shot, but Rukawa was there in a hairsbreadth. As if on fire, Rukawa blocked the ball and prepared to run towards Shohoku's basket.

'Good grief! This is the second time he snatched the ball away from me!' Kiyota thought angrily.

The crowd went wild as Rukawa raced towards the basket, however the rest of the Kainan team were already positioned, ready to defend when necessary. He quickly scanned his teammates. All of them were being guarded. All, except one. With ten seconds left on the clock ticking, he made a decision. He was not going to make that winning shot.

'Sakuragi will.' He took a flying leap, seemingly making a slam dunk, and while the rest of the Kainan team scampered to block his shot, he shifted his hold of the ball and released to a very open and shocked Sakuragi.

'A fake! I can't believe it!' Kiyota watched helplessly as Rukawa deftly tried to pass the ball to Sakuragi. Unfortunately, Maki caught on to the plan of Rukawa and reached for the ball. He grazed it with his fingers, but it was enough for the ball to shift out from Rukawa grasp and fly out of the court.

'Oh no. You're not getting away from me that easily.' Sakuragi raced towards the ball and dove, barely managing to save it. He whipped his hand out and slapped the ball back to the court. The last thing he saw was the ball making it back to the court as he crashed on the side bleachers.

"Oniichan!" Megumi stood and yelled.

Haruko took a hold of Megumi's hand, her eyes never leaving the court, "Sakuragi will be fine. He's a lot stronger than most people."

Megumi stared at her. Was that a blush and admiration coming from Haruko?

Haruko coughed to clear her throat, "Sakuragi managed to save it." She pointed, "Look."

0:05.

Akagi managed to break through the Kainan defense and gain possession of the ball. He eyed Rukawa, who was then within range and made a quick pass. 'Come on Rukawa. One more time.'

0:01.

Rukawa grabbed the ball. In the midst of outstretched arms and flailing hands of Kainan's defense, he leaped and made his shot.

It was as if time went on slow-motion as the crowd watched in bated breath as the ball began its seemingly slow descent towards the ring. Haruko and Megumi were holding to each others' hands, while the Sakuragi no Guntai and the rest of the Shohoku team members were chanting for the ball to go in.

As the gametime buzzed, a faint whoosh was heard as the ball managed to enter the ring. A flawless three-point shot.

For a moment, everyone seemed stunned. The score was an 86-87, in Shohoku's favor. It was only when the Sakuragi no Guntai broke the silence with a very loud 'Yatta!' that the crowd followed suit.

"We won! We won!" Haruko couldn't believe it. Her eyes watered and she sobbed at Megumi, who was worried about Sakuragi. He seemed ok though, despite the trail of blood running down his forehead. In fact, he stood up and was laughing heartily.

Rukawa walked up to Sakuragi and laid a hand on his shoulder. Sakuragi looked at Rukawa from the corner of his eye and grinned. The moment was cut short when they both realized what they were doing and they quickly turned in opposite directions. However, before they could walk off the court, the rest of the Shohoku team threw themselves at them in a chorus of loud cheers and congratulations.

"We should take a look at that." Akagi pointed at Sakuragi's forehead. Good thing a medic was already on standby in the court and he began checking Sakuragi for any injuries and probably a concussion. After a few minutes, the medic concluded that Sakuragi just had a bruise and a cut on his forehead, but it wasn't severe that he needed stitching. The medic then proceeded to bandage the forehead of Sakuragi.

"You did well, kid." Coach Anzai patted the back of Sakuragi and smiled.

Sakuragi turned his head towards his cousin and gave her a thumbs up, silently telling her that he's fine and his injury is not as bad as she probably is thinking.

Megumi nodded an understanding and smiled at Sakuragi then to the rest of the Shohoku team. She shifted her gaze towards the Kainan team who looked downcast with their defeat of just a single point. They did put up a good fight. Kiyota really looked upset as he sobbed at Maki. He felt that he couldn't best Shohoku's ace, Rukawa, whom he had made a rival from the very beginning. Kainan just missed entering the nationals with their fight against Shohoku.

A couple of minutes later, both teams lined up to face each other and bow – as a sign of a good game and sportsmanship. Maki extended his hand to Akagi and said, "It was a good game. Shohoku is really a formidable foe in the court."

The corners of Akagi's lips lifted as he took the outstretched hand of Maki, "That we are, my friend. That we are."

After the awarding ceremony, the teams Ryonan and Shohoku walked off the court.

"We'll see you at the nationals." Sendoh waved in farewell to the Shohoku team, who in turn waved back.

When Megumi was about to walk towards her cousin, a hand pulled her back. Outraged, she grasped the hand and heaved the person over her shoulders in a forward flip. When the person crashed on the floor, she covered her mouth in shock when she saw that it was Rukawa.

"Itte… You're as violent as ever." Rukawa sat up, rubbing his head. "And to think you have an injured hand."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Megumi helped Rukawa up to his feet. She huffed in indignation. "You should stop grabbing people out of nowhere, you know!"

Rukawa scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry." He took hold of her injured hand and examined it intently. "What happened to it? And how did you do with your tournament?"

"It's just a sprain." When Rukawa raised an eyebrow, she let out an exasperated sigh. "First Haruko and now you. I'm not lying you know. And well, for what it's worth, despite my 'handicap', I did win the tournament." Megumi raised his chin, giving him a smug look.

A vein popped in Rukawa's forehead. He pinched the cheeks of Megumi, "You cheeky girl! So you did win, did you?"

"Get your hands off my cousin, kitsune!" Sakuragi stormed over.

Rukawa rolled his eyes at Sakuragi, "Bite me."

Megumi tried to pacify her cousin by talking to him about her tournament, while Rukawa slipped away to rejoin the rest of the Shohoku team. She turned towards the stands when she heard someone call out her name. "Aota-sempai!"

Aota, along with the rest of the Judo team walked along the aisle of the stands towards Megumi and Sakuragi. Upon reaching them, he gave his congratulations to Sakuragi. "Great game, but I still think your talents are wasted in this court. Judo is the way to go!"

"Piss off." Sakuragi sneered. "I bet that you didn't even get to the nationals with your asswipe team." As he went on his tirade on how useless the Judo team is, Megumi slapped him at the back of his head.

"For your info, WE are heading to the nationals." Aota placed a hand on Megumi's shoulder. "You're looking at the interhigh champ here."

Sakuragi for moment faked a look of shock, but recovered when he claimed that the breed of champions runs in the family. This garnered another slap on the back of the head by Megumi. He knew that his cousin would come out at the top among the rest of the schools that competed in the interhigh tourney.

After a while, Sakuragi lifted his cousin and twirled her around. "This is the best day ever!" He turned to his team and shouted, "Celebration at the Kawasaki house tonight!" Sakuragi raised a fist in the air, while Megumi's jaw dropped.

The team erupted in a chorus of agreement.