AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yo! Back! I know I kinda broke my promise not posting this chappy before Christmas, but I was doing fieldwork then soooo...I finished this chapter sometime after, though. Will try to finish this by Sendoh's birthday. Or SenRu day. Surely by RuSen day. Thing is, I don't really know. So, anyway, here goes.
DISCLAIMER: Slam Dunk is not mine. You know who it belongs to.
The Tenth Task: The Power of Logic, Dance, and Alcohol
Rukawa couldn't concentrate on his English homework. You are not hallucinating; he WAS doing his homework. But he could not concentrate, as I said. He was thinking Math.
His hands were displaying the current scores in the challenge; his left hand was open and his right had one finger down. Not good; Sendoh was left and he was right.
He now realized the value of humility. His complacency at the ninth task was unforgivably stupid. The tenth and last task was his hope. He was determined to win it to even the scores. And then the mystery task by Sakuragi. This time, he would not be complacent. He was not going to lose in the challenge he himself started.
But first, he needed practice.
And his English homework even before that.
Mitsui woke up to a morning of epiphany. He had solved the fundamental problem more important than any mathematical equation.
He understood the impossible.
He understood Rukawa.
The theory formed in his mind was proved true by his careful observation of Rukawa's actions. IT WAS NOT STALKING. /I resent that./
From his complex logical computations and Kogure's Sherlock Holmes quote (which he did not think he'd remember), he concluded that any inexplicably strange and life-changing action was caused by an attraction of the romantic sort.
And Rukwa has been acting such. To name a few:
Rukawa + Challenge Inexplicably Strange
Rukawa + Socializing Life-Changing
(Rukawa + Sakuragi) – Fighting Inexplicably Strange
Rukawa + Sendoh Life-Changing
Such was Mitsui's thinking. He was witness to Rukawa's metamorphosis. Too many incidents prove his theory and 10+ chapters of that is enough proof. It was a significant change in Rukawa's behavior, but Mitsui was well aware of Rukawa's reputation as a master of subtlety in that department.
And so, Mitsui felt a paternal obligation to force Rukawa to accept those feelings he worked so hard to repress. He was going to be matchmaker to Rukawa and Sendoh. This was Mitsui's Amelie Poulain decision, his life-changing moment.
He could now see a brilliant career in psychology.
Rukawa put down the phone. He had just been talking to Anzai-sensei about a matter far more important than his challenge. Anzai-sensei noticed his steady improvement, especially in stamina.
Rukawa was happy. He had only minor things to take care of before going to America. Such as his challenge.
Revenge would be sweet. If it would be a smashing success.
He could hardly wait. One week to the tenth task. Practice. Triumph.
Oh, why was he not blessed with an evil laugh?
He left the house in such a good mood, one would expect him to sing a children's song if he was not Rukawa Kaede. He didn't even fall asleep on his bike.
It was a Sunday, and the arcade (a different one that nobody in school knew about) was packed, but the population was 100 male, thank goodness. No need for crotch security measures. The line at the token booth was long, but he only had to glare at some of the cowardly boys to skip seven or eight people. In a few minutes, he left the booth with a handful of tokens.
Using his trademark Icy Glare, he cleared the way to his desired machine. It beckoned to him with a seductively glowing, invisible finger. He stepped up, inserted the token, and chose among the lively songs.
He was no longer Rukawa Kaede; he was the ParaPara Master.
Sendoh, for the first time in weeks, focused his energy in basketball. The Ryonan team practice that Wednesday was lively and productive and everyone went home satisfied.
But Sendoh felt somewhat incompletye. Somehow, he missed Rukawa and the rest of the Shohoku people. It's not like that they hung out everyday or something, but being in full basketball mode and not thinking about Rukawa's challenge was...strange. He had become accustomed to them.
Like...friends.
/Let's see what Rukawa thought of that./
Come to think of it, they'd shared a lot of moments they'd never dreamed of having if it weren't for the task. Sendoh felt a little guilty of betraying Ryonan. In a very weird way.
Soon, it would be over. Life would be pretyty much the same. Only, if he lost, it would be a life without Rukawa. A normal life.
How abrupt.
"Where's Rukawa?"
"I don't know."
"I don't care! Do I look like that fox's bodyguard or something?"
"You'd be perfect for it."
"TEMEEEE!"
"I saw him talking to Anzai-sensei."
"He's not there now."
"Crap."
Mitsui sighed. This was his fourth failed attempt to draw a confession from Rukawa. The fox got out of his grasp again.
Rukawa's strange disappearance after practice aroused suspicions in Mitsui. Had he confessed to Sendoh? Were they secretly together? But then, things like this easily spread, and he hadn't heard a single rumor about the two basketball celebrities.
Of course, the tenth tasdk was looming and Rukawa could be preparing for it. They were all aware of the current score and it was highlylikely that Rukawea put extra effort to win.
The question is...how?
That Friday, Akagi decided to give his team a surprise skill test in preparation for the Shoyo match the following Tuesday. Needless to say, Mitsui, Miyagi and Kogure flew colors, but Rukawa was the one with the most significant improvement. In addition to the amazing skills he already possessed (not including the All-Purpose Glare and World-Turning Face), he seems to have developed stamine enough to anger Sakuragi.
Who passed his basics test as well. And who was, again, intensely annoyed by the praises Rukawa was receiving. And the fact that he took the basics test.
"Rukawa, Rukawa! That stupid fox is good for nothing! There's no improvement, if you ask me!"
"No one asked you, stupid," Rukawa said.
"TEM—ITAI!" cried Sakuragi, who received an Extra Special Gori Punch.
"Shut up, fool! Someone's taking the test!" yelled Akagi.
"You know, Rukawa, you should be careful how you deal with Sakuragi," Miyagi advised, seeing the murderous glare on Sakuragi. "He might just--" Miyagi hummed a portion of the K-i-s-s-i-n-g song-- "you know."
Rukawa, who had already desensitized himself and was able to deal with jokes like that more Rukawa-ly, just drank water.
"Good luck tomorrow, Rukawa. We'll see you," Kogure said.
Rukawa went to the showers without a word.
"He's being Rukawa again," Miyagi commented, sighing.
Mitsui smiled knowingly.
"No matter what, I'm gonna have fun."
"Just seeing Rukawa in the lowest situation possible is amusing."
"I wonder what would've happened to this challenge if we hadn't stepped in."
"Dead Rukawa, I guess."
"Good riddance! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I'm starting to doubt Rukawa's intelligence."
"And your credibility--?"
"What exactly do you mean by that? Basketball is for smart people!"
"Riight. So that explains why Sakuragi's here."
"TEME! Ore wa tensai!"
"Wow, he actually got it."
"Omedetou!"
"Say, has anyone actually talked to Rukawa this week?"
"I've been tryiung to, but he keeps vanishing."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"You think he's still up for this?"
"Of course. Why back out now?"
"I smell something fishy."
"Me too."
"Me too."
"Er, I farted."
The challenge was supposed to take place that Saturday evening in a club Mitsui frequented in his gangster days. It was easy for minors to sneak in as entrance was not really strict. Except on news of a raid. Fortunately, that Saturday was good.
It was a cool evening after a rainy day and the club was as full as ever. Mitsui, Kogure, Miyagi and Sakuragi squeezed themselves through the entrance into a much more breathable area.
Their laid-back looks drew glances from the people who were dressed mostly in flashy clothing. The Shohoku boys were in shirts and jeans, but looked cooler than the rest.
Maybe they're born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline.
Mitsui went to buy drinks and came back with four beers. "Ran into an old friend. He bought us these," he said, letting the others take one each. "To friends and free beers!"
"Kanpai!"
The people seemed to gather to them; girls giggled past and the boyfriends of giggly girls stared murderously.
"Can't help it if we look good," said Mitsui coolly at one particularly murderous boyfriend.
Then a strangely-familiar-but-not-quite person approached their table. Casually rumpled hair, casual smile, casually stylish clothes. He seemed to belong perfectly to the group.
"Hi!" he greeted.
The Shohoku boys glared sharply at him. "Go away," Miyagi said coldly.
The unknown person scratched his head, paused, realized something, and laughed. "It's Sendoh Akira."
Mitsui choked on his drink. Kogure gaped. Miyagi actually spat out his drink at Sakuragi.
"TEME RYOCHIN!"
Sendoh's hair was down, stylishly disheveled, and it was the main reason he was not recognized. He was wearing a cotton checkered button-down over a graphic tee, deliberately torn jeans and sneakers.
"Where's Rukawa?" he asked, taking a seat.
"Not yet here," replied Kogure.
"He probably died on the way. Got run over by a train or something," suggested Sakuragi eagerly.
"You wish," said a voice behind them. "Ahou."
Nobody choked this time, for it was clearly Rukawa. Dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, military green cargo pants with attached suspenders (meant to hang loose) and sneakers, he looke recognizable enough.
Seeing Sendoh, Rukawa was only mildly surprised. He raised an eyebrow, nothing more, and took a seat across his opponent. Mitsui took note. /Mild surprise. Previous sighting of un-gelled hair, most likely./
Twelve shots of a strange clear drink on the table. Six each for the challengers. Then the dance floor. /Easy enough,/ thought both Rukawa and Sendoh.
Mitsui smiled. "Drink up."
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Almost simultaneously, Rukawa and Sendoh lifted, emptied, and returned their shot glasses one by one. The judges stared like curious cats.
One.
Two.
Three.
Rukawa was flushed. His vision was spinning. His stomach was burning. He felt like grinning stupidly.
Sendoh was flushed. His vision was spinning. His stomach was burning. He was grinning stupidly.
What was the drink? Nobody knows. Not even Mitsui, who was smirking."Want some of that, Kogure?"
Kogure looked worried and shook his head. "No thanks. If I get drunk, nobody's gonna take care of you lot when you do."
"You underestimate us, Kogure," Mitsui said. "Look at them? They're perfectly fine."
Rukawa and Sendoh looked constipated, trying very hard not to look drunk. Sakuragi was laughing like mad, and Kogure gave Mitsui a look that read, "See?"
"Relax, Kogure. We love our livers," Miyagi replied.
Sakuragi nodded, chanting, "Liver lover, liver lover, liver lover" at such an amazing speed.
Kogure sighed.
Mitsui, sensing the effects of the alcohol on Sendoh and Rukawa, gestured towards the floor. "Challenge starts now."
Miyagi, with great effort, pushed the two of them towards the rapidly thickening crowd. But Rukawa veered towards the bar, leaving everyone confused. Miyagi cocked his head towards the boy. "What's he up to?" he asked no on in particular. No one in particular shrugged.
Meanwhile, Rukawa, drunk as he was, chugged down three shots of something that was surely alcoholic. He needed to enter a state of enlightenment even higher than that moment.
In short, he had to be crazy drunk to dance. He would not be caught dead on that dance floor full of possibly perverted and crazy drunk revelers. If there was anything that could make him back out of the task he practiced so hard for, it was the possibility of getting sexually harassed.
Rukawa vaguely saw the unsure look on the bartender's face as he asked for three more shots. He knew his glare was not working when the bartender continued to give him that look but not his drink. So he resorted to the Finger and the bartender conceded.
With a trembling hand, he held the shot glass and braced himself.
One.
Two.
Three.
And then it came, faster than he expected, like a bolt of lightning from who-knows-where.
Rukawa blacked out.
And then there was light.
Lots and lotsof blinking, blinding, dancing lights, Rukawa saw. His head was throbbing very hard, like the geologic forces on his skull. He felt the painful consequences of getting crazy drunk creeping up his esophagus.
And he didn't know why so many people were staring at him in a way outside his good looks. Including Mitsui, Miyagi, Kogure and Sendoh.
And he didn't know where Sakuragi was, but he didn't care. Well, just a bit.
And he didn't know why the world was spinning upside down.
"AMAZING HEADSPIN!"
/Huh?/
And then it came, faster than he expected, like a bolt of lightning from who-knows-where.
Rukawa was back. Sort of.
He got to his feet and ran straight to the exit, leaving a dance floor full of crazy drunk revelers chanting something totally incoherent. In his drunken state, he did not hear the DJ announcing his victory, nor the crowd cheering for him, nor the music changing to his favorite song, nor the bartender sighing as he ran past. He ran to the eternally available alley beside the building and vomited his insides out. And found Sakuragi unconscious in the only clean spot in the alley.
"Great job back there!" Mitsui congratulated him, magically appearing beside him. Rukawa retched some more, not really having any choice. He did not know what had happened so he couldn't reply properly. He was too busy vomiting anyway to reply properly. And he was Rukawa so he wouldn't reply anyway.
"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Mitsui asked incredulously, not showing a trace of alcohol in his speech. /Where did you learn that?/ Rukawa wondered.
"Really, those moves you pulled off. Like--" Mitsui tried to reenact those moves he referred to, but failed. "WOW. I mean, you got us at the ParaPara, and the breakdancing was...WOW."
Rukawa wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He still felt very dizzy and his head was still throbbing like mad and he felt like he had amnesia, but at least he didn't sustain any serious injury.
But...
"Sempai?"
"Yeah?"
"Was I sexually harassed?"
Mitsui laughed like mad.
Somebody finally thought of poor unconscious Sakuragi and the vanished Mitsui and Rukawa, and so Miyagi, Kogure and Sendoh exited the club.
"You have to admit, Sendoh, you were floored there," Miyagi said not quite getting over Rukawa's performance.
Sendoh nodded his head. /He's even more alive than in basketball./ He was still quite dizzy, but sober for the most part.
"Rukawa was drunk, so we can't rationally explain his performance back there," Kogure said rather reproachfully. "He's unleashed something inside him that's like--"
"Super Drunken Dancing Master," Miyagi completed for him.
As for Sendoh, he did well, but was no match for Rukawa's cool breakdance moves. Even the DJ and the crowd had to agree.
They found Mitsui laughing his lungs out, Rukawa hitting hid head on the wall behind him and Sakuragi sprawled unconscious on the only clean spot in the alley.
Kogure sighed. "Must I always be patient and kind?" Miyagi helpd him carry Sakuragi, with great difficulty. Rukawa glared at them all and resumed hitting his head hoping to get rid of the throbbing. He sort of wished Sakuragi would just headbutt his headache away, but that was impossible, whether Sakuragi was conscious or not.
But Sendoh was there, and he was sober enough to offer his hand to Rukawa. Who slapped his hand away, as usual. Sendoh sighed.
"We can't bring him home like this, ugh," Kogure said, groaning under Sakuragi's superior weight.
"We can take him to my house," Mitsui offered, taking Sakuragi's arm from Miyagi and slinging it over his shoulder. Miyagi was quite relieved. "Anyway, my parents wouldn't mind. Not after..." he trailed off. "I'll call his mom."
Kogure sighed AGAIN. "We are not doing this again."
"Hey, rookie, get up now before your skull turns to mush," Mitsui said, pointedly ignoring Kogure.
"I think that was the idea." Miyagi offered his hand to Rukawa. He was ignored, to Sendoh's surprising relief. Rukawa stood up shakily.
And collapsed, unconscious.
"Oh, man."
"We really are not doing this again."
Sendoh was amazed at his kindness. He looked over at the sleeping Rukawa beside him and sighed. He deserves to be canonized. Since the start of this challenge, he has done nothing but be kind to Rukawa. Accepting the challenge was itself an act of kindness. Going through it for weeks was even more. He was never kind to anyone that was not family, friend, schoolmate or lover. He was friendly and nice, but not exactly kind.
Rukawa was not family. Rukawa was not friend. Rukawa was not schoolmate. Rukawa was not lover. But he was kind to Rukawa, so Rukawa must be one of the above.
Summoning the powers of logic, he tried again. Obviously, Rukawa was not family. Clearly, Rukawa was not schoolmate. So Rukawa was either friend or lover.
But Rukawa repeatedly refused Sendoh' offer of friendship. That leaves...
/Not in any lifetime./
"I'm so tired."
"Dammit, Sakuragi's drooling on my shirt."
"At least not on your pants."
"We really are not doing this again."
"For the nth time, Kogure!"
"Good thing Sendoh took Rukawa."
"His parents seemed okay with having Rukawa as a house guest."
"I wonder how he is..."
"Mwahahahahahahaha!"
"What the hell are you laughing about Mitsui?"
"Something Rukawa said. Nothing."
"You're crazy."
Sendoh's parents were already asleep when he arrived, so he huffed and puffed and heaved Rukawa into his room, threw him like a log onto his bed, and covered him with his blanket.
So much for kindness.
But he was too damn exhausted, so he himself dropped to the space beside Rukawa. He felt a little headache coing and his eyes are beginning to get heavy...
/Just a quick nap.../
/Ten minutes.../
/Then I'll change.../
/And.../
/Sleep.../
"Good morning!"
And Sendoh opened his eyes not to a dark sky but a beautiful Sunday morning and the warmth of a human body---
/Crap./
TBC
Hehe. Rather long chapter, don't you think? UP NEXT: The Eyewitness Account of a Fly in Sendoh's Room. Watch out for this! Keep the reviews coming! I appreciate them greatly, especially those from the readers of long ago who still read this! Thanks to you all!
