Although they had agreed to meet up after Rukawa's training, Sendoh's last lecture would finish earlier at 5pm. He struggled to concentrate, waiting for the time to draw to a close. He clicked his pen compulsively until Fukuda elbowed him in the side and sent him a stink eye. Sendoh put the pen down and began to watch the lecturer's shoes instead. She strode back and forth across the stage as she spoke crisply and rapidly into the mic. Sendoh had long since lost the train of what she was speaking about.

He was feeling an inexplicable mixture of glum and excited.

He wanted… to see Kaede. More than anything. It was almost an unbearable pull. Illogical but undeniable. It struck him as ironic that merely weeks ago, watching him from the window was all Sendoh had ever expected to do. If he had thought that meeting him, being friends with him, would satisfy him… he was wrong. He wanted more and more. With each step forward, the possibility of the next step seemed to appear before him where before he had hoped for nothing.

It worried him to think that one day, that path might take him too far, and the way would be blocked, and everything would end.

Besides, the further he went, the more complicated things became. The simplicity of their friendship seemed to be growing into a thick, messy substance. The closer they got to one another, the more of their complexities and circumstances came into view.

And at this moment, the biggest shadow in Sendoh's mind was Sawakita-shaped.

The idea of Rukawa Kaede as more than a friend had been completely unthinkable… until now. It had been impossible. Much like one might dream of standing on the moon. It was easy to say, but hard to truly believe. There was a clear line between fanciful dreams and reachable reality. It needed something special to hold such a vision and walk towards it as an achievable goal, and not just childish fantasy.

Sendoh had never even thought of Rukawa Kaede in those terms before now. Yet, where before there had been no ambition, it seemed the whole world had suddenly exploded outwards. With the appearance of that one small box, the curtain had drawn back with a dramatic swish of fabric. And suddenly Rukawa Kaede was a thing of sexuality. Was right there, at the tips of Sendoh's fingers. A priceless diamond.

Sendoh swallowed anxiously.

He…

…didn't like to admit it but…

…secretly he…

…probably he wouldn't mind if…

"Come on, dumbass. You gonna sit there all night?"

Sendoh looked up. "Huh?"

Koshino rolled his eyes in exasperation. "He's completely spaced out."

"Earth to lover-boy. Earth to lover-boy," Fukuda sniggered. "The lecture's over."

"Oh!" Sendoh's eyes swung towards the clock on the wall. "But… there's still 15 minutes."

"She finished early. Wow. You were not paying attention, were you?"

"Well-" Sendoh began, but had no idea what he was going to say.

With a zip, Fukuda snatched Sendoh's notebook from under his arm and held it up for them to see. "Completely empty," he said revealing the blank page on which Sendoh had only written the date and the title of the lecture at the top. "Much like your brain."

Ikegami gave a good natured chuckle. Sendoh began to pack away his pens. "All right all right," he fixed his face into a smile. "I didn't know you cared about me so much."

"We don't," Fukuda handed the notebook back to him. "But if you aren't paying attention in lectures then how are any of us going to pass the assignment?"

In the end, there was really a lot of time to kill until Rukawa's practise would finish. Sendoh went alone to the main library, and idly browsed the shelves. He couldn't concentrate on law topics, so he took himself to the sports science section instead. He opened and flicked though some textbooks, looking over the contents. He was a person with a great deal of curiosity, and he was interested by many subjects. The things Kaede was studying were automatically fascinating to him. A little insight into Kaede's life and mind. He was just pulling a hefty book about human physiology from the shelf when the chattering of some female students nearby reached his ears.

"The basketball team start practise at 5."

"So we can't use the court?"

"Not until they finish at 7."

"Damn. I wanted to practise."

"The Warriors are still here, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

The Warriors. Somehow it hadn't occurred to Sendoh that Rukawa would be practised with Sawakita right now. The thought bothered him.

Are they…?

Are we…?

Do I…?

"Do you wanna go and watch them practise?" The other girl suggested.

Sendoh's ears prickled at that. Could people… go and watch the practises? There was lots of space in the stands for spectators. There was definitely places to watch from.

"You bet!"

The ladies packed up and left. A powerful and pure curiosity made Sendoh decide to go too.

Outside it was dusk, and the sky was a blaze of reds and oranges, giving the campus a feeling full of anticipation. Sendoh took a moment to breathe in the crispness of the beautiful evening.

Once he arrived at the sports science block, he entered through the main doors. His eyes lifted to the huge banner on the side of the block - Wildcats! Unstoppable power! He smiled a little to himself. He didn't usually concern himself with the university teams. But now he couldn't help but feel a little invested. Maybe even a little bit proud. Because that was Kaede's team.

Inside, students were milling around and chatting, or else hurrying past him towards lectures. Many were wearing team jerseys of one kind or another. There was a buzz in the air. It was a feeling Sendoh enjoyed. It made him think of the days when he had been part of a team.

He headed for Court 1, and stopped at the solid closed doors. The windows had been covered with paper, and he could only make out a sliver of the golden polished floor beyond through a gap in the paper. He looked down at his watch. It was 5:45pm. Around him, people were walking past without stopping to look. He suddenly had doubts.

Could he really just… go in… and watch… without being invited?

Standing in the corridor surrounded by unfamiliar students suddenly made him feel strangely alone. Perhaps…this hadn't been such a good idea. After all, although he thought of Rukawa as a friend, they hadn't really known each other that long.

He felt suddenly that he'd been too rash, coming where he didn't belong. This was… a space that Rukawa shared with Sawakita. Not with him. It was probably better… not to look. Because if he was honest, he feared that watching them playing together would make him feel like he wanted to play, too. He would be jealous. He would have to go through that feeling of regret - relive the doubts and his decision to give up basketball - all over again. And that feeling really… hurt. Every time.

He had just made up his mind to leave, when the doors in front of him burst open suddenly, and two figures were suddenly standing right in front of him.

"Hey!" one exclaimed upon seeing him. "It's the underdog!"

Sendoh blinked at the two figures. One was very tall, and the other was rather short.

Sendoh quickly fixed his face into his usual, confident smile as his shock turned to pleasant surprise. "Myagi-san," he greeted.

"Sendoh," Myagi replied, grinning widely, and shook his hand cheerfully. "Good to see you!"

Sendoh turned his eyes upwards to the giant standing beside Myagi. This guy was absolutely huge - Sendoh only came up as far as his chin. He had a shock of red hair and a buzzing personality that seemed to light up his entire face.

"This is Sakuragi Hanamichi," Myagi said. "He's a freshman on the team."

Sakuragi Hanamichi let out a loud, echoing laugh. "Of course, you already knew that! Everyone knows me!" He looked at Sendoh approvingly, as if there was no a doubt in his head that this was perfectly true. In fact Sendoh didn't know the basketball team members, but since there was nothing else for it, he just smiled at Sakuragi's confident pronouncement.

"Aren't you the guy who beat that damned fox at the sports week?" Sakuragi demanded. He reached out and patted Sendoh on the shoulder with a hand that felt like it weighed a ton.

"Fox?" Sendoh enquired blankly, trying to prevent his knees buckling under Sakuragi's strength.

"He means Rukawa," Myagi helpfully explained.

"Oh, right, that." Sendoh had to hold back a cringe. "Well, my team won, but only because of Myagi-san's help."

"Aren't you like… a physics major or something?" Sakuragi demanded.

"Law," Sendoh corrected him.

"Hah! That stupid fox. I always said he's got no talent."

Sendoh smiled weakly and didn't know what to say.

"Anyway, it's my birthday today," Myagi revealed cheerfully.

"Oh, really? Well, happy birthday."

"The whole team is having cake! Why don't you join us?"

Sendoh lifted his hands. "Oh, no, I couldn't…"

"Of course you could!" Myagi proclaimed, and Sakuragi grabbed Sendoh's shoulder in a squeeze that was certainly inescapable. Before he could protest, Sendoh found himself being dragged through the doors and onto the court.

The murmur of voices and laughter reached him immediately. A bunch of people, most unnaturally tall and wearing gym clothes, were crowding around one of the benches at the side of the court. Their largeness made the paper plates in their hands look comically small. Sendoh felt out of place in his outdoor clothes as he was pushed into the room full of full-time athletes.

"Hey everyone!" Sakuragi announced embarrassingly loudly, "Check it out! Myagi's buddy came to join us!"

Every pair of eyes turned his way. If Sendoh had been a little less cool, he might have been embarrassed by the sudden attention. Instead, he smiled and lifted one hand in greeting.

"This is the famous Underdog," Myagi told everyone.

"The one who beat the dumb fox at sports week," Sakuragi added, just in case they didn't know.

"He's a great player," Myagi continued enthusiastically.

"Better than the fox, anyway!" Sakuragi chortled.

The team members laughed. Three players nearest them beckoned them closer, and Sendoh walked with Sakuragi and Myagi over to join them. It turned out that they were friendly and talkative, and had plenty of questions for him.

"Hey, so, Underdog, how come you're so good?" a Wildcat named Aobe was asking him.

"You must have been a player before, right? What's was your high school team?" The captain - Hanagata - wanted to know.

"You're tall," commented a guy in a Warrior's jersey. "Wanna join the Wildcats? They need all the help they can get, considering how we keep beating them. Hahaha."

Sendoh accepted their welcomes and pats on the back and answered their questions vaguely. He knew that no one seriously believed that he had outplayed Rukawa, and the congratulatory laughter was all a little tongue-in-cheek.

He glanced around the court. The players had formed their own little groups of conversation. Sitting away on the opposition bench, a strong-looking, black American player was trying to feed one of the Wildcats a piece of cake with an affectionate smirk. The Wildcat responded with an irritated scowl although he did accept the cake, opening his mouth and taking the bite, but looking entirely murderous as he munched on it.

An identical black man was conversing with another group. They must be brothers Sendoh guessed. Then he spotted Rukawa, sitting next to Sawakita at the furthest end of the bench, holding a fork, and looking his way. It was difficult to tell whether he was surprised by Sendoh's unexpected arrival. The two aces were sitting close together. There had clearly been a quiet conversation between the two of them, now interrupted. Of course, Sendoh was not thrilled to see them sitting tight together like that. But at least Sawakita wasn't feeding him cake, he supposed.

Sawakita confidently flashed a grin, lifted a hand and waved at Sendoh.

Sendoh gave a short nod of his head in return, but immediately turned to Myagi beside him, unwilling to look in that pair's direction any longer than necessary. "Happy Birthday, Myagi-san," he said, focusing attention back on the birthday celebrant. "Should I get you some cake?" He moved towards the small table holding the cake and plates. The other team members naturally parted to let him through, and Myagi and Sakuragi followed him over.

Sendoh picked up the cutter and began to cut three pieces, taking care not to look over at where Rukawa and Sawakita were sitting, although the temptation to keep glancing over was strong.

"So!" Sakuragi was peering at him in curiosity. "I guess things are a little awkward between you and…" he lifted an eyebrow and a shoulder in Rukawa's direction. "You keeping out of his way?"

"Ah-" Sendoh considered. "No. No, not really."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we're actually… I guess… kinda like friends, now."

"No way? That stinky fox has friends? Unbelievable."

Somehow, Sendoh couldn't resist saying, "Well, isn't Sawakita his friend too?"

"Pfft," Sakuragi waved a hand in front of his face. "No way. That fox is only interested in basketball."

Myagi nodded wisely. "Yeah, he wouldn't be sitting with that guy if Sawakita wasn't beating his ass flat in every single game."

"Yeah, that stupid fox is getting desperate hahaha. Bet he's trying to figure out his weaknesses."

"Oh- is Sawakita that good?"

"He's the Warriors ace. He's awesome," Myagi enthused cheerfully.

Sakuragi looked incredibly sour. "Yeah, he's pretty good. I guess."

Sendoh considered; If I hadn't given up basketball… would I be that good by now?

Would I be the one… Kaede was sitting beside… desperate to beat?

Despite himself, he glanced back over towards the two of them. He saw Sawakita lean in close to speak into Rukawa's ear, making Sendoh's jaw tighten. But then Rukawa looked Sendoh's way, and got up from his seat, leaving Sawakita grinning to himself. Sawakita turned in his seat to chat with someone else, unbothered. Sendoh was surprised to realise that Rukawa was very definitely walking towards him.

His heart hiccuped.

He tried to pretend that he hadn't noticed, and focused on the cake in his hands instead. "Do you have any other plans for your birthday, Myagi-san?" he asked.

"Oh- well I'm probably going out for drinks with…" Myagi began. But he trailed off as Rukawa came up, joining their small circle casually. Myagi blinked up at the taller guy as if Rukawa had just done something amazingly bizarre.

Sakuragi, on the other hand, leapt back from Rukawa in alarm. "Oh, my god! Don't sneak up on people with your ugly ghost face. No one wants you here. Go back to your coffin! Go! Go!"

Rukawa ignored him, and his eyes fixed on Sendoh only. "Because of this," he gestured around at all the basketball players eating cake. "Training will finish late."

"Oh," Sendoh nodded in comprehension. "Right."

"There might not be time to go out for dinner."

"Uh…that's true." Sendoh felt a wave of disappointment. He had really been looking forward to spending time alone with Rukawa.

"Come to my home to eat instead?"

Sendoh was aware of Myagi and Sakuragi's astonished silence.

"Oh!" Sendoh's eyes widened, then he smiled, "Sure! I'd really like that."

Rukawa nodded, and walked away again, this time in the direction of the water fountain.

Meanwhile, Sakuragi and Myagi were struggling to pick their jaws up from the floor.

"Are you two dating!?" Sakuragi burst in amazement.

"What!? No-" Sendoh quickly waved a hand in front of his face in denial, "-no, we're just-"

But the word stuck in his throat.

How many times had it said it already?

We're just friends.

We're just friends.

Just friends.

Friends.

Finally, he just shook his head. "No. We're… not."

There must have been something in his expression, or his tone, that made the other two guys very gleeful indeed.

"Wow."

"I never would have believed it."

"He asked you to go to his house!"

"I never even saw him talk to anyone before."

"Take some garlic with you. Maybe they're all vampires, wanting to suck your blood!"

"Yeah, man if you don't show up to lectures tomorrow, someone better call the police."

"Dude do you like him?"

"Like like him?"

"Oooooh, have you got a thing for creepy weirdos?"

"Are you blushing?"

Sendoh was not blushing. But his fingers curled a little tighter against the paper plate, causing the cake slice to slide in a wet, creamy trail. Sweet and tempting. He laughed the jokes off politely, but was eager to change the conversation.

"Sakuragi-san," he cleverly identified his best chance to escape the topic of Rukawa, "You're such a successful player. Please, tell me more about you."

As expected, Sakuragi launched into an enthusiastic monologue in which his brilliance was the central theme.

As Sakuragi spoke on and on, Sendoh smiled politely and listened. But inside, he was thinking hard. For the first time, the truth was really dawning on him. A new reality he was going to have to accept.

He… liked Rukawa Kaede. He really liked him. A lot.

Not just as a fan. Not as a distant spectator. He was no longer content merely to watch him play; just a dog laying beneath the tree watching the cat playing high above in the branches.

At that moment, Sendoh Akira felt like a wolf, catching Rukawa Kaede's distant scent, and feeling the urge to run surge through him.

His eyes flickered over to where Rukawa was filling his water bottle away by the wall. He swallowed briefly.

But… can I catch you?

Someone like you…?

The distance between us might only grow wider. We are walking different roads.

I cannot go the way you are going.

I cannot climb your tree.

Does that… matter?

Maybe we could still reach the same destination, if that place, in the end, is one another.

I want to... reach that place.

I want to collide with you.

He chuckled softly at whatever Sakuragi had just related, and took a thoughtful mouthful of cake.

-tbc

ANs: Thank you always for your kind reviews and support :) Kaede4ever, Me, Pau, Caro, Ari, CandyPop, Irissnail, Girl and Guest!

The good news is that I finished my course and I got a good result (I'm very proud) and I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks working on (hopefully!) finishing this story off. I'll work hard and try my best! I hope you will join me for the rest of this little senru romance. As always, I never leave fics incomplete - it just might take me a bit of time. My mental health was absolutely wrecked in 2021 and I couldn't write anything at all, but I'm gladly back on my feet and able to write again now.

I'm sorry for the delay but I really did have a LOT of exam prep to do haha, and I've been easing myself back into writing the last couple of months. I also re-opened my twitter account and if you are active there I'd love to meet you and say hi ^.^ I'm Star711117. And as always I want to remind you that my explicit fics, among others, are on AO3 (penname: Star7) - I'm actually more active there than here, and going forward I'll likely only post fics on AO3, so I hope you'll come and check it out :D