The *I can't think of a title* fic
Part 2

Sakuragi opened his bedroom door silently and looked out.
He fox, he noticed, was lounging carelessly on the sofa reading a book... *hang on a second!
Rukawa? Reading?! A /Book/?!*
The red-head squinted, trying to read the title from such a distance;
Cancer - the facts'
Sakuragi frowned slightly, concerned that Rukawa should be reading such a book that was bound
to depress him. His brown eyes lingered on Rukawa's lips that were moving as the boy muttered
under his breath whilst he read. He felt the corners of his mouth being tweaked upwards by some
invisible force. Such sexy lips... with a shock he realised that he hadn't claimed those lips in over
a year.

Rukawa paused at the end of a paragraph about how cancer affects friends and family. Sighing
loudly, he reached out and picked up a framed photograph that was sitting on a small table next
to the sofa.

Sakuragi watched as Rukawa ran one long, slender finger gently across the image of his mother.
It was one of the very few photos he had of the whole Sakuragi family; his father, somewhere in
America; his younger brother who was staying with his aunt during his father's absence; and of
course his mother who'd died last year of cancer.

A lone tear trickled slowly down Rukawa's pale cheek.
It wasn't fair, for someone like that, a bright, happy woman to just be /pulled/ out of this world.
Everyone missed her so much, missed her smiles, the way she'd hug Sakuragi mischievously in
public places and get him all embarrassed, missed those wonderful chocolate snacks she made and
Sakuragi used to take to school every day as part of his lunch.
Will I go the same way?' he thought, feeling a little depressed.
No', he realised suddenly, because unlike her, no one will miss me'.

"Morning Kitsune!"
Rukawa looked up and raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement of Sakuragi's greeting.
"Ohayo gozaimasu."
The reply was formal and toneless.
Sakuragi shrugged off the hostility in his voice and made his way into the kitchen.
He hadn't been surprised that Rukawa was here, but he had been hoping that he wouldn't be.
Sakuragi didn't feel ready to face reality yet.
Opening the fridge to get the milk, a yellow post-it note in his own writing caught his eye;

Meet Akira, Riverside, Saturday, 11am.

Shit!
He looked at the clock on the kitchen wall, it was 10:30, he had half an hour to get ready, to find
an excuse to give Rukawa and to get his ass down to the river.
He was about to bolt back into his room to find some clothes when, as an after thought, he pulled
the note off the fridge and threw it in the bin. It wouldn't do to have the fox-eyed boy see it,
things were already complicated enough without Rukawa knowing about Sendoh.

15 minutes later he re-entered the living room, fully clothed with excuse prepared, only to see
Rukawa pulling on his jacket.
"Eh? Where're you going?"
"Out."
This might be good... if Rukawa was going out then he wouldn't have to lie to him about going
to see Sendoh.
"Erm, anywhere in particular?"
He tried to keep his voice from sounding too nosey.
"I'm going to meet someone."
"Oh. That's nice."
Sakuragi... the world's worst actor.
Well, you can hardly blame him, he hadn't been looking forward to lying to Rukawa, and this was
his escape route.
But it was too good to be true.
"Oh, and Hana?"
"Hmmm??"
"Sendoh says he won't be able to meet you until 12:00. He apologises."
Sakuragi choked.
"He /phoned/!?"
Rukawa's icy eyes didn't soften at Sakuragi's discomfort, instead they hardened at the way
Sakuragi was trying to hide things.
"No. /I/ phoned /him/. That's who I'm going to meet now. We have a lot to catch up on."
Rukawa picked up a basketball from the floor and spun it on his finger, indicating what he meant
by catch up'.
Sakuragi's eyes filled with worry.
"But... but... you mustn't!"
"Oh no? Care to tell me why not?" Rukawa challenged mercilessly.
The red-head opened his mouth to speak, but then he faltered, unable to find a reason except the
truth. He looked down at the floor, feeling himself going a strange red colour.
The sound of the door slamming made him look up sharply.
Rukawa had gone.
Sakuragi stood still for a few seconds, gathering his wits. He reached for his jacket, intending to
follow Rukawa, but then stopped. What good was following him going to do?
Sighing he flopped down onto the sofa, deciding to do some serious thinking.

Rukawa approached the court with no readable expression on his face. Sendoh continued to
dribble the ball up and down the length of the court expertly.
Sensing the icy presence, the spiky haired dude looked up and flashed a smile at the fox.
"Rukawa."
Rukawa simply inclined his head in greeting.
"Icy as ever I see... well... it looks like we're rivals in another sport now huh?"
"It does."
Sendoh passed the ball to Rukawa in a challenge, interested to see how a year in America had
improved the rookie. Rukawa returned the pass, accepting the challenge and silently vowing to
whip Sendoh's butt. *NB, Rukawa wants to beat him in the basketball game... just incase some
of the more lemony minds out there misunderstand Rukawa's intentions* *grins nervously*
...and thus the one-on-one began...
After what seemed like a very short time the score rested at 4-0 in Rukawa's favour.
Sendoh's smile was beginning to falter.
However, despite his lead, Rukawa couldn't shift the heavy weight on his heart. Was Sakuragi
slowly slipping through his fingers?
A look of worry passed across Sendoh's face when the fox-eyed boy's back was turned. The boy
certainly had improved in a short year. Sendoh had always known that the potential in Rukawa
had existed, however, he'd never expected it to over take him so quickly, and this game was a
rude awakening.
No matter, the game hadn't ended yet, and Sendoh hadn't even got going.

Rukawa immediately noticed the increased speed and determination in Sendoh's attack. He
secretly smiled to himself, was Sendoh Akira loosing his cool? No matter, we'll see how further
this boy can go.

Sakuragi hadn't got very far. He'd only realised one thing, this was going to be extremely hard.
How was he supposed to choose between the two people most dear to him?
It had dawned on him how delicate the situation was, and how difficult the decision was.
He didn't think he /could/ choose, it was impossible! Which needed him more? Which deserved
him more?
Sendoh?
The one who had been there for him when Rukawa had left for America. The one who'd patiently
waited for Sakuragi to make up his mind. The one who'd helped to heal the scars left by
Rukawa's departure. The one who'd filled his thoughts *and his bed* in the most wonderful
ways over the last year. The one who'd offered him undying love, the such that Rukawa had
never shown.
Rukawa?
Icy, non-feeling, emotionless, sleepy /all/ the time, only thought about basketball, only cared about
basketball, never made Sakuragi feel wanted, never made Sakuragi feel needed, but always
managed to make him feel uneasy... or was it so?
Was it so when he ran his long, slender fingers down Sakuragi's cheek? Was it so when he'd
gently taken Sakuragi's head in his hands and kissed him shyly for the first time? Was it so when
he'd whispered those 3 magic words in Sakuragi's ear?

Confusion, confusion...

Sendoh took a drink from his water bottle. His bubbly smile had returned now that he was in the
lead again *where, in his opinion, he belonged*. It was 7-6 in his favour.
Rukawa didn't seem very worried, which was quite unnerving. The icy expression was still in
place, however, as he began to dribble the ball slowly and purposefully, he finally spoke;
"How much faster can you go, Akira Sendoh?"
"Eh?"
Sendoh was puzzled, not understanding what Rukawa meant. All became clear, however, when
the fox whipped past him with speed that resembled a bullet to score a beautiful 3-pointer.
From that point on, Sendoh might as well not have been there for all the good his defence and
attacks did. The game ended 7-11, although it was obvious that it could have ended 10-0 if
Rukawa had wanted to.
Feeling a bit narked, Sendoh frowned. *Sendoh?! Frowned?! This fic is insanely OCC. & I
apologise!*
The two boys sat together under the share of a tree, each panting heavily as they drank from their
water bottles.
Predicably it was Sendoh who broke the silence.
"So... what are we going to do?"
"???"
" Bout Hana."
Rukawa's eyes narrowed, but he answered Sendoh's question.
"We let him choose."
"Really? We could settle this between ourselves you know."
"No. It's his choice."
"Won't it hurt him? Forcing him to choose?"
"It's the only fair way."
Deciding to end the conversation, Rukawa got up to leave, but Sendoh's voice stopped him.
"I won't let him go you know. I love him."
There was nothing but sincerity in what he said. Sendoh spoke the truth, and Rukawa knew it.
The feelings Sendoh had for Sakuragi might even rival his own feelings that nestled deep down
in his icy heart.
Rukawa allowed his two blue eyes to settle their freezing glance on Sendoh's face.
"That doesn't matter."
"Nani?!"
Sendoh jumped up angrily, reminding Rukawa of a certain red-head... how suited these two were
together.
"Are you saying that love counts for nothing?!"
And such childish naiveness they both had. Couldn't Sendoh see that in the real world, you can't
always do what your heart demands of you? But Sendoh was one of those laid back people who
only lived for the moment, not caring for the future or the past.
"No, I didn't say that."
"Then explain yourself."
"When you love two people the same, how can your heart choose between them? No, Akira
Sendoh, something other than love will decide this."
Sendoh's eyebrows raised, interested in Rukawa's speech.
"Then what? What is more important than love?"
Slowly Rukawa reached out a hand and touched Sendoh's cheek gently.
Sendoh wanted to step away from the touch, but he didn't, not wanting to seem afraid of this icy
boy.
"The fact that although love will last forever..."
Rukawa let his hand drop back down to his side.
"...mere human flesh will not."
Rukawa turned sharply and began to walk away.
Desperate to know what the other boy had meant, Sendoh called out to him one more time.
"Rukawa! One more question!"
The fox stopped walking, but didn't bother to turn around.
"Do you expect Hana to choose you?"
The reply came, cold and hostile, however there was a hint of sadness in the voice which Sendoh
had never heard from Rukawa before.
"No."

Author's note *sobbing*
Poor Kitsune *sob sob* why am I so mean to him? *sob sob*
Oh well, as you might have guessed, this is fast becoming a Ruhana, and I've thought of how this
is going to work out, HOWEVER, the life of Rukawa still lies in your hands.
Do you want him to recover or no?
I can't say I /want/ to kill him, but, if it makes a better fic, then I'm perfectly willing to do so.
Hmmm... decisions decisions....
Thanx 4 reading my fic, any comments welcome *as long as they are constructive* I hope you
enjoyed it! Star :-)