Title:Loving in Basketball

Part: 8

Author: Nanako

Genre:Romance

Pairing:RuHana (for now, mitko and senkosh later)

Rating:PG

Archive: 1. it's ok for me if you archive this fic to sdfic ML

2. This fic is not posted in any other archive

E-mail:ishpoof@i-manila.com.ph

Warning: the characters are extremely ooc

Author's notes:Gomen ne minna, I forgot to post this short chapter ^^

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is Takehito Inoue's and will never be mine (sob)





Everyone stared at the two, open-mouthed and not believing what they just heard.

"You got to know each other better over the weeks and are now on good terms with each other?!" Mitsui exclaimed.

Sakuragi scratched the back of his head in a Sendoh-like gesture and replied, "Well, we decided that with us cooperating like the way we did during the end of the Sannoh match, we would be almost unmatched by anybody in the league."

"And as you guys have witnessed, we are unstoppable once we cooperated," said Rukawa. Then he looked at Yamato and said, "You aren't bad yourself. Practice more and you may be able to defeat both myself and Hanamichi."

"Really?" asked the tall boy.

"Yeah," agreed Sakuragi as he patted Yamato on the back. And soon, Sakuragi, Rukawa and Yamato were engaged in a friendly conversation. Rukawa was talking although he was not smiling. But Miyagi, Mitsui, Ayako, Haruko, Akagi, Kogure and the whole basketball team, were so surprised that they became speechless. (If that was still possible when they are already too surprised about the Rukawa-Sakuragi friendship thing.)

The three boys talked for a while as if there was nothing to care about. But after five minutes, they finally stopped and took notice of the stupefied team.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Sakuragi asked with a trace of worry creeping up his cheery face.

The four starters and Ayako were the first people to get their wits back. Then Akagi muttered, "If only the two of you worked that well when Kogure and I were still present..."

"National conquest."

"Huh?"

"National conquest," Rukawa repeated to his surprised seniors. He looked at them and continued, "We will become the national champions this year and the years after this."

"My, my Rukawa," said Ayako. "I'm sure Anzai-sensei will be very happy to know how determined you are to bring the team to success." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Of course he is." Sakuragi grinned and put an arm around Rukawa. He looked at the foxy-eyed boy and continued, "Ne, Kitsune?"

"...Um...Hai Hanamichi...,"replied Rukawa.

Kogure raised an eyebrow as he noticed something the others did not. For a while there, when Sakuragi had put an arm around Rukawa, the stoic boy looked less pale than usual. Somehow, he seemed to blush as the redhead spoke to him with only a minimum space separating their faces.

He was still wondering when he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked at Mitsui and noticed that his scar-faced lover was worriedly looking at him. Kogure smiled at him in reassurance and Mitsui smiled contentedly then he turned his attention back towards the three freshmen. Kogure looked at his lover and thought, 'I know Hisa-kun's so worried about me. We do not see each other as much as before ever since Akagi and myself left the team.'

Then, pushing this thought out of his head, he began to think about the two freshmen again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After practice, the boys went to the shower room to take a shower and go to the locker rooms to change. After changing, each one of them left and went straight home for a well-earned rest.

The starting members of the past tournament and the two manageresses were left in the gym.

"I'm glad for the two of you," Akagi said as they left the gym together. "At last both of you finally realized that you guys might be the most unbeatable duo in Kanagawa, no maybe in Japan."

"Yeah," Kogure agreed. "It seems like yesterday when the two of you would go at each others necks and would challenge the next player that comes your way. Seeing how well the two of you played, I won't be surprised if this year's Shohoku team would become the next Sannoh."

Then the boys went on their separate ways.