Author: Crystal Arie
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa
Disclaimers: I don't own Slam Dunk. It belongs to Takehiko Inoue. I am merely borrowing it. And please don't get mad at me if ever you do not approve of YAOI pairings and such. I am just a beginner so don't be too hard on me, 'kay? ^_^ Thanks!
CHAPTER TWO
In Shizuoka...
Kaede glared sleepily at his teammates who were all either snoring loudly in his ear, or mumbling nonsense in their sleep. He rubbed his eyes and checked his watch. 5:45 am... He glowered at no one in particular, muttering, "I don't forgive anyone who disturbs my sleep..."
He groaned. It looked like he wasn't going to get any sleep, which was a FIRST, so he got out of his bunk bed and changed into his sports attire. After that, he grabbed his ball and headed towards Josei High's court.
He entered the court and noted that no one was around. He dribbled for a while before he sprinted forward, jumped, and did a perfect slam dunk, holding the bar.
The ball bounced towards the free throw line and rested there as Kaede finally released the bar and got down. He felt his adrenaline speeding up and turned to get the ball, but stopped short when he heard the sound of breathing from behind him.
He turned sharply, his body in the defensive position, and got a look of the intruder. His eyes widened when he saw a flash of red and a bossy grin. He blinked. Sakuragi Hanamichi?
The Sakuragi form bent down towards the ball Kaede just used and picked up what looked like the ghost of the ball. He dribbled it expertly, all the while grinning at Kaede arrogantly.
Kaede narrowed his eyes. What the hell was going on? Why is that do'aho in front of me? But then, the Sakuragi form moved forward, trying to pass Kaede, but out of instinct, Kaede blocked him. Kaede blinked then shrugged. He needed to practice his defense, and it seemed his imagination was doing just that.
Sakuragi moved from left to right, here to there, obviously trying to pass Kaede, but Kaede never let him through. He kept his raised and feet spread. He started to sweat at how the red-head didn't give up at all.
Finally, Sakuragi stopped and stared at Kaede slowly. He blinked as if to confirm that everything he tried to do didn't work.
Kaede felt his lips form a tiny grin as he thought, GAME OVER, do'aho...
But the imagined do'aho didn't drop the ball and disappear as Kaede thought it would. Instead, Sakuragi looked up at Kaede, his hold on the ball firm, and smiled.
Kaede felt his heart stop at that smile. He has never seen the red-head smile at him. Sakuragi would smile around the team, his gang, and around that annoying girl that kept staring at Kaede, but NEVER at Kaede.
Sakuragi, pleased by Kaede's reaction, lifted the ball, jumped in the air, and pushed the ball towards the ring. Kaede watched in slow motion as the ball flew smoothly towards the ring, and just as smoothly, it went in the hoop.
He stared at the ball for a while, his eyes wide with shock. How did he...? He turned to look at Sakuragi, and watched in fascination as the do'aho jumped around like a child. His mouth moved and Kaede translated some of the words as 'yosha' and 'ore wa tensai'. The next one was kind of hard to translate, so Kaede shrugged it off and smiled at the do'aho's dance of victory. He gave a short laugh. "Do'aho."
Surprisingly, Sakuragi turned and stared at Kaede as if he heard what he said or something was on his face. Kaede didn't realize that he was actually smiling, so he stared back at the red-head with amused eyes.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Kaede looked up, annoyed at the disturbance and at the interruption of his little staring contest.
Mitsui and Miyagi entered cheerfully, talking about what they dreamed, and both 'eeped!' when they saw Kaede glaring at them.
Mitsui spoke up. "Woah! Rukawa! Don't you know it's only 6:45?! You're suppose to wake up at 10:00!"
Ryota nodded, eyeing Kaede strangely. "What the heck are you doing up so early, anyway? Are you getting ready for the second game?"
Mitsui chuckled. "Maybe he's anxious."
"Isn't that what you're feeling now?"
"NO WAY!! I can beat those Josei jerks in a snap!"
"Then why didn't you do that 3 days ago?"
"I....I was preoccupied!"
"Hmmm...."
"Quit starin'!"
As the two began arguing and teasing each other, Kaede turned to look at Sakuragi and saw no one there. He sighed, whispering, "Do'aho." He couldn't help but feel a strange rush when he remembered the shot the do'aho made. He caught himself and shook his head. Dumb thoughts. That idiot make a shot? Not possible.
He grabbed his basketball and started practicing.
TBC