1 Chapter I: "Introductions"



" C'mon, faster!"

" So when the car drove on over the sidewalk, I just stood there and didn't try to move."

" Wait for me, Natsumi-chan!"

First day at Shohoku High. Raiyuu Sagara walked into the brick-encased walls of her new school. The place she was going to stay in for three years.

Not bad, she mused to herself. Definitely not bad. She clutched her books protectively to her chest. Seemed like she made the right choice, when her mother had asked her to choose between-what was that?-Ryonan High and.this place. Shohoku.

Well. She took in a deep breath, a smile fluttering unto her lips. Here we go.

Raiyuu strode into the building, giving out her most encouraging smile. People gazed at her with approval as they passed by her.

She just nodded back, the smile on her lips growing more and more genuine by the second.

Yup, not bad at all.

~*~

Mizuyuki Yuu was nervous.

Well, who wouldn't be? This was her first day of high school, and she wanted to.make a nice impression. This was high school, after all. Full of.older people!

So she couldn't be blamed when that morning, she froze as she stepped into her new school.

There was not one face she recognized from her old middle school. None at all.

1.1 Okay. Calm down, Mizuyuki.

" I don't feel so good." Mizuyuki murmured to herself as she leant against the wall, sinking further, down into the ground.

1.1.1 I don't wanna go inside.

" Hey, kid!"

" Huh?" Without thinking, Mizuyuki turned to the person behind her. " Me--"

" Yohei!!"

Her cousin smiled warmly. " Hey!" he had one hand shoved into his pocket, and his schoolbag dangling from the other hand. " What's up?" He crouched down until he and Mizuyuki were at eye level. " What are you doing down here?"

A smile found its way unto Mizuyuki's face. " Nothing." she stood up, carefully brushing herself off. " You didn't tell me we were going to go to the same school!" she said accusingly.

" Oh?" Yohei raised an eyebrow. " I guess you know that. Now."

" YOHEI!" Mizuyuki sweatdropped, exasperated at her cousin.

" MITO!"

Mizuyuki looked behind Yohei's back to see three guys running towards her cousin. One had weird hair, one had a mustache, and one was.plump.

Yohei waved furiously at them. " Hey!"

He turned back to Mizuyuki. " Those are my friends," he explained, sticking both hands into his pockets.

" Oh." Mizuyuki murmured as all three surrounded both her and Yohei.

" Hey, man! What's--" The 'plump' one turned to Mizuyuki, having noticed she was there.

A smile grew onto his rather wide face. " Ooh."

In a second, all three of them were all over Yohei, nudging him in the ribs and anywhere they could nudge him. " New girl, new girl, new girl!!!"

" Who's she?" That came from mustache man.

" Where'd you get her?" Plump guy.

" How much did you buy her for?"

The last sentence earned the one with weird hair a knock on the head. Yohei sighed.

" Guys, meet Mizuyuki Yuu. And no, we're not together."

" Ahhhh."

Mizuyuki shrank back in fear as all three advanced on her, realization.and something else entirely different.dawned unto their faces.

" And," Yohei cut in sharply, " She's my cousin."

Immediately all three withdrew from her.

" Oh."

" If that's the case."

" So, anyway."

Yohei just sighed again. Mizuyuki just didn't get it.

" You'll have to excuse them," Yohei told his clueless cousin. " They were wandering off somewhere when brains were being handed out."

Now it was Yohei's turn to be whacked on the head by all three of his friends.

" Hey, hey! Hands off the hair! Say, where'd Sakuragi-kun go?"

Mizuyuki just smiled, shaking her head.

She had a feeling she was going to like this place.

~*~

" Hey, I know that girl."

" Second place."

" that gymnast on TV."

A girl with long black hair walked gracefully, her head held high, her blue eyes cool, taking in everything around her. People stared at her as she passed by, and once realizing whom she was, stepped aside to make way.

Ruona Tanizaki didn't mind it, though.

1.1.2 Let them stare all they want. Who cares?

Flicking her ebony black hair back, she continued her search for her classroom as people just stood there, gawking at her. Ruona chose to ignore them.

I don't care what they think of me. It doesn't matter anyway.

This was her first day at school-first day at Shohoku High. She wasn't nervous, though; she didn't have to be. It didn't matter to her what people thought of her. Let them think what they wanted to.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Ruona couldn't recall whether her homeroom was on the first, or second floor. Or was it the third floor? Opening her bag, she reached for her schedule.

" Um, excuse me?"

Ruona raised her eyebrows, and spun around. Two girls stood behind her, looking nervous. Nervous that they were speaking to her. She had gotten used to it though, a long time ago.

" Yes?" she made no effort to make her tone of voice amiable.

" We were just wondering.are you.Ruona Tanizaki.? As in, the world-famous gymnast?" One of them asked almost shyly. " I.well.I've always idolized you."

Ruona remained expressionless, though. " So?"

Both girls looked confused, almost as if they expected her to say something else. Well, sorry girls. I'm just not like that.

" Um.that's all." the other one spoke quietly.

Ruona glanced at them coolly for one long moment, then spun back around to proceed to the second floor, to homeroom.

She had the feeling that she wasn't going to like it, here in Shohoku.

~*~

" Makioka?"

" Hai, sensei."

" Nijimitsu?"

" Hai."

" Rukawa?"

No response.

The sensei frowned, and cleared his throat. " Rukawa?"

Still no response.

The class stirred, buzzing with excitement as they looked around for "Rukawa", or whoever he was.

The sensei's brow furrowed, and he decided to try again. " Kaede Rukawa?"

" Um, sensei?" that came from the back of the room.

The sensei raised his eyebrows. " Are you Kaede Rukawa?"

" No, sir," the student said nervously, " But I think he's Kaede Rukawa." He pointed an accusing figure towards an exceptionally tall boy siting in the chair beside him. Rukawa's black hair was all mussed up, his face pressed against the wooden desktop. He was also sleeping very soundly.

The sensei raised his eyebrows. " Oh?"

Students glanced over at the sleeping Rukawa and laughed. Others were desperately trying to wake him up.

" Rukawa-kun? Rukawa-kun!"

Suddenly, Rukawa drew his head up, still sleeping. He murmured a soft 'hai' before dropping down on to the desk once more, snoring softly.

Students around him sweatdropped. Others pretended not to notice.

The sensei shook his head and made a mark in his record book.

" Next." he surveyed the list. " Oh! It looks like I missed a student." He looked up, adjusting his glasses. " Ishikawa!"

No response.

The sensei raised his eyebrows, and slammed the list of students down on his table.

" Is there anyone else sleeping in the back?" he impatiently asked a student in the front row. "Aside from that Rukawa character."

The student looked behind him. " No, sir."

" Well, then where, and who is this Ishikawa?!" The sensei was obviously losing his patience.

The door to the classroom slid open, then slammed shut. Students turned to look at the intruder.

A girl stood in the doorway, smiling brightly. Her sparkling brown eyes and flushed cheeks weren't the only striking looks about her. The tear on her skirt and the bruise on her arm were also very noticeable. Not to mention her mussed up clothes and hair.

" Gomen, sensei!" the girl bowed respectfully. " I had to.settle an issue."

The sensei sighed, obviously having given up all hope. " And I'm supposing you're Ishikawa?"

" Hai." The girl bowed again.

The sensei waved her away. " Go find a seat."

Ishikawa settled for a vacant chair near the very back of the room. Students turned to watch as she settled into her seat, giving everyone 'who, me?' looks.

" SO," the sensei said sharply, " Welcome to Shohoku High."

When he noticed that no one seemed interested, he just shrugged and went on.

" Here at Shohoku, we expect the most out of students. We do not like laziness--" Here he glanced at Rukawa, who was still asleep, "-and tardiness." This time he glanced at Ishikawa, who was smiling brightly back at him. " Do you understand, Kaede Rukawa and--" he glanced at the girl named Ishikawa for an answer.

The girl was still smiling. " Ishikawa. Kaede Ishikawa."

"..Kaede Ishikawa." The sensei finished. " Do you two understand?"

Silence for a moment. Then.

" They have the same name!"

" Kaede Rukawa and Kaede Ishikawa! Hey, it rhymes!"

" Rukawa-Ishikawa! Rukawa-Ishikawa!"

" What happens if both of them get married?"

The whole class erupted in laughter, much to the annoyance of their teacher.

" Fools." He murmured, shaking his head. This was probably the most demented class in the whole of high school.

Kaede Ishikawa frowned at the thought of getting married to Rukawa. In fact, she didn't like it. Not at all.

She sunk low into her seat. " Morons."

" Hey, hey! Look at this!" a student in the second row said. " If they do get married, and they live in the same house, and they answer the phone, and the person says, ' hello, may I please speak to Kaede?' and they'll go, 'which Kaede?' and then the person'll go, 'Kaede Rukawa', and then they'd go, ' which Kaede Rukawa?" and then--" his extremely long run-on sentence was cut short as Kaede Ishikawa grabbed him by the throat, an evil grin on her face.

" Say that again?" she said, tightening her grip.

" Ack." the poor student gasped. " You're choking me!"

" I'm aware of that."

" lemmegolemmego!!!"

" Take it back first."

" No.ACK!!" her grip tightened.

Nothing, said Rukawa, who was still asleep.

" Take. It. Back." A deadly look replaced the merry mood within Ishikawa's eyes. " Or else."

The student gulped, or tried to. " All right, all right! I do!"

Ishikawa released him, a smirk growing on her face. " Thank you."

From another aisle, Raiyuu Sagara watched the girl silently.

1.1.3 She looks very familiar.where have I seen her before?

----

AN: Well? So how was it? This is a story with me and my friends in school.guess who's who ( yeah, WOW, like that's easy *_*) My classmates liked it.I have no idea how anyone else will react, though. Be nice!!! Please!!!

I don't own Slam Dunk, just borrowing characters.

I am aware that Sagara is Sanosuke's last name, btw. ^_^ my friend likes him.

And does Mizuyuki Yuu's name sound familiar.?