Chapter XIII: " Nightfall"

Ishikawa glanced up at the sky and sighed.

Shoving both hands into her pockets, she lazily trudged along the dimming pathway. The night was beginning to settle in already; the sun had nearly gone down.

She smiled as she recalled the events of earlier. Ishikawa smirked. Heh. That was fun. She started whistling a familiar tune. Teasing Raiyuu was always fun.

After Sendoh-san had come and dragged Raiyuu out of the place, neither of them had anything else to say or do anymore. Miyagi had stalked out of the place, while Mizuyuki and Ishikawa just shrugged at each other, and left, leaving Ruona and Kogure together.

They had gone their separate ways after that, however. Mizuyuki wandered off to.someplace else.and Ishikawa had strolled around the mall, and somehow ended up outside of it. Now she was just walking around here, with nothing to do.

Ishikawa tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear and sighed. It's been such an entertaining-if not busy-day, she thought. I'd be satisfied and contented if only I wouldn't remember.

" Mitsui." she murmured, staring off into space.

After a while, Ishikawa's features hardened. " To hell with him." Annoyance surging from within her, Ishikawa took her anger out on a small stone by the side of the road. The stone bounced off down the sidewalk, leaving Ishikawa with her fists clenched tightly. She sighed, though, after a moment.

" Damn," she muttered, relaxing her clenched fists. A burst of pain shot from her left arm, as if to remind her who she was. Ishikawa lifted the offending hand. A cemented cast on her wrist greeted her, although not warmly.

Memories, flashbacks of before clouded Ishikawa's brain before she could react. They were still as bright as ever, as if everything had just happened yesterday.

" This? An aspiring gangster? Try again next year, little girl."

" LITTLE GIRL?!"

" I'm impressed at your guts. Unfortunately, guts aren't good enough."

" Whoever that Mitsui was, I swear-and I swear to hell, that I'm really, really going to make him pay for this."

Ishikawa scowled, and cursed again.. Shoving her hands into her pockets once more, she started on her way once again.

" Stupid gangster," she muttered through clenched teeth. Bastard. What does he know about fighting and one's honor anyway?

A breeze blew into the still night, lifting a few brown strands of Ishikawa's hair into her face. It did not lift up her spirits, however.

I want to fight with that idiot again. Ishikawa frowned. That wasn't a fair fight anyway. Come to think of it, it wasn't even a fight! It was a challenge. She glanced down at her sore wrist, then back up again, fierce determination in her eyes. And I'm accepting it.

Demo.Ishikawa's eyes flickered over her wrist once more. He doesn't want to fight with me.

" He doesn't want to fight, period," Ishikawa exclaimed aloud to no one in particular. Only the trees surrounding her had heard her. The wind blew once more, as if in response. Ishikawa made a face.

He plays basketball now, he says. He doesn't do fights any more. Ishikawa smirked. Stupid.

But still, a voice from the back of her head nagged her. He doesn't fight anymore. You can't force him to fight you just because you feel like it.

True.Ishikawa's brow furrowed. Sighing once more, she shifted her direction. Damn Mitsui. Why'd he have to make life so.complicated for me?! If he hadn't.if he hadn't.If Mitsui hadn't called me names, I wouldn't be thinking of all this right now. Ishikawa frowned. That sounded dumb.

Shrugging, Ishikawa waved that thought away. All of a sudden, she recalled.something.

" But, isn't there another way you can, get back at him? Without any bloodshed."

Mizuyuki had said that to her before. Ishikawa frowned in concentration. Without bloodshed.

I do basketball now.she could recall Mitsui's voice within telling her, taunting her, calling to her, beckoning to her, challenging her. I don't fight anymore.

Basketball.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Ishikawa's lips. Immediately she stopped walking.

" That's it," she murmured. " That's it." Why hadn't I thought of that before?

Without a second thought, she turned around once more and ran off, into the darkness of the night.

~*~

Mizuyuki stood in front of the telephone, grinning evilly. She rubbed her hands together in satisfaction.

" Hah."

Sinking down into the chair nearest to her, she carefully picked up the line.and listened.

Good. No one was on the phone.

Mizuyuki grinned. " Now."

Holding her breath, she carefully dialed in the telephone number of Rukawa's home. She had gotten it from Raiyuu a few hours ago. It had been hard, though, to convince Raiyuu why exactly she needed Rukawa's number. Mizuyuki shook her head. She'll never understand.

She let out a sigh, but started shifting around in her seat when the phone started ringing. It's ringing! It's ringing!! Mizuyuki couldn't help wriggling from her excitement.

Finally, someone picked up on the line. " Rukawa desu."

Mizuyuki's eyes widened in surprise. And Rukawa was actually the one who answered the phone.I'm having suck good luck today.Yes.

" Hello?" Rukawa's low-and pretty deadpan voice-broke into Mizuyuki's thoughts.

Mizuyuki snapped back to the present. " Uh."

She cleared her throat, and spoke once more.

" Is.is your refrigerator running?" Mizuyuki suppressed a grin. Step one of her drawn-out attack on Rukawa Kaede.

Rukawa seemed puzzled. " Aa."

It was at this point when Mizuyuki began to crack up. " Well, you better go catch it!!"

Mizuyuki slammed the phone down hard, laughing hysterically.

" Hah!" she exclaimed triumphantly. " Got him!!" Rukawa.you suck.

After a few minutes of laughter, Mizuyuki decided to try again. Picking up the phone with shaking fingers, she hit the redial button. After a few rings, someone picked up the line again.

" Rukawa desu." Still Rukawa who answered. She knew his voice well.

" Hello?" Mizuyuki tried. " Is your microwave working?"

Rukawa still didn't get it. " I think so."

Mizuyuki let out a burst of laughter. Gullible! " Well, you better go stop it. It might get stressed out!" Slamming the phone down once more, she laughed until she could barely breathe. Rukawa's such a..such a.

" Stupid," Mizuyuki smirked. Reaching out for the phone once more, she was about to lift it to prank Rukawa once more.

Then the phone rang.

~*~

Rukawa frowned as he set the phone down. Some nut had been calling their house and asking mindless questions about their refrigerator and microwave.

Well, whoever that is, that's none of my business.Rukawa settled down into his bed, ready to drift off into sleep.

But wait. Rukawa's eyes snapped open.

Come to think of it.he sat up, staring thoughtfully at the phone, that voice sounded familiar.

An idea struck his usually inactive head. Rukawa sighed in irritation, and lifted the receiver to his ear. Yuu Mizuyuki.

His finger struck the call back button. After a few moments, the phone on the other line started to ring. Rukawa waited, silent and unmoving.

The line picked up. " Moshi-moshi?"

A female voice. Rukawa frowned. So he had been right.

" Yuu," he murmured under his breath. Ahou.

" Excuse me?" Mizuyuki's voice on the other line seemed confused. " What? Hello?" she had no idea that it was Rukawa himself who was on the other line.

Rukawa's brow creased. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then.

He slammed the phone down in one swift motion.

" Ahou," he muttered aloud. " A waste of my time." Leaning back into his bed, he folded his arms behind his head and sighed.

Prank calling was useless. So what if that idiot prank-called him? Rukawa didn't care; all he cared about was his sleep. And basketball. Rukawa closed his eyes, nearly about to doze off once more.

A thought was nagging at him from the back of his head, though. Rukawa couldn't sleep.

After a few minutes, Rukawa's eyes opened once more. " Demo."

He sat up once more. Lifting the phone to his ear once again, he pressed the call back button.

The same female voice answered. " Moshi-moshi?"

Rukawa cleared his throat. Suddenly he realized that he didn't know what to say.

" Is." he shrugged. " Is your phone line working." Where that came from, he didn't know. Rukawa decided that next time, he should put a little more expression into his question.

Mizuyuki's voice on the other line sounded dubious. " Yeah."

Rukawa frowned. What now? He never did learn how these "prank calls" went. Finally, he just shrugged. To hell with that.

" ...Good for you." Rukawa noted tonelessly. He set the phone down without waiting for Mizuyuki's reply. Was that correct?

In a weird, twisted way, Rukawa felt proud.somehow. His first call to a girl.

But he had the feeling that wasn't the way things were supposed to go on calls to girls.was it?

He had no time to ponder over that though, as the phone rang once more.

~*~

Shaking with fury, Mizuyuki stared at the phone.

" Rukawa." she muttered. " Rukawa.pranked me back." How he learnt her number, she couldn't really figure out. Oh, who cares?

She didn't even hesitate. Her fingers hovering over the telephone, she punched the redial button.

Rukawa was pathetic. Mizuyuki grimaced. Is your phone line working?! She snickered, covering her mouth with her hand. Baka.

It wasn't that long before someone picked up the phone once more. Mizuyuki's eyes narrowed. Rukawa.

" Rukawa desu."

" Is your computer working?"

Mizuyuki could practically see Rukawa frowning over the phone. " No."

Oh. Mizuyuki thought fast. Counter attack! " Ahhh, too bad," she shot back. " You can't do any of your projects." That was dumb.

She didn't wait for him to reply to that, however. Mizuyuki slammed down the phone, triumphant.

Score!

~*~

Rukawa frowned as Mizuyuki hung up on him. Without wasting a second, he hit the call back button once more.

The phone hadn't even rung more than once before someone picked up the line again. " What?"

It was Mizuyuki, with a different greeting, however. She had already known it was going to be him. Rukawa ignored that. He was finally getting the hang of this.prank-calling thing.

" Is your cabinet working?"

" No duh." Rukawa could hear the sarcasm clearly in Mizuyuki's voice. " Is your head working?"

Rukawa frowned. Somehow, he thought he had said something wrong. Shrugging, he hung up.

" Urusai." Ahou, he glowered inwardly.

Less than a minute had passed before frantic pounding was heard from Rukawa's front door. Rukawa raised his eyebrows, but otherwise, showed no other response.

At this hour.?

~*~

Ishikawa stood there, panting, as her cousin finally opened the door.

Rukawa didn't look surprised. " What are you doing here?" deadpan, as usual.

Ishikawa looked up at him pleadingly. " Help me."

" How." He opened the door slightly to let her in. Ishikawa walked inside and collapsed on the nearest chair she saw. Rukawa just stood there, observing her stoically.

" I need to know where Mitsui lives," she said.

Rukawa said nothing to that. Ishikawa turned to look at him, surprised at his reaction. " You know, Mitsui Hisashi, Shohoku basketball team, former gangster.?" she trailed off questioningly. Then she frowned. " Oh, come on, Kaede-kun!!"

Rukawa frowned. " You shouldn't expect me to know where every single basketball club member lives."

" But you do know. Stop being such a moron." Ishikawa crossed her arms. " You're just not in the mood to tell me."

Rukawa just shrugged, and turned away. " Why do you need to know?"

" Uhh." Ishikawa thought for a while. " Because.well.."

"." Rukawa observed his cousin silently, an idea forming in his head as to why she wanted to know where Mitsui lived.

" Because I do," Ishikawa finished. " Pleeease." She glanced into Rukawa's face, then frowned. " Don't go getting any ideas, Kaede." She warned.

Rukawa just raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. A trace of a smirk appeared on his face. " His house is in the opposite side of town, last time I heard."

Ishikawa smiled in relief. " Thanks."

Getting off the chair, she nodded at her cousin. " Thanks for your help. Now I can go.and show him what I'm really made of," she murmured. You die, Mitsui.

Rukawa watched as his cousin walked away once more. He shook his head, puzzled. Show him what I'm really made of.?

Shrugging, he just walked back into his bedroom, and into his bed for a fitful sleep. If the phone had rung anytime then, he didn't remember.

~*~ Ishikawa's face was grim as she encountered what looked like a lone figure in the night, walking on the opposite side of her sidewalk. She didn't know what time it was already; all she knew was that it was late. Really late.

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she approached the darkened figure. It wasn't long before she finally figured out that he was someone she knew. Ishikawa's lips twitched, but she did not say anything.

Finally, the two passed each other-and their eyes met.

Ishikawa spoke first. " Mitsui."

The blue-eyed shooting guard's eyes widened in recognition once he saw the girl. " It's you." He relaxed, though, after a while and started smirking faintly. " What do you want?" He had also shoved his hands into his pockets.

The two just stood there, in the darkened sidewalk. A car came by or two; otherwise, there was no other distraction. Silence prevailed.

Ishikawa looked in Mitsui's eyes level-headedly. " I want to fight you."

Mitsui frowned, and tried to wave her away. " How many times have I told you, kid, that I don't fight--"

" Not in that way!" Ishikawa cut in. " Basketball." She didn't even notice the fact that he had called her kid yet again.

It took a while for it to sink into Mitsui's head. But once it did, he glanced at her for a moment, then began to laugh. " Oh. yeah, right." Basketball?

Still laughing, he began to turn away from her. " No."

Ishikawa grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket before he could leave. " I'm serious." She said quietly. " If you won't fight with me with your fists, then we'll do it by basketball."

Mitsui cocked his head. There is something seriously wrong with this freshman. " Look," he asked impatiently, " Do you even know how to play basketball?!"

Ishikawa crossed her arms defensively. " Pretty much."

Mitsui scoffed. " Pretty much?" Only a girl would say that.

" I used to play with Kaede-kun a lot over the break," Ishikawa offered. She raised one eyebrow at Mitsui challengingly. Well?

Mitsui frowned. Kaede-kun? Oh, Rukawa.

The two glared at each other in silence for a while. Finally, Mitsui spoke. " I'll get the ball from my house. There's a basketball court around five blocks away. I'll meet you there." Without waiting for a reply, he walked off towards his house. Let's see what this girl can do.

~*~ They had arranged it; the first to reach a score of ten won. The game would be short and.not too sweet, so they could get back to their respective homes before midnight.

It was Mitsui's ball, which had been decided on rock-paper-scissors. Ishikawa scowled, but did not complain.

Mitsui glanced at Ishikawa out the corner of his eyes, as he dribbled the ball furiously. This is an easy game.

Without even a quirk, he raised the ball above his head, jumped.and shot the ball. The ball went in smoothly.

Ishikawa intervened. " Hey! That's a jump shot!" she declared angrily.

" I'm glad you know," Mitsui scoffed out. He passed the ball to her. " Yours."

Ishikawa glared angrily at him. " That's not fair. I'm what, shorter than you by one foot?!"

" Tough." Mitsui shrugged. " You asked for it."

Ishikawa seethed, but said nothing. Stepping outside the court, she ran back in, dribbled once, then before Mitsui could do anything, performed a reverse lay-up shot.

The ball bounced on to the ground. Ishikawa smirked. " Yours."

Mitsui frowned. Now the score was even, 2-2.

The game went on continuously. There were no fouls made; Ishikawa had decided she would rather die than have any physical contact with her opponent. Mitsui just didn't care.

As the game progressed, however, Ishikawa's real skills were revealed. She jumped high; she could either tip or block off all the jump balls Mitsui tried to shoot, then go in for the rebound. Mitsui finally gave up on his jump shots, and started fighting his way into her strong defense. Maybe all those hours with her playing with Rukawa wasn't a waste after all.There was definitely more to this girl then what met the eye. She also had great stamina.

Soon the score reached 8-8, after Ishikawa's last basket, a set shot. She had faked a jump shot-which Mitsui fell for, by a lot-then did a set shot which evened out the score. Mitsui had been surprised; all she had been using earlier were jump shots or lay-ups. He didn't expect such an.ordinary shot.after her performance awhile ago. Mitsui scowled. She's tricking me.wiping the sweat off his brow, he watched the young girl cautiously from a distance.

Ishikawa breathed heavily. Her stamina was lessening; she had to make defense particularly tight for Mitsui, whom she had to admit was very good. Heard he was MVP in his junior high days. I'm not surprised why.

She passed the ball to him. " Your ball."

They hadn't been doing too much talking after the first four points were scored; probably because that was when the game started to get serious. Ishikawa was using almost all her strength just to guard Mitsui, to steal the ball from him, and to shoot. Really tiring.

Mitsui caught the ball silently, stepped outside the court, then ran back in again.

Ishikawa saw that he was already tiring; she smiled faintly. Good. This should make my job easier.but somehow, she did not feel as satisfied as she would normally be whenever she finished up a fistfight. Whatever. She flicked her hair back and tried to concentrate.

Mitsui dribbled the ball as fast as he could, trying to decide in which direction to move in. He could sense Ishikawa directly behind him, waiting for a chance to get to the ball.

If I'd let her, Mitsui thought silently. If I'd let her.

He faked to the left, but moved to the right.then he realized that Ishikawa hadn't fallen for that at all. Mitsui's eyes widened. She's really better than what I thought.

Ishikawa had stolen the ball from him in one smooth move, and now she was the one dribbling it, trying to protect it from the outstretched arms of Mitsui. He could guard Ishikawa easily; his arm span was greater than hers by a lot. If he just moved in close enough to her, he could steal the ball.

But that would already be a foul, Mitsui realized. Unnecessary contact.well, in her eyes. And he had the feeling Ishikawa would punch him if he pressed in on her back, or even closed in around her. Well, I don't intend to. Mitsui shook his head, trying to clear it of any.unneeded thoughts. Basketball.basketball.

Ishikawa tried to read Mitsui's movements from what she could hear from behind her. The quick scuffling of his feet wasn't too helpful, either. She couldn't feel his presence on either side of her. Ishikawa frowned. What the hell is he doing now?

Her brown eyes darted to the left when she sensed a movement. Still dribbling the ball, she spun to the left. As Mitsui tried to take it, she bounced it beneath her swiftly, then raised it in the air for a jump shot.

The ball left her fingers; time seemed to go by slowly. Mitsui saw her movement; he immediately jumped into the air to hit it.

He only managed to tip it, though; he had jumped only when the ball was already a few inches from the basket. Ishikawa frowned. He's getting slow.

The two watched breathlessly as the ball hit the rim of the basket.then bounced out. Ishikawa cursed silently. Damn! But her thoughts changed as she ran towards the falling ball. Rebound!

She positioned herself below the ball-and jumped high to be able to catch it. Somewhere behind her, she saw Mitsui jump for the ball too. Ishikawa frowned. Not on your life.

Ishikawa realized the ball was going to be a bit far too back when it landed. Not about to give up on it, she fell back a bit in mid-air to be able to catch the ball. She caught it before Mitsui's hands touched it. Ishikawa smiled triumphantly. Yes!

Then she realized that she had lost balance, from the falling back she had done to catch the ball. Ishikawa's eyes widened. Uh-oh..

Still holding the ball, she collided into Mitsui, who was right behind her.

The two fell to the ground, Mitsui on his side, Ishikawa on Mitsui's.side.

They didn't say anything for a while, just gasping to regain their breath. The ball had bounced away in the midst of all the action.

Ishikawa groaned. " Dammit."

Mitsui also groaned. " You can say that again."

Ishikawa brushed herself off. " Dammit." She gingerly got off Mitsui. Glancing at him, she grimaced. Uh-oh.once more.

" Sorry."

She averted her eyes to the ground. " Did...I hurt you or anything?" The excitement and rush she had felt during basketball was now gone, and replaced by a sense of.guilt. I didn't mean to do it.

Mitsui winced. " You didn't hurt me or anything.bad," he added after a while. He rubbed his side in pain. " You have a sharp elbow." He was surprised Ishikawa actually asked. He never thought her to be the.worrying type.

" I'm sorry," Ishikawa repeated again, this time more quietly. She stood up. " I swear, I didn't mean to hurt you.physically," she murmured under her breath. She was still Ishikawa, after all. The ever-competitive one.

Mitsui didn't hear that, thankfully. " No, it's okay," he assured her. " I'm fine.just got the wind knocked out of me for a while." he glanced Ishikawa over. " You're the one who's hurt." Referring to the scrapes she had gained after falling to the cement.her legs had gotten the most out of the fall.

Ishikawa raised her eyebrows. " Not really." She admitted. " A few scratches and bruises never did me any harm." I've gotten stuff worse than this.

Mitsui blinked once. This girl's tough.

He felt his lips curving up into a smile. " That's good."

Ishikawa blinked. What?! she could have sworn she heard Mitsui say.she shrugged it off. Nah.

" So," she continued. " What happens to the game now.?" Honestly, she didn't feel like playing anymore, much more fighting. She didn't feel like doing.anything.

Mitsui kept his eyes trained on her brown ones. " Why don't we just call it even." He finally offered. He didn't feel like playing much anymore either. Running a hand through his unruly hair, he watched as she thought it over, frowning thoughtfully. She's alright.

Ishikawa spoke. " Sure." She was relieved, actually; she didn't really feel like fighting Mitsui at the moment, much less anyone at all.

She offered a hand to him. " Truce?"

He grasped her hand tightly. " Truce," he said firmly.

Ishikawa nodded stoically, not offering anything else to say. That's fine with me.

Drawing her hand back from Mitsui's, she watched silently as he helped himself up, brushing himself off. Turning away from her quietly, he walked to get his basketball. Still, nothing was exchanged between them.

Ishikawa watched him one more time, hesitated, then walked away as the night drew on.