Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is owned by Inoue Takehiko, not me. Otherwise I
wouldn't be doing this.
Sakuragi
It was another boring day at school.
At the back of class 1/10, a raven-haired boy was snoozing peacefully, his saliva forming a small puddle on his table. Oblivious to all around him. Again.
In fact, this happened so often it was routine. It was strange that Oda- sensei wasn't used to it yet. His getting angry at fox-face was so expected during his lessons that it was almost a ritual. Almost.
An expected but unpleasant ritual. A ritual where you'd get scolded by a grumpy, wrinkled teacher. Hmm.
Ne, I used to think that Kitsune was a lazy bum, always sleeping during class and lunch break, only coming alive during basketball practice and matches.
Well, I used to, until I saw him that night at the disco.
******************
You see, me and the Guntai were really bored and wanted to go have some fun at a disco. So we told our parents we were staying over at each other's houses. Not that they really cared, though. But it was still better to have an alibi.
We headed for Velvet Underground, a hip disco downtown, planning to have a few drinks. The Guntai were fantasising about cute girls. Not me. I, Sakuragi Hanamichi, shall remain faithful to Haruko-san (until she rejects me).
Some security personell at the entrance tried to stop us for identification (i.e. to ensure we were above the age of 21) but were easily struck down by my infamous headbutt. Thus we gained easy access into the premises.
Strutting up to the nearest free booth, we plopped ourselves onto the high stools and called out to the bartender, whose back was facing us. Strange, his figure looked rather familiar. And his hair. I'd swear I'd seen that mop of floppy raven hair somewhere before. That unmistakably tall, muscular figure...
He turned around.
My doubts were confirmed.
'Kitsune!' I yelled before I could stop myself, nearly falling off the stool.
The Guntai jumped at the sound of his nickname and nearly fell off their stools laughing when they saw him, clad in a glossy black vest over a long- sleeved frilly shirt with a bow tie.
He seemed to be embarassed to be caught 'red-handed', moonlighting as a bartender by someone he knew. To make things worse, that someone was none other than me, the loudmouth tensai.
I don't know why, but I was suddenly interested in that Kitsune's affairs. No questions please.
'Oy Kitsune! Why do you work here?'
He turned around and got 5 mugs. 'Beer?'
'Yeah.'
'I need money.'
Whoa, I sure didn't expect him to reply at all. But still, at least his reply wasn't a monosyllable.
'Ne, Kitsune, don't your parents--'
'They're dead.'
I didn't know what to say. This Kitsune, my archenemy Rukawa Kaede was orphaned.
Like me.
But what made me most horrified was that I actually pitied him.
A/n: Heehee, this short chapter was written while waiting during one of those loooooong rehearsals. I hope it isn't too sloppy. =) Hope you enjoyed it.
Sakuragi
It was another boring day at school.
At the back of class 1/10, a raven-haired boy was snoozing peacefully, his saliva forming a small puddle on his table. Oblivious to all around him. Again.
In fact, this happened so often it was routine. It was strange that Oda- sensei wasn't used to it yet. His getting angry at fox-face was so expected during his lessons that it was almost a ritual. Almost.
An expected but unpleasant ritual. A ritual where you'd get scolded by a grumpy, wrinkled teacher. Hmm.
Ne, I used to think that Kitsune was a lazy bum, always sleeping during class and lunch break, only coming alive during basketball practice and matches.
Well, I used to, until I saw him that night at the disco.
******************
You see, me and the Guntai were really bored and wanted to go have some fun at a disco. So we told our parents we were staying over at each other's houses. Not that they really cared, though. But it was still better to have an alibi.
We headed for Velvet Underground, a hip disco downtown, planning to have a few drinks. The Guntai were fantasising about cute girls. Not me. I, Sakuragi Hanamichi, shall remain faithful to Haruko-san (until she rejects me).
Some security personell at the entrance tried to stop us for identification (i.e. to ensure we were above the age of 21) but were easily struck down by my infamous headbutt. Thus we gained easy access into the premises.
Strutting up to the nearest free booth, we plopped ourselves onto the high stools and called out to the bartender, whose back was facing us. Strange, his figure looked rather familiar. And his hair. I'd swear I'd seen that mop of floppy raven hair somewhere before. That unmistakably tall, muscular figure...
He turned around.
My doubts were confirmed.
'Kitsune!' I yelled before I could stop myself, nearly falling off the stool.
The Guntai jumped at the sound of his nickname and nearly fell off their stools laughing when they saw him, clad in a glossy black vest over a long- sleeved frilly shirt with a bow tie.
He seemed to be embarassed to be caught 'red-handed', moonlighting as a bartender by someone he knew. To make things worse, that someone was none other than me, the loudmouth tensai.
I don't know why, but I was suddenly interested in that Kitsune's affairs. No questions please.
'Oy Kitsune! Why do you work here?'
He turned around and got 5 mugs. 'Beer?'
'Yeah.'
'I need money.'
Whoa, I sure didn't expect him to reply at all. But still, at least his reply wasn't a monosyllable.
'Ne, Kitsune, don't your parents--'
'They're dead.'
I didn't know what to say. This Kitsune, my archenemy Rukawa Kaede was orphaned.
Like me.
But what made me most horrified was that I actually pitied him.
A/n: Heehee, this short chapter was written while waiting during one of those loooooong rehearsals. I hope it isn't too sloppy. =) Hope you enjoyed it.