Disclaimers : Slam Dunk is not, was not, and won't be MINE. It's Inoue-
sama's creation, which I suppose very good. So don't sue me! I'm not using
this story nor characters for commercial uses!!
Thanks for those who reviewed. Anyway, here I'd like to answer u :
Nellie : Yea, Rukawa's rich!! And btw, if he's not rich, he won't have a discman (or DISCMANS), bike, etc. But in here, maybe the Rukawa is a bit TOO RICH? ^^
White-angel : I'm very very sorry! Well, you know, that's the first attempt of mine of putting a story into FF.net, so I dunno it'll turn out like this (in MS Word, I kept a reasonable space between each paragraph!!) n I forgot 2 preview it. I'll replace it with another one, so I'm sorry if ur eyes r hurt!! Gomen nasai!!!
CHAPTER THREE : THE ELIMINATION GAMES
The next day at practice, the games' schedule had been announced. For the first round, Shohoku will have to face Miuradai AGAIN. However, all Kainan, Shoyo, and Ryonan are seeded in their block! They're in group A. If they managed to beat all of them they'll have to face the team that had beaten all teams in group B. Takezano team is seeded in group B. "I'll beat you this time, Oda!" said Sakuragi. "Do'ahou" "Temeeee kitsunneeee!!!" said Sakuragi and they began bickering with each other again. Ayako swatted them both with her paper fan, and then the practice begins. Then after the practice ended, Ayako told everyone that their match with Miuradai will be held next week. Everyone nodded, and walked home. Except Rukawa, who still trained in the gym himself. However, Annalea's watching him. After a pretty long while, Rukawa noticed her, because one of her golden glints got his attention. "How long have you been there?" asked Rukawa. "Since you started your extra practice" "Oh I see. Why?" "I loved to watch someone play basketball. Especially you" Rukawa blushed and said, "Thanks. But why?" "I liked your moves. They're so flawless" "No one had ever said that personally to me" "Really?! At least I'm not one of those so unapproving people. According to me, you ought to go to America! I'm sure you'll be a big star someday! But it only means more trouble for me." "Huh?! Why???" "Because then you'll have more fans. And then if they saw me and you walking together, even without holding hands, the next time I knew I'll be in the emergency unit with bruises everywhere" joked Annalea, even Rukawa laughed. And she continued, "And of course. More trouble getting you. Hehehe!! Just joking! No need to take it seriously" said her. But Rukawa looked like he's thinking about something. Then he finally snapped back to reality. "Would you like to play with me? Next week we'll show our real ability. We'll make it as perfect as possible. Nothing can stop us, right?" "Sure, Rukawa-kun. But I wanted to save my energy for the match. You, who had TOO many sleep, could use the rest of your energy here, so in the match you won't be overpowered" joked her, and Rukawa laughed again. "So, are you going home, or stay here, watching my flawless moves?" joked Rukawa. She laughed. This is the first time Rukawa boasted about himself. And he didn't mind. He is not scared of telling her his secrets. She's a very easy-going person. "Of course I'll stay here my master. But don't try to impress me, because I'm impressed enough already. If you impress me more, the next thing you see will be a fainted Annalea" joked her. Rukawa laughed again. She's really good at joking.
"I'm not your master. And never in my whole life had I ever tried to impress a girl" said Rukawa. "Oh really? Good then, so none will get fainted. But you don't need to impress them. Your skill is impressive itself. If you want to have less fans, make it less impressive." "No way I can do it. You know my goal?" "To be a basketball man and a husband to the one you love" "Heck! I've never dreamed about the latter" "Really? Ohh.poor me, I won't get a chance at all." she pretended to cry. Rukawa thought she was serious (oh, how naïve he is!!), and then she changed it into a grin. "Nyaah!! I was just kidding!! Oh it's so great making fun of you!!" said her, laughing. Rukawa's embarassed, and grinned evilly. "Hah! Never try to make fun of me anymore! Or I'll do something that will make you regret it for the rest of your life!!" said Rukawa, as he chased her around the court. Soon, they're exhausted, panting heavily. "Geez! If only you'd sleep more, you'd probably catch me!! Poor you." "Shut up" "AAAH! Okay, for I afraid Master Foxy would bite me if I don't do what he says." joked her, and Rukawa laughed. "You've joked too much. Now I'll go home" said Rukawa. "Can I go home with you?" "Sure". And with that, Rukawa drove her home. He was greeted warmly by Annalea's mother, who wide-smiled at him. "Ah, if I'm not mistaken your name is Rukawa" said her mom. "Yes, ma'am" "Ah, would you like to have dinner with us here?" asked her mom. "Er, no thanks. My maids would've prepared dinner for me" said Rukawa. "Oh okay. Be careful, then. Bye" said her mom. "Bye Rukawa-kun! Be sure you don't mistake a fox as your friend, or a monkey as Hanamichi!!" joked Annalea. "Hah! I'd better take the latter one. I'd be so goddamn delighted if he becomes a monkey" said Rukawa. Then Annalea laughed. Rukawa couldn't help but laughed too. And then, he started walking home. Annalea and her mom came in the house. "You're so lucky to have met a guy like Rukawa" said her mom. "Why?" "Well, he has, everything a man has to have. Outstandingly good looks, tall, firmly muscled body, virile, gentle, athletic, and he's surely a type of a guy who could protect those he loved with all his love and courage. He's incredible, I must admit" said her mom. "Oh I see. Umm, mom, would you like to see me play basketball?" "Sure darling. When?" "Next week. If you'd like you can come with me there" "Okay" "Thanks" said Annalea, and then they eat dinner. Meanwhile, in the Rukawa residence, the phone is ringing. "Hello" answered Rukawa as toneless as usual. "Hi Kaede! You know what? Mom and dad will come to Japan, next week!!" said a woman in the other end of the line, who seemed to be his mother. "Mommy? Next week?! What a coincidence! I'll have a basketball match next week. Would'ya like to watch?" said Rukawa. "Sure dear!! That'll be great!!" said his mom. "Okay. Are you calling me just to inform me about your plan on returning?" asked Rukawa. "Yeah. We're not the type of person who wanted to surprise their son" teased his mom. "Ah, alright. Bye" said Rukawa. "Bye" said his mom. Then they both closed the phone. Rukawa went to his dining room and ate alone. He felt alone. Yes. Alone. Somehow, he felt alone. Well, he shouldn't have felt that just now. It should've been since the first time his parents left him. "That's strange.could it be because of.Annalea? No, no way." thought Rukawa. Then, he finished his dinner in total silence. After that he went to bed, fast asleep.
NEXT WEEK.
"Mom! Dad! Seemed like forever!!!" said Rukawa, as he greeted his parents at the front door of his house. "Kaede? I thought you've gone there" said his father. "No. The match had been delayed because a certain member of the Miuradai team had some accidents and the other teammates must pay him a visit. The match will be held in the afternoon" said Rukawa, looked at the clock. It's 10 AM in the morning. "Oh okay. And Kaede, what made you want us to watch you? This is not our usual Kaede" said his mom. "Umm, don't you want to watch your son's play?" asked Rukawa. "Ahaha! Okay okay Kaede, don't worry, we'll come!! Okay. You'd better get ready. You may even sleep to save energy" said his dad. "No need to. Their best player had an accident. It'll come out way too easy" said Rukawa. "Up to you Kaede" said his mom. Rukawa then fell asleep on a couch in his living room and woke up at 2 PM. At that very hour, he went to the stadium, with his parents. There, all of his teammates had arrived. "Rukawa! Unusual that you came a bit later than us!" said Miyagi. "I was asleep" said Rukawa. "Hah! Never mind. You'd better start warming up then" said Miyagi. Then Rukawa noticed Annalea's mother. He then glanced at Annalea, who smiled at him. Annalea had her hair turned into light curls. "Hi Mister Foxy! Had a great nap?" asked Annalea in her usual cheerful self. "Sure Miss Blondie. Had a great time in the salon?" joked Rukawa. Everyone (Shohoku team members except Annalea) had their jaws dropped. Never ever did they heard Rukawa joked. And they never even knew he's good at it. Ayako was the first one who snapped into reality and snapped everyone on their butts. "Aih! Aya-chan! That hurts." said Miyagi, then he got another swat from 'his' Aya-chan. "No comments! Now continue the warming ups!!" ordered Ayako. Then, all of them continued warming themselves up. Annalea is wearing a white blouse inside her jersey, which is numbered 9. Rukawa still had his number 11 jersey. Miyagi has number 4, Sakuragi had number 10, and Mitsui wearing jersey number 5. Soon, the Miuradai team members entered the stadium. And they're warming up as well. Soon, the game started. In just 10 minutes, Shohoku had 54 points already, because Murasame was the one who got the accident, and he's surely one of the best players in Miuradai. Miuradai got only 21 points. Rukawa isn't sweating one bit. Miuradai without Murasame is way too easy. The coach is getting very mad. "What did you all do in there? Would you like to be called the 'Murasame- only' team?! You haven't done your best!!!" said him angrily. "We've done our best, sensei. We're very very sorry. Shohoku is just too good for us" said a member of Miuradai team. "Humph! At least now, make the game as close as possible. And if possible, win it!" said the coach. All the members knew it's impossible, but they nodded anyway, not wanting their coach to be mad any longer. Meanwhile at the Shohoku side. "Great everyone!!!" said Yasuda, handing them their towels. "Yeah! You're so cool out there! Keep up the great job!" said Ayako, then Miyagi looked dreamily at her. Rukawa sat on the bench, between Sakuragi and Annalea. He surely didn't want to sit next to the do'aho but he got no choice. Everywhere else were occupied. So now the best thing he can do is stay away from him, keeping him as far as he can from him. But thinking the other way, it'll make him closer to Annalea. This made him blushed very little bit. She played so good in the game, still considering Rukawa as her 'permanent passing partner', except he's being tightly guarded. Well, Anzai- sensei had set up a strategy. If she can't pass to him, she'll have to pass to Hanamichi. If he is being guarded as well, then she'll have to find someone who isn't guarded tight enough. In the first half, she could keep passing to him freely, because even though he's guarded, he can still steal the ball from his opponent. They did a very good job, the best pair-work Rukawa had done before, since he had always played 'selfishly'. Everyone in the stadium watched in impression. How could a girl match so well with Rukawa in a game, while the other male teammates can't?, must've been what they're thinking about. He glanced at Annalea, and at the same time she's glancing at him. They both blushed a little. Then, the referee whistled, signing that the second half will start now. The second half is just as easy as the first one. The players aren't very good, and aren't in a good mood either. Rukawa eluded all of them so easily, and his teamwork with Annalea is still working here. Rukawa wondered why all those Miuradai members don't guard him when Annalea holds the ball, or otherwise? Did they mean to do it, or are to stupid to not notice that we're passing to each other all the time? Pity. They won the game easily, leading more than 30 points. Then, Rukawa's parents walked towards him, greeting him happily. "Kaede! You're so so great!!!" said his mom. "Ah, thanks mom" "Ah! And who's this lady next to you, Kaede? She's really good too! You two made a very fine play!!!" said his mom again. "Eh? Uh, she's Annalea Resmontelle, my friend" said Rukawa. "Good afternoon Mrs. Rukawa. I'm Annalea. Nice to meet you" said Annalea politely. "Nice to meet you too, Anna-kun! Now, would you like to come with us for dinner?" asked his mom. "Er, I've had dinner there once with Rukawa-kun. I don't feel good bothering you too much" answered Annalea politely. "What?! Are you actually trying to say.Kaede invited you to a dinner?!?!?!" asked Rukawa's mom in a super-disbelief look on her face. "Um.yeah, what's wrong with that?" asked Annalea still politely. "Oh my God! Am I hearing things correctly?! My son had actually-" said Rukawa's mom, interrupted with a hand closing her mouth, who seemed to belong to Rukawa's dad. "Dear, we won't like to interrupt them will we? Just let them realise their feelings themselves. We won't bother them now, will we?" whispered Rukawa's dad very softly. "Ahh!! Yes dear you sure are clever! Thank God you snapped me out of my unconsciousness!!" said Rukawa's mom cheerfully. Rukawa and Annalea looked at them in confusion, a big question mark above their head. "What are your parents talking about, Rukawa-kun?" asked Annalea. "I don't know. I'm clueless about them sometimes" said Rukawa. "Ah, let's just care less about it alright?" said Annalea, then Rukawa realised his parents winked at him and left. *How strange.* thought Rukawa. "Um, by the way, would you come to dinner this evening? Your mom can join too if she'd like to" said Rukawa. "I'll ask her first" said Annalea then she ran fast towards her mother. From faraway, Rukawa could see Annalea's mom nodded, meant a sign of agreement. "Okay, I guess I'll have to drive you home" said Rukawa, looked at his limousine, and that his parents aren't inside. They're not around as well, so he should be able to drive the car back home then. Annalea and her mother sat on the passanger's seats and talked to each other softly. When they arrived, they're greeted by Rukawa's parents, who unexpectedly popped out of nowhere when Rukawa opened the door to his house. "Hey Kaede!! Welcome!!" said his cheerful mom. "Yeah mom" said Rukawa. "Ah I see. Your girlfriend joined too" blurted his mom. Rukawa blushed, so as Annalea. Annalea's mother looked in confusion. Then Rukawa's mom whispered something to Annalea's mom, and they both nodded, and grinned evilly to their kids. Rukawa and Annalea looked disbelievingly to their parents. Another big question mark popped out. Then they go straight into the dining room and had a pleasant dinner. After that, Annalea and her mom waved goodbye and gave a 'thank you' to them. Just after that, Annalea looked like she'd just remembered something, she ran towards Rukawa and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Rukawa blushed hard at this, and his parents giggled at the view of their son blushing. "Arigatou, Rukawa-kun. See you tomorrow!!" said Annalea, as she rushed to her mother, walking back to her house, which seemed to be not so far from his house. Rukawa's still blushing, and when he finally realised that he's blushing, he mentally kicked himself. "I've promised myself not to fall for a girl.and now here I am, blushing after a little peck from her. JUST a little peck. How crazy could I be? Oh no, this can't be and better not be.love." thought Rukawa. Then he walked back home, straight into his bedroom, and fell asleep very soon.
THE NEXT DAY.
"Ohayo, Rukawa-kun!!" greeted Annalea. "Ah, ohayo Anna-san" replied Rukawa. "How was your sleep last night?" "Very well" "Good then" "Umm, why did you, erm, uh, peck me yesterday?" asked Rukawa nervously. There was a long silent pause, and then she smiled. "Ah, that. I was used to live in Britain. A peck before leaving someone shows gratitude and care towards the person, and I guess I'm used to it. But don't think bad of me. You're the first person I've ever given my peck to" said Annalea. *Geez, I didn't realise I pecked him. I felt like my body's moving by itself. Weird.do I have a.feeling.for him?* thought Annalea. She stared at him for a moment and then she blushed unconsciously. Rukawa blushed too. But he threw those feelings away, and slept on his table as usual, while Annalea's still there watching him, and then sighed. *Rukawa Kaede.I think that...I love you.yes..very much.* thought Annalea. And then she buried herself into a pile of books and tried reading it but she can't. Her minds kept on wandering to Rukawa. She shook her head several times and now she seemed to be able to concentrate better. While Rukawa is secretly awake, smiled slightly at what Annalea's doing, even though he doesn't know at all about her feeling towards him.
AFTER THE BASKETBALL PRACTICE.
"Everybody! We'll play against Tsukubu tomorrow! Prepare yourself!!" said Ayako. "Hai!" said everyone. "Good. You may be dismissed." said Miyagi.
THE MATCHES.
Shohoku beats Tsukubu very easily, and next, they're facing Shoyo. Shoyo isn't much of a problem without Fujima and Hanagata, but there's a new freshman who is good enough, but still no match for them. Shoyo lost badly, and next they're facing Ryonan. They still have Sendoh, but not Uozumi. Now Sendoh has got much more burden than before. However, they lost the game, but not letting the lead goes to far. The game ends with the score 97-82 in Shohoku's favor (of course). And then they're going to face up smaller opponents. They've finished them up quickly and very easily. And now they're going to face their opponent since last year. Kainan High.
Author : Hi minna! Finally up with chapter 3!
Chibi-Rukawa : *yawn* had been boring.but thanks for letting me win the games anyway.
Author : Aaah! You are so mean!
Chibi-Anna : Calm down, calm down
Author : *looks like goin 2 explode very soon* if u dun watch ur words, I'm gonna put u out of the story!!
Chibi-Rukawa : ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz.
Author : You better answer. *nudging Rukawa on the head*
Chibi-Anna (looks frightened) : OMG, seems like you're forgetting one thing.
Author : huh?! (then a punch landed on the author's head)
Chibi-Rukawa : I don't care whoever disturbs my sleep
Author : Grrr.it's useless dealing with u. off with u now. Bye!!!
Thanks for those who reviewed. Anyway, here I'd like to answer u :
Nellie : Yea, Rukawa's rich!! And btw, if he's not rich, he won't have a discman (or DISCMANS), bike, etc. But in here, maybe the Rukawa is a bit TOO RICH? ^^
White-angel : I'm very very sorry! Well, you know, that's the first attempt of mine of putting a story into FF.net, so I dunno it'll turn out like this (in MS Word, I kept a reasonable space between each paragraph!!) n I forgot 2 preview it. I'll replace it with another one, so I'm sorry if ur eyes r hurt!! Gomen nasai!!!
CHAPTER THREE : THE ELIMINATION GAMES
The next day at practice, the games' schedule had been announced. For the first round, Shohoku will have to face Miuradai AGAIN. However, all Kainan, Shoyo, and Ryonan are seeded in their block! They're in group A. If they managed to beat all of them they'll have to face the team that had beaten all teams in group B. Takezano team is seeded in group B. "I'll beat you this time, Oda!" said Sakuragi. "Do'ahou" "Temeeee kitsunneeee!!!" said Sakuragi and they began bickering with each other again. Ayako swatted them both with her paper fan, and then the practice begins. Then after the practice ended, Ayako told everyone that their match with Miuradai will be held next week. Everyone nodded, and walked home. Except Rukawa, who still trained in the gym himself. However, Annalea's watching him. After a pretty long while, Rukawa noticed her, because one of her golden glints got his attention. "How long have you been there?" asked Rukawa. "Since you started your extra practice" "Oh I see. Why?" "I loved to watch someone play basketball. Especially you" Rukawa blushed and said, "Thanks. But why?" "I liked your moves. They're so flawless" "No one had ever said that personally to me" "Really?! At least I'm not one of those so unapproving people. According to me, you ought to go to America! I'm sure you'll be a big star someday! But it only means more trouble for me." "Huh?! Why???" "Because then you'll have more fans. And then if they saw me and you walking together, even without holding hands, the next time I knew I'll be in the emergency unit with bruises everywhere" joked Annalea, even Rukawa laughed. And she continued, "And of course. More trouble getting you. Hehehe!! Just joking! No need to take it seriously" said her. But Rukawa looked like he's thinking about something. Then he finally snapped back to reality. "Would you like to play with me? Next week we'll show our real ability. We'll make it as perfect as possible. Nothing can stop us, right?" "Sure, Rukawa-kun. But I wanted to save my energy for the match. You, who had TOO many sleep, could use the rest of your energy here, so in the match you won't be overpowered" joked her, and Rukawa laughed again. "So, are you going home, or stay here, watching my flawless moves?" joked Rukawa. She laughed. This is the first time Rukawa boasted about himself. And he didn't mind. He is not scared of telling her his secrets. She's a very easy-going person. "Of course I'll stay here my master. But don't try to impress me, because I'm impressed enough already. If you impress me more, the next thing you see will be a fainted Annalea" joked her. Rukawa laughed again. She's really good at joking.
"I'm not your master. And never in my whole life had I ever tried to impress a girl" said Rukawa. "Oh really? Good then, so none will get fainted. But you don't need to impress them. Your skill is impressive itself. If you want to have less fans, make it less impressive." "No way I can do it. You know my goal?" "To be a basketball man and a husband to the one you love" "Heck! I've never dreamed about the latter" "Really? Ohh.poor me, I won't get a chance at all." she pretended to cry. Rukawa thought she was serious (oh, how naïve he is!!), and then she changed it into a grin. "Nyaah!! I was just kidding!! Oh it's so great making fun of you!!" said her, laughing. Rukawa's embarassed, and grinned evilly. "Hah! Never try to make fun of me anymore! Or I'll do something that will make you regret it for the rest of your life!!" said Rukawa, as he chased her around the court. Soon, they're exhausted, panting heavily. "Geez! If only you'd sleep more, you'd probably catch me!! Poor you." "Shut up" "AAAH! Okay, for I afraid Master Foxy would bite me if I don't do what he says." joked her, and Rukawa laughed. "You've joked too much. Now I'll go home" said Rukawa. "Can I go home with you?" "Sure". And with that, Rukawa drove her home. He was greeted warmly by Annalea's mother, who wide-smiled at him. "Ah, if I'm not mistaken your name is Rukawa" said her mom. "Yes, ma'am" "Ah, would you like to have dinner with us here?" asked her mom. "Er, no thanks. My maids would've prepared dinner for me" said Rukawa. "Oh okay. Be careful, then. Bye" said her mom. "Bye Rukawa-kun! Be sure you don't mistake a fox as your friend, or a monkey as Hanamichi!!" joked Annalea. "Hah! I'd better take the latter one. I'd be so goddamn delighted if he becomes a monkey" said Rukawa. Then Annalea laughed. Rukawa couldn't help but laughed too. And then, he started walking home. Annalea and her mom came in the house. "You're so lucky to have met a guy like Rukawa" said her mom. "Why?" "Well, he has, everything a man has to have. Outstandingly good looks, tall, firmly muscled body, virile, gentle, athletic, and he's surely a type of a guy who could protect those he loved with all his love and courage. He's incredible, I must admit" said her mom. "Oh I see. Umm, mom, would you like to see me play basketball?" "Sure darling. When?" "Next week. If you'd like you can come with me there" "Okay" "Thanks" said Annalea, and then they eat dinner. Meanwhile, in the Rukawa residence, the phone is ringing. "Hello" answered Rukawa as toneless as usual. "Hi Kaede! You know what? Mom and dad will come to Japan, next week!!" said a woman in the other end of the line, who seemed to be his mother. "Mommy? Next week?! What a coincidence! I'll have a basketball match next week. Would'ya like to watch?" said Rukawa. "Sure dear!! That'll be great!!" said his mom. "Okay. Are you calling me just to inform me about your plan on returning?" asked Rukawa. "Yeah. We're not the type of person who wanted to surprise their son" teased his mom. "Ah, alright. Bye" said Rukawa. "Bye" said his mom. Then they both closed the phone. Rukawa went to his dining room and ate alone. He felt alone. Yes. Alone. Somehow, he felt alone. Well, he shouldn't have felt that just now. It should've been since the first time his parents left him. "That's strange.could it be because of.Annalea? No, no way." thought Rukawa. Then, he finished his dinner in total silence. After that he went to bed, fast asleep.
NEXT WEEK.
"Mom! Dad! Seemed like forever!!!" said Rukawa, as he greeted his parents at the front door of his house. "Kaede? I thought you've gone there" said his father. "No. The match had been delayed because a certain member of the Miuradai team had some accidents and the other teammates must pay him a visit. The match will be held in the afternoon" said Rukawa, looked at the clock. It's 10 AM in the morning. "Oh okay. And Kaede, what made you want us to watch you? This is not our usual Kaede" said his mom. "Umm, don't you want to watch your son's play?" asked Rukawa. "Ahaha! Okay okay Kaede, don't worry, we'll come!! Okay. You'd better get ready. You may even sleep to save energy" said his dad. "No need to. Their best player had an accident. It'll come out way too easy" said Rukawa. "Up to you Kaede" said his mom. Rukawa then fell asleep on a couch in his living room and woke up at 2 PM. At that very hour, he went to the stadium, with his parents. There, all of his teammates had arrived. "Rukawa! Unusual that you came a bit later than us!" said Miyagi. "I was asleep" said Rukawa. "Hah! Never mind. You'd better start warming up then" said Miyagi. Then Rukawa noticed Annalea's mother. He then glanced at Annalea, who smiled at him. Annalea had her hair turned into light curls. "Hi Mister Foxy! Had a great nap?" asked Annalea in her usual cheerful self. "Sure Miss Blondie. Had a great time in the salon?" joked Rukawa. Everyone (Shohoku team members except Annalea) had their jaws dropped. Never ever did they heard Rukawa joked. And they never even knew he's good at it. Ayako was the first one who snapped into reality and snapped everyone on their butts. "Aih! Aya-chan! That hurts." said Miyagi, then he got another swat from 'his' Aya-chan. "No comments! Now continue the warming ups!!" ordered Ayako. Then, all of them continued warming themselves up. Annalea is wearing a white blouse inside her jersey, which is numbered 9. Rukawa still had his number 11 jersey. Miyagi has number 4, Sakuragi had number 10, and Mitsui wearing jersey number 5. Soon, the Miuradai team members entered the stadium. And they're warming up as well. Soon, the game started. In just 10 minutes, Shohoku had 54 points already, because Murasame was the one who got the accident, and he's surely one of the best players in Miuradai. Miuradai got only 21 points. Rukawa isn't sweating one bit. Miuradai without Murasame is way too easy. The coach is getting very mad. "What did you all do in there? Would you like to be called the 'Murasame- only' team?! You haven't done your best!!!" said him angrily. "We've done our best, sensei. We're very very sorry. Shohoku is just too good for us" said a member of Miuradai team. "Humph! At least now, make the game as close as possible. And if possible, win it!" said the coach. All the members knew it's impossible, but they nodded anyway, not wanting their coach to be mad any longer. Meanwhile at the Shohoku side. "Great everyone!!!" said Yasuda, handing them their towels. "Yeah! You're so cool out there! Keep up the great job!" said Ayako, then Miyagi looked dreamily at her. Rukawa sat on the bench, between Sakuragi and Annalea. He surely didn't want to sit next to the do'aho but he got no choice. Everywhere else were occupied. So now the best thing he can do is stay away from him, keeping him as far as he can from him. But thinking the other way, it'll make him closer to Annalea. This made him blushed very little bit. She played so good in the game, still considering Rukawa as her 'permanent passing partner', except he's being tightly guarded. Well, Anzai- sensei had set up a strategy. If she can't pass to him, she'll have to pass to Hanamichi. If he is being guarded as well, then she'll have to find someone who isn't guarded tight enough. In the first half, she could keep passing to him freely, because even though he's guarded, he can still steal the ball from his opponent. They did a very good job, the best pair-work Rukawa had done before, since he had always played 'selfishly'. Everyone in the stadium watched in impression. How could a girl match so well with Rukawa in a game, while the other male teammates can't?, must've been what they're thinking about. He glanced at Annalea, and at the same time she's glancing at him. They both blushed a little. Then, the referee whistled, signing that the second half will start now. The second half is just as easy as the first one. The players aren't very good, and aren't in a good mood either. Rukawa eluded all of them so easily, and his teamwork with Annalea is still working here. Rukawa wondered why all those Miuradai members don't guard him when Annalea holds the ball, or otherwise? Did they mean to do it, or are to stupid to not notice that we're passing to each other all the time? Pity. They won the game easily, leading more than 30 points. Then, Rukawa's parents walked towards him, greeting him happily. "Kaede! You're so so great!!!" said his mom. "Ah, thanks mom" "Ah! And who's this lady next to you, Kaede? She's really good too! You two made a very fine play!!!" said his mom again. "Eh? Uh, she's Annalea Resmontelle, my friend" said Rukawa. "Good afternoon Mrs. Rukawa. I'm Annalea. Nice to meet you" said Annalea politely. "Nice to meet you too, Anna-kun! Now, would you like to come with us for dinner?" asked his mom. "Er, I've had dinner there once with Rukawa-kun. I don't feel good bothering you too much" answered Annalea politely. "What?! Are you actually trying to say.Kaede invited you to a dinner?!?!?!" asked Rukawa's mom in a super-disbelief look on her face. "Um.yeah, what's wrong with that?" asked Annalea still politely. "Oh my God! Am I hearing things correctly?! My son had actually-" said Rukawa's mom, interrupted with a hand closing her mouth, who seemed to belong to Rukawa's dad. "Dear, we won't like to interrupt them will we? Just let them realise their feelings themselves. We won't bother them now, will we?" whispered Rukawa's dad very softly. "Ahh!! Yes dear you sure are clever! Thank God you snapped me out of my unconsciousness!!" said Rukawa's mom cheerfully. Rukawa and Annalea looked at them in confusion, a big question mark above their head. "What are your parents talking about, Rukawa-kun?" asked Annalea. "I don't know. I'm clueless about them sometimes" said Rukawa. "Ah, let's just care less about it alright?" said Annalea, then Rukawa realised his parents winked at him and left. *How strange.* thought Rukawa. "Um, by the way, would you come to dinner this evening? Your mom can join too if she'd like to" said Rukawa. "I'll ask her first" said Annalea then she ran fast towards her mother. From faraway, Rukawa could see Annalea's mom nodded, meant a sign of agreement. "Okay, I guess I'll have to drive you home" said Rukawa, looked at his limousine, and that his parents aren't inside. They're not around as well, so he should be able to drive the car back home then. Annalea and her mother sat on the passanger's seats and talked to each other softly. When they arrived, they're greeted by Rukawa's parents, who unexpectedly popped out of nowhere when Rukawa opened the door to his house. "Hey Kaede!! Welcome!!" said his cheerful mom. "Yeah mom" said Rukawa. "Ah I see. Your girlfriend joined too" blurted his mom. Rukawa blushed, so as Annalea. Annalea's mother looked in confusion. Then Rukawa's mom whispered something to Annalea's mom, and they both nodded, and grinned evilly to their kids. Rukawa and Annalea looked disbelievingly to their parents. Another big question mark popped out. Then they go straight into the dining room and had a pleasant dinner. After that, Annalea and her mom waved goodbye and gave a 'thank you' to them. Just after that, Annalea looked like she'd just remembered something, she ran towards Rukawa and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Rukawa blushed hard at this, and his parents giggled at the view of their son blushing. "Arigatou, Rukawa-kun. See you tomorrow!!" said Annalea, as she rushed to her mother, walking back to her house, which seemed to be not so far from his house. Rukawa's still blushing, and when he finally realised that he's blushing, he mentally kicked himself. "I've promised myself not to fall for a girl.and now here I am, blushing after a little peck from her. JUST a little peck. How crazy could I be? Oh no, this can't be and better not be.love." thought Rukawa. Then he walked back home, straight into his bedroom, and fell asleep very soon.
THE NEXT DAY.
"Ohayo, Rukawa-kun!!" greeted Annalea. "Ah, ohayo Anna-san" replied Rukawa. "How was your sleep last night?" "Very well" "Good then" "Umm, why did you, erm, uh, peck me yesterday?" asked Rukawa nervously. There was a long silent pause, and then she smiled. "Ah, that. I was used to live in Britain. A peck before leaving someone shows gratitude and care towards the person, and I guess I'm used to it. But don't think bad of me. You're the first person I've ever given my peck to" said Annalea. *Geez, I didn't realise I pecked him. I felt like my body's moving by itself. Weird.do I have a.feeling.for him?* thought Annalea. She stared at him for a moment and then she blushed unconsciously. Rukawa blushed too. But he threw those feelings away, and slept on his table as usual, while Annalea's still there watching him, and then sighed. *Rukawa Kaede.I think that...I love you.yes..very much.* thought Annalea. And then she buried herself into a pile of books and tried reading it but she can't. Her minds kept on wandering to Rukawa. She shook her head several times and now she seemed to be able to concentrate better. While Rukawa is secretly awake, smiled slightly at what Annalea's doing, even though he doesn't know at all about her feeling towards him.
AFTER THE BASKETBALL PRACTICE.
"Everybody! We'll play against Tsukubu tomorrow! Prepare yourself!!" said Ayako. "Hai!" said everyone. "Good. You may be dismissed." said Miyagi.
THE MATCHES.
Shohoku beats Tsukubu very easily, and next, they're facing Shoyo. Shoyo isn't much of a problem without Fujima and Hanagata, but there's a new freshman who is good enough, but still no match for them. Shoyo lost badly, and next they're facing Ryonan. They still have Sendoh, but not Uozumi. Now Sendoh has got much more burden than before. However, they lost the game, but not letting the lead goes to far. The game ends with the score 97-82 in Shohoku's favor (of course). And then they're going to face up smaller opponents. They've finished them up quickly and very easily. And now they're going to face their opponent since last year. Kainan High.
Author : Hi minna! Finally up with chapter 3!
Chibi-Rukawa : *yawn* had been boring.but thanks for letting me win the games anyway.
Author : Aaah! You are so mean!
Chibi-Anna : Calm down, calm down
Author : *looks like goin 2 explode very soon* if u dun watch ur words, I'm gonna put u out of the story!!
Chibi-Rukawa : ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz.
Author : You better answer. *nudging Rukawa on the head*
Chibi-Anna (looks frightened) : OMG, seems like you're forgetting one thing.
Author : huh?! (then a punch landed on the author's head)
Chibi-Rukawa : I don't care whoever disturbs my sleep
Author : Grrr.it's useless dealing with u. off with u now. Bye!!!
