Dilemma - Chapter 1
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and its characters do not, in any way, belong to me. (Obviously)
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"Ring Ring………..Ring Ring……Ring" The incessant ringing of the alarm clock was halted by a strong muscular hand slamming on it.
Sendoh pried opened his eyes and looked around his room in a daze. Staring up at the ceiling, he blinked a few times before he remembered that today was a school day.
With that, he dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom to get himself ready for the day.
At the end of his hot shower, Sendoh felt rejuvenated and had jolted completely out of his earlier slumber. Whistling, he wrapped a towel around his hips and stepped out into his adjoining room, revealing his broad shoulders and taut stomach muscles which are the envy of many guys and at the same time, the desire of many girls.
Opening his huge wardrobe filled with designer clothes, Sendoh scanned the neat rows of clothes briefly and in a matter of seconds, he had decided on a pair of blue jeans and a simple knitted pullover. He wasn't someone who was really particular about his dressing.
But one thing which he was very particular about was the way he did his hair. Looking into the mirror with one hand holding onto a comb and the other a tube of hair gel, he began to style his hair into his usual style. A gravity-defying, spiky hairdo which had long became a trademark of his.
Satisfied and convinced that his hairdo would last the entire day, Sendoh took his car keys from the bed-side table and headed out the door of his apartment.
"Beep Beep" Sendoh unlocked his car door with his remote control and in big strides, he reached his convertible and got into the luxurious car. It was a black Porsche, a present from his parents when he passed his driving license just less than a year ago.
Today was the start of the first day of his second year in Kanagawa University and he was feeling more excited than usual because he knew that both Rukawa Kaede, his long-time rival cum basketball partner and Sakuragi Hanamichi, the self-proclaimed Tensai would be first years. And that would mean Kanagawa University's Basketball Team will be much stronger this year, given the skills these 2 players possessed. Besides, he was looking forward to playing along side Rukawa for the first time rather than against him, which had been the case for the past 2 years.
Zooming into the compound of his school in his black wheels, Sendoh attracted much attention, not that he could help it. He had always been the centre of attention and object of numerous girls' affection since he was in high school. Standing at 193cm with a physique anyone would die for, coupled with his charisma and a fatally charming smile. It's easy to see why girls were always literally throwing themselves at his feet.
Grabbing his sports bag containing his jersey and shorts, Sendoh took a deep breath and opened his car door, preparing to do what he did almost every morning.
He ran. He ran all the way into the school's building without looking back behind him.
"SENDOH!! SENDOH!!! Yah!!! He is so handsome!! Even more handsome than last year!!" Girls were running after him and screaming at the same time, begging him to stop.
Sendoh knew that he needed to be out of his mind in order to stop. The last time he did that, his hair was messed up and his shirt torn. He continued to run till the screams started to fade away before he began slowing down his steps. He turned around to make sure that he had lost his fans while still maintaining a slow jog.
WHAM!
"Baka!!" A female voice was heard.
"Ouch" groaned Sendoh, rubbing his chin. In his haste to get rid of his fans, he had rammed right into someone and injured his own chin. It was a pretty bad knock and his chin actually hurt so he figured out that the other party must be pretty hurt as well.
Looking up to see how the other party was, Sendoh was shocked to discover that the other person he had sent sprawling across the empty hallway was a girl.
"Baka" She repeated, although slightly softer this time.
"Can't you see where you are going??" She asked accusingly without really waiting for an answer. With that, she picked herself up and started to gather her books which had fallen all over the hallway.
Sendoh's eyes widened at the rude albeit refreshing treatment coming from the girl. Recovering from his shock, he quickly moved to help pick up her remaining books and walked towards her.
"Gomenasai. I was trying to run away from someone…or rather some ones. Did I hurt you bad?"
As if in answer, Sendoh upon nearing her, noticed a bad bruise on her left forehead. Not only that, he also noticed that the girl is quite a looker……no… in fact she was a real looker.
Realizing that the girl was still looking at him with daggers in her eyes, Sendoh flashed his most charming smile, hoping to ease the tension in the air.
"You new here? Never seen you before. Does your head hurt?" Sendoh asked while at the same time, handing her books over.
The girl doesn't seem at all impressed by Sendoh's smile which under normal circumstances would have sent girls into frenzy. With an icy stare, she just snatched her books from Sendoh and started to pick up her own sports bag.
/Why does she seem to remind me of someone?/
"My name is Sendoh Akira, I am a sophomore. What's your name"
She just walked past him.
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/Just my luck to run into a muscled-pack himbo with a funny hairstyle./
She rubbed the bruise on her forehead and decided it wasn't going to go down anytime soon.
Sighing, she started to make her way to her designated classroom for her first day in Kanagawa University, attracting loads of admiring stares from guys and jealous glances from girls along her way.
Her cold green eyes scanned the hallway for room number L3-077. Her long black shiny hair was tied up in a ponytail, revealing her small sharp nose and high cheekbones. Her small pouty lips were pursed together when she failed to find any room coinciding with that found on her admission card. Standing at a slim frame of 170 cm, she was really hard to miss.
Her name was Yuki Hamasaki.
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Leaning his bicycle against the stand and locking it, he slowly but surely made his way across the green grounds which were surrounded by palm trees, towards the building in graceful steps.
Pausing at the entrance of the huge building, he looked up from beneath his dark raven hair which was a direct contrast to his pale, flawless complexion. His sapphire blue eyes making sure that the sign board read 'Kanagawa University'.
Satisfied with what he saw, he coolly swung his sports bag onto his broad shoulders and walked into the building.
The inside of the building was nothing like the outside. It was bustling with activities. Students were standing in groups chatting merrily with one and other. Standing in the middle of a crowded room, he looked so out of place. He took a glimpse around the room to see if there were any familiar faces but found none. Not that he cared to hang around with if he ever found one, but it would be nicer to see one or two familiar faces though.
Taking out his admission card from his pockets, he looked for any information that might tell him where to go report on his first day of school. He was initially supposed to come to school together with Sendoh but he decided against it once Sendoh told him about the daily dose of 'warm reception' he got from his ever adoring fans.
He too had his own share of fans back in high school but they never dared neared him cause he was too cold and unapproachable, unlike that Sendoh who always had a smile plastered on his face.
His card had L3-080 written on it.
Figuring that it must be a room number on the 3rd level, he made his way towards the staircase.
As he moved across the room, he could feel more and more pairs of eyes on him.
A lanky frame at 189cm with features so beautiful it seemed unearthly. Striking blue eyes lined with long thick lashes resembled sapphire in terms of both colour and coldness. Black, silky hair that accentuated his pale, smooth and creamy skin. He had an aura of mystique around him which made him mesmerizing. He was really a sight to behold.
His extraordinary beauty was not lost on the crowd. Eyes of both guys and girls were transfixed onto him, followed by whispers of "Rukawa Kaede. He is the Shohoku High School's ace".
Apparently, though he did not recognize anyone in the crowd, most of them did recognize him during his days in Shohoku High.
Soon, nearly everyone was whispering his name.
He sighed faintly, dreading the unwanted attention he got so ever often. He was starting to feel that it wouldn't be an enjoyable day for him. But the thought of basketball practice later in the day managed to perk him up a bit.
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Sendoh believed his luck was beginning to run out when he found himself in the same Biology class as 4 of his most aggressive stalking fans. Now he would not have a single peaceful Biology lesson for the next 6 months and to make things worse, there's always basketball practice every Monday after this Biology class. So in other words, he would always be late for practice on Monday cause there was no way his fans would let him go so easily. He was contemplating dropping this module.
Not that he was always early for practice, but being in the same class as his fanatic fans would make him turned up even later than usual for his practices.
And it was important that he would not be late for practice today as being the first practice, it's a time where they recruited new players and he did not want to miss a chance to make fun of Rukawa.
He sighed at the thought of those impending lectures he knew that he would be getting from Akagi.
As expected, after his class ended, his fans swarmed around him immediately like bees to honey.
"Sendoh…are you free later today? We organizing a movie trip, wanna come?"
"Hmm…I would love to but I can't….got practice today, got to go." Hoping to brush them away by being nice.
But he had no such luck, they were not deterred and continued bugging him for the next 5 minutes.
"Sendoh-kun…." A gorgeous girl in cheerleader outfit called out from a distance.
"Julie!!" Sendoh smiled widely and started to wave frantically, knowing that his saviour was here.
Julie was a third year and the captain of the Cheerleading Team and had a bad reputation for being easy, sleeping around with different guys in the school, including those from the other schools. She had an obvious crush on Sendoh and had been hitting on him since last year but she never interest Sendoh at all in the slightest bit.
On normal occasions, Sendoh would have avoided her like plague too but right now, he's more glad to see her than anyone else. Having not only a bad reputation, she had a real bad temper to go along with it and most of the girls in the school are very much in fear of her.
Sashaying up to Sendoh, she gave his fans a glare which sent them scampering. Having got rid of them, she turned her full charm and attention towards her target.
"Sendoh-kun…you grown taller and more handsome than last year. You free tonight?" She cooed, placing her arm into his at the same time
"Julie, you looked great too, gorgeous as ever. But I can't make it tonight cause I….I got to…hmm…..fetch my parents from the airport. They are coming back for a holiday."
Sendoh lied, praying that Julie would buy his story.
Seeing the skeptical look on her face, he decided she did not and knew that its time for him to scoot.
"Got practice now, got to run!! See ya!!" With that, Sendoh detached himself from her and bolted out the door and ran all the way to the changing room.
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TBC