Partners In Crime
By CheeKy
Disclaimer: The following Slam Dunk characters belong to Takehiko Inoue. Any unfamiliar names, places or otherwise will naturally be my properties.
Notes: If you did indeed skipped Chapter Five, the only thing you need to know for this chapter to make sense is that the darlings are now officially together. ^_~
* * *
Chapter Six ~ Partners In Crime
Walking past Sendoh into the living room, Rukawa pulled aside the curtains as the afternoon sun brightened up the interior. He then gestured for Sendoh to take a seat in the living room couch before making his way to the adjacent kitchen. Opening the fridge, he called out behind him, "What would you like? I have beer, soda and cold water."
"A soda will be fine," answered Sendoh as his eyes wandered around Okita's apartment. Everything looked orderly and neat and Sendoh wondered how much of the stuff lying around belonged to Rukawa. As the young man returned with the can, Sendoh smiled his thanks before staring at the said item with an inquisitive look, "I'm surprise there are drinks inside the fridge."
Rukawa offered a small smile, "Micky has this habit of stocking up in case of emergencies, hence, plenty of dry and canned food in the pantry. Help yourself if you're hungry. I'm just going to take a quick shower. You can switch on the TV if you're bored."
The young man hesitated a little as he looked towards Sendoh for some kind of reassurance. Shaking his head in mock irritation, Sendoh gestured for Rukawa to leave, "Don't worry, I'm not going to confront Hamaguchi without you. We're partners, remember? I can just see it now, once we've cracked opened the case all the major newspaper will be headlined 'Sendoh Akira and Rukawa Kaede, the perfect partners in crime'. Not bad huh?"
Rukawa couldn't help but smile as he entered the bedroom. The door clicked shut quietly as Sendoh switched on the TV. Satisfied that the volume was loud enough, the detective pulled out his mobile as he quickly dialled a number.
~ * ~
The shower proved beneficial as a much calmer and cleaner Rukawa emerged from the bedroom. Dressed in a simple shirt and dark coloured slacks, the young man questioned while still towelling his wet hair, "So what's the next step?"
"I've arranged for us to meet up with Hamaguchi first thing tomorrow morning at ten. The police department will have readied several documentary identifications for us by late evening so we'd swing by to collect them after dinner."
Rukawa interrupted, "What do you mean 'we'? I thought the plan was for me to go in posed as myself?"
Sendoh spoke hesitatively, "I'm not sure that's really such a good idea. It's possible that the gangsters might have heard your name dropped when they confronted Okita. Hence, revealing your true identity might only raise Hamaguchi's suspicions."
"And using an alias wouldn't?" snorted Rukawa in response. He then added with a determined glint in his eye, "Akira, I'm not going to change my mind. Micky's life is at stake and to go in with a false identity is too risky. Everything needs to be bona fide if we're going to gain Hamaguchi's trust."
As the words left his lips Rukawa realised he had spoken too much. Not the least bit fooled, Sendoh demanded hotly, "Damn it Kaede, are you saying you intend to go in alone?"
Blue eyes stared steadily ahead, "Yes."
"I thought we'd agreed that I'm going to see Hamaguchi with you?" growled Sendoh in annoyance as he ran his fingers through his dark locks.
"Well, I've changed my mind."
In two strides Sendoh had reached Rukawa. With an angry scowl on his face, Sendoh grabbed onto Rukawa's shoulders none-too-gentle as he gave the young man several hard shakes, "If you think I'm going to allow the love of my life to walk blindly to his death, you better start thinking again. Damn it Kaede, why must you be so bloody stubborn?"
Rukawa glared back as he knocked the hands away, "This is my problem and I'm not going to let you risk your life for me. You're a famous detective, Hamaguchi probably already knows you by sight."
"Then let him be on his guard!" snapped Sendoh in response.
"And jeopardise our chances of finding out anything?" challenged Rukawa angrily.
"Damn it Kaede, why can't you have a little faith in me? I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or to Okita if I can help it."
The younger man looked away as Sendoh reached out to tilt his chin upwards. He pleaded gently, "All I'm asking is for you to trust me. Think you can do that for me? Please?"
Rukawa started to shake his head as Sendoh begged once more, "Come on Kaede, please let me go with you. I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything bad happened to you. Besides, don't forget you did ask the squad for help earlier, so you're getting it whether you want it or not."
The young man sighed deeply, "I know I did request for some assistance earlier, but that was before I knew about Hamaguchi. Had I known how dangerous the task would have been, I would never have suggested such a thing."
"Listen Kaede, it's my job to protect the innocent and I would risk life and limb for your sake. Please don't push me away."
Rukawa wrapped his arms around the older man tightly as he rested his head on the broad chest. His voice shook slightly as he whispered, "Gods Akira, I've never been so terrified in my entire life. If I were to never see you again, if I were to never find Micky."
His voice trailed off as Sendoh tightened his hold around his young lover. Stroking the silky raven hair, the detective exhaled deeply, "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. I rather die first than let Hamaguchi touch a single strand of your hair."
With his face buried beneath the soft fabric, Rukawa shivered involuntarily as he whispered softly, "Don't say that. No one is going to die, least of all you."
Sendoh planted a soft kiss on the top of Rukawa's ebony locks as he whispered gently, "Aishiteru Kae-chan."
There was a distinctive soft chuckle as Rukawa whispered in response, "Aishiteru Akira."
For several long minutes they stood unmoving, content to just hold the other in the warm embrace. Nevertheless, at the back of their minds, both were fully aware of the dangers that lurked on the horizon. Rukawa felt his eyes drooped listlessly. Tiredness won over and within minutes he had fallen asleep on his feet.
~ * ~
It was close to nine in the evening when Rukawa finally awoke. For several minutes he stared upwards as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. He slowly sat up from the bed before swinging his feet to the side. The sound of the television drew him to the living room.
Sendoh looked up with a slight pout as he whined dramatically, "Kae- chan, that was so mean of you to fall asleep like that. Did you know I was talking to myself for close to ten minutes?"
Rukawa grinned slightly as he leaned over to give his lover a chaste kiss on the cheek, "It's your own fault. You talk too much."
The man crossed his arms as the pout deepened. Rukawa started laughing but stopped upon realising the documents lying around on the coffee table. Reaching out for one, he turned back to the detective, "You went out to collect them?"
Sendoh shook his head, "No. Joseph was kind enough to send them over after I told them you had fallen asleep."
Rukawa looked curiously at the slight blush that tinged his lover's cheek. Seeing the intense look on the young man's face, Sendoh quickly smiled as he added, "I was given orders to keep my eye on you so the guys brought over the stuff. And they were smart enough to bring dinner. Chinese take- out okay with you?"
Rukawa grinned wryly, "Anything's better than canned tuna."
The older man laughed easily as he stood up to retrieve the bento boxes. Handing one over to Rukawa, he then gestured with a slight tilt of the head, "The I.D card you're holding is mine. I spoke to the Chief and though he wasn't too keen on you going in as yourself, he did see your point of view so we're sticking to your true identity. We've also prepared several business letters and documents so you're going to need to be familiar with them if you want to fool Hamaguchi."
The detective looked on strangely as Rukawa started laughing in mirth. The young man snorted aloud, "I thought you said nobody takes you seriously with this hairdo? Aren't you afraid that Hamaguchi might consider the whole meeting as a joke?"
Rukawa then peered closer before laughing aloud again, "Akira, don't tell me this is your high school photo?"
Sendoh leaned over from his side of the couch to pick the card from Rukawa's fingers as he explained with a desolate sigh, "As much as I hate to admit it, the photo was taken during my third year in Ryonan High. Chris was searching through my records for a photo and this was the only one he could find. It would have been better to use an updated one, but time is running out quickly."
His companion quickly turned sober as he nodded his agreement, "Yeah. Guess I better start reading all these papers huh?"
Sendoh grinned, "Think you can remember everything by tomorrow morning? I had only just glanced at them and I'm starting to feel a headache coming on."
"Hmph, you forgot I'm smarter than you."
The words had only just left Rukawa's lips when Sendoh pounced on him. He laughingly choked out his protest as Sendoh reached under his shirt to tickle him. After several more minutes of the ticklish ministration, Rukawa finally pushed the man back with a warning glare, "Akira, we don't have time for this. We have a lot of serious work to do."
Sendoh sat on his heels with a pout, "Hmph, don't be such a wet blanket."
The young man merely shoved several papers in his face.
t.b.c. ^_~
By CheeKy
Disclaimer: The following Slam Dunk characters belong to Takehiko Inoue. Any unfamiliar names, places or otherwise will naturally be my properties.
Notes: If you did indeed skipped Chapter Five, the only thing you need to know for this chapter to make sense is that the darlings are now officially together. ^_~
* * *
Chapter Six ~ Partners In Crime
Walking past Sendoh into the living room, Rukawa pulled aside the curtains as the afternoon sun brightened up the interior. He then gestured for Sendoh to take a seat in the living room couch before making his way to the adjacent kitchen. Opening the fridge, he called out behind him, "What would you like? I have beer, soda and cold water."
"A soda will be fine," answered Sendoh as his eyes wandered around Okita's apartment. Everything looked orderly and neat and Sendoh wondered how much of the stuff lying around belonged to Rukawa. As the young man returned with the can, Sendoh smiled his thanks before staring at the said item with an inquisitive look, "I'm surprise there are drinks inside the fridge."
Rukawa offered a small smile, "Micky has this habit of stocking up in case of emergencies, hence, plenty of dry and canned food in the pantry. Help yourself if you're hungry. I'm just going to take a quick shower. You can switch on the TV if you're bored."
The young man hesitated a little as he looked towards Sendoh for some kind of reassurance. Shaking his head in mock irritation, Sendoh gestured for Rukawa to leave, "Don't worry, I'm not going to confront Hamaguchi without you. We're partners, remember? I can just see it now, once we've cracked opened the case all the major newspaper will be headlined 'Sendoh Akira and Rukawa Kaede, the perfect partners in crime'. Not bad huh?"
Rukawa couldn't help but smile as he entered the bedroom. The door clicked shut quietly as Sendoh switched on the TV. Satisfied that the volume was loud enough, the detective pulled out his mobile as he quickly dialled a number.
~ * ~
The shower proved beneficial as a much calmer and cleaner Rukawa emerged from the bedroom. Dressed in a simple shirt and dark coloured slacks, the young man questioned while still towelling his wet hair, "So what's the next step?"
"I've arranged for us to meet up with Hamaguchi first thing tomorrow morning at ten. The police department will have readied several documentary identifications for us by late evening so we'd swing by to collect them after dinner."
Rukawa interrupted, "What do you mean 'we'? I thought the plan was for me to go in posed as myself?"
Sendoh spoke hesitatively, "I'm not sure that's really such a good idea. It's possible that the gangsters might have heard your name dropped when they confronted Okita. Hence, revealing your true identity might only raise Hamaguchi's suspicions."
"And using an alias wouldn't?" snorted Rukawa in response. He then added with a determined glint in his eye, "Akira, I'm not going to change my mind. Micky's life is at stake and to go in with a false identity is too risky. Everything needs to be bona fide if we're going to gain Hamaguchi's trust."
As the words left his lips Rukawa realised he had spoken too much. Not the least bit fooled, Sendoh demanded hotly, "Damn it Kaede, are you saying you intend to go in alone?"
Blue eyes stared steadily ahead, "Yes."
"I thought we'd agreed that I'm going to see Hamaguchi with you?" growled Sendoh in annoyance as he ran his fingers through his dark locks.
"Well, I've changed my mind."
In two strides Sendoh had reached Rukawa. With an angry scowl on his face, Sendoh grabbed onto Rukawa's shoulders none-too-gentle as he gave the young man several hard shakes, "If you think I'm going to allow the love of my life to walk blindly to his death, you better start thinking again. Damn it Kaede, why must you be so bloody stubborn?"
Rukawa glared back as he knocked the hands away, "This is my problem and I'm not going to let you risk your life for me. You're a famous detective, Hamaguchi probably already knows you by sight."
"Then let him be on his guard!" snapped Sendoh in response.
"And jeopardise our chances of finding out anything?" challenged Rukawa angrily.
"Damn it Kaede, why can't you have a little faith in me? I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or to Okita if I can help it."
The younger man looked away as Sendoh reached out to tilt his chin upwards. He pleaded gently, "All I'm asking is for you to trust me. Think you can do that for me? Please?"
Rukawa started to shake his head as Sendoh begged once more, "Come on Kaede, please let me go with you. I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything bad happened to you. Besides, don't forget you did ask the squad for help earlier, so you're getting it whether you want it or not."
The young man sighed deeply, "I know I did request for some assistance earlier, but that was before I knew about Hamaguchi. Had I known how dangerous the task would have been, I would never have suggested such a thing."
"Listen Kaede, it's my job to protect the innocent and I would risk life and limb for your sake. Please don't push me away."
Rukawa wrapped his arms around the older man tightly as he rested his head on the broad chest. His voice shook slightly as he whispered, "Gods Akira, I've never been so terrified in my entire life. If I were to never see you again, if I were to never find Micky."
His voice trailed off as Sendoh tightened his hold around his young lover. Stroking the silky raven hair, the detective exhaled deeply, "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. I rather die first than let Hamaguchi touch a single strand of your hair."
With his face buried beneath the soft fabric, Rukawa shivered involuntarily as he whispered softly, "Don't say that. No one is going to die, least of all you."
Sendoh planted a soft kiss on the top of Rukawa's ebony locks as he whispered gently, "Aishiteru Kae-chan."
There was a distinctive soft chuckle as Rukawa whispered in response, "Aishiteru Akira."
For several long minutes they stood unmoving, content to just hold the other in the warm embrace. Nevertheless, at the back of their minds, both were fully aware of the dangers that lurked on the horizon. Rukawa felt his eyes drooped listlessly. Tiredness won over and within minutes he had fallen asleep on his feet.
~ * ~
It was close to nine in the evening when Rukawa finally awoke. For several minutes he stared upwards as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. He slowly sat up from the bed before swinging his feet to the side. The sound of the television drew him to the living room.
Sendoh looked up with a slight pout as he whined dramatically, "Kae- chan, that was so mean of you to fall asleep like that. Did you know I was talking to myself for close to ten minutes?"
Rukawa grinned slightly as he leaned over to give his lover a chaste kiss on the cheek, "It's your own fault. You talk too much."
The man crossed his arms as the pout deepened. Rukawa started laughing but stopped upon realising the documents lying around on the coffee table. Reaching out for one, he turned back to the detective, "You went out to collect them?"
Sendoh shook his head, "No. Joseph was kind enough to send them over after I told them you had fallen asleep."
Rukawa looked curiously at the slight blush that tinged his lover's cheek. Seeing the intense look on the young man's face, Sendoh quickly smiled as he added, "I was given orders to keep my eye on you so the guys brought over the stuff. And they were smart enough to bring dinner. Chinese take- out okay with you?"
Rukawa grinned wryly, "Anything's better than canned tuna."
The older man laughed easily as he stood up to retrieve the bento boxes. Handing one over to Rukawa, he then gestured with a slight tilt of the head, "The I.D card you're holding is mine. I spoke to the Chief and though he wasn't too keen on you going in as yourself, he did see your point of view so we're sticking to your true identity. We've also prepared several business letters and documents so you're going to need to be familiar with them if you want to fool Hamaguchi."
The detective looked on strangely as Rukawa started laughing in mirth. The young man snorted aloud, "I thought you said nobody takes you seriously with this hairdo? Aren't you afraid that Hamaguchi might consider the whole meeting as a joke?"
Rukawa then peered closer before laughing aloud again, "Akira, don't tell me this is your high school photo?"
Sendoh leaned over from his side of the couch to pick the card from Rukawa's fingers as he explained with a desolate sigh, "As much as I hate to admit it, the photo was taken during my third year in Ryonan High. Chris was searching through my records for a photo and this was the only one he could find. It would have been better to use an updated one, but time is running out quickly."
His companion quickly turned sober as he nodded his agreement, "Yeah. Guess I better start reading all these papers huh?"
Sendoh grinned, "Think you can remember everything by tomorrow morning? I had only just glanced at them and I'm starting to feel a headache coming on."
"Hmph, you forgot I'm smarter than you."
The words had only just left Rukawa's lips when Sendoh pounced on him. He laughingly choked out his protest as Sendoh reached under his shirt to tickle him. After several more minutes of the ticklish ministration, Rukawa finally pushed the man back with a warning glare, "Akira, we don't have time for this. We have a lot of serious work to do."
Sendoh sat on his heels with a pout, "Hmph, don't be such a wet blanket."
The young man merely shoved several papers in his face.
t.b.c. ^_~