Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk.

Mia's waiting for Rukawa to pass the hall. And when he did she quickly followed him. "Now this is my chance to get close to him." she thought to herself.

"Uhm... Rukawa! Wait up!" Mia called to him. Rukawa stopped to his tracks when he recognize one familiar voice.

"Mia!" Rukawa turned to face her. "What are you doing here?" he asked her with questioning eyes "Thought you already gone out there somewhere."

"Rukawa..." she paused while her face facing at the ground "Uhm... I have many things inside my head, I think I'll gonna break down."

Rukawa glared at her, "To be honest with you... I don't trust you, I have this strong feeling that you're behind all these." and with that he then too turned his back to her heading out of that mall.

*****

"Sakuragi, please help me clear this up with Rukawa." Haruko grabbed Sakuragi's arms but he won't even move then he face her, looking into her eyes he said, "What for?" he looked her directly in the eyes then held her shoulders, "He didn't even let you ezplain, he won't believe you anyway."

"How would you know?" tears start to fall on her cheeks "I love him Sakuragi." he was astound *is it true she does love him...* Sakuragi thought, yet he found words to say "You love him, the question is does he return the favor to you?"

"What are you trying to say?" Haruko questioned him "You have no idea how happy I am with him, even though... " she stopped.

"Even though what?" he asked her, she removed his hands from her shoulders "Sakuragi... just forget it, maybe if you tell him that I'm not here for a date but just to help you with your present for Mia maybe he'll..."

"Haruko why don't you break him up? Why do you keep following him if I with you? I'm here for you the thing he can't give to you... that's love. Haruko I love you!" he said while he held her shoulder tightly.

"What do you mean? You know Sakuragi as long as this talk continue, the harder I understand you." she said.

"Come on Haruko let's go some other place, maybe at the some other place... there I'll tell you everything, we're making a scene here." she dragged Haruko out of the mall.

Some other place out of the mall...

Both are silent at the park. Haruko's sitting at the bench facing the ground while Sakuragi's standing just looking at her feaatures. "Haruko I love--"

"STOP!" Haruko cut him short "Sakuragi, we are both commited to othe people, I with Rukawa, You with--"

"I'm available, if you're talkng about Mia, she's not my girlfriend... well the truth is, remember the issue of Coach Ansai and me well, she saved my neck from such false gossip." he paused for a minute, he looked up at her reaction, seeing that she's allears to him he continued, "Haruko... its not she that I love it is you who have my heart."

"Sakuragi..." was all that Haruko can say.

*****

"Rukawa..." Mia called his name silently, she has already returned to the flower shop after the thought that Sakuragi is still there. "Why is there something missing in my heart? When Rukawa left me at the mall, showing his usual coldness... it didn't bother me a bit, but..." she scanned the area looking for any trace of Sakuragi and Haruko but to her dismay neither can be found.

"... but now that I knew that there's a chance that She's with him, I just have the urge to kill someone... what's this that I'm feeling?" Mia thought to herself.

*****

"Why are you so against Rukawa?" Haruko found her words

"I have this strong feeling that he's just using you to hurt me coz we had a fight." Sakuragi walked closer to her "my feelings ae so obvious Haruko... I've never felt this way towards any girl before... tell me you feel the same..."

"Sakuragi..." she's at lost she doesn't know what to say, she was then suprised when Sakuragi grabbed her shoulders, pulled her up and closer to him then hugged her, all the sudden she felt secured in his arms, she felt emotions showered within her, she felt the urge to hug him in return, so she did. Sakuragi smiled at this, and they stayed this way for about some minutes....

*****

Rukawa thought for a minute he wanted to o back to her apologize for not letting her explain the least "Maybe she has reasons why she's with him, maybe I should go back and talk to her." he made up his mind he'll go back to haruko, but onthe sudden movement of his eyes made him stop on his tracks and balled his fist.....

Author: What do you think about this chapter? Review!!!