Disclaimer : Slam Dunk is owned by Takehiko Inoue. Shintaro Ken is mine!

Note: Sentences in italics are thoughts.

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Shirodachi - thanks for reading and reviewing.

Silhouette Panther - well, honestly, I wanted to make a different fic so I created a male character instead of a Mary Sue. I have read enough Mary Sues that I am starting to think of creating a fic starring ME as the leading lady. LOL

dreamer - thanks a bunch!

Rei-Leviathan-chan - I got your point. Really, even Rukawa doesn't exist in real life. Too bad eh? Though I am seriously thinking of finding a way of how to make Kogure Kiminobu come alive! ***turns into a Kogure fangirl***

sLL - Heh. I don't hate Haruko. I like all the characters in Slam Dunk. I like all their expressions as well.

badly drawn girl - Well, what can I say, it's a fanfic (fiction). I haven't seen Harry Potter 2 yet.

lambie - he could be a friend or a lover, depends on my mood. LOL

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Of Love and Friendship

Chapter 4: The Best of Friends

"Hey….."

Haruko looked up when she heard a soft yet familiar voice. Her eyes and nose were red from crying. It took a while before Shintaro found her crying her heart out. He walked towards her and hugged her. Just when she thought her tear ducts were already dried up, more and more tears came out. She wanted to pour her heart out. Her chest was so heavy that she felt like choking. She wanted to do nothing but cry. She already skipped her class and from the looks of it, Shintaro also did it.

"Shhhh….." Shintaro just rubbed her back and gently patted her head while she was leaning to his chest crying.

He heard those cruel words directed at her. He wanted to help her but he's never been the type who would yell at girls although at that time he wanted to yell at them. Those were heartless words and he is feeling her pain. For now, all he could do was just let Haruko cry out her pain and just be there for her.

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"Shintaro-kun, where is Haruko-chan?" Ayako noticed that Shintaro came in alone. They were already used to seeing the two coming to the gym together.

"Anou…she is not feeling well. I had to walk her home earlier." He smiled timidly.

Sakuragi stopped shooting balls when he saw Shintaro coming in alone.

"Oi, Brownie, where is Haruko-chan? What did you do to her?" He pointed his finger towards him.

It never ceased to amaze him whenever Sakuragi calls him Brownie. Man, I feel like a dog. He snickered to himself. "Sakuragi-kun, she was just not feeling well but she'll be alright. I already brought her home, so don't worry." Sakuragi just gaped at him. He admits to himself that Shintaro treats Haruko really good and he was thankful for that. He was just jealous and all.

Shintaro noticed Rukawa who is standing nearby staring, more like glaring at him so he decided to give him a nod in greeting.

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More days passed. Haruko was smiling again. Matsui and Fujii learned of the incident and consoled her. She and Shintaro are fast becoming the best of friends. They were even partners now. Shintaro decided that they work together on a project that he wanted to enter for the Kanagawa Science Fair. It was all new for Haruko but after seeing that Shintaro had so much patience in teaching her about it, she gradually learned and became more and more involved in it.

Little by little, she noticed that basketball is no longer the biggest part of her high school life. Matsui and Fujii made it compulsory for them to watch their drama plays. Haruko is seeing her friends in a whole new light. She never thought they could act and sing so well.

The four of them would hang out at the ice cream parlor after classes since there is still a good two hours before practice. It's funny but she was starting to enjoy their study sessions. They were even drafted by their teachers to tutor some students once in a while. Though still cheerful, Haruko would sometimes come to the gym tired and exhausted. She often wondered how Shintaro could keep up with everything and still play well.

"Shintaro-kun, are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah. Why?" He wasn't looking at her.

"Well, you're kind of quiet today. Anything wrong?"

It took a while before he could answer. "Well, I… I was just thinking about something."

"You can tell me, Shintaro-kun." There is concern in her eyes.

"Just that I received an overseas call from my father last night and he told me about the NBA thing again." He paused and took a deep breath. "He wants me to go back to America to start training."

"N-nani? Go back? You've been there before?"

"Well, yeah, I was there during the school break." The brown-haired boy gripped the back of his neck and started twisting his head. "That was the time I was offered to play. But now, it seems that they are telling me that I could start training now or something like that." He paused a while when something came to him. "I think it's just that the recruiter is trying to persuade my father to convince me."

"Oh." There was a prick in Haruko's heart as she felt she would lose her friend soon.

"I already told him about my wish to study medicine but he told me I can do both things there since I am still young and there's a lot of time for both."

"Um....so....what are your plans now?" She's not sure if she wants to hear an answer to that.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know yet. I just told father I'd think it over."

She just nodded but Shintaro could see sadness in her usually cheerful eyes.

"You know…" His voice trailed off. "Sometimes, when I am faced with a crisis or a difficult choice, sometimes what I do is I don't choose at all. I don't know if it is good or not but things always turn out alright in the end. Sometimes, it is good to just let yourself go with the flow and let yourself be surprised by the turn of events." He looked at her squarely in her eyes. "You know what I believe? I believe nothing happens by chance. There's always a reason why things happen."

Haruko felt her cheeks were wet but only because of the cold wind that softly blew on them. She didn't even realize she was crying already. She glided her hand gently on her cheeks to wipe them. "Shintaro-kun, we will always be friends no matter what, right?" She searched for an answer in his blue eyes.

"Of course." His warm smile made up for the cold wind around them.

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The sensei was blabbering about the ancient Egyptian civilization when the school bell rang signaling the end of another school day. All the students were like ants rushing to the door eager to get out of the room like it's going to suffocate them if they stay there for another minute.

"Ice cream, Shintaro-kun?" Haruko slung her bag on her shoulder and picked up her book.

"I'm afraid we can't, Haruko-chan. Remember, Izumi-sensei asked us to go see her in her last period today?

"Oh yeah. I forgot. We have to do some tutoring!" Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. There goes another free time.

"Right." Shintaro waved his finger in the air in agreement. "Let's go."

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"Ha-ha-haruko-chan!" Sakuragi's face started to lit up.

"Rukawa-kun? Sakuragi-kun?" Shintaro and Haruko were both surprised to see them the moment they entered the room.

"Ah…good thing you are here now. So you know them?" Izumi-sensei started. "They are the ones you are going to tutor for today. We are going to have a very important exam tomorrow. I hope you can whip up a miracle for these two." She paused. "Very well then. You know what to do. I'll leave you now."

Shintaro just looked at their departing sensei and turned back to the two students in front of them. He then glanced at Haruko trying to observe her knowing they are going to tutor Rukawa.

Haruko, on the other hand was in a dilemma. Rukawa-kun? No. I can't teach him properly. I would be too distracted! Suddenly she was jolted by the redhead's loud mouth.

"Nyahahahaha! Tensai doesn't need tutoring but if it would make Haruko-chan happy, I would gladly submit." Seeing the girl of his dreams is in front of him, he even bowed for an effect.

Shintaro sweatdropped. Rrrright.

"Do'aho."

"Teme---"

"Let's start Sakuragi-kun!" She dragged the redhead to the other end of the room. Shintaro though couldn't understand why Haruko picked Sakuragi when Rukawa was there for the taking. He smiled and shook his head. Sometimes I wonder if I know her well enough.