The Fox Meets the Wolf and All Hell Breaks Loose (remember, all for you guys! *sniff*
by KOFLeona
Chapter 3 is here!!! (I skipped some h/w time to do this! shhh!!) This chapter is going to mainly focus on Kei's pov of the trials as a flashback type thing. (I wanted to try a different approach. ^^)
I also want to get the pairing out in the open, in case some readers object to this kind of thing and would want to stop reading now. Another reason is to avoid the "death" of one of the readers. (You know who you are!!) Main pairing is an intended Kei and Rukawa, but knowing me, there'll be that off-hand chance that I royally screw this up :P. The second, more minor pairing is an intended Maki and Yukari, which I'm preeeeety sure I'll be able to pull off.
I'm not too much of a romance writer, my only resource for such things being other fics, books, and manga/anime. NO real-life instances to look back on whatsoever, so don't mind if the lovey stuff is a bit fluffy or flat-out lame, just tell me if it is and I'll try to fix it.
Chapter 3 Guys and a Girl
Kei was skating home merrily as anything. Today, despite some difficulties, was plainly wonderful. Nothing could spoil it for her. Anything bad that happened could just go stick it, she was really chipper for the first time in a while. Almost emanating with bliss, she recalled the final events of the day.
I remember running down the halls in the same pell-mell fashion as yesterday, but now, now was in sheer excitement/anxiety. The basketball trials were a mere fifteen or so minutes away and I was going to be there. I was going to make that team because I knew I could. I couldn't have worked so hard for so long and just be turned down in a flash. If they were going to not accept me, I was going to make sure they thought long and hard about it.
So, there I was, in complete bliss and practically sprinting down the hallways, nearly running over anyone and everyone in my way. I gave a playful glare to the Rukawa Brigade. I didn't even frown at sleepy-eyed Rukawa himself when I passed him since I made sure to keep my distance. Even kitsune-boy couldn't bring me down.
I could still remember the butterflies in my stomach as I got into my gym clothes, a baggy t-shirt and baggy shorts, it was all about comfort after all. The gym was filled with only guys. Well, not exactly filled. Last year's team members were sitting at the bench while their juniors mingled around the gym, about ten in total.
I knew I looked like some happy idiot, but I really couldn't care any less than I did about what the others thought of my appearances. I was here to try out for a basketball team, not to look pretty.
I got strange glares from my male peers, and if we hadn't been in school and Anzai-sensei so near, I would have flipped them off with glee(how is that possible???). But, all that was on my mind was focus. I had to focus. A person can lose it all in an instant if they lost their focus, that mental edge that keeps them ready at all times.
My grin became neither a smile or frown, it was a game face of sorts. I remembered telling myself all the tips I had come up with while Anzai-sensei made teams for the trial game. So, this was how they determined players, see how well they play in an actually match? Interesting.
I saw the Shohoku team looking on, seeing who would be good for the new team. I saw Rukawa, and he was looking right at my direction...Snapping my peripheral vision back to Anzai-sensei, I just heard him call out my team assignment, Team 2.
After talking over with my 'team mates' I was decided to take the place as defense, simple defense. Oh well, I played good enough defense to not mind their snubbing of me. I knew they were all negative about my participation. So what? We were all here to play and holding such grudges would do us no good.
Right before the game started, I looked over at who I'd be guarding. Ergh, some muscle-bound, weight lifting macho-dude. Was it just me, or was there a -little- eensy winsy bit of hostility here against me?? Nonetheless, I tried to keep my focus, but that thought of Rukawa's cold stare piercing right into my own eyes was burned in my head.
Just as the whistle was blown and the ball the ball tossed did I snap back to attention. Forget Rukawa, I had a game to play.
Right at the beginning of the game, the ball was clearly trying to be passed to Muscles, but they never expected me to knock it clear away from him, getting it to my team mates, resulting in a lay-up and an early 2-point lead.
I watched my team score numerous times, the same with the other team. Every time the ball even got near Muscles, I was there to make sure he kept his veiny hands away from it. I even got a chance to do a little stealing.
It always seemed, though, that they were trying to make me mess up, even my own team. They never considered passing the ball to me, even if I was clearly open and the others not. I had already been fouled thrice by different people, and eveytime I made the smallest of mistakes, I'd get my head yelled off. Screw them! If they thought that their negativity was going to make me shrivel up and lose all confidence, they were damn wrong.
But, they just kept on making it harder for me. They continued to foul me, and I remember grimacing as I picked myself off the ground for the fourth time. "Dammit!" I muttered on the fourth time, the sweat trickling down my face in rivulets. I had bruises on me from constant encounters with Mr. Wooden Floor. Whenever I got the ball and passed, my team mate would conveniently move out of the way, miss it, then blame it on my aim.
I put an icy glare on my face, and played with more determination than before. I read my team mates' pass evasions in a way that when I passed, they'd be forced to catch or end up dropping the ball like the fools they were. I avoided any further falls by evading their pushes, giving a small smirk of triumph when I saw them mess up
Behind the cold face I kept through the duration of the game, my heart was in anxiety. What if my team mates' tactics worked, and I wasn't chosen for the team? Why do they hate me?
The most memorable play was the one that shocked everyone the most. Muscles had gotten the ball and dribbled it slowly and menacingly. He was a joke and I was ready to snuff him out. Giving him somewhat of a death smirk, I leaned forward and stole the ball in mid air right from his hands. Oh woe upon me, no one on my team was open. If I passed, it would be caught by an opponent, and I was a bit behind the 3-point line.
Taking a deep breath, I ran right pass Muscles and before he could do a thing, I shot some messed up, funky, angular shot, which curved in some diagonal arc. It bounced off the side of the back board and right into the hoop. I sorta fell, but damn, did I feel proud! Picking myself back up, I resumed the game like nothing happened. I didn't even care if people gawked. What was the surprise? I made the shot when I had to do it, duh.
We played for about twenty minutes and the match ended with victory on our side, but we knew it wasn't the victors who would get in, but the contenders. We were all breathing a bit hard, me too, but I felt awesome.
"KEI!" voices from the side line called out. I turned around to see the waving Yukari and my new friend Ayako. I jogged over, breath still coming out in short gasps.
"You were great, Kei-chan!" Yukari exclaimed with a thumb's up. Ayako nodded in agreement. I smiled. They really thought I did well?
"Thanks, Yukari, Ayako-san. But I'm still not too sure if it's good enough..." I mused. Was it? I was a bit busy having the time of my life, after all.
"I'm sure it was more than enough, Kei. We need strong defense players against big shooters like Team Kainan and Ryonan's Sendoh, y'know," Ayako said with assurance.
"I hope, I hope..." I muttered, taking a sip of water. I hope I did well, enough to make the team, or at least be a reserve.
"I know you'll be on that team, Kei-chan! I have all my faith in you," Yukari said. She seemed even more brighter than usual after yesterday, I figured it had to do with dinner with Nobunaga and his team mates. I thought, what could make such a lasting impression on her? Oh yeah...Maki. I smirked to myself.
"Hey, you'd better get changed so that we can talk about your future success as Shohoku's first and best female team member among the guys!" Ayako joked. I chuckled uneasily. I wasn't thinking THAT farfetched, but the thought seemed cool in a way.
"Ok, I should be out in a minute." I said as she walked into the locker room. Just as I went in, I saw Ayako, the team, and Anzai-sensei consulting over a notepad. They must be determining the new team members. And seeing Rukawa only reminded me of that stare and those deep, ice-blue eyes.
In the dressing room, I was practically bashing myself on the head. Where the hell did that thought come from?? I must have been too happy. I was thinking super nice things about Rukawa for Pete's sake!! Geez, maybe too much euphoria IS a bad thing. I need something to tone it down...
As soon as I got outside, I was bombarded by Ayako and Yukari. "You did it Kei-chan!! You made the team!!!" Yukari cried out in excitement. Ayako grinned and gave a proud wink. I was speechless.
"Huh?? Seriously!?" I gasped out, gripping my bag with white knuckles. Ayako and Yukari nodded.
"Yup, just determined the new roster. Junior players, Miyazaki, Keitaru, Jinusuke, Yukabawa, and Shoichi!" Ayako listed, counting them off on her fingers. I only vaguely remembered hearing the final names, but I remembered that I was there, I was on the team. The girl with the most negative fatherly support on basketball had made the high school team.
"Yatta..." I whispered in disbelief.
"Hey, we were expecting some more enthusiasm on your part, Kei-chan!" Yukari explained, smiling. I smirked, a common look for me.
"I am as happy as can be, Yukari. It's just kind of...subdued. Well, I gotta go tell the twins, they've been dying to know. See ya!!" I waved goodbye, walking backwards. They waved back.
Turning around, I just nearly avoided Rukawa. It's him again!! ARGH!!!! "See ya, kitsune!" I playfully joked with a smirk before running off again. I have no clue why I was so nice, but it didn't matter right then and there, nothing else mattered.
Kei sighed in satisfaction, remembering the news that had reached her ears. Seeing no one else on the afternoon sidewalk, she closed her eyes and began to hum to herself, her line of travel curving from one side of the sidewalk to the other, blades moving in clean sweeps.
Then, Kei felt the all too familiar feeling of someone crashing into her. "Don't let it be who I think it is, please don't let it be who I think it is, DON'T IT BE WHO I THINK IT IS!!!!" she screamed in her mind. Picking her already weary body off the cement pavement, she looked over her shoulder. It WAS who she thought it was.
She frowned slightly. How DID he keep on crashing into her like that. "And you tell ME to watch where I'm going?" she scoffed. Picking herself up, as he did, she brushed off her bruised shins. "Y'know, I don't appreciate these run-ins. If you have something to tell me, like how much you wish I were dead, it'd be A LOT of help if you'd just up and say it. Y'know, just say 'Kei, I wish a crane would drop a ton of granite on top of your head.' cuz this is getting pathetic," she said, wiping the dirt off her sleeve.
Rukawa merely looked at her with those same, cold eyes. he didn't seem affected at all about what she just said, but Kei knew that he HAD heard her. There was no denying that. After a minute of 'glaring', he continued on his way as if nothing happened, like always.
"I am gonna get killed in this place before the year is up," Kei thought with a roll of the eyes. That brought her to another thing, how the hell did he keep crashing into her? It seemed inhumanly possible to bump (literally) into the same person about five times in less than a week! It had to be deliberate.
"Or maybe, everyone except Ayako-san and Yukari really DO hate me," Kei thought for a split second before the previous joy of making the team engulfed her thoughts, and she resumed her skate back home, eyes closed and humming.
Rukawa looked at the girl, eyes closed, gracefully skating along the sidewalk. he watched with a kind of longing, as if he needed to do something. He didn't really mean to crash into her before. He just wanted to see how he'd react, and he didn't expect it.
She seemed to constantly keep surprising him, first with her outlook on him, then with the basketball, now with her habits. She was different to say the very least, and he wanted to know more, but he felt another force pushing him away. So, peeling his eyes from her to the front again, he resumed his ride home as his heavy lids slowly began to close once more. (what'd you expect!?)
Yay, Chapter 3 finished!! I liked writing this chapter. Well...more like writing, thinking, erasing half of it(O.o) and rewriting. I know, WTF!?
I just thought that the first go-around wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, so I took an extra day to do some redoing, along with little additions. Originally, Kei wasn't as hassled by everyone else in the first version, but I decided to make it a bit tough for her, to let you people see how her mind can work.
Hopefully, you all liked this chapter. The next will be up ASAP, but I am sooo tired, I don't know how long it will take just to drag my sorry butt over to the comp.
The last part was also unintented when I started the chapter, but I wanted to start some sort of clear romance development, so I'll see if I can work that out. (I'm not too great with romance, I can do anger and violence well, though!! ^^')
by KOFLeona
Chapter 3 is here!!! (I skipped some h/w time to do this! shhh!!) This chapter is going to mainly focus on Kei's pov of the trials as a flashback type thing. (I wanted to try a different approach. ^^)
I also want to get the pairing out in the open, in case some readers object to this kind of thing and would want to stop reading now. Another reason is to avoid the "death" of one of the readers. (You know who you are!!) Main pairing is an intended Kei and Rukawa, but knowing me, there'll be that off-hand chance that I royally screw this up :P. The second, more minor pairing is an intended Maki and Yukari, which I'm preeeeety sure I'll be able to pull off.
I'm not too much of a romance writer, my only resource for such things being other fics, books, and manga/anime. NO real-life instances to look back on whatsoever, so don't mind if the lovey stuff is a bit fluffy or flat-out lame, just tell me if it is and I'll try to fix it.
Chapter 3 Guys and a Girl
Kei was skating home merrily as anything. Today, despite some difficulties, was plainly wonderful. Nothing could spoil it for her. Anything bad that happened could just go stick it, she was really chipper for the first time in a while. Almost emanating with bliss, she recalled the final events of the day.
I remember running down the halls in the same pell-mell fashion as yesterday, but now, now was in sheer excitement/anxiety. The basketball trials were a mere fifteen or so minutes away and I was going to be there. I was going to make that team because I knew I could. I couldn't have worked so hard for so long and just be turned down in a flash. If they were going to not accept me, I was going to make sure they thought long and hard about it.
So, there I was, in complete bliss and practically sprinting down the hallways, nearly running over anyone and everyone in my way. I gave a playful glare to the Rukawa Brigade. I didn't even frown at sleepy-eyed Rukawa himself when I passed him since I made sure to keep my distance. Even kitsune-boy couldn't bring me down.
I could still remember the butterflies in my stomach as I got into my gym clothes, a baggy t-shirt and baggy shorts, it was all about comfort after all. The gym was filled with only guys. Well, not exactly filled. Last year's team members were sitting at the bench while their juniors mingled around the gym, about ten in total.
I knew I looked like some happy idiot, but I really couldn't care any less than I did about what the others thought of my appearances. I was here to try out for a basketball team, not to look pretty.
I got strange glares from my male peers, and if we hadn't been in school and Anzai-sensei so near, I would have flipped them off with glee(how is that possible???). But, all that was on my mind was focus. I had to focus. A person can lose it all in an instant if they lost their focus, that mental edge that keeps them ready at all times.
My grin became neither a smile or frown, it was a game face of sorts. I remembered telling myself all the tips I had come up with while Anzai-sensei made teams for the trial game. So, this was how they determined players, see how well they play in an actually match? Interesting.
I saw the Shohoku team looking on, seeing who would be good for the new team. I saw Rukawa, and he was looking right at my direction...Snapping my peripheral vision back to Anzai-sensei, I just heard him call out my team assignment, Team 2.
After talking over with my 'team mates' I was decided to take the place as defense, simple defense. Oh well, I played good enough defense to not mind their snubbing of me. I knew they were all negative about my participation. So what? We were all here to play and holding such grudges would do us no good.
Right before the game started, I looked over at who I'd be guarding. Ergh, some muscle-bound, weight lifting macho-dude. Was it just me, or was there a -little- eensy winsy bit of hostility here against me?? Nonetheless, I tried to keep my focus, but that thought of Rukawa's cold stare piercing right into my own eyes was burned in my head.
Just as the whistle was blown and the ball the ball tossed did I snap back to attention. Forget Rukawa, I had a game to play.
Right at the beginning of the game, the ball was clearly trying to be passed to Muscles, but they never expected me to knock it clear away from him, getting it to my team mates, resulting in a lay-up and an early 2-point lead.
I watched my team score numerous times, the same with the other team. Every time the ball even got near Muscles, I was there to make sure he kept his veiny hands away from it. I even got a chance to do a little stealing.
It always seemed, though, that they were trying to make me mess up, even my own team. They never considered passing the ball to me, even if I was clearly open and the others not. I had already been fouled thrice by different people, and eveytime I made the smallest of mistakes, I'd get my head yelled off. Screw them! If they thought that their negativity was going to make me shrivel up and lose all confidence, they were damn wrong.
But, they just kept on making it harder for me. They continued to foul me, and I remember grimacing as I picked myself off the ground for the fourth time. "Dammit!" I muttered on the fourth time, the sweat trickling down my face in rivulets. I had bruises on me from constant encounters with Mr. Wooden Floor. Whenever I got the ball and passed, my team mate would conveniently move out of the way, miss it, then blame it on my aim.
I put an icy glare on my face, and played with more determination than before. I read my team mates' pass evasions in a way that when I passed, they'd be forced to catch or end up dropping the ball like the fools they were. I avoided any further falls by evading their pushes, giving a small smirk of triumph when I saw them mess up
Behind the cold face I kept through the duration of the game, my heart was in anxiety. What if my team mates' tactics worked, and I wasn't chosen for the team? Why do they hate me?
The most memorable play was the one that shocked everyone the most. Muscles had gotten the ball and dribbled it slowly and menacingly. He was a joke and I was ready to snuff him out. Giving him somewhat of a death smirk, I leaned forward and stole the ball in mid air right from his hands. Oh woe upon me, no one on my team was open. If I passed, it would be caught by an opponent, and I was a bit behind the 3-point line.
Taking a deep breath, I ran right pass Muscles and before he could do a thing, I shot some messed up, funky, angular shot, which curved in some diagonal arc. It bounced off the side of the back board and right into the hoop. I sorta fell, but damn, did I feel proud! Picking myself back up, I resumed the game like nothing happened. I didn't even care if people gawked. What was the surprise? I made the shot when I had to do it, duh.
We played for about twenty minutes and the match ended with victory on our side, but we knew it wasn't the victors who would get in, but the contenders. We were all breathing a bit hard, me too, but I felt awesome.
"KEI!" voices from the side line called out. I turned around to see the waving Yukari and my new friend Ayako. I jogged over, breath still coming out in short gasps.
"You were great, Kei-chan!" Yukari exclaimed with a thumb's up. Ayako nodded in agreement. I smiled. They really thought I did well?
"Thanks, Yukari, Ayako-san. But I'm still not too sure if it's good enough..." I mused. Was it? I was a bit busy having the time of my life, after all.
"I'm sure it was more than enough, Kei. We need strong defense players against big shooters like Team Kainan and Ryonan's Sendoh, y'know," Ayako said with assurance.
"I hope, I hope..." I muttered, taking a sip of water. I hope I did well, enough to make the team, or at least be a reserve.
"I know you'll be on that team, Kei-chan! I have all my faith in you," Yukari said. She seemed even more brighter than usual after yesterday, I figured it had to do with dinner with Nobunaga and his team mates. I thought, what could make such a lasting impression on her? Oh yeah...Maki. I smirked to myself.
"Hey, you'd better get changed so that we can talk about your future success as Shohoku's first and best female team member among the guys!" Ayako joked. I chuckled uneasily. I wasn't thinking THAT farfetched, but the thought seemed cool in a way.
"Ok, I should be out in a minute." I said as she walked into the locker room. Just as I went in, I saw Ayako, the team, and Anzai-sensei consulting over a notepad. They must be determining the new team members. And seeing Rukawa only reminded me of that stare and those deep, ice-blue eyes.
In the dressing room, I was practically bashing myself on the head. Where the hell did that thought come from?? I must have been too happy. I was thinking super nice things about Rukawa for Pete's sake!! Geez, maybe too much euphoria IS a bad thing. I need something to tone it down...
As soon as I got outside, I was bombarded by Ayako and Yukari. "You did it Kei-chan!! You made the team!!!" Yukari cried out in excitement. Ayako grinned and gave a proud wink. I was speechless.
"Huh?? Seriously!?" I gasped out, gripping my bag with white knuckles. Ayako and Yukari nodded.
"Yup, just determined the new roster. Junior players, Miyazaki, Keitaru, Jinusuke, Yukabawa, and Shoichi!" Ayako listed, counting them off on her fingers. I only vaguely remembered hearing the final names, but I remembered that I was there, I was on the team. The girl with the most negative fatherly support on basketball had made the high school team.
"Yatta..." I whispered in disbelief.
"Hey, we were expecting some more enthusiasm on your part, Kei-chan!" Yukari explained, smiling. I smirked, a common look for me.
"I am as happy as can be, Yukari. It's just kind of...subdued. Well, I gotta go tell the twins, they've been dying to know. See ya!!" I waved goodbye, walking backwards. They waved back.
Turning around, I just nearly avoided Rukawa. It's him again!! ARGH!!!! "See ya, kitsune!" I playfully joked with a smirk before running off again. I have no clue why I was so nice, but it didn't matter right then and there, nothing else mattered.
Kei sighed in satisfaction, remembering the news that had reached her ears. Seeing no one else on the afternoon sidewalk, she closed her eyes and began to hum to herself, her line of travel curving from one side of the sidewalk to the other, blades moving in clean sweeps.
Then, Kei felt the all too familiar feeling of someone crashing into her. "Don't let it be who I think it is, please don't let it be who I think it is, DON'T IT BE WHO I THINK IT IS!!!!" she screamed in her mind. Picking her already weary body off the cement pavement, she looked over her shoulder. It WAS who she thought it was.
She frowned slightly. How DID he keep on crashing into her like that. "And you tell ME to watch where I'm going?" she scoffed. Picking herself up, as he did, she brushed off her bruised shins. "Y'know, I don't appreciate these run-ins. If you have something to tell me, like how much you wish I were dead, it'd be A LOT of help if you'd just up and say it. Y'know, just say 'Kei, I wish a crane would drop a ton of granite on top of your head.' cuz this is getting pathetic," she said, wiping the dirt off her sleeve.
Rukawa merely looked at her with those same, cold eyes. he didn't seem affected at all about what she just said, but Kei knew that he HAD heard her. There was no denying that. After a minute of 'glaring', he continued on his way as if nothing happened, like always.
"I am gonna get killed in this place before the year is up," Kei thought with a roll of the eyes. That brought her to another thing, how the hell did he keep crashing into her? It seemed inhumanly possible to bump (literally) into the same person about five times in less than a week! It had to be deliberate.
"Or maybe, everyone except Ayako-san and Yukari really DO hate me," Kei thought for a split second before the previous joy of making the team engulfed her thoughts, and she resumed her skate back home, eyes closed and humming.
Rukawa looked at the girl, eyes closed, gracefully skating along the sidewalk. he watched with a kind of longing, as if he needed to do something. He didn't really mean to crash into her before. He just wanted to see how he'd react, and he didn't expect it.
She seemed to constantly keep surprising him, first with her outlook on him, then with the basketball, now with her habits. She was different to say the very least, and he wanted to know more, but he felt another force pushing him away. So, peeling his eyes from her to the front again, he resumed his ride home as his heavy lids slowly began to close once more. (what'd you expect!?)
Yay, Chapter 3 finished!! I liked writing this chapter. Well...more like writing, thinking, erasing half of it(O.o) and rewriting. I know, WTF!?
I just thought that the first go-around wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, so I took an extra day to do some redoing, along with little additions. Originally, Kei wasn't as hassled by everyone else in the first version, but I decided to make it a bit tough for her, to let you people see how her mind can work.
Hopefully, you all liked this chapter. The next will be up ASAP, but I am sooo tired, I don't know how long it will take just to drag my sorry butt over to the comp.
The last part was also unintented when I started the chapter, but I wanted to start some sort of clear romance development, so I'll see if I can work that out. (I'm not too great with romance, I can do anger and violence well, though!! ^^')