Disclaimer : Slam Dunk is owned by Takehiko Inoue. Rani is mine!
Note: Sentences in italics are thoughts.
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miracle – Thank you so much! Glad you finally found and read my humble fic.Lady Artemis – Eheheh.... That's what Rukawa gets for sleeping on her. I actually want Rukawa to get back at her even though he's calling her an 'aho' now. *grins evilly*
Sofia/3sh - Thanks! Coming right up!
Mitchy – Arigato!
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Chapter 10: Sleepless in Sapporo
Airport was crowded as usual and it seemed that most domestic and connecting flights were bound for New Chitose Airport, the gateway to Sapporo.
As soon as they got to their seats, Rukawa fell asleep. When the plane took off, the slumbering man unconsciously leaned on her.
"Shesshh….Rukawa-kun," Rani uttered as she dug an elbow to his side. "Drool on me and you're dead!"
Rukawa opened his eyes and straightened himself up.
"No wonder you don't have a girl. You'll make a lousy boyfriend."
"Aho," Rukawa muttered before going back to sleep.
At last, after spending one and a half hours on the plane and one hour on the train, they reached the heart of Sapporo City. Everything was covered in a white blanket of snow and Rani was starting to have a running nose from the very cold weather. Snow just kept on falling everywhere.
After putting on some skid proof shoes and heavy jackets they brought along with them, they walked towards the Odori Park and marveled at the displays of the snow sculptures. A lot of people came to see the huge pieces of art that were made by the locals as well as the ones that were made by participants from abroad. Rani learned that they even held ice sculpture competitions there. The lights illuminating the snow sculptures made them look really impressive and walking along the park was even considered romantic by many.
Rani as usual took a lot of pictures and even asked Rukawa to take her pictures while making all sorts of weird poses. Then she requested a stranger to take their picture together in front of a snow castle.
"Mwahah!" Rani laughed and grinned at him after profusely thanking the person who took their picture. "I will send that picture back home and tell my friends that you are my boyfriend. Then they will stop pestering me if I already have a boyfriend."
Rukawa ignored her.
Rani leaned closer to him, still with a wide grin on her face. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"As if I can stop you," Rukawa replied stoically.
"That's what I like about you, Rukawa-kun hahahah!" She blurted out. Rani slapped Rukawa's back so hard that it almost made the poor guy slip off.
After walking around for almost 4 hours, Rani's running nose was getting worse.
"Brrrr…I think we better get back, Rukawa-kun. Seems like the snow is getting worse!"
They were on their way back to the train station when they noticed that some people were panicking and going to the hotels nearby.
"What's the matter?" Rani asked.
"Beats me," Rukawa replied with a shrug.
Rani scratched her head, as she couldn't understand why everyone seemed to be in a hurry to leave a restaurant in front of them.
"Oi, let's go eat first before we go back to the airport," Rukawa said while gesturing to the restaurant.
From the news on TV at the restaurant, they finally learned that all flights were cancelled because of the heavy snowfall. Even trains couldn't move on as the railroads warped, due to the extreme cold.
"Gee…. Am I glad we don't get snow in my country!" Rani blurted out.
After confirming that their flight was indeed cancelled, the two went on to search for hotel rooms to stay in without much luck. Rukawa and Rani finally stumbled on a small inn with the sign 'vacant rooms available' hanging outside.
"Two rooms, please," Rukawa said to the clerk manning at the counter.
"We only have one room left, sir," the clerk replied.
"What do you mean you only have one room left?"
"The snowstorm's really bad and a lot of people were stranded so there were a lot of demand for rooms," the inn clerk explained as he made a gesture towards the entrance, then faced him again. "You are lucky there is still one left. It would be taken anytime soon."
Rani just listened to the exchange. When she turned towards the door, she saw a group of people coming to the inn.
"We'll take it," Rani said as she tapped her hand on the counter.
"Nani!?" Rukawa protested.
"Here's your key, miss," the inn clerk said as he slid the key on the counter towards Rani.
"Thanks," Rani bowed and turned to drag Rukawa who still couldn't believe that she accepted a single room for both of them.
"How dare you make a decision without consulting me?" he confronted her. "You're not going to tell me that we are going to stay in the same room, are you?"
Rani tiptoed beside him, clasped his chin with her right hand and turned his head towards the door.
"See those people coming?" she asked. "If we didn't take it, we would freeze our butts out there. Besides, what's your problem? It's not like I'm gonna rape you!"
Rani, obviously didn't realized that Rukawa couldn't appreciate the room very much. It was a very small room with one bath, one bed, one small TV, one lampshade and a phone on a side table.
"No balcony and there is only one bed!" Rukawa complained.
Rani facefaulted. They were stuck in the middle of a snowstorm and considered themselves lucky they had a room to stay in and Rukawa was even looking for a balcony?
"Balcony? Are you planning to enjoy the night looking out on the falling snow by the balcony?" Rani shook her head in disbelief. "Fine, take the bed!" Rani said exasperatedly. "I can sleep on the floor, whiner!"
"Aho," Rukawa mumbled as he sat on the bed.
Rani took the phone on her lap and called the front desk to ask for an additional mattress, blankets and pillows. Then, she proceeded to dial their home phone to tell Kogure that they wouldn't be able to make it back tonight. She dialed and waited, dialed and waited but nobody was answering the phone.
"Shesssh…." She hissed as she placed down the receiver and thought of other ways to contact her housemate.
Finally, Rani was able to contact her housemate. She remembered that she had Kogure's mobile phone number and dialed it instead.
As Rani was still engaged at the phone, Rukawa opened the door to receive the sleeping items Rani ordered from the front desk and placed it on the bed.
"Kogure-kun! Where are you!? I've been calling at home but the answering machine just kept on yakking!"
"Err….." said Kogure at the other end of the line.
"Hahahah!!! Ok, don't tell, I know. How is Maru-chan doing?" Rani grinned at the phone. The phone almost grinned back at her.
"Err…."
"Kogure-kun, the weather's really bad but I don't know why it must have affected your brain so much that all you could say is 'Err…"
"Errr….."
Rani rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, I called to tell you that Rukawa-kun and I wouldn't be able to come home tonight. Flights were cancelled and they said they still have to clear the runways."
"Are you alright?" Kogure asked. "How is Rukawa-kun?"
"Yes, yes we are alright," Rani assured him. "Rukawa-kun is as of the moment stuck here with me. He's shaking in fear because right after this conversation, I would start ripping his clothes off!" She grinned at Rukawa.
Rukawa sweatdropped.
"Anyway, do you want to talk to him?" Rani asked.
"Ha-hai."
After giving the handset to Rukawa, Rani stepped out of the room.
After explaining their situation to Kogure, Rukawa walked out of the room and wondered where the 'aho' went to this time. After scanning the hallways, he saw Rani talking and laughing with a new clerk at the front desk. The other clerk's shift must have been over, he thought.
That aho must be flirting again.
He must have spent a lot of time with her that he can already read her like a book. He sighed and walked towards them.
"Oi, the mattress and things that you ordered were already there," he told her.
"Kombanwa, sir!" The front desk clerk greeted. "Your wife and I were just talking about the volume of snow we are getting this year."
Rani and Rukawa sweatdropped.
"Ahem…. Excuse me. I am not his wife. Yuck!" She acted like she was going to puke. "I am single and available."
Rukawa glared menacingly at her then turned to the clerk.
"Excuse us, I have some babysitting to do," he said before dragging Rani back to their room.
When Rani was finally released from Rukawa's preaching, she decided to hit the sack and made a mental note to confirm about their rescheduled flight the next day. She practically yawned all time while she listened to Rukawa's blabbering. Even then, she understood Rukawa and knew that he's just different from her.
"Shessh… And to think Kogure-kun said you hardly talked in high school!"
After letting her hair loose, she covered herself with the blanket and went to sleep.
Rukawa couldn't sleep and would glance once in a while at the sleeping figure on the floor beside the bed. Somehow he wasn't comfortable that Rani was the one sleeping on the floor while he's occupying the bed.
Maybe I should transfer her here.
No. That would wake her up.
Just his luck! To be stuck here with Rani several miles away from home and her being mistaken as his wife. When his thoughts drifted off to what Rani had said about ripping his clothes off, he bumped the base of his hand on his head.
Oh shit, what am I thinking?
Rani woke up in the middle of the night when she heard what she thought was a helicopter landing on a helipad.
Groggily, she sat up and looked around. Rani facefaulted when she realized that it was coming from the man sleeping on the bed. She smacked her forehead in dismay.
Oh for….
I don't have any idea that this guy snores!
Of course you don't, you ding-a-ling! You haven't slept with him!
Shesshh….. what am I saying!?
She sighed in defeat. Thinking that she couldn't do anything about it, Rani plopped back to the mattress and willed herself to go back to sleep.
Rukawa would stop snoring after a while. Just when Rani would drift back to sleep, Rukawa would start snoring again.
Arrrghhhhh!
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A/N: I want Rukawa to get back at Rani for being so mischievous. Ideas anyone?