i know... i took SO much time to upload. but hey, i'm juz wrappin up my ccs fic and i'll be focusin my head on this one so it won't be like this for long... thanks to all those who actually reviewd... luv ya all!

Disclaimer: sd isn't mine.... *beep*

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CHAPTER IV

One on One

Aki and Haruko were able finish a part of Aki's report quite early. Haruko had gone home, accompanied by Aki, who insisted on doing so. As soon as they got to Haruko's house, she offered Aki to get inside for a drink or something but Aki kindly turned it down. She went on her way back home, but decided to make just one short pit stop~ the Shohoku gymnasium. Somehow, some time, she got interested in shooting some hoops and thought that perhaps it was still open.

She ran in a rush then found that the gym was still open AND being used by someone [we all know who that is]. Aki hurried to see who it was and to her surprise and bad luck... "What the hell is the ice-king doing here?" she asked herself as she peered through the slightly opened gym doors. Rukawa did a beautiful three-point shot. "Shit. That kitsune IS good," Aki uttered in astonishment. She finally had the guts to come in and Rukawa instantly stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "I see we have the ice-king right here. Still practicing?" Aki said but he just overlooked her. "Come on. You can't keep ignoring me, you know!" she continued to bother him.

Rukawa did a cross-over and ran towards the hoop, dunking the ball right in. 'What is 'she' doing here?' Rukawa thought. 'She must be one of those annoying girls who keep following me around. Do ahou.'

Aki was getting a bit ticked off with him consistently ignoring her. "Hey ice-king! You think I can do some one-on-one with you?" she asked. "Or are you too confident about your skill that you don't want to fight a girl?" she teased him with hands on her waist.

He looked at her and for a while, let his brain think about what Aki said. 'Does she actually think she can beat me? I'll show her,' he thought as he threw the ball at her, expecting her to catch it, no duh there. Aki got hold of the ball before it hit her. It was a hard one at that.

"At last, the ice-king gives in!" she exclaimed, getting herself on the court. Of course, she didn't expect herself to win against Shohoku's ace but the game seemed interesting so she didn't even bother to back out now. It was her ball and they played half-court. The thing was first to five. Aki dribbled the ball a couple of times and noticed Rukawa kept his eyes on her movement. 'This guy looks like he has something up his sleeves,' Aki thought, and passed the ball to her left hand.

Rukawa showed no expression at her and just kept his sight on his opponent. Good or not she may be, he needed to beat her no matter what. He hit the ball from Aki's side, surprising her, and taking the steal. He dribbled it quickly, front to back and vice versa. Aki could hardly keep her sight steady. Rukawa seemed too fast for her. He looked at her in the eye and she hadn't noticed he had eluded and before she knew it, scored the first point.

"Lucky shot," she uttered with a grin. "This game is getting better." Aki got the ball and was on the offense side again. She studied Rukawa's moves carefully but failed to read his next move. With that, Rukawa scored yet another point. Aki didn't mind it and got the ball again. 'I need to get a shot,' she figured. "You're actually good at this," she told Rukawa. She was stalling. Aki continued to dribble the ball. "You think you're so good? Baka." Rukawa just looked at her, seemingly with no effect. She took the chance and went right past him.

'What the?' Rukawa wondered how she was able to do that. He rushed to get in front of her to block the shot... which she successfully feigned. Aki ran past him and took the lay-up in hand.

"I don't believe it. Being scored on by a girl!" Aki laughed.

'Do ahou,' Rukawa thought, as always. Rukawa took the ball and dribbled so quickly that Aki could barely keep up. He pushed, almost running down Aki's body and made a forceful dunk when he passed her. She was intimidated by how big he was. Instead of complaining, Aki grabbed the ball and took position again. She placed focus on the ball in her hand. It was seldom that she placed focus on anything these days. Aki raised an eyebrow to catch Rukawa's watch and she took advantage of his short unawareness of her moves and was able to take a shot.

For the rest of the game, Rukawa took control and they ended up with a score of 2-5, obviously in favor of Rukawa [this was so because Rukawa was already worn out due to his practice earlier, remember?]. Aki was exhausted and was panting so hard. "Good game!" she said, partly recovered, as she took her hand out to shake. Rukawa literally looked down at her and her hand. "Ever heard of a handshake?" Aki mocked him. Rukawa put his hand in hers and with one shake, took it back.

Aki smiled in satisfaction. She enjoyed her play. Better yet, her play with the ace! Her score was in fact kinda good. She returned to her composure and headed to the fountain to get a drink. Rukawa looked at her and was watching her get a drink. He realized he needed one too so he approached the fountain as well. He couldn't believe how long it took her to get a drink but he said nothing.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that it's rude to stare?" Aki said, getting up. Rukawa bent over and started drinking. "Say Rukawa, do you even know who are actually following you like your watch dogs or something?" she asked, finally catching his attention. Rukawa stood up straight and wiped his mouth.

"Don't care," he uttered in response.

"Waah! It speaks!" Aki jumped back.

Rukawa raised an eyebrow at her. 'What did she mean by 'it'? It's not like she's the only person who can speak,' he told himself.

Aki laughed. "Oh well," she said as she settled down. "Got to go! See ya when I do! Hopefully not so soon!" she exclaimed and ran for home.

"Do ahou," Rukawa muttered once she was no where in sight. He decided to call it a day himself and get home. He was getting sleepy.. wait, he's already asleep. *snore* ;p

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ei! i know that was a bit unusual so excuse me for being so lame at this stuff. i'm not really much of a talented writer to begin wit. but if you guyz are kind enuff... plz leave a review for me, k? thankiessssssss.....