**Disclaimers at first page**

Author's Notes: I'm soon coming out with the third chapter... sorry for the numerous flashbacks. I hope you like this one! ^_^


Slam Dunk 02
(A SD/GW Crossover)
by AJ Maxwell

Maki Duo came back from America after his mother died. His father took him back to Japan, where his brother, Maki Shinichi, waited. It was a reunion that the two brothers had always wanted, but sadly, it was tainted with their mother's passing away. However, the two were determined to get past the circumstances that brought them together, basking in each other's presence, with Duo annoying the hell out of his older brother.

The winter season was near its end, and Duo was going to school in a few weeks' time. But before this, Maki Shinichi took his otouto for a tour around the Kanagawa prefecture. What will happen and who will they meet? Was Duo right in thinking that no one's going to mistake him as his onii-chan's sister? Maybe. Maybe not.

*

Chapter Two: Before: Imouto, After: Koibito?!?!?!

The next day, Maki took his otouto out to familiarize him with the changes in the Kanagawa prefecture. Duo was more than glad to get out of his room and see the sights, even though there were piles of sludge from the melted snow outside.

"Ne, 'nii-chan?"

Maki regarded this by raising an eyebrow. He was still embarrassed about being called onii-chan in his age by his sixteen-year-old brother, but it wasn't really his problem. He already warned Duo about it, but he refused.

"Where did you go to high school again? I don't think you ever talked much about your school."

"Kainan High," Maki replied. "I played for the basketball team, point guard position."

"Oh," was all Duo said. Inwardly, he cursed his strong urge to talk. He shouldn't have asked his brother about school, because it automatically included the topic of basketball, which was a topic that he had no desire of taking up any time now.

"How about you?"

Duo grimaced. Fuck. Why did I have to open my big mouth? "Palisades High," he mumbled, his eyes roving around the streets, refusing to look at his older brother. Please don't ask me any more, 'nii-chan. Please don't ask me any more...

Maki nodded. "I know that. What I meant was, were you also part of your school's basketball team. You do remember your promise, don't you?"

(begin flashback)

The two brothers were crying as their mother hauled out suitcases full of clothing. Their parents had divorced, and their mother decided to take her younger son with her to America.

Violet eyes shimmered with tears. "'Nii-chan I don't wanna go!"

The taller brother sniffled, trying to hold back his tears. He didn't understand why their okaasan had to take his otouto with her--away from him--and at that moment he was so angry at her. He wanted to plead with her not to take Duo away, but she was still his mother. Whatever reason his mother had, he was sure that he will understand in the future, and that it would make sense somehow. "Duo, don't be sad. We'll see each other again soon, ne? No need to cry--"

"But you're crying, too!" Duo wailed, sobbing in earnest now. He knew his otousan would be ashamed of how he was acting like such a crybaby at that moment, and he tried to stifle his sobs. He looked for his father then, dreading that he might see disappointment on his father's face, but what he saw made him mourn pitifully. "'tousan..."

The sight of his father trembling and biting his lower lip to keep from crying made Duo bow his head in defeat. He was really leaving; his father was letting him leave.

Maki noticed his brother's hope leaving him. Maybe he hoped that their mother would change her mind and leave her with them, or maybe he hoped that their father would put his foot down on what was happening and demand that Duo be left with them. He wasn't really sure, but to see his always optimistic brother looking so forlorn made him panic.

"Duo? Duo!" he shook his brother's frail shoulders, demanding complete attention to him.

Big violet eyes turned to him, their usual light muted to nothing.

"Let Duo-chan go now, Shini-chan." It was their mother's voice, pained and uneasy, yet determined.

Duo sniffled again. "'nii-chan, I hafta go now..."

Maki nodded, no longer crying. He hoped this would work. "I also think you better go. Maybe you'll be stronger in America...maybe you'll be stronger away from us."

His brother's eyes narrowed at that. He knew how Duo's brain worked. He always felt the need to prove himself, to prove that he was stronger than he looked, to prove that he was better and not some weakling that other people thought. He looked fragile and girly, and he absolutely hated it when he was compared to his older brother who, at thirteen, was taller and had the defined muscles of a fifteen-year-old. He was sure that his brother was somehow insulted at what he said, because Duo flared up at the slightest provocation. "You sayin' something?"

He just kept silent, his gaze a tad condescending, which made Duo flare up.

"YOU SAYIN' I'M *WEAK*?!?!" Duo bellowed as loud and as menacing as a ten-year-old boy could manage. "YOU SAYIN' I CAN'T BE STRONG HERE....CAN'T BE STRONGER THAN *YOU*" he spat out, his skinny hands balled into fists. His tears were long forgotten now, and when Shinichi raised an eyebrow, it was the last straw.

"I'M GOING TO BE STRONGER THAN YOU!" he shouted, violet eyes gaining back their old fire. "I'M GOING TO COME BACK HERE, AND BEAT YOU! I'm going to be so much better... I'M GOING TO BE SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU THAT YOU'LL *CRY*!!"

Their parents blinked, stunned at the turn of events. Maki, meanwhile, felt like grinning, but he raised both eyebrows instead. "Promise?"

"WHY YOU ARROGANT--!" Duo lunged at him. "I SWEAR on our ancest--"

"MAKI DUO!!" their father roared. To include their ancestors in such a petty fight was to disrespect them--a mortal sin for their father.

Duo had to think of something else, and he swore on the next thing that came to mind, "I SWEAR ON MY FOOT THAT I'LL BEAT YOU!!!"

Maki Shinichi blinked.

Maki Duo blinked.

Their father, Maki Shinouyo, blinked.

Their mother, Maki Helen--now Helen Maxwell--blinked. "Eh?" she ventured. "The right or the left?"

The other three crashed to the floor, twitching.

Helen just blinked at them again. "What?"

Their suitcases were already in the taxi. Helen Maxwell got in the car first, and Duo followed. As the cab slowly pulled away, Duo looked back, and saw his father patting his older brother's shoulder comfortingly. His brother, he saw, was rubbing his eyes with his fist. Duo grinned at them, tears stinging his eyes once more, and waved. His father waved back at him, but his older brother wasn't looking. Duo quickly opened the window, and waved frantically. "Onii-chan!"

Maki looked up, and waved dazedly. "Duo..."

Duo mustered his brightest grin for his older brother. "Arigato!!" he shouted, still waving. "Practice hard! I'm gonna come back and beat you, okay?! I promise!"

The cab picked up speed. His older brother's form was getting fainter and fainter, but he didn't miss the answering smile.

I'll come back, onii-chan. Please wait for me.

(end flashback)

The taller teenager grew cold. The damn promise, courtesy of my big mouth again. "Of course I remember. I promised to beat you when I come back here."

Maki just looked at him, expecting him to continue.

Right then, Duo prayed for a distraction.

"Oi! Maki-san!"

The brothers turned to see who it was, but Maki had a feeling that he already knew, even before he turned to look. He was right. Kiyota Nobunaga was scampering towards them, with Jin Soichiro, who followed at a more sedate pace.

"You know these guys, 'nii-chan?"

"Aa. They were my juniors at Kainan."

The two Kainan High students stopped before them, and greeted their former captain. They were both curious as to who the taller person was, and they both wondered if Maki had finally got himself a girlfriend.

Jin assessed Duo quietly. He noted the big violet eyes and long, chestnut brown hair, and his curiosity was piqued at each passing second. He saw the tuft of Duo's braid peeking from behind his pert ass, and thought to himself, "Kirei na, even if she's taller. Maki-san has taste...but then, who says he doesn't? There was Fujima back then." He wanted to ask some questions, but held himself back. Kiyota, on the other hand, dove in for the kill.

"So, Maki-san," he began, his mannerisms comfortable and friendly, as if he and the older teenager went way back. "Who's your lovely friend here? Why didn't you even tell your good friend Nobu-kun that you already got yourself a new girlfriend, huh? Congratulations!"

Maki and Duo's eyes widened as they gaped at the wild-haired monkey that was Kiyota. Maki was so disgusted at what his junior had said that he felt like throwing up there and then. GIRLFRIEND?!?!?!??! he mentally gagged.

Duo, on the other hand, couldn't decide on what to do. He'd blown his fuse many times, but it was only then that he couldn't decide what to do first: throw up and deny what the stupid bastard had said, or kill the offending boy with Chang Wufei's 1001 Ways to Exact Chinese Torture--The Best Torture.

Jin saw their reactions and was alarmed. He tugged nervously at Kiyota's arm, and said, "I think we better go now."

But Kiyota was oblivious, for he found himself suddenly fascinated with the burning fire in those big violet pools. He mentally smacked himself. Too bad she's taken. No use thinking about her like this. Ah...why is it that Maki-san has all the luck?! It's so unfair!

"Kiyota! Come on!" Jin tugged at him frantically, trying to drag the shorter boy away from the other two.

"'nii-chan," Duo growled, burning with a menacing battle aura.

"Hai?" Maki growled in response, his own battle aura burning tenfold.

Duo's words were interrupted by a delighted squeal from Kiyota. "You're Maki-san's imouto-chan?!" he asked, grinning hugely. He turned to Maki and slapped him on the back. "Why didn't you tell us that you have such a beautiful imouto, eh, Maki-san? She could've cheered for us during the games, you know? Would've done wonders for motivating the guys. I'm not saying that Riki-sensei's motivational methods aren't enough, but having a gorgeous girl screaming your name by the sides would've--hey, where'd Jin go?" He looked around, and confirmed that Jin was nowhere to be found. He just shrugged, and turned to Duo again. "I'm Kiyota Nobunaga. I was the Super Rookie of Kainan High, and I'll be the next Maki Shinichi in Kanagawa--of course, even better. May I know your name?"

Duo gritted his teeth, but managed to reply. "Arm."

Kiyota blinked. "Arm?" he coughed, trying to smile at Duo. "Er, Arm-san? May I call you that? Such a...er, lovely name, Arm."

Duo shook his head, amazed at the boy's denseness. "You don't understand."

"Oh? You mind my calling you by your first name? Gomen nasai. What would you like me to call you? Of course, I can call you Maki-san, but then, wouldn't it be confusing since I also call Maki-san," gestured vaguely to Maki, "Maki-san?"

Maki, at that point, had cooled down. He was extremely pissed off at Kiyota, but seeing the way he was blissfully digging his own grave, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity.

Duo shook his head again, and said, "What I meant was, if you value your arm, you should be running away now."

Kiyota blinked, and jumped to protect the gorgeous imouto-chan of Maki-san. "What? Is someone out here to hurt you? Don't worry! I, Kiyota Nobunaga, Super Basketball Player of the whole Kanagawa prefecture, will protect you! I won't let anyone harm you!"

With identical looks of utter consternation, Maki and Duo crashed to the snow, twitching.

*

Koshino Hiroaki stomped his foot in a show of impatience as he checked for the time again. He and Sendoh Akira had agreed to have lunch before their basketball practice, and as he expected, his spiky-haired ex-boyfriend was running late again.

His scowl deepened. Sendoh was always like that--goofing off, being late, without a care in the world, and he hadn't changed, even after they lost their ticket to the Inter High the previous regional championship...after they had lost to Shohoku. The memory left a bad taste in his mouth that he wanted to spit out. He checked his watch again.

But then, they did win in the winter tournament along with Shoyo, which was only a few weeks past. The thought of it lifted some of his irritation. Maybe Taoka-sensei wouldn't chew us out so badly this time.

He sighed. It still seemed unlikely to him, and at the rate things were going, they were going to get a serious bashing from Taoka-sensei for being late. Deciding to give up on waiting for Sendoh, he prepared to call the waiter to order his meal.

"Koshino."

The new Ryonan vice captain looked up, and saw Maki Shinichi standing over him, with a tall girl beside him. He looked closer at Maki's companion, and discovered that he had made a mistake. "Maki-san," he acknowledged, nodding at Maki, then at his braided companion. The stranger nodded back, grinning. Briefly, he wondered if he was right the first time, but dismissed the thought. However feminine the braided one seemed at first glance, there was no mistaking the confident, masculine stance, the narrow hips, and the slight hint of broadening shoulders. Of course, there was also the notable height, which made him stick to his second assessment.

"I hope we didn't disturb you," Maki began. "We couldn't find an unoccupied table for ourselves, and I was wondering if we could--"

Koshino just nodded and said quickly. "Of course. Why not? I don't mind if you join me. It would be a good change, though I must warn you that I don't have that much time to chat. Sorry."

"Too bad," the stranger said finally, sliding into the seat beside Koshino. "I've been looking for sane people to talk with--aside from my onii-chan--the whole morning. Haven't had any luck."

Maki had already picked a seat and was calling the waiter.

"Oh? So you're Maki-san's brother!" Everything clicked in his head. Now that he looked closely, there was a slight resemblance to the two. Though they could be described as opposites upon first inspection, their hair color was similar. Their features also had a ghost of resemblance, whereas Maki looked really mature, the other one looked really young. Their auras were also similar--confident and a touch intimidating. Their eyes, though different in shape and coloring, also shone with the same wise light.

"Yeah! I'm Duo Maxwe--I mean, Maki Duo," Duo introduced himself, feeling a bit odd at introducing himself in that manner again. "But just please call me Duo. I just came back from America, and I'm staying for good.

"I'm Koshino Hiroaki. Nice meeting you, Duo."

"What are you guys having?" Maki interrupted. Standing at his side was the waiter.

The two boys ordered their lunch, and fell back to their conversation, with the older Maki joining in a few times.

"Can you believe it?" Duo said for the third time, and Koshino couldn't help smiling at the younger boy's story and storytelling style. He wasn't sure what it was about the younger boy, but he felt comfortable with him in such a short time. "That idiot thought I was 'nii-chan's girlfriend! Girlfriend?!?!" He makes gagging noises, which made Koshino laugh.

"Duo," Maki reprimanded his brother, as their food was served. "Not too loud."

"Yare, yare..." Duo trailed, then picked up the story again. "Then next he thought I was 'Maki-san's imouto-chan'--really! Do I look so fricking girly?! I have a braid, but I'm wearing manly clothing, you know? And I don't act sissy!"

Koshino nodded to this, to which he followed with, "Of course. How could he have been so mistaken like that?"

Maki raised an eyebrow. "So you didn't think that he was a girl at first?"

Koshino flushed a little, and admitted his initial blunder. "Well, at first I thought Duo was a girl--"

"NANI?!?!?!? ACK! You're also one of them!"

"But that was only during the first ten seconds or so," he quickly appeased the younger boy.

"Koshino!" came a new voice. "Sorry I'm late!"

The three of them looked at the newcomer, who was panting and scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Koshino's expression turned sour, but he didn't shout or reprimand his best friend as much this time. "Overslept again. Sit down and get something to eat."

Sendoh grinned, grateful and surprised that his best friend didn't get angry with him like the usual. "So, we have company," he said, smiling at Maki, and then turned to look at the stranger.

Maki, twisting his food with his chopsticks, observed the Ryonan ace player closely. He knew of the younger boy's reputation, and he suddenly felt like covering his otouto's head with a paper bag just to get the spiky-haired player's attention off him.

"Uh-oh." It was Koshino. He and Maki shared worried glances.

Duo, meanwhile, was oblivious. The spiky-haired stranger instantly caught his interest, and he smiled back. "Hi! I'm Maki Duo, but just call me Duo. You are?"

Sendoh's smile widened, and went into flirt-mode. "Sendoh Akira," he replied with a wink.

Maki and Koshino looked as if they were about to get sick.

*

The two Ryonan players had left after paying their bill, with Koshino nearly dragging Sendoh away from Duo.

"But Hiroaki!" was Sendoh's exasperated exclamation. "Duo and I are still talking!"

Koshino glared at his friend. "Well, we won't be talking to anyone again if we're late! Now let's go!"

"Go right ahead," Maki waved them farewell, eager to put some distance between the famous hentai and his innocent otouto. "Bye!"

"You better go now, Akira," Duo said regretfully. "We'll see each other again, ne? You, too, Koshino-san. It was great meeting both of you."

Koshino was about to protest against the younger boy's formality with him, but when he noticed that Sendoh stopped struggling and was mumbling things to himself, he took the opportunity and pulled his friend away. "Ja ne! Maki-san! Duo!"

The brothers waved goodbye, watching with interest as the shorter Ryonan player thwapped his much taller friend without batting an eyelash. Maki read the words from Koshino's lips, and chuckled.

Duo looked at him curiously. "What?"

"He said, 'Get your spikes out of the clouds, baka!"

"Koshino-san has quite a temper, huh? But he seems nice enough."

Maki just shrugged at this, and changed the topic. "So," he began, as he waved for the waiter to get their bill. "You never answered my question back there."

"Back where?" Duo suddenly looked guarded.

Maki sighed. It seemed that the subject of their favorite sport bothered his otouto somehow. "Never mind." But I'll get to the bottom of this, Duo. You can't run away like this forever.


Finished May 16, 2002. Was it okay? Did you like it? Please review! Thanks!