Author's note:

Hagaki: Minna!!!! Ogenki desu ka? Sorry for the jumbled date here. Anyway, I don't know when the Busan Games really started. So for those who know, I'm sorry I have to change it. I hope no one would get mad if I do this.

Minami: Guys, I want to test if you really are tuning on to this fic. What month do you think are we focusing in? September? April? Or is it June? Read and find out!

Hagaki: If ever you see some SenRu here, believe me, it was my sister who suggested every move. I was just the one who wrote it and described it. If you see some other yaoi here, it was ME who thought and wrote it.^^ We warn you now, this' gonna be mushy.

Disclaimer: Slam dunk IS OWNED by DR. T!!! We are just borrowing it!!!!!!!

Chapter 12: Shoot  me a kiss?!

The vivid morning sun touched the blue colored cloth hung on the window of the hotel. Day 2 in Busan. Yesterday was the opening of the games. As usual, there was a parade of all of the teams from each Asian country.

Everyone was still asleep, in their dreams of winning, dreams of victory, dreams of happiness, and dreams of love.

Wait...love?

Today was February 14th, day of hearts, day of love. Everyone who had his or her loved ones was waiting for this day.

Ayako yawned as she stretched her arms and legs lazily; her curly chestnut brown hair was a mess. She muffled a tired "ohayo" ('morning) as she stood up and washed her face at the sink, comb her hair and brushed her teeth.. She then returned and stared at the calendar that was hung on the wall that made her smile. What could happen today? What kind of adventurous happenings (hehe^^) would she see? She laughed at herself as she woke up Haruko, Matsui, Fujii,  and Akane.

" Hm..what the heck...oh..Ayako-san..." Haruko said as she rubbed her eyes groggily.

" Wake up now, lazy heads. It's a nice weather today..." Ayako said as she opened the curtains, revealing...um...a sky that was slightly dim. "...ne..."

" Are you saying something?" Akane said as she saw the dim clouds from the window of the hotel.

" Ah..I-iie...Nandemonai...(ah..no...it's nothing). " Ayako said as she grabbed her dress and entered the bathroom to dress.

There were 10 rooms given for the basketball team at twenty-third floor. Each room has divisions. Two to three small parts with either 2 single beds or a queen-size, depending on the person who sleeps there. There was a mini guestroom at the middle, and a little kitchen opposite it. Maximum persons who can sleep per room are 6.

Mitsui, Kogure, Sendo, and Rukawa shared room number one. One part for Mitsui and Kogure, who had two single beds. That goes for Sendo and Rukawa too. (believe me, it was my sister's idea to put some...something..)

For room number two, Sakuragi and Ryota shared one part of the room (just like MitsKo) while Akagi was alone at the other part of the room (who would like to share a part of the room with a GORI?!?!)

For room number three, Toshiro, Yujii, Masaki, and Ryo.

For room number four, Anzai-sensei with his wife and the other coaches (except Akane)

For room number five, Ayako, Haruko, Matsui, Fujii, and Akane.

For room number six, ( the smallest guest room with a king size bed), the three eggs, namely Takamiya, Ohkusu, and Noma (hehe^^)

For room number seven, Sendo and Rukawa's mom, with Ryota's mom, dad, and sister.

For room number eight, Akagi's mom, dad, and Ayako's brother.

For room number nine, Kogure's grandparents and Mitsui's parents.

And last but not the least, Room number ten that was occupied with the other players' parents/family members.

 This goes with the other teams, too. Yohei's room was at the twenty-fourth floor, while the volleyball team's rooms were at the twentieth floor.  (Phew!)

Every team member slept peacefully, despite those others who were nibbling another's foot, half of the body on the floor, WHOLE body on the floor, indecent snoring, and weird sleeping postures.

" Midori-san...." Sakuragi mumbled as he was slowly falling from his bed.

" Aya-chan..." Ryota mumbled too, whose foot was out of the comforter.

Ayako slowly crept to peek what were the guys doing. She dragged with her a sleepy Haruko, whose only intention of going there was to wake up Akagi.

" Hehe...look at them. Very messy!" Ayako whispered as she laughed softly, peeking at Ryota and Sakuragi. " Lets see what would happen if I scare them...?"

" Ayako, I'll just wake my brother up okay? BE back in a flash..." Haruko said as she walked towards the other part of the room where Akagi was sleeping.

" Hm! She's just afraid of the outcome of this alarm clock..." Ayako said as she stuck out Akagi's picture who was zoomed in 5 times. ( Chibi Ayako blink twice, then laugh) "Anyway, might as well go...."

" Onichan...okiro." Haruko said as she tapped Akagi on his shoulder. Akagi budged slightly. " Okiro, onichan...oki-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

Akagi bolted up as he heard the piercing screams from the opposite part of the room. Even Haruko froze.

" What the hell is that?!" Akagi said as he thundered his way towards Ryota and Sakuragi's room. Even Mitsui, Kogure, Akane, and the others rushed inside the room.

" What was that?!" Mitsui exclaimed as he banged the door open.

" Is everything alright?" Kogure asked.

" I dunno. It's coming from Ryota and Sakuragi's direction." Akagi said as they all went to see what happened.

" Okay, okay...what's the fuss all about? We're trying to get some sleep here and this is what you do." Mitsui said continuously as he entered the room, scratching his head in dismay.

" Ah...Mitsui-sempai..." Ayako said as a mischievous smile crept on her face.

" Ayako...but why are you here?" Akagi asked. He then looked at the two who looked as if they saw a ghost or something. They were at the corner, pinned at the wall.

" Hehe...I just woke them up by this..." She said as she held up Akagi's picture zoomed up 5 times that made almost everyone's spirit jump off their bodies (except Akagi)."  I think the effect was too much.." She said as she looked at the two at the corner. "Gomen nasai, Akagi-sempai..." Ayako said, watching Akagi flare.

" That...was...horrible..." Sakuragi said as he slowly left the wall, still blue all over.

" S-sure...is...." Ryota said.

" Why you...!!!!" Akagi exclaimed as every player held him back from hurting Ayako, even Ryota who was already awake.

" Akagi!!! Don't you ever hurt Aya-chan!!!" Ryota said, making a wall-like defense (hehe) in front of Ayako.

" Maa..maa…Akagi…slow down!!!! It'll ruin valentine's day." Kogure said as he pushed the burning Gori back.

" Oh, that reminds me. Today's Valentines, ne?" Mitsui said as Akagi slowed down.

" Hmp! But this would be for once only." Akagi said as he was finally released. Minna: Sweatdrop.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

" Hahaha!!! So you're scared because of Gori's picture?" Yohei said as he burst into laughter. They were eating at the restaurant below the hotel.

" If you see his face, you'd really turn blue!!!" Sakuragi said. " And  don't wanna see that picture ever in my life again!!!" He added before shoving a fork-full of fettuccini on is mouth. (YUM!)

" Haha... oh, by the way, tomorrow's our first game. Four o'clock. Don't forget to watch, ne?" Yohei informed.

" Yeah." Sakuragi replied, helping himself to some iced tea.

" Ah! Hanamichi!!!" Midori shouted from behind.
" Oi..Hanamichi. There's Ms. Pretty girl again. Remember that's today's valentines." Yohei said as Sakuragi jumped from joy from his seat to Midori.

* Yappari (there's no doubt) its Valentines today.* Yohei thought as he took a sip from his coffee.

" Hanamichi! We have our first game tomorrow! Twelve o'clock! Can you come?" Midori asked, overexcited.

" Sure! I'll go!!!" Sakuragi said.

" Neat! Wanna go out today? Or are you too busy?" Midori asked.

" Uh..no. But it's raining outside…"

" Oh…I almost forgot.."

" W-wait! We could go to the mall!" Sakuragi suggested.

" That's right! Lets go!!!" Midori said as she pulled with her a very happy Sakuragi.

" Hanamichi's unbelievable. Imagine a very beautiful girl suddenly appeared and now they look so close." Takamiya said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Unberibaburya!!! (Unbelievable!!!) "

" Hikoichi?!?!" The Guntai said in unison.

" Hahaha…konninchiwa!!!! (Hello!!!)" Hikoichi greeted. " I heard that Sendo-san was here, so I came along. Where's he?"

" Hm…maybe at the court near this hotel." Yohei informed.

" Thanks!!! See you guys later." Hikoichi said as he waved his hands.

" Ja. Take care now."

" Everyone!!!! Let's practice!!!" Akagi said.

" Akagi looks more confident now than before, isn't he?" Sendo said to Ayako, whom were both leaning at the court wall.

" Yup, coz it's not only for the school, but the country." She replied.

" Yappari." Sendo said, crossing his arms over his head.

" But I wonder what would happen now? I'm sure the others won't agree on having a practice on this occasion…"

" Huh?"

 " Where's Sakuragi?" Akagi asked, searching for the red head in the crowd.

" Um…We don't know…" Kogure said.

" Darn that guy." said Akagi, wiping his face in dismay. " Anyway, let's start-"

" Practice again? Give us some time now, Captain!" Complained Ryota.

" Yeah. We're sick and tired of these. One day-off would do." Mitsui said.

" See?" Ayako said to Sendo. Sendo: Sweatdrop^^

" But-"

" Don't you have a heart, Captain?"
" Akagi!"

" Just this once!!!"

" C'mon now!!!"

" Please?"

" Captain!"

" You-"

" ALL RIGHT!! ALL RIGHT!!! JUST. … ARGH!!! OKAY FINE! BUT JUST THIS ONCE!!" Akagi said, wavering his hands on the air like a criminal who surrendered to the police.

" Yeah!!!" Everyone rejoiced as they left the room. A heavy sigh was all that Akagi could do.

" Rukawa? Why are you still here? And even you, Sendo?" Akagi said, noticing the two.

" I'll still practice." Rukawa said as he picked up a ball. "Do you want to play? One-on-one?"

" No thanks. I guess I need a holiday too." Rukawa nearly fell as Sendo laughed.

" Come to think of it…haha! The way you defended practice awhile ago! Hahaha!!!" Sendo laughed more that made Akagi steam red.

" Anyway, if you're going to practice, Rukawa, There's Sendo. Bye." Akagi said as he left the court, leaving an aggravated Rukawa behind.

" Well, That's also my idea." Sendo said as he finally separated his back from the wall.

" If that's so, I better practice myself." Rukawa said, walking away from him and to the other side of the court.

" Oi, oi! It's not because I'm at the local team and you're at the NATIONAL team, you're better than me!" Sendo said as he caught up with Rukawa. " Wanna try me?" Sendo asked, a grin forming on his face.

Rukawa looked at him as his yes.

" If ever you lose, you'll regret it for your whole life." Rukawa said as he held the ball on his right hand.

" Well, sorry. I'll never lose." Sendo said as he readied his defense. " Better show what you've got, that great play that drove me serious, Rukawa Kaede, the formerly so-called 'Super Rookie'."

" Shut up." Rukawa said as he started dribbling the ball. Sendo still had this annoying grand defense, that made Rukawa perspire.

" See? I'm not rotten yet, Kaede." Sendo said, teasing Rukawa by calling him in his first name.

" Better shut that goddamn mouth up and never call me by my first name." Rukawa said as he nearly escaped Sendo's defense.

" Whoa...that was close. And why not?"

" Just shut up you, or I'll kill you."

" You cold blooded fox! You never change, do you?" Sendo said as he blocked Rukawa's shot. Luckily, Rukawa caught the ball again.

" Don't make me mad, you hedgehog, or I'll really kill you."

" Aw…kill me? Hehe…I know you couldn't do that. Today's valentines!" Rukawa's eyebrows met furiously at the middle of his forehead.

" Sorry, but there's no Valentine lovey-dovey for me." He replied.

" Oh, you're really a cold blooded fox." Sendo said as he was half fooled by Rukawa's fake.

*Darn! He's good! I can't escape this way* Rukawa thought.

" Tell you what…" Sendo said as he stopped his defense. Rukawa did not pass this opportunity and ran swiftly towards the goal and slammedthe ball on the hoop.

" What? Why d'you do that? Are you giving up already?' Rukawa asked, quite shocked from the sudden halting of Sendo. He was then more stunned when he saw Sendo walking nearer him. ( This IS MINAMI'S idea and even though it hurts me to write it, I will for the sake of the readers!!!)

" What now?" He asked uncertainly. Sendo didn't answer. He walked nearer until they reached the wall. He then rested a hand on the wall as he looked at those deep blue eyes of the man before him.

" What the- " Rukawa said as he turned crimson as Sendo tilted the coy fox's chin, having a better glance at his reddening face. Rukawa was helpless to just look away from those deep blue orbs just like his..

" Don't look there." Sendo said as he tried to fix Rukawa's face on his gaze again. But to no avail. Rukawa protested even more. Nevertheless, Sendo traumatized Rukawa even more. He placed his hand on the waist of the very embarrassed Rukawa and pulled him closer.

He couldn't help but close his eyes and prepare for the worst. Prepare for the darn hedgehog before him.

Afterward, a mischievous smile creep on Sendo's face. Then, the smile turned out to be a hearty laugh that made Rukawa open his eyes abruptly.

" So you're joking me." Rukawa said, his crimson cheeks still burning hot.

" I should've brought a mirror!" Sendo said, his eyes teary from laughing. He then freed Rukawa finally.

" Darn you."

" Don't be mad now, Rukawa. That was just one good luck gift and practical joke for a serious person like you. But I gotta admit you look cute." Sendo said frankly.

" I have no time for hentai's like you." Rukawa said as he walked out, leaving a hard laughing Sendo behind.

" Sendo-san! Sendo…ah! Sendo-san!" Hikoichi said as he saw Sendo laughing. " Ah, why are you so happy, Sendo-san?"

" I made a fox turn red!" Sendo said as he laughed harder.

" Eh?" Hikoichi said, sweatdropping.

A few hours later, it was already 5:30pm. Ryota decided to bring Ayako to the great views in Korea, the park were different kinds of lovely flowers bloom.

" Oh, it's really nice here, Ryota." Ayako said as she bent to look at the cute carnation she saw.

" Glad you liked it." He replied.

" By the way, our first game would be on Friday, ne?"

" Yeah." Ryota said. " C'mon, lets watch the sunset. They say it's really nice to watch the sunset here."

" Sure." Ayako said as she excitedly held Ryota's hand as the walked their way to the near beach. When they got there, there, there were a surprisingly high number of people, so they decided to go to the part of the beach that was not occupied, the rocky place at the right side.

" Aya-chan…I wanted to tell you this before, but I couldn't find the right timing…"

" What's that?" Ayako asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He then stood up and gazed at the sun nearly disappearing from his sight.

" I…" He said as he breathed in. " If we win as the champion in the Games…I'll…" He said as he looked at her waiting eyes. " I'll marry you, if that's okay with you."

Ayako nearly jumped from joy. At last! He finally said it! He finally had the courage to ask!

" You know what…" Ayako said as she stood up from the rock she was sitting on. " No matter what, my answer would always be this…" She said as she planted a soft kiss on the middle of his cheeks and lips. " I'll be looking forward on that day." She added.

" Is…this…true…?" Ryota asked himself, bewildered in the fact that she actually said YES in a sense and even kissed him for the first time.

" It's very true." Ayako said as she beamed happily, gazing at the " It's unbelievable" expression of Ryota.

" YATTA!!!!!" Ryota shouted, jumping and shouting all the time as if he won the first prize lottery. "YATTA!!!!!!!!!!!"

" Yohei-kun?"

Yohei then turned around to see Haruko, smiling at him. " What are you doing here?" She asked.

Yohei looked at the distance from the top of the hotel. " Nothing, just loved the view here." He replied.

" Do you think we should tell Sakuragi-kun about this? I mean, it's not that easy to hide it."

" I know now when to tell him without hurting him."

" Huh?"

" Anyway, this is for you." He said as he handed out three red roses to her with a box containing a ring in it. " This is my valentines gift for you."

Haruko smiled, as she turned slightly pink.

" Thank you." she said as she accepted the sweet offer.

" It's nearly time for dinner, Mitsui." Kogure said as he fixed his bed, straightening the sheets.

" Yeah. It's nearly time." Mitsui replied as he sat on his bed opposite Kogure's. " Haa, a boring valentines day. Last year I got a love letter from the sisters of my students, but it was also boring." he added.

" Speaking of students, in my class, two persons are often teased as a couple. I can't blame them, for they look somewhat…cute together. And you know what? One time, I accidentally saw these two at the back of the school…"

" Doing what?" Mitsui said as he was thinking of..

" Don't get hentai, Mitsui.^^. They're just kissing, that's all." Kogure said as he blushed a bit when he remembered the scene he accidentally saw.

" Kissing...that's all." Mitsui mocked. " You speak as if it's just a small fact for you but deep inside, you're an innocent person who is not used to talk about these things."

" Oh, just shut up." Kogure said. " Well, that reminds me that we are twenty four years old but we still don't have girlfriends…"

" Take Ryota out, he has one already."

" Okay. Most of us are not interested in relationship things (hehe, what about that guy before you?). Even kiss-"

" Hey, hey." Mitsui said as a mischievous idea entered his mind. " How about trying it?"

" What the heck! Mitsui!" Mitsui then inched his face close enough to see Kogure's nervous eyes. He then smiled as he shifted his gaze to the cute guy's lips.

" Hehe, this won't go too far. I just saw a tiny speck of dirt here in your glasses-"

Out of the blue, the door opened that made them surprised. He accidentally fell on Kogure because of shock.^^

" Dinner is ready gu-" Akane then saw this doubtful scene before her. " ..uys…What are you doing?" Mitsui then bolted up.

" Ah! I just fell because I tripped on this…" Mitsui then saw a shoe on the floor. " This…hue…er…shoe!"

" Ah…I thought you were doing something."

" W-we? Do something? Akane-san, what made you think that way?" Kogure said, releasing a forced smile.

" O..kay. Well, see you guys at the restaurant below. Anzai-sensei's treating us."

" Ja!" The two said in unison.

After Akane left, the two stared at each other, one with a very bothered expression, and the other with a smile.

" Darn you!!! THAT was close! And…I felt it.." Kogure said, steaming red.

" Felt what? Ah! So you felt it too? The accidental *KISS* when I fall over you. Isn't that great? At last you've experienced it! You wouldn't be left behind! You wouldn't be jealous on your students anymore."

" Haha…very funny of you." Kogure said as he even burned redder. " Anyway, let's go now and eat."

" Matte!!!" Kogure then impeded when he heard Mitsui call him.

" What's tha-" He was then tugged on his wrist and bumped into a sweeter kiss than the accident a while ago…

Kissy kissy!!!

Author's note:

Hagaki: Wai! A Cutie chappy ne? Kissy kissy!!!

Minami: Wow! Way to go! Did you like all the SUPER SWEET parts?

Hagaki: Hope they did. WAAA! I couldn't believe I wrote a SENRU here because of MINAMI!!! Waaa! But it turned out cute.

Minami: Urusai! At least it turned out SUPER CUTE!!! This fic is totally superb!!! Did you see a lot of pairings? Like SENRU, MITSKO,RYOAYA, and even our own made combination YOHARU and a SLIGHT SAMIDO.

Hagaki: I loved the MITSKO and RYOAYA the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minami: Oh, that's enough!!! Anyone, please continue reading our next chapters and don't forget to review!!!Ja!

Hagaki: Ja Minna!!!

Happy Valentines!!!!

For the gals: (especially Raei!!!)

Books

Before

Boys!!!