Behind the Pom-Poms:
Confessions of a Fan
By: Natalie
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is property of Takehiko Inoue. All Slam Dunk characters, names and places belong to him. Wu Li and other original characters belong to me.
Author's Note: Thank you Unquestionable and MsKitsune for being the first reviewers! I really appreciate it! I'm kinda easing my way back into writing (if there's such a thing…) but I hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 1"In the Beginning"
It all began, believe it or not, on one ordinary day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and parents everywhere were rejoicing. Why? Simple. It was the first day of school—high school to be more precise. Gone were the days of relaxation and of stuffing oneself while watching TV.
I was new in Shohoku. I transferred in during my second year and therefore, I was an outsider. I imagine that everyone there knew everyone else. 'Oh there's so-and-so's younger sister!' and 'There's my neighbor! I knew him since we were in diapers.' were the kinds of things I heard. I tried to make myself inconspicuous by walking along the fringe of the crowd and keeping my eyes on the ground. One would think that this strategy of mine would work. After all, I did have black hair, brown eyes and pale skin—I could pass for a Japanese. (Or so I was told.) Unfortunately my strategy didn't work. Maybe it was because of the way my eyes slanted or just the fact that I was a strange face, but they attacked me like ants on an anthill.
"Ahh! You're the new girl ne?" said one of them. I don't really remember how she looked like. Another one, more daring, grabbed my hands and introduced herself in a high-pitched voice that made my ears ache. I was sure that if the girl ever got her hands on a microphone, the entire Kanagawa prefecture would go deaf.
"—What about you?" She finally finished.
"Uh." I answered oh-so-very intelligently.
"She asked what your name was--" A timid looking brunette explained before being interrupted by a tall, brash-looking red-head who proclaimed himself the 'Tensai Sakuragi'.
"Ahhh Haruko-san! Why are you wasting your precious breath talking to this simple-minded baka? I bet she can't even understand kindergarten Japanese."
I took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Idiots do not know what they are doing therefore they must be forgiven.
"Watashi wa Wu Li desu. Hajimemashite. Doozo Yoroshiku." I said and smiled at the monkey's crestfallen visage. To tell the truth, those were one of the few phrases of Japanese I knew. But of course, monkey-man didn't know that. The timid girl (who I learned was Akagi Haruko) quietly berated the monkey who had turned as red as his hair. Apparently, the 'Tensai Sakuragi' was putty in the hands of the …pretty belle.
Ahh… Beauty and the Beast…My less than fifteen minutes of fame ended when the crowd around me hushed and then erupted into hysterical shrieking. The group of more or less docile females around me suddenly transformed into hormone-induced-rampaging-elephants.
I had never seen anything so amazing and terrifying in my entire life. And, I had a feeling that my life would get drastically shorter if I stayed in the same spot for a second more. Fortunately the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Unfortunately, I would have to introduce myself again.
Speaking of introductions, you and I have not been properly introduced yet! Ah…well, now's as good a time as any. As you may already know, my name is Wu Li. Last name first. You may call me Li or Lily if you want. If you say it really fast, it sounds like 'wooly'. I've got black hair, brown eyes and a face that reminds you of a permanently blushing tomato. And, yes, I am Chinese (even though I can't speak a word of the language to save my life.) So, what am I doing in Japan you say? Well…my parents are part of the traveling lot. They live and breath travel. They practically live in the plane. It's really no surprise that I get to be dragged along with them.
Anyway, enough about me.
I am sure you have been flipping through the pages eagerly awaiting me to mention anything about Rukawa Kaede.
C'mon admit it.
Well, I won't keep you in suspense then! Back to the story!
Rukawa Kaede…
I cannot remember when exactly his name became something more than just a bunch of syllables of unrecognizable kanji. When I first caught a glimpse of him, he was just another face in the crowded hallways of Shohoku. (Albeit he stuck out because he towered over nearly everyone and attracted both girls and guys like an electromagnet set on HIGH.) But, to me, he was just a man who sat three seats away from me, a man who drooled, a man who slept in class and (as I would later find out) a man who managed to ace every physics exam in spite of the latter. He played power forward in the school basketball team, never smiled, had a serious case of narcolepsy…
Oh ya, did I mention that he has a brigade of rabid-fan-girls that would love to turn yours truly into ground meat?
Well now you know.