Date finished: 02 October 2002

Title: Infinity
Parts: (Besides Prologue) 1/?
Series: Slam Dunk
A/N: I know Sendoh's nice and charming, and I hope I was able to do justice to his character. This one's for Dim Genesis, aka Dimmalicious, one of the people that I heart dearly *glomps*

Standard disclaimers apply.

"Infinity"
by Fall

Part One: "Toast and morning pep talk "

Akira Sendoh was quietly preparing breakfast in the small kitchen of their house when an unearthly screech shattered the morning solitude.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

The screech was followed by the sound of someone falling off from a bed. Sendoh didn't even flinch as he heard more racket coming from the ceiling directly on top of him. There was the constant slamming of cabinet drawers, falling objects, muffled frustrated groans and a flurry of scuttling feet. In fact, he was rather smiling amusedly as he sat down and started to butter two pieces of toast. And just as he was wondering when he'd hear the tirade he was expecting to be told, the unmistakable noise of thud, thud, thud, was heard coming down from the stairs.

"Onii-chan! WHY didn't you wake me up early, ne?" Yukime stormed into the kitchen, snatching the buttered toast that Sendoh held out for her.

"Morning, grumpy bear," Sendoh returned cheerfully. He was in a good mood lately, owing to the fact that his little sister was finally allowed to return home and study at one of the high schools in their area. It doesn't mean though that Sendoh was less happy before -- it was quite the opposite, for anyone who was familiar with the ace player of Ryonan High would testify that one of Sendoh's charms lies on his cheerful disposition.

But then a little more cheeriness won't hurt him.

Or so, depending on whom it was directed to. Yuki grimaced and proceeded to pull at her older brother's cheek. "It's *your* fault. How can I be not grumpy, I told you I wanted to come earlier to school, but you didn't wake me up. And where's the alarm clock, I told you to leave it there -- mmph!" A whole piece of toast promptly silenced her.

"Chill out, you aren't late for school yet. Besides, why in the world do you want to get there earlier than the rest? You aren't hoping to open the doors yourself, are you, Yuki?" Teasing her was one of Sendoh's favorite past time, and he found that he quite missed doing it. Now that things are quite settling back to normal, he made a mental note to continue doing that every now and then.

Yuki made a face to hide her embarrassment. Truth is, she wanted to arrive first before her classmates so she'd be able to choose a seat by the window and would not endure entering a classroom full of strangers. In simpler words, she was nervous about being "totally new". The past four years she spent on a foreign land, therefore, she was afraid of not being able to adjust to a new environment.

Sendoh saw the apprehension in his sister's eyes. "Oi, I'd like to remind you that Shohoku High was your own choice."

"I know!" She snapped.

"And that we didn't lack in our efforts in helping you choose." He added as an afterthought.

The "we" included Ana, one of Yuki's best friends since kindergarten, and Sendoh's girlfriend. Both of them tried all the whims they could come up with just to persuade Yuki to choose Ryonan High, but to no avail. Although the reason she gave was because she really wanted to assist Coach Anzai under Ayako's responsibility, her real incentive was because she wanted to create her own status. If she entered the same high school that her older brother attends, she'll once again walk under his shadows, being tagged as "Sendoh's sister". Not that she's ashamed of being Akira Sendoh's younger sister, but being constantly compared and the automatic judgments that they make are getting tiring. She wanted to prove to herself that she, Yukime Sendoh, doesn't wallow in anybody's shadow and is able to create her own personality and fame.

A small chuckle brought her back to reality. Glaring at her older brother, she retorted, "Nonsense. I'm old enough to look for myself."

Sendoh raised both eyebrows in mock surprise. "I didn't say anything about you being dependent."

"Oh." Feigning to be interested in her juice, she simply sat in silence while stirring it continuously. Now that she thought of it, she's really nervous. "Onii-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Do you think I'll fit in?" She mumbled, her eyes downcast on her juice. She waited for the laugh that she expected to come from her brother, knowing that what she'd just said sounded silly. But instead of a laugh, she felt his hand patting her on the head like he always did in the past whenever she was scared or was feeling miserable.

"I don't think anyone can resist your charms," Sendoh said gently, inwardly smiling at the impossible thought of his sister being ignored at school. Seeing the bewildered look on his sister's face, he gave her a grin to show how much he meant his words. "I've got faith in you."

Yuki smiled at her brother's encouraging words. She snatched up another toast from his plate, oblivious to Sendoh's, "Hey, butter your own toast!" Turning around to peer at the clock on the counter, she squealed. "Oh no! Look at the time!"

Hurriedly, she snatched her things off the table and headed straight for the door. Then remembering something, she turned back and gave Sendoh a bear hug. "Thanks, onii-chan!"

"Yeah, you're lucky to have me," Sendoh said, a perfect smile of self-satisfaction lighting his face up.

"Better hurry up, or Ana might think you forgot about her!" Yuki yelled from the doorway.

"Huh?" Sendoh looked at the clock and then at the mess scattered around the kitchen. He was a tidy person and detested clutter of any sort, but then, there's always a first time for everything. Oh well, he thought resignedly, will fix these later.

Grabbing his own things, and another toast, he put out the lights and went out of the door.

End Part One . . .

TBC

Further A/N: Very short? Yeah I know. Wondering when Kaede Rukawa would appear? You'll see him in the next part. Comments and constructive criticisms are welcome, flames to be laughed at and passed around in MLs.

Thanks to those who gave me encouraging words on the prologue =)