Date finished: 06 December 2002

Title: Infinity
Series: Slam Dunk
Category: AU
Status: 5/?
A/N: This part was finished faster than I thought. Anyway, I hope I can lessen the time span of writing the next parts into weeks, and not a month like before. Arigato for reading and reviewing my work.

Standard disclaimers apply.

'--denotes thoughts--', *--denotes emphasis--*

"Infinity"
by Fall

Part Five: "And so the crazy dream continues"

The four walls of the room was witness to Yukime's recital of the litany of things that ruined her day.

"Aaaaah! Domoshte, domoshte, domoshte?" She repeated furiously, slamming the pillow with each word. First, she runs into Mitsui who completely acted indifferent to her, and then she was late for school and was thus forced to have a grand entrance. Then there was the discovery that Kaede Rukawa was also at Shohoku High, and her *classmate*, for that matter. Yuki's glance fell onto her latest drawing, a curly-haired girl laughing and dragging a boy. "Yukime no baka," she finally muttered, collapsing face down onto her bed. Worse came to worst when she found out that her new friend, the one to whom she'd told so much about her childhood was in fact a friend of Kaede's. The Kaede-kun who never tried to write nor call her while she was abroad, the Kaede-kun who she liked to provoke everyday, the Kaede-kun who was her best friend. "Oh the horror..." She grimaced into the comforter. Would Chidori tell Kaede all the things that Yuki said about him? Maybe she will, although not in a way that would embarrass Yuki. Embarrassing people is just not Chidori's way.

Flopping onto her back, she made faces at the ceiling. She could hear her brother entering the house and make his way up the stairs. Immediately, she got up to her feet and met him at the top. "Onii-chan," Yuki called out, with her arms crossed across her chest. "Kaede Rukawa is in Shohoku High too."

"I know." Sendoh tried to look nonchalant as he neared his sister. Yukime was looking none too pleased, and based on experience, he was in for an outburst of some sort.

"We're in the same class too," Yuki further offered. "And my new friend turns out to be a friend of his. Do you know Sayama Chidori?"

"Honto ni?" Sendoh was surprised to hear her calmly saying that. He knew how angry his sister was at Rukawa. That was the main reason why he didn't tell her in the first place. The chances for them being thrown together in one classroom is nil, so he wasn't bothered of a few incidents if they chanced to meet at school. Now that the chances were reversed, he was surprised to see that Yuki wasn't ranting. "I knew Chidori-chan through Ana," he admitted.

"I saw Hisashi-kun."

This time, Sendoh's eyebrows shot up. "What did he say?"

"He's changed a lot and was indifferent to me." The memory of Mitsui treating her gruffly like a stranger made her sigh, then frown. "Oyasumi, onii-chan. See you in the morning."

But Sendoh wasn't fooled. He knew how sensitive his sister was despite her facade of a strong-willed girl. He went to her door and knocked softly. "Yukime, I'll be in my room, ok?"

He had barely left the door when it suddenly opened. The next thing he knew, Yuki had flung herself onto him crying miserably.

***

"Ohayo, Yuki-chan!" Chidori greeted her friend when she entered the room. She plopped her things down onto her chair and looked eager to tell Yuki something. "Oi, Yuki, why were you in a hurry to get home yesterday? You didn't wait for us, we would have gladly walked with you home, ne Kaede-kun?"

Yuki grimaced and pointed to the empty chair. "I'd bet my nose off that he's fallen asleep on the stairs."

Chidori just grinned at her. "Looks like nothing's changed, ne Yuki?"

Just then, the boy in question entered the room. He seemed oblivious to the whispering and giggling that suddenly swept around the room. Obviously, Kaede Rukawa possessed a charm that wins the heart of the female species. He went straight to his seat and acknowledged Chidori's presence.

"Ne, Kaede, how many times do you have to fall asleep in one day?" Chidori asked him.

"I'm sleepy, so what?"

"He hasn't changed a bit, has he, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki inwardly jumped when she felt Rukawa's eyes on her. She didn't like how he looked at her, it was indifferent and had a challenging glint to it. However, she wasn't about to shy away from his gaze. "Tch, I have no idea, Chidori-chan."

Rukawa looked like he was about to retort something but changed his mind as their teacher came in. He instead gave a vent to his feelings by telling Yuki, "You're still you but different in a way."

And although she wanted very much to ask him what he meant, Yuki decided to just ignore him.

***

When lunch break came, Rukawa was nowhere to be found.

"Does he always make you eat alone?" Yuki couldn't contain her curiosity. Back then, she could remember the three of them eating together, with Ana always ending up bringing more food because Kaede never brings his own.

"Does he *ever*," Chidori rolled her eyes as she laid out the food she's brought. "I don't mind it actually, but I would be happy if the roles would be reversed. It's always me having to search for him all over the school grounds. That's tiring you know."

"Oh," Yuki refrained from saying anything else.

"Actually, I was envious of you when you first entered our class."

"Nani?" If ever, that would be the understatement of the year. It was confusing, really. Yuki wondered if Chidori was only joking.

"You can smile if you will, I don't mind because this is really stupid," Chidori looked wistfully at Yuki. "But Kaede always talks about you whenever we're together. Plus, you know a lot about him than I'll ever know."

Yuki choked. She couldn't believe her ears, but still, she remained silent.

"That's why I hounded you with questions yesterday. Gomen if I seemed to embarrass you, but it wasn't my intention. I was really only trying to know if he was the same as when you knew him."

"Uh, Chidori," She didn't know how to phrase her words, but she needed to say them anyway. "You see, I haven't really known Kaede. I just knew him when we were kids, that's all."

But Chidori didn't believe her. "Yare, let's drop the drama bits," She smiled. "So answer my question: did he change or not?"

"I repeat. I. Have. No. Idea."

Large pools of brown sparkled with merriment as they gazed upon Yuki. Chidori seemed to be amused by something but preferred to keep it to herself. It was starting to annoy Yuki, who was impatient by nature.

***

A girl was waltzing down the hall with a boy, a part of her long wavy hair obscuring his face. Yuki grimaced as she surveyed her work. Lately, she's been drawing curious things like a pair, dancing or two little girls and a boy, playing.

"Ne, Yuki, its time to go home!" Chidori's cheerful voice floated to her.

"Oh." 'Think Yuki, think. You don't want to go home with them do you?' She thought. "Go on without me, I've got something to do first."

"He'll wait for you. See, I have to run down to the store and buy something, and Kaede won't have anyone to walk home with. Onegai, Yuki?"

"Demo..." Yuki didn't like how this conversation was going.

"I told you, I'm old enough to walk home by myself." Rukawa suddenly interjected, effectively stopping Chidori's protests.

"Demo, Kaede-kun!"

"You don't have to force her," He replied indifferently.

Yuki could feel her anger mounting a new height. 'Her?' She thought. "See? Rukawa doesn't want me to walk with him. End of discussion, ja ne." She hurriedly grabbed her things and walked off.

'Her?' She fumed. Since he didn't want to refer to her as someone he knew, she should follow his lead. From now on, she's calling him on a last name basis. And she didn't want to walk home with him in the first place, so how dare he imply that...that... Yuki suddenly realized the stupidity of her actions. Kaede wasn't implying anything when he said that Chidori doesn't have to force her. He was just being Kaede, and in his way had meant to protect Yuki from the discomfort she would feel if forced to stay in his company. She should have known better. "Yukime no baka," she murmured, furious with herself.

If she hadn't been pre-occupied with her thoughts, she would have noticed someone following her.

~ TBC

Further A/N: The title for this part was borrowed from Shindou Shuichi's line in episode 3 of Gravitation. **Spoilers for Gravitation: A lot of unfortunate incidents happened to Shuichi in one day, and he had summed it all up in the best way. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a crazy dream. I wish I could wake up from it." [In the elevator, with Seguru] and "And so, my crazy dream continues..." [At the lobby of NG Records, with Sakano] In a way, Yukime is in a situation that harbors the same helplessness that Shuichi had felt.

Does Chidori *like* Rukawa? You be the judge.

Comments and constructive criticisms are welcome.