To all those who reviewed, a million thanks. You deserve to be acknowledged individually, but I can't do it right now. The next chapter I will, I hope. ^^;; 

Sakuragi

"Hey," he says, a large smile plastered on his face.

            I frown and crease my brows.

            "What's your name honey?" he asks.

            My brows crease further.

            "You don't have to be shy with me sweetheart. I won't bite. Well, of course, unless I can't help it," he laughs a little at his own statement.

            Lame with a capital 'L'.

            My frown deepens till it looks more like a scowl than anything else. I wonder how long he's going to take to notice that I'm not laughing.

            "What's the matter honey? I promise I won't bite. Really."

            What's up with him and his biting anyway? Man, this guy's dense. Or remarkably stupid. Either or. No, scratch that. He's both of that and probably more. He's terribly slow on the uptake it seems.

            I give up. There's no point scowling and pointedly ignoring him if he's not going to notice. I'll settle for just scowling then.

            And so I scowl like there's no tomorrow.

            Finally, after an eternity, and after the cobwebs have started to magically appear on me, he notices.

            "You all right there? There something wrong? Your face is all…… weird."

            I give him a very crooked smile.

            "Well, it wouldn't be weird if you had noticed that I've been scowling at you for the last, say, five minutes?"

            "You have?" he looks surprised.

            "Yes I have," I say sweetly.

            "Well, why were you scowling for?"

            I think that through a little, then shrug. "I don't know."

            He laughs.

Sendoh

            Of course I noticed her scowling at me, though I'm not sure why. Hell, I'm not THAT dense, nor am I remarkably stupid. Neither nor. In fact, I pride myself in being the ultimate bum- I don't do much but I still do relatively well. Well, enough to please the teachers so they won't breathe down my neck, anyway. Well, not that they can, since they have to crank their head up just to talk to me. Anyway, the pretty redhead had been scowling at me ever since she took over Rukawa what's-his-name. What did I do? All I ever did was ask for her name! It's not a sin is it?

            Well, apparently it is- to her at least.

            I know it's not the smartest thing to do, but since chicks always fall for it, I pretend to be dense, ignorant, and naïve, with skin an inch thick.

Sakuragi

            I feel annoyed. This guy is laughing at me. AT me. Who does he think he is?

            "Sendoh Akira."

            I stare at him and blush. Damn, I can't believe I actually said the last part out loud! This is embarrassing!

            "Oi Hanami!" Ryochin yells, "stop flirting and start playing! We're in the middle of a game if you haven't noticed!"

            Ehe. I haven't noticed.

            I dash forward immediately to receive the ball. And then I feel something rise up from within.

            "TEME RYOCHIN!!!!! I'm not flirting!"

Ayako

"Hanami!" Ryota passed the ball to her as he dashed forward, after a fantastic defense by Akagi sempai.

            She caught it easily and made to shoot but Sendoh was already there, blocking her. She feinted to the right then headed left but he'd read her move. I could see her tensing as she realized that she couldn't shoot.

            "Pass!" Rukawa signaled to her from behind Sendoh. Ikegami sempai was guarding him, and he seemed to be having a hard time doing so. Rukawa was a handful and so far, only Sendoh had successfully subdued him.

            Hanami threw the ball to him but Sendoh grabbed it in midair, grinned at her before dribbling past an astonished Sakuragi Hanami.

            Her astonishment soon turned to annoyance and she sprinted after him, Rukawa hot on her heels.

Sakuragi

            "D'aho."

            I turned to glare at him.

            "Don't pass if you can't."

            "You were waving at me to pass the ball to you!" I yelled at him accusingly, more angry with myself than at his insensitivity.

            "Sempai was nearer to you." He replied, eyes trained on Sendoh.

            "But you were asking for the ball!" I shot back.

            "You should have feinted."

            "How would I know that I was supposed to feint?!!!!"

            "You wouldn't. D'aho."

            I resisted the urge to stick out my leg and trip him. 'Relax Hanami. Ignore the kitsune. He's just being stupid and you can't blame him for that. He was born that way,' I told myself, 'besides, you should concentrate on getting those twenty points. You can't lose to Mitchy. You know what a horny devil he is. How're you going to live this down if you lose?' I was convinced. Whatever the dratted kitsune says I will ignore. I have more important things to worry about. Like Mitchy.

Sendoh

Whoa. This chick's fast. She's already caught up with me and I don't like the way she's eyeing the ball. Her arm sticks out but I've already transferred the ball to my other hand. Her brows crease in frustration again. Cute.

            Ahah! An opening! Uozumi-san's giving Akagi a hard time. I shoot from where I am.

Ayako

The ball went sailing in. Uozumi pats Sendoh on the back while Akagi sempai barks at the team to run back for a swift offense.

            I can sense Hanami's mounting frustration.

            "Daijoubu!" I call out to her, "we'll get the next one!"

            She nods and runs off, still frowning.

Mito

"Are we too late?" I ask as we entered.

            Ayako turned to us. "No, you're just in time actually. Hanami's only started playing."

            "Has she scored?" asks Okusu excitedly.

            "Not yet."

            "Hah! You owe me 200 yen for that!" he stretches out his hand to claim the money from Noma.

            "That's not very nice!" Haruko protests. We'd met her on the way to the gym. Her class had ended late.

            "But it's very fun Haruko-chan, you should try!" Takamiya grins at her.

            "Mou!" she harrumphs cutely, folding her arms across her chest.

            I shift my attention to the action on the court. Hanami was looking cross.

            "Is Sendoh giving her trouble?" I ask, already guessing the answer.

            "Well yes, but it's not so much that," Ayako confides, "she's being too hard on herself. She can't expect everything to go perfectly. It's only her first game."

            I shake my head. "Hana's like that. Once she's set her mind to something, there's no stopping her."

            "But still……." Ayako argues.

            "Nope. That's how she is, Ayako-san. We can't change that about her."

Sakuragi
            ARGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! This is so frustrating! The ball's in my possession but there's no way I can get past Sendoh!

            "You're pretty good Hanami-chan," he says, eyes twinkling.

            Hanami-chan? Since when were we on first-name terms? Come to think of it, when had I even introduced myself to him?

            I scowl at him. "If I was good I'd be able to get past you already. Don't mock me."

            "I'm not!" he raises his hands in mock surrender. "You are good."

            "Flattery gets you nowhere right now," I tell him, eyes looking around frantically for an opening. There!

            I slip past him and dribble at top speed, seeing nothing but the basket. I was going to get my first goal. The first of twenty. Mitchy, I won't lose.

            "Go Hana-chan!" Takamiya and the others yell from the sidelines.

            I don't see them. I see only the basket and the board.

            "D'aho."

            I didn't hear that. No, I did not hear that.

            "Hanami! Watch where you're--"

            THUD!

            I land on my butt, hard. What happened?

            "You all right Hana?" Mitchy asks, crouching down next to me.

            Aside from the fact that my butt hurts like hell? I nod.

            He smiles and pull me to my feet. "Glad you're all right. The guy you knocked down isn't, though." He jerks his thumb at the boy who was lying unconscious on the ground.

            Did I do that?

            Oops.

Hikoichi

"Unbelievable! She knocked Koshino-san down! He's completely knocked out!" I scribble this juicy fact in my notebook.

Uozumi

"Koshino!" I shake him roughly.

            "He's out cold Uozumi-san."

I turn to Miyagi. "He's not out cold! He's just….. out!"

            Mitsui sniggers behind me.

            "Ano….boss monkey….I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to run him down like that. Honest!" the girl peered out from behind him.

            I nodded mutely. This girl is a terror- running down Koshino like that. I had expected him to get out of the way when she didn't look like she was going to avoid him, but he had stubbornly stood his ground. The effect…..him lying unconscious, sporting a huge lump on his forehead.

            "Get him off the court." I told the boys. "Uekusa, you're up."

            It was only when the game resumed that I realized what she had addressed me by.

            "BAKERU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakuragi

            "Ooooh. Another gorilla."

            Sendoh chuckled. "You'd better not let him hear that."

            "Why's that?"

            "He's very sensitive about, er, his species," he laughed.

             "Oh, he doesn't have to worry. Gori's also of that family."

            "R-right." He makes a face. Cute.

            I laugh.

Miyagi

So Hanami has one foul already….less than ten minutes after entering the game. If she keeps this up, she'll be booted out before the game's over.

            I try to tell this to her but she only bursts into laughter. Huh? What's so funny?

Sakuragi

            What in the world is Ryochin doing? He looks like another monkey the way he's waving his arms about. He's gesticulating frantically actually, but it looks awfully absurd I don't bother trying to figure out what he's trying to bring across.

            I realize there's someone else laughing. Sendoh's chortling at Ryochin's antics as well. My perception of him improves considerably.

Sendoh

            Not only is Hanami pretty, she's also got a terrific sense of humor. She's much more fun to guard than um, what's his name again?

            Oh, right. Rukawa.

            Anyway, she's definitely my type.

Rukawa
            The d'aho is laughing in the middle of a game. I would have brushed it off if not for the fact that the smiling idiot was laughing as well. I hope he laughs himself dead.

Sakuragi

            Amidst my laughter, I saw Gori throw the ball in my direction. Recovering, I snatched it in mid-air possessively, and dashed ahead to score.

            Leaving a still-laughing Sendoh.

            Poor guy. I don't think he's realized what happened. Oh well. His loss, my gain. I leap to shoot a three-pointer, just like Mitchy had taught, and the ball heads towards the basket and I will it to go in.

            Thankfully it does and I give a whoop of joy.

            "Did you see that Mitchy?! I scored three points! Hah! I scored THREE points!"

            He just laughed and shook his head.

            "Nice Hanami!" Ayako cheered from the sidelines.

            "Sugoii Sakuragi-chan!" Haruko squealed, jumping around excitedly with Fujii and Matsui.

            "Hana-chan ganbatte!!!!" Takamiya and Noma yelled.

            "You're lucky today Hana!!!!!" yelled Okusu.

            Youhei just smiled at me encouragingly. I flashed them a peace sign before sprinting off for a fast break defense.

Sendoh
            What the?

            Sheesh, one minute she was laughing with me, the next she'd disappeared, with the ball, I must stress. What kind of reflexes does she have in that tight body? I sure want to know.

Rukawa

            D'aho. It was only one shot. You're overreacting.

Sakuragi

            I'm positively jubilant at my success. So it was only one shot, but it was three points damn it! Only seventeen more to go!

            I risk a glance at the kitsune. His eyes were already trained on me.

            "D'aho. It was only one shot." He reminds me none-too-gently.

            "Blah." I stick my tongue out at him. "You're just jealous."

            "D'aho." He sighs, "I scored thirty three points already."

            "Kitsune is jealous~~~ Kitsune is jealous~~~" I sang. I did not hear that. No sirree, I did not hear that.

            He sighs and shakes his head. "A d'aho will always be a d'aho."

            "NANI?!!!!!!!!!"

Akagi

            Baka! She's already satisfied with herself?!!! I guess it's time to bring her back to earth.

            BAM!

            Hanami looks up at me, eyes filled with accusation.

            "Baka! Don't get carried away!"

Sakuragi

            Stupid evil gorilla. I swear I'll report him to the zoo. They'll be pleased to have him back after his escape eighteen years ago.

            "You've got one foul, don't forget!" he reminded me.

            I gave him a withering stare. "You're one to talk. You've got two."

            "Baka! The fouls I committed were intentional!"

            "So was mine!" I argued.

            He looks at me in disbelief. Not that I can blame him. I mean, I don't even believe myself.

            "Captain!"

            Ryochin snaps him to attention. He only barely manages to smack the ball away from the net.

            "Baka! Stop distracting people!"

            Of all the nerve! He started it! Good grief!

            "Go!!!!" he barks at me.

            "Yare yare~~" but I comply, nevertheless.

            Everyone here is a nutcase. It's madness I tell you, madness! Even I am losing my mind!

Ayako

            Five more minutes to play. Hanami's scored nine points so far- all of them lucky shots. Sendoh seemed to be distracted whenever she took the opportunity to score. But who cares. A point is still a point.

            Plus, she has four fouls already- all of them involving running right smack into someone.

            She seems to have a knack for doing that.