Writing this is kind of hard to do since the SD that I watched was the locally translated version of it. There are nuances that I would not be able to translate and others may be entirely different from the original Japanese or even the English translation. So bear with me and consider yourselves warned.

The story takes place after Shohoku qualified for the Inter-High competition by beating Ryonan. The team was away on a joint practice game in another district. Sakuragi was left in Shohoku to work on his own training with Coach Hansai. He wasn't totally alone, though. His gang of sidekicks, together with Haruko, were helping him and cheering him on all the time. And now, a friend returns into the fold after a long absence. What havoc would this friend wreak upon the already chaotic world of SD? 

BTW, the drill: I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, they are the products of Takehiko Inoue's creative mind…I will find me a corner now and bawl my eyes out.

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BACK AGAIN

"So…this is what you've been up to all this time. And you were *just* too busy to visit a sick friend, weren't you?"  Lazing about by the gym doors was a girl who dressed and looked like a regular freshman except for her elaborate hairstyle. Her short hair was tied in several little ponytails, sticking out in different directions. This may be common in rave parties or as street wear but to wear it in school…

Hanamichi, who was about to do a jump shot, faltered and nearly fell flat on his face. He quickly recovered and turned around to face the newcomer. "Keiko???..."

Everybody else was now looking towards the gym doors--expressions of surprise were etched on the faces of the Sakuragi's four sidekicks; Coach Hansai sported his usual facade of non-reaction; and Haruko's surprise was tinged with puzzlement as well. "Who is this girl? A friend of Sakuragi?," she thought to herself.

"Ha! At least you still remember my name, you ungrateful numbskull!" At this, she crossed to where Sakuragi was and attacked him by repeatedly kicking him on the leg." [Poof! they turn into chibi-Sakuragi and chibi-Keiko, this goes on for a minute or so]. "I was gone for five months and my friends didn't even come to visit and see what the hell happened to me. Noooooooooo, they just conveniently forgot about their cute little friend Keiko [flashes dagger looks at the other guys and they visibly cringe on cue] like she was last year's newspaper."

By now she had Sakuragi in a painful armlock around his neck and he was turning blue for lack of air. He was flailing about unable to do anything which was surprising since he was being held down by someone almost half his size AND a girl at that.

"Well…???" she asked which was obviously a rhetoric question since Sakuragi was in no position to answer.

"Sakuragi…", Haruko whispered. She was getting a bit worried since Hanamichi was almost purple now. She didn't know what to do, though…the new girl was definitely scary. The unflappable coach seemed to find this scene amusing and was chuckling heartily by now.

One of the guys took a hesitant step toward wrestling pair. "Um, Keiko? Maybe you should release Hanamichi now before he runs out of breath. It won't be fun punishing him if he died, right?"  Keiko finally looks down to view her victim and released him. "Oh yeah, we wouldn't want that", she said sarcastically. Then she was laughing and patting Hanamichi rather hard at the back while he desperately tried to fill his lungs with air again.

Seeing that Hanamichi was recovering (and probably was already plotting her murder), Keiko walked around and inspected the gym. "So what's so great about basketball that you're willing to stay cooped up in this place training and practicing for hours? Honestly, I'm finding it hard to think of you as a team player since brawling seemed to be the favorite sport of the old Sakuragi I know. You must have found a very strong motivation". She turns and looks pointedly at Haruko.

Sakuragi tries valiantly to hide his blush with a formidable frown but fails. Haruko, as usual, is oblivious to all this and has trouble following the conversation. Keiko walks up to her and introduces herself formally. Haruko nearly jumps in surprise (she was too polite to be frightened at this sudden change in behavior). "Hi. I'm Keiko Toriyama, dozo yoroshiku! I have a feeling that we're gonna be great friends." She smiled sweetly at Haruko who immediately introduced herself in return. Keiko lost no time in chatting her up. Poor Haruko didn't know what she was getting herself into.

"Excuse us for a while, Haruko." Hanamichi was finally able to butt in and determinedly pulled Keiko into a far-off corner of the gym away from the others. "Just what are you trying to do?", he asked suspiciously. Keiko was giggling mischievously. "She doesn't know, does she? You haven't told her yet. Afraid that she'll refuse you like the others? What's the latest count anyway? 50? 60?" She dismisses the dagger-looks that the red-haired giant was sending her way. "Looks like I'm just in time…don't worry. Keiko is back. Hehehe. Leave it all up to me." Her eyes are sparkling like she just found a new mission in life.

"That's what I was afraid of…", Sakuragi replies despondently.

"So tell me, Sakuragi, who's that old man over there? Isn't he a bit too old to be playing with you guys?"

"Hey, give him a little respect! He's our coach, you know! He's training me to become the #1 basketball player in all of Japan." He was about to go into his speech about being a genius when he noticed that Keiko has already left his side. He sweat-dropped when she saw her.

Keiko already had an arm around the coach and playing with his double chin as only Sakuragi ever dared do…until now.

"Hey coach! If you have any trouble with that numbskull over there just talk to me, ok? The name's Keiko and I'll be sticking around from now on."

The End of Part 1.

[This first chapter is already over a week old. Haven't been able to publish since there were some plot issues I had to resolve. Can't say I've solved them all but I hope that whatever booboos I made were only minor ones. I've had this story brewing in my head for months and I liked it too much so I decided to write it; I just hope it turns out ok.]