Music

By CheeKy

Disclaimer: The following Slam Dunk characters belong to Takehiko Inoue. Any unfamiliar names, places or otherwise will naturally be my properties.

Notes: *sheepish grin* Everyone's waiting for Rukawa to show up, hehehe, well, here he is! Guess I'd left him absent from the fic for far too long already ne?

To: Jo-san ~ Ideas. Er, from my twisted mind? As for the 'cool' Kogure, well, I'm trying to draw out some of his hidden qualities, me thinks there's so much more to Kogure than just being the same ol' Mr Nice Guy. ^_~

Akane ~ Alto-sax? Well. *grin* Sure! Why not?

sLL & tensaispira ~ Hmm. KoshAya, well. don't you think Koshino's a much better guy for Ayako? The bad-tempered guy needs a firm hand (and several hard whacks) to keep his temper in check, and Ayako deserves someone better than a whinging Miyagi. ^_~

* * *

Chapter Three ~ The New Kid

"Sendoh, hurry up or we're going to be late," called out Koshino from the front.

Sendoh grinned as he continued to jog while attempting to tie the blue and yellow stripe tie. It was a time-consuming task which he loath doing every morning. Of course, if he had awoken half an hour earlier he might have had the time. Finally, when he was satisfied that the tie looked presentable, Sendoh broke out into a run.

Turning at a corner, he was given no opportunity to break as he collided heavily with another body. They both fell as Sendoh rubbed his chest painfully while apologising profusely at the boy who was sitting opposite him with a dazed look on his face. The boy gave a slight shake to clear away the dizziness before accepting the apology with a wordless nod. He stood up as Sendoh followed suit. Grinning sheepishly, Sendoh apologised again.

Another wordless nod as the boy made to pass him. Sendoh turned around as he called out to the boy, "Hey, you new here? I don't remember seeing you before."

His remark paused the boy in his tracks. Without turning, the boy nodded before continuing his walk. Looking at the retreating figure, Sendoh could only scratch his head in puzzlement at the odd behaviour. Suddenly remembering that he was late for class, Sendoh let out an expletive as he ran the rest of the way.

~ * ~

"No, Sendoh, I don't want to know. Just sit down," requested Sensei Motomi with a heavy sigh.

With his mind still on the boy, Sendoh mumbled his thanks before taking his seat. The English teacher returned to the board as Koshino turned in his seat with a raised eyebrow. He whispered, "I thought you were just behind me. What happened?"

Sendoh whispered back, "I collided with a new kid."

Koshino couldn't help but snort, "Funny how things always seem to happen to you."

Sendoh could only grin in reply as he shrugged his broad shoulders. Just then the door was rapped loudly as the school's secretary then popped her head in. She smiled at Sensei Motomi, "Sorry for the interruption, sensei, but I have a new student here with me. He will be taking your class in the future."

The door opened wider as Sensei Motomi put down her chalk before smiling warmly at the newcomer, "Welcome, I am Sensei Motomi. How do you do?"

The boy took a step closer and shook Sensei Motomi's outstretched hand. Recognition in his eyes, Sendoh nodded when Koshino turned back with a questioning look. With his gaze still on the boy, Sendoh thought to himself that the boy was a bit on the thin side for a nineteen-year-old. Not to mention ghastly pale for a human.

Sendoh mentally smacked himself on forehead; just because the boy had ignored him earlier didn't mean he ought to pass such negative judgements. Shaking his head to wipe away the previous thoughts, Sendoh looked back at the boy with renewed interest. He then noticed the soft ebony bangs that partially obscured the boy's distinctively blue eyes. When a small smile lit the boy's features, Sendoh decided that the boy was a rather adorable figure.

Adorable? Another mental smack. Maybe pretty was a better word, after all, he did look rather pretty for a boy.

This time Sendoh made good his thoughts and everyone turned to look in his direction with surprise. The boy too started in astonishment upon hearing the smack. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed Sendoh. Mistaking the boy's surprise for embarrassment, Sensei Motomi quickly gave Sendoh a disapproving frown before turning her attention back to the boy, "Perhaps you would like to introduce yourself to the class?"

Tearing his eyes from Sendoh who was at the moment staring rather intently in his direction, the boy gave a brief nod as he addressed the class of twenty-seven students. Sendoh was rather surprised to hear him speak in English, and even more so to discover that the boy's voice was soft, and in Sendoh's biased opinion, rather musical.

"My name is Rukawa Kaede and I am seventeen-years-old this year. I was born in Kanagawa but moved to live in Paris when I was eight years old. I had only just returned to Japan, so my Japanese is a little rusty given that I had not spoken the language for almost nine years. I hope then, that you will excuse me for this inability," with that the boy gave an apologetic bow.

Somewhere from the back of the room a dreamy voice was heard saying, "Oh, that French accent is so cute!"

The boy's eyes narrowed in annoyance as the class erupted in laughter. Sensei Motomi however, misread the expression on his face as she attempted to soothe him with encouragements, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to pick up the language once you're used to the new environment."

Turning back to face the class, Sensei Motomi was about to ask for a voluntary guide when Sendoh's hand shot up. When she nodded, Sendoh spoke up with a wide grin, "If Rukawa doesn't mind, I would be happy to show him around the college."

Missing the horrified look on Rukawa's face, Sensei Motomi accepted the offer on Rukawa's behalf. She then gestured for Rukawa to take the empty seat across Sendoh, to which the boy did so rather unwillingly. As he approached Sendoh, the latter gave him a warm and friendly smile. But instead of giving one in response, Rukawa merely glared angrily as he slid into the seat next to the boy. Sendoh merely stared in bewilderment as Rukawa blatantly ignored him for the remainder of the lessons.

t.b.c. ^_~