An Old Love

Written by: delusional_lady

Disclaimer: Inoue Takehiko owns Slam Dunk. Enough said.

A/N: This is a SenKosh yaoi fic but would be other pairings mentioned.

Chapter 1: An Old Castle

The air here was refreshing, certainly unlike the air pollution in the city. Koshino smiled as he closed his eyes and spread his arms horizontally, as if embracing the wind. He was on top of the world! Hikoichi dropped his pen in surprise upon seeing his master standing dangerously close to the edge of the high cliff. "Omigod!!! Koshino-sama!!!!" He yelled, rushing forward. Koshino turned around and raised an eyebrow at his young assistant. "Eh..heheh! Gomen ne, I thought you were gonna fall down or something." Hikoichi said meekly. The writer shrugged his shoulders and jumped back in his car. There was still the long road waiting for them. Hikoichi followed after his boss and sat in the passenger seat. Their destination wasn't very far from here. In fact, one could see the castle towers already! Despite this, his master decided to stop by the cliff. Hikoichi didn't bother asking, knowing he would not get an answer anyway.

Koshino Hiroaki was a millionaire and a successful writer. Hikoichi served under him as an assistant and an apprentice as well. He received very good pay and often came along his master's trips. This was just one example. The season was coming to an end and soon, the whole place would be covered with snow. The castle was just one of Koshino-sempai's properties. It had been handed down from generation to generation.

They soon reached the castle. The gates were opened and a young woman stood waiting for them. She had curly hair and beautiful features. Koshino noted that her eyes were probably her best assets. Her eyes held no pretense and they seemed old. Old in the sense that meant wise. As if she had seen life repeat itself a hundred times over. The writer snorted at himself. He had retreated to this old place to get away from his work but writing seemed to follow him everywhere. Even now, he had a new plot unraveling itself in his mind. "Tch. I'd better work on it before I forget." Koshino muttered to himself. Hikoichi ignored the comment. He was used to Koshino-sama's muses already.

"Good afternoon gentlemen. We have been expecting you. This way please." The curly-haired maid motioned as soon as the car was parked. She led them inside the castle. Hikoichi shivered. The place gave him the creeps. There was a cold and remorseful feeling all around. It gave him goose bumps. Koshino, however, was undaunted by the eerie presence. This was his property and he was not gonna show any fear.

Ayako bowed her head and introduced herself. Then, she led the two gentlemen to their respective rooms. Koshino entered his room and pulled off his jacket. Unconsciously, the young millionaire hung it upon the coat rack standing next to the door. He proceeded to unpack his clothes and hang them one by one in the large spacious closet. The room was certainly large. It had a king-size bed in the center. The room was also furnished with a lot of drapery and carpets. The dresser was large and so was the polished mirror above it. An equally large desk was beside the window. It was made of dark wood. Koshino opened the drawers and was surprised to find writing materials inside, albeit, they were very primitive. There were a number of scrolls, an inkbottle, and a quill.

Who would use a quill at this day and age?!

Koshino shook his head at the thought but didn't throw the materials away. He let himself fall on the bed and was about to fall asleep when his mobile phone rang. The lad didn't want to answer it but it was bothering him already.

"Hiro darling!!! How are you doing?!"

Great, it was his ex-girlfriend, Cassie.

"I'm fine. What do you want?" Koshino replied, his tone indicating his annoyance.

"Darling!!! I just wanted to make sure you're safe! I'm sure it's lonely there! All alone in the large castle without anyone to talk to! You'll drive yourself insane!"

Your incessant talking will be the one to drive me insane. Koshino wanted to say but held his tongue.

"I'm tired Cassie. Good-bye." He muttered and turned off his phone before the woman could utter a reply.

"Dinner is served, master Koshino." Ayako informed him. Koshino opened his eyes and looked around. The maid was outside his room and had been knocking on his door. He just had a dream, a peculiar one.. "I can't remember.. What the heck, it's just a dream." The writer told himself as he straightened his clothes and opened the door.

Hikoichi observed as his master walked towards the dining hall. His eyes were glued to the newspaper he was holding, not even bothering to see where he was going. Ayako was leading the way and it amazed the assistant that Koshino-sempai could follow her without any trouble.

"Koshino-sempai, I wasn't aware that you have visisted this place before!" Hikoichi remarked, once they were seated at the table. The table was far too long and it was customary for the master to sit at the other end of the table but Koshino dismissed it. There was no point in sitting too far away from Hikoichi. How else would they be able to converse?

Koshino stared at his assistant blankly before answering. "I have not yet visited this place before. This is, actually, the fist time I even caught a glimpse of these walls."

"Oh!" Hikoichi exclaimed in surprise. "I assumed you've been here before because, well, you seem to know the directions fairly well."

"Well, I guess this just proves you wrong." Koshino remarked, calmly eating his dinner. Hikoichi nodded his head sheepishly and ate as well. Still, he thought it was odd.

Although, there was an electrical system installed in the castle, it still lacked some of the essential gadgets. There were lights and there were phone lines but that was all. Koshino requested for a phone and immediately dialed the appliance store he usually shopped at.

"Hello Maki. This is Koshino."

"Yes, what do you need?"

"I'm staying in the castle and I need you to do something for me."

In a matter of seconds, Maki Shinichi started writing down a long list of appliances that were to be brought in the castle as soon as possible. The dealer was already used to Koshino's demands and wasn't afraid of the millionaire. They were friends after all.

"Who was that on the phone?" Kiyota asked. Maki turned around to see his lover wearing an apron with a bowl of brownie mix in hand. "Koshino. Business as usual. It has to be done as soon as possible. Preferably right now." He chuckled upon seeing his lover pout. With a grin, he patted Kiyota on the head. "Don't worry. The men are used to these kind of demands from Koshino. This will make the job easier and I'll be back home just in time for your dessert."

"Fine, go. Just make it fast." With a kiss, Maki grabbed his jacket and left for the office. Kiyota went back to his baking. He wasn't afraid that Koshino might steal his boyfriend away. He wasn't eve jealous. He knew Maki and Koshino treated each other like brothers. Koshino had always looked up to Maki like an elder brother. In turn, Maki treated Koshino like his younger brother.

Koshino lay back on his bed. He was tired from the airplane ride, tired from driving his car, and tired from making a lot of phone calls. He was pleased to have such reliable friends. He had called Maki first since most of the new stuff would come from him. Then, he called up Fukuda. There was no newspaper-publishing house around so he had to contact the man for a special order.

The wind entered through the window. He had felt no need to order an air conditioning unit from Maki since the window was quite enough. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

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