Yo, minna-san! So I guess this means you're interested ^_^ So here is the next chapter, where a newbie walks into the senior section, much to the amazement of our popular basketball players! But will this pose a threat to someone else? Read on to find out!
Just in case you harbor suspicions about the fic, this is not a romance fic. Heck, I'm not even the mushy type! Nobody gets paired up until the later chaps, but the two are part of SD anyway, so no worries for Rukawa fans. ^_^
Review Feedback!! Arigato for the two guys/gals!!
Iluvenis Telperien: Hi! Sankyu for your review! Punctuation errors? Ack! Man, I gotta study my English, gomen for that! ^^ I don't exactly expect a box of reviews, mind you, but I'd really like some criticism first to know what you guys want. You're reading this, right? ^_^
Frozenfemale: Thanks also! Yup, I'll try making the next ones longer, I'm just getting the hang of writing fics. What's gonna happen? Well, you gotta read to find out. ^_~
By the way, if you're a fanatic of Slam Dunk, why don't you check out animeslamdunk.com? It has the Slam Dunk juicy info you wouldn't want to miss. Visit us, will ya?
Itadakimasu!
1 ~ Rukawa's Depths
"A new day rises, the new sun is bornBut the stars are still there, to guide you back home."
"Okay, people, settle down!!" The teacher banged the board loudly with his pointer--which according to the students is the only thing he ever likes—and will for the rest of his life. "This isn't the zoo!"
"So why'd you have that pointer just like a guide, creep?" a boy on the back row muttered, just loud enough for the sensei to notice. The teacher trotted over to the boy's desk and raised his weapon to start his famous pointer combo when a voice called from the front door.
"Sumimasen deshita (Excuse me)! I was said to come to Class 3 Section 4. Am I interrupting anything?"
The old man immediately stopped in the middle of his attempted torture and zoomed back to the front of his table, (and I mean zzoooooomm ala SD style ^_^) smiling as if everything was just fine and cheery. "Oh, of course not! Do come in. My, are you quite lucky to have chosen this class."
The voice came from a blond girl dressed in a neatly pressed Shohoku uniform. As she walked inside to face the students, they noticed she had deep blue eyes and milky white complexion. The guys started to hoot and those on the back leaned toward their desks to sigh at the goddess that just came in.
"Class, this is Ellyta Kikyou Akari, your new classmate," the sensei said in a way you would present your honor-student son or daughter. "She just came from America, and I am pleased to inform you that she aced her third year entrance test at such a young age! We tried to put her into college already, but..."
"—I want to get the feel of Japanese high school first," Ellyta finished, smiling. Everyone ooohed and aahed at the sight of her lips curved elegantly.
"Certainly. Now you could start by sitting next to Akagi Takenori. He's a good student, so don't worry about delinquents sitting next to you."
The girl bowed a little to his direction and went over to the empty desk. As soon as she sat down, she smiled at Akagi and said, "Ohayou gozaimasu. Takenori Akagi, right? Yoroshiku onegai shimasu (Pleased to meet you)."
Screams erupted at the next second:
"Ohhhh, Akagi-kun, I envy you!"
"C'mon, let's switch seats for a while, huh?"
"Simmer down!" the teacher interrupted the noise. "We should show respect to our new classmate! Let's now continue with our discussion on History."
The students sighed as they picked up their books from their bags. "This isn't what you call respect!"
After rubbing his head and blinking his blue eyes several times, he still couldn't erase the actual image he'd seen before. "It can't be..." he kept thinking, his heart pounding furiously in his chest.
A few hours ago when he was riding his bike down the road he suddenly noticed a standout on the next two blocks—and it wasn't the usual baka redhead monkey Sakuragi Hanamichi or his loudmouth Guntai. That person was wearing a red dress with a white covering complete with stitches. It strangely was a very familiar outfit, but he couldn't exactly remember it when or where—or who. But when the figure turned slightly to block the sun's rays to reveal an angle of her face, he couldn't believe his eyes.
He quickly sped up to get a closer look at the girl, who was starting to walk away to a corner. And when he got finally there, she was gone completely, as if she was just a bubble of illusion that burst in that moment.
"I must be losing it," Rukawa muttered in frustration as he went to the opposite direction towards Shohoku High. Or it must have been just a resemblance. What other reason was there to conclude? All he knows is that it undoubtedly couldn't be the Ellyta Akari he has erased in his memory for a long time.
"You are amazing!" Kogure smiled at his new classmate who was seated a few chairs away from him during recess. "I didn't know any human being could answer those three unbelievable problems in a row without even stopping!"
"When will you get it, Kogure?" some guy called out to him. "She's a megami-sama (goddess)!"
"No way! I just happened to have answered it before at my old school," Ellyta protested as her cheeks turned bright red, which beautifully accentuated her golden blond hair.
Kogure shrugged in doubt. Whatever the reason was, she was still a genius. If he would ever get intelligence just like hers, he probably couldn't help boasting about it. But Ellyta just sat there humbly like she never did anything great just minutes ago.
Akagi then came to the classroom and took his seat next to her. "Hello, Akagi-sempai," Ellyta greeted him politely. "Did anything good happen?"
"Not much," Akagi answered back normally, though Kogure noticed he was a little stiff at that moment. He was a bit shy at talking to girls. "But you don't need to call me 'sempai'. We are in the same year, after all."
Ellyta shook her head in disagreement. "That's true, but you guys are still older than me."
Kogure immediately whipped his head around to face her, his eyes wide. "No kidding. Now that you mentioned it, sensei said something last time about you being young. How old are you anyway?"
Ellyta paused for a while, blushing a little, before she answered, "Well…I'm fifteen right now, but an old fifteen. I'll turn sixteen soon," she added hurriedly. What followed is a parade of murmurs of disbelief by the others who overheard their conversation in the classroom. Obviously Akagi was thinking the same way—anyone could tell by just looking at his face.
Ellyta noticed the change of atmosphere and immediately changed the subject. "So, is it true, sempai, that you are part of the basketball team? Some people said so."
"He's the captain of the team," Kogure corrected her. "His position is center. You know what that means, right?"
The blonde beamed, obviously impressed. "Sugoi! You never told me about this!"
Akagi squirmed in his seat, flattered by her compliment. "Do you really think so? So you are a fan of basketball, then?"
Ellyta nodded. "Mm (Yeah). I try to see the games in America where I lived. Can I see your play sometime?"
Kogure and Akagi together said, "Sure! We could use support."
"Hey! You'll surely be surprised at a couple of freshmen that just came in!" Someone said at the front row, just looking for an excuse to talk to the blonde.
"You're going to see the team?" A girl chimed in. "Do you know there's a cute super rookie in there that went to the Best Five this year?"
Ellyta turned her attention to the girl. "No! But I'll be sure to look for him. What's his name?"
"Rukawa. Rukawa Kaede."
~*Next Chapter - Encounter*~
Ahh! Do you have any idea of what'll happen next? How will it all turn out? That is the question. ^_^