Yo minna-san! Gomenasai for the last chaps—yeah, I know, they are too short to be true—but as each chap comes it'll get longer every time. Trust me! ^_^

Another review! Wow, I'm sooo happy! ^^

Frozenfemale: Lol…she is too annoying, huh? She is to me too. That's why I'm….err….you'll see in the next chaps. Who is she to Rukawa? You'll find out soon, but it's so definitely not a girl-boy thing! (Gotta save myself from all the Rukawa fans out here!) BTW your name rocks! ^_^

You ask yourself, how did the new girl exactly act when she heard of the Shohoku ace's name? Well, that's why I left it like that. You guys figure it out on your own! So there! Nyahahahahahahaaaa!!!

*Bonk!*

   Lilia: Shut up you hyena! You sound just like Hanamichi!!

   Hakkai no Miko: Lilia!? Who gave you permission to enter this fic?! And anyway, what's wrong with Sakuragi? He's better than the green-eyed, dumb-blonde twerp standing right in front of me!

   Lilia: How dare you, you money-eyed witch!!

*Valerie enters the scene, grabs Lilia by the shirt collar, and drags her backstage*

   Hakkai no Miko: Whew! Good riddance! Thanks a lot, Val!

   Lilia: I heard that, witch!!

So, erm, ahem…sorry for the little interruption there. I might as well start the fic now.

Itadakimasu!!

2 ~ Encounter

"A man of mystery, feared by many

Behind a mask, to hide the vulnerability."

  Every after school, the selected students from first to third year in Shohoku High have gone to the gym to practice. And at that particular time the members would cringe at the very high-pitched screams of females and their certain freshman player.

  "Ha! You're skills are too pathetic compared to Rukawa-kun! So stop wishing for someone to cheer you; it will never happen! Except for that baka!"

  "Nani?! You dare say that about Haruko-san! She is the only girl here who recognizes the real power of tensai!"

  "Your red hair stinks, and you're too loud and arrogant!"

  "Yeah! Right! Right!" the other two would say.

  "Nandatou (What did you say)?!"

  "Aaaahh!!! Rukawa-kuuun!"

  Rukawa would come in at that time also, wearing his expressionless face, showing his lack of concern to the girls or Sakuragi—or anything and anyone else except maybe basketball.

  Sakuragi would then sneer at him. "Shiine, Kitsune Otoko (Die, Fox Man/Fox)!" And the blue-eyed fox would exchange his "wonderfully cheerful" greeting with a "Dou ahou!"

  Only this day was different. Instead of saying that quote and starting another brawl, Rukawa suddenly acted like he didn't hear anyone and concentrated on the ring while holding a basketball. He let it go, and the ball went to the basket without a sound. The others watched him in confusion.

  "Assemble!!!" Akagi called the club.

  Anzai-sensei, the obese and respected coach of the team, proposed a practice game between two groups: Team A consists of Mitsui, Sakuragi, Kakuta, and Shiozaki, while Rukawa, Kogure, Yasuda, and Miyagi make up Team B. Akagi will be the referee.

  The Rukawa Shinietai (The Rukawa Brigade)—Rukawa's personal cheer squad before it became a legion in the games—began their cheering number while saying, "Rukawa! Rukawa! L-O-V-E Rukawa!" which was a little surprising, since they only did that in games before.

  Haruko Akagi tried to join in the screaming, but the three girls elbowed her hard angrily. So she just shouted, "Rukawa-kun! I was waiting for you!!" (relatively FAR from the three lowbrow fans). But like every practice session, the laconic player would ignore their praises and concentrate on his play.

  Sakuragi with his crazy antics tried to steal the ball, but Rukawa—having the possession of it—eluded him and passed to Miyagi, who quickly passed to Yasuda and was heavily guarded by Kakuta.

  "Here!" Rukawa held his hand as he passed Sakuragi's defense. Yasuda quickly made an overhead pass at him before Kakuta could react. Rukawa grabbed the ball and aimed for the basket in front as Mitsui blocked his view.

  "I won't be easy on you!" he threatened him.

  "I expect that!" Rukawa raised his hands, as if preparing to shoot. Mitsui noticed his movement and jumped to snatch it. "Got you!"

  But Rukawa quickly ducked a little and passed him. "Shoot! Fake!" Mitsui almost said aloud.

  Then he jumped and slammed the ball into the basket, his hand held tightly to the ring—slam dunk!

  "Oh ho ho," Anzai-sensei laughed with his Santa Clause voice. "Kirei desu ne."

  Akagi looked at Rukawa as he went back down to the ground with a background screams and applause by the females of Shohoku. "Good. He seems to have surpassed already the whole team."

  Mr. Anzai smiled as he remembered the day Rukawa asked him about going to America. He was sure it had an effect on the boy when he said he should be the top player in Japan first. Now he's becoming more and more like a team player, and currently part of the All-Japan team. He seems to have a remarkable future now that he set his goals straight.

  "Rukawa-kun! We love you!!!" the girls cried out.

  "Uruse!!" Sakuragi said angrily and slammed the gym entrance.

  "Open the door, you idiot!" the students hit their fists on the doors, but Sakuragi let it closed and locked and shot fired eyes at the idolized kitsune. "Darn you, Rukawa!"

  After that, the rest was going smoothly. Sakuragi as usual was grabbing every rebound possible and had exceeded expectations of many as he started to be more like a real basketball player in less than a year, Mitsui took every opportunity to make three-point shots, and Miyagi's lightning passes helped greatly in offense.

  But both teams had a hard time making baskets because they barely passed their opponents' defense. Until finally, the exhilarating game ended with 20-21. Team B won the practice game!

  "If it wasn't for Micchy messing up that rotten defense of his…" Sakuragi started to grumble.

  "Nani?! Say that again, you no-good…" Then a huge paper fan hit into both of their heads, leaving smoking lumps. "All right, you two! You can cool off at the showers," Ayako (what! no surname!?) said. The two glared at each other before running towards the locker room.

  Rukawa was already there, buttoning his uniform. Seeing the faces of recently defeated Sakuragi and Mitsui, he commented, "Two baka saru (stupid monkeys)."

  "Rukawa!!"

  "How dare you say that to your sempai! Don't you put me into his level!" Mitsui said back while pointing to the red-haired freshman.

  "Micchy!!"

  "Isn't it great, Akagi?" Kogure smiled as he relived the last practice game. He was at the restaurant they go to every after session, across Akagi. "I'm sure with Miyagi and Rukawa, the club will be in capable hands."

  Akagi didn't say anything and drank his iced tea silently. But the agreement was clearly visible in his eyes. "I bet they'll win the Inter-High next season, when they meet their spunky new freshmen members. They might even be as good as Rukawa or Sakuragi."

  "Who would want another arrogant redhead monkey?" Akagi looked down to the table. Kogure laughed weakly. "Sou desu ne."

  Then he suddenly noticed. "Say, I didn't see Ellyta-chan during practice. I thought she'd be there like she promised."

  "Well…Maybe she has to stay to help the teachers," Akagi shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "Or she must've been busy. Either way, I'm sure she has a good reason."

  Kogure nodded. "Maybe. I wonder what'd she do if she meets Rukawa."

  Akagi smirked. "I'm sure she'll react a lot better than those idiot cheerers of his."

  Kogure laughed as he imagined their classmate wearing a cheerleader uniform and waving pom-poms along with the cluster of females. "Nope. That will never happen."

  Rukawa stayed behind late in the gym doing last-minute shots. He shot his 300th basket for the night, but it missed for the third time. It was obvious something was bothering him.

  He shook away his thoughts and concentrated more on the ball aimed for the basket. If this shot goes in, he can finally go home and take a long nap to forget this day.

  The ball was finally let loose, and circled around the ring several times before it went out. "Oh, shoot," Rukawa berated himself.

  But as the ball bounced back on the floor, the gym doors opened to reveal a tall dark figure. The shadow went in and let itself be seen by the lights.

  "Rukawa-kun."

  Rukawa narrowed his eyes at her. "Elly!"

~*Next Chapter – End of the Past*~

Hmmm….doesn't things get a little interesting here? ^_^ Well, I need reviews before I continue, and also some suggestions to improve the plot (heck, I'm almost desperate for flames! Help—I'm losing it!)! It's like…uh…a mouthful of energy bar for me. So no review, no chap!! Curse me to hell and back if you must!

Thanks for reading anyway! Till our paths cross again! ^_^