Disclaimer: I don't own anything here save for the story, so don't sue...

A/N: ARIGATOU!glomps reviewers You SO don't know how much your reviews mean to me! I love you all!beams To yuko-san, many thanks for your constructive criticism, I promise to do my best not to repeat the same mistake!

legend:
~place/time~
"dialogue"
//thoughts//
*sigh or something like it*
inserts

And so, without further ado, I proudly present....

Chapter 2: The Departure

~at the airport~

The airport was as busy as it always was, with people bustling around the place, fussing over luggage, reprimanding children, and hastening to their flights. One would think that this was a normal everyday scene, considering the red tape and all, but quite unusual things started to happen in one of the waiting areas...

"I swear, if that red monkey doesn't show up soon, I'll..." Gori didn't bother to finish his statement; instead, he simply expressed himself with such a violent gesture that even Kogure was unnerved.

"Come now, Akagi, relax a little. That's what we're supposed to do, ne?"

"He always creates trouble for us! Not being polite enough to our host.. All he had to do was to show up at the designated time! He really is stupid.."
Rukawa hid a smirk. "Hn. He is." Rukawa stood up and went to buy himself a refreshment without attracting any attention.

"All passengers for the 7:30 flight to Egypt, please proceed to gate number..."

The captain stood abruptly from his seat. "K'so... Now he's gonna make us miss the flight! And we haven't even bought tickets yet! Where the hell is that baka?!"

Kogure sighed and looked around. No sign of the boisterous redhead... Then he noticed something unusual.

"Ne, Akagi, you shouldn't worry too much. Rukawa isn't even here."

"Huh?" Akagi scanned the area and found that his vice-captain was right. "But.."

Suddenly, vibrations started to shake the floor. It became louder and louder. It sounded very much like-

"A stampede? In an airport? At this time? What gives?" Ryota strained his senses to find out where it was coming from. Soon, they all saw a huge cloud of dust coming their way, almost knocking people and luggage over. It stopped a foot from where the Shohoku Basketball Club was sitting. Sakuragi and his army have arrived.

"Gomen, it was really traffic and... Haruko-san! I didn't know you were coming!"

Before the redhead could continue, a fist came out of nowhere and connected with the top of Sakuragi's head.

"Do'aho." The kitsune suddenly appeared.

Mitsui sighed and looked at his watch. "Ack! It's quarter to eight! We've completely missed the flight!"

Groans were heard from the group as everyone looked at their watches.

"I'm sorry for all this, Rukawa.." Akagi faced the super rookie, apologies evident on his face.

"Huh?" came the reply.

"We can't go right now. We'll have to wait for the next flight, which is due in three hours. I checked the flight schedules." Ayako said.

"Who said anything about taking a regular flight?" Rukawa asked.

"What do you mean, kitsune?" asked a very clueless Hanamichi.

Deciding to let the name-calling pass, Rukawa just said. "We just have to go through the door at the end of that corridor."

Bewildered and curious, the team, the gundan, Haruko and Ayako along with their luggage, of course set out to their destination, with the self-proclaimed tensai in front of the line. When they reached it, they saw that a person was guarding the door. Sakuragi reached for the doorknob, but-

"Excuse me, sir, you are not allowed to enter these premises." The man was not as tall as Sakuragi; but he was much, much beefier, so he has the courage to say something like that to the now fuming red monkey.

Before the hotheaded basketball player got the chance to retort, Rukawa stepped in front of Sakuragi.

"That wouldn't be necessary," he told the guard so coldly hell would certainly freeze over. I think it just did! ^__^

The guard recovered from shock, gulped and bowed low. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Rukawa-sama! Please proceed," he said as he opened the door for them.

"Rukawa-sama?"
"So powerful..."
"Demo, he's a lot colder than usual, ne?"
Mitsui, Ryota and Kogure nodded their heads in agreement.

"Oi! The three of you! Are you coming or not?" demanded the captain who was about to board the private jet.

"Matte! Wait for us!" the three shouted in unison, sprinting towards the magnificent aircraft.

Everyone had settled down on his or her seat when Rukawa entered the jet. He was the last one in 'cause he had to check if everything was in order. The jet he so purposely chose only has twelve seats-just enough for the main team members and their guests, along with the beautiful Ayako, of course. So, the sitting arrangement is as follows:

FRONT OF JET
Ryota|Ayako Akagi|Haruko
Takamiya|Yohei Rukawa|Hanamichi
Kogure|Mitsui Noma|Ooksu
BACK OF JET

With everything in place and in order, the jet started to move through the runway, gathering speed until at last, the wind lifted its metal wings to soar freely through the clear skies.

A/N: Oh! I forgot to tell you why it was set in Egypt! thinks Well, maybe I won't, for now... that's for me to know and for you to find out! hehehe... Trust me, it's important to have the story set there. You'll see as soon as the plot surfaces... Ja!