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Hehe. Actually, I was going to post this earlier but I don't know what happened and part 2 of Spill the Beans turned out to be this fic's part 2. Either ff.net hates me or I just know how to use the computer. It's most probably the latter. Oh, well. Gomen for the mix-up. ^^;; oh, and I'd also like to thank my reviwers. I feel so proud and touched that some people are posting feedback! ::blushes:: I FEEL SO LOVED! ^_^ Hehe. Just kidding. Anyway, thanks again.

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Title: Colleague

Author: Kuroi Tenshi [kuroi_22@hotmail.com]

Pairing(s): SenKosh ::waves flaglets happily:: ; SenRu; RuHana;

Warnings: Shounen Ai; violent Ryonan player with crazy dialogues with himself and his "friends" ^-^

Rating: PG-15 [actually… is there such a rating? ::shrug:: Oh, well…]

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Part 2

"Do you want to die a very slow and agonizing death?"

The one being directed the question to shook his head then sighed. "You know, all you needed to do was say no. There's no need for you to threaten me," Sendo said, reclining on the fluffy bed. They were found yet again inside Koshino's room; Koshino still laboring with his assignments while his best friend perpetually bugged him about Rukawa.

After Koshino agreed to Reiko's "terms of service", they left her with the Bio experiment with a promise of a perfect score on the experiment from her. Sendo was much reluctant to go back to the mansion knowing Rukawa was still inside the store, waiting for one of the girls to finish up his order. But after threats from his friend, he sighed in defeat and followed Koshino back to their house.

"You know, you could really help me out here," Koshino sighed, giving Sendo a pointed stare. "You've done nothing but talk non-stop about Rukawa the whole afternoon. Won't you stop?"

"Not until you agree to help me."

"Didn't you just say a while ago that all I needed to do was to say no? Well, here's the answer, bucko, NO. Now either you shut up and help me with the other assignments or go somewhere else, pester someone who doesn't have anything to do."

"You really shouldn't use me to displace your frustration," Sendo commented playfully. "So, what do you say? You and me, let's get out of here for a while and… you know, think of ways how to get closer to him."

"Didn't you understand a word I said?"

"You should know by now that 'no' is a word that doesn't exist in my vocabulary. All I can hear from you is 'yes, I'd love to help you, Sendo Akira, my best friend, win the love of your life, Rukawa Kaede's heart because it's what best friends do."

Koshino slammed the geometry book and threw it to him then stood up from the desk. "Fine, since I see no way of escaping this anyway. I know that you'll never shut up until I agree. Fine."

Sendo grinned, flashing him a 'V' sign. "Great! I knew you'd see things my way. So what's the plan?"

Koshino blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

"What the plan?" Sendo repeated, sitting up to face Koshino who sat by the bed's side, now glaring at him. "I mean, between the two of us, you're the brainier one here. You'll do a better job of making concrete plans on how to successfully woo Rukawa."

"Why me? I already agreed to help you, do I have to be the brains behind this too?"

"Like what I said earlier, you're the brainiac here, you do the thinking."

"Why don't I do the pummeling?"

"Violence solves nothing, Hiro-kun," Sendo said, raising his hands and resting it on Koshino's shoulders. Koshino squirmed away then smiled, scowl leaving his face. "Okay, I have a plan. A fool-proof, no-way-will-it-go-wrong plan."

"Let's hear it," Koshino said, shrugging as he settled into a more comfortable position, sitting closer to Sendo as he did. He had the feeling Sendo's "plan" would fail but he still wanted to hear it, knowing it'll be funny one way or another.

"We go the Shohoku, act like nothing's up then when I see Rukawa, I flash him a knee-weakening smile and there! He'll be head over heels in love with," he smiled then struck a pose (which Koshino thought made him look a lot like Johnny Bravo, complete with weird hair), "me. So what do you think? Am I genius or what?"

"I'd go with what," Koshino shrugged. "THAT'S the plan?"

"Do you have anything better?"

"Anything's better than that!"

"Oh, yeah? I don't see you proposing your bright ideas. At least I tried."

"And what a lousy try at that," Koshino sighed. "From the look of things, Rukawa's the type who's not easily impressed. So your stupid smiles won't work. At least not right away. So why don't you try befriending him first? Then slowly let him know how you feel. That way, he won't be too surprised when you profess your undying love for him. There, how's that for a plan?"

"I knew I could count on you!" Sendo exclaimed, patting him on the back. "Now that we have a plan, we should execute it as soon as possible. So let's go?"

"What? Go where?"

"To Rukawa's house, of course! We need to start befriending him, the sooner, the better. So why wait another day? We can go to his house right now and make friends with Rukawa. You shouldn't put till tomorrow what you can do today. Or something like that," Sendo shrugged.

"It's almost six! Are you crazy? Father will kill me if he finds out I'm missing my meals just because I need to befriend some emotionally challenged boy. No way, you go but I'm staying here."

"Kaede-kun's not emotionally challenged, he's just… shy about his real feelings. Like you are Hiro-kun. But unlike you, he doesn't use violence to convey his feelings. He uses silence."

"How about if I use my so-called violence to convey my feelings?" Koshino said, raising his fist in front of Sendo. "Wait until tomorrow, for God's sake. You'll end up freaking the guy out of you hang around his house like some burglar."

"But…" Sendo pouted and Koshino thought he looked cute… NOT! "Leave him alone for now. You wouldn't want to frighten him, would you?"

"I won't scare him in any way," Sendo argued. "We'll just say we were passing by the neighborhood and was surprised to find out he lived there."

"And how did you know where he lived exactly?"

"I followed him home before," Sendo shrugged, cheeks coloring a bit. Then crossed his arms indignantly, sticking his tongue out at Koshino. "He passed by me and he didn't seem to have recognized me—though I'm not sure how he didn't, considering my good looks—and the temptation to know where he lived was too much for me to bear! I had to follow him home and know his exact address."

"Are you aware that you're acting more and more of a deranged stalker as seconds trickled by?" Koshino asked, still surprised by Sendo's confession. Though he really wasn't that surprised, considering it was Sendo we're talking about here. "Reiko's rubbing off on you and it's scary."

"But you have to admit though, had it not been for Reiko's little tips, we would've been slaving away in front of the directory to find out his number and exact address. Last time I checked, I think there were at least a hundred Rukawas listed on the phone book."

"That's enough, you're creeping me out. I see Reiko in you when you talk about those things," he commented. Then paused. "Are you really serious about Rukawa?"

For some reason, Koshino held his breath as he waited for Sendo's answer. Realizing he didn't want to be subjected to Sendo's lovesick mooning, he shook his head. "Don't answer that, please. I want my appetite for dinner. Which reminds me, are you staying for dinner?"

Sendo shook his head. "Nah, I think I've been here too long. I should go now, so I can be home for dinner," he stood up from his position on the bed and smiled at Koshino. "Hey, thanks."

"For what? God, Sendo, don't go all sappy on me now!"

Sendo shook his head. "For everything, especially for agreeing to help me with Rukawa. It's just… different for him," he said, blushing lightly as he did. "Thanks."

Koshino's heart slowed its rapid beating when he heard his words. After a second, he found his voice back. "Sure, that's okay, think nothing of it. It's what friends do," he smiled, standing up as well. Do you… do you want me to ask Wayne to send you home?"

Sendo shook his head, huge grin in place. "Nope, you've already done enough for me," he said, punching Koshino playfully on the arm in a "manly" manner.

Koshino just about stopped himself from returning the "friendly" punch with one of his own when he caught himself just in time. "I'll walk you to the door."

"No need for that. Go back to your assignments, I still need to copy from you tomorrow."

Koshino scowled. "Sendo!" he threw him a pillow.

His friend laughed. "I was just joking. I already finished my math assignment before I went here," he said, opening the door. "I'll see you tomorrow then. And don't forget about our plans," he reminded before the door closed behind him.

The other boy felt himself torn between the need to finish all his assignments before dinner and following Sendo home. He couldn't understand it, this need to see Sendo happy. He was the guy's friend but Koshino really wasn't the kind to dwell on other people's pleasure. He only cared about those who were lucky enough to be loved by him. And he knew Sendo was the kind who didn't need his help in finding happiness, the guy was happiness personified. You'd never see him without his wide grin.

But for some reason, Koshino couldn't help but feel that Sendo having found someone, who he took seriously, left him feeling empty all of a sudden.

Shrugging the disturbing train of thoughts away, he walked toward his desk and concentrated on his geom assignment, taking the book her threw at Sendo a while ago with him. Only to find the problems he had been sweating over few minutes ago already solved. He found a short note from Sendo among the crumbled-but-straightened out scratch papers on the book.

'You keep forgetting that you can use the theorems and postulates when you prove both triangles are equal,' the note said. 'I took the liberty of listing down the theorems and postulates you'd need. Hope that helped.

Koshino smiled wryly. Sendo may not look like it but he was really smart. If only the spiky-haired boy would attend all of his classes and for the whole period, not five minutes before the bell rang, he knew Sendo could be an honor. And if only he stopped sleeping on the classes he did attend to.

"He's cool that way," he said aloud, smiling still as he stared at the equations Sendo solved for him.

No wonder you feel inane now that he's got someone special. He won't be with you all the time and he won't need you to pull him out of trouble now. His soon-to-be new lover will do that for him.

"And I'm happy about that," Koshino said indignantly, feeling his cheeks grow warm with the train of thoughts that came rushing in. Was the voice inside his head trying to imply something?

His eyes fell on the display of stuffed toys he had at the corner of the room. They were the toys he used to play with when he was still a child. He had wanted to throw them away or put away in the attic but Reiko stepped in and told him how thoughtless he was being. ""How could you just disregard these poor, poor toys just because you've outgrown snuggling with Mr. Teddy or Mr. Horsey?" he quoted. So they had one of the employees from the gallery make a shelf where he could keep all the plushies he had and had them displayed in his room.

To say Koshino was mortified was an understatement. How could he face those who entered his room and saw the display shelf? What the hell was a fifteen, nearing sixteen-year-old doing with a whole shelf full of animal plushies?

But Reiko had a way of "convincing" you to do what she suggests. Adamant swaying would be putting it nicely. But vicious threatening till you say yes was to be more precise about her methods. Thus the display of stuffed toys at the corner of his room.

Strange enough, the boy found solace in these animal plushies filled with polyester stuffing when he was down and no one was there to try and comfort him. Mr. Teddy, the life-sized teddy bear he had, seemed to stare right back at him. He looked away. "It's not what you think," he said, reddening more.

Mr. Horsey sneered at him. 'You're jealous,' it said.

"I'm not!" Koshino practically shouted. "Whatever gave you the idea I'm jealous that Sendo's going to start forgetting all about his best friend just because he's got someone he thinks he really loves now? I'm not jealous! No way! I don't care if he spends all his time with that block of ice, I don't care!"

'Right,' Mr. Teddy smirked. 'I've seen this before. It happens a lot with teenagers, especially best friends. Don't worry, I'm sure Sendo won't forget all about you that soon.'

'He still needs your help after all. You can start fearing the day when Rukawa says yes and then that's when he forgets all about you. Until then… you have no reason to feel jealous of the attention,' the black stallion's eyes said. 'You're only his friend after all.'

"Best friend," Koshino corrected. "And I'm not jealous. It's a blessing that he won't be hanging around me after all this. I'll be very thankful when that days comes that he'll spend all his hours with Rukawa."

'We've been with you for what—ten years already? You can't fool us,' Mr. Teddy said.

"I'm not! It's the truth!" he insisted, glaring at the two stuffed animals. "One more word from you and it's the scissors!" he threatened, hastily—almost frantically—grabbing the pair of scissors at the desk. Silence, finally.

"That's more like it," he nodded, breathing hard.

His door suddenly swung open and Reiko walked in, grinning as she eyed him. "The conference over, Hi-chan?" she smirked at Koshino's silence, face growing few shades of red darker. She handed him the experiment. "Here, now don't forget your part, Kasumi's dance won't be until the next few weeks. But Lance will need his tour guide by Friday. So… have fun?"

"How can you expect me to have fun when you forced me into all this mess? As if I don't have enough trouble with Sendo and Rukawa," he shook his head. "And you acting like my pimp isn't helping!"

Reiko shrugged. "Hey, a deal's a deal. Dinner's ready." When she paused by his door on her way out, she gave him a small smile. "You know, I agree with Mr. Teddy and Mr. Horsey. You worry about whatever internal conflict you're having when the day comes that Sendo and Rukawa becomes a couple. Don't sweat about it yet," she laughed as she ducked an airborne pillow hurled her. "Touché, Hi-chan!"

"Arrrgggh! Shut up!" Koshino shouted, throwing pillows even after his door slid close, his sister's laughter still echoing in his mind. He wasn't jealous that Sendo would be leaving him for Rukawa. He. Is. Not. He's relieved, more than relived. He's ecstatic, more than ecstatic—he's happy! He'd finally going to be free of Sendo! He's happy! HAPPY!

~*~*~*~

"Tell me again what we're doing here," Koshino asked through clenched teeth, trying to control his temper. They were under the heat of the sun, being subjected to solar baking while hiding behind a couple of bushes outside of Shohoku's gym.

Sendo glanced at him then returned his gaze toward the raven-haired boy practicing his three-point shots. After Sendo ended Ryonan's practice early (he just gave the people a smile, greeted them hello, reminded them to do their best in the next games then dashed off, grabbing Koshino's arm after shouting a hasty 'See you tomorrow'), they immediately made their way toward Shohoku high. "I thought we discussed this last night, we're here to befriend him."

"By baking under the sun's harsh heat?"

"Hey, we can't control the weather elements, we should learn to live with the sun always being this hot during this time of the year. Hey, by the way, did you bring the camera?"

Koshino grudgingly handed him the Polaroid he borrowed from his sister. "There, can I go now? I might collapse from heat stroke here. You don't need me anyway. You just need to walk up to him and say hi. Flash him your smile and then go."

"I thought we befriend him first?" his friend asked, clicking as if they was no tomorrow.

Koshino gritted his teeth. "You befriend him, not me." He couldn't help but feel annoyed that this baka with him was having the illusion he'd befriend Rukawa. For him. No way.

"You talk to him, you make friends easily!" Sendo said, pushing him out of their hiding place.

Koshino stumbled toward the ground with a loud yelp of surprise before he looked up and came face to face with Rukawa, who came out to investigate what the noises were. He straightened up, brushing the dirt off his pants and shirt. "Uh, hi, Rukawa," he said, forcing a smile. He was going to kill Sendo for this later.

Him making friends easily? Who was the guy kidding?

Rukawa regarded him with his flat blue eyes and Koshino took that chance to study Rukawa's features. He realized he was indeed beautiful; those silly girls who had a club for him weren't kidding when they said he was handsome and all that crap. And he could see why Sendo "fell in love" with him. It was his eyes. They were so blue, he didn't think he saw anyone else with the same shade of eyes before. He knew that those blue eyes are flat now but when Rukawa wanted to reveal his real feelings, those eyes would express it better than any words could.

Koshino cleared his throat. "Koshino Hiroaki, from Ryonan," he said, extended his hand.

The fox-eyed boy looked at it for a few seconds before he nodded. "I know who you are," he replied, though he didn't take his hand. "I saw you yesterday. With that loudmouth baka."

Koshino grinned at what Rukawa called Sendo. "Yeah, my sister…" He blushed as he remembered yesterday's events. He hoped Rukawa wasn't the kind who talked about other's misfortunes, especially if that other was the rival team's vice-captain. "Is practice over?" he asked, changing the subject. He knew from spying on them for the last hour that practice had ended ten minutes ago.

He nodded. "It's only the freshmen members cleaning the gym here. If you need Akagi or Kogure…"

Koshino shook his head. What the hell will he tell those people? 'I came here to help my best friend snag your ace'? "Actually, I was just passing by and I thought I'd see how you guys are doing," he lied, forcing a small smile. "Sendo's with me," he said.

At the mention of his name, Sendo emerged from the bushes, grinning cheerfully at Rukawa, nonchalantly brushing away the leaves and dirt that he collected from the last hour's spying. "Hey there," he said with a smile. "You guys played great."

Rukawa nodded silently, looking at Sendo, his blue eyes trained on the older boy in front of him who stood there, still smiling.

"Hey, Kitsune!" Hanamichi shouted, stepping out of the gym. "Don't let us do all the work, you should continue mopping the floor!" Then he saw who Rukawa was with. "Sendo? Koshiro?"

"Koshino," he corrected with a smile, though inside, he was wringing the redhead's neck.

Hanamichi shrugged. "Sure, Koshino." He turned to Rukawa and threw the mop at him. "Kitsune, I'm not going to work there while you chitchat with your friends."

Without another word except for the muttered 'do'aho', Rukawa picked up the mop on the grass and walked back in. Sendo stared at him while he mopped the floor, ignoring them completely. He needed to think fast—he has to be closer to Rukawa! "Let us help you!" he called out to Rukawa, walking past the two who stared at each other in disbelief. He took the mop Hanamichi left leaning on the wall and took his post next to Rukawa, ignoring the surprised and curious stares from the members of the team.

"What's he doing?" Koshino asked the question on everybody's mind.

Hanamichi shrugged. "Hmm... doesn't matter. He's doing the Tensai's job, how nice! Nyaahahaha!" he laughed, stepping back inside to shout orders for the boys to mop here and there, telling them they missed a spot.

Koshino stared at the gym in disbelief before he followed the younger boy inside, standing next to Ayako who was waiting for Hanamichi to finish so she could teach him the basics. "Sorry about him," he said, tilting his head in Sendo's direction where he was talking to Rukawa, who only nodded his head once in a while, not contributing to the conversation.

Ayako shrugged. "At least he's helping. Why are you here anyway?" she asked, glancing at him.

Koshino bit his lip nervously. Why were they there? "We wanted to wish you guys good luck with the IH. Shohoku's a strong team and we just wanted to see how you guys were progressing," he replied, surprising himself with his quick thinking.

But Ayako was not to be fooled. "Right," she smiled wryly. "It's Sendo, right?"

Koshino shrugged noncommittally. "What about him?"

"He came all the way here, dragging his best friend along just so he could mop the floor with Rukawa. There's nothing out of the ordinary with that," she chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure no one will mind, well, maybe except for someone I know but anyway…"

"You mean there's competition?" Koshino's eyes sparkled in interest.

Ayako laughed. "The one I'm referring to hasn't realized it yet, but yes, there is. Now excuse me, I still need to teach Hanamichi some basics… Sakuragi!" she called out the boy who was busying himself shooting glares at Rukawa and commenting about slacking off.

Koshino stood there, watching Rukawa and Sendo mop the floor, his head spinning. Competition for Sendo… he hasn't realized it yet but if Ayako said there's competition, then there is one. Now the question is, who is it?

He looked around the gym and saw the most of the freshmen cleaning the gym were almost done. Could it be one of them? He studied the group who was now putting the mops away. Nobody seemed the least interested in Rukawa, basing from their actions. As from the starting members, Akagi seemed straight. Koshino figured there was something going on between the three-pointer and the vice-captain so he ruled them out. And he knew from Hikoichi that Ryota was interested in Ayako. That only left…

He saw Sakuragi practicing the basics while shooting annoyed glances at Rukawa and Sendo every now and then. "Kitsune! Don't slack off—you missed a spot!" he heard the loudmouthed redhead shout toward their direction. The other boy only ignored him, mopping the floor.

Koshino noticed that they never moved from that spot on the floor. He grinned as Sakuragi went back to the basics, frowning slightly as he did. He caught Ayako's eye and they both smiled. I wonder what Sendo will say when he find out that Sakuragi's competition… Hmm… will I tell him?

Sendo suddenly burst out laughing and he saw Rukawa crack a smile. Koshino made a face. That baka! Let him figure it out for himself.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Koshino nodded his goodbye to Sendo and nodded to Rukawa as well. They were going to head toward the park and play a friendly game of one on one. Sendo asked him to stay but Koshino refused, not wanting to spend more time than necessary seeing Sendo smile and flirt with the younger boy.

The two nodded and started to walk to the direction of the park, which was only a block away from the school. Koshino stared to walk toward his house, debating whether or nor he should call and ask the chauffeur to pick him up since the afternoon's activity drained him. As he rounded the corner, he saw Sakuragi walking ahead of him.

"Sakuragi!" he called out, picking up his pace to catch up to him. When he did, he smiled at him. "You live this way too?"

He nodded and continued walking, looking down almost glumly.

Koshino frowned. "Is there a problem? I know we're not that close but you know, talking about it could help, even if only a little."

"It's nothing," the redhead shrugged. Then paused. "Have you ever felt so frustrated and angry for no reason?"

Koshino blushed. He did, almost twenty-four hours a day. "Yeah, I do, a lot. Why? You feeling kind of frustrated right now?"

He nodded. "I don't know why. But whenever I see that stupid Kit—I see this certain person, I get so angry all of a sudden. It's like I want to punch him for no reason."

"Maybe ice cream will help," Koshino suggested, stopping in front of a small ice cream parlor. "We can talk inside if you want."

Sakuragi looked uncertain for a moment. "Are you sure? I heard you say you were feeling tired a while ago when they asked you to join them. Don't you have you go home?"

Koshino shook his head. "Oh, that. Let's keep it just between you and me, okay? I didn't feel like watching the two play. Knowing them, it'll take a long time for them to finally admit someone's victory," he said, looking at the concrete floor to hide the lies in his eyes. Truth be told, he didn't know why he felt angry to know Sendo and Rukawa will be playing together. It was only basketball, for Christ's sake. Nothing was going to happen between them. He looked up at the boy with him. "How about that ice cream? Suddenly I need something to cool my head."

Sakuragi nodded. "I think I need something to cool my head with too." He smiled slightly as he opened the door for Koshino. Koshino steeped in and smiled at him before they walked toward the counter.

~*~*~*~

"So where were you last night?" Sendo asked, pulling his shirt over his head, giving Koshino a good view of his well-muscled chest.

The other boy looked away, face burning for no reason. What the hell was his problem? He'd seen Sendo without his shirt a million times before, sometimes, he even saw more than his exposed chest when they shower. So what was his problem now? "I didn't realize I had to report to you whatever I do when I'm not with you," he replied with a frown. Why was he suddenly interested where he was? He never showed concern about him before—except when he needed something.

Sendo stared at him for a moment then shrugged, breaking into a grin. "I called you last night to tell how you well the plan worked but the girl who answered said you weren't back yet. I thought you said you were tired."

"I was. But when I saw Sakuragi and we passed by an ice cream parlor, we stepped in and had some. I guess we talked longer than I thought."

"You and Sakuragi?"

"What's wrong with that? It doesn't mean anything, we just had ice cream," Koshino scowled at Sendo's wide grin. "So how did it go last night?"

Sendo's grin widened and he flashed him a "V" sign. "Went well! We played for more than an hour and after that, we had dinner together. Then I walked him home. I asked him if he'd like to play with me again this afternoon and he said yes. What do you think? I'm doing well, aren't I?"

Koshino nodded then suddenly froze. "Today's a Friday, right?" Sendo nodded then looked at his friend in concern as the blood drained away from Koshino's face. "I'm supposed to play tour guide for Lance today."

"So? Practice is over. We can rush to Shohoku before he arrives and he'll miss you."

"Reiko will kill me if I ditch him."

"She won't, you're the only son."

"You don't know her well. She doesn't use violence and blackmailing for revenge."

"What does she use?" Sendo asked, not the bit concerned since he was positive Reiko really wouldn't do anything to her brother.

"The worst of all, psychological terrorism," Koshino replied, sighing. "She told me that he'll drop by after practice so we need to hurry up," he said, already zipping his bag. "Sendo, check the doors, do you see anyone who looks foreign?"

Sendo did as he was told and shook his head. "The coast is clear, let's make a run for it," he grinned, already heaving his bag on his shoulder. "Ready?" he asked, back against the door.

Koshino nodded before they both took off in a mad dash, sidestepping and avoiding people who stared at them in surprise as they passed by. As they reached the gate that would give them freedom, Koshino let out a "YES!" before he bumped into someone, sending flat on his back.

Reiko waved at him, smiling sweetly as she looked down on him. "Hi-chan, hello there. Let me introduce you to Lance," she said, titling her head to the boy behind her as he stood up. "Lance, my brother and your tour guide, Hiroaki. Hi-chan, Lance, my classmate's brother and the one you'll show around."

Koshino offered his hand, still looking on the ground as his face burned in embarrassment. Lance took it and gave it a firm shake before he let go. "This is Sendo, my friend," he mumbled.

He heard several girls shriek and saw them crowd around them and Koshino frowned. Now what?

"My, my, Lance, we're getting pretty popular, aren't we?" Reiko commented, laughing lightly. "Well, I'll be leaving you two to chitchat and get to know each other. I need to go back to the gallery. See you later, Hi-chan!" She walked toward her black Porsche and waved at them before she drove off.

Until that time, Koshino still hadn't looked up from the ground, avoiding looking at Lance at all costs. When he finally did, after Sendo nudged him that they needed to go, his eyes widened and his breath hitched.

Standing before him was the most gorgeous man he saw. He had light brown hair that hung loose on his shoulders, which looked silky and soft. And the eyes! They were the most beautiful shade of green he ever saw. He wondered briefly if Lance was gay, or bisexual at least.

Sendo elbowed him and Koshino smiled, ignoring the pain Sendo's jab caused him, not caring if his lungs got punctured. "Um, why don't we start the tour?" he said with a smile, faint crimson tainting his cheeks as lance nodded and smiled at him.

"What are doing here again?" Lance asked, crouching next to Koshino who was intent on ignoring him.

When he turned to look at him, he saw Lance staring at him, his beautiful emerald eyes trained on him, drinking every detail of his face. "You're beautiful," he said and Koshino blushed. He hit him on the head before he turned back to the team practicing inside the gym, though his face was still hot and red. Nobody told him he was beautiful before.

Next to him, Sendo glanced at them before he returned to snapping pictures of Rukawa. After giving Lance a brief tour on their way to Shohoku, they immediately took their post behind the bushes and resumed spying on the team.

Koshino, soon after realized that Lance wasn't worth drooling over. Sure, the guy was gorgeous, and yes, he was gay. But he was also annoying and cocky as hell. Two things that Koshino absolutely detested in a guy.

"Ask Sendo here," he replied, cocking his head in Sendo's direction, who was almost salivating at the sight of Rukawa. After five more minutes, he sighed, feeling all annoyance bubbling inside him threaten to explode. "Okay, I've had enough of this," he said through clenched teeth, standing up slowly from where they were crouched behind the bushes.

The two with him stared at him, wondering if the sun finally succeeded in baking Koshino's brain.

"Sendo, you stay here if you want to keep on spying on that block of ice, I don't care. I'm not taking any more of this. I'm tired and I'm cranky and I'm dirty. I'm going home," he said, holding up a hand to stop Sendo from speaking until he was finished. He then turned to the English lad to his right who also stood up and was looking at him, a smile on his sensuous lips. "As for you, I'm sorry this tour thing's not working out. If you're not satisfied with the tour, don't worry. I'll call some agency and have them tour you around. Tour you around the whole of Japan even, I just don't care. I'll call you sometime soon, alright?" Shaking his head, he started to walk away, ignoring the stares the two threw his way.

"Koshino!" Sendo called out, blinking in confusion as his friend continued to walk away, not turning back. "Hey! What happened? Koshino!"

Lance smirked. "You can continue that little game of yours but I'm following Hiroaki home," he said. "Doesn't he look cute when he goes like that?" Lance didn't see the annoyed scowl Sendo sent his way as he ran after Koshino, calling for him to slow down and wait for him.

After shaking his head in disbelief at the sudden turn of events, Sendo shrugged and grinned. "Oh, well. At least Rukawa and I will be playing ball in a few minutes."

Tbc

ice krystahl I really can't answer that, can I? Though I'm sure you can guess. This is an avid SenKosh fan speaking of course. ^_^

Madiha ::joins waving flags:: Hehe. Wait, I think I posted this part before I lurked. Oh, well. But sure, since exams are over for this quarter, I'll have a bit more time to do some actual writing and updating. ::grin::

Rings of Saturn Oops, I posted the wrong part before. ^^;; But I'm fixing it now. If you're reading this part and it's part of the the right fic [hopefully, this time it is] then I guess it's ok. ^_^

Yuuki Ahh! RuHana lover, aren't we? Hehe. Thanks for the review!

SLL Hao. Thanks for the review. I'm glad you find it sweet. ^_^

'Nyway, thankies to those you gave feedback. You can receive the keys of your car next week. ^_^ ::chuckles:: Ja.