Your heart's desire
----------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Honestly, I wouldn't be here if I owned either Rukawa or Sawakita. I'd be out showing them off. Anyway, Slam Dunk belongs to the Holy Guru Takehiko Inoue and I own the gorgeous Rukawa Kuroko.
Setting: Post-Slam Dunk
Pairing: Sawakita Eiji X OC (Rukawa Kuroko)
Character age guidelines:
Rukawa Kaede [32]
Rukawa Kuroko [20]
Genre: Romance/ maybe humour in some parts
Pre-script note: This fic doesn't have a beta-reader because I post chapters on impulse. However, my eternal devotion and love goes to Fen and the others who'd always be there to beta-read my horrendous works. (Stop scowling at me, Si En, I know this is another one of my romantic streaks…) I beta my own fic and so blame all the mistakes on me and I'll die a happy person if you point out blatant mistakes that I made.
Pre-script note 2: Constructive criticisms are very much welcomed. I'd be happy with a one-line review, but I give you my heart if you'd go past a paragraph assessing the fic, pointing out the strengths, weaknesses, where I should improve on and all. =D
----------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two
Kuroko, for all she was smooth and sophisticated in her ways, was incredibly dense towards the attention she received. Everyone at the table wondered how she could be oblivious of Sawakita's intense gazes and Rukawa's glares at Sawakita. She was enjoying her food quite a lot. Obviously, a good feast was good for her temper for Kuroko smiled nonchalantly at Sawakita, "That was good food, wasn't it?"
Sawakita felt himself go weak in the knees and he would have fallen over if he hadn't been seated then. He managed to reply, "Ah, yes… it was dazzling," Kuroko raised an eyebrow at his use of the adjective, but decided against asking. She then excused herself to go to the lavatory, again, plainly unaware of all the looks thrown in her direction. Rukawa clenched his teeth and vowed to incinerate all of Kuroko's tight clothes. Sawakita, however, was lost in his admiration of the woman.
"What did I tell you?" Rukawa growled the minute Kuroko was out of earshot.
"Touch her and I die," Sawakita replied glumly.
"You know, she's not a little girl, Kaede," Sendoh remarked pleasantly, "She's never going to get married if you hovered over her like that,"
"I'm not leaving Kuro in the likes of this playboy," Kaede continued growling. Everyone else spare Sawakita sighed; for someone who seldom got past three syllables in a line, Rukawa was a little talkative in protecting his sister. Sawakita, however, was looking injured, "Kaede, I am not a playboy,"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, nobody knows how you changed five girlfriends in a span of a month, sheesh," Mitsui snorted, "I don't exactly blame Kaede for trying to save Kuroko from you,"
Sawakita opened his mouth to say something, but Rukawa got there first, "You shouldn't date someone if you don't love her,"
He fell silent. Rukawa had a point there, but again, he was serious about each of his relationships. It was just that there was no one who could really fill in the blank perfectly. He could not prolong the relationships, as he didn't want the girlfriends to be hurt too badly – they would be, if they were too emotionally involved.
Sendoh, who understood Sawakita's sentiments, broke the awkward silence, "You know, Kaede, it wouldn't hurt to give Eiji a chance,"
"It would hurt Kuro," Rukawa's dark cobalt blue eyes remained steely.
"It's okay, Akira, thank you," Sawakita shook his head lightly, "I guess…I guess I'll just leave Kuroko alone," If he was lucky, she wouldn't be the one to fill in his blank.
------------------------------------------------------------
It was their old house, which he moved into when he was five. There he could see the old basketball court where he first learnt the feel of a real basketball game.
His father was holding out a basketball to him, and he touched it, feeling the coarse, leathery texture of the ball.
"Go on," His father said. Sawakita took the ball, dribbled it towards the net and did a lay-up. His father smiled.
"You just don't know how to love, do you?" In the place of his father was Midoriko. She was looking at him with large, mournful eyes, "Do you even know what 'love' means?" She turned, and walked away.
"Midori!" He cried out, trying to reach for her.
And he woke up.
------------------------------------------------------------
She frowned at the design. It didn't look good. She sighed and put it aside before reaching for a blank piece of paper to start work on. With luck, she'd be able to produce some top-notch designs for the next summer show – and get promoted. She was new in the company, and had a long way to go.
Kuroko twirled the blunt red pencil absently and she suddenly envisioned a pair of brown eyes filled with an emotion she cannot identify. Something was familiar about those eyes, but she couldn't pinpoint what that was. Sighing again, she put down the pencil.
Work had not been all that smooth. She was not able to come up with a good theme for her designs and was getting lectures daily from her superiors. Her department manager, for some strange reasons, kept picking on her. She felt it utterly unfair, for there were other newbies who were doing pretty badly as well. Still, she swallowed her pride and temper for the sake of better job prospects.
"Troubles?" Her brother touched her shoulder gently. Kuroko turned round to Rukawa and shook her head, "I need a theme, a good one that will touch souls and…" She gestured helplessly, unsure.
Rukawa gave a smile reserved only for his sister, "I can't help you in this department, but we can always talk,"
"Yeah, thanks Kae," She hugged her brother's waist, "We'll talk about something else, work's a nuisance. So, how are things on your side?"
"Mine? I've got to go to Milan next Monday, for two weeks," Rukawa sat on her bed, "You should know about that one,"
"Yeah, I know, the very prestigious Paris Fall show" Kuroko groaned, "I can't go. Got a major project to work on,"
"I'll get you the tapes," Rukawa offered.
"Thanks,"
"We are /still/ talking about work, aren't we?" Rukawa patted her shoulders.
Kuroko laughed, but it wasn't a happy one.
"Fancy cycling down the streets of Kanagawa?" She eyed him, "I bet I do that better than you,"
"You wish, I cycled for twenty years to school and to work and you had me to send you to school,"
"Oh really?" Both of them raced for the garage.
"You are so going to lose, I know the way round even when I'm asleep,"
"You lost practice, and I haven't, so there!"
"The loser cooks dinner,"
"Oh you better do it well!"
"Who said I'm going to cook dinner?"
"I did,"
"You are dead."
"You wish,"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sawakita sat up and wiped his sweat with the shirt that he was wearing. He had just fallen asleep on his living room sofa. He thought he just saw some familiar people, but that was probably a dream…
The evening sun blazed across his balcony, casting golden showers on the potted plants and the shiny marble floor tiles. He realized that, after checking the clock, he had slept for three hours. He didn't know that he was this exhausted.
Sawakita changed into a loose tank top and shorts, pulled on his shoes and went out for his daily evening jog.
----------------------------------------------------------
Kuroko pursed her lips in frustration. Her brother, as it seems, had not lost his touch at all. He weaved through the streets easily and swiftly; She on the other hand, cycled as fast but was slightly daunted by her unfamiliarity of the routes. She sped up her pedaling and was catching up on Rukawa fast.
Just then, a large tawny cat dashed out from the bushes on the side of the road and she swerved to avoid it. The bicycle brakes, worn from years of disrepair, gave way, and she crashed onto the road. A loud screech of car wheels was followed by a sickening crunch.
Rukawa stopped and turned. His blue eyes widened in alarm. Kuroko was lying on the road in a pool of blood. He felt his head spin with fear that gripped him.
"KURO!" His voice was hoarse with terror.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sawakita jogged down the sidewalk of the road, and he saw a familiar figure on a bicycle speeding down the other side of the road. He wanted to greet Rukawa but saw Kuroko, hot on her brother's heels, or rather, wheels. A large tawny cat dashed out.
His voice died in his throat as Kuroko avoided the cat and lost control of her bicycle, crashing onto the road. The oncoming red Ford could not stop in time. The lithe, beautiful figure flew like a lifeless rag doll through the air and landed on the ground in a faint heap. Sawakita felt an odd, painful twist in his guts as he heard Rukawa scream Kuroko's name. He ran out to the road, and looked into Rukawa's eyes briefly before both of them called Kuroko's name. Rukawa touched her shoulders tenderly, trying to wake her. Sawakita realized that she was alive, but barely. Her pale face was covered in blood and horrible gashes. Blood was still pooling around her.
------------------------------------------------------------
[A/N: Uh-oh…]