Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters from Slam Dunk, yadda yadda shmuck, but the extra characters I added are mine and you can't have them! *sticks out tongue*
Summary: Shohoku has a new secret weapon: a mysterious transfer student. Sakuragi hates him, Rukawa is hell bent in regaining the ace player title, but what happens when they discover that the new player's a GIRL?
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Shohoku's 'Secret' Weapon
By foxdance
Chapter 1:
Rukawa's New Nemesis
01/01/04
The shadows cast by the high array of windows of the gym in which he hid in made his presence there undetectable, but was hard to see what he was doing. The several overhead lights barely put up a fight against the dark. It was late. Really late.
Almost eleven o'clock in the evening. Just ten more minutes, he thought. Ten more friggin' minutes and he promise he'll drop it.
Thump, thump, thump.
Just a couple more shots. And then he'll go straight home, console his worried mother and face raging father who will, as always, scold him for this 'utter waste of time' as he called it. They never understand.
Thump, thump, thump.
The rush, the ecstasy that every shot gave him was incomparable. It was as if it was his sole purpose in life, the only thing that gave him satisfaction.
Thump, thump.
One more shot. One more shot, and he would let himself loose.
The venerated object bounced into his large, calloused hands. Almost immediately it flew out again, away from his reach as he jumped, releasing a fifteen-foot fade-away shot that swished soundlessly through the hoop.
And there it was. Perfect. He wouldn't have settled for anything else.
The orange ball bounced several times before it was snatched back again. The god-like speed with which he moved made it seem as if an entire team was handling the ball, but in fact, it was only one man. One very tired man, he might add. But regardless of the empty stands, regardless of the dim lights of the empty gymnasium, regardless of the absence of an opponent, he gave it his best. One last play, and he gave out what little energy remained in him.
Basketball. It was just a sport, really, but to Rukawa Kaede it was an obsession.
As if by magic, the stadium began to roar in his ears, and he was not alone anymore. Team mates roamed about mingled with the challengers from the other school. Ayako fiercely waved her fan as she screamed orders while Ansai-sensei sat quietly with his keen, observant eyes. Ten seconds left on the shot clock. But Rukawa had the ball, and he was determined to bring it in.
An imaginary opponent stood guard in front of him, waving imaginary hands to steal his round cargo, but he swiveled, gracefully, and slipped through. Then another. Rukawa steps back, bounces the ball thrice behind his bent legs, executes what seemed to be a three-pointer. A fake! And he gives the shadow player the slip as he slides through the rest of the defenses, past the hunkering buffalo of a captain, and soars for a dunk. But yet one more. The best by far, a tall, lanky young man with a pleasant face and hair that stood out on ends reaches out for a swat at the ball, but Rukawa's hands had already slammed it all the way to the rim! And as he hung there by the hoop, he watched the bright orange ball slide through the tunnel of net, and down to the glossy, wooden floor. Rukawa let go as he followed suit. Another shot, another point. Another perfect play. But it was not enough. Not until he was sure he was the best.
How many times had he spent standing underneath that hoop, watching the ball in silent unrest? No matter how he looked back, there was always something amiss. He had always yearned for something more from that ball, and not just the small-fry victories his skill afforded him. He wanted to be the best in the world. When was that going to come?
Rukawa grabbed the ball, bounced it slowly with his right hand while he glanced at his wrist watch. Fifteen past eleven. His parents were going to throw a fit. Since the start of this semester he had been given a curfew of eight o'clock. Be home by then or we lock you out, his father had barked. The old man wanted his son studying his algebra and as far away from a basketball court as possible, especially after Rukawa had flunked three subjects the semester before.
"Kuso." Sheer irritation caused him to slam the ball against the floor with such ferocity that it ricocheted halfway to the roof. When it fell he did not run after the ball, and he let it roll off to a darker part of the court.
Is his brooding, he had not noticed that a pair of pale hands caught the ball in its wake.
Rukawa grabbed his thermos and took one long swig, already thinking of the dressing-down that awaited him at home.
Thump, thump, thump.
Rukawa stilled at the sound.
Thump, thump, thump.
The thermos dropped to the bleachers, water and all, as Rukawa swung around to confront the intruder.
Thump.
There, in the other side of the court, standing by the bleachers, was a boy holding Rukawa's discarded ball. His clothes were all in white, from the baseball cap set askew to the scruffy cross-trainers on his feet. From what Rukawa could make out in the bad kighting, he appeared to be younger than Rukawa, a few feet shorter, decidedly lanky, but the arrogant smirk he wore did not escape Shohoku's competitive ace player.
Thump, thump.
Rukawa frowned. Only players, Ansai-sensei, and Ayako were allowed inside the gymnasium after school hours. Besides, he did not like that arrogant smile one bit. It seemed demeaning, and there was nothing Rukawa hated more than being scoffed at. It was almost as if he was challenging Rukawa.
Rukawa'a blue eyes narrowed. Was he?
Three lighting-fast dribbles and the ball was air-borne, slipping into the net with barely a sound. The boy was at least twenty feet from the net, and yet it seemed effortless. A satisfied smile swept over the intruder's face as he picked up the ball again, and staring straight at Rukawa's stricken face. The boy is was good. Really good.
Rukawa's heart thumped in his chest. He got his answer. The gauntlet was thrown, and Rukawa's face hardened into that famous cold mask of concentration.
They were off in a flurry of red and white. It seemed only a second later that they were facing each other, with Rukawa warily watching the boy dribbling the ball as he guarded him.
"Who are you?" Rukawa mumbled, his hawk-like gaze never leaving the boy's nimble hands.
The boy only smiled, stopped his dribbling, and to Rukawa's utter shock darted to his left, then agilely whirled around when Rukawa acted for the block, and released a fade-away shot that had Rukawa's usually taciturn expression widen into an expression of disbelief.
It was another astounding long-distance shot, accomplished so quickly that he barely had time to counter it. The ball bounced and rolled towards Rukawa's feet as if magnetized there.
"Game over," came a soft voice behind Rukawa as he bent to pick up the ball, but the moment he turned around, the boy in white was gone
A gust of wind from the open gymnasium doors slightly ruffled his sweat-drenched hair. Rukawa stared long and hard at the door where the mysterious boy had gone before he slammed the ball against the floor for the second time that night, thoroughly pissed at being defeated by a mere boy you was probably years his junior.
"Kuso."
A/N: Okay! That was my first chapter AND first fanfiction ever. I'm actually a wanderer from the realms of FictionPress.com who normally only writes original fiction, but I'm giving fanfiction a try for a change. If you're interested, see .
Badum badum… Please REVIEW! *points to the little button below* I'd love to hear from you ^________^