Two weeks later: Saturday, at precisely 8.00am...

"RINGGGGG............"

Yuki woke up from her dreams with a start and was looking frantically around for the source of fire when she realized that it's only the doorbell. "Damn that Maki. Why in the world must he wake me up to go practicing with him so damn bloody early in the morning?! It's Saturday for god's sake! Why can't he let me rest more?!! Grrrr.......that irritating idiot. And it's also thanks to him that I gotta be on my lookout for falling pots everyday in school!! ARGH!!! I M COMING!!!"

"Morning!" Maki greeted Yuki warmly.

(- "-)...... "morning" replied an annoyed Yuki. "Why can't you come later? Like, even an hour later would be fine! By the way, don't you have practice in school today?"

"Practice is in the afternoon today at 2. So, there's still time for us to practice together, come home and bath, then go for lunch together before going school again for practice! =D"

(-"""-).......... "Have you even thought that I might have other plans???"

"Oh well, since I know very well that you are still single, then there's no chance of you meeting your boyfriend today right? Which means, I will not be interrupting anything important!" grins Maki confidently.

(-""""""""""-) "You'll be the death of me! Grrr........."

"Okok. Hurry up and get changed you lazy bum! Call yourself a captain? =P"

10 mins later, at the basketball court near their house: (they live very near to each other in case you all have forgotten)

"You should try to jump higher when shooting...although I understand that with you height, it might be a bit hard..." Maki trails off as he notices a fuming Yuki.

"I may be short! But at least I'm fast! I'm the fastest female point guard in Kanagawa...and the BEST!" Yuki added, as an afterthought. (Yuki is only 153 cm tall. :P)

"Aa aa. I'm not doubting your skills and talents. What I'm trying to say is that there is still room for improvement, ne? Don't be angry, you do want to win the Nationals right? Let's work hard together!"

Suddenly, a baritone voice called. "Maki. Fancy seeing you here. Don't you have practice today?"

Maki swirled around to face a very tall, handsome guy with spiky hair...and I mean, VERY spiky hair. "Sendoh."

"Hi Maki. I see that you're up practicing early huh? And may I ask who is this very cute girl? Your girlfriend?"

"Nope, she's the female basketball captain for my school and my good friend. We stay very near each other too. Can almost be considered as neighbours."

"Ooooh, that is good news. Hi, my name is Sendoh Akira. I'm one of Ryonan's players." Sendoh flash Yuki his megawatt smile and extended his hands.

"Hi, I'm Yuki Hana. Like what Maki said, I'm the captain of the female basketball team of Kainan. Pleased to meet you." Yuki smiled sweetly back in return. Oooh, he is soo cute! Not to mention, handsome...and tall...and well built...and he's a very good basketball player as well!

She's really cute! Not to mention, that wonderful smile! Hmm...I wonder if she's any good. I'm not very familiar with female basketball...come to think of it...I don't even know who's the female basketball captain of our school...do we have a female basketball team in the first place??? sweatdrops Sendoh continues his musings...suddenly, he snaps himself out of his trance, "Care for a one on one with me?"

"Sure! First one to reach 10 points wins"

As the game starts, Maki retreats to one side to watch the game. Hmm...Sendoh is really a fantastic player. His defence and attack are equally strong...BUT I'm still the best, of course. =D Yuki's really good too. I can easily understand why she's the female captain for our school. I'm quite interested to see her in a real game. Well, I won't have long to wait. The IH is coming soon. I'll go support the female team this year too...come to think of it, I think Kumiko is entering the IH this year too...heard her mention it once or twice. Well, I'll just have to ask her when I see her.

As Maki is lost in his thoughts, the game ended, with Sendoh winning by two points. "Hey, Yuki! You are fantastic!"

"Thanks. =) The IH is coming soon. Good luck for your competition. I'll be supporting you, though if you are going to play against our school, then I'll be supporting Maki, of course. Hahaha."

"Yes, yes, of course. I understand. Thanks for your support. Good luck to you too! I'll be supporting YOU, since I don't even know anybody in our school's female basketball team. Lol. =P"

"Good job, Yuki. But can we go have lunch now? I'm starving! My treat today, let's go eat pasta and I'm dying for some ice cream too!" whines Maki...(okok, I noe Maki don't whine. But, just let him be OOC this once, k? :P)

"Yay! GOOD! This will appease me a little for you waking me up so early today to accompany YOU for practice! =D" Yuki shouts happily. Then she suddenly remembered Sendoh. "Uh, Sendoh, do you want to come along with us?"

"Nah, it's ok. I'm on my way to the jetty to fish actually, when I met you two. I'll be heading off now. Enjoy yourselves!" once again, Sendoh shows off his pearly whites. (smiles are free, right? =D)

"Okay. See you at the IH then. I'll go and support you! =) Byebye!!"

"Sendoh. Don't lose before you meet us, ok? I'll see you at the IH too. Ja, ne."

"Hahaha. Thanks, Yuki and Maki. Catch ya around! =)" Yuki is sooo cute! Plus, she's a really good player too! Hope to see her soon...hmm...I wonder if Maki really has no designs on her. If that's the case, then I'll make my move. =D I'd better make sure first. I don't really want to make an enemy out of Maki. I don't fancy myself fighting all that muscle. =S
Hehe, ok everybody. 2nd chapter's up. Next chapter, Yuki got into a minor accident...and Maki's cousin, Kumiko appears...that's my current idea. Subjected to changes though. :P Please review k? Thanx a lot! =)