Unspoken CHAPTER 2

-endymion-

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and any of its characters do not belong to me.

Rukawa looked out of the glass segment on the door, his chin propped up on the desk, blankly wondering why he had chosen to go back to school and attend this boring class.

"Rukawa Kaede?" the teacher called out just as he was about to doze off.

He turned his gaze at him, annoyed. "Nani?"

"Answer the question please," the teacher looked somewhat irked, but Rukawa didn't even bother to stand up. He and the teacher just glared at each other. The whole class was looking at him, some with disbelief, others with admiration.

The sensei opened his mouth to speak once more, but then, the classroom door slid open. The principal stepped in, followed closely by a girl. Her mane of long dark hair was twisted into braids and her sharp emerald green eyes studied the room closely. Silver hoop earrings dangled on both her ears. The boys were quickly drawn to her, mainly because she was a decent looking piece of fresh meat. Unexpectedly, even Rukawa, but for a different reason. Through a haze of sleepiness, he thought her face was quite familiar...

"Minna,(Everyone) this is Watanabe Reika," the principal told the class. "I'll leave her in your hands, Akari-sensai."

"Hai, wakarimashta," Akari-sensei bowed to the principal's retreating back, completely forgetting about scolding Rukawa. "Watanabe-san, please tell us a little something about yourself."

"Err..is it really necessary?" Watanabe asked.

"In order for us to get to know you, yes," Akari-sensei replied.

"Well...Okay," she said, giving a reluctant smile before taking a deep breath. "Hi. I'm from Honshu. We came here because of..." she paused, as though choosing her words. "...my mother's business. So I'm not sure how long I'm staying. Nice to meet you all."

She looked around the classroom and caught Rukawa's eyes. Her smile widened to a grin. Rukawa's eyebrows flew up, wondering why on earth this newbie was grinning at him.

The girls started whispering amongst themselves. The boys looked like they had all died and gone to heaven, though.

"It's nice to have you in my class, Watanabe-san. Please take your seat," the teacher pointed out an empty seat to her.

"Arigato gozaimasu," she said before going to claim her seat. She slumped down in her chair with a sigh and promptly started to doodle on a notebook.

The lesson continued again, but no one seemed to participate anymore.

All eyes were on Watanabe.

Reika sighed as she stepped into the ladies room. It was lunchtime, and the boys had pestered her non-stop until she gave up and went into hiding.

"You're new around here aren't you?"

Reika whirled around and saw a pretty, older girl.

"Hai,(Yes)" Reika replied. "How did you know?"

"I've never seen you around before," the girl said with a smile, pulling back her long dark curls into a ponytail. "Good luck with those boys. They can get as rabid as the Oendans."

"Oendans?" Reika looked puzzled. "What the heck are those?"

The girl gave a dismissive wave of hand. "So you're not one of them yet."

"No," Reika said slowly. "Who are they?"

"Rukawa Kaede's fan club and personal cheering team," the girl chuckled. "They never failed to attend a practice or a game as long as Rukawa's in it."

"How'd you know all that? You're not one of them are you?" Reika asked her incredulously.

The girl laughed. "Of course not. My name's Ayako, I'm the Shohoku Basketball Team's manager."

"Hontou?" Reika's features lit up with a smile. "Can I go watch you guys practice? I just love basketball. I watch the Highschool basketball games all the time. And I think this year's team has improved a lot."

"Is that so?" Ayako looked pleased. "Sure, you can come by anytime. Practice starts at four. Unless you have plans for a date with some boy."

Reika snorted. "Heck no. The dating game's not my scene, know what I mean?"

Ayako nodded. "So, I'll see you later—"she prompted for the younger girl's name.

"Reika," she supplied. "Later."

Ayako gave her one last smile before strolling off.

Rukawa walked quickly from the locker room towards the gym in hopes of getting there first. He had really wanted to catch up on the practices he had missed. He knew it was his fault he missed all those chances to play but, hey! The guy's only human. A very grouchy, anti-social human, but a human nonetheless.

When he was almost there, he heard the squeak of rubber shoes on the court and the bump bumping of a basketball being dribbled.

Disappointed, he entered the gym and threw his bag along the wall. Must be one of his senpai. He turned towards the court and he felt his eyebrows rise.

"Watanabe?" he said softly, upon seeing the girl. Something clicked in his brain and then he understood.

So that's why the new girl looked familiar. She was the bonehead who crashed into him the day before.

She didn't notice him standing there. She was so absorbed in playing by herself, doing feints, faking passes and a few lay-ups. She ran past the line, took aim, did a jump shot—

The ball rolled around the ring and fell out.

"Kuso!" she cursed angrily. "Friggin three-pointers..."

She went to pick up the ball and straightened back up. This time, she finally noticed Rukawa.

"I didn't think practice would start until four," she said without so much as a hello, as she walked toward him dribbling the ball. She looked the same as she did the yesterday; sweaty, red-faced, hair in ponytail and minus the hoop earrings.

"What are you doing here?" he grumbled.

Reika raised an eyebrow. "I'm setting up a brain auction, would you want to bid?" she rolled her eyes. Honestly, some people needed to reoil their head cogs. "What else am I supposed to do in a basketball court?"

"Hn," Rukawa grunted, starting his warm-up exercises. Stupid, feisty bitch.

"Oh, hey, it's OK to use the gym right? I mean, it's school property but—"

"It's OK," Rukawa interrupted.

"I see," Reika sighed. "I'm just really addicted to basketball and I miss playing in a team so much," she said then passed the ball suddenly to Rukawa. Reflexively, he caught it with his two hands. "But I haven't had much time to play lately."

"How long have you been playing?" he wanted to know. He passed the ball back to her.

"Since—I don't know. Forever I suppose," she replied, dribbling the ball with her left hand. "It has always been my life. It must sound pretty stupid, coming from a girl, I know, but it's true. My mom really can't understand why I like this boy's sport so much..."

'It's always been my life...' these words echoed in his mind as Reika chattered on and on.

"I heard you have your own fan club," Reika went on, throwing the ball back to him one more time. "I guess you're pretty popular around here, huh?"

"I don't like those noisy girls," Rukawa said, throwing the ball back to her. She caught it and dribbled it with hands of an expert in silence.

"Say, wanna do a game?" she said all too suddenly.

"Game?"

"Yeah, one on one, you and me? How about it?"

Rukawa stole the ball from her. "I don't have time to fool around."

He ran toward the goal post and did a jump shot, but Reika somehow got in front of him, snatched the ball away before it flew too high and dribbled it once again. "I am not going to take no for an answer."

Rukawa ignored her and tapped the ball out of her grip and went for another goal.

The ball soared through the air but then Reika jumped up and touched it with her fingertips. It had ruined the ball's aim. It bounced off the ring and she grabbed the rebound.

When she turned back around Rukawa had already started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Reika yelled. No answer. Anger swelled within her.

She hurled the basketball at Rukawa's head. He turned around instantly, still feeling a little dizzy. The impact of the collision had jiggled his head a bit.

"Chicken!" she glared at him, her green eyes flashing.

That got him. Only Sakuragi dares call Rukawa Kaede names, but even he never called him a chicken. "All right, you're on!"

The game began. Rukawa and Reika did one play after another, doing their best feints, shots and steals.

After the first five minutes, the score was 10-6, in Rukawa's favor.

'Damn...I can't get through his defense,' Reika cursed under her breath. She got her first two scores because Rukawa's guard was still a little loose. He thought the first one was beginner's luck and he underestimated her speed, thus ensuring her second goal. He tightened his guard after the second goal, finally getting the fact that she was,in fact, a good player. She hasn't scored since.

Though. she didn't let him score that easily either, his height was a definite disadavantage to her.

She dribbled the ball, calculating her next step. She had been studying his movements. She faked to the left.

An opening! She thought, triumphant. She broke into Rukawa's defense and scored an easy lay-up.

'That's odd...why isn't he picking up the ball?' Reika thought upon landing.

She whirled around and faced a full gym that suddenly burst with applause. While they were busy playing, the whole team had come in, together with Anzai-sensei, Ayako and almost half the school.

"Nice going Rukawa!" the other team members applauded loudly.

"Rukawa, Rukawa, L-O-V-E, Rukawa!!!" the Oendan girls screeched, staring menacingly at Reika. Reika caught his eye and he shrugged. The two of them stepped off the court and onto the sidelines.

Ayako looked excited. "I didn't know you were such a good player!"

"A very good one, indeed," Anzai-sensei said followed by his trademark jolly laugh.

"Oi Fox-face!" Hanamichi yelled at Rukawa. "You can't even score against a chick! Guess you're losing your touch! Unlike me, the Tensai!"

"Do aho," Rukawa muttered. The redhead said far too much.

"Rukawa-kun, I didn't know you had girls on your priority list," Hisashi Mitsui said, looking very amused. How often do you see Rukawa this close with any other girl but Ayako, who was his schoolmate in Junior High?

"It was an excellent game," Ryota Miyagi remarked. Then he turned to Ayako blushing crazily with a goofy grin. "Ne, Aya-chan?"

"It sure was," Ayako agreed, pointedly ignoring Miyagi's lovesick stare. "Where did you learn to play that well?"

"My dad taught me," Reika waved a hand casually.

"Too bad we don't have a women's team here," a short-haired freshman spoke up before Ayako could ask Reika.

"Haruko-chan!" Sakuragi exclaimed, his already-pink face growing pinker.

"Reika, this is Haruko, the ex-captain's sister and my assistant," Ayako said.

"You're a freshman too, right?" Reika smiled at her.

"Yes," Haruko smiled back, nodding. "Rukawa-kun is a marvelous player and you matched up to him. You must be living and breathing basketball too."

"Thank you, but no, I don't live and breathe basketball." Reika shook her head with a laugh. Then she turned to Rukawa. "Rukawa-kun, that was a fun. I hope we get to do a real game soon."

She stood up and started to walk away.

"You mean you're leaving?" Haruko asked her.

"You said you wanted to watch our practice," Ayako looked puzzled.

"Oh, I will," Reika said. "I just wanted to take a quick shower in the locker rooms first. I feel really hot."

"That she is," one of the team members whispered.

"I can show you the way to the girls' locker room if you want," another one said.

"I'll come too!" yet another one piped up.

Reika raised an eyebrow. "Uh, thanks guys but I know my way."

"Oh, OK," they said looking disappointed.

She sauntered off, her poinytail boucing along.

"I suppose we'll have a Watanabe Oendan Boys soon," Anzai-sensei laughed.

"She's not that great," Miyagi and Hanamichi said together and turned to look at Ayako and Haruko in perfect synch.

"She's pretty cool," Mitsui remarked as he did stretches on the floor. "Let's see. Beautiful, tall, and basketball player. She's not even one of the Oendans. What more could you ask for? "

"Don't tell me you have a crush on her now, Micchi," Sakuragi sneered, poking his senior's back repeatedly.

"I don't," Mitsui shrugged. "I was just -stop poking me Sakuragi- pointing out the obvious. And besides, I wouldn't want to steal Rukawa's girl." He smirked at Rukawa.

Rukawa merely grunted in response.

"People, that's enough! Time for practice!" Team Captain Ryota Miyagi clapped his hands for attention. He had spent the last few minutes shooing out the people who weren't of any importance to the team. He turned to Rukawa, who sat on a bench, guzzling down water. "Rukawa, you up to it?"

Rukawa nodded in a more subdued manner than his usual.

And he stayed that way all throughout practice.

"Good job everyone!" Miyagi yelled at the end of practice. "You may all go home now!"

"Hai!"

The boys made their way out of the gym leaving the three girls and Anzai-sensei behind.

"Ne, Aya-chan, Haruko-chan, I think I'd better go ahead," Reika said, picking up her backpack. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"OK. I still have to wait for my Ayako anyway," Haruko smiled.

"Take care of yourself, OK?" Ayako said, looking up from the first-aid kit she was arranging.

"Ja ne!" Reika waved before leaving the gym.

She was humming a tune while walking out of the school's gates when a gust of wind blew. It wasn't very strong, but it was cold.

'I'm such an airhead'she thought, feeling stupid for wearing a sleeveless shirt instead of a sweater. She rubbed her hands on her arms, shivering slightly. 'I'll have to listen to kaasan next time.'

"It must be nearly autumn," she murmured to no one in particular, looking up at the slowly darkening sky. Time flew by so fast. 'Too fast' she thought sadly.

"Watanabe-san."

Reika turned around and saw Rukawa holding out his red and black varsity jacket. One foot on the ground, the other on the pedal of his umpteenth new bike. Why he kept on buying new bikes was a mystery to everyone. Because of his habit of falling asleep while biking, he always destroyed them after a few days' use.

She looked at him, surprise and confusion evident in her face. "Thanks," she said, gratefully taking it. "You sure you won't need it? It's awfully cold out."

"I'll be fine," he said curtly before turning left and disappearing around the curb.

She wrapped the jacket around her more tightly. She took a deep breath faintly noticing that Rukawa smelled nice, judging from the scent of his jacket.

"Rukawa Kaede..." she whispered. "How strange you are..."

-to be continued-

Author's Babbles:

Another chapter of OC cliché done! Gomen gomen if the plot is so common! Noob writer here, so please bear with me! I wrote this loooooooooong ago and had no idea how washed up some OC plots are.

Gomen in advance if I can't update regularly. I would have to rewrite some of the chapters and scenes, but I promise to try my best! Oh, and each chapter would be fairly short too...

Mucho Arigatou to those who reviewed and to those who'll give this one a chance!! Please r n r again!

Til Next chapter!