-Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!-
The next morning, Rukawa went to school earlier than usual. He had opened the gym to practice by himself. He had been there for about twenty minutes when he heard the gym door slide open.
"Oi, kitsune-otoko." It was Sakuragi. The redhead sauntered towards Rukawa and thrust a paperbag at him.
Rukawa stared at the paperbag blankly. Why on earth is this monkey giving him a present?
"Just take the freakin' bag would you? I haven't got time to hang with you all day," Sakuragi said, slamming it onto Rukawa's chest. "It's not from me. That newbie told me to give this to you, coz she won't be able to attend class today. Here."
Rukawa tore open the bag. Inside was his jacket and a small note that said Thanks. He stared at the neat handwriting for a while before pocketing the note.
Just then the bell shrilled for the first class.
"I'm going to class. Are you coming?" Sakuragi shoved his hands in his pocket and started to leave.
He shook his head. "Later."
"Ja, see you at practice" Sakuragi said.
Reika excused herself from the principal's office with a polite goodbye. She had to drop by the office to tell her principal she won't be able to come to class and asked for an excuse slip. After that she went to find Rukawa so she could give him his jacket back, but with no luck. But she did bump into Sakuragi so she asked him a favor instead.
She shut the door behind her and made her way towards the school's exit. Halfway towards it, a group of girls blocked her path. She could tell that this would not be a friendly confrontation by the way these girls were looking at her.
"What?" she asked them, raising an eyebrow. They all looked pissed off and annoyed. 'So these are the infamous Oendans... she thought, taking note of the bands on their foreheads.
The three girls in front glared at her.
"We saw you play with Rukawa."
"We saw you talk to him."
"How dare you?!"
"Who do you think you are?!"
"Newbie!"
They closed in on her, cornering her until her back pressed up against the wall.
"What are you talking about?" she snapped. 'These girls are clearly bonkers' she thought disgracefully.
"We want you to stay away from Rukawa."
"Yeah. You already managed to bewitch every guy around here, so why not leave him to us?"
On of them raised her hand to slap her. She clenched her fist, ready to block the slap but then a voice interrupted.
"Watanabe-san?" Mitsui had somehow appeared behind the girls.
"Mitsui-sempai," Reika looked surprised.
He looked around at the girls. "Why don't you leave her alone and go do something that will actually please people?"
One by one, the girls started to leave, grumbling. The three leaders shot Reika a dirty look before stalking away.
"You OK?" he asked her.
"I was doing just fine before you showed up, but thank you all the same," she said, blushing lightly. Then she noticed something wasn't quite right. "Sempai, what are you doing in the freshman wing?"
"Had to go down to the office," he shrugged. "Where are you going? Your classroom is the other way right?"
"Err...yeah," Reika said, biting her lip. "I can't go to class today. It's a...uhh..family thing."
"Oh, all right then," Mitsui shrugged. "Come on, I'll walk with you."
The two of them walked down the corridor, Mitsui towards the staircase and Reika towards the exit. They neared the staircase, then suddenly, Rukawa appeared out of nowhere. His azure eyes went from Reika to Mitsui.
"Oi Rukawa. Why don't you tell your fan club to lay off Watanabe?" Mitsui asked him gruffly.
"Sempai, it wasn't a big deal," Reika cut in, laying a hand on Mitsui's shoulder.
Rukawa ignored them and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Darn Rukawa. He has such a big ego," Mitsui said, still looking at Rukawa's retreating back.
"Aww c'mon sempai," Reika said when they finally reached the staircase. "It's not that big."
Mitsui laughed. "This is my stop. I'll see you later Watanabe. Good luck on that family thing of yours."
"Arigatou gozaimasu, sempai," Reika bowed slightly
"No problem," Mitsui said, beginning to climb the stairs. "Watch your back now. Those Oendans can get pretty vicious."
"So I've heard," Reika laughed. "All right. I'll see you later," Reika waved before she left.
Mitsui shoved his hands into his pockets as he ascended the stairs. Family thing...Now why didn't I believe her?
Author's Babbles: Ack! Way too short to be called a chapter, gomen! I just felt that it should be cut there. Not to worry though, I uploaded the next chapter too, so the update wouldn't be completely useless.
No, Mitsui will not get involved with her. Reika-chan is solely for Rukawa-kun. No love triangles in this fic, I'm afraid. Too much drama. I just wanted Micchi to make an appearance. Sighs. Mitsui's just so kakoi. ...ne? ne? lolz...