-Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!-
Reika's Journal Saturday 7:15 pm
Our project was a hit! I'm not bragging about this or anything but... Oh screw it, I am bragging about this. We deserve to brag, anyway.everyone thought I was amazing, making Rukawa cooperate with me like that. I did the written and oral report, while he handled putting up the visuals. All our hard work paid off. We got top marks, as I predicted. Tee hee...
He was excellent at the game with Shoyo. He faced up to Fujima fairly good. Then afterwards, I challenged him to another one on one. But then, the school monitor came and told us to go home before we finished. So nobody won again. It was fun though. He walked me home after that.
Then I went to the public courts this afternoon. I was playing by myself for a while, then I heard a basketball being dribbled outside. I turned to see who it was and surprise, surprise! It's Rukawa. He never did rest from playing. It was his life, I guess. So he walked me home again. This walk-home thing is becoming quite a habit! Mom was home. Her job was definitely rolling. She's always all-smiles when she comes home. I wish I were all smiles when I come home from...Never mind. I shouldn't talk about that.
Mom was itching to give Rukawa a third-degree but I told her she should never, ever do that. I don't think he likes being asked questions. He's not much of a thinker. And besides, he's a friend, nothing else. I don't need a relationship. But I think we're becoming a bit like good friends. Fast huh? Ayako had also become a bit of a friend. She asked me to help her and Haruko in training the freshmen if I have time. I said I would. I can see the team needs work if they want to have good backups. They can't go to the Interhigh without such. So I'm going to start tomorrow. I suppose it's all right if I skipped one meeting.
The team seemed glad to have a new temporary assistant manageress. Anzai-sensei didn't mind it either.
Mom and Koji are watching a movie. I think I'll go join them. Good night!
Reika
Rukawa turned up the volume of his Walkman and made his way up towards the rooftop. Their sensei for trigonometry was absent. Since trigonometry came right before lunch, he had two free hours to take a nap. He'd gladly fall asleep in the classroom but the Oendans wouldn't permit him such pleasures. So the rooftop it is.
He twisted the knob and stepped out into the solitude and fresh air. He was going straight for his favorite spot when he noticed he wasn't alone. There was someone else up there, her back to him as she leaned on the railing. She turned around almost immediately when she heard him approach.
"Oh, it's you," Reika said, tucking a strand of her loose dark hair behind her ear. "You're here to take a nap I suppose?"
He sat down with his back leaning against the railing and closed his eyes. So someone else was with him. No big deal. It's just Watanabe anyway. She won't make much noise.
Reika wanted to resume her reading but she couldn't concentrate. She can hear the sounds from Rukawa's Walkman.
'Hey, that song...' she said, turning around. Marking her place with a finger, she closed her eyes and listened closely.
"...ga owaru made wa, hanareru koto mo nai!" she sang along to her favorite song by WANDS, tapping her foot along with the beat.
Rukawa opened one eye and saw Reika singing happily along. So she knew the song too.
"Oi," Rukawa found himself saying as he removed one of the earphones and offering it to her. Reika grinned and sat beside him, gratefully stuffing the earphone in her own ear before reopening her book.
He peeked at the title of the book she was reading. It was an english book entitled Tuesdays With Morrie.
"Rukawa, have you ever read any book before?" she asked him. He shook his head. "You should. And when you do, you should probably try to read this one."
She didn't wait for his response and plowed on. "It's a lovely book. It tells one to continue living one's life to the fullest, even though you have a physical disadvantage. Like if you still can, then do, you know?" she paused and turned the page. "...Only death can keep you from being productive."
Silence met Reika's words, but she didn't mind. She just kept on reading. Rukawa silently agreed to what she said, but he didn't need some book to tell him that. Mitsui-sempai had been a good example of living life to the fullest even with a physical disadvantage. Having an injured knee didn't keep him from playing basketball. Not anymore.
The ending strains of the song faded and the next song played shortly afterward.
Reika checked her watch. "I have to meet Haruko-chan and Aya-chan for lunch," she said, removing the earphone and giving it back Rukawa. "You might not wake up in time for our afternoon classes so I'll see you at practice, ok?"
She got on her feet, brushed the dust off her skirt and left.
"All right! Two more!" Reika yelled at the freshman she was training. She adjusted her tank top and threw another ball for the freshman to shoot. The ball went straight into the basket. "Nice shot! One last!"
Ayako came and patted her at the back. "You're pretty good at this," she said with a smile. "The others are improving. Anzai-sensei will be pleased to see the progress."
Reika beamed. "It helps to love the sport as much as I do." She turned around and found herself watching Rukawa shoot a perfect three-pointer. When their eyes met, she blushed and turned away. 'Concentrate on training, Reika' she thought. When she turned back to Ayako, her face broke into a grin. "Speaking of love, Miyagi-captain is heading this way."
"Aya-chan, Shiozaki slipped. He skinned his knee, we'll need first aid," he said. The look he was giving Ayako was full of meaning.
"Hai, hai," Ayako nodded. She gathered her first-aid kit and went to bandage Shiozaki's knee. When she came back, Reika had finished training the freshman and went to help Ayako arrange the first-aid kit.
"Ne, Ayako-sempai. Did you ever consider going out with Miyagi-captain? I think he's liked you for quite sometime now," she asked, studying Miyagi's profile from a distance. He was the shortest of the starting members, but he was definitely quick. And he was built fairly buff. Actually, Reika thought his curly hair and sideways smile were pretty cute. And the earring deserved credit. She looked down at Ayako, who was blushing.
"I don't know," Ayako replied, her voice softer than usual. "Everybody says he had always been a player. And I know its just one of his games,"
"Well I think he really does like you. And a lot," Reika asked again. "Don't you like him too?"
Ayako thought long before replying. There was a minute of silence.
"Sempai?" Reika prodded.
Ayako looked down and clasped the kit shut. "Maybe..." she answered quietly.
"That's all I needed to know," Reika said, satisfied. She picked up a ball and threw it into the bin. She started to leave when she heard someone run up to her.
"Captain?" she raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Miyagi-captain rarely talked to her.
"I need to talk to you," he said, catching his breath.
"I'm listening," Reika shrugged.
"The exams are coming up, right?" he began.
"Yeah," Reika nodded.
"Well you see, we have a rule in this school. That those with failing subjects cannot participate in any extracurricular activities,"
"And?"
Miyagi fumbled at his practice jersey. "You see, Sakuragi and Rukawa are not very good at academics. Neither am I for that matter."
Reika laughed. "I kind of noticed that, yeah. Go on."
"Well, they're very important players. We can't afford to lose them," Miyagi went on."I got Haruko-chan to tutor Sakuragi, and I made Aya-chan tutor me, but Rukawa...well... since you're closer to him than anybody else, do you think, maybe..."
"Sure captain, no problem," Reika shrugged again, not waiting for him to finish the request. She should have known.
"Thanks, Reika. I appreciate it," Miyagi said. Then he looked at Reika, as if he wanted to say something else.
"Is there anything else, captain?"
Miyagi blushed and looked down at his sneakers. "Ehrmm... You are friends with Aya-chan, I suppose?"
"Hai," Reika nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.
"I, uhmm, I need a little, uhh, help," he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was planning to ask her out again. But she's turned me down several times. I haven't given up yet. Because I really, really like her. Do you think I have a chance?"
Reika bit her lip to keep herself from grinning stupidly. "You know what? I think you should go for it. Maybe she's had a change of heart now that you're captain, and no longer a part of some gang."
"Do you think she'll go out with me?" Miyagi looked at her hopefully.
"It couldn't hurt to try," Reika said, her eyes twinkling. "Excuse me captain, but I have to go take a shower now."
"Oh, OK. Thanks again," Miyagi gave her a grateful smile before running back into the court.
Reika met Rukawa as she went to gather her things.
"Yo," she said with a bright smile. Rukawa nodded at her before continuing to walk on. "Hey wait!"
Rukawa stopped and turned around. "Nani?"
"Do you want to study together at my house? The exams are coming up and I heard you weren't doing so good in your subjects," Reika said.
"I'll think about it."
"If you make up your mind, you know where to find me," Reika said before they went about their ways.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Ayako waved at the team members before going to take a shower in the ladies' shower room. "Ja, Ryota. Take care now!"
"Ja, Aya-chan!" Ryota beamed at her, a blush staining his tanned cheeks. Ayako couldn't help smiling. She kept thinking about what Reika said earlier.
He really likes you. And a lot.
'Maybe I should give him a chance...' Ayako thought absently as she opened the door to the shower rooms. She heard water whooshing from one of the showerheads, meaning there must be someone inside.
She shoved her things inside a locker before turning to choose a stall. There was something on the marble floor...or rather, someone.
Ayako screamed.
Reika was on the floor in a dead faint.
She fell on her knees, disregarding the fact that the showerhead was spraying her with water.
"Reika-chan! Reika-chan!" she said, frantically checking the other girl's pulse and breathing. 'Oh fuck..shit..shit what do I do?'
Ayako's eyes caught the first-aid box. "Of course! Smelling salts!"
She rummaged the kit, found some smelling salts and made Reika breathe it in. The unconscious girl's eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Oh thank goodness!" Ayako let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"What—happened?" Reika asked, starting to get up off the bathroom floor. As she did, something fell away from her. Ayako watched it in awe as it dropped back down to the floor.
Reika immediately regretted going to school that day, when she knew she scheduled to go somewhere else.
"Oh shit!" Reika cursed, picking it back up.
Knock knock knock! There were insistent pounding on the bathroom door.
"Oh. My. God." Ayako couldn't believe what she just saw, and completely ignored the knocks. She caught Reika's eyes and saw...fear. And pleading. She looked at Reika with disbelief. "You..."
"Please!" Reika said, clutching the front of Ayako's drenched shirt. "Please don't tell anyone!"
Rukawa was last to enter the shower room. He liked to be alone anyway so it didn't matter. When he showered with the other members, they always cause a racket. They played wargames in the shower, using the detachable showerheads as guns. Hisashi, Hanamichi and Ryota all liked to fool around a lot, and they kept forcing Rukawa to join their stupid games. His teammates were cool, but he just didn't like playing around like they did.
Anyway, he was almost finished bathing now. A hot shower always felt good after training. It helped soothe his muscles. He was still enjoying the warm water when he heard a terrified scream from the other room.
'The ladies shower room,' he thought. It could be the Oendans, screaming because they saw a roach or something. But that was unlikely. By this time, almost everyone had gone home. The only girls that might be there at this time are Ayako-sempai, Haruko-san and Reika. Haruko had left earlier with the aho, Sakuragi, while the other two were not the type to scream like that over a roach.
Rukawa quickly shut off the shower and grabbed his towel. He dried himself as fast as he could and slipped on his clothes quickly. As soon as he had his Air Jordans on, he ran out of the men's locker room and proceeded to beat down the women's shower room door.
'Why isn't anyone answering?' he thought crossly, continuing to pound on the wooden barrier. He restrained himself from kicking the door open. It was a women's locker room after all.
After almost three minutes of continuous knocking, he stopped. Maybe it was not a big deal after all. He examined his knuckle, which he nearly skinned raw.
Before he could leave, the door finally opened. Ayako, dripping water all over the place, stood in the doorway and was helping Reika stay on her feet. The latter girl looked pale, and her usually well-groomed hair was disheveled. She was kind of wet too, because of the water from Ayako's clothes.
"Rukawa!" Ayako's eyes widened in shock. "What are you still doing here?"
"What happened?" Rukawa ignored her question and asked one of his own. His gaze flickered onto a trembling Reika, who wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Rukawa, would you do me a favor?" Ayako chose to ignore his question too. "Here," she handed Rukawa a duffel bag. "These are Reika's things. Take her home, she needs to go home immediately. I'd do it myself but I'm sopping wet, and I have to go change."
"No!" Reika suddenly spoke up, her weak eyes suddenly alive. "I can go home by myself. Don't worry about me!"
As if to demonstrate, she tried to get on her own two feet. But it was in vain; she wobbled a little before her knees finally gave way. Rukawa caught her and helped her steady herself.
"I'll take care of her, sempai," Rukawa told Ayako.
"Thank you," Ayako smiled gratefully at him before heading back inside the bathroom.
"You don't have to," Reika said, trying to wriggle out of Rukawa's grasp, but he held her in place.
"Stay still," he commanded. The tone of his voice made Reika stop squirming. With one hand, he held her up. With the other, he took off his jacket and laid it across her shoulders.
And then, with a slight heave, he bent down and picked her up from the ground easily.
"Hey!" Reika protested weakly.
"Shut up," Rukawa said as he started to walk towards the exit. Reika hid her face in Rukawa's broad chest to hide a blush. Basketball had done wonders for his build. Beneath the soft cotton shirt were well-defined muscles.
Rukawa tried to ignore the scent of lavender that was coming from Reika. This was the closest proximity he ever got to her, and he was starting to like it. He shook his head to clear all unwanted thoughts and walked past the school gates to hail a cab. He didn't go back for his bike and his stuff; he'd get them in the morning.
He let Reika get in first and then followed suit. He gave the address to the driver before turning to look at the girl beside him.
"Would you mind if we don't have the study session tonight?" Reika asked him, attempting to make conversation.
He shook his head. "Watanabe-san--"
"Just...call me Reika," Reika said softly, sounding uncharacteristically timid. "And please don't ask me what happened, because I cannot tell you,"
There was silence.
"Are you all right now?" Rukawa asked her.
"I don't know," she half-whispered, but Rukawa heard every word. She looked up at him with a sad smile for a split second before turning to gaze out the window so he wouldn't see her. 'Damn damn damn...' she thought, fighting back the tears that were flooding up her eyes and threatening to spill. This was not the time to break in pieces.
"You will be."
She was a little surprised when Rukawa offered her a handkerchief even before the tears escaped.
Author's Babbles:
There we go! Rukawa's becoming more and more OOC...gomen ne!
Up next, the others notice the chemistry between the two main characters..and two others create their own...get it?? Harhar...
Read and review onegaishimasu!
Til next chapter!