Disclaimer: Once again I don't own Slam Dunk or the following characters.

"Thank you for flying Japan Air, we hope you had a nice flight."

Kogure barely registered the air stewardess' words as he alighted from the Boeing 747 aircraft. His good bearing stopped him though, and at the last second, he remembered his manners and gave an imperceptible nod to the stewardess, followed by a curt "thank you". Thereafter, he continued to make his way to the customs area, taking brisk, long, purposeful stride.

He ignored the occasional bounce of his leather Armani briefcase against his thigh, and the approving looks of many attractive females. At 26, Kogure Kiminobu was at the height of his career. An accomplished businessman who held two degrees, one a Bachelor of Commerce for Finance and the other a Bachelor of Arts for English, Kogure had successfully navigated his way into a lucrative business. He had just struck another deal with the filthy rich tycoons of Brazil and was set to leave Japan in five days' time again, this time to pay a visit to his company's factories in India. No one would have guessed that this impeccably dressed, confident young man used to be a nerdy, shy, bespectacled boy who often had to play peacemaker in the most notorious basketball team.

Tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for his luggage at the baggage claim area, Kogure began to mentally outline his short stay in Japan. 'Back to the office tomorrow, settle some paperwork, lunch with Boss Tanaka...'

Kogure was jolted out of his thoughts though as he felt an insistent buzz in his pant's pocket. Whipping out his cell phone, Kogure squinted warily at the unknown number.

Who would call him at this late hour? His plane had landed at 4 am and he did not recall telling anyone about his trip back to Japan. Kogure mulled over these questions before receiving the call.

"Hello?" Kogure said, trying hard not to give away the question in his voice.

Perhaps it was a wrong number.

"Kogure-no-baka! You didn't tell me you were coming back to Japan!"

Scratch that. The guy knew his name.

The voice was vaguely familiar anyway.

"Nani? Who is this?" Kogure asked cautiously.

"You really are a baka if you don't remember me man!" The voice on the other end snorted.

"Perhaps. My brain isn't always very good at accessing its storehouse of memory at unearthly hours of the night, much less after having flown an 11 hour flight." Kogure said dryly.

"Well... guess."

Kogure rubbed his temples. The caller on the other end was really starting to annoy him.

"Akagi." Kogure said lamely, knowing that the person on the other end was a far cry from his former team captain.

His answer was met with explosive laughter on the other end.

"I sound like AKAGI??!! Come on Kogure-san, you can do better than that."

"Takani Shouji." Kogure tried again.

"Eh? Shouji? Who's that? I'll have to look that up, yo-check-ya"

This time Kogure knew who was on the other end. He should have known. Only one person could have known his business schedule, travels plan and cell phone number.

And only one person could have been so annoying as to make him play a guessing game at 4.10am in the morning.

His company's one and only business informant...

"Hikoichi."

"I was wondering when you were going to guess my name, welcome home Sempai."

I'm... ... home