Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

Calliope Medina Erato: hehehe… yup, there's another one that's even larger than that coming… hehehe… all I'm saying is it's going to be 3 days straight… hehehe.. yup, though this time it was Jin teaching not Karin… yeah, Kiyota knows when he has to give some space… you'll know what I mean in this chapter…

Coffeemaverick: I hope your connections alright now… Jin was cute… hehehe… I know but it's true, the other chapters haven't revealed their names…

Moonlightgirl11: thank you… yeah, there isn't a lot of conversations compared to description… hehe…

Simmic: yeah, Sakuragi's more like that, though if it were for Sakuragi I'd probably go overboard with the descriptions… though I liked to express just how when you do something really intense I guess or something, I don't know it seems as if you have more energy to eat after that activity… hehehe… Sakuragi is in this chapter and well he just took everything Karin said TOO seriously.. hehehe… and yup, it's kinda hard to put Jin and Karin always in every chapter, cause well they live apart, go to different school's and stuff, but yeah, there is a bit of Karin and Jin here… another new discovery… hehehe

The Writing On The Wall

"Hello? Good Evening? Can I speak to Hagino Naru please?" I was asked to wait, and sure enough, after a few seconds somebody picked up. "Hagino Naru speaking." I had to call her because of a project I had to do for English. It was to write an article describing someone who could be considered talented and is making use of that talent. The majority of them seized the opportunity to interview the basketball team, a lot still chose players from other sports, and the rest included the rest of the available clubs. I sat it fitting, as well as it made sense to me that I should write about Hagino Naru since she just recently won the contest and that it is only proper that her achievement and her talent be highlighted. "Let's meet at Shohoku theatre then, at, 10:00 am? Great. Thanks again Hagino-san. Bye."

I was sitting peacefully on a table in the cafeteria about to eat my lunch when I saw Sakuragi heading towards my table. Farewell, lunch. As soon as he sat he took a bite of one of my ebi-tempura. "Hey, senpai, I've decided," another one gone. "to let Haruko," there were none left. "know of my feelings," He moved to snack at my yakitori. "for her." Give me a minute to connect the dots.

I choked on my drink. "Senpai, are you alright?" When he noticed that my meal was almost finished, he stopped eating, though the longing in his eyes lingered still. "Anyways," He said, trying to resist the slice of cake I unveiled. "I just want to thank you for encouraging me, and to ask for your help." Me? Help you with what? Please don't say Haruko. "What should I do senpai? Whenever I talk to her," it is about Haruko. "Here comes Rukawa and instantly, she's forgotten everything. Is this some form of retribution for letting you pay for your food?

"Well, maybe you should tone down on your –" What am I saying? I definitely sounded like he had to change. He should stay as he is, as Sakuragi. I don't want him to be transformed into some trained robotic human being. Though the possibility of that seems inhumanly impossible in its self. "Yes senpai?" Sakuragi was fully armed; a pen in his hand, ready to write whatever word comes out of my mouth.

"What do you think you should do?" He repeated the same words, starting to write them. At the middle, he stopped and pocketed his pen. "Sometimes I'm a bit worried when she goes home by herself sometimes, especially since Gori's in college and all. So I thought," He scratched his head, opting for a nervous laugh. "Then do that." He nodded, and then smiled, not like his half-crazed one, but something that resembled almost that of contentment. I guess that answered his questions. "Thanks senpai, I'll definitely do it." I couldn't properly weigh the odds. Did I do more harm than good? Or was it the opposite? I guess I'll have to wait and see.

As soon as school ended, I hurried myself to the theatre. Miyagi stood there, his sports bag in hand, as if he was just heading to the gym. They were conversing amongst themselves, so I tried to sneak away, and purposely, be late. "Takahashi-san." Too late, Hagino eyes swooped down on me like an eagle. Miyagi was just about to leave when I blocked his way. "You don't have to leave so soon, right… Naru-san?" Hagino looked at me, then at him and nodded. Miyagi rested his bag and took a seat.

"So, Hagino-san, since when have you been playing the violin?" I steadied the grip on my pen. "Since 6 years old, my mom enrolled me for some lessons." She held in her arms the violin, and caressed its case. "And how long do you usually practice?" She shifted the violin to rest horizontally on her lap. "On a typically day?" I met her gaze and nodded. "Well, around 4 –5 hours, at the least 3." That's a lot. Her determination and dedication were impressive altogether. "Do you find that, it disrupts, or interrupts with your schoolwork?" She shook her head. "Not really, it's not like I'm a genius when it comes to core courses, plus I plan to take music when I get to college, so naturally, music becomes number 1."

"Does it still leave you time to still do other things? Like going out with friends…" She cut in at that. "No, there's not a lot of time for that, but most of my friends are fellow musicians too, so they're not that bothered or annoyed at me when that does happen."

Miyagi stood after that. "Um, gotta go. Practice's starting." We both nodded our heads, and waved him goodbye. There was a lot yet to learn from Hagino Naru.

After the interview was done, Hagino quickly excused herself, refusing my offer to watch the basketball team practice. "Aren't you afraid that I'm the spy for Takezono?" She joked. I thought of being sarcastic and say something like "Aren't you aware of the scores from last year?" I didn't continue with it. I held my tongue in.

The familiar tone of a call filled my ears. I grabbed my cell phone. "Karin, can you bring my dinner please?" Ever since my aunt's been laid out from her job, she has experienced a steady decline in the companies who accepted her. There was one, and she became one of the many secretaries, but this was only a small company, and could only afford, to pay small. So now, she has a part-time job as a salesclerk in this mall near her office. "I'll be there." It has been quite a while since we sat down and ate dinner together. I didn't want to admit it, but secretly, I knew I already did.

After delivering her meal, in which my expression changed from my normal one to somewhat teary-eyed and even to an extent, worried, I gave her a quick hug, after which I smiled and quickly went on my way.

I stood in front of a shop, admiring a dress that was being displayed. "Even here you're here? I'm starting to think you're like a stalker or close to that." Right, just what I need - an undecided, undetermined, unwanted, unlucky day dose of Nobunaga Kiyota.

His phone rang. "Save your praises." The only praise your going to get is – no, I don't have time even for that. I started to walk away when I heard him say, "Jin, where the hell is it? I've been-" He stopped, turned around, and stood firmly on the ground. "Fine, sorry, my bad, I'm standing in front of it."

"Hey, Karin, wrong way. It's there." I followed him to a coffee house. We stood in line, and after two people went by, Jin's smiled greeted us from behind the counter. "So um, I'll get a um, one Espresso Ristretto." He pushed some buttons and the total price showed on the screen.

"What? I have to pay now?" Jin just nodded. "I thought it's free since I brought –" He stopped there as if he'd lost his ability to speak. He looked at Jin, Jin looked back, expressionless. Nobunaga quickly recovered from his self-induced coma, to my dismay, and reached inside his pocket. "my Kainan I.D." He smiled as he showed it, though a bead of sweat trickled from his forehead.

When Jin didn't accept it, he dug into his pocket and paid his tab. Jin was more than willing to get his hands at Nobunaga's money. He handed him his change and while Nobunaga went to find a table, I guess that meant it was my turn.

"Um, uh." I scanned through the names. "What's a café frappuccino?" I whispered. He stifled a laugh that was just surfacing. "It's this slush-like drink. Like blended coffee, with ice, and flavorings." I nodded my head. "I'll take that then." I waited for the price to show. But he just handed me the cup. "It's free." I closed my wallet. "Are you sure?" He laughed again and pushed the cup towards me. "I've never heard of a person who doesn't like good free stuff."

"I'm just asking." I retorted in my defence. "It's already paid for." He pushed the cup further towards me. I held the cup with both hands. "Thank you, again." I smiled before heading towards where Nobunaga sat.

"Ne, Karin, I just saw some cool new mp3 players, I'll go and check them for a while." I nodded, glad that he didn't ask if I paid or didn't. I sipped my café frappuccino slowly; at the very least, its taste was addictive.

Not long after that, Jin sat on the chair opposite me. "Isn't your manager going to get angry?" I scanned the area for anyone who might look one. Looks can be deceiving. "It's my break right now, and that Nobunaga left you again…" I looked out of the window, watched as the cars drove by. "Um, Karin, I was wondering, –" Nobunaga ran back to our seat. "Jin, do you have like 500 yen, I'm short of money!" Jin didn't think twice but just handed him the coin.

'What were you saying again?' I wanted to ask. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. "The manager's calling for me now. Later!" He left the table and resumed his place from behind the counter.

It was not until his shift had ended that he came back. Talk with Nobunaga had been minimal and at the very least, extremely annoying. We got into an argument of how I seemed to be stalking him, and then he continued to rant of his terrific skills, and how Shohoku never crossed his mind as a school that they'd fight in the Inter-high championships.

It was with my greatest pleasure when Jin ushered us out of the coffee shop and started to walk with us. "Hey Karin, are you involved with someone right now?" Nobunaga really has run out of things to say. "No, why?" I threw it right back at him. "I was getting worried about the stalking thing, it's kind of unfair you know, if…" How dare you! I turned to face Nobunaga when I found Jin clutching his side. "Are you all right?" He nodded his head, though he seemed to ever so slightly wince at that. Nobunaga looked his most innocent in face ever. He must be the one who did it.

"Anyways, gotta run again…" Nobunaga broke away, and soon there were only two - me, and you. "Coach told us that we'd have another practice match in Shohoku." There was a glint in his eyes. "Last year Jin, you got lucky ok? This year, your team's going down."

"Not if I can help it." He had a smile plastered to his face; I could not help but pout. "That's unfair." I playfully punched him on the left arm, though it only irritated me more when he mockingly winced. "What's unfair?" I crossed my arms and huffed, turning my head the other way.

Jin pulled away the band that held my ponytail. "Karin's pissed." I held out my palm, indicating with a brow that he better return it. He gave me a five. I still held out my hand. When his hand reached out to hand it over, I pulled him by the wrist, stood on my tiptoes and ruined his hair. He light-heartedly quickened his as if to grab me, before resuming to tidy up his hair.

I drew back closer to him, and with my left hand, tried to reach his head, though he caught my hand before I could get there. "I'm trying to help." He let go of my hand, and true to my word, I helped tidy up what I tousled less than a minute ago.

We continued to walk, guards still fully raised, in case one would initiate an attack. It had to end though, when we had to take separate trains to get to what we call home.

That's all for now… another longer chapter from me… cause I missed a few days already… hehehehe… I hoped it was in fact a bit light, especially in the Jin part… I hope you liked it too… things are getting better, and just so you won't be confused, there are no whatsoever triangles in here… hehehe… I'm trying my best to write a better sequel… hehehe… so please bear with me…