Hello mina, thanks for a bunch of reviews and flames too for a change though I don't encourange flames. Anyways, thanks to Yun Fei, Mish1, Gurlshere13, Digital Lavender, animefreak1386, MistressKC, Julietearjerky for your reviews and thenanoto and Betyoulovethat for flaming me...

Iknow I had beenwriting too many Rukawa OCs. Anyways, I can't stop u from feeling whatever you are feeling. You want to stop reading RuOC... it is fine with me. I write RuOC... cuz I love writing them. Rukawa is my fav character so I will definitely use him in my fics no matter what... plus I like to put selve inserts. I just like to create characters that is all. Though I can say, most characters I created are mostly like a mixture of some other characters from other anime I watched or Japanese games I play. Like in this story, the way I had describe Yuiiko's appearance, it is actually taken slightly from Lian, from FFX2. Her attitude a little like Rukawa, mixture of Miaka from Fushigi Yugi and Sakura from Sakura Wars.

This is how I create characters, I take things from here and there and put them together. Anyways, many may think it is Mary Sue, cuz all my characters look really pretty, but all I can say is that... my characters aren't as perfect as everyone usually asume they are.

Hope u enjoy this chapter mina-san...

Chapter 7

It was break time and Rukawa was still thinking about Yuiiko. He really wanted to know what actually happened to her. What unfortunate incident she suffered that crimpled her? However, she managed to go through her life as if nothing had happened though it made her hate her own related brother for this long.

While walking in the corridor Rukawa saw Sakuragi's friends. Rukawa watched Youhei and his friends coming down the corridor towards him as they mischievously teased each other taking no heed to him. Youhei however, stood slightly behind the three rascals with a small smile on his face his hands shove in his pocket watching them calmly.

"Yo…" Rukawa called when they came closer.

All of them turned to him in surprised for Rukawa never speak to them before and least of all called them.

"Hey Rukawa, what's up?" Youhei answered good-naturedly though his friends all stared at him suspiciously.

"I need to talk to you." Rukawa directed his sentence to Youhei ignoring the rest.

"Oh?" Youhei raised his eyebrows slightly and shrugged. "Sure…"

"Alone."

That took Youhei even more by surprised and the rest of his three friends began to protest when Youhei stopped them.

"Won't take long," Youhei told them and walked away with Rukawa leaving his friends looking annoyed and agitated.

"So what is it that you need to speak to me?"

"About Yuiiko."

Youhei narrowed his eyes dangerously and stopped walking. "What about her?"

"What happened to her five years ago?"

Youhei turned to glare at Rukawa. "Why do you ask?"

"I know about her leg…"

Youhei frowned slightly and turned away from him. "You wouldn't go spreading around about it will you?"

"Who do you think I am?" Rukawa retorted. "Some girl gossiper?"

"What is it that you what to know?"

"What happened so badly that crimpled her?"

"She was at the park waiting for Hanamichi."

"So I heard about that part."

"OK, I will go to the point." Youhei took a deep breath. "I promised her that I won't tell anyone. So I trust you that you won't spread it around."

Rukawa nodded once.

"She was walking home alone when Hanamichi never turned up. As you had seen her fight before, I guess it's like brother like sister, that they both are tough fighters. A couple of boys came up to her trying to get her to do things that she didn't want. She fought them off, but it was three out of one. Yuiiko didn't stand a chance but she didn't give up. She fought till the last ounce of her strength."

There was a short silence as Rukawa waited patiently for Youhei to continue. After taking a deep breath Youhei spoke again.

"I knew Hanamichi didn't make it to the park, so I went to check on her. It was a lucky thing I did but when I reached the crime scene…" Youhei stopped for a moment before continuing. "Those three boys had already broken her right leg, and she was bleeding everywhere."

"Did they…?" Rukawa asked but his voice trailed off.

"If you are asking me if they had violated her innocence, no they didn't." Youhei said in a relieved voice. "Though she sure gave them a hell of a time because, all three of them were hurt real badly. But what they had done to her was heart breaking. There was so many internal bleeding she was in a coma for a week. As for her leg, the doctor said that they had damaged her growth function even after joining her broken bones together, it is a possibility that her right leg will not grow normally like her left one. That is why her right leg is shorter than her left."

"You promise me Youhei-kun…"

A voice behind them froze both of them on the spot. They turned around slowly to see Yuiiko looking at Youhei with a hurt expression on her face.

"Yuiiko please, Rukawa knew about your leg he was just…"

"But still you shouldn't have told him…" Yuiiko backed away from Youhei when he tried to reach for her hand.

"Yuiiko, I saw you in your room last night." Rukawa began.

"You were spying on me?" Yuiiko turned to look at Rukawa looking slightly furious.

"I wasn't…"

"Go ahead and laugh…" Yuiiko said softly her head bowed and her shoulders suddenly shaking. "I am so used to people laughing at me all the time."

"I didn't laugh…" Rukawa said shortly.

"Yuiiko…" Youhei closed his distance between her and tilted her head up with his the tips of his fingers. "Nobody is laughing at you."

There were tears in her eyes which really tore both the boys' heart. Even the ice prince felt sorry for her as he watched her heartbreaking expression. Rukawa knew that if he was the one finding those boys hurting her, he would have killed them. Not knowing why this sudden urged to protect her Rukawa watched Youhei pulling Yuiiko into his embrace.

He clutched his hands into fists at his side. No other boys will ever hurt her again.

Yuiiko sobbed silently on Youhei's shoulders for only a second. Rukawa stood next to them watching silently, he relaxed slightly when Yuiiko moved away from Youhei drying her eyes quickly with the back of her hand as if she had never cried.

"I'm alright." Yuiiko said her voice back to her emotionless mode. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, is alright to cry sometime…" Youhei said gently with a smile. "You and I knew each other since we were kids. There was nothing you never told me about. Like the time I remembered you were trying to be brave when you were only six and climbed up the biggest tree in the park and not knowing how to get down. It was a lucky thing I was there…"

Yuiiko blushed turning to look at Rukawa who raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Youhei-kun I will kill you for saying anymore!!!!" Yuiiko growled under her breath.

"Then it took me almost one hour to get you down." Youhei laughed ignoring Yuiiko's warning.

"Youhei-kun…" Yuiiko grimaced again more dangerously now.

Youhei turned to see Yuiiko looking as if she was about to explode.

"Opps, gotta go!!!!" Youhei laughed louder running down the corridor out of sight.

"MOH!!!!" Yuiiko shouted after his departing figure. "HAVE YOU GOT TO TELL THAT TO THE WHOLE WORLD?!!!"

Slightly abashed she turned to look at Rukawa who was watching her with his head slightly inclined. She smiled slightly.

"That was when I was really young…" Yuiiko said softly.

"Where do you go after school?" Rukawa asked shortly.

"Huh?" Yuiiko stared at him incredulously.

"You are always in a hurry after school."

"Oh…?" Yuiiko asked rather nervously. She never expected Rukawa to ask her that. "You want to know why am I in a hurry after school."

"Hai,"

"Demo… I can't tell you…" She answered rather hesitantly.

"Why?"

"It's my business…" Yuiiko answered looking away with her expression icy cold. "Besides, you already know my other secret. I rather keep this secret to myself than telling anyone."

"..."

Yuiiko turned her back at him suddenly.

"I have to go, my math sensei asked me to go see him during break and I'm already late."

"Why have you got to see him?"

"You talk a lot today." Yuiiko turned her head slightly to look at him. "I heard from many of my classmates, that you hardly talk."

"Do you always talk about me with your classmate?"

"Iie, I don't." Yuiiko tuned away and started walking. "Is just that the girls in my class seemed to adore you and all I have to do is listen to them because, they sit all around me. I usually sleep… maybe that is why the sensei wants to see me because I didn't finish the quiz we had today…"

Rukawa blinked watching her retreating back rather surprised. She slept through the whole quiz? She sounded so much like…

Me… He thought silently. Anyone could have mistaken her for my sister… instead of that do' aho…

After school…

Yuiiko made her way to the gym slowly. She didn't know why she was going over there. Maybe it was because she wanted to see her brother and wanted to know what made him forget about their meeting. Was basketball that important? More important than her? Or was there something else?

She frowned at the thought. Something else? What could have made him forget about her?

"Are you going to see Rukawa-kun again?" She suddenly heard a girl speak behind her.

She moved her eyes sideways to see three girls overtaking her and walking ahead of her in hurried strides towards the gym too. She recognized them. They were girls from her class who always talked about Rukawa.

"Of course…" The second girl replied rather dreamily. "He is like the God of basketball…"

God of basketball… that thought made Yuiiko smirked.

She had never seen Rukawa played basketball before, she had no idea how well he played. With a shrugged she carried on towards the gym slightly behind the girls.

I will soon find out won't I? She thought quietly.

When she reached the gym she saw the entrance doors already crowded with girls. She blinked, all of them were here rooting for Rukawa. She went closer to see, the boys inside had already started practicing. She could also hear his brother's voice shouting 'Teme Kensune'. Frowning slightly at why her brother was shouting at Rukawa she craned her neck slightly to look inside. As she was taller than most girls she could see what was happening inside without difficultly.

Rukawa raced down towards the pole in top speed, made a jumped, his right hand holding onto the ball raised high in the air and slammed it down towards the basket.

BANG!!!!!

The dunk he made echoed in the gym though it was soon drowned by the screams of the whole bunch of girls by the door. Yuiiko raised her eyebrows and nearly gaped at the sight.

Not bad… iie, segoi… the thought came into her head immediately. No wonder all this girls go drooling after him.

Rukawa whirled around slowly to see Sakuragi glaring at him and some of his teammates gaping at him. The girls by the doors screaming and cheering for him though a tall girl behind the group of shouting girls caught his attention.

What is she doing here…? Rukawa thought when he saw her.

She looked like she was looking for someone in the court. When her eyes stopped on the person, he followed her gaze and saw her looking at Sakuragi and Sakuragi was actually blushing in front of Haruko who was encouraging him. Rukawa turned back to Yuiiko and saw a frowned creeping up her expressionless face.

Yuiiko didn't realized how angry she was when she saw Sakuragi talking to that girl and she knew instantly that he had totally forgotten about their meeting because of this girl. However, her anger didn't last for long when her watch beeped several times snapping her out of her fury. She looked down at her watch and realized that she had to go or she will be late for work.

Without another look back into the courts, she turned away and walked away swiftly.

She is hiding something. Rukawa thought as he watched her leaving. And I want to know what it is.

Ayako was watching the boys practicing when she noticed Rukawa staring at the girls cheering for him. She quirked her eyebrows, it was not like Rukawa to take notice of them. Following his gaze, Ayako spotted a tall girl who wasn't shouting and realized that Rukawa was staring at her but the girl was looking at someone else. When she turned towards the direction that girl was staring, she found herself looking at Sakuragi and she raised an eyebrow.

Don't tell me Sakuragi had a fan girl? Somehow, she looked familiar, where had I seen her before? Ayako wondered as she turned her attention back to the girl and watched her turned to leave.

Ayako turned her attention back to Rukawa to see him looking inquisitively at the girl's withdrawing back but it only lasted for a second before his cold mask returned. He turned his attention back on his practice taking no heed to the girls at the door no more.

"Must investigate on this one…" Ayako said softly to herself.

A/N:

Hello mina,I am so sorry I didn't manage to update many of my fics lately. Anyways, I really hope u enjoy this chapter... there will be more Sakuragi in coming chapters. I know I make him really dense in the this story... though I am trying to make him a caring older brother too...

This is going to be really a tragic plus adventure sort of story... no romance... hope mina don't mind. I know the story seemed tobe like another RU/OC romance story, but NO, this is not. No romance, it will be RU/OC/SAK/YOUHEI as main characters... see how it goes neh...

I will try to post up the next chapter asap.

Pls drop a review! NO FLAMES PLS!!!!