Disclaimer: Don't own SlamDunk

Thanks ChibiRulzYanLanand Lily for reviewing and expressing how you felt for the previous chapter :) Glad both of you have approve of it... LOL. And also thanks to all that read and supports this fic too of course.

I re-read the previous chapter again and detected many mistakes! I am so sorry for the lack of editing! I hope this chapter will be much better than the previous one ;p

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter...

Chapter 19

It was late in the evening and everyone in the team had left but Rukawa stayed behind. Even after the incessant complain and advice from Miyagi for taking sufficient rest, Rukawa had not paid any heed towards it. They will be leaving for Hiroshima in two weeks and no strenuous practice was carried out to avoid any injuries. But that wasn't going to stop Rukawa from practicing. He knew that he will be careful, if he could get injured by a little practicing, it will mean that he, Rukawa Kaede, would have to work even harder than usual.

He watched over to the lonely figure at the side of the gym he was in. It was her off day that evening from work and she had volunteered willingly to stay with him even after practice was over. This time he had not asked and he was glad that Yuiiko actually did that on her own. She was sitting crossed legged like she always did when she was on the floor; she looked like she was holding a letter in her hand. Somehow, her face told Rukawa that something was wrong.

After a swift jump shoot that he didn't miss, Rukawa strode over to her and knelt down in front of her. For a moment he contemplated whether to call her or wait for her to look up because she never bothered to even acknowledge his presence. Rukawa knew that there was something wrong and the answer was in the letter she held in her hand.

So gradually, Rukawa watched those clear brown eyes she had hidden behind her bangs looked up at him. Her expression was unreadable as she passed the letter in her hand to Rukawa. Curiously, Rukawa took the letter in hand and scanned through the contents quickly. What he read nearly made his heart stop. He looked up at Yuiiko to see her eyes hidden behind her bangs again.

"What do you really want Yuiiko?" Rukawa finally asked after a short awkward silence.

"I want to think about it first…"

That was the only answer he got but he knew that Yuiiko was torn between wanting to stay with him and going after her dreams that held in the acceptance letter from the world famous singing school in London. It was her greatest opportunity because the school had promised an agent and singing record during and even after she graduates.

Since, Yuiiko didn't have any girl friends to talk about her problem, the first few people she sought were Youhei and Negi. Nevertheless, she didn't tell what school she was attending because no one knew she sings.

"So what are you going to do?" Youhei asked.

It was a day after she had gotten her letter. Youhei, Negi and Yuiiko went out to Danny's to have tea after school. Yuiiko looked rather dishearten as she stared at the drink before her. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"You know, I never realized that you will be leaving so soon after I had been just released." Negi pouted slightly. "I thought we would be able to spend more time together but you got yourself hooked up with that basketball chap."

"It was rather unexpected Negi…" Yuiiko replied, looking up at him indifferently. "And don't make your face that way, it doesn't suit you…"

Negi could only laughed at that.

The door bell rang indicating someone coming into the café. The three of them looked up to see Haruko, Matsui and Fujii strolling in chatting joyfully. Youhei immediately called out to them. Haruko brightened up to see Youhei by a booth with Yuiiko and another boy maybe older than her a year or two.

"It is a surprise to see you here Mito-kun!" Haruko said joining them at the booth.

Matsui and Fujii slipped in rather reluctantly but did it anyways caused they knew that they wouldn't be able to leave Haruko alone. They had always stick up loyally with Haruko and they had no plans to change that.

"This is Negi, a friend of mind…" Yuiiko introduced when Haruko and her friends watched him rather curiously. "This is Haruko, Matsui and Fujii from our school."

She wondered if she should actually tell them, how they met but at the last minute changed her mind. However, she never planned to tell anyone about her past. Even Sakuragi and Rukawa never knew.

"Oh, so how did you both meet before?" Haruko asked curiously, seeing that Negi could be Yuiiko good friends because they both were sitting together quite closely at the booth.

Yuiiko and Youhei made eye contact, but remained silent.

"How did we meet?" Negi's eyes widened slightly and his eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, as long as I knew Yuiiko-chan, I can see that she hardly had any friends and seeing you both together, both of you looked like really good friends."

"We are," Negi smiled putting a friendly arm around Yuiiko's shoulder, who only rolled her eyes. He knew better than to tell them where they met. So he didn't proceed talking. He was kind of glad that a girl next to him changed the subject.

"What school are you from Negi-san?" Matsui asked eyeing his long hair tied into a low ponytail.

"Well, I don't really call it a school…" Negi said slowly turning to look at her and then at Fujii who blushed slightly at his intense gaze. "It is an Institute for the rehabilitate young delinquents…."

Matsui who was taking a sip of water spew out all contents in her mouth.

"What did you do to be sent there?" Fujii asked with her eyes wide, her cheeks still flushing slightly.

"Funny that you ask that…" Negi said smiling slowly. "This is because ever since I came out, anyone who had known I came from that place, they immediately shun me away…"

"But weren't you there to learn to change?" Fujii asked slowly.

"True…" Negi smiled at the little girl's innocent curiosity. "Are you sure, you really want to know what really happen to me?"

"Well," Fujii thought about Sakuragi and how he had changed after he met Haruko. "Anyone can change for the better…"

"I used to be a hard core thug, I steal, race cars and motorcycles illegally and can say I make lots of students from my previous school miserable with a little group I had."

"How did you get yourself in that institute anyways?" Matsui asked looking slightly revolted that she was actually sitting next to him.

"I was caught for car racing and without a license." Negi replied, frowning slightly.

Fujii could regret in his eyes as he spoke of that incident.

"I was sent up by the opponent, they tampered my car before the race started." Negi continued dryly. "In the middle of the race, I lost control of the car and over turned off the road. Unfortunately, there was pregnant lady at the side of the street. My car landed on her. She and the baby died on the spot."

There was a long silence from the table before Yuiiko cleared her throat and spoke.

"It is in the past anyways and you knew that wasn't your fault." Yuiiko said with a frowned. "If those bastards didn't alter your brakes, which were the most important device for car racing, you wouldn't have lost control on the car."

Fujii and Haruko looked kind of pale after the tale, imagine a car sandwiching a poor pregnant lady before they shook their head to clear the image. Matsui looked somewhat stoned silently and Youhei could only look at him with awe.

"I got worst punishment than going into the institute for that, I was in a wheelchair for almost five years and was told to be paralyzed from hip downwards for life." Negi added wryly turning to look at Fujii's fearful eyes and started to wonder if he should have told the tale. "But only recently after many attempts on my own, I was able to walk again."

"That is…is… a… re… relieve…" Fujii stammered furiously.

"It is good to hear you are able to walk again Negi-kun…" Haruko replied with a small smile. "It is horrible to know if you couldn't be able to walk again for life. Yuiiko-chan said is right, it wasn't your fault."

"What do you mean that you make students' life miserable in school?" Matsui asked wondering what he else he did to be horrible.

"I don't really pick on students really, unless they are in our way…" Negi said thoughtfully. "It is more to the sensei I gave a hard time."

"As in…." Youhei asked with an eyebrow up.

"I put firecrackers, those huge red ones in the toilet before and the whole place exploded." Negi said chucking softly. "Then I set the sensei room on fire but this all happened before the car accident."

Another long heavy silence before Youhei gave a low whistle. No wonder Yuiiko told him not to bother asking what he did.

"Oh well, it is in the past anyways." Yuiiko said rather nonchalantly, taking a sip of her drink. "Besides, I think I have to go work, you coming Negi-kun. You said you may want to try out being a waiter at where I work…"

"Yeah," Negi replied shortly. "There is no way I am going to go back to school, maybe I may pick up cooking and be a chef…"

Yuiiko laughed at that, "The most feared thug is going to learn how to cook."

"Don't push it." Negi frowned with a slight blush, he turned to the girls and winked before he bit farewell to Youhei, with Yuiiko, both of them walked out the café.

Youhei and the girls watched them leaving the café before turning to one another.

"How did Yuiiko meet someone like that?" Matsui asked with wonder.

"Well, that will be her story to tell…" Youhei replied with a small smile.

"Poor Negi-kun, to have such a bad memory for the rest of his life, isn't exactly pleasant." Haruko said sadly.

"Don't you think he deserve it?" Matsui said rather harshly and coldly.

"Matsui, that is really cruel thing to say," Fujii cut in. "Besides, I can see he is really trying to change or maybe already changed for the better."

"I agree with Fujii-chan…." Haruko added in.

Youhei only smiled at the girls bickering at one another about Negi. He couldn't blame them. Negi had his good looks and charms. If he wasn't a thug like he was before. Youhei was very sure he would have won many hearts of girls like Rukawa. Maybe even more girls…

One evening after school on Yuiiko's off day…

Yuiiko lingered in the usual park where she and Sakuragi used to meet. She watched the children playing in the distance with their mothers standing nearby watching them. She walked on alone slowly until she reached a huge tree and looked up.

She remembered that tree.

A small smile played on her lips as she recalled how she was stuck up there and Youhei had to come take her down.

"You were a pretty good climber but you suck at coming down…."

It was a voice that Yuiiko knew so well, she turned slowly and came face to face with Sakuragi. Somehow she had a feeling that she would meet him here today.

"Youhei told me about it…" Sakuragi smiled softly at his sister before him. "And I remembered how he piggybacked you home crying…"

"I am no longer that little girl you remember Hanamichi…" Yuiiko replied softly. "You had only recalled of me as the cry baby little girl who can't even take care of myself. A lot had happened and those things had changed me."

"I know," Sakuragi said sadly. "Somehow I wished you would still be that little girl."

"I can't tag along with you for the rest of my life Hanamichi!" Yuiiko said rather irritated that his brother couldn't face that fact. "I have a life to lead, so have you. You can't forever wish and hope that I would always be next to you needing you!"

"It hurts to know," Sakuragi continued looking at his sister who had grown so much during the years and he wasn't even there to watch her. "And I had disappointed you again. That night at the shoot out…"

"You did the right thing to protect Haruko…" Yuiiko cut him off. "If not you wouldn't even trigger that feeling Haruko had hidden in her heart for you."

"I guess, though I still would have wished I was there for you."

"You can't be selfish and want both things Hanamichi." Yuiiko frowned. "Besides, the bullet hit me because I was in the way and that bullet was meant to be for me anyways."

"How can you say that?"

"Look here, that bastard came to shoot me when you guys decided to show your faces at the restaurant that night!" Yuiiko cried out exasperatedly. "If you guys weren't there, the incident wouldn't even be that complicated."

"You change so much Yuiiko," Sakuragi said softly looking away from his sister's grown up face. It was true what she told him. He could only remember the Yuiiko when she was younger. That little image was always in his head not this young lady standing before him.

"It is time you notice." She replied dryly.

"It felt like you no longer really need me that much but let me tell you something, if there is anything, anything at all. Don't hesitate to look for me. I will try my best to help you."

Yuiiko's eyes widen at her brother's kindness, he always had for her. No matter what happen Yuiiko somehow knew that Sakuragi will never stop helping her. Slowly a small smile appeared on her face.

"Youhei told me you may be considering going to boarding school." Sakuragi said suddenly.

"Yeah, I am still thinking." Yuiiko replied rather dejectedly. "It is a good opportunity for my future and it is a really important that I go."

"Then why are you hesitating…?"

Yuiiko remained silent. She knew better than to tell her brother she was thinking about Rukawa on the other hand.

"Let me guess, is it that baka kensune?"

Still no answer from Yuiiko.

"If he really cares about you, he will know what to do."

Yuiiko turned to look at Sakuragi with confused eyes.

"You will understand what I mean and I had a feeling, even I hate to say this about baka kensune, he knows what to do."

"I guess…" Yuiiko shrugged nonchalantly.

"Here I wanted to give you this for a long time." Sakuragi said passing her a box. "It had been years but I still remember and I hope it isn't too late to give it to you.

Yuiiko took the box in her hands, opened the cover curiously and looked in. She blinked with astonishment at the object that lay inside. Gingerly taking out the snow globe in her hands and looked at the miniature homely cottage with its roof covered in snow inside the globe. Slowly she shook it and shiny snowflakes flew around gracefully.

"You actually remember…." Yuiiko whispered.

"Of course, I remembered that day very well." Sakuragi said scratching the back of his head. "It was Christmas and I brought you out to get a gift. You said you wanted the snow globe really badly but someone else bought the last one. You were so devastated but you put on a brave front and said that you don't mind taking a Barbie instead."

Yuiiko smiled at that memory. That was right; she was nearly in tears when the last snow globe was sold. In the end, she just told Sakuragi that she would take a Barbie. She didn't even know why she got her brother to get that. She hardly really played with dolls and that Barbie was always on the shelf in her room collecting dust.

"I wanted to give you this the other time when I told you to come here to meet me but end up being stuck in basketball practice. Gomen…"

"Arigatou…" Yuiiko looked up at Sakuragi again. "Oniichan…"

"What did you say?" Sakuragi stared at his sister in astonishment, his eyes widened.

"You heard me the first time…" Yuiiko smirked and turned away from him, walking out the park.

"No wait! Say it again!"

"Iie, you already heard me and I don't like repeating things!"

"But…."

Yuiiko chuckled softly walking ahead of Sakuragi who trailed behind her trying to make her call him oniichan again. She looked down at the snow globe once more, the shimmering snowflakes swiveling around the cottage.

The smile never leaving her face…

The last night before leaving for Hiroshima…

The school grounds were already empty, summer holidays were coming. Some students had already skipped school altogether after the examinations were over. This semester Rukawa didn't do too badly in exams since Miyagi had called everyone to group study before exams and made that a compulsory group study to avoid having problems like the year before.

It was the usual in the gym, where sounds of the ball hitting the wooden floor echoed through the hall. Rukawa had stayed back to practice one more time before leaving for Hiroshima. In the corner of the gym floor, lay Yuiiko on her back her arms behind her head, staring up the ceiling. It had been really often Yuiiko had stayed on after practice with Rukawa, since she had already stopped working at the restaurant; she had most of her free time in the evening now.

After a hard dunk, with a bang so loud that could wake the whole neighbourhood, Rukawa turned over to Yuiiko to watch her deep in her thoughts. Slowly he strides over to her and flopped down on the floor next to her stretched body.

"When does that school start?"

"September…"

"You still could make it for the IH, won't you?"

Yuiiko shook her head and looked at Rukawa's cold blue eyes. "I have to be there early… orientation."

Rukawa looked away and stared at the other end of the courts, avoiding her eyes. After all the effort they had put into this relationship, even knowing how difficult it could be, Rukawa felt upset that it had to end so soon.

He wanted Yuiiko to go to Hiroshima with him but he knew better than to stop her from reaching for her dreams. She wouldn't be happy then. He knew how she felt because if it was him in her position, he wouldn't want Yuiiko to stop him.

"I wish you all the best," Rukawa finally said after a long pause.

Yuiiko's heart felt like crumpling. She now understood what Sakuragi meant about Rukawa knowing what to do. Rukawa was one person who would never stop anyone from reaching for their dreams because he had one himself, going after that dream himself to become the best number one basketball player in Japan. Then, he probably would even proceed to the United States to carry on with more intensive training. Yuiiko finally gave a weak smile, surprised that she understood Rukawa more than she even knew about it. This was his way of showing that he cared about her.

"I guess it's the same to you too at the IH."

"Let's go home together?"

Yuiiko nodded and sat up from her sleeping position.

Rukawa got up to get a short shower and change before he came back to get Yuiiko. Silently, Rukawa got his bicycle from the shed and they both walked out together slowly with Rukawa pushing his bike next to him. When they reached home, both of them stood near their houses without making any move to go in.

"You know I won't ask you to stay." Rukawa said.

"I know," Yuiiko smiled softly.

"Aren't you disappointed?"

Yuiiko shook her head. "We have our own future to chase after, though one day, I had a feeling we will meet again."

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes it is a promise." Yuiiko smiled comfortingly. "You can take my word for it…"

There was a short silence before Yuiiko spoke again.

"Oyasumi Rukawa-kun…"

With that Yuiiko turned away and started to walk towards her house.

"Kaede…" Rukawa spoke softly but Yuiiko heard him without difficulty and stopped at mid stride.

Yuiiko turned back to Rukawa slightly, her eyes widened by surprised. She stared into Rukawa's impassive ones, trying to understand what Rukawa was trying to say.

"Kaede will do…" Rukawa repeated.

Gradually, it finally dawn to Yuiiko what Rukawa was trying to tell her and a smile grazed her lips.

"Oyasumi Kaede…" She paused for a moment on the spot before she walked back towards Rukawa again.

Yuiiko stood before him for a second before she stood on her toes, lifted her head towards his and pecked Rukawa gently on his lips. Rukawa was surprised but he kept his same calm posture as he looked at her. He was glad she kissed him. He wondered if Yuiiko was hurt that he didn't kiss back. But understanding Yuiiko, Rukawa realized that she was never disappointed in whatever he never did for her because she never expected anything from him. Their first and maybe last kiss they shared together. It may be short but it meant a lot to the both of them, for they would never know when they will ever meet again after tonight.

Without waiting for him to answer, nor looking at him, Yuiiko turned away and walked into her home never hearing Rukawa's very quiet voice.

"Oyasumi…Yuiiko…."

TBC

If anyone is curious whether fireworks could cause the toilet to explode, the answer is yes, from my personal exprerience. :P I knew of this because it happened to my school. I had a scholarship to attend a private school for Badminton Assiociation Malaysia (BAM). Students choosen to represent my country; nationwide. Students in those school were rich and spoilt. I still remember that day clearly when that happened. I was attending my normal classes, home studies, (wood work) I was actually sawing a piece of wood when the explosion took place. Everyone in the class practically jumped off their places. It was a lucky thing I still had my fingers and not being chop off by the saw I was holding. News flashed quickly through school and the person who did this was actually prefect in school. He was demoted and on probation then. That toilet was closed down for repairing.

I am aware that I knew more about being a thug than most people will and this was because after leaving the private school, I was transfered to a goverment school for my final few years in High School. I was sent to the most notorious government school in my region, which were most well known for thugs. My class itself were filled with it. Many teachers never stayed in my class for long. The most five months and they will leave and another teacher will come fill in their place. But usually all this gang leaders and gangsters don't disturb you if you don't go provoking them. But when fight starts, run away as fast as you can.

The worst fight I had ever witness was after school when I was waiting for my mother to pick me up at the back gates of the school. Suddenly a group of motorcylist just came by in top speed, everyone holding onto something, helmet, long rods, huge big knifes. Seeing that, everyone knew that they weren't involved, ran. I was glad my mum was late that day. I wouldn't want her to witness what happened. One of my classmate got hurt. He was wacked by a helmet very near to one of his eyes, which nearly made that eye blind. He was lucky though that he didn't turn to a One Eye Jack (pirate?) . He was hospitalize for a week.