AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! An update! Ok, there's only about a chapter or two to go for this fic, which has come a long, long, and I really mean LONG way. So don't give up on me my dear readers! I swear to god, I'm going to finish this. But updates are done every three to four weeks (yeah, it's long. But I don't want to rush things like I used to do). But I swear you're not going to be disappointed. That being said, on to the story!

DISCLAIMER: Slamdunk is the legal property of Mr. Takehiko Inoue.

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Hanamichi slowly opened his eyes and was blinded by the bright light coming from a nearby lamp post. "I must have fallen asleep," he thought as he blinked away his temporary sensitivity to light. Hanamichi started to rise from the ground when his eyes fell on the sleeping form beside him. He slowly slumped back on the ground again so as not to wake her up.

Kathleen was asleep by his side, her hand resting on his chest and her head tucked conveniently under his chin. She looked so peaceful, her face without any trace of discomfort even though she was lying on the grassy ground. Though a tinge of annoyance crossed her face when he was just getting up, it faded away as quickly as it got there and she snuggled even deeper on the crook of her neck.

Hanamichi reached out his hand to touch her hair. But he hesitated when he was just inches from her head, that odd feeling again stopping him from what he was trying to do. Hanamichi sighed and let his hand dropped to his side again.

He couldn't get close to Kathleen without thinking of Haruko. And whenever he thinks about Haruko, he couldn't help feeling guilty. But guilty about what? It's not as if they had something special or had a thing going on in Japan. But she's his crush for a year and maybe even more than that! It's not that easy letting go of someone you had pined for more than a year. He adored her, worshipped her, kissed the ground she walked on. He cried a million tears whenever she ignored him and head butted a dozen or so guys who tried to get too close to her. She was his goddess. And he really, really believed that they had a chance.

Then royalty happened. Along with her.

The royal things were bad to the hilt most of the time because he felt he was being restrained. But Kathleen was the best thing that ever happened to him since arriving in England. She was a little, well, excited when they met again in Japan two months ago. He never fully appreciated who she was except that she was pretty. But when he stepped into England's soil, she was his constant companion. It couldn't be helped anyway since they're the only two persons who were of the same age. But Hanamichi was grateful that he had someone to help him just as he was about to tackle the turning point in his life. And luckily for him, Kathleen had all the time in the world to be there since she was on her gap year. It seemed like Kathleen was very bright and finished school early. Hanamichi couldn't believe that someone of the same age as he was could be very intelligent. Even Megane-kun wasn't this brilliant. He never could have guessed it if it hadn't occurred to him why Kathleen always seemed to be around. She was a little shy when she told him the reason; extremely different from the spitfire that she almost always was.

Hanamichi's smile grew even wider when he remembered how she seemed to be taken aback by the question and fidgeted a lot when she finally spoke up. That was the first time, but definitely not the last, that he saw another side of her. He still vividly remembered the punch that she gave her one day when she was really pissed at something and poor him was in a wrong place at a wrong time. It took him a few days before he could ever get closed to her again without flinching. Also, how could he forget the day she cried when her pet dog Alfalfa got sick and had to be confined for three days? She stayed with the dog until it was allowed to get back home again. She cried again when Alfalfa was pronounced cured.

There were so many facets of her personality that was unfolded to him everyday. There was always something new and refreshing she brought to his life and he never tired of it. That's probably one of the reason why he was drawn to her and they got close.

Speaking of close, an incident earlier crept back into his mind. Hanamichi couldn't suppress a smile when she remembered how scared she looked when James knocked on his door. If he wasn't as scared as her, he would have laughed at her face. Then again, maybe that wasn't a good idea…she did knock a punch for a small lady (Kathleen only stands about 5 foot 3 inches). Hanamichi winced and touched his jaw, as if a bruise was still there. He threw a glance at her and again he sighed. Why must feelings be so complicated?

Hanamichi was startled a little when Kathleen stirred.

"Evening…" she murmured.

"You're finally awake, princess." Hanamichi said with unmasked amusement in his voice.

"Be careful of thy tongue, knave or it's off with your head," Kathleen answered back jokingly though grogginess was still evident in her voice.

Hanamichi chuckled and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," she replied , "Make sure you do or else…"

Kathleen made a slitting motion on her neck. Hanamichi half-mockingly salute her in returned. Kathleen finally smiled and ended their little tirades.

"Ugh, so dark. How long have I been sleeping?" Kathleen asked, not realizing that she was lying on Hanamichi's arm.

"I don't exactly know but from the looks of it, it's really late," Hanamichi replied.

"They must be waiting for us. I think we should go," Kathleen said. She closed her eyes for a moment and waited for Hanamichi to stand up. But he's not moving and it's making her a bit irritated. "You know," she started, "we really should get going,"

"I would love to princess. But maybe, you should get off me first?" Hanamichi said amusingly.

Kathleen's eyes snapped open and she finally remembered that she was using his arm as pillow. She hurriedly stood up and pretended to remove stuck grass on her pants so that Hanamichi wouldn't see her blushing. Hanamichi laughed inwardly as he rose and sat down beside Kathleen.

"Uhm, yeah, as I was saying, we should go because they're probably waiting and uhm…" Kathleen trailed off. "God, I'm acting like a total idiot!" she silently berated herself.

While Kathleen was busy being flustered, she didn't notice the look Hanamichi was giving her. The boy had a thoughtful smile on her face and eyeing her the way Hanamichi saw his dad looked at his mom when he spotted them a long time ago watching the night sky together. "She's so beautiful…" Hanamichi thought. He looked at her as if seeing her on a new light. He felt a tiny pang on his heart when he remembered a girl back in Japan who was also beautiful in more ways than one but whose heart he could never get. But he was surprised that it didn't hurt as much as he expected it to be. But then again, "What the heck I am guilty about?"

Then it hit him.

He wasn't feeling guilty because there was something to be guilty about but because there wasn't anything to be guilty about! It was a confusing thought yet it was so clear to Hanamichi. He was so adamant to win Haruko's heart that when Kathleen came and showed him another possibility, he felt he was betraying his goal. He never turned back on anything in his life and the mere fact that he liked another woman at the expense of forgetting the one whom he devoted himself too so much weighed enough on his mind. Hanamichi felt like laughing. "My god! Gori is probably right! There is something wrong in my head!" He tried to stop himself from laughing out loudly but since he's Hanamichi, he couldn't keep it up for long.

"What's wrong with you?" Kathleen asked, utterly annoyed. She was already embarrassed for acting like a complete fool in front of Hanamichi, no less, and his present state made her felt even more ashamed than she already was. "You're laughing at me aren't you?" she asked, her voice rising dangerously. But Hanamichi just kept on laughing. "Fine! Laughed all you want! Jerk!" Kathleen said and with one final stomp of her foot, walked furiously back to the palace.

Hanamichi, though he couldn't stop himself from laughing, quickly stood up and ran after Kathleen. "Hey! Wait up! I'm just…" Hanamichi's voice slowly faded as he caught up with her.

Meanwhile, far away from the two, one person was watching the scenes unfold before her with sad eyes. She watched as the boy finally caught up with the fuming girl. She looked as the girl nearly slapped the boy in the arm but the boy just quickly dodged her attack and then finally got hold of her hand. She couldn't help but smiled, albeit a sad one, as the girl stiffened and stopped walking. The boy stopped beside her, still never letting her hand go. She could only guess the expression on the girl's face as she turned her face towards him. The boy merely shrugged but he's still not letting go of her. Finally, the girl relaxed and she watched her tighten her grip on his hand also. Then they moved towards their destination. This time, they're not running. They were enjoying this walk, completely oblivious to their surrounding. Sometimes, the boy would stoop a little and whispered something to her ear. She would pinch him at his arm and the boy would rub the part where she "hurt" him. But they never let go of each other.

They will have many walks like this in the future but maybe not as peaceful or as simple like the one they're having now. So today, they were taking their time. They were enjoying each other's company. Him holding her hand, hers entwined with his hand.

"There you are! Wouldn't Hana-kun be surprised to see all of you here?"

Haruko sadly tore her eyes away from the couple and tried to manage a weak smile for the approaching Yui. But Haruko was not old nor experienced enough to hide her true feelings. Yui could see through her façade. 

Yui felt Haruko's pain because all women have that kind of intuition. A sort of sixth sense. She felt like she was the younger girl for a brief moment as she looked where Haruko was looking before. She smiled when she saw his son together with Kathleen but inside, her heart was filling with an intense amount of regret, sadness, and longing. She let her eyes fell on the ground for a moment, contemplating on something so profound that only women like her who went through a lot already could know. A thoughtful look was on her face. Then, she lifted her head and gave the girl a tiny smile.

"It's going to be ok."

Haruko, understanding a bit of the mysterious thing experienced women share with one another, nodded and smiled.

"I'm happy for him," Haruko said truthfully, though she couldn't stop her voice from slightly breaking at the end. "But…" she trailed off. Silence surrounded the two of them. No one spoke because words were not needed. They're women. And they knew the meaning of this silence.

Yui heaved a sigh and walked towards Haruko. She hooked her arm around the young girl's arm and beamed at her.

"Now, I don't think a long face will make a very good impression to snobbish English royals, do you?" Yui said jestfully.

Haruko smiled inspite of herself and blinked away the tears that was peering at her eyes. She felt the load in her heart got a bit lighter knowing that this woman was beside her.

"That smile is so much better," Yui half-seriously said. She flippantly dragged the young girl towards the mansion and casually glanced at Haruko's face. It's so much clearer now.

"Boys, maybe you'd like to come inside too?" Yui yelled at the rest of the awed Shohoku basketball team behind her. Haruko took a backward glance too and giggled at the sight of the team. Save for Rukawa (who was impassive as usual), the rest was just like kids who were in an amusement park. Ayako was having a hard time controlling the touchy-feely basketball players that's why she's using her ever trusty paper fan again (Haruko thought that she was actually enjoying hitting the players though).

"Ryota! You should set an example to your teammates!"

"Aya-chan…."

Haruko laughed at the sight of their manageress and their captain. It was always like this when they're together in front of many people. But when they thought no one was looking, they were very affectionate to one another.

Sadness crept to her face again.

"What if Hanamichi and…"

But Haruko never finished the thought. It wouldn't do good to dwell on something that's never gonna happen. She already let that chance passed her by.

She looked at Yui and the older woman looked at her too. They both smiled. And Haruko finally understood what rejection means. And she finally understood how Hanamichi felt not too long ago.