You mean, Rukawa has a best friend?

Chapter Four

"And that's fifty, Kaede," said Kira cheerfully, catching the ball from under the hoop. She beamed at him proudly. "Well done! I'm impressed."

To Rukawa this was nothing new. He had on one occasion made two hundred and fifty straight shots. He almost whooped on that point but managed to control himself. He was not one to brag after all, and his dignity was something he held very dear.Now, he thought, catching the ball as Kira passed it to him easily, let's see if I can make a hundred…

Silence...ah, this was nice...Kira watching him softly in silence...nothing can break his concentration...he will make one hundred...as long as there's silence...

"Oi! Rukawa!"

Rukawa felt his concentration snap as he stood straight and heard his captain's booming voice. He winced, and tried to turn around to face the speaker without staring at him with death spelled in his own face. After all, this was his captain he would about to face. A senior, and elder that needs to be respected. He looked at the basketball still in his hand. He had hoped to be alone here, with Kira, of course, he was already in the 'zone', as Kira calls it. He would get it back of course, but right now, he was well out of it.

He turned slowly (achieving the look of polite curiosity and not the I'm-gonna-murder-you-later look) around as he saw not only his captain Akagi, but the rest of the Shohoku Basketball team. He saw Sakuragi looking smugly at him, and he gave him the I'm-gonna-murder-you-later look. He turned to Kira, who was smiling apologetically and shrugging.

"Don't look at me," she said, shrugging again, "I didn't tell them that you're here. I didn't think they would know about this place."

Rukawa only heard of this place from Kira herself. She said that it was newly made for indoor basketball.

This was true enough. She saw it on the way home after school, and as soon as she did, she rushed home and called Kaede to tell him about it. She knew how he missed the game terribly - how he missed playing alone that is -and would give anything to get rid of the snow off his beloved court just a few blocks away from his house.

When he heard the news of the new basketball court, he wasted no time in dressing and practically dragged Kira away from her own house to keep him company, or as he put it, to keep tabs on his record.

He really thought that he could be along here, since it was new and all. He thought that no one would know about it yet.

But now all he heard was the constant dribbling of many balls and the oh so irritating voice of one Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"So kitsune!" he cried, the air of his smugness so thick you could cut it with a knife, "you thought that you would have all this place for yourself!"

"…hn."

"Well you are wrong!" he cried, pointing a finger directly at Rukawa's chest. "and you may bow down low now, for you are in the presence of tensai basketball man! Nyahahaha!"

For some unknown reason, a set of elaborate fireworks suddenly erupted behind Sakuragi as he laughed maniacally, and the words 'tensai basketball man' suddenly was illuminated above his head. Rukawa had always wondered how he was able to do that. Where did the sign and the fireworks come from? He didn't see him bring it in here...

However, he wasn't about to show that he is in the least bit curious. Rukawa turned his back to him, sighed, and said, "Doahou."

The fireworks stopped, and the sign fell on top of Sakuragi, forming a big lump on his head. Rukawa turned to him, Sakuragi was already on the floor nursing his head. He smirked openly at him. He rubbed it once and then glared at Rukawa. "What did you say Kitsune?"

Rukawa looked at him, and said, again, as dully as before, "Doahou."

"Oh yeah!" he cried, "let's see who's more of a" – and here he adopted Rukawa's couldn't-care-less look – "'doahou' – between the two of us. Let's play some one on one!"

The rest of the team must have been listening, because Mitsui's laugh echoed all over the room. Ryota was trying to bite back a laugh himself.

Sakuragi glared at the pair of them. "And what is so funny?"

"You," said Mitsui, grinning, "you actually think that you can beat Rukawa on one on one?"

"Yes."

Ryota was laughing out loud now. Mitsui was clutching on Ryota's shoulder to make sure that he was still standing on his feet. Even Akagi was trying to bite back a laugh, which he was succeeding magnificently. Kira was giggling behind Rukawa and was dribbling a ball.

"What!"

"The day you beat Rukawa on one on one," said Ryota, between the gales of his laugher, "is the day that I shave my head bald."

Sakuragi glared at the two of them, armsin his waist."Are you telling me that I can't beat Rukawa?"

Mitsui and Ryota suddenly adopted straight looks and looked at him. Mitsui said seriously, "Yeah, Hanamichi, that is exactly what we're telling you."

And then the great tussle between the three of them started. Rukawa caught the words 'never', 'annoying', 'kill' and 'you'.

"Well that does look like fun."

The tussle stopped. Balls were not dribbled, silence ruled the small gym as every one turned to look at the doors.

There stood, in all his annoying he-thinks-he's-so-great glory, Sendoh Akira, in full basketball uniform - but with a jacket on, it was still cold out there - and a ball rested by his waist, a small smile gracing his annoying head and looking at the rest of them curiously. "And I thought that I'd be alone here." He said. "Hi," he greeted everybody

The rest of the team just nodded their hellos. Ryonan wasn't exactly the enemy, but he was from another team, making him a rival. Rukawa didn't nod or made any move to say hello, instead choosing to aim the ball in the hoop and shooting it effortlessly.

"Sixty, Kaede," said Kira suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Kira!" said Sendoh suddenly. Rukawa saw that he really did look genuinely surprised, and then quickly turned to Kira who was blushing a faint pink."I didn't know that you'd be here!"

Kira smiled, and Rukawa shot the ball again. She was a deeper shade of pink. "I didn't know you'd be here either." She said, grinning, "can't get away from the game?"

"You can say that," he answered, shooting the ball too, and making it. Kira caught the ball and passed it back to him, and then quickly went after Rukawa's.

Rukawa was a bit annoyed. He never had to share Kira with anyone before. She was his best friend, after all. His. Not Sendoh's. His.

"Who you with?" asked Sendoh.

Kira passed the ball back to Rukawa. "I'm with Kaede," she said, smiling.

"Oh," said Sendoh, surprised again. "Really?" he asked, almost disbelievingly.

Rukawa envisioned the ball he was holding was Sendoh's stupid head as his fingers dug into it.

"Hmm."

"Er, are you his sister or something?"

Kira laughed and shook her head, catching another ball and passing it back to Rukawa. "No," she said, "we're best friends, and neighbors."

"Really," he said, though he sounded unconvinced. "Right."

If Rukawa just had sharp nails like Kira's, the ball would have exploded five minutes ago.

"We are," said Kira firmly. "we really are. It's not that hard to believe."

Sendoh took aim at the hoop again. "If you say so," he said, and shot it.

"I don't see why it's that hard to believe." She said, catching two balls at the same time and passing it to the both of them. A very small pout now graced her face, and she was still looking at Sendoh.

"Well," said Sendoh, looking at Rukawa. Rukawa glared at him. "Never mind."

Rukawa shot another ball straight into the net.

Kira, however was beaming at Rukawa, then turned to Sendoh. "He is very good isn't he?" she said proudly, beaming at Rukawa again.

"Well, yeah," said Sendoh, shrugging. Rukawa smirked. He bet that he didn't like that.

"You're good too," added Kira, though Rukawa hoped that it was just to make him feel better about himself.

"Oh, thanks," he said. "Do you play?"

At this Kira's nose wrinkled. She didn't like playing, partly because she wasn't very good at it, and partly because she didn't want to annoy Rukawa into trying to teach her. Not that he hasn't. He's spent an entire summer once trying to teach her the basics of basketball. It all went to her head, but the application, well, was a little less than desirable.

"I don't play," she said, "I'm not very good. I get it, but my hands and feet don't. Kaede's tried to teach me last summer, it wasn't very pretty." She smiled openly, not at all ashamed that she couldn't play the game. Rukawa didn't mind much. He had thought that he was good enough for the both of them.

At this Sendoh looked at Rukawa, a small smile in his face. "Well," he said, "maybe you just don't have the right teacher."

Rukawa almost, almost dropped the ball. He heard some of his team mates gasp and Sakuragi was trying to suppress his laughter, and not being able to do so,just went and laughed out loud. Did…did Sendoh Akira, stupidannoying Sendoh Akirajust accuse him of being a bad basketball coach? Him?Bad?Right, that's it.

He saw Kira frown at Sendoh's statement and he made his way towards her and grabbed the ball from her hands. He passed it back to Sendoh with such force that Sendoh backed away two steps after catching it.

"Let's go." He said firmly to Kira.

Kira looked at him. "Go where?"

"Out."

"But it's freezing out."

"We'll eat."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's freezing out."

"We'll have ramen. Soup. Anything warm, anything you want."

Kira smiled. "Anything?"

Rukawa had just finished pulling on his pants up and had in his hand her coat. He was glaring at her. "Within reason." He said. "Put this on."

Kira put on her coat. "That's not everything." she said, then looking at him hopefully, as if making him change his mind and make him say 'oh, all right, everything' because that means that Kira will make him buy every cute stuff toy that she can put her hands on.

Rukawa was thisclose to giving in, but instead said, irritably, "Just say what you want then."

"Ramen," she said, grinning,"lots of it."

"Pig."

"Am not!" she cried, then frowned. "But I don't –"

"My treat," he said patently. He grabbed her hand and without saying a word to anyone, went out the door. He saw Kira grab his stuff and gave a quick goodbye to everyone as they walked out the doors, leaving a shocked Shohoku team (shocked probably because it was the lengthiest conversation they had heard from him) and an amused Sendoh Akira.