Hello people!

keia mizuki: Yay, you reviewed again! Happy me...

Neko11lover: really long review...yay! Okay, don't worry about Rukawa, he'll be fine. Yeah, I laughed myself when I thought of the macarena dancing part. I kept reading and reading it and I thought it was one of my better ideas. Didn't you get Kira's memo of Rukawa kissing every girl there? Maybe the Ru, Ka, and Wa girls decided to hide it from you cause you might get him all to yourself. Go blame them. The PM was fine, it shows how much you care...I'm touched, sniff. Oh, and please, by all means of transportation, go and post the URL in your blog. I checked it out, it's really cool. I'll even advertise it for you.

Ahem, hey guys! Go check out neko11lover's blog: http/foolish-traveller. really cool blog! Go check it out, after reading this chapter of course, and after reviewing this chapter too. She also has a new fic, Moon's Shadow, another Rukawa fic, check it out, again after reading andr reviewing this chapter! Thanks!

Anyway, as a note. There will be some times that I'll be posting two chapters at a time. Why? You'll find out when I post those chapters. Oh, and I wanted to post this right away, I was just waiting for the hits counter to hit fifty on the previous chapters. You know I don't like to keep my favorite people in the world, my readers, waiting! Thanks! Oh and of course, i don't own Slam Dunk, anything related to Slam Dunk. I only own Kira and the stuff that she's got in her room.

On to the story!

You Mean, Rukawa has a best friend?

Chapter Ten

He was in the basketball courts, as usual.

This was, after all, his Woodstock.

Basketball was one of those things that are stable forever. People change all the time, and rules about how to deal with them change as often as the people themselves. He either has to deal with the changes and follow it, or completely ignore it and let the people come to him.

He chose the latter option.

Basketball, in basketball, rules don't change. Rules are rules, and wherever he might go in the world, the rules that apply to what he believes is the best game in the world would never ever ever change.

"Kaede!" a voice rang out in the courts.

It was then that Rukawa noticed that there was an odd mist around the corners of the court, and the voice that called his name was echoing over and over.

He was frozen in the shooting position on the free throw line. He looked at the doors, it was sliding open. There came gliding in through the doors was Kira.

Rukawa did a double take and looked at her feet. Yes, she was gliding, floating a few inches above the ground toward him. Is she a ghost? An apparition, perhaps? What? Is she even real?

He was starting to question things in his head. Is this a dream? He asked inwardly like a little child and shot an accusatory look in Kira's direction.

Kira just smiled.

Then –

"Kaede," she said in a low business like tone, "we're changing the rules of the game."

Rukawa dropped the ball.

"What?" he demanded. "I've just been raving about how the rules of basketball never change, and you choose now to change the rules of the game?"

Then he reminded himself that the real Kira would never even bother to look up the rules of the game, much less know before him that rules were going to be changed. He concluded that this was a dream. He also decided to call this Kira, dream Kira.

Dream Kira smiled wryly, and nodded. "You'll now be playing with five balls."

Rukawa gaped at her. "Why?" Though he had grasped that this was a dream, the question flew out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

He also concluded that he was much more talkative in dream mode.

Dream Kira shrugged. "I don't know," she said, "ask the basketball people."

"Okay," he said, swallowing, "what else?"

"Women will be allowed to play."

"As in men and women in one team?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous!"

Dream Kira frowned. Rukawa guessed that being a girl didn't leave dream Kira's mind. "No it's not." She said, "and I'm really offended."

"Sorry."

Kira smiled. "For that I have to poke you til eternity."

Kaede's eyes widened as wide as they could go. "What? No!"

Poke Poke Poke

"Stop it, stop."

Poke Poke Poke

"Get off.."

Poke Poke Poke

"Kaede!"

Kaede's eyes sprang open and he sat bolt upright in his bed. In front of him, sitting halfway in the bed was Kira, with a nice big grin in her face.

"Good morning," she said softly. "Nice dream?"

Rukawa rubbed his eyes before turning to Kira. "How do you know I'm dreaming?"

Kira shrugged. "Wild guess." She answered. "And you were drooling."

Rukawa wiped the dry saliva accumulated from last night's sleep in a towel that was lying by his bedside table. He then got up, without a word, to the bathroom, and a few minutes later, came back, having brushed his teeth and washed his face.

"What time is it?"

"Ten o clock in the morning."

"And what day is it?"

"Saturday."

Rukawa glared. "It's Saturday and you made me get up this early?" he snarled.

Kira looked at him. "Ten o clock is late, not early," she corrected, "and two weeks ago, you made me wake up at five thirty in the morning on a Saturday, you owe me." She grinned. "And I need your help."

Rukawa ceased glaring. "Help on what?"

"Well, it's Saturday…"

Rukawa looked indifferent. "So?" Though he knew exactly what was coming next.

"I have a date with Sendoh in a few hours…"

"How can I forget?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, don't be like that, Kaede," she murmured, looking at him with big teary eyes.

Rukawa sighed, and decided to ceased being indifferent. "So what is it?"

Kira's eyes brightened and she grinned. Really, it was worth caring if she always looked like that, he thought. "Well," she began, looking at her fingers, "I need you…"

Rukawa sensed that this was some girl thing.

"To help me..."

This was definitely a girl thing.

"...decide what to wear."

Ha, he knew it.

Although –

"Why?"

"Well who else am I gonna ask?" she said. "Mom's in Taiwan, and Dad's well, Dad's dad. So you're the best option."

Rukawa looked around his room, as if hoping someone, anyone who knows how to deal with these type of situations would suddenly turn up and scoop Kira away into the world of fashion advice and hairstyles.

Due to the law of nature, nothing like this occurred.

Rukawa cursed the law of nature.

"Please, Kaede?" she half begged.

Rukawa glared at her for a full minute, enough to show that he was not happy at all about this, but he would do it, and sealed the deal with saying, "Do I even have a choice?"

Kira smiled widely and dragged him, in his pajamas no less (in case you want to know, and I know that you do want to know, a plain large whiteshirt and dark blue cotton pants, hehe), holding him tightly in his arm – in case he decides to run away - , out the door and into the her own house just next door and into her room.

Kira's room looked the same to him. The walls were painted a soft baby pink, a color she had loved ever since they met. At the bottom of the walls were paintings, done by them, and when you looked from the bottom up, you can see that the drawings steadily improved, indicating that this was work over a number of years. The subjects of these paintings were the same as in his room: basketballs, courts, flowers, and the occasional angel or fairy.

Rukawa then noticed a new painting, right smack dab in the middle of the wall, of a small, about the size of a credit card, male angel. It had large silver wings, short black hair anfd bright blue eyes. It had a pale complexion, and looked remarkably like –

"You." Kira had finished his thought. Rukawa turned to her. She saw him looking at the drawing. She was smiling. "I couldn't sleep last night, and I thought I'd draw. That's you."

"Why me?"

Kira's smiled grew, there was no other word for it, sweeter. "I like to think you're my angel."

Rukawa felt himself swell with pride, though he was very good at hiding it. Although he couldn't help the small upward curve that occurred in his lips.

I'm her angel, he thought smugly. Take that, Sendoh.

However...

"Hn." was what came out of his mouth.

"So anyway," Kira was grinning now. Rukawa didn't notice the pink tinge in her cheeks because it was then that he noticed that there were a number of shirts, blouses, skirts, pants, hats, scarves, and every other piece of clothing there imaginable strewn in her bed and on the bedroom floor. "Choose."

"Choose what?" he asked incredulously.

"What I'm gonna wear!"

"Why? You're wearing it."

"Kaede!"

"No."

"Kaede..."

"No."

"Pwease..."

"Hn."

"Oh come on!" she shouted, stamping her foot.

"Fine," he grumbled.

He then let his eyes roam in the many clothes spread in front of him. He wanted her - for some manly reason not to be discussed right now - to show skin, but not much skin, because it's cold out there, even if the snow had gone, and because that idiot Sendoh might start thinking hentai thoughts. He had always thought that Kira looked best in green, since it brings out her eyes. Pink, no matter how much she loved it, clashed with her hair. He saw her pair of denim pants that were dyed green, grabbed it, along with a white tank top and a yellow pullover, and threw it to her.

Rukawa suddenly felt he shouldn't be doing this. It felt ... gay-ish.

"There." he muttered, crossing his arms, going to the window, and vowing to never, ever do that again.

When she came back after putting the stuff on, Rukawa felt immensely proud of himself. Her midriff was showing slightly,and there was a big grin plastered in her face.The sleeves of her pullover was pulledback to her elbows. She looked good. Very good. Hot even.

"You may not know it, bestest friend in the whole wide world," she said while turning in front of the full length mirror, "but you sure know this stuff."

Rukawa snorted. He didn't want to know this stuff.

"Shoes?" she asked.

"Your boots."

"Good answer." She grinned.

Rukawa smirked. He knew she loved those boots. Even if he suggested something else, she would inevitable wear those red knee high boots.

"What do you think?" she asked, twirling for him after wearing the boots.

"Beautiful." He said, before he can stop himself.

"You think so?" she asked, a slight tinge of pink in her cheeks.

He nodded. He didn't know why he was talking so much this morning. It was really weirding him out, but he couldn't even stop himself saying that she looked pretty. Not that he wasn't unbiased of course, he dressed the girl for goodness sake.

But then, she had never looked this good to him. Did she lose weight? Is she wearing make up? Did her smile change? Was she always this curvy? That waist looked so small he thought that he could wrap it in the palm of his hands...

"Kaede! Still with me?"

"Huh?" he asked, and looked at Kira. "What, yeah…"

"Oh good," she said smiling. Then started to comb her hair, and checking her teeth. She was talking, Rukawa most probably thought about what she and Sendoh might be doing later, but he wasn't listening…

His eyes were following the swishing of her long red hair.

The sound of the doorbell made Rukawa jump and look at the door. Kira jumped too, and gave an excited grin in his direction.

He didn't need Kira to tell him. He got up and opened the door, welcoming Sendoh Akira with the coldest glare possible, a glare so cold it made the chilly weather outside look like a bright summer's day.

Sendoh, it seemed, looked flustered to see Rukawa there. Surely he thought that it would Kira, or Kira's parents, who would be answering the door. Not Rukawa Kaede!

"What?" asked Rukawa, coldly.

Pull yourself together. He thought, then said, "Where's Kira?"

"In here."

"Oh," said Sendoh, fidgeting, "can I come in? Where, you know, it's warm?" He then looked at Rukawa up and down. "Why are you still in pajamas? In Kira's house?"

Rukawa glared at him, fighting the blood rushing to his face. "What's it to you?" he asked coldly. "But if you must know, your date, who happens to be my best friend, woke me up and dragged me in here."

"Oh," said Sendoh lightly, "well can I come in then?"

Rukawa thought for a moment. Maybe he can let the idiot stay outside and watch him freeze to death, but then that would make Kira mad, so with one more glare he stepped aside to let the boy in.

"Thanks," he smiled.

Rukawa didn't smile back. He sat in one of the couches.

Sendoh looked awkwardly standing at the door.

Rukawa liked it.

"Sit down." He muttered.

Sendoh sat, as ordered. He was looking at Rukawa in a different way. He looked much more like a very, very overprotective brother as he sat there, in the couch, arms crossed with a glare pointed directly at him. He must have known Kira for a long time now, and cared for her a lot, he thought, picturing a small Kira and a small Rukawa playing in the park.

But, he thought smugly, she's going out with me. Not him, me. Haha.

"Is Kira gonna take long?" he asked, forcing a break in the silence.

"She's going to take as long as she needs, and you'll be okay about it." Answered Rukawa in a menacing voice.

Okay, like a very, very, very protective brother.

Sendoh nodded, and started humming.

When he saw Rukawa glaring at him in a murderous way, he stopped.

Twenty minutes later, Sendoh was starting to get a little impatient, and Rukawa was marvelously cool, as if time wasn't passing at all, Kira had come down the stairs.

Sendoh gulped. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

Rukawa had also stood, and his eyes widened. She was positively gorgeous.

She had put a small amount of make up, just enough to hide some freckles and a few blemishes at the side of her face and had lip gloss on, and was grinning at them both. She gave Rukawa a small wink before turning her attention to Sendoh. She was wearing Rukawa's choices of clothes, and over it was a rich brown coat that went down to the middle of her thighs.

"Hey," said Sendoh, "you look beautiful."

She blushed. "Thanks," she said, "you look great too."

This was when Rukawa acknowledged what Sendoh was wearing. Jeans, shoes and a polo with a brown leather jacket. Did this boy know how to dress?

"Kaede," said Kira, "I'll see you later, ne?"

"Course."

Kira wrapped him in a tight hug. "I'll tell you everything later," she whispered.

"You better." He whispered back.

Kira giggled and kissed him lightly in the cheek. "Bye."

"Later." Said Sendoh.

Rukawa said nothing. He went out with them, after all, this was not his house and walked back to his house, opposite to where they were going.

Sitting in his bed, the suddenly thought. Basketball. To get mind off date, do basketball.

He didn't want to stand up for basketball.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Thirty minutes later, he was out the door, into the snowless but cold weather, muttering, spying is not bad, spying is not bad, spying is not bad…