Hi guys, thanks for reading the last chapter

neko11lover: Hello! I kept it in suspense? I kinda thought it was obvious or something, oh well, I'm glad that you're liking it. I hope you did well on your exam, and Math is my worst subject, trust me on that one.

moodygal: Well, yes, I did the research, it was easy. People kept asking about it and I thought it was high time to get things straight so I did. Here's the next chapter!

You Mean, Rukawa has a best friend?

Chapter Seventeen

"Do you think Rukawa would mind?" asked Sendoh suddenly, after ten minutes of silence.

During ordinary days, Kira can just go to her neighbor, barge in his door without knocking, sit in his bed, shake him awake, duck from the punch that would come three seconds later, and then ask him if it was okay for her and Sendoh to be friends.

However, things weren't exactly the same now. It was far from ordinary. She gave Sendoh a pained slightly helpless look before going out the window and sitting on the sill.

The best part in their living room, she thought was the large window. She could sit on the sill all day without a care in the world as her view showed nothing but open fields, since that side of their home was next to an open field, a lot that hasn't been bought yet, so therefore no house.

"Wish I could ask him," she said, both her legs on the sill now and resting on the window, looking out at the bright blue sky. She wished it would rain, it would reflect her mood more.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." He said.

Kira turned to him. "Then why ask?"

He shrugged helplessly. "Conversation starter?" he asked. "It seemed like a good topic … at the time."

Kira gave him a wry smile and shook her head. He stood next to her and looked out the window as well. His large hand suddenly came and settled itself on the top of her head, much like an older brother. For a few seconds, she felt like a cat being pet by its owner. "He'll come around," he said softly.

"I hope so," she answered. "I honestly can't take this anymore."

Sendoh said nothing. She continued on, voicing out her thoughts. "Maybe I can just go to him and –"

"Absorb another barrage of short one line phrases that'll send you shouting at the top of your lungs?"

Kira gave him a look. "You're not being very helpful."

"Sorry."

Kira sat there, confused. She didn't know where this conversation was going, and she didn't care. Sendoh gave her an apologetic look before he said goodbye. He's going to a basketball practice somewhere.

"He'll come around," he assured her. "Trust me."

She nodded weakly as she waved him goodbye. She didn't mean to distance herself from Sendoh so much, especially right after they ended things between them. But right now, there were more pressing matters, such as getting Rukawa to come around.

After a few more minutes of fidgeting, she peeled herself off the window sill and changed. She was going to find Rukawa Kaede, talk to him in the most civil way possible, promise herself she won't blow up, and hopefully, things would work out fine.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Basketball, Rukawa thought, think only of basketball from now on.

He was guarding Mitsui Hisashi, as they met in the local basketball courts. He challenged him on a one on one, first to 20. Mitsui whole heartedly agreed.

No matter how many times he told himself to only think about basketball, Kira's face would suddenly pop in her mind, causing his concentration to break and Mitsui to pass him. He was losing, he knew it, and funnily enough, it wasn't bothering as much as it used to.

Mitsui seemed to have noticed as well. "Hey, Rukawa," he said, grabbing the ball as it bounced out of the court after his shot, taking his score to 16, 4 points ahead of Rukawa. "Are you alright, you seem out of it."

"I'm fine, Mitsui-sempai," he said, as politely as he could. He would never ever divulge anything about his personal life to his teammates.

"I just noticed," said Mitsui, "you're not your usual self." He passed the ball to Rukawa.

Rukawa quickly attacked and made two easy points. Mitsui was still standing near the three point line, apparently dazed at the quickness that Rukawa's feet took him to the basket. "I think," said Rukawa, as he caught the ball, "that you should just concentrate on your game, Mitsui-sempai, and stop asking me questions that I would never answer."

Mitsui nodded mutely, getting the message. At least, Rukawa thought he got the message. Maybe he was just surprised that he, Rukawa, was talking again.

For Rukawa had been extremely mute for the past few days, even more so than usual. Ever since he and Sendoh had that talk in the exact same courts that he was in now, he hasn't said a thing to any of his teammates. Even Akagi-sempai and Kogure-sempai was asking him about his condition. He swore at the thought. Can't they see that he just want to be left alone?

"I think that I know now why you're being the way you are," said Mitsui suddenly, a small smile in his face.

Rukawa looked at him, but saw that he wasn't looking back. Instead, his eyes were going past him, over his shoulder. Puzzled, he turned around, and almost dropped the ball.

It was Kira.

Rukawa thought that whenever he sees her now, she would be with Sendoh. Then he reminded himself that Sendoh said that he would break up with her. He wondered how she took it. He tried to read her eyes, but it showed not sorrow, but anxiousness.

"Hey Kira!" Mitsui called out, waving his hand, a grin in his face. "You and Rukawa made up yet?"

Rukawa wanted to throttle him.

Kira gave him a weak smile and a wave, then quickly turned to Rukawa.

Mitsui had been looking from Rukawa to Kira, then back to Rukawa, then said, "Well, I know when I'm not wanted. Let's just say I won, eh, Rukawa?"

Rukawa glared at him.

Mitsui seemed to have taken this as confirmation. "Great!" he said, "See you around then! Kira, you too!"

He patted Kira on the back as he walked past her. Kira smiled again and nodded her goodbye, then turned again to Rukawa.

Rukawa was still holding the basketball. He began dribbling it, then –

"So, realize your mistake yet?"

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Kira seemed to be momentarily unbalanced. "I beg your pardon?"

She wanted him to repeat what he said. She wanted to know that he didn't say what he just said. She wanted him to say something, anything other than that sentence again.

But he didn't say anything.

In fact, he looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Kira, I-" he started to say, but Kira's blood was already boiling.

"You still think what I did was a mistake?" she snapped. "How stupid can you get?"

The problem with the both of them, they both knew, was that when one of their temper starts to boil, the other's temper was sure to follow.

"I am not being stupid!" snapped Rukawa. "How dare you-"

"How dare I? How dare I? HOW DARE YOU!" shouted Kira, pointing an accusatory finger at him, her face contorted in arage that she knew was completely unattractive, but right now she didn't care, "I CAME HERE THINKING THAT MAYBE WE CAN WORK THINGS OUT AND YOU WELCOME ME WITH THIS?"

She turned around and stalked off. She wasn't going to try and reconcile with someone who still thinks that her decisions was the result of an unwise judgement.

"Well if you didn't come out and tell me I'm stupid, then we wouldn't have this argument in the first place!" He was following her, and getting closer.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING SO STUPID RIGHT NOW! IF YOU JUST TRUSTED THAT I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING THEN MAYBE WE WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!"

"I told you!" snapped Rukawa. "I do trust you, it's him I don't trust!"

Kira had crossed the street, without even looking to see if there were any approaching cars coming. Right now, the cars were not both of their concern.

"YOU JUST DON'T LIKE HIM BECAUSE HE'S YOUR BIGGEST RIVAL!"

"NO! I DON'T LIKE HIM BECAUSE HE'S DATING THE ONLY GIRL THAT I WANT TO BE WITH!"

Kira stopped and stood stock still. Did Rukawa just shout? And more importantly, did he just shout what she thought he shouted?

Rukawa had stopped in the middle of the street, breathing hard. It had come out, finally, and he felt his shoulders droop, as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. This wasn't how he wanted to confess those feelings. In his thoughts, he was actually just whispering the words, not shouting it in front of the whole world to see. In addition, he wasn't confessing it in the middle of a street.

Kira hadn't turned around. The words were still making its way all over her body to her brain. Please, let me have heard right.

Rukawa, meanwhile, was still standing in the middle of the street, waiting for Kira to turn around. He took a step forward, starting to walk, but as he took a step, a squealing of tires can be heard. He looked to his left. So did Kira. A car had just rounded the corner sharply, in about a 100 kilometers per hour, just 50 meters from Rukawa.

"KAEDE!"

First of all, DON'T KILL ME. Please, don't. I beg you, he's gonna be...well, you'll find out next time. Please, don't kill me...