Hi guys!

Now everyone knows that I don't own Slam Dunk. If I did, I'd be Rukawa's girlfriend by now.

So all disclaimers apply! Don't sue, I beg you! Thanks for reading, and please review.

Photograph

Chapter One

Hiroshi Mira made her way, as usual, to the Ryonan High School gym with her professional digital camera in hand. Just because it was the first day of the new school year doesn't mean that she should take it easy and stop taking photographs.

The door was open, and she went up to where most of the other students were watching the school's basketball team warm up for practice. She smiled. The basketball team was almost as reliable as she was, they were always ready, on time, and determined to make every practice better than the last.

Like her when it came to taking photographs.

She takes each photograph with deliberate precision, taking her time with each shot, waiting until her subject was in complete focus and hitting the shutter button at the exact time when her subjects displays the most drama and effect.

She looked at her camera and smiled. She was very fond of it. It was a sleek, profession, digital camera, like the one professional photographers use. It cost a fortune, money that up until a year and a half ago, she lacked. She had been saving ever since she was a little girl for a special camera, and it took her until she was seventeen to afford one.

It wasn't that her family was poor, but her experience with her own left her to fend for herself, and not rely too much on others. Her parents are separated, and lived on opposite sides of Japan. She didn't blame them for it, their fights were known all over the street they used to live, and not being able to take any of it any longer, Mira made a bold move and filed for legal emancipation.

She shocked her parents with this, but in the end they conceded. They still support her though. They send her enough money every month to pay for her schooling, her clothes, and her basic needs.

Even so, she got a job in a fast food store, working on both weekends the whole day since she couldn't work on weekdays. She didn't need the extra money, but now that she was living alone, Mira felt comforted that at least she had money to spare.

As she looked at the display behind the camera, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her camera lens were following the movements of one certain boy, the new captain of the Ryonan Basketball Team, Sendoh Akira.

Mira had reason to be surprised. Sendoh was almost always late for practice, a habit that caused him to stay behind every single practice. Mira would, of course, know this because she usually photographs the team.

Must be trying to make a good impression, she thought, being the new captain and all.

She looked around and saw that many girls, most of them freshmen and third years looking, or more like swooning at Sendoh. Mira smirked, and focused her camera again.

It wasn't that she didn't like Sendoh, but she didn't go all crazy for the boy. She liked him, but don't fall head over heels over him. What she liked best about Sendoh was that he photographed well.

Mira has this knack to hit the shutter button at the exact same moment when Sendoh was making powerful and bold poses, so that everytime she prints a photo of him, she was almost always amazed of how beautifully it turned out, and wondered at times, whether she really took that picture.

Not that she was arrogant or anything. It was just she was always amazed at how well Sendoh appears in photographs.

There were whispers around her, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the other people with her pointing at her. This was normal, as she didn't have any close friends. Most of them just come to her when they need help with their work or if they need their picture taken. She really didn't care that much for friends. As long as she has a camera on hand, she's happy.

She had taken about a dozen pictures now, of the team warming up, of them dribbling amongst many other things. She took one of the coach and Sendoh talking, of Sendoh ordering the new recruits around and the vice captain, Koshino, facilitating the warm up.

She's bound to reject ninety five percent of them.

Poised with her camera in hand, she patiently waited for the real practice to begin.

"I'm still amazed you're here on time, Akira," said Koshino, as Sendoh walked past him. He hada big grin in his face. "Being responsible now, or is this just pretend?"

Sendoh gave him a small smile. "I have to set up an example now," he said, "being captain and all."

"Yeah, and you don't want to be punished by Coach Taoka in the first official practice of the year."

Sendoh smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that too."

"Any other reason?" asked Fukuda suddenly, who was obviously listening to the conversation.

"No one else to go to, I guess," said Sendoh.

Koshino grinned at Fukuda. "That just means that he doesn't have a date or a girlfriend."

Sendoh smiled, but didn't say anything. So what if he didn't have a girlfriend? There were many girls fawning at him right now. He looked up at the spectators. Many girl screamed as he looked up. See? A lot! His attention was then caught by a girl whose face was hidden behind a camera. When he looked directly at the camera, the girl turned the camera on the other direction, but he still didn't see her face. See, they're even taking pictures of him! He saw that the girl's hair, whoever she was, was shiny, and black, with streaks of bright blue.

Interesting, he thought, wonder who she is?

"Who you looking at Sendoh?" asked Fukuda, looking up as well.

"That girl," he answered, "with the blue streaks in her hair. Do you know who she is?"

Fukuda shook his head. "Nah, sorry man," he said, "but she comes here every practice, with that camera permanently glued in her hand."

"Glued?"

"I only see her during practice, and don't see her not holding the thing," he said, stretching his arms, "all I know is that she's in your year, and that she's a school photographer."

"That explains the camera," said Sendoh. "Any chance you know her name?"

"Nope."

"Name of who?" asked Koshino, walking over.

Sendoh looked at him. "The girl with the blue streaks in her hair," he said looking up again. She was focusing her camera on the new recruits. "Do you know her name?"

"Nope," said Sendoh, "but she's in your class, Sendoh."

"What?"

Sendoh stared at him, eyes wide. Did he just hear him say that that girl, that blue haired girl is in his class and he hasn't noticed? Then again, he thought, it is just the first day of classes. And there were a lot of girls in his class, most of them throwing themselves at me... He then thought that he was being incredibly smug and fought the urge not to hit himself in the head.

Koshino looked incredulously at him. "Haven't you noticed?" he asked slowly.

"No!"

"She's not that hard to miss, Akira."

"I told you! I haven't noticed!"

"Well now you know," he said, stretching his legs. "So you might as well ask her what her name is."

Sendoh found this all surprising and slightly frustrating. "How can I have not noticed her?"

"Well it is just the first day of school, Akira," said Koshino, grinning, "it took you about six hours to notice her, in a month you'll probably know her name, and in six you can date her and then at the end of the year you can propose."

Sendoh gave him a look. "Funny," he said, though he didn't laugh.

"What are you three doing there?" demanded Coach Taoka, "get back to warm up!"

"Yes sir!" they chorused, ending their conversation. Soon afterward, they began playing games, seniors versus the rest, and Sendoh could faintly hear the sounds of a camera clicking whenever he comes close enough.