Title: Of Shadows

Genre: Slamdunk/Romance/Angst

Disclaimer: Slamdunk and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Takehiko Inoue

Chapter 2: A different kind of Hello

The bath was refreshing and it put Hanamichi in high spirits. Quickly, he got dressed, finding fresh clothes on the bed, all laid out for him. Humming a tuneless tune that only he knew, he went in search for Ayako, or better yet, Haruko. His entire face brightened at that thought. Stepping out into the corridor, he went in search of someone, anyone. He didn't have to look far.

"Hana! Welcome back!" A voice, like that of melodious music traveled to his ears. His face lit up as he saw her.

"Haruko!" He beamed as he took in her appearance. Here she was, the angel of his dreams. Haruko gave him a blinding smile. He spared a moment to really look at her. Her hair, once short, was now shoulder length, silky and brown with hues of chestnut. Her eyes sparkled, as always. She had grown even more beautifully.

"I've missed you." She said plainly, taking him by the arm. "You didn't keep in touch with any of us. We were all wondering what happened to you. In any case, everyone else is waiting at the dining hall." She said as she led him by the arm, continuing the monologue as she filled him in on the latest happenings around the castle. He happily followed her, momentarily forgetting about the reason he was called here in the first place.

The dining hall was huge and just like he remembered. Really, nothing much had changed. Ayako sat at the head of the table, flanked on both sides by Fujima and Takenori Akagi, a heavy set man Hanamichi privately felt looked like an ape. Jin sat on the other side of Fujima, looking fresh.

"Well then, let's start dinner." Ayako beamed when she noticed them. Hanamichi noticed the twitch of an eye of a certain ape looking their way and scowled. "Sad to see he hasn't changed much." He muttered as he let Haruko lead him to his seat beside her.

"Hanamichi." Akagi nodded at him as he took a seat beside Haruko. Hanamichi nodded perfunctorily. "Nice to see you again, Akagi." 'And your sister too' Hanamichi added mentally.

Dinner was an elaborate and rather quiet affair, and the room was only filled with the sounds of the clanking of utensils. That was…until Hanamichi disturbed the pleasant silence.

"By the way," he said casually as he fixed his gaze on the steak before him. "We were accosted by five umbra members at the northern borders on the way here. They said that they were looking for something."

For a moment, everyone stopped eating. Ayako was the first one to break the silence. "They're probably looking for him. Not surprising really." She said as she continued with her dinner. Fujima nodded an affirmative.

"In any case, dinner's not the time for such talk." Fujima fixed him with a blank expression. "Let us continue with this after dinner." With that, everyone in the room turned back to their food.

Hanamichi sighed inwardly and concentrated on murdering his steak. Indeed, dinner was a quiet affair.


Haruko excused herself once dinner was over, mumbling something about it being her shift. It was only until later did Hanamichi find out that she was taking care of him at the time of their conversation.

The rest of them relocated themselves to the study. It was a large and regal room, with grand tapestries hanging from the walls to the ground. The curtains were long and deep red in color. Right now, they were tightly drawn. When open though, Hanamichi knew he would be graced with the breathtaking view of the city central, Shohoku.

Immediately upon entrance, he claimed the big plush chair as his, sinking into it. His hair camouflaged with the redness of the chair. The others sat on various chairs around the small coffee table.

"So why am I here again?" Hanamichi said once everyone had settled down, cutting to the chase. Uncomfortable silence met his question. Hanamichi tapped his foot impatiently, a very bad habit that caused Akagi to twitch his eyebrows in irritation. However, he maintained the silence.

Fujima was the first to speak. "Well, it started a week ago when Ayako's knights found him unconscious in the frost. He was turning blue…who knew how long he was there? In any case, when Ayako realized that the person they had rescued was the infamous Kaede Rukawa," Hanamichi tensed at the mention of his name. "She contacted me. Jin, Toru and I rushed down immediately."

"I was in the vicinity with Haruko at that time. We met them," Akagi signaled over to Fujima. "And when he informed us of what happened, we decided to follow."

"Yes, and so we met them." Fujima nodded, clearing his throat before continuing. "When we got here, and that was like, three days later, he hadn't woken up."

Ayako picked up from where he left off. "When my knights picked him up, he was in critical condition. His lips were blue from the cold and he was suffering from hypothermia. The physicians also found a large bruise at the back of his head. In any case, I had the nurse tend to him, but he never woke up. All he did was sleep fitfully…" She trailed off, training Hanamichi with his gaze.

"And?" Hanamichi raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"And he calls for Hana-kun." She finished off softly, looking at him with large sad eyes. Hanamichi's heart took a plunge into icy cold water.

"Hana-kun?" He asked once again, voice suddenly hoarse. "You sure?" Fujima nodded.

"And that's why I sent Jin after you." Fujima said, training him with those royal blue orbs of his. Hanamichi took a sharp intake of breath.

"You're sure he's talking about me?" He asked, happily in the land of denial. Fujima, and everyone else, looked at him incredulously.

Akagi gave a bark of laughter. "Then what? Don't tell me he's calling for Hanataga? He hasn't even interacted with the guy before!" He scoffed. Hanamichi scowled.

He reclined in his red plush chair, running a hand through his red hair. "Even if he's calling for me, I don't see why I'm needed here. Unless…you're waiting for me to kill him after you guys nurse him back to health."

Ayako seemed ready to retort, but she bit her lip and kept her silence. "Actually…we were hoping that you'd get through to him." Jin's clear voice rang out in the silence.

"Get through to him?" Hanamichi asked incredulously, jumping up from his seat and glaring at them all. "What in the world are you guys thinking? I'm his number one enemy! Enemies don't waste time getting through to people. Enemies kill at first sight!" He huffed before gracing each and every one with a glare before settling back down again.

Fujima blinked. "Well that was expected." He looked at Hanamichi through cool blue eyes, and once he thought that Hanamichi had cooled off enough, he proceeded. "Actually, we were hoping that you would be able to get him to talk. As in, form proper coherent sentences other than your sacred name that he's been uttering all week in his sleep."

As Fujima's words set in, Hanamichi tensed. "You want me to extract information out of him." He stated flatly. Fujima, that cool regal prince, didn't even blink or flinch at the blatant statement.

"Bingo."

Silence filled the room for a tense moment, in which Jin shifted awkwardly in his chair. Ayako pursed her lips and observed the redhead with wariness. Akagi had his eyes trained on the carpeted floor. Fujima fixed his gaze on Hanamichi. Hanamichi swore.

"I'm his enemy. Does that even mean anything to you?" He proclaimed, wide eyed. Fujima nodded, answering him smoothly.

"Of course. But the thing is, he doesn't remember us at all. Hell, he probably doesn't remember who he is. And that is why we need you to coax the information out of his brain. It's up to you to make sure that he remembers."

"We need to defeat Umbra, Hanamichi. You and I and everyone else here in this room know that. And you're the only one that can do this. You know it." Akagi said resolutely.

Hanamichi sighed in defeat. Damn it. "Alright." He said grudgingly. "So where is he?"


Fujima volunteered to lead him to his arch nemesis. As they walked down the silent corridor, Hanamichi couldn't help but feel a little stifled by the seriousness of the situation.

"No one told me what happened with Ryota and Hanataga." He said lamely as he tried to fill the silence. Fujima allowed a grin to grace his fine features.

"Well, soon after we came, those two decided to scout the northern borders for any other Umbra members. They took a group of elite with them." Then he turned to Hanamichi and smirked. "Though it seems that they missed the welcoming party."

He was referring to the five that were slain by Hanamichi.

"Hopefully, they'd be back in two days." Fujima shrugged as he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Hanamichi almost walked into him. Fujima's expression turned serious.

"This is it. Are you ready?" He studied Hanamichi's expression. Hanamichi took a deep breath and nodded. "Well," Fujima adverted his gaze to the door handle. "Be nice to him."

With that, he opened the door, giving Hanamichi no time to retort to his statement as he stepped into the darkness of the room. Haruko was there, keeping vigil by the bed. Hanamichi couldn't help but feel happier when he caught sight of her.

She looked up as light entered the room. Catching sight of him and Fujima, she gave a bright smile. "Hey." She greeted, though she remained seated by the bedside. Fujima nodded.

"How is he?" He inquired, causing Hanamichi's attention to turn to the figure lying by the bed. The figure was pale, paler than Hanamichi remembered. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead as he tossed in his sleep. His breathing was short and irregular and his arms, once finely muscled, looked gaunt as they clutched at the sheets draped over him. His raven mop of hair was tousled, and it plastered on his forehead. From his vision, he seemed as though he was sobbing in his sleep as water streaked from his closed eyes to the pillows underneath him.

She shook her head, a frown marring her features. "No better than before." She glanced at Hanamichi. "I'd leave you guys alone." She said as she stood up. Fujima nodded.

Hanamichi could not bring himself to react to her exit. He was shocked into stillness at the sight of the Kaede Rukawa. He looked so…fragile. He was forced to though, when she touched him lightly on the arm.

"Don't leave him alone, okay? I'd be in my room if you need me." With that, she left, closing the doors behind her.

Fujima made his way towards the seat Haruko had occupied, sinking comfortably in it. He ran a hand though the tousled raven locks, smoothing the hair. Rukawa bit back an audible cry, ridding Hanamichi of his initial shock.

Anxiously, Hanamichi made his way towards the bed. He watched, mesmerized as Fujima continued to hush the distressed boy on the bed. And then he heard it. A small sob, a plea…a wrangled cry.

"Hana-kun."

It brought Hanamichi to his knees beside the bed as he reached out a hand towards the boy's face. Rukawa's face was cool and damp to the touch, and unconsciously, he leaned towards the new presence.

Fujima began to speak. "Now do you understand why we called for you?" He asked in hushed tones, never ceasing in his caressing of the boy's face. Hanamichi could not trust himself to speak. He nodded.

Fujima sighed tiredly. "Well then, I'd leave you to get acquainted with him again. Just…" Hanamichi looked up to see Fujima standing, ready to leave. "If you're going to bed later on, call on one of us. We don't want him left alone."

Hanamichi nodded. Satisfied with that reply, Fujima left.

He turned back to the figure on the bed. Rukawa had not stopped tossing. New wetness on his hand made him look at the boy closer and he saw…that he was indeed crying.

What happened? Hanamichi pondered as he wiped the tears away with his thumb, keeping his hand by his cheek. Rukawa continued his silent sobbing as he tossed about on the bed.

How had it come to this? His enemy, once a proud young man, did not look like he had remembered it to be. The one in front of him was not the man he remembered, the one he had directed his hatred to.

Who was this? This boy, this sobbing boy…he was not his enemy, Hanamichi realized with a painful twinge in his heart. This boy…he realized with much dread, was the one he had once fallen for; the silent shy boy with inner demons haunting him in his sleep.

"Hana-kun." He cried out once again, fitful in his sleep. Hanamichi acted on reflex, with tenderness he never knew he had.

"Hush now, Kaede. I'm here." The boy seemed to relax a little. "I'm here now…and everything's going to be fine." He whispered, caressing his cheek.

Hanamichi smiled sadly as he watched him relax back into slumber. 'Haruko, I guess you'd never had to worry about me leaving him alone tonight. Even I don't think I'd be able to bear doing such a thing…' he thought wistfully.

"Sleep now, Kaede. I'd keep watch over you tonight." He whispered as he wiped away the last of the tears.

-End Chapter 2-


HNO3 – Like it? Hate it? Drop me a review. It inspires me to continue.