Disclaimer:I don't own Slam Dunk. It is the sole property of Inoue Takehiko. There is no financial gain made from this and created for entertainment purposes only.
Chapter 8: What Does The Fox Say?
She never looked nice,
She looked like an art,
and art wasn't supposed to look nice-
it was supposed to make you feel something.
-Rainbow Rowell
Mizuki stood an arm's length before him, her face beet red from her initial outburst to him and her mind still reeling from the static she experienced not more than a few minutes ago.
Eyes lowered to the ground, she began to speak, cringing slightly when her voice started to waver. "I –uhmm- apologize for t-the drooling remark, Rukawa-kun. I'm just…I don't know, frustrated, maybe?" Mizuki said sheepishly, casting him a brief glance before dropping her gaze back to her own shoes, deliberately avoiding looking at Rukawa's brand new kicks. After Ayako's blunt remark, she doesn't think she can ever look at his shoes, or any other guys' shoes for the matter, without her face exploding into embarrassment.
She took a deep breath before continuing, "I admit, I fought with our editor-in-chief when he coerced me to do this task. I mean, on normal circumstances, I would have accepted the job without too much resistance on my part for it was my responsibility as a member of the Newspaper club. The task was proven to be quite difficult - no offense Rukawa-kun, but talking to you is like talking to a brick wall, or a Greek go - er – statue.. I hope that you don't feel that this interview is a total waste of time, and I definitely do not intend to pry on your privacy." She glanced up to check if he's still awake, but fortunately for her, it seems that he has no intention of falling asleep anytime soon. Hope flickered within her, encouraging her to continue.
"I'll do my best to deviate from topics that are deemed rude or too forward for you. ('Shoe sizes are absolutely a taboo subject') Think of this as some sort of preparation, grooming you for bigger and better things, like joining the NBA. "
Mizuki was certain she saw his eyes gleamed in response.
"I'm pretty sure reporters will be swarming around you, eager to get the first scoop about you. Fame has its benefits and its drawbacks; believe me, those shrieking fans of yours are nothing compared to those paparazzi stalkers. Being good inside the court is one thing, but please also reflect on your actions outside of the court. I'm not being a pessimist; I'm merely stating the fact that other people won't be as understanding and as forgiving with that I-don't-give-a-damn attitude of yours. You cannot simply escape or ignored the others just because you can, it doesn't always work that way… So, with that said, perhaps you can reconsider our club's request to interview you."
She looked at him expectantly, internally chanting a mantra. 'Say yes. Say yes. Say yes.'
"Break time is over, Senpai."
'Say yes. Say yes. Say – what?!'
Mizuki remained standing, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief as she watched his retreating back. What in the world just happened? She thought for a moment that she'll be able to convince him, as he didn't seem to mind her presence; even staying awake on the duration of her monologue.
"Arrghhh! Why is he being so bloody difficult?!" She whined while stomping her feet on the ground, letting all the pent up anger out. Her behavior was rather childish and very Sakuragi like, but right now, she doesn't give a damn. She felt entirely put out by his downright rude attitude. "I already apologized to him! What more does he want?" She asked herself again.
"Now, now, Yohei-chan. You need to calm down." Ayako appeared beside her and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.
"Is he always that inconsiderate?" She grumbled, still upset with Rukawa's unpleasant manner.
"Trust me, Yohei-chan, the Rukawa you encountered today is a lot more tame and receptive than he usually was. It looks like that you are making progress after all. Just don't give up, okay?" Ayako answered her query.
"Really? How can you be sure?" Mizuki can't help but feel skeptical, but then again, she's being completely unfair with him, mostly relying on the gang's prejudiced impression of him.
"I assure you, I've never seen Rukawa so attentive to anyone before, unless of course if its basketball related. And he seems mildly curious too. Hmm.. I wonder why." The curly haired manageress stroked her thumb against her chin, her lips turned up in a meaningful smile as she studied the girl in front of her. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens next."
Before Mizuki can ask her to elaborate further, Ayako started walking back to the gym. She slowed down once she reached the gym's entrance, turning her head with her eyebrows raised, Ayako said to her, "Don't you have an article to do, Yohei-chan?"
Mizuki followed her senpai, not knowing what else to do.
Unbeknownst to them, hidden beneath the shadows of the school's gymnasium was another student, who also witnessed their ace player's uncharacteristic behavior towards the short-haired girl. And this particular student wasn't the least bit happy about what she had observed.
xxxxx
To say that Mizuki was impressed with Rukawa's basketball skills would be an understatement. It was the first time that she had watched him play, and she must admit, he was a force to be reckoned with. He was doing extremely well, ruthlessly slaying his opponents, even though it was just a practice game. This guy was such an enigma, one minute he looks bored to death; the second he got a hold of basketball on his hands, he's all vibrant and ready to move in for the kill. Outside the court, one cannot help but admire his handsome features and physique, but inside the court; his grace, speed, determination and unquenchable competitiveness will surely blow anyone's minds away. There's something about the way in which he carries himself during the game; appearing so calm, focused and collected. She concluded that he is definitely at his best when he's playing basketball.
Mizuki could tell that everyone was working hard to win this game, and she knows that she should be cheering for Sakuragi, but she can't help but be drawn to Rukawa's extraordinary performance. Her eyes followed the latter's running form as he easily avoided one of the opposing player's block and effortlessly made a jump shot, his team leading by 8 points.
As soon as the ball slipped through the net, pandemonium erupted. Rukawa's hordes of fangirls began screaming their hearts out.
"Rukawa! Rukawa! L-O-V-E Rukawa!"
Inside the court, a certain redhead was definitely outraged with the current situation. He gave those shrieking Rukawa-obsessed girls the evil eye before turning his glare towards the player who was in charge of keeping an eye on his nemesis.
"Oi Yasuda! Why did you let him get passed you, huh? It shouldn't be that difficult to guard that kitsune! Maybe I should just switch with you, as you're obviously slacking on your job!" Sakuragi pointed a finger towards Yasuda as he mercilessly berated him.
"And you oughta get to score more instead of letting him do all the points for your team! Remember, don't ever pass the ball to him as that fox had a tendency on hogging the ba-."
A sharp kick at the back of his knee caused him to stumble and nearly fall. "Quit fooling around, Sakuragi and get your act together!"
"What the hell, Ryo-chin! That's no way to treat the secret weapon of Shohoku!" Sakuragi fumed, his eyebrows knotted in anger. This was not what he had envisioned for his comeback. "Damn that stupid fox!" He grumbled before returning to guard his designated opponent: a freshman who could rival Akagi in terms of height. Whilst their former captain was somewhat vicious-looking and gorilla like as Sakuragi often teased him, this rookie was the opposite of their former captain; what with his baby face features and innocent expression. Sakuragi didn't know whether he wants to punch or pinch the guy's rosy chubby cheeks. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he mentally cursed Ryota for assigning him with this amateur.
Mizuki let out a sigh as she watched her redheaded friend gone berserk -once again. 'So much for keeping his cool.' As expected of Sakuragi, he couldn't last an hour without losing his temper, already forgetting his earlier intention of ending his immaturity and impetuous attitude. That volatile nature and revolting mouth of his will surely become his downfall. But in all fairness to him, he didn't fight back when he received a kick from his captain. 'Maybe it's a sign that he's somehow learning to control his temper?'
"Foul! White no. 10!" Third year student Satoru Kakuta declared, who's acting as the referee for the scrimmage.
'Or maybe not.' Mizuki massaged her temple in exasperation as she witnessed another blunder made by Sakuragi. Apparently, that idiot was being selective on who's going to earn the brunt of his ire. Number one on his list was, who else? It's without a doubt the ace of Shohoku, Kaede Rukawa. Clearly, jealousy and inferiority is still plaguing Sakuragi.
The ball that was carelessly passed to him by one of his teammates was quickly intercepted by Rukawa which further set the redhead off. Not wanting his rival to score another point, for fear that his Haruko-chan will have those googly eyes again; he acted without thinking first – for the hundredth time.
Loud boos were heard from the school gymnasium as the mob of fangirls saw their idol plummet to the floor, deliberately pushed by none other than the king of mischief himself, Hanamichi Sakuragi. Some of the girls were shouting to have the hare-brained ape thrown out of the game.
"Tsk! That guy is such a wimp!" Sakuragi grumbled as he raises his hand to acknowledge the foul.
"You okay, Rukawa-kun?" Yasuda asked as he extended his hand to help him up. The epitome of coolness, Rukawa simply shrugged, accepted his assistance and muttered his thanks. He silently proceeds to position himself behind the free throw line.
Their captain, however, was not as forgiving or as cool as their ace player. Ryota; with a large vein popping on his forehead, grabbed the back of Sakuragi's shirt and dragged him over to one corner of the gym. He began to admonish him, flailing his arms wildly and yelling some mild expletives towards him. Ayako immediately went to the pair to prevent the conflict from escalating further. With her presence, Ryota manage to have his temper in check and was able to calm down a bit, but not enough to have the redhead forgiven.
"Stay here and think about your actions. And next time you did something stupid again, I will personally make it sure that you're not going to set foot on this gym floor ever again." Ryota threatened before making his way back to the center of the court while Ayako gave him a tight lipped smile before returning on her place near the scoreboard.
"How dramatic." Sakuragi rolled his eyes, but did not dare make any protest. He silently watched as Ryota picked another amateur to substitute in his place. He hunched his shoulders in frustration and buried his hands on the sides of his basketball shorts. Deep inside, he was severely disappointed with his performance throughout the game.
2 points. He managed to score 2 measly points only. That is utterly unbelievable and unacceptable for a 'genius' like him!
Suddenly, his sulking was interrupted as he heard the most awful singing voice known to mankind.
"There he goes. There he goes again. Racing through my brain."
Sakuragi didn't need to turn around to confirm who that voice belongs to.
"Has anyone told you your voice sucks?" He said, still not looking at the owner of the voice.
"Has anyone told you your shooting skill sucks?" The person besides him retorted back.
"Oh, Burn!" Sakuragi finally turned his head to look at his tormentor. Warm large brown eyes stared right back at him, challenging him to contradict her. As expected, he took the bait.
'Hook, line and sinker.'
"For your information, Zuki-chan, I am the reason we were able to defeat Sannoh from last year's Inter-High games. If it weren't for this Tensai's impressive skills and athleticism, who knows what will happen to the Shohoku team?" And the redhead relentlessly bragged about his vital role for the team's success in getting into the IH and beating one of Japan's most prestigious high school basketball team.
Mizuki simply nodded, muttering a few awed expressions once in a while in an effort to prevent him from moping any longer. She knew that he's feeling quite crestfallen and disheartened by his poor performance in today's practice match. Perhaps, his injury has taken its toll on him, testing his will and confidence in himself. He only scored 2 points today, and to add insult to the injury, he didn't even manage to obtain one fourth of Rukawa's score.
Mizuki can no longer make out what Sakuragi was saying as the latter's voice was abruptly overshadowed by the deafening roar of the crowd. And based on the audience ear splitting scream and enthusiastic chanting of Rukawa's name, it appears that he had scored again. As if drawn by some spell, her eyes sought him involuntarily, and her heart skipped a beat as their gazes locked briefly. She forced herself to calm down before she loses her mind and do something stupid; like have her name enlisted in his fan's club and joins the groupies in chanting his name. Surely he was aware of the effect he had on women. And as much as she'd like to think that she's immune to his sorcery, she found her defences slowly crumbling.
"Che! What's so great about him, anyway? It was just a lucky shot!" Sakuragi said grumpily.
Mizuki snapped back to her senses, and turned her eyes away from Rukawa's graceful form and dare she say well-toned body.
"I thought you promised to stop being envious of Rukawa?" She asked him, relieved by the distraction provided by the scowling redhead.
"Me? Envy that sleep maniac?! Not in the slightest! Wherever did you get that silly notion that this Tensai is jealous of that incompetent bastard?" He all but shouted, deeply offended by her statement.
"Oh please. Don't bother denying it, Hanamichi. There are 2 colors to describe you at the moment. Red, which is the color of your hair. And green, which is normally associated with envy. And you, my friend, is reeking with envy. "
"Whose side are you on, anyway?" He demanded, turning his body to fully face her with his arms folded across his chest. "Hmp. Some friend you are."
"Of course, I'm on your side, you big idiot. But what you did out there was really rude, and you wonder why the crowd was being nasty towards you."
"Whatever! If anyone should be jealous here, it should be that dumb fox! His feeble skills are no match for the power of this Tensai!Nyahaha!"
"If you say so, Darth Sidious." Mizuki shook her head; she knew there was nothing she could say that would alleviate his stubborn nature. 'What is it with these basketball players and their pig-headed attitude?'
"By the way, where is that beanpole boyfriend of yours?" Sakuragi asked her in a teasing tone, taking notice of Satoshi's absence. "Lemme guess, he heard you singing and he freaked out?"
Mizuki simply rolled her eyes in response and began walking towards the bench where Haruko and the other players were located. She observed that Sakuragi tends to be more compliant and subdued when Haruko was within close proximity.
"Or maybe he got turned off by your clumsy and unladylike manner?" He followed after her, not stopping with the teasing. Only when Mizuki firmly jabbed him in the stomach and discreetly pointed towards Haruko that he finally shut his big mouth.
"H-Haruko-chan!" He greeted her in a stuttering voice.
The brown haired girl turned to his direction and gave Sakuragi her signature sweet smile that made the redhead float on the air. But his elation was only short lived as Haruko's attention shifted back to the game and uttered three words that made him fall to the ground in an exaggerated manner. He felt like his heart was stabbed multiple times.
"Good shot, Rukawa-kun!" Haruko shouted amidst the excitement.
Tears streaming down his face, (*cue the sad music and melancholy background of dark clouds and falling leaves) Sakuragi mourned for the miserable state of his love life.
"Rukawa's looking all fired up today, it's no wonder the girls are going bonkers." One of the players commented.
"He is truly the ace of Shohoku." Another benchwarmer said.
The last thing the two players saw before they fall unconscious to the floor was a blur of red and white.
Haruko, who's immensely engrossed in the game, was unaware of the commotion behind her.
Sakuragi who heard the pair's conversation was now seething with anger, a rapid 180 degrees change from his prior demeanor. A loudspeaker suddenly appears out of nowhere and landed on his hands. He wasted no time and began cheering for his and Ryota 's team to drown out the annoying shrieking of the crowd. Rukawa's groupies, not wanting to be outmatched by the redheaded monkey, began doubling their effort in shouting their support for their idol. Loud cheering reverberated throughout the stadium, and it felt like the room was shaking. Another loudspeaker materializes and Sakuragi handed them to Mizuki to help him with the yelling and jeering. The latter just shrugged and obliged him with his request.
"DEFENSE! DEFENSE!"
"Rukawa! Rukawa! L-O-V-E Rukawa!"
"20 seconds remaining, Guys!"
"WHAT THE HELL, YASUDA?! JUST KICK HIS SMELLY BUTT!"
"This is basketball, not UFC, you moron!"
"Concentrate on the game, Ryota!"
"A-Aya-chan!"
"YEAH, STAY FOCUSED ON THE GAME, RYO-CHIN!"
"Shut up! Nobody's asking for your opinion!"
"Ganbatte, Yasuda-senpai!"
"Huh?" Third year student Yasuda, who was not used in hearing his name being uttered by a female, began searching for the owner of the voice. He blush a deep shade of crimson when he saw a cute girl watching him from the side lines. He was too distracted by her presence that he failed to notice his opponent's eyes burning holes through him.
"Watch out, Yasuda!" But it was too late for Ryota's warning as the ball was stolen from Yasuda's grasp by none other than Rukawa.
Sakuragi let loose a string of profanities directed towards Rukawa and Yasuda, before he was halted by the strong whack from Ayako's lethal paper fan.
Mizuki, along with the others, watched in breathless wonder as Rukawa ran in breakneck speed towards his side of the court, avoiding numerous foes in a smooth maneuver, and proceeded in the ultimate killer move, the slam dunk.
The sound of the buzzer was heard, indicating the end of the game, with Rukawa's team winning the match.
"Good job, Rukawa." Ryota complimented him as he gave his junior a slight pat on the back. Rukawa merely nod in response, before heading towards the bench to grab his towel. As he passed them, he was greeted by words of congratulations and commendation by the other players with the exception of the Dou Ahou, of course. Haruko and Ayako also praised him, as well as the others, for a good and exciting practice game.
But the person Rukawa wanted to hear some sort of recognition the most was being strangely quiet. He had no idea why he was suddenly fishing out for compliments, but he knew she had hit a nerve, (and his ego, although, he would never admit that) when he heard her shouting her support for Yasuda. He shook his head to clear the image of her enthusiastic face off his mind and took a long swig on his water bottle. Nevertheless, he still cast a discreet look in her direction and nearly choked on his drink from the weird look rooftop girl is giving him. He'd seen that kind of stare countless times before from those shrieking girls, but this time, he felt something odd stirring on his stomach.
'Is she trying to put an evil spell on me?'
Wiping his face with a towel, Rukawa composed himself and started walking towards her with slow, deliberate step, never once taking his eyes off her. He couldn't help but feel smug when he saw her brown eyes widened and lips parted in surprise.
Mizuki stood frozen on her spot, finding it harder to breathe, as if she's the one who played during the game. She was already having a difficult time suppressing her admiration on his impressive athleticism, and the awesome dunk he did a while ago was just.. WOW. But to find him giving her an intense look as he headed in her direction was too much for her to handle.
'Is he trying to put an evil spell on me?'
After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped in front of her. Mizuki's heart was pounding so loudly she was sure Rukawa and the entire student body could hear it. Unsure of what to do, she waited for him to speak first. But she remembered that it was Rukawa, and there's no way that this socially inept and speech impaired guy would initiate any conversation with her.
But boy, was she wrong.
"Huh?" She tilted her head in a confused manner as Rukawa pointed his index finger to the floor.
'Or is he pointing at my shoes? Was he making fun of me about the shoe incident a while ago?'
She glanced up at him, her gaze inquiring. And she instantly regretted questioning him as she heard him answer,
"You're leaving drool spots on the floor, Bumpkin."
For the second time that day, Mizuki was spluttering in shock and the color of her face could instantly rival the hair of Sakuragi. For the first time, he had rendered her speechless.
"Ho,ho,ho!" The portly coach of Shohoku, couldn't help but laugh as he heard what their ace had said. Some of the players who had managed to overhear him also snickered. In Sakuragi's case, he was too busy whining for their team's loss that he failed to see the pair's interaction. Not wanting to be left out, he began pinching their coach's double chin and pulling his flabby stomach while he repeatedly asked him what's so funny.
Rukawa left the blushing girl behind, a small smirk gracing his lips.
'Revenge is a dish best served cold.'
A/N: Sorry for the late upload, I've been quite busy during the holidays and also from reading other fanfics hehe. So, how's your new year? Me, I started 2016 being bitten by my dog. But fret not, me and my dog are still alive and in good terms. I've forgiven him already. =P
panksgoku: Thank you for the review and adding my story in your fave list. Hope you enjoyed reading this story! Until next time!
