Celibacy
by Aki Midori
Blah Blah Blah:
Hiya all! I'm back. Sorry for the super delay... my mom took away my laptop for a whole week, so I'm stuck with her PC... (mind you... her PC hates me. Everytime I get near it, it just breaks down for no reason at all). That's it. I just feel like I have to tell you people why I've been gone for a long time. Plus, I've been busy with the site that I share with Sapphi-chan. Yeah... check it out, will ya? The address is at my bio! ^_^ And don't forget to sign the guestbook, okay?
Sorry for that shameless plugging. hehehe...
Yep. This fic is for mature readers only.
Okay... have fun reading!
Thank you sooo much for taking time to say something about this fic. Thanks, SLL, for those wonderful reviews! And thanks, SGO, for those comforting words. But really... I think I'm losing my touch here. Maybe because I don't write regularly anymore.
LASTLY, I have to warn you. There won't be too much humor in this chapter. I have to focus on Rukawa and Sendoh... *grin*
diScLAImerS: Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to me... er- Inoue Takehiko...
------------------------------
Celibacy
Chapter Five: One on One
It was a fine day.
A hot day.
As two fine men played basketball in a fine court.
One of them was non-chalant as he wiped the sweat on his brow.
The other was on the brink of breaking down.
'Ohmigoshdon'ttakeyourshirtoff!' Sendoh pleaded silently.
But Rukawa did, damn him. And now, Sendoh couldn't help but drool at the sight.
White. It was all white. Creamy skin. Muscled, yet oh-so-sexy. Strong, yet, huggable. Sendoh wanted to get his hands all over the unsuspecting boy.
Or is he really unsuspecting?
Rukawa could read Sendoh's face, and as far as the former was concerned, the word 'horny' was written all over the latter's face.
"Oi... what are you looking at?" Rukawa snapped.
"What?" Sendoh practically squeaked.
"What are you looking at?" Rukawa asked again. Part of him wanted to bash Sendoh's face. The hentai has been practically drooling over him all afternoon. Good thing he was a patient man. Otherwise, this pervert would long be dead.
But the other part of him... well, the other part of him doesn't mind.
"I... uh... er... you see..." Sendoh stammered. 'Not good,' he thought. The cool, suave Sendoh Akira never stammers. Until now.
"Never mind," Rukawa said, taking pity on Sendoh. Oh well... it wasn't as if he took off his shirt to seduce the pervert. It's just that the freakin' shirt was too tight for his own good. He couldn't move comfortably. To top that, Sendoh was still as good as he remembered. Now, he couldn't beat Sendoh with that damned shirt, could he?
So he *had* to take it off.
And besides... it would be fun to see the great Sendoh Akira squirm. Rukawa pretended to be busy fixing his things, but he smirked inwardly. He'd been teasing the poor man all afternoon, so he couldn't really blame the guy.
Is something wrong with him? Him? Rukawa Kaede? *Tease* Sendoh?
Ah hell... Nothing's wrong with him.
He decided to give Sendoh a try, didn't he?
To see if he could be happy with the guy.
But first, he has to tease the moron.
He couldn't help it. The man was such a pervert. But Rukawa sensed that Sendoh's been holding back for quite a long time. He wondered why... ^_^
But no... he wouldn't be the seductive Rukawa that he is whenever his friends are around. He'd do this thing in his *own* way.
"Oi... How would you like another match?" Rukawa asked.
Sendoh smiled. "Sure. If you libido- er- stamina could still handle it." He wanted to bash his mouth for slipping. But he threw the ball towards Rukawa anyway.
"Hentai ahou," Rukawa muttered. 'Libido, eh?' he thought. His eyes glinted as he started to dribble the ball. Sendoh stood in a guarding stance, but Rukawa could see the anxiety in the former's eyes. 'Ch. Must be wondering what I'm going to do next...'
In an instant, Rukawa was face to face with the now-squirming Sendoh...
Sendoh shook his head inwardly. Dammit, he was Ryonan's pride! He shouldn't be swayed by this ever-seductive kitsune. Sure, this man was a puzzle. One moment, all friendly and seductive, the next, all cold and silent. But now there's a new Rukawa. This one's *cold* and dammit, *teasing*.
'Why is heaven punishing me?' Sendoh wailed in his thoughts. 'I'm a good boy now, am I not? And besides, I'm trying to resist him, am I not? Heaven shouldn't allow this to happen!'
Okay. So heaven's not helping him at all. So Sendoh decided to take matters in his own hands. He is, after all, the great Sendoh Akira. He's not going to lose this game. Not at all.
So with a renewed vigour, he stared back to Rukawa and gave the latter a small smirk.
"You're better than when we were in high school," he remarked.
"I'm a national player now, 'ahou," Rukawa replied, while still dribbling the ball. Na-a, Sendoh *would not* let him pass.
"Yeah... but you know what?"
"What?"
"I'm still better," Sendoh said.
Something inside Rukawa snapped.
So he turned around as he dribbled the ball, trying to get through Sendoh. Sendoh's not cooperating with his plans, though, so he has to do *something*.
So he bent a little lower, thereby accidentally brushing his arse on Sendoh's groin. Now... Sendoh's instinct has two choices. Number one is to stiffen. Number two is to jump away before he gets a hard-on.
But hey... instincts are *instincts* so it doesn't have to have any choices, right? But hell, Sendoh's instinct chose number two instead.
Rukawa smiled to himself as he slid passed Sendoh and did a perfect lay-up.
Sneaky.
And yeah... Sendoh was on the verge of breaking down.
Fine day, isn't it?
************************
"Nice game," Sendoh commented as he plopped down on the bench. He was croaking, though. He spent so much energy not only in basketball, but also in preventing his libido from taking over. "It's a tie."
Rukawa stayed silent. It wasn't supposed to be tie, dammit. He is a freakin' national player. This man is working for Happy Grin Ad Agency. Or was it Happy Laugh Advertising Ltd? Whatever. He doesn't give a damn, because right now, he's not happy. It wasn't supposed to be a tie. It wasn't supposed to be a tie!
"Come on now, Rukawa-kun. No sulking," Sendoh said. "It's just a game. And besides, you're a national player now. You're one of the best. Always keep that in mind."
Rukawa's head snapped in Sendoh's direction. Now, how did this hentai ahou know what he was thinking? Was he that transparent? Nope. He's not. Could it be that this pervert is psychic or something? He must have been, otherwise, he would never know what's inside the stoic kitsune's mind.
'Psychic, indeed,' Rukawa thought. 'But irritating as hell. It wasn't supposed to be a tie.'
"Anou, Rukawa-kun, why don't you let me make it up to you?" Sendoh suggested. "It's a fine day, is it not? Want to go out for an ice cream? My treat!"
'What am I, a seven-year-old twit?'
"Come on, it's a nice day! An ice cream is the perfect treat to end the perfect day!" Sendoh urged.
But then heaven really hated Sendoh, ne? And to prove it, dark clouds began to form. Moments later, rain splattered gently over the place. After *more* moments, rain was pouring heavily.
It *was* a fine day, until now.
But of course, there were the two fine men.
One was non-chalant as he wiped the rain off his body- but to no avail, of course, since he wasn't even bothering to look for shelter.
The other...
The other was slumped in the ground.
He was wailing in frustration.
"Still on for that ice cream?" Rukawa asked.
************************
Snapshot number one:
Rukawa trying to get a wailing Sendoh up.
Snapshot number two:
Rukawa bonking Sendoh's head when the latter was too busy wailing to get up.
Snapshot number three:
Rukawa finally dragging a wailing Sendoh, plus their things to Sendoh's car.
Snapshot number four:
Rukawa managing to drive amidst the pouring rain, slippery streets and a wailing Sendoh.
Snapshot number five:
Rukawa dragging a wailing Sendoh inside an empty ice cream shop.
************************
"When you're done abusing your vocal chords, your lungs and your diaphragm, you can start eating your melting ice cream," Rukawa calmly said.
Sendoh stopped wailing and just gobbled down the already-melted ice cream, a.k.a., chocolate goob.
'Weirdo,' Rukawa thought. 'But a kawaii weirdo, nonetheless.'
*blink*
'Where the hell did *that* come from?! I must be going out of my mind. Since when did a wailing overgrown nincompoop become cute? Rukawa, your sisters' madness are rubbing off on you.'
Rukawa frowned. What the hell happened to Sendoh? Rukawa wondered if he'd change his mind about the psychic-Sendoh thing and revert to a psycho-Sendoh.
Sendoh, on the other hand, was so damn embarrassed.
'What the hell are you thinking, goddamn you!' he scolded himself. 'You are the suave Sendoh Akira. The *great* Sendoh Akira. You were the freakin' flirting sex-god! You are loved and respected by everyone! Why the hell did you *wail* in front of the man of your dreams?!'
*blink*
'Now where did *that* come from?! Man of my dreams? I'm straight, right? Since when did I start having a *man* of my dreams? But then again, nowadays, I always wanted to be with Rukawa. It was a challenge for me to discern this intriguing puzzle. It's just that, right? I just wanted to get to know him. Or am I... Am I...
... falling for Rukawa Kaede?'
Sendoh, for the second time that day, broke down. But this time, he didn't wail. He just grabbed his head and started bonking the table with it.
"DO-A-HO," Rukawa muttered.
A few more bonks then Sendoh stopped.
"Are you done emptying your already-empty brain?" Rukawa asked.
Sendoh heaved a huge sigh before giving Rukawa a sweet smile. "Yes, thank you."
Rukawa really didn't want to pry, what with him being the I-don't-care man, but curiosity got the better of him, anyway. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
Sendoh studied Rukawa for a while before answering. He hardly knew this puzzling man, yet, suddenly, life without Rukawa seemed so dull to him. Was he... falling in love with this man? But he's straight, right?
Right?
He saw Rukawa raise an eyebrow at him, and then his heart thumped.
Now, he's straight, righ?. But then again, maybe not.
"Anou... Rukawa-kun, I'm sorry," Sendoh started.
"What for?"
"For acting so childish."
"Childish, huh?" Rukawa repeated. 'The understatement of the century.'
"Yeah... or stupid, or weird, or whatever. Sorry."
"If you're going to apologize for it, then why did you do it?" Rukawa can't help but ask.
"Spur of the moment thing," Sendoh replied. "Been thinking a lot lately, you know."
"Perverted thoughts?"
"Hai..." *blink* "I mean no!" Sendoh exclaimed. "Many thoughts. Random thoughts. About... life. Everything."
"So do you usually hurt yourself or wail when you think about... life?" Rukawa asked.
"Not really," was Sendoh's reply. He scratched his head and gave Rukawa a goofy grin. "This was actually the first time I did that. I'm usually calm and composed. But you see, things have been pretty hard for me lately. I think the rain did me in."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Awkward silence followed.
'One on one,' Sendoh thought. 'Today, I finally get to see Rukawa without the others. For some reason, everything starts to get messy whenever people are around. I wonder what's going on? But today... today's a one-on-one. It's just me... and Rukawa. To hell with my friends. To hell with Rukawa's friends. To hell with celibacy. I mean, it's not as if I'm going to have sex with Rukawa right now, right?'
And yes. He vowed that he would stay away from flirting and porn and kissing and *women*. He didn't say anything about staying away from *men*. And Rukawa, as effiminate as he may look, is a *man*. A manly man.
He is a genius, after all!
'Now... how to start a decent conversation?' Sendoh thought. He cleared his throat. "Anou, Rukawa-kun?"
"..."
Sendoh took that as a 'go on' signal. "I didn't know that you have other sisters other than Ayako-san. They're all pretty cool."
"Try living with them. You might change your mind," Rukawa snapped.
'Uh-oh. He doesn't want to talk about the girls. Change topic,' Sendoh thought. "Uh... you seem to have nice friends."
And he was rewarded a microscopic smile before it was replaced by a frown. "Yeah. But they're noisy."
"Not as noisy and as *nosy* as mine," Sendoh laughed out. "My friends are all super wackos."
"You're all pretty popular. You're just people from an advertising company, though [1]," Rukawa remarked.
"Well, that may be because we're all gorgeous, friendly, man, sexy, cheerful guys!" Sendoh bragged. Rukawa rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, right,' he thought.
"No, but really, I don't know when this popularity thing started, you know," Sendoh explained. "We just hang out. We went to a lot of places. Almost every night is a party night, so we've made a lot of friends and acquaintances. Plus, we're really successful... I guess that's it."
"..."
"Well, you and your friends are popular, too!" Sendoh pointed out.
"It's inevitable," Rukawa said smugly. Sendoh laughed.
And so these two fine men talked... as the not-so-fine weather continued to rage.
*******************
"Hahahaha! And you should see Hiro's face when he saw Hisashi show off his underwear! It was hilarious!" Sendoh laughed. Rukawa just smiled a little as Sendoh continued to tell funny stories about his friends.
Sendoh thought that maybe heaven didn't hate him after all. He smiled to himself as he watched Rukawa while he talked. Rukawa was a silent man. Not so much for words. A little on the cold side, but he's nice. He's... different. He has his own flair. His own irresistible aura. It was fun getting to know the cold, silent, puzzling person.
This is turning out to be one of the best days of his life.
Him and Rukawa... alone. One-on-one.
Rukawa never knew that spending time with this hentai ahou could make him... happy. He never thought how great a person Sendoh Akira is. It was fun spending the entire day with Sendoh without the pressures brought upon him by a certain redheaded moron. It was fun being with Sendoh as himself.
He's happy.
Finally.
Him and Sendoh... alone. One-on-one.
"O-RE-WA Tensai!"
'Oh heavens, what did I do wrong?' Sendoh wailed in his thoughts.
'Not now!' Rukawa thought.
"...Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
"Ah hell," Sendoh sighed out loud. Rukawa didn't move a flinch.
"Keep it down, Hana-love."
"After you, Kogure-kun."
"Arigatou, Mitsui-san."
"Anou... Koshino-kun, don't be grumpy. I'm sure Kiyota-kun didn't mean to drop your newly bought crystal vase."
"*grumble* Hai, Jin-san *grumble*"
"Maki-kun, I had a great day, by the way."
"Me, too, Fujima-kun. Me too."
"Oh... is that Kaede-love over there with Sendoh-kun?"
"Where, oh, where is our dear brother?"
"Over there, Ms. Prissy. Oi! Kaede-dork! We're here!"
"Is that really Kaede? Let's leave them alone, then."
"Na-a, Aya-neechan! Look! That's a huge booth Kaede-niichan and Sendoh-san are occupying. The more, the merrier!"
"Nee, Aya-chan, I don't think Kaede's in a good mood right now. Look at his eyes."
"Don't be silly, Ryochin! Shinri's right. The more, the merrier! Nyahahaha!"
So much for one-on-one bullshit.
***********************
Snapshot scene number one:
Sendoh trying to hide under the table. Kirei pulling him back up. Rukawa trying to get out of the booth. Sakuragi pinning him back down.
Snapshot scene number two:
Mitsui and Kogure in a friendly conversation
Snapshot number three:
Kiyota and Sakuragi trying to outdo each other at the karaoke.
Snapshot number four:
Mitsui accidentally knocking his glass of iced tea, which poured over to Koshino's pants. Jin trying to calm a raging Koshino. Mitsui hiding behind Kogure.
Snapshot number five:
Megumi and Sakuragi in an arm-wrestling match. Megumi emerged as the victor.
Snapshot number six:
Sakuragi and Megumi fighting over the results of the arm-wrestling match. Sakuragi ended up with a black eye.
Snapshot number seven:
Maki and Fujima engaged in a *sensible* conversation.
Snapshot number eight:
Miku and Ayako in a civilized conversation.
Snapshot number nine:
Shinri riding on Sakuragi's back while Sakuragi ran around the place.
Snapshot number ten:
Kiyota teasing Maki. Kiyota trapped in Maki's headlock.
Snapshot number eleven:
Sakuragi daunting Rukawa with the flappy chicken wings. Rukawa and Sakuragi in a brawl. Sakuragi ending up with another black eye and Rukawa ending up with a bruised chin.
Snapshot number twelve:
Miku fussing over Rukawa's 'injury'. Rukawa trying to get away from the deadly glints on Miku's sweet stare.
Snapshot number thirteen:
Sakuragi imitating a squid in front of Miyagi, complete with the puckered mouth and crossed eyes, and wiggly hands.
Snapshot number fourteen:
Miyagi giving Sakuragi a flying kick. Ayako gracing Sakuragi with her infamous paper fan.
Snapshot number fifteen:
Kiyota helping Sakuragi nurse his two black eyes, bruised left cheek, and the lump on his head.
Snapshot number sixteen:
Kirei leering at Sendoh while pushing him towards her 'darling baby brother'. Sendoh on the verge of breaking down.'
Snapshot number seventeen:
Sendoh looking at the riot with with eyes. Rukawa leaving the world of consciousness to hide in the world of slumber.
Snapshot number eighteen:
Sendoh screaming then bonking his head on the table again and again. Everyone giving him a strange look or two.
Snapshot number nineteen:
The harassed ice cream shop's manager calling the cops.
Snapshot number twenty:
Patrol cars parked outside the shop. A guilty group quietly piling out of the ice cream shop. Rukawa still asleep while walking, with Sendoh guiding him.
Final snapshot:
Jin calmly wiping the edge of his mouth with a napkin, smiled and said... "Beautiful day, ne, minna?"
************************
"I'm tired," Megumi complained.
"Me, too," Shinri seconded.
Everyone nodded in agreement. The whole group decided to go to Rukawa's place to catch their breaths before going home.
"Why shouldn't you be? You nearly punched my eye out," Sakuragi complained. "How the hell am I gonna cover this? I have a VTR tomorrow."
"Go figure," Megumi snapped.
"Ne, minna, we've all been working pretty hard lately," Jin said. "What do you say we all go out to the beach for the weekend? I mean, it's summertime and I think it should be fun if we relax a little."
"Good idea," Fujima said. "There are no practices for this weekend, so I guess I could go. What about you guys?" he asked the other group.
"We have work to do," Maki said while deep in thought.
"Oh come on, Mr. I'm-Working-Too-Much. Relax! It'll be fun! Besides, it's only gonna be for the weekend. *Normal* people don't work during weekends," Kiyota said.
"Since when did I become normal to you, Nobu?" Maki asked.
Kiyota grinned. "Never."
Everyone sweatdropped. Everyone excluding two fine men.
"So... all set, minna-san? Who's gonna be able to join the little excursion?" Kogure asked. Everyone raised their hands. Everyone excluding two fine men. Plus a single squid researcher.
"Come on, Ryota," Fujima urged. "It's been a while since we last went out with you."
"Yeah, Ryochin!" Sakuragi quipped. "And besides... imagine Aya-neechan in a skimpy two-piece bikini."
"On the other hand, I think I'll go," Miyagi suddenly said. Ayako fumed and hit her fiance with her paper fan.
"Okay... so everyone's going?" Mitsui asked.
Everyone cheered.
Everyone excluding two fine men.
Why?
One was asleep.
The other was busy spening time in lala-land, complete with spiral eyes and a goofy grin. He seemed to have lost his sanity.
It was a fine day, indeed.
Ne?
*********
tsu.zu.ku
*********
[1] This one's for Ginnie. I owe you people an explanation as to why Sendoh's group is popular, despite them being mere executives.
About the pairings, though... I'd rather keep it that way. I like playing with everyone's lives. ^___^
That's it, then. Watch out for chapter six: Eden
by Aki Midori
Blah Blah Blah:
Hiya all! I'm back. Sorry for the super delay... my mom took away my laptop for a whole week, so I'm stuck with her PC... (mind you... her PC hates me. Everytime I get near it, it just breaks down for no reason at all). That's it. I just feel like I have to tell you people why I've been gone for a long time. Plus, I've been busy with the site that I share with Sapphi-chan. Yeah... check it out, will ya? The address is at my bio! ^_^ And don't forget to sign the guestbook, okay?
Sorry for that shameless plugging. hehehe...
Yep. This fic is for mature readers only.
Okay... have fun reading!
Thank you sooo much for taking time to say something about this fic. Thanks, SLL, for those wonderful reviews! And thanks, SGO, for those comforting words. But really... I think I'm losing my touch here. Maybe because I don't write regularly anymore.
LASTLY, I have to warn you. There won't be too much humor in this chapter. I have to focus on Rukawa and Sendoh... *grin*
diScLAImerS: Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to me... er- Inoue Takehiko...
------------------------------
Celibacy
Chapter Five: One on One
It was a fine day.
A hot day.
As two fine men played basketball in a fine court.
One of them was non-chalant as he wiped the sweat on his brow.
The other was on the brink of breaking down.
'Ohmigoshdon'ttakeyourshirtoff!' Sendoh pleaded silently.
But Rukawa did, damn him. And now, Sendoh couldn't help but drool at the sight.
White. It was all white. Creamy skin. Muscled, yet oh-so-sexy. Strong, yet, huggable. Sendoh wanted to get his hands all over the unsuspecting boy.
Or is he really unsuspecting?
Rukawa could read Sendoh's face, and as far as the former was concerned, the word 'horny' was written all over the latter's face.
"Oi... what are you looking at?" Rukawa snapped.
"What?" Sendoh practically squeaked.
"What are you looking at?" Rukawa asked again. Part of him wanted to bash Sendoh's face. The hentai has been practically drooling over him all afternoon. Good thing he was a patient man. Otherwise, this pervert would long be dead.
But the other part of him... well, the other part of him doesn't mind.
"I... uh... er... you see..." Sendoh stammered. 'Not good,' he thought. The cool, suave Sendoh Akira never stammers. Until now.
"Never mind," Rukawa said, taking pity on Sendoh. Oh well... it wasn't as if he took off his shirt to seduce the pervert. It's just that the freakin' shirt was too tight for his own good. He couldn't move comfortably. To top that, Sendoh was still as good as he remembered. Now, he couldn't beat Sendoh with that damned shirt, could he?
So he *had* to take it off.
And besides... it would be fun to see the great Sendoh Akira squirm. Rukawa pretended to be busy fixing his things, but he smirked inwardly. He'd been teasing the poor man all afternoon, so he couldn't really blame the guy.
Is something wrong with him? Him? Rukawa Kaede? *Tease* Sendoh?
Ah hell... Nothing's wrong with him.
He decided to give Sendoh a try, didn't he?
To see if he could be happy with the guy.
But first, he has to tease the moron.
He couldn't help it. The man was such a pervert. But Rukawa sensed that Sendoh's been holding back for quite a long time. He wondered why... ^_^
But no... he wouldn't be the seductive Rukawa that he is whenever his friends are around. He'd do this thing in his *own* way.
"Oi... How would you like another match?" Rukawa asked.
Sendoh smiled. "Sure. If you libido- er- stamina could still handle it." He wanted to bash his mouth for slipping. But he threw the ball towards Rukawa anyway.
"Hentai ahou," Rukawa muttered. 'Libido, eh?' he thought. His eyes glinted as he started to dribble the ball. Sendoh stood in a guarding stance, but Rukawa could see the anxiety in the former's eyes. 'Ch. Must be wondering what I'm going to do next...'
In an instant, Rukawa was face to face with the now-squirming Sendoh...
Sendoh shook his head inwardly. Dammit, he was Ryonan's pride! He shouldn't be swayed by this ever-seductive kitsune. Sure, this man was a puzzle. One moment, all friendly and seductive, the next, all cold and silent. But now there's a new Rukawa. This one's *cold* and dammit, *teasing*.
'Why is heaven punishing me?' Sendoh wailed in his thoughts. 'I'm a good boy now, am I not? And besides, I'm trying to resist him, am I not? Heaven shouldn't allow this to happen!'
Okay. So heaven's not helping him at all. So Sendoh decided to take matters in his own hands. He is, after all, the great Sendoh Akira. He's not going to lose this game. Not at all.
So with a renewed vigour, he stared back to Rukawa and gave the latter a small smirk.
"You're better than when we were in high school," he remarked.
"I'm a national player now, 'ahou," Rukawa replied, while still dribbling the ball. Na-a, Sendoh *would not* let him pass.
"Yeah... but you know what?"
"What?"
"I'm still better," Sendoh said.
Something inside Rukawa snapped.
So he turned around as he dribbled the ball, trying to get through Sendoh. Sendoh's not cooperating with his plans, though, so he has to do *something*.
So he bent a little lower, thereby accidentally brushing his arse on Sendoh's groin. Now... Sendoh's instinct has two choices. Number one is to stiffen. Number two is to jump away before he gets a hard-on.
But hey... instincts are *instincts* so it doesn't have to have any choices, right? But hell, Sendoh's instinct chose number two instead.
Rukawa smiled to himself as he slid passed Sendoh and did a perfect lay-up.
Sneaky.
And yeah... Sendoh was on the verge of breaking down.
Fine day, isn't it?
************************
"Nice game," Sendoh commented as he plopped down on the bench. He was croaking, though. He spent so much energy not only in basketball, but also in preventing his libido from taking over. "It's a tie."
Rukawa stayed silent. It wasn't supposed to be tie, dammit. He is a freakin' national player. This man is working for Happy Grin Ad Agency. Or was it Happy Laugh Advertising Ltd? Whatever. He doesn't give a damn, because right now, he's not happy. It wasn't supposed to be a tie. It wasn't supposed to be a tie!
"Come on now, Rukawa-kun. No sulking," Sendoh said. "It's just a game. And besides, you're a national player now. You're one of the best. Always keep that in mind."
Rukawa's head snapped in Sendoh's direction. Now, how did this hentai ahou know what he was thinking? Was he that transparent? Nope. He's not. Could it be that this pervert is psychic or something? He must have been, otherwise, he would never know what's inside the stoic kitsune's mind.
'Psychic, indeed,' Rukawa thought. 'But irritating as hell. It wasn't supposed to be a tie.'
"Anou, Rukawa-kun, why don't you let me make it up to you?" Sendoh suggested. "It's a fine day, is it not? Want to go out for an ice cream? My treat!"
'What am I, a seven-year-old twit?'
"Come on, it's a nice day! An ice cream is the perfect treat to end the perfect day!" Sendoh urged.
But then heaven really hated Sendoh, ne? And to prove it, dark clouds began to form. Moments later, rain splattered gently over the place. After *more* moments, rain was pouring heavily.
It *was* a fine day, until now.
But of course, there were the two fine men.
One was non-chalant as he wiped the rain off his body- but to no avail, of course, since he wasn't even bothering to look for shelter.
The other...
The other was slumped in the ground.
He was wailing in frustration.
"Still on for that ice cream?" Rukawa asked.
************************
Snapshot number one:
Rukawa trying to get a wailing Sendoh up.
Snapshot number two:
Rukawa bonking Sendoh's head when the latter was too busy wailing to get up.
Snapshot number three:
Rukawa finally dragging a wailing Sendoh, plus their things to Sendoh's car.
Snapshot number four:
Rukawa managing to drive amidst the pouring rain, slippery streets and a wailing Sendoh.
Snapshot number five:
Rukawa dragging a wailing Sendoh inside an empty ice cream shop.
************************
"When you're done abusing your vocal chords, your lungs and your diaphragm, you can start eating your melting ice cream," Rukawa calmly said.
Sendoh stopped wailing and just gobbled down the already-melted ice cream, a.k.a., chocolate goob.
'Weirdo,' Rukawa thought. 'But a kawaii weirdo, nonetheless.'
*blink*
'Where the hell did *that* come from?! I must be going out of my mind. Since when did a wailing overgrown nincompoop become cute? Rukawa, your sisters' madness are rubbing off on you.'
Rukawa frowned. What the hell happened to Sendoh? Rukawa wondered if he'd change his mind about the psychic-Sendoh thing and revert to a psycho-Sendoh.
Sendoh, on the other hand, was so damn embarrassed.
'What the hell are you thinking, goddamn you!' he scolded himself. 'You are the suave Sendoh Akira. The *great* Sendoh Akira. You were the freakin' flirting sex-god! You are loved and respected by everyone! Why the hell did you *wail* in front of the man of your dreams?!'
*blink*
'Now where did *that* come from?! Man of my dreams? I'm straight, right? Since when did I start having a *man* of my dreams? But then again, nowadays, I always wanted to be with Rukawa. It was a challenge for me to discern this intriguing puzzle. It's just that, right? I just wanted to get to know him. Or am I... Am I...
... falling for Rukawa Kaede?'
Sendoh, for the second time that day, broke down. But this time, he didn't wail. He just grabbed his head and started bonking the table with it.
"DO-A-HO," Rukawa muttered.
A few more bonks then Sendoh stopped.
"Are you done emptying your already-empty brain?" Rukawa asked.
Sendoh heaved a huge sigh before giving Rukawa a sweet smile. "Yes, thank you."
Rukawa really didn't want to pry, what with him being the I-don't-care man, but curiosity got the better of him, anyway. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
Sendoh studied Rukawa for a while before answering. He hardly knew this puzzling man, yet, suddenly, life without Rukawa seemed so dull to him. Was he... falling in love with this man? But he's straight, right?
Right?
He saw Rukawa raise an eyebrow at him, and then his heart thumped.
Now, he's straight, righ?. But then again, maybe not.
"Anou... Rukawa-kun, I'm sorry," Sendoh started.
"What for?"
"For acting so childish."
"Childish, huh?" Rukawa repeated. 'The understatement of the century.'
"Yeah... or stupid, or weird, or whatever. Sorry."
"If you're going to apologize for it, then why did you do it?" Rukawa can't help but ask.
"Spur of the moment thing," Sendoh replied. "Been thinking a lot lately, you know."
"Perverted thoughts?"
"Hai..." *blink* "I mean no!" Sendoh exclaimed. "Many thoughts. Random thoughts. About... life. Everything."
"So do you usually hurt yourself or wail when you think about... life?" Rukawa asked.
"Not really," was Sendoh's reply. He scratched his head and gave Rukawa a goofy grin. "This was actually the first time I did that. I'm usually calm and composed. But you see, things have been pretty hard for me lately. I think the rain did me in."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Awkward silence followed.
'One on one,' Sendoh thought. 'Today, I finally get to see Rukawa without the others. For some reason, everything starts to get messy whenever people are around. I wonder what's going on? But today... today's a one-on-one. It's just me... and Rukawa. To hell with my friends. To hell with Rukawa's friends. To hell with celibacy. I mean, it's not as if I'm going to have sex with Rukawa right now, right?'
And yes. He vowed that he would stay away from flirting and porn and kissing and *women*. He didn't say anything about staying away from *men*. And Rukawa, as effiminate as he may look, is a *man*. A manly man.
He is a genius, after all!
'Now... how to start a decent conversation?' Sendoh thought. He cleared his throat. "Anou, Rukawa-kun?"
"..."
Sendoh took that as a 'go on' signal. "I didn't know that you have other sisters other than Ayako-san. They're all pretty cool."
"Try living with them. You might change your mind," Rukawa snapped.
'Uh-oh. He doesn't want to talk about the girls. Change topic,' Sendoh thought. "Uh... you seem to have nice friends."
And he was rewarded a microscopic smile before it was replaced by a frown. "Yeah. But they're noisy."
"Not as noisy and as *nosy* as mine," Sendoh laughed out. "My friends are all super wackos."
"You're all pretty popular. You're just people from an advertising company, though [1]," Rukawa remarked.
"Well, that may be because we're all gorgeous, friendly, man, sexy, cheerful guys!" Sendoh bragged. Rukawa rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, right,' he thought.
"No, but really, I don't know when this popularity thing started, you know," Sendoh explained. "We just hang out. We went to a lot of places. Almost every night is a party night, so we've made a lot of friends and acquaintances. Plus, we're really successful... I guess that's it."
"..."
"Well, you and your friends are popular, too!" Sendoh pointed out.
"It's inevitable," Rukawa said smugly. Sendoh laughed.
And so these two fine men talked... as the not-so-fine weather continued to rage.
*******************
"Hahahaha! And you should see Hiro's face when he saw Hisashi show off his underwear! It was hilarious!" Sendoh laughed. Rukawa just smiled a little as Sendoh continued to tell funny stories about his friends.
Sendoh thought that maybe heaven didn't hate him after all. He smiled to himself as he watched Rukawa while he talked. Rukawa was a silent man. Not so much for words. A little on the cold side, but he's nice. He's... different. He has his own flair. His own irresistible aura. It was fun getting to know the cold, silent, puzzling person.
This is turning out to be one of the best days of his life.
Him and Rukawa... alone. One-on-one.
Rukawa never knew that spending time with this hentai ahou could make him... happy. He never thought how great a person Sendoh Akira is. It was fun spending the entire day with Sendoh without the pressures brought upon him by a certain redheaded moron. It was fun being with Sendoh as himself.
He's happy.
Finally.
Him and Sendoh... alone. One-on-one.
"O-RE-WA Tensai!"
'Oh heavens, what did I do wrong?' Sendoh wailed in his thoughts.
'Not now!' Rukawa thought.
"...Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
"Ah hell," Sendoh sighed out loud. Rukawa didn't move a flinch.
"Keep it down, Hana-love."
"After you, Kogure-kun."
"Arigatou, Mitsui-san."
"Anou... Koshino-kun, don't be grumpy. I'm sure Kiyota-kun didn't mean to drop your newly bought crystal vase."
"*grumble* Hai, Jin-san *grumble*"
"Maki-kun, I had a great day, by the way."
"Me, too, Fujima-kun. Me too."
"Oh... is that Kaede-love over there with Sendoh-kun?"
"Where, oh, where is our dear brother?"
"Over there, Ms. Prissy. Oi! Kaede-dork! We're here!"
"Is that really Kaede? Let's leave them alone, then."
"Na-a, Aya-neechan! Look! That's a huge booth Kaede-niichan and Sendoh-san are occupying. The more, the merrier!"
"Nee, Aya-chan, I don't think Kaede's in a good mood right now. Look at his eyes."
"Don't be silly, Ryochin! Shinri's right. The more, the merrier! Nyahahaha!"
So much for one-on-one bullshit.
***********************
Snapshot scene number one:
Sendoh trying to hide under the table. Kirei pulling him back up. Rukawa trying to get out of the booth. Sakuragi pinning him back down.
Snapshot scene number two:
Mitsui and Kogure in a friendly conversation
Snapshot number three:
Kiyota and Sakuragi trying to outdo each other at the karaoke.
Snapshot number four:
Mitsui accidentally knocking his glass of iced tea, which poured over to Koshino's pants. Jin trying to calm a raging Koshino. Mitsui hiding behind Kogure.
Snapshot number five:
Megumi and Sakuragi in an arm-wrestling match. Megumi emerged as the victor.
Snapshot number six:
Sakuragi and Megumi fighting over the results of the arm-wrestling match. Sakuragi ended up with a black eye.
Snapshot number seven:
Maki and Fujima engaged in a *sensible* conversation.
Snapshot number eight:
Miku and Ayako in a civilized conversation.
Snapshot number nine:
Shinri riding on Sakuragi's back while Sakuragi ran around the place.
Snapshot number ten:
Kiyota teasing Maki. Kiyota trapped in Maki's headlock.
Snapshot number eleven:
Sakuragi daunting Rukawa with the flappy chicken wings. Rukawa and Sakuragi in a brawl. Sakuragi ending up with another black eye and Rukawa ending up with a bruised chin.
Snapshot number twelve:
Miku fussing over Rukawa's 'injury'. Rukawa trying to get away from the deadly glints on Miku's sweet stare.
Snapshot number thirteen:
Sakuragi imitating a squid in front of Miyagi, complete with the puckered mouth and crossed eyes, and wiggly hands.
Snapshot number fourteen:
Miyagi giving Sakuragi a flying kick. Ayako gracing Sakuragi with her infamous paper fan.
Snapshot number fifteen:
Kiyota helping Sakuragi nurse his two black eyes, bruised left cheek, and the lump on his head.
Snapshot number sixteen:
Kirei leering at Sendoh while pushing him towards her 'darling baby brother'. Sendoh on the verge of breaking down.'
Snapshot number seventeen:
Sendoh looking at the riot with with eyes. Rukawa leaving the world of consciousness to hide in the world of slumber.
Snapshot number eighteen:
Sendoh screaming then bonking his head on the table again and again. Everyone giving him a strange look or two.
Snapshot number nineteen:
The harassed ice cream shop's manager calling the cops.
Snapshot number twenty:
Patrol cars parked outside the shop. A guilty group quietly piling out of the ice cream shop. Rukawa still asleep while walking, with Sendoh guiding him.
Final snapshot:
Jin calmly wiping the edge of his mouth with a napkin, smiled and said... "Beautiful day, ne, minna?"
************************
"I'm tired," Megumi complained.
"Me, too," Shinri seconded.
Everyone nodded in agreement. The whole group decided to go to Rukawa's place to catch their breaths before going home.
"Why shouldn't you be? You nearly punched my eye out," Sakuragi complained. "How the hell am I gonna cover this? I have a VTR tomorrow."
"Go figure," Megumi snapped.
"Ne, minna, we've all been working pretty hard lately," Jin said. "What do you say we all go out to the beach for the weekend? I mean, it's summertime and I think it should be fun if we relax a little."
"Good idea," Fujima said. "There are no practices for this weekend, so I guess I could go. What about you guys?" he asked the other group.
"We have work to do," Maki said while deep in thought.
"Oh come on, Mr. I'm-Working-Too-Much. Relax! It'll be fun! Besides, it's only gonna be for the weekend. *Normal* people don't work during weekends," Kiyota said.
"Since when did I become normal to you, Nobu?" Maki asked.
Kiyota grinned. "Never."
Everyone sweatdropped. Everyone excluding two fine men.
"So... all set, minna-san? Who's gonna be able to join the little excursion?" Kogure asked. Everyone raised their hands. Everyone excluding two fine men. Plus a single squid researcher.
"Come on, Ryota," Fujima urged. "It's been a while since we last went out with you."
"Yeah, Ryochin!" Sakuragi quipped. "And besides... imagine Aya-neechan in a skimpy two-piece bikini."
"On the other hand, I think I'll go," Miyagi suddenly said. Ayako fumed and hit her fiance with her paper fan.
"Okay... so everyone's going?" Mitsui asked.
Everyone cheered.
Everyone excluding two fine men.
Why?
One was asleep.
The other was busy spening time in lala-land, complete with spiral eyes and a goofy grin. He seemed to have lost his sanity.
It was a fine day, indeed.
Ne?
*********
tsu.zu.ku
*********
[1] This one's for Ginnie. I owe you people an explanation as to why Sendoh's group is popular, despite them being mere executives.
About the pairings, though... I'd rather keep it that way. I like playing with everyone's lives. ^___^
That's it, then. Watch out for chapter six: Eden