AUTHOR'S NOTES: On with the show! I'll try to post as many chappies as I possibly can as soon as possible, but I can't promise anything. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Here's the real author's notes: for some reason I made Sendoh a cheeky boy who liked to annoy Rukawa for the heck of it. I have no idea why. And Sakuragi suddenly became a confused idiot who didn't know what he wanted. Or did. Well, he pretty much is like that. Pretty much. And the three sempai very nosy old ladies. Sorry, I lost my brain on the way home from the hospital. And I'm not very good at humor.

DISCLAIMER: If I keep writing disclaimers for every chapter, I'd run out of things to say. Slam Dunk is not mine, it is Takehiko Inoue-sama's. Got that? Good. I won't say it again. eats butabara

The Second Task: Finding Nemo

It was a very beautiful Saturday morning, and three prominent figures were currently being ogled at by the staff of a local restaurant in Kanagawa. One was extremely pale, one had spiky, gravity-defying hair and the last had bright red hair.

By now, you should know which threesome it is.

"OK," said Sakuragi very loudly, further catching the attention of the people. "Ready?"

Rukawa and Sendoh nodded.

Sakuragi grinned and put his hand into the bag. He took out one slip of paper and slowly read its contents. "Hehe, Sendoh, you have a chance to make up for the last task," he said, his grin growing wider and cheekier. "Fishing. Tomorrow, 9 o'clock. It's so friggin hot if we do it later."

"Sure."

"Hn."

"Ne, Hisashi, Ryota, I really think we should ask them."

"No! I will ponder this."

"But we know neither root nor end of this."

"That's why we have to figure it out."

"Can I have some more coffee?"

"Sure."

"Watch it, Miyagi. Coffee hinders growth."

"What do you mean by that?"

Kogure sweatdropped. "Please stop this."

"So...what do we do?"

"You want some ice cream?"

Rukawa sighed. Sendoh was being nice to him. And he could not believe that he, Rukawa, had actually agreed to go with him after their meeting with Sakuragi.

His life had utterly turned upside-down during the past couple of weeks. He was having decent conversations with his greatest rivals. He was hanging out with a dunderhead that was Sakuragi without even throwing one punch. OK, so they still did fight and tease each other sometimes, but it has lessened. Considerably. Sakuragi's loquaciousness was highly contagious and he could barely stop himself from talking too much. Especially now that his contact with Sakuragi and Sendoh had just increased.

Fishing, eh? I've gone fishing a few times before. I'm gonna beat Sendoh no matter what it takes.

Sendoh walked back to him carrying two ice cream cones. "I bought assorted, if that's OK with you," he said, beaming and giving Rukawa one colorful ice cream cone. Rukawa hesitated for a split-second, but took it when he saw Sendoh's expectant look. He could almost blush. Almost.

They were in the commercial area and this hot Saturday afternoon, there was a crowd in the mall. Exactly what Rukawa wanted right now.

You understand sarcasm, don't you? Good.

There seemed to be a concentration of female population where they were walking. He cringed at the sticky glances they threw at him and his companion and was annoyed with their stupid giggles. A lot of them bumped him on purpose just to touch him and a couple even copped a feel! He jumped from his skin and frantically looked for the culprits, but they were gone. With frantically, I mean the definition from the Rukawa Dictionary of Everyday Terms How Icemen Use Them. He was almost squirming in discomfort and Sendoh was still oblivious to his condition.

He doesn't blame him. After all, he didn't show his embarrassment at all. He still had that indifferent expression on his face. But the girls were really getting to his nerves. He could barely finish his ice cream. He will not, because he knew that those girls had already licked it more than once while he was not looking in hopes of having contact with his DNA. Fangirl saliva, ick.

Thank goodness he was finally out of there!

Note to self: never go to crowded mall ever again. Not without burly security guards. And crotch protectors. Yuck.

Somebody tapped his left shoulder and he was about to say something really rude when he saw that it was only Sendoh. "Daijoubu? You walked so fast."

In Rukawa's head, there were quite a few things he wanted to say. No, I'm not OK. Being cramped into a very small space on a hot day doesn't make me OK. Suffocating while you are obliviously and happily eating your stupid ice cream cone doesn't make me OK. Being chased by a mall-full of rabid, giggling, flirtatious fangirls doesn't make me OK. Being with you doesn't make me OK.

Being with you makes me happy.

Rukawa froze. He didn't just think that. Being with Sendoh annoys him. A whole friggin lot. It does not make him happy whatsoever.

No. He hates Sendoh.

With all my heart.

"I thought you were my friends! How could you do this to me?! Megane! Untie me, right this instant! You're all getting it when I get out of here!!"

Smoke was puffing out of Sakuragi's nose and ears as he yelled furiously at his teammates, who were towering over him. He was tied down to a chair and as expected he was thrashing wildly in his bonds.

"Tell us what you're doing with Rukawa first, then we untie you," said Mitsui.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I already told you I can't!"

"Then you stay there. No bathroom breaks. No food. No Haruko."

"TEME!!" The redhead's teeth were gritted and his fists were clenching. But seeing the looks on his sempai-tachi's faces, he finally sighed resignedly and relaxed. Why was he protecting that stupid kitsune anyway? "OK, I'll tell you."

Mitsui and Miyagi exchanged high-fives.

And Sakuragi spilled the beans.

Kogure looked out the window thoughtfully. "Revenge, eh? I think there's something more to this than revenge. What do you think, Hisashi, Ryota?"

The two shrugged.

Kogure sighed. Sakuragi was still struggling vainly at his bonds. Then Mitsui smirked and said, with a hint of mischief in his voice, "You don't mind us watching, do you?"

"Just let go of me!" shrieked Sakuragi.

It was getting late in the afternoon, but thank goodness the heat was less now. Rukawa swore that his skin had just gone one shade darker. He still hadn't spoken more than 10 words all afternoon and realized that so did Sendoh.

And the devil suddenly chose to speak right at that moment. "You're not bad, after all."

"What?"

Sendoh chuckled. "I thought you were boring to be with because you don't talk much. But I actually had fun today."

Rukawa snorted. It was the most unexpected comment that he heard from Sendoh. It felt...nice.

"You too."

Three boys tossed and turned in their sleep. Two boys stayed up plotting something while their companion slept soundly in his sleeping bag.

Rukawa pondered the events that day. /You too./ He buried his head into his pillow trying to forget the memory of that afternoon with Sendoh. He didn't know what spirit possessed him and made him say that. Nevertheless, it was the stupidest thing I ever said in my whole life! ARGH! I HATE YOU SENDOH!!!!

But somehow that sounded more like a lie.

Sakuragi was sweating. The most impossible thing in the world had just happened: Sakuragi was thinking very hard. He was very bothered at Mitsui, Miyagi and even Kogure's attitude. He was secretly regretting that he told them about the challenge. He was afraid Rukawa would kill him. But not if I kill him first. Jeez, why am I even worrying that Rukawa will kill me?

Sendoh was also thinking about Rukawa that night. Somehow, he found those thoughts very disturbing, especially because they came from Rukawa. He even swore he saw a hint of a smile there, or was it just his imagination? But it is possible. If Rukawa could say I'm not bad, then it's possible that he could smile. He's human after all.

Meanwhile, at Mitsui's house was the greatest slumber party ever imagined. You still remembered the thing I said about sarcasm?

Kogure was peacefully in the arms of slumber. Miyagi and Mitsui were scheming something, but I can't tell you that right now because they'd kill me. All I can say is that they're trying to prove Kogure's theory that Rukawa did it for more than revenge.

"But what for? Love?"

"That's sick."

"Maybe Rukawa's homo."

"That's even more sick."

"It's not strange!"

"Yeah, but it's sick."

"So?"

"Mitsui, can't your brain process more logical stuff right now?"

"No, because it's too friggin tired to function properly. And since when did you use words like 'process' or 'logical'?"

"Since you came up with the stupid and not to mention outrageous idea of Rukawa being gay."

"I told you, it's not strange."

"And my using of 'process' and 'logical' is?"

"Yes."

"Mitsui!"

Ha

Sunday morning was greeted by the welcoming song of the birds, the breeze, the morning people...

And the shrill ringing of the alarm clock by Rukawa's bed.

The said boy groaned, buried his face into his pillow, and groped around for the alarm clock on his bedside table.

Since when did he have an alarm clock?

He immediately shot out of bed and guess what greeted his sight.

"Ohayo, Rukawa-kun."

Sendoh got up promptly before dawn with a very wide and sparkly grin on his face. Today was the big day, because today, he'd be beating Rukawa at their task. And once again, he will have his fun annoying Rukawa.

He quickly went through his morning routine and got out of the house before the sun has risen. A brown paper bag was in his hand and an impish grin on his face. A lot of, er, interesting thoughts crossed his mind then, none of which I will reveal because if I did, I'd have to up the rating of this fic. Let's just say...it's nosebleed material.

His feet finally took him to a familiar place. This is the part where I have to spoil your imagination. Yes, it was Rukawa's house. Sendoh climbed the wall stealthily and tiptoed to the house, opened one window on the side and sneaked in. He wanted to laugh, very much, at his success in sneaking into Rukawa's house unnoticed, but doing so would wake the Shohoku ace and get him kicked out. Up, up he went where he assumed Rukawa's bedroom was.

And he was right.

Doesn't Rukawa even lock his bedroom door? How careless.

Carefully and silently, he got the alarm clock from the paper bag and placed it on Rukawa's bedside table. He smiled as he saw the framed picture of the Shohoku basketball team and what he guessed was Rukawa's family picture. He looked exactly the same on both pictures that Sendoh wondered if it was just computer-edited.

Judging from Rukawa's snores, he seemed to be sleeping very deeply. I wonder what he's dreaming about, Sendoh thought. Kawaii, noted Sendoh, noticing Rukawa's sleeping face. Rukawa looked relaxed and peaceful...almost happy while he slept. His half-open lips, his closed eyes, smooth forehead and soft hair falling about his face painted a cherubic picture to one's mind. It was very different from what he looked like when he was sleeping outside his bedroom. That one looked as if he was just feigning sleep to ignore the people around him.

Sendoh was absorbed in watching Rukawa's sleeping form. He marveled at every twitch of the muscle, at every tightening of the eyelids, at every movement of his body. He was deeply mesmerized with Rukawa...

The sun was slowly rising and thin rays of sunlight were peeping through the curtains, illuminating Rukawa's angelic body. Awed, Sendoh slowly reached out his hand, pushed by the desire to touch Rukawa's face...

But drew his hand back quickly as the piercing ring of the alarm clock commenced and spoiled the moment. Sendoh sighed in relief and watched in amusement as the sleeping boy groaned in frustration and buried his head into his pillow. A long pale hand shot out and slammed itself on the bedside table, feeling around for the thing that disturbed his slumber.

Rukawa shot out of bed, his foxy blue eyes wide as platters and his breath short and shallow.

Sendoh beamed. "Ohayo, Rukawa-kun."

Rukawa's mind blanked. Just as if the inner Rukawa had thrown an extra-large iceberg into Hell, instantly extinguishing its leaping fires. The only thing it was capable of doing right now is instructing Rukawa's arm to get the scandalous alarm clock and throw it at Sendoh's face.

Bull's-eye.

"Ohayo!"

Kogure stretched out of his sleeping bag and cheerfully greeted his companions. But said companions were sprawled on the floor, snoring loudly and drooling on the mat. Kogure laughed quietly, seeing Miyagi's head resting on Mitsui's chest. Those two must have slept at three or so. He dressed and went down to make breakfast for the three of them.

Rukawa smirked triumphantly upon seeing the alarm clock hit Sendoh's face, sending the spiky-haired disturber of peace into the realm of unconsciousness. Honestly, he thought that it was more the revenge he could ever dream of. For Sendoh's prank, that is.

He crawled over to the edge of the bed and smirked at Sendoh's unconscious form. With one hand he reached for the alarm clock and threw it into the trash bin. He took another look at Sendoh and stuck out his tongue (be-da!).

Baka.

He climbed out of bed, and not bothering to dress nor fix his bed, he went down for breakfast, clad only in his boxers.

Forty-six minutes and 18 seconds later, Sendoh woke up from his state of unconsciousness, feeling a little depressed that his plan to annoy Rukawa backfired. He rubbed his head where he supposed the alarm clock hit him and felt a little bump. He frowned.

After checking if Rukawa was still in bed and frowning even more when he found the bed empty, he walked out of the bedroom and found the boy on the dining table.

Asleep.

And only in his black cotton boxers. Oh, how cute! They've got nice fox prints on them! Sendoh mentally remarked.

"Sendoh...omae o korosu (1)," whispered Rukawa in his sleep.

Kawaii, Sendoh thought to himself.

I think Sendoh had said cute too much.

The dining table was clean, except for half a glass of milk, a half- bowl of cereal and Rukawa's head. Sendoh sat across Rukawa amusedly watching him and wondering when he would wake up.

Poke, poke.

Growl.

Poke, poke.

Growl.

Sendoh sniggered. Rukawa stirred.

Poke, poke.

Punch.

Missed, tough luck.

Rukawa woke up, directing an extra-cold glare at the person sitting across him. "What are you still doing here, Sendoh?" He could barely keep his voice in its normal pitch and volume because he was seething.

"Waiting for you to wake up!"

Rukawa raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Hmmm...we could talk."

"No."

"But you're already talking to me."

"..."

The raven-haired boy finished his half-eaten breakfast. He stopped exchanging words with Sendoh for one reason only: his heart was almost ripping out his ribcage. If he talked, it might jump out of his mouth and into his cereal.

Disgusting.

Rukawa almost squirmed under Sendoh's amused stare. He groaned in exasperation and whined in a manner fit for icepeople like him, "What do you want?"

Beaming victoriously over his success in making Rukawa talk, Sendoh gleefully replied, "I'm here to pick you up, of course! You picked me up the other day, I thought I should do the same."

"I don't need you."

Sendoh made a mocking hurt face. "Ouch, Rukawa-kun!"

Rukawa got up the table and made for the bedroom. His heart was dancing excitedly in its cage and he felt that if he stayed there a second longer, it might really and literally displace itself.

Same reason applies when he slammed the bedroom door into the said trespasser's face.

If you're thinking that Rukawa wasn't thinking all that while, you're wrong. He was utterly surprised out of his wits when he woke up that morning, but it doesn't mean he didn't have any ideas going on in that pretty head of his. He's a teenage guy after all. I'd absolutely love to tell you some nice little details, but doing so would force me to change the rating of this fic.

See, he was asking himself how Sendoh might have gotten inside his bedroom and what Sendoh could've done to him between the time he got in and the moment he woke up. First problem was answered when he saw the kitchen window open, but what about the second? You, of course, know that nothing happened, but our dear fox thinks otherwise. In fact, the instant that Rukawa saw Sendoh's face the first thought that came to him was that he had been, um, taken advantage of in his sleep. But he was definitely not the type to entertain those kind of thoughts in his virginal head so he discarded them.

So he stuck with the semi-true hypothesis that Sendoh just wanted to annoy him and scare him out of his brains.

And on the side, he was wondering why he was walking with Sendoh right now. Was he getting too comfortable with him?

Absolutely not. Quit messing with my mind, Thought. I'm getting an especially painful headache.

And also, speculating why Mitsui, Miyagi and Kogure were waiting with Sakuragi. WHAT?! How the freaking hell did they know? Sakuragi, you better explain this or I'll kill you. So said his deadly glare.

Sakuragi raised his chin. "What? I want them to come, they wanted to come and here they are! What the hell is wrong with that?"

"It's supposed to be a secret, ahou."

Miyagi butted in. "Don't worry, Rukawa-kun, we won't tell anyone else."

Fifteen minutes have passed since Rukawa and Sendoh sat down by the seaside to fish, and still neither have caught anything. For the second task, the rules are much more simple than the first. The first to catch a fish wins. See, seven words!

Rukawa yawned. His eyelids were drooping and anytime soon, he'll be sleeping again. Sendoh on the other hand was silently and patiently waiting for fish. Sakuragi, Kogure, Mitsui, and Miyagi were some yards away playing an exceptionally mature and adult game they called "Janken (2) Dare". The loser/s have to do a dare that the winner/s tell them.

"Jankenpon!"

Status: Sakuragi, rock, Kogure, Mitsui, and Miyagi, paper.

"GAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Kogure was the first to give his dare. "Tap Rukawa on the shoulder."

Then Mitsui. "Then tell him, 'Suki da, Kaede-chan." The three snickered so as to not disturb the challengers.

"And then kiss him on the cheek."

Sakuragi's eyes popped out of their sockets because of their sheer size. "NANI?!"

"It's just a dare, Sakuragi."

"NANI?! IYAAAA!!!"

"Quiet!"

"Come on, Sakuragi, don't be such a killjoy."

"You're lucky I didn't ask you to kiss him on the lips."

Sakuragi paled and sighed, but did the dare nonetheless. He walked towards the place where Rukawa and Sendoh were seated and took five deep breaths. He tapped the sleeping Rukawa's shoulder and avoided the punch meant for people who disturbed his sleep.

Rukawa woke. "What?"

Sakuragi knelt down in front of the kitsune and clasped one of Rukawa's hands. "SukidaKaede-chan," he said very quickly and gave a very hasty kiss on the cheek. To which Rukawa gave an extra hard punch on the nose, sending the redhead into the water. Sendoh, Miyagi, Kogure, and Mitsui laughed their kidneys out.

Everybody seems to like to make fun of Rukawa, ne?

Idiots.

"TEMEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Micchy, Ryochin, Megane...SHINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Sakuragi, trying to get out of the waters but failing miserably.

There was a tug on each of Rukawa's and Sendoh's fishing rods. They looked at each other and furiously worked the reel until finally, both boys simultaneously pulled their catch out of the water.

"GYAAAAAAA!!! KITSUNE, THOSE ARE MY SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

TBC

(1) Hehehe...by some not-so-strange coincidence, that quote is usually associated with Heero (Gundam W) whose seiyuu happens to be Midorikawa Hikaru who also happens to be Rukawa's seiyuu. It's the Disney Family! Oops.

(2) Janken (pon)- Rock-scissors-paper