AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, I composed a nice nursery rhyme for myself. "Lazy, crazy writer can't write a proper fic. Lazy, crazy writer gets blockies very quick. Lazy, crazy writer running out of humor! But lazy, crazy writer has to finish more chapters! Lazy, crazy writer get started on your fic. Lazy, crazy writer finish very quick. Lazy, crazy writer write before I'm sick!" Wow, that was nice.


The Fourth Task: Rukawa and Sendoh sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!


When he was safely in his own home, Rukawa now let his true color show.

Which was, by the way, a nice shade of scarlet.

He now deeply regretted asking for Sakuragi's, or for that matter, anybody's help in his revenge. The redhead ahou was exacting his own revenge and he, Rukawa, had just given him the perfect opportunity.

Stupid him. Now his plan is backfiring dangerously at him.

And still, the author will not change the title to 'Sakuragi's Revenge'.

On another point in the plane of Kanagawa, a certain boy-slash- hedgehog was visiting his bathroom for the second time in two days.

I'm damn straight, dammit! Why would I kiss a...guy? Even if it's Rukawa—

His thoughts were cut off. What did I mean by 'even if it's Rukawa'? He thought harder, thinking why he had thought that. Oh yeah, even if I'm fighting against him. Right.

Vomit.

The thoughts of beating Rukawa were temporarily scrapped. Probably he vomited them out already.


Rukawa was in a muddle. For a moment there, he wanted to back out of the task, but he remembered that it was all his fault after all. It was he who challenged Sendoh, he who asked for that ahou's help. It was he who was distracted by Sendoh's innocent smile, it was his heart who went dokidoki, it was his brain who stopped functioning, it was his hands that carelessly threw the ball in.

But now, he realized that he could have just packed for America and not care at all that Sendoh was still better than him in basketball. His pride, however, wouldn't let that happen, but it was not yet high enough to not accept that Sendoh WAS better than him in basketball. That was exactly why he started this little game.

He was caught in his own mess.

Mentally cursing himself, he went upstairs to sulk in his bedroom, the way he always did.


"Kanpai!"

"Kanpai!"

Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Miyagi were helping themselves to grape juice, celebrating the joys of today. Kogure's still out cold, and he was sprawled on Mitsui's bed unceremoniously.

"I wonder if they'll do it."

"They have to. Well, at least Rukawa has. This is his plan after all."

"Oi, Sakuragi, do you, by any chance know why Rukawa is doing this?"

"He can't beat Sendoh in basketball, so he put that off for a while and in the meantime challenged Sendoh in a stupid game."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Sheesh, it's not like Rukawa's in love with Sendoh or something!"

Mitsui and Miyagi choked.

Sakuragi ignored them and continued, "Well, then this task is for him! NYAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Mitsui and Miyagi spat out their drinks.

"So you think Rukawa IS in love with Sendoh?"

"That's impossible, Micchy, Rukawa's as straight as straight can be. Besides, if that were true, then it would be the best day of my life. HARUKO WILL BE MINE!!!!!!!!!! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Author winces at mention of a certain female.

Kogure sat up slowly and rubbed his head. "Wha-what happened?"

Sakuragi, still on a high on that puke Haruko puke comment, yelled and hooked the poor boy's head. "Megane-kun! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Mitsui, seeing the puzzled look on Kogure's face, sweatdropped. and join us, Kogure-kun!" he said, patting the space beside him.

"So, uh, what's Sakuragi so happy about?"

Miyagi just waved the question away. "Ack, never mind that baka! Let's drink to Rukawa and Sendoh's kiss! Kanpai!"

Sakuragi stopped laughing and angrily turned to Miyagi. "Who are you calling baka, Ryochin?! Ore wa tensai!!!"

So Miyagi ended up with a lovely smoking ornament on his forehead.

"Kanpai!"


"Oh, Akira, aishiteru."

"Aishiteru, Kaede."

"Kiss me, Akira."

"Yes, Kaede."

IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Rukawa jumped out of bed, violently shaking his head, hoping perhaps to erase the dream he just had. It was like a mushy soap, the kind that makes some people cringe at the sheer romance and he hated it. Ick.

He was starting to hate Sunday mornings.

He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the throbbing in his head. Most cheesy parts of his dream were already forgotten, but that one last scene...he seemed to remember it as hell. Probably because it was the last thing he saw before he woke up, but nevertheless that particular picture seemed to send sharp shivers up his spine.

Today was the most dreadful day in Rukawa's life. And that stupid dream just put the icing on the mortification cake.

He got out of bed reluctantly, sleepily fixing the bed sheets. Breakfast was surely gonna be bitter today, he thought, but he had to take it lest he died of hunger and embarrassment later.

Yeah, later. That's a good thought.

He's gonna show them that he was not bothered at all by the task. Like he did for sixteen years. He was going to show them that he didn't give a shit, that he was going to kiss Sendoh like all kisses he had.

Oh, right, he hadn't kissed anyone before.


"We've got to buy flowers."

"Roses?"

"Yeah, that's nice."

"What about food?"

"Italian?"

"Pasta sounds delicious."

"What's pasta?"

"Italian noodles."

"Oh, with the red sauce all over it?"

"Yep."

"Hey, we can do white sauce!"

"Doesn't anybody have a cookbook here?"

"Nope."

"I know how to cook, Hisashi-kun."

"Great! Then you be in charge of the food."

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm in charge of everything here!"

"Sure you are, Sakuragi."

"Where do we get the money for all of these?"

"Don't worry, Sakuragi-kun, we've got everything covered."

"So...where shall we start?"


Too early had the sun set. Too early had the clock said six o'clock. Too fast had his time trickled down.

Aww, shit, just as he was starting to enjoy his jigsaw puzzle!

Rukawa forced his feet to move, sighing as he made his way into the bathroom for a quick shower. He had hoped that the clock would skip from five o'clock to nine o'clock so that he wouldn't have to face one of his greatest fears.

The Fourth Task.

Hey, is there a proper –phobia name for the fear of The Fourth Task?

With a heavy heart he stripped himself and got into the shower. He needed a plan. Right now.

First...he had to delay as long as possible. Then he'd arrive fashionably late at Sakuragi's. There's no way he'd arrive on time. If he did, it'd show them that he was...enthusiastic about it. And he was not.

Then...he'd just get it over and done with. He'd kiss Sendoh and win the task.

Yep. Good plan.

Sendoh happily skipped towards the general direction of Sakuragi's house. He had the perfect plan for tonight.

First...he'd be there on time. Can't give Rukawa reason to snort at him!

Then...he'd get it over and done with. And he'd do his best, for his part. If he's gonna kiss Rukawa...then better be good at it.

Yep. He's gonna win this task alright.


"Hurry up, they're gonna be here any moment now!"

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't wait for them to come."

"Sakuragi, help us out here, man."

"I am helping!"

"I wonder how's the food going."

"I'll go check."

"Ouch! The roses still have thorns!"

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I didn't have them de-thorned. I want to see Rukawa BLEEDING! NYAHAHAHAHA!"

"Sheesh, then why'd you help Rukawa?"

"It's interesting!"

"Wow, you actually have a brain under the red hair?"

"Of course! ORE WA TENSAI!!! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


What the hell is taking him so long?

Sendoh and Mitsui waited outside the door of Sakuragi's house. You see, what's inside was a surprise, so the two challengers must come together so as to not spoil the surprise.

But ten minutes had passed and still no sign of Rukawa.

Sendoh almost rejoiced, but he remembered that there was no win by default. Crap.

Mitsui was observing Sendoh, you know, just to look for evidences to verify one or more of their theories. Especially his own, which was the Rukawa Loves Sendoh Theory.

And speaking of the devil...

Finally.

Rukawa entered the scene with that smug look on his face. No apologies for being late. No excuses whatsoever. Well, it's Rukawa. Typical.

Mitsui smirked and held the door open. "Well, gentlemen, you may now enter."

What the hell?!

Rukawa and Sendoh both didn't know that the judges really were serious with the dinner thing. The dimly-lit room looked like a scene from a cheesy romance flick. Roses of every color were strategically placed around Sakuragi's living room, letting out a thick smell that just reeked of romance. The table in the middle was set for two and there was a single candlestick in the middle.

Both boys winced.

"Have a seat," Kogure said, motioning to the chairs on opposite sides of the table. Rukawa and Sendoh obliged, Sendoh with his smile and the other with an indifferent nod.

Honestly, the night could get more interesting than this, ne?

If I could just work this "Flash Forward Machine for Fanfiction" thingamajig...wait, I think I got it...just a little tweaking...where does this screw go? Oh, here!

Great! Now let's Flash Forward!

Dinner was, of course, uncomfortably and dreadfully silent. The moment was just hanging there at the end of the silence, waiting to happen.

And Sakuragi had the scissors to cut the crap and move to the main event.

The redhead literally pushed them out of their respective chairs and told them to stand in front of each other. He could barely restrain himself from laughing out loud as he explained with fervor, "For this task, you're supposed to kiss each other. It's up to you if you want tongue—"Rukawa and Sendoh blanched. He continued, "First one to pull away loses! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Miyagi shrugged and added his own comment. "Well, you may start anytime you want."

Sendoh, seeing the four Shohoku players gathered in front of them, asked, "Are you gonna be watching us?"

Mitsui laughed. "Of course! How do we know who'll win?"

Sendoh sighed.

The two competitors stared at each other for a brief moment, then looked away embarrassedly. Neither one didn't want to move, or was just frozen on the spot. Sendoh shifted uneasily where he stood and Rukawa was just being the cold iceberg that he is. Somehow, their plans flew out the window the instant they saw each other's eyes and all they could do was wait for the other to make the first move.

Oh, yeah they've got a plan.

Sendoh successfully willed his feet to step towards Rukawa. Rukawa's eyes almost widened at that, but all he managed was a glare straight at Sendoh's smiling eyes. Sendoh was now right in front of the fox. There was just a couple of inches between them and nobody was willing to close the distance. Yet.

What do I do now? Shall I kiss him? Argh! No! But if I don't I'll 's staring at me. Damn, am I blushing? I've never been this embarrassed before!

Come on, you guys, KISS NOW! NOW! NOW!

Nyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Ore wa tensai!

When will these guys start?

I wonder where this will end up.

Realizing that if he doesn't act soon then nobody will win, Sendoh mentally sighed and shrugged and dipped his head towards Rukawa's.

Yes, yes, that's it!

Kiss him now!

"Er..." Sendoh uttered, seeing the expectant looks on Mitsui's, Miyagi's, Kogure's, and Sakuragi's faces centimeters from his face. Rukawa snorted. Again. The four Shohoku players moved away, laughing. "Sorry 'bout that."

So back to step one.

Dogs barked.

A girl shrieked.

Crickets sang.

A bat flew.

Oh, whatever.

Simultaneously, Rukawa tilted his head upwards as Sendoh's descended, their lips meeting in a light kiss. Rukawa stared as Sendoh's eyes slid shut and his fox eyes widened considerably as he felt the older boy deepening the kiss and trying to gain entrance into his mouth.

His instincts immediately took over.

"Ow!"

"Sendoh-kun!"

To everyone's surprise, Sendoh was sent backwards by Rukawa's punch in his gut. Rukawa didn't feel it himself.

"What did you do that for?" asked Miyagi.

Rukawa shrugged. "He was overdoing it."

Then, unexpectedly, Sendoh laughed. Kogure sweatdropped.

"Overdoing---hahahahahahahahahahaha!! Rukawa-kun----hahaha!" Sendoh couldn't get a word out of his mouth because of his laughing fit. Sakuragi was on the verge of giving him a nice headbutt, but was stopped when Sendoh spoke. "Rukawa-kun, was that your first kiss?"

Mitsui's, Miyagi's, Kogure's, and Sakuragi's jaws dropped at the bomb that Sendoh just exploded.

"What?" Rukawa exclaimed, feeling the heat rise to his face. How dare he laugh about it?!

"That was your first kiss, wasn't it? The way you reacted...seems like you've never kissed anyone before."

The tone of Sendoh's voice was dangerously teasing, bordering on insult. Rukawa's fists clenched and was shaking with anger. "Urusai!"

Rukawa wordlessly turned his heel and headed for home.

The time was nine twenty-six PM.


"First kiss, eh?"

"Nyahaha! Kitsune---nyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"I think we offended him, guys."

"So what? That stupid kitsune deserved it."

"Sakuragi-kun!"

"Did you see that look on Sendoh's face? You know, when he kissed Rukawa?"

"No."

"So didn't I."

"We should make it up to them! Choose an innocent task, Sakuragi!"

"Eh? What was that?"

"Ewwww! Stop picking your nose, Sakuragi!"

"Hey, how about this one: cooking, at Rukawa's house?"

"Hey, who gave you permission, RYOCHIN!"

"We've got heavy practice tomorrow. "

"Man, can't you convince Akagi to give us a break? You're the vice- captain!"

"No can do, Hisashi-kun. We've got a practice game with Ryonan on Tuesday."

"What a coincidence."

"Yeah, you said it."

"So...when can we schedule the next task?"

"Thursday's good. It's just cooking, anyway."


Sendoh practically danced as he went home. He had won the task and was tied with Rukawa. Plus, he surely will get a kick out of knowing that he had been Rukawa's first kiss. Rukawa's first kiss was not to a girl he loved, but to him, Sendoh Akira, a guy and his rival.

Pity nobody had a camera.

Meanwhile, Rukawa was cursing himself for letting Sendoh have another point for that one. He was kissing Sendoh already, but he just had to let that particular thing get to him. Fuck that it was his first kiss! It was all for a good cause! He was cool guy Rukawa, for Pete's sake! He shouldn't be, er, skittish about a kiss!

Damn that stupid Sendoh. I'll show him. I WILL have my revenge. I'll make sure of that.

TBC


Ack! I'm sorry if it's stupid! And there's a bit of foul language there, sorry. Anyway, I'm not gonna make promises because I have a very bad case of writer's block, I think (I hope not!), but I'll try to continue as soon as possible. I've got at least seven chapters left to write. At least, because I might write a couple of interludes here and there on my whims. If you've got any suggestions, please say so! Email me at Peace out.