You might be wondering why I'm called thirteenchrysanthemums now.
Turns out I wasn't the only yourstruly247 around and I was recently confused with the other yourstruly247s, a completely understandable mixup. The only yourstruly247 accounts that were mine are the deviantart and THIS fanfiction one. The yourstruly247 twitter, blogspot, ebay, sexstories, myspace, socialblade, youtube, etc. accounts are not mine. Oh and I don't use the deviantart one so there's no point following that.
To avoid this mixup in the future, I've changed my penname.
REVIEW CORNER:
While I really want to reply all the guest/non-user reviews I hate dragging out Author's notes. So I'll just give group replies okay?
Guest (Dec 24), Herp-a-derp, wow:
The "Do I know him" ending for the previous chapter was ABSOLUTELY SPONTANEOUS! It was great to see you all enjoy that random twist at the end. Seriously, I giggled so hard when I read the reviews about you guys cracking up at that part.
Guest (Dec 22), Haruko, Pat:
A hormonal Rukawa is so fun to write that I'm often tempted to just let him simmer in unresolved sexual tension. But he's too hot to not write him doing some sexy things so... ;) I'm really glad that you guys like this side of Rukawa though. Thought it would be too OOC for most to handle.
Guest (Dec 20), Guest (Dec 20) {there's two of you so...}:
Phew. I've always believe that if the flow isn't good then I fail as a writer. And it feels so good to be back. :)
Lunchtime is peaceful. Conversations between students carry through the afternoon breeze, complementing the tranquility provided by the birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind. From the rooftop their voices sound no louder than a murmur, simple tunes that contribute to the vast melodies of the world. It's the little things like these that prove nature and humanity can coexist in harmony.
Rukawa, however, is too preoccupied with the girl writhing underneath him to notice.
"Mmmmm," Haruko breathes a moan as he runs his calloused fingers along her sides. Her gasps cause a trail of goosebumps down to the base his spine, his hips unconsciously bucking against hers. A louder moan leaves her lips at the delicious friction between their lower regions and Rukawa struggles to contain the fire inside him, further ignited by the delectable sounds coming from her throat.
She arches into him, her mounds firmly pressing into his chest. The fabric of their uniforms are so thin that he feels every inch of her frame on him, yet it isn't nearly enough. Wrapping an arm around her waist he pulls Haruko flush against him, elevating their proximity to such that her shudders of pleasure mold into his.
A bead of sweat trails down the side of her head, slipping past her jawline and into the crevice of her neck. Rukawa catches the droplet with his tongue, greedily lapping away at its salty flavour before latching onto her alabaster skin, playing with the tender flesh between his teeth.
She mewls, hands fisting the scruff of his shirt with a strength that contradicts her small size. Then again he never thought she'd be aroused by such lewd activities. Biting into her neck, he relishes in the whimper of delight that escapes her as he marks Haruko his.
Tearing away from her neck, cobalt irises settle on the flushed complexion of the team manager. He gauges her reaction when his fingers dance across the hem of her underwear, inscrutable eyes seeking approval to proceed. Her gaze snaps to his, blush deepening tenfold as she opens her mouth…
…and unleashes the loudest scream known to mankind.
-riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing-
Rukawa wakes up to the sound of his alarm clock ringing, overwhelmed with the urge to smash his skull into his bedpost.
If he's being honest with himself, Mitsui feels pretty bad for calling Rukawa out on his sexual preferences. Truth be told he's suspected the guy of being queer for quite some time now, with how he has girls drooling all over him yet never seems to take interest in any of them. If the guy has a girlfriend (he's willing to bet his life savings on the ice block being as single as a pringle) he pities her: she's better off dating a rock, what with the way the ace eat, sleeps and breathes basketball.
But who's he to judge? Mitsui was a thug walking down a dark path for two years before Shohoku's basketball team guided him to the light. Although Rukawa's situation is quite different — he's pretty sure being a homosexual isn't a crime — Mitsui is sure that their basketball club would accept the freshman with the same warm reception they gave an undeserving gangster.
Which is why Mitsui feels like an absolute douchcanoe for reacting like he did to his junior's situation last night. As a member of Shohoku, his behaviour was unacceptable. He shouldn't have been surprised when Rukawa ignored his question entirely, calling him an idiot with an IQ on par with Sakuragi's. What did he expect the ace to say in that position?
The sharpshooter is ashamed by his own reaction. If Shohoku's players could receive him with open arms despite his obvious flaws, it is only right for him to extend such hospitality to his junior, no matter how uncomfortable the thought of it makes him.
Sliding the gym doors open Mitsui strides into the court with unwavering resolve, eager to get this off his chest before their match against Ryonan commences.
The floor is painted with blue and red as players warm up on their allocated halves of the court. One can hardly distinguish one ball from another as players dribble up to the basket for layup drills, the smack of the ball colliding with the ground reverberating across the gym walls. As it is a weekend, the practice game has few spectators (if you can consider benchwarmers and team managers observers).
Yet let that be no reason to doubt the importance of this match. Despite the lack of atmosphere the will to win burns strong in every person on the court, regardless of whether they are in the starting five or not.
"Alright Shohoku, to the benches!" Ryota hollers, his teammates obediently following him off the court.
"Rukawa," Mitsui sits beside the boy, gathering the willpower to follow through with the conversation he's been planning all morning. When the ace spares him a glance, he takes it as his cue to proceed. "About yesterday…"
Rukawa raises a brow. "What happened yesterday?"
"You mean… you don't remember what we talked about at training?"
He tilts his head slightly, brows furrowing in a rare display of genuine confusion. "Should I?"
"W-well…" Mitsui stammers, at a loss for words. He's torn between being relieved and insulted. Of all the reactions he expects, having Rukawa forgetting about the incident entirely is not one of them. Wiping beads of perspiration from his forehead, he ponders the possibility of the ace simply pretending not to know what he's talking about, in order to save himself from future embarrassment.
Although he is sorely tempted to play along with this charade — he'd rather not bring it up again, ever, — Mitsui doesn't feel right leaving things this. Cursing his newfound conscience, the senior thinks of how best to phrase his next words.
"Hello everyone!"
Turning to the newcomer, he chuckles to himself when greeted with the sight of the younger Akagi stumbling through the door, two large boxes of water bottles tucked under her scrawny arms. Even under the burdensome weight her demeanour remains as cheerful as ever.
"HARUKO-SANNNNN." Sakuragi rushes over to the girl, hoisting one of the boxes onto his shoulder with ease. He reaches for the second box.
"That's alright Sakuragi-kun," using both of her arms to secure the weight against her, Haruko flashes him a winning smile, "Thank you for the help!"
Rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, a sheepish grin breaks out on his face. "Anything for Haruko-san!"
"Looks like Sakuragi can be a gentleman when he wants to be," Mitsui remarks as he examines the pair's interactions, expecting the boy beside him to throw in his usual insult for the redhead. When his comment is met with silence the sharpshooter turns to his brooding teammate, assuming that something else has taken the latter's focus and he simply hadn't heard him.
To his surprise he is very wrong. For Rukawa's focus is right where he thought it wasn't, staring — no, glaring — at the unsuspecting pair as they approach Shohoku's bench. His eyes scream bloody murder.
"Thanks Haruko-chan!"
"No problem Ayako-san. Is our team ready for the match?"
"Of course we are Haruko-san, the tensai is always ready!"
Observing Rukawa carefully, when he fails to sneak in a retort to the obnoxious voice at the second given opportunity Mitsui knows something is wrong. "Oi Rukawa, what's the matter with you?"
Suddenly the boy in question freezes up, fingers curling into fists as he smoothly averts his attention from the pair. For the sake of looking elsewhere Rukawa stares at the court, his gaze unfocused.
"Mitsui-senpai," A voice breaks the senior out of his scrutiny. Mitsui turns to see a hand holding an unopened bottle of water. Following the limb to its owner's smiling face he takes the bottle, muttering a quick thanks as he places it beside him. Reverting his attention back to the ace, whatever question he was about to ask dies in his throat.
"Rukawa-kun," The younger Akagi stands in front of him, holding his bottle as she patiently awaits his response. Shohoku's ace, on the other hand, shows no indication of taking the bottle, let alone of hearing her. Miitsui can only look on in silent wonder as his teammate stares through their new team manager.
"Rukawa-kun?" Haruko nervously shifts her weight from one foot to another, waiting for him to respond. He doesn't even flinch. Moments of awkward silence stretch on painfully before Haruko decides to give up.
The ex-MVP sighs, watching her shoulders sag in defeat as she retracts her outstretched arm dejectedly. Rukawa may not be interested in girls, however this is completely uncalled for. Rude doesn't even begin to describe his behaviour towards Haruko. Sure her feelings for the boy are as plain as day but that gives him no reason to ignore her like one of his fangirls. He's even shown Ayako more respect than this.
"Wait."
A hand grasps her wrist, prying the bottle from her fingers. Rukawa pierces her with a stare, cobalt eyes unreadable as he nods his wordless gratitude. Based on his tense posture and the frown on his lips, Mitsui would have assumed he's annoyed by the girl's presence. Months of playing alongside the boy has taught him, however, that Shohoku's ace is always annoyed.
He has half a mind to tell the boy to loosen up until he notices a flush of red tinging the pale expanse of Rukawa's neck. Following the boy's gaze, he breaks out into a shit-eating grin when he finds the ace trying to subtly stare at the younger Akagi and failing miserably.
"Don't tell me, Rukawa…"
"What." He turns to Mitsui, sounding oddly defensive. Unluckily for him, the three pointer is observant enough to notice the tips of his ears turn a light shade of pink. If possible, his grin grows even wider.
So they do have the same sexual preferences.
"Nothing," the ex-MVP chuckles to himself, realising that there really is nothing that needed resolving.
The whistle blows, prompting the starting players to leave the bench. "Don't slack off during our game."
"Says the one who passes out before it's over."
"What did you say?!"
The score is 59-60 with Ryonan trailing by a point. Rukawa can't shake off the feeling of deja vu as he sprints back to defend, wary of the white jersey in front of him and the number seven that taunts his vision. Everyone is past the point of fatigue, operating purely on adrenaline and their burning desire for victory. It is no longer a game of physical ability, but a test of mental strength.
However, if that's the case, why does this spiky haired annoyance have so much bounce in his step?
"Less than 2 minutes left!"
Summoning energy from already exhausted reserves Rukawa dashes forward, putting himself in front of his rival with the knowledge that he is literally the only obstacle between Sendoh and the basket. His teammates won't catch up in time to stop the Ryonan player if he breaks through; they're too far behind. As the ace of Shohoku and more importantly, as a self-respecting basketball player, it is his duty to protect their lead with all he's got.
"Defense! Defense!"
Sendoh leaps towards the basket, gripping the ball as though his life depends on it.
"He's going to dunk!"
Rukawa jumps, shoving his hand onto the ball in an attempt to deny Sendoh's dunk. The mid-air tussle that haunted his mind weeks ago is brought to reality, and Rukawa is all too familiar with how the ending goes in that dream. That doesn't mean he won't fight it tooth and nail.
Swallowing his premonition, his free hand joins the other one in his attempt to force the ball away, carelessly abandoning balance in order to block this basket. Dreams are not reality. Rukawa Kaede is not a boy who believes in fate; not when he's trained day and night to acquire the skills needed to carve his team's future on the basketball court.
Thus when the sweat builds on his palm and he sees the loathsome smirk on his rival's face, he doesn't know what to believe anymore. Seconds later his grip fails him and he finds himself free falling under the pressure of Sendoh's dunk, plummeting towards the ground unable to do anything but helplessly watch as the sophomore moves to thrust the ball into the basket in one fell swoop.
Just before he closes his eyes — unable to bear the sight of the older boy's success — a mop of obnoxious red hair clouds his vision. The sound of a hand smacking a ball resonates across the walls, stunning the sideline crowd into a stupor. Rukawa vaguely hears a ball bouncing off in the distance and a whistle being blown before his head collides with the ground.
"Referee time out!"
Haruko couldn't be more thrilled to see her two favourite players preventing Ryonan's star from landing a crucial shot. When Sendoh managed to shake off their ace, Haruko thought it was over. With everybody tired out of their minds, an explosive dunk would be the perfect method to destroy Shohoku's morale.
However Sakuragi has always been full of delightful surprises.
His block silenced everyone: the bench-players, team managers, Coach Taoka. Although they've seen him do it before, there's something about the way Sakuragi defends that never ceases to amaze those around him. For a second Haruko forgot about her crush and the fact that it was his challenge that bought the redhead enough time to come back to defend in the first place.
But the solid smack of Rukawa's head hitting the ground is a quick reminder.
"Referee time out!"
"Rukawa!"
Shohoku's bench wastes no time in approaching their ace, surrounding the boy on the floor as they incessantly bombard him with questions. Rooted to her seat in panic, cerulean eyes zero in on the object of her affections, her mind blank.
"Do you need a break?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Are you okay?"
A crowd swarms around Rukawa making it even more difficult for him to get some space and just breathe. Despite their good intentions his teammates' hovering only serves to worsen his splitting headache. Thankfully Miyagi is quick to diffuse the tension.
"Calm down guys," he admonishes, jogging towards the circle of standing Shohoku players. "He hardly speaks when he's fine, what makes you think he'll answer you now?"
Ayako can't help but smirk at the point guard's methods. Although his words aren't the most diplomatic, it achieves the desired effect. Sweat-dropping at their captain's logic, they step backwards to give the team managers access to the injured player, focusing their efforts instead on congratulating Sakuragi for his game-saving block while the two girls hoist Rukawa's arms over their shoulders and lead him off the court.
"Anzai-sensei," Ayako asks, "what should we do?"
The coach in question scrutinises his prodigy behind his glasses, thoroughly assessing his semiconscious state. Everyone pauses their activities to hear his answer. Anzai is the the type of man who would think out every decision he makes right to its end result regardless of how dire the situation is.
This scenario is not an exception.
After what felt like an eternity, he turns to address the other girl tucked under Rukawa's arm.
"Haruko-san, can you take care of this?" She nods.
With the help of two bench players Rukawa is escorted out of the gym to the infirmary, with a fretting Haruko in tow.
"Haruko-san!" She pauses, looking over her shoulder. Sakuragi waves at her with his signature cocky grin in place.
"We'll win without the kitsune!"
Despite her worries Haruko smiles, the tension between her shoulders gradually subsiding. Giving him a thumbs up she leaves for the infirmary, more than certain that Shohoku's lead will not be lost and Rukawa's sacrifice will not be in vain.
"Just seat him there please," Haruko gestures to the vacant bed, giggling when the boys stumble over themselves to seat their half-alive teammate on the cot. Unfortunately once her eyes rest on Rukawa anxiety returns, gnawing at her insides.
Taking a deep breath she regains her composure. Coach Anzai wouldn't task her with this if he doesn't believe she can do it. Then again Coach Anzai also doesn't know that she's been avoiding their ace for the past week.
"Haruko-san?" Although the benchwarmers were kind enough to volunteer to transport Rukawa, the subtle drumming of their fingers against their thighs and their furtive glances to the door are telling signs of their eagerness to watch how the final minute unfolds.
She smiles, albeit weakly, at her fellow freshman. It would be cruel to force them to stay with her. "You guys go ahead, I can finish up over here on my own."
They look at her, uncertain.
"Cheer for them on my behalf okay?"
Nodding enthusiastically they sprint off towards the gym, leaving the younger Akagi alone with Shohoku's star player. A few weeks ago she would have given anything to be in this position with the boy of her dreams. A few weeks ago she didn't know his lunchtime routine.
A few weeks ago he didn't catch her reading a dirty book.
She can't look at him without inwardly dying of mortification. He said he hasn't read or heard of the book before but he could be lying to save themselves from future awkward situations. After all, who hasn't heard of 50 Shades of Grey in this day and age? When the erotica became a trend Haruko — being an avid reader of romance novels herself — just had to purchase her own copy and see what the fuss was all about.
With the book's notoriety, there was just no way she could read it at home or around her friends. Reading it on the rooftop seemed like the perfect idea, even if there was one other occupant. All he did was sleep there anyway.
The last thing she wanted was for him to notice her at a time like that.
Haruko allows herself a small sigh before moving on. It's best not to dwell on the past, especially when doing so makes her cringe. She has a concussion test to carry out after all.
"So Ruka— my goodness!" All professionalism is thrown out of the window at the sight of the boy hanging onto the side of the cot for his dear life as he tries to stand. Rushing to the injured freshman she gently pries his fingers from the railing, biting her lip to stifle a whimper when he transfers his vice-grip onto her forearms.
Holding him lightly Haruko summons the courage to look into his unfocused gaze. "You need to sit down Rukawa-kun. You hit your head pretty hard just now and you might have a concussion."
Rukawa eyes the girl in front of him for a good few seconds before shaking his head, wincing at the twinge of pain the motion brings him. "I have to play. They need me."
Lips curving upwards, her smile falters slightly when she notices his unwavering stare directed at her mouth. His injury must be more serious than she thought. "You've done a great job Rukawa-kun," her tone is gentle. "Now let your teammates finish up the last minute."
To her bewilderment Rukawa roughly releases his hold on her arms, tearing is own away from her grip as he marches for the door. "Leave me alone, I have to play. You're so annoying."
Forcing away heartbreaking memories of him saying similar words during their first rooftop encounter, Haruko sprints past him to stand in front of the door. She spreads her arms out, standing resolutely in front of the infirmary's sole exit. He might hate her for this, yet as much as that would tear her apart, she doesn't care. Haruko knows things will only get worse for the boy she loves if he goes back out there and she'll never forgive herself if she lets that happen.
"Stop Rukawa-kun. Playing basketball now will endanger your health! Your head could get worse."
He sluggishly attempts to sidestep her, growling in irritation when she moves with him. "Go away."
"No." She bites out, placing her hands on his shoulder to anchor him in place when he tries to storm past her. Focused entirely on preventing him from leaving, she doesn't feel her back hitting the door nor notice how he tenses at their contact.
"Why do you want to play so badly Rukawa-kun? The game is practically over!" Cerulean meets cobalt for a second before he averts his stare, struggling even harder to break free from the girl despite his haphazard state. Sometime during their one-sided tussle her grip slips from his shoulders to his biceps, breathing growing laboured as beads of sweat roll down her face. While Haruko doesn't pay attention to these minute changes, it is all Rukawa can think about in his foggy state.
And it's driving him insane.
"Why—"
"Because if I don't," he mutters, "I'll do something stupid."
"Something…stupid?" Like what?
Suddenly he stops resisting altogether, loosening up to the point that every muscle sinks under the weight of his unspeakable burden. Leaning forward he rests his forehead against the door behind her, overcome with a weariness that's been working away at his bones for too long now. His blurry consciousness severely handicaps his ability to form coherent sentences (not like his regular sentences are that long to begin with) and he can feel himself sinking deeper into a hole as rational thoughts become increasingly difficult to grasp. Inhaling deeply, Rukawa can't be bothered to chastise himself for subconsciously relishing in the scent of jasmines: her scent undeniably.
"You're so annoying," he breathes out, hating how his body is acutely aware of the way she shivers from his breath tickling the back of her ear. He hates how she can be so ridiculously unaware of the hell he's suffered at her hand.
"What did I do to annoy you Rukawa-kun?" Haruko sounds genuinely confused and that pisses him off all the more.
She has no idea about how much she's been tormenting him without even being there, she has absolutely no idea about how that stupid book of hers has has give him more wet dreams in the past week than he's had in his whole life beforehand; she has no idea that he can't look at her for more than five seconds without picturing her in his arms breathless with desire.
And he has no idea that he's saying all of this out loud.
Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Writing for the RuHaru fandom feels like coming home because some of you were with me since Sleeping Beauty days.
God I love you guys. :)
There'll probably be no more than 2 chapters left for this fic. Don't wanna drag this out when I have a bigger project for you all!
Stay golden!