Title: Never Tell

By: FFNPREZ

Note: Slam Dunk is a manga and anime owned by Takehiko Inoue. I am merely a fan- since I was 10 years old and yes, I'm in love with his masterpiece and other works.

Chapter 3: Sweet Escape

"Are you scared little girl?"

"No, I'm not scared of you."

"You should be."

"Let me go! Let me go! I didn't do anything! I—Help! He—"

Eiri woke up covered in sweat and gasping for air. Her gaze was fixed on the wall while she tried to even out her breathing.

It was a dream. Just a dream.

She told herself when she realized that she was in her room, in Reed's house. She stared at the bright laptop screen on the study table beside her bed- the only source of light in her room. The screen saver flashed "4 AM" and she closed her eyes momentarily, wondering why she suddenly had that flashback.

"They're all in the past. This is my new life. Nothing can get to me now." She chanted to herself repeatedly until she fell asleep again.

Eiri arrived at the house late from school and was surprised to see both her father and step-brother dressed stylishly in semi-formal fashion. Reed wore a light blue button down collared shirt underneath a gray coat and a light brown-cream casual straight cut pants paired with brown shoes.

Kaede Rukawa was dressed up in a simpler style of a white button shirt, with the first three buttons undone, paired with a black coat and simple slim fit dark denim jeans. He wore simple black shoes making his look basic yet stylish, both father and son looked like top male models with their looks, height and physique that Eiri couldn't help but be impressed and be proud at the same time.

Reed was pouring himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and Kaede Rukawa was watching a basketball game in the living room. Reed went to the kitchen and greeted Reed,

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

"We were waiting for you,"

"Sorry, I sighed up for club tryouts."

Reed nodded, "Get dressed, we're going to an event."

"Event? It's okay, you can go without me." Eiri answered almost automatically, unconsciously moving her body to face away from Reed,

"I want both my kids there. It's a sports magazine launch and the owner's my client. It'll be fun. You don't have to dress fancy, some jeans and shirt will do."

"I—"

Reed gave her a serious look, "Get dressed now or you'll be grounded for a week." He said in a stern voice and Eiri broke into a shy grin like she always did whenever he tried to get her to do, he was just too daEirig for it to work. He usually does it whenever Eiri hesitates on spending money, or gets awkward with the family. He realized that she didn't mind cleaning up, doing errands or working around the house but when it came to more personal things, she still gets withdrawn which was only normal. Reed just needed to push her more.

"Hai." Eiri said in a polite manner, pivoting and walking quickly upstairs to her room, internally dreading what to wear.

The minute they entered the gates she was mesmerized. The party was held at a five star hotel. Eiri stepped out of the car and watched as the valet drove it away. She stared openly at the foreign environment.

She'd only seen grand hotels in magazines and movies, she'd never been to one before and being there was overwhelming. Both men walked on each of her side, red carpet was rolled at the entrance and Eiri fought to hide her ignorance. She stole glances at her companions and saw that they were calm and relaxed even as they entered the huge glass door and passed through security.

Kaede Rukawa was as usual, nonchalant and bored, Reed smiled as soon as he was greeted by one of the organizers and was led to the grand ballroom where the event will be held, he glanced at her to check if she was following him.

Reed missed the part where he tells her about the venue. Good thing Eiri had enough sense to at least level with what they were wearing. A simple black A-line skirt that reached above her knees, she paired it with a short-sleeved peter-pan collared white-cotton blouse which she tucked inside the high-waist skirt, a pair of black flats completed her outfit.

She thought she looked pretty decent since it was what the sales person recommended the first time she went shopping with Reed, but the moment she entered the grand ballroom she was struck in awe.

A huge stage was in front with a huge "J SPORTS MAGAZINE" projected on the white wall. About a hundred tables were laid out in white fancy table cloths. The place was well lit and cameras were flaEirig left and right. Waiters roamed with trays of food and drinks. There were a bunch of tall and hot women standing around which Eiri figured were models hired for the night.

The more she observed the more she felt self-conscious. Everyone was beautiful. It was a semi-formal party, women didn't wear ball gowns, but they wore the most beautiful cocktail dresses and most stylish outfits. A strong sweet scent caught her attention, she found the source to her right where a group of four girls were about to walk in front of her. They looked like celebrities. They were wearing short, strapless chiffon dresses in different styles and high heels. Two had a black short bob, while the other two wore their pitch black straight hair down. As they passed by Eiri's 20/20 vision didn't miss their long dark lashes and porcelain-like skin. They looked like real-life goddesses.

A slight touch at her forearm snapped her out of her trance, she saw Reed signaling her to walk toward their seat, she noticed that Kaede Rukawa was no longer with them. She looked around, craning her neck in different directions but she couldn't find him. She sighed and followed Reed towards the round table near the stage which was occupied by two adults, and had four other empty seats.

"Just get some food over from the buffet table, I need to talk to some people." Reed smiled at her, pulling out an empty seat for her, "Don't hold back on the food Eiri."

Eiri smiled wryly, she wanted to ask where Kaede Rukawa was but thought better about it, having her stepbrother there really wouldn't make any difference. She watched Reed leave and walk towards a bunch of powerful looking gentlemen, joining them in the largest table right in front of the stage.

Her eyes trailed to the white-haired man, fit for his age which Eiri guessed to be in his early forties.

"That's Kenji Takamura, the owner of Takamura Enterprise." A gentle female voice came from her left. She turned and saw another beautiful girl take the seat beside hers. She had skin as white as snow, her beauty was quiet. She was slim and her black hair was evenly cut to her neck in the most fashionable manner.

"I'm Kiko." She extended her hand, Eiri stared at it and admired the see through long sleeved pattern adorning her arm, she had on a lace v-neck mini dress which Eiri couldn't stop staring at.

"I'm Eiri Rukawa, you have a very beautiful dress."

"Thanks. Rukawa? You're related to Kenji Takamura's lawyer?"

Eiri's eyes widened in surprised but her voice remained neutral, "I guess. Sorry to ask, but Kenji Takamura as in owner of TK Malls and TK PubliEirig?"

Kiko nodded, "Yes, that's him. Apparently he decided to release another monthly sports magazine."

"Hm, doesn't he already have J Sports Unlimited?" Eiri asked, surprised that she was having a conversation out of nowhere.

"Apparently since FIBA's around and with the Olympics coming he thinks it's the best time to release a new sports magazine centering on that and building the hype."

"Can't he do that with the other two that he already has?" Eiri asked, now more curious.

"He'll be closing the other one, J Sports Unlimited targets sports enthusiasts this one is more for everyone even non-athletes." Kiko rested her chin on her hand.

"Wow, you know a lot." Eiri smiled at Kiko who smiled back.

"Haha, my dad's also one of his lawyers and my mom's the Editor-in-Chief TK's Fashion J Magazine. That's him beside your dad." Eiri saw the slim man wearing a white suit, she also noted how Reed looked really high profile sitting with all the important people at the party.

"Explains it. What school do you go to?"

"Tokyo University." Kiko said while signaling the waiter to give her one of the Pineapple drinks he got on the tray. He asked Eiri if she wanted one and she nodded politely.

Eiri stared at the beautiful girl she honestly thought she was in high school, at least a year older than her, "What are you taking up?" she asked curiously, impressed that the girl was both smart and beautiful.

"Fashion design, how about you?" Kiko asked and for some reason, Eiri began to talk more and the most surprising thing was she was comfortable.

Kiko didn't ask strange questions like how come her hair was nothing like Reed's. She didn't ask why her eyes were green while her father's were blue. She didn't ask why Reed suddenly had a teenage daughter. Kiko was interesting and comfortable at the same time.

"I didn't expect this many athletes to attend." Kiko said distracted in the midst of their conversation. Eiri noticed earlier that famous swimmers, basketball players, tennis players, volleyball players, martial artists were in attendance but she followed Kiko's gaze to the entrance and saw three giants come in.

"Who are they?" Eiri asked studying them absentmindedly, she wasn't really interested but it's a good topic for her and Kiko to talk about.

"They're some of the most famous high school basketball players in Kanagawa. The tallest one is Shoyo High School's Hanagata, arguably the best high school center in Japan, my university's planning to recruit him next year." Eiri stared at the man wearing glasses, he was tall, probably seven feet which made her wonder if the gray coat and tie he wore was custom-made,

"The one in the middle is Eiriichi Maki, definitely the best point guard in high school, there are rumors that the National Team plans on recruiting him straight out of high school."

"Really? He must be really good." Eiri stared at the tanned-guy with brown hair. He looked real mature and the black suit he wore made him look sharp and classy, like a real rich entrepreneur.

"The one beside him is Ryonan High's Akira Sendoh. He's the it thing right now. Reporters are obsessed with promoting him. He's tagged as a genius but I think reporters are making him out to be bigger than he actually is." Eiri studied him, his hair was spiky, like a porcupine, a playful smirk was on his face.

"You mean he's overrated?" Eiri asked while taking a sip on her pineapple juice.

"I don't know. I've never seen him play before. Hey, want to grab a plate?" Kiko's gaze quickly turned to the empty buffet table.

"Sure."

Apparently, rich people have a code for eating, was what Eiri realized throughout the entire meal. Eiri was fascinated and can't help notice Kiko eat. She was a vegetarian and on top of that she was very detailed with what she ate. Eiri didn't stare and was careful of bordering rudeness, but it was Kiko who pointed out that Eiri was eating excessively and even gave her a lecture on eating meat,

"You should try cutting meat out of your diet, if you're going to eat meat then don't get three sizes that big, it should be the size of a stack of cards. Are you an athlete?"

"Not really,"

"No? Then rice and sushi should be half the size of your fist, if you're having beef, don't eat that much chicken and pork Eiri." Kiko's voice was peaceful and calm but authoritative and passionate that Eiri was finding it hard to object.

"I think it's because you're still growing that you can maintain your body, but trust me you have to watch what you eat. You're gorgeous, you even have potential if you want to be a top model, but ease up on the carbs."

"Wow." Eiri was able to blurt.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll keep what you said in mind. For now, there's a large dessert station at the corner, do you want something?" Eiri said removing the napkin off her lap.

"A serving of frozen yogurt would be nice. We can share."

"I'll get it for you." Eiri stood up and went to the dessert corner, she couldn't hide the smile on her lips, she didn't want to say that she was surprised by how fast they became friends, and although she didn't have an idea of what having a sister felt like she thought it was what she felt at that moment.

The dessert corner was a masterpiece. She'd never dreamed of anything like it even as a child and at that moment she felt like a 9-year-old who got a pass to candy-heaven.

There was a corner for an assortment of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, shortcakes. There's a bread station. There's a snow cone station. There's a chocolate station where a variety of chocolates were available for the picking, all were of the highest kind. Beside it were marshmallows and nuts and a chocolate fountain to seal the deal. To the farthest left corner was a long solid rectangular table, a slim man was behind it serving a bunch of guests and she could only guess what he served.

A total of a hundred different flavors of ice cream sat underneath the sliding glass door. Chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, vanilla, mint, mango, cheese, kiwi, lemon, rocky road, and many more. She saw non-fat, low-fat, sugar-free, even liquor flavored ones but these were available only for legal-aged customers. Eiri already had at least five flavors she wanted to order in her mind.

Excited the moment she finished telling the ice cream man what she wanted, Eiri was oblivious to everything else around her, her eyes were trained at the nimble and crafty hands of the man while he scooped two servings of each of the flavors she wanted into a large bowl for three. She was so fascinated it made her oblivious to the large figure hovering behind her. Her thoughts were focused on digging into that mountain of frozen cream while chatting with Kiko. Just then a low sound and vibration broke her out of her fascination, she was not really paying attention since no one could possibly be talking to her there. She blinked a couple of times when the hazy sound cleared up,

"Oie," the deep voice called behind her, she turned around and saw Kaede Rukawa towering over her, her initial reaction was to see who else was around to check if he was talking to her, she saw that the five other customers were looking at the ice cream selection. She felt stupid when she saw Rukawa looking down at her with a piercing blank stare.

"We're leaving in half an hour." He said in his low deep voice before turning around to walk away. Before Eiri could say anything a tall stranger approached her stepbrother stopping him before he could take a step away from the ice cream corner.

"I didn't know they invited you too." Eiri saw the tall basketball player with porcupine-hair talking to Rukawa, what was he doing talking to her stepbrother? Looking at both of them, they both looked like they came straight out of a magazine cover, with her stepbrother wearing black coat and jeans while the other man wore white button shirt, sky blue coat, black slim fit jeans and white basketball shoes.

"Did Hanagata and Maki know you're here?" he asked.

"You're too noisy." Rukawa said icily, seriously, that Eiri was surprised when the man released a genuine laugh and stared at Rukawa fondly, his blue eyes glinting with something else. "You might clean up real good but your attitude still is as rotten as ever." He said in amusement which Eiri found odd, wondering if it was a normal conversation between the two.

"You just came here to tell me that?" Rukawa said in his usual low icy tone.

Eiri spotted three teenage girls approaching the dessert section but they ignored the desserts and went straight to the two men,

"A… Ano… Akira Sendoh-san, konnichiwa, we're huge fans from Hiroshima, can we get your autograph?" Sendoh's face was stamped with momentary surprise before he released a rich playful laugh,

"Ahaha, sure, be sure to support Ryonan." He said, taking the pen and started signing. Rukawa released a tired sigh and began to walk but one of the girls shyly stopped him on the way,

"Rukawa-san… I… I'm a big fan… can you sign—" Rukawa closed his eyes and sidestepped the girl before she even finished. But he paused when he heard a sharp hiss and a loud female voice behind him,

"Look where you're going!" a woman who looked to be in her early twenties hissed at Eiri whose back was facing the girl, Eiri felt something cold on her back and when she turned around she found that the girl was holding a strawberry yogurt with strawberry syrup which was now dented meaning the wet cold sensation she was feeling on her back was the girl's dessert.

Eiri remembered the bob-cut hairdo and the chiffon dress, she was one of the four girls she saw the moment she stepped in the room.

Eiri was so taken in by the scene with Rukawa and the other man that she was surprised at the sudden outburst,

"I," Eiri paused then turned to look at the girl who was three to four inches shorter than her even with heels on, "I didn't see you," she was not going to apologize, now that she thought about it, the frozen yogurt corner came before the ice cream corner, what was she doing back there?

"You didn't see me. You, didn't see me?" her tone was derisive while she gave Eiri a once over. "Please, I guess someone who dresses up like her grandmother wouldn't notice great taste. Quick, apologize."

"What?!" Eiri said incredulously, "Are you crazy? I wasn't even moving." Eiri was holding her temper in check, she can't draw attention to herself and cause a scene. "I—"

"Do you have a tissue?" A deep voice appeared from behind and above Eiri's head, she saw Kaede Rukawa staring at her with an unreadable look on his face before walking away. She realized that it was the man, Akira Sendoh, who was behind her. The ice cream man handed him a clean towel and to Eiri's surprise he started to wipe her stained back.

"Sendoh-kun! Do you know this girl?"

Eiri heard him chuckle and reply in an easy-going tone, "No, but then, do I know you?"

"Hah!? What are you talking about? We're on the same year, I'm a member of the Ryonan School Paper and—"

"Well, then excuse us," Sendoh cut her off and to Eiri he asked, "Is this yours?" he motioned to the large bowl of ice cream that the man finally finished serving and took it from him.

Eiri was so stunned that she just nodded, she watched the girl walk away glaring at her,

"That girl came out of nowhere," The ice cream man said in a light voice, "I think she was about to walk towards you, was starin' at you the whole time," he stared at Sendoh, "Don't know how she missed orange-haired missy over here, she's taller than I am." The man said.

Regaining her composure, Eiri smiled at the ice cream man and thanked him before taking the towel from Sendoh and walking away.

"I'll walk behind you so no one could see the yogurt stain on your back."

"It's okay, it doesn't matter, with all the important people here nobody will notice, much more remember, a yogurt stain.." Eiri said with a shrug, "Speaking of yogurt," she murmured to herself, she faced Sendoh and started to take the bowl of dessert from him but he stopped her,

"Don't worry about it, just get your yogurt." He said, his face remained calm and easy-going.

"Thanks," she began walking to the booth nearby, "It's my friend's" she said when they reached the frozen yogurt machine,

"Aren't you guys sharing this?" Sendoh lifted the huge bowl he was holding with both hands.

"Uh… that one's mine."

"You're kidding." He said, genuine surprise on his face.

"I like ice cream." Eiri said and smiled politely at him.

Sendoh escorted Eiri to her seat where she placed the yogurt in front of an empty seat.

"I think you're lying to me about your friend and the yogurt is actually yours." Sendoh teased, cocking a brow at her.

Eiri was amused but she didn't show it, "She probably went to the restroom and why would I lie to you? I don't even know you."

"Women life to preserve their dignity, they like men to think they eat modestly." He watched her, they were still both standing which was not odd at all since everybody was mingling at that point.

"Right, I don't have to impress you," she cocked her head to the side, curious to how he will reply.

"Akira Sendoh." He extended his hand and Eiri hesitated before extending hers, "Eiri—and thank you for earlier,"

If Sendoh found it odd that she didn't give her full name he didn't show it, he just maintained his easy going smile, "Well, Eiri, wont you at least tell me what school you go to?"

"Ah, Shohoku."

"Shohoku. Well, that'll be enough." He smiled down at her, "For now." He said in the lightest way that it piqued Eiri's curiosity, "Well, I have to get back to the guys, it was nice meeting you Eiri."

"You too." She said, thankful that the conversation ended on a good note, somehow. She watched Akira Sendoh walk away before picking up a long spoon and finally digging into her ice cream.

"What happened to your shirt?" Kiko asked as soon as she got back and Eiri was halfway through her ice cream.

"Accident, is that the yogurt you wanted?"

"Yes, and that is a portion that would last me an entire year." Kiko said staring at Eiri's half finished dessert.

The ride home was silent, with Reed doing all the talking as usual. Eiri was about to fall asleep when Reed asked her a question,

"Yes I enjoyed myself and met some nice people."

"Who did you meet?"

"Oh, Kiko Mizu, she's already a university student but we became quick friends."

"She's a nice girl, smart too. You said people, who else did you meet?"

"There's an athlete, he plays high school basketball."

"He's an idiot." Rukawa injected in a murmur which Eiri found amusing and perplexing, he must have a complicated friendship with Akira Sendoh if he even bothered to breathe three words into the conversation.

"Unlike Kiko, there's really no reason for us to meet again." Eiri said absentmindedly, what was piquing her curiosity was where Kaede Rukawa had been the entire time.

"By the way, I'll be away on a business trip for two weeks, I need to help out in a case so the firm will be sending me to the New York Branch."

All useless musings were washed away from Eiri's mind at Reed's statement, she didn't know why she felt panicked but when she glanced at Rukawa, he was still calmly sitting on the passenger's seat which meant business trips were considered a normal part of their lives.

Eiri didn't know how to react, she copied her stepbrother's reaction and remained quiet, good thing it was midnight and the car was dark that Reed wouldn't be able to catch her pathetic reaction on the rear view mirror. But she was still restless,

"Two weeks? When are you leaving? When are you coming back?" she tried to maintain a neutral voice unknown to her that the Reed could read her by the bullets of question she fired.

"This Thursday. I wish I can take you with me Eiri, but it's for work." Reed said lovingly, "Take care of the house while I'm gone."

"I will." Eiri answered silently in the dark.

"Kaede, look after your sister." There was no answer which was not unexpected. Eiri stared out the window, into the night and the passing lights until she fell asleep.

TBC

Hope you enjoyed!

Extra Note:

Characters are not mine, they are owned by Takehiko Inoue, except for:

Eiri Rukawa

Reed Rukawa