Thank you for reading so far! Special hugs to those who faved, followed, C2d, and most especially reviewed. ;) They motivate me so!

DISCLAIMER: I WISH I own Slam Dunkand Kawamura Takashi from Prince of Tennis.

…

CHAPTER 6: Development

It was Friday, and they were only a day away from their much-awaited practice match with Ryonan. Deep ebony orbs took its first glimpse that day catching, as always, the clear blue ceiling of his room. He patiently waited for his sights to clear up from its lethargy, and lazily turned his head to look at the clock after realizing its alarm had yet to go on.

Rukawa Kaede seemed to have woken up a little earlier than usual, and proceeded to his daily routine during early mornings…, that was, play some hoop. He sat up and scratched his head, as if to wake his brain up, and stood up. He passively looked at himself in the mirror before brushing his teeth and did some other supposedly hygienic activities.

He walked lethargically to his pink bike near the garage and, surprisingly, saw that his parents' car was there. He mused that they probably got home in the middle of the night. He sighed.

When was the last time he spoke to them, anyway? Despite living in the same roof…

Anyway, he climbed up his bike and decided to start moving. But he realized he wasn't, and was just sitting there blankly—like an idiot he was not. In his reverie, he stared at his bike and tried to recall why it he was stuck with a pink bike in the first place.

Oh, now he remembered. It was Maya's idea—and she made sure it was kept that way.

"Real men don't call girls idiots, baka!" She yelled with illogical vehemence all those years ago. "Now go use a pink bike to pay for what you have done." It was after met that idiot, and he actually got a red one during middle school. He had liked the color red for a while, but then he shifted back to pink when high school started.

He was calling a girl an idiot several times a day, now, after all… And he might not look like it, but he was rather obedient to Maya—someone whom he, perhaps unconsciously, loved like she was his own mother.

And before he knew it, he reached the court. (Yes, he moved without really realizing it) And he immediately frowned when he heard the sound of dribbling. Who the heck could have gotten there before him?

And his question was answered immediately.

It was her—throwing 3 pointers. She did them effortlessly and a dozen passed by and he didn't even realize he was watching. He snapped out of his daze and decided to act his… usual self with her.

"Monkey."

She stiffened and whipped her head towards him. He almost smirked, but of course—his face did not register a hint of amusement. She frowned. "I got here first."

"You did." He admitted, and he just stared at her—making her flinch.

"What could you be doing here, though? You said you hated basketball."

"I do. It's why it's so easy."

"So you're not giving it up after all, d'aho"

"You sure are being talkative today, kitsune."

Rukawa cringed a bit. It was true. But he already started so there was no way he was going to stop. But should he admit that he hacked to his father's account and actually got information about her from the Medical association's data base? Hell he would. He'd just make himself sound as if he simply knew everything.

"It's not like your injury's permanent. You're just being your usual idiotic self."

"So what if I am?

"It won't do your body any good."

"Oh." She scoffed. "Great. You're playing doctor, now?"

"D'Ahou."

"Since you hate me so much, I would appreciate you buzzing off."

"That obvious?"

"I don't see you calling everyone else idiots so many times a day." He was going out of his way to annoy her, wasn't he? He wondered why…

Probably because she really was just plain annoying

"I like basketball. There's more logic in me actually playing. Not that you can comprehend."

"Teme—"

"Oi. Want to have a shooting game?" He cut her off and she stared. She would never back off from such a blunt challenge.

And he was right.

…

The two threw a shot each with a step farther from the ring every round. All of their shots went in flawlessly until they had to shoot a meter past the 3 point mark. It became tense then, and they were struggling every shot, albeit actually succeeding.

The tension got so intense that when Rukawa missed, and when she got it—she actually laughed out loud pompously, even more so than usual. Rukawa frowned at her to mask whatever odd feeling of satisfaction he was having.

"Lucky."

"I was not!"

He shrugged and raised his hand to tell her he didn't believe her. And, the idiot that she was, yelled at him to prove herself. He continued to provoke her, and watched her reddening (with anger, of course) face in amusement.

But eventually, something hit him—the reason he always jumped in and found ways to insult her every single time.

Was it because now that she disliked basketball… could provoking her be the only way to make her notice him?

.
.

N'aw.

That would be blasphemy.

…

Later that day, unfortunately, was school hours. And unsurprisingly, Rukawa went to slept in class again. Sakuragi was right there in front of him, ignoring him stubbornly. Mah, he shouldn't really care. They decided to ignore each other, although in his case to show her that he didn't really care and he could go through with his days without insulting her, which meant he was not talking to her in general.

Hanamichi, on the other hand, glared deeply. She could hear his snores—damnit! She wanted to tone it down, but her strong hearing was not helping at the moment. (Heck, it was a curse now) Especially since she, too, was feeling sleepy. But unlike him, her mother threatened her if she fell asleep.

Zzzzzz

Her eyes twitched.

Zzzzz—Bzzzt

She could feel a vein appearing.

Zzzzz—Bzzzt—zzzzzzzzzzzz—d'ahou—zzzzz

And she snapped.

"URUSAI RUKAWA!"

"SAKURAGI!"

"B-But he's noisy! I can't concentrate old man!"

"D'Ahou."

"Grrrrrr—"

"Will you just sit still for once?"

"He's right you know. Won't Yuko-basan take all of your mangas away if you don't improve your grades?"

"No one asked you to remind me, Yohei."

"Eh…" She flinched. Did Kitsune hear that? "D'Ahou."

And after a torturous few hours later, the bell finally rang signalling their lunch break. Before she could start an argument with the blasted kitsune and maybe shift the blame of her reputation on him—he had already stood and coolly headed to the door.

But when the door slid, he halted and Hanamichi stood up to see.

"Move." He said coldly and the girl moved. It was Haruko, and despite his rudeness she was still wearing that love-sick expression on her face. Hanamichi's eyes twitched.

'GAH! I totally forgot Haruko-chan likes that Kitsune!' She didn't even get what a sweet girl like Haruko saw in him, but she was not going to stand by and watch. But a hint of pride passed her due to the fact that she understood what she was feeling. An image of a certain dashing young man passed by and she, once again, entered Lala-land.

Sendo-kun…

But she pulled herself together immediately—before anyone noticed and tease her to death. She would die of embarrassment if they found out she's in-in-inlove.

So she sprinted towards the door before kitsune could escape. "O-Oi, Baka-kitsune!" he ignored her and continued walking away. "How dare you be rude to Haruko-chan! Apologize!"

Then, again, he paused. But he didn't even turn and just sighed.

"D'Ahou."

Twitch

"TEME—" She growled and gestured to follow him to give him a piece of her mind when her gang grabbed her to stop her.

"Oi, Oi. Just let it go Hanamichi."

"Aren't you supposed to be used to it by now?" She didn't answer. Who the heck would get used to that arrogant and rude bastard?

But it was a certain brunette's sweet, and pained, little voice that immediately blew her madness away.

"You two sure are close…"

Silence

"Haaaaaa…?!"

Everyone looked at Haruko as if she said something utterly profane—which she did.

"H-Haruko!" Matsui said with explanatory hand gestures. "What are you talking about?"

"HAHAHAH! They're close alright—close to killing each other."

"GHAHAHAHHA! True, true!"

"H-Haruko-chan." Sakuragi said reassuredly, and ignored her idiot gang. "There was no way I can get along with that kitsune! Please bear that in mind!"

Haruko could only nod awkwardly.

…

Later that day, Sakuragi and her gang walked to the gates enticing a few murmurs as usual. Unsurprisingly, there were way fewer whispers since most had gotten used to their delinquent presence already. It was then that she saw a couple holding hands. Her scumbag brain suddenly replaced their faces with hers and Sendoh's.

Doki Doki Doki

"Oiiiii! Hanamichi!"

"Why does she have that creepy perverted look on her face?"

"Who knows…"

Mito smirked. "I think she's in love."

And with that—Hanamichi was pulled out of her trance and quickly covered Mito's mouth as if he hadn't said anything yet. The gang though were dumbstruck. Hanamichi really did look childishly embarrassed that it was almost cute.

And in all honestly, 'cute' and 'Hanamichi' were words that felt weird when used in a single sentence. They cringed, and eventually, someone snapped out of the trance.

"Oh my gosh!" Nozomi yelled loudly to catch everyone's attention. "Sakuragi Hanamichi is i—"

BAM!

Noma grinned at his befallen comrade and went to continue. "She's in lo-"

BAM!

BAM!

And even the blonde Yuji was head-butted, just in case. She whipped her head to Mito who raised his hand for the sake of survival.

"I won't say anything." He said, and followed her stomping away.

"You won't watch the basketball practice?"

"Why would I?"

"You're being idiotically stubborn. And there I thought (since you're Rukawa's slave for a week) that he'd ask you to."

"Why would he?"

"Who knows…"

"Anyway, I'm going to the beach. Take me there!" she said. She couldn't get lost now, it was too late in the day. She hoped he'd be there…

But then, what would she say?

She flushed.

"Oh… you got hit hard, Hanamichi!" he laughed boisterously as they exited the gate. "Who's the lucky guy?"

She whipped her head at her and looked rather serious. "Hi-Mi-Tsu."

"Stingy."

It was then when Hanamichi heard Haruko-chan's sweet voice calling her.

"S-Sakuragi-chan!"

"Yes, Haruko-chan?"

"Why don't you go watch the team? I'm sure you'd love basketball once you see how amazing they are."

"I-yadda."

"Demo…"

But then the idiot trio appeared behind her making them flinch. Their heads were still steaming from the attack, and they wore very very very smug looks.

"Since she won't go. We could tell you her secret there at the gym."

"Secret?"

"Y-You won't dare." She didn't know which one, but either should never be known by Haruko-chan!

"Oh, yes, we would."

And Hanamichi knew they weren't lying.

…

GYMNASIUM, after class practice

Rukawa was surprised to see her there. She was standing by the captain's sister again, looking sweet. He, of course, ignored everything and went back to playing.

He dribbled the ball that was passed to him and made a dunk.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAA! Rukawa-kuuuunnn!" Noisy girls came yelling and it annoyed him.

"Hmph! Show-off." He heard from the sidelines and it was her. Then he realized, he really was showing off. Why spend so much energy for a point that could have easily been an effortless lay-up?

Che—who cares…

And she was waving her hand in front of Akagi's face. She was staring at him—as she usually did, especially when he made a shot. He was not dense, and he knew she liked him. How troublesome… and it was another reason for the monkey to hate him even more.

"Wake up, Haruko-chan! Waaakkkkkeee uuuuupppppp!"

"D'Ahou."

"Nani? WHOA! Don't tell me you like Haruko-chan, too?!" Baka. Hell he di—

He paused. The girl heard that and she was blushing furiously. That red-headed idiot. What if she actually believed that?

"D'Ahou."

Akagi frowned at all the noise, and Rukawa saw him gesture to the monkey's group probably to shut them up. Luckily, Gori seemed to know he had nothing for his sister so he got passed by.

But then Gori halted. Coach Anzai stood up and went to them instead. They all stiffened and wondered what was going to happen. Hanamichi's eye twitched.

"W-What is it, old man?"

"Oi! Don't be imper—"

"Yohoho~ It's fine, Akagi-kun. I just wanted to talk to Ueki Jr."

Hanamichi's aura darkened, making them all flinch. The gang looked at Haruko and Mito, and maybe they'd explain why the name sounded familiar. The coach decided to speak instead.

"Ueki Keisuke. He was a famous pro, he was rising to international fame. He was known as Japan's rebound king."

Hanamichi's already dark aura became more intense and she wanted so badly for him to stop. She glared at the old man.

"Watch out, sensei!"

But before anyone could move, much less say anything, Anzai laughed. "Do you want join my team?

"As a trainer…?"

…

HANEDA AIRPORT

Sakuragi Hanamichi saw her mother out of the country, yet again, feeling very conflicted. Her mother was just staring at her and, unsurprisingly, teasing her to death. But, she was thinking too deeply to care.

They actually talked about the offer—which she stubbornly refused. The old man just laughed and she could feel his confidence that she'd turn around one way or another. And of course, being the hard-headed individual that she was would only try harder to prove him wrong.

"Why not try it out?"

"You shouldn't give up on your arm. It could still get healed with time."

"Yeah. And if it didn't? False hope, mother. Stop giving it off." She said, but then her mother didn't answer. She was suddenly glaring at something behind her.

"What are you afraid of? It's just not like you."

"I'm not scared."

"D'ahou." They both flinched and turned. It was Rukawa. What was he doing there anyway?

"My parents were going to America for a business trip." He said, answering her unvoiced question.

"Aren't they doctors?"

"They give seminars."

"You two know each other?" Yuko's eyes widened and looked at her in despair. "Don't tell me—"

"Of course not, mother. Don't be stupid." She said pushing back her blush. She was not good at being stoic though, so everyone noticed. Sendoh-kun~

"Flight 1102 to Florence, Italy please board your respective planes now."

"Whoops!"

"I'm watching you kitsune!" And she ran to her flight.

"Eh… so my mother hates you, too. What did you do?"

"Dunno."

"So why are you still here?"

"You forgot about the deal."

"What deal?"

"You're my slave for a week."

"Hell I am."

"I order you to be our trainer."

"Eh… you want to see me that often?"

"Not really. It would be amusing to see an idiot monkey do what she hated most."

And their seemingly endless bantering in the middle of the busy airport started.

And, as usual? Hanamichi was on the losing side.

.
.

END OF CHAPTER 6

Coming Soon:
CHAPTER 7: Ryonan

REPLIES TO ANGELS
((This is the first time this story got a long list of reviewers! xD

Kuroneko nnch- Thank you for the review~! And nope~ I won't abandon it, I think. I just update really slowly. xD But I'll try to make the waits worth it!

Neith S. Ruckus- hahahha. R. Harem banzai! Don't we all just lurve Sendoh? And yes… *cough* I wonder how she'll react when she finds out, xD

Ko-brz – Thank you for the review! :D I'm glad you liked the twist~ I'll try to make the most of it. xD And hope this chapter was kinda worth the wait~

Fuyutsuki Hikari- Here it is! I'm sorry for the delay and I hope this chapter was worth it. xD You can tell me if you think otherwise. ;) Thx for the review, btw!

Kawaiishiella- Thank you for the review! I am very happy that you liked it! I'll do my best to keep it up. xD

Rentamiya- I'm glad that you liked iiit! Lol. And yesh~! Sakuragi and Sendoh in the mix is so fun to write. Lol. And thx for the review~

Harry Draco Malfoy- I do, too! HxH and Sailor Moon got remade—Slam Dunk should too! D: haha. Anyway, thanks for the comment~ xD

P0tions- Thank you for the review~! I'm relieved you like my writing as well. xD I'll try to update the story faster! It's a possibility, considering the long list of reviews I usually only see in my other stories.

Yumi-nachan – hahaha. Indeed~! xD SendohxRukawa rivalry all the way. Lol. I'm happy you found it a good story (so far) and thank you for the review! ;)

Reducto17- I'm happy that you liked the story~! xDD I hope to keep it up and don't hesitate to tell me if I'm failing. xD Thank you for the review and more power to you too~

Popuyund- Me neither! Hahaha. I was curious and poof! (GoshIlovewriting xD) And yesh~ This fandom needs more activity, you reviewers definitely help with that, and thanks for the review!

CrisscrossAnime- Hihihi~ I'm grinning due to the fact that you were grinning. xDD And as for your questions… who knows~ lol. Thanks for the review, btw!

Nakku- (ch4) ahaha~ I'll try to write more of her history, then! But the gist is already shown in ch 3 I think. xD (ch5) I don't speak Spanish… but do you mean you love Rukawa? If so, me too! Hahaha. Thank you very much for reviewing~!

Auroradawn123- (ch1) It's rare? That's awesome to hear. / And I'm so glad you liked my writing~! I'll do my best to keep doing so and thank you for the review!

…

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