Fandom: Slam Dunk

Summary: Sometimes, the nicest people come up with the naughtiest streaks, and with Akira Sendoh, it all begins with an airball. SenRu. Oneshot.

Disclaimer: they belong together...

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Title: Airball

Author: maple freya

Pairing: Akira Sendoh x Kaede Rukawa

Genre: (attempt-at) humor

Rating: PG

Notes: written for 30lessons (I. English 1. Verbals)

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It had all began with an airball. His descent into that abysmal reminiscence of the day that highlighted the rest of his life.

And that which had gotten him into this tight situation, to begin with.

Not that he was complaining.

“Why you—!”

Akira Sendoh wasn’t really one to give much thought on matters concerning school. He may have seemed like he cared once in a while, but those were only on occasions when he felt bored enough to actually pay attention—or sly enough to play the part without getting caught.

So it came as no surprise that he did not really realize how closely the word “airball” resembled “verbal” until that particular morning he got kicked out of English class for the first time in his entire life.

Not that he did not intend to get sacked to begin with. It had been such a treat seeing the way his professor turned green in the face as though he was just about to hurl a whole toilet out of his mouth. Then turn red as though he had just gulped down a bottle of chili sauce by accident, and then pale as though he had just died standing and did not know.

It was absolutely hilarious, but he dared not laugh. Instead, he tried to look as perplexed as a man dying to burst into fits of forbidden laughter could possibly get away with while asking, “W—What did I do?”

The old man’s ears practically steamed with rage, his nose turning a deadly shade of... pink.

The younger one almost gave himself away with an unguarded smile at the hilarity of it all.

An airball. All of this was happening just because of an airball. Now, who would’ve thought it possible that such an innocent word could turn into the deadliest ammunition if tweaked the right way? He only hoped he had a tangible proof to back up his claim of being the sole man to ever have the nerve to make another man want to fall flat on his back and squirm like a scandalized tapeworm on the floor.

Nagano-sensei’s eyes twitched into angry slits as he pointed one shaking finger to the door and sputtered, “You—You stupid pervert! Get out of the room NOW!”

And Sendoh was only too happy to oblige, even pulling off a downright convincing look of shame despite nearly flipping over from the tremendous amount of excitement struggling to burst out from his enraptured nerves.

Some people just weren’t fortunate enough to be blessed with a sense of humor, and they were often just the type of people that gave those who happened to be fortunate more reasons to laugh in the face of a perfectly orchestrated joke.

Not that he was kidding when he said those things, though...

Sendoh was beyond himself with wicked triumph so much that it was only while he was opening the door that he—vague frown of curiosity instantly springing into place—realized how quiet the whole room had become that he could’ve sworn he heard a bacteria sneeze. It was that eerie. But he did not have time enough to bother about whether or not his classmates had survived the blow of hearing him say those things, or the shock of seeing him turn into such an insufferable jerk overnight...

For when he finally stepped out and slid the door shut, the sound of a dejected basketball bouncing in place on thick asphalt instantly began pulsating through his head like a strident migraine demanding for his undivided attention.

“Asshole.” He could also hear that vaguely audible grumbling as though he was wholly transported back to that moment, two days ago—when he was treated to that priceless look on his kouhai’s face that no one else had ever seen, and that which he had been dying, praying even, to get a glimpse of.

He had merely said a compliment. One that had scuttled out of his mouth before he could even weigh the pros and cons of uttering it.

And it had deftly made the Shohoku freshman distraught and distracted enough to hit... an airball.

Basketball humiliation at its finest.

A furious blush had almost instantly crept on Kaede Rukawa’s face, his eyes widening slightly as he struggled hard to keep his jaws from slacking off to the ground as hard as though he had just swallowed an anvil without meaning to.

“What? It was just an innocent observation,” he had said, making sure that the teasing smile he had stuck on his lips was enough to tell the guy that he was one big fucking liar.

It sure was anything, but an innocent observation.

“Do’ahou.” That was all the baffled guy had been able to say before finally finding the strength to ease pass him—taking care not to get too close, Sendoh had noticed to his utter amusement—retrieve his ball and start walking away.

During which time Sendoh, being Sendoh, had voiced yet another remark that incited the then seriously scandalized guy to flick an angry finger back at him.

“Yah, that’s exactly what I want to do with you, too!” he had cried out, half-ashamed for having been so brash, but half-delighted that he was finally able to penetrate that seemingly impervious facade of passivity Kaede Rukawa had always so lavishly coated himself with.

The Ice Prince didn’t turn out to be so adamant after all.

And this was exactly the memory he had been wantonly wallowing in when Nagano-sensei had asked him to define a verbal. To which, despite realizing he had heard the word wrongly a second before he opened his mouth, he had replied almost instantly with such thoughtless abandon that he would’ve felt embarrassed if he had cared enough.

Apparently, he hadn’t.

“An airball is a missed shot that does not even hit the rim.”

For his only intention at that very moment was to piss the old man off.

“What?”

A set of muffled giggles; a couple dozen gasps of disbelief; and the perfect embodiment of a ripened human tomato standing right in front of him only served to ignite within the then covertly enthusiastic guy the urge to tell them more.

Everything he could about the day that highlighted the rest of his life.

“It is also what happens when you compliment a guy about how beautifully long and shapely his legs are.”

His professor was apparently stunned out of his wits. “What the—!”

Sure, he did not really pay much attention to class, but he hadn’t been this perversely impetuous prior to this encounter.

But, ever since that day he found a better way to live his life, a better reason to welcome each day with a fresh new smile, breathe each breath for the sake of seeing more of bliss, Akira Sendoh knew there was more to life than just constantly playing by the rules.

“And for enhanced effects, tell him further that the mere sight of his ass is enough to rock your world.”

It sure felt nice to be bad once in a while.

Not to mention that he had been dying all semester for a way to bail out of this wearisome hole as often as he possibly could...

“Why you—!”

Sendoh tried to look as perplexed as a man dying to burst into fits of forbidden laughter could possibly get away with while asking, “W—What did I do?”

Nagano-sensei’s eyes twitched into angry slits as he pointed one shaking finger to the door and sputtered, “You—You stupid pervert! Get out of the room NOW!”

And the spike-haired young man was only too happy to oblige, even pulling off a downright convincing look of shame despite nearly flipping over from the tremendous amount of excitement struggling to burst out from his enraptured nerves.

Really, some people seriously need to get a life.

Like he just did.

It merely took the highly charged-up guy close to a minute to get out of the building and meet up with the foxy-eyed lad waiting for him outside the school gate.

“Done with make-up class?”

“I bailed,” he announced, his face beaming with pride, as though he had just snatched a lollipop from some poor kid.

“Ahou,” the ill-humored freshman grumbled, obviously fighting off the urge to let a small smile touch his lips.

“Really, Kaede. You know I’d rather be out playing ball with you, anytime.” He made a grab for his lover’s hand and felt fulfilled when the younger guy clasped on as tightly as he did. Sendoh then, being Sendoh once again felt this irrepressible urge to tease and whispered, “Especially when you wear those short shorts of yours.”

“Hn,” Kaede Rukawa grunted, whilst letting himself be whisked away into his lover’s idea of playing ball.

end

thank you very much for putting up with this :)