A/N: Ahaaa…! I’ve finally gotten started after weeks of thinking! I’m so happy for myself...! This is my first fan-fic EVER so be nice! This fic is T rated for mild language…Flame if you want, just flame nicely (can you do that?).. Some notices, this fic is NON and I repeat NON yuri OR yaoi, so all people out there that like yaoi and yuri fics, leave, unless you want to read you’re welcome . Unlike some of you, I am a big Sakuragi fan so if you hate Sakuragi, lay off. Oh yes, I am a big Hanamichi/Haruko pairing fan! R&R or so help me!

EDIT: Right, this fic was written by me… about a year ago, when my writing still sucked. So this is the EDITED version of… Haven’t thought of a title yet. Right.

--

00:07 …

Gotta make it... Seven seconds left…

00:06 …

I have to get this one…

00:05 …

Got it. Daiki Nakajima, a rookie basketball recruit, took a medium-ranged commoner's shot, it was unpredictable, but never-the-less an attempt. Victory is inevitable, just like taichou says…

The ball went in the right direction, but ricocheted off the rim.

“Dammit!” He cursed, clenching his fist and his foot ramming into the polished floorboards.

0:04 …

A horde of men from the away team jumped up, hoping to catch the basketball, and stall for four seconds to win the game, being only one point in front.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Not now, not when they were so close.

0:03 …

A certain red-head dashed into the air, surpassing the others, grabbed the basketball and practically flew to the net that was already in very close range.

0:02 …

“HUWAAAAAHH!”

0:01 …

-DUNK-

The crowd’s roar echoed through the gymnasium.

0:00 … --BUZZ—

Under the wild cheering of the crowd, the buzzer was barely heard. Sakuragi Hanamichi, the famous ‘Rebound King’ (or more so ‘Red Haired Monkey’), saved the team from a loss. A lot of other teams, he thought, are no threat, no threat at all to me, tensai desu! “GWAHAHAHAHA!” He stood there in the middle of the gym, hands on his hips laughing arrogantly and uncontrollably.

Gori would definitely praise me this time.

There he was, expecting nookies and praises from fellow teammates, his captain and the crowd. He was expecting desperate fan-girls for an autograph, or a date, or anything. Especially a praise from his beloved Haruko-san.

But it never came.

What the hell?

He looked around and saw a huge flock of spectators, seventy-percent of them girls, crowded around a single individual.

Rukawa Kaede.

The gym was an outrageous pandemonium, all screaming for him.

Him. Sakuragi was livid.

“RAAAGGHH!” He stormed out of the gym, practically leaving footprints in the floorboards.

--

Sakuragi was in his locker, already have consumed gallons of water in a desperate attempt to drain away all his stress. Not even Haruko-san could cheer him up, for she wasn’t there for Sakuragi, she was there for him.

‘Him.’ He repeated.

“YOU STUPID WISEASS! YOU’RE RUINING MY CHANCES!” He boomed, no-one could hear, just the way he liked it. Ramming a fist into Rukawa’s locker, he grumbled quietly, “Wait until I stick a fire-poker through your ass, then you’ll be sorry you ever messed with this genius…”

“Se... Sempai?” A quiet voice came from behind the lockers.

Sakuragi stopped, almost embarrassed that he yelled like that in front of Sayoto Shige, when he thought nobody heard him.

“Come in, shorty.” Sakuragi gestured for him to get in.

“What was that, Sakuragi-sama?” He asked

“That’s right, call me that, will you? At least you know when to appreciate a mastermind.”

“O-okay.”

“So what do you want, shorty?”

“Well, why were you yelling?”

Sakuragi froze. Typical Shorty, He thought, Such a wimp, so insecure and so withdrawn. Good kid.

Sayoto Shige was a first grade student that Sakuragi had accidentally encountered. Sakuragi ended up teaching Shige everything he knew about basketball, giving him a lesson every afternoon. He wasn’t any good at it, but he never gave up.

-Flashback-

Sakuragi was walking down the sidewalk when he heard faint crying in the park. He went to investigate and hid behind the bushes. A short boy wearing a black cap was sitting on the bench with his head in his hands.

“Hey, bozu. What’s wrong?” Sakuragi asked from the bushes, showing little or no concern in his tone of voice.

“Who’s there? What did you say?” Rather startled by the voice, he looked around, but saw no one.

“I said, are. you. o-kay.” Irritated, speaking as if he were talking to a deaf, elderly man.

“N-no…Guess not.”

“Why?”

“I have no friends. I’m an outcast. Ever since the first day of high school, nobody has ever stopped bothering me. I’m a freshman, and people won’t stop making fun of me.”

‘Sensitive, short. No wonder he’s a social outcast.’

“…and then after that they stole my bike.”

“Huh? What were you saying?”

“My bike! You weren’t even listening to me! This is hopeless! Go away!”

“One question, short-stuff, where you go to school?”

“Shohoku High, now leave me alone.”

“Really?” Sakuragi came out of the bushes and stood behind the bench.

“Yes.”

“Me too.” Sakuragi sat down next to him.

“What’s your name?”

“Sakuragi Hanamichi, I’m in the Shohoku Basketball team and the famous ‘Rebound King’.” He put a cocky grin on his face.

“Sayoto Shige. Freshman.”

“Did I ask?”

“N-no…I-I’m sorry…”

“You should be. Let me teach you some basketball. You might attract babes that way." He was being unfairly hypocritical. "You’re very, very lucky to be tutored by this tensai!” He said, pointing to himself.

Shige took off his cap and put it beside him. Sakuragi was surprised to see that Shige had short, red hair, just like himself.

“After school?”

“Yah.”

--End Flashback—

Sakuragi remembered that day well. He was still deep in thought when he noticed a hand waving frantically in front of his face. He then snapped out of his trance, angered.

“Hello? Sakuragi-sama? Senpai? Are you okay?” He panicked.

“OF COURSE I’M OKAY! CAN’T YOU SEE I’M THINKING HERE?” He snapped.

“Erm, I’m sorry. But you have company, the team wants their water.”

Oh right, the game, the win, him…Wait, WATER? I’m not the water boy!

“I’M NOT THE WATER BOY! BOZU, GET SOME WATER FOR THE TEAM!”

“Y-Yes sir!” At that, he ran off to get the water.

Miyagi Ryota was just drying off the sweat when he heard Sakuragi’s command to the poor kid. “Hey.”

“What?”

“Why’d you run off?”

“Wiseass.”

“That again.”

“No.”

“Akagi Haruko, right?” he smiled knowingly.

“…”

“Is that why? Because Rukawa gets your dream girl?”

“Wiseass doesn’t know he’s messing with the best!” Ryota rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“Give him some credit. Gets everything a guy would want, but HE doesn’t want it. But he has the skill to have what he wants from 90 percent of the school’s female population. Is that fair?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly. Hmph, Haruko-san under-appreciates me.”

“Yet you still go for her after all this time. Why?”

“Because…”

“Well?”

“I LOVE HER!”

Miyagi laughed. “She saved your life.”

“Huh?”

“If you weren’t focused on basketball, you’d probably get into God-knows-what kind of trouble. You could end up how Mitsui would’ve if he didn’t play basketball. So you owe it all to Haruko that you don’t have a missing limb or that you’re still alive. She introduced you to basketball. In fact, she’s the reason you played, right?”

“But somebody else would’ve sooner or later.”

“Nah-ah, nobody dared to go near you, or wanted to go near you.”

“Oi! My good looks would’ve attracted girls right? RIGHT?” He insisted.

“You were dumped by fifty girls in Junior High. So your answer is no.”

“Fine, I’m going home, tell Shorty that there’s no practice today.”

“Right, talk to you later.”

--

A/N: Is that okay? It’s my first so yeah… Flame, praise, scold, whatever, hehe, keep reviewing! Peace out!

EDIT: It’s improving, I hope. Meh. HET FTW! I wouldn’t write yaoi for ANY fandom.