Fate, Reason and Destiny - Chapter 7 April Rukawa never left for Tokyo. He stayed to finish his schooling at Shohoku first. Life seemed to be the same, the way it had been before Sunny had walked into their lives. It was the first day of school, and the old basketball team gathered in the gym. They had several new players, and Miyagi was the new captain. Sakuragi was back as well. There were three new players, Liyo Naruji, Koru Mikugai and Toho Ahome who were here in replacement for Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui. Yet they came to visit often, cheering for the team. Haruko had been made Assistant Manager. The team had barely started to gather. Rukawa, Haruko, Sakuragi, and Mikugai were there, yet since school had barely ended, there was still enough time. Rukawa was practicing his shots, when the doors slowly opened. Haruko turned, and smiled when she saw a familiar figure standing there. “Kaede Rukawa,” the figure whispered in a voice so quiet, it was impossible to hear. “Kaede Rukawa.” The voice said, louder this time, yet the blue-eyed boy still ignored her. Two hands reached out, and they picked up a basketball. Sakuragi’s eyes widened, yet he grinned a foolish smile. The ball flew threw the air, yet before it could hit Rukawa, the figure spun around neatly, and caught it. Sunny stood there, grinning a mischievous smile. “Miss me?” she asked. Sunny watched him for a moment, watched as his eyes widened, then narrowed with a sense of… arrogance. He approached her slowly, and Sunny couldn’t help but walk back into the wall. His eyes were fill with emotion, yet she couldn’t name it exactly. When he reached her, he placed his arms side by side, catching her in a small cage. Sunny looked up, feeling his breath mingle with hers… He leaned forward… “Kitsune-san!” Both figures turned to Sakuragi, and he frowned. “Kitsune, that maybe be your nickname Rukawa, but that wasn’t me calling you.” They all turned to see a familiar spiky haired boy standing by the door. Sendoh grinned as he entered wearing the Ryonan jacket. He paused by Sakuragi, and turned to see Rukawa watching him. “Nani?” he asked. Sendoh winked. “I wasn’t talking to you Rukawa-san,” he said softly. Rukawa quickly pulled away, and Sunny blushed. “I meant to tell all of you…” Sendoh chuckled. “You didn’t, kitsune-san?” Sunny glared at him. “Stop calling me that! That’s my grandmothers name for me!” Sakuragi started to laugh. “Bwahahahaha! You mean your nickname is fox as well?” Sunny blushed slightly, and looked away. She glared at Sendoh. “Just because you heard her call me that, doesn’t give you the right.” “So, will you tell them? Or should I? I don’t understand why you came all this way…” he simply ignored her last comment. Sunny glared at him as he whined, “Come on, you didn’t have to come pick me up.” “But Oba-san will kill be if I left you alone. Besides, you might get lost.” Sunny sighed with defeat. “Why are you here in the first place?” came Haruko’s quiet voice. “Don’t you live in Korea?” “Well, you see---“ Sendoh started out cheerfully. He walked over to Sunny, and slung his arm around her shoulder. She stiffened, and moved away. “It's my story!” she said quietly. She turned to Haruko, yet her eyes were on Rukawa. “My father realized that my Japanese had improved, improved more then my Korean. He also realized my grades here, were better then the grades I was getting. So, I wanted to move back to Shohoku, but no one lives around here, and my father couldn’t afford to buy me a place to live. Then my aunt called, saying she had a close friend who lived near by, and if I wanted to stay with her. Now my father and mother both said yes, but what they didn’t know was that my aunts friend had moved slightly…” “… so she had to go to Ryonan!” Sendoh finished, his voice cheerful. He grinned. “Now isn’t it nice?” Sunny nudged him in the ribs, and turned back. “What I didn’t know, was that the person I live with…” she glared at Sendoh. “Is his aunt.” “… so I have to walk her to school every day, walk her back, walk her to class, show her around…” he trailed off with a wink. Sunny sighed with defeat. “I won’t get lost!” she protested. “Kitsune-san, don’t be so stubborn,” he said soothingly. “It's Sunny!” “Kitsune-san,” he said in a slight teasing voice. “She said stop,” came a quiet voice. People turned to see Rukawa standing there for a moment. He lifted his head, and Sunny let out a small noise. He was staring straight at her, and his eyes were fill so such intense… Longing Anger And... and… Love? She shook her head, knowing it could not be true. “Well then, Rukawa-san, we shall be going,” Sendoh said softly. He stared between the two with a small smile. This was… interesting. A few weeks later Sunny went to every basketball match at Ryonan. They were to have a match again soon. Ryonan against Kainan, Shohoku against another team. It was similar to last year, if Ryonan won, then that would be the end of it. If Ryonan lost, there would be a match against them and Shohoku. Sendoh was the captain of the team now, and couldn’t help but admire him. He was a great captain. Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks… Sunny sat there in the gym, watching the practice. She yawned for a moment, and leaned against the wall. They were good. She remembered Shohoku, and wondered if this time, the outcome would be different… Sunny smiled slightly. She missed Shohoku… “Kitsune-san, wake up,” came a soft voice. Sunny looked up to see Sendoh looking down at her with a smile. “Is practice over?” she asked groggily. He chuckled. “Yes, it did. Its time to go home…” She got up, and walked side by side with Sendoh. They walked in silence for a few more minutes. “Kitsune-san…” “It's Sunny.” “Kitsune-san…” he began again with a grin. “You never give up, do you?” He smirked. “Me? Never.” Sunny sighed. “Anyway, will you be coming to the game tomorrow?” he asked. Sunny frowned. She grinned. “Why, do you want me to come?” “Hai.” Sunny looked up, surprised at the seriousness, and grinned. “Of course. You know that your aunt always makes sure I’m there at each and every match.” Sendoh laughed. “True, true.” He grinned. “So you will be there? This is a very important game, you know.” He teased. Sunny laughed. “Yes, I promise.” The game Sunny watched from above, cheering until her voice went hoarse. They won the game against Kainan by a single point. A foul committed by Kiyota awarded them two free throws. Koshino, the shooting guard for Ryonan and Sendoh's good friend, walked to the free throw line. He scored the first freethrow to close the game to one point. He missed the second, but Sendoh managed to somehow reach up over all the other players, getting a hand on the ball and tipping it in. Sunny smiled, and clapped with the rest of the stadium. However, there was still a chance for Kainan to get in. They only needed to beat Shohoku. Next Day “Kitsune-chan!” Sunny looked up to see Sendoh making his way towards her. Ryonan had won the game, but they came to watch the match against Shohoku and Kainan. There was a set of seats empty especially for them, Sunny was sitting on the row below them, and she smiled when she saw Sendoh. “Great game!” she yelled. She shivered. She had forgotten her sweater at home. -It was so hot outside, she couldn’t really be bothered-. He watched her for a moment. “Kitsune-chan, are you cold?” he asked worriedly. Sunny grinned. “A little bit, but don’t worry about that.” He paused for a moment, and shrugged. Sunny turned back to watch the game between Shohoku and Kainan. She stared at Rukawa for a moment, remembering how graceful he looked. She sighed. She wanted to talk to him so much… Suddenly, she felt something light land on her shoulders, and looked up, surprised to see Sendoh’s Ryonan jacket around her. He grinned. “I wouldn’t want my kitsune-chan to get cold, would I?” he teased. Sunny blushed, and looked away for a moment. She heard the other Ryonan players above them cheer and whistle. She smiled. She wasn’t… used to this sort of attention at all. As she sat there, grinning stupidly for a moment, she looked down at the players, and let out a gasp when she saw Rukawa watching her, his eyes blazing. For a moment, she sat there, and then lifted her chin defiantly. She watched him look away as well. “Kitsune-chan, are you all right?” Sendoh asked softly. “Sunny,” she corrected. “Kitsune,” he said, smiling softly. She smiled back. Later The game had ended rather… peacefully. Shohoku had won. Many people talked about the sudden ruthlessness Rukawa took on during the second half, allowing them to win by two points. To be Continued... **Previous ** Next **