Kaede subtly looked over his shoulder to where the primary target stood.

He turned his attention back to the secondary target, raised the ball above his head and did an impressive fade-away jump shot, his peripheral vision never straying away from the back of her head…

The shot was perfect as it landed inside the basket with a heavy spin…

But he got nothing.

No reaction whatsoever…

Ok… have to resort to more dazzling plays…

He took a deep breath before slamming the ball hard onto the ground, making it bounce high into the air, almost shooting itself into the basket… but not quite…

He appeared out of nowhere, intercepting it, slamming it hard into the ring himself…

A beautiful alley-oop.

But she just stood there, chatting away with her teammates like there was no tomorrow, completely oblivious to his marvelous plays.

Kaede’s eyes flashed with determination. Ok, so the girl was hard to please…

He liked them that way—

“Rukawa-kun!!! Gambatte!!!”

Kaede grimaced, casting the horde of screaming fan girls a murderous look. Totally unlike this crazy bunch…

His gaze averted back to the primary, hard-to-please target, trying not to grit his teeth in frustration. He had been working his butt off for the past few hours just to illicit some reaction from her… But what?

Nothing!

She was purposely ignoring him!

Kaede bit the insides of his cheek in an attempt to keep his teeth from gnashing together.

‘Why was she so angry anyway?’ he thought, releasing the tension in a defeated sigh. How was he supposed to know the basement door opens the other way around?

Darn it. That sounded so stupid.

He glared at the back of her head, trying to drill a hole right through it. Ok, so it was his fault for forgetting to check… but…

Damn her.

For making him look and feel like a complete fool…

From where he stood, the girl’s laughter drifted to his ears. Damn her and that melodious cackle… 

He subtly glanced over his shoulder and ran his eyes over her tall, proud stance. And damn that voluptuous figure of a bloated blimp she kept on hiding from him…

Now that she’d turned and stood there facing him, he couldn’t help but take note of that genuine smile on her lips... something which was hardly there when he was around… And true enough, when their eyes met accidentally, the genuinely sweet smile turned acid. She haughtily averted her gaze away.

Kaede’s eyes flashed. How dare she look so happy when he stood there miserable for reasons completely unbeknown to him?!

And that phoney smile of hers… Damn that too!

Wait a minute… Why was he loosing his cool over this?

Get a hold of yourself, you fool! You’re starting to sound like some pathetic jackass!

He shook his head in disgust. Was this really Kaede Rukawa, King of the Deadpan in the flesh…? Man, losing his cool was the worst he could get… He’d better put a stop to this senseless, silent bickering… Now.

Before he lost more of his sanity.

And there was only one way to do that, of course…

‘Through a direct confrontation with the enemy…’ he thought as he purposely strode towards her with that determined look in his eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

‘Show-off till your butt falls out, you jerk,’ Marina silently seethed, as she subtly watched the raven-head, from the corner of her eye, do the perfect alley-oop. See if I care!

‘Why are you so angry with him anyway?’ a small voice inside her head snapped, interrupting her thoughts.

Marina’s eyes flashed. Because!

‘Because what? He got you two locked inside the basement?’ the voice asked.

Marina raised an eyebrow. Exactly!

The small voice inside her head seemed to sigh in exasperation. ‘Let me remind you that it was also your fault for not checking how that stupid door opens…’ it said. ‘You’re no better than him.’

Marina’s lip twitched. Shut up!

The voice turned mischievous. ‘Are you sure that’s the real reason why you’re fuming there like some giddy lovesick fool?’

‘What the hell ?! Marina Akagi is no lovesick fool!’ she thought, balling her hands into tight fists. ‘Shut up, you good-for-nothing!’

‘Uh-huh,’ the voice continued grimly. ‘And how come you kept on watching his delicious butt for the past hour?’

Marina froze like she’d been dunk into the deepest part of the Antarctic. Head first.

Delicious…?

Butt…??

Marina Akagi…???

Watching…????

Kaede Rukawa’s… delicious butt… ?????!!!!!

Marina growled viciously, completely oblivious to the frightened looks her teammates were giving her.

‘Of all the crazy, lame-brained ideas!!!’ she fumed as every cell in her body cried out in outrage. All those words didn’t fit right! Much less go in one sentence!

Marina narrowed her eyes as the small voice, which kept on taunting her, chuckled… Wait till I get my hands on  you!

‘You can’t,’ the voice said in an amused tone. ‘In case your forgetting… You can’t hurt me… because I’m you. And you’re me.’

Marina snorted. ‘No way! Not even a mere shadow of mine would sound so stupid and pathetic as you!’ she thought, challenging the voice.

‘Oh, really now…’

Despite the troubled looks her friends were casting on her, Marina’s smile oozed with sarcasm. Yeah! Just listen to you! You sound like you’ve fallen in love with a complete jerk like him—!

‘Have I?’ the voice asked mischievously. ‘Have we?’

Marina bristled and felt like pulling at her now wavy, brown hair. Shut up! I am not listening to a mere afterthought such as you—!

‘Is that why you’re so angry at him?’ the voice taunted. ‘… because he broke through your man-hating standards?’

Marina’s eyes widened. Absolutely not! Of all the—!

‘Or is it because he saved your life twice and hadn’t asked for anything in return? You find that absolutely romantic and gentlemanly, don’t you?’

‘That’s got nothing to do with anything!’ Marina seethed, now lost for words at the small voice’s onslaught. ‘Why you…’

The voice laughed. ‘Face it girl. He’s completely got you… hook, line and sinker.’

Marina’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘What do you mean he’s completely got me??? Like I’d fall for someone so stupid, uncaring, stubborn, stoic, laconic, silent, intense, overly-protective, fiery, strong, deep, passionate, handsome, gorgeou—hey!’

Marina shook her head, abruptly putting a stop to the foul thoughts. Her double-crossing brain cells were betraying her too.

‘See what I mean?’ the small voice inside her head said, this time, doubling over with uncontrollable fits of laughter. ‘I’m telling you! There’s no use denying,’ it said matter-of-factly.

‘Oh just shut—!’

“So Mari-chan, are you going to that pool party on Saturday?” a feminine voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

Marina quickly averted her attention to the immediate matters at hand. “W-What did you say?” she asked her friend guiltily. “I didn’t quite hear that.”

Sayaka Takahashi sighed in exasperation before sending her friend, Akiko Mihara, an I-told-you-so look. What was Marina talking about?! They had been talking with their voices in full blast!

Both girls turned back to the object of their concern—the brown-eyed girl whose thoughts seemed to have been in another planet throughout the half-hour conversation. Not only that... She had frowned, snarled and growled like some wild beast in the midst of an imaginary battle.

Both girls’ eyebrows furrowed in concern. Was Marina losing it?

Suddenly the girl’s eyes lit up and then she snapped her fingers excitedly. “Oh, yes! The school’s pool party on Saturday!” she exclaimed in elation like she’d discovered that the world was round.

Sayaka and Akiko looked grim. “We’re glad you’ve finally caught up with the past hour’s topic.”

Marina beamed, completely oblivious to the exasperation in her friends’ voices. But the excitement in the girl’s eyes suddenly vanished. “I’m not going.”

Her teammates’ jaws dropped. “What? Why? Practically the whole school’s going!”

“Hmm, its simple,” Marina said nonchalantly. “I don’t have a date,” she said with a mere shrug of her shoulders.

“You don’t have a date?!!!” both girls exclaimed like they’ve been told that Osama bin Laden was gay.

That got a few eavesdropping heads turning.

“Sssshhhh!!!” Marina hissed, clamping her hands over their mouths. “If pathetic eavesdropping fools start hounding me, I’ll have you two in jail before you could even say Rukaw—!” But Marina abruptly stopped, silently cursing herself for letting the turmoil inside her head slip.

Sayaka and Akiko both raised an eyebrow, before casting an evil look at the raven-head—who was obviously one of the eavesdropping fools. They subtly conversed with their eyes.

So the dope hadn’t invited their friend yet… They thought he had more guts than that…

 “Besides,” Marina said. “I wouldn’t dream of exposing my body for a whole bunch of lechers to feast on,” she said in a huff.

Sayaka and Akiko frowned.

‘Poor Marina…’ they thought as they looked over towards their friend and completely mistook that murderous look she was sending the raven-head for longing. They wished Rukawa would come to his senses before it’s too late…

Speaking of the devil…

Upon seeing the brown-eyed girl’s other half slowly approach—and knowing how explosive the two could get, especially when in the heat of battle—Sayaka and Akiko hastily said their goodbyes.

“Anou… Mari-chan, we’ll be seeing you tomorrow, ne?” Sayaka said, nervously glancing beyond Marina’s shoulder.

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “But, wait! I thought you said you won’t be going home for another hour—?”

“Oh, yes, but we just remembered we had this study group for chemistry at Akane’s house!” Akiko exclaimed, jabbing an elbow into Sayaka’s side. “Ne Sayaka?”

“Oh, yeah! So we better get going! Ja!” Sayaka replied eagerly with a nervous laugh.

Marina’s eyes narrowed. Her friends seemed too eager to leave if you ask her…

“Wait,” Marina cried, stopping them from their quick getaway. “I can help you with chemistry so—.”

“Oh that is so sweet of you, Mari-chan,” Akiko gushed. “But we’d hate to delay further you two love birds reuniting,” she teased. “Ja!”

Marina froze, her stomach giving a nasty lurch…

So that was it.

But before she can deny such horribly false accusations, the girls quickly made their hasty retreat. And not long after that, she heard his heavy footsteps slowly approach her from behind.

A couple of meters away, Kaede stopped on his tracks. Maybe she’s still too angry to talk…

He cautiously came closer once again. Maybe not…

What the heck?!

He took the risk and moved in—

“Not one step closer, you lecher…”

‘Lecher?!’ Kaede mentally fumed. ‘Who’s she callin’ a lecher?!’

“You were the one who grabbed me first,” he said pointedly, recalling the previously scandalous events that had occurred the other day at the basement. It’s not like he’d forget them easily… not in a hundred years…maybe not in this lifetime…

“I grabbed you first?!” Marina cried out incredulously, abruptly turning around. “Why you!” she seethed, lunging for him, fisting her hands tightly on his shirt.

“See what I mean?” Kaede said, grimly, looking down distastefully at the ugly creases her hands were creating on his shirt’s collar. “You just can’t get your hands off me, can you?”

Marina’s eyes were blazing and she looked like she’d be ripping off his head anytime.

Kaede cringed, bracing his jaw for the incoming dislocation…

But she took several deep breaths and released him instead.

Kaede’s heart sank.

Wait a minute…

‘I can’t believe you’d want her brute hands pounding you,’ he mentally scolded himself. But come to think of it… It was better than her giving him the silent treatment…

“So what’s your problem?” he asked grimly, casting her a sideways glance, wiping himself with the fluffy pink towel she had thrown in his direction.

“Nothing,” she said flatly, stomping over to the bench and plopping down in a huff.

Kaede raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Marina’s forehead wrinkled in irritation. “And stop mocking me, you jerk!”

Kaede frowned in mock innocence. “I am not… mocking you.” He tiredly, gingerly sat himself a good few feet beside her… just in case her fists were still intent on pounding him.

But he’d heard it, alright… And that got his interest piqued.

She still didn’t have a date to that pool party…

Knowing her notorious reputation among the boys, he’d thought she’d already had one the second it had been announced… And not like he’d have a chance… She hated him, remember?

He mentally smirked at the valuable piece of information which had landed itself in a silver platter in front of him. He couldn’t believe how damn lucky he was—!

‘Wait a minute…’ he thought, interrupting himself. It wasn’t like he liked attending social gatherings…

He just wanted to… experience something different for a change… something totally different from basketball, practicing it alone, and mentally conversing with himself… He knew he sounded pathetic but he had every right to it, hadn’t he? And he wanted to experience this dating thing before he gets out of high school. He didn’t want her prophecy coming true, did he?

He didn’t want to die a virgin, of course.

But wait! Asking her out to this stupid party was not implying that he… liked her in any way or he’d be… losing his virginity to her… Gah!!!

He’d gladly feed himself to the crocs than succumb to that idea!

Beside him, Marina suddenly shifted in their seat as the heat of the afternoon practice started getting to her. She loosened the neckline of her shirt, unbuttoning it.

Through his peripheral vision, Kaede couldn’t help but look on.

He gulped. On second thought…

‘Get a hold of yourself, you lecher!’ he silently berated himself, banishing the foul thoughts and starting to summon his courage instead.

Ok, you can do this… Just get the words out like the way you practiced last night and you’ll be fine…

He started opening his mouth, hoping against hope that she won’t turn him down—

“Not one word from you!” she raised a finger, interrupting him. “I’m in no mood for arguments today.”

“But, it’s not—.”

“Puh-leeez, Rukawa-kun,” Marina said, rolling her eyes and rubbing her temples in irritation.

Kaede frowned. Hey, he thought they’d agreed to get rid of the formalities?

“Just stay away from me for a while,” she mumbled in utter annoyance, burying her face in her hands.

Ok, that does it…

He abruptly stood up and thundered into the locker room, leaving a puzzled Marina in his wake.

Forget the date thing…

Dying a virgin wasn’t that bad, was it?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alright…

The coast was clear…

Rukawa was out of the picture…

No one there to help the bitch out…

Mizuki’s eyes gleamed evilly.

She looked behind her and gave the signal. And soon enough, the whole Rukawa Brigade—all 50 official members, neophytes and trainees not included—marched into the basketball court to surround the brown-haired girl sitting alone on the bench.

“Well, well… Long time no see, bitch,” she snarled down at the girl.

Marina slowly looked up, like a fly had caught her attention. “What do you want?”

Mizuki bristled at the girl’s utter indifference and fought to retain that smug look on her face.

Well, the bitch certainly won’t be that indifferent after she and her minions were done teaching her a lesson…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Damn her,” Kaede fumed. “Who does she think she is?!”

He tugged the navy blue shirt above his head and wringed it viciously… to the point of hearing that sickening ripping sound. He glumly stuffed the tattered thing into his duffel bag.

He didn’t mind though, he was too busy getting angry at himself for even attempting to ask a girl out for the first time… for even considering that absolutely absurd idea…

He should’ve known better.

Darn it.

He hadn’t even asked and she’d already turned him down!

The feel of rejection was… so irritating… so vexing… he felt like wringing someone’s neck at the moment.

He turned to the violet-eyed girl’s picture hanging by his locker door. “I wish you were here so that I could wring yours,” he said to her with a deep frustrated sigh. He slammed his locker shut and turned to the faucet to splash himself with cold water.

But the sudden chorus of high-pitched laughter reverberating throughout the gym and into the locker room stopped him from doing so. Kaede frowned. He knew that laughter. What do they want this time? It would be no use looking for him when he’s in—

Above the uproar of high-pitched voices, a familiar one surfaced. “Getaway from me, you freaks!!!”

The bottom of Kaede’s stomach dropped. Marina was in trouble… Again.

He bolted for the door just in time to see her fleeing away from the evil bunch… Looks like they have won this round… But, their triumphant laughter seemed to get stuck in their throats when they saw him suddenly emerge from the locker room. He cast them the vilest look he could muster before following Marina into the women’s locker room.

He took a deep breath and gathered his courage…

Kaede casually opened the door and stepped into the room.

He groaned when he saw her.

She was sitting on the counter, her face streaked with tears. Her expression was unreadable but he knew better than to take her at face value…

“Hey, crybaby.”

Marina stiffened at the sound of his voice. She hastily wiped away the moisture in her eyes. But the gesture was futile as more tears seemed to keep on coming.

“Don’t you know how to knock? And this is the women’s locker room! You’re not allowed here!” she snapped at him with all the firmness she could muster. But her voice continued to waver dangerously.

Kaede sighed. They really hurt her this time…

Oblivious to the world around her, she didn’t notice him as he closed the distance in between them. He grabbed her wrist and pried her hand away from her face. “Where did they hurt you this time?” he asked grimly, inspecting her face for bruises and scratches.

“None of your business,” she retorted, snatching her hand away.

They didn’t hurt her physically this time. It was the verbal assault that really sliced through her... She never knew those freaks could give her a run for her money when it came to intellectual squabbles… and considering she had tons of it—

Her musings were suddenly interrupted when he grabbed her chin and unceremoniously turned her face from side to side. Satisfied that there were no ugly marks left after the assault, Kaede nodded in approval. “Good thing your skin’s as thick as a cow’s—.”

“Hey!” Marina exclaimed, slapping his hand away. “Unhand me, you swine!” And she thought this freak cared for her! “If you came here just to insult me, you better leave now before I send your ass flying!”

Kaede’s jaw muscles tightened. “I didn’t come here to—!”

“Well, you’re certainly doing a great job of it!” she said sarcastically. “So just go away.”

“Not until you stop this pathetic bawling,” he retorted, reaching out to wipe away her continuous flow of tears. “It doesn’t suit a toughie like you,” he said in amusement, pinching her cheek and completely distorting her face.

“Aww! Gheth athway frahm miieh youoh assthhole!” she screeched, pulling viciously at his nose.

Kaede stared grimly at the hand stuck in the middle of his face. “Noth huntil youmph unhandth meeh firsht, youh whvitch.”

Her eyes blazed as she pinched harder. “Noth umntil yoah dooh, yah thfreahk!”

But Kaede’s hold was firm, neither tightening nor loosening. “Ah saeid vyouh firsht.”

“Noaewh!” she countered heatedly. “Yuew virsht!”

Kaede stared more grimly at his abused protruding flesh then at her equally reddening one. Gosh, this was sooo mature… but he wasn’t backing down anytime soon…so she better think twice…

Marina tried a different strategy as she pulled him closer through his nose, not caring whether he was just in his shorts or his supply of air was running low. She trapped him between her legs and sneered onto his poker face when they were merely inches apart. She said in a menacing tone, “Nawh, ahre yah goewin tooh leth goe or noth—?!”

But before Kaede could respond, the women’s locker room door burst open with a loud bang, giving away to the heavy weight against it. And inevitably, the whole eavesdropping Rukawa Brigade sprawled onto the floor.

Their jaws hit the ground simultaneously when they saw the intimate couple.

The girl was sitting comfortably on the counter and happily pinching Rukawa’s nose. While their handsome young idol—already naked from the waist up—seemed to be blissfully standing between her legs and willingly returning the girl’s affectionate gesture as he tenderly held her cheek in his hand.

Besides that is the fact that they were already close enough to kiss…

The fan girls’ anger quickly escalated. They were about to charge at the couple, when a loud thud of a body hitting the floor stopped them.

Someone had fainted.

They looked back to see who it was…

“Mizuki-sempai!!! Wake up!!!! Are you alright?!!!”

With their attack completely forgotten and after giving the couple one last threatening snarl, the fan girls quickly scrambled to their feet, rushing off their president to the nearest hospital.

Kaede and Marina were left in a cloud of dust, their mouths hanging open and their limbs unconsciously letting go of one another.

“Well,” Kaede said flatly, oblivious to the wicked gleam in Marina’s eyes. “That was quite a show…”

“Quite a show indeed,” she said, rubbing her hands together with evil glee as another ground-breakingly brilliant plan formed in her mind....

She chuckled mischievously.

Why was she sulking over those dumb lame-brains when their number-one weakness was standing here right in front of her, at her beck and call?

Her eyes narrowed as they settled onto her next unsuspecting victim….

“Rukawa-kun?” 

The bottom of Kaede’s stomach dropped as he slowly turned his head to look at Marina. He gulped in fright when he saw that look on her face…

…a look which could only be described as pure evil.

“W-what?” he stammered, cautiously taking a step back.

“Oh no you don’t,” she said in a cool, suave voice. She quickly hooked her arms around his neck… as a predator would when about to pounce on its prey…

“How would you like to be my date for the pool party on Saturday?”

 Kaede stared at Marina as if she had sprouted another head. He would’ve loved to but...

He gulped.

…that sickeningly wicked look in her eyes got him thinking twice…

“N-no! Absolutely not—!” he protested as he tried untangling her parasitic limbs around him. But the gesture only served to make them tighten around him all the more, pulling him to her…

“Please, Rukawa-kun,” she cooed onto the side of his face. “Do it for me…”

“Absolutely not—!” he declined heatedly as he strived to keep his resolve—which by now, was merely hanging on by a thread.

Marina’s eyes flashed dangerously at his stubbornness… but she absolutely refused to be beaten and let one of her brilliant schemes go to waste… so she steeled herself for her next act.

Marina licked her lips and pressed it to his ear.  Summoning her most seductive voice, she whispered, “Please, Kaede-chan…”

‘Holy shit!!!’ Kaede thought, his eyes widening as his resolve completely melted away.

Well, if she was putting it that way…

To be continued…