Missed!

 “Yeeeey!!! Go! Go! Rukawa-kun!!!”

 Kaede cringed at the shrill, irritating sound. ‘Can’t they just quit it?!’ he fumed mentally, the high-pitched cries grating on his nerves. ‘He missed the friggin’ shot, for heaven’s sake!’

 He grudgingly picked up the ball and literally stomped back underneath the basket. He had been pissed since the end of classes and these lunatics ranting and raving like mad were adding to his foul mood.

 Today was the last day for the female basketball team’s application and the official start of trainings… And some new members had started practicing long ago…

 He looked up at the clock… 4:30 pm…then at the gym’s wide double doors…

 He gritted his teeth.

 For some reason, his eyes had kept on alternating from the clock and the door for the past hour. And so far, all he’d seen were the overly painted faces of the members of his unofficial fans club, trying to get their asses into the team…

 Not a very lovely sight.

 “I repeat. You cannot join unless someone from the team’s recruited you!” came Ayako’s angry voice above the pandemonium.

 This was exactly why they had enforced such a rule… To prevent the female team from being overrun by crazy fan girls. They had to thank Anzai-sensei for that. Their old coach really had foresight…

 ‘Was there something not clear about that?’ Kaede thought, frowning as he looked over at the chaotic mob. Have these lunatics lost the capability to process speech too?

 Pathetic… He shook his head in disgust.

 Poor managress…she was a brave soul, having to deal with everything alone…even her doting admirer Riyota Miyagi had stirred clear out of the way, afraid to be swarmed by a horde of angry stampeding girls.

 The aura of the gym had definitely changed now that Ayako wasn’t the only female around. It seemed like the tension of practice had loosened a bit. Kaede glanced at the tall basketball captain watching not far away. Even Akagi looked less…gorilla-like now that his sister got drafted.

 Everyone seemed more relax and less…uptight from the looks of things. Hisashi Mitsui’s hearty laughter caught his attention. ‘Well, some people are definitely happy about this,” he thought, smirking as he watched the ex-gangster flirt with three girls at the same time.

 But Kaede Rukawa wasn’t.

 He despised the idea of having to waste his time with a bunch of lame-brains, much less spend precious hours training them—when those hours would be better off spent sharpening his own skills.

 No, definitely, he wasn’t happy about this. And he wasn’t looking forward to anything—

 Again, his eyes involuntarily shifted to the door…

 ‘Damn. Stop it this instant, you fool,’ he mentally berated himself. ‘…Just practice.’

 He lazily dribbled the ball by his side before charging and going in an offensive against an imaginary opponent. A movement beyond the door caught his eye, distracting him as he released the ball, making it sail into the air in another seemingly perfect arc… Rats.

 Airball!

 “Nyahahahaha!” came the annoying laughter. “I knew you were no good! Baka kitsune!” exclaimed an ecstatic Hanamichi Sakuragi after witnessing his rival’s folly.

 Even Kaede himself was surprised as he stood there with his mouth slightly ajar. But hearing the infuriating laughter of the redhead, he quickly recovered his senses.

 “Do aho,” he countered automatically, out of habit, cocking his head to one side…Honestly, he was in no mood for a fight today.

 “Hn? You dare say that to this tensai?” Sakuragi taunted. “You should be bowing down your head to the next basketball captain…For I—I mean, especially I—will not be caught dead committing a stupid blunder such as an… airball,” he said in disgust, his eyes flashing with the unspoken challenge.

 That made Kaede stop on his tracks, his eyes narrowing dangerously, but nonetheless he tried to keep in tact what was left of his patience. Was the do-aho up for another round of an embarrassing one-on-one? If that’s what he wanted, he’s more than willing to give it to him. But not today—

 “Alright! Alright! It’s already 5. Application’s over! Shoo! Shoo!,” Ayako cried out in relief, brushing away the clingy fan girls and trying to create some breathing space between herself and the angry mob.

 Ignoring the do-aho, Kaede frowned at the clock in the far side of the wall. Wait, it wasn’t 5 o’clock  yet—

 “What’s the matter, kitsune?” Sakuragi sneered, interrupting his thoughts. “Lost your guts?”

 Kaede bristled.

 That’s it... He was totally pissed off now… A change of plan seemed very appealing as of the moment …He needed someone to take it all out on…And with the way the do-aho was being extra-irritating today, of all days, he posed as the most likely candidate to receive some painful clobbering. Kaede Rukawa style.

 He squarely faced the redhead, ball in hand. Sakuragi, in turn, faced him, a crate of balls in hand. Looks like they weren’t settling this today in a fair old game of basketball…

 Kaede tensed, awaiting the redhead’s traditional battle cry of “Teme, Kitsune!” or whatever to begin the merciless onslaught. And as expected, the redhead raised his fist, his face contorting in a threatening mask, before he opened his mouth to tell the world what he thought exactly of Kaede Rukawa’s foxy face…

 “Teme, kitsu—!”

 But before he could even finish the 5-syllable sentence which served as the key for all hell to break loose... THUD!

 Akagi’s fist landed heavily on his skull, sending the redhead down on his knees in pain. A smoky new lump now served as the crowning glory to his flaming head.

 “Goriiii…” Sakuragi said through gritted teeth, holding his hand over the throbbing bulge.

 The basketball captain’s figure loomed ominously above him. “I will not have you wreaking havoc today, Sakuragi,” he said in a stern voice.

 Kaede smirked mentally, turning his back on the infuriated redhead. “Serves you right do-aho.”

 Normally, nothing would’ve made him happier than seeing the do-aho loose their squabbles, and him getting away with no more than a scratch. But as he walked away to the far side of the court to practice by himself, his heart sank.

 And he didn’t know why.

 He picked up the ball and stood at the 3-point line, glaring at the ring a few feet away. ‘Looks like today was no exception,’ he thought angrily. “Practice like mad” was at the top of his list.

 The stubborn determined look was now back in his eyes… ‘And he wasn’t going to participate in that new activity no matter how they forced him,’ he thought indignantly.

 That is… until another slight movement by the gym’s double doors caught his attention. He concentrated, telling himself not to be fooled again…

 And so he raised the ball above his head and attempted a 3-point goal…but not until his peripheral vision registered the presence of the tall but fragile figure as she gingerly entered the hall.

 Kaede’s heart raced… but he forced himself to focus back on the shot that he made…

 A perfect ringless.

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

Marina tentatively stepped into the noisy basketball court before doing a double take, cringing at the irritating noise all around her. Did she take the correct turn a while ago or was she unfortunate enough to get lost in the local flea market?

 ‘Well, this place certainly looked like one,’ she thought distastefully, sweeping her vision from her left to her right and not liking what she saw…Not one bit.

 Now, she was doubting if she made the right decision of ditching the swimming club’s try-outs for the basketball club’s… be cause everything looked…a lot worse than she expected.

 To her right were a group of angry girls crowding around a small cramped table where a certain curly-haired girl looked like she was about to die of suffocation. To her left were a group of girls hanging all over some guys. Obviously, they were in the midst of flirting. By the sidelines was the group of rowdy boys she had seen during that fateful incident at the cafeteria. And all around the railings above her head were giddy fan girls in short pink skirts screaming at the top of their lungs. It was a surprise no one had fallen off yet.

 She nervously scanned the place once again, intent on finding her only chance of salvation: her cousins and that certain—

 Then she saw them, Takenori and Haruko. Her eyes lit up instantly and she’d almost broken into a run to get to where they stood across the court. She only hoped her older cousin wouldn’t mind her being an hour late for the first day of training.

 But then, she stopped dead on her tracks, wincing when she saw Takenori hit a redhead on the head. The unfortunate guy went down on his knees, mumbling curses up at the ‘gori’ and a new bump formed on top of his already lumpy head. Looks like her classmates weren’t joking when they said that Akagi was a real monster when it came to training…

 A few heads turned as the newcomer cautiously approached the seething Akagi. “Oniichan,” she called out to him before planting a light kiss on his cheek and giving Haruko a hug. She made herself as small as possible, hoping to avert the incoming sermon.

 Akagi raised an eyebrow at Marina and was about to ask her why she was late when Sakuragi interrupted. “Hah! Gori!” he exclaimed in utter shock. “Don’t tell me she’s your g-girlfrie—!”

 A good punch on the head slammed his face against the cool shiny vinyl, effectively silencing him. “She’s my cousin, you fool!” Akagi hollered, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.

 Haruko and the new girl nervously chuckled. She stretched out her hand at the dazed redhead. “Hi,” she greeted him warmly. “I’m Marina Akagi.”

 Sakuragi quickly got to his feet and took the girl’s hand. “I see,” he said authoritatively. “And I am the tensai who represents the best team in Kanagawa,” he addressed the girl, dead serious. “I am the ace player and savior of Shohoku.” He paused dramatically, still shaking the hand of the now chagrinned Marina. Meanwhile, a chorus of muffled curses from the other Shohoku regulars can be heard in the background.

 Marina stared in disbelief at the cocky guy. She’d never met someone so overconfident before… This guy was really way over his head, she thought, sweatdropping. But he continued, oblivious to the murderous glare his other teammates were giving him…

 “…I am the next captain of this team, the tensai, Hanamichi Sakurag—!” he boasted off before a hand covered his face, unceremoniously swatting him aside.

 Marina frowned. The guy’s surname was…Sakurag? Quite weird…

 “Yosh. I’ve had enough of this,” came the sexy drawl of a cute guy with a scar on his chin, as he took the redhead’s place in front of her.

 Marina smiled. Now this one was quite a charmer…

 “You say you’re Akagi’s cousin?” he asked her, casting a suspicious glance at the tough, gorilla-like basketball captain then at the fail-looking girl in front of him. She nodded while Akagi sent him a threatening look.

 Marina fidgeted uncomfortably as the guy shamelessly scrutinized her up and down. But when his gaze alternated between her and Haruko, the enlightened smile spread across his face in no time.

 “I see,” he said, flashing her his full row of perfect pearly whites. “It’s nice to have another pretty face in the team.” He smirked at Akagi who was now growling at the back of his throat.

 “We could certainly use the… change in scenery…” he said, letting out a hearty laugh filled with pure male arrogance.

 Marina’s eyes widened at the guy’s…insolence and, not to mention, courage. She nervously glanced at her cousin standing behind her. Judging from the number of bulging veins on Takenori’s temples, Mr. Charmer here had to have a high threshold for pain… He’ll surely need it…

 “Hisashi Mitsui at your service, mademoiselle…” he said with a flourish. With her train of thoughts interrupted, Marina watched in fascination as the guy relived the  dramatic way of greeting proper ladies in court...what with the courteous bow and polite endearments… But realized too late that he had been going too far with the act.

 Marina cringed, watching in horror as Mr. Charmer slowly brought her hand up to his lips, about to bestow the kiss of…death upon her poor appendage…

 Yikes!

 But then, an orange whirl came zooming by in the blinding speed of a hundred kilometers per hour, landing right smack behind Mitsui Hisashi’s gorgeous head. His lips kissed hard cool vinyl instead as he toppled over, face first onto the ground.

 Marina sighed in relief before taking a step away from the fallen guy… ‘Cute enough but too… perverted for his own good,’ she decided.

 Now, who was that helpful soul who threw that ball…?

 With the same thought in mind, Mitsui rose to his feet, his face red with fury and embarrassment. The first thing he saw behind him was the snickering Sakuragi Hanamichi.

 “You’ll pay for that Sakuragi!” he cried out before charging at the redhead. Sakuragi shook his head vehemently, denying all accusations. “It wasn’t me, Mitchy!!! It was Ruka—!” was all that he’d managed to say before the ex-MVP grappled down his throat.

 The Akagi’s watched grimly as the fateful battle ensued.

 “I think you better go over to Ayako and register yourself properly,” Takenori said to Marina in exasperation, gesturing towards the place where the curly-haired girl was struggling with at least a couple of dozens of fan girls.

 Marina gulped as she eyed the turbulent site—better known as Chaotic Battlefield—in horror, wondering if she’d ever get through it alive.

 “A-alright.”

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

 “C’mon, Ayako-san! Pair me up with Rukawa-kun!”

 “No! Pair me up with him!”

 “No, you don’t deserve him! I do!”

 “And where’d you get that absolutely stupid idea?!”

 “Rukawa-kun and I were meant for each other!”

 “Definitely not! But we are!”

 Ayako buried her face in her hands as the freaky lunatics droned on and on.

 ‘When will they ever stop?’ she thought in revulsion. Well, they better do… And soon enough… for their own sake. Because her hands have long been itching to strangle somebody. … And the necks of these lowbrows had started to look so inviting…

 “Hey, Ayako! You’re not listening to us!” came an annoyed voice and once again someone tried pulling away the portfolio on the table.

 “Hey!” she yelled, snatching the folder back. “Keep your hands from the team’s private files—!” she snapped before realizing the consequences of what she said.

 Oops.

 Given the chance to know more about their precious Rukawa-kun’s personal and private life, the fan girls went berserk. It didn’t take long before a major tug-of-war ensued between Ayako and some determined fanatics.

 “Hey! I said let go!”

 “Excuse me—,” A timid voice broke through the squabble.

 “What?!” Ayako barked, still intent on protecting the team’s integrity.

 From the corner of her eye she saw the girl with the wavy brown hair, having a slight resemblance to Haruko, cringed at her words. And it was then, that she realized her mistake. Laughing nervously, she gave an awfully powerful jerk, retrieving her files and sending most of the lunatics crashing to the ground before she turned to face the new arrival.

 “Yes,” she asked the girl sweetly. “Can I help you?”

 Seeing the awesome display of strength she only thought possible in those believe-it-or-not-shows, the girl hesitated, as if having second thoughts about the whole matter. “I’m here to… confirm my application,” she stated gingerly.

 Ayako smiled her first genuine one that afternoon. Confirm, eh? Perhaps the girl was indeed a potential member…and not just some wannabe who’s after a certain player’s ass… unlike the ones she had been dealing with all this time, she thought evilly, sending some fan girls a threatening look.

 “Hmmm, my cousin said he filed it a long time ago…”

 ‘Cousin?’ she thought, her eyebrows wrinkling in a frown. But then an enlightened look spread across her face. So she must be the one her sempai had been talking about… Ayako smiled. She knew exactly where to look…

 She opened the portfolio and there it was… Marina Akagi…the last one she’d been waiting for…

 “Hello, Marina,” she greeted the girl. “I’m the team’s all-around managress, Ayako. Nice to meet you.”

 Marina smiled, “Nice to meet you too Ayako.”

 She nodded before reading through the girl’s file, checking if each and every field there had been filled up. There was only one field left blank though… Recruiter/Buddy.

 “So who’s your Buddy?” Ayako asked absent-mindedly, before smacking herself mentally. What a stupid question… Of course, it would have to be Akagi-sempai.

 “Buddy?” the girl asked in confusion. “Am I supposed to have one?”

 “Yes, by default you already have one,” Ayako smiled at her patiently. “He was the one who asked you to join the team.” But then, her eyebrows wrinkled in a frown when the girl didn’t answer automatically. “Wait, you did know that you can’t join when uninvited, didn’t you?”

 The girl gave her a puzzled look.

 Ayako sweatdropped. It’s either that… or the girl had forgotten her own cousin’s name…

 “Yes, of course, I do,” Marina responded holding her chin. ‘What was his name again???’ she thought, mentally berating herself for neglecting to find out such basic information.

 The only thing she could remember about him was the way he looked…that tousled mop of raven-black hair, the pasty white skin, the amazing height, those cold piercing eyes… ‘What was his name again???’ asked herself again desperately.

 Wait, what was she thinking? She didn’t even know if he was serious when he asked her…Well, if you’d call that thing he did ‘asking’…

 “Join the basketball team.”

 The exact words flashed in her mind… It wasn’t even a question, for heaven’s sake!  ‘Well, at least the three basic words were there: join, basketball, and team,’ she analyzed. So that would probably qualify. On second thought…may be this wasn’t such a good idea after all…

 By this time, the conversation between the new girl and the managress had piqued all the fan girls’ attention. They huddled in a corner. And after a few seconds of double taking and whispering amongst themselves, they finally confirmed the girl’s identity…

 It was none other than their co-founder, Mizuki Yanagi’s mortal enemy…They all sneered in unison…And any enemy of their friend was also theirs…

 Ayako’s eyebrows wrinkled in a frown as she watched Marina struggle to remember something. She was so tempted to offer her Akagi-sempai’s full name but restricted herself.

 Or she had another person in mind…

 This greatly piqued her interest because there was only one male player who was left buddyless… A knowing smile spread across Ayako’s face…Of course. Why hadn’t she figured it out earlier? No wonder the girl felt uncomfortable…that person could only be—

 Marina hastily backing away was all she and the team needed.

 “Wait!” Ayako tried stopping her. “You haven’t told me your buddy’s name yet—!”

 Now that all her doubts about basketball came rushing back, add in the spiteful looks these fan girls were giving her, Marina had definitely changed her mind.

 She took several steps back. “I don’t think that will be necessary—,” she said hastily, abruptly turning around to make a quick getaway as the fan girls made their first move.

 In her haste to turn towards the door, she had almost collided with somebody who was effectively blocking her path, her nose ending up just a few inches away from his chin.

 “It’s Kaede Rukawa,” said the familiar frozen voice.

 Along with the gasps from several fan girls behind her, Marina froze, as if dozed by a bucket of ice-cold water.

 “I figured,” came Ayako’s playful tone as she stood directly behind the girl. Her and the tall basketball player’s eyes met as an unspoken understanding passed between them.

 There was literally no way out... They had effectively sandwiched the girl.

 “I...umm…well…” Marina stammered, taking a step back as she guiltily fidgeted underneath his heated gaze, only to end up bumping onto the pretty managress. Having been cornered like this, all thoughts of objection, flew out the window.

 Ayako wrote something onto her file. “Well, I better leave you two buddies alone,” she said, winking. “Still have lots of stuff to do,” she said before sauntering off to submit today’s finished work to the coach. Surprisingly, all the fan girls had disappeared in thin air, leaving the two alone.

 Kaede frowned after her. He didn’t like that hidden message the managress was implying—especially that wink she just gave them. Ayako better be careful. He didn’t want this girl getting…ideas.

 Speaking of which…

 He shifted his gaze back to her. Through half-lidded eyes he watched her shift her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

 “It’s Marina Kanza—I mean, Akagi.”

 Kaede continued to stare. I know.

 ‘Hey, wait a minute…’ she thought, coming to her senses. She glared up at him, refusing to be intimidated any longer. Doesn’t blockhead here know that it’s impolite to stare…

 “So…Rukawa-kun” she drawled, back to her old sarcastic self. “What do buddies do exactly?”

 ‘Lots actually…’ he felt like saying to give her a piece of his own mind, but decided to stick to the more professional and basic ones.

 After a few seconds of utter silence, he raised an eyebrow and glanced at the ball on his hand. “One-on-one?”

 Marina rolled her eyes. “Thought you’d never ask,” she said, unceremoniously swatting the ball from his hand and rushing off to the nearest basket, trying to exude all the confidence she could muster.

 Though inside, she fervently prayed for all her basketball know-how to come rushing back in time for this… desperate hour of need.

 Despite the 10-year blank…?

 Of course, she purposely ignored the small voice inside her head that reminded her that that wish would literally be impossible, and that only a miracle could save her from this hell of a predicament she had just gotten herself into…

 She grimaced.

 The fact that she would be playing against the school’s ace player and that she was a complete dimwit when it came to the sport didn’t help at all.

 Apart from that, she had also silently scolded herself for that careless blunder a while ago.

 Careful with the name, girl…You almost slipped.

 And so, with everything said and done, her adventures as the basketball club’s unwilling neophyte began.

 Adventures? More like misadventures….

To be continued…