Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Umm... Kae-CHAN?! ❯ Part 5 ( Chapter 9 )

Title: Umm... Kae-CHAN?!

Genre/ratings: (Yaoi / Shounen-ai) (Humor / (a bit of) Angst)

Length: 5/5 (excluding side stories)

Disclaimers: The series I'm referring to obviously do not belong to me, only the story does.

* * * * * * * *

Part 5 (END):

* * * * * * * *

"EUREKA!"

The sudden cry echoed throughout the whole house, sending everyone scampering towards where it came from.

"What the heck was that noise about?" Maki growled, holding a hand on his throbbing temple. He obviously wasn't a morning person.

"What happened?" Jin asked, panting in the aftermath of his long run from the attic room. "I heard someone shouting something... eh? What happened to you? Why does it stink in here?" He immediately pinched his nose to avoid the stench to penetrate through.

"Phew! What's that smell?" Sendoh grimaced, covering his nose as he stepped into the basement lab. Then, his eyes lighted on the potent-looking mixture in the beaker Kogure was holding out proudly.

However, the words were literally stolen out of his mouth by the loud redhead who came in cursing the person who had thoughtlessly screamed and woken him up. He was mid-tirade and was about to be whacked by an irritated Ayako with her ever-existent paper fan when -

"Megane-kun? What's THAT?" HE asked, peering at the product of extensive research. "Blech!" He yelped, pinching his nose as he caught a whiff of the mixture. "It smells crappy - and looks real funny!"

"Uh, Kogure-sempai, what's that supposed to be?" Ayako asked blearily, blinking her eyes multiple times before actually focusing on the slimy green liquid.

"It smells bad." Miyagi supplied, yawning the best he can without opening his mouth too wide. "And it looks pukey."

Kogure glared at him and gave Mitsui who was sniggering behind him a look of death. "It's not even green!" he protested exasperatedly peering at the colorless liquid that sloshed as he moved the container repeatedly.

"Sticky, icky-smelling, unidentified object floating on the surface - yep, definitely pukey." Miyagi nodded, a neon green clothes-clip pinching his nose shut.

Hanagata was about to crack a helpless smile when he saw his colleague turning several shades of outraged red. /No good having Kiminobu-kun mad at us - he may just throw the whole thing in the sink if he gets mad - he's very unpredictable... /

He took off his glasses and proceeded to wipe the lenses with his working lab gown for a few seconds before he slipped it on and looked at everyone straight in the eye. "We have finally perfected the experiment. We can test it on Kae-chan now... provided that you're all for it."

Everyone gaped at him, their jaws hitting the marble floors.

"EH?" came the chorus of disbelief.

Mitsui smiled smugly, hoisting himself on one of the Formica counters, giving Kogure a proud glance. "Yep, the potion's ready - finally! Now we can have Rukawa Kaede back."

Everyone was silent.

They couldn't believe that their time with little Kae-chan would be over.

"Well," Kogure faltered, noticing the looks of woe from his friends. "It doesn't have to be now, you know, we can always postpone doing it..."

There was a long period of silence, that was only broken when Maki finally decided to speak up.

"We're being selfish if we don't get Rukawa back to his old self - he'll be missing a lot... although we were happier with him being the precocious child, he'll be more benefited if he's the university student again." Maki declared, trying to sound stable even if tears were already forming in his eyes. He cast a downward look, hoping that the stinging sensation would go away.

It didn't.

The tiny rivers finally fell as a sob came from the fair Fujima, who was leaning heavily on Hanagata. His face was completely buried on the strong slightly tanned neck, and his arms were clinging passionately to his lover's sturdy shoulders.

Koshino was comforting Ayako as she struggled to contain her tears, which, she was failing in, miserably. She was thinking of all the fun times she had when baking cookies with the little boy, or those times when the three of them, Hiroaki, little Kae-chan and she strolled along the park when they have nothing better to do... It felt almost painful to think that they would lose the little boy... and be replaced by someone with far more visible emotions than an unlit candle in the middle of an oaken table.

For her it just wasn't fair.

It was not like they do not want the old Rukawa to come back... it's just that they would miss the little boy terribly, since he had made enough impact on all their lives by just existing and being with them - more than the older version that they knew for over, more or less, five years.

They were so deep in their grief that they missed the sound of shuffling footsteps...

"Minna? Why are you all here?"

* * *

Sendoh stared hard at the sleepy boy standing before him. With one swoop, he hoisted him up in his arms, and in his embrace. "I will miss you so much." He murmured as he buried his lips in the soft raven hair.

Rukawa was perplexed. "Miss me?" Then, in a bout of incomprehension, he pulled away gently. "You're leaving, Akira-niichan?"

Sendoh gazed at the huge, confused, and watery azure eyes, memorizing every layer of emotion he could find there in case the boy would not remember anything when grown up again - at least, he had the knowledge, and the privilege of having seen the emotional side he doesn't often witness in the older version of Kae-chan.

"Akira-niichan?" The boy was trying not to cry, as thoughts of his favorite oniisan leaving him again assaulted his senses. However, there was great relief as the former Ryonan ace shook his head in denial.

"I will miss you because you'll be taking a vacation soon." Sendoh smiled through his impending tears. "To a faraway place."

"I will?" Rukawa seemed thoughtful, and his azure eyes showed alarm. "Why?"

He had not been expecting that question. What he had counted on was the question that pertained to WHERE he's going, however, he had to cope up with the WHY question... /Why? However could I manage to answer that? /

It was Fujima's shaky voice that answered the boy's question.

"Because your parents want you back home." Fujima's emotional blue eyes watered again as soon as he uttered the pack of lies. "We have to take you back to where you truly belong - to a world you normally live in..."

"Mama? Papa?" Rukawa asked tearfully. "They're alive?"

There was deafening silence as a discovery was made.

Rukawa was an orphan!

Hanagata was able to snap himself from his sympathetic stupor and immediately drew away from Fujima's vise-like grip. He closed the distance between him and Sendoh, who was holding the little boy in his arms. He placed both his hands on both the boy's shoulders and peered deep into the bottomless blue eyes.

"Would you believe anything I tell you?"

Rukawa did not even hesitate, and nodded.

"You're a scientific mistake."

* * *

It took almost half an hour before Hanagata's tale sank into Rukawa's young mind.

He told him the truth, trusting the boy to be strong enough to handle everything.

"Then... then... I'll be b-back t-to..."

Hanagata nodded, his eyes meeting the young boy's. "Yes."

"I - I don't want to go back!" Rukawa protested, crying fully now, gripping the cloth of Sendoh's shirt as if his life depended on it. "I cannot live without all of you with me! Onegai, Toru-n-niichan! I don't want to go back!"

Everyone was reduced to tears at the boy's emotional admission.

"I c-can't hold all of you in my arms I-if I-I'm o-older!" He stammered, burying his face in the collar of Sendoh's pajama top.

"But we must - you have a bright future ahead of you in the university." Jin reasoned out, his voice soft and a bit unsure.

Rukawa shook his head frantically, looking up tearfully at Jin's helpless from leaning on one of the peeling walls. "No! I will not go back! Onegai!"

In the corner of his eyes, Sendoh could see Maki signaling him to hold the little boy steady, while in his hand was a huge blanket to cover the boy with.

As soon as the soft material of the blanket touched his skin, Rukawa knew fear. He struggled out of Sendoh's arms, screaming and kicking, trying to escape what was to happen.

"Onegai! Iya, niichan! Iya!" He screamed in frustration, his tears raining out in huge torrents that drenched the blanket wrapped around him.

Kogure closed his eyes momentarily, before he stepped forward with the solution, his hands were shaking, and his features contorted to a helpless grimace. A sudden entwining of tanned fingers on his made him steadier, his eyes singling out the pained blue eyes of Mitsui, trying to give him strength to do what he had to do.

Liberally covered with the sticky mass, Rukawa's trashing ceased and his eyes were alarmingly blank. Then, a dull poofing sound echoed throughout the lab, and puffy white smoke issued from where Rukawa and Sendoh were standing.

Then came the last despairing cry...

"Oniichan... Onegai!"

* * *

It took awhile for the smoke to clear, and sure enough, the experiment proved successful.

There was Rukawa Kaede in his teenage form, sleeping with his head buried on Sendoh's shoulder and only an oversized blanket covering his otherwise naked form. His arms were clasped around the ace's neck, and his legs folded elegantly, supported by a lean arm.

There was complete silence as every person in the room contemplated on what to do next. They were all at a loss...

They had terminated their precious Kae-chan.

* * *

ONE WEEK LATER:

The city of Tokyo.

The place where everybody seemed too busy to care.

A world where everyone has a function… (Well, if you don't have a function, hell, then, just get out of there, they don't need you…)

A peaceful *cough* city where everyone coexists um… perfectly…

The city of Tokyo…

"How dare you ignore me? Kitsune! I'm talking to you!"

WHAP!

"Do'ahou."

WHAP!

"One more crack like that from the two of you and I'm suspending both of you for the next game!"

"But, old man, I'm not playing in the team!"

Hanagata sighed, shaking his head in amusement as Maki threatened one of his best players and his vice-manager in the aftermath of the damage Ayako's paper fan had wreaked.

His eyes strayed to Rukawa's apathetic form, and immediately noticed the tightness in the boy's shoulder muscles. It was as if he's tensed about something...

The briefest thought that registered in his mind was that Rukawa had remembered everything that happened. However, he knew that it was impossible, since the boy practically forgot everything that happened after his shirt got drenched with black solution that was supposed to be Sendoh's work that had spilled on his pristine white shirt more than a month ago.

He shook his head again and smirked at the direction of his absurd thoughts. He felt a nudge on his ribs and immediately looked down, his features brightening at the sight of his love.

"Ken-chan." He murmured, leaning down for a kiss.

Fujima closed his eyes momentarily and kissed his lover back, trying to drown himself in the sweet sensations the action caused within him. He was about to deepen the heated lip-lock when he heard a chorus of groans and a holler - which was obviously Mitsui's, which sounded something like "Get a room!"

He immediately blushed, and reluctantly parted from his source of warmth.

He quickly took a look around, his blush deepening even more as he saw everyone looking at him and Hanagata as if they were expecting them to maul each other soon. His eyes finally settled on the faraway features of Rukawa who was standing apart from everyone else. The boy gave him a small encouraging smile before turning his back to practice some more.

Fujima had, unknown to himself, smiled back.

* * *

Mitsui and Kogure were walking towards the park when they spotted Rukawa walking towards his own place. Mitsui waved, his hands up and swishing wildly in the air. "Oi, Rukawa!"

The raven-haired boy whipped around and stared at the two of them. To their surprise, Rukawa went up to them and greeted them respectfully with a small smile.

"Ni - umm... Sempai, uh, what is it?"

Mitsui finally got over his preliminary shock and whacked his junior at the back. "Wanna join us to the park?"

"Yes, Rukawa-kun, will you? It's been quite a while since I saw the two of you play one on one." Kogure grinned enthusiastically.

"Play basketball?"

Mitsui nodded, and smiled happily as he saw the nod of assent Rukawa gave them. "Oh, and yeah, we'll not be the only ones there. Sakuragi and Fuji-chan, Ayako, Koshino, Miyagi, and Maki will be there too.

Rukawa's eyes burned with their usual fire.

He nodded again, this time, with much fervor than the last.

* * *

Rukawa was on the losing end of the game with Sakuragi and Jin as his temporary teammates against the trio of Maki, Miyagi and Mitsui. It was as he expected, and the redheaded baka was interfering most of the time with his equally stupid antics. He sighed. But it was well worth it!

He excused himself in the alibi of having to answer tons of homework.

He had a fun day, but he felt empty though... where was Sendoh?

Maybe Ayako-neechan and Koshino-niichan knew where he is...

* * *

After the exciting game in the park's isolated basketball court, Ayako decided to shop and was soon burdened by the task of trying to hold on to her gym bag and her groceries at the same time, when a sudden pair of helping hands took them all from her.

"Hiro-kun!" She exclaimed, gratefully pulling her boyfriend close and giving him a brief kiss. It seemed as if they've just met, but it was actually her fault, since she virtually forgot he's there when she went shopping. She was feeling a bit guilty. Heck, she'll just make up for it later...

"I almost didn't recognize you back there. I thought I was seeing things - A gym bag and two grocery bags floating in midair. That's what you get for insisting to carry all of these by yourself. You and your misguided sense of feminism!" Koshino joked, earning a playful slap from his girlfriend. "Ow!"

"Admit it, you knew it was I, and you love me so much that you couldn't resist helping me!" Ayako grinned with flourish.

"Yeah, you wish!" Koshino laughed, dodging the paper fan that almost smacked him for a second time that day. Then, he noticed someone lounging by Ayako's apartment. "Hey, isn't that Rukawa-kun? I thought he's got homework?"

Ayako peered into the darkness and recognized the former Shohoku ace. "Oi, Rukawa!" She waved, grinning.

The boy immediately sauntered towards them and nodded his greeting, his eyes softening as they met Ayako's vivid ones, and turning amused at the sight of Koshino holding so much that he almost tripped as his sight was limited to what he could see up, not down. Rukawa quietly took the gym bag from him and wordlessly fell into step beside his seniors.

The actions came as a major surprise, causing Koshino to almost lose his balance and Ayako to gaze at the youth fondly. "Rukawa-kun?"

Rukawa looked at her inquisitively. "Hiroaki and I are going to make a batch of cookies for the guys tomorrow, would you be willing to help us?"

The boy seemed thoughtful for a moment, and suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Chocolate chip?" He asked almost dispassionately, covering up his obvious excitement.

Ayako and Koshino nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

THE NEXT DAY...

Sendoh was toweling off his sweat when he opened his eyes and saw a huge plastic of chocolate chip cookies shoved in front of him. His eyes followed the train of pale fingers, slender yet lean arms, sloping shoulders, swan-like neck, and almost feminine features... breathtaking azure eyes...

"Rukawa-kun, what -" He stammered, a blush staining his cheeks.

"Take it." Came the hurried reply. Nodding once, Sendoh took the package with a shaky hand.

He swore he saw Rukawa's eyes mist briefly, as if he was going to cry... but the vision was gone. The younger boy turned back and started for the rest of the team enjoying the batch of cookies given to them by Ayako and Koshino.

"Wait, Rukawa!"

Rukawa paused.

"What is this for?" Sendoh's eyes were glassy as they gazed at the object of his seemingly one-sided attention.

It took a few seconds before Rukawa answered.

"For everything."

He immediately turned back and joined the others.

Sendoh shook his head in bewilderment. He looked lovingly at the cookies and noted something he considered quite coincidental.

The cookies were in the shape of little rabbits.

* * *

ALMOST A YEAR LATER...

"Happy anniversary, Toru-chan..."

Fujima and Hanagata lay cuddled under thick fluffy blankets. This time, they were celebrating in Hanagata's flat, a condominium that housed the elite students in their university. Fujima's flat and their joint apartment were momentarily vacated, since they wanted to spend their anniversary somewhere new - and private.

"Happy anniversary too, Kenji-chan. I love you." Hanagata clasped Fujima closer, his heart beating fast in the process.

"We've made it another year."

"Yes we did."

Fujima gazed at him lovingly and kissed him softly on the chin. "I miss Kae-chan though."

Hanagata sighed as he remembered the dear little boy. "Yeah, me too. It was fun having him last year, wasn't it?"

Fujima nodded sadly. Then, his eyes caught the mounds of presents given them by their friends for their special day. His features lit up with excitement. He immediately got up and practically skipped towards the mountain of boxes wrapped in colored paper and ribbons. "Ooh, presents! I wonder who gave these?" He picked up a huge shiny purple box and shook it forcefully, straining to hear if it sounded clunky.

It was.

"It is - it's ticking!" Fujima yelped as he threw the box on the carpet in fright.

Hanagata laughed as he saw the look of fear in his love's eyes. He stood up and took the box, placing them on Fujima's lap as he sat down on the furry carpet next to him. "Come on, open it!"

"It's a bomb!"

"No it's not." Hanagata said firmly, giving Fujima a stern look. Finally, after much bargaining, he got his partner to open the gift.

"See, it's not a bomb!"

Fujima sighed with obvious relief as he unraveled the most beautiful clock he had ever seen. It was made of the purest crystal and silver adornments were shining under the light of the dim chandelier of the bedroom.

Then, his eyes settled on another huge box covered with sheer blue paper and metallic sapphire ribbon. "What's this?" He asked almost to himself as he started undoing the ribbon carefully.

What he found made tears fall from his eyes...

<<FLASHBACK>>

"Have you sorted them out yet, Kae-chan?"

Fujima called out from the kitchen.

"Hai, Kenji-niichan!" Rukawa called out as he hopped down the dining table carrying a bowl of assorted bite-sized sandwiches.

"You did great Kae-chan!" Fujima gave him a sincere hundred-megawatt grin and ruffled his raven locks. "I'm so proud of you!"

<< END FLASHBACK>>

In it was a crystal platter of bite-sized sandwiches, sorted out neatly into straight rows.

The box was labeled.

And it came from Rukawa Kaede.

* * *

DURING HIS MAKE-UP CHEM CLASS...

"Kaede-kun, stop playing around with that beaker or else you're going to tip that over." Hanagata warned the younger boy. "This is a part of the Chem. test that you missed last week, so… do your best. Ne?" He grinned. "Weird, but I remember myself administering the same test to Sendoh last year!"

"Hai, Hanagata-sempai." Rukawa smiled softly, his eyes trying to gauge the strength of the Pyrex beaker he was holding. "Oops." He muttered as an aromatic liquid dripped on the linoleum floor. "Ah, I'll just wipe it off later." He decided as he moved to the other end of the laboratory table.

"Hey Toru-chan!" Fujima suddenly called out as he entered the laboratory. "Almost time for practice! Is the Chem. absentee doing well?" Mischievous blue eyes turned to the other's concentrating form.

Rukawa stopped pouring and raised a flask of greenish-blue liquid in shy salute. Fujima grinned, turning back to the bespectacled boy, playfully taking away the wire-rimmed glasses off the bridge of his nose.

"Kenji-kun!" Hanagata protested, trying to claim back his precious eyepiece.

Rukawa continued pouring, and was increasingly becoming alarmed as he saw the other flask turning a dark shade of red. Hmm… according to the book, this should be turning blue, not red… he must have done something wrong…

"Rukawa-kun, have you seen my ball? We're one ball short and Maki's turning into a real pain in the ass screaming his brains off and cursing whoever it was who stole the goddamned ball! We need it for practice..." A male voice sounded behind him. Startled, he raised his eyes abruptly, and almost melted at the sight of the elder boy who was standing very close to him. He had finally admitted to himself that he liked the sometimes-annoying porcupine... well, more than he liked the others.

"Oh, Sendoh… uh… you forgot... when you left the gym yesterday... umm... my duffel bag is... right there." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the package counter where Kogure Kiminobu was sitting in, reading a thick hardbound book.

The older man nodded and his eyes shifted to Rukawa's experiment, his eyes widening. "I recognize that solution... Hmm. It's already black and wait... Does it have to make bubbles? Hmm. Where have I seen that solution before..."

By then, Rukawa was obviously transfixed, Sendoh's question barely registering in his mind. He turned dazedly and his eyes widened in panic as he saw his concoction turn bubbling black. In surprise, he caught hold of it and was about to dump the thing in the sink directly behind him when he slammed into another body, the impact not lost on him as he rebounded, his thighs hitting the edge of the long Formica table, rattling the paraphernalia sitting peacefully on it.

"EEYAGH!" He heard the older boy yelp. In horror, Rukawa's eyes bulged. Sendoh's body was drenched with the black liquid, staining the slightly rumpled red polo shirt, the liquid dripping on the floor as soon as droplets formed at the edge of the fabric. Rukawa closed his eyes, gripping the now-empty flask he held in his hand, waiting for the blow that he knew anyone with a sane mind would deal him for destroying a favorite shirt.

"Gomen... Gomen... Gomen!" He said repeatedly, waiting for a fist to connect with his jaw. There was none. All he heard was a dull poofing sound and then a slight tug on his jeans. He opened one eye…

Sendoh was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Fujima cried out in alarm as he scrambled to where Rukawa was standing helplessly.

"What happened?" Hanagata asked in panic, noting the cloudy smoke that dwelled above them. "Oh no… NOT AGAIN!"

The slight tug was there again, and this time Rukawa complied, his eyes straying on the floor…

"AKIRA-KUN!"

* * * * * * * *

OWARI

* * * * * * * *

A/N: ^o^ Ehehe! The fic's finally finished! HA! Well, the ending's quite unexpected huh? Heh-heh... What can I say; I'm just too affected by the flu virus that latched on to me a week ago! Ehehe. Anyway, thanks for supporting this fic - and I'm really thankful to all you guys! Till next time! See ya! Oh, and hey, reviews everyone! ^____^

PS: This is my early Christmas present for all of you! Hope you enjoy it! MERRY CHRISTMAS MINNA!

* * * * * * * *