Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Umm... Kae-CHAN?! ❯ Part 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Part 2:

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"Ah, home sweet home!"

Sendoh stretched out after setting the now-sleeping Rukawa on his bed. He sighed and sat down, his eyes softening at the sight of the young boy who was clutching the bedspread as he plunged into, hopefully, pleasant dreams.

He really looked cute… so trusting… so happy… heck, his smiles even put Sendoh's omnipresent smiles to shame with all its brightness…

Responding to the instinctive parental tug in his heart, he gently pulled the sneakers that Jin bought that afternoon off the child's feet. Next came the socks that Sakuragi contributed after making a mad dash towards his house near the University. Then, off came the pint-sized baseball cap that Mitsui salvaged from somewhere. All that was left was the rather large shirt that Fujima insisted the child wears, belonging to Hanagata when he was still young. They got it from Hanagata's collection of his memoirs in his condo unit. Then there were the shorts. The pair of shorts that were fitted came from a shop near the university… probably where Jin bought the sneakers. They were cute on Rukawa… pristinely white… so clean… Maki sure is a cleanliness buff; he bought it after all…

He could not believe the amount of support that was given Rukawa by their friends. He expected them to ignore the problem, after all, it is not theirs, and it is his. Yet, this uttermost care and concern… it was unbelievable!

He smiled wryly as he remembered the whole team scurrying after him as he exited the gym. He was so thankful for the opportunity to be alone… but was dragged bodily instead by the brutes to Tokyo's shops in search of something for their little Kae-chan. The results are heartwarming though… Rukawa now has his wardrobe, the chemicals Kogure thought he needed were provided for, and an assortment of children's necessities like shampoo and stuff were bought; all of them achieved their captain's excellent qualifications… Maki sure was picky… he was glad he wasn't Maki's current girlfriend, or else, he'll die of suffocation…

He sighed as he refocused on the sleeping boy.

He wondered about him… if Rukawa became a boy again… then this was his state years before. He was pretty short for someone who would grow so tall at the age of nineteen. He remembered his own mother telling him that he was taller than most boys when he was only eight, and he had heard that too from Sakuragi's mother when the team visited Kanagawa in their summer break before the redhead went to college. It took Maki and Fujima to convince mother and son to attend their university, since Sakuragi Hanamichi cannot play basketball that vigorously as before, and his mother was worrying about his back.

This was new to him… how could he have grown so tall?

Those lashes… they are so black… like the slight spill of ink that sweeps on the pale cheeks. He knew what was behind those long wisps of curving hair… extremely beautiful eyes that gleams bright with blue fire… so enticing… so mysterious… seemingly cold, but filled to the brim with overflowing emotions… emotions that couldn't even be glimpsed from the weirdly vacant facial expressions…

Suddenly, the eyes he had so lavishly worshipped snapped open.

Sendoh sat back in surprise, his eyes wide as he saw the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his whole life.

"Akira-niichan!" Rukawa squealed as he jumped into Sendoh's arms.

"Kae-chan…" Sendoh murmured as he held the child tightly in his arms, burying his face on the messy dark mane. He breathed in the clean smell of the little boy's hair, taking in the whiff of the fresh morning dew that was the scent of Rukawa's shampoo. Closing his eyes, he held him tighter, and the boy, obviously perplexed did nothing but hug him just as tight.

Rukawa did not have the faintest idea what was happening. All he knew was that somehow, he wanted his Akira-niichan's arms around him. It made him feel so… protected… so… loved…

Krrr…

Akira's acute sense of hearing proved present as he heard the slight growl of someone's stomach. He gently pulled back and stared hard at Rukawa, who in turn stared back at him, his cheeks reddening from embarrassment. The face was so openly self-conscious, that he couldn't help the bubble of laughter that invaded his throat.

"You're hungry, ne, Kae-chan."

It was a statement, not a question, and he saw Rukawa's cheeks turn redder than it already was. He smiled at the child fondly. "C'mon, don't be shy, let's go grab something to eat!" He grinned and pulled the young boy into his arms, carrying him, pausing at the front door only to put him down and watch him tie his shoelaces.

Turned out, that little Ru haven't mastered the art of tying shoelaces, and he was obligated to tie it for him, instructing the young boy to look closely and learn.

Soon, they were trekking the main streets of Tokyo, searching for a restaurant that was still open in the middle of the night. Finding only a grocery store that was open twenty-four hours, Sendoh bought some items for him to cook.

"Kae-chan, what do you want to eat?" He turned to the little boy who was holding his hand and looking around him in fascination and indecision.

For little Rukawa, the grocery store was huge! He could not decide which ones to eat… it was so hard to choose! He wanted some of the cup noodles that lined one of the tall shelves (well, for him it was tall ^^), and the huge packs of potato chips that lined the shelf opposite the one carrying the noodles, as well as the packs of sushi that was at the far end of the store. He wanted to cry. He wanted everything, but… he stole a glance at his Akira-niichan an gulped as he looked back at the noodles, then the chips, then the sushi… God, he wanted to cry! The older boy would certainly be mad at him… maybe he should just say that he did not want to eat anymore… but that would anger him further wouldn't it?

Rukawa sighed and pointed at the cup noodles, the least costly of all his choices and looked back up at the elder guy.

Sendoh could see the disappointment, and maybe traces of dread on Rukawa's face. Well, he could understand the kid… he had suffered the same circumstances when he was his age!

"Stay here." He said gently, giving the boy a reassuring smile. Silently, with a wry grin, he picked up two cups of ramen, a couple of bags of potato chips, and walked briskly towards the farthest part of the store for three packs of sushi.

Then, winking at the obviously astounded boy, he dropped them all on the register, and paid for them.

The elderly woman acting as the cashier smiled at Sendoh, then at the surprised face of the little boy standing immobile beside him, eyes glued at the huge shopping bag that was laden with all the goods he wanted to eat.

"Is he your son?" She asked, admiring the looks of both him and the boy. "He reminds me of the young man who almost always come here this time of the night…"

Sendoh wanted to laugh. If only she knew…

He shook his head, trying to think of a way to explain Rukawa's presence. However, before he could utter one word, Rukawa beat him to it.

"Akira-niichan?"

"Oh, he's your brother!" The elder woman laughed, smiling at the little boy, who had managed to hide behind Sendoh's powerful jean-clad legs.

"Ah, hai, he is my brother… just visiting for a couple of weeks." Sendoh smiled easily at the elder woman and picked up the grocery bag with one hand and securing Rukawa in the other. "I guess we'll be going then…"

The elder woman tucked stray gray hairs behind her ear and gave both boys her most friendly smile. "Remember to always be good boys ne?" She winked her face so open and warm, that Sendoh couldn't resist winking back.

Soon, both boys were on the road home, little Rukawa's stomach giving a mad grumble, as they were a few feet away from the font door. Sendoh smiled wryly. Kids are hungrier these days… I wonder how it is with the grown up version of this boy... would he have a humongous appetite too?/

And suddenly, Sendoh wanted to know.

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"Okay, so the agreement is on right?"

Maki stared hard at each of the members of the basketball team that formed a huddle in the center of the gym.

Everyone nodded…

Silence.

Suddenly…

"Yosh! Toru-kun and I get to take Kae-chan home first!"

Everyone sweatdropped as they stared dumbfounded at Fujima who started dancing around the gym as he picked up the little boy playing with the orange ball near one of the goals. "C'mon Kae-chan! All three of us are gonna have fun tonight!"

"Uh… Hanagata-sempai… are you sure he's stable?" Hikoichi whispered to the much taller boy gazing affectionately at Fujima's excited for that was dancing the boogie with little Rukawa.

"Aa…" Hanagata smiled softly, his eyes still trained at the hilarious scene playing before him. Then he turned towards the others and grinned slyly.

"If he doesn't act like that once in every godforsaken day… that's when you worry about him being unstable."

Everyone was reduced to twitching lumps on the gymnasium floor.

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TBC

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