Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Sakuragi Is Sick ❯ The Kitsune Comes To Visit ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Sakuragi Is Sick

Author: Optimistic_Pessimist, a.k.a. Seraph_Kirin

Pairing/s: RuHana

Rating: -

Status: On-Going

Genre: Multi-Chaptered

Chapter: 1/6

Email: seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

Disclaimers: All Disclaimers Apply.

Archive: SDBC, Fanfiction.net and Fandomination.net... that's about it I think.

Author's Notes: This has been re-edited by me and re-posted under the same title...

LEGEND:

Bold words can be found in the translation section at the end. If there are any mistakes in the translation, email me at: seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

[Words] represents Sakuragi's thoughts.

[Bold] represent Rukawa's. Italics for the babble, the same goes for emphasis and translatable words...

Needless to say… this is a RuHana fic… so enjoy, you yaoi fans…
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Chapter One: The Kitsune Comes To Visit

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Sakuragi sniffed miserably in his bed.

His best friend, Yohei, had dropped by with his Gundam that afternoon, bringing along Haruko who'd, in turn, brought along the plentiful 'Get Well Soon' wishes from the team.

[A fat lotta good that'll do me...]

Haruko had exclaimed at the surprising neatness that his house was in. She had wondered out loud for a moment if this was the Hanamichi she knew before turning red and apologising to the said boy.

The said boy looked at her indifferently, his passion having cooled for her over the time he took to recuperate and to take physical therapy for his accursed back.

The obvious non-existence of his parents had struck his Gundam and Haruko immediately.

He was glad, for once, that their politeness prevented them from asking any awkward questions. He didn't know what to reply even if they had, indeed, asked him about his parents' absence from his home.

[What would I tell them?]

[Tell them that my mother died saving me from a fire and my father died from a heart attack because I couldn't get him to a doctor in time?]

[No way.]

[I was the one who was caused their deaths.]

[I was the one responsible for their deaths.]

[I WAS ALWAYS HELPLESS TO PREVENT THEIR DEATHS FROM HAPPENING!]

[Okaasan... if only I'd listen to you and hadn't placed my scarf over that heater...]

[Otousan... if only I hadn't caused trouble earlier that day... no... if only I wasn't a trouble-maker... maybe... just maybe... I'd be able to save you... I'd be able to get you to the hospital or at least, a doctor in time...]

[All this is my own doing... I shouldn't have survived the fire... I should've died along with Okaasan...]

He buried his face in his pillow, struggling to keep his composure.

Strange that a simple thing like a fever would reduce the Tensai into such a state of self-pity...

He snorted.

[Who am I kidding? What sort of Tensai am I? If I'm really a Tensai... If I'm really a Tensai...]

He could not continue his train of thought as a hacking cough shook his body.

[Damn it... I swear I haven't felt this weak and helpless ever since Elementary school!]

His breaths were coming in short intakes of air. He felt out of breath and asthmatic. Whenever he tried getting up, giddiness swamped him, forcing him to lie down once more.

[Shit... maybe I should try to sleep instead...]

He'd only just closed his eyes when...

*RING*

...Went his doorbell.

He snarled at the sudden intrusion of a new element. [Go away!]

Then it came again.

[F*** You! Go away!]

And again.

[K'SOU! I'm trying to wallow in self-pity here, hello?! Just go away, dammit!]

And again.

One could hear Sakuragi's already taxed nerves snap at that last ring.

He could not ignore the incessant ringing any longer.

With a growl, he bounded out of bed, strength coursing through his body as he contemplated the pounding into mash of the person who was irritating him at that time.

He opened the door, nearly pulling it off the hinges in the process.

"HOTTOITENKA!" He shouted and promptly slammed the door shut without even bothering to look at his would-be visitor. He'd barely taken a step when the ringing started up again.

"K'sou..." He gritted his teeth and tried to count to ten, desperate to hold on to his remaining sanity. Upon finding that it did not work, he turned and flung open the door again, promising himself that he would grant himself a brief reprieve from pain and kill whoever was on the other side of the door.

[Kono watahi ga kami ni kawatte...]

"Yaameta! I told you that I've had-" He found himself cut off by a pair of piercing blue eyes that glared at him with an equally icy fury.

"Kit... Kitsune...?" Sakuragi's bewildered tone spoke volumes.

"Do'ahou." The said Kitsune looked at the teenager. "Is it just me or do you always greet visitors this way?"

Sakuragi gaped at the said Kitsune. "You- you- Why-"

The said Kitsune sighed. "Can I come in or are you going to hit me with that?" He asked wryly, pointedly looking at the upraised fist still hovering threateningly in mid air.

"Ah? Aa... Aa... you can come in..." Sakuragi lowered his clenched hand and stepped aside, allowing Rukawa to enter, too shocked to do otherwise.

*****RUKAWA*****

Rukawa glanced about him, taking in the view of his new surroundings.

He blinked at the cleanliness of the room in general, and at the orderly way that things were kept in their places, etc.

It seemed... too pristine.

It was too... sterile.

Somehow, it didn't fit in with what he already knew, and understood about the red head. He could not place the uneasiness that he was feeling.

[I've never thought that the Do'ahou as a person who was capable of keeping his own home clean, let alone, tidy.] He made a mental reassessment of the do'ahou in a sec. Ok, so he CAN keep his house clean.

However, he sensed an innate detachment in the way the furniture was arranged. It was as if they were there just for show, nothing more, and nothing less.

There was no sign of Sakuragi's personality anywhere. The entire room was devoid of emotion, as if it had been plucked out of a showroom and placed there.

There were no personal artefacts scattered 'round... nothing.

Just...

Empty.

He frowned. This was NOT what he expected to see.

With the ahou's vibrancy, he'd expected something more than this... this... bleakness of sentiment in his house.

And where were the ahou's parents anyway? From what he just saw, it was as if the Ahou was living alone for quite some time now...

[Wait... could it be...?] Rukawa paused.

He'd just removed his shoes when a low moan behind him alerted him to the change in Sakuragi's situation who, after the sudden burst of energy due to his irritation, had become newly exhausted again.

Rukawa supported a steadily slumping Sakuragi, whose lips were turning white from his futile efforts to remain upright.

*****SAKURAGI*****

Sakuragi shook his head, partly to clear it… and partly to refuse the Kitsune's help.

He pointedly ignored the Kitsune's disapproving look when he refused his proffered help. He shook off Rukawa's hand, determined to go back to his room on his own. Balancing unsteadily on his legs, he placed his hand on a nearby wall for support.

God be damned... if it wasn't for the fever... The stupid Kitsune would be outta his home before he can say "Basketball"...

He bit his lips in exasperation, overlooking the fact that his strength was already gone and that his shaky legs were not that ready to support him up a flight of stairs.

His pride was to be his undoing.

He gave a small cry as his legs gave out completely, causing him to crumple to the ground onto his knees.

If not for Rukawa's timely support, his situation would have been worse.

[K'sou...!]

*****RUKAWA*****

He didn't know what was the Ahou doing.

What he did know was that the said Ahou would not make it back to his room if he did not support him.

He sighed, preparing himself for the arduous task of dragging the 80 kg (most probably more) Sakuragi, amidst many protests that ranged from threats of bashing his head in to throwing him out of his house, back to his bedroom.

He snorted derisively, catching Sakuragi's attention. [As if you will be able to make back to your room without my help.]

Sakuragi gritted his teeth, angry at his body's current weak state. He definitely did not want to be indebted to the damnable fox in any way possible.

Rukawa, on the other hand, was stumbling slightly as he supported the unwilling boy. He winced slightly when the boy pressed against him, having somehow lost his balance on the way up the narrow staircase.

Breathing in Sakuragi's fresh-from-the-shower fragrance, Rukawa felt as if he was on a heroin high.

That had always been Sakuragi's effect on him.

[Well, who asked you to come so close to your object of desire? And you're holding him too. ]

That little voice in his head was becoming irritating.

He gave another barely audible sigh. He couldn't deny the truth in it, however.

He'd wanted the redhead ever since the first time he saw him on the roof of the school.

He'd been thoroughly dazzled by the redhead's passion.

One might say that Rukawa was figuratively struck by lightning the moment he met Sakuragi.

Sakuragi's wholesale vibrancy and enthusiasm...

That was what that intrigued him from the first.

That was why he'd been curious when he heard that one Sakuragi was trying to compete against the basketball team Captain.

The redhead's name had been thoroughly burnt into his mind and soul.

He could not and would never forget his name.

Sakuragi Hanamichi.

From the first time he met him, he'd known that he would never erase the memory of him from his heart.

NEVER.

Even now, his hand trembled as he supported the heavily built young man. He was so close to him that he could smell him.

[Hanamichi... Hana-kun... If there was a way I could reach you...]

He gave a small smile, so small it could barely be seen. He laughed at his own romantic idiocy.

[Baka... Ahorashi... He hates you... because of that Akagi girl...]

He laughed bitterly at his pathetic state.

[Dream on... No matter how much you want him... he'll never want you the same way...]

He stole a glance at Sakuragi, who was struggling to go up the steps to his room with minimal help from his enemy.

[Do'ahou, do you know how much I feel for you?]

At that very instant, Sakuragi chose to look up abruptly, meeting Rukawa's eyes that, previously filled with longing, were quickly replaced with disquiet, as the said person flushed startlingly red against his pale skin.

*****SAKURAGI*****

[Wha-?] Sakuragi lifted up his head and frowned.

Rukawa was... blushing?

The sun must be rising from the west.

Why was he doing so anyway?

There wasn't any reason for the Kitsune to blush, right?

So why was the said Kitsune blushing?

Sakuragi took a closer look.

*****RUKAWA*****

Rukawa turned away, his frame of mind upset. He felt that he simply couldn't meet the boy's questioning eyes. He knew that all would be revealed to the same boy... if he chose now to meet those brown eyes.

But had he the courage to do so... AND face the risk of rejection?

He seriously doubted so.

*****SAKURAGI*****

[He avoided my glance...]

[Why?]

[Of all the times we've fought, he's never missed a chance to look at me in the eye...]

[... So why is he avoiding me now?]

*****RUKAWA*****

[Dammit! He almost saw that look in your eyes.] Rukawa chided himself, partially grateful that the red head was dense enough not to know why Rukawa was looking at him in that way... and partially regretful that he had once again missed an opportunity to confess his love to the red head.

Let's look at it rationally.

Even if Sakuragi were to be angered by that same confession (or even disgusted but Rukawa did not allow his thoughts to wander that far}, in his current state, he had little or no strength to chase Rukawa out of his own home.

Which also meant that Rukawa could, for once, force Hanamichi to listen to quite a few things he had on mind.

Which also meant that Rukawa could, or could choose not to, take advantage of the situation by jumping the sickly red head first then confessing his love for the latter.

However, it would mean that Rukawa might also spend some time in bed (not that he didn't look forward to it) nursing his fever, with thanks to Hanamichi, since most of the "jumping" he had in mind involved the exchange of bodily fluids.

Rukawa spaced out thinking about those *ahem* hentai fantasies of his.

"Kitsune?"

Rukawa was promptly brought back down to earth.

His spacing-out hadn't gone unnoticed by the red head, and being spaced out, he didn't have much control over what his eyes chose to reveal as well...

Rukawa, in his sudden avoidance of the red head's eyes again, did not notice the growing alarm in Hanamichi over his bizarre behaviour.

Neither, I must add, did he notice the subtle movements of Hanamichi away from his body as he helped the red head up.

*****SAKURAGI*****

Sakuragi shifted uneasily.

Rukawa was acting stranger than normal... and he had to admit, it was spooking him out.

He threw a glance at the raven head, watching him frown slightly, concentrating on the task before him. [I... wasn't imagining the look that Kitsune was giving me just now, was I?]

He ducked his head, suddenly shy. [He looked at me with... longing?]

He stole a look at the boy beside him. [As if... he was... yearning for someone he... loved?]

Sakuragi bit his lip, his brows furrowed in bewilderment. [There was... desire... when he looked at me and...]

[Impossible...] Sakuragi shook his head.

He very nearly laughed out loud at the suggestion that the Kitsune might be gay. [Who could be? With the amount of girls who are after him?]

He thought of the Rukawa Shinetai and chuckled softly. [Heck, he can even set up a harem already...]

Rukawa frowned. He did not understand what was funny about their situation. Sakuragi appeared to be a lot heavier, and a lot weaker, than he thought.

And having a guy whom you desired so much every night breathing down your night, was not a very comfortable thing to do.

Sakuragi shook his head lightly. "Nothing." He turned his head downwards again, focusing on going up the steps one by one. "Let's go on."

[Yes... Rukawa... Rukawa is DEFINITELY a straight guy... That he most definitely was...]

Somehow, that didn't reassure him as much as he thought it would.

Continued...
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Author's notes: There you have it, my first fic… and a shounen-ai too. It will become yaoi in the later parts… that it will, trust me… This idea's been brewing in my head since God-knows-when.

Anyway, flames are very welcome… I need them for my next fic anyway…

Also, tell me if I should make a sequel to this… what's the title of the sequel? No idea. So you'll just hafta wait and see.

Japanese Translations
Okaasan - Mother
Otousan - Father
Hottoitenka - Leave Me Alone
Kono watahi ga kami ni kawatte... - I'll show you a thing or two…
Yaameta - I've had enough!
Ahorashi - Stupid fool...
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