Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ N.P. ❯ Trouble-Maker Kitsune ( Chapter 1 )

Title: N.P.

Author: MSylphie - The Black Iris

Part: 1/?

A/N: I just realized that this is actually only my second multi-chaptered fic. The other was my first one (and oh boy, every time I reread it, my face turns all red cause it's really so immature, but when I remember that I may never write anything as lengthy as that before, it becomes really precious to me), which I wrote a year ago. So aside from this being an answer to a fic request, I'm also writing this for myself as celebration for one year of fic writing.

Chapter I - Trouble-maker Kitsune

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

I always knew fate was mischievous, but I never knew that fate could also be a villain. Why of all the people in the world did my stepsister have to be that kitsune-onna? I already accepted the fact that I was going to have a whole new family soon, but god, was I flared up when I saw her that night. It's not like my mom and her dad were only just going out or something. There were to be wed soon. We were gonna be siblings. We were going to live together. In the same house. Her and me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"You what?!"

"We decided that it would be best if we all live together - as a family - before the wedding," Sakuragi Maeko - soon to be Rukawa Maeko - repeated to her one and only son.

"'kaa-san, this was never in our agreement. Why do we have to move in with them? You guys are going to get married soon, can't you just wait?"

"Hanamichi, the wedding is approximately a year from now," sighing, she rubbed her temples and with renewed determination, decided to try and persuade her son again. "Look, I know I said it's all about preparations and waiting for our relatives to come home from America and stuff, but truth is - truth is I wanted you and Kazuma-kun to…" Maeko paused, tapping her finger against the dresser anxiously.

"…to what?"

"I don't know, to bond or something! Hanamichi, don't think this is hard on you only; it's hard on me too. Why don't you give me a chance? Why don't you give KAZUMA a chance? No, why don't you give our relationship a chance?"

"You're being unfair `kaa-san! How about me?"

"No son, you're the one being unfair. You're having a hard time coping with this, so what you do is block all the wonderful possibilities out. Why don't you grow up for once, son? I'm so tired of always understanding you. I'm so tired of being the one always coping with your change of attitude. This time, I ask you to cope with ME. For once, give me a chance to be happy. Can't you even do that for your own mother?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

I knew I wasn't going to win that argument.

My mother had me a year right out of high school and during that time, my old man was way into his late thirties. You'd think then that my mom was using my old man because he already had a stable life and my mom came from a rather poor family. My mom was pretty but she was of average intelligence and had no athletic capabilities, so in the absence of adequate monetary funds, there was no way she'd get into college. PLUS, she had no special skills other than keeping the house always clean and proper, thus, the slim chance of having a rich and comfortable life. But actually, truth was my parents were really REALLY in love with each other. At least, that's what people tell me.

I've never really SEEN my parents in love, if you know what I mean. I've never really seen them ALONE together, not literally, but figuratively. To me, my parents' love was like the ground. When you get up everyday, you don't really ask yourself if you still have a ground to step on the moment you get out of bed, you just know that it's still there and will always be there - just like I knew my parents' love was always there. That's why I couldn't understand why my mom was going to get remarried. What ever happened to the saying that true love comes but once in a lifetime?

But at that very moment, while I was looking at my mom and remembering how much she's done for me since my old man died, I just knew our life with only the two of us together was over. I still couldn't understand but I was not going to let my mom get lonely again like what happened during the death of my father. Despite all the troubles I bring her, despite my occasional sleeping in school to practice basketball without her consent, despite my being childish and immature, I love my mother very much. And I was going to do everything in my power to make her happy again. Sure I make her happy, but the kind of happiness I want her to have is something I can never give her. That's why I decided, if she wanted me to be the best man in her wedding, I'd do it - even if it meant living in the same roof with that wretchedly cold kitsune-onna. It came to my mind then that my soon to be stepsister might not be so bad at all…or maybe not. Either way, I knew I was just going to have to endure it, all for the sake of my mom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"Tadaima," a soft and rather husky voice called in from the doorway.

"Kaede-chan, irasshaimase! Are you hungry? Sit down, I made something for you." Maeko placed the clothes she was folding aside.

"Iie. I'm not hungry."

"Kaede, your mom made you dinner, it's not polite to say no."

"She's not my mom, `too-san."

"Aa," the older woman lifted the small box near her feet, "anou, Kaede-chan," she added before the raven-haired girl closed the door to her room, "I'm really looking forward to our life together."

"It would have been better," she said, looking at the direction of Hanamichi who at that moment was very miraculously quiet and was unloading his things from a box, "if you hadn't brought your pet along."

`Temee! I heard that!"

"Kaede!" She heard her father call her name the moment she closed the door to her room. What's he going to do, scold her more? None of his attempts to discipline Kaede ever worked anyway.

"I'm sorry about that girl, Maeko."

"It's okay…"

For years, Kazuma had tried to get Kaede to become a "normal" girl, but Kaede had never been ordinary. It's as if she refuses to become like anyone and everyone else. It's as if she wanted to be alone in the world, devoid of everything around her but her own self.

"It's just that," he paused as if to think what he's going to say next, "Kaede hates me. I'd like to deny that fact but it's a FACT. She blames me for what she is now because she also blamed me when her mother left us years ago. She said I didn't love her mother enough but heaven knows how much I loved my ex-wife."

The redhead stopped from making angry noises towards Kaede's room and listened to the old man. He always thought he's just another pretty face, he never knew he'd have a story to tell such as his

"She was an unwanted child and it was an unwanted marriage. Actually, I wanted that marriage, she didn't. It was fixed between our parents and I think she had a lover before she married me. Kaede didn't want to accept the fact that her mother left us for another…"

"I'm sorry, Kazuma. I didn't know her mother left you for another man."

"No Maeko, she didn't leave me for another man. She left me for a woman."

"Kaede's mother is a -."

"Hana! This is adult conversation, go and fix your things instead of eavesdropping."

"Demo, `kaa-san!"

"It's okay, Maeko. If Hanamichi were to be my son, he'd have to know everything. Anyway, Kaede would have none of that story, so last year she went to the States to look for her mother."

"Well at least she's back now with you."

"Yeah…"

Love. All he wanted was for his only daughter to love him. He did everything he could to get close to her but Kaede always seemed to find a way to avoid him. Her presence in the house could only be compared to water - you know it's there because you can see it, feel it, touch it, but you can never grasp it. You cannot hold it in your hands and embrace it yet you know you cannot live without it. That it is the very essence of your life - just as Kaede was Kazuma's.

"Who am I kidding?" the older man started to sob, "I even had to fly to the States and fetch her. She didn't want to come home, Maeko! She spent one whole year there and made no sign that she wanted to come home. It's really hard knowing that your only child hates you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

It dawned on me at that very moment that each one of us in that house had our own stories to tell and disappointments to deal with. And that's when I fully realized that I really WAS unfair to my mom. I was only thinking of myself and what was in it for me, I didn't even consider the possibility that maybe, my mom was really going to be happy when she marries her guy. The discovery that Kaede's mom left them for another woman didn't prepare me for what happened next though…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"Oh no. What's she doing wearing THAT uniform?"

"Hana…we were going to tell you but you were in basketball camp."

"You tell me NOW that you WERE going to tell me? Why didn't you tell me EARLIER?"

"We were going to! It's just…"

Hanamichi groaned, "It's too late! Oi, kitsune-onna, you really wish to annoy me na? Why are you going to Shohoku?! You really wanted to follow me around and piss me off?!"

The pale girl looked at him in disbelief, "I'm not an idiot like you."

"Temee! What do you mean?"

"I'm going to Shohoku because I wanted to. Besides, it's nearer."

"What?! Go to where you went to last school year!"

"Do'aho…"

"Oi! Kitsune! Chikusho…"

~*~

"Sakuragi Hanamichi, the principal would like to see you in his office immediately," the teacher read the note a student handed him.

`What the heck have I done now?'

The whole class looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi. So many pairs of eyes looking at him, but all were just saying one thing - "the first day of classes but you just HAD to do something illegal again don't you?"

"What?" he asked aloud, annoyed rather than angry. "I didn't do anything," he snorted.

It was brilliant that day. The sun's reflections on the windows formed geometric patterns, like glittering diamonds or fancy glass ornaments. It took his breath away, Hanamichi's, the way the sun made his hair even redder and his eyes almost golden when he looked in the mirror. He never knew something as familiar as the sun could also be so surprising.

`I haven't done anything, have I?' he thought while walking with imaginary metal balls chained to his legs towards the principal's office, `I haven't beaten anyone up yet. I haven't damaged any school property yet and I certainly haven't flunked anything yet! But why am I being summoned? Ah! I know! They're finally going to recognize my exemplary performance in basketball!'

Hanamichi imagined a bronze statue of his image (just like Rocky's) erected at the middle of the school campus.

`After all, ore wa tensai!'

"Nyahahahahahahahaha!"

A couple of girls looking at him a while earlier almost sweatdropped. The sun made him look gorgeous that day all right but it certainly didn't change his attitude.

~*~

"Come in, Sakuragi-kun, come in," the middle aged man invited Hanamichi inside his office when he peeked in.

"Sensei, I haven't done anything, I," he paused the moment he saw Rukawa Kaede sitting in one of the chairs. "What's going on?" That was all he managed to croak out but what he really wanted to say was, "No shit, what the heck is really going on here?"

"No, no, Sakuragi-kun, you haven't done anything, I know. Please sit down first."

"Sensei, what's she doing here?"

"That's why I called you, Sakuragi-kun. You see, we had a little problem with Rukawa-san here, she -"

"Whoa, whoa, stop right there." He realized it was rude of him to say that to his principal but he wasn't feeling good about the whole situation. "This girl has a problem? Why did you have to call me? Call her father."

"We can't seem to be able to contact her father thru the phone, but anyway, what she did was not grave enough to have him called personally. I just wanted to have a word with you since I know you're her older brother."

"What?!" Hanamichi suddenly stood up, an unreadable expression on his face. "Her older brother? Since when? I'm NOT her brother and I certainly am NOT older. She's older than me, I don't know why she's just a freshman, kicked out of school last year maybe." Kaede shot him a dirty look. He couldn't help it but it really didn't feel right to be called her brother. In fact, it felt VERY weird.

"I'm sorry, Sakuragi-kun, I'm mistaken, I meant that you're her future stepbrother."

"What did she do anyway?"

"Well, your aneki -"

"She's not my aneki."

"I'm sorry, I meant Rukawa-san here was caught sleeping in class."

"Sleeping?" he looked at the blue-eyed girl incredulously, "you were sleeping? On the first day of classes? Unbelievable," he laughed.

"It's not funny, do'ahou."

"She's right, Sakuragi-kun, it's not funny. If she keeps sleeping in class all the time, we have no choice but to call on her father."

"Sensei, what exactly do you want of me?"

"I just wanted someone in school to remind her never to do what she did again. Who else to do that but you? Rukawa-san is new and she knows no one here yet."

"Great. Just great."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

It was hilarious.

I always knew Kaede was different. But I didn't know she was THAT unique.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"What the heck are you laughing at?"

"I can't believe you slept in class today. I mean, all students sleep during class one time or another but never during the first day of classes."

"I do what I wanna do, do'ahou."

"Fine with me, just don't get me in trouble."

"Even if I'm being beaten to death, I won't call on you."

Kaede walked away. It didn't worry her that she had a record on the first day of school. She makes her own rules and no one can change them. There is nobody in the world that can make her change the virtues she believes in - nobody, not even her father. Absolutely nobody.

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

It was an ordinary day for Hanamichi. He was peacefully (but knowing Hanamichi, nothing about him is peaceful) practicing his jump shot with the rest of the team when a girl suddenly burst inside the gymnasium doors, panting and looking panic-stricken.

"Sa…Sakuragi!" she finally managed to shout out.

"Ne, Hanamichi, you're girlfriend?"

"Urusei, temee, Ryocchin! What is it, onna?"

"Sakuragi-kun! Hayaku! They'll kill Rukawa-san! She'll be dead if we don't hurry!"

"Masaka." The red head took off, dragging the girl with the rest of the team behind him.

`What's she done now? That baka! It's been the third time I've been called by the principal this week and it's only the first week of classes!'

When they found her on the rooftop some minutes later, she was lying on the floor unconsciously, blood smeared all over her face.

~*~

A/N: Maa, this officially starts the HanaRu nature of the story. ^^ The bit of yuri required in the request would also be inserted in the later chapters.