Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Shohoku's Pride ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

CHAPTER FIVE:

Two days later. Kogure was getting dressed in the locker room, having finished basketball practice. The others, including Akagi, had gone ahead. Surprisingly, three of their key players were absent. Rukawa's absence was expected, as well as Sakuragi's because of his temporary suspension. But Mitsui's absence was a puzzle for him. The shooting guard didn't even bother to call up to say that he couldn't make it. Kogure had talked to Mitsui's gangmates early in the day, but none of them knew where their friend was at.

Recalling the bento incident, Kogure sadly wondered, I hope I hadn't offended him.

Lost in deep thought, the small forward barely noticed the hesitant figure at the door.

"Megane-kun..." that soft voice jolted him out of his musings.

Kogure immediately leaped to his feet, running towards Mitsui. "Mitsui-san! What happened to you? I was so worried about you! Are you ill?"

Sure enough, Mitsui looked very haggard, his eyes red and swollen, as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.

The shooting guard weakly laughed. "Is that true? Were you worried about me?"

"What kind of fool question is that? Of course I was worried! We all were!"

"I don't care about the others. What I want to know is how you feel about me?"

"Mitsui, you're my teammate. It's but natural for me to be concerned about you."

As he said this, Kogure was stunned by the flare of hurt on Mitsui's face, and tears began to fill the shooting guard's eyes.

"A teammate...is that all that I am to you?" Mitsui's voice was choked with emotion as he started to walk away.

Kogure, however, grabbed his hand before he could leave. "Mit-chin, please don't go! I could see that I've hurt you, but I must know what I did wrong!"

Mitsui lowered his head, causing a teardrop to fall from his eye. "No, you did nothing wrong."

"That's a load of bull and you know it!" cried Kogure in frustration. "Whatever it is, it's tearing you up inside, and it has something to do with me! Why don't you just tell me the truth?"

"Do you really want to know the truth, Megane-kun, then I'll give you the truth!"

Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, Mitsui cupped Kogure's face between his hands and gave his teammate a kiss. For what seemed like an eternity, their lips touched, with Mitsui pouring his heart and soul into that ever deepening pressure. Although he expected what would come next, he never anticipated the pain it would cause inside his heart.

A bruising slap to his cheek ended the kiss. As he clutched his face, he saw Kogure staring back at him, mixed emotions fleeting across his handsome features to finally settle on an expression of horror and remorse.

Holding his right hand that had instinctively struck the shooting guard, Kogure stammered, "Oh, Mit-chin! I didn't mean to! You...startled me and..."

But the wound had already been inflicted. Without saying a word, Mitsui fled from the gym, leaving a stunned Kogure behind.

"Mitsui..." Kogure whispered as tears streamed from his eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

---

Inside a posh hotel room, Sakuragi Hanamichi was fuming and frothing at the mouth as he paced back and forth. "Just you wait till I get my hands on you, Maki! You'll never make it to the Inter High alive!"

While it was true that Maki had set everything up for him to see Rukawa, what Sendoh had neglected to tell him were the exact details of the Kainandai Captain's discussion with Takeda. Apparently, Maki had introduced himself as Hanamichi's father who wanted his son "educated" on the joys of male to male sex, something the redhead knew his own true father would never do.

"Of all the nerve!" Hanamichi muttered under his breath. "That baka made me look like I belong to a family of perverts! My otousan would kill me if he finds out about this!"

Suddenly, there was the soft sound of the door opening and then clicking shut. Whirling, Hanamichi found himself face to face with a shocked Kaede Rukawa.

Rukawa was dressed in a shirt of the finest white silk. The gauzy fabric revealed the fine lines of the Super Rookie's body underneath. His long legs were clad in tight dark blue jeans, sneakers on his feet.

"Doahou!" gasped Rukawa, instinctively backing up against the locked door. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Grimacing, Hanamichi tucked his hands inside his pockets. "What do you think?"

The ace shook his head. "I never figured you to be a hentai as well as a doahou. Do you know what you paid for?"

"I suppose it's the whole shebang or gang bang or whatever." The carrot top stopped at once, seeing the pallor on his teammate's face. "Sumimasen, Kitsune. I didn't mean to sound rude and crude."

Rukawa breathed in deeply. "You have nothing to apologize for. Yes, you paid for the whole...shebang, although I cannot imagine how you managed to get that huge amount of money."

"I have a trust fund," Hanamichi exclaimed, rather defensively. He was not about to tell the ace that the money came from his 'secret admirer', Akira Sendoh.

"Well, you bought me for the whole night. I hope you could keep it up that long," Rukawa sneered at him.

"Kitsune, I'll leave you sore and hurting all night. If I add 30 yen, could we have an orgy?"

Rukawa fell silent at that last, head bowed low. Judging by the way the ace trembled in humiliation, Hanamichi knew that he had pushed the boy to his limits once more.

"Actually, I just wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with you." Hanamichi took Rukawa's chilled hand and bade him to sit on the bed. Not wanting to frighten his teammate any further, he snatched a chair, positioning himself before his fellow Freshman. Sitting down, he waited patiently for the other to speak.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" asked Rukawa at last.

"I want to know why."

"Why what?"

Hanamichi breathed in deeply. "I think you know what I mean."

For a long while, Rukawa could not speak. Then, swallowing hard, he began to tell his story. "When my father died, my mother took it upon herself to see to my welfare and my future. She managed a small grocery, which really didn't make enough money because there were other stores much bigger than ours on that same street. I pitched in at the grocery, delivering goods to customers who couldn't drop by. One of them was Takeda Hinomoru. He was a very nice man, gave me large tips and candies. I liked him so much that I started to call him 'ojisan' or uncle. He actually wanted me to call him 'otousan', but I couldn't do it because I truly loved my late father. I was seven years old when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Kaachan couldn't tell me at first that she was very sick, but I knew something was wrong. I had to find out the truth from a neighbor. I didn't want her to die so I begged her to see a doctor. She was ordered to undergo an operation and chemotherapy, but our earnings at the store were not enough to pay for her skyrocketing medical bills. One night, Kaachan fell gravely ill. The first thing I thought of was to ask help from Takeda-san, promising that I would do anything to pay him back. He paid for everything, even urged my okaasan to continue going to chemo. He told her that I was like a son to him and that I was doing part time jobs for him as small payment for his help. My mother never knew that I made a pact with the Devil himself to save her life."

Rukawa brushed away the tear from his eye. "If you want to know, I lost my virginity to Takeda-san when I was seven. I thought I would die from the agony and the shame of what he had done, but I survived it, and the rapes that followed years after. I had to survive for the sake of my mother. But then, when I was eleven, I discovered basketball and I found out that I had a natural talent for it. In basketball, I discovered the means to escape from my miserable existence. Takeda-san, however, would not let me go. He chose the schools I would enrol in, just to keep me close to him. When I was in Tomigaoka Junior High and became Captain of the basketball club, I knew I had to escape. When I graduated, using the little savings I had, I enrolled in Shohoku High and rented my aunt's old house. I begged my mother never to tell anyone where I had gone, especially Takeda-san. But I did leave a letter for him, promising to pay everything that I owed him once I graduated from college and found work. I thought I was free from him at last, that I could fulfill my dream of becoming an ace basketball player. But Kaachan suffered a relapse and there was only one person she could go to."

Scowling darkly, Hanamichi said the hated name for him. "Takeda-san."

"She told him where I was. She thought she was going to die and she entrusted...my welfare...to him. And now he found me and..." Rukawa bit back a sob. "...He's making me do these filthy things all over again."

"Why don't you call your mother and tell her the truth?"

"And break her heart, perhaps even kill her, when she finds out her only child has become a whore? No, I couldn't do that!"

"So while you're sacrificing your soul to a bastard in your Kaachan's name, you are literally destroying the dream you set out to accomplish." As Rukawa looked at him in bewilderment, Hanamichi went on, "A lot of people know what you've been doing. People who don't know the whole truth like I do. If word of this reaches Shohoku High, not only will you be kicked off the team, you could get expelled. Have you even thought about what your admirers could do to you once they learn that you're a prostitute?"

"If you're talking about the Rukawa Shinietai, you know I never cared one wit about them."

"What about the team? We're going into the Inter High. We need you."

"Do you know that I almost quit Team Shohoku because I was planning to go to America?" Rukawa confirmed bluntly. "Anzai-sensei refused to let me go. He told me that I should become the No. 1 High School Player in Japan. I should never have listened to him, or else I wouldn't be in this mess. I would be far away from Takeda-san by now."

"Then what's stopping you? If I tell Gori and Anzai-sensei what you're going through, they would understand. The whole team would. Sensei could probably think of something to help your mother. If you're afraid for her, my Army and I could protect her, with our lives if need be, until she could join you in America."

Rukawa was visibly touched by the redhead's words. "You would do that for me, Doahou? Protect my mother?"

"I care about you, Kitsune, although it may not seem like it at times," Hanamichi honestly admitted. Gazing down at the floor, he added with reluctance, "Besides, I owe you this for that night. I misjudged you. Doahou that I am, I should've known what Takeda was doing to you. I should've stopped him."

"But you did get some pleasure out of it, didn't you?" Rukawa quietly put in with no tone of reproach in his voice.

Hanamichi couldn't get any redder. His cheeks were the same color as his hair. "It shouldn't have happened. Gomen nasai!" Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, he swiftly got to his feet. "Well, I accomplished what I came here to do. I practically risked my neck just to see you. It's time for me to go now."

"You can't leave, Sakuragi-kun!" the ace called out before his teammate could even touch the doorknob. Realizing that he had spoken Hanamichi's name for the first time, Rukawa blushed a deep scarlet.

Hanamichi frowned at that. "Why not?"

"Because you paid for my...services...for the entire night. Takeda-san would demand proof from me that I had satisfied you."

The redhead's brows joined together to form a perfect arch. "What do you mean?"

"I am obligated to have sex with you."

Hanamichi's eyes were as wide as saucers. "But I don't want to have sex with you!"

"But you admitted to me earlier that you felt pleasure as you watched ojisan fucking me. Wouldn't you want to do the same to me?" It was Rukawa's turn to lower his eyes. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to get back at me for the cruel things I say and do to you on the court and off."

"Why should I do that? It's only an exchange of words. Besides, we both gave as good as we got. I know I stung you as well with my sharp tongue, so you could say we're even."

"What about the times I humiliated you on the court? Don't you want payback after the way I shamed you during our one-on-one match?"

"Payback for me will come when I steal the Inter High MVP Trophy from you."

Rukawa breathed in hard, realizing that there was no way that the redhead could be swayed to see his side. He had to tell Hanamichi the ugly truth of a night of insubordination.

Raising his eyes once more, he cried, "If you leave, ojisan will be very angry with me. Not only will he beat me, he will give my body to his men for them to use and abuse as they please." Prostrating himself before his teammate, he wept, "I beg you, Hanamichi! For just one night, I would rather it be you than them. Please!"

Hanamichi could see all too clearly the fear and desperation in the kneeling form at his feet. It was unnerving to see his steely teammate as vulnerable as this.

Puffing out air between his lips, he simply mumbled, "I'm going to the bathroom," went straight inside and closed the door with a soft click behind him.

Rukawa blinked in confusion at the closed door, but did not say anything. Still, a small smile went up his lips, surprised at the irony that he had offered his body to his most bitter rival.

Perhaps he's just being shy, the ace mused. I've seen how he is with Akagi-senpai's sister. But then, his mind brought him back to that fateful evening when he had seen an eavesdropping redhead outside his bedroom window. Hanamichi had been stroking himself. He had seen the pumping movements of that strong arm...not to mention that brief glimpse of a cock tip at his window sill. Rukawa's hands flew up to his burning cheeks. Surely I'm not thinking of the Doahou in that way. Then again, better him than ojisan.

To give his teammate a little more incentive, Rukawa proceeded to take off his clothes one by one, folding them neatly and laying them on top of the dresser. He then assumed a languid pose -- graceful, athletic body leaning on his side facing the bathroom door. A bit of prurience seized him that he draped a small portion of the blanket over his hips and genitals, but still with enough tantalizing flesh bared to entice his would-be lover. With nothing else to do, Rukawa waited...and waited...and waited.

Thirty minutes passed, but still no sign of Hanamichi. One would think that the redhead had already escaped in some way, or perhaps something had happened to him inside. Like he slipped on the floor and hit his thick head on the bathtub.

For once, concern for his boisterous teammate mobilized Rukawa to get up. "Sakuragi-kun?" he called nervously, padding towards the door. As he approached it, he could hear strange noises coming from within. The ace realized it was Hanamichi.

The redhead was panting for breath, gasps labored. As Rukawa pressed his ear to the door, those gasps turned into strangled syllables.

"Ha...ru...ko...Ha...AAARGH!" groaned Hanamichi in frustration inside. "Why isn't this working?" Silence. Then, there was a low moan, and the redhead began to mutter something else. "Haiii! Yesssss! That's it, my pretty Kitsune! Oh, yes! Rukawa...Ru...ka...wa...Ru...ka...wa...."

Rukawa frowned. Hanamichi sounded like those damned Shinietai. He called inside once more, "Sakuragi-kun? Are you all right in there? Sakuragi-kun? HANAMICHI?"

"Rukawa! Get away from that damned door!" was Hanamichi's furious reply. "You're ruining everything! Oh my God! AAAAKKKK!"

Although terribly curious, the Super Rookie obeyed and tromped back to bed, this time, yanking the blanket up to his chin, back turned to the door. He couldn't understand why he was hurt by that rejection, when it wasn't the first time that his teammate had spoken cruelly to him. So why did he feel the urge to cry?

As he lay still on the bed, Rukawa heard the bathroom door slowly open. Without looking at the redhead, he asked, "How do you want me, Doahou? On all fours or lying on my back?"

"On your stomach, if you please, Kitsune," came the rather exhausted reply.

Rukawa silently obeyed. Despite his earlier entreaty, he was suddenly seized by fear, especially when the blanket was gradually pulled down, baring his naked form.

When a hand touched his right buttock, he whimpered, "Please don't!"

"Relax, will you?" Hanamichi exclaimed in mild exasperation. "I swear I'm not going to hurt you."

But Rukawa began to tremble when that hand parted the mounds of his ass to reveal the tiny bud within. Sure enough, something warm and slick was poured inside the crevice. Burying his face on the pillow, he waited for that first brutal thrust.

To his surprise, however, there was no penetration. Just gentle hands massaging that warm, slick substance over his buttocks and pouring more of it within him.

"Could you please kneel for a moment?" the redhead asked above him.

Truly perplexed, Rukawa did as he was told. At once, that slick fluid started to pour down his thighs. Lifting his eyes, the ace saw Hanamichi grinning back at him. In his hand, he held a small drinking glass filled with what definitely looked like....

To confirm what was on his mind, Hanamichi declared, "I had a hard time filling this damned glass up. I swear my boner is going to be sore for a week! If that doesn't convince your ojisan, I don't know what will."

Rukawa couldn't believe what his fiercest rival had done. He had been expecting payback and pain, but not this gentle regard for his welfare.

Hanamichi's head tilted to the side, seeing the fluid glimmer in the Super Rookie's eyes. "Kitsune, what's..."

With an anguished cry, Rukawa flung himself into his startled teammate's arms, bawling like a lost little boy. His whole body shook from the force of his sobs.

Embracing the distraught teenager, Hanamichi eased the both of them down to the bed, all the while rubbing his back and cooing, "That's it, Kitsune! Cry it out. It will help to ease the burden in your heart."

And Rukawa did just that, sobbing until all his tears were spent. Not once did Hanamichi release him. The redhead even shielded him within the confines of his arms. For the first time in his life, Rukawa felt safe.

A stray tear trickled down to his lip and a callused thumb brushed it away. Tasting Hanamichi's essence, Rukawa shyly remarked, "You taste sweet, Sakuragi-kun."

Hanamichi blushed in embarrassment. "No one's ever called me 'sweet' before."

"Would you prefer that I called you 'Doahou'?"

"It wouldn't be the same if you didn't. May I still call you 'Kitsune'?"

"I don't mind. To be honest, I've gotten used to it."

"I hope we're not going to start getting mushy with each other. Your diehard fans might decide to rip my head from my shoulders."

"What would your beloved Haruko-san say?"

Uncomfortable laughter escaped their lips. "Why are we talking like this anyway?" exclaimed Hanamichi.

Rukawa shuddered. "I agree. We sound as if we're going to get married or something."

"And we can't have that."

"I agree."

"Someday, Kitsune, I'm going to wipe that smug face of yours all over the court."

"No chance of that happening in your lifetime, Doahou."

Abiding an irresistible urge, Hanamichi placed his fingertips on the ace's chin, bidding his teammate to lift his head. "This is the first time I noticed. You have pretty dark blue eyes, Rukawa."

Rukawa's breath caught in his throat at the sincerity reflected back at him from the redhead's ever honest brown orbs.

Sighing, he laid his head on Hanamichi's chest. "Arigato gozaimasu, Hanamichi."

Hanamichi hugged the ace tenderly. "Any time you need me, Rukawa, I'm here for you."

---

"Rukawa? Hey, Kitsune! Rise and shine!"

The long-lashed eyelids of Shohoku's ace fluttered open, focusing on the concerned redhead who was smiling tenderly down at him.

"What time is it?" mumbled Rukawa, wiping the traces of sleep from his eyes. "Is the sun up?"

"Actually, it's still dark outside," Hanamichi reluctantly revealed. "I heard voices outside our room an hour ago, so I decided to change our positions...a bit. As I suspected, they opened the door. I pretended I was asleep though, but I think it was Takeda who checked up on us."

It was then that Rukawa noticed his position on the bed, lying flat on his stomach.

Rising, he exclaimed in growing dread, "I can't believe I slept the whole night. I usually anticipate ojisan's early morning checks."

"Not to worry," Hanamichi reassured his teammate. "I think he was satisfied with what he saw."

Rukawa glanced down at his legs to see the sheen of come on his thighs.

"Is that the reason why you're always asleep during the day?" the redhead asked curiously, automatically reaching for the Super Rookie's discarded jeans which Rukawa was about to pick up. As he opened the jeans for his fellow Freshman to step into them, he continued chattering, "For awhile there, I thought you were either a druggie or a narcoleptic."

The ace blinked at Hanamichi kneeling at his feet in surprise. Surely this Doahou is not helping me get dressed! Shyly, he stepped into his jeans and, sure enough, Hanamichi pulled them up, taking extra care to zip up the front.

"I couldn't sleep at night," Rukawa at last spoke up, blushing as the redhead took his shirt and opened it for him as well. "Nightmares, force of habit. I don't know."

Hanamichi eased the shirt up his teammate's shoulders as Rukawa slid his arms into the sleeves. As he buttoned up the front, he commented, "Given what you've been through, I'm not surprised. You know, Kitsune? I could actually forgive you for the many times you ran over me on that damned bike of yours."

An uncharacteristic sparkle of mischief twinkled in Rukawa's eyes that his orbs seemed light blue for just a second. "How could you be sure I do not do it deliberately?"

Suddenly, an urgent mouth pressed against his lips. Rukawa froze where he stood, not wanting to believe that his bitter rival was kissing him. But Hanamichi's lips and the relentless pressure drove all sense and sensibility flying out of his mind. As the kiss deepened, a tongue insinuating between his lips, Rukawa found himself lifting his arms and laying them around Sakuragi's neck. It seemed as if he would lose himself in the heat and passion of the moment.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hanamichi eased away. A smile perked up his face, and Rukawa wondered why he hadn't noticed sooner how gallantly handsome the boisterous redhead was.

"There!" Hanamichi declared in smug satisfaction, seeing the ace's bruised lips. "Now, your ojisan will truly believe that you and I had a wild night."

Rukawa wanted to cry at Hanamichi's thoughtfulness. With all honesty, he said with a sigh, "This is the first time in my life that I slept with no demons to haunt my dreams. Last night...I didn't feel afraid. I felt safe with you."

Hanamichi raised his hand and cupped his teammate's left cheek. "I swear I'll find a way to get you out of this, so you won't have to be afraid again."

The Super Rookie leaned his face against the redhead's palm, squeezing that gentle hand in his tender grasp. "Ah, Doahou! Those girls who dumped you were baka not to see your true worth. Haruko-san would be very lucky to have you for a boyfriend."

Hanamichi couldn't speak at that last, a guilty thought crossing his mind. Wanting to change the subject, he stammered, "Don't forget, Kitsune! Enrolment for the next term is tomorrow. I expect to see you in school bright and early."

"If my ojisan will not decide at the last minute to transfer me to another school, yes, I'll be there. I'll try my best not to run you over with my bike."

"If you didn't, people would think something was wrong with you." Hanamichi bowed graciously to the ace. "Arigato gozaimasu, Rukawa-kun."

Rukawa blinked at his teammate in confusion. He was not used to being accorded any honorifics by the other boy. "What for?"

"You were my first kiss," Hanamichi admitted truthfully. "I thought it would be unpleasant, given the fact that we're rivals, but..."

"But what?"

Hanamichi's face was as red as his hair. "It turned out to be good. No, not just good. It was the best kiss I ever had!"

The charming smile on Rukawa's kiss-swollen lips lit up the whole room. "So many men have kissed me before you, but your kiss is the most wonderful of them all, because it came from the heart. Those girls certainly didn't know what they were missing." Winking, he added, "You'd better steal a kiss from Haruko-san, Sakuragi-kun. With a kiss like that, she'll become your girlfriend in an instant."

Saying this, Rukawa left the room, closing the door with a soft click.

"Haruko-san...." Hanamichi whispered, the guilt filling his heart once more.

Last night, while he was trying in vain to jack himself off to a quick release, he had used Haruko's image as a focus for his lust. He had imagined her naked, posing like a sexy centerfold model, images that would have made her older brother go into a murderous rampage. But his cock had remained a slab of cold, flaccid flesh.

Then, for some strange reason, his traitorous mind focused on Rukawa's handsome face, and brought him back to the ace's room and that tempestuous scene he had stumbled upon. His member just shot up at half mast, surprising him. When his hand closed around his aching cock, his mind played back each steamy moment of that night, with Takeda-san slowly fading to black. Soon, he had replaced the crime lord in his wet dream, his hardened body thrusting into the lithe flesh beneath him. Rukawa was moaning his name; it only took a second for him to realize that it was the ace who had actually spoken behind the bathroom door. Fearing that he would lose himself, he had snarled at Rukawa to go away, not intending to hurt the other boy's feelings. Then, as he closed his eyes once more, Hanamichi imagined Rukawa screaming, but not in pain, consumed instead by the bliss that the redhead was arousing in him. So vivid was the image, the feelings so intense. Hanamichi wanted to prolong the ecstasy until eternity. However, he had to fall from the peak of desire, and he exploded his release into the cold glass he held in his other hand. He had stared at his come for several minutes, thinking that his seed should have been sown in the searing heat of Shohoku's ace.

"So many men have kissed me before you," Rukawa had shyly revealed to him, "but your kiss is the most wonderful of them all!"

Hanamichi wanted so much to dash outside the room and run after the ace, to embrace him tightly and smother him all over with tender kisses. An urge that he never had with Haruko.

The realization of the truth stunned him that he fell to his knees, groaning pathetically. Brushing his fingertips lightly over his lips, Hanamichi pondered in amazement, "What is happening to me? Surely I'm not falling in love with the Ice Prince Rukawa Kaede!"