Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Umm... Kae-CHAN?! ❯ Side Story 2C ( Chapter 8 )

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.

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Umm... Kae-CHAN?! (Side Story 2C)

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Maki was close to pummeling Sendoh to death. In fact, he was considering doing it - only the thought that he might spend his whole life in prison for murder in front of witnesses gave him the control he needed not to do the messy deed.

However, he could not deny the increasing degree of exasperation and violence that his persona was dealing the guy. First, he transformed Rukawa to an eight year-old boy, then he got them lost in this goddamned forest, and now, he lost the same boy that was his own creation - in such a short span of time!

"Where is he?" He yelled, his teeth chattering from the mixture of the winter cold and intense anger.

"I don't know!" Sendoh yelled back, his face pale and eyes close to insanity. He swore that Sendoh's eyes were wet with the tears pooling in them... or maybe the winter morning sunlight was playing tricks on him. He shook his head and growled with helplessness.

/Now what? /

He turned his back on Sendoh and started walking towards where others were scattered in attempts to find the lost boy.

He looked up to the sky and sighed, his sight blurring as a wave of tears threatened to fall down.

/Kaede... where are you? /

* * *

/This cant be happening. / He thought miserably, his eyes scanning the clearing. /Kae-chan.../

"Kae-chan... Where are you?" He whispered almost inaudibly, his head bowing in misery.

Then he saw them.

Footprints.

He scrutinized them, wondering who they're from. He was sure that the only ones who had been where he was standing were Maki and he. Maybe they had a stalker - or much worse, a thief was out here and spotted them. He was about to turn back and report it to his captain when he realized something important.

The prints were too small to be his - and Maki's feet were quite large too...

So, who could have... and what about those weird-looking prints? It was as if something plopped on the pillow of snow in perfect symmetry.

Suddenly, a snow-white rabbit hopped in his line of vision, taking the same path that the mysterious prints had taken earlier. The bunny's prints matched the weird ones perfectly, so that means, a bunny was followed by someone with very small footprints...

Kaede!

Excitement shot through his tired veins, a light of hope shining through his grim countenance as he thought of the huge possibility. He took a deep calming breath and let a small smile penetrate his otherwise worried features.

"Guys, look what I found!"

* * *

"Come here, kawaii usagi-chan!"

Rukawa was still trying to locate his precious rabbit.

"Come bunny rabbit! Where are you?"

He could not deny that he was getting tired of searching for the lost bunny. He sighed, and straightened up, realizing suddenly that he was in an unfamiliar territory. It was slightly dark - done by the stifling canopies of the evergreens lining the area that seemed to be a pathway.

He looked left and right, wondering where the van was.

It was not anywhere within his line of sight.

His eyes dilated further as weird sounds seemed to emanate from everywhere, making his visualize huge bears that did not even resemble his favorite teddy lying on his bed. He thought of ghosts and goblins laughing at him, and silvery eyes watching his every move...

He was panicking.

He started towards one direction, sloshing through the clumps of snow, faint sunlight guiding him towards where he believed the van was.

Where were they?

"Ken-niichan? Toru-niichan?" He called out, trying to locate them. "Do-ahou-niichan?"

Where were they?

Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name. For him, it sounded like the angry howl of the wind. /The spirits are mad at me! / He thought tearfully. /The spirits hate me because I chased their cute pet! / Soon, he was sobbing, obviously frightened of the prospect of being the human sacrifice in some ritual that the spirits probably actualize. He heard of it once from Soi-niichan... and he was so sure that he would be the sacrifice this time, not the poor goat that he talked of.

In fear, he ran towards where the sunlight seemed to pour the most... the point where there was much light... /They won't get me when I'm under the light of the sun! / His young mind rationalized.

He stumbled forward, the toe of his boot stubbed by something lying underneath the snow. He fell facedown onto the pure white fuzz, his hands colliding with a jagged edge of rock buried, unseen until when his hand disturbed its peaceful existence.

The screams of his name were coming closer. He had to hide - he had to!

He tried to stand up, but his legs failed him. They were already stiff from the cold.

He sobbed, not caring if the spirits he was so frightened of heard him, and were coming for him. His fear won out and he was now pinned to where he lay sprawled helplessly. He was crying in earnest - the tears freezing as they trickled down his cheek.

He was cold, lonely, afraid, and would soon be the sacrifice of a modern-day supernatural ritual... and yet... He was feeling so drowsy... Why was the world closing in on him? So tired... so cold...

Where was his Akira-niichan?

"Akira-niichan..." He whispered, his eyes closing as sleep seemed to take over his body. All he heard was a cry of something akin to jubilance and he surrendered to the void that crashed mercilessly over him.

* * *

"Akira - there he is!"

Koshino's voice never seemed so beautiful before in his whole life. He immediately swung around and ran towards the place his best friend was pointing at.

"Kae-chan!" He called out happily, his feet ignoring the bite of the cold fuzz encasing his frayed boots. "Kae - OH MY GOD... KAEDE!"

He quickly bounded over to the boy sprawled facedown on the snow. Panicking, he turned the small bundle over and flicked the white mass from his pale face. "Oi, Kae-chan!" He murmured frantically, his hands slapping the sleeping face repeatedly. "Kae-chan? Oi, wake up!"

The boy remained motionless that Sendoh actually thought that he was dead if he had not seen the delicate chest rise and fall in deep breaths.

Still... there were some cases when the lungs give out in the extreme cold.

The usually red lips were turning slowly into a shade of alarming blue.

"Kosh - he's not waking up!" He called out to his best friend frantically.

Koshino squatted close to the boy and felt the cold lips. "He's fine, let's get him to the van and place him in front of the heater, it would do him good - he's just cold."

"But he's not waking up no matter how hard I slap him, he's -"

"He's going to be fine." Koshino assured him, his eyes crinkling at the corners in slight amusement. "Just pull him close to you and wrap him in this blanket." He said, holding out his fluffy blanket, letting his best friend unfold it and warm Rukawa in it.

He had never seen Sendoh's eyes holding so much gratitude.

Then, blinding light pierced through his line of sight as he diverted his gaze from his best friend. His mouth gaped open in shock, a shaky finger pointing towards a well-lighted clearing.

"Akira - look!"

* * *

"Oh my god." Sendoh muttered as his eyes scanned the clearing through the van's tinted windows for the second time.

It was the way out.

He huffed, his pride as a driver and navigator dwindling as he realized that it was Rukawa who had helped in leading them out - albeit unconsciously.

He could not believe it even when he actually saw the familiar roadway that he realized was the one they drove through when they went up to the log cabin.

What was worse was that everyone teased him about it.

So he was bad when it comes to directions - at least he had a log cabin in the mountains... at least he had the sense to think of the footprints earlier as Rukawa's.

Who was he kidding?

No matter what he has, no matter what sense he had sometimes, the fact still remains.

He was one lousy navigator.

He sighed again and turned his attentions to the sleeping boy that was cuddling close to him. A blanket was wrapped around both of them, and they were sitting beside Hanagata and Fujima who were gazing at the sleeping boy with such tenderness that made his eyes water.

He was apprehensive before he let Maki drive the van towards Hanagata and Fujima's flat. They were all miserable, Sendoh knew, and he also knew that he should be punished for that - but he suddenly thought of the near-fight he had with Maki when they realized that Rukawa was lost - and it wouldn't do his car any good to suffer dents due to his captain's deliberate carelessness. He sighed, shaking his head and twisting a bit at the sudden discomfort he felt.

The slight movement woke Rukawa up. The boy rubbed his eyes and looked blearily at him, the blue orbs cloudy and unclear. He thought he was going to start crying. The boy was finally awake!

"Kae-chan." He whispered, sliding a warm finger down the smooth cheek in a gesture of affection. "You're awake... are you alright?"

"I'm alright... did you save me from the spirits, Akira-niichan?" The boy asked, shivering as unwanted thoughts came unbidden in his head.

"Spirits?"

Rukawa nodded, edging closer to him as his nervous, and now-focused eyes surveyed the whole of the silent van where most were nodding off to sleep.

"Un. I heard them calling my name - and I ran so they wont get me... they got mad when I chased their pet."

"Pet?"

Rukawa nodded earnestly. "The kawaii usagi-chan that was the color of the fluffy clouds!"

Sendoh smiled, tweaking the boy's pert nose. "Yes, I rescued you - along with Hiro-niichan."

"You did?" Rukawa's big blue eyes widened in awe. "Sugoi!"

Sendoh knew he would technically be lying, and his eyes sought Fujima's own glittering orbs, as well as Hanagata's own. He did not know why he did it, all he knew was that he trusted the two of them to know whether what he was panning to say was right - if that would be alright for the kid to digest.

The approval and well, amusement, came in a form of a slight nod.

With a sigh and his usual happy smile, Sendoh began narrating a fairy tale version of what had transpired hours before.

Rukawa's awe and hundred-megawatt smiles were all that mattered.

As long as the boy was pleased and contented, he too will be pleased and contented.

Then he began.

"There was a huge bear that followed us and warned us of ..."

* * *

"Whew, what a hectic and mind-numbing couple of days!" Mitsui sighed as he tumbled on the soft couch.

Kogure glanced at him, his eyes conveying sadness and a hint of longing as he sat down on the other piece that made up the living room furniture. The furnace was raging, and it was warm, but the warmth was not even penetrating in his heart.

Kogure sighed.

He had never thought that Mitsui would give up on him when they were still in their trip. Well, it was his own fault that the shooting guard became exasperated with him. He was giving him a hard time, with all the ignored apologies and what was popularly known as The Rukawa Treatment.

He averted his eyes and stood up, his feet shuffling without his consent towards the empty kitchen.

He was near the swinging doors when he noticed that almost everyone except he and Mitsui was in their destined rooms. They were practically alone.

He sighed as he continued towards the fridge. He opened it and got a carton of cold milk out. With silent precision, he got a Pyrex mug and filled it to the brim. He set it inside the microwave and pushed the buttons that would trigger the machine-generated heat to snake out.

He stood there, miserable, waiting for the microwave's signal that his milk was ready.

Suddenly, a warm pair of strong arms snaked around his waist. He nearly cried at the sensations it caused. The pain in his heart swelled, and then shattered, leaving him with a feeling of euphoria over the fact that the warm loving arms were Mitsui's.

"Care to share the glass with me? I'm feeling a bit cold." His lover whispered tenderly, his lips nuzzling the delicate lobe of Kogure's ear. He turned him around so that they were facing each other.

Tears began coursing down the gentle face, and a sob stemmed from the soft lips that parted to accommodate another pair.

Lips pressed, their arms entwined around each other, their minds set on fulfilling the desire to just stay that way forever...

And as the days' events rained down on them, as well as the discomfort of the aftermath of their verbal spar before the trip, they settled whatever it is that lingered...

The microwave was beeping like crazy - but none of them heard it.

* * *

"Good night, Kae-chan."

Sendoh laid his lips on Rukawa's warm forehead.

"Arigatou again, Akira-niichan." Rukawa beamed, his blue eyes glazed with sleep. "For saving me and tucking me in here..."

"You're welcome, now go to sleep." Sendoh smiled lovingly, stroking the boy's fine hair. "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi..."

When assured that the boy was already asleep, he got up and turned out the night lamp, letting the blaze of the fireplace light up the pale boy's soft features.

His smile broadened as Rukawa hugged his teddy tightly.

Finally, after more than half an hour of staring, he let himself out of the warm room.

* * *

/Ah, another beautiful winter morning! / Hanagata thought as he entered his basement laboratory.

"A bit of crushed Mica, the bluish stuff... a spoonful of Metahydrite... mix until the mixture turns green..."

"It looks pukey."

"Hisashi!"

"Okay, okay, sorry..." Mitsui held up his hands in surrender. "But it really looks pukey."

Kogure gave him a stern look, oblivious to the fact that Hanagata was in the same laboratory, gazing at them with fascination.

However, even with his fascination, he decided to step in as Mitsui kept on teasing Kogure. He wanted to divert the exchanges in order to prevent bloodshed, as he saw from the corner of his eye that Kogure had clear access to a broken beer bottle. But what would he say?

/Aha... there it is! /

"Umm... Kogure-kun... Mitsui-kun... the mixture's turning red."

The bespectacled guy yelped loud enough to waken the dead and dumped the whole thing into the sink - container and all. Hanagata cringed as the unmistakable sound of Pyrex beakers shattering to pieces pricked his unprepared ears.

He shook his head in defeat.

/No use. /

Whatever did he do to deserve these headaches?

/Maybe it's just a severe case of bad karma.../

The three of them repeated the procedures again, waiting for the mixture to turn a nauseating shade of green to a colorless liquid that was supposed to be sticky.

The first attempt looked like a beaker of tasty Bloody Mary... and that was the one thrown to the sink.

The second attempt looked like a cat's version of a pukey shake.

The third attempt looked like a glass of water - no stickiness to speak of.

The fourth attempt looked like mud.

The fifth attempt looked like a can of mashed sardines.

The sixth attempt looked like... eww... crap.

They were now at their seventh attempt, waiting as usual for the boiling mixture to turn to a sticky colorless substance...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Wait -

"EUREKA!"

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TBC

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