The tears of rage would not come, and he bit his lip so hard that the rawness bled. He ran, silently, in the shadows, his anguish hidden as surely in the pale mask he always wore as the devastatingly cold sapphires of his eyes. He ran until his breath came in shallow gasps, and his sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging and salty with his own tears. He breathed deeply, trying to clear his mind. He had to think…he had to focus…

The sounds of a basketball hitting the level pavement made him look up, his long bangs covering the better part of his face as he saw a familiar figure, alone, swiftly dribbling, spinning, running and twisting. It was a show of superb skill as he danced with the ball, dribbling it fast in and out of the window of his running legs, the curve of his arm as he struggled, no, toyed was the word, with an imaginary opponent. He moved from one end of the court to the other, his hands deft as he controlled the direction of the basketball with remarkable agility, speed and grace, a style all his own. Sendoh Akira.

Rukawa rose slowly, banishing the ache that threatened to overwhelm him, and after a deep pause, moved towards the basketball court, where the tall point guard of Ryonan twirled a ball on his index figure as he dipped and turned in his own private performance.

@@@

Sendoh noticed the dark shadow moving towards him even before it stepped out of the bleak darkness, but a second unobtrusive glance to see who it was and he ignored him, continuing his practice.

"Oi."

Sendoh barely paused in his drill, but a smile spread across his face. "Rukawa Kaede. What are you doing here?"

The shorter boy could barely contain his loathing for the other's cheer. "I live close to here."

"Okay. So what do you want?" he tossed the ball up behind his back and caught it with one hand, starting to spin it again as he stopped his footwork and looked across curiously at Rukawa.

"One on one."

Sendoh blinked. "Now?"

A silent nod. Sendoh contemplated the odds, and finally a grin broke out on his face. "Bring it on."

@@@

They had been playing the last hour or so. Sendoh had been practicing longer, but his stamina was by far superior to the Shohoku ace, so they kept up very well with each other indeed. He could tell the normally gloomy Rukawa was in a bad way. His eyes flashed with fire, and his expression was one of that carved in cold stone, his mouth set in a small line and his hair whipping wildly about his face, his cheeks flushed with the exertion.

Hmm. I never noticed how good-looking he was.

Rukawa tried to cut through his defense, but he stepped back automatically and stole the ball, all the easier because the other boy's temperament made his movements jerky and rough. He twisted about, bouncing the ball once back and forth between his stepping feet, then jumped backward and did a fade-away shot. The ball swished through the hoop and he turned to face Rukawa, who was dripping with perspiration, his long bangs soaked and clinging to the sides of his face, his hands on his knees as he bent over panting. He walked over, still thinking, before he bent down, looked at the blue eyes that mirrored his own, smiled, and kissed the other boy.

end of part 1