The boy concentrated only on the basket, nothing else.
His pale skin appeared to be exceptionally white under the 
sun. How many hours had he been practicing? Three? Four? 
Somehow, after the hundredth drive to the basket, the 80th 
shot he tossed into the basket, he lost count. He drove 
towards the basket once more. With the last constituents of 
his energy, he leapt up and executed a powerful and elegant 
dunk. The force of the dunk caused the hoop to shake 
incessantly. Rukawa stood hunched over, breathing 
laboriously. He can't seem to catch his breath. The ball 
rolled listlessly to the side. It stopped as it hit a pair 
of long legs blocking its path.

      "Nice dunk, ready for a one -on-one?"

      Rukawa's eyes darted to the ball. His eyes slowly 
traveled up the body of a rather tall boy standing behind 
the ball not more than 10 feet away from him.

      "Sendoh," Rukawa uttered without vigor. Then he 
collapsed onto the ground.

      "RUKAWA---"

              ---------------------------------

      Rukawa smelt something. It was the aroma of green 
tea. The deep soothing fragrance coming from the tea 
reminded Rukawa of home. He felt very comfortable. Slowly, 
his eyes opened. Sendoh. Am I dreaming? What is Sendoh doing
here, sitting next to me? And he has a wide smile, too. 
Rukawa blinked. He blinked again. Wait a minute, why is he 
in a bed?

      "--better?"
      "Huh?" Rukawa said in a daze.
      "I said, are you feeling better?" Sendoh replied, his 
smile unwavering.
      Sendoh brushed the bangs that covered a good portion 
of Rukawa's forehead.
      Rukawa felt Sendoh's touch and he winced unconsciously.
Sendoh noticed that slight gesture and asked, "Do you still 
feel pain?"
      Pain? What pain?
      "You were mumbling about the pain in your head a while 
ago," Sendoh seemed to have read his thoughts. Sendoh 
frowned lightly. He shouldn't be in pain now.

      Rukawa gazed at Sendoh expressionlessly. He felt 
Sendoh's large and somewhat slender hand lightly brush 
against his forehead. The fleeting touch was very warm. 
Staring at Sendoh's dark, enigmatic eyes, Rukawa felt a faint 
heat spreading throughout his face. He was blushing--Rukawa 
dazedly wondered to himself. Am I really blushing?

      "Why is your face so red? You can't be having a fever, 
can you? I thought you were just dehydrated. Let me check." 
So speaking, Sendoh cupped his hands around Rukawa's face 
and laid his forehead on top of Rukawa's forehead.

      Rukawa's eyes widened in shock! Sendoh--Sendoh's face 
was so close, too close. His face was a breadth away. 
Rukawa's face burned...

      "You don't seem to have a fever, but--" Sendoh lost 
his train of thought as he gazed into the eyes of Rukawa. 
His eyes were a deep brown, color of melted chocolate. 
Sendoh felt himself being drawn into the depths of those 
intense, dark eyes. Suddenly, Sendoh felt his heartbeat 
quicken-- thud, thud, thud, thud.......

      He was sure Rukawa heard his heart beating irregularly. 
Sendoh had the wildest urge to kiss Rukawa. The feeling was 
so abrupt, he had no idea how it came about, but it was 
there. At that moment, he realized his lips were only inches 
away from Rukawa...

      Time stopped for the two boys. Their heartbeats were 
beating furiously, relentlessly. Their breaths mingled with 
one another. Sendoh was hot! Where is this heat coming from, 
he wondered? Nonsensically, he thought to himself, the air-
conditioner is on full blast. Why am I so hot all of a 
sudden?? He needed to draw away. He needed some space. Yet 
he wanted to get closer, he wanted to kiss him--Rukawa. 
Rukawa is a guy, like himself.

      "Uh, here is a cup of green tea. I heard that it's 
good to drink green tea when you have just recovered from 
fainting," Sendoh's voice trailed off. As he forced these 
words out, he withdrew his forehead and his hands from Rukawa
simultaneously.

      Sendoh breathed a sigh of relief. What was he thinking? 
Rukawa is a GUY! A GUY!!! Sendoh thought he saw a trace of
disappointment in Rukawa's eyes when he pulled away. Rukawa 
closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, 
he seemed to have recovered. All traces of sadness were gone 
from his eyes. It made Sendoh wonder if what he saw was...

      "Thanks for helping me, I'm fine now," Rukawa said 
levelly. His voice was without emotion. His voice had the 
briskness of the Arctic wind.

      Sendoh felt the coldness in Rukawa's words and he felt 
his heart tighten.
      He reached out unconsciously and tried to brush 
Rukawa's bangs. Rukawa averted his touch, turning his head 
away. He felt the soft pillow cushioning his face. For the 
first time since he'd been awake, Rukawa was aware of where 
he was. He was lying on a bed, most likely Sendoh's. The bed
was scented with Sendoh. He noticed a cup of hot tea lying 
on the bedside table. His eyes then roamed around the room. 
It was a moderate bedroom, with a desk and a chair on the 
far corner of the room, facing the window. A painting of a 
man fishing out in a storm hung on the wall across the desk.

      All in all, it was a simple room. It was simple, yet 
cozy and warm. It felt like Sendoh.

      Rukawa glanced at Sendoh. Sendoh had been staring at 
him all this time, he realized.

      "I want to go home now," Rukawa declared firmly.
      "No, you're too weak. Drink the tea and sleep some 
more. It's Saturday and school is out. I know that you're 
living by yourself right now anyway. So stay here until you
are better."
 
      Rukawa didn't know if it was Sendoh's earnest that 
swayed him, or that he was just too weak to argue. He didn't
say anything. Sendoh knew from Rukawa's lack of response 
that he would stay.

      "Here, let me help you up."

      Sendoh put his strong arms on the slender boy in front 
of him and helped him sidle up. He then placed a pillow 
behind Rukawa's back to support him.

      Both arms were surrounding Rukawa as he adjusted the 
pillow. His body was jostled closer to Rukawa by his 
movements.

      Rukawa looked at Sendoh. Sendoh looked at Rukawa. They
shouldn't have made eye contact. But they did. And they can't
break away.

      Rukawa was enclosed by him. This time, there was no 
escape. Rukawa's eyes locked with Sendoh's. Sendoh's hands 
let go of the pillow and slowly drifted around Rukawa. 
Following his instinct, Sendoh leaned forward and his lips 
touched Rukawa's lips. His last coherent thought was, I want 
to kiss Rukawa.......
The aromatic scent from the tea permeated the atmosphere.

∼To Be Continued∼