Version #2: Chinese dialog [Switch language/version)]

仙流物語 — Senru No Monogatari
(Part 2)

Online Chinese dictionary: http://www.iciba.com

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

Two weeks have passed since the two went fishing. It's also been a few weeks since Sendou gave Rukawa his cell phone. Thanks to that, they've been in contact on and off, although Sendou always gotta be the one to initiate and Rukawa hardly replies more than two lines. Yup. Text messages. That's the way they do it. It's not like they don't like to talk but something tells Sendou that Rukawa would very much prefer the alternative, and he's not all that wrong about it.

And so on and off, they both meet together at the usual basketball court. God knows how many times it's been, a dozen perhaps? And though they usually just play against each other in silence, or talk about the same old things, neither of them seems to mind. Sendou particularly finds it adorable to see the look on Rukawa's face each time he loses by a close shave, which is every time, cause he'd always frown in a certain way and mumbles what it sounds like curse words to himself.

Rukawa also knows that Sendou always laughs at him each time that happens and it pisses him off, but he tries to use that as a source of motivation instead. He's determined to wait for the day when it'd be his turn to laugh at Sendou's defeat. Well, not laugh per se. Cause everyone knows his nervous system is incapable of that...

On a related note, there is this one time when Rukawa's this close to beating Sendou in their usual 10-shot game. 9 shots to 9. Rukawa has just successfully stolen the ball from Sendou and he quickly breaks through Sendou's immediate defense with a feint side step to enter his last shot. But alas he's too conscious about entering this last one that he actually misses it, resulting in a rebound which Sendou grabs mid-air followed by a beautiful alley-oop.

You have no...idea... how pissed Rukawa gets, especially when Sendou can't help but laugh and pat him on the back saying “好可惜，差那么一点就进了呢。”Rukawa knows Sendou does that on purpose. He knows Sendou always says something after every victory to light the fire in him, like he's continuously challenging him. But at the same time he also knows that deep down that is what he wants. It's only through rivalry like this can he get a 200% boost in motivation to help him achieve his goal. After all, he still has a long way ahead of him before he should even realistically think about joining the NBA.

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

It's practice time again one other Saturday, and most of the boys are in the locker room changing. Sakuragi and the others are already there when Rukawa arrives. As usual, the redhead's bragging about how he's gonna kick everyone’s ass in the rival team for practice today and boasts about how he can top Mitsui's three-pointers with his ‘ingenious’ inside shots alone.

Mitsui: 你说你会得分比我多？哈哈哈！

Miyagi's heard enough of the usual crap Sakuragi spills twenty-four-seven that's he's practically immune. He ignores the two as he puts his stuff away in his locker.

Sakuragi:  笑吧。要笑尽管笑！等一下就让你看到我这天才的本事！

Miyagi, this time however, can't help it when he hears Sakuragi's ever-so-corny statement. He tries to hold back his laughter but fails anyway, joining Mitsui.

Sakuragi: 啊啊！小甜！T＿T　为什么连你都笑？？
Miyagi: 你说什么本事啊？*still suppressing his laughter* 你根本就是个初学者。
Rukawa:  。。。白痴
Sakuragi: 你说什么？！

Rukawa ignores, pulling the earphones out of his ears and stuffing his bag into his locker.

Sakuragi: 你想打架是吗？来啊！
Akagi: 吵死人了！

And then, that's when a moderately loud song starts playing from somewhere. And it totally freezes everyone in the room.

♫ Anata dake mitsumeteru~　               （我只有看着你一个人）
♫ Deatta hi kara ima demo zutto~         （只从我第一次见到你那一天）
♫ Anata sae soba ni ireba                     （只要有你在我身边）
♫ Hoka nani mo iranaaaai~~                  （任何其他的我都不需要)
♫ Yume no high tension~~！                 （梦想的High Tension)

(Note: Slam Dunk anime's ending theme #1)

Everyone goes quiet as they stare around the room trying to find out where the sound's coming from. Sakuragi's the only who isn't looking, for he's busy grinning to himself wondering who the hell's using such a corny ringtone.

Kogure: 那是手机的铃声吗？
Akagi: 是谁的？

Suddenly everyone turns to look at Rukawa, their eyes narrow in curiosity.

Rukawa: 。。。《你们看着我干什么？》

Now that everyone's staring at him, he realizes that the sound is indeed coming from his locker. And so he reopens it and checks his bag to notice that it's his cell phone. To no surprise, this is the first time he's heard his own phone's ringtone (well not his own). After all he's only used it for text messaging and that only makes a beep. He narrows his eyes at the name “Hikoichi” on the screen and answers it reluctantly while everyone behind him watches.

Rukawa: 。。。喂？
Ultra loud voice: 仙道你这大笨蛋！！你是不是又没有来练习啊？！

The volume is so loud, Rukawa instinctively pulls the speaker away from his ears. It's so loud pretty much everyone in the room can hear it.

Voice: 你知道这是第几次了吗？！你身为队长却不来练习, 有没有搞错啊！？
Kogure: 《那不是陵南的教练的声音吗？》
Another voice from the phone:　教练啊，请你冷静一些--
Taoka interrupts: 你别老是帮仙道说话！
Rukawa: =_=; 。。。呃。。。
Taoka: 什么！我是不会听你的借口的！我不管你是否在你女朋友的家或什么东东,你给我听着！我要你现在就马上过来给我练习, 听到了吗！？
Rukawa: 。。。我是流川枫。

A moment of silence.

Taoka: 。。。什么？
Rukawa: 我是流川枫。=_=#
Taoka: 什么？？？？ 仙道的女朋友是流川枫？！！

Rukawa doesn't know whether to MAJOR sweatdrop or MAJOR pop several nerves, but the boys behind him, especially the trio problematic kids think they might just die from trying too hard to suppress their laughter.

Taoka: 等一下！你说的流川枫就是那个湘北的流川枫吗？？

Rukawa really can't be bothered to continue the conversation, especially when their voice is that loud.

Rukawa: 总之你打错电话了。就这样。*hangs up*

Then, Rukawa pretends not to care what just happened and proceeds to get ready for practice.

Kogure asks innocently: 刚才的是田冈教练吗？^^;
Rukawa shrugs it off: 不知道。*he closes the locker and proceeds to leave* 我先出去了。

The rest blankly watches him leave until Akagi raises his voice.

Akagi: 你们发什么呆啊！开始练习了！

Not wanting to get gorilla-punched, the rest quickly finishes changing as well. All except for Sakuragi anyway, who's busy digging through Rukawa's locker, proudly without permission.

Miyagi: 樱木花道, 你干嘛翻别人的东西？？
Sakuragi grins: 啊，找到了，找到了。

He finds the cell phone and grins like an idiot until his expression suddenly changes.　

Sakuragi: 咦。。。？o__o…....

Sakuragi then puts a hand to his mouth to hide his grin (like this --> ) before he signals at Mitsui and Miyagi secretively.

Sakuragi: 小甜,小三，过来过来〜
Miyagi: 我为什么要乱看别人的东西？
Sakuragi: 呵呵呵〜 *continues to grin stupidly* 我保证你一定会想看这东西喔〜？
Mitsui: 《你怎么笑成这个样？》

Alas, Sakuragi manages to get the other two curious enough and they peer over his shoulder to take a look......

Mitsui & Miyagi: 。。。哦哦哦。。。

On the other side of town (or so...?), an angry man continues to fume. He stares at Hikoichi's phone and gripping it so hard the boy thinks it's done for.

Taoka: 他竟敢挂我电话！？
Hikoichi: 哎呀教练，请你冷静一下！看来我们是打错号码了吧。
Taoka: 这不是仙道的号码吗？？
Hikoichi: 应该是的但是。。。＞＿＜！
Sendou: 大家早〜 *he finally appears by the gym entrance, smiling as he waves his team good morning*

Taoka pops a nerve on his temple and stares scarily at him for a moment (only to be greeted by an innocent, puzzled look) before he slaps the phone back onto Hikoichi's hand and walks over screaming impatiently.

Taoka: 仙道――！！！
Sendou: 嗯？ ._.?
Taoka: 你从刚才到现在到底去了哪里啊？！
Sendou scratches his head in embarrassment: 啊，不好意思。我睡过头了。^^;
Taoka clenches his fist as he mentally cries: 《你太奸诈了吧，仙道！为什么你每次都这样摆个无辜的脸坦白地把事实说出来？这样子连我要打你都下不了手！》
Hikoichi: 啊对了，仙道。刚才我们打电话给你，但接电话的人却说我们打错电话。这到底是什么回事啊？
Sendou: 电话？*he takes out his phone from his pocket and checks for any miscall* 手机没响啊。
Hikoichi: 啊，不是这个。是另外一个。《你女朋友的那个。 。。》

Taoka is then reminded of how impolite the receiver was. And now that he thinks of it, he’s sure that voice belongs to that boy from Shohoku.

Taoka: =_=# 他还竟敢说”我是流川枫”呢。

He stares at Sendou with narrowed eyes to study him for a few seconds while Sendou can only stare back at him, puzzled.

Taoka: 仙道，别告诉我原来你是往“那个方向” 走了吧？？
Sendou blinks: 诶？咦？*blinks again* 什么？

From that day onwards, inevitably, rumors start going around Ryonan that Sendou’s seeing Rukawa of Shohoku. Sendou finds it a little awkward at first when some of the school girls who used to cling to him start whispering to each other and look at him funny, but it doesn’t really bother him, nor does he mind that such a rumor is spreading. In fact, it’s probably better this way so that the boys from the team will now tease him about just one person instead of like, ten. (LOL) Besides, he knows that there’s no way he could have convinced those who believe in the rumor otherwise. They are for a fact literally ‘seeing’ each other, and he can’t deny that it’s something he looks forward to each time.

As for the boys in Shohoku… let’s just say we know Sakuragi can’t keep his mouth shut.

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

It's Thursday 3pm. There would have been practice any other day but not today, for the third year students have their mid-term tomorrow. In order to lighten their schedule and workload, coach Anzai has announced that there will be no practice today. Besides, he thinks that the rest of the team deserves a little break after all the hard work they've put in. No one's worried about Akagi of course, since they are well aware that he's excellent in both his sport and academic studies. Kogure will be fine too, Sakuragi thinks, but who knows how Mitsui will cope. After all, he was once one of the five members of the 不及格军团。(The fail squad) LOL (By the way, the missing fifth member is Aota from the judo club)

So for the rest of the team, it's pretty much a day to relax. In fact, it's so relaxing Rukawa falls asleep through the last two hours of class. His teacher is no longer mad at him, though, for he's actually learnt to pretend he doesn't exist. Soon enough, the last bell rings
and everyone packs up to leave, chit chatting happily as they proceed to leave the classroom.

Rukawa remains asleep on his desk, but one of the girls quietly wakes him up when she hears a beep from his bag while walking past behind him.

Girl: 流川同学，你的手机响了呢。

Rukawa wakes up, cranky that someone's disturbed his sleep but he soon forgets about that when the girl points at his bag. He scratches his head and yawns softly, thanking the girl only by nodding before he checks his phone. Really, he may not know that this thing used to be 丽娜专用 but he sure is aware that it's now 仙道专用 for him. He really doesn't want or need one, but he supposes it is somewhat convenient, a little. Probably. Maybe.

...... Nah. Whatever. Sendou made him take it. He flips the phone open and reads his message:
-- 我们今天没练习。你们呢？

Rukawa stares at it for a few seconds... and then finally replies:
-- 没有。

He receives a reply in 40 seconds:
--  LUCKY! 那你现在有空吗？要不要一起去哪里？

Rukawa stares at it for a few seconds again before he replies:
-- 去哪？

He receives a reply in 50 seconds:
-- 见了面再说吧？三十分钟后在XX火车站见好吗？

Rukawa sighs lightly and replies:
-- OK.


Thirty minutes later...

Sendou: 嗨。^_^ *smiles and waves*

Rukawa walks over quietly. It's a wonder how Sendou gets there so fast considering his school is further to the train station than Shohoku, but Rukawa doesn't care to think any further. At the same time, he notices that Sendou isn't carrying a basketball with him. 《我们不打篮球吗？》Then, Sendou stops leaning against the wall and asks.

Sendou: 真巧你们那今天也没练习。是不是因为明天三年级的有测验？
Rukawa: 。。。嗯。
Sendou smiles: 我们也是。

Rukawa doesn't reply. He's got nothing to say anyway, but he is wondering where and what they're gonna do today if they're not gonna be playing basketball as usual.

Rukawa: 要去哪里？
Sendou: 你想去哪里呢？
Rukawa furrows his eyebrows: 《问我干嘛？是你叫我出来的.》
Sendou laughs a little: 哈哈哈。只要不关篮球你就不想一起出门吗？
Rukawa furrows his eyebrows again: 。。。我什么都没说。

Sendou looks at him smiling for the next few seconds, his expression innocent. On the other hand, Rukawa looks back at him awkwardly, entirely lost on what this is all about until Sendou shifts his backpack and makes a gesture.

Sendou: 今天天气这么好，不如我们散散步吧？
Rukawa: 。。。？
Sendou: 这附近不是有个公园吗？要不要我们过去看一看？
Rukawa: 《那里有自行车商店。如果去的话可以顺便买个新的。。。》随便。
Sendou smiles, content: 那走吧。

And so the two of them walk over to the park, which is about a fifteen twenty minutes away. They remain quiet for a while as Rukawa wonders about what kind of bike he should get considering his miniscule savings. On the other hand, Sendou's just walking and enjoying the light breeze, and Rukawa's company, until they get to an area of the park where there's a pond.

It's no surprise to see random couples of all ages around this area; it is a popular spot after all with the pond and ducks and shady trees and all. He even notices some people from his school, even though he doesn't know them in person, and can't help but smile at them. Rukawa has just mentally decided what bike to get when he looks to his side and notice Sendou smiling. He follows Sendou's direction of vision and sees several teenage couples. He pretty much has no reaction to that and shrugs it off when Sendou starts a conversation, the smile still on his face.

Sendou: 你知不知道，我们学校最近有个谣言呢。

Hasegawa: 我是長谷川一志。(Hasegawa Kazushi)
Sendou: 啊对, 你是翔阳的長谷川学长是吧。*a little embarrassed for forgetting his name but smiles to cover it up*

At this moment, Mitsui’s somewhat frozen from this coincidental meeting, his brain frantically going through his encyclopedia of ‘how to react when caught red handed going out with the boyfriend your friends don’t know’. On the other hand, Rukawa simply stares back and forth between Mitsui, Hasegawa and the ice cream. And just to tell you, Rukawa has no memory of who Hasegawa is. LOL

And so the four share a real awkward moment of silence; none of them know what to say next. Sendou wonders if the two are just simply hanging out as close buddies or if they’re dating, cause it sure isn’t everyday that two guys that age share an ice cream in public. Rukawa continues to stare at Mitsui, wondering just for a second if this is the guy from Shoyo that Miyagi once mentioned, cause if it is, hehehe… it would be payback time for the joke Mitsui used to pull on him in front of everyone.

Rukawa: 学长明天不是有测验吗？
Mitsui: -_-||| 《这家伙是故意问的！》啊，明天是有测验，但我昨天已经复习好了所以今天想出来吹吹风。
Rukawa: 是吗。。。　*stares at him suspiciously*

Sendou laughs mentally at how nervous Mitsui looks, and then he looks over at Hasegawa to comment.

Sendou: 你们俩看来很亲近嘛。

In response, Hasegawa puts an arm around Mitsui’s waist, which causes him to flinch and blush even more, pulls him closer and leans over smiling.

Hasegawa: 你们也不是一样。。。？

Sendou blinks at them a few times before he glances over at Rukawa who for some reason is giving him the glare.

Sendou: ^^; 啊不是, 我们不是这种关系。。。
Mitsui: 咦？ 不是吗？
Sendou: ^^; 你误会了。我刚刚向流川听说这件事, 但其实他手机上的照片是我自己乱拍的。
Hasegawa: 。。。？*doesn’t understand and so looks at Mitsui*
Mitsui: 是这样啊。。。

Mitsui doesn’t quite believe them but he knows he is no position to pry any further and so he stops pursuing. Somehow, he has now started to relax and feel more comfortable being himself and is about to ask Sendou about Ryonan’s progress when he notices the ice cream dripping off the cone.

Mitsui: 糟了, 雪糕化了。
Sendou: 啊, 不好意思耽误你们的时间. 我想我们该走了。
Mitsui: 恩, 好的。

Sendou smiles and nods at them before he resumes walking past them. Mitsui is also going to wave a proper bye when the ice cream drips onto his shoe.

Mitsui: 啊！
Hasegawa: 别担心我还有纸巾。
Mitsui: 你快点吃啦。溶掉了不就很恶心？
Hasegawa: 没关系，我不介意。

Sendou looks back at them a few more seconds as he and Rukawa walk away. Rukawa only glances for a second before he turns back thinking that it’s now even between him and Mitsui. With any luck, Mitsui may just spread the new news that there’s nothing between them. No, it’s not that he finds the rumor disturbing. It’s more the fact that the teasing is annoying, cause Sakuragi does not know when to ever stop.

Sendou: 原来他们俩也在一起啊。看起来真幸福。
Rukawa: 。。。什么”也” ？
Sendou: 嗯，你们那儿的樱木和宫城不是也在一起吗？
Rukawa thinks a for moment 。。。我才不知道。
Sendou: ^^; 《真的不知道啊？》

Rukawa continues to walk as he stares at the ground. It’s hard to tell if he’s actually thinking or just blankly staring at it.

Sendou: 难道说有天我们的谣言也会成真？
Rukawa: -_____- 。。。
Sendou laughs: 开玩笑的啦。 ^_^;
Rukawa: 。。。。。。
Sendou then quickly changes the topic: 哎呀，看到他们吃雪糕我自己也很想吃了呢。

Rukawa lazily points a finger at a distance.

Rukawa: 那里不是吗。

And there it is. A nice little ice cream cart under a tree. It probably is the one where Mitsui and Hasegawa got theirs. The two walk over and Sendou eagerly checks it out.

Sendou: 很好吃的样子呢。你要不要吃？我请客。
Rukawa: 我不要。
Sendou: 咦？我说我请客耶。
Rukawa: 我说不要。
Sendou: 真的？
Rukawa: 真的。
Sendou: 一点都不要？
Rukawa: 。。。 -___-

And so Sendou buys just one for himself, a double scoop with a vanilla chocolate mix. He takes a bite as they continue to walk and almost gets a brain freeze, but he manages to knock himself out of it.

Sendou: 真的很好吃耶。
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou: 要不要尝一尝？

Sendou’s just playing with Rukawa’s patience, really, cause for some reason it’s fun anticipating Rukawa’s reaction. He’s expecting to get the usual glare or some sort in response when Rukawa bends over and takes a bite out of the ice cream by the cone. Sendou hasn’t expected that. It surprises him enough that he stands really still and watches until Rukawa raises his head back up to wipe a bit of the ice cream that has landed on the corner of his lips with the back of a finger.

Rukawa: 这下开心了吧。

Sendou continues to stare at Rukawa in silence, his lips to be exact, and Rukawa now stares back with a blank look, until eventually he waves a hand at his face in his attempt to wake him up.

Sendou ‘wakes up’: 啊。。。你觉得呢？
Rukawa: 。。。好甜。
Sendou: ^^;　那当然嘛。

After a few more minutes’ walk, Rukawa tells Sendou that he wants to stop by a bicycle shop nearby. Sendou remembers why he needs a new bike and agrees to go there with him. Along the way, it quite disturbs Sendou that he can’t seem to stop thinking about the way Rukawa looked when he ate his ice cream. It feels different from all the other times he’s seen him. The way he tilted his head, the way his eyelashes batted when he looked down, the way his lips moved…

Okay, these thoughts have got to stop. Sendou tries his best to switch his mental image to something else. That turns out to be quite an easy task when they happen to pass by a purikura (photo sticker) store where they see a few school girls excitedly step out from.

Sendou: 哦，是大头贴。
Rukawa: 。。。？
Sendou: 大头贴, 你不知道吗？
Rukawa: 。。。什么东西？
Sendou: 哎呀，你不知道啊。

Then, Sendou's lips curl into a playful smile as an idea comes to him.

Sendou: 既然你不知道就试一试吧？
Rukawa: 。。。？
Sendou: 来，走吧走吧〜

Sendou continues to grin, grabs Rukawa’s wrist and pulls him into the store. That catches Rukawa by surprise. He’s tempted to pull his arm away but there are several people around and he doesn’t want to alert anyone. And so he furrows his eyebrows as he has no choice but to follow Sendou. Well at least, Sendou’s considerate enough to pick a corner machine where there’re less people. Rukawa stares at the machine uncomfortably as Sendou digs for a few hundred yen coins in his wallet.

Rukawa: 这是什么东西？
Sendou: 大头贴。*enters the coins into the machine* 这东西会拍我们的照片。
Rukawa: 照片？
Sendou: 对啊，就像那些女生经常在钱包上贴的小照片。
Rukawa: -_- 你想再被人家误会啊？
Sendou smiles playfully: 其实我并不是很介意呢。

Rukawa doesn’t quite understand Sendou. Actually, he probably never does quite understand him. But to simplify things, he decides to settle on the conclusion that Sendou’s just playful. Either that, or he simply enjoys fooling him.

Purikura take #1:

Rukawa: 。。。现在该做什么？
Sendou: 首先我们必须调它的亮度，然后再选背景和其他款式。
Rukawa: 你看来很了解嘛。
Sendou: 全都是丽娜教的。
Rukawa: 。。。。 *looks at the screen and then the buttons underneath to see a green one that says ‘okay’* 。。。要按这个吗？
Sendou: 啊不，现在还不是时--

Camera snaps. Outcome: totally bad.

Purikura take #2:

Sendou: ^^; 在还没设定好之前千万别按那个钮哦？
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou: 哦，好了。现在你就摆个姿势往前看。
Rukawa: -_- 姿势？
Sendou: 嗯，只要你往前看什么姿势都行。
Rukawa: 。。。好麻烦。
Sendou: ^^; 简简单单一个V也好啊。
Rukawa: 像笨蛋似的。
Sendou: 啊，看前面！看前--

Camera snaps. Outcome: pretty bad.

Purikura take #3, final take:

Sendou: ^^;; 这次千万不要忘了看前面哦？
Rukawa: 前面到底是哪里？
Sendou: 这个照相机。
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou: 对了，你也别忘记笑哦？
Rukawa: 。。。

Camera snaps. Outcome: not bad.

Sendou picks up the sticker once it’s finished printing and smiles at it, showing it to Rukawa.

Sendou: 啊，幸好照得还不错。
Rukawa stares at it: 。。。好怪。
Sendou laughs: 那是因为你没笑吧。
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou smiles: 我把它切成两人份哦？
Rukawa: 为什么？
Sendou: 反正我们有这么多张, 你不要一些吗？
Rukawa: 不要。
Sendou pouts playfully: 好冷淡哦。
Rukawa: 这种无聊东西我不要。
Sendou: 你别这样说嘛。

Sendou then happily tears one of the stickers out and pastes it on the back of his ID card before he slips it back into his wallet. Rukawa watches in curiosity.

Rukawa: 你在干嘛？
Sendou: 既然拍都拍了，不粘不是很浪费？而且这样也可以证明我们之间的友情。
Rukawa: 。。。为什么要粘在身份证的后面？
Sendou: 如果光明正大地粘在前面被人家误会你不是不开心吗？

Sendou pretty much gets it right, but Rukawa shrugs it off and steps out of the store. He’s still got his bike to get. At the bicycle store, Rukawa greets the shopkeeper who looks happy to see him. Apparently Rukawa is an old-time customer and the shopkeeper adores him like his own child, sort of, cause he looks quite similar to his own son who now lives in Nagoya. But thanks to that Rukawa also gets the privilege to buy things from the store at a super discount. Well now we know why he comes to this store. =P

Anyway, Rukawa ends up getting a regular bike at half price. Bastard (LOL). He politely thanks the shopkeeper and waves him goodbye before he and Sendou continue walking outside.

Sendou: 你买到的不错嘛。
Rukawa: 所以我喜欢这家店。
Sendou: 要不要我们试一试？
Rukawa: 试什么？
Sendou: 不如你骑车载我回家吧？反正顺路。
Rukawa: 才不要。你很重。
Sendou: 那我来骑吧。
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou: 放心。我不会东奔西撞的。
Rukawa: -__-# 。。。

Rukawa’s reluctant but in the end he still agrees, reluctantly of course. It’s not that he’s worried about his bike, cause for someone who’s crashed half a dozen times that no longer means anything. It’s just he has never ridden a bike this way before, and he’s quite sure he’s not gonna like it.

Sighing, he lets Sendou take control of the bike as he climbs aboard the back, stepping on the little platform to the side of the back wheel; his bike has no back seat, so the only way to fit a second person on it is to stand above the back wheel.

Sendou: 抓紧一点哦！

Rukawa grabs onto Sendou’s shoulder and sighs internally to himself before the two take off. The ride is well and smooth and Rukawa is actually surprised it feels quite nice this way, especially with the wind blowing against his entire body. He is just about to enjoy looking around the streets they pass by when suddenly he feels overwhelmed by gravity.

Sendou’s going downhill. And he’s totally enjoying it, laughing along the way as he feels Rukawa’s grip tighten around his shoulders.

Rukawa: 仙道！
Sendou: 哈哈哈！好好玩哦！
Rukawa: 太快了！
Sendou: 别担心, 别担心！
Rukawa: =_=#

Rukawa’s about to shout again when suddenly the road gets steeper, making him instinctively put an arm around Sendou’s neck keep himself steady. On the other hand, Sendou’s still laughing, thinking 《我真想看流川他现在的表情。。。》

Rukawa: 《混蛋。。。》###

He’s so gonna trash him after this. After a few more seconds, they finally each the end of the slope and immediately Rukawa lets go of a hand to tap on Sendou’s shoulder, hard.

Rukawa: 停！我说停！

Sendou slowly brings the bike to a halt and Rukawa gets off the moment he can. He bends over with his hands on his knees as if he’s tired after round of basketball and breathes in to relax himself. Sendou watches him for two seconds before he starts chuckling again.

Sendou: 很好玩吧？
Rukawa: =_=##

Rukawa stares at Sendou angrily that Sendou starts feeling guilty.

Sendou: 对不起，我答应你不会有第二次。
Rukawa: 下车。
Sendou: 啊，嗯。

Sendou gets off the bike and Rukawa promptly grabs the handle and resumes walking.

Sendou: ^^; 对不起。。。你生气啊？
Rukawa: 。。。

The two continue to walk in silence. Sendou’s actually a little afraid of talking in case he pisses him off, not that he’s certain he isn’t already. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that. It’s dangerous after all, and getting Rukawa hurt would be the last thing he ever wants, but for some reason it was tempting. Maybe… maybe that’s because it’s the only other way he can think of for them to be close… physically. 

Five minutes later, they somehow arrive at the seaside where Sendou first brought them fishing. The sun is beginning to set (as the sun sets early the closer it gets to winter) and with that the color of the sky changes. It is a pretty orange yellow at the moment, the sun still hanging quite high. As they walk past, Sendou stares into the horizon.

Sendou: 日落真美。
Rukawa: 。。。　*gazes along*
Sendou: 不如我们等到太阳下山后才走吧？
Rukawa: 。。。
Sendou: 我答应你这是今天最后的要求。
Rukawa: 。。。

Rukawa glances over at the sea again before he agrees to Sendou’s request without saying a word. He simply walks the bike over to the shore where there’s grass and puts the bike down. Sendou smiles and follows him. For a while the two of them just sit quietly on the grass and stare blankly at the horizon.

To be honest Rukawa’s not angry anymore. In fact that probably didn’t last more than a few minutes. He just… doesn’t have much else to say. He can’t deny that it’s been fun though, even though there were a few odd moments here and there. Oh yeah, Mitsui. He remembers bumping into Mitsui earlier on. It’s cool to see how they aren’t afraid to be intimate together in public, even though it’s obvious Mitsui gets embarrassed when seen by the people he knows.

On the other hand, Sendou continues to gaze into the sky far away. He’s glad to have called Rukawa out today. It’s definitely been fun, different from the kind of fun they usually get from playing basketball with each other. He’s aware that it’s almost like a date… and he wouldn’t have mind calling it one either. But that’s the problem. Why wouldn’t he mind…? Does he like Rukawa that way? Is there more from Rukawa that he wishes he can have?

Well it can’t be. Sendou doesn’t remember when he ever starts feeling anything special for the boy. They first met a couple months ago during a practice match between their schools. He’s heard about his name long before that, of course, and after having met him he’s convinced that Rukawa’s a competitive one with a reasonably arrogant attitude. That’s not a bad thing though, cause deep down he knows he’s longed for a rival, and no one fits the bill better than him. So when was it…? When did that change ever come about?

“你猜那是为什么？”
“我怎么知道。”
“要是我输了你不会再追着我吧？”
“。。。”
“我果然说中。”

Sendou blinks at the setting sun. It’s been a continuous half hour or so since he stared at it. Still, neither of them has said a word. Maybe Rukawa’s still angry. Sendou looks away from the sun and turns his head around. Rukawa’s fallen asleep. He’s lying flat against the ground with a hand over his stomach.

Sendou: 《他是不是累了。。。》

It’s almost like a crime for him to be lying there, sleeping so peacefully and defenselessly. Does he even realize that anyone can do anything to him at this moment? Or is he defenseless only because he knows it’s Sendou and he’s safe to be with? Sendou continues to watch him, observing the way his chest rises and sinks with each breath, the way he stirs a little from time to time… the way his lips are tempting him.

Sendou’s heart begins to race, a dozen thoughts rushing through his head. He quietly scoots over towards Rukawa, careful not to wake him up. Then, he reaches a hand out to gently brush his hand over his head, softly running his fingers through his hair. He whispers his name softly, wondering if he’d wake up, but he doesn’t.

Sendou: 《看来他真的睡着了。。。》

Sendou looks into Rukawa’s sleeping face as he continues to play with his hair. He’s not quite sure what he’s feeling inside, and his heart is still racing. He doesn’t know what part of him he’s attracted to, neither is he sure of how exactly he feels for him. All he knows at the moment is that… he really wants to kiss him.

Gathering all the courage he can get, he slowly leans over. He pauses for a moment as he hovers above Rukawa’s lips and gazes into his eyes. Then, he closes his eyes for a moment… before he pushes himself back up and moves back to where he originally sits and lies against the ground facing the other side.

Sendou: 《不行。。。我不能乘人之危 。》

Now it’s quiet… and Rukawa slowly opens his eyes. He looks over at Sendou, who has his back facing him, without turning his head.

Rukawa: 《。。。。。。》

The sunset is prettiest at this moment, the orange sun hanging right along the horizon. And none of them are looking at it.

« Part 1 | Part 3 »