It was a bright and sunny morning in the district of Kanagawa. The birds were twittering and people who open their business on weekends were lazily waiting for their first customers for the day as they enjoyed the fresh crisp morning air.

An imp can be seen sitting on a lamp-post, swinging his legs as he eyed the early risers walking along the street. He would be seen, that is, IF he was visible to the human eyes and if he could be seen they would see him dressed in a green and blue tunic with leggings, a pair of small pointed shoes and a cute hat on his head - y'know, how an imp is supposed to be dressed. The only object he has on his body, other than his clothes that is, is a leather pouch hanging by his waist, bumping on his hips as his legs continued to swing.

Scanning the area, his eyes suddenly fell upon a pair of young girls carrying a water dispensor and a bag of plastic cups. Their arms seemed to be straining against the weight of the dispensor before they decided to stop and rest - right under the lamp-post where the imp was perched on.

"Phewh!" one girl with curly black hair exhaled, "When I agreed to make the drinks for the team, I forgot that they take lots of them."

The younger girl with brown hair just nodded as she relaxed her arms by just hanging it limply by her sides, "Basketball is a very strenuous sport."

"Hmmm..," thought the imp with a twinkle in his eyes. Loki, is the imp's name and mischief is his game. Just arriving in Japan he feels the need to have a little fun, at other people's expenses, of course, he added cheekily to himself. And he can start with this basketball team.

"Now where is it?" he wondered as he rummaged his pouch for a particular box. As he was busy doing so, the girls were approached by a third person.

"Need help with that?" asked Koshino as he walked up to them.

Ayako recognising the Ryonan player gave relieved smile as she said,"Sure!"

At that moment, the imp was busy sprinkling something on the cups when the bag was snatched by the boy and tied firmly at the top.
"Here," he said, handing the bag to Haruko, "that way dust won't come in."

Haruko nodded her thanks as the imp cursed, "Damn! I only got to two or three cups!"
"Hmm... I wonder what it was," he then wondered, looking at the two white boxes he has in his hand. He was unable to find out which was the box he needed for his trick and because he was in haste, he just threw out whatever it was in the two boxes.

"This I know," Loki said looking at the box he has in his left hand. It was the powder which he intended to use which when consumed with water will change the person's personality drastically. And this one... the imp thought hard weighing the similiar looking box in his other hand. He only remembered that it was given by a passing japanese imp who he has befriended a few thousand years ago and that imp had said something about ... 'yi'? 'Yui'? 'Yaoi'? 'Yuo'?

Loki shrugged as he put the boxes back in his pouch, "Well, I'll find out soon enough."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of the team was already present when the three arrived at the Shohoku gym. Koshino placed the dispensor on the bench where Ayako stopped before saying, "Well, I've got to go now. Sendoh is waiting for me somewhere and I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Wait, Koshino," Ayako said, "Would you like a drink before you leave? it's the least that we can offer you after you helped us carry it all the way here."

Koshino shrugged, "Sure, why not? Uh...do you have covers for those cups by the way?"

"Of course," Ayako replied digging into the bag for a plastic cover. After filling the cup with the orange juice she made together with Haruko, she covered it with the cover and handed it over to the boy.

"Here you go," she smiled.

"Thanks. I won't have to buy a drink then later on. Ja," he said waving to them before he turned around and walked away with the drink in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"All right, it's time for a break," Akagi called out after two hours of practice. The team, all sweaty and exhausted walked tiredly to where the two girls were filling the cups with still-cold juice.

Hanamichi walked straight towards Haruko and gave a big smile as she handed him his drink, "Ahah! Thank you, Haruko-chan! Mmm... refreshing. I bet you made this!"

Haruko giggled, "Yes, Ayako and I did. I'm glad you like it."

Rukawa sipped his drink quietly. Gritting his teeth on the plastic cup, he watched in annoyance as Hanamichi continued to pour his adoration to the brown-haired girl.
Rukawa realised that it was after the game with Sannoh that he has developed a disturbing feeling of admiration and also a hope that he might get closer to Hanamichi. Hell, maybe even more than just friends. Rukawa gave a small smirk. It was difficult that it was nearly impossible to imagine himself falling for a loud-mouth, stupid, naive guy but that's how it is.

Rukawa gulped some more of his juice as he thought, "Well, at least the only girl he likes has a crush on me. Then I won't have much to be worried about."
He sighed, Of course, no girl can keep away from my beauty.

Suddenly he choked. Where the hell did that come from?!

"Rukawa, are you alright?" Kogure asked putting down his cup before patting the junior on the back.

Rukawa coughed some more before he finally answered with a smile, "Why yes, Kogure-san. Never felt better."

One could hear jaws dropping and eyes popping out of the sockets at that moment. The Rukawa-Shitenai, who always made a point to be there whenever the number one rookie chose to play, practially screamed when they saw him smile and Haruko swooned while Hanamichi closed his jaw back to glare daggers at his rival.

"Are- are you sure?" asked Kogure again.

"Of course. Can we start now, Akagi-sempai?" said Rukawa turning towards the captain.

"Uh.. y-yeah," managed Akagi as he watched the boy put down his cup to pick up a basketball and dribble it towards the net. Rukawa did a run and executed a powerful slam dunk, earning more high-pitched screams from his fan-club. Haruko was threatening to faint.

Hanamichi fumed. The fox was showing off! And worse yet, he was smiling at the girls!

"H-Haruko!" Hanamichi yelped as he steadied the girl who nearly toppled when Rukawa gave a bright smile in her direction.

"That's it!" he growled, walking angrily to the court towards the dark-haired boy, "You and me, kitsune! One on one!"

Rukawa turned around and grinned at the redhead. "I'll have one on one with you anytime, Hana-kun," Rukawa drawled as the redhead was near.

Hanamichi was taken aback by the tone of Rukawa's voice, missing the other meaning of those words, but he did hear the name Rukawa used for him.

"H-hana-kun?" Hanamichi stammered. Then his hesitancy disappeared as it was replaced by anger on his face, "You can't fool me, kitsune. You're trying to rattle my brains, right? Well, it won't work! C'mon! Let's start!"

Rukawa gave a predatory grin as he threw the ball to Hanamichi, "You first."

Hanamichi accepted the ball, dribbled and started running swiftly towards the hoop. Rukawa, however managed to catch up and blocked the remaining distance between the goal and his opponent. The redhead tried to scare Rukawa into backing up but the fox was not intimidated. The fox-eyed boy, however, tried to snatch the ball away but Hanamichi deftly twisted around so his back was facing the other boy with his body bent down to keep the ball out of reach.

Suddenly Rukawa's hand, which was pushing Hanamichi's back to keep him from coming any nearer to the hoop, trailed down.

Hanamichi suddenly yelped, losing his concentration. Rukawa took the opportunity to reached out and snatched the ball from him and throwing it easily through the hoop, scoring a two-pointer. The Rukawa club cheered madly.

Hanamichi glared at the fox-eyed boy with a tinge on his cheeks.
"Y-you cheated!" the redhead accused pointing a finger at the other boy.

"No, I didn't," Rukawa said easily as he twirled the ball on his index finger, "There are no rules against touching."

"B-but," Hanamichi tried as he unconciously rubbed his bottom where Rukawa had squeezed just a few seconds ago.

"Ok, so now it's my ball," Rukawa said as he started dribbling the ball again.

Hanamichi quickly stood his guard, stretching his legs and arms in defence while Rukawa kept one hand busy dribbling the ball as the other hand was stretched to the front to push at the redhead who was trying to stop Rukawa from nearing the hoop.
That was what Hanamichi was intending to do before he felt Rukawa's arm stray on his chest and then go down to his abdomen and then down to ....

Hanamichi quickly jerked back before Rukawa's hand got any lower than that.

Rukawa, however, used Hanamichi's distraction to zip around the redhead and make another score.

"Y-You..." Hanamichi sputtered.

"So, you admit defeat?" Rukawa asked grinning.

"Hell, no!"

So after a few more scores with the hoop and a different kind of score on Hanamichi's body (both by Rukawa, of course), Akagi stopped the game to continue the group practice.

Hanamichi didn't protest as he stomped towards Mitsui and Miyagi, sporting a very, very red face.

Rukawa sighed as he watched the redhead's retreating back, "Damn. It was getting fun"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Hanamichi. Can I walk you home?"

The redhead stood there gaping like goldfish as he watched the dark-haired boy smile charmingly at him. Girls would have gotten weak on the knees with a smile like that, but for Hanamichi it was down-right scary.

"Why?" asked Hanamichi finally.

"Because I want to - and so that I can spend some time with you," replied Rukawa.

"You can't coz... coz... I'm not going your way. Yeah, that's why," said the redhead quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind. I need the exercise anyway," Rukawa said good-naturedly.

Hanamichi racked his brain trying to think of some other excuse but failed. Looking at Rukawa's still smiling face, Hanamichi gave himself up to fate.

************************************************

Mitsui was packing his gym bag when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Kogure smiling his usual friendly smile at him.

"Uh, Mitsui," Kogure began, scratching his head in an embarrassed manner, "I need to ask you a favour."

"What is it?" his friend asked.

"There are some things in my room that I need your help in moving - that is if you're not too tired already?" Kogure said hopefully.

"No, I'll help," Mitsui replied as he picked up his bag and getting ready to go.

"Great!" Kogure beamed, walking along-side the no. 14 player.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanamichi kept silent as he watched from the corner of his eyes the dark-haired boy who was chatting merrily as they walked towards his house.

The kitsune's up to something, thought Hanamichi suspiciously. But what?! He's talking WAY too much and he - he's SMILING for God's sake!
Not able to stand it any longer, the redhead blurted out, "Look Rukawa! What do you want?!"

Rukawa stopped his chatter to look at the redhead in genuine puzzlement, "What do you mean?"
"YOU" Hanamichi cried out waving his hands at Rukawa, "walking me home!"

"Why? Is that a problem?" asked Rukawa his eyebrow raised.

"B-but you hate me! And I hate you!"

Rukawa slowly smiled, "I guess I have decided that I don't hate you anymore - exactly the opposite."
Then he stepped closer towards the redhead, his smile growing as he said softly, "And about you hating me - well, I was hoping that I would be able to change that, Hana-kun."

This time Hanamichi did not miss the real meaning of those words as his face did a slow burn. Rukawa leaning very close to him that their noses were nearly touching made him want to turn away and run. And so he did.

Loki watched the fleeing boy through eyes filled with tears. He had laughed so hard his stomach ached! With Rukawa he was able to recognise the tall dark-haired boy as one of his victim when he saw the expressions of his team-mate after the magical powder took effect. Oh, how he wish he could find out which were the other boys who had also caught the spell as well. It would have been fun to watch!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"K-Kogure!"

Mitsui protested as he was pushed to land on his back on the bed. The spectacled boy only grinned as he launched himself on top of Mitsui with glee.

"Oof!" was all Mitsui could say before his face got rained with kisses and his body carressed by eager hands.

"Kogure!" tried Mitsui, "Y-you said you needed help in moving some stuff!"

"I lied," said Kogure between kisses.

"But why.... mmffff..."
After a while Kogure lifted his lips from his friend to look at him with heated eyes.

"You talk to much," stated the boy as he claimed Mitsui's mouth for another kiss.

***************************************

Hanamichi has reached the corner of the gate to his house when he finally stopped. Panting he turned around to see if the fox had followed him but seeing that the walk-way behind him was deserted he breathed a sigh of relief.
Until he turned back around to see Rukawa in front of him leaning lazily against the wall.

"H-How did you get here so fast?!" demanded the redhead jumping a few feet back.

"I know a few short-cuts here and," Rukawa replied pushing himself off of the wall, "I do have a bicycle."

Hanamichi scowled before he brushed quickly past the other boy to walk towards his house.
Rukawa was right behind him when he unlocked the door and casually walked past Hanamichi before the redhead could shut the door in his face.

"Hey!" Hanamichi protested when the fox-eyed boy pulled off his sneakers to walk around the house.

"Where's your room, Hana-kun? Hey, I know! It must be somewhere upstairs!" exclaimed Rukawa running up the stairs.

"RUKAWA! Come back down here!" yelled Hanamichi running after the dark-haired boy. He could compete with the kitsune in terms of speed but Rukawa has had a head start and in a few seconds Hanamichi could only stare helplessly as he watched the other boy jump on his bed to lie down and stretch luxuriously.

"Rukawa!" Hanamichi said visibly trembling from anger, "Get OFF of my bed!"

Rukawa looked at him with an innocent expression. "Hm? You want to lie down too? Come on, there's room for both of us," Rukawa told him patting the area beside him. When the redhead made no move in joining him, he sat up and leaned on his elbow, asking in a laughing manner, "Or are you afraid of me?"

"Of course not!" replied the redhead hotly.

"Really? Then you can prove it to me by giving me a kiss," said Rukawa in a daring tone.

"I will not!" sputtered Hanamichi, "Kissing you will not prove my courage!"

Rukawa went silent. "That's true," he agreed, "but kissing me will prove that you are not afraid of finding out if you like boys or not."

"I am NOT confused about my preferences!"

"Then prove it to me," said Rukawa getting up on his knees to lean towards the redhead who was still standing at the foot of the bed.

Hanamichi was suddenly at a loss. Then resolve slowly set on his features as he told the dark-haired boy, "Just one kiss."

"Fine," Rukawa smiled as he pulled the redhead's face down to meet his.

Hanamichi made up his mind to just keep his mouth closed tight and give Rukawa a short kiss but he was not expecting the other boy to do a full assault on his lips.

The kiss began with a soft brush against the redhead's mouth before the nibbling began. Hanamichi wanted to pull away but Rukawa held him tight. When a wet tongue started caressing his lips, the redhead gasped in shock. Rukawa quickly took that opportunity to plunge his tongue inside Hanamichi's lax mouth, stunning the redhead with the passion of the open-mouthed kiss.

After a breathless moment, Rukawa allowed Hanamichi to break away. The redhead was breathing heavily and his face was flushed from the deep kiss they had shared.

Hanamichi stammered, "I... I... "

Suddenly, Rukawa forcefully pulled the still dazed redhead towards him, making both of them to tumble onto the bed in a tangle of arms, legs and sheets.

Loki turned bright red as he turned away from the window of Hanamichi's bedroom in embarrassment.
"Oh, so that's what the yi's - yui's - or whatever it's name is - effect on them. Better note it down for future uses," he told himself as he jumped off the ledge, trying vainly but unable to ignore the noises the two boys were making.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kogure pulled the covers to wrap tightly around himself as he snuggled more comfortably to the source of warmth by his side and sighed when a pair of arms encircled him to pull him closer to a warm lean body.

Who's body?!

Kogure's eyes snapped open and when he saw Mitsui looming over him with a smug smile on his face, he panicked and scrambled away - to fall on the floor.
Still on the bed, Mitsui leaned on his elbow to look at the dazed boy on the floor in puzzlement.

"W-what happened?" Kogure asked, although images of him pushing a protesting Mitsui onto the bed was clear on his mind.

Mitsui blinked, "You don't remember? You jumped me."

"Oh" Oo~kay...

"Man!" chuckled Mitsui, "I thought I was straight but ..."
Mitsui stopped as a small tinge of red appeared on his cheeks,"You are a great kisser ... and of other stuff.."

Kogure laughed weakly, "I think ... I went a little bit crazy just now. Or maybe I'm allergic to Ayako's juice coz I still don't remember what I had actually done."

Mitsui was surprised, "Really?"
Then a grin crept onto his lips as he slowly slipped off of the bed to join Kogure on the floor.

"Then let me refresh your memory," he said as his hands wandered over Kogure's body.

"M-Mit.... oooh..."

*****************************

Rukawa woke up suddenly to find his arms wrapped around Hanamichi, the redhead still asleep as they lay together on the bed. Visions of him chasing after Hanamichi danced in his memory made him groan. What was I ON?! he wondered. He slowly looked down and to his relief he saw that they were still clothed, although with the state of their clothes it looks as if they had done more than just kissing.

"Hanamichi," Rukawa called urgently, trying to shake the redhead awake.

"Urmmmf," the boy mumbled before turning to the other side and continue sleeping.

"Hanamichi!" Rukawa tried again, this time slapping the redhead at the back of his head.

"Itee! Watcha do that for?!" demanded the redhead finally waking up to glare at the dark-haired boy.

"Hanamichi," began Rukawa, "I'm... I'm sorry about what happened. I wasn't myself..... wait, where are you going?"

Rukawa held onto Hanamichi's arm when the redhead started to rise off of the bed.
"I understand. So that means you want to forget about this," said Hanamichi coldly.

"No! That's not what I meant!" answered Rukawa frustrated. He desperately went over his still confused mind to find some words to explain what he means to say as Hanamichi waited impatiently but failing to do so, he sighed and pulled the redhead down for a bruising kiss.

Pulling away he said breathlessly, "I wasn't myself but I still would like to get to know you better, do'aho," and he pulled the unresisting redhead back on the bed.

They both lay there for a while, with Rukawa laying his head on Hanamichi's shoulder as the redhead played with the silky black strands of Rukawa's hair.

"You weren't yourself, eh?" Hanamichi spoke up from above Rukawa's head, "So, you won't be changing back again then?"

"I don't intend to," Rukawa intoned lowly.

Hanamichi chuckled, "Good, coz I won't like it if my boyfriend turns into a pervert and flirts with other girls when I'm around."

Rukawa started to protest but was stopped by Hanamichi's mouth closing on his own.

Meanwhile at a court far away from the Sakuragi and the Kogure residence, a boy with black middle-parted hair signaled his friend for a break off of the game. His friend nodded as he followed the shorter player off of the court to sit and rest under a shade of trees.

"Man, it's so hot today," remarked Sendoh. When he saw Koshino pick up a plastic cup from near his jacket on the ground he snatched it away eagerly, "Hey, thanks!"

Koshino looked at the spiky haired boy incredulously as Sendoh pulled off the cover and quickly drank up all the juice in one go.
"Sendoh!" Koshino finally spoke up angrily, "That was mine!"

"It was?" Sendoh blinked, "Well, then I guess I owe you a drink later on."

"You better," groused Koshino standing up, when suddenly he felt a hand holding his wrist.

"And I guess I should take you to dinner as well, ne, Koshino-kun?" purred Sendoh.

"What?"

"You're right," Sendoh exclaimed snapping his fingers of his free hand, "We should get acquainted first before I am allowed to take you out on a date, eh?"

Koshino 'awk'ed when Sendoh suddenly pulled him down to sit on the taller boy's lap and started nuzzling happily on his neck.

"S-SENDOH!!!"

~The End~