Sorry for the delay. Really bad writer's block but I got rid of it now!!!

*CC grins stupidly*

I mean I REALLy got RID of it!! I got the next chapter already planned so hopefully

won't take that long to finish this off.

Warnings: language, Hana-abuse, OOC Hana, OOC Rukawa

(Sorry Hana, I'm still abusing you . . .)

// . . . // -- emphasis

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Chapter 6

White on white on white.

The innocent white wall sparkled cleanly against the innocent white sheets.

Hanamichi glared at the offending white walls.

Great. . . how is he going to //pay// for all this?????

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"It's the third day already." Ayako remarked, looking at Shohoku's players dashing and sweating around the court. Miyagi was yelling out threats to the unfortunate first-years unable to keep up with the demanding pace.

"Third?" Haruko echoed in puzzlement.

"Third." The curly haired brunette mumbled more to herself than to her friend. Brown eyes glanced at the closed gym door and back to the team racing past her in full sprint, their pain and exhaustion etched clearly on their face.

Ayako sighed and leaned against the wall. It was too peaceful, not that it was a bad thing, she quickly added mentally.

Much as she hate to admit this. . . practices seem to be missing something without Sakuragi.

She sighed again. The petite brunette beside her sighed in unison as she wondered where Rukawa ////blush//// was.

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Never had he done this before.

Rukawa was known to skip classes, but never basketball practices. Well, hardly anyway. Until today.

Rukawa had been staring at the hospital's gliding doors for over half an hour, trying to decide whether to enter or not. Half an hour ago, several of the hospital's staff were quietly discussing about the handsome, raven-haired, ice king standing forlornly outside, giving him covert looks and blushes. Now, they were quietly discussing whether they should bring the handsome, raven-haired ice king inside to the psychiatric ward.

The raven-haired boy sighed softly to himself, drawing what was left of his tattered nerves and stepped into the hospital. A few steps up, turn left, left again, up two flights of stairs, turn right, and right again. Rukawa nervously hiked up to the room where he had left his Hanamichi last night.

Last night.

The blue-eyed kitsune thought back on that fateful night when he was out looking for that baka gray cat of his. Unknowingly, he had came across the rumored haunted park, where supposedly a girl with no face, wearing a red dress would rise from the pond and devour all passerbys' soul. Being a member of the Rukawa family, he naturally dismissed all superstition when he entered the empty park, still searching for that dumb cat, carrying his favorite catnip in one hand.

Much to his surprise, he found his dumb cat without using the catnip. Even more surprising, or shocking rather, there was his do'aho sleeping underneath a willow tree. Several shakes and kicks later, Rukawa concluded that his do'aho must have fought with some rival street gang and lost.

Hence the hospital, because Rukawa is completely clueless when it comes to injured, red-haired monkeys.

Rukawa hesitated by the door again. Should he go in? What should he say to him? Will his do'aho throw him back out? Mock him? Taunt him? Hit him? His hand hovered uncertainly over the doorknob. Well, maybe a peek. Just a peek to see if his do'aho is alright then he'll leave.

Thus decided, Rukawa slowly opened the door a crack. One dark, sapphire blue eye peeked in cautiously.

Then the other eye.

The room was blindingly white, no patch of red anywhere. Where the hell did his do'aho go?

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Hanamichi had to admit it. Sneaking out of a hospital wasn't one of the smartest move in history. But then, Hanamichi's not supposed to be smart. Therefore, the red-haired boy concluded, as he leaned heavily on a nearby lamppost panting with his exertion, it was his / normal / behavior.

Besides, there's always the question of hospital bills.

He limped onwards back to Oyaji's house, one hand clutched protectively over a much bruised stomach, praying that the old man wouldn't be there. The old guy's probably pissed already. He hadn't been home to make him his breakfast. Not that it was his fault. But then, that doesn't really matter anyway. Everything was his fault afterall.

Oyaji had drilled that into him.

Just like everyone did in Shohoku.

Perhaps he could make Oyaji's favorite meal to appease his anger somewhat. That means he would have to buy sake as well. Hopefully, the old man hasn't drunk the whole lot. He'd just bought it the day before yesterday afterall.

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Wishful thinking really.

Oyaji is never in a good mood, especially on days when Hanamichi skipped a meal. Thankfully, those don't happen often.

But when they do . . .

Hanamichi's brown eyes glazed over while his adopted father screamed, ranted and shrieked at him. It wasn't like it had not happened before. Oyaji screeched out all the cuss words in the dictionary and some that weren't in the dictionary, then cussed him all over again to make sure he didn't miss any. This really is getting kind of repetitive.

" - good-for-nothing waste of space! Are you fucking listening, you idiot!?!?!"

Hanamichi started. Of course he wasn't listening! But he couldn't say that. That would be instant death, not that it would be a bad thing now. "Yes sir." The boy mumbled, keeping his eyes glazed on the tiled, kitchen floor.

"Then what the fuck was I saying, you lil' shit?!" Oyaji grabbed the boy's collar and shook him roughly.

Hanamichi blinked stupidly, knowing if he did answer, the outcome would be the same anyway. He screwed his eyes shut for the anticipated impact.

First, the stomach. Oyaji always aimed it first for some odd reason. Then his chest, three or four times before Hanamichi managed to curl up defensively. Cold, empty eyes glazed as the man continued to attack him.

The endless stream of blows, punches and kicks as well as the profanities screamed inbetween pauses.

Strange, it doesn't seem to hurt as much as he thought it should, Hanamichi mused in some small part of his brain.

He couldn't seem to feel the pain anymore.

TBC

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TBC