Thump . . . thump . . . thump . . .

     Shoot . . . Hit . . .

     Sendoh caught the ball and wiped a streaming sweat off his face. It was a nightfall already, but Rukawa hadn't appeared yet. Sendoh had been waiting for him about a hour, but the fox-eyed boy didn't come. Sendoh sighed and lifted up his head, looking at the starry sky.

     The evening one-on-one games with Rukawa became a habitual thing for Ryonan captain. Rukawa came after his school basketball practice, a bit tired, but with a silent pleasure played with Sendoh.

      Albeit, as usual, Rukawa was short spoken, Sendoh could see how those fox eyes lit up on the basketball court. As if the boy came to life from his usual apathy . . .

       Sendoh smiled. "He is like an animated statue...Beautiful animated statue..."

       The game transformed that fox-eyed boy. He became lambent, enthusiastic, striving for victory. . . His aura attracted Sendoh to him like a moth to light. Two times Sendoh even had lost the game, having afforded to gaze at grace and beauty of the Shohoku player. . .

      Yes, that boy will have a great future in basketball. His skills already are almost like Sendoh's. Maybe, to have Sendoh's skills it was Rukawa's reason to come on their evening practices?

       "But today Rukawa didn't come. Why?" wondered the spiky-haired boy. "Maybe something happened to him? Or maybe Rukawa don't want more to play with me?"

       The last thought made to cower painfully his stomach. For the moment, sadness and despair overwhelmed him.

       "No!" Sendoh said to himself. "I don't want to think about it! He'll come tomorrow! He'll come. . . I hope. . ."

      Banishing the unpleasant thoughts from his mind, Sendoh stretched himself wearily and directed toward his bag. Having put his basketball in it, he pulled out a bottle of water and again looked at the sky.

       "Let's see what tomorrow will bring to us."

       After collecting his stuff, Sendoh went home slowly.

 ~ * * * ~

       "Do you think it could be done by them?"

       "I don't know, Kogure. But everything is so suspicious, isn't it? We have the game with Shoyo in some days, and now one of our best players is kidnapped. Maybe it were not they, but to check it out is not useless."

      Kogure thought silently about Mitsui's words, then he nodded. "Okay. So what we will start from?"

      "We'll pay a visit to a friend of mine, who are in Shoyo High School. He always keeps the track of events. So if he knows where Rukawa is, then we'll know that as well . . ."

  ~ * * * ~

       "Shit, that guys really don't know anything," Hanamichi thought annoyed.

       He rubbed his bruised knuckles. His "conversation" with Cobras was short but informative. Those guys were not brave before, but now, at sight of almost whole Sakuragi's Gundan. (Youhei stayed with Ayako and Ryota in the school gym, planning to go to a police-station)

     Cobras panicked and fell into stupor. So they were ready to tell any information they knew. But, unfortunately, Cobras didn't know anything about Rukawa's abduction.

      "Shit," Hanamichi cursed thoughtfully again. "Where is that stupid fox? Where do we have to look for him?"

       Kicking angrily at pebble, he along with his Gundan was going to a general venue - the gym of Shohoku.

  ~ * * * ~

       Sendoh was slowly walking home from a court, sighing and looking at the stars from time to time. His mind was occupied with one dark-haired fox-eyed Shohoku basketball player. His thoughts were full with images of Rukawa: Rukawa jumping, Rukawa throwing the ball, Rukawa pushing back the wet locks of his hair . . .

      "Oi, Sendoh!"

      ...Rukawa looking silently at the starry sky...

      "Sendoh!"

      "Huh? Oh . . .  Hi Sakuragi. What are you guys doing here in such late time?"

      Hanamichi sighed and, looking at his Gundan, answered. "We are looking for Rukawa."

      Sendoh raised his eyebrows in surprise. "With the such crowd? Do you want to beat him up or something like that?"

       "Neh," sniffed Hanamichi scornfully. "If I wished to kick his ass, I would do it myself. But that is not the point. It just . . . Well, Youhei said that Rukawa was kidnapped earlier today. He saw how it happened. So now, we are looking for that stupid fox everywhere."

      "Kidnapped?! You said Rukawa was kidnapped?!" Sendoh exclaimed, his facial expression's anxious and unquiet. It explains why Rukawa didn't come on their common game. "Ah, shit. How had it happened?"

     Sendoh joined Sakuragi and his friends, who proceeded their way toward Shohoku's gym. On the way, Hanamichi told the spiky-haired boy the story, which was told him earlier by Youhei.

      "Did somebody call to Rukawa's home? Maybe it's not a kidnapping," the Ryonan's captain asked the redhead boy.

     "Hmm, as I know no. Nobody knows neither his phone number nor his address. Except maybe Anzai-sensei . . . But we didn't want to discompose him. So . . ."

      "I know where he lives," Sendoh interrupted him and, getting surprised 'Wow!' in reply, he continued. "And I think that I should tell them what happened with Rukawa. So bye, guys!"

      And Sendoh quickly walked away.

      "Hey, you, wait for me!" Hanamichi shouted to Ryonan captain and rushed to catch him up. "Hey, I'm with you!"

      Sendoh frowned and stopped dead. Turning abruptly round to face Hanamichi, he enunciated. "NO!"

     Surprised, Hanamichi ever took a step back. "Why not?"

    Sendoh glanced at the redhead and repeated mentally 'Why not?' His thoughts returned to THAT day. And he answered to himself. 'Because you said so, Kaede.'

  To be continued...