" This is ridiculous."

" Shut up and keep your eye out for them, dammit!"

" This was a stupid idea.  Even stupider than the ones you usually have." Youhei grumbled, lowering the newspaper that was obstructing his face from view.  " I can't believe you'd actually take that Ryota seriously!  He was probably just trying to work you up or something!  I mean, the Ice Prince with the Prince of Pep himself?  I don't think so..."

" That's what everyone thought about me and Rukawa too, at first!" Hanamichi pointed out, jabbing at him in the ribs until he finally raised the newspaper once more.  " They were thinking that it wasn't possible for a Tensai like me to end up with a stupid block of ice like him!"

" Actually, it was more the other way around." Youhei muttered under his breath.  He didn't know why he let the red head talk him into this. " People were thinking that it wasn't possible for a handsome block of ice like him to be in love with a bumbling idiot like you!"

" Whose side are you on?"

" Nobodies.  Just deflating your ego a little.  It needs it."

" Shut up already and just watch out for them!" Hanamichi growled bad temperedly.  Youhei of all people should have known that he wasn't in the mood for any of this crap right at that moment.

" How am I supposed to watch out for them when I've got this paper in my face?" Youhei demanded, riffling through the pages of the newspaper noisily, just to annoy him.  At least that way, he would be able to distract his friend from his misery.

" Shut up!" Hanamichi finally snapped, snatching the paper away, rolling it up and hitting Youhei over the head with it.  The dark haired boy retaliated with a sharp kick in the shin.  After a while, when they had tired themselves out with the tussle and they had reached an uneasy truce, the red head spoke once more, a cheeky grin on his face.  " So, you think Rukawa's handsome huh?"

" The girls and certain guys in school seem to think so." He replied by way of explanation.

" Do you think so?"

" Oh, get off it, Hanamichi!"

" Oh, I know my Kaede-kun's attractive!" Hanamichi preened as though he himself had been complimented.

" ' Ceptin he's not really your Kaede-kun anymore is he?"

This reminder instantly wiped the smile off his face and made Youhei immediately sorry that he had even mentioned it. " Thank you, my so called friend.  You're really making me feel a whole lot better."

Youhei sighed and draped an arm casually about Hanamichi's shoulders.  " Listen, I'm sorry about that!  Really.  I shouldn't have said that.  Former gang members don't exactly make for the most sympathetic listeners in the world but I know you, Hanamichi.  I know that you're using sarcasm to hide your hurt and-"

" Maybe you'd like to give Rukawa some lessons about me so that he can maybe understand me better?"

" Don't be stupid.  I can't stand the guy."  He didn't mention the fact that he had offered said guy his help in this matter just this morning.  He didn't like that tight assed creep but he would do anything to get Hanamichi off his back!  Right then, he was supposed to be back home, sitting on the couch in front of the t.v or maybe out having fun with the guys, not standing outside some Chinese Food store in some stupid stake out!  He glanced down at his watch.  " They're not coming, okay?  It's already late!  Maybe we could pop into that store and get us something to eat?"

" There they are!" Hanamichi hissed suddenly, pulling roughly at his companion's sleeve.

" Where?"  Youhei turned his head around wildly, trying to pick Rukawa and Sendo out of the crowd.

" How can you not see them?  Just look out for the guy with the weird shaped head!"

At this hint, Youhei was soon able to make Sendo Akira out.  He had just emerged from the video store right behind Rukawa and was chattering away, the raven haired boy nodding occasionally to show that he was listening.  As he watched, Sendo placed one hand on each of Rukawa's slim shoulders and pushed him forward, into the Chinese Restaurant.  He shook his head in disbelief.  " That bastard!"  Youhei fumed.  Shit!  He had never actually believed what Ryota had told Hanamichi.  He hadn't thought it was possible.  Rukawa Kaede was an insufferable snob but he had seemed to adore Hanamichi in his own, demure way.  He couldn't believe that the guy had the nerve to do this after spouting all that crap about proving himself!  He grabbed hold of the red head's arm, his face twisted in anger.  " Let's go, Hana-chan.  You take Sendo, I'll take Rukawa.  We're gonna beat the shit out of those bastards!"

Hanamichi pulled away from his friends grasp and turned his back to him.  " No.  Let's just go, Youhei." He muttered.  His shoulders were slumped, his fists clenched by his sides.  His worst fears had been confirmed.  It was all true.  He had lost his Kitsune to that bastard.

" Aww, come on, Hanamichi!"

" Look, why should I even care what he does with himself now?  I broke up with him, remember?  We're not together anymore anyways!" But he had immediately regretted that afterwards.  He had immediately wanted him back.  Hell, he had even been prepared to pick up from where they left off even if Rukawa hadn't been able to keep his word about the whole no nap thing.  Looking back now, he felt stupid.  Everything had just been a big joke.  " Please, Youhei.  I don't want to be here anymore."

Silently, Youhei followed a defeated Hanamichi, going through horrible things that he hoped would happen to that Rukawa and that Weird Headed Freak in his mind.  How dare that Kitsune do this to Hanamichi?  How dare he?
 

Rukawa winced slightly in pain as he lowered himself onto the bench.  What the hell was going on?  First there had been that loony Youhei this morning.  He had been locking his bike up by the bike rack when the maniac had come and without any preamble at all, had punched him in the guts.

Before he could even ask why he did that, he was gone, mumbling something about nobody fooling around with his friend's feelings under his breath.  Rukawa had been completely mystified by that.  Then there had been the strange behavior of his team mates.  There had been an uneasy air about today's practice, the tension was palpable and it felt as though everyone's eyes had been on him and Hanamichi.  He supposed that that wasn't so strange.  After all, they must have heard already about their little break from each other but he noticed that Ryota had been acting really guilty, hell, the guy had spent most of the time trying to avoid both him and the red head.

He lifted his jersey over his head and examined the angry purple bruise that was beginning to form on his arm.  This one had been courtesy of Hanamichi himself.  He had seemed to think that today's practice game was a beat-up-on-the-stupid-Kitsune game.  This was what puzzled him most.  Yesterday, after Hanamichi had bid him good bye, he had thought that things were going to be fine between them.  Now he wasn't so sure.

Hanamichi had seemed so angry at him!  So determined to hurt him!  And he had no idea why this was.  He had tried to keep his temper for as long as he possibly could but after Hanamichi ' accidentally ' threw the ball into his guts ( in the exact same location that had received Youhei's fist earlier ) he couldn't help himself anymore and had started to give as good as he got.

" Stupid.  Stupid.  Stupid."  He muttered furiously to himself as he wiped his face with his towel.  He shouldn't have done that.  He had succeeded in nothing more than getting Hanamichi even more angry at him!  He was sitting at a remote corner of the locker room, by himself, as had been his habit before anything had happened with the red head.  Afterwards, when they had started going out, Hanamichi had begun to accompany him at the ' Kitsune's Den' as he had labeled it.

He watched as Hanamichi walked over to Mitsui and waved an envelope around in front of his face.  " Oi!  Missy!  Look what I've got!"

" An envelope?  How interesting." Mitsui remarked with a smirk.  " And don't call me ' Missy' "

" No, you idiot."  He scowled.  Making a big show out of opening the envelope and taking out it's contents, he shoved them into the boy's face.  " Looks like I'm gonna be seeing Linkin Park after all!" He crowed happily, snatching the tickets back, and pressing his lips against them.  " Best seats in the house too!  Way better than yours and glasses boy, for sure!  But that's what you get for showing off!"

Mitsui raised an eyebrow.  Showing off?  Who was doing the showing off right now?  " And where exactly did you get the money for those?  Did you take Ryota's advice?"

Hanamichi shrugged.  " I found them.  On my desk this morning!  I must have a mystery admirer or something!"

Rukawa snorted at this.  " Mystery admirer?" But there was no reaction from Hanamichi.  The guy must be pretty angry if he didn't even react to such an obvious invitation for a fight.  There was a slight darkening of his face before he turned back to fixing his things for his departure.

Taking his cue from this, Rukawa slipped into a loose white Shirt, he could take a shower later on at home, and slipped out of the locker room.

" Hey!  Rukawa!  Rukawa!  Wait up!"

He kept on walking, not wanting to deal with anybody right then unless it was a penitent Hanamichi begging for him to come back.  The owner of the voice was persistent though, and soon caught up with him as he stepped out into the cool night.

" Rukawa, look..." Ryota was slightly put off by his team mate's stoic silence, but he pressed on stubbornly, " I'm sorry.  I really am."

" For what?"

" For ruining everything between you and Hanimichi."

Rukawa stopped in his tracks and glared down at the smaller boy.  What the hell was he talking about?  Why would Ryota think that he had anything to do with it?  " Explain yourself."

Ryota cleared his throat uncomfortably and began to shuffle his feet.  He kept his gaze studiously away from Rukawa's piercing blue eyes.  " Well, I have a big mouth and so...I sorta mentioned this one time when I saw you with Sendo Akira in that restaurant..."

For a moment he felt like punching the smaller boy out.  Damn right he had a big mouth!  No wonder Hanamichi had seemed so angry!  Ryota seemed to think that he was about to do just that and took a few steps back but Rukawa just barely managed to control himself.  " You did?"

" As I said, I wasn't thinking!" Ryota muttered, shamefaced.  " I'm really so sorry about that!  I mean, the two of you were so good together and now I've just ruined everything!  Kogure thinks I'm a bastard for doing that,  I know he does even though he doesn't show it and Ayako told me to try and fix everything. But even if  Ayako didn't tell me to do that, I would still try 'cos the two of you ae so good together and all!  And-"

" All right," Rukawa interjected before the guy could go on.  " Thank you for telling me about this, Ryota." He told him, before walking away, deep in thought.