15Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Mr IT. The storyline is purely mine.
( Notes: Thank you all for waiting! This is dedicated to all my reviewers and readers, especially RetardedMaleBtch.
In case you missed it, this is YAOI.)
Chapter Four
Sakuragi had gotten tired of ranting at Rukawa and was now busy contemplating their current predicament, while Koshino had fallen asleep and was leaning on Sendoh. Sendoh was trying his best not to move. He found it very interesting to study the hot-tempered boy's adorable looks. Rukawa was spacing out. After all, this was the first peaceful moment he had ever since that noisy redhead and that permanently smiling spiky haired baka, who was currently drooling all over his fellow Dream Weaver, had set foot in their realm. He didn't want to sleep in case that hentai porcupine tried anything. Nothing but the gentle snores of Koshino filled the quiet air around them.
Of course, it was all to good to last.
"KOSHINO!" Koshino jerked straight awake at the sound – no, scratch that, BELLOW – of his name.
"What? What? Where's the fire?" He shrieked back while jumping up and brushing leaves and grass off him. Sendoh silently cursed the source of the sound for destroying the beautiful situation he was in.
Sakuragi tapped his foot impatiently. "I need to ask you something important."
"Well, then, what are you waiting for? Ask already!"
"I want to know why we're here," he deadpanned.
Koshino turned pale, and looked to Rukawa for help. Rukawa merely shrugged dismissively. Sakuragi glared suspiciously at them.
"Hey, what's going on? You weren't planning on killing us or anything, were you?" "No, no, no! Nothing of that sort!" Koshino quickly answered. He didn't know what to do. He wished there would be something, a sign, anything, that could help him decide.
Then, like an answer to a prayer, something came jumping out of the bushes and bowled him over.
"Ow!"
He rubbed his back and cracked an eye open to peer at the thing that had knocked him down.
"KURI!" An ear-splitting shriek ensued, followed by the vehement hugging of a bundle of fur.
"I'm never, never, NEVER going to let that stupid Rukawa do something to you again!"
Sendoh blinked. He recognised it as the rabbit that had been at the riverside. He watched as the animal turned all shades of blue at the shorter boy's show of affection.
"Er, I think it would like to breathe now, Koshino." "Huh? Oh!" He let go of Kuri, who spent the next few minutes wheezing on the floor.
And then, after giving a pointed look at Koshino, it ran.
"Hey, come back! You'll get lost again!"
Koshino was after the rabbit in a split second. As he disappeared into the deep forest, Rukawa jumped up to chase after him. He paused to glare at the two non-dream weavers. "Come on, what are you waiting for? If you want to stay here forever, then go ahead," he said, before resuming his chase.
The two looked at the fading figure of the passive boy. Then they looked at each other. "Think we should?" Sendoh asked. Sakuragi shrugged. "Beats hanging around for our deaths."
With that, they ran into the lush greenery, the path behind them swallowed up by the shadows.
Fujima sighed. Here he was, still with no idea what in the world he was here for. Here referring to this "Dream Realm". If Maki knew anything, he wasn't saying. Or maybe it was the truth. No one knew their purpose here. Except for the tanned one himself, of course. And Hanagata. Wait, that left only himself.
Sigh.
He amused himself by gazing at the surroundings. Sure, they were pretty all right, but one had to have enough of trees, trees and more trees after a while. The others had gone silent, after Maki proclaimed that they should stay put, because Koshino and Rukawa would be looking for them. Ah yes, Koshino Hiroaki and Rukawa Kaede. The names of the other "Dream Weavers". Fujima was almost convinced he was dreaming himself, if not for the fact that blood in dreams did not usually dry and cause you to feel disgusted.
A sound caught his attention. Turning his head, he spotted two similar looking birds perched on a branch about an arm's length above him. He would have dismissed them completely, if not for the fact that the birds were of a peculiar purple hue. Great, if the people and the planet, or world, or whatever, wasn't strange enough already, the animals had to be mutated too. He grimly recalled the very eventful first encounter with the first non- human in this...place.
Turning his back on the feathered creatures, he suddenly felt very tired. Stretching, he proceeded to settle into a very comfortable sleep...
"LOOK OUT!"
Fujima suddenly found himself rolling across the ground. He painfully sat up. Looking up, he was gripped with horror.
Maki had a deep gash on his face. He grappled with a boy with long, messy black hair while Hanagata got knocked to the ground by another figure he couldn't quite make out the face of. The figure gazed hard at them, and with a steely voice, he –or was it a her? It?– spoke in a harsh whisper. "You'll pay for it. Pay the price for not giving us that body. Pay for it now – in blood!"
An angry roar was accompanied by a blur of motion. Suddenly, Fujima found it harder to breathe. It was as if some coldness had clamped a hand around him and was squeezing out his breath. His head was feeling lighter and lighter...
"Is it just me, or is it getting a little chilly?"
Sendoh questioned uneasily. There was no sign of Koshino or the rabbit. However, there appeared to be a strange air about them. Like something really, really bad was about to happen. Very soon.
"I think I see something!"
Sakuragi was off and running before anyone could stop him. He was gone in an instance.
"Dammit!"
Rukawa cursed. Sendoh thought he noted a hint of panic in his voice. He just followed the Dream Weaver as he ran after the redhead, who whispered inaudibly to himself.
"This presence... again."
The cold sent a shudder through him, then released its grip, leaving Fujima sprawled on the grass. He shook his head, just barely able to make out a ball of white and black fur clinging onto the assailant. It was soon thrown to the ground with a fling of the arm, however, not before it had managed to leave a trail of damage on his arm.
From behind the rabbit came Koshino.
"What the..."
It was all he could muster before the heavy form of Maki crashed into him.
Fujima stared at the wide-eyed look on Maki's face as he received the blast that sent him flying, numb with shock. Then, he started screaming.
"MAKI!"
He didn't notice the figure that advanced upon his back steadily. A scream of pain filled the air, and he spun around to find Hanagata impaled by a sharp weapon, held by a new assailant. This guy had sweet features and a smile that did nothing to betray the murderous intent he had. Withdrawing the weapon, he aimed it at Fujima.
"NO!"
A huge impact reverberated around him. A wave of heat hit him. He found himself to be surrounded a orange glow. To be exact, the glow was emanated by the trees. Which happened to be on fire.
The two attackers suddenly fell back, unsure of this new situation. Backing off, they transformed into birds and flew away. The two purple birds that Fujima had earlier thought to be so innocent.
Running towards the source of the noise and light, Sendoh and Rukawa made their way to the motionless figure on the edge of the clearing. It was Sakuragi, pale and withdrawn, lying on the ground where he had collapsed in a heap.
-to be continued-
Author's Notes: Er...oops? More things for you to puzzle over, eh heh heh... I seriously may not update this until December. I have the O's this year. . Please be patient! I promise, I'll work on this ASAP!
Expect even more action next chapter as new revelations are made. Will Koshino tell what he knows? Will Rukawa explain the presence? Do Fujima, Sakuragi and Sendoh finally get an inkling of their mission? Also, someone is going to die. Watch out for chapter 5 to find out!