Tomodachi

by

Nana

Chapter 1

Girl Friend

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Author's Notes: And here's the last of my new fics for a while. Have to start filling in the rest of my unfinished stories.^^  The formula in this fic is familiar enough (there are actually lots of fics out there with this basic theme, but the fun of it would be the myriad twists that can be incorporated): are best friends all Miroku and Sango can ever be? Can man and woman be friends without the usual thingies getting in the way? You decide! Full steam ahead or say bye-bye after the first chapter?

Disclaimer: No, Sango and Miroku do not belong to me, and no, the plot is not unique, but let's see how far we can take it!

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            The silence of early morning was broken only by the steady beat of a ball on the cement floor of the public basketball court. For the last six years, it had been routine to catch a  particular boy shooting some early morning hoops in the park, and this morning was no different.

            He stood on the free throw line, dribbling, his eyes--a curious shade of blue-violet--never leaving the hoop.

            "And he lets go…" he muttered from a corner of his mouth, doing exactly what he had announced.

            He watched as the ball flew in a graceful arc through the air, temporarily cutting off the sun from his line of vision. He winced as it struck a part of the metal hoop, did a flip back into the air, and--

            WHIIIISSHHH! The net sounded as the ball fell through.

            He threw his fists up into the air, hearing the roar of an invisible audience.

            "Yeees!" He said, his eyes shut. "He scores! Two points--"

            "That's just one point, Mister Hotshot," said a voice behind him dryly. "You're on the free throw line."

            "That's two points, as it's a regular shot and not a free throw one," he said, not bothering to look at his companion. "You're late by the way."

            The girl, Hinomori Sango, let out a huff. "And since when have you been carrying a watch?" she asked caustically.

            "Never," he admitted, finally turning to her with a wry smile. "But I can tell from the length of the court's shadow that it's past 7 am."

            "Well, I did a few laps more than usual," she said, shrugging. "So you have two points with the ball. Big deal. My turn."

            "No way," he said, retrieving the ball and throwing it over to her. "Let's go back to zero. I insist. I wouldn't want any accusations from you at the end of the game that I took off at a head start, as usual."

            "Hah!" she said as she started dribbling. "You wish! Play with your hands, Terada Miroku, not your mouth."

            "If you say so," he said, grinning.

            He made an attempt to snatch the ball but Sango was too quick for him. She turned around, shielding the ball with the solid wall of her back as she continued dribbling.

            "Watch the hand," she growled as she felt him settle his right hand on her back while the other waited for the opportunity of an opening at Sango's side.

            "I'm not pushing," he said innocently, keeping the pressure of his palm light on her back.

            "Right. Not yet anyway. Push and you get your first foul. You lower that hand any farther and you're dead."

            Guarding Sango was never an easy thing to do. Aside from that sharp tongue, she was capable of maneuvers so surprising that it left even him, captain of the school basketball club, at a loss.

            It was a waste really, he thought as he kept his eyes on the ball, when she decided to call it quits from the girls' basketball club when they were mere freshmen. She could have been the captain now.

            An unguarded moment was all it took, and Sango had turned around on him and taken off, sprinting toward the court, doing a graceful lay up and Miroku knew the point was in the basket regardless of what he did.

            "Not concentrating," she said, shaking her head as she threw the ball to him. "Carry on like this and what will all your adoring kouhai say?"

            He smiled easily. "Would you really like me to cream you this early in the game?" he asked.

            "I'd like to see you try."

            "Okay."

            The early morning courtside banter had gone on as long as Miroku could remember being friends with Sango, but these brief sessions carried with them a wispy element of a dream. Disrupted promptly at 7:30 every morning, the session would end and they had to get ready for school.

            Here, in the secluded, sun-washed corner of the park, they were best friends. In school, they belonged to different worlds with no area of connection possible.

            Terada Miroku was captain of the school basketball club, and was especially known for his tendency to switch girlfriends at every possible opportunity.

            On the other hand, Hinomori Sango was a card-carrying member of the NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth) Club, and very likely to stay that way due to her sharp mind and equally sharp tongue. A member of the Track Club, she nevertheless exuded such an intimidating air that no guy could ever stand her for long.

            In school, it would have been inconceivable to think of him being able to make friends with a girl, much less a girl like Sango.

            And yet, with all these differences, their worlds would intersect for one hour everyday, and all barriers would melt away as they chatted about anything and everything.

            Right now, as they proceeded with their basketball game of twenty-one points, Sango was finding a predicament of Miroku's very funny.

            "And what're you laughing at?" he asked as he put away a basket.

            Sango shook her head, but she couldn't stop laughing. "Imagine that!" she said at last, wheezing. "You--without a date for the coming prom! Has the world finally gone crazy or what?"

            "Hahaha," said Miroku. "Laugh all you want. The girls will come to their senses in due time. They usually do after a day or two."

            "After finding out you've been dating both of them at the same time?" said Sango. "I don't think so. Imagine a double stint with that little freshman Mizahara Koharu and that sophomore muse Mori Reiko. The whole drama that ensued in the school corridor two days ago should have taught you a lesson or two, but it seems you're already in the process of breaking a poor girl's heart all over again."

            Miroku sighed. "You're deliberately making me into a villain," he said with a halfhearted attempt at gravity. "They insisted on my company. What can I possibly do if the timing was a bit…erm…confusing?"

            "You could have picked one of the two," pointed out Sango.

            "I can't just leave the other one behind."

            "And now they've both left you behind."

            "Actually, I'm relieved. I was kind of wanting to ask somebody else out," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his shirt sleeve.

            "Ewww…!" Sango made a face. "Sukebe, aren't you?"

            Miroku looked at her.

            "So who is this poor unlucky girl?" Sango asked, interested nonetheless.

            "Never mind," he said, sighing.

            Man! She's making this so damned difficult!

            "Do I know her?"

            He shrugged. "Who knows?" he said, affecting a mysterious air as he turned away.

            "C'mon! Who is she?" She pressed on.

            "You'll find out in due time. Come on. We better split or we'll be late for school," he said.

            Jeez, but girls are really difficult, he thought as they separated at the intersection of the first street and he headed to the direction of his house.

Especially the one he had just left behind.

What was that prom thing all about?

That, my friend, was his pathetic attempt to stir the conversation over to an avenue where he could manage to ask her out without sounding funny.

Wasn't it strange that he should come to this last resort? Imagine asking a girl like Hinomori out for the prom, no less.

But then, he had been tinkering with this vague idea of asking her out for a while now.

            It had not ended very well. She had come close to nipping the whole thing in the bud without even knowing what he was up to.

            That was Sango for you alright.

            He, on the other hand, had chickened out at the last minute. Man…!

            Close.

She came close, but Terada Miroku was not easily browbeaten by a few, contemptuous words from a good friend.

            Ah well, he thought. Tomorrow then. There's always tomorrow…

           

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            It was only during her walk toward school that Sango realized how tiring the basketball game had been for her.

            She sighed, feeling the weight around her feet dragging her down.

            From the unusual quiet of her mind, she could still hear his words ringing.

            "Actually, I was kind of wanting to ask somebody else out…"

            Trust that sukebe to make up his mind that fast, she thought sourly. He's barely over the two nitwits from his last escapade, and now, he's--"

            "OOF!"

            She had not been paying any attention to the road, and for a few, confusing seconds, found her face pressed to a firm, unyielding surface.

            A surface clothed in a black high school uniform.

            "Sumimasen," said a voice above her, and she found herself looking up.

And up.

The face that smiled down at her was handsome, strangely distracting…and totally unfamiliar.

One look was all it took and Sango found that she could not tear her gaze away.

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Vocabulary:

Kouhai- underclassmen

Sukebe- pervert

Tomodachi- friends