Inu Ga Daisuki! (I Love Dogs!)

Chapter 1: Ohayo, Inu-chan!

Sendoh Akira rolled out of bed and wiped his chin. He'd been drooling; his pillow a fluffy mess of dried amylase.

UGH.

He flipped his pillow over. Drool be gone!

It was 6 AM on a Sunday morning. To others, it was a cruel, ungodly hour. But to the star player of the renowned Ryonan basketball team, this was routine. After all, you don't become an ace player overnight. Training and conditioning was key!

Stretching, he pulled open his curtains. Sunlight streamed into his room. Simply perfect for a Sunday morning.

He dressed quickly, then spent a long while spiking his hair up. After all, he wasn't Sendoh Akira without his trademark hairstyle.

"Hey, good looking." He winked at his own reflection, a cheeky grin lighting up his handsome face.

A quick breakfast - if you could call a bite of an apple breakfast - and he was out of the house, pumped up for his Sunday morning jog. He felt like something good was going to happen, and his intuition had yet to fail him.

"Good morning, Mrs Tanaka!" Sendoh smiled at the elderly lady who lived next door.

"Morning, Sendoh-kun. Could you take Inu-chan for a walk? He's been active lately, and I really need to see a doctor about my knee..." Mrs Tanaka said, motioning to the shiba chasing its tail behind her.

"Of course, Mrs Tanaka, it's no problem at all!" Sendoh dazzled the old lady with his charming smile. "Come here, boy!" He whistled, trying to get the shiba's attention. Inu-chan perked up its ears, hearing Sendoh's whistle, and bounded over playfully to the Ryonan ace. "Rest well, Mrs Tanaka, I'll be back with Inu-chan in an hour!"

"Arigato, Sendoh-kun, you're incredibly helpful."

"Let's go, Inu-chan!" Sendoh jogged off slowly, motioning for the shiba to follow him. It complied, barking happily.

"Wait, Sendoh-kun! Put Inu-chan on a leash!" Mrs Tanaka called out, but her young neighbour had disappeared with her dog. Kids these days...

Sendoh jogged to the town park with Inu-chan at his heels. It was nice to have company. His best friend Koshino Hiroaki wouldn't budge an inch off his bed to join him, no matter how much he persisted.

Mrs Tanaka wasn't lying when she said that Inu-chan was active. The shiba rushed off in random directions in the park, and Sendoh panted to keep up with the furry ball of energy. He'd decided that chasing Inu-chan was harder than marking Shohoku ace Rukawa Kaede, in a basketball game; and its energy rivalled that of Sakuragi Hanamichi, the unpredictable rookie who was on the same team.

"Okay, Inu-chan, take five." Sendoh bent over, as Inu-chan simply started chasing a butterfly, barking madly. Sendoh watched the dog, a grin creeping onto his face.

So simple and carefree, Inu-chan.

Then he heard it. The familiar dribble of a basketball against the ground.

He'd stopped right next to the park's basketball court without realising it. The court itself was hidden behind a wall of hedges, so he couldn't see who was playing basketball. Thinking that it was his rival, Rukawa, Sendoh grabbed Inu-chan and instinctively ducked down.

Holding the struggling shiba close, the peered between the hedges...and saw a girl bouncing a basketball, attempting a lay-up. Her long brown hair was knotted into a messy ponytail, and her victory smile as the ball swished through the net was simply captivating.

Sendoh couldn't help but ogle at the mysterious girl, as Inu-chan squirmed in his arms, trying to get away.

"Shhh, Inu-chan. She'll notice us." Sendoh cautioned the dog. For a split second, Inu-chan stopped moving, as if it understood Sendoh's words.

Sendoh returned his attention to the girl, who was now attempting a jump shot. She dribbled the ball, then gracefully leapt into the air. She flicked her wrist, releasing the ball, letting it sail in the air...

The next thing Sendoh knew, Inu-chan had broken free from his grip, chasing after the loose ball that had rebounded off the hoop, barking excitedly as if its life depended on it.

"Inu-chan!" Sendoh was up and running, chasing after the dog and the ball, much to the astonishment of the girl. His basketball instincts were kicking in, and he retrieved the orange sphere easily. Inu-chan saw that he had the ball, and adopted a playful stance, its tail wagging madly.

"Sorry, miss. Here's your ball." Sendoh handed it over with his most pleasant smile. Inu-chan was restlessly prancing around at their ankles, seemingly wanting to have another go with the ball.

She looked up at him in awe. "Sendoh-san..."

"Haha, you know my name?" Sendoh instinctively touched his hair. Still spiky.

"Kawaii, inu-chan!" The girl was already kneeling down, stroking the excited shiba. Of course the dog loved the attention, and barked excitedly, its wagging tail a blur.

Sendoh felt a pang of jealousy towards Inu-chan. The shiba revelled in the girl's attention; its black eyes seemed to mock him.

"I'm Akagi Haruko, by the way."

"Akagi..." Sendoh's eyes widened. "Of Shohoku?" An image of the gorilla-like captain of Shohoku, Akagi Takenori, popped up in his head. He had a sister?

"Yes." She nodded. "My brother's the basketball team captain, surely you must know him, Sendoh-san." Haruko said, while rubbing Inu-chan's belly. "Aren't you cute, Inu-chan?"

That damn dog.

Of course Sendoh knew Shohoku's imposing captain. Ryonan already had a couple of practice games against Shohoku, and it was impossibly hard to get past Akagi, who guarded the basket with his life. Even Sendoh, the media-proclaimed basketball genius of Kanagawa, had succumbed to Akagi's famous blocking move, the Flyswatter.

But again, who knew that gorilla of a captain (sorry, Akagi-san) had a pretty little sister?

"Wanna play?" Sendoh realised that the ball was still in his hands, and absently dribbled it.

Haruko shook her head, all her attention on Inu-chan. "Go ahead,"

As annoyed as he was at the dog, Sendoh loved the familiar feeling of the grooves of a basketball in his hands. Skillfully he maneuvered to the hoop and shot a few hoops, adding in a couple of flashy moves here and there.

Haruko was actually paying more attention to Mrs Tanaka's shiba, rubbing in between its ears.

Inu-chan barked. Want her attention? Time to take it up a notch, Sendoh.

Haruko looked up to see what Inu-chan had been barking at, and Sendoh took up the cue, dribbling the ball at a steady rhythm. Shooting a quick smile in Haruko's direction to make sure that she was watching, he charged up to the hoop.

So fast! Haruko watched Sendoh in amazement.

Inu-chan let out an exhilarated woof as the backboard shook from the sheer force of Sendoh's dunk. Atta boy!

"So...much better...than Rukawa-kun..." Haruko breathed, the image of Sendoh's reverse slam dunk forever etched in her mind.

Sendoh smiled at the Shohoku freshman, vying for her attention. She gazed at him, her eyes full of wonder, watching the Ryonan sophomore's fluid movements, momentarily forgetting about the shiba on her lap.

A brief image of him and Haruko, laughing and holding hands as they ran along the beach, with an excited Inu-chan barking along madly, flashed in his mind as their eyes met.

"Sendoh-san, you really love basketball..." Haruko said in a small voice as the lanky boy approached her.

His reply was instantaneous, truthful, sincere. "Yes, I do, Haruko-san."

to be continued...