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Secret Identity
by Black Rainbow

Disclaimer: I do not own the Slam Dunk characters; Takehiko Inoue does. And the plot (most of it, anyway) and some of the band names, and the songs all belong to Jahnna N. Malcolm.

Chapter 5

“Hi! I’m Sendoh Akira. Can we talk for a while?”

“Ano. . . sure,” Hana replied. What else can he say? He followed Sendoh backstage, where the air is a lot cooler since the air-conditioner was actually working there. He stared at Sendoh, who was still flashing his ‘megawatt smile.’ He looked away, wondering if he was starting to believe the things he chants in his head.

/I’m NOT a girl. I’m a guy. I’m a guy. The reason my heart is beating so fast is the excitement from the show, not anything else. I’m a guy. I’m a guy. I’m a guy./

“You were great just now,” Sendoh said. He was dressed like most of the teenagers who frequent *crush – black jeans, black shirt. Except on his case the shirt really was black, with nothing else on it.

“Thanks,” Hana answered, grinning. /I’m a guy. I’m a guy. I’m a guy. I may look like a girl but I’m a guy. This guy is kind of cute. I’m a guy. I’m a guy. I’m a guy./

“I’m the booking agent for /Lost Souls?/,” Sendoh told him.

Hana gasped. /Lost Souls?/ had been the hottest club in the Ryonan district for ages. While other clubs would rise in popularity, then fall back into obscurity, /Lost Souls?/ remained at the top.

“Well . . . as I said, I think that you were great. I like your band’s look. And you sound incredible. I think the owners would love to hear you,” he said, his blue eyes looking into Hana’s. Hana realized that he wasn’t breathing. /Must be all the good news/, he thought. He took a deep breath and gave Sendoh a wobbly grin.

Hana thought that he saw a perplexed look on Sendoh’s eyes, but Sendoh just grinned back. Sendoh continued, almost impulsively, “And I think that Androgynous Zone is the perfect band to open for Pristine Smut this Saturday.”

“Pristine Smut. /The/ Pristine Smut. Us open for them?” Pristine Smut was this really good all-girl band that have played in every cool club in the area. A club was guaranteed to be packed when Pristine Smut is playing, so opening for them is a very big thing.

“Sendoh. What are you doing here?” Taoka had noticed them talking and was coming over to investigate.

Sendoh gave Taoka a sunny smile, unaffected. “Oh, hello, Taoka-sempai,” he said. “I’m just talking to Hana-chan here.”

“Stay away from Androgynous Zone,” Taoka warned. “I found them first and I’m going to keep them.”

Hana suppressed a grin as he turned to look at Kiminobu, who was watching from a corner. Wasn’t Taoka the one who said he wasn’t making any promises?

“Sure thing, Taoka. When are they going to open for DO, or ReStory?” he asked, naming a couple of the more popular bands that play in *crush.

“Oh, they’ll work their way up. For now I think I can spare them a weekly slot on Thursday evening.”

Sendoh gave Taoka an amused look, and took Hana’s hand. It felt like Hana just stuck his fingers in an electrical outlet. Hana looked up as the shock went through his veins, startled, and was about to snatch his hands away, when he saw Kiminobu shook his head. Then he remembered he was supposed to be a girl. He gave Sendoh a weak smile.

“Weekly slot?” Sendoh asked. “Don’t strain yourself . . . I just offered Hana-chan here a chance to open for Pristine Smut. Which do you think she’ll choose?”

“Let her decide, why don’t you?” Taoka said, looking pointedly at Hana.

“Umm. . . I have to check with the rest of the band first,” he said quickly. He was excited at the idea of playing at /Lost Souls?/, of course, but it would mean seeing this Sendoh person a lot. He tugged his hand away gently. He didn’t have a good feeling about it. Sendoh . . . but music comes first, ne? “Maybe we’ll open for Pristine Smut this Saturday and see how it goes from there,” he said. Sendoh smiled at him, but he pretended not to notice.

They told the rest of the band about the news, and as expected, everyone’s spirits were high that night. Even Rukawa smiled a little – Hana almost fell off his chair in shock. The two of them never liked each other much, even when they were in school together. Kiminobu said that it was because they were just too competitive with each other. Every time one of them came up with a good song, the other would rush off to write a better one. Competitive they might be, but Hana always figured that the reason he didn’t like Rukawa was because the latter was a walking, talking block of ice. Well, minus the talking part.

But that evening Rukawa thawed a little, and Mitsui (for a very brief moment) gave Kiminobu a grin, before remembering whatever it was they were fighting about and looked away quickly. This caused Kiminobu to brood quietly the rest of the evening. Hana, noticing that his brother wasn’t his usual self, decided to finally go get involved and talk to his brother, when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He turned, although it wasn’t really necessary.

“You know, your band really sounds good tonight,” Sendoh told him. His eyes held Hana’s. “I think you have a great future in front of you.” Hana could feel a small flicker of electricity between them, and stepped back. Sendoh raised an eyebrow. Hana shook his head mentally. /I’m being stupid/, he told himself. /It’s all just my imagination. I’m a guy. I’m a guy. He’s a guy. I’m a guy. Nothing can happen, right?/

“Of course we have a great future,” he said. “After all, I’m the tensai!”

-TBC-

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