Title: Hot Shot!
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. The Taiwanese drama lan qiu huo isn't mine either.
~o0o~
Chapter 1
Why can't I?
Sound multipurpose hall was as lively as ever at the end of the year when the inter-school basketball tournament was in full swing. The ground shook from the loud cheering from rabid fans. The echoes can be heard from outside. However, it was the 'whoosh' and the 'pam-pam' of the ball being manipulated beautifully on court that had all eyes and ears focused on the action going on there and not anywhere else.
It was the final match of the season; Konoha Versus Sound. The two teams were evenly matched, scoring one after the other alternately, as were expected as they were both the best teams from their region. The score was now 46-44. However Konoha had yet to play their trump card. From the loud, echoing sounds of the cheering, the most prominent words that could be heard were; Uchiha Sasuke. The name belonged to the most talented player ever to appear in the history of basketball. Raven hair that was styled in the most peculiar duck-butt fashion with long bangs framing his angular and mature face. Cold and dark onyx eyes that pierce their opponents, rendering them immobile to do anything to stop his play in a game and fair skin that glittered with sweat were all note worthy features. He was sure to get points in a flash for his team. However, Sasuke was currently benched and he sat with his arms on his knees with a towel on his head, hiding him from view. The scrutiny from his fans were becoming too much for him to take.
All were confused as Hell when the announcer didn't say the raven's name as the starting five and when he went straight to the long bench to sit, it got even weirder. Neither his coach nor his teammates talked to him, it was as though he was invisible under his towel. Sasuke couldn't have wanted it any other way. He was sick and tired of his teammates and coaches attitudes towards him anyway. Sometimes being a prodigy sucked.
"Oooh it looks like Sound is picking up their game and Konoha is having a hard time matching their tempo. Kabuto has the ball and he's dribbling pass his opponents with ease! He looks like he's about to shoot –no he does a fake and did a beautiful layup with the opening given to him!" the commentator relayed the situation as he saw it and his partner added his two cents.
"Yes and the score now is 48-44. It seems Konoha is getting tired and therefore allowing room for mistakes. I think they need to get over whatever feud they have and let the Uchiha play. He hasn't played since the beginning of the match. He should be thriving with energy!" his comment was followed by unanimous agreement by the audience; mostly the girls. The loud chants of "Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!" seemed to shake the building with its intensity.
The Konoha side gave no reaction to follow up on the advice. They simply took no notice of the raven.
"Whoa, nice intercept by Kidoumaru from Sound! He's headed to the goal at a fast pace. Can Konoha get back the ball? They look dead on their feet." the commentator loved to fuel the fire it seems.
"Get the ball back!" the Konoha coach was in frenzy. His fingers were buried into his hair tugging every now and then. He stomped his feet and shouted at his players, calling them 'weak' and 'useless-good-for-nothings'. He turned his bloodshot eyes to the scoreboard. The score was now 51-44 after Kidoumaru successfully scored a three-pointer. He looked towards the court at his players' inability to get the ball back in their possession due to their tiredness. 'I can't let it end like this!' with this resolution in mind, he turned to his most difficult player on the team.
"Uchiha...I want you to sub Chouji. That guy's defense is weak as Hell." The raven gave no inclination to obey his coach's orders. The coach stared at him a little longer, a frown marring his face.
He said again, "Uchiha I want you to sub Chouji," he waited awhile longer before asking, "Did you hear me?" It seems Sasuke suddenly went deaf. The coach was in fury now. His bloodshot eyes were intensely glued to the defiant raven sitting in front of him, choosing to ignore all the eyes watching the scene in interest. He hated being humiliated.
However, his win was at stake here. He would rather he humiliate himself for a win then humiliate himself for a loss. He got down on his knees in front of the stoic raven.
The commentators' sharp eyes caught the action.
"Oh my God! Is the Konoha coach going to beg the Uchiha to get on court?" even more eyes turn to the scene.
Ignoring all the piercing eyes the coach said, "Uchiha Sasuke. I take back all my scathing remarks and all my wrongs that I ever said and done to you. I swear on my life to respect you like I would any other person and not just as a tool for winning. I swear to treat you like the rest of your teammates and not to judge you unfairly. But please help us now. We need the win. I swear to never ask anymore from you again. Win this match for us. You are the only one who can."
The commentator's partner said, "Oh my God he did beg. People this is definitely going into your history textbooks. The Uchiha Sasuke, has made his coach go on his knees to beg him to play! Seriously badass!" that earned him a whack on his head.
Sasuke had looked up when he heard his prideful coach asking him for forgiveness. He had listened to him and couldn't help but scoff in his head. The man wasn't sincere. One look into his eyes confirmed it. He would do whatever he said he wouldn't, even at the cost of his life, again. He was so tempted to hang his head again and pretend his coach wasn't there but he looked at the scoreboard instead. They were lagging behind, 55-44. He scowled. He wasn't about to let his useless teammates tarnish his reputation of never losing. He was playing for himself and no one else. He stood and the towel on his head floated down like a cape revealing the hero. New cheers erupted from the stands this time threatening to burst eardrums.
He walked to the umpires' table and told them he was subbing. They nodded and he walked into the court while Chouji walked out with a sad expression on his face. He took his position as power guard.
When the game resumed, Sasuke was quick to intercept the ball easily and made a fastbreak since the court in front of him was empty. The Sound team members were behind him thinking they could score easier if they were near the hoop. With no one left to defend him, he scored swiftly, gracefully and so damn easily. Wilder cheers of "Sasuke I love you!" could be heard by the fangirls on the stands as they were enraptured by the smooth play made by the raven. He simply smirked and went to retrieve the ball from the umpire.
Similar plays were made by Sasuke and him alone since his 'teammates' were dead tired to help. He didn't mind. He was more of a soloist anyway and thought his teammates were a hindrance. The only reason he played basketball was because his great grandfather saw the talent he had to excel in the team game and he trained him from the moment he could walk.
Thanks to Sasuke the score was now 57-56. Konoha was quickly gaining back their losses. Only one more point and they would have won. The clock ticked, counting down to the end of the game in two minutes. 'Hn, not much time left.' Not that the raven was shaking in his boots but he was currently surrounded by Sound members, refusing to let up on their defence and he had no opening. The crowd watched with bated breath. They knew that no matter how talented the raven was, he could not break away from that angle and score in two minutes. The commentators fell silent, choosing to see the end of the match instead of comment. In their hearts they too knew that this would be the first break Konoha would have from winning. They were about to be proven wrong.
The raven faked to the right but his opponents saw through it. 'I have no choice but to use that move.' And with that he threw the ball to the back board and while the others were confused with his actions he ran past the slackened defenders and jumped into the air to catch the rebounding ball to finally dunk it into the hoop.
The bell signalled the end of the game. 57-58, it was Konoha's victory. The silent crowd who were supporting them erupted into cheers after they realised that their team won. This time someone's eardrums really did vibrate. Sasuke covered his ear with his towel to filter out the noise. He grabbed his bag to prepare to exit.
'This will be my last game. The team can go fuck themselves for all I care. I won't be used anymore.' Sasuke took a look around the multipurpose hall for the last time and made his silent departure, never once looking back.
"What a way to end the game! Uchiha sure has style eh Raidou!" the first commentator said.
"He sure does Genma," the other commentator smiled and discreetly wiped his eyes dry. The nerve wracking moment has ended and his favourite team won. Phew! With this victory, Konoha has won four times in a row. They were still the undefeated champion. In the ensuing chaos, no one realised the lack of a raven.
~o0o~
"Naruto nii-chan, can you just shoot already? We've been waiting for ages!" the complaint left Konohamaru in a high pitched whine. The young brunette was currently on the outside of the run down court with the rest of his friends, watching the lone blond haired, blue eyed boy they called their 'older brother', trying to take his first shot.
"Alright already, I'll shoot! Yeesh patience is a virtue, guys. Heard of that before?" said Naruto, with impatience and anxiety lacing his words. He bounced the ball awkwardly in front of him while looking at the hoop. He glanced to his right, no one. He glanced to his left, no one again, except for Konohamaru and the other kids. He took a deep breath and slowly turned his head to look back. Thankfully there wasn't anybody there with a shoe to whack his head with –or more accurately a vicious, red headed woman he called mother. He turned forwards again. Just as he was about to lift his arms to shoot, a loud shout echoed to him.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO! HOW DARE YOU PLAY BASKETBALL WHEN I FORBID YOU TO!" before Naruto could even react, a wooden slipper collided with the back of his head, dead on and he released the ball to fall forwards on his face with a "GAH!" and a thud. He heard the dreaded footsteps, one silent while the other wooden, as he stood up to run. Just as the person reached him, he was running away, already halfway out of the court.
He didn't stop running even as he heard the person order him to stop. He ran over hills, under bridges, into alleyways, between shops to finally come to a narrow lane that would take him all the way to his secret hide out. 'She'll never find me there.' He sat down behind the wall just in front of a rundown hut no one used anymore. He had made this his secret hide out. Of course because of a mother's intuition, he could be found even if his hide out was a secret.
He panted, with his eyes closed and wished for water. A cup of cool water magically appeared in front of him when he opened his eyes and he drank it down greedily. When he looked up to thank the person for it he spat out all the water he drank and said in anguish, "Mom!"
His mother gave him a creepy, scary smile and pulled his ear all the way home, "that's for making me chase after you, brat! You'll get your punishment for disobeying me when we return home."
Naruto was doomed, he knew it.
~o0o~
A resounding 'whack' could be heard a mile away as a wooden cane came down on the blond's ass, hard. Even though he knew his ass was decorated with red welts and raw, he refused to utter a sound of pain every time the accursed cane came in contact with it because he knew he did no wrong. 'All I wanted to do was play basketball, but you never let me.' Naruto complained in his mind. He grinded his teeth to stop himself from voicing out his thoughts.
"You think you were clever, waiting for me to fall asleep before sneaking out of the house to play. I know you well Naruto. All your tricks don't work on me," every sentence was punctuated with a 'whack' from the cane, each time getting louder and harder. Naruto bit his lip to stop himself from crying out...but that didn't stop him from thinking, 'It's just basketball! All my friends play it so why can't I?' he refused to shed a tear even though the sting behind his eyes were getting unbearable for him.
"I forbade you from playing basketball Naruto, and yet you disobeyed me to go ahead and play. What would your father say if he were here?" and that woke Naruto up. He stood up in a flurry of movements and screams. His hands whirled around like windmills, trying to get the cane and his deranged-at-the-moment mother as far away from him as possible. He screamed curses and bloody murder at no one in particular –he didn't have the heart to direct them at his mother –to stop all movement his mother may make. And then he stopped and stared with teary eyes at his mother.
"Why don't you want me to play, huh? Dad would have let me play if he were alive and not forbid me like you did! He would have sided with me and not you!" Naruto knew that was a low blow but he didn't care. He was angry, hurt and confused. Why didn't his mother want him to play basketball? If only she would explain to him he could have understood but every time he mentioned the B-word his mother would glare at him and tell him to keep his mouth shut and just listen for his own good.
His mother apparently thought he had gone too far, "Oh so you think my own husband would forsake me and side with you huh? Well there was a reason we fell in love and that was because we were similar and could connect! He would understand why I didn't want you to play and stopped your silly dreams of wanting to become a pro basketballer. Now you made me mad," she raised her arm to swing the cane down on his son's leg but before she could raise it high enough, she started having a coughing fit. She clutched her chest as breathing became difficult.
Naruto's eyes widened and he rushed to his sickly mother's side. He let her hold his shoulder and lean on him as he rubbed her back, trying to aid her to breathe. He said words of comfort in her ears while moving her to the couch to sit down while he got the phone to call an ambulance as her coughing refused to subside. He dialled the emergency hotline and cursed as the ringing seemed to go on forever before someone on the other side picked up. He explained hurriedly but calmly while he watched her mother grip the sides of the couch in a death grip and put her hand to her mouth. He saw red dribbling between her fingers and he gasped. With reassurance that the ambulance would be there in ten minutes tops, Naruto slammed the phone into its receiver and rushed back to his mother. He didn't know what else to do so he stayed by his mother's side, rubbing her back and giving out words of encouragement and consolation. Soon she blacked out from lack of oxygen in her body. Naruto started to panic but true to their word, the ambulance came blaring to the front of their house with minutes to spare and he gave a sigh of relief.
He helped the medics load her unconscious mother onto the ambulance and got in after to follow them to the hospital. 'I'm so sorry I said those things. I won't say them again. Just please be alright.' He kept his gaze on his mother the whole way ignoring everything else around him.
~o0o~
AN: So as you can see I've decided to re-do hot shot all over again because I felt the old one was going nowhere and it kinda sucked in my opinion. I'm sorry if any of you who liked it feel betrayed or angry or sad or hurt. You can pm me with your complaints if you want. I'll read them and understand because you have every right to complain or curse or blame me for not warning you first and getting your opinion. But that doesn't mean I'll change my already made up mind. However I feel I should tell you that this new one isn't so far off from the old one. There's just a few tweaks here and there to make it more interesting;) Hope you will come to like it3 ...don't be too hard on me ya...
