No waffle here, nothing needs to be said :), except for that I keep forgetting about Hinamori and Tsubaki who are watching the game haha.
Aznpikachu: Definately. Masashi is the best center in HS Japan last year. However now he's in college, and thus it is widely open. Other powerful centers such as Hanagata, Akagi and Uozumi have also graduated. I'm trying to not overpower Sakuragi, but also show how skilled he is now. I would say he's at the level where he's very versatile and far more effective in the post, but can't entirely carry a team like Rukawa can.
Astrolog30: Thanks for your review.
The girl in the green scarf: I'm trying to add more character development and thoughts and actions into the basketball action so it isn't so HC like that. Hopefully it makes it easier to read and not so boring xD.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
"Oh, that's good to hear" said Haruko, not really enthusiastically, 'and how about Shohoku and Rukawa-kun?"
"Yep, Shohoku are doing quite well, Rukawa has been somewhat quiet" replied Yosei, turning back to the game.
Haruko sat down next to her friends who smiled at her, and turned back to the game.
Watashi faced Sakuragi, who had the ball, face up with his pivot foot being his left. Sakuragi held the ball down low, and was positioned at the corner of the key Watashi stared at him in concentration. Sakuragi jabbed to the left with his foot and saw Watashi shift just a hint. Sakuragi then moved his foot to the right quickly, pretending to shoot to the right this time. He saw Watashi shift his left side and he knew he wasn't comfortable out this far. However, as soon as Watashi's weight shifted, Sakuragi spotted it.
'Now!' he thought.
Like so many times in the rehabilitation gym, Hanamichi jumped up, shooting the ball. Watashi's eyes widened and he jumped up as high as he could to try defend it. He watched as it sailed over his head, hitting the backboard and banking in.
"Dammit" shouted Watashi in frustration.
Sakuragi simply backpedalled, focused.
'Tensai Jump Shot' he thought, smiling internally.
"Sakuragi!" shouted the gundam.
Sakuragi pointed in their general direction, still watching the ball. Yoko smiled from the baseline. Then to Yoko's surprise, he glanced at her with a knowing smirk, his hand holding up 3 fingers
18(K) – 21(S)
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
Flashback
Hanamichi shifted to face up position, and shot a jumper, and it clanged off the rim. He gave a scowl. Yoko hid a grin at his childish expression.
"Hana-kun! Aim for the black square. Bounce the ball in!" she suggested.
Sakuragi looked at the black square and nodded. Yoko passed him the ball and he pivoted, raising up and shooting, aiming at the black corner. It banked off the backboard and into the hoop.
"YES!" he declared.
Yoko clapped happily and smiled.
'Nice work Hana-kun' she thought.
She watched as Hanamichi then for no reason, dribbled out to the three point line and shot a three. She blinked in surprise. Hanamichi simply laughed, holding up three fingers.
"My first three" he said with a laugh.
End of Flashback
"Kiyota, give me the ball" said Watashi, staring at the red head with anger and hate.
Kiyota saw the look in Watashi's eyes, and nodded. Everyone on Kainan knew that when Watashi had that look in his eye, you passed the ball to him and got out of the way.
"Get in the post and I'll pass it" he said.
Watashi moved quickly to the post, slamming his whole body against Hanamichi.
'What the hell' thought Sakuragi, shifting his body weight to hold him back.
Coach Anzai leaned forward.
"It is up to you Sakuragi-kun, to be the successor of Akagi-kun. Watashi is your first challenge" he said to himself.
Hanamichi didn't budge, holding his ground. Watashi was passed the ball, and he stood, ready to post up. He shifted his body weight backwards while bouncing, once, twice and couldn't gain ground.
'I need to do something!' thought Watashi.
Watashi then drop stepped, exaggerating his arms as Sakuragi's hand was there. Watashi flailed wildly, his elbow slamming into Hanamichi's head and sending him stumbling back, but disguised it quickly with his body, slamming into Hanamichi and sending him to the floor. Watashi then saw the open basket and jumped, dunking it powerfully through with both hands.
"Blocking foul! Basket counts!" shouted the referee.
Boos instantly lit up from the Shohoku crowd. It was clearly an offensive foul, however the referee didn't see the flailing elbow. Watashi simply smirked as he walked to the free throw line. Gasps were heard as Hanamichi picked himself up and turned around, blood pouring from above the eyebrow where he was cut open. The referee looked shocked also. Crimson blood poured down his face.
"Sakuragi!" shouted Ayako, moving off the bench a towel.
But she was far too slow for Yoko who burst past her with amazing speed, already at Hanamichi and holding the towel to Sakuragi's head. It was a good thing Yoko was tall, as Ayako wouldn't be able to even reach Sakuragi's head.
"Hana-kun? Are you okay?" asked Yoko concerned.
"I'll be fine Yoko-chan" replied Sakuragi, and Yoko led him into the locker rooms.
"Timeout please" said Coach Anzai.
Referee nodded, and both groups walked to their respective benches.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
With the removal of Hanamichi, Shohoku's defense took a huge hit. Watashi physically imposed his will on the game, easily defeating Kakuta who tried his best to defend him. He scored six points straight, and was sent to the free throw line twice, by Mitsui who tried to poke the ball out of his hands as he went for a dunk and missed it.
Double teams were sent, however Kainan's coach Riki Takato saw this, and switched Zakuam back with Shiro to give them more offense. Watashi managed to pass the ball out of the post to open players who were able to score from jump shots or from a more wider lane. Kiyota scored a layup on Miyagi, Shiro scored two jumpers, a three and a mid-range jumper, one assist from Kiyota and the other from Shiro. Jin also scored two buckets, two threes as Shohoku's perimeter defense was spread out, perfect for the sharpshooter. On the other end, the offense dried up. Watashi physically imposed himself in the lane, blocking Rukawa with a thunderous smack of the ball as he went for the layup.
Shiozaki and Rukawa also both missed 3's, while Kakuta missed a mid range jump shot. Iowata had been blocked by Kenichi, and Shiozaki had turned over the ball to Jin. Shiro had also finally gotten revenge, stealing the ball from Rukawa, a rare feat in itself to show that Shiro would become Kainan's ace. Miyagi had also turned the ball over once to Kiyota. However, finally on this possession Miyagi weaved his way through traffic, flicking the ball over his head to Iowata who shot the ball quickly in front of Kenichi with one hand, the ball taking the scenic route, looking like it would bounce out, before finally falling in.
"Finally, we scored!" breathed Haruko.
It was a 18-2 run to Kainan, but Konoha had finally scored.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
The siren for the first half went, and slowly the Shohoku team went into the locker rooms. There they saw Yoko humming happily as she was putting Vaseline on Sakuragi's cut who was seated on the bench, before wrapping it with a large bandage. Although their spirits were low, Yoko's happy humming unintentionally raised morale slightly. Mitsui gave Sakuragi a grin, while Miyagi gave him a thumbs up. Sakuragi simply gave them a knowing smirk, and instantly Mitsui and Miyagi were curious. Sakuragi looked like the cat who had caught the bird, and they wondered why. Coach Anzai, followed by Ayako slowly walked in.
"How are you Sakuragi-kun?" asked Anzai.
"He's fine" hummed Yoko, wrapping the bandage around his head and tying it in a knot, making him look somewhat like a martial arts disciple.
"It's scary how happy you look Yoko-chan, bandaging a wounded basketball player" grinned Takeshi.
Snickers and coughs erupted through the room as Yoko turned slightly red. However she took it in stride, lifting her chin.
"A real basketballer puts his body on the line, or are you not man enough to take a few hits" she said, grinning at the immediate silence.
Snap. A splutter.
"We do put our..." begun Miyagi, only to be cut out by Ayako's laugh.
"Well, that'll lower their egos some" she grinned.
"Especially Miyagi-chan! Isn't that right" snickered Mitsui, nudging him.
"Don't call me that" snapped Miyagi, whacking Mitsui's arm.
"Oh look, he's blushing" laughed Takeshi, wrapping an arm around the shorter player.
"I'm your captain, treat me with respect!" growled Miyagi, unhappy at being embarrassed.
"Oh...please Ayako-chan! I took a bump to the head. Bathe my brow please!" moaned Mitsui.
Laugher erupted from the team except for Rukawa, who never laughed at anything. Ayako blushed at Mitsui's blatent use of her name. Even Miyagi grinned at Mitsui's statement. A soft cough brought them back into serious mode. They turned to Coach Anzai, who was looking at his clipboard.
"It is 36 to 23, in favour of Kainan. Hanamichi-kun, are you okay to play the second half?" asked Coach Anzai.
Sakuragi nodded and Ayako asked Yoko if he was suffering from a concussion, but Yoko shook her head.
"Very well then. Kakuta-kun, you will now guard the Power Forward spot and Sakuragi will guard the Center. These will be your permanent positions now. We will run the offense through Miyagi-kun" said Coach Anzai.
Miyagi opened his mouth to say something, but shut it.
"Miyagi-kun, you must find a way to penetrate the key. Kiyota is athletic, but I am sure that you would be able to use your superior speed. Penetrate and pass or score" explained Coach Anzai.
Miyagi nodded. Coach Anzai turned to Kakuta.
"Kakuta-kun, you will be rarely involved in the offense, unless you are open. You must exert all your energy on the defensive end and defend Kenichi. He cannot be underestimated" said Coach Anzai.
Kakuta nodded, determined to go out there and do his best.
"The lineups thus will be the following at the start of the second half. Miyagi-kun, at point guard. Shiozaki at the shooting guard. Sasoaka, you will play the small forward. Takeshi-kun, you will play the power forward and Hanamichi-kun will play the center.
"And this is our opening play" said Anzai.
The teams walked out onto the court, with Kainan's coach Riki Takato surprised that Rukawa was on the bench.
"What are you up to Anzai-sensei" he wondered.
The jump ball was won by Sakuragi, who tapped it to Miyagi. Miyagi bounced slowly up the court, before motioning for a screen from Takeshi. Kiyota ran into the screen and Kenichi spread his arms out to try guard Miyagi. Shiozaki and Sasoaka took off at runs to get free from their men, Jin and Shiro in hot pursuit. Miyagi did an inside-outside dribble, shooting past Kenichi's left and jumping to layup the ball. Watashi instantly moved to block Miyagi, however he was ready for this and bounce passed it to Sakuragi who was now open on the baseline. Sakuragi bounced once with two steps, dunking it ferociously with a one handed tomahawk jam, to the delight of the crowd
36(K) – 25(S)
"SAKURAGI!" shouted the gundam.
"Amazing!" shouted the crowd.
"That red head is crazy!"
Tsubaki's mouth was open, as was Hinamori.
"That guy is crazy" muttered Tsubaki.
o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o
Hope you enjoyed it, and I'll get straight onto writing the next chapter as soon as I can.
Until Next Time
~Woot
