AN: Here is chapter 11! Sorry for making you guys wait so long. I you enjoy this one too. Remember, I do NOT own KnB of The Flash. I only own my character and the plot.

Chapter 11

Fallout

Ronnie watched as Kise set up for his shot. He could not move, his legs would not. His Zone had faded, all his power was gone. He could see the shocked expression on his teammates faces. When the ball passed over him, he did not bother to watch where it landed. He heard the buzzer ring. When it ended the sound rang in his ears and it was canceled out with the swish of the net. He then buckled under his own weight and crashed onto the floor. He blocked out the screaming crowd and the opponents cheers. He felt his eyes get misty, then the tears began to fall. He hunched over and buried his face in his arms.

"Dammit," he said in between tears.

His teammates on the court watched him with saddened expression, they did not know what to say to him.

Meanwhile, Kise could see Ronnie on the floor out of the corner of his eye. He empathized with the foreigner. He had given his all in the match and he could not claim victory. Kise took a deep breath and walked towards Ronnie.

The CCHS players tensed up at the sight of him, but calmed down when they saw him sit next to Ronnie.

"I know how you feel. It's happened to me twice and it hurt every time," Kise said.

Ronnie turned his head towards Kise, his eye puffed up and red form his crying.

Kise gave him a smile. "But even with those two loses, I still bounce back and give it my all the next game."

Before the two could respond, he referee blew his whistle for both teams to line up. Kise stood up and extended his hand towards Ronnie.

Ronnie took the blondes hand and he assisted him in standing. Ronnie could barely feel his legs and stumbled as he took a step. Diggle and Cisco rushed to his side and supported him as they walked towards the center of the court. Both teams lined and bowed, thanking each other for the game. The players shook hands with who they had in front, Ronnie shook Kise's. They nodded towards each other, acknowledging their skills, and walked towards their benches.

When Ronnie got back to the bench, he sat down and let out a breath. He could see Felicity and Coach Stein arrive with a wheelchair for him to sit and not walk. He looked towards Coach Wells, who nodded.

"There's a nurse on site an they've agreed to see you. I'm sure we'll have to visit the hospital though," Coach Wells explained.

Ronnie nodded and was helped onto the wheel chair. CCHS then walked off the court, they had yet to say anything about the game.

At Kaijo's bench, Kise watched as Ronnie exited the court. He silently hoped he would be alright and that nothing too serious had happened to him.

"Do you think he'll bounce back?" Kasamatsu asked Kise, who stood next to him.

Kise shrugged. "Don't know. He's tougher than he looks though. That's for sure."

Kasamatsu nodded and led Kaijo off the court.

The nurse at the court did not have the instruments to give a good assessment of Ronnie's injuries. The best the nurse could do was say to ice his legs and to not walk. The nurse had said that the usual doctor stationed at basketball events was unavailable for the game, but that he was at a hospital in the Minato district in Tokyo and that his name was Igaku Ishi.

Ronnie looked towards Stein, who seemed to know who he was.

Stein thanked the nurse and the two exited the room. As they walked down the hallway towards the locker room, Felicity caught up to them. She had been waiting at the door, but was distracted by the notes she had written from the game.

"What did the nurse say?" she asked.

"We have to find a doctor named Igaku Ishi," Stein answered.

"So we don't have clue at what his injuries are?"

Ronnie and Stein nodded in unison.

"Great. So where do we find him?"

"Minato district," Ronnie answered.

"Where's that?"

"Tokyo."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Ronnie let out a snicker.

Stein cleared his throat and got the two teens attention. "I know where he'll be. So there's no need to worry Ms. Smoak."

Felicity nodded and returned to her notes. When the three made it to the locker room, all the players shot up and turned towards Ronnie.

"Hey guys," Ronnie said with a wave.

"Oh, thank god you're alright," Cisco said letting out a relieved sigh.

As his teammates crowed around him, Wells and Stein moved to the corner of the locker room to talk privately.

"What did the nurse say?" Wells asked in a hushed voice.

Stein gave him the description of what the nurse had said, including seeing the doctor Igaku. Wells took off his glasses and let out a sigh. He knew the doctor and it would be likely that he would give them the diagnosis they need for Ronnie's injuries. He took a deep breath and put on his glasses.

"Can you take him to see Igaku? I want to do something with Oliver and Barry before the game," Wells said.

Stein nodded. "It'll be nice to see Igaku again."

"Say hi to him for me."

Stein nodded and Wells walked away from him. Wells then clapped his hands and got everyone's attention.

"No meeting tonight. When we get to the hotel, you're all free to get some rest. I mean that for those who played. You need the rest."

"Yes, coach!" the team said in unison.

Then CCHS exited the locker room and headed to their hotel.

—-

"Mind repeating yourself, doctor?" Ronnie asked with his eyes wide in disbelief.

Igaku let out a sigh pointed at the pictures on his wall. He went on to explain Ronnie's extensive list of injuries done to his legs. Because of his prolonged use of the Zone his legs had sustained incredible damage leading all the way to his bones. What kept him from feeling pain during the match was the sheer adrenalin pumping through him. Then came the last thing Ronnie wanted to hear. "Because of those injuries your basketball career is over. A lot of the damage done will take months to heal and when they do basketball will become a great source of pain. You won't be able to sprint short distances, your vertical jump will severally lower, and that's just the basics. I'm sorry kid, but you're time playing is done."

Ronnie only half listened to the doctors explanation. The words "your basketball career is over" replayed in his mind over and over. He could not believe that the power he had just gained caused him to get such an injury. Coach Stein did his best to comfort him but he did not listen to him. He looked down at his legs and he could feel the tears forming in his eyes. Just when he thought he had caught up to his teammates, he was knocked back to the ground; and this time it was permanent. Ronnie tightened his hand, which rested on his lap, into fists and his tears landed on on them.

"I'm so sorry, Ronald." He could heard Stein stay.

Then he felt an unfamiliar hand places on his shoulder. Ronnie looked up to see the doctors face smiling at him. He sniffled as his faced turned into a confused look.

"Here's the thing though, doing what you did is an incredible feat," Igaku said.

"I don't understand," Ronnie said in between sniffles.

"Kid, you managed to hold off a member of the Generation of Mircales while only just unlocking your Zone. That in it of its self is incredible." Igaku paused in order to give Ronnie a moment to process his words. "Not many can say they did that."

"But, I'm useless now. Just when I caught up with everyone too," Ronnie said, hanging his head.

"Look, Ronnie," Ronnie's head perked up at the mention of his name. As the doctor had referred to him as "kid" since he entered. "Being strong is the last thing one should focus in a team sport. Teamwork is always the most important thing."

Ronnie half smiled. "I know that."

"Ronnie, I had a similar career ending injury as you did. Because of that injury, I went into sports medicine in order to stop others from having the same fate as me. Seeing it happen to you makes me feel like I failed. However, I did watch your match, and that smile you had during the game was one I haven't seen in a long time."

Ronnie looked down, his tightened fists had loosened. The doctors words made him think about how he felt during the game and he was right. The match against Kaijo was the happiest he had ever been playing a game of basketball. He looked towards the doctor and smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm glad to see you smiling." Igaku said with his own smile. "Now, if you can wait outside for a moment, I need to talk with Mr. Stein in private."

Ronnie nodded and slowly stood up. Coach Stein grabbed his crutches and then assisted him by opening the door.

"There's a vending machine down the hall to your left, if you're hungry."

Ronnie nodded and started to go. Stein then closed the door and let out a sigh. "Thank you for making it easier for him."

"In my opinion, he shouldn't be using crutches at all. He should be in a wheelchair, but it would not help him emotionally if I told him that. Truth be told, his non-dominant leg is much less damaged than his dominant one," Igaku said turing to the pictures on his wall.

"I see," Stein said, adjusting his glasses.

"Martin, what were you thinking, allowing him to use the Zone for so long?"

"It was like you said, the smile he had was not something I wanted to take away," Stein said lowering his head.

"He was a good protege. I'm sorry that happened to him."

Stein nodded.

The two men had known each other for many years, but separated when Igaku returned to Japan. They caught each other up on their respective lives and jobs before returning to speaking about Ronnie.

"He reminds me of someone else I treated. He got a similar injury because of using the Zone. Though, it was early in his use of it," Igaku said staring up at the ceiling with his arms crossed.

"Did you now? What was his name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Rishihara Ryuto."

Stein's eyes widened in surprise, something Igaku noticed. "Do you know him?"

"I coached him in middle school. He was a strong player back then, with an intense love for the sport," Stein explained.

"Interesting. It has been awhile since his injury, though his Zone is different than most people's."

"Different, how?" Stein asked as he leaned in.

"His Zone has a limited amount of uses and after the Winter Cup Final, I think he reached it. Though, why are you so curious?"

"It surprised me, so I wanted to know more."

The two were about to continue talking when Stein felt his phone buzz. He noticed a message from Wells and then noticed the time; he and Ronnie had to return to the hotel soon.

"I must be going. I need to prepare for the next match," Stein said standing.

"Of course, good luck," Igaku said outstretching his hand.

The two friends shook hands and Stein turned to leave. As he opened the the door, he stopped and turned back to Igaku. "Harrison sends his regards."

Igaku snickered. "Tell him I say hi as well."

Stein nodded and closed the door behind him as he exited the hospital room.

While Stein and Ronnie were at the hospital, Wells walked with Oliver and Barry through the city. As they walked, the two boys began to noticed how less crowded the area became. It came as a surprise to Barry as they were still in the city. He looked towards Coach Wells, he had been looking at his phone the entire walk. As they walked, the morning events played out in his head.

Everyone that had played in the match had yet to wake up and it was nearing noon. The only one's awake were Ronnie and Oliver. Ronnie was awake as he needed to go to the hospital and Oliver seemed half awake.

Barry was in his room, looking through his phone. He had gotten a lot of messages after their loss, something that was still hard for him to believe. He set his phone down and looked towards Jay, who was sitting at the hotel room's desk typing away at his lap top. Barry looked over his shoulder to see him typing an essay. Barry frowned at the sight. His cousin was doing homework.

"Really? You're doing homework," Barry said.

Jay turned back and smiled at his cousin. "Well yeah, this is due when we get back."

Barry sighed and sat on his bed. He looked over to Cisco, who was still asleep. His friend had more game time than he had, so it made sense that he was exhausted. His attention turned to the door when he heard a knock.

"Coming." Barry slid off the bed and walked towards the door.

He opened it and found Coach Wells and a half awake Oliver.

"Great, you're up. Get dressed in exercise clothes, you're coming with me and Oliver to meet someone."

The words Coach Wells said seemed to jolt Oliver awake. "Wait a second, why is he coming with us?"

"Because he needs to learn what you're going to learn as well. Now come on, we don't have a lot of time."

Barry nodded and closed the door.

"We're here."

Coach Wells's voice snapped Barry back to reality. They were in front of a building that was had kanji written on the wall in gold with the word gym under it. Barry managed read the kanji and said them aloud.

"Aida Sports Gym?"

"Wait, you can read that?" Oliver asked surprised.

Barry nodded. "I learned a bit before we came here. You should've tried learning some as well." Barry turned back to the building and then towards Coach Wells, who shoved his phone into his pocket. "I know someone with the name Aida, Ryuto's girlfriend. I think her name is Riko."

"That's his daughter, we're here to meet the owner," Wells said turning to the two boys.

"What's this about my daughter?" a voice said behind Wells.

The two boys looked to the side to see a man with red-brown hair and a small stubble growing on his chin, his facial expression was not one would consider friendly. He wore a simple black sweatshirt and grey sweatpants. He stared only at Wells, not giving the teens a glance.

"H-Hey, Kagetora, long time no see," Wells said.

Is our coach intimidated by this guy? The two teens thought.

"You better have a good reason for mentioning her, Harrison," Kagetora said.

"Actually, I mentioned her first," Barry said raising his hand.

Kagetora's furious eyes turned towards the American teen. Barry recoiled in fear, the man really was intimidating. Barry looked up to see the man standing over him.

"It's nice to know that my daughter is making friends with foreigners," Kagetora said with his expression changing from rage to happiness.

Barry and Oliver blinked in surprise, not expecting the sudden shift in personality. Kagetora's expression then changed to a more relaxed look as he let out a sigh. He placed his hands in his pockets and turned towards Wells.

"Why'd you bring the munchkins?" he asked.

Wells adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "I need you to teach them how to shoot."

Barry turned towards Oliver, who seemed offended by what their coach had just said. Meanwhile, Kagetora simply rose an eyebrow.

"Really? You want me to teach them to shoot when you have a match in several hours? You must be crazy," Kagetora said.

Oliver then stepped towards the adults. "I don't need anyone to teach me how to shoot. Especially not some old geezer." Oliver finished his sentence by pointing at Kagetora.

Kagetora turned towards the boy, his eyebrow still risen. Wells let out a sigh, and apologized to Kagetora on Oliver's behalf. He then turned towards Oliver.

"This 'old geezer' is one of the best shooters in Japan and dare I say the world. He represented Japan for their national team and-" Before Wells could finish, Kagetora raised his hand.

"Basically, I know a thing or two about shooting. Now come on, there's a court not too far from here," Kagetora said turning away.

The two teens nodded and followed the older man. When they arrived at the court, Kagetora ordered the two teens to play a one-on-one against each other. Before they started, Wells told them to not strain themselves. The two teens nodded and started to play as the two men watched. As they watched, the two men caught each other up on what was going on in their lives.

"How's Tess?" Kagetora asked, not taking his eyes off the two boys.

"Fine. She recently opened her research center. She spends most of her time there," Wells replied.

"Do you help her? If I remember correctly, you were really into science and the like."

Wells nodded. "When I have the time."

"Does the center have a name?"

"S.T.A.R Labs."

"Not bad. I'm assuming it's some type of acronym."

Wells nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kagetora cut him off. "Don't say it. I probably won't understand it."

Wells snickered and nodded. "Alright then. How about you? How's your family?"

Kagetora let out a short laugh and smiled. "Watching my daughter grow up has been one of the best things in my life."

"I have yet to meet her. I'm assuming she's like you."

Kagetora let out a loud laugh. "She takes after her mother more than she does me."

Wells rolled his eyes. "Sure."

"What about you, do you have a kid?"

Wells nodded. "Yep, a daughter. She takes after her mother, as well."

Kagetora laughed again. "Another brain child."

Wells smiled. "She defiantly is."

The two watched the one-on-one a bit longer, as they each made comments about Barry and Oliver, until Kagetora told them to stop. He took a few moments to give the boys another look. He let out a breath and turned first towards Oliver. He explained to him that he would shoot a straight line because of how far back he would bring his release hand over his forehead.

"If you continue to shoot like that, someone will block you. Your shot isn't an arrow that can pierce anything, so be mindful of that."

Oliver was about to protest Kagetora's advice, but he stopped himself when he saw Coach Wells's glare. Oliver turned back to Kagetora and simply nodded.

"It won't be easy, but try to not bring your release past your forehead. Try to keep it in front of your forehead."

Oliver nodded again.

"Try doing that, on the other side of the court," Kagetora said, using his thumb to point. "Harrison, go with him and to correct him."

Wells nodded. "Come on, Oliver."

As Oliver jogged to the other side of the court, Kagetora turned to Barry. He let out a sigh before addressing him.

"To be honest, all you really need to improve on is your self confidence. Harrison told me you greatly admire Ryuto and you always compare yourself to him."

Barry gave an embarrassed smile and nodded.

"You're not going to beat him if you think like that," Kagetora said bluntly.

Barry's eyes widened. What Kagetora had said struck a nerve and he noticed.

"Look, it's fine to admire someone. One of my daughters friends is a big admirer of Ray Allen, but he doesn't let that get in the way of playing. He's never thinking 'What would Ray Allen do?' or 'How would Ray Allen shoot in this situation.' That's what you have to learn: not letting Ryuto cloud up your mind."

Barry clenched his fists in frustration. He knew that was something he had to break free from, but how could he. Ryuto taught him to love the sport and told him to be the person that surpasses him. His friend had placed a weight on him that he could never remove. He hated that feeling, feeling inferior to someone. But with Ryuto he could not help but feel inferior. He was better than him at everything. He had been a better captain, player, and person. He could smile in any situation and keep himself under control when need be. To him Ryuto was the perfect person, someone with no flaws. His admiration of him was far greater than Kagetora could know.

"How can I beat someone that is so much better than me?" Barry asked.

Kagetora shrugged. "That should be something you need to find, right?"

"Dammit," Barry muttered.

—-

The school bell rang for lunch period and everyone scurried about trying to find friends to eat with or get some food at the school's cafeteria. Ryuto sat at his desk and took out his lunch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kuroko starting to eat his own lunch; which always seemed small. Ryuto let out a sigh and moved his desk to connect with Kuroko's. Kuroko greeted him and returned to eating.

"Dude, how can you eat so little?" Ryuto asked.

"I have a small appetite," he responded.

Straight to the point, Ryuto thought.

The two boys continued to talk. They mostly spoke about their hobbies and such, since they wanted to avoid talking about the games.

"Hey, Rishihara-san, you get a minute?" a voice called out.

Ryuto looked away from Kuroko and saw a boy with short, light brown hair, dark blue eyes, and glasses. This was the Seirin's Student Council President, Keigo Yosano. He was a second year and usually had the best grades in the school.

"What's up, Prez?" Ryuto asked, cringing that he had referred to him by his last name. He hated being called by his last time. He could never understand why, it was a personal tick of his. He was always correcting people, except his teachers.

"Refer to me as Yosano-san," Keigo said pushing up his glasses, "Or with any type of honorific. We aren't exactly friends."

"You do know I don't use honorifics for anyone, right? I just imply them whenever I speak," Ryuto explained.

"That's besides the point," Keigo said waving a hand.

His eyes then drifted over to the side, and noticed Kuroko looking up at him. Keigo jumped back in surprise at the sight.

"Kuroko-kun, I didn't see you there," Keigo said composing himself, "Hello."

"Hello, Yosano-senpai."

Keigo then turned back to Ryuto. He let out a breath in order to calm himself down.

"I just got to say, watching those matches against the foreigners is so awesome! I never knew basketball could be so intense," Keigo said excitedly.

Ryuto let out a nervous laugh and put his hand behind his head. "Well, it can be. Especially those games."

"I can't wait to see our team play against them. Now that Kaijo has shown they're not invincible, I'm sure our school can win!"

Ryuto let out another nervous laugh. He looked over to where Kuroko was sitting but found an empty seat. He looked back to see Kuroko walking out side the classroom. He gave him a look as he exited as if saying: "You're on your own."

Damn you, Kuroko. I'll get you back for this. Ryuto thought.

He turned back to the Student Council President, who had a particular gleam in his eyes.

"They're strong, so we can't go easy on them," Ryuto said.

The the gleam in his eyes left and was quickly replaced by a stern look. "I heard a rumor going around school saying the players are from the American school you went to."

"Wow," Ryuto said blinking rapidly, "Word travels fast. I did, and they're some of my best friends."

"I hope that doesn't hamper your ability to play?"

Ryuto leaned forwards and rose an eyebrow. "Why do you care how I play?"

"The school's reputation is on the line," Keigo said, with the glare from his glasses blocking his eyes.

"What does loosing to American's have to do with the school's reputation? We just won the the Winter Cup, the biggest tournament in Japan."

"Yes, yes, I'm aware. However, consider this, if Seirin defeats the American team, just like Kaijo, then we'll defiantly be considered the best school in Japan."

Ryuto leaned back in his chair, still with an eyebrow raised. "Why do you care so much if we win?" He crossed his arms as he finished his question.

Keigo pushed up his glasses. "I want this school to have the prestige it deserves. A prestige equivalent to that of Rakuzan."

"Rakuzan?"

Keigo sighed and sat down in front of Ryuto.

"Most of my family went to Rakuzan for high school. So when I decided to go to Seirin, most of my family was disappointed in me; especially my older brother."

Ryuto leaned in again and urged him to continue his story.

"I want my family to see that Seirin is equivalent in both studies and athletics to Rakuzan. And with them loosing, both in the Winter Cup and against the Americans, maybe they'll see it."

Before Ryuto could respond, the bell sounded and the lunch period was over. Students scrambled around in order to get to their next class. Keigo let out a sigh and stood up. He politely bowed to Ryuto and walked away.

So, this means that much to him, Ryuto thought.

—-

Ronnie returned to the hotel as everyone was preparing to head out for their game. Barry, Cisco, and Jay all walked up to him with concerned expression. He gave them a simple run down of his injuries, leaving out the fact that he was done playing basketball. He looked over his teammates, all of them were wearing their warmup uniforms. Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity were talking amongst themselves, with Felicity going through her notes. Snart and Mick were off to the side looking as if they were scheming something. Rene and Curtis were talking about stats, even though Rene seemed to ignore Curtis. Ray and Carter were going over different movements with an imaginary ball.

Coach Stein walked over to Coach Wells and began to discuss Ronnie's injuries. Wells got visibly upset when Stein mentioned Ronnie's basketball career was over. Stein was about to continue talking, when Wells held up his hand to stop. He turned and grabbed Ronnie warmup uniform.

"Ronnie."

Ronnie turned to Coach Wells and saw him handing him his uniform. Ronnie slowly raised his hands to grab it. He looked up at Wells, his eyes getting misty.

"You're still a part of this team."

Ronnie nodded.

Midorima Shintaro sat up from his bed after finishing taping his fingers and listening to the Oha Asa. He grabbed his glasses of his desk and examined them. He took out his glasses cleaner and made sure they were spotless. He blinked rapidly as he put them on. He grabbed his bag from his desk and swung it over his shoulder. As he exited his room, he let out a low grunt as he had forgotten his lucky item. Oha Asa had said that today was going to be good day for Cancers such as him, but he wanted to have his lucky item on hand just in case.

He had found out that the person he would be facing, Oliver Queen, was a Taurus. He had partly wished a shooter of his caliber would've been a Cancer like him, so they could get along. The captain of Shutoku, Otsubo, was a Taurus and he got along fine with him.

He had watched all games Oliver played in. The blonde prided himself in being a shooter, as did he. However, he did not approve of his release. He had made a promise to himself that he was going to be the first to block him.

Midorima pushed up his glasses as he put on his shoes. When he stood up the doorbell rang. He opened it and there stood Takao, with his usual grin and his hands behind his back.

"We got to get going."

Midorima nodded and exited his home. As the two started to walk, Midorima turned to Takao, who was holding up an arrow.

"You told me to get you this."

Midorima nodded and took the arrow. He examined it and noticed the tip was a pointed, green blade. Midorima rose an eyebrow, curious towards the color.

"Why green?"

Takao shrugged. "It was the only one they had."

"I see."

"Why an arrow? I thought today's item-" "Today's item is an arrow, just like how it was a shogi piece when we took on Akashi." Midorima said cutting off Takao.

"Whatever you say."

Midorima let out a chuckle and the two continued to walk towards Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

AN: With that, chapter 11 comes to a close. The reason I chose to not make the Shutoku game this chapter was because I wanted to deal with the after effects of Ronnie using the Zone, while mirroring, in a way, what happens to him on the show. This chapter also foreshadows some things that will happen during the Shutoku game. The part at Seirin was to show the reaction of people who don't much about basketball and how they feel towards the sport. I hope that clarifies everything for everyone. If it doesn't, feel free to write it in the reviews or PM me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for the next one. Remember to follow, favorite, and/or review if you're enjoying the story.