Yo. Thanks for waiting for the new chapter patiently. A lot of you guys have been asking for this one a lot lately so I finally got around to it. Unrelated, but someone getting their first ring this year in the NBA and I'm hoping it's Giannis or Trae but we'll see. Anyways feel free to join the discord server to hang out and even check out two server exclusive stories there. NycaDnBr
The familiar 'swish' noise sounded out from the mostly empty park. Seeing as they'd gone straight after school most students were on their way home still or busy with some sort of assignment. Those that weren't heading home were still on campus for club activities, leaving the local park mostly vacant.
Naruto and Aomine had been practicing for the better part of two hours now. The blond wasn't too tired, with only a couple beads of sweat dripping down his face. Aomine on the other hand had a large portion of his black tank top darkened due to the sweat he'd exuded. A solid fourth of his shirt was wet while his skin glistened due to the small layer that coated it.
This was probably the first time in a while that he'd been pushed like this. That was good though, it meant he was putting in effort. The blond had no doubt that if he hadn't come he'd be on the school roof lounging around.
"Again" Naruto called out. "We'll switch off after this one."
Aomine nodded and bounce passed the ball to his teammate. Quickly using the bottom part of his shirt that was still dry he wiped his face off and jogged up to play defense. Naruto walked forward, dribbling with his right hand and turned his body so that his left shoulder was pointing at Aomine.
He slowly dribbled forward until he came in contact with the power forward. "In a situation like this, using streetball moves drains you more than necessary." He lectured, stopping exactly where he stood.
"Look where we are" He ordered as he looked down. Following his line of sight one could see the two were standing just outside the key. "When you're in a position like this you'd be tempted to try and cross your opponent and then drive in. It can work if you're fast enough, but what if they're running a zone defense?" He questioned.
Naruto slowly mimicked the motions as if he were passing him and stopped just a few feet from where they previously stood. "The moment you pass your defender, someone's already marked you. You can try and shake them but again it's just wasted stamina."
"It's worked up until now." Aomine retorted.
"It has." Naruto agreed as he got back into position again. "Against players inferior to you. If you try that against high level players I can guarantee you by half time you're out of stamina. Instead save yourself the trouble and post up."
Naruto took a hard step forward with his left foot, his shoulder bumping into the young man's chest pushing him slightly back. "Slowly push forward until you're close enough and then…" He trailed off. He gave Aomine one last push and and jumped into a fade away, squaring himself in mid air.
The blue haired ace jumped to try and stop the shot, but the space created from that last push, combined with the fade away, was too large. By the time he'd jumped to block, the blond was already at the peak of his jump and released the ball. Only the bottom of the net made contact with the basketball as he drilled the shot once again.
"Your turn." Aomine crossed the ball through his legs a few times, his eyes never leaving Naruto's as he did so. Just as Naruto had done before, he turned his body to the side and began applying some pressure. After each dribble he'd shove just hard enough to get a little closer.
"Good. He's breaking his habit of trying to just drive through" Naruto thought as he tried to push back. For the first hour or so, after failing to pull it off correctly, the young man would resort to driving and going for a formless shot. Granted some of them went down but they would be too much of a risk against stronger teams.
People like him and Nash would be able to stop it easily in a real game once they knew it was coming. Aomine pushed off him once more and pivoted to the right. Naruto mentally sighed, only to raise his eyebrows in surprise when the blue haired teen came back and jumped back.
Naruto tried to stop it but had been a tad too late due to his surprise. Aomine had jumped with his back still to the rim, spun and corrected himself in a flash before shooting. The ball hit the inside of the rim three times, bouncing back and forth before finally falling.
The blond whistled in appreciation. "For a second I thought you were going to try the drive again."
Aomine wiped his face again "It wouldn't work so I figured I'd mix it up and make you think I was."
'He's getting it now' "Run that back" Another hour passed with Naruto focusing on breaking the man's habit of switching to streetball. It was difficult but he was getting it. He'd been so used to doing it that it was almost second nature to him. Something like that didn't go away in an hour but he was happy to say they were making good progress. If they kept at it, soon Aomine would be able to transition from one style to another seamlessly. The two players called it a day just as the sun was beginning to disappear.
The next day Naruto was back in his black and red Touou warm up gear as he put down some shots in the arena. The entirety of the first string had their shorts and jerseys underneath however just in case they needed to sub in. Imayoshi had told him it was unlikely but they still had to be prepared. As he raised his hands asking for them to toss the rock to him he couldn't help but glance around at the packed venue.
He'd heard as they were walking in, that people were very hyped to watch them play again, especially after hearing about the match with Seirin. Too bad for them they were going to be treated to the sight of second string handling it.
The blond ran a few basic drills and layups while waiting for the game to start and even helped some of the younger players with their shooting form before getting off the court. Once the whistle sounded Naruto dapped up the starters and made his way over to the bench, sitting in between Imayoshi and Susa.
He had to admit he was pleasantly surprised with how the team was handling the game. Even without their 'stars' Touou was still dominating. At the end of the first half they were already winning 65-15. Naruto was sure that had they been in any other school, their second string would easily be starters.
When the third quarter began their opponents quickly broke through their defense and managed to get an easy layup, along with a free throw because of contact made. Naruto had to call that player over as the dude was preparing to shoot. He gave his underclassman some pointers on how to better play defense so as to not get called for a foul and sent him back.
Occasionally he'd yell out specific things he wanted some players to do when he saw something they were doing wrong. The coach of the team nodded in appreciation, noting how the guys seemed to actually listen and produced results because of it.
By the start of the fourth quarter Touou had a large enough lead that Naruto and some of the other guys had to find another way to entertain themselves. Naruto and Susa sat on the ground while Imayoshi and Wakamatsu sat on the bench, making sure their water bottle was properly closed. They had begun flipping the bottle in the air in an attempt to have it land up right.
The higher the bottle went the more style points they gave each other. Their little game went on for all of five minutes before it ended up rolling onto the court. A mistake that had cost the team a technical foul. They weren't too upset though, the gap between them was large enough that one free throw wouldn't do much. Not only that but the shooter actually missed the shot.
The ball hit the rim and was grabbed by Touou who then went on a fast break for an easy two points. Naruto couldn't help but laugh when in the final seconds of the game one of their teammates went for a contested dunk. The touou guard easily towered over his defender who in his opinion should've just moved out of the way.
The poor kid hit the ground holding his elbow and was helped off the court right as the buzzer went off.
"If something like that happened to me you'd never see me in this gym again." Naruto commented, much to the team's amusement. After the guys had washed up and gotten dressed again they'd decided to stop by and get some food to celebrate the win. To Naruto's surprise even Aomine had agreed to tag along.
They'd decided to stop at a small barbeque spot a few blocks away from the arena and were fortunate that it was almost empty.
"I'm telling you, if Wakamatsu was the one to dunk on the guy, they'd have to remove him from the court on a stretcher." Naruto said, laughing at the memory. He was still trying to figure out what possessed the guy to jump.
After that first game the blond felt like the team had accepted him a little more. Apart from asking about his hooping skills they also began to ask him about his life in America, interests, and what he thought about Japan so far. It really did feel like he was part of a real team again.
"So…." Imayoshi began after taking a bite of his food. "Our next match is against Kogomo North High. Similar to Nakamiya south, they're decent but shouldn't be too much of an issue."
"Are we going to sit this one out too?" Naruto asked. He didn't mind letting the others play but if they sat for too long they'd be rusty when an important game came up.
Imayoshi shook his head and smiled. Naruto didn't like that smile. It was one that generally meant he was not going to be amused, and that would in turn, amuse the bespectacled man. "We're not sitting this one out, you and Aomine are."
At the sound of his name the blue haired teen looked away from his food and frowned at the captain. "What do you mean we're sitting this one out?" He asked.
Imayoshi shrugged "We can't keep sitting out but we don't need to have you two waste your energy. You don't even have to show up for the game."
Naruto saw his eyes light up and quickly intervened. "Don't look too happy. We can use that time to keep practicing."
The team laughed at the blue haired teens misfortune and continued talking about what had happened during the game.
Naruto looked over at one of the young players who was happily munching away on his food and threw the paper that covered his straw at him. "Hey, why'd you pass up an open layup today? You think any respectable pro would do something like that?"
First string watched in amusement as their newest member began picking apart their game and letting them know what they could have done. Wakamatsu even murmured that he could probably coach them for the next game.
A few days later
The blond stepped out of the shower and got changed into some casual clothes consisting of some black jeans and a button up after drying off. He and Aomine had spent around three hours at the park continuing their training while the team was playing against Kogomo North High. Imayoshi had texted him soon after the game ended letting them know of their easy victory.
Of course with most of the first string on the court their opponents didn't really stand a chance. He'd also let him know that tomorrow they were to meet after school to go over footage of their next obstacle. Yosen High. He didn't know much about them except that in their last two games they'd given up 0 points and put up 153 points.
They were dangerous but considering they were playing against some scrubs not all that impressive. He checked his phone and saw it was just passed 9pm. Naruto wanted to see what else his part of the neighborhood had going on. He'd seen a couple stores a few blocks out in the downtown area that he'd wanted to check out, but with everything going on with the tournament he hadn't had time.
He let his mom know he was heading out and began his trek.
To say he was disappointed was an understatement. While the shops did have some nice shoes and clothes available, they weren't really anything special. Just as he was about to call it a day and head back home he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye.
Across the street there was a woman in blue jeans and a red and white tank top in front of a vending machine, clearly agitated. He could see her eyes narrowed behind her glasses after she tucked some of her blond hair behind her ear. Seeing as he had nothing better to do he crossed the street and stood next to her as she stared down the inanimate object.
"You need to put money in it for it to work." Was his smart ass remark. The woman's eyes darted to him and he could tell the comment had gotten under her skin if the tick mark on her head was any indication.
"I know how...I know how a vending machine works." She said, beginning in English and quickly switching to Japanese. Now that she'd turned her head at him he blinked in surprise when he realized exactly who this woman was.
Alexandra Garcia, the former WNBA player who had retired early due to illness. What was she doing in Japan?
"If you press this little knob five times really fast it will return your money" Naruto replied in English, clearly surprising the woman. Naruto thanked whoever was above that Imayoshi had taught him that trick one day when he encountered the same problem.
"You speak English pretty well." She commented.
"I lived in America most of my life and only just moved to Japan that's why. Nice to talk to someone in English again. Which one did you want?" He asked. She made her selection, some alcoholic beverage. No doubt to deal with whatever else was bugging her.
Seeing the colorful can he placed some money in and got one as well. Though he was under the drinking age, vending machines didn't check ID. In America he'd already had drinks with some of the boys so he didn't have to worry about getting drunk.
Alex eyed the drink in his hand and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You aren't allowed to drink that you know".
Naruto shrugged and made sure to keep it mostly out of sight. Alexa sighed and walked off motioning with her hand. "If you're gonna drink that at least let's go somewhere you're not gonna get caught"
The two walked down the street side by side until they stopped at a rather large park. They crossed through the playground and sat down on a small concrete slab that had low visibility from the street.
"So what's got you worked up?" Naruto asked, cracking open his drink.
Alex opened hers as well and took a drink before glancing at him. "What makes you think something's up?"
"I've never seen someone that worked up against a vending machine, even if it did eat their money. My guess is you've had a bad day overall or someone ruined your day. The vending machine was just the last straw" Naruto responded.
Alex gave the younger blond an impressed look and chuckled softly. "Close. One of my students had a basketball match the other day and was outclassed from what he describes." She took another sip. "That in turn, looks bad on me since I feel like I failed him."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. Sure that was enough to put someone down but he had a feeling there was more to it than that. "It happens though, there's always someone better out there."
She agreed and took a deep breath. "I explained that to Taiga and he's gotten back to practicing but is still in a bit of a mood. Not only that but my other student isn't exactly on speaking terms with me at the moment." Ok, now things were starting to add up. "I began training Taiga for his match against Touou and was going to teach him some new techniques for his game against Yosen. My other student learned of this and feels like I've picked one over the other."
Naruto blinked once, twice, three times. "What's this Taiga person's last name"?
"Kagami" Alex watched as Naruto looked away wide eyed and continued sipping his drink. "You're the one who beat him aren't you"? She asked.
Naruto nodded. "He was decent but overall predictable. Sorry about inadvertently causing you trouble".
Luckily for him she waved off his concerns. "Even if you'd have lost I'd still have the second problem eating away at me. How old are you?" She suddenly asked.
"18. In my last year of high school." She nodded to herself, everything seemingly making sense to her.
"Well kid...my drink!" She cried comically as the can slipped from her hand. Without thinking, Naruto's hand quickly shot out, catching the beverage a few feet short of hitting the floor. What happened next left the younger blond baffled. She cheered as her drink was saved, threw an arm around his shoulders, and planted her lips onto his.
He was able to get himself together quick enough to briefly reciprocate just a few moments before she pulled back. Alex didn't look ashamed or embarrassed in the least bit as she shot him a thankful smile.
"As I was saying, I'm gonna head out. Maybe I'll dream of a way to get my other student to talk to me." She said as she crushed her can.
"What's his name? You said he goes to Yosen right? Maybe I can give you a hand. If he won't listen to you, maybe he'll listen to someone else."
Alex smiled warmly at him for his offer and responded. "If you wanna try, sure but I don't think it'll be that easy."
Naruto waved off her concerns "I'm sure I can get through to him. Guaranteed."
"Guaranteed? Himuro is hard headed and most likely feels betrayed so I don't know how you plan to do it but if you do, I'll do whatever you want" She offered. Naruto wasn't sure what she meant by whatever and asked her to elaborate. Her answer was once again 'whatever', this time saying it slower to get the point across. She wished him luck and disappeared down the street, leaving him sitting by himself.
While there might not have been much to do over all he'd consider this a good night. This was the second professional player he'd met and held conversation with. The first being an NBA player who improved his and Nash's handles. He wasn't sure if she knew he knew she was a pro but he didn't want to say anything, the last thing she needed was to think he was a fanboy. Not to mention he actually kissed her.
Why she did it? He wasn't sure but he wasn't complaining. Glancing at his phone he saw that only about an hour had passed since he'd left his house and decided to head back. He crushed his can in his hands and kept it tucked away in case he was stopped by any of the police on duty tonight.
A few days later the team was assembled in the arena again finishing up shoot around. It felt good to be back in uniform rather than warm up gear. As his team gathered around Momoi who stood on the bench with her clipboard in hand Naruto glanced at their opponents.
They were built like some trees. Three of them were reaching the 7" mark in their height. He glanced at the tallest of the team, Murasakibara. Aomine had told him about him, his defense was insane due to his height and athleticism. That didn't matter much to him though, he'd played against tall opponents before and there were ways to handle him.
His attention was then shifted to one of the shorter players, number 12 specifically. Himuro Tatsuya. That's the one Alex needed to talk to. He seemed friendly enough, laughing happily with his team, it would be difficult to tell he was actually upset.
Shaking his head he headed over to the rest of the team and listened in on what was being discussed.
"They haven't given up a single point in the past two days and are being called 'The Shield of Aegis' due to their strong defense. Not only that but they have the height advantage with Murasakibara and have a second ace in Himuro Tatsuya." She said pointing over at said man.
"He's just as dangerous, he was taught by Alexandra Garcia, a pro WNBA player so it's safe to assume he'll be strong." Naruto glanced up at the stands after seeing most of the team do so and saw the blond woman at the very top looking down at them.
She didn't let anything show on her face but he could tell she was taking in everything going on below her.
"What do you think?" Imayoshi asked Naruto, not taking his eyes off the woman.
Not hesitating for a second, Naruto responded. "Golf ball through a water hose for sure."
"What?" Now the captain was looking at him.
"What?"
The two men stared at each other for a few more seconds before turning back to see Momoi looking at them with an annoyed look on her face. She shook her head and let the coach take over and give them a brief pep talk. The referee blew the whistle and the two team captains were called off to the side.
Seeing his chance, Naruto walked over next to Himuro and coughed once to get his attention.
"Yo. Mind if I ask you something?" Himuro looked at him curiously but nodded nonetheless. "You wouldn't happen to know Alexandra Garcia would you?"
The black haired man's eyes narrowed at him slightly. "I do."
"If it's not too much to ask for, after you guys lose tonight can you go talk to her?" Naruto tried not to laugh at the angry face his opponent made. He wasn't sure if he was more mad being told that he was going to lose or that he brought up his teacher.
"I'm not going to talk to her, nor are we losing this game." Himuro responded and turned his back to walk away.
"How about this, if you guys lose you talk to her." He pitched. Luckily that seemed to stop the man in his tracks.
He turned around "If we win? What's in it for me?"
"I have some very expensive sneakers in my collection. You can take your pick." Naruto finished, extending an open hand. Himuro mulled it over for a second and shook his hand, a determined look in his eyes.
Having done what he needed, the blond walked over to Aomine who was tying his laces. "I'm going to need you to show out today. I got a lot riding on this." More than just shoes if what Alex told him was a real offer.
Aomine smirked and walked past him, getting ready to take his spot on the court for the jump ball. "Just watch."
Naruto matched his smirk and hoped Aomine would put some of what he'd taught him to use. Murasakibara and Wakamatsu stood at the center of the court, both ready to fight for first possession. Everyone's heads shot upwards as the ball was thrown and the two men jumped.
Naruto knew the height difference was large and back pedaled, knowing Yosen would be taking the first possession. He cracked his neck and rolled his arms briefly and got into position as the team made their way over.
The noise from the crowd was almost deafening as the match between Touou and Yosen had officially begun.
Alright, hope y'all enjoyed it and thank you for waiting. Discord link is NycaDnBr pull up. Don't be on some weird shit and you'll be aight. Hope to chat with you guys soon. Later.