Thrashed?
~ A short story about victory...and defeat ~


One-sided.

That was putting it mildly.

The game had not been their game, and the result was depressing, to say the least. The match was out of their hands, and it was all they could do to struggle to save their dignity and rescue their pride.

Help.

-xxx-

It was mind-boggling.

To put in one's best would be to thrash the opponents. To not put in one's best would be disrespectful to the opponents. There was no middle ground.

-xxx-

Takezato was trailing. Desperately. –

Shohoku was going to win. With relative ease.

The score crept up to the hundreds on Shohoku's side of the board, whereas it remained stubbornly under half that number for Takezato.

-xxx-

Crushed. Despairing. Devastated. You could see it on their faces. But one look you could not find there – resignation. They would fight to the last second, however little the chance of winning was, however far away their opponent's lead stretched.

-xxx-

Hesitant happiness. Uneasy joy. Uncertain relaxation. You could see it on the faces. The dilemma between feelings of excitement and feelings of sympathy. But something never showed on their faces – the expression of pride. Because there was nothing to be proud of.

-xxx-

The game ended 120-81 in Shohoku's favour.

Two teams walked off the court that day. One, with victory. The other, with defeat. But both could be proud. Because they had put in their best.

The victors had not detracted anything from their opponents. Who had not detracted from their dignity. Because, in sport, there is a victor. But there is never a loser. No matter what the score line. No matter what the result.

-xxx-

Author's Note: This has nothing to do with the characters and story of the first ficlet, as you would by now have realised. The only similarity is the theme. Anyway, I wrote this after watching the highlights of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, after learning that Australia's men's hockey team beat their Barbados counterparts by a score of 20-1. Hope you liked it! Review, please!

~rurouni