Disclaimer: I don't own SD boys, Inoue does. The events that follow are not included in the original plot but enjoy anyway.
'You wouldn't believe what the skank just put me through last night,' I rant to Jin as he finds a nice spot to work out on his expertise; 3 point shooting.
'What?' He asks as the ball whizzes out of his clutches straight through the net that's welled around the plastic rim; 25 feet from the mark and his precision doesn't diminish in inverse proportion with his proximity. This is why Kainan has the best record in Kanagawa; summing up Maki's all around performance with Jin's impeccable perimeter shooting isn't something to look forward to. It's something to dread and fear once you're off to a match with them.
'Asked me a bunch of mindless questions, like what you said,' I say. He takes a break from his roll and looks around.
'Let's talk about it later. I don't think Maki's fond of chicanery during practice,' He says and picks up another ball.
'Right,'
I saunter across the court and pick up a ball lying forlorn on the shiny floor. Stepping on the foul line, I start to head for a graceful launch, stretching out my right arm and left leg to go for a horizontal voyage along the basket's clear and open path. As I near the target, I jab my fingers slightly to direct the steep projectile of the object's motion. I release it slowly and watch as it slides down deftly, unhindered by any living force meandering between the elements of successful potentialities. Simple. I hear the fast swooshing of leather against the corrugated threads of the basket's net as my leap begins to descend heavily; it's in. That is my favorite shot. The subtle art of pulling up a high-flying finger roll. Perfect for ensuring a two point advantage; not even Shoyo's Toru Hanagata can reject that shot.
'What do you call that?' Says a masterful voice behind me.
'A from-the-foul-line-lay-in sure shot. I invented it,' I say. There plays a malevolent glint under Shinichi Maki's eyelids, stabbing the very core of my under nourished pride. The whole team turns its gaze to our direction; here starts the minor issue of who's making the show for the day.
'Sure shot? I doubt if you can do that in a live game.' Maki sneers, still carrying the same bumptious air of expression that partly earned him the title the Star of Kanagawa.
'Er, well, it's solely devised for a, er, a fast break...you can't do that with 3 or 4 opponents around you so...' I stammer. How I wish I never made the shot at all.
'Correct,' He looks at me with the inimitable glance he throws at his subordinates, 'Now you're learning. And I presume you won't count on fast breaks to seal our victory?'
'No. not at all.'
'Good. Let's see you tear something up,'
'But-'
'You want to be chucked from the first line-up, boy? You better start doing as you're told,'
At that, I give in. Here we go again. Making a clown out of myself in front of the whole team. Shinichi Maki has this habit of heckling his players and trashing them later on a one on one match. I wonder if his gloating has something to do with his MVP character; if it suits his ego to humiliate less talented players or if it's just a way of releasing stress. How I hate this, and him for that.
'Ready? Don't get too antsy on me now. You should save your nerves for the Aichi boys,' He warns and hands me the ball. Great, now I got the first possession.
The court is suddenly cleared out of warming up bodies; everybody finds a nice spot to watch the show, all that's missing is popcorn and cola.
I start to do a fake glide to the left, cutting through his walled-up defense. He's a foot away from me, seeming keen on thwarting my movements, his knees bent in a guarding position and his left arm holding up against the movement of my driving shoulders. One high speed reach-in attempt from his right arm and I'm doomed to another comical scene here. I skip forward to make way to the basket. He does the reverse, stepping aside and turning on my back. I decide to go for a single handed slam and...smack. An invisible wave slaps the ball out my grip all the way to Shinichi Maki's hands. A block-steal. Alright, he's the man and I'm the clown.
'What was that?' He glares at me.
'I was goin' for a dunk, not anything showy but all I wanted is to score,'
'I know. And you bit the bait? I told you a hundred times before nobody's letting you score that easy. You should look behind if your opponent's fooling you. Just see what I got you in for.' He berates me with the same paternal tone I hear from coach Takato.
'Yes, captain.'
I don't take time savoring the misfortunes I had from the match. To tell the truth, it hurts to lose without a fight. In the blink of an eye, he's done it all; steal, block, score, screen, rebound, reverse, everything. And all I could do in the same span of time is to dribble.
We take a break. What a lucky day. I sit beside Jin who's looking intensely sympathetic. He must've known what kind of shit I've been going through for the last few days.
'You're okay?' He asks.
'Of course not,'
'Er, want to talk about it?' He says, grinning apologetically.
'No.'
'What about Rukawa?' He asks.
I tell him about the phone call in full detail; every word, every feeling, and every reaction displayed.
'Maybe I was over-reacting when I came to accuse him. I mean, I haven't a grain of proof that it's really him,' I say.
'Yeah, but asking questions like that IS something. You really think he'd admit it right away? No way. He wouldn't make himself a laughing stock saying he stalks you at night.'
'IT was there the moment I hung up on Rukawa.' I say suddenly, remembering the freezing humidity of the air last night.
Jin gapes.
'Listen, this is kinda gettin' into my nerves. It's affecting me like mad. My concentration in my game gets disturbed and...' I falter.
'We're goin' to Shohoku. We're gonna corner Rukawa and squeeze it out of him. I know it may not be him goin' after you at night but that doesn't erase the possibility of connivance; he might have something to do with it,'
'You'll do that for me?' I ask Jin earnestly.
'Hey, what are friends for?' He smiles.
Wow. Maybe I was lucky after all.
TBC