A/N: What's up peeps? I'm kinda amazed that people have actually enjoyed this fic so far, to be honest I was expecting people to trash it because it has a lot to do with basketball, but for the most part that appears not to be the case. Now, to the reviewers:

Egyptian Rose: Thanks for your reviews. Gambling conspiracy, indeed! But…is that the only thing that they are using the money for? I dunno...just something to think about I guess.

Autumn Oak: You're welcome for the review on "Blind Sky", and thanks for reading this fic. That was the main objective: to make this fic readable for someone who doesn't know a lick about basketball…and I think this one may get better as I progress.

Snow Weaver: I don't know why I thought you wouldn't like the pairings…in any event thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic!

Chii576: Glad you like the story…keep reading!!!

Anime-Ruthless V.1: Thanks for your reviews as before, Seto Kaiba has a HUGE role in this team's success, but no one man is more important than the team…oh and that team unity…its about to be severely tested! Also, beware; more stupid sports quotes may be made fun of in later chapters!

Now, there's no shameless self promotion in this chapter, so I guess we can get…

Jimmy: STOP! You have to introduce me! I'm important too!

BigLos: (rolling his eyes) All right, I'll introduce you…you are kinda important to the story.

Jimmy: YAY!

BigLos: Jimmy Garnet is the play-by-play voice of the Domino City University Saints, and he will be describing what's going on for you during the basketball games. He'll be an important voice in the story later on…

Jimmy: That's right!

BigLos: Shut up!!!!!

Jimmy: (cringing in fear) OK…

Well…now that that little introduction is out of the way…lets get back to the fanfic!

Chapter Four: Finding a Team: Part III

Seto could barely concentrate as he tried to help his brother Mokuba with his calculus homework. Mokuba, who was a senior in high school, was planning to follow in his brother's footsteps and attend Domino University after high school.

"Seto, are you alright man? You haven't said a thing since we started looking over this crap!" Mokuba, who had grown to be quite close to Seto's height, gazed curiously over at his older brother. "Is there a problem?"

"No problems, Mokuba….you forgot to multiply there." Seto pointed out a mistake on Mokuba's paper, which he quickly corrected.

"I don't know Seto…you haven't been your usual self the past few days. I know you're thinking about something. Well, what is it?"

"It's none of your business. I don't think you would understand anyway." Seto chose not to look in Mokuba's direction. All he could think about was her. What she had said to him…

Maybe you should consider not being the meanest person on the planet…

"SETO! Hello? Anybody up there?" Mokuba snapped Seto out of his daze. "Don't you have practice at six?

"Yes. What makes you bring that up?"

"It's almost seven."

Seto glanced at his watch. Damn, I didn't realize I had been helping him for this long! I guess I should head over to the gym. Seto grabbed his practice uniform and ran out of the door. Mokuba, feeling relief, decided to put away his unfinished homework.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT KID!! I want that work done by the time I get back here, got it?" Mokuba sighed, and nodded his head.

"And don't you even think about bringing Rebecca over…you know how I feel about you two." Seto attempted to give Mokuba his ultra-stern big brother look.

"Ok, Ok! Just get your butt to practice already! You know you'll probably running wind sprints forever for being so late anyway."

"Whatever. Remember what I said…." Seto closed the door and ran out the apartment. Seto and Mokuba were adopted when they were younger by a wealthy businessman from Domino City. He demanded excellence in everything…including athletics. He pushed Seto hard, sometimes beating Kaiba senseless for the slightest mistake in basketball practice. Sometimes the punishments were so severe that Seto couldn't even go to school the next day. Even to this very day, Seto still has nightmares about the cruelties that his step-father committed against him and his younger brother. And to this day, Seto still hasn't forgiven him.

Meanwhile:

Domino City University:

Nathan had been watching his team practice for nearly an hour, analyzing each and every player on the team. He had found some rather suprising freshman talent. Duke Devlin, whom everyone crowed the team's "class clown", was very strong on defense. Another freshman, Mako Tsunami, gave them some more of an inside game to work with. He was strong and agile, and could make the difficult shots. Unfotunately…he found some faults too.

"BAKURA! Come here! Flowers, get in there and take his spot!" Another freshman, who stood about 5'9'' with reddish-brown hair took Bakura's spot.

"What do you want?" Bakura asked, very irritated.

"Define motion, Bakura."

"I think it's the act of changing place or position of a particular body, sir."

"OK. Now, when a team runs a motion offense, the players should constantly be in motion, right?"

"I guess so..." Bakura said, obviously not caring.

"THEN WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE! MOVE AROUND DAMMIT! That's the only way the motion offense is going to work, if EVERYONE moves! A team's not four players, its five! Understand?" Nathan glared at him with dark-green eyes, just waiting for some random act of insolence.

"Yes, sir." Bakura said, his eyes looking at the floor.

"Good, now sit down." Bakura went over to the bench as everyone else carried on with practice. Just then someone came into the gym, his practice uniform on.

"You must be Kaiba….Get over here and see me for a minute. Joey! You too! Malik, you get in there for Joey."

Joey ran over and saw Seto standing by their coach, and was almost immediately confused.

Nathan blew his whistle and told the team to stop. "Free throw practice, guys. You have to make 100 as a group. You miss a free throw, you run a lap, got it?"

The boys all groaned at this proposition, but knew they really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Hey, how come Kaiba and Joey don't have to shoot?" Duke piped up.

"Because I have something to talk to them about, now shut up and get to shooting. Tristan, line 'em up!"

As Tristan lined up the remaining players for free throw practice, Nathan turned his attention back to Seto and Joey.

"First of all, Seto you're suspended for the first game. You come to another practice this late again and I'll suspend you for two games. You keep it up, I'll cut you."

Seto was not very happy about with this news, but decided to inform his coach of something that he had been able to get all of his coaches to understand and accept. "Coach, I can explain what happened, you see my bro-"

"I don't care." He turned his attention to Joey. "And you Mr. Wheeler, how many practices and games are you going to miss this year?"

Joey started to get nervous. "I didn't plan on missing any games dis year, coach."

"How many times did you plan to quit on your teammates? Three? Four? Five maybe?" Nathan's glare was staring a hole into Joey, and there was no where for poor Joey to hide.

"Answer me, Wheeler."

Joey swallowed hard before he spoke. "I'm not gonna do dat again this year."

"Good." Nathan pulled out two pieces of paper, giving one to Joey, the other to Kaiba. "I spoke to the director at Alexander Hall earlier today; he decided to grant me a request….you two are going to be roommates."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Joey and Seto were livid. The two polar opposites now had to live together.

"And if either one of you lays a hand on the other…if one blow is struck between the two of you, I'll cut both of you and not give it a second thought. Your team needs your talent and leadership, but they don't need the baggage that you two bring game in and game out! Is this clear?"

Both boys were slow to respond.

Joey didn't care much for the idea of Seto being his roommate, but decided that if it was good for the team he would go through with it. "Yes, sir."

Kaiba, on the other hand, wanted no part of it. First of all, this guy comes in here and makes all of these assumptions about me. He thinks I actually want to play this game, hell I could care less. To be honest, I'm only doing it because Mokuba promised me he would keep his grades up if we had a chance to play college basketball together. And as far as rooming with Wheeler goes, it'll be a cold day in hell before anything of the sort occurs. Screw this. "Go to hell…I quit."

By now, the entire team was watching the scene going on in front of them.

"KAIBA! Don't do this! Just calm down a minute and…" Yami was trying to get Seto to reconsider, but the elder Kaiba brother would have none of it.

"Can it, Yami!" Seto said as he walked out of the arena.

Tristan decided to go after him but Nathan held him back. "No. He's gotta figure out if he wants to play on this team. By himself. Let him go." Tristan nodded in understanding.

Nathan sighed and turned to the rest of his players. "Why is everyone standing around? You still have 34 free throws to make, get back to practice!"

Everyone, willing or not, got back in line and continued the drill as Nathan and Tristan looked on.

He probably doesn't realize it, but I already know what Seto's been through. I can't relate to him as far as being adopted, being raised by a cruel step-father who didn't seem to care about him at all, working as hard as you could to raise your brother, doing all of this before you're twenty-one. It's amazing to me that anyone that young could be so mature, yet so cold and foolish. However, I can relate to him in one area. Seto…you have to realize that broken home or not, rich or poor, white or black or whatever race, religion, or creed…you're going to have your back against the wall a lot in life…you better get used to it. I tested you Seto…and you failed.

Nathan looked on as his team finally finished the drill and Tristan dismissed them.

Seto walked down the street, his eyes downcast as he walked the campus streets. I just couldn't do that anymore…taking crap from coaches like that. If I wanted to be treated like a rented mule again, I'd dig Gozaburo out of his grave…old bastard.

Just then Kaiba bumped into someone…knocking the person over. He stopped, and decided to actually help the person up. Great, her again! Just what I needed to see right now! Seto sarcastically lamented to himself as he saw Serenity. She was wearing a light pink skirt with a matching top and heels, and her now shoulder-length hair flew lightly behind her as a slight breeze came.

"Seto, doing something nice?" Serenity looked up at Seto, his blue eyes almost unresponsive to her. "The world must be coming to an end!" She giggled, but realized that Seto wasn't amused, and stopped. He still had a hold of her hand from helping her up, and was refusing to let go.

"If you prefer, I can let you get back on the ground…would you like that?" Serenity was stunned by what she saw next. Seto smiled at her. Not that cocky sneer that she had come to know and hate, not a smile of sarcasm, but an honest to goodness smile.

"No…this is fine." Serenity said as she smiled back at him. "Seto would you walk me to my dorm? It's dark as you can see, and Joey always complains if I walk alone."

Seto looked at his watch. It was about 7:30, so Mokuba had probably already broken every rule he had laid down before he had left, including bringing over Rebecca Hawkins for dinner. Humph! I guess tonight is your lucky night Mokuba…

"Sure..I have time to spare."

Serenity smiled again as she and Seto began to walk down the street together, hand in hand.

Maybe he's not so mean and stuck-up after all…

Meanwhile:

Stafford Hall

"Shadi, YOU!? Why on earth would you do this?" Ishizu asked as her captor kept her pinned to the wall.

"One word Ishizu…greed." Shadi turned her around so that she was face first against the wall. "However, that is not what's important right now. What is important is that word of this doesn't leak out to the general public….agreed?"

"NO! You have to stop this! The boys, Tristan, Nathan, they're all innocent! If you carry out this plan, all of them will be tarnished forever!"

"Ishizu…I don't want to do this…but if word of this incident comes out, which it won't…I'll see to it personally that your life becomes a living hell...and Malik's as well."

Ishizu felt numb at the moment. Shadi had taken over as Chanchellor of the University shortly after Yugi and Yami's grandfather, Solomon, had decided to retire. She had always considered him to be trustworthy…moreover she considered him to be one of her best friends.

"Alright…let me go…and I'll keep quiet. Just leave Malik out of this."

Ishisu felt Shadi run a finger along her neck and upper back. She could only imagine the sick thoughts running through his mind. "Good…I'm glad we've come to his understanding." Suddenly Ishizu felt herself being turned around again by Shadi's fierce grip.

"Remember…this conversation…everything you managed to overhear…it stays here. If not…I'll take out my vengeance on Malik!"

Next Time: Ishizu struggles as she decides whether to risk losing her brother to let the truth be told, Seto gets a pep talk from an old friend, the starting lineup is revealed, sending a few tremors through the squad, and Nathan looks back on his life as he prepares for his coaching debut against Duke University!

Just a quick little something before I go, I've been trying to come up with a name for the Domino City, teams arena….if you have an idea for a name, please leave it in the reviews. If I choose yours, you get all the credit. Got it? Good. Now until next time….

BIGLOS..OUT!