A/N: What's up people? There is no time to waste this time, so I'll immediately get to my thank-you's:
Egyptian Rose: Thanks for your review as always…to be perfectly honest, I myself have not played basketball in a competitive setting (i.e. club teams, high school, etc.) but I understand enough about the game so I can write about it decently enough. And of course….Joey will be Joey! LoL
Anime Ruthless V1: Thanks again, and I'm glad you like the play-by-play guy…I wanted to have the feel that you were actually listening to a game.
Seto KaibaX: Without a shadow of a doubt….the shortest review I've ever gotten. YOU SHOULD HAVE READ PAST THE FIRST CHAPTER! If you did, I apologize.
Princess Chaos: Actually….you should have been thanked in the last chapter…but somehow your review was erased and then came back…in any event…THANKS!
ChaosMagicianGirl: Without a shadow of a doubt… the longest review I've ever gotten. Passionate and a little craziness mixed in, I like that! Thanks for your review and I'll be looking for an update from you! Ahh...Seto and Joey rooming together…the possibilities!
You know…that last chapter in my opinion, its kinda one of those chapters that you know is going to suck but you have to write it so that you can get to something that is actually interesting. I don't know…in any event, here's the next chapter! ENJOY!
Random Quote: "Any day above ground is a good day." Anonymous
Chapter 7: DCU at Duke…Battle with the Cameron Crazies, Part II
Nathan walked around his team's locker room door, nervous as could be. He had experienced this as a player, a spectator, an assistant coach….but never like this. This team was totally his, and he was afraid of how they would respond. He could hear the roar of the home crowd, the fans hungry for an easy victory. He loosened his midnight blue tie a little, and tried to figure out what to say to his team as he walked in. Each player was going through their little rituals: Joey was saying his usual good luck prayer; Yami listening to some music on his headset (ALTER BRIDGE BABY!), Bakura, Duke, and Yugi were talking about strategy for the upcoming game. Nathan called for their attention, and everyone looked over his way.
"Well…here we are, men. Tonight…we have a chance to prove ourselves to the entire country, win or lose. So, I want to tell you all a little story about myself. Back when I was in Kansas, I played football for a couple of years...as something extra to pass the time I guess."
"What position?" The room turned to the voice that made this remark…all slightly surprised because he hadn't said anything the entire trip.
"Wide receiver, Seto. Well, anyway…we went up to Michigan and played them in their arena. I ran a quick slant route across the middle of the field, expecting the ball to come to me. I caught the ball well enough, but this guy jumps up and completely annihilates me. I mean, he really lit me up. Hell I could hear Coach on the sidelines: 'Oh, goodness! Shazor killed him!' "
This comment earned a few chuckles from the boys.
"The fact that I got hit wasn't important. What was important was that I was able to get up from it, shake it off, and continue to give all that I have. That's what you boys have to do tonight. You will be tested….you will be knocked down. But I'll tell you this…you get up from whatever they throw at you, I promise you'll not only have their respect, but the respect of everybody in this building when this night is over. Now…let's go out there and kick some Blue Devil ass!"
This got a huge roar from the team, and they went out for their warm ups. The crowd was very hostile, but that was to be expected for the visitors.
"Coach…are you nervous?" Tristan asked, himself feeling a little anxious.
"To be perfectly honest…yeah." Nathan breathed as he saw the home team take the court with sporadic applause. The Public Announcer directed the crowd's attention to the giant screen above the court, on it was a scene that Nathan knew too well. The crowd cheered as Nathan missed what would have been the game winning shot, and the PA guy went on talking about the championships that Duke had won since that day.
Maybe it was coincidence…maybe it was psychological warfare…maybe it was flat out meanness, but they showed the clip several times each time zooming in on Nathan as he lay on the ground. On top of that…the Duke crowd began shouting this taunt:
COLBY CAN'T SHOOT!
COLBY CAN'T SHOOT!
COLBY CAN'T SHOOT!
After a few minutes of this, Nathan called over the team.
"Listen to me, the crowd has this game in the wrong perspective. I'm not the one shooting the ball tonight, you men are! Play calm, play smart, play hard! Let's show these Dukies what we're all about!"
(Cue radio broadcast, Domino University fight song playing in background)
Domino University, Defenders of the Gray and Blue
We will always loyal be, our hearts are loyal, true!
All for one and one for all, we've got the will to win for thee
So we'll fight, fight, fight, FIGHT! Until we gain the victory…SAINTS!
Jimmy: "Welcome back sports fans to the Domino City Radio Network, here are the starting lineups for tonight's game: For the Duke Blue Devils: Stanley and Riddick are the guards, Benjamin and Sampratt are the forwards, the senior Rosso at center. For the Domino City Saints: The Mutou Twins, Yami and Yugi, along with the freshman Duke Devlin at the guard spots, Malik Ishtar at forward, Mako Tsunami, transfer from the University of Hawaii at the other forward position. Seto Kaiba, the usual forward, will start serving a three game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, and won't be playing this evening. Here's the tip-off….and Duke takes the tip. Stanley pushes the ball into the frontcourt, stops, and shoots and immediately makes a three pointer. Yugi inbounds the ball…ITS STOLEN! Riddick lays it in and its already 5-0 Duke on top. My goodness! Yugi passed the ball to Marik Ishtar, the freshman, and he just lost the handle on it."
"Duke with a 10-2 lead early here in the fist half, Riddick moving the ball…passes the ball on the wing to Sampratt….Sampratt finds a wide-open Rosso for an easy slam. Time called, and with 17:08 to go in the first half….Duke leads Domino University 12-2"
Nathan had seen enough, and decided to call a time out in an attempt to stop the Duke momentum. The crowd, sporting the school's blue and white colors, was incredibly loud and thirsty for more.
"What the hell is going on out here? Remember your assignments! Mako…I don't give a damn if you have to foul him all night, you've gotta keep Rosso from scoring on us like that. At least make it difficult! Now settle down, play smart, OK?"
The team nodded their heads in affirmation, and to even Nathan's surprise, hung with the Duke Blue Devils. Everything that Duke threw at them, the boys from Domino responded. They were out muscled, outmatched, but still refused to give in. The Cameron Crazies were getting silent…afraid of what they once thought was impossible…a Saints victory.
Jimmy: "Five seconds to go in the first half….Yugi dribbles, pump fakes, shoots…..GOOD! Everybody…get on the phones; call anyone who knows a damn thing about basketball because we have a good one out here in Cameron Indoor Stadium! At halftime, it's the Duke Blue Devils leading the Domino University Saints, 43-42. We'll be back with our halftime show, after this break. You're listening to the Domino City Radio Network."
Everyone was excited going into the locker room, save Seto Kaiba, and Nathan had to calm down not only his team, but himself. He was very, very proud of his team, but knew that a challenging time lay ahead of them.
"Hey…you've gotten a lot better ova da off-season, Yug!" Joey proudly proclaimed, slapping Yugi on the back.
"Yami helped me with my conditioning, and Tristan helped with my mechanics. I guess all that work has paid off so far." Yugi smiled slightly at his longtime teammate.
"Let's not get all happy yet, you guys. If you haven't noticed yet, we're still losing this thing." Duke stated as he sat down on the locker room bench, wiping some sweat from his brow.
"Devlin's right…you're still losing." The team turned to see their coach addressing them, his dark-green eyes showing no happiness or satisfaction. "We've still got a long way to go, and it's only going to get harder gentleman. You think they were pissed off when we the game started? I'll bet my last dollar that their coach is tearing into them right now, because there's no way in hell that that was their best basketball. Bakura, Joey, Timmy…you three will start the second half….I want Yugi, Yami, and Duke rested for the last few minutes. Mako...stay out of foul trouble. You've done a good job against Rosso so far, but expect him to come at you full blast in the second half. WE CAN WIN THIS THING….but only if we keep doing what we did in the first half. Understood?"
The team cranked out a "Yes, sir!" and headed back out to get ready for the second half, leaving only Nathan and Tristan in the locker room.
"These boys…they're playing their hearts out tonight….but I don't know how much longer we can last." Nathan said, more to himself than anything else.
(Cue radio broadcast…Domino U. theme playing)
Jimmy: Welcome back sports fans; we have a good one going here! With 6:00 left to go in the second half, Duke leading Domino University 77-69. Riddick is leading all scorers with 29 points, Yugi Mutou leading Domino with 20 of his own. Domino to inbound…they trail by eight. Wheeler brings the ball up, passes the ball to Mako down in the post (Duke Fans jumping and screaming, trying to inspire their team) Mako passes the ball to Yami. Yami drives…lays it up and IN! A foul is called as well, so Yami will go to the line with a chance for a three-point play! The foul was on Rosso, that's only his second foul. Yami steps to the free throw line…the shot is good. Duke 77-Domino 72 with 5:34 remaining in regulation…"
As hard as Yami and the rest of the team fought, that would be as close to victory as they would come on this day….Duke would close out the game scoring the final 13 points, pulling away late.
As the buzzer sounded, the two teams shook hands and went to their respective locker rooms. On his way into the tunnel, Bakura saw someone out of the corner of his eye. She was wearing a royal blue blazer, with a matching skirt. Her hair was medium length, rich brown in color. Her eyes a soft blue, fixed on the piece of paper she was scribbling on.
"You got what you need for your article, Tea?" A man in his middle 40s with grey hair and brown eyes approached her from his courtside seat.
"Yes, Mr. Garnet. I appreciate your help in putting this together." If Bakura didn't know any better, he'd thought he had seen a slight sparkle in Tea's eyes as she spoke…
"Bakura…you ok?" Yugi asked as he tried to snap Bakura out of his trance. "I'm fine. Get out of my way…." Bakura blew past Yugi in a huff, feeling something strange in his stomach.
"Guys….so we lost the game, big deal. It's a long season, and we can't afford to allow this game to curtail the rest of it. We got Kentucky coming up next, so there's no room for self-pity. Now…let's get dressed and head for the hotel."
Before the team could do anything else, Nathan turned around and spoke again. "I'm proud of the effort you boys gave tonight…real proud."
Meanwhile, back in Domino City:
Pegasus had been listening to the game on the radio, and was irate about the result, not for the obvious that Domino City lost, but because of something else altogether.
"And that wraps up tonight's broadcast ladies and gentlemen. Your final score, Duke University 90, Domino City University 73. We'll come to you next time from Rupp Arena in Kentucky as the Domino City Saints visit the fifth ranked team in the country, the Kentucky Wildcats. For my entire crew, I'm Jimmy Garnet. Goodnight from Cameron Indoor Stadium, you've been listening to the Domino City Radio Network."
"Damn…this Colby can coach better than I thought. We lost nearly a hundred grand tonight because Duke didn't win by more. This can't continue to happen."
Pegasus picked up his telephone and called his associates. "Weevil, round up the rest of the Board of Directors. We need to discuss these…developments."
You're not going to ruin this for us, Colby-boy! I'll use every resource at my disposal to make your coaching life a living hell! Hahahahahaha!
At Ishizu's apartment:
"So…that is how Pegasus has been stealing from the university. He's been using money set aside for the Athletic Department to gamble on basketball! This isn't good, Ishizu….not at all." Odeion rubbed his head, it had been a long trip for him to Domino City and he was pretty tired.
"That's right…Odeion…how are we going to stop them? Shadi is backing them."
Suddenly Odeion was as alert as ever. "Shadi? How can that be possible? He's a man of great integrity!"
Ishizu eyes were downcast as she whispered her reply. "Was, Odeion. Shadi was an honorable man, before he started doing business with that rat Pegasus. The thing that hurts me most about this is that he is using Malik to keep me from telling anyone about this."
"How so, Ishizu?"
"If I tell Coach Colby or anyone about this whole affair, he will do something horrible to Malik!" Ishizu sighed heavily. "Poor Nathan…he doesn't suspect a thing…"
"Ishizu, get some rest. We'll discuss the rest of this in the morning." Odeion got up and prepared to go into Ishizu's guest room, trying to figure out a way to help his longtime friend.
"Odeion…thanks for coming on short notice like this. I didn't know where else to turn."
Odeion nodded his head, and went to prepare himself for bed.
Parking Lot of Cameron Indoor Stadium:
Nathan had been fielding questions from reporters for over an hour, so the cool autumn air was a welcome reward for his patience.
Maybe these kids have the tools after all……
He took a stick of chewing gum from his pocket, and chewed on it as he thought of how he could make his young team better.
Well, turnovers killed us early...we shot very poorly late in the game, and our defense was lax. The good news is all of that stuff can be corrected. Tristan and myself will have to do a better job of teaching them…that's all…
This self-critique was cut short by a voice Nathan thought he never would have heard again.
"Still chasing that championship still, are we?"
The team was beaten by Duke, but hope reigns supreme as they head home to prepare for Kentucky! Will Pegasus's scheme be exposed, or will the corrupt athletic director continue his evil ways? How do Ishizu and Odeion plan to espose this corruption? And who is the person calling out to Nathan? Find out NEXT TIME!
The fight song for Domino University is based on the Southern University fight song "O Southern", whoever wrote it gets credit for inspiring my version.
As always, reviews and comments are welcome, no matter how silly. (Just don't flame me, OK? That is stupid and childish.) Until next time….
BIGLOS…OUT!