A/N: Greetings, loyal readers. I'm back as I've decided NOT to change my name for the moment. Anyway, some thank-yous are in order:
ML of the SS Merry Go: Yay…new reader! Glad to have you on board, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic. Thanks for reviewing.
RoseGoddess874: Glad you enjoyed the next chapter, and Yeah, Kaiba does have a point. Yami always seems to steal his thunder somehow…anyway thanks for reviewing.
Anime Ruthless: Best of luck to Nova…they're gonna need all of it. As I had preached to anyone who would listen, LSU's guards would take them as far as they would go in the NCAA tournament; that wasn't very far. Oh well, at least the Lady Tigers are alive and kickin'. You noticed the little John Chaney reference in there…nice. I have a lot of respect for the guy, and I hope what happened when he sent in the so-called goon to rough up St. Joe's doesn't define his career. Thanks for reviewing.
Snow Weaver: Beware, that may not be the last brawl you'll see in this fic! Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'll be getting back to you on your fic soon.
LeighC and Shy: Thanks to you both for reviewing and encouraging me. You two are pals. And when the heck are YOU going to update, Shy? I'm ready for that next chapter!
Telecoi: Everybody's been asking that question. "What happened with Tea and Bakura?" Well, in this chapter…maybe you'll get a clue. Or maybe not. Anyways, thanks for reading.
The Broken Bow: I've received your e-mail, and will work on a chapter for you and Anime accordingly. Thanks for the rave review, and make sure you keep doing your homework!
Well…I think that's everybody. Enjoy the chapter!
"What to do with a mistake…recognize it, admit it, learn from it, and forget it." Dean Smith, Former Basketball coach at North Carolina.
Chapter 16: RedemptionNathan looked around the Pete Maravich Center, and saw an arena a little over halfway full, most of it dressed in LSU purple and gold. He could hear the LSU pep band playing "Eye of The Tiger", gearing up for the game. He saw a small smattering of blue and gray near his team's bench, and that was about it. Taking a look up high into the stands, he saw this man waving a Confederate battle flag that had the traditional blue and red colors replaced by purple and gold.
With that image in his mind, he headed back to the locker room to address his players. Even though the game was foremost on his mind, he couldn't help but think back on an incident that had taken place two days previous.
FlashbackTwo Days Earlier
Nathan's office
Nathan took another swallow of his water as he studied the game film of his next opponent.
They don't have much in the way of guards, but they are going to be VERY hard to stop inside…Truth be told, I don't think we can stop them inside…
As he continued to look over the film, he heard a knock on his office door.
"It's open."
Stepping through the door, a very angry looking Ishizu came into Nathan's view.
"Is there a problem, Miss Ishtar?"
Ice blue eyes meet Nathan's and he could see that she was not here to play games with him.
"You're the problem. You call a practice at six in the morning, and keep them in there for FOUR hours? You threaten my brother in public, and you've already gotten yourself suspended by the NCAA once this season. What will you do for an encore?"
"That incident with your brother, he shouldn't have put his hands on me…"
"I DON'T CARE!" Ishizu snapped harshly. "Listen to me. This university is a really strange place. I can't keep covering your ass forever."
Nathan approached Ishizu, and the two stood face to face. "First of all, make this clear…I run this team, not you or anyone else. I'll run my program as I see fit, athletic director be damned. And another thing, I didn't precisely ASK you to make excuses for me. I'm accountable on my own. Now unless you've got something else important to say…I've got a game to prepare for."
"As a matter of fact I do…I've talked to Pegasus…if you don't beat LSU, he'll fire you. So win, OK?"
Ishizu's frown disappeared and was replace with a slight smile. "It's nice having you around here, so get it done, OK?"
With that, Ishizu left him to his own devices.
She silently prayed that that would be enough.
End of Flashback…Back at the Arena…
This is Jimmy Garnet on the Domino City Radio Network, along with my long-time colleague Don Schaefer. We'll be back with the tip-off in just a second, but first let's send you to the "Mistress of the Microphone", our own Raven Gutierrez with some scores…
Thank you, Jimmy. Let's get started with the new number one team in the country, a team that Coach Colby knows quite well I'm sure, the Kansas Jayhawks. This monster of a team was in action earlier, and they took Southern California behind the woodshed at Fogg Allen Fieldhouse, 100-65. Jump City is in action as well this evening; they are up on Texas 34-28 late in the first half out there in Austin, Texas…
Nathan looked over his team, waiting and ready to take the floor. Even though they hadn't even won a game yet…he was extremely proud of them. Proud enough that even if this was his last game, he would have no regrets about taking this job.
"Well…here we are boys. We've had enough time to prepare for this game. There are no excuses. Tristan and myself have told you what is necessary to win this game, and everyone has their own job. You all know what to do and exactly how you're supposed to do it."
Nathan looked over at Yami, then Seto Kaiba. Each had a capital C on their jerseys, signifying their status as Co-Captains of the team.
"SO LET'S TAKE CARE OF IT!"
Welcome back fans, and here are the starting line-ups for tonight's game. For LSU it will be Minor and Mitchell at the guards. Bass and Lazarre at the forwards, and "Big Baby" Davis in the middle. For Domino City a different lineup than usual, Yami Mutou, Duke Devlin, and Joey Wheeler will be the guards, and Seto Kaiba and Malik Ishtar will be the forwards. They will play with no center. And here's the tip…
Domino reverted back to the form that had put serious scares into both Duke and Kentucky. They pressed hard against LSU's guards, causing them to make silly mistakes. Seto and Malik couldn't do much to stop Bass or Davis, but as long as the other people did their jobs, they didn't have to.
Devlin dribbles, brings the ball into the frontcourt, he passes on the wing to Malik. Malik fakes the jumper, passes to Seto Kaiba wide open for a three ball that's nothin' but net! WELCOME BACK, SETO KAIBA! Coach Tim Brady of LSU calls time-out, with Domino City on top 66-58 with 2:49 to play…
As the game entered into its late stages, LSU began to take control of the game with it's inside play. Even with Kaiba's best efforts, he could not contain "Big Baby" Davis. Domino City wasn't hitting any shots or free throws down the stretch, and LSU was able to get the lead down to three.
Minor glides down into the frontcourt. He passes the ball to Bass, Bass can't shoot it, and he passes off to Davis, who kicks it back out to Minor for a three ball that's good. Colby will call his last timeout, and LSU has come back from eight points down to tie the game at 70 all.
Nathan looked over his players, the energy seemingly sucked out of them. The pro-LSU was loud, louder than 6,000 people are expected to be. They made it sound as if 20,000 were in the place.
"Listen to me…we can win this thing. We've got seven seconds to pull off a big win here, and here's how we're gonna do it…"
As Nathan broke the team huddle and sent his players on the floor, he heard the band playing the songs that he had heard in this same arena since he was a baby. If he didn't have a game to coach, he probably would have cried. As much as he wanted this place to be his home, he knew that it wasn't meant to be.
Seven seconds remaining, Domino has to go the length of the court. Devlin to inbound…he finds Yami…Yami streaks down the floor, passes off to Kaiba…fade-away jumper at the buzzer…GOOOOOD! I…LOVE…KAIBA! The Saints record their first victory of the season over the LSU Tigers, 72-70! My goodness what a game!
As soon as the buzzer sounded, the Domino City bench cleared, and everyone mobbed Seto Kaiba at mid court. The only people that were cheering now were the players and the few Domino City fans that were able to be in attendance.
While the team headed for the locker room, Nathan put an arm around Kaiba.
"Great shot. Aren't you going to smile, grin, or something?" Kaiba merely shook his head, and went back into the locker room with the rest of his teammates, who were celebrating as if they had won a world championship.
"He won't smile, coach." Nathan turned to see his assistant, Tristan standing beside him.
"Why not?"
Tristan pointed towards his heart. "He's more, um, internal with his emotions."
"I see…"
Tristan patted his boss on the back, and went into the locker room.
"Hell of a game…I'm impressed." Ishizu had appeared in the tunnel, and was making her way towards Nathan.
"Nice win, coach. You look tired…how about dinner? My treat."
Nathan looked at Ishizu as if she had come from another planet.
"Are you asking me on a date?"
Ishizu put her hand on her chin as if she were engaged in deep thought. "Well…I think so…"
"Give me ten minutes!" Nathan said as he heard the locker room chanting "DCU".
"OK…and Nathan?"
"Yes?"
"I lied about Pegasus firing you…" With an uncharacteristic wink of her eye, Ishizu departed, leaving Nathan stunned and excited at the same time.
She asked me on a date?
The Radisson HotelLater That Night…
Seto and Joey sat in their hotel room, Joey watching a boxing match on T.V., Seto reading a magazine he had found.
"Hey moneybags…ya played good tonight."
Kaiba didn't even look up from his reading. "Thanks, Wheeler. How's Mai doing, have you heard anything?"
"She had a concussion, but that's about it…the doc says she's gonna be fine." Joey flipped through the T.V. channels.
"That's good. Wheeler…about that…I want to apologize."
Joey waved his hand dismissively. "No need…I know ya didn't mean to do it."
With that, the two rivals ended their conversation, an unspoken truce sealed.
Meanwhile Yugi and Yami's Hotel Room…Yugi sat alone in the hotel room; his brother having headed out for a meal with Bakura, Duke, and Malik. (They were known as "The Three Amigos" since they were almost inseparable)
Yugi sat on his bed holding a picture that had the date 12-31-03 on the back of it. It was about two months before he got together with Tea. Who was on the picture, you ask? His current girlfriend, and someone who appeared to be a boyfriend, was hugged up, posing for the camera.
Yugi knew that snooping around in his girlfriend's apartment was a little on the extreme side, but he wanted to be sure. She had been acting strangely around him, not answering his calls, backing out of dates, sometimes being extremely irritable, things like that.
The inscription on the letter was what was bothering Yugi the most…
To my beloved Tea, now and always…Bakura
December 31, 2003
Some serious issues ahead. Love triangles abound! Who will Nathan choose, Ishizu or Jessica? What about Serenity, Yami and Kaiba? Who will claim her heart first? And what about Tea? Does she still have feelings for Bakura…then again…did she ever have feelings for him to begin with? And how will the Saints handle success? They take on the Tribe of William and Mary next!
Well that's all folks…enjoy your night (or day) and see you next time!
BigLos…out.