A/N: Hello readers, I'm back from my NFL Draft weekend and better than ever! (so I hope) Lots of fanfics to update, so I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum today. Here's the mailbox:

Anime-Ruthless: "STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!" Yeah…those were the days…anyway, thanks for reading, and Sam Mills was indeed a well-respected person. Carolina (or New Orleans) won't be quite the same.

Telecoi: I did actually mention Gozaburo briefly in one of the earlier chapters, though he never actually made an appearance until last chapter. Thanks for reading!

RoseGoddess874: Thanks for reading, and I'll be sure to check out your fic as soon as I'm done with all these updates and helping my little bros with a science project.

LeighC: Thanks for checking up on the story, and send my regards to the shyness highness.

The Broken Bow: Thanks for reading, and don't worry about reading this nonsense…just get what you need to get done, well…done! Good luck with your finals, by the way.

I think that covers everybody who reviewed…so on with the fanfic!

Chapter 23: Hog Wild

"I didn't want to bother you or anything. I just wanted to let you know that I would be in town to watch your team play later this week. That's OK with you right?"

"Um...sure Jessica. Look there's someone at the door, I really have to answer it."

"Fine. I won't keep you waiting. Bye."

"Bye."

Nathan hung up the phone and rushed to the door as quickly as he could. That was a little too close for comfort.

"I was thinking you wouldn't answer. What were you doing?" Ishizu asked, a little worried by her friend's odd behavior. "This came for you today, from a Chris Ruth."

Ishizu handed him a manilla folder full of papers. Nathan pulled out the first one and began to glance over it. "A scouting report? When did he have time to put this together? Oh! Come on in!" He ushered Ishizu inside, and closed the door behind him.

"So, what does it say?"

"Well...it says that they are undersized, like us, and that they love to run up and down the floor. They prefer a more up-tempo style, and they use man-to-man defense almost exclusively."

"Something like the 40 Minutes of Hell?" (1)

Nathan glanced up at her, a little surprised and a little impressed. "You know about that defense?"

Ishizu nodded. "I played basketball in high school, so I know a lot about different defenses and such. Nolan Richardson made that famous back when we were growing up."

"He made it famous alright, his team ran us ragged in that championship game a while back. I was sore for days!" Nathan looked back down over the rest of the scouting report. "They have two shooters, Smith and Bowser, and they tend to struggle when a team runs a slower pace. That's a problem for us. We like doing the same things they do in the game, but they're bigger and more athletic than us. How can we neutralize their speed?"

Ishizu grabbed a piece of paper and drew something that resembled a basketball court on it. "Maybe if you do this..."

Mai's Appartment

"Mai...what do you think about gettin' married?"

The beautiful blonde laying next to Joey immediately sat up. "Are you serious, Joey?"

The boy looked up at her and smiled. "Nope. Just kiddin."

In a fit of mock-anger, Mai grabbed a nearby pillow and bounced it off Joey's head. "That wasn't funny, Joseph Wheeler! I actually think it would be a nice idea. Think about it...our own house. You get your law degree and open up your firm, I finish med school and start practicing. Then we would live happily ever after."

Joey just lay still, and listened as Mai told him of her hopes and dreams for their future, not omitting a single detail. She even went as far as to choose the high school their children would attend. Joey knew that he had a very special woman in his life. He made it his duty to make sure that she had everything she wanted.

November 18, 2005

University of Arkansas at Domino City University

Domino City, in nearly 75 years of college basketball, have failed to achieve three milestones. They have never won a national championship. They have never participated in the National Invitational Tournament. And they have never beaten a Top 10 program on their home floor. They are 0-14 against Top 10 teams all-time at home, and the tenth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks are the visitors tonight. Will the Saints pull off the upset and have a winning record for the first time in five years? Or will the Razorbacks, with their "40 minutes of Hell" defense, end the Domino win streak. We'll find out, after these starting lineups.

Welcome ladies and gentleman to tonight's game. Here are the starting lineups for the visting Arkansas Razorbacks (ranked 10th in AP poll, 5-1 record)

At center, a Junior standing 6'8'', Grant Beasley

At small forward, a Freshman standing 6'5'', David Tyler

At power forward, a Sophomore standing 6'7'', Allen Shaw

At shooting guard, a Junior standing 5'11'', Carlos Smith

At point guard, a Senior standing 6'1'', Zachary Bowser

And here are the starting lineups for your Domino City Saints! (not ranked, 3-3 record)

At small forward, a Freshman standing 6'4'', Duke Devlin!

At power forward, a Sophomore standing 6'5'', Seto Kaiba!

At the third guard, a Freshman standing 6'1'', Malik Ishtar!

At shooting guard, a Sophomore stading 5'11'', Joseph Wheeler!

At point guard, a Sophomore standing 5'9'', Yami Mutou!

Those are the starting lineups, and we're moments from tip-off. There was an interesting article in newspapers today about Carlos Smith and Seto Kaiba. The former teammates at Domino West, it's been said that Smith tried to convince Kaiba to come with him to Arkansas, but Kaiba refused and opted to attend DCU so that he could better run his company and take care of his brother, Mokuba. These two weren't really that close as teammates, and there are rumors of a little bad blood between the two. We'll keep an eye on that as we watch this one unfold. And here is the tip-off, controlled by Tyler. He'll pass it over to Smith on the wing and he'll bury the three pointer with little hesitation. Arkansas up 3-0 and will immediately go to that full-court pressure defense. Wheeler recieves the inbound pass, dribbles down the right side of the floor, gets caught in a trap and dribbles the ball off his foot...Arkansas ball. I don't think you can fault Joey for that one, he got caught in a bad spot on the floor and none of his teammates came to help him out. Arkansas now with the ball, Smith running the offense now as he will do from time to time, excellent screen by Tyler to free up Bowser, who drains a three pointer of his own. Arkansas up 6-0...

After a few more three's, the few hundred fans of Arkansas, clad in their school's crimson and white, were cheering louder than nearly 5,000 fans for Domino City. With their chants and pig-calls, they cheered as their team went up 21-8 to start the game.

Nathan decided to call a timeout to calm down his team, especially Joey. It was his job to stop Bowser from being a factor in the game, and so far he wasn't getting it done.

"Hey Joey...Bowser's got ten points already. You going to do something about that?"

Chocolate-brown eyes met dark-green, and Joey nodded his head. "Yes,sir."

"You sure? Good, we need you to stop him because if they score more points than we do, we lose the games, you understand that?"

Again, Joey nodded his head in understanding. He was slightly offended that the coach was talking to him like he was a toddler, but thought it best to keep things like that to himself.

"Alright."

Serenity who was in the stands conducting the band, tried to keep the spirits of the crowd up. "Hey! You guys have the sheet music for that song we wrote?" After checking with everyone who was on the same page with her, she got the band going with the school's new fight song.

D...C...U...Domino City U!

Fight on, Sons of Domino

For alma mater fight!

Spirits ofthe Saints in you,

Sons of Domino, Fight on, Fight on!

Fight on for the blue and grey

Inside our hearts you'll stay (Go Saints!)

Whether win or lose

We will always choose

To for ever shout our great rally cry:

DO-MI-NO!

The fans actually liked the song, according to the applause and cheering, and they got back into the game some. As the fans woke up, so did the team they were cheering on.

Arkansas with the ball, less than thirty seconds remaining in the half. Bowser with the ball, dribbling at mid court. He'll pass the ball to Tyler on the inside...ripped away by Seto Kaiba! He passes the length of the court for Yami Mutou to lay it up as time expires! This has been a close, physical game as we have finished the first half, with Arkansas on top, 32-25.

Uh-oh! Can the Saints come back and win the biggest game so far of their season? Or will the Hogs hold on and pick up the win. Also...are Ryou and Jessie in attendance? Find out next time!

(1) 40 minutes of Hell: A defense that became popular in the mid-90s in college basketball. It emphasizes relentless full court pressure and fast break offense. Nolan Richardson used that style to lead Arkansas to a National Title during his tenure there.

Well, thats all for now, you all take care! OH...I posted a new story called Killer Looks. It's a little short, but when have you known me to write long ones?

BDB...out