Yo Minna-san! /waves/ I am soooooo sorry for the late update. /mallets herself/ I have gone through difficulties with my life, my studies, my job and a lost loved one. I'm still recovering and I thought at that moment this fic is going to be history. Nonetheless, I am trying to move on with my life and forget what had happened by writing again. I can't seem to let this fic go without an ending. I am trying to revive this fic slowly so please bear with me. I had continued the part where I've left off the last time and I hope you all like it. No I'm not Japanese nor I'm living in Japan but I do know a bit of Japanese /sweatdrops/ I'm currently living in Singapore. (It's a very tiny country in South-East Asia) So I hope I answered all your questions Lady Tomboy.
To those who reviewed, thanks a lot! /glomps/ Wow. Thank you for the constructive reviews. I'm really glad to know that people enjoyed reading this fic. Most of you commented about the fic's present and past tense. Honestly, to me, I have the intention to make the whole fic in past tense. It's just my style of writing. I don't know...
Disclaimer: I must have gone bonkers thinking that I own CSS.
Song: Not that Kinda Girl – Jojo
Chapter 4: Not That Kinda Girl (part 2)
Kaito-sensei, the basketball coach, made the girls parade before him. Sakura and Sam were the last in the line. The man walked slowly, stopping for a moment to look at his going-to-be female trainees one by one - in military style. Sakura couldn't read his expression. He got the stern look on his face and the next thing she knew he was simpering to himself. Sakura held her breath when he stopped and stared at her. She felt his eyes could see through her bones. When he walked away, she sighed in relieve.
"All Right. My name is Kaito and I'll be your basketball coach for the whole year." He paused, walking in a slow manner. "As you all might know, this is College basketball and not some Elementary or High School basketball. You're totally at a different level now so don't be surprised if training is gonna be tougher than you can ever imagine." He fixed his eyes on Sakura. "Your little peewee tricks ain't gonna work here anymore." He conveyed, as if that sentence was meant for her. One of the girls in the line raised up her hand. "Yes?"
"Do you have a last name?" The girl asked, blushing like a red tomato.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Coach Kaito found himself chuckling inwardly at the hilarity of the question. "I don't expect all of you to call me by my full name ya' know. Now that I've introduced myself, I want to know your names and statistics starting from you-" He jabbed a finger at the first girl in the line.
Sakura glanced at a certain portion of the gym while waiting for her turn. She grinned when Tomoyo, who was standing at the side of the court, waved an arm energetically at her. She was standing beside Eriol. Takashi was sitting on the floor next to him, his back leaning lazily against the wall.
Syaoran sat down next to Takashi leisurely, with one arm draped on his raised knee and the other leg rested on the floor with a ninety-degree angle. Sakura was pretty much aware he was watching her.
Weird. She thought because he wasn't glaring nor smiling at her. There was this kind of superior look that was plastered on his face; one of his thick eyebrows was raised and his chin was tilted slightly upwards. His moist, kissable lips were curled up sideways in such an alluring way that she just wanted to run to him and kiss him right there and then.
She gasped at the fact that she was thinking all these about Li Syaoran. Baka baka baka! Sakura mentally kicked herself.
She froze and just stared back, her mind forcing herself to break free of the spellbinding gaze. What she didn't know, Syaoran's mind was trying to do the same thing as hers.
Since the moment their eyes were locked, the school gym and the coach have faded into oblivion, and the noises of the students in there went totally ignored.
What is this…feeling? The same question went through their heads over and over again but they dismissed it. Not that they didn't care; they just… felt that this feeling was right, but sinfully wrong.
"SK… Hey SK-" Sam jabbed Sakura in the ribs to start her breathing again. "It's your turn." She whispered huskily.
Sakura didn't know how long they were staring at each other. The next thing she knew she was blurting out, "S-Sakura Kinomoto. Graduated from Tomoeda High. Majoring in Japanese History. Height. Five feet two inches. Weight. Forty-two kilograms. Position. Point Guard."
Takashi slapped a hand across Syaoran's chest, snapping him out of his gaze. "Hey-"
"Whaaat?" Syaoran asked, a slight annoyance in his voice.
"She didn't say her last name was Kinomoto did she?"
Syaoran raised a quizzical eyebrow. "She did."
"Holy crap!" Takashi exclaimed. "It's really her."
Syaoran eyed Takashi. "Fill me in…"
Coach Kaito froze and jerked his head up. "I didn't catch your name."
"It's Sakura Kinomoto, sir."
The coach looked stunned. "Location?"
"Tomoeda, sir."
"You don't happen to have a brother do you?"
Sakura's lips cocked up in a small grin. I knew it! She thought smugly. Clearing her throat she answered, "I do sir."
Coach Kaito's mouth gaped open. "Touya Kinomoto?"
"Yes sir."
Coach Kaito's jaw dropped a couple of inches more.
The gym erupted into general confusion upon his reaction.
The dynamic duo… The coach said mentally, looking at Sakura with eyes wide open. Who would've thought this petite, pretty looking hot-to-boot lady was one of the top female Point Guards in Tomoeda? He had heard about them, especially her brother but had never really catch them in action; let alone seen them before.
"Who? Her brother?" Syaoran asked.
Takashi nodded. "He was awarded the Most Valuable Player award in the Tomoeda Prefecture last year. He's one helluva player man; you should see him play. He is the real thing."
Syaoran blinked, looking interested. "But that doesn't mean his sister is as capable as him - right?"
"I wouldn't quite agree with you." Takashi answered, scratching his chin with his finger. "She was the playing manager and captain for the girls' basketball team during her Junior and High School days. I even heard she trashed all the male players in Junior High-"
Syaoran shook his head in disbelief. "No fucking way."
"She was dubbed as Light Speed Sakura ever since."
Syaoran narrowed his eyes, staring at his know-it-all friend in a suspicious way. "You're making this one up aren't you?"
"Hey! I can swear by my girl's mallet, I'm not making all these up." Takashi protested, raising his arms defensively.
"So how did you find out?"
Takashi smirked. "I've got my sources."
"Don't rub my face in it. How did you know?"
"I've got several online friends living in Tomoeda. They were telling me about Sakura and his brother. I didn't know her last name so I didn't give a shit. Until now I didn't even know they were talking about that Sakura-" Takashi jabbed a finger at Sakura.
What mumbo jumbo is he talking about? "Okay - fair enough. But if this is all a lie, I'm gonna make you answer to Chiharu's mallet." Syaoran threatened, making Takashi sweatdropped. He can't wait to see how Sakura plays, after everything that Takashi had said about her.
Noticing that his mouth was still wide open, Coach Kaito quickly closed it and gave an icy cold stare at the battalion of students-slash-dudes who were hanging around in the gym, making more noises than they already have. "Eheeeeeeem-" He cleared his throat - a little too loudly. The crowd then settled down, and the coach was back to business. "All right, I need to see how good you girls are so let's have a practice game shall we?"
The girls' faces lit up after what their coach said.
"I'm gonna split you girls up into two groups; the red and the blue team." He called up their names and they formed a two five-member group. "The losing team will run ten rounds before hitting the showers today." He shouted back, a serious but playful smirk on his face. The coach can't wait to see how this prodigy performs.
Sakura was selected to be in the red team, together with Sam. Sakura picked up a really icky red slip-on vest from the nearby bench and put it on. She looked like a sack of rice - with not much rice in it. That vest was obviously way too big for her physical structure.
Sam watched Sakura and chuckled. "This is the only size they have, I guess." Sam shrugged, putting on the vest. She too, suffered the same problem as Sakura did.
"Yeah - I think they're only meant for guys." She pouted, looking at her own body. "But you don't look as bad as me."
"What are you talking about?" Sam hooted. "You got a perfect body. And besides, you're wearing a lucky number." She pointed a finger at Sakura's chest.
A goofy grin appeared on Sakura's face. "07…" She felt a light tap on her shoulder. She tilted her head to the side, and saw three brunettes with the same red vests standing near them, to their left. They were pretty, but the vests didn't even look good on good-looking girls. It was especially ugly to see a whole roomful of girls dressed that way. Sakura mentally thanked god because she got to see only five girls with that - including her.
"Hi! You are Sakura - the Sakura right?" The one with the short curly hair chirped. Sakura nodded slowly, the goofy grin still on her face. "Charla-" She held out her hand at Sakura and they shook hands.
"I'm looking forward to play with you as a teammate." The bigger girl with straight shoulder-length hair said. "You can call me Kim." She smiled and nodded briefly at Sakura.
The girl with the short hair beside Charla suddenly squealed and butted in, "I just love your brother. He's so… hot." She squealed once more. "Please get his autograph for me." Sakura had to nod – dumbly. "Oh - I forgot to introduce myself. Nanami-"
"Sakura-" She smiled shaking Nanami's hand.
"So SK, ten laps are a bit too much don't you think?" Sam asked as the five of them were warming up, mentally hoping that Sakura could catch the double meaning.
Sakura grinned confidently. "We're definitely not going to be the ones who will have to leave this court after running ten laps."
Charla raised an eyebrow mischievously. "Sounds like you got a plan."
"Uhm Uhm…" Sakura nodded, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's hear it out then."
Sakura bent down a little bit and gestured the girls to form a small circle. Putting their hands on their knees, Sakura began to reveal her scheme. "Okay… This is the plan." Sakura said softly. The girls listened attentively at Sakura's strategy for about ten seconds and then straightened their backs.
"That's it?" Nanami asked surprisingly.
She chuckled dryly. "We are going for plan B if the flow of the game changes to their side." Everyone nodded briefly. "Suggestions are always welcome. You don't have to listen to me."
"Letting other people shine through your plays? I like you already." Nanami commented.
Sakura shrugged. "I create shot for others. That's my job."
Coach Kaito clapped his hands repeatedly, trying to gain their attention. "All right girls. Let's get started." He grabbed a basketball on the other bench and walked towards the middle of the court.
"Sam, I'll pass you the ball if I can't make the shot." Kim said.
Sam nodded in confirmation. "Got it."
"Hey Sakura, check out that girl over there." Charla jabbed a thumb at a light-brown haired girl standing alone a few feet away from them. She was at least twenty centimeters taller than Sakura.
"Yeah – What about her?"
"Elie was my teammate when we were in High School. She's a point guard." Charla leaned closer to Sakura and whispered, "She's damn good at fouling her opponents on purpose without getting a technical foul."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So – She plays dirty huh?"
Charla nodded. "At that time I hated her, but I needed her too." She said, shooting daggers at Elie. "Do you think you can handle her?"
"I'll try…"
"Don't let her provoke you Sakura." Charla warned.
"'Girls, waddya waiting for?' Kim called out to her teammates. It's showtime…
"Do you think Sakura could handle that position?" Tomoyo asked.
Eriol adjusted his glasses. "She'll be okay."
"But her height will be of a disadvantage."
"She will be fine trust me." Eriol's eyes darted to Syaoran. "What kind of strategy will you use if you were in Sakura's position?"
"I assume that both teams are going for the man-to-man defense on court. I would probably make good use of the center and small forward to score the points. If anyone in the team has problems handling their opponents, I would switch my plan to use the shooting guard, or score the points myself." Syaoran replied analytically.
Takashi patted Syaoran's shoulder – a little too hard. "Nice, very nice indeed! Now let's see if you and Sakura think alike." Takashi grinned evilly while the others tried to hold back their laughter.
Syaoran vigorously shrugged Takashi's hand off his shoulders and mouthed 'fuck off' causing Eriol and Tomoyo to laugh.
Eriol and Takashi knew that something about Sakura that made Syaoran look at her that way. He never looks at girls that way.
In the meantime, the match had just started. Kim got the jump ball and passed it easily to Sakura. Just as Syaoran expected; both teams went for the man-to-man defense on court. Each player guarded an opponent of the same position.
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A/N: Sakura's POV will be mostly in present tense. More POVs will be in this fic and if you found out that this fic is suddenly in present tense, then that's POV. Anyways back to the fic...
Sakura.
I'm finally face to face with Elie. I bounce the ball steadily and wait for a chance to elude her. Elie, on the other hand, isn't going to make it easy for me to pass the ball to any of my teammates and we both know it.
"You're not good enough for me." Elie says with a smirk.
Another one who talks big in court without even showing what she's got. Typical.
I move my eyes swiftly to my right then back to Elie. Good. Kim is at the spot where I need her. Perfect.
I bend lower, trying to make Elie assume that I'm taking up her challenge. Not that I don't want to take her challenge, but this game is all about teamwork, not a one-man show.
Elie's defense position is great; she bends lower and spread her arms, blocking me. I wonder if her stamina is good. She will get tired being in that position, trust me.
I bounce the ball at a faster rate, pushing my way through. I turned my head to the left, but instead of moving to the left, I pass the ball to the right, at Kim's direction. I smirk. Bet Elie didn't see that one coming.
Kim manage to outwit her opponent and scores the first two points for the team by a simple lay-out shot. We congratulate each other by patting each other butts.
At a distance I saw Elie's gaze of extreme hatred on me. She smirk while wiping her forehead and for a split second, she stuck out her middle finger at me. I saw it, and I gave a scowl, earning a wider smirk from her. Damn that bitch! The challenge is fucking on!
Rewind. Oh my god. Did I just curse at someone just now?
Oh I have forgotten to tell you. I do throw tantrums once in a while, when I am mad at someone or I couldn't get what I want. Once, I was grounded by dad for cursing too much. Even Touya wouldn't get a meter near me when I'd throw a fit. Hey, he didn't call me 'little devil' for nothing. They always thought that it was 'that time of the month' when I'd get mad but no, I'm just like every other human being that would get pissed off due to appropriate reasons.
Forget about what I feel now. I took a deep breath and calm myself down. This is so unprofessional of me. Scowling and cursing at an unworthy opponent. Charla was right. Elie is definitely provoking me right now.
I wonder what made Elie hate me so much, besides me being a rivalry in snagging the first spot for Point Guard, not taking up the challenge and make a fool of her for the first few minutes of the game.
Wait. Aren't these too many reasons to support the fact that she hates me so much?
Not quite. Am I imagining it or something, but did I just saw her look at Syaoran with lust and gave a seductive smile across him a few seconds ago?
AH. Now I see. She has set her eyes on him. But he, on the other hand, has his eyes on me. Why? Because he's mad at me for calling him a big ape this morning?
A/N: I swear, Sakura can be slow sometimes...
AH. Now I see it coming. Elie is jealous or she is proving herself that she is worthy. HAH. Maybe I should take up her challenge and make her run for her money. I didn't actually anticipate my next move. I look at Syaoran and smile at him with the sweetest smile I could muster and... I blow him a kiss.
I could see that Syaoran widen his eyes with a surprise and a shocked look on his face and a scowl on Elie's face.
I could feel the hotness rise on my cheeks as I jog to my designated position. Did I just blew a kiss at Syaoran? Oh My God. I can't believe I just did that. What has got into me?
Screw it! I don't care what is going to happen next. I just don't want to play dirty when it comes to basketball and I know I'll have a lot of explanation to do after the game.
A/N: So how? Oh and I decided to split this chapter again which means that there will be a part 3 of this chapter. Hope you don't find this chapter boring. RR ne! Sankyuu and Ciao!