Author's Note: Here's Chapter 6! REVIEW AFTERWARDS! I need to know what you people think . . .
Disclaimer: I no own Yugioh
Love and Basketball
Chapter 6: First Game and Much More
The whole week, anger would flare up in me every time I saw Yami with Kaiba. How could that bastard cheat on him?
It wasn't helping my mood at all that I couldn't talk to Yami in private. It seemed that whenever I had the chance to, that bastard would appear out of nowhere. One time I swear he shot me a disapproving glare!
Now it was the day of our first game. Everyone was bustling onto the bus that would take us to the other school located in a nearby town.
The freshman team had to sit in the front, the JV in the middle, and the Varsity received the luxury of the back. I sat by the window, sharing a seat with Malik.
I quietly sat, studying the view of the passing houses. The loud music of Malik's I-pod entered my ears, but so did something else.
"And he fell right on his face!" I could hear Jou's delighted exclamation.
The blended sound of laughter irked me. How could they laugh at someone who betrayed their best friend?
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It was halftime of my game. We were leading 34-28. The freshman circled around our coach and listened attentively as he instructed what we needed to do for the rest of the game. I glanced up to see Yami engrossed in a conversation with Kaiba and Jou . . .
My eyebrows instinctively narrowed.
"Ryou! Ryou!"
I felt a nudge in my side and I turned my attention back to the coach.
"Sorry . . ."
"Just make sure you're focused out there on the court! Now as I was saying. When you come down, pass it to the left and immediately cut hard towards the basket. Whoever you passed that ball to look for him, alright? He should be open."
BUZZZZ!
The buzzard rang to signal that the second half was starting. We all held out our hands in the middle and shouted in unison, "DEVILS!"
"Have fun out there," Malik said, patting my shoulder.
"It'd be more fun with you," I replied, giving him a half smile.
"Tell that to the coach," Malik rolled his eyes. He hadn't played once in the whole game.
Before I turned to walk on the court, I gave one last glance at Yami who was staring at me. My heart skipped a beat in excitement and I smiled at him. He sent me a small smile before directing his attention back to the other two.
The indulging rush that came from the idea that Yami was watching me from the stands, caused me to take control over the game.
Our first trip down the court and we ran the play our coach told us to. I was open after cutting and the boy passed me the ball. I went in and scored an open lay-up.
The next time down, the person guarding me backed off, leaving me open for a three-pointer. Centering my attention on the basket, I shot the ball and made it.
The game came to an end with a victorious win of 77-43.
After our 'end of the game' talk, I went and sat in the bleachers, far away from Yami. I pulled out my homework and felt Malik sit down next to me.
"Why aren't you sitting next to him? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Without looking up, I answered, "Because he's surrounded by jerks."
Malik shrugged and also pulled out his homework. The JV game passed quickly and I paid no attention to it. I wanted to finish my assignments so I could fully watch the Varsity game.
"And the starting line up for the visiting team, Domino Devils is . . ." an announcer boomed across the gym through his microphone.
"6'1" Post, Seto Kaiba!" (A/N: I know he's short for a post player but he's most likely really tall in Japan.)
The crowd for our school cheered loud, but the opposing crowd booed. I wanted to join in with the other team.
"5'9" Small forward, Jounouchi Katsuya!" My eyes narrowed as he ran onto the court and joined Kaiba. Look at the two of them . . .
I was too busy glaring at the pair but tuned back in when I heard the best announcement.
"And now . . ." came the deep voice. "The Devil's starting Point Guard. He stands at 5'6" . . . Yami Mutou!"
I began to clap and cheer loudly as I followed Yami's slender form run onto the court. He gave Jou a big high-five and my wide grin turned into a scowl.
The game started and our team instantly scored. Back on the other side on defense, I watched magnetically as Yami sprinted forward and stole the ball on a pass. He smoothly ran down the court and made a lay-up.
I almost felt sympathetic for the other team as the first quarter came to end with an 18-4 score.
Although, my spirits did rise when Kaiba went up for an easy shot and missed it. I unconsciously snickered and Malik began to laugh in amusement. "Dislike someone do you?"
"With a passion," I grumbled, but then started shouting with joy as Yami scored again.
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Once everyone was settled comfortably on the bus, Coach Koshiro stood up and faced the teams. "I just wanted to say . . . GOOD JOB ON ALL THREE VICTORIES TONIGHT! We sure showed those ass-wiping llamas who's boss!"
Shouts of agreement erupted and I changed my position in my seat with Malik. This time I was sitting on the aisle side, but I turned so I was facing the back of the bus. My legs were snugly criss-crossed in front of me and I leaned my back on the seat that was in front of ours.
The bus started and began to journey back to our school. A glance at Malik told me he was snoozing with his headphones on. I peered out the window to see darkness with only the moonlight illuminating the moving trees.
I shifted my attention and looked straight ahead. My eyes were barely visible over the seats, and I closely watched Yami sitting silently, ignoring the jabber of the surrounding boys.
Suddenly he looked up and his vibrant violet eyes met mine from across the bus. A fluttering feeling tingled in my stomach. It felt like forever that we held each other's gaze.
An abrupt sneeze came from Malik and I shifted my focus to him.
"Bless you."
"Thank you."
Malik went back to leaning his head on the window to doze off when I looked back at Yami. He was no longer looking at me, but instead was giving a soft smile to Kaiba. A jolt of jealousy bolted through me as I saw Kaiba lean over to plant a chaste kiss on Yami.
I really, really disliked him with a passion.
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The next day in history, I ignored the boring lecture and doodled on my folder. The class torturously ticked on and when the bell finally rang, I hopped up from my seat for a quick exit.
As soon as I escaped the classroom I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Shizuka shyly staring at me.
"Yes?" I asked, politely.
"You play basketball, too?" she questioned with an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Huh?" Where did this question come from?
"I saw you last night," she informed, then added with a proud smile. "I was in the crowd watching my brother play."
I thought for a moment of all the players on the freshman team. None of them looked like her . . . "Who's your brother?"
"Jounouchi Katsuya."
Jou was her brother! What! So that's why she had that picture. But how could a nice girl like her end up with a scheming brother like that?
Nonetheless, when I heard this name, my insides twisted darkly and I had to force a fake smile. "Oh, that's nice."
"You're a good player!" she complimented, but it still didn't change the repulsed feeling that formed inside of me.
"Thanks," I simply replied, briskly walking away.
I really wished Yami and everyone else knew about Jou's and Kaiba's little escapades . . .
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At lunch, Malik and I decided to stay at the school and eat the cafeteria food. Some of the items looked a little questioning, so I grabbed the salad. This should be safe, hopefully.
We both sat down at a table when Malik cordially asked, "Can you do me a favor?"
I was about to take a bite of the salad but paused and raised a curious eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Oh, you just have to invite Yami over to your house so you can ask him questions for the interview," he explained, casually.
I dropped my plastic fork and gaped at him. "Do what? Interview? What are you talking about?"
Malik shrugged. "You know . . . for my article. I have to do an interview with it, so I was thinking . . ." he trailed off, jabbing his fork in his brownie.
"Thinking what?"
Why did Yami have to come over to my house? The thought of that terrified me.
"Well, I thought it'd be a good-" Malik paused for a moment. "Opportunity for you two," he finished by taking a bite of the brownie.
"Opportunity for what?" I asked, suspicious. What was he planning?
"An opportunity for love," Malik answered, smirking mischievously.
I shook my head in disbelief and attended to the awaiting salad. I saw a quivering pout from the corner of my eye. I tried to ignore it but then a pleading whimper came from him.
"When?" I sighed in defeat.
Malik clapped his hands in rejoice. "Sunday."
"And he knows of this?"
There was a forbidding silence before Malik notified, "I thought you could ask him."
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You can do it. You can do it. I repeated this to myself for the billionth time.
Practice was over and I was waiting outside by the familiar car. I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves, but it only resulted in them becoming more roused.
"Ryou?"
I swiftly turned around to see Yami giving me an inquisitive look.
"U-Uh . . . hi," I greeted back, nervously smiling.
"Is there something that you need?" he asked, pulling out his keys from his pocket.
"Oh! Um . . ." I sheepishly looked down at the ground. "I-I was wondering, if you were free on S-Sunday."
When I finished I realized that it made me sound like I was asking him out on a date. "I-I mean!" I looked up at him, horrified. A confused expression was placed on his face as he waited for me to continue. "I mean . . . I have an article. A-And it's on you. It's for photography. But we need to do an interview with it!"
Yami quizzically thought for a few seconds. "So you want to interview me for photography?"
Oh god . . . I shouldn't have pretended to be the one doing the article. I can't even explain it right. But then, it would seem even weirder if I told him it was for Malik. "Well, actually . . . I was picked, to do an article on you. I-It's for Domino Glamour. But they just told me I had to interview you, too."
A silence lay over us and I examined the pondering look on his face. "Just tell me when and where," he thankfully responded with a small smile.
I grinned back, ecstatic. "U-Um . . . Sunday! 2 'o' clock! My house!"
"Okay then," Yami stepped forward and a light blush suffused on my cheeks.
He was only a foot away from me.
My hands became sweaty and my heart began to race.
Shortly I heard him muse, "You're in front of my door."
Hearing this, I looked up at him, then his car, then back at him. I was indeed standing so he couldn't get into his car. Mortified, I quickly moved out of his way, my face completely red now. "I'm sorry!" I apologized.
Yami got into his car and started it. Before he drove off, he rolled down his window and smiled at me, "Don't worry about it. If I knew your face was going to turn so red, I would've let you stand there."
A bewildered gasp squeaked out of me as I reflexively threw my hands up to my face. I heard him chuckling as he reversed his car and drove off.
How humiliating . . . At least I could hopefully redeem myself on Sunday . . . but still, how humiliating . . .
TBC . . .
This is the end of Chapter 6! If you're worrying . . . Ryou won't hate Jou (not much to say about Kaiba) later. Anywho, REVIEW! More reviews, faster updates!