I do not own any of the Naruto or Kuroko no Basuke characters. Their ownership resides solely with Masashi Kishimoto and Tadatoshi Fujimaki.
Normal speech - "Kurama"
Flashback – kurama
Sound effects – kurama
Chapter 11
"Quickly! Get him onto the bed!"
Kobe places Naruto on the table and steps back to give the team doctor space to work. Naruto was still struggling to catch his breath. You could practically see the muscles in his legs twitching.
"His bodily is incredibly dehydrated. I'm going to hook up an IV to him and fill it with nutrients. That should help him."
Just as the doctor was about to stick the needle into Naruto's arm a commotion outside the door. Kobe makes his way to investigate and its only his quick reflexes that managed to keep him from getting slammed by the door being open with great force.
"If you even think of touching my Godson without my express permission, I'll make sure your family has to prepare for a funeral in the coming days."
In walked a blonde woman wearing a green lab coat. She had a sweet smile on her force that just screamed dangerous. Kobe instantly felt very nervous around her.
Following after her was a fairly tall man with gravity defying grey hair. Kobe takes note of the eye patch covering his left eye. He had his nose hidden in an orange book and his posture just screamed laziness. However, Kobe easily recognised that the laziness was all just an act. The man before him was just as, if not more, dangerous than the blonde woman.
Without any preamble, the blonde woman walks next to Naruto's bed and drives her fist hard into his stomach. All occupants in the room, besides the lazy man, were shocked by her actions. Naruto regains consciousness struggling to regain the breath he worked so hard to fill his tired lungs.
"Tsunade-Baa-chan… what was that for?"
The now identified Tsunade doesn't even acknowledge him as she takes off Naruto's top and starts massaging his muscles. After a while she reaches into her coat and pulls out white pads before placing them all over Naruto's body, mostly on the twitching muscles. Naruto eventually passes out again while being worked upon. As she continues to work on Naruto she starts addressing the man who hasn't stopped looking at the orange book.
"You were right again, Kakashi. I can't believe I didn't catch on to this years ago. We should have seen it all earlier but we ignored the signs cause he didn't say anything."
"Don't blame yourself, Tsunade." The now known Kakashi replies. "I only started noticing what was happening during the Summer League. I take full responsibility for this. Since I trained for years, I should have seen this coming a long time ago."
The other occupants in the room were confused by what was being said. Kobe, who was never one to back down, decided to voice this to the two speakers.
"Excuse me. I'm Kobe Bryant-"
"Don't care."
"You say something?"
"- a teammate of Naruto's?" Kobe questions unsurely after receiving those two responses. He shakes his head and begins again. "Can you please tell us what exactly is wrong with Naruto and if the team should be concerned by this?"
Tsunade who goes back to working on Naruto ignores his question. It is Kakashi that eventually closes his book and turns his lone eye towards the other occupants in the room. What surprised the all was the intense look that his gaze held. Kobe knew instantly where Naruto got some of his competitiveness from.
"Since Naruto told his parents that he would be the best basketball player ever, I have been his personal trainer. I was there with him since the beginning. I worked that boy to the bone every chance I got. The part that amazed me the most? He never, once told me to lay off him. If you knew his mom you would know that his drive and stubbornness runs in the family. He wasn't happy playing against those close to his age so his mother eventually forced me to take him to games with kids a good few years older than him.
Now, I want to make one thing very clear to all of you right now. I did not help Naruto when it came to working with a basketball. I helped him with the physical side of things. His father gave him tapes of all the best players at the time and he would study them religiously." Kakashi sighs and relaxes his posture as he leans against the wall. "I bet you are all expecting me to tell you that he won every game he played against those older kids. The absolute truth is the exact opposite. He lost. A lot, practically all the time. He refused to play against younger kids and he was unable to keep up with the older ones. Can any of you tell me what he did once he realised this?"
Most of them shook their heads in the negative, all in awe and captured by what is being told.
"He pushed himself past his limits." Kobe answered. "He refused to go back so he made himself go forward."
"I can see why he respects you so much." Kakashi acknowledges Kobe. "It was the single most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. This little child, no older than 8, 9, or 10, working day in and day out to catch up to those above him. No one could stop him even if they wanted to. And with his parents supporting him through it all just gave him the indication that what he was doing was the right thing.
You have to understand, Naruto cannot be included in that special room allocated to prodigies or those who are considered gifted. The door keeping apart the extraordinary players from the normal players stood before him just like it would stand in front of most. It was his sheer stubbornness and determination that allowed him to rip those doors off their hinges."
"Kakashi!" Tsunade's voice bellows through the room. "You know he hates anyone divulging anything about his childhood."
Kakashi flinches back at the cold gaze being sent his way and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Gomen, Tsunade." Kakashi once again adopts a serious look as he continues. "Naruto has not had to push himself anywhere near his limit in years. Its because of that very fact, that he doesn't know where his limitations are. What we all witnessed tonight is Naruto playing without restraint for the first time in a long while. The only comparison he has is from before he started high school. Obviously, he is much better now than he was then. He just needs to find a way to get his body to keep up with what he's trying to make it do."
Most people in the room are confused by what they were just told but its Kobe who once again understood exactly what Kakashi was trying to tell them all.
"This won't be the last time this happens, will it? He's going to keep at it until he finds that barrier he can't get past and even then, he'll just keep going."
"Right. It'll take a few games, maybe this entire season, but eventually his body will adjust itself to the level of play. What you really shouldn't do is expect him to put down the same results that he did tonight. He was just very highly motivated. My best guess is that he'll be highly erratic until he can find the right balance."
"I can easily help him with that."
"I would just like to say," Stephen A. Smith starts off smugly, "that I have nothing to say on this matter. I'll just let the stat sheet say everything for me." He sits back and crosses his arms back in triumph.
It was the first podcast of First Take after the Laker's opening game. Ever since the end of the match social media had been filled with talks about Naruto and the Lakers close game against the Rockets.
"Oh so I'm the only one who saw that Naruto Namikaze had to literally be carried off the court?" Skip Bayless fires back. "He couldn't walk!"
"Oh, I'm sorry! You go out onto the court; take over the game like you are a seasoned veteran; much up against superstars on both sides of the court, while winning most encounters might I add; and rack up the stats that that young man did! After you have done that, tell me how tired you really feel!
"People I making too much of a big deal without him having done anything! We need to step back-"
"Not done anything?" Stephen A. screams in shocked. "Winner and MVP of the NCAA, he captained and lead our U21 basketball team to a world championship! What more do you need?"
"That wasn't the NBA! He cannot handle playing in the top league yet! That was clearly shown in the game!"
"A game that his team won! A game that he took over! A game that he got the crowd involved! A game where he inspire a comeback! A game where you got his team to play better than I thought they were capable of! A game where he put down 23 points in 18 minutes! A game where he racked up 12 assists! A game where he was 3 rebounds away from getting a triple double on his debut!"
"Exactly! His debut! It was a magnificent game, I won't deny that fact. But it was his first game. We cannot and should not put him on such a high pedestal after just one game."
"We did that with Lebron. And that was when he was still in high school. And news flash, Naruto had a better debut with 24 minutes less!"
"Lebron is an anomaly. A freak of nature."
"Yet, Naruto has already accomplished much more relevant things at the same age. I am not saying right now that I would pick Naruto over Lebron. But in the future? Once he adjusts himself properly, gets his match stamina much higher, and refines his movements, I'll be the first to pick him over anyone else currently in the league. If his growth continues at this rapid rate, I'll definitely consider him on my all time best list."
"Am I ever gonna know your name?"
"I want you to figure it out." She giggles in reply.
"And why is that?"
The two of them were standing on the pier looking out of the ocean again. This early morning meet-up of theirs an event that both looked forward to when they were at home and not on the road.
"I don't want you to look at me differently once you find out who I am. Its hard for me to find someone I can speak to without having to worry about whether they mean what they say or they are just saying the things they think I want to hear."
Naruto glances down next to him to see a frown adorning her beautiful face. He playfully nudges her with his shoulder to gain her attention.
"Ey, don't worry about that. I kinda don't have a filter when it comes to saying things. I try and speak truthfully as much as possible. Kinda have to since I have to set an example for my little."
"How is Himawari?" she questions in excitement. "Does she enjoy school?"
They both fall back into a comfortable conversation, talking about everything yet nothing at the same. Conversation between them had always been easy.
"So how are things going in your love life? Meet any cute girls Mr Lakers Frontman?" she giggles at him.
"Nah, you know I'm not looking for anyone." He rubs his head sheepishly. "I just wanna focus on my game and Himawari for now. Besides, when I do eventually decide to start dating someone, I have to make sure that Himawari approves of her as well."
"It must be nice," she chuckles softly, "having someone so close to you that's so protective of you."
Naruto glances over at her and notices a sad, almost wistful, look upon her face. A slight tightening in his chest lets him become aware of a sudden protectiveness he feels towards this amazing person standing next to him.
"You got me." He replies with a soft smile, which catches her attention.
"You don't even know my name!" she exclaims incredulously.
"So? I care. I don't have to know your name to know that you are someone worth caring for."
"You are insane."
"And why is that? Yeah, I don't know your name but that doesn't mean I don't know you. Sure, I don't know your favourite colour, or food, or drink, or your birthday or anything like that; but I know you as a person. I know that you care about those around you even when I think they don't deserve your care and affection. I know that, like me, you prefer being in places without lots of people around. I know that you are a great listener when someone needs to vent. I know that you have a strong opinion and you are definitely not scared of expressing it."
She blushes as he says all this. He speaks in such a sure voice that she cant help but be drawn in.
"Lastly, I know that whoever it is that broke your heart will one day consider it to be the greatest mistake he has ever had. You are truly an amazing person deserves someone who can really see that instead of take it all for granted."
He finally glances down at her to find that she has a few tears running down her face. Before he can start to panic she stands on her toes, while pulling him down by his shirt, to place a gently kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Naruto." She whispers softly as she pulls away from him.
"Okay we really need to do something about the inside lane. We cant be having Davies just continue to have his way out there!"
It was half-time during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Over the last few games the Lakers have manged to keep their record to 3 – 3, only losing to the Warriors, Spurs, and Mavericks. Naruto had to sit out the two matches against the Warriors and Spurs due to fatigue from his debut. The match against Mavericks didn't go nearly as well as the team hoped even though Naruto managed to help close gap in the 3rd quarter. The coaches decided to strictly stick to the 3rd quarter rule that they planned for Naruto.
Now, against the Pelicans, they were suffering due to Anthony Davies and Ryan Adams dominating the paint. Naruto was in the corner of the locker room going through his warm-up routine. He could feel the excitement bubble up inside. He couldn't stop his body from twitching at the smallest of things, becoming hyper aware of everything around him.
As he listened to the coach go through the plan on the white board a frown appeared on his face. He wasn't understanding why the coach wanted them to do that. It just didn't make sense.
"Uh, coach?" Naruto finally calls out to gain attention. "I don't think that plan will help us much."
"Well the, Rookie, what do you suppose we do?" the coach asked in an irritated voice.
Naruto remember what Kobe told him during his first game and looked around at all his teammates in the room. Slowly but surely a plan started to form in his head. It was quite risky but his gut was telling him that it would was just crazy enough to work.
"What if we sacrificed defense for offense?"
"With the Pelicans up but 18 going into the 3rd quarter, how do you think the Lakers will respond?"
"Well we all know that the 3rd quarter is when Naruto is allowed to play. Hopefully the young PG can rally the team to make a comeback in the second half of the game."
Just as the commentators finished their discussion the Lakers team walked out of the tunnel and onto the court. What surprised most of the attending audience was the fact that Steve Nash was walking with the team. Normally, Nash would be benched in this quarter as to allow Naruto to get some much needed minutes. What also drew the eye of all attending was Naruto walking onto the court as well.
The Pelicans start off the quarter with the inbound. Due to the game plan Naruto came up with, he had to leave the opposing PG and instead focus on keeping the SF in check.
He watches as Davies posts up on Pau as he calls for the ball. He starts running as soon as he sees the PG go for a lob. Just as the ball reaches it apex Naruto is in the air, gaining so much height that he snatches the ball out of the air.
He passes the ball to Nash before he jobs up the court into the right-hand corner with Kyle doing the same in the left-hand corner. As Nash makes it past half-court, the two big men on the floor for the Lakers set up screens for both Kyle and Naruto. Both players run towards Nash to gain some open space. Nash passes to Kyle who catches the ball and performs a quick release.
On the next play Davies manages to score a lay-up. Pau, knowing what Naruto wants him to do, quickly gets the ball and inbounds it to Naruto who is already passed half-court. Naruto catches the ball and dribbles it to the 3-point line before jumping, setting his sights and releasing the ball.
Ryan Anderson performed a spin move to get past his defender and went up for as dunk only to be met by Naruto. Naruto managed to get a hand to the ball just before it got to the rim. However, the momentum that Anderson got to the rim with cause him to collide with Naruto and sent him flying into the camera men.
As the play continued Naruto got up and raced down the court, blood boiling at being shoved down. He noticed Kyle catch the ball and try to get rid of his defender. He saw Naruto run towards him, calling for the ball, so he threw it towards him. Naruto had to jump forwards before he caught the ball in order to avoid a back-court violation. As he lands he uses the momentum to take two quick steps before jumping in the air and shooting the ball for beyond the 30ft mark.
The Lakers continued to use 3-point shots to close the gap on the Pelicans. What amazed everyone was the fact that Naruto and Kyle looked to be getting better and better as the quarter went on. It was almost as if they were trying to outdo the other, like they were having a competition between themselves. The Pelicans were still dominating the paint but they just couldn't keep up with the Laker's outside shot. On top of that, they weren't being fouled when they went for the basket as the Laker's big men almost gave them free room.
With the quarter coming to an end Naruto raced down the court with the ball before shooting off the dribble and holding the pose as he landed. As the ball swished into the net Naruto turned around and got down on one knee as he made the motions of shooting a bow and arrow.
On the last play of the quarter Pau forced Davies into attempting a fade-away. Naruto went up for the rebound and quickly passed it to Kyle, who was trying to get to half-court. As he got to the line he shot the ball just before the buzzer went. The crowd went wild as the ball rattled the rim as it went in.
The team rush Naruto and Kyle to celebrate the amazing quarter they just had. Naruto finished with 6 3's and because of that buzzer beater Kyle managed to shoot down 7, winning the unspoken battle between them. The Lakers managed to outscore the Pelicans so decisively that they managed to gain the lead with the last two shots made
Naruto sat out the 4th quarter but it didn't really make that much difference. The Lakers, due to riding the high for the 3rd quarter, managed to extend the lead in the 4th and win the game.
Naruto was having a tough time going against Klay Thompson. The two of them were so evenly matched today that both were having a hard time doing anything but pass to an open teammate. On top of fighting with Thompson, Curry was having one of those days where everything was just going through the hoop.
As the game continued, Naruto was getting angrier at the showboating Curry was putting on. He finally had enough when Curry shot a 3-pointer over him and pointed a finger him.
"You talk too much Rookie! Where's all those skills you keep boasting about? Get off my court!"
Naruto, already at boiling point, smacked Curry's hand out of his face. Both teams suddenly converged in a scuffle with Green having his hand around Naruto's neck. Naruto grabs Green's hand with his left hand and pulls it down. As Green stumbles forward Naruto steps to his right and swivels his body to the left, driving his fist into Green's unprotected side. Green falls to the ground, gasping for breath as Kobe rushes onto the court and surrounds Naruto with his arms before dragging him away.
Naruto was sitting in the conference room during the post match interviews. After knocking Green to the ground Naruto received a double technical and found himself ejected from the game. The media before him were trying to make him out to be the villain, which wasn't working too well.
"Naruto, do you think it was right punching Green the way you did?"
Naruto gave the reporter a look of pure confusion.
"Urm, I'm sorry but I don't fully understand what you are asking me. Are you perhaps asking if I regret punching the guy who had his hand wrapped around my throat?" At the reporter's reluctant nod Naruto sets a warm smile on his face. "Oh, well in that case it was absolutely the right decision to make. I mean, from my point of view it was all in self-defense. I'm not even mad about the suspension I'll no doubt be given for my actions. Violence isn't condoned in the NBA and I'm fully behind that. However, there's no way I'm not going to defend myself if I'm being attacked. That's pure stupidity."
"Naruto, how do you feel knowing that you being ejected may have cost the Lakers a win today."
"Well, obviously I don't feel good about it at all. I take full blame for my actions today. I would like to apologise to my team, coaching staff, and to the Lakers franchise at large for today."
"What about the accusations that you might have cracked Green's ribs? Do you not think that you went over board?"
Naruto lets out a bellow of a laugh that causes some of the media members to become enraged at his blatant disrespect.
"If its an apology you are looking for then you be sorely disappointed to know that you won't find one from me. I'm sorry for how my actions have affected my team. That does not mean that I am sorry for what I did. And you can tell Green this: if he ever puts his hands on me like that again, my fist will connect with his face instead of his ribs."
"Naruto Namikaze is a thug! He should not be allowed to play in a NBA game! He should be banned! He attacked an opponent-"
"The blasphemy that comes out of your mouth, Skip Bayless! It was self-defense! And you know what? I commend Naruto for what he did. If a brother must come up to me in the street and do that, you can be damn sure I'm not just going to stand there and take it!"
"Stephen A., you can't seriously tell me you condone his actions! He purposefully injured an opponent!"
"Like Naruto said in the post match interview: it was self-defence!"
"You know, I'm kinda glad you punched him. I don't like seeing you hurt."
"Hehe, yeah well you might be the only person that's happy about it. My manager/best friend is pissed at me. Kobe says he understand what I did but he's not too thrilled that I didn't just walk away. The irony of that is astounding." Naruto replies as he rolls his eyes.
They stand shoulder to shoulder, once again on their pier early in the morning. Naruto needed to get away and vent for a bit. He was lucky that he caught her this morning as she said that she had to leave to another state for a couple of weeks for work.
"Oh, I never did ask, what exactly do you do for a living?" he glances at her curiously.
"You know," she lets out a giggle that Naruto thinks is adorable, "I'm really surprised that you still don't know my name. I'm kinda in a lot of magazines and on a lot of social media."
"Yeah well… to be honest I let my friends and daughter deal with all of that stuff. I've never been a big fan of all of that. I hardly know a lot of celebrities unless they are really famous. Why? Are you some celebrity?"
"If what you say about your daughter is true, the she'll most definitely recognise me."
"Well then I'll just have to ask her."
They fall back into a comfortable silence as she lays her head on his shoulder. Both enjoy the closeness and ability to just be in the presence of someone they truly care about.
Naruto walks into the gym and sees Kobe doing some light stretches. He puts his gym bag down and walks over.
"Are you sure you are ready to start practising again? I really don't want to be the reason for your recovery going backwards."
Kobe rolls his eyes before getting up and picking up a ball. He walks to the free-throw line and lines up a shot.
"Since you are suspended, you can help me get back into the swing of things. We aren't going to be doing anything strenuous, just going through the motions. This will help me get my edge back and help you refine your style of play. We are going to work on some post-up moves since you practically never use them."
"Why post-up moves? I can already shoot the ball quite well from mid-range and beyond the arc."
"Yeah, I know. But most of those are high-risk shots. You need to become more efficient. Right now you are just wasting possessions and stamina. Besides, this will give you a wider move-set to work with. Instead of the flashy plays, it'll be better to score consistently and continue to put points on the board. The flashy moves are pointless if they don't win us the game."
Naruto nods his head in agreement before running up and down the court to warm his body up. Somehow, he just knew that this was going to be punishment for getting suspended.
so once again let me know what you think and all that. i will leave clues as to who the girl is in the coming chapters but i will only reveal who she is around the time of his second season. review and let me know if you have any suggestions or things like that.