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 15

"Stephen A. Smith! You cannot sit there and tell me you would defend this young mans actions! He is nothing but a thug! You can clearly see in the video him injuring two of the opposition players."

Stephen A. Smith drops his head and shakes it in disappointment. He straightens up and crosses his arms as he focuses his attention back onto his co-presenters.

"On a purely professional level, nothing more but a professional level, I would just like to say that I do not condone what Naruto Namikaze did. I do not condone the actions in which Naruto Namikaze used. I would not be surprised if he was fined, suspended or even both, after the way in which he represented the National Basketball Association."

After saying all of that Stephen A. Smith pushes himself away from the table. He takes off his blazer jackets and loosens his tie. He places them over the papers in front of him and then proceeds to take out his earpiece and take off his mini-microphone. He looks directly into the camera, ignoring the confused looks he is receiving from everyone in the studio.

"Before I begin, I would just like to state that what I am about to say right now represents no one else's view but my own on the matter. I am taking full responsibility for my actions here today. No one should hold ESPN accountable for what I am about to say."

Stephen A. Smith takes a moment to compose himself before gazing back into the camera, a look of pure anger on his face.

"Never before in my life, have I been more appalled and disgusted by the media, including myself for what I said earlier. You all want to vilify a young man for defending his family from a clearly hostile threat? Shame on you! Shame on each and every one of you! I, Stephen A. Smith, speaking for and representing no one other than myself, would like it to be known that I support the actions of one Naruto Namikaze for everything he did that day!" he exclaims to the shock of everyone in the studio. "In the black community… excuse me for my mistake, Naruto Namikaze is not a part of that community…" he pauses for dramatic effect, "on the streets, you can be damn sure that if a brutha were to come up to me and start messing around with my family I will do everything I can to protect them and put him in his place! That is my role; that is my unwritten rule; that is my obligation as a man; as a husband; as a father. I personally know many players, not just in this sport but in every sport o have had the pleasure of covering, who would have done the exact same thing. He was protecting and standing up for his daughter! He was doing the very thing a father is supposed to do in that situation… and the media wants to make him the villain? Blasphemous! Naruto Namikaze, I respect you as a man and as a father. Stand behind you on this matter 100%! If they are going to punish you for your actions then they should punish me for this as well!"

Stephen A. grabs his tie and blazer before making his way out of the studio, the camera following his every move.

"I will not be a part of a segment where we vilify a father for doing his job and protecting his child. To me, Naruto Namikaze is the perfect example of how a father should conduct himself."

"Kobe! Kobe!"

"Mr Bryant, a word if you will!"

Kobe just stepped out of the Laker's training center straight into a horde of cameras and reporters. He knew what this was about and was ready to give his opinion on the matter even if one of the co-owners told everyone to be silent on the matter.

"Yes, how can I help you guys todays?"

"Where do you stand on the issue of the altercation of Naruto, who many are calling your protégé?"

"Of course I wish it never happened but I fully support Naruto's actions. Speaking as a father myself, I would have done the exact same thing."

"Kobe! Are you not worried about Naruto's violent tendencies? He already got suspended once for getting in a fight with Draymond Green earlier in the season. Does this not worry you about the stability of him?"

"I think you should go back and look at the footage of the Draymond Green fight. Green swung first; Naruto retaliated in self-defence. And this latest incident, Naruto was protecting his daughter."

"Do you not think he should have just walked away from it all?"

"If he did that he would have lost a lot of respect from me and many players in the league. It was a matter of his pride as a man and as that of a father."

Kobe raises his hand to indicate for everyone to be silent. He sweeps his gaze across all the reporters before him, ignoring the flashi8ng lights of the cameras.

"I am proud of Naruto. My respect for him, which was already quite high to begin with, has now skyrocketed because of his actions." Kobe pauses for a moment. "Thank you. No more questions."

A timid knock was heard late at night. She was up anyway due to not being able to sleep after hearing all the news about Naruto. She slowly walks towards the door of her apartment and looks through the peep-hole. Not seeing anyone, she turns around to walk back to the couch, only to be stopped by another set of timid knocks to her door.

She makes her way over and quietly opens the door only to come face to face with a crying Himawari and a sad looking Kurama.

"Oh baby girl, come here." She gently embraces Himawari and holds her tight against her chest. "Come on Little One. No need to cry." She walks towards the couch with Himawari in her arms. Kurama curls up by her legs whines his discomfort.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong, Little One?" she asks gently.

"Tou-san is being called a bad person by everyone cause he was protecting me." She sniffs cutely. "Its all my fault. He won't love me anymore."

"Hey now, don't be silly. Your dad loves you more than anyone else in the entire world." She rocks back and forth, hoping to sooth the distressed girl in her arms. "He does not blame you nor will he ever stop loving you."

They sit there in the comfort and safety of her living room. Protected from the harshness of the outside world. Kurama, their faithful guardian, asleep on the floor right next to them.

"Little One, I think you should phone him to let him know that you are okay." After seeing the look of panic in the young child's eyes she quickly corrects herself. "Or I can talk to him for you?"

Himawari nods her head at that and settles back down into the embrace. She gently takes the cellphone out of the young girl's jacket pocket and unlocks it.

"Hey Naruto, it your best friend from the pier. Yeah, I think we need to talk…"

The team were all gathered in the locker room before the game against the Warriors. It was the first game at home since the incident in the park and the entire team could tell that Naruto was nervous about the crowd's reaction towards him.

"Hey man," Steve Nash comes up to him, "don't worry about it too much. You got all of us right behind you."

"He's right about that." Naruto turns his head to look at Kyle Korver. "You are my teammate. I will stick by you through all of this."

The rest of the team gave their agreements and encouragements. Naruto, choked up from the display by his teams, tears up just a bit.

"Thanks guys. I won't let you down."

The team walk out of the locker room and down the tunnel. They slow down as they finally hear the noise level and the strange chant being cheered throughout the stadium.

"What is that?" Naruto voices the team's confusion.

"They are waiting on you, Kid." Kobe answers as he makes his way towards the team. "Go out there and give them a show they all came to see." Naruto warily makes his way down the tunnel, not noticing Kobe indicate to the rest of the team for them to wait.

He steps out of the tunnel to the roar of the crowd. He finally takes note of the chant he keeps hearing and he can't keep the wide grin on his face from showing his complete joy.

"Kitsune! Kitsune! Kitsune!"

He makes his was onto the court and looks around the stadium at all the cheering fans. He lifts his arms into the air and watches the crowd go into a frenzy. The noise level is so loud he can literally feel the vibration through the floor.

He takes note of a poster being held up by two young boys court-side. He walks over towards them while taking off his tracksuit and warm up tops. The crowd, especially the female portion, gape at how well built he is and the few scars that can be seen on his body by their slight discoloration.

"Hey there lil gents." He greets the two boys warm. "Mind borrowing me your poster for a bit? I'll even swap you my tops for it."

The two boys eagerly nod their heads at Naruto and hand over the big poster they were holding between the two of them. Naruto waits for the boys to put the tops on before he crouches down to their level.

"What you kids waiting for? Hurry up and climb onto my shoulders." The boys look towards who Naruto assumes to be their mother, silently asking for permission. "Don't worry ma'am, they'll be safe with me."

The rest of the Lakers team walks out onto the court to witness Naruto walking around with two young boys on his shoulders holding up a poster. He has his arms secured tightly around each of them to keep them from falling. It's as he makes his way past them that they finally see what's written on the poster being held up be the two kids.

WELCOME TO THE DEMON'S COURT

Kobe laughs out loud after reading the poster.

"Ey, isn't that what Naruto called the basketball court in the video? 'Demon's Court'… It actually has a nice ring to it."

After both teams are done warming up the starters take to the court. Naruto, starting off in the SF position was eagerly waiting for the ref to toss up the ball. The coach had finally given him the all clear to be a starter. With Nash as the PG, Kyle as the SG, and Naruto as the SF, the team had a very flexible unit on the court with both Nash and Naruto being able to handle the ball. Naruto's ability to play a variety of positions was a unique situation that the team was very willing to exploit.

While the excitement for the match to begin was swirling around inside of him, Naruto didn't forget what happened the last time he played the Warriors. He was on friendly terms with Klay Thompson but it was Draymond Green and the newly dubbed 'Baby-Faced-Assassin' that he couldn't stand. Even though he had to admit that Curry was one of the best shooters he has ever seen, he got the distinct feeling that he didn't take it as seriously as most of the people who wanted the championship.

The ball gets tossed up with the Warriors winning it. Naruto waits for Curry to get the ball before he presses right up against him. Naruto spent hours going over the tapes Kobe had of the Warriors. He knew that Klay, Green, and Curry would go on to be the backbones of the team. Besides Green though, Klay and Curry weren't able to play their normal game when defenders got physical with them.

Naruto gets as close to Curry as possible without touching him, blocking off any direction he might wanna go, forcing him into making a pass. As soon as the ball leaves his hands Naruto steps back to have a better view of the rest of the court. Even though they had to put a weaker defender on Klay, they couldn't risk Curry catching fire.

The quarter continues with Naruto managing to lock down Curry on defence and helping out Nash on the offense. Having to PG's on the court, with one being able to score anywhere on the court, made defending them a nightmare. When Nash had the ball, Kyle and Naruto would run around into open space and make it easy for Nash to pass the ball. This also opened up the lane for Pau and the PF. With the defenders scrambling to keep up with everyone it was easy for Kyle to fire shots from beyond the arc or Naruto to shoot it from mid-range.

When Naruto had the ball it was normally in a 1v1 situation. Very view people in the league could guard him. The Warriors currently had no one that could keep up with him. When they ordered a 2v1 Naruto would just find a way to pass to the open man. It wasn't the best system out there due to it relying heavily on Naruto's ability to keep changing roles but it was working to shut down the opposition.

However, once Naruto was taken out to rest on the bench, the Warriors main shooters in Curry and Klay had free reign to do what they like. So even though the Lakers would outscore the Warriors when Naruto was on the court, due to them not having anyone to stop Curry and Klay, the Warriors easily made up the points the lost.

In the second quarter Naruto started to heat things up. He performed a lightning quick crossover to get past Green into the lane for a lay-up. Just has he was up to jump he felt their Center jump to block him. Naruto faked a pump before jumping up to collide with the defender while bouncing the ball of the backboard into the hoop for an 'and one'. On defence he was once again all over Curry, frustrating him that he got blown up for a charging foul.

Naruto, knowing he was about to get taken out of the game soon, decided to take over. He intercepted a pass meant for Curry and raced down the court to dunk it with authority. Staying on the Warriors side of the court, Naruto waited for the ball to be inbounded before pouncing on it and throwing it to an open Kyle in the corner.

As he jogged he heard Shika and the rest of his family start his favourite chant.

"Kitsune! Kitsune! Kitsune!"

He shook his head and Shikamaru's determination to get him a good moniker.

"We have to ensure you have a good nickname from the get go. It stays with you for the rest of your career. We can easily merchandise the whole 'Kitsune' thing plus it's a part of your family heritage and all that."

Naruto switched things up this time by giving Curry a bit of breathing room. Curry, not expecting Naruto to be setting up a trap for him, jumped up for a quickly release only to have the ball swatted out of his hands by a quickly airborne Naruto. Nash grabs the rebound before spinning and smacking the ball down court for Naruto to chase down. He grabs the ball and jumps in the air from behind the arc without losing momentum. He sails close to the hoop before releasing the ball and watching as it catches nothing but net.

The Warriors call a time-out while Naruto waves his arms in the air to hype the crowd up even more. He was having probably his best game to date. He already had 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. He was on fire. The crowd was backing him up with each play he made, the team was working better than ever.

The 3th quarter was where the Warriors pulled ahead. Naruto was being saved for the final quarter so there was no one to lock down on Curry and Klay who both caught fire. With Green muscling his way down the paint, the Lakers were forced to try and keep the gap as close as possible for when Naruto came back into the game.

"Hey Steve, I got a favour to ask."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Can you walk the ball up the court for most of the in bounds? I wanna lose my mark but I doubt I will be able to get to the rim easily with Green keeping an eye on me. If I get Curry then I can easily get past but I don't want to risk them double teaming me too early into the quarter."

"No problem." Steve agrees. "You should also start shooting from beyond the arc. You have really done that this game so the are giving you a bit more space on the outside."

"Thanks. Will do."

Everyone in the crowd jumped to their feet when they took note of Naruto making his way onto the court for the final quarter.

"Kobe," Magic starts on the side-lines behind the coaching staff, "did you notice that as well?"

"Yeah…" Kobe responds. "I hate to say this and sound childish but… I told you so."

The coach in front of them turns around with a questioning look upon his face.

"What are you two referring to?"

"When Naruto steps onto the court his entire demeanour changes. You can go as far as to say that it's a switch that's being flipped." Kobe shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "The thing that I noticed earlier on with him is that he does it consciously. He can switch it on and off at will."

"So what's wrong with that?" the coach asks confusedly.

"It means that we haven't seen everything he is capable of."

The Warriors put Klay in front of Naruto for the beginning of the quarter. Naruto kept his eyes on Klay but his attention was on everything else around him. He stayed in his spot while the Lakers tried to score, making no move to call for the ball. With the shot-clock almost reaching zero Naruto rushes to the rim, blasting past an unsuspecting Klay. He watches Pau release a rushed shot and jumps in the air in anticipation. Just as the ball bounced off the rim Naruto's hand met it before anyone else had a chance to jump for it. He slams the through the air while spinning through the air to avoid the players below him.

Naruto rushes back down the court as to get in front of Green who is mostly likely to receive the ball for a quick counter. He turns around only to be surprised by the wide open Klay in the corner who sinks the ball in for a quick 3-pointer.

"Tsk." Naruto looks around in frustration. He couldn't guard Klay and Curry at the same time. Plus keeping an eye on Green and he just had too much to do.

"Kyle! Don't protect the rim. When they have the ball then stay on Klay but as soon as the shoot the ball then rush down the court." He turns his head towards Jordan Hill and Pau. "Guys, I hate to say this but I'm going to need you two to focus on the paint. Keep Green away from the rim. Steve will keep an eye on their SF."

The team nod their heads as they make their way up the court. Nash receives the ball and quickly passes it to Naruto. Naruto catches it and holds his ground while surveying the defence before him. AS Curry steps up to meet him Naruto drives left and gets past him. Green meets him at the elbow of the key. He uses his left hand to bounce the ball behind his back before spinning on his left foot, grabbing the ball with his right hand, and rushing towards the rim. Instead of going up for a basket he throws a no-look pass towards a rushing Pau who dunks it through the hoop.

On defence Naruto was once again pressed up again Curry. This time, instead of just blocking his way, he was using his arms to try and get the ball, causing Curry to force a pass or risk the chance of having it stolen. Curry attempts to pass the ball to Klay but it gets intercepted by Kyle who then passes it up court to Naruto. Naruto comes to a dead stop behind the arc and shoot s the ball, watching the trajectory until it passes through the hoop.

The quarter continues with Naruto locking down Curry at every possession. He picks up two fouls but doesn't bother with them since it's the final quarter.

On offense he's all over the court. The Warrior's defenders, unable to keep up with him, resort to trying to switch defenders on him but that doesn't work since it leaves Kyle or Nash open. When he does receive the ball he either shoots it from distance or rushes to the basket.

On one possession he goes up for a lay-up with Green jumping in the air to stop him. Naruto waits until he feels the contact before throwing a reverse lay-up. He hears the whistle before he lands. Turning to the crowd he screams at them.

"They can't guard me! They can't stop me!" The crowd's screams reach fervour pitch in response to Naruto.

After the free-throw is taken the team heads back onto defence. Naruto takes note of the fact that Curry isn't dribbling the ball up the court. He sends Curry an infuriating smirk as he steps back to give him space. He shadowed Curry as he ran around the court, not giving him a chance to get the ball. As they were running across the lane Naruto quickly changed direction to tap the ball away from Klay who was waiting to receive it. He gestures to Kyle to throw it down court for him and races after it. He grabs it and makes his way to the basket. Feeling the presence of a defender on him, he quickly does a 180 and throws it back towards the trailing Kyle Korver who performs his signature quick release.

With the 4th quarter running down the Lakers manage to go on a un of outscoring the Warriors with Naruto using up everything to keep Curry on lockdown while attempting to steal the ball. The Warriors calling a time-out provide him with a much needed rest.

Sweat was pouring down his face as he sat down on the bench. It wasn't that his body couldn't handle the strain of it like in the beginning of the season, the team just had no one else that was capable of helping him out. He couldn't keep the grin off of his face though. These were the moments he lived for. His blood was pumping through his veins at an accelerated rate.

The buzzer sounds to indicate the end of the time-out. He waits for the ball to be inbounded to him before he passes it up court to Nash. He side-steps his marker and sprints his way up court. Calling for the ball he takes two quick steps before jumping into the air and gently floating it over the outstretched defenders for Pau to finish it off with an alley-oop.

"Naruto!" Naruto snaps his head to the side to see Kobe trying to get his attention. "No time left! Start sinking them!" He glances at the clock to see that they had less than two minutes left and they were down by 14 points.

The distraction costs him however, allowing the Warriors to try and make a basket at the other end of the court. He races back down court to try and stop them. Acting on instinct alone, he ignores everyone else and heads straight for Green. Just as Green receives the ball Naruto jumps into the air. He starts his descent just as green leaves the ground, swatting the ball out of his hands and in the direction of the surprised Pau Gasol.

"Ey!"

The shout breaks Pau out of his shock and he turns his head around to see Naruto running down court with his arm in the air. Pau rushes the pass. Naruto, forced to change directions, turns his back to the hoop and jumps in the air. In one single motion he catches the ball and lands, then turns his body around while jumping back into the air and releasing the ball for a quick catch and release.

He stays on the Warriors side of the court and pressurises Curry. Moving his arms to block off Curry he quickly snaps his hand forward and knocks the ball out of Curry's hands. He grabs it, dribbles once, and takes a big back step behind the 3-point line to shoot it while fading away. The crowd goes wild at the two quick baskets with Naruto hyping them up even more.

The Warriors miss their shot on the next possession and Pau gets the rebound. The Lakers rush down the court as Nash dribbles up court. Both Naruto and Kyle run towards him. Nash passes to Kyle who jumps in the air before throwing it down to Naruto who splits the defence and slams it through the hoop.

With the clock continuing to run down, the Lakers decide against fouling the Warriors and instead focusing on a full court press, pressuring them in their own half. Klay tries to throw the ball up court before the eight seconds are up. Naruto suddenly appears in front of him. Jumping as high as he can, Naruto smacks the ball down a wide-open Kyle who sunk it with nothing but net.

Naruto, feeling himself sink deeper into that state of mind when he's on fire, decides to Curry a little space. Curry tries to get past him by throwing the ball behind his back and driving in to opposite direction. When that doesn't work he takes a step back well beyond the 3-point line and lets the ball go only for it to hit the rim.

Pau once again grabs the rebound and sends it Naruto's way. Naruto races down the court, leaving everyone else behind him. He comes to a stop at the 30ft marker and takes a shot, holding the pose until the ball goes through the hoop.

With less than a minute left and feeling on fire, he and Pau double Green and manage to make him fumble the ball. He passes it to Nash and runs into the open corner. Getting the ball back he pump fakes and watches as Klay sails past him. He then releases the ball and head backs to defence without watching it.

As he walks past Curry he spreads his arms out and shouts at him over the roar of the crowd.

"This is my court! This is the Demon's Court!" Naruto exclaims with a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

With that, the Lakers finally take the lead in the 4th quarter after staging a brilliant comeback. The Warriors try and regain the lead but end up fumbling them their shots due to rushing and the pressure of the clock winding down.

Bzzzzzzzzzt

Just as the buzzer sounds Naruto rushes to the commentators table and jumps on top of it. He waves his arms around, getting the crowd to chant with him.

"Whose court is this?"

"The Demon's Court!"

"Whose court is this?"

"The Demon's Court!"

He jumps down and celebrates the great comeback victory with his teammates, the grin on his face never wavering for a single second.

"Fuck!"

Naruto stumbles back into the camera crew sitting behind one of the hoops. He picks him self up off of the ground and makes his way down the court in anger.

It was Christmas day and the Lakers were playing against the Miami Heat. Throughout the game they were unable to stop the freight train that was Lebron James. Even putting Naruto on him didn't help matters at all due to Lebron just muscling past him each time. Even when the ball didn't come his way the Heat still scored by using their other players. Naruto knew that facing the reigning champions would be tough but he definitely didn't expect them to so completely dominating.

On top of all that, Naruto just picked up his 4th foul of the game and it was only the 3rd quarter. The team couldn't afford to take him out as then they wouldn't have anyone with a shot at stopping the Heat.

The longer the game went on the more frustrated Naruto got and it showed in his FG%. He was 3/18, translating into him having probably his worst night of shooting ever.

Naruto goes up for another lay-up only to have the ball swatted against the backboard by Lebron. Naruto chases him down the court and manages to get in front of him. He tries to reach for the ball but in his haste he pushes Lebron and causes him to stumble. The whistle blows as Lebron throws the ball up and into the net.

Naruto, after picking up his last foul, walks off the court with his head bowed to the cheer of the Miami crowd. He walks down the tunnel in disappointment with a towel wrapped around his head.

"Frustrating isn't it?" He looks up to see Kobe walking next to him. "No matter how good you are, you can't do everything by yourself. You especially can't win a match when the best player on the court is on the opposite team and you having no one with the ability to sufficiently back you up."

"Then why don't you tell me what I should be doing?" Naruto questions in irritation only to receive a raised eyebrow by an amused Kobe.

"Your job, is to get the team to the play-offs this season. Build up everyone's confidence for next season where all the pieces will be in place. Don't beat yourself up about losing to one of the top players in the world when this is just your first season."

Kobe walks away and leaves a frustrated Naruto standing in the locker room alone. He snatches the towel off his head and throws it against the bench.

"Tsk."

so like always, leave a review and let me know what you think. i know that some of you may be thinking that the Lakers scored too much with only 2 minutes left but i will have you know that there are plenty of instances where a player on fire goes on to score a lot of points in a very little amount of time