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 16
Naruto caught the ball as he came off the screen set up by Pau. He drove towards the basket with Blake Griffin doing his best to slow him down. Naruto threw the ball behind him with his left hand before quickly crossing it back over in front of him with his right hand, causing Griffin to stumble away from him in an attempt to keep his footing. He drives to the basket and turns his body to the right while throwing an under-handed no look pass to an open Kyle Korver in the corner.
The crowd surges to their feet at the latest amazing play produced by the wonder rookie. Ever since the defeat to Lebron James and the Miami Heat, Naruto started playing better than ever. He was easily outstripping all other rookies in the league. In fact, most analysts were stating that he was the sole reason for the Lakers being in play-off contention.
Due to the impressive steak he was having his stats for the season increased by quite a bit: 27min; 19.3pts; 8.7ast; 3.1reb; 2stl. He was the team's main attacking option. Even with Steve Nash on the floor, Naruto would get the most assists due to him being aggressive and driving towards the basket before passing it to a teammate.
While the Lakers as a whole were slowly becoming a team based on their offensive power, their most dangerous combination at the moment was the duo of Naruto and Kyle. With Naruto being a nightmare for defenders to deal with and providing him with plenty of chances to sink the 3-pointer, Kyle was having what was easily the best season of his career from beyond the arc. Naruto would run around with the ball and either pass it to Kyle or wait for Kyle to run off of a screen for a catch and shoot.
That's not to say that everyone else on the team weren't contributing to the team's success. Naruto and Steve made sure to get everyone involved. They had a system when at least one of them was on the court at all times, even though they were at their most dangerous when Naruto was in command.
Even though the team was playing beyond the expectations of everyone, it didn't mean that they didn't have a few losses. There just wasn't enough quality and depth on the bench for the team to be a constant threat on the court. Even though Naruto was adjusting to the level of play, he still wasn't able to play as much as he would have liked. However, with the help of Kakashi and Kobe, he was slowly starting to get his body to where it needed to be.
With Kakashi now on as his full time personal trainer, Naruto was now put through his paces every time he went to the gym. Kakashi once again had him go through a weight regime where instead of gaining muscle from the get go, Kakashi would have Naruto go through each exercise as slowly as possible. This allowed Naruto to strengthen the muscles he already had as well as giving them definition.
Kobe was putting Naruto through his paces when it came to pure basketball. They focused almost entirely on technique and having the motions of all the different shots become almost second nature. Even though Naruto's growth rate was astounding, Kobe was more than keeping him in check. It was during these practises where Naruto came to understand how far beyond Kobe was when compared to most superstars in the league. What surprised Kobe more than anything else was the fact that he could feel himself becoming almost as good as he was when he won his last championship. Practising with Naruto at such a high level was lighting a spark in him that hadn't been there for the past few seasons.
Naruto got into a defensive stance in front of Chris Paul as he dribbled the ball up court. He stepped up just as Paul started driving to the corner. He sees Paul makes eye contact with someone behind him and quickly spins around the screen before jumping into the air to block the 3-pointer. He runs down the court as Kyle receives the loose ball. He makes it to the corner and turns around just in time to catch the pass thrown to him by Kyle. He pump fakes and waits for the defender to fly past him before releasing the ball from beyond the arc.
Naruto stumbles backwards as Kyrie Irving drives past him. He snaps his hand back in an attempt to knock the ball away but only manages to foul him as he releases a shot.
On the next play Naruto calls for a 1v1. The rest of the Lakers team moves to one side of the court as Naruto and Kyrie move to the opposite side. Naruto dribbles between his legs before driving to his right. Just as he sees Kyrie begin to push off the ground he quickly crosses the ball over back to his left side. Kyrie stumbles in an attempt to change directions only to fall to the ground when Naruto once again crosses over to the right before driving to the basket before jumping under it and slamming it through the hoop from the other side.
The crowd jumps to its feet at the amazing display put on by the two young PG's. So far Kyrie was winning the personal dual by having more points. However, many would say that it was Naruto that was playing better since, along with scoring a good number of baskets himself, he was racking up more assists as well as being the keystone in his team extending the lead they currently held.
Naruto rushes to catch the inbound with Kyrie right on his heels. He uses his right hand to bounce the ball on the right-hand side of Kyrie while he spins to the left. He grabs the ball and races down the court. Naruto almost comes to a dead stop when a defender steps in front of him, only to lean right and drive past at full speed. He quickly makes his way to the baseline before leaning his upper body out of bounds and swinging his arm to throw a laser beam pass to a wide-open Kyle in the corner.
Naruto goes up for a lay-up only to feel someone slam into his back, causing him to miss. He lands and turns around to find Lebron James arguing with the ref about an unfair call. Naruto makes his way up to the free-throw line and waits to receive the ball. He wasn't having the best of games going up against the current reigning champs. Along with Lebron dominating the court, Dwayne Wade was keeping him in check. He couldn't find enough open spaces to make any easy passes.
He caught on early into the game that Lebron was waiting for him once he got close to the paint. He couldn't muscle his way past and because of the defence collapsing onto him as soon as he got close, there was no space for him to freely dribble the ball. Naruto managed to get the ball to open teammates on a number of occasions but the momentum of the game has been firmly with the Heat since the start.
To add to his frustration, he hasn't been able to spend any time with Himawari in a week since the Lakers were on an away stretch. He knew she was with 'Alex' and he was perfectly okay with that. However, it didn't do anything to help his current mood.
"Naruto, you are sitting out the rest of the quarter as well as the 3rd." the coach states. "You are our main attack option but it's pointless to have you out there when they have clearly come up with a plan to neutralise you to this extent. It best to save your energy and try to go on a run in the 4th quarter."
It was a testament to just how tired he was when all he gave the coach in reply was a nod of his head. Even though he was happy about being given more responsibility in the team, Naruto had to admit that it was quite taxing on him. He was constantly tired at the end of each day.
Kobe told him that it was just a matter of it becoming a routine. Naruto knew he had to tough through this if he wanted to reach the level he was hoping to attain. Currently though, he wasn't happy about things at all.
Bzzzzzzzzzt
Naruto makes his way onto the court to start the 4th quarter. He was currently at boiling point after having to watch the Heat dominate the game since he was taken out.
Unknown to Naruto, his teammates could feel the bloodlust radiating off of him. They knew that Naruto only got like this when he let his anger take over. On the few occasions that it did happen, it was best to give him the ball and then move out of his way.
Naruto receives the ball from Nash and faces up with Wade on the left side of the court. Unbeknownst to him but seen by every other player on the court, a look of pure boredom adorns his face. Instead of this giving the Heat players a sense of security, they were now more wary of Naruto than ever before.
Naruto crouched down as he sized up Wade in front of him. Expecting him to try and get past Wade, everyone is surprised when he sends the ball back towards Nash. Naruto relaxes his posture and takes a step back as he surveys everyone currently on the court.
He spies Lebron make a move to steal the ball and explodes from his spot, past a surprised Wade. Just as Lebron reaches out for the ball Naruto snatches it away from him before turn his body towards the hoop and releasing a fade-away shot. He casually jogs back to his side of the court as everyone takes a moment to come to terms with what just happened.
"Pau, let me guard Lebron." Naruto says to a surprised Pau Gasol.
They change marks just as Lebron gets the ball. Naruto faces Lebron and takes a step back as he once again relaxes his body. Lebron begins dribbling in front of Naruto who doesn't fall for any of his tricks. Lebron quickly drives towards the basket with Naruto next to him every step of the way. Naruto feels himself being pushed back by the sheer power of Lebron. They both jump into the air with Naruto jumping away from Lebron so a foul won't be called. Unfortunately for Naruto, the little space that he gave was enough for Lebron to slam the ball through the hoop.
Not wasting anytime, Naruto calls for the inbound while sprinting down the court. He receives it just before half-court as Wade once again steps in his way. This time however, Naruto doesn't slow down. In fact, he speeds up even more as he crosses over to the left and sprints to the hoop. The time spent getting past Wade, though it is enough for Lebron to catch up to him. Both players race towards the rim.
Right before taking off into the air Naruto slows down to allow Lebron to fully catch up. Both players jump into the air with Lebron waiting for Naruto to release the ball so that he can smack it away. Naruto holds onto the ball until he feels the contact against his back. He hears the whistle blow as his body starts to tip forward.
The crowd watches in awe as Naruto brings the ball down with his right arm and throws it over his back into the basket for a 'and one'.
He once again makes his way over to the free-throw line with a calm exterior. Inside however, Naruto was ready to take the fight to Lebron.
On the Heat's next play Naruto and Lebron are jostling under the hoop to get the rebound. Lebron boxes out Naruto as the ball hits the rim and bounce higher into the air. Naruto allows his body to take over as he quickly spins around Lebron just as the ball starts its descent. Both players jump for the ball. Lebron gets his hands on it first only to have Naruto hit it out of bounds.
"Hey Kid, I'm back on the roster starting from the next game." Kobe calls out to Naruto in the gym. "Both the doc and I decided that I was finally back in peak condition. Now it's all about getting my match fitness back up to where it needs to be."
Naruto takes another ball from the rack besides him and shoots it from beyond the arc.
"That's all well and good but don't you think that you are rushing things a bit?"
"Good to know you care so much." Kobe responds with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not going to be starting right away. I'll be put on here and there but that's only for me to slowly integrate myself into the team again."
Naruto shoots one last ball before making his way over to the bench and grabbing a sports drink. He glances at Kobe as he takes a large gulp. Naruto throws the empty bottle away and turns his body until he is fully facing Kobe.
"I hope you know that I won't just bow down to you on the court. That might work with everyone else because they are scared of you but I'll never let anyone take the top spot away from me." Naruto says in a dead serious face, a look of clear determination on his face.
The crowd rise to their feet at the Staple Center to applaud Kobe as he steps back onto the court for the first time since his injury. Naruto stands on the court using the bottom of his top to wipe away a bit of sweat from his face. The game was going smooth for the Lakers. They were up in the 4th quarter by 12 points, lead the coach to bring Kobe in for some much needed minutes.
"How does it feel to be back on the court?" Naruto asks with a smirk.
"Quite good." Kobe answers as he makes his way pass Naruto. "Give me some easy shots to get me back in shape."
"That I can do." Naruto replies as he waits for the inbound.
Naruto catches the ball and walks his way up the court. From his position he could see that most of the opposing team was leaning more towards Kobe on the left side of the court. He drives for the hoop and scores an easy lay-up.
"You are going to have to get free if you want the ball in your hands." He says to Kobe.
On their next possession Kobe has the ball with a defender pressed up against him. He sees Naruto running towards him and quickly passes the ball. Naruto surprises Kobe by bouncing the ball just beyond the arc before setting up a screen on the defender to give Kobe some space. Wasting no time, Kobe steps towards the ball and jumps while setting his sights before releasing the ball and watching it rattle home.
"Thanks kid." Kobe says as they jog back to defend.
"No problem. They are going to be on you a lot so don't worry about defending too much. As so as they take a shot begin running down court and I'll get you the ball." Naruto says before he rushes away to put pressure on the opposing PG.
As the ball is passed to the player in front of Kobe, Naruto steps back onto the free-throw line to cover the inside lane. Kobe gives the player some space to shoot before quickly running down the court to the opposing hoop. Naruto watches the ball's trajectory and quickly takes a running jump to catch the rebound.
Naruto lands on the ground and throws a touch down pass to an open Kobe on the opposite side of the court, keeping his arm in the air for dramatic effect as he watches Kobe easily catch and lay-up the ball.
"Have the last few matches not been enough for you to admit just how good of a player Naruto is?" asks a bewildered Stephen A. to a sceptic Skip Bayless. "Even before Kobe came back, he has been able to lead the Lakers in a way very few players are able to lead a team. Never mind the fact that we are talking about a rookie."
"I still stand by what I have been saying since he got drafted! It is too soon for us to be rating him as such a good player!" Skip responds. "We have not seen enough. He has not played enough. The two of them have only been playing for a short while together. Do you honestly expect me to believe that there won't be any infighting going on once Kobe is on the starting line-up again? Both of them are ball dominant players. I just can not see them being able to play together we both want to be the first scoring option on the team."
"But that's not what's been happening!" Stephen A. takes a breath to calm himself. "Both of them are ballers. With Kobe on the floor Naruto doesn't take on as much responsibility, allowing him the chance to develop at an even quicker rate. With Naruto on the floor Kobe has someone who can distribute the ball while also having the ability to score the basket if need be. Do I expect it to be smooth sailing? Of course not, this entire season is about strengthening the team for a championship run. I still expect them to make the play-offs and I still firmly believe that we are just scratching the surface of this kid, Naruto Namikaze.
Hey all. so this is one of the shorter chapters. sorry i have not updated in a long time. i know where i want this story to go but i just have problems filling in the events to get to where i want it to be. read and review to let me know what you think. i'll do my best to try and update every week or so