Without a Sound
Disclaimer: I own… on opposite days only…
So… it's been a while guys… BUT IT'S SUMMER TIME BABY, AND THE LIVIN' IS SO EASY! So I hope you guys haven't forgotten!
Epilogue – PART I
It started with the first game, and soon Sora and the Hillside basketball team carved their way to the Nationals finals without a single loss.
And now… After a long three-hour bus ride to the capital, we finally made it to the final game against the last team we had to defeat before becoming National champions…
Newton High School… it's actually well known for its amazing basketball team… in fact. That school alone supplies about 5 percent of the locals who join the basketball league.
They didn't scare us!
"Leon! Come on, dude! Are you doing this or not?" I turned to see Roxas holding a bucket of body paint and I smirked.
"IT IS SO ON!" I yelled before following Roxas into the bathrooms.
I laughed when I spotted Riku fixing his hair in the mirror. The once light silver locks were now a blazing red color and they seemed to stand on end.
"That is one intense due, my friend. I like it." I said.
"Good cuz there's some for you too." He said simply and I felt my heart skip in excitement.
"I wonder if Sora is excited or scared right now…" I wondered out loud.
"He's really excited but he's also really freaked… believe me I know… I'm his twin." Roxas said and tried to hurry me in taking off my shirt.
"So the plan is, we're all going to be painted brown, but on Riku's chest he's going to have an H for Hillside in bright candy-apple red. I'm going to have an H and an S for High School, and Riku bought this kickass stencil in the shape of an eagle and you are going to have that on your chest! Isn't that awesome?" Roxas asked excitedly.
"Hell yeah! Are we still all wearing red basketball shorts and sneakers?" I asked.
"Yep… but hold still this is probably going to be cold." Roxas said and I jerked a little when the cold pain hit the skin of my back.
It surprisingly didn't take us long to get all geared up. We all had blazing red spiky hair, brown skin, and bright red shorts and shoes to match our bright symbols on our torsos.
But over our torsos were shirts that we were going to rip off after the team made their first two points. It was five minutes before the start of the game. We entered the huge stadium and I was amazed by the amount of people inside.
"Roxas! Leon! Riku! Over here guys!" I turned to see Sora's mother waving us over.
We smiled and ran up to our seats. "Are you ready for this Aerith?" I asked and she gave me this look.
For once it wasn't a look of sheer worry. It was one that contained the fire of competition; she knew that her son was going to help his team to victory. "I know right…" I said, though it didn't really fit the context of what I had asked earlier.
"I see you're ready for the game as well…" I turned at the sound of Sora's dad's voice and I laughed when I realized he was dressed as an eagle.
"Dad! That's fuckin' awesome!" Roxas yelled.
"Roxas!" Aerith admonished.
"I have to say… I see where Roxas get's his die-hard enthusiasm from…" I said.
Sora's dad chuckled before sitting next to me. "You have no idea…" he said.
"Welcome schools all across the nation to the High School National Championships!" the announcer began and the crowd began to cheer.
"We've all been waiting not-so-patiently for this moment, the final game that will show our colleges and the professional league what our top High School is made of!" We all cheered again.
"Today we see history! We see for the first time, a new high school battling head to head with our high school regular, Newton High School!" There were cheers mostly from the other side of the stadium.
"Today against Newton, coming all the way from quiet little Twilight Town, THE HILLSIDE EAGLES!" Roxas and I stood and cheered at the sound of our team.
I watched as the teams walked onto the court. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Sora and his team.
Each player had red and tan streaks underneath their eyes, but the looks in their eyes were much fiercer than the paint.
The Newton players were quite ready for the game as well, each sporting a blue and grey headband.
The captains flipped for their side of the courts and when all of that was settled, it was time for the game to begin.
I watched as the ball went up, it was like slow motion. I smiled when Seifer grabbed the ball and passed it to Zell.
Now, if we thought Zell was fast before Nationals… he has increased his speed ten fold since then. I watched in amazement as he zoomed down the court twisting and turning dribbling the ball in and out to keep it away from the opponent.
When Zell finally reached Newton's huge point guard, he passed the ball to Tseng who without effort threw the ball into the hoop for a three pointer. You couldn't hear the swish over our cheers as the ball went through the hoop.
Roxas, Riku, and I screamed and cheered as we ripped of our shirts and began the cheer.
"We fly high! We fly high! The end of Newton's reign is nigh! We fly high! We fly high! The Hillside Eagles gonna make you cry!" We screamed.
It looked as though we were evenly matched. For every point we made, Newton seemed to gain one as well.
"Fight! Fight! Eagle's flight! You can't escape the eagle's sight!" Roxas and Riku yelled and I picked up the cheer the second time around.
I watched as one of Newton's players passed the ball to another teammate who shot from the free throw line to even the score once again. I sighed, and waited as Zell zoomed once more down the court and passed the ball to Sora.
"GO SORA!" I yelled and Sora fearlessly faced the point guard at the three-point line. He passed the ball through the point guard's legs and snatched the ball before running back to the three-point line and taking a shot.
All hands went up as the ball fell through the hoop. "YEAH! THAT'S MY BROTHER! THAT'S MY BLOOD!" Roxas screamed and high fived him before dapping Riku.
Newton's coach called time and all of the players moved to discuss but it was now our job to get our crowd fired up.
Roxas, Riku, and I all moved down in front of every one and started our rallying.
"Alright everybody! Are you guys really fans of Hillside?" I asked loudly.
"YEAH!" The crowd yelled.
"WE SAID, ARE YOU GUYS REALLY FANS OF HILLSIDE HIGH?" We all screamed together.
The crowd's cheering tripled in volume. "Let's show those puny, pathetic, Newton Porpoise fans, what it takes to be a real crowd! WHO ARE WE?" I asked.
"THE EAGLES!"
"WHO ARE WE?" Roxas and Riku yelled louder.
"THE EAGLES!" The crowd replied.
Roxas, Riku, and I clapped twice, "HILLSIDE!" We clapped twice again. "EAGLES!" We repeated the process until everyone on our side of the stadium was following our lead.
"ALL RIGHT! It seems the Hillside has a huge support system backing their every move! Can the Newton Porpoises stand the heat?" the announcer called.
The Newton's side's "YEAH!" was completely overpowered by the Hillside's "NO!"
The game resumed and I could tell our cheering had renewed the team's vigor and will. I was amazed by the might and skill shown by the team who made baskets left and right and Newton could barely keep up.
We cheered and cheered as our team paved its way through Newton's defenses and toppled its offense.
There was about five minutes to the game when my one fear came true.
I watched in horror as an angry and frustrated point guard completely crushed Sora when he went for a lay up.
"SORA!" We all cried as we watched his roll on the floor in pain.
-Without a Sound-
I felt like my entire body was broken. I could see the flashes and waves of bright colors in the stadium around me but I couldn't hear a sound. I was scared that if I got up, I wouldn't be able to play.
Suddenly Zell and Seifer's faces were hovering over me, they looked so concerned.
'Sora! Are you okay? Can you get up?' I watched their mouths move.
I wanted to stay down… I wanted to play… I couldn't make up my mind. My head ached and my body ached; I was so tired.
Then out of the corner of my eye… shining like a beacon of light with his bright ass red hair, was Leon sighing and yelling for me to get up and get back in the game.
I saw the people around him, my family, waiting for me to resume.
With a deep breath I got up and shook off my aches. I couldn't give up! I wouldn't give up! MY TEAM'S HARD WORK WOULD NOT FUCKING GO TO WASTE!
I watched as the red and brown side of the stadium stood to cheer now that I was back on my feet. I felt someone take my shoulder.
'You have two foul shots.' The ref said and I nodded.
I took deep breaths as I moved to the free throw line. I dribbled the ball before taking my first shot.
In it went.
I spotted Roxas and Leon smiling and cheering and I got myself situated again.
There was no rim and only net when the ball went into the hoop the second time.
With only three minutes remaining, the Porpoises really hauled ass. Suddenly, their offense and defense were twice as great as it was before and it was very difficult for us to match them, as we were tiring.
But what was worse was that every time I got the ball, I kept getting stomped on or shoved… it was like I was their target or something.
I gasped when I realized something. I looked over to Coach Yuffie and asked her to call time.
When time was called we moved into a huddle and I began to sign.
'This whole time, Zell and I have been the prominent movers around the court… Zell's pretty much untouchable but he's been having trouble, why?' I looked over to Zell as he translated.
'Why? Because I suddenly have three fucking players on my ass!' Zell yelped in frustration.
'Why is that so?' Seifer's lips articulated.
'Because they've been targeting Sora and weakening him so he's slower. They can afford to stop guarding him.' Tseng said.
'But what about the third guard?' Raijin asked.
'They've given up on trying to guard Rude. They think they have us all figured out… they think that because Zell is on lockdown and I've been weakened, that suddenly our team is falling to pieces… and we almost let that happen!' I signed and Zell spoke my words.
'So what do we do?' Rude seemed to ask.
'We prove them wrong…' Tseng said before putting his and in. 'WHO THE FUCK ARE WE?' He yelled and I could feel the intensity of his words though I could not hear them.
'HILLSIDE EAGELS!' My team replied fiercely and I paused to notice that our crowd had once again, increased its encouraging vibes and strength.
I turned to Zell who rubbed my shoulders for a second. 'Feels good, right… it's almost as if you have the whole world behind you…' he commented about the crowd and I nodded.
I looked to the clock, we had a minute left to recover our lead or we would lose. I looked to my teammates; each one met my gaze with a nod.
It was time to show them just how awesome we were.
The Porpoises moved down the court and with a speed that didn't surprise me, Tseng easily dribbled the ball from their possession in an amazing turnover. He passed the ball to me, and the three guards that were once guarding Zell moved to close in on me.
I slipped between two of them and looked to the clock as I moved towards my destination.
Five seconds.
I ran as fast as I could. I smiled when I suddenly saw Rude crouch down at the half court line. I prayed to all the higher beings out there that this would work.
I rat at Rude's back and when my feet were at his shoulders he shot up and forwards, sending me flying high into the air.
If I could scream, I definitely would have.
I felt myself flip upside down and with quick thinking used the balls momentum to flip me back up and then…
In slow motion, the hoop was right there for me to slam the ball into.
My team, my family, my friends, Leon…
This was for you!
I slammed the ball right through the hoop and hung onto to rim, which I'm pretty sure almost pulled my arms out of their sockets.
I let go and looked to the scoreboard.
The game was won! I turned to see the crowd running down from their seats onto the court jump and cheer.
I gasped when I felt myself being lifted into the air by Rude and Raijin and I pumped my fist in victory as we paraded around the court.
-Without a Sound-
The last five seconds of this game was a miracle. Aerith and I stood slowly and watched, in half-horror, as Sora flies across half the court.
He was like a real eagle soaring through the sky, and then slam! The ball goes right through the hoop as the buzzer goes off! It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever seen.
Even the announcer was yelling in disbelief at the turn of events as we all barreled into the court when we realized…
We… the eagles… were National Champions!
The level of volume was so high that I couldn't even hear myself screaming in excitement.
When I saw Sora being lifted into the air I smiled and cheered as I watched him soak up the glory of having that final, winning shot!
I turned and laughed when I saw Riku and Roxas eating each other's faces off in the middle of the joyous chaos.
I yelped when I felt something slam against my back and I turned to see Sora beaming up as me with a flushed face and eyes glowing in happiness.
'You did it, baby!' I signed.
He shook his head and took my hands. 'We did it.' He mouthed and I squeezed his hands tightly.
I was about to see about lifting him into the air again when he suddenly pulled me into a searing kiss.
I would have stopped him under any other circumstances… but at that moment… all I cared about was Sora.
He slipped his tongue into my mouth and I groaned at the feeling of his tongue tracing the roof of my mouth before I lifted him. I felt his legs go around my waist. I bit his lip and deepened our kiss further when I felt him gasp.
When we finally pulled from each other we were breathless and I placed him down…
There was so much commotion that no one noticed that fact that Sora was tongue fucking his calculus teacher.
-Without a Sound-
Eventually the excited crowd moved back to their seats as the chair holders of the competition came out with a huge mounted glass basketball trophy.
I watched as his lips moved. "We are very proud to present Hillside High School with the National Championship trophy for their amazing defeat over Newton High School. You are the first to break Newton's long legacy of victory in the competition and we hope to see your team succeed in the future as well!" He said and handed Tseng the trophy, who brought it down so that everyone could put their hand on it before lifting it into the air for everyone to see.
'We're in for quite the treat… Scouts from the NBA and many associates were here to watch this game and it turns out they were quite pleased with the show of sportsmanship shown today.' The other Chair Holder said and we all looked to the platform that was made by the announcer table.
I squinted and tried to make out the words that were being said by the large white haired man on the platform but sighed when I couldn't. Leon took my hand and I looked at him.
'Hello everyone, my name is Xemnas and I am actually the commissioner of the National Basketball Association… after overseeing the competition and watching the teams grow, after seeing such a great game, an NBA caliber game in mere High School students, I feel that it is time for me to commend those who truly deserve recognition.' I watched Leon's lips move and I realized he was repeating the man's words.
'I have been satisfied with the high quality players that end up joining the league after many years of being scouted at Newton High School… however, I've seen even better players today in Hillside's team… a team that works together and fights together with heart and honor… like true NBA players. Hillside's leader, Tseng has shown amazing leadership qualities and skills unparalleled by even some of those currently enlisted in professional teams… and because of this, I would like to watch his progress in college and if he wishes to pursue basketball as a career, I will certainly get him started.' Leon repeated and a gasped and moved to congratulate Tseng. He smiled at all of us…
It was the first time I had ever seen him really smile.
Leon took my hand again and I looked at him.
'Now, I've heard that every few years or so the heads of this competition administer an award to a certain player that has shown outstanding skill, sportsmanship, and love of the game. After talking with the Chairs we have all settled on a single player who, after following his progress in both state and Nationals, has opened our eyes to what it really means to work hard and trust in your coach and teammates. This player has faced injury and setback but never fails to get back in the game, his eyes shine with determination that can be seen even from the farthest seats in the stadium and his heart beats not for the glory of victory but the meaning behind the victory… the physical proof that had his teams blood, sweat, and tears were not shed in vain…' I watched as Leon's lips formed the words and I couldn't believe there was such a great player out there that I hadn't noticed in the other team…
Xemnas' words sounded so great… it seemed like this player was one of the best. I wanted to meet this player when he came up to accept his award.
'He does these amazing things without a single brag and still holds a great secret… this player…' Leon's eyes widened and he paused.
I tugged on his arm to get Leon to tell me what he was saying! I wanted to know!
Leon tuned to me. 'This player lacks the ability to hear and speak…' he said.
I felt my teammates hands on my shoulders and I looked at their happy faces… congratulating me.
Wait…
I won the award?
'Sora! You did it! You won!' Zell signed and I released a shaky breath.
Leon took my hand and pulled me up to the platform. He and I stood on it but I still didn't realize what was happening.
Leon nudged me and gestured to Xemnas. I looked at him.
'You, Sora Gainsborough, are an inspiration to everyone… not just to your peers and your loved ones. And the Chairs and I would like to reward you for your hard work. We are going to make sure you see the best ENTs and Audiologists in this country and get you the best hearing aid to restore your ability to hear… no matter the cost… and if you find yourself so inclined to join the league… I'll be sure to send recommendations.' Xemnas' mouth moved and when his words finally registered in my head, I felt my knees give out beneath me.
Leon caught me and helped me back up to a standing position. I could feel the tears freefalling down my cheeks and all I could do was sigh 'thank you' over and over with my trembling hands.
They were going to get my ears in working order.
I would be able to hear the voices of those who are most important to me…
-Without a Sound-
At the end of the entire tournament, on our bus ride back to Twilight town, I let all the events of the day finally sink it.
Tseng and Sora basically were okay-ed to join the NBA when they're older and every player on the starter team got a full scholarship to all the top basketball schools.
I was so proud.
And Sora… Sora was going to get a hearing aid… he was going to hear.
I smiled at Aerith who was still crying in happiness against her husband and I looked over to Roxas whose tear-stained cheeks were still damp even though he was sleeping with his head on Riku's shoulder.
There was no way you could wipe the smug grin off of Yuffie's face.
Zell and Seifer were sleeping, each with an ear bud in one of their ears, as they were sharing Seifer's ipod.
I chuckled when I realized that they had put Queen's "We are the Champions" on repeat before dozing off.
Raijin was on the phone with his girlfriend, telling her about the scholarship he had received.
Rude was simply looking at the window while Tseng sat quietly… he seemed to be deep in thought as his gaze was glued to the trophy in his lap.
I looked down in my lap at Sora, who was sleeping like a rock. I ran my hands through his hair and smiled when Sora's lips turned slightly upwards in a grin.
The future had so much in store for Sora and I was sure that I would be with him every step of the way.
A/N: Hey everyone… do you remember me? Yeah… it's kinds of terrible how bad I've gotten at updating but never fear! SUMMER TIME IS HERE! Anyway review and I will start working on PART II of the epilogue and quite possibly will throw in a PART III seeing as I want to end this a certain way and I can fit it into two parts without it seeming rushed… so anyway PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE!