Thank you, shadowwing1994, katzike123, DawnBerlitz on DA, RunoandAkizafan, JazzGirl123, Hawkgirl230, and Shar, for reviewing.

Sorry I wasn't able to update on the weekend, I had lots of homework to do. But it's just a couple of days late, hope you guys don't mind.

Monday, Noon…

During lunch that day, Dan sat with his friends at their usual spot in the cafeteria. Everyone was either eating, talking, or, in Marucho's case, studying. Dan, however, was rubbing his legs which were still sore from his first practice last Friday.

"Hey, Dan, are you okay?" asked Fabia.

"Man, I can't believe it's been three days, yet my legs are STILL sore from Friday's practice!" exclaimed Dan. "How come I'm the only one who feels like this?"

"Well, Dan," started Alice. "All of us attended the first and second practices, so we're all used to it. Since this is your first sport, your body isn't used to it yet."

Shun smirked. "That's what you get for missing the first two practices."

Dan groaned but decided not to argue.

"Told you basketball practice wasn't all about just shooting the ball into the basket," said Runo.

"Whatever," Dan mumbled.

"Hey guys," greeted Joe as he walked towards the group hand in hand with Chan.

"What's up?" asked Billy.

"First basketball game," answered Chan as she and Joe sat down with the rest of the Brawlers.

"Already?" asked Marucho, looking up from his book.

"Wow, that's pretty quick. You guys only had practice for like three days," said Julie.

"Actually, it's more of a heads up than a warning," said Joe, as he ate his sandwich. "Chan and I were just talking to Coach Harben and he just wanted everyone to know that the first basketball game will be sometime next week."

"That good," replied Jake. "You guys will still have one week left to practice."

"Just wait," sighed Runo as she laid her head on the table. "The week will come and go before you know it. So did he tell you what team we'll be against?"

"Yeah," answered Chan. "But Coach didn't tell us much about them. All we know is that their team is called The Neathians. (A/N: Sorry, I was too lazy to think up an original name, but I'll probably have to make up some in the future.) They come from Greyard Academy."

"Well, even if we did know more about them," started Fabia. "We still need to do our best at every practice to make sure we win."

"Yeah, we have to win at least one out of four games," Chan added.

"What do you mean?" asked Dan.

"Okay, since you guys weren't on the team last year, I'll explain," said Joe. "These games are all a series of one big tournament. First, everyone starts off with four matches. If we can win one of those matches, we'll be able to play in the semifinals, and then finally in the championships. However, if we aren't able to win any of those four games, then we're out of the running."

"You mean we have to stop playing?" asked Dan.

"Sounds like it," answered Shun.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Dan.

"Dan, calm down," said Alice. "We haven't even started playing a single game yet."

"So anyways," continued Joe. "We'll just have to do our best."

"Yeah, as long as you try your hardest, you'll be fine," said Marucho.

"Good luck!" sing-songed Julie.

"Thanks, babe," said Billy as he hugged his girlfriend.

"Yeah, we'll need it," Joe muttered underneath his breath.

For the whole week, Dan tried his hardest not to have a reason to miss practice, and he was very successful. If it hadn't been for Marucho helping him with math problems, Dan would've probably missed more practices, resulting in his dropping out of the team.

During practice, after running some laps, they did drills such as shooting, dribbling, and passing. Joe, being on the team last year, was the best at shooting, but Chan-Lee was pretty good as well. Maybe Joe had taught her a thing or two over the summer. Shun and Fabia, being the fastest of the group, were the best at dribbling and when they played a practice game, they were the ones who did most of the stealing. Runo, being the aggressive one, was best at defense. And Billy was the best at passing and catching; his passes were almost always perfect and he never failed to catch a pass that was coming in his direction since he was very coordinated. Alice seemed to be afraid of the ball a bit, but she had great stamina. Shun never seemed to break a sweat, but neither did Alice during practice. Dan, however, was having a hard time keeping up with everyone, since he still had to do more laps than everyone, (Coach Harben wasn't going to let him off that easily) and because of the fact that this was his first sport's practice ever. He had never been this tired in his whole life. But he still managed to hang in there.

On the following Monday, shortly before practice ended, Coach Harben called for a team discussion. "Okay, you guys, tomorrow is Tuesday, meaning that we're going to have our first game."

"Is it home or away?" asked Joe.

Dan looked at him in confusion.

Joe sighed and started again, "Are we going to have the game here in our gym or at another school?"

"We're going to hop on a bus and drive to Greyard Academy," explained Coach Harben as he consulted his clipboard. "You're gonna be able to get out of school a little earlier."

"How early?" asked Fabia.

"Eh, about thirty minutes earlier," answered Coach Harben.

"AWESOME, I GET TO MISS THIRTY MINUTES OF MATH!" Dan exclaimed. Shun and Runo shook their heads, Billy and Joe facepalmed, but Fabia, Alice, and Chan laughed.

"…okay…" said Coach Harben as he raised his eyebrows at Dan's response. "Anyways, there's going to be an announcement over the speaker to excuse everyone who's in basketball, so watch out for that. When they excuse you, put away your belongings in your locker, and change into your P.E. clothes. Then come out to the bus stop, understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Uhm…let's see…anything else…oh right, you'll get your jerseys when you meet me at the bus stop. So while we wait for our bus, I'll distribute those…bring a bottle of water with you, that's very important, and at least something to eat afterwards. You're gonna be hungry, I can guarantee that. Girls, bring something to put your hair up, long hair will either get in your face or slow you down."

"Are we going back to the school after the game?" asked Alice.

"Yes, the bus will take us right back to school, so you don't need to bring your backpacks and books," explained Coach Harben. "Hmm…I guess that's it then. Get a good sleep tonight and now let's do the team cheer."

Everyone put their hands in the middle. After Coach Harben counted, "1,2,3," everyone yelled, "BASKETBALL BRAWLERS!"

~Basketball Brawlers~

Dan was watching the clock intensely in his math classroom, watching it tick closer to 1:15, the time when he and the rest of the basketball team would be excused.

5…Dan counted…4…3…2…1…

And then when the clock read exactly 1:15, the loudspeaker turned on and the principle's voice rang through the whole school. "This is just a reminder to all of those in the basketball team to please now proceed to the bus stop. Good luck on your very first game!"

"Yeah, do your best!" exclaimed Julie as Dan and Runo packed up their belonging. After saying "thank you to Julie", the two walked towards their lockers and shoved their backpacks inside after taking out their water bottles and snacks.

Drago and Tigrerra popped up on Dan and Runo's shoulders.

"Are you gonna leave us in your lockers or taking us with you?" Drago asked.

"Take you with us, duh!" exclaimed Dan.

"How?" asked Tigrerra.

"Just stay put and relax on our shoulders," explained Runo. "I don't think Coach Harben will mind."

After walking to the P.E. locker rooms and changing into their P.E. clothes, Dan and Runo walked to the bus stop to find Shun, Alice, and Fabia with their bakugan talking to each other.

"Wow you guys change fast," said Dan.

"Is everyone else still changing?" asked Runo.

"I think they're finished; they're coming, look," replied Alice as she pointed behind Dan and Runo.

Dan and Runo turned to see Joe, Chan, and Billy walking towards them in their P.E. clothes with their bakugan perched on their shoulders.

Behind them was Coach Harben, carrying a clipboard and a couple of bags.

"Hey, everyone, ready for your first game?" he asked.

"Yes!" the whole team exclaimed.

"Right, first things first," said Coach Harben as he opened the first bag and taking out a handful of blue jerseys. "Go ahead and pick a jersey; don't worry, they're all clean. Remember, this will be your jersey for the rest of the season, so whatever you pick, you get stuck with. When you find a jersey you want, tell me the number so I can record it on my clipboard."

There were lots of hustling and bustling as everyone rummaged through the bag to pick out a jersey.

After everything was in order, everyone waited for the bus which was due in about five minutes.

"So, we're facing The Neathians, huh?" asked Billy.

"Yeah," answered Joe.

"We have no idea how good they are," added Alice.

"Or how bad they are," laughed Dan.

"Don't let down your guard, Dan," Shun advised. "That can sometimes lead to losing."

"C'mon, it's not all just about winning," said Chan.

"Yeah, we should at least try to have fun while we're at it," added Fabia.

"It won't be much fun if we lose," replied Runo.

"Bus is here!" exclaimed Coach Harben.

Everyone gathered their belongings and walked towards the yellow bus.

"Two people to a seat!" commanded Coach Harben as everyone walked inside.

Dan and Runo sat together, Joe and Billy decided to sit together, Chan and Fabia sat themselves down next to each other, and Shun and Alice, although they didn't plan to, sat down next to each other.

Well this is awkward…said Shun as he sat next to Alice.

He's sitting right next to me! Alice thought. Oh, I hope this bus ride is short.

The ride to Greyard Academy took about 15 minutes. Everyone chatted with each other in the bus except for Shun and Alice who merely stayed quiet, not knowing what to say to each other.

When the bus pulled into the parking lot, to Alice's relief, everyone marched down the bus and walked towards the school gym. It was clear that school had just ended for them. Kids were at their lockers chatting to each other and grabbing their belongings. As the Brawlers walked through, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. This made Alice a little uncomfortable, making her tremble a little. She felt someone grab her hand and looked beside her to see Shun holding her hand, making her feel a little better.

When the team walked inside the gym, they saw kids wearing red jerseys shooting hoops on one side of the court. The bleachers started filling up as kids from the academy sat down to watch the game.

Coach Harben walked to the other side of the court which was empty and said, "Okay, here's our side of the court. Go ahead and just practice shooting hoops for a while. The game will start in about fifteen minutes." He opened up another bag and turned it upside down, spilling out a few basketballs.

Dan, Runo, and Billy immediately grabbed a ball and started shooting while Shun, Alice, and Fabia did some layups and Joe and Chan played a game of Keep-Away with each other, trying to steal the ball from each other.

When the buzzer sounded, Coach Harben called everyone into a group huddle. "Okay, so the first five people that are going to start off the game are Runo, Billy, Joe, Chan, and Shun. All right, good luck guys; don't push yourselves too hard. Just play like you've been playing during practice and you'll be fine."

"I'll do the tip-off," Joe volunteered as the five of them walked in the middle of the court.

"You mean where the referee throws the ball up and one person from each team tries to get it?" asked Dan.

"Yeah," answered Joe as everyone positioned themselves on the court.

The person doing the tip-off from the other team was a girl with jet-black hair that was tied in a ponytail. She glared at Joe while Joe merely blinked at her but didn't react much.

When referee threw the basketball up in the air, Joe and the girl jumped at the same time to reach it. Having lots of experience, and being a little taller than the girl, Joe managed to touch it first and passed it directly to Chan who immediately began dribbling to the other side of the court, signaling the start of the game.

Thanks for reading and please review!