Man, one week back at school and I'm hating it already, haha.
But anyways, thanks to my reviewers: JazzGirl123, RunoandAkizafan, sakurayamato1, AquosBrawlerStar, katzike123, and Jackpot 2.
In her review, JazzGirl123 sent me a wonderful suggestion, which I will use in this story, so credits to her for the idea.
Which leads me to another note: If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to tell me in your reviews or PMs. I may or may not use it, but please don't be offended if I don't use it. Also, please make sure the idea is relevant to the story/chapter, not any random suggestion. And of course, I will always give whoever gave me the suggestion some credit.
Oh, and I FINALLY decided to update my profile and I will motivate myself to update it frequently and post my progress on chapters. So check there if you wish to see my progress.
On with the story! And this time, I PROMISE YOU, I will get back on track with the actual basketball games and such next chapter.
Monday, during practice…
"So, who's missing today?" asked Coach Harben, consulting his attendance sheet during practice.
"Fabia," answered Runo.
"Oh…that's strange, she's never missed a practice before. In fact, the only person who's ever missed a practice was you, Dan, no offense."
"None taken," replied Dan.
"So, anyone know what happened to Fabia?"
"She didn't say, but I'm assuming it has something to do with Jin," said Shun.
"Who's Jin?"
"Fabia's brother," replied Chan.
"He died in a car accident. Drunk driver," explained Joe.
"Oh my…" said Coach Harben.
"Oh, and she's not gonna be attending the game tomorrow either," added Alice. "That's the date for Jin's funeral."
"Funeral?" asked Coach Harben. "I see."
"Er, coach?" asked Dan. "Would it be possible to…miss the game tomorrow? And go to Jin's funeral to support Fabia? Because right now, she needs us more than ever."
"Well, I'm all for it, but then that would mean Lightning Strike, the team that we're supposed to play against tomorrow would automatically win," said Coach Harben. Meaning, you would miss your third game, decreasing your chances for getting into the semi-finals. So, let's have a vote. Who wants to play the game tomorrow?"
Not a single hand shot up in the air.
Coach Harben grinned. "And who wants to attend Jin's funeral?"
All the brawlers raised their hands.
Coach Harben smiled. "I'm touched that you guys care so much for your friend. I'm going to be attending too."
"Really? Sweet!" exclaimed Dan. "Fabia's in for one HUGE surprise!"
~Basketball Brawlers~
Fabia stared at the casket containing her brother's body, lost in thought. "Jin," she whispered. "I never really did get to tell you how much I love you, how much you meant to me. Had I known this was going to happen…"
"No one could've predicted this was going to happen, Fabia."
Fabia turned around to see Dan and the Brawlers, dressed in dark colors, smiling and waving at her.
"Wh-what? Wh-what are you…I mean ar-aren't you supposed t-to be at your b-basketball-"
"Yeah, but we decided Jin was way more important than shooting some hoops. Coach Harben's here too," said Joe, turning to look at their coach who was talking to Serena.
Fabia smiled, and willed herself not to cry. "Y-you guys are the most amazing friends ever. Thank you…"
Shun nodded but something caught his eye. He turned to see a group of teenagers in basketball jerseys walking towards them. Their outfits threw Shun off-guard for a second. After all, this was a funeral, not a basketball game, but when he read what their jerseys said, he understood.
"Guys," started Shun, "Fabia's not the only one who's getting a surprised today."
The Brawlers turned around just in time to see the teens stop right in front of them and gasped when they read the name on the jerseys: Lightning Strike.
"I hope we're not too late," said a girl from the group.
"Not at all," replied Alice, smiling. "But why-"
"We heard about what happened," said the boy from the basketball team. Judging from the way he acted and held himself, he was probably the captain. "Our coach told us the situation and our team decided to rush here as fast as we could when we heard the news."
"So is your coach here too?" asked Joe.
"Yup," replied the caption, jerking his head in the direction of his coach, who had now joined in on the conversation between Serena and Coach Harben.
"We're really sorry about your loss," said the girl.
Fabia wiped away her tears. She wasn't going to cry anymore; she had done too much of that already. "Thank you so much, all of you, for coming. This means...a lot to me."
~Basketball Brawlers~
After the funeral was over, Fabia and Serena thanked everyone for coming. Night was approaching, so Serena quickly drove Fabia back home. Fabia was one of the happiest girls in the world. Of course, she was still grieving for Jin, but thrilled that her friends came, and grateful to Lightning Strike for giving up their basketball game as well.
However, Fabia was also one of the most tired girls. So the minute she got home, Fabia went straight to her bed and fell asleep. And as she slept, she dreamed.
~Basketball Brawlers~
"Fabia…"
"Huh? Who's there?"
Fabia opened her eyes to a pure, white room. Not a speck of dirt could be seen on the floors. In fact, it was pretty hard to tell if it really was a room. It seemed so endless.
"Show yourself!" Fabia exclaimed.
A beautiful woman appeared in front of her with midnight blue hair, almost matching Fabia's. The two of them looked so much alike, that Fabia could hardly stop herself from asking, "Do I know you?"
"Well," the woman started. "You've heard of me. From Shun, I presume."
Fabia gasped. "Are you, Shun's mother?"
The woman nodded. "My name is Shiori. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fabia." (AN: I didn't really know Shun's mom's real name, so I just put a random one in there. But if you guys do know, please let me know in a review.)
"How do you know my name?"
Shiori smiled. "From Jin."
"Is he…here? I mean…can I see him?"
Shiori stepped aside to reveal Jin walking towards Fabia, smiling and bouncing a basketball in his hand.
"Jin!" exclaimed Fabia, running towards him. She meant to embrace him in a hug, but merely went through him, as if he was merely a hologram.
"What…" started Fabia, looking at her hands. "I don't understand…"
"You don't need to understand everything, Fabia," said Jin. "Just understand this: I love you and I don't want you miserable and staying in bed all the time because of my death."
"Jin..." said Fabia softly, looking down. It was then when she finally realized he was bouncing a basketball in his hands. "What's that for?"
"Oh this?" asked Jin, smiling. "Well, since you missed your basketball game today…I thought I'd practice with you."
"But where are we gonna find-"
But Jin merely pointed behind Fabia and she turned around to see a basketball hoop. Fabia blinked. She was sure this room didn't have one before.
"How-"
"Like I said, you don't need to understand everything," said Jin. "Now let's go shoot some hoops."
Fabia grinned. "You're on."
~Basketball Brawlers~
"Fabia?" asked Serena, as she knocked on Fabia's door. "Are you still awake?"
Serena opened the door and saw Fabia sleeping soundly in her bed, with a smile on her face.
Smiling as well, Serena gently closed the door and walked downstairs.
Thanks again to JazzGirl123 for the idea! Don't forget to review!