Yo! How is everyone doing? Hope life's been good for all of y'all!
Thank you guys very much for all the love and support from the last chapter! It really means a lot and continues to inspire me to write more!
I finished my finals exam for some days now. Right after, I've had to help out with my family moving. Although it's been hectic the last few weeks, I've managed to put together the next update here. So thank you for your patience.
Replies to reviews from the last chapter:
- Timeberwolves did take it to 7 games, as many of us, including me, expected. We'll find out if the Wolves come out strong vs Denver in a few hours so we'll see lol
- Celtics are probably winning the ECF in 4 or 5 since they'll be playing the Pacers (Knicks could've won 2 games against them imo). But after that, I don't think they can beat Denver or Minnesota. Dallas? Maybe.
- Thanks for comments on the last part of chapter 6 and the reviews on the rest of my chapters, Rezonan. I really appreciate it as it helps boost my confidence in writing :)
- Japanese school years usually start around April. From April to October, it's 6 months. The current timeline of the story is around right after October., give or take a few days. Hopefully that helps :)
- ¡Gracias por leer el nuevo capítulo! Así que sí, tienes razón, Hachiman estaba un poco enojado después del comentario de Tobe sobre las uñas jajaja. Y sí, Hachiman está mucho más paranoico acerca de los riesgos futuros de casi cualquier cosa considerando lo que ha pasado. Y Keika fue la mediadora indirecta entre Hachiman y Kawasaki, como usted señaló. Ese fue mi propósito al incluir su personaje en ese capítulo. Lo entendiste bien jajaja. Y una vez más, ¡muchas gracias por el apoyo!
- Yes, you are right. In the original version, Taishi helped introduce Hachiman in the story. In this one, he is here later on as a side character. And for the coach, it will probably be someone else(s)
- Thanks for such a great review, Thetigerlovecats! It means a lot to me, so I really appreciate it. And yes, originally, I wanted to give more importance to characters other than Yui or Yukino when I began writing the original version of this story over two years ago. They'll still show up in this story but won't be given as much spotlight as the other characters
I think I am done with my yapping for now. Please enjoy this new chapter!
I do not own My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected. It is the property of Wataru Watari. The only thing I own here are my OCs.
"So…is your brother any good at basketball?" Kawasaki questioned Komachi while keeping a hold of her sister Keika in her lap and watching the four male teens on the court.
"Hmm…I actually don't know," the younger girl answered truthfully. Saki only looked at her with a confused expression. Noticing this, Komachi continued.
"I've seen Taishi-kun play sometimes and I know he's pretty good compared to other people in our school. Onii-chan, though, I saw him play last time over a year ago. When he played around that time, which was months ago, he was okay. Not too good but not too bad either," answered the Junior High school student.
"You're saying my brother is better?" Saki asked with a proud look. Komachi only chuckled before answering the older teen once more.
"Although I don't know too much about basketball myself, from what I remember about how my brother played, he probably wasn't better than Taishi is right now. But I don't know how much Onii-chan has improved since the last time I saw him play. He barely spent time with me over the last few months and only started to hang out recently…" Komachi sadly said the last part. Kawasaki only nodded in understanding before speaking.
"I see…" she replied and then looked at Komachi, noticing her uncomfortable expression.
"What's wrong?" Kawasaki asked with a slight tone of curiosity and concern in her tone. Komachi looked at her for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nothing. It's just that…Onii-chan changed a lot after his friend…left," the younger Hikigaya sibling worriedly stated.
"Left? As in like they moved away?" Komachi only looked away and downwards after Saki's question. After a moment, she was able to understand the reason behind the energetic teen's silence.
"Oh…I think I…get it," she quietly murmured. Keika, who was listening to the two older girls the whole time with a perplexed look on her face, finally decided to speak up.
"What's wrong, big sister, Ko-chan? Why are you both sad?" Keika asked innocently. Kawasaki sighed and then smiled at Keika while ruffling her head. Komachi, who turned to look at the little girl, only sent her a gentle smile.
"It's nothing," reassured the older sister. The little girl only looked at her in confusion but nodded in acceptance nonetheless.
"I think they are starting the game," Komachi changed the subject to replace the gloomy and awkward atmosphere their recent conversations had led to. Kawasaki noted this and nodded along with the younger girl.
"Yay! I'll watch both big brother and Ha-chan play!" Keika shouted enthusiastically. Both Saki and Komachi smiled at her innocence before looking up ahead at the four teens starting their game.
After checking the ball with Taishi, Sasaki immediately went into a triple threat stance while using his left foot as his pivot foot. Takeda moved across the court from one corner to the other. Hachiman was right behind the jogging teen but gave him a tiny bit of space as soon as he went outside of the three point line. Hachiman played with the two before and knew that Sasaki was a great shooter but Takeda wasn't. However, Takeda was great at inside scoring and that wasn't Sasaki's cup of tea. On defense, Hachiman remembered Takeda being good at the rim while Sasaki was good on the perimeter. All in all, the two hoopers were a perfect duo on the court who covered up each others' weaknesses. The only one Hachiman didn't know much about as a basketball player here was Taishi. Even then, Hachiman had an inkling that the younger teen was a knockdown three point specialist.
Hachiman stood on the left corner near Takeda and watched Sasaki take a couple of jabs to the right while pivoting. Right after, he instantly faked a three point shot. Taishi's feet were glued to the ground and didn't budge even after the bait was laid out by Sasaki. Hachiman noticed Sasaki looking in Takeda's direction and nodding. He then watched Takeda nod back quickly and run after the two opposing players. Hachiman didn't waste time to follow him from right behind. His eyes noticed what the two were up to and also took note of Taishi being too focused on Sasaki and not noticing the bigger teen getting near him.
"Screen to your right," Hachiman loudly called out to Taishi, who slightly jumped up at the sudden warning but nodded. Despite having their play being exposed, Takeda still comfortably set a pick to Taishi's right and Sasaki began moving in that direction. Hachiman was now near his teammate and stuck close to his man despite the pick and roll that was being set up.
"Don't switch," the older teen ordered Taishi, who followed his advice by fighting through the screen and getting in front of Sasaki. The teen with the ball in his hands already began driving and had to face resistance from Taishi as he attacked his way to the basket.
Takeda, on the other hand, chose to position himself outside of the three point line and stand there instead of rolling to the rim while Sasaki drove towards the basket. Hachiman was a little confused at his opponent popping out instead of rolling to the rim but didn't let it distract him as he stood near him. He then noticed Takeda slowly moving to his left and shuffled his feet in the same direction. However, it turned out to be a fake as Takeda suddenly switched directions and began moving to the right much faster. Hachiman, due to not expecting the sudden burst of speed, was caught off guard and was stunned for a moment.
Once he shook off the surprise, he chased the speeding Takeda from the back. Sasaki, who took two steps from the left side of the basket against Taishi's defense, threw a pass to the now rolling Takeda. Hachiman was able to catch up to him due to his speed but since Takeda was already in front of him and was taller, he quickly made a lay up to give him and Sasaki a one point lead. After the score, Takeda and Sasaki high-fived themselves and walked back towards the three point line to check the ball again. Taishi and Hachiman made eye contact in that meantime and the younger teen nodded towards the older teen, who didn't respond to the gesture.
"Hey! We didn't decide how many points we are playing up to…" Sasaki announced loudly as Hachiman and Taishi both made their way to their opponents.
"Let's do…8. I have a report due tomorrow for college and it's already getting dark out here," Takeda suggested before his opponents could say anything. He and Sasaki then looked at Hachiman and Taishi, who both gave nods at the suggestion.
"That works for me," Taishi replied and then turned his head in the direction of his teammate. Hachiman remained silent but gave a nod in approval. The group didn't say anything else as Taishi and Sasaki checked up once more. Hachiman stuck with Takeda again and made sure to be more focused on the older teen's movements instead of being laid back like in the last possession.
This time, Sasaki immediately passed the ball to Takeda and began moving around the court with Taishi keeping up with him. Takeda, who was outside of the three point line, took a few dribbles inside and began posting up against Hachiman once he was at the middle block on the right side of the paint. Hachiman, whose chest was facing aggression from Takeda's right shoulder, tried his best to defend against his adversary. Due to Takeda's larger body compared to the Sobu High First Year student, it was easy for him to back down until he reached near the rim. Right after getting to his spot, Takeda did a half spin move and went for a hook shot. Despite the great contest from Hachiman, the ball bounced around the rim until it finally fell through the net. Hachiman looked down in disappointment in himself and walked back to the three point line to check the ball.
This time, the stoic teen checked the ball with the larger teen as Taishi and Sasaki stood near the two of them. As soon as the ball was checked, Sasaki began moving around the court. Hachiman remained in his defensive stance as Takeda did a couple of between the leg dribble moves. Takeda tried to blow past Hachiman but failed as he fell after tripping and his opponent stripped the ball loose from his control. Even after poking the ball away from the older teen, Hachiman was unable to grab the ball as Takeda dove for it earlier than him and held it in a tight hold. Sasaki came up to his teammate's aid on his right and instantly received the ball. Taishi tried to dive for the steal but failed to tip the pass.
Since Hachiman wasn't close enough to get a good contest, Sasaki didn't waste time to take the shot. Everyone watched the ball float in the air and hit the rim hard before flying away. Hachiman ran up to the basket beforehand for the rebound but unfortunately for him, Sasaki got lucky with a long rebound as the ball made its way back to him. Taishi had gotten up in the meantime and was able to get a good contest when Sasaki went for another three point shot attempt. This time, it turned out to be a fake and it sent the younger teen flying away. Hachiman noticed this and ran after the long haired teen but it was too late as he released the ball once more. The sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the net echoed throughout the court while Sasaki held up his follow through right hand.
Takeda had already gotten up from the ground and high fived his teammate after adding more to their scoring total. Taishi had gotten up just like the college student but instead of looking pumped, his head was tilted downwards at the ground in disappointment due to his failure. Hachiman walked back towards the vicinity of the rest of the players and stood in front of Takeda to check the ball once more. He made eye contact with his teammate once before making his way in front of the oldest teen on the court. After the ball was checked between the two, Takeda went into a triple threat stance while keeping his left foot as pivot foot.
Just like the previous possessions, Sasaki began moving around once more with Taishi right on his tail. Takeda, who had the ball in his hands, jabbed to his right a few times while Hachiman remained in his position without flinching or his feet being shuffled, fully focusing on his opponent's moves. After the lack of success from his jab steps, Takeda began dribbling while moving to the right with his defender keeping up. Sasaki, who was being followed by the youngest teen among the four, approached the dribbling teen from the opposite direction. Hachiman, who already predicted the upcoming handoff play, moved a bit away to the right from his man and got right in front of Sasaki, who had received the ball from Takeda. Taishi was unable to follow him as he was stopped by a screen from Takeda right after the handoff and was forced to switch onto the bigger teen.
Sasaki, who wasn't surprised by Hachiman's early switch onto him, spotted up at the center of the three point line without dribbling right after he received the ball from his teammate. He set his feet and went up for a jump shot again, prompting Hachiman to jump to contest. And just like last time, Sasaki's attempt turned out to be a bait and Hachiman fell for the fake this time. Right after getting Hachiman into the air, Sasaki took a few dribbles inside the three point line for a mid range jumper. Expecting to make an easy jump shot from right behind the left elbow, Sasaki was stunned when his attempt was blocked out of nowhere from behind by the gloomy teen.
Just like Sasaki, everyone else around the court had the same reaction except for Taishi, who took advantage of this moment of lapse of his opponent. Hachiman, who was on the same page as Taishi, eyed the teen cutting to the basket under everyone's noses after blocking Sasaki's shot. Without wasting another second, he threw a bullet pass to Taishi, who caught the speeding ball. By the time Takeda and Sasaki noticed, it was too late as the young teen easily made a layup to put himself and Hachiman on the scoring board for the first time in this game. While he walked back to the three point line with the ball in his hands after scoring, Taishi and Hachiman both exchanged small nods.
"Damn. You really got me there, Hikigaya, haha!" chuckled Sasaki as he stood in front of Taishi to check the ball.
"Right. Didn't see that coming at all," Takeda added with a grin while he stood in front of Hachiman right near the other two. Hachiman, who heard the words from the older teens, just remained silent.
Once everyone was ready to go, Taishi quickly checked the ball with Sasaki. After dibbling and moving around a little bit, the younger teen passed the ball off to his teammate. Hachiman went into a triple threat stance while using his right foot as a pivot foot after catching the ball. Taking a few jabs to the left, which didn't bring a reaction out of his defender, Hachiman slowly dribbled to the left with his left hand. Takeda kept up with his movement and was so focused on his man that he didn't notice Taishi running up to his left to set a screen.
"Oi! A pick to your left!" called out Sasaki, which snapped Takeda out of his focus to prepare him for the screen.
Takeda didn't try to move around after the pick was set by Taishi since he already knew about the screen to his left. Sasaki, seeing Takeda not going after Hachiman, chose to switch and prepared himself to guard the leftie teen. After seeing Taishi set the screen, Hachiman did a quick between the legs dribble move from left to right while leaning to the right. Instantly, Hachiman followed up with a right to left behind the back move and exploded towards the rim on his left. Sasaki and Takeda, who expected Hachiman to use the pick and dribble to the right, were both surprised and could do nothing to stop the teen from attacking the basket. Hachiman finished up by gently laying the ball up with his left hand and doubled his team's score. After scoring, he grabbed the ball and walked back towards the three point line to start the next possession. While on his way, he noticed Taishi put his hand out for a high five. Sighing, Hachiman decided to indulge the teen and lazily high fived him before standing behind the line to check the ball with Takeda.
However, before he could check the ball, his opponents switched places and now he had the smaller and lighter Sasaki in front of him. Hachiman figured that Takeda probably thought about his speed disadvantage against him and switched with Sasaki, who was very fast on the court with and without the ball. Hachiman would've agreed with this switch a few months ago but now, he believed that he was on par with the teen that was guarding him in terms of speed and stamina. His mind snapping out of his thoughts, Hachiman checked the ball to begin the next possession. Instead of going into a triple threat, Hachiman immediately began dribbling the ball with his left hand as Sasaki tightly guarded him, barely giving the Sobu High First Year student any space. This caused Hachiman to bring his right hand in between him and his defender to protect the ball from being stolen or stripped as he kept dribbling.
Hachiman noticed Taishi already moving around the court like his defender and Takeda doing his best to keep up, which prompted him to go forward with his plan. Seeing the different defender in front of him, Hachiman dribbled inside of the three point while facing resistance from his right. He only stopped at the left elbow and went into a high post up. As he backed down Sasaki using his right shoulder, it was clear that the defender had a difficult time due to Hachiman's taller height and build. While Hachiman backed down Sasaki in the post up quite easily, Taishi had run around the two until he was behind the three point line at the center with a panting Takeda far behind. The older teen then grabbed the ball with both hands and tossed a chest pass towards his teammate before the defender caught up. Right after catching the pass from Hachiman, Taishi began to drive despite having an open shot.
Takeda, who was still behind them, wasn't able to stop Taishi and this was noticed by Sasaki, who was forced to get in front of the moving teen and leave Hachiman wide open. Taishi took note of how open Hachiman was at the left elbow and immediately threw the ball back to him once he got near the rim. However, as soon as Hachiman had the ball back in his hands, Takeda was able to catch up to him and basically replaced Sasaki as the post defender from his earlier play. Eyeing this, the gloomy teen didn't post up and shuffled backwards a little while dribbling with his left hand. Then out of nowhere, he began taking hard dribbles while attacking towards the basket. Takeda clearly wasn't as fast as Hachiman but still tried his best to keep up.
Right when Hachiman got near the basket, he spun around from left to right while taking two steps and intended to finish. But to his surprise, Sasaki was running up to his direction to contest his layup. Before Sasaki got to him, Hachiman was able to notice the open Taishi on the right wing behind the three point line and wasted no time throwing the ball to his teammate. Taishi, once he caught the ball, took one dribble inside the three point line and then took a jump shot from the right elbow. Sasaki tried to move towards Taishi to contest the shot but it was too late. The ball hit the bottom of the net and cut the lead of Takeda and Sasaki's team by one point. Hachiman took the bouncing ball after it went through the net and made his way back to behind the three point line. Taishi, who made eye contact with the older teen, smiled.
"Next time you are wide open, go for the shot. Don't drive in for a layup," spoke Hachiman while looking at the Junior High student. Taishi's eyes went wide for a moment as his smile disappeared before he frowned and looked down at the ground in disappointment.
"Sorry, onii-san…" he apologized dejectedly. Hachiman remained silent for a few seconds while observing the younger teen before he spoke up once again.
"That was a good shot. Just don't take a dribble inside before shooting. Shoot it from where you get the ball. It's easier to make a spot up shot rather than dribbling into one. You're a good three point shooter. Don't be scared to let it go," explained the First Year Sobu High student. Taishi then looked up at Hachiman in awe and smiled once more.
"Right!" he nodded with enthusiasm.
"Now check the ball," the Sobu High student stated after handing Taishi the ball and standing at the right wing behind the three point line with Sasaki in front of him yet again. Taishi silently stared at Takeda for a few seconds before shrugging and checking the ball for a new possession.
After the ball was checked, Taishi held the ball without dribbling or moving while his defender remained in front of him with a good defensive stance. Hachiman and Sasaki both gazed in the direction of the current ball handler and began moving. Hachiman moved around to space the floor while Sasaki followed his trail to prevent any scoring opportunities for the opponents. Hachiman led his defender on a goose chase around the court and was unable to get himself open. Due to his inability to create some space between him and his defender, he finally returned to his original position, which was behind the left wing with his defender right behind him. Taishi, who checked the ball with Takeda, remained in his position without taking any dribbles.
Hachiman took note of Taishi's lack of actions and sighed before going into action. He took a few steps towards his teammate before stopping and holding his hands out for a pass. Taishi watched his movements and gave a nod before throwing him a pass. Hachiman held the ball out in front of him while holding it with both hands. Sasaki was right behind him and since Hachiman had turned around the other way after catching the pass, he was now facing his back. Hachiman turned his head towards the Junior High student and tilted it slightly while making eye contact with him. The younger teen understood the message and ran to him to receive the ball once more from a handoff play. Takeda followed behind the moving teen instantly as he approached Hachiman.
Right when Taishi made it to Hachiman, he held his hands out to receive the ball from the unmoving teen. However, to his surprise, Hachiman moved the ball away from him and turned around before exploding to the rim. Sasaki, who planned on switching to Taishi, was stumped and remained frozen in his spot. Takeda, on the contrary, somehow predicted the play and managed to put himself against the attacking Hachiman on his way to the basket. Hachiman didn't let the defender stop him as he kept moving with speed. Once he was a little bit away from the basket, Hachiman extended his arms upwards right before taking a step. He then swung the ball downwards to his right and away from Takeda on his second step. Right after this move, the High School student gently laid the ball up in a reverse finish with his right hand. Unfortunately for him, the ball bounced around the rim for a bit before falling away from the basket. Right after, it landed right onto Takeda's hands.
Takeda, who was surprised at the unexpected rebound he grabbed for a moment, didn't waste any more time before dribbling back to the outside of the three point line. Hachiman was stunned and slightly embarrassed at the fact that he ended up missing a layup. He looked up at the rim and kept his frown directed at it for a few seconds.
"Shit!" he spat out in frustration before running after Takeda, who already was behind the three point line.
"Can't miss layups, Hikigaya!" Takeda taunted his defender with a grin before throwing the ball to his teammate. Hachiman narrowed his eyes at the bigger teen but remained silent while focusing on his task of keeping Takeda from scoring.
Takeda slowly moved around before making himself comfortable at the high block on the right side of the paint. Hachiman was behind him and prepared himself for the upcoming post up position Takeda was going to get into. Just as the stoic young man expected, Takeda crouched down and held his right hand up for a high post-up play. Sasaki stopped dribbling and bounced a pass to his teammate, who easily received the ball. After the ball was in his hand, the college student began backing Hachiman down. Hachiman didn't let the difference between their body sizes shake his confidence and resisted Takeda's post-up with his own strength.
After a couple of dribbles, Takeda did a shimmy before turning around for a fadeaway. Hachiman was on him and was ready to contest the shot but it turned out to be a pass to the cutting Sasaki, who managed to bypass Taishi. Hachiman didn't waste time to leave Takeda and switch onto the driving teen. He was in his way as an obstacle right when Sasaki took two steps. After the two steps and jumping into the air for a finish, Sasaki noted that Hachiman jumped up to contest the lay up as well. Instead of finishing, Sasaki made a small behind the back pass while in the air to Takeda, who was all alone near the paint. Hachiman was unable to stop Takeda from scoring an easy lay up.
"It's five to three," a slightly panting Sasaki stated while he and his teammate made their way back to the starting line. Hachiman began following them and noticed Taishi, who was panting as well, approached him from the other side with an apologetic look.
"S…sorry, onii-san. I thought….he would run around to the…center for a…three point shot but he…turned around out of nowhere…" Taishi explained between his pants as he held onto his knees and kept his head down. Hachiman didn't correct him about the way he addressed him and merely raised an eyebrow at his actions before replying.
"Need a break?" Taishi gave a nod without looking up. Hachiman looked at the tired teen for a few more seconds before looking back at the two older teens, who looked at Taishi with concern. Hachiman then held his right arm horizontally and below it, his left arm vertically. Both Sasaki and Takeda nodded in understanding once they saw the "T" shape Hachiman formed with his arms.
"Alright! Let's take a quick break for a minute!" Takeda declared loudly before putting the ball down onto the court.
Right after the announced break, the college student began jogging towards his belongings, which were on the opposite side of where the audience of their game was sitting. Taishi and Sasaki did the same as the older teen and followed after Takeda. Right after reaching the spot, they took out water bottles from their bags and eagerly drank from them. Hachiman was the only one who remained on the court in the meantime. He stood around and let himself enjoy the chilly weather to help himself cool down.
Afterwards, he turned back to where his sister and Taishi's sisters were sitting. Komachi and Keika both noticed his gaze and immediately seemed to have stars in their eyes as they looked back at him. Hachiman sighed at the antics of the two younger girls before focusing on Kawasaki, who stared at him with narrowed eyes before finally turning away with a huff. Before he could reflect on her weird reaction, the footsteps from behind him prompted him to turn around. Taishi, Takeda, and Sasaki looked freshened up and ready to go after the timeout.
"You sure you don't need water, bro?" Sasaki questioned, to which Hachiman shook his head.
"I'm fine. Let's continue," he replied before walking to where the ball was placed. The other three teens looked at Hachiman without a word and then shrugged before doing the same as the Sobu High student.
With the break over and the teens ready to play again, Takeda decided to check the ball with Hachiman one more time. After the ball was checked, Takeda went into a triple threat stance. He jabbed to the right a few more times and as expected, it brought no reaction out of the defending Hachiman. Seeing that his jab step provided no favorable results, Takeda took a few dribbles to the left before throwing a simple chest pass to Sasaki, who was in front of him. After making the pass, Takeda ran towards Sasaki and Hachiman kept up with him.
Sasaki also approached his moving teammate while dribbling the ball. Reaching near the ball handler, Takeda stopped and firmly stood in his position as he set a screen. Taishi already noticed the bigger teen before he came near him and tried to avoid the screen from Takeda by trying to go under it. However, it turned out to be a mistake since Sasaki pulled a quick behind the back from right to left and began driving to the rim yet again. Hachiman quickly covered the distance and was in the paint to defend the attacking Sasaki. Taishi, who was caught off guard by Sasaki, made another mistake as he began chasing after the teen only to realize that Hachiman had already got to him. Sasaki noticed the slip up from Taishi and immediately threw the ball to the open Takeda, who was standing a few inches inside the three point line . Takeda received the ball and instantly took a shot from there. Taishi turned around and tried to contest the shot but he was too late to make any difference. The shot hit the box designed above the basket and fell through the net. Sasaki grabbed the ball after the made score and went back to behind the three point line.
"It's six to three. Two more points," Takeda stated calmly. Taishi only looked down at the ground in shame at his perceived failure after hearing the older teen speak. Hachiman, who was walking back to play defense again, stopped when he reached near the dejected Taishi.
"Switch onto Takeda. I got Sasaki," Hachiman quietly uttered before moving on, which was heard by the younger male. He then looked up and stared at Hachiman's back as he walked back. Nodding with a look of determination, Taishi followed suit.
Unlike the previous possession, Hachiman checked the ball with Sasaki this time. The young man didn't hold onto the ball at all and immediately put it on the floor with his dribbles. Hachiman sneaked a glance towards his teammate, who was having to defend Takeda on a post up play. Then without any indication, Hachiman reached for the ball and stripped it loose from Sasaki's control. After the ball was lost, both Hachiman and Sasaki dove for it and Hachiman was able to grab onto it first due to his longer arms helping him out. He laid on his back and passed it to the approaching Taishi nearby easily due to Sasaki still being on the floor. Afterwards, he got up before the other teen and noticed Taishi doing his best to size up the bigger Takeda. Takeda played smart defense by sagging off of Taishi and giving him space. Hachiman was confused why Taishi wasn't shooting and sighed before proceeding with his new plan of action.
The black-haired teen made eye contact with his teammate and took advantage of Sasaki taking too long to get up by running in the basket's direction. Taishi picked up his dribble and faked a jumpshot, which didn't make Takeda jump but made him get closer to him. Right after his defender got closer to him, Taishi didn't waste any time throwing an overhead pass in the direction of where he saw Hachiman cutting. However, since Taishi couldn't take a look at where his teammate was, it turned out to be a bad pass. Hachiman ran after the sloppy pass and was forced to move a little farther away from the rim and around the mid range area between the right wing and the basket. Fortunately for him, he prevented Taishi's potential turnover by jumping up to grab onto the ball. While landing, he was able to set his right foot as his pivot while going into a triple threat stance. In the midst of the chaos that was happening at the moment, Sasaki managed to get up and back on defense. Hachiman was being guarded by the teen as he took a few jab steps to the left.
Sasaki didn't fall for any of the jab steps Hachiman took, which gave the gloomy teen an idea. Taking one last jab step, Hachiman began dribbling hard as he made his way towards the basket. The defender was surprised since he didn't expect his opponent to drive out of nowhere but tried to keep up. Once Hachiman reached right outside of the paint area, he took one last dribble before turning around from right to left and doing a shimmy. Sasaki waited until he noticed the teen leaning towards the right and stepped in the same direction to disrupt the incoming fadeaway shot. However, it turned out to be a bait that he fell for, which allowed Hachiman to spin to his left once more and take a turnaround fadeaway shot. The short-ranged jumpshot hit the bottom of the net and added one more point to the total score of the losing team.
Hachiman walked to the bouncing ball and grabbed it before walking back to the starting line. He noticed the nervous chuckle Sasaki let out while looking at him as he walked past his adversary. After that, he noticed the youngest teen on the court jogging up to him.
"Sick move, onii-san!" grinned Hachiman's teammate before closing his right hand into a fist and bringing it forward for a fist bump.
Hachiman paused for a moment as the scene reminded him of the times when he and Makoto used to play in this same court. Makoto would always exchange fist bumps with him after good plays and he would do the same to his late friend. Now that he thought about it, Hachiman felt like he was kind of playing with a worse version of Makoto throughout the entire team. Taishi could shoot well like Makoto but his dribbling, finishing, and defense was nowhere close to his level. This was what allowed Hachiman to play with such ease, mused the silent teen.
"Are you alright?" Taishi questioned with a concerned tone at Hachiman's lack of reaction. Hachiman was brought out of his inner world by the younger boy's voice and he noticed that he still held his hand out for a fist bump. Sighing, Hachiman did as the teen wanted by bringing his own closed fist forward and bumping it with his teammate's.
"I'm fine. Just thinking…" responded Hachiman before he continued.
"Check the ball and dribble over to the left wing. After that, pass it to me quickly. Then set a screen to my left and cut to the basket. But don't go to the rim. Once you reach halfway through the paint, pretend to go right but turn back and run to the middle of the three point line," Taishi looked confused at Hachiman's explanation but nodded nonetheless.
"But how will I get an open shot off?" he questioned in return.
"You let me worry about that. Do as I say. And don't take any dribbles before shooting. Just let it go once you have the ball in your hands," advised the older teen.
"Right! I won't let you down!" reassured Taishi with vigor. Hachiman nodded and gave the ball to him before walking back to the three point line.
Taishi checked the ball this time with Sasaki with Hachiman standing on the right wing. After checking the ball, Taishi did as he was instructed and dribbled over to the left wing. He noticed that Hachiman now arrived in the position he was in earlier, which was the middle of the three point line. Taishi then passed the ball over to Hachiman, who received it and went into a triple threat stance. He stood in his spot until he noticed Taishi running up to his left side for a screen. He then began dribbling to the left with Takeda following along.
"Pick incoming!" called out Sasaki, which alerted Takeda as he narrowed his eyes.
When Taishi set a screen to the left of Hachiman's vision, Hachiman slowly dribbled while leaning to the left. He eyed Takeda trying to avoid the screen so he dribbled between the legs from left to right and followed it up with a quick right to left crossover. This stunned Takeda for a split second and forced him to run into the screen set by Taishi and in turn, forced Sasaki to switch onto him. Hachiman took advantage of the smaller defender and exploded towards the rim on his left while taking hard dribbles with his left hand. Sasaki kept up with him but couldn't match Hachiman's strength in return.
Hachiman glanced to his right for a split second and saw Taishi following the planned play from earlier by cutting through the paint with Takeda right behind him. He quickly pulled a left to right behind the back and stopped moving. Sasaki was forced to stop as well and had to gather his balance since he stumbled a bit. Hachiman used this moment of lapse from his defender by driving to his right this time while dribbling with his right hand, forcing Sasaki to awkwardly switch direction. He noticed that Taishi had already faked going to the right and was now heading back to the three point line. Takeda seemed surprised for a second before he began to follow after the younger teen. However, he was forced to stop as Hachiman got in his way in his drive. Unintentionally, both Sasaki and Takeda ended up double teaming Hachiman in the paint. This allowed the First Year High School student to accurately throw the ball over his head behind him after stopping. His opponents could do nothing as they watched the ball sail over and go through the net after hitting the inner side of the rim of the basket.
"Damn it bro! They tied it up!" Sasaki yelled with frustration.
"It's all good. Let me get Hikigaya while you stick to the smaller guy," Takeda voiced calmly, which was heard by Hachiman as he walked back to the three point line. He eyed the smiling Taishi as he made his way back.
"Your plan worked out, onii-san," Taishi commented with a happy look. Hachiman only nodded silently at the teen's words. The two couldn't continue the conversation any further as Sasaki and Takeda came up to check the ball for the next possession.
Hachiman checked the ball with Takeda and went into a triple threat stance. He passed it to his teammate and received the ball back in an instant. Yet again, he went into another triple threat stance. He jabbed to his left a few times and put the ball on the floor. He simply dribbled with his left hand slowly and lowered his body. Takeda tightened his defense by spreading his arms out as far and wide as he could. Along with that, his defensive stance got lower and he moved closer to Hachiman, barely giving him space. Hachiman brought his right hand in between him and his defender to prevent the ball from being stolen. Hachiman dribbled slowly a few more times while gradually moving to his left, making Takeda shuffle his feet.
The teen then suddenly picked up his speed while dribbling harder and quicker while moving to his left. The college student was forced to keep his right foot behind and his left foot a bit forward at Hachiman's unexpected moves. This was noticed by Hachiman, who stopped for a second to pull an in and out move before crossing over from left to right quickly. Due to his weak foot being in the way Hachiman began attacking, Takeda was not able to cover the space his opponent created quick enough. This allowed Hachiman to blow past his defender quite easily and float the ball up with his left hand without any disruptions influencing his shot. The ball went in with ease and for the first time since the start of the game, he and Taishi had the lead in this game.
Everyone on the court wordlessly shifted back into the starting line at the three point line. Hachiman handed the ball to Taishi for him to check. The Junior High student checked the ball with Sasaki and faced tight defense from the older teen. Without putting the ball on the floor, Taishi used his right foot as the pivot foot and turned around to keep the ball away from Sasaki. He already began reaching in and his attempts to steal the ball became harder after Taishi's actions. Hachiman moved around the court meanwhile and was finally able to get in front of his teammate. Taishi handed the ball off to the older teen and immediately moved out of the way, giving Hachiman all of the space around his vicinity.
Takeda made sure to be extremely close and physical to Hachiman's left side as soon as he got the ball from Taishi. This forced the teen to keep the ball on his right side in a triple threat while using his left foot as his pivot foot. He used his pivot foot to turn around just like his teammate did not too long and make his defender face his back. Hachiman began dribbling with his right hand after creating some space between him and his defender. The older teen tried to reach in right when he began dribbling but was unable to get the ball back. Right when Takeda reached in, Hachiman slightly shifted to the right while dribbling from right to left behind his back. This contradictory combo stunned Takeda and made him stumble a bit. Hachiman used this to his advantage as he turned around and began exploding towards the basket while taking hard dribbles with his left. Sasaki had no choice but to switch over to the moving teen. As soon as he reached Hachiman, the driving teen kicked the ball out to his teammate standing in the right corner.
Despite the opening created by Hachiman, Taishi was unable to get a shot off since Takeda had gotten back on defense quickly and covered him instantly. Hachiman noted this and moved around Sasaki to get closer to Taishi, who dribbled a few times and then passed it to his teammate. Sasaki and Takeda switched their positions in an instant and Takeda was guarding him once more. Hachiman dribbled with his right hand while slowly moving backwards. Takeda moved along with him without giving him any space.
When Hachiman noticed he was stepping on the three point line at the top of the key, he did a quick hesitation move while leaning to the right. He followed it up by moving backwards a bit more while dribbling with his right hand. After this action, Hachiman did a very fast between the leg dribble move from right to left and then a quicker left to right crossover. This created some space between the two players and prompted Hachiman to drive on the right while his defender kept up. He only drove until he crossed into the three point line. He then dribbled between the leg from right to left and crossed over from left to right afterwards yet again. But this time, he stepped back behind the three point line after his move and released the ball for a jump shot. Takeda couldn't properly contest the shot and bulldozed over Hachiman after he let the ball go.
'SWISH!'
Hachiman noticed Takeda slowly trying to get up from over him after his shot went in. The tiredness of playing in the evening after walking around with Komachi had finally caught up to him. Not to mention that he was in school before that for the whole day and it had also sapped away at his energy and stamina. Hachiman noted that Takeda had finally gotten off of him and he chose to lay on the ground for a moment to catch his breath. He stayed still for a little bit before seeing Takeda's hand over his body. After staring at the hand for a few seconds, Hachiman put his hand up and finally grabbed it, allowing Takeda to pull him over to help him stand back up. After getting up from the ground and patting away any dust that might've remained on his body, Hachiman looked up to see Takeda smiling at him.
"Yikes…why'd you have to do me like that, man?" chuckled Takeda while gently patting Hachiman's shoulder. Before any response was made by the Sobu High student, Sasaki and Taishi had both run up to him. Sasaki had a smile of accepted defeat while Taishi's aura seemed to be brimming with endless supply of energy.
"Damn Takeda. Hikigaya cooked you right there," commented the college student's teammate with a smile.
"You're the last one who should be saying that. He schooled you more times than me. Even that on his school uniform pants," Takeda pointed down at Hachiman's dress pants in retaliation while throwing an accusatory glance in Sasaki's direction. But it was clear his words or intention had no malice behind them and this was all just playful banter for him.
"Well…you got me there," Sasaki raised his hands in defeat while sighing. He then turned his attention back to the gloomy teenager.
"Good game bro. It felt good to share the court with you after all this time. Hoping to see you here soon again," Sasaki offered his hand for a show of good sportsmanship. Hachiman grabbed it and was pulled in by the older male into a pseudo hug. After Sasaki and he let each other go, Hachiman noticed Takeda was also waiting for him.
"Sasaki's right! It was fun playing with you again, man," Takeda voiced and copied his friend by doing the same as him with Hachiman.
Once Takeda let him go, Hachiman turned to Taishi and wanted to share a few words with him before he would walk back to where his sister was. To his surprise, he felt the left side of his body being wrapped in two arms and a face nuzzling into it as well.
"Onii-san is incredible! I want to become a great player like Onii-san!" Taishi shouted with excitement. Hachiman paused in his movements and was reminded of the times he played with his best friend at this same exact basketball court. Makoto also used to grab onto Hachiman for a hug out of nowhere and surprise him. Once again, he was reminded of how he kind of felt like playing with Makoto today during the game with Taishi as his teammate. And the fact that Taishi referred to him as Onii-san and he himself used to call Makoto an older brother sometimes didn't help either. The fond memories of spending time with his older brother figure brought a small smile onto his face, which went unnoticed by anybody else.
"Ha-chan!" Keika suddenly crashed into Hachiman's right leg and just like her older brother, hugged the young man. Hachiman was snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the little girl staring at him with a huge smile. Before he could get the two siblings off of him, he heard noises of hard stomping from up ahead and looked forward just to see both Komachi and Taishi's older sister approaching them, both of them not looking thrilled at all.
"T-Taishi-kun, you brother stealer! Get away from MY onii-chan!" demanded Komachi with a pout as she tried to pull the young teen away from her brother.
"Stop taking MY siblings away, you damn thief!" Kawasaki glared at Hachiman as she too tried to get Keika off of his foot.
"Oi! Don't forget about us! Hikigaya is our buddy too!" This time, Takeda joined in on the mess out of nowhere with a smirk.
"He's like the younger brother we two never had!" playfully grinned Sasaki as he also did the same.
'I'm surrounded by idiots. But…this feels…nice…' thought the Sobu High First Year student with a sigh as his proximity was filled with bickering teenagers. However, this sight managed to make his heart feel a little lighter and brought some good thoughts to his head as well, which was becoming a lot more common nowadays.
Despite his seemingly unamused facial reaction to what was happening around him, Hachiman didn't mind the support he was being shown right now. He still felt that someone like him didn't deserve such things from others but subconsciously, he couldn't help but enjoy it, even if it's a little.
Hopefully this new chapter was enjoyable.
How was it? Good? Bad? Mid? Confusing? Do let me know what I can improve on if you'd like!
So this update was just pure hoops except for the dialogue in the beginning and the little part at the end. It was pretty rough writing out all the moves and keeping tabs of the score but I think it was a decent outcome.
If any one of you is confused about any basketball part, please do let me know so I can explain it in simpler terms to the best of my abilities. And if there is any grammar mistakes or plot holes, please don't be afraid to leave a review or a PM.
I won't write much else here since I want to catch the Nuggets and Wolves game lol.
Take care!