Namikaze Family Home

In a quiet neighbourhood on the western side of Tokyo, in a white themed two story house, there stood a woman.

Currently busy on trying to make her new house into a home, she had a boxes galore all over the soon the living room.

As with every single one of them labelled, she slowly went from box to box, picking and placing everything in the correct place.

With her red hair, tied in a bun (as a way to make sure it doesn't get in the way), she had on a green dress and a white sleeveless undershirt.

Currently making her way to the kitchen which was adjacent to the living room, she held a box in her hand as she opened up a cabinet.

Slowly taking out different spices and placing them in there, she quickly returned and placed in the vegetables in the fridge, then the bread, then the juice, then the pots and pans and her cutlery.

"Okay." The woman sighed in victory as she placed her final utensil with the forks.

"Done with the kitchen…and now just need to deal with…" The woman mused to herself as she looked across the counter to the living. "The rest of the house." She sweatdropped seeing as how much stuff still laid there.

'If only Naruto and Minato were here.' She thought since all of this would really take forever.

Taking out her cellphone and checking the time, she noticed how late it was and surely her son's new school must've been released by now.

Trying to call she was received a voicemail from his phone. Again she tried but still…no answer.

"I wonder why he isn't answering his phone." The female thought as she then shrugged her shoulders in defeat, and hopped the reason was that, the blond was travelling back home and his phone was out of battery.

In truth he was just too focused on training.

The Local Basketball Court

The rhythmic squeak of sneakers on pavement echoed through the empty park. The blond prodigy dribbled the worn basketball between his legs, sweat beading on his forehead under the evening sun. Each shot he sank was a victory, while each miss meant he'd punish himself with a suicide drill. Lost in his own personal championship game, Naruto barely noticed the lengthening shadows creeping across the court.

He'd been in deep thought thinking about everything that'd transpired today.

Being rejected from the first team, playing with the third team and meeting Kise. All of it was out of the ordinary to say the least.

Back in the States all the prep schools would've yearned for him to attend their school, while here the coach saw him as another player.

"Another player…yeah right." Naruto muttered to himself as he found himself shooting from the half-court line and swishing it.

"I'm Naruto Namikaze."

He continued to practiced free throws, layups, even attempted a few fadeaways shots – his hero, Uncle Dirk, always inspiring him to do. Getting most of them down, the blond felt he needed more arc, remembering all those countless lectures Dirk always gave him, he worked on his shot's mechanics and him always having laser focus.

The fading light finally caught his eye as he went in for another dunk attempt. Crashing the ball onto the rim, it bounced out of his hand and landed on the concrete with a dull thud. Naruto retrieved it, panted slightly, whipping away the sweat on his forehead, he headed for the bleachers that rested on the court's sideline.

Having placed his school bag there, the blond pulled out his phone, out of a zipper and squinted at the screen. The brightness nearly blinding him in the sudden twilight, forced him to look away a bit.

"Oww!" he winced at the brightness as he then looked back.

8:30 pm. The numbers glared back at him. Naruto couldn't help but allow his jaw to drop. He'd been at the park for hours, completely oblivious to time flying by.

'Oh she's going to kill me!' Panic surged through him. He knew once he returned home, he'd be in BIG trouble.

Taking his bag and cones he raced home, using the familiar route only for it to feel longer than usual.

He wasn't sure why he was in such focus today, but he knew it'd got him in big trouble.

Bursting through the front door, he was met with an earful. "Naruto! Where have you been? Dinner's been cold for an hour and school was out hours ago!" sitting at the dining table with her mouth clenched like a rabid dog, was Naruto mom.

Kushina Uzumaki.

She was known for her no nonsense taking persona and as she sat down with her hands crossed over her chest, her red hair swayed up showing her immense annoyance.

The way his mom's voice boomed, had the blond quake in his boots.

Naruto couldn't help but try to stammer out an apology, "Mom…I'm Sorry." He couldn't bring himself to say he'd lost track of time playing basketball. He knew excuses wouldn't fly. His love for the game, while strong, wouldn't win him any points tonight.

"Sorry? That's all you have to say for yourself?! Since when do we come back this late, Naruto!"

"I…I" the blond tried to think about what to say but truthfully, he was out of words.

"So?" his mom questioned. "Where were you?"

"I…was training at the park."

"Basketball?" the blond nodded, as his mom just sighed. Being a member of a family that breathed and lived basketball, would make Kushina become an elderly woman very quickly.

"Just eat your food, Naruto. Next time work on your time management, okay?" the blond nodded as deep down he sighed in relief. For now he survived a lecture, but he had to make sure that next time he didn't get in trouble.

That promise sadly didn't last. The blond found himself the next day, after school having to skip team practise due to him…getting detention.

He'd forgot about his homework and was given a big lecture by his Mathematics teacher.

Slumping into the creaky wooden chair, the silence of the detention room pressed down on him. Glaring at his maths book, he wrote in it his homework, as he easily found himself grooving from question to question. As time elapsed soon a sigh escaped his lips, as the only sound in the room besides the rhythmic tick of the wall clock. Suddenly, the detention door creaked open again.

The blond being distracted looked up to see another boy, tall as a tree and lanky with a shock of purple hair, and an annoyed-looking demeanor.

'Damn.' The blond couldn't help but emphasize the size the boy infront of him was. He was a literal behemoth and when the newcomer, scanned the room, his eyes landing on the blond who gave a small, resigned wave.

This gesture seemed to give Naruto a friendly look as the taller boy decided to settle right beside him.

Watching him take out his books, the two went back to their work. As minutes continued to crawl by, punctuated only by the flow of pens on paper.

Naruto couldn't help but steal glances at the boy beside him.

The purple haired boy seemed lost in thought, and didn't notice his glances. Soon a frown creasing on his forehead. As finally, unable to hold back any longer, the tall boy blurted out, "This is the worst."

Naruto hearing this chuckled as then a wry smile touched his lips. "Tell me about it. Detention in the afternoon? Talk about a punishment downgrade."

This got the tall boy to chuckle.

Naruto seeing how the silence was finally broken, relief flooded his face.

"I know right? What'd you do to deserve this esteemed honor?" the tall boy questioned as Naruto shrugged.

"Forgot to do my maths homework."

"Damn, that's tough. I'm sure your mom's not like that, huh?"

"Oh you have no clue. What about you?" the blond asked the taller boy. "I got caught sleeping in History class." He said as on cue he yawned emphasizing how tired he was.

"You two! Shush!" the detention monitor barked having caught them. The pair quickly looked back at their books and didn't waste time writing.

As more time elapsed soon, the monitor finally told them they were free to go.

Naruto's eyes wandered to the clock resting on the wall, and noticed how it was the end of all afternoon activities. Which meant he'd missed practice.

As if it was bad enough, soon the blond's stomach rumbled, a loud, embarrassing sound that echoed through the room.

Catching the taller boy's attention he didn't help but frown.

"You too, huh." The boy stated catching the blond's attention who was blushing from embarrassment. "I forgot to pack my food." The blond stated.

"Ugh, me too," the taller boy said, in an annoyed tone. "Now it makes sense why mom only gave me money." He blurted as the taller boy soon thought about what to buy.

Once his mind came onto the right dish to relax on, he looked at Naruto.

"Ramen? You ever had good ramen?"

Naruto hearing those words couldn't help allowing his eyes lit up. "Seriously?! My dad makes this killer kimchi ramen, for me and my mom it's the best."

The taller boy grinned at that. "Dude, that's cool since, there's like this spot I know that this crazy miso ramen with these perfectly marinated soft-boiled eggs, it's insane! How about we head there for lunch?"

"You don't have to tell me twice, let's go." The two quickly finished packing as they put on their bags

Naruto and the tall boy walked out of the detention room together, no longer strangers but surprisingly newfound friends, united by a love of ramen and shared misery.' At least the day didn't get wasted.' Naruto thought, as a smile playing on his lips. "I'm Naruto by the way. The blond stated as he and the tall boy walked side by side through the hallway, following their peers towards the school's exit.

"Murasakibara." the tall boy introduced himself.

Two Weeks Later
Teiko Junior High vs Wakiyaku Junior High

It was a calm afternoon that the Teiko third strings found themselves in. All of them wearing their school's colours, walked off the court towards the bench. With pride and gusto they confidently went to the sidelines, having given off a performance that solidified the esteemed reputation of their school.

"Damn dude." a boy attending Wakiyaku sat on the bleachers beside his friend as they both were watching their team's match. "Our guys didn't stand a chance!" he exclaimed as his friend couldn't help but agree sadly.

"It was like watching gods pass on judgement to their peasants." the other replied with dread "One thing's certain, third stringers or not. Teiko wasn't going to allow us to win." the boy concluded as their eyes wandered to the Teiko bench where all the players still kept their cool as they listened to their coach intently whilst chugging some liquid from their water bottles.

"...and remember guys. Don't stop giving your 100% in the minute. No matter even if we have such a great margin, like many great generals of the past would say. 'Better safe than sorry'." Mr. Yamagushi, Naruto's science teacher and also his home room teacher stated as everyone on the team nodded with confirmation. "Alright, fellas. You heard what, Coach said!" coming out with a vigorous boom, it was the voice of Naruto that caught everyone's attention. Having already won the captain status on the team.

"Kai, and Shen. I need to see more intensity from you guys defending the lanes towards the basket. It's obvious these guys have lost the motivation to shoot so they'll try to score some easy buckets to atleast make the score more dependable." he ordered the two players that played the forward position.

"Consider it done, Cap!" Kai shouted enthusiastically. "You can count on me, Naruto!" Shen added, clenching his fist with determination. Liking the energy he saw the two, exhume Naruto turned his attention to his shooting guard and centre. "Isshiki and Kise, we'll continue rotating with the pick and roll. They've been having a hard time stopping it, so there's no need to change our approach." Naruto stated as Isshiki just gave the blond a thumbs up, while Kise had a grin on his face for an idea he had been thinking about this entire game.

"Yeah, that's all I have to say, Coach." Naruto said feeling as if his orders were enough. When Mr. Yamagushi heard this he just told the starters to wait out the timeout.

*BRR!*

The sound from the ref's blown whistle indicated the end of the timeout. "Alright guys, remember to finish strong!" Mr. Yamagushi concluded as the Teiko players returned to their positions.

"Let's go team! You got this Teiko!" still exhuming some team spirit, Kushina shouted out support from the bleachers. Naruto's mother was an outlier at the moment since many of the parents for the other players had stopped supporting seeing how outmatched the two teams were.

"At this point, it's like fighting kicking a man already down, Kushina. There's no need to remain enthusiastic." Minato stated as he sat beside his wife. "Pff, you shouldn't be talking Minato. I remember you scoring 70+ points against the Charlotte Bobcats one time." she replied however Minato just raised his hands up.

"That was different. It was the Bobcats."

Back on the court, Wakiyaku brought the ball up. Naruto quickly changing the defensive structure made everyone play on a 3-2 zone defense. Clogging up the paint, Naruto didn't waste time putting pressure on the ball controlling point guard.

The kid tried to find an open man, however Naruto constantly having his hands before his face was making it rather difficult.

The game was able to finish without anymore embarrassing moments to be dished out by the Teiko team.

FINAL SCORE

TEIKO: 110- 0:WAKIYAKU