ArtLotus here.
Thank you for being extremely patient for Chapter 5. Life has a way to make us busy and sometimes I cannot find the time meant to update this story. It is unfortunate however I still want to get this story going until I'm satisfied. I got the revised storyline in my mind and I will have to clean up some details along the way. But it will take time.
Now I want to address some reviews if I could below.
Gilgamesh50: I understand that Sirzechs speaking for long will be a bit annoying. But that's just how he talks. His light novel version might be more formal than I am, to be honest. I wrote about him from what I could discern and understand about his character from different sources. I hope you would not mind. I can also understand that you're tired of this whole Devils Faction being the favorite for the majority of writers. I cannot speak for the other authors, and I can only speak from my perspective. Because I have a liking for the Devils and I like Izayoi to associate with them. Various authors are capable of making stories that deviate from the canon storyline, and they can do whatever they want. But majority of them like their main characters to join the Devils. But you have to know something about this story. Izayoi will associate with the Devils a lot more than other factions because the story I wrote is meant for him to discover that Devils is the first faction he came across. Since the Devils are already blending well within the human population, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Devils could easily be the easiest faction for him to discover and associate with. It doesn't help that the Devils are one of the major factions among other factions. To include the other factions as the focal point of the story takes more time to figure out for authors such as myself. My story wants Izayoi to discover a lot of things behind the scenes because he thought that he would only lead a normal life in this normal world. But he then discovered that there are supernatural beings already in existence in the human world. So, his normal life is not normal now. What he does next is up for interpretation. My previous story will give a hint of what the story will go. But the details of how I wrote the story will be different. Even if only slightly at some point of the story.
Anyway, without further ado, I present you Chapter 5 of REVIVAL: A PROBLEM DEVIL
Ja'ne! ArtLotus out!
REVIVAL: A PROBLEM DEVIL
[CHAPTER 5: BASKETBALL 101]
"Close your books! I believe everyone has already read through enough about basketball by now. The textbook has a little too much information on them. You won't learn much from the book. Don't worry, I won't quiz you all too hard on the subject when examinations come up in the future. We still have a lot of sports to go through and the science behind them. Anyway, It doesn't take much to read through them all. With that said, to truly understand a sport like basketball…"
The P.E teacher smiled. She stood in front of the students sitting down on the floor in front of her. She picked up a basketball from the metal cage filled with basketballs, next to her. A determined smile crossed her face as she palmed the basketball with one hand and gestured it towards her students who looked at her in slight awe, seeing she could palm the ball.
"You need to apply what you learned! Practicality is the best way to understand! Physical Education demands it! For this session, what better way than a pickup game of basketball… 5 on 5!"
The whole group of students cheered, though some female students looked anxious and shared worrying smiles. Those people in question were not exactly thrilled about playing. Their needless worries were assured by their friends around them as they will support them with anything.
"I know some of you may not play this sport. But for this class session, I welcome active participation from everyone! While sports are meant to be competitive, it can also be fun! So, get off the floor, put away the books, and we'll start!" Afterwards, the teacher blew the whistle dangling from her neckline. Immediately, everyone got their butts off from the floor and made sure to put their books along with their water bottles to the side of the basketball court. With a brief follow-up instruction from the teacher, the students were handed basketballs to practice within the basketball court for 10 minutes. This is to make the students get a feel for the basketball and warm up for the upcoming pickup game. Although there were not a lot of basketballs to be given to each student, some decided to share between groups of 2 and 3. Some students had approached the teacher and asked for her teachings in playing basketball as they did not play the sport. That group of students were given their respective basketballs while they learned from the teacher who demonstrated with her own basketball. They started with dribbling the ball and keeping a hold on the ball to prevent any steals or loss of control. In that brief training span, the girls were able to dribble the ball well enough and took the teacher's advice in using their body and footwork to their advantage whilst dribbling against their matchups. It was better for them to know that they can control their bodies whichever they can to their advantage. Their bodies were made to push opposition away from the ball in the game of basketball. Whilst they were practicing, the teacher also gave a rundown of the rules of playing basketball, continuing further on what they have learned from the textbook. The girls were also given tips on how to calm their nerves as they dribble the ball in certain situations. The most important was to be aware of their teammates and not hold onto the ball longer than necessary. They were only given 24 seconds for a single possession. Afterwards, the teacher showed them how to shoot according to their dominant hand. After her demonstration, the girls spent a couple of drills shooting around the nearest rim due to time constraints. Layups were the simplest for the girls and some of them were able to shoot under the rim. Around the rim is where they have to concentrate the power and arc of their shooting. Some struggled and decided that layups would be their go-to move while shooting would only be their last resort.
"You're not shooting, Izayoi-san? A lot of us already shot a lot, and we're already used up enough time to warm up. Besides the girls with the teacher, the other girls are already done with their shooting drills. They're…"
"They're practising in defending and passing." His friend claimed next to him before he shot in between the free throw line and below the 3-point line. The ball went through the net with ease.
"They must be taking this pickup game seriously between one another…"
"We're not the only ones that can be competitive."
The two boys looked towards Izayoi who bounced a basketball that went through the net before passing it over to them. The first boy caught the basketball.
"That's true, but! Izayoi-san, you didn't shoot at all this time. You're rebounding the basketball for the others so far, but you didn't get the chance to shoot. I don't know why but this is your chance. Here, you can shoot now. I'm already warmed-up."
Standing in the middle of the paint, the blonde extended his right hand towards the inbounding ball. As soon as the basketball made contact with the blonde's right palm, he quickly threw it over his shoulder, his back facing the rim. With a delicate touch within the center of the backboard, the basketball swished down into the net. The blonde smiled once he heard the swish sound. Then, the sound of a whistle echoed in the gymnasium.
"Time's up! Everyone lines up and we'll start dividing the teams of 5!
"Uh…" Awed at the blonde's shot, the first boy shakes his head. "The teacher whistled just then…Is that it…? I could've sworn we got a few minutes left. Izayoi-san, you're sure that's enough…? You can put a few more shots up as we go."
"Sometimes, hearing the swish is enough. Right?"
"Huh…"
"He's got a point."
With that said, Izayoi and the other male students went to the center of the court, where everyone was gathering.
"How was everyone's warm-up? Good?"
The P.E teacher announced. Her voice echoed throughout the gymnasium as every student looked at her. Surveying her students heeding attention to her, she nods defiantly.
"Yes!" Everyone shouted in unison. They worked up a sweat in their basketball drills for their upcoming pickup game. Almost all of the students had excited and determined expressions on their faces.
"I hope each and every one of you has gotten a good warmup. Yes, you've absorbed knowledge provided by your textbooks and have trained extensively under limited time, however—to complete our lesson, we need to put your technical prowess to the test." She said as the students warily looked at each other. "We will have 2 games today. 2 quarters per game. In this case, 24 minutes. I do believe this is enough time for all of you to showcase the practicality of the lesson. Am I right?"
"Right!"
"We will begin Game 1 in 15 minutes. We will start with the girls! I will give 5 minutes for you to seek out your teammates now, and another 10 to discuss your team plays!" She shouted as the girls looked at each other before they nodded and began prepping to discuss with the other girls to recruit into their teams. The teacher watches the female students rushing to one another near the left side of the basketball court. She turned to the male students who stood watching and looked around obliviously. "What are all of you standing around for? All of the boys will be playing against each other in Game 2. This is as good a time as any to find your teammates, isn't it? Don't look lost!" At her shout, the boys scurry to the others, beginning the recruitment process.
As she watches the boys start scampering except a certain blonde, two girls stepped up to her. The teacher looked at them curiously. After hearing their reasons, she accepted them before offering jerseys of black and white stripes.
It was later that she took note of the number of girls for the two teams.
"It looks like they're finished… 8 girls for one team. And then 2 girls volunteered to be the referees…" The teacher nodded at the progress of her female students. She then sneaks a glance towards her male students. She recalled that the boys divided themselves through rock paper scissors with each other. The ones who won would be placed to the left, while the ones who lost would be standing to the right. She eyed the blonde who stood in his spot with the other five boys. With the six of them as one team, the five boys looked at the other team of boys across their huddle. The two teams stared at one another before they took a step backward to widen the distance between them. The teacher saw the blonde shake his head before a bright idea coincided with her knowledge of the blonde's identity. Just as the group of boys were planning to discuss their plays, she called out to the blonde.
"Sakamaki-kun!" At his name being called, the group of boys looked at each other before they turned to the blonde in question. Izayoi turned his head to look at the teacher. "...Do you mind being the head coach for the opposing team? I realized that other girls wouldn't be able to play without someone else being the head coach. You'll coach the girls and after they're done, one of the girls will be the head coach for your team."
"I reckon you're my opponent, teach? What brought this on?"
"I'm also offering the same to the girls if they want to be a head coach for you and your team once it's time for you to play. And to answer your question; I have to test one of the finest athletes we have in Kuoh Academy. You're one of them. You've never been a head coach, right? This might be your chance to take the reins for once. It's a good challenge for an athlete to see if they can go beyond playing the game themselves. What do you say?"
"Playing against a teacher in their own sports? I'm intrigued."
"If you are inexperienced in giving out plays and such as a head coach, I'll conduct a brief lesson for you."
"...I'll give it a try, teacher. You are giving the honours, after all. It is almost as if I'm being targeted and I feel flattered to be requested by you. Though…I have to pass on your offer for giving lessons."
"Self-taught then. Good. Gather in front of the girls after this."
The blonde nodded as the teacher prepared the students who volunteered to be referees with the correct hand gestures and signals for the pickup game, in addition to the details of fouling and violations.
10 minutes later…
The teacher smiled, standing in front of the two groups of girls in front of her. The two groups had already discussed their strategies around their team, and had decided on the starters and bench, prioritizing the advantages of the starters, who were the most experienced among them. The teacher looked at both the leaders fronting their two groups. She looked at the leader on her left, before shifting her eyes towards the leader on the right, seeing Rias standing in front of the group. "You're alright with your team?" The crimson haired student nodded her head.
"Yes, we are satisfied with our team, teacher." The other leader, a bespectacled black haired girl with a ponytail informed the teacher.
"Alright. Since everyone's satisfied with their own team…so, what will it be, Sakamaki-kun?" The P.E teacher turned towards the blonde student, who walked up to stand next to her. "Which team will you choose to coach?"
Immediately, both teams looked at each other before all of them raised their hands simultaneously. The P.E teacher stifles her laugh before she waves her hand in dismissal towards the raised hands. "Okay. I understand the great interest. But it is up to Sakamaki-kun to decide."
"It wouldn't be fair if I choose by their reactions." Izayoi spoke as the teacher looked at him. "Can I suggest a coin toss? " At this, the two teams of girls voiced their agreements.
"Thank you for your suggestion, Sakamaki-kun. It would appear we have to resort to that if the girls' reactions are any indication." The P.E teacher commented as she pulled out a coin from her pocket. "Who would've thought the girls are more interested in having you as a coach than their own teacher?" She smiles knowingly at the two groups of girls who looked sheepish. "I can't argue that a coin toss is fair, however. I'll be the one tossing it." She said as she stood in between the leaders and swiftly flicked the coin upwards before putting it on the back of her left hand once the coin neared her hand. She then looks at both leaders to determine their options.
Both leaders eye one another.
"Heads."
"Tails." Rias answered smiling as the P.E teacher released her right hand and the girls looked towards the coin. Anxiety filled both groups as they closed in to look at the result before Rias looked towards the blonde. "We will be in your care, Izayoi-kun." She said with a smile.
"Yes!" The girls standing behind Rias cheered and they high-fived each other whilst the other team groaned in disappointment.
"It seems I will be in your service." Izayoi responded with a smirk as he walked to stand across Rias. He raised his hand at the other girls who smiled at him.
"Since that has been decided, will the boys clear away from the court? Now, the girls can get their team jerseys over to my right. Decide between the red and blue jerseys, alright?" Just as the teacher instructed, the boys began to move away towards the corners of the gymnasium while the two groups of girls started moving to take their team jerseys. The teacher smiled at their discipline before shouting. "Game 1 will begin momentarily!"
"If I may, can our team pick red?" Rias asked towards the other captain standing in front of her. One of their female classmates held a box near them which contained the folded sleeveless jerseys. The classmate looked between the two captains with a smile.
"We don't mind." The other captain looked over at her teammates who agreed vocally at her statement.
"Great. Thank you." Rias smiled before she urged her own teammates to take their jerseys from the box. Each one of the girls gleefully picked up the jerseys one by one, exchanging their appreciations with their classmate who held the box.
"Here, Rias. I think this number suits you."
"Number? I don't mind the number, Akeno…" Rias accepted the jersey given to her and looked over briefly at the number. "Number 9…" Rias let out a small smile at Akeno who showed her jersey which displayed the number 7. "As it is for you too."
"If everyone has gotten their jerseys, we'll move towards the bench by the other side of the court now." Izayoi declared with a smirk.
"Yes, coach Sakamaki!"
"Who do you think will win?"
"Why are you asking? Of course, Izayoi-san is going up against our P.E teacher, who is a renowned athlete in her days as a highschool student. She participated nationally, you know?"
"That's true. There's a number of individuals like the P.E teacher and their credentials in Kuoh Academy. I can understand why our academy is gaining tons of attention. Each one of them knows their craft really well…"
"Under her coaching, the girls can use a variety of plays to their advantage. It's just a matter of executing those plays according to the opponent's defensive stance…I can see why you would think that."
"What about the opposing side? Izayoi-san is coaching a well-versed duo of Gremory-san and Himejima-san. Besides that, we have a couple of the girls that can play basketball in that starting lineup."
"I can't say for certain about the outcome however they are evenly matched in terms of players' proficiency. Rias-san and Akeno-san may tip the balance a little but that depends on their upcoming performance. Izayoi-san is at a disadvantage against the experience of our P.E teacher. Though you can't ignore what she said about Izayoi-san being an athlete earlier. Hm…he can use his experience in basketball when it's needed as a head coach…"
"But coaching is different from playing."
"Hey, if a player knows the plays and can lead a team through strategizing. Why can't they coach?"
"True…"
The groups of boys sat on the sideline across the groups of girls huddled around with their respective coaches. The P.E teacher stood outside the left side of the court whilst Izayoi stood at the opposite. The boys sat a few feet away from the court line to not disturb the match between the girls since they would not dare to ever act against them in fear of retaliation from the opposite gender. In regards, they are interested in watching the girls play basketball because they have witnessed a number of their classmates play basketball in the previous years. Their avid passion for basketball spurs them to discuss the chances of winning between the two teams.
"Izayoi-kun? Are you sure about this starting lineup?"
Izayoi turned to one of the girls that were practicing with the teacher in regards to her dribbling as basketball was not her strong suit. She along with the other girls were picked by Rias, who was all the more interested in inviting them to her team. He watched her raise her hand as she asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Okay...It's just—I don't feel confident starting. There are other girls who are better. So, I don't understand why you would pick me. I only just learned basketball earlier."
"Using logic dictates it would be better if I picked the best out of the group as the starters." Izayoi started answering as the girl lifted her head up. "Considering you just had learned, it would make sense. I am aware. However, it wouldn't hurt to try things unconventionally, right? We need someone experienced to lead the bench when the starters will go to the bench at some point. Besides, you're light on your feet at defence. You're good to go to hold back the opposing team when we need a stop."
"Huh?"
"Yeah! Didn't you remember that you guarded against the three of us, one at a time?" The girl looked at her friend who pointed to the two others who were taught by their teacher. "We can't even put up a shot properly. You were in our faces!" She laughed as the girl looked embarrassed. "You'll do fine. You're not alone. I'm one of the starters like you!"
"Yeah, you're not alone. We're all in this together! Don't you forget that!"
"We're here to support you."
The other two girls gave their tidbits to their friend who smiled at their moral support.
"All of us have a role in this team. You have your own. Do not worry, alright? I will not allow anyone to have an open look." Rias smiled as Akeno nodded along.
"You can count on us to do our fair share of defending the opponents."
"Thank you, Rias-san! Akeno-san! And thank you to all of you!" She smiled and bowed her head to everyone.
"You have roughly 2 minutes left before the tipoff." One of their female classmates walked in front of Izayoi wearing a black and white jersey, signifying her stature as a referee.
"Alright." He nodded as the female referee nodded back and walked away towards the P.E teacher. When the referee walked away, all of the girls looked at each other with determination. All of them turned towards Izayoi who turned his head at them, a smirk plastering on his lips. Lifting up a handheld drawing board in front of them, given by the P.E teacher after he was announced to be the head coach for Rias's team. The girls huddled around as the blonde started showing the plays drawn on the small board. "Since we have our starting five. Should we begin?"
"Yes!"
Time Skip
"It's starting guys!" All of the boys that were in the state of discussion turned their heads towards the center of the basketball court, seeing the girls standing at each of their positions.
"Huh? That girl…. Didn't she recently start learning basketball…"
"Huh...Why would Izayoi-san pick them to start? That doesn't make any sense."
"There must be a reason. Anyway, Gremory-san is the starting center!"
"That would be a problem for the opposing side."
"Himejima-san is the starting power forward."
"That too!"
"Don't forget their starting point guard!"
"Hey! The ball is up!"
"Oh!" All of the boys watched the basketball thrown upwards by the female referee. As the ball slows down in its ascent—it descends—causing Rias to narrow her eyes.
At a certain point in the ball's descent, both starting centers jumped!
"Akeno!" Rias shouted as she slapped the ball from her opponent towards Akeno who catches the ball and causes their other teammates to act. Immediately, Akeno starts dribbling towards their opponent's net before stopping when she faces her matchup near the 3-point arc. "Akeno!" At the appearance of crimson in her left vision, Akeno dribbled to the left, passing by Rias who acted as a screen setter, she neared the free throw line before throwing her shot just past an opponent's hand. The sound of the ball passing through the net causes the girls at the bench to cheer!
"That was close." Akeno smiled at her mismatched opponent before withdrawing towards her team's court.
"Good shot, Himejima-san!"
"Thank you." Akeno smiled at the other three of her teammates before she high-fives Rias who stationed near her at the free throw line. "You came up at the right time, Rias."
"You shot at the right time." Rias smiled over at Akeno.
"I have to perform. Or our coach would not be pleased otherwise." Akeno responded with a small smile. Both girls stole a glance at their blonde coach smirking at them. "Oh my, it looks like I earned his attention."
"Nice screen, Rias. Nice timing, Akeno. Though it'd be better if it was an and-one. A second later, you would have earned it."
"You earned his attention and you earned criticism. Stay sharp, Akeno. You don't want to get called out again, would you?" Rias giggled as Akeno's eyebrow twitched before she looked at the blonde pointedly.
"Yes~ Izayoi-kun."
Then, Akeno turned towards the sounds of dribbling basketball and she focused on the opposing team who was coming up on their side of the court. She relayed instructions to those near her before she positioned herself near the free throw line. She glances at Rias who was standing across the free throw line before watching the opposing point guard dribble past their small forward and prepare to shoot. Acting quickly, Akeno reaches out towards the ball before seeing a slight movement centering on the point guard's hand on the ball. A smile stretches across her lips at the small action, before glancing over her left shoulder. A speck of crimson crossed her vision, and she immediately capitalized on the open opportunity.
"Rias!" Akeno shouted as she blocked a pass around her waist with her left hand and she gripped onto the ball. The opposing point guard gasped as did the shooting guard behind her who had come to help. Smiling, Akeno immediately threw the ball towards Rias who had begun running towards the opposite side of the court.
Grasping the ball thrown at her, Rias slowed down and threw a layup over the hoop. As the ball fell through the hoop, she smiled.
"Go! Go! Go!" The girls on the bench cheered for their teammates at their second successive attempt of scoring.
Rias jogged towards her teammates who complimented her and Akeno.
"Don't lose focus now. Your opponents are revved up, ladies." At Izayoi's voice, the five girls looked towards their opponents who had already begun crossing towards the halfcourt. "You all know what to do." He pointed out as the five girls nodded to each other before guarding their opponents, halting their advances.
Heightened voices coming from both benches deafened the boys' ears who looked at the shouts of encouragement from the girls on the benches. Each of them looked at each other, astounded at the sheer intensity of the cheering echoing throughout the gymnasium.
"It looks like we're in for a surprise, boys. I don't want to be on the receiving end of those glares…"
"Yep…"
"I have to agree…"
"I already got it before…" One of the boys sighed as he made his comment. His girlfriend was the starting small forward for the opposing team. "I should've got her those fresh egg tarts when we got back home that day…Thinking back, she zeroed on those egg tarts longer than the other pastries…"
"What did you get her?"
"The chocolate-filled ones…"
"She's upset about that…?"
"Her favorite were the egg tarts."
"Oh…—She got blocked!"
"Wait, what?!"
The downtrodden boy looked up at his friend cheering before immediately locking his sight to the game in front of him. He and the rest of the boys watched as Rias had blocked a shot with an upright jump. Her mismatch—the starting point guard had gotten a step on the crimson-haired with a fake crossover to the right before crossover to the right. Adding to the help of a screen by her power forward, the opposing point guard dashed to the corner of the free throw line and made a teardrop floater. Only to get the ball blocked behind her.
"She jumped upright to avoid fouling and just managed to block it!"
"Jeez, that's harder than it looks… I would almost always get fouled in the heat of it…"
"Who wouldn't? It's basketball! It's intense!"
"She kept it under control, and—Akeno got the ball now. Those two know each other enough to know what their next action is, and this moment shows that."
The boys watched as Akeno dribbled forward towards the opposing basket. The surprise block from Rias made the opposing team lag on their transition defense. Only two managed to secure an early defensive stance in front of Akeno. Akeno smiled as she threw up a shot near the top of the arc, surprising the two opposing players. The two watched the ball hit the backboard squarely before bouncing back—into the hands of Rias who had dashed past the unaware players.
"Don't forget Rias!" The opposing captain shouted at her two teammates, who regained their focus. But before they could try to close the distance between them and Rias, they were struck with surprise.
"Huh?! Another one?!"
The starting shooting guard of Team Rias received the ball from Rias under the basket across from her and made a simple layup to get the ball through the hoop.
"That's a nice pass, Rias! Thought you would do it yourself."
"Why not surprise them a bit? Akeno and I shouldn't be the only ones scoring. They should know that firsthand."
"Hehe! Now they know."
Later…
"What is our next move? They're making theirs fast." Akeno said after fouling. The opposing shooting guard scored 2 free throws earlier and now, Team Rias is inbounding the ball.
Rias glanced at the corner of her eye. A hand signal was given. Two palms were demonstrated to her, by her blonde coach. A simple smile crossed Izayoi's face as he showed the few hand signals that he discussed with the whole team before the game started.
"Izayoi-kun said we need to relax."
"Their onslaught may continue a whole lot longer."
"Yet, they would waste their energy faster. We're also fouling because we fell for their ruse. I already got 2 fouls and you also got 2 yourself, Akeno. The others are with 1 foul each. They're making us foul to their advantage of aggressive scoring."
"Alright."
The whistle of the referee was blown as Rias smiled at the referee who handed her the basketball outside the boundaries of the court. Rias inbounded the ball to Akeno, who slowly dribbled forward across the court before passing it to Rias who gestured to their point guard with a signal of her hand. Their point guard rushes to Rias, making her matchup hone in on their location. The opposing center cautiously stood near the arc in front of the pick-and-roll sequence. Once the ball was given to the point guard, Rias switched onto the opposing point guard. Rias then rushes forward, leaving her mismatch in the dust, and passing the opposing center with her hands over her shoulders.
The opposing center had read the play and raised her hands to block a pass. Yet she stood frozen to the point guard who stopped dribbling just inside the arc, before shooting!
...
"It went in the hoop?!"
"Yep, she's in her zone right now…She got a couple of those good looks early in the game. We're 4 minutes away from ending the quarter. They're up by a dozen, so I'm not surprised the team allows her to shoot once she gets a good look."
"Rias fooled her matchup center. It was just enough to freeze the center in her spot without contesting the shot…"
"You think I'd be fooled by that?"
"Hey, these girls know hoops…The point guard alone scored 8 points from good looks like that. She only missed two because she missed. She had open looks to shoot. These girls know how to play to their individual strength and what made their teamwork to have a 8-point lead for now. Both teams played good defense. They missed shots. Turnovers and whatnot. You can tell they're playing basketball with all of those elements in sight…"
"Both teams were in a shooting drought right?"
"Teacher's team had it early, but they're ramping it up now. Team Rias had just gotten out of that drought. We'll see how they're doing to keep their lead. With how scoreless they were 2 minutes ago, anything can happen…"
"I feel like I'm watching basketball on tv. But it's at Kuoh Academy."
"Yeah. Exciting isn't it?"
"This is surreal…"
"You've been saying that often now."
"Isn't it obvious? Because what we're seeing is nothing short of surreal!"
"You have to admit, what he's saying is right. Team Rias is a shooting clinic right now. Each shot is met with resistance but it still went in the hoop. Besides the starting point guard facilitating the plays, Rias-san and Akeno-san came prepared. Both of them drew a lot of attention from the opposition before passing it out onto the others to shoot a 3, or create enough space for others to release a 2-point, made by our assassin in long 2's—"
"—A screen from Rias-san which led to Akeno getting the ball and driving to the hoop. She got the matchup away from their starting shooting guard—another pass to a long 2!"
"They're clicking on all cylinders after the halfway point of this quarter. The girls are playing basketball alright!"
"Izayoi-san is no slouch either! I'm impressed he outcoached our P.E teacher this quarter. With 2 minutes before the 1st quarter ends, the other team must be thinking hard on how to counter this hot streak of shooting from Team Rias. —Have we got on a hot streak when we play pickup basketball?"
"To this level? You sure you should be asking yourself that? In 10 minutes, Team Rias scored 35 points altogether. We barely managed to scrounge that many points in the 1st quarter. We were playing against others and we had to play tougher defense against our matchups."
"True…—Oh! The other team scored a 2—and-one!"
"Women's basketball is not so bad…"
"Ditto."
"Hm?"
Rias turned to Izayoi when the referee handed her the basketball after the other team scored their free throw. The crimson-haired looked at the spread of his palm before he curled it into a fist and showed three fingers."
"Another one of them, is it?
Rias smiled at him and nodded once she received his instructions. She turned to her teammate.
"It looks like my turn is up."
"Ok, Gremory-san. I'll set it up."
Inbounding the ball to their starting point guard, Rias jogged up towards the center of the court and shared a look with the point guard. The point guard smiles and looks towards the hoop, dribbling the ball across the other side of the court. After 5 seconds, the point guard immediately acted and moved towards the arc, where her matchup was waiting for her.
"Open~"
Akeno's voice made the starting point guard look past her matchup, to see Akeno raising her hand. Akeno was standing near the free throw line with her matchup defending behind her.
"You're not getting a pass."
"Let's see." The starting point guard replied to her matchup before dribbling to the right and tried to cross her matchup to the left. Yet her matchup had predicted it and moved left. She pivoted to the right—her matchup bit! Pivoting her foot to the right, she faked a drive from the right to the left—passing the basketball to Akeno by bouncing it low to the ground yet away from the reach of her matchup.
"Dang it!"
"It's not over yet." The starting point guard tried to get past her matchup by turning to the right to get around her.
"You're not passing through me."
"But I'm not shooting."
"Huh?"
"I'd be disappointed if this does not go in the hoop, Rias!" Akeno reminded before she faked a shot over her matchup and the opposition's center—and passed it over to the left side arc—into the hands of Rias, readying herself to shoot a 3 with no coverage.
"I won't disappoint you, Akeno. But if it bounces off, kindly do get the rebound, yes~?"
Rias smiled before she shot the basketball without hesitation. The ball went through an arc—before passing through the net.
Swish!
"You didn't disappoint me." Akeno smiled as she and Rias jogged back to their side of the court.
"Would I? You did a magnificent job pulling my matchup to you. I have to reward you with a wide open 3."
"They don't want to let us score easily if we're the ones initiating the offense. But when others outside of us two start the offense, it'll be a bit different. It's also a bit hectic for the opposing team to handle when our teammates are capable of scoring."
"You got that right!" Their shooting guard bellowed with a laugh.
"Careful with that optimism. You got 2 fouls already. You best not make it 3." The point guard advised her teammate.
"Now, now. We still have under 1 minute before the quarter ends." Rias said to the others. "Let's finish this quarter calmly."
"Righto, Rias-taichou!"
"I'll do everything I can, Rias-taichou."
"They can't be underestimated."
"After this, we can get a meaningful rest before the 2nd quarter starts." Akeno stretched her hands over her head. Then the whole team moved to their matchups when they crossed to their side of the court. The ball was in the opposition's point guard.
It took 5 seconds before the point guard motioned for a screen from her power forward. Once the screen was set, the point guard dashed past the screen and came face to face with Akeno. She frowned as she dribbled the basketball between her legs and then she snapped to the left. Akeno raised her hand up, knowing the point guard was on a hot streak from shooting in difficult positions. As Akeno raised her hand, she watched the ball shoot through her legs to the shooting guard behind her who jumped near the free throw line and hit a shot. The ball fell through the net without resistance.
"…Nice fake."
"Everyone on my team is doing their best in this. So I have to step up. I'm not doing this alone against you, Himejima-san or Gremory-san." She parted to the other side of the court alongside her teammates as Akeno nodded approvingly. The taller woman noted the change about her mismatch. At the beginning of the match, whenever she went up against her or Rias for an ISO, she had difficulty getting past them both. They were able to steal the ball from her a couple of times as a result. Afterwards, she moved away from her and Rias, only focusing on their other teammates for an ISO. She had more success getting past them than the two of them.
"We can get two possessions if we want. What do you say?" Rias's voice chimed in behind her as Akeno glanced behind to see Rias bouncing the ball in her hand after receiving the inbound from their shooting guard.
"A quick one? I'll be the decoy then."
"Go." Rias ushered as Akeno jogged ahead and met her matchup near the free throw line. As Akeno was settled with her matchup, the others met their matchups at their designated spots. Rias passed through the other side of the court at the 17-second mark. She bounced the ball in her hand a couple of times before motioning for a screen from her point guard. The point guard abandoned her position near the 3-point arc and provided the screen to the right of Rias's matchup. Rias accepted the screen and managed to move around them. Her point guard's matchup moved forward from her position to contest her. Rias smiled at her before she put up a shot, surprising her. It was clearly 34 feet from the hoop.
"Akeno~" Rias voiced out as she passed overhead of her mismatch's head.
Just as Akeno received the ball, she jumped to put up a hook shot, surprising her matchup by her speed. However, in her attempt to put up the shot, she passed the ball to the left, over to their shooting guard near the corner of the 3-point line. She made the pass when she saw her shooting guard's matchup focused too much on the ball as her back was on her shooting guard.
"Alright, let's see if I got this! Please go in, 3!"
The shooting guard pleaded with a strained smile as she shot the ball once she got it.
Swish!
"Yeah! I got a 3! Finally! I missed all 3 chances to get it in all quarter!" The shooting guard cheered with a fist pump in the air.
"2-point!"
"Huh?!" The shooting guard looked comically at the referee near the sideline. She then angrily pouted at the referee, who sweatdropped at her reaction.
"Your foot was on the line when you shot." At this, the shooting guard looked downtrodden before grinding her teeth.
"Cheese it!"
"That's gotta feel horrible…"
"Rules are rules. Her foot was on the line."
"Even when she doesn't want to shoot a 2, she's still getting them…"
"Hahaha! She's a 2-point assassin as they say, whether she wants to be or not."
The boys on the sidelines commented as some of them felt for the depressed shooting guard, while the others complimented her ability to shoot 2's at amazing efficiency.
Whee!
The loud whistling sound made by the referee signified the end of the 1st quarter. Both teams heaved a sigh of relief. Their minds open up to a moment of respite after focusing on playing basketball. As each team on the court dispersed towards their respective courtsides, both head coaches looked at each other, giving a nod before they tended to their returning players.
"We did really well this quarter, right? Because I believe we did!"
"By the score difference between our opponent and us, I think it's obvious already. But let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"We can't celebrate it a bit? Come on~"
"…You did really well scoring when we needed it."
"Thanks! You did mighty fine when you passed me the ball! You were also crossing them ladies up! I enjoyed seeing their faces when they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, hehe!"
"Thanks."
"Everyone is celebrating a bit in their own way." Akeno commented as she looked at their point guard and shooting guard smiling with their compliments. She then glanced at their small forward who was showered by compliments from their other players all around her.
"We just played a full quarter of basketball with full effort and the outcome of the quarter proved it. It is no sin to celebrate a bit, yes? Showering one's effort with praises is one way to celebrate. Other than that, they're smiling. This game is competitive to them yet they're having so much fun that they could smile about it."
Akeno nodded in agreement with Rias's comment. The two of them watched on at their teammates complementing one another for their effort.
"Unfortunately, this moment won't last. While we're celebrating, they're strategizing."
"Hm?"
Both Rias and Akeno turned around. They saw their blonde head coach standing and looking off, across to the other team. Both ladies watched their P.E teacher sitting while her team sat around her in a circle. The white board in her hand was full of plays, offensive and defensive schemes. However, the teacher kept the board low amongst her team.
"Did you…?" Akeno whispered to the crimson-haired. She glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes.
"Nope. I didn't use anything. But from what I can tell, she is preparing a lot for the second half." Rias whispered in reply, glancing at Akeno with a smile. She then looked at their blonde head coach. "So, what will you have us do, Izayoi-kun? We have to prepare ahead of time. We don't have much time to relax during this break."
"Maybe the two of you don't need the rest. But the others do." Izayoi turned to look at the two ladies before setting his sights on the others. "They're breathing heavily. The starting lineup took most of the shots offensively and defended vicariously. The other three did their part in the time I've given them. While you two are perfectly fine, they need the rest. They might recover well enough after this to start the second quarter." After he finished explaining, both ladies stared at him before sharing a smile. "Am I wrong?"
"No. You're right. We were so inconsiderate that we didn't take into account the condition of the others."
"We were too excited." Akeno chimed in after Rias.
"Basketball is fun. You two looked like you had a lot of fun. When you could've gotten a few and-ones as you made layups but I digress—"
"Ne, Izayoi-kun…You're not talking about me, are you?" Rias smiled sweetly as she pinched his cheek.
"You can't take physicality, Rias? We have more fouls than them. You could've gotten them back with their own medicine but you chose not to. I wonder why?"
"Maybe because I have a heart of gold?"
"Really? I doubt it. You have a way to taunt others when you get the ball in the hoop. Don't think I didn't see you~ What's up with that peace sign and hand gesture? Talk about a person with a heart of gold…when they're taunting a team that is trailing. That's what they call heartless."
"Mou…!" Rias twisted his cheek as her cheeks burned. In the background, Akeno giggled quietly.
"Ne, ne. Coach! Rias!"
Both Rias and Izayoi looked at the shooting guard and point guard standing in front of them. A beaming smile on the shooting guard while a reluctant look passed by the point guard's face before she offered a strained smile instead.
"We'd like to lead the team in place of Gremory and Himejima! I think we have what it takes! They've done a lot for us. Now we should do what we can to show our gratitude, degozaru!
"Oh?"
Half Time
40 - 25
Whee!
The sound of the referee whistling and gesturing for players from each team to step into the court and resume the game for the second quarter.
"We'll give it everything we got, ladies! Don't worry!"
"We won't let this chance be wasted on us."
The shooting guard and point guard gave their assurances to the others at the bench before they left with the others towards their side of the court just as the referee gave out the basketball to the other team to inbound.
"Do you think it'll be alright, Sakamaki-san?" The starting small forward asked the blonde head coach, who stood near the bench whilst he watched the court.
"It depends on the other team. Even if we gameplan briefly earlier, and we follow them, we can't predict the other team's actions. It's up to them to make those little adjustments themselves. I'm even curious as to what they're next action is going to be." Izayoi explained as the small forward nodded in agreement. Next to her, both Rias and Akeno watched the court in interest. "Besides, the three of you deserved rest, while the others deserved some more playing time. It wouldn't be player-friendly of me to exclude some girls from having fun."
"And here I thought otherwise. You would prioritise winning more than anything."
"It's not just me who shares that sentiment, am I right? All of you voiced it out that you want to win. I'm only doing my duty as a head coach to make it favourable for you all. Hence, our first quarter success. For this second quarter however, we'll just have to see…"
"Yes, I believe that they made some adjustments for the second quarter…Judging from how serious the discussion looked on their side…the teacher must have empowered them—since they look serious now."
Rias commented as she watched the other team cross to the other side of the court. The other team's point guard brought up the ball with a serious glint in her eyes. The crimson-haired could also see that the other players were also looking serious at the moment.
This was not a fun environment right now.
"…I suppose this is where we have to be more serious against one another?"
Rias and the others looked towards their starting point guard asking a question towards her matchup, who stared at her in response while dribbling the ball between her legs a couple of times before instantly shooting it in front of her, near the 3-point arc.
"…Yes." Her matchup replied when the ball swishes in the hoop. She then left for the other side of the court while their starting point guard retreated to get the inbound ball from her shooting guard.
"Was she giving her too much space? Because she still puts up a hand in front of her face as she shoots it…"
"That's little space for anyone to properly shoot and be confident that the ball would go in…"
"She's locked in."
Akeno and Rias turned to their blonde head coach for his response.
"This is going to be interesting. Really interesting…—We have to go matchup to see if we can single out who is on another hot streak."
"To do that, we have to…" Their small forward scrunches her face cutely.
"We have to force them to pass and force them to shoot in tough situations. Then we'll see who has a hot hand. Their point guard is on a hot streak for sure. Now, we need to get her teammates involved because this is not a 1v5 is it?" As soon as the blonde responded, he walked up closer to the court just as their point guard had gotten the ball and was walking up to cross to the other side of the court. He relayed his instructions to the point guard briefly. Their point guard nodded before crossing to the other side in time and started their offensive play.
"You are starting to be a bit cruel, Izayoi-kun…" Akeno raised a delicate eyebrow with an amused smile. She watches the blonde move back to his position next to the bench.
"It's a part of the job. Anyway, you ladies want to win right?"
"The offer is enticing."
Rias smiled before all of them watched their team set a screen for their point guard to shoot and force a foul on her mismatch. Luckily, the foul was committed in the paint. Hence, 2 free throws were awarded by the referee. She and the others clapped their hands and whistled in support. As their point guard waited on the free throw line to shoot, everyone was waiting in anticipation.
What happened in the next 5 minutes could be considered a skillful display of basketball.
By one team.
To Be Continued…
This is a quick chapter 5. Although I like to keep this longer. I want to experiment a little with short and long chapters from time to time.
Anyway, how do you like the chapter? Put down your reviews below and click the favorite and follow the story for more updates! It will not be fast, but I'm still determined to do this!
See you in the next chapter!
Ja'ne! ArtLotus out!