Chapter V

The tip-off started with Nakamura's team gaining possession of the ball.

Nakamura drove towards the basket with sheer force.

He effortlessly maneuvered past our defense.

Easily putting up a layup with a strong finish on the right side of the board, earning his team the first two points of the game.

Sure he's pretty good and all but it didn't phase me in the slightest.

I was determined to win my bet against Kaede.

Once I got the ball I slowed down the possession as I approached Nakamura.

"So, do you think you can handle me?" I asked Nakamura.

"I don't know or care for you, so stop with the bickering and start showing," he replied.

"Hmph, alright then," I said aloud.

I did a dribble between my legs and shot hesitation. He didn't fall for it, or step up, so I stepped back even deeper outside of the three-point range and shot it.

Tock!

The ball bounced off the glass and banked into the basket.

I had to start the game off right with a three-pointer.

I didn't score at all last round, so I was worried whether or not I lost momentum.

However, that didn’t seem like the case.

The score was now 3-2.

Nakamura had the ball again now, and with a swift pace, he darted across the court.

He dodged my teammates and drove straight toward the basket, putting up another shot.

The ball slipped through the hoop easily with another layup under the basket, resulting in another two points for his team.

I was starting to get a slight adrenaline rush.

Something I haven't felt in a while.

I grabbed the ball from our side of the court and dribbled towards the hoop.

My eyes locked onto Nakamura.

He moved to block me but I feinted right, then went left.

With him out of position I quickly laid the basket in after hitting the top glass, watching it fall elegantly into the basket.

"We're just getting started!" I called out to Nakamura.

"Tch," I heard Nakamura make a sound.

The score was now 5-4.

Nakamura drove again straight at the basket, this time however I came in to help the paint a bit. Able to contest his shot, he missed for the first time this game.

I grabbed the rebound and moved quickly on the attack.

Having roughly 4 feet of space from Nakamura and the three-point line, I leaped into the air to take a jump shot and released the ball just as Nakamura lunged at me.

It sailed towards the hoop and dropped in effortlessly, with us now up 4 points.

The game continued like this for what felt like an eternity.

Back and forth we went, as Nakamura would score two points, and I would hit him back with either a two or a three.

Nakamura however would opt for a three-point shot for the first time and ultimately make it.

The tension in the gymnasium grew with each passing minute as both teams aggressively attacked.

Though it was just me and Nakamura.

Our teammates did nothing really except play defense and grab rebounds.

As I glanced at the scoreboard briefly I realized that…

It was now 20-20.

The person to score next would win.

I've been in my head this whole time, not realizing that Nakamura has been relentless, and we as a team haven’t been able to shut him down.

Our defense on him has been atrocious to say the least.

He's definitely quick and athletic, that's for sure.

However, I just about figured out his game.

“It's time to end this,” I said to myself.

Nakamura held the ball in his hand, poised to make the winning shot. Sweat dripped down from his brow onto the wooden gym floor.

I stood directly in front of him, gazing at him as he was ready to end this.

"You've impressed me quite a bit," I told Nakamura.

"Your freakishly athletic, and you got a nice motor on you,"

"But," I continued,

"You've got one glaring weakness in your game."

His eyes narrowed at my words, but he didn't respond.

"You can't go left, can you?" I told him boldly, straight to his face.

After going back and forth with him, I noticed that almost every time he would drive past a defender, it would be on the right side. If he did go left he would eventually cross back to the right.

I also noticed that he missed a handful of shots from the left side, as opposed to his right where he’s a lot more efficient.

"What?" he spat out, anger engulfing his eyes.

"Who do you think you are, telling me what my weaknesses are?!” he yelled back towards me.

With a fit of rage, he lunged forward attempting to drive past me.

His every muscle screamed aggression and determination as he tried to push through my defense for that final layup.

The breeze that he created with his speed made my hair move.

At that moment I felt a surge, jolting throughout my whole body.

"Time to make my move," I thought to myself.

With immense precision, I stole the ball from Nakamura's hands as he was driving past me. "See?” I said aloud.

"Told ya. Can't go left."

Nakamura charged at me, desperately trying to get the ball back.

I was already gone though, as I started racing towards the basket to score the last shot. Nakamura, right on my tail begins to push closer towards me.

I was protecting the ball with my left arm and shoulder, using my right side to dribble the ball.

"You know, you talk a lot of shit for a nobody," Nakamura uttered towards me, trying to steal the ball back.

"Seriously, does anyone even know your name?"

"I led my school to a 20-2 record, and won the regionals, so don’t try and lecture me punk!"

"What have you accomplished? What entitles you to think you know so much huh!?" he asked disrespectfully.

"What have I accomplished? Hmm well, I guess I started for {…}" I replied to him.

Right when those words left my mouth, Nakamura stopped chasing me and stood motionless. With despair in his eyes, it seemed like he had given up.

I rapidly approached the basket, getting ready to get an easy layup to win it all.

“Nah, that’d be too boring,” I said underneath my breath.

I bounced the ball straight up in the air and took a powerful jumping stance.

When the ball was right near the rim of the basket, I jumped with all my might.

I grabbed the ball with two hands initially, but let go with my left to extend my right side reach.

I was going for it. My first ever dunk.

✾❀✾

POV: Sato Kaede

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I simply couldn’t believe it.

Sugahara beat Nakamura in basketball!

Dammit! It should’ve been an easy bet to win, I mean, Nakamura’s supposed to be this top athlete.

He isn’t supposed to lose, at least not to anybody in this school!

Ugh, what a pain, do I really have to hold up my end of the bargain?

What was it that Sugahara even wanted again? I forgot…

“It better not have been a date!!!” I thought to myself shaking my head rapidly.

Anyway, the game hasn’t completely finished, but Sugahara just stole the ball from Nakamura and it looks like he just gave up.

Sugahra ran quickly towards me, as that's where the basketball hoop was.

Squeakk!

His shoes squeaked against the floor, as he stopped suddenly and bounced the ball really high.

“What’s he doing?” I thought.

Wait! This is it, the shot that I needed.

I held my camera up and faced it towards Sugahara as he started to jump in the air towards me.

Boooom!

flick!

Two sounds were created simultaneously.

Him dunking the ball, with an aggressive swing against the rim.

And the sound of my camera taking a snapshot of the whole thing.

“AHH WHAT A IDIOT!” I said as I looked closer.

He missed it!

“Well at least the photo turned out alright,” I said as it had captured the moment right before the dunk missed.

✾❀✾

POV: Sugahara

After pounding the ball against the rim with my hand, in an attempt to dunk the ball, the ball hit the front of the rim and bounced back out into the air.

“He missed it!” I heard many in the gym announce.

Well, it's not surprising, this has been my first attempt at a dunk, honestly, I’m pretty happy I got this high up.

Before the other team could possibly think of making a counter move, I rebounded the ball, and while in mid-air, I tipped it back into the basket. Scoring the last 2 points and winning the game for the black team.

Celebrations, disappointments, and everything in between filled the court.

The first person that came up to me was Kojima.

“You played great out there,” he told me.

“Yeah, I had to, that Nakamura sure was a handful,” I replied.

With that, the tryouts concluded and everyone met in the middle of the gym with the coach.

“There was some great basketball being played out there today, it would seem like there’s some apparent talent among us.”

“With all that being said, I’ll cut to the chase and pick the five players that impressed me the most.” he continued.

“Sugahara Oda,

Nakamura Haruki,

Asari Sae,

Okamoto Yuta,

And finally…

Suzuki Taiyou.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/ZHq9CLQ.jpg]

That will be all for today, I will host a smaller tryout tomorrow for the last two spots.

Though… I don't think there’s any talent left here.” Coach Miyamura said walking away into his office.

Though it’s flattering to be picked, it still left a salty taste in my mouth.

I looked over at Kojima Kouki, someone who I met only recently.

Someone who I desperately want to be friends with.

Someone who I wanted to enjoy my new life at Sakura High with.

Someone that…

Didn’t make the cut.

image [https://i.imgur.com/T0tW9RA.jpg]

His eyes looked soulless, he looked so tired and defeated.

Quick POV shift: Kinoshita

“The coach he… didn’t call Kojima’s name,” I said aloud.

“Nope, poor guy,” Kaori responded.

image [https://i.imgur.com/S1xRD7A.jpg]

Shift back POV: Sugahara

“Hey, Kojima—” I called for him, but he was already on his way out of the gym.

I rushed outside of the gym to look for him but he was gone.

He probably started to head home, after all, there was nothing else to do.

Anyway, I got changed back into my school clothes and headed out as well.

As I walked down the hall of the school towards the exit, in the corner of my eye, I saw Kojima outside, along with Kinoshita and Haruno.

I rushed outside to catch up to them.

When I left the building and went to where they were, only Kinoshita and Haruno remained.

“Hey, have you guys seen Kojima?” I asked them.

“He just left,” Haruno replied to me.

“Great, thanks,” I said, as I was getting ready to run off toward Kojima.

However, Haruno grabbed me by the back of my collar before I could leave.

“I wouldn’t talk to him if I were you. He seems like he’s in a pretty bad mood,” she told me.

“It makes sense why he’s feeling down, but there's still a chance for him,” I told Haruno.

“There’s a second tryout tomorrow, he can still make the team,” I informed them.

“I see,” Haruno said.

“But what if he doesn’t make it?”

“He will, I'll guide him there,” I told the two girls as I left.

I jogged to catch up to Kojima, who was a lot further head the path home than I was.

I saw Kojima ahead of me, walking by himself.

He said he usually would take his bike, but I guess he had to walk home today because of me.

“Hey wait for me!” I called out to him.

Kojima turned around and stopped for me.

“Man, you walk pretty fast!” I told Kojima, out of breath.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked me.

“Eh, nothing much, I just wanted to walk home with you. I also have to get my backpack from your house remember?” I said reminding him.

“Oh yeah that’s right, let’s go,” he answered back.

We walked back together in a quiet and peaceful manner, as the orange sun graced the world as it was slowly setting.

Not much was really said at all during the time.

It seemed like he didn’t want to talk about anything regarding the tryouts.

We eventually got back to his house so I could pick up my bag.

“Here you go,” he said, handing me my backpack.

“Thanks, bro, I really appreciate it,” I replied.

Not knowing what to do next, I finally talked to him about the tryouts.

“So, you ready for tomorrow’s tryouts?” I asked him.

“No, I won’t be attending it,” he told me.

Kojima, always seemed really eager about joining the team, and now he’s giving up?

“What do you mean? There's still two spots left, you're bound to get one,” I told him.

“No I wouldn’t. If I couldn’t make it the first time around, then it just proved that I have no talent,” he said with a broken demeanor.

“Coach even said, there was no more talent left in that gym,”

“But you on the other hand…” he said putting his hand on my shoulder.

“You’re talented, far beyond me. So I'm glad that you were able to make the team.”

To be truthful, I never really even wanted to be on the basketball team.

I was planning on quitting the team the moment I won the bet with Kaede.

It was something I wanted to leave behind.

Something that has caused havoc and haunted my life.

I wanted to run away from it, never looking back.

But maybe… just maybe.

It would actually be kind of fun with Kojima by my side.

Or maybe it wouldn’t.

Perhaps I’m just chasing nostalgia.

Chasing a replacement for Onodera.

“Well, if that's what you truly want to do, then be my guest,” I told him.

“But if you're not on the team, then it won’t be worth being on, so I’ll just quit,” I continued.

“Don’t do that, you’re talented, you belong there—”

“And you belong there too!” I yelled at Kojima.

A deep silence ensnared Kojima. He had nothing left to say and just looked down on the floor.

“There’s still hope for you, I know your weakness, and why the coach didn’t pick you.”

I pulled out a paper and pencil and wrote my contact info down.

“There’s still time to prepare for tomorrow, hit my line if you want my help. I’ll guarantee your success,” I told him as I put the paper on a countertop.

“Well, see ya,” I ended off as I left his house. Him not saying a word back.

I wandered around town for a bit, thinking about where I should stay for the night.

I thought about going back to my uncles' house, but what happened yesterday still has me pissed off.

I pulled out my phone and called a certain someone.

After that, I went to an ATM to withdraw some money.

It was now 8:00 p.m. and darkness filled the sky.

The glistening lights of the city lit up the environment.

I walked around for a bit, eventually stopping at Luxury Haven, the biggest and most expensive hotel in the city.

I walked by the entrance and saw the person I called earlier.

image [https://i.imgur.com/ZERwycb.jpg]

Her name? A mystery, even to me.

Though I call her Mrs. Veronica, that being her code name apparently.

“So, how was your first day of school? Did you meet any cute new girls?” she asked me curiously.

“Meh, it was whatever, and dunno, wasn’t paying attention,” I replied back.

“Anyways, did you book my room?” I asked her.

“I did, but you know, you shouldn’t really be doing this. I’ll only allow you to stay here for 2 weeks tops, got that?”

“Oh, and this is all coming out of your pockets!”

“Yeah I know, here, this is for the first 3 days,” I told her, handing the money I took out of the ATM from earlier.

“This is more money than for just three days?” she inquired.

“Yeah, you can keep the change I guess, since this was so sudden,” I told her.

“You sure do know how to please a woman,” she said with a laugh.

She handed me some keycards and I put them in my pocket.

“Well, until we meet again,” I told her as I headed into the hotel.

“Buh bye! Sleep tight!” she waved.

I entered the lobby and went to the elevators.

The reason I couldn’t just book the place myself, was because I’m still underage.

I went to the eighth floor and looked for room 807.

That’s where I’ll be staying for a couple of weeks at least.

The hotel as advertised, was pretty stunning, to say the least.

This is the type of hotel that CEOs and high-status individuals book at.

There were countless indoor amenities, such as gyms, pools, saunas, spas, and anything else you could need.

I got to my room and opened the door.

“Woahh, sweet!” I said to myself. The was one of the best rooms available, the ultra executive suite.

It was so spacious and luxurious, it was almost as big as most people's homes.

How I was able to afford all this? That's for another tale.

I set my things on the floor and hopped straight into the bath.

I was probably in the bath for an hour, just admiring the whole experience.

After all that, I put a robe on and just relaxed in the main room.

I dimmed the lights and made myself a cocktail.

Non-alcoholic of course, since I wasn’t of age yet.

Though I could if I wanted to. There were multiple bottles of wine, champagne, tequila, and other types lying around the room.

I stood by the giant glass window, having a view of the city and its bright lights.

It felt euphoric and refreshing as dopamine flooded my brain.

I haven’t felt this relaxed in a very very long time.

It felt as though nothing remotely mattered at all.

image [https://i.imgur.com/WrUauW2.jpg]

Time flew by, as I was having way too much fun exploring my room.

I eventually got tired and went to lay in the gigantic round bed, fit for a king.

I lay there, starting to fall asleep.

Before I could though, I saw my phone, which was right beside me, light up.

I picked it up and looked at it.

I saw a new notification message pop up.

It was a text from an unknown number, however, I knew who it was from.

It was him, Kojima Kouki, finally coming back to his senses.

“Now that’s the spirit.”