Hidē dribbled the ball down the court as #18 guarded him. Hidē passed the ball toward Kazuma but the kid just swiped it mid-air. He dribbled down the court, grinning. He then jumped up, shooting a layup. Kazuma squinted his eyes,
"I need to get to him..." Kazuma internalized. Kazuma ran toward #18, guarding him. The boy grinned, passing the ball to his teammates. He then moved around, trying to get Kazuma off of him. Teruo passed the ball to Hachimura and Hachimura passed the ball to Jin. Jin caught the pass, jumping up and shooting the ball. (16-14, SD, 7:50.) Yusuke grabbed the ball, passing it to Kazuma. Kazuma dribbled the ball down the court when #18 ran toward him. Kazuma grits his teeth, chucking the ball at Yusuke. Yusuke caught the ball, dribbling toward the arc. The team approached the arc. Yusuke passed the ball toward Kazuma. Kazuma caught the ball, shooting a three. A few minutes would pass as the first quarter would end. Both teams would return to their respective benches.
"Alright... The score is 25 - 22... I'm going to sub Keiji for Kazuma..." Coach Takeuchi said. Keiji nodded, standing up.
"Coach! Please keep me in!" Kazuma asked. Coach Takeuchi raised a brow,
"Are you not tired...?" Takeuchi asked. Kazuma nodded, breathing heavily.
"B... But... I think I can adapt to this guy... Beat him..." Kazuma said. Coach Takeuchi said,
"I'll keep you out for the first half of the quarter, then you're being subbed out..."
"Thank you, Coach..." Kazuma said. Yusuke looked at Kazuma worriedly.
"Mm'hmm... Yoshinori, you'll go in at the beginning of the second quarter then subbed out for Yusuke later..."
"Kuse, you'll go in for Matsuda when the quarter starts and Kuba you'll go in for Sasaki..." Coach Takeuchi said. Coach looked over at Ryuzaki.
"You alright kid...?" Takeuchi asked. Ryuzaki nodded, taking a sip of water.
"I'm all good coach..." Ryuzaki said. Coach Takeuchi looked down at Ohashi.
"Can you play small forward?" Takeuchi asked. Tomio shrugged,
"Yeah, why am I going in?" Ohashi asked. Takeuchi nodded. Ryuzaki looked confused,
"But coach, I can still keep playing!" Ryuzaki said. Takeuchi sighed,
"Besides, Tomio doesn't even play my position, he plays Yusuke and Yoshinori's..." Ryuzaki said. Takeuchi sighed,
"He'll do fine... Now sit down and get some rest... You need it..." Takeuchi said. Ryuzaki walked over to Yusuke sitting down next to him, scoffing.
"Damn old man… Won't let me play for my own team…" Ryuzaki said. Yusuke shrugged,
"I mean, you played a whole quarter without a break…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki shook his head,
"You too huh… This team's a waste…" Ryuzaki said. Ryuzaki stood up, walking out to the hallway. Yusuke had an insulted look on his face. Takeuchi looked back at the bench, raising a brow.
"Where's Kurosawa…?" Takeuchi asked.
"He got angry and went to go fill up his water bottle…" Yusuke said. Takeuchi sighed,
"Just… Go and get him, alright…" Takeuchi said. Yusuke nodded, standing up and walking out into the hallway. He saw Ryuzaki sitting on a bench with his eyes closed. Yusuke opened his mouth to speak before closing it again. Ryuzaki grit his teeth, clenching his fists.
"These damn cowards don't know anything about hard work… It's likeI have to carry them all on my back…" Ryuzaki said. Yusuke walked up to him.
"Do you really believe that…?" Yusuke asked. Ryuzaki looked up at Yusuke in surprise.
"Why the hell are you out here!?" Ryuzaki asked. Yusuke looked Ryuzaki in the eyes,
"Answer my question…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki sighed,
"Why're all up on my ass all of a sudden…" Ryuzaki scratched the side of his head,
"Yeah, I do believe that…" Ryuzaki said. Yusuke sighed,
"How come?" Yusuke asked. Ryuzaki stood up, walking toward the water fountain.
"Cause…" He bent down, getting a sip of water.
"… You all have zero work ethic…" Ryuzaki said. Yusuke raised a brow,
"What the hell's that supposed to mean!?" Yusuke asked, walking over to Ryuzaki. Yusuke grabbed Ryuzaki's jersey.
"Let go…" Ryuzaki said, looking Yusuke in the eyes.
"Nah, I won't…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki raised a brow, pushing Yusuke.
"I thought we made a promise…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki sighed,
"Then do your job and help me win…" Ryuzaki said. Yusuke looked insulted,
"My job!?" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki nodded, walking back toward the gym.
"What you need to do is help to benefit me to get a win…" Ryuzaki said. Ryuzaki walked past Yusuke. Yusuke grabbed Ryuzaki's shoulder. Ryuzaki looked back, glaring at Yusuke. Yusuke glared back.
"This isn't just you Ryuzaki… It's all of us…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki raised a brow,
"Like we said… We're doing this together… Not just you and me…"
"Kazuma, Hidē, Matsuda, Yoshinori, everyone else…" Yusuke said.
"We don't have jobs so one of us can be successful… We do it for eachother…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki looked down at the ground,
"… He's right… I'll only get better if my teammates do…" Ryuzaki internalized.
"Come on… Lets go back in there…" Yusuke said. Ryuzaki nodded, as the two walked back into the gymnasium. They sat back down at the bench. Takeuchi looked at the two,
"Welcome back…" Takeuchi said, looking back at the game. Yusuke and Ryuzaki nodded,
"Thanks Coach…" Ryuzaki said. The whole bench looked down at Ryuzaki in shock, except Yusuke. Ryuzaki had a confused and embarrassed look on his face.
"What!?" Ryuzaki asked.
"Nothing…" Said the other teammates in unison. Meanwhile, on the court Kazuma would be dribbling the ball up the court. He passed it to Yoshinori who then passed it to Juro. Juro dribbled up the court, scoring a layup. (25 - 24, SD, 10:32.) #18 got the ball, dribbling it down to their court quickly. Kazuma chased him, trying to catch up. Kazuma grit his teeth, slowing inching closer. Takeuchi's eye's widened as Kazuma quickly caught up to him.
"Gotcha!!" Kazuma internalized. Kazuma then stole the ball, chucking it at Yoshinori. Yoshinori stood slightly outside the three-point arc. Yoshinori caught the ball, jumping up and shooting the three. Kazuma's eyes widened, watching the ball soar through the air. It all seemed in slow motion for Kazuma. He'd watch the ball slowly soar in amazement, watching it fall through the hoop swiftly. He heard the ball hit the ground and bounce up. (25 - 27, KU, 10:27.) Teruo grabbed the ball, passing it to Jin. Jin passed the ball back to Teruo who took it down the court. Yoshinori guarded him, forcing him to pass the ball toward #18. The ball flew toward #18 but Kazuma caught it. Kazuma passed it to Keiji who went for a layup before Jin accidentally hit his arm while blocking. Keiji fell to the ground. The ref blew his whistle, signaling the foul on Masayuki Jin. Keiji walked over to the three-point line, shooting two free's, making 1/2. Keiji sighed. Kazuma walked over to Keiji patting him on the shoulder and smiling.
"Don't worry, we've got this." Kazuma said.
(25 - 28, KU, 10:18.)