A TRAGIC END TO A BRIGHT FUTURE

As their practice ended both teams were exhausted and Nanaho who was still flabbergasted looked at them in awe. It looks like my team has won Hiroki said Seiji.

No Seiji, Yukio and I are the victors of today's game said Hiroki. I was keeping score in my head and the game ended seventy nine to seventy six in our favor said Hayato. That's real funny kid because last time I checked I scored thirty two points and Yukio had about twenty so we definetly didn't loose said Hiroki.

Well I scored thirty seven points and Hayato made about twenty so your point is? Asked Seiji. We should have kept score said Takahiro. Yeah, Hiroki and the captain always get like this when their competing, they will never stop arguing at this rate none of them like loosing so it always ends up like this when we dont keep score said Yukio. I see they are so determined to win and they both have the fighting spirit, I want to see how far they'll go, I really want to said Nanaho to herself excited.

After that day I continued training them and assisted them in developing their weaknesses to strengths and pointing out the areas they lacked in teamwork and they were doing really good, I was impressed with the work they put in to get that good and their ethics, progression and adaptability was astounding to the point where I decided to set a practice match for them to play against one of the second strongest teams in the prefecture Yokonan high school. However that's when everything fell into ruins.

The point guard for Yokonan at the time was a thrid year, Jintaro Kyousuke and he was a talented athlete. Despite being a year younger than Jintaro, Keichiro Yamada was the captain of the team and he was centre. Ryuu was in his first year however he was a starter and finally they managed to get their hands on the junior high mvp Kogure Kobayashi. I see, so this is where you've been Kogure said Yukio. Yeah, I'm not going to make any excuses because I chose to attend Yokonan and I'm going to crush both you and your brother said Kogure.

Pass me the ball Jintaro!! Shouted Keichiro as he posted up on Seiji in the paint. Jintaro faked a crossover to the right which caught Hayato by surprise and made a pass to Keichiro. Bring it on, come at me said Seiji. Keichiro bounces the ball on the ground and spun off of Seiji . he then attempted to slam dunk the ball however Seiji meets him in the air and blocks him. Wow, that was the fifth block since the game started whispered a Yokonan player. That guy from Toshigawa has been keeping Keichiro in check for two quarters now, I'm really surprised our captain scored zero points said another player.

what kind of monster is he keeping someone as strong as the captain in check. Jirou caught the ball and made a pass to Hiroki who dribbled the basketball up court. Kogure who was enjoying the game stepped up to guard him. Time to teach the MVP that he's not the only talented one on the court said Hiroki as he smirked and sets up to shoot a three pointer. Kogure quickly attempted to block him however he was unable to do so and the ball swishes. Wow we took the lead by two points, we are actually leading Yokonan I can't believe it said Nanaho surprised and happy.

Damn that player Seiji, he's been keeping Keichiro in check this whole time ,his defense is remarkable. The score is now sixty three to sixty one so I'm not really worried said Coach Arimoto to himself. Kogure intrigued hurriedly made his way to the other half of the court and crosses to get by Hiroki. he then jumped into the air and slammed dunk the ball. Whoa, it's all tied up now, Kogure is a monster said Takahiro.

He's only in his first year yet still he plays on a different level than the regular players like us said Jirou. as the ball was dribbled up court it was passed to Seiji who was guarded by Keichiro. Seiji fakes a spin to the right which caught Keichiro off guard. He then bounced the ball on the floor and spun off of Keichiro. Keichiro then recovered and jumped into the air in attempts to block however Seiji faked him out. he then goes up and slams the basketball into rim above Keichiro.

Whoa, Seiji dunked on Keichiro said everyone on both team shocked. God damnit, Seiji this whole game I haven't scored a single point because of you and now this said Keichiro to himself in an angered time. Kogure catch!! Shouted Jintaro as he quickly made a pass. Hiroki then stepped to guard Kogure. Kogure crosses to the right which Hiroki instantly reacted to however, he then spun to the left easily getting by his defense.

He then drove to the rim and jumped into the air to attempt a dunk however Seiji reacted in time and blocked him. Jirou then grabbed the ball and quickly passed it to Hayato who was already running towards the rim. As he took his two steps and attempted a layup Keichiro who was trailing him jumped into the air a block him from behind and the two of them came tumbling down to the floor with Hayato's knee hitting the floor absorbing all of the impact of the fall with the weight of Keichiro.

Hayato then started holding his leg and cried out in pain. Crap, Hayato are you okay? Asked Jirou as he ran towards him. The rest of the team immediately ran towards Hayato who was on the ground in pain. I'm sorry, I didn't... mean for this said Keichiro. His knee bone looks like it's fractured God damnit!! said Seiji angered. Quickly, one of you get some ice and also my first aid kit said Nanaho. You heard the girl go get some ice, Ryuu said Coach Arimoto.

After applying the ice and wrapping it up Seiji and Hiroki lifted Hayato and placed him on the bench. This seems to be a very tragic outcome, I apologize for what happened said coach Arimoto. No, it's not your fault it wasn't something that could be controlled, these things happen in this kind of game said Seiji. So do you still want to continue this match or do you want to call it off? Asked the coach . No, we will continue the game until the sound of the whistle said Seiji.

Junpei you'll be subbing in for Hayato get warmed up said Nanaho. Right Junpei said as he started stretching. Nanaho, please don't sub me out I can still play said Hayato with tear in his eyes. Absolutely not, the situation you're in is really bad and it might get worse or damaged beyond repair and I don't want that said Nanaho. Tell me, will I be able to play basketball with the team this season? He asked.

I'm not sure, but passed on your injury it might not be possible. God damnit, why did this have to happen to me, why? I don't deserve this. I felt hurt by the situation that Hayato was in and also the team because for the remainder of the game Yokonan maintained a steady lead and we lost to them at a score of ninety five to eighty four with Kogure scoring forty seven points. After the game Hayato was taken to the hospital and we called his parents to inform them of the situation.

We were given tragic news as the doctor informed us that it would take six months for him to recover. Although the lost of a good player like Hayato decreased the team's morale we still had a good enough team to at least go far or that was what I thought until that day. Jirou you bastard!! Shouted Hiroki as he rushed over and punched Jirou in the face sending him flying. He then continuously punched Jirou in the face causing a bloody mess.

Seiji, Yukio and Takahiro managed to get Hiroki off of a beaten and unconscious Jirou. Let me go Seiji I'm going to kill this scum said Hiroki. What the hell is wrong with you Hiroki, why would you do that to Jirou. That bastard tried to touch my sister and forced himself unto her, he even hit her, how dare you!! Jirou was hospitalized that day due to a broken shoulder bone and his jaw bone slipped out of socket. The following day officers were sent to the school by Jirou's parents to escort Hiroki to the police station.

How could you do this to me Hiroki!! This year was supposed to be our year god damn it!! Said Seiji as angry tears came to his eyes. Do you think I would have just thrown our dream away for nothing, that bastard he tried to have his way with my little sister, what if he had done something to her that would traumatize and scar her for life!! Shouted Hiroki. That's enough out of you get in the car said an Officer as they drove off with him.

I could have sense the hurt in Seiji's voice and also the tears that Yukio shed that day. The whole team was in shambles and the dream they had seemed so far away from our reach.The students didn't stop talking about the matter of what happened that day. And Tomoe had to bear the burden of loosing her brother and the criticism. Of course we tried to help her but she pushed us away.

We went through the games to the best of our abilities with my strategy and both Yukio and his older brother running a two man team. We won every game up until the fourth round where we lost by a single point against Seisen international with a score of seventy eight to seventy seven. That day was the last game Seiji played and Marube, Junpei and Akira and the others graduated along with him leaving only Takahiro and Yukio.