Bring the Game

Chapter 3 - Don't hate the player;…

Sasuke approached the center of the court where Squall was already in position and limbering up his body by rolling his neck and shoulders but when he saw the Uchiha, and their eyes met, his face became as hard as stone. Sasuke mirrored his granite-like expression and they began a silent, yet heated exchange between them and neither boy looked away while trying to intimidate the other to break their gaze first.

The official tossed the ball to Sasuke since the Ninjas were in control at the end of the previous quarter but even then Sasuke didn’t give the other boy the satisfaction of winning this little game they were playing either and he dexterously caught it.

Squall extended his arms to the side and prepared to block his opponent but Sasuke didn’t move, he just stood there with the ball tucked possessively under his arm and his other hand resting lightly on his hip.

The referee wasn’t sure if he was waiting for a signal of some kind, the player was free to start as long as he’d made the hand off and he looked up to see the shot clock counting down the team’s thirty-five seconds to shoot and, not wanting to give them an unfair advantage, yelled ‘Play Ball’ but Sasuke still remained stationary.

‘What the hell is he doing?’ was Kakashi’s incredulous thought as he watched his center man hold up the game and quite possibly cost them possession of the ball when he noticed they only had twenty-three seconds remaining. The crowd was not too pleased with the delay either and loudly voiced their disapproval but the rush of blood pounding in Sasuke’s ears smothered it into a dull murmur.

Squall was at a loss of what to do and vaguely wondered if the other boy was this egocentric that he’d put his entire team at the disadvantage for the sake of his pride, but then again, he could have been the bigger man and just ended their silly competition but he was just as obstinate as the Uchiha.

It didn’t matter to him if this guy wanted to be that immature, Squall never cared what other people did and he sure as hell didn’t care if Sasuke was making an ass of himself just because he wanted to be a prick and he could stand there all night and watch him if he felt like but Seifer’s shouted orders to ‘steal the ball’, made almost inaudible by the crowd’s growing impatience and the fact that he wanted to get this over with quickly so he could spend the rest of the night with Naruto were more important and when he switched his aim from Sasuke’s face to the orange object cradled at his side his head whipped around and the spectators’ furious screams became startled gasps when he fell backwards to the floor.

Squall wasn’t quite sure what had just happened to him but the throbbing ache in his jaw and the Uchiha standing over him clutching one fist were enough clues to decipher that he had just punched him.

“C’mon,” Seifer yelled to Kakashi from his team’s bench. “What the fuck was that? Will you please tell that douche that this is a basketball game and not a boxing match?” but all the silver-haired coach could do was shake his head in embarrassment.

Squall jumped to his feet just as the referee blew his whistle and Sasuke tossed the ball to one side and stepped closer in invitation but Zell and Irvine each grabbed one of Squall’s arms to restrain him while Naruto and Lee did the same to their team mate.

“Get your filthy hands off me, Uzumaki,” Sasuke roared and jerked the arm that Naruto held free.

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Squall growled in his low, yet firm voice.

“That’s a personal foul,” screamed the ref, flabbergasted at the flagrant display of unsportsmanlike behavior. “You’re off the court.”

Sasuke liberated his other arm from Lee and sent Squall one last glare before turning to walk back to his bench and his disgraceful departure was accompanied by booing and hissing from the audience and when he got there Kakashi let him have it.

“Sasuke, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how bad you’re making your team look?”

He was now fed up with the Uchiha’s childish antics and his constant fighting with Naruto but taking out his anger on a player on the other team was inexcusable. “Do you even comprehend the gravity of what you’ve just done?” he asked when he saw an unrepentant Sasuke tossing his towel and team jersey inside his sports bag while blatantly ignoring him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Sasuke flung the duffel over his shoulder and turned to walk towards the exit. “I’m going back to the hotel.”

“Oh no you’re not,” Kakashi objected and reached out an arm to grab Sasuke by the back of his collar. “You’re going to stay here and watch the rest of the game and wait for it to finish, then leave with the rest of your team whether they’re victorious or not.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” and the cold stare that Kakashi sent the official made him take an involuntary step backwards. “But if you don’t send in another player now you’re going to lose by default.”

“Nara,” was his one word command and their sixth-man grumbled and rose from his comfortable seat to take the short journey to the center circle followed closely by the referee.

The substitute coach snatched the bag from Sasuke with little struggle and made him sit on the bench, still warm from where Shikamaru had occupied it just now and the young boy leaned back to slouch and cross his arms over his chest and Kakashi could have sworn he saw the tiniest hint of a pout on his thin lips. He had to be mistaken though because Sasuke never pouted, then again, he also never attacked anyone unless provoked either and it only confirmed to the teacher that something was seriously bothering his pupil.

Kakashi sighed heavily and sat down next the brooding teenager, leaning forward to support his torso upon his knees with his elbows and he watched as the referee gave the ball to Squall, this time putting the SeeDs in possession.

“Sasuke,” he said in a soft voice, all remnants of his earlier anger gone and his voice easy to hear now that the crowd had placated once the game started. “I know something’s on your mind and I’m not pressuring you to say anything about it,” he quickly added just as the young brunette opened his mouth to tell him it was ‘none of his business’. “But I just want you to know that it’s not healthy to keep things like that bottled up inside you because, eventually, you’ll pack everything inside too tightly and that cork won’t be enough to stop the eruption.” and he turned to face the boy who was observing the game through half-lidded eyes. “Do you understand what I mean?”

“Hn, don’t lecture me, Kakashi,” and he smirked when Zell swiped at the ball, effectively stealing it from Naruto then frowned immediately before adding in an almost disheartened tone, “it’s you who doesn’t understand.”

“Oh really,” the other man chuckled and raised a thin, silver eyebrow before leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest, copying Sasuke’s relaxed position. “A few years ago I had anger management problems too,” and he smiled at the memory of his much younger and more impudent self. “Everyone told me that I should seek help but I didn’t think it was me with the problem at the time, I just thought it was everyone else that had a problem with me. Everything and everyone pissed me off and I always found something to argue about with friends, family and co-workers.”

Kakashi stopped when the referee blew his whistle after he caught Biggs traveling and when the game play resumed with the Ninjas now in possession he continued. “ I had always managed to suppress my violent tendencies before but even though I knew I was getting worse when I kept having morbid thoughts of hurting people I still refused to believe something was wrong until one day…” his voice trailed off and even though Sasuke was trying to pretend he didn’t care about the other man’s anecdote he turned his head in suspense to see the regret etched deep into his face and his unfocused eyes staring up at the ceiling as if reliving those wretched twenty minutes of the abuse he’d inflicted upon another human being.

“One day, I hurt someone who loved me…someone I loved.”

Iruka had put with a lot of his shit before and was the only person who tolerated him whenever he went on one of his rampages. He always listened, never argued back and never took offence when he insulted him because he knew Kakashi didn’t mean it, he was always only blowing off steam but Kakashi didn’t want a pacifist, he wanted someone who would fight back and no matter how much he provoked Iruka, the other man just took his verbal abuse then acted as if nothing happened the next day.

But that night, he had made reservations at a restaurant to celebrate their second anniversary and when Iruka came home late and said he was too tired from work to go, Kakashi lost it. Iruka apologized incessantly and promised he’d make it up to him but his lover didn’t want to hear it and when Iruka just stood there and did nothing as usual Kakashi slapped him…hard…and it felt good.

Iruka was just as surprised as he was and when he got up off the floor he was knocked back down again. What happened after that felt like a dream to Kakashi and it was as if he was watching himself do these things to the man he loved but the monster that he had been nurturing with his hatred and anger had grown too strong and broke free of its bonds with that first strike and it was too late to stop it while it beat the other man, dragged him around the apartment by his hair, threw him against the wall and tore at his clothes while sadistically ignoring those whimpered pleas and the agonized tears streaming down his face when he…

Kakashi clamped his eyes shut and forced what happened next out of his mind. He didn’t want to remember what he used to be but the therapist told him that acceptance was the first step and he had to be honest with himself and admit that he did do those things but he was no longer that malevolent creature.

“That person had to be hospitalized because of what I did,” he went on and rubbed his bicep as if that simple action would be enough to comfort himself. “But even then they didn’t press charges against me even though I deserved it. I visited that person everyday and they acted as if nothing happened and told me that it wasn’t my fault but that hurt me the most of all because even after what I’d done they still forgave me.”

It was still too painful to talk about and he’d never told anyone else about this before, was only doing this for Sasuke’s benefit but when he felt his chest constrict tightly around his heart he knew he had to wrap this up quickly.

“Anyway, I moved away and sought the help I needed after that. That person found another boyfriend who’s much better than I am, and me-,” he turned to face Sasuke with a large grin and his eyes upturned in mirth. “I’m now the level-headed individual that you see before you.”

“My problem’s nothing like that,” Sasuke scoffed, turning his head away to face the other direction. “I don’t have trouble controlling my anger.”

“I see,” Kakashi said, humoring him while he scratched his chin. “Then what is your problem, Sasuke?”

“That’s just it, I don’t have a problem,” he lied and he watched Naruto with livid animosity from the corner of his eyes and as they drew into thin slits his vision momentarily became red.

“I just hate basketball”

***

Shikamaru wiped his brow with the back of his hand to mop away the troublesome beads of sweat that kept running down his face. He moved to the left in an attempt to get around Squall but the taller boy with his long legs had no problem staying in front of him. He had to get the ball to Neji, and soon, because he was in the best position to take his three-point shot and even though Kiba was acting as a barrier between Irvine and Neji it wouldn’t be long before Zell broke away from Lee.

They had abandoned their man-to-man defense strategy and right now the Ninja’s main concern was clearing paths for Neji. The Hyuuga had successfully scored two two-point shots but the other team had made one of their own so they were still behind and with less than six minutes to go they needed to catch up, and fast.

Shikamaru faked a pass to the right and when Squall reached out to block it he swiftly made a blind pass to the left. He knew he’d never get around this obstacle because he noticed the other center player had a quick recovery time and would have been back in front of him before he even took two steps. It would only have been a wasted effort if he tried so he could only hope for the best.

Fortunately, Naruto received the pass and immediately tossed it to Lee, who was now open after Zell escaped from him. The boy with the bowl cut wasn’t sure what to do with it at that point since both Neji and Kiba were now tagged so he went up to the basket to make the shot himself.

Zell swore and abandoned his target so he could guard the basket and when Lee set himself up for the lay-up Zell jumped to block it but it was another fake and Lee passed the ball to Neji in mid-air and before Zell’s feet reached the ground the ball was already in transit and slipped through the basket.

“Nothin’ but net,” Naruto screeched excitedly and he raised a hand in invitation for Shikamaru to slap him a high-five. The Nara obliged then wished he hadn’t when the blond left him with a stinging palm.

Neji hunched over and braced his upper body by placing his hands on his knees and his chest heaved as he took large gulps of air.

“Nice shot Neji,” Lee congratulated him with a thumbs up sign and flashing his iridescent, white teeth but when he saw the winded state his team mate was in he became worried. “Neji are you okay? Do you have asthma?”

“I’m fine,” he snapped and slapped away the concerned hand that Lee had rested on his shoulder.

Neji didn’t have asthma; but he wasn’t fine either.

His heart was slamming against his ribs and he heard the rhythmic drumming over the ecstatic screams of the spectators even though it wasn’t the home team that scored. His head was light and he felt like throwing up and Neji had to keep swallowing the bile that was constantly pooling at the back of his throat.

‘Shit!’ he wheezed silently when his legs threatened to buckle from beneath him and he dug his fingernails into his knees so he could concentrate on the pain and not how sick he felt.

He’d scored his three points, fulfilled his team’s expectations of him so he could take it easy from now. Taking another deep breath he straightened slowly and prepared for the next hand off and Lee wondered if he should inform Kakashi that Neji could, quite possibly, be ill but he didn’t get the chance because the match had already continued when Kiba chucked the ball to Naruto.

The Konoha Ninjas made a strong comeback with their series of feints and fake outs. They knew the SeeDs kept expecting them to pass to Neji but what they didn’t know was that Neji’s role had already been fulfilled but by the time they realized that it was too late and Kiba’s slam dunk put them one point ahead.

“Mother fucker!” Seifer exclaimed in exasperation, tossing his arms in the air before calling a time out. “Okay, what the fuck just happened?” was his rhetorical question when his five-man team gathered before him.

No one dared answer him and they all tried to avoid his gaze by checking to see if shoe laces were untied or looking for friends and family members in the audience. All except Squall, of course, who brazenly met his eyes. In a case like this his rival would usually say something nasty to make him either walk away or lose his temper but right now he was too pissed to think of anything remotely clever.

“You guys are the most incompetent sacks of horse manure I’ve ever had the displeasure of coaching,” and that didn’t say much since this was the first game he’d ever coached on his own and it was probably going to be his last, if the players had anything to say about it. “Maybe you wankers would rather play with your own balls instead?”

“C’mon Seifer, that kind of talk is really not beneficial for the team’s morale.”

Zell’s head snapped up when he heard that familiar voice and rushed over to the man who was making his way towards them. “LAGUNA!” he yelled and jumped into his beloved teacher’s arms to glomp him, literally glomp him, and Laguna managed to drop his bag just in time to wrap his arms around his youngest student’s waist.

“Good to see you too, Zell,” he rasped when the boy squeezed him unmercifully tight.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” he blurted happily into his teacher’s ear and not caring how silly it looked to have a fully-grown young adult clinging to a middle-aged man. “You have no idea how much we’ve suffered without you.”

“Oh come now, Zell,” he chuckled. “I’m sure it couldn’t have been that bad,” and when everyone, began to loudly protest he regretted leaving Seifer in charge. He had planned on asking the school’s principal, Cid Kramer, to fill in for him while he went to take of important business in Michigan for a couple of days but Seifer said he could handle it and he trusted the boy’s judgment and thought the experience would be good for him but he should have known that Seifer’s temperament would raise conflicts and on the entire flight back he was praying the team’s spirit was still intact and the second the plane landed he drove straight to the college and was surprised that the others hadn’t drawn and quartered him yet.

“How could you abandon us like that, coach?” Zell sobbed.

“It’s what he does best.”

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy and the joyous moment was shattered by Squall’s callous words and even the usually heartless Seifer thought he’d made a low blow.

Zell felt Laguna’s grip slacken around him and he slipped to the ground and stepped away to find the man staring listlessly at the ground with a weak smile on his face. He thought Squall had gone too far too and he was usually the one who berated his friend when he spoke with such disregard for human feelings but the heated fury that emanated from Squall in mixed with the bitter depression surrounding Laguna made the air thick and it was hard to breathe, much less speak.

Laguna felt he deserved his son’s enmity towards him and that was why, no matter how many times Squall accused him of being a terrible father, he never denied it or tried to apologize. It was too late for apologies anyway and Squall had nurtured too much loathing within his heart towards that man throughout his orphaned years that it was hard to forgive him now even though he was trying, and Laguna did try very hard to be an integral part in his son’s life even though he was now old enough to take care of himself.

That was the only reason he volunteered to coach the team in the first place, it was an opportunity to spend time with his son to make up for all those lost years. They both loved basketball, was probably the only thing they shared in common and Laguna made a great coach so Squall didn’t care either way but he knew that he would never see that man as anything more than his trainer so Laguna was, essentially, just wasting his time.

“So, where do we stand right now?” the older man said with a clap of his hands, snapping everyone out of the awkward reverie. There was no point in getting upset over Squall’s angst and Laguna was not the type to mope and the fact that he just let everything roll off his shoulders while his son chose to brood over every little thing reinforced just how distant both men were from each other.

The team was still recovering from the backlash of Squall’s insensitive remark and still a little uncomfortable but Laguna’s characteristically chipper attitude soon put them at ease.

“We’re one point behind with less than thirty seconds on the clock, coach,” Irvine supplied and pulled his rubber band from his hair so he could ruffle his locks a bit and refasten the strands that had slipped out.

“We would have been in the lead if these fucktards could just keep the ball for more than five seconds,” Seifer grumbled.

Their coach nodded and the conception of a game strategy began to form in his head. “So, we just need to make one shot,” and it was a statement, not a question.

“You make it sound so easy, coach,” Zell whined and the others grumbled likewise but Laguna laughed heartily at their pessimism and for a second they thought he’d gone terminally insane.

“C’mon, we’ve crawled out of tighter spots before,” he reminded. “Just because it’s the championships doesn’t mean it’s any different. We’ve got the cup now and we’re going to keep it.”

He never had to give any long-winded pep talks to get his team motivated because once Zell was convinced, his enthusiasm caused a domino effect among the other players and Laguna used that tactic quite often with his boys.

Now that they were pumped up and ready to go he called everyone into a huddle. “Okay I need you guys to fill me in on the other team’s strengths and weaknesses, but quickly,” he added when he realized their time-out was almost over. “I think I have a plan.”

***

Kakashi continued to sit quietly next to Sasuke while he listened to his team formulate their strategy for the few remaining seconds on the board. Shikamaru had become fully awake now and it was interesting, to say the least, to see the significant shift in his attitude once he was driven by adrenaline.

They were going to make a ‘keep away’ play but in the event that their opponent ended up with the ball their second priority would be boxing him out. It wasn’t a complex plan or anything but Nara knew that, in this critical moment, a simple defense would suffice instead of trying to risk making another shot.

Kiba didn’t seem to agree and Naruto actually took his side because he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory but Neji sided with Shikamaru and they got into an argument. It was Lee’s vote who broke the stalemate and he opted to go along with Shikamaru’s original plan since he was still concerned about Neji’s health and didn’t want his team mate to overexert himself.

Kiba grumbled but Naruto only shrugged it off as they headed back out onto the court.

Their attempt at ‘freezing’ the game was actually quite successful since there was only twenty-seven seconds left and they were legally allowed thirty-five to maintain possession of the ball before making a shot, a shot they had no intention of making, but Kiba was disobedient and when he thought he had the perfect scoring opportunity he went for the layup but Zell came out of nowhere and made a defensive rebound and the second he had the ball in hand he sent an outlet pass to Irvine who was conveniently located mid-court who made a fast break from Neji and scored a successful three-pointer of his own.

“Yes!” Laguna cheered and pumped his hand in the air as if yanking on a chain.

“Heh, not bad, old man,” and that was the closest thing to a compliment that would ever escape Seifer’s lips.

Shikamaru stomped over to Kiba and started yelling at him but he was hard to hear over the screaming that reverberated throughout the enclosed gymnasium and even though the Inuzuka did feel remorseful he refused to admit that the fault lay with him. “Neji could have stopped that shot,” was the spiky haired brunette’s excuse but the other boy was not about to accept the blame.

“Don’t come with that shit, dog-fucker,” he raged. “You were the one who wanted to play the hero.”

“What did you just call me?” Kiba asked in a low growl, daring him to repeat what he’d just said while clenching his hands into tight fists by his sides.

Neji stepped closer, not at all intimidated by the murderous scowl on his face. “DOG-FUCKER!”

“Son of a bitch,” and Kiba retaliated by shoving him hard against his shoulders.

“No, you’re the one with a bitch for a mother,” Neji volleyed back and shoved him just as hard. Kiba was ready to pounce on him at that point but the referee intervened.

“Look, you guys break this up right now or I’m penalizing your team.”

“Do whatever you want,” Neji scoffed. “It’s not like we can win now anyway.”

“No, we’ll keep playing,” Shikamaru said in a flat voice and the others wondered if he was some kind of glutton for punishment.

It was troublesome but, roughly translated in English, their school motto meant; ‘Never give up; follow your own path and Believe it!’ and they couldn’t just abandon the creed they recited every morning at assembly just because the situation now looked bleak…but did it really matter now?

Forfeiting the game would have been more dishonorable than just losing by one point but they had already done a disservice to their college by behaving in such a deplorable manner and when their school principal, Tsunade, eventually heard about their disgraceful conduct she was sure to disband the basketball team and channel the funding into music or some other after-school club.

Shikamaru tried his best but it was difficult since his team was now playing half-heartedly and he eventually gave up too and with six seconds left on the clock he stopped moving altogether.

Biggs seemed to share the same greed Kiba did and wanted to give the SeeDs a victory to really celebrate about and made a vigorous drive towards the basket but he accidentally charged into Neji and knocked him to the ground, when he made his slam dunk.

The crowd cheered and for the first time in his life, Biggs felt like a big shot and started blowing kisses to the spectators but the referee blew his whistle and counted it as a foul, disregarding his two points and awarding the other team a free throw. Biggs winced visibly when he heard Seifer’s swear viciously and he knew he was in deep shit but Neji was now swimming in it.

The Hyuuga cursed his incredibly bad luck as the official handed the ball to him and he stepped up to the free-throw line, feeling very much like a convict approaching the electric chair.

The SeeDs still had their two point lead but if Neji made these two shots then they game would be tied and they could go into over-time, but if he didn’t…

‘No!’ and he shook his head to dismiss that thought. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he missed because he wasn’t going to miss. He couldn’t.

He took a deep breath to calm his quaking nerves and after dribbling the ball a few times he raised his arms and took the shot. The ball literally ‘swished’ through the net and a mixture of cheers and loud groans could be heard all around.

Seifer formed his fingers into a sign of the cross and projected it towards Neji while chanting ‘Jinx, jinx, jinx,’ and Laguna slapped his hands down and scolded him.

Kakashi was at the edge of his seat by now and even Sasuke, who had held no interest in the remainder of the game, couldn’t help but watch, in suspense, as Neji was once again presented with the ball and squared up to make his last shot.

He couldn’t miss! He was their best shooter with a flawless record of 100% accuracy in all his games and his team knew that and a renewed hope sprouted among them but as Kakashi watched him carefully he could sense something was not right with the boy. Usually, Neji breathed through his nose and out through his mouth and it was that controlled pattern that kept him composed and allowed him to play for so long without taking a break but now he was panting heavily, taking in large gulps of air and letting them out in short, haggard puffs. The older man’s face fell into a flat, expressionless mask as he scrutinized his player and he seriously contemplated taking him off the court but it was too late now because Neji was already lifting his arms to take the next shot.

The ball felt heavier than usual, his arms seemed to shake under its unbearable weight and he had a hard time gripping it now that his hands were clammy with sweat.

‘I can do this,’ he kept telling himself. He was within his shooting range and a shot from this distance was a piece of cake, so then why did it seem as if the basket was a hundred meters away? He wished time could just freeze in this moment forever so he wouldn’t have to go through with this or better still, the ground open up and swallow him alive and as beads of perspiration dripped from his forehead and clung to his thick, long lashes he prayed for Armageddon.

He couldn’t flake out now. The expectant looks his teammates were giving him from the free-throw lane and the blind faith they possessed was enough to give him the confidence to go on. He could do this, had done it hundreds of times before and it wasn’t a problem for someone like him, and…and…Oh God! He couldn’t!

Neji’s body tensed just as he released the ball but it had too much spin and it shifted from its trajectory in mid-shot and bounced against the rim before falling outside of the basket.

The place erupted into a crescendo of exultant shouts but Neji didn’t hear any of it or see when the SeeDs started running around the court, jumping on each other and slapping high-fives as he stared mutely at the basket, his tunnel-vision locked solely on it.

Naruto blinked a few times, still unsure if he had dreamed the entire thing but when the score board failed to add another point under their team’s name he couldn’t deny the inevitable any longer. “Did…did Neji just miss?” he asked out loud but more to himself.

“Way to save the day, hero,” Kiba scoffed throwing his earlier comment back in his face and turned to walk back towards their bench.

The rest follow suit and Lee had to put his arms around Neji’s shoulders and lead him back to the others because it seemed as if he’d never move if they just left him there.

“Nice shot, Hyuuga,” Sasuke drawled sarcastically and that sardonic remark seemed to snap him out of his trance. Kakashi scolded the callous Uchiha before assuring Neji that he’d done his best and not to take it too personally but Neji didn’t want to hear it and he furiously threw his things into his duffel bag then tossed it over one shoulder before hastily making his way towards the exit.

“Where are you going, Neji,” Kakashi asked, slightly annoyed that, for the second time that night, one of his players was trying to bail.

“The showers. The game’s over isn’t it?” he snapped angrily while never slowing his pace or looking back. Kakashi watched him go and he thought about following him but he knew the boy would only want to be alone right now.

“Man, Sasuke. Do you always have to be so anal,” Naruto muttered as he dabbed away at his neck with a towel.

Sasuke chuckled and tilted his head to one side. “Hn, that’s funny coming from someone who takes it up the ass all the time.”

“You bastard,” growled the blond and he took a bold step in the Uchiha’s direction but Kakashi cut him off with a large palm against his chest.

“That’s enough!” he shouted and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to stare in shock at their usually complacent coach. He’d never used that tone of voice with any of them before and they cowered when he rested those livid eyes on each of them. “I’m really disappointed with all of you tonight.” It really wasn’t fair to lecture Shikamaru or Lee either but each person’s offence was the team’s offence and if they had been playing as a team he never would have had to reprimand them in the first place. “All of you hit the showers and go straight back to the hotel. I don’t want to hear another word out of any of you for the rest of the night or even on the flight back to Japan. Do I make myself clear?”

They nodded sheepishly, fearful of what he would do if they even said ‘Yes, Sir!’. The Ninjas gathered their possessions in silence but before they could leave Seifer had already sauntered over to the group, followed by a very reluctant Irvine.

“Good game,” he grinned wolfishly.

“Thanks,” Kakashi replied on a heavy sigh and extended an arm to shake off any hard feelings. “You guys play very well.”

Seifer looked at that pale hand with a raised eyebrow then glanced back at Kakashi with an almost apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry but I have this thing where I don’t shake hands with losers. It could be contagious,” he taunted and Kakashi’s face dropped along with his hand.

“Seifer you promised you weren’t going to do this again,” Irvine groaned but he really should have known better than to trust believe everything Seifer said.

“What?” he shrugged innocently. “I said I wanted to come over and congratulate them on a game well played and I did. He’s the one that wanted to touch me.”

The Konoha Ninjas were well prepared to give the cocky bastard an onslaught of verbal abuse but they bit their tongues because they didn’t want to piss off Kakashi further. He was scary enough the way he was always smiling at the most awkward situations but he was downright terrifying when he was angry.

“Irvine, Seifer, what are you two doing?” Laguna asked after jogging over to his two stray SeeDs but when he saw the exasperated expression on the other team’s faces he had a pretty good idea of what just occurred. “Whatever it was he did or said I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” he sighed, just as frustrated as the others.

“Yes I did,” Seifer insisted and glared defiantly at the other man who had dared to apologize on his behalf.

“No you didn’t,” he ground through his teeth and gripped Seifer by one elbow so he could hand him over to Irvine and instructing the taller boy to ‘kindly escort his school mate’ out of the gymnasium.

“Come on,” Irvine laughed and flicked his finger against Seifer’s forehead. “Maybe a cold shower will cool off that hot head of yours,” and Seifer rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.”

Once they were out of ear-shot Laguna turned to the other team and apologized again for his assistant coach’s bad attitude. “Let me make it up to you,” he offered and when Kakashi politely declined the other man insisted. “No, really let me do this. Seifer’s a brat sometimes but I don’t want his behavior to leave a bad taste with you,” he explained. “We’re heading over to this really great restaurant owned by a friend of mine to celebrate and I’d be honored if you’d accompany us. My treat!”

Kakashi didn’t think his boys deserved it and he’d just as soon send them to bed without room service either but it really didn’t seem as if this guy was going to take no for an answer and Hatake Kakashi had never refused a free meal in his entire life and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Great,” the dark-haired coach nodded after Kakashi agreed and he saw the excitement on the other players’ faces, all except the one with raven-colored hair though who looked like he just wanted to go straight home. “After you guys get cleaned up meet us in the car-park and we’ll take you to ‘Katarr’s’.”

He departed with a wave of one hand before he was stopped by Cid and congratulated on a job well done and as much as he tried to explain that the praise should go to Seifer since he was the one that coached most of the entire game he had a hard time getting through to the middle-aged principal.

Kakashi herded his boys into the bathroom and they washed the film of sticky perspiration along with stench of defeat from their tired bodies but when Kakashi went to look for Neji to tell him they weren’t going straight back to the hotel he was nowhere to be found.

-----

I finally finished this chapter, sorry it took so long.

The votes are in and are as follows:
Laguna / Neji (3)
Irvine / Neji (2)

So Laguna wins Neji’s fine ass (Don’t you just love democracy?, XD)