Bring the Game

Chapter 7 - The Assist

Either someone up there liked him or Lady Luck was feeling particularly generous tonight because Laguna could not believe that he would ever be able to find the missing boy amongst the hundreds of people in this densely populated area of the city.

He was grateful that it wasn’t the rush hour because he was driving way below the required speed limit. He didn’t want to miss him among the throngs of pedestrians but the occasional honking behind him was starting to give him a headache. He had planned on keeping straight after the stop lights but the impatient Suzuki Swift behind him didn’t have on their indicator either and he assumed that person was going to continue along the main road as well. Laguna didn’t want that driver behind him any longer than was absolutely necessary but this was important and he really shouldn’t care if he was inconveniencing anyone else but his lenity forced him to activate his indicator and take the right at the intersection and just as the white car sped off, with the driver’s middle finger waving from the window, Laguna spotted him.

He actually had to do a double take just to be sure but there was no mistaking the description Kakashi had given him, besides, he stood out like a sore thumb with his college jacket and traditional, oriental features.

Laguna brought his SUV to a complete stop before jumping out of his vehicle and walking parallel to the young boy who was on the opposite side of the street. He followed him as he walked with the crowd he’d managed to immerse himself into, all the way to the end of the junction by the next traffic signal and when the light flashed ‘Walk’ he did so, unbeknownstly making his way towards the man waiting for him on the other side.

“Neji?” Laguna called out to him as he walked on by, just to be doubly sure. He tensed for a second at the sound of his name then pretended not to hear it but Laguna saw the subtle reaction. “Neji!” he said again when the boy continued to walk away and he reached out to grab him by the elbow but he wrenched his arm free and the bag he had slung under his arm fell to the ground.

“Get your fucking hands off me,” he snapped.

Laguna was a little taken aback by his behavior, but the society in which he lived was used to this kind of thing and the most any of the civilians did was cast a curious glance in their direction from the corner of their eyes before returning to their own lives.

“Sorry,” was his half-hearted apology but Neji didn’t even bother to stay to hear it because his back was now turned and he was already making his way up the sidewalk Laguna had just traversed. “Neji,” he tried again, collecting the bag he’d dropped and maintaining a pace within two feet of him. “Where are you going?”

The boy didn’t answer but Laguna didn’t blame him entirely. He imagined he must find it disturbing for a complete stranger to know his name and start grabbing him out of the blue and he really couldn’t expect he’d come along with him if he didn’t know him.

“I know I’m a stranger to you but I came to look for you for Kakashi, your coach,” but Neji didn’t care if he was a stranger or not and even if it was Kakashi-sensei himself he didn’t have anything to say to him or any intentions of going with him either.

“Neji, please come with me so I can take you back to Kakashi.”

He remained silent and Laguna sighed heavily.

“Then if you won’t come with me at least call him or let me walk you back to the hotel. Everyone’s worried about you.”

Neji stopped abruptly and spun on his heel affixing Laguna with a nasty sneer. “Tch, yeah right,” he scoffed. “They’re so worried that they sent you to find me instead.”

“That’s not quite right,” the older man corrected. “I volunteered to look for you.”

“And what’s wrong with their legs, huh?” Neji snapped, his voice getting progressively louder. “They couldn’t look for me themselves?”

“You’re just being difficult now,” Laguna pointed out with a shake of his head.

His parental attitude as if dealing with a problem child only served to piss the Hyuuga off and Neji didn’t disappoint him when he pivoted and stormed off in a rather immature manner.

“Don’t walk away when I’m speaking to you,” said the now angry adult and he risked grabbing the cross teen by his elbow again but Neji retaliated by swinging a pale fist at his head and if Laguna had been just a few inches closer he would have probably dislocated his jaw.

“Don’t put your shitty hands on me,” Neji roared and shoved at his broad chest with both hands, causing him to stumble backwards.

Laguna wasn’t averse to disciplinary actions towards children and if this boy had been any younger he would have taken him over his knee right now, whether he was his child or not and the tall man became even more so when he straightened to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest and a dark scowl settled over his face as he looked down at the spoiled teen. “You may get away with treating your friends like that but I will not tolerate that kind of behavior from you.”

Who did he think he was? This boy’s father? He was certain that was what Neji was going to say next in a clichéd sort of way but he didn’t expect that he’d just stand there, eyes wide with his mouth slightly agape, but when he looked away and cast his face to the paved sidewalk, Laguna furrowed his brow and wondered if he’d said something wrong.

“I…I’m sorry,” he stammered quietly his voice a little hard to hear over the city ambience. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene. Please forgive me.”

Laguna unlocked his hands from his chest and ran awkward fingers through his hair. He wasn’t expecting an apology so easily, especially one that was so sincere. “It’s okay, Neji,” he said and cupped his chin with one hand, bringing his remorseful countenance into view. “Let’s start over, okay? I’m Laguna Loire, the coach for the other team you guys played against tonight.”

He took the outstretched hand, the same hand that had held his chin so tenderly just a second ago. “I’m Neji Hyuuga. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Loire.”

The older man flashed him a warm smile and gave him two firm pumps of his hand before wrapping the very same arm around his shoulders and leading him towards a nearby café that was already closed for the night. “Sit,” he instructed him and Neji obediently took a seat in the hard, wrought iron chair beneath the blue and white, striped awning. Laguna sat opposite him at the table that was tucked away deep inside the open, eating area where no one could overhear their conversation and he rested the bag on the ground at his feet. “What’s wrong, Neji?”

He half expected him to reply with a ‘None of his business’ and quite honestly, Laguna wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. It wasn’t that he was being nosy or anything but he’d seen how worried Kakashi was about him and, as the one responsible for his own team of boys, he couldn’t help but feel the same.

“Nothing. I just feel like a failure,” he admitted sadly, too contemptible to meet the other man’s eyes again.

“Why?”

Neji sighed and considered telling him but eventually shook his head.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it,” he promised and as if reading his mind, quickly added, “whatever we discuss here will remain between the two of us. I won’t even tell Kakashi.” Neji looked up at him then, as if to say ‘You promise?’ and Laguna nodded.

“I let my team down, Mr. Loire,” he said softly but the disgrace in his voice was not hard to miss. “I let my school down and…I let my family down.”

Laguna tried not to cringe at his words. What was it with kids and all the excessive melodrama these days. “You’re, over-exaggerating Neji,” he said cheerfully in an attempt to dispel his dismay, but Neji was not at all moved.

“No, you don’t understand,” and he shook his head again. “I missed a shot that cost us the game.”

“I know,” he nodded, recalling the incident that had happened just a few hours ago. “I was there, I saw it.”

“Then you know that if I hadn’t missed, we wouldn’t have lost.”

“But that’s no reason to blame yourself Neji, you did your best.”

“But I shouldn’t have missed. I’m not supposed to miss…I never miss!”

Laguna blinked twice at his arrogant declaration. He’d heard of the Hyuuga’s perfect streak and while he was just as impressed as others were by it he didn’t like the fact that this boy was letting it go to his head, but instead of telling him that he opted to give a more commiserative response. “Just because you missed one shot doesn’t mean that you’re a failure, Neji,” he said calmly. “You’re not perfect. No one is.”

“But I have to be,” he argued. “I have to be the best.”

Laguna frowned and bit his lip as he studied the young man across from him. Was he really this stubborn, this egotistical? He still maintained that level of respect he had after he apologized for his rude behavior earlier and his responses were polite, albeit a little panicked and Laguna believed that there was something hidden beneath the murky surface of his narcissism.

“You’re quite arrogant, Neji.” His voice was hard, with a finality that dared the young boy to challenge him. “I hope you learned a lesson in humility tonight and I recommend you try a little modesty for once and then you’ll understand why you can’t be the best.”

He really didn’t expect this man would understand, no one could and he didn’t even have the courage to tell Kakashi-sensei why he had such an idealistic approach towards his future in this sport. He didn’t want anything he said to get back to his family and that was why he kept this burden to himself, why he never spoke out against his decision to play basketball, why he never told anyone the truth.

But he wanted to. He really wanted to get this off his chest and just have someone to confide in. Maybe someone would believe him, maybe they would take his side, maybe they would sympathize with what he was going through and maybe…just maybe they’d agree that he wasn’t the one being selfish.

Neji looked up at the older man and he could understand why he had grown impatient with him because he was disappointed with himself as well. “Mr. Loire…,” he started but trailed off when he was gripped with a paralyzing fear as if somehow, that person could hear him make his confession even though he was thousands of miles away. He felt as if he were about to breach some sort of sacred covenant but he did promise to keep this confidential between the two of them and after tonight he’d never see him again.

Neji dragged his chair closer, the heavy metal seat scraping against the cobblestone pavement and Laguna did likewise until they were so close that there was barely an inch of space between them. “Mr. Loire, I…the truth is, I don’t like basketball.”

“You don’t?” he asked slowly and Neji confirmed it by shaking his head.

“No. In fact, I hate sports altogether, well not tennis,” he corrected himself. “I actually like tennis.”

Laguna studied him for a moment before smiling as he imagined the boy in the typical tennis uniform. “Yeah, I can see you playing tennis,” he encouraged with a slow nod. “Doesn’t your school have a tennis club?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Then why didn’t you sign up for it? Why did you join the basketball team instead?”

“Because…,” and he paused before leaning his head forward and whispering, “my uncle forced me to.”

Laguna cupped his chin again and brought his face up to meet his. “Your uncle didn’t force you Neji, you let him force you.”

“No, Mr. Loire, you don’t understand.” He knew he wouldn’t. No one would.

“Did you tell him you didn’t like basketball?”

“Yes,” he replied honestly.

“Did you tell him you wanted to play tennis instead?” and when Neji nodded Laguna released his face and sighed through his nose before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Did you discuss this with your parents?”

“Umm…my parents are both dead,” he said almost sheepishly.

Laguna paused for a moment of silence before giving his condolences.

“It’s okay,” and he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

“Can you explain to me why your uncle felt the need to sign you up for a sport you had no desire to play?” he asked after the awkward moment had passed.

Neji’s chest collapsed on a heavy sigh and his lips fluttered at the sudden gust of air. “Where should I start?” he murmured out loud.

“The beginning’s a good place,” Laguna grinned.

The beginning huh? “The college I go to was also the alma mater of my uncle and my father and, likewise, they were both on the basketball team as well. They excelled at everything they did and everything was a game to them to see who could get the highest grades or score the most points,” and he smiled as he recalled the old photo albums and many different medals and trophies his father had amassed over the years. “My father used to tell me about his past and he never mentioned high school, it was always college. He’d say those were the best academic years of his life, so when it was time for me to choose a college, I chose to go to Konoha.”

His voice broke on the last word and he ground it out with so much disdain that it sounded as if that was the biggest mistake he’d ever made in his life.

“Orientation hadn’t even started before my father died of an illness and with my mother gone a few years before, my uncle took me in.” Neji sighed again and leaned over the table, bracing his head on his hands and looking out at the passers-by from beneath the haven of the awning. “I only chose to go to that college because my father used to speak so highly of it. He had many happy memories there and I wanted to make some of my own, but the Hyuugas have created a legacy at that school and my uncle would always tell me that I had big shoes to fill.”

Laguna tensed and fisted his hands into his arms as he listened to the boy recount the events that led up to his involvement with a sport he hated. This wasn’t right.

“I had no problem keeping my grades up and I was always the first in my class but even if I got ninety-nine percent,” he shook his head despondently. “It should have been one hundred.”

This wasn’t right.

“Because I wanted to stay on top of my grades I never considered taking up an extra-curricular activity but one evening, a friend of mine asked me to practice with her since her partner was ill. I didn’t want to…I could have used the time to study…I didn’t even like sports but I had no idea that playing tennis could be so much fun.”

Laguna saw something bright dance within those pale eyes as he reminisced on that mirthful evening he played well into the night with that girl but as soon as it had appeared, it vanished and he continued telling his story.

“She said I was good for a beginner and encouraged me to join the club since they had space available and I thought it would be a great way to relive stress after studying so hard everyday so, the next day, I signed up but my uncle found out about it and told me to join the basketball team instead.”

This wasn’t right.

“We argued about it all night and eventually my uncle told me…that I was betraying my father…or something like that.” Neji made a noise like a soft chuckle but it was completely devoid of any humor whatsoever. “He said my father would have been disappointed in me for not continuing his legacy or some kind of bullshit like that and he kept me on that guilt-trip all night until I eventually conceded but my uncle didn’t want me to just play basketball, he wanted me to play it just as well as they did.”

“If your father was alive, what do you think he would want you to do?” Laguna asked after he became quiet.

Neji smiled again at the memory of his patient, understanding and compassionate father. “My father didn’t care about whatever I did, just as long as I was happy. If I was happy, it made him happy too. He always used to ask me, ‘Neji are you sure you want to go to Konoha? There are so many other colleges besides that one’, but I would always tell him that I wanted to go because that was the one he went to and I would be honored to attend the same college he did.”

Was it possible to envy a dead man? Laguna wasn’t entirely sure but how else could he explain this burning jealousy towards the kind of relationship Neji and his father had, the kind of relationship he desired to have with his own son. “You were lucky to have a father like that,” he managed on a weak whisper.

“I know,” the boy agreed sadly. “I just wish he didn’t die.”

A lopsided smile tugged at one corner of Laguna’s lips and he reached out to run a comforting hand across the top of Neji’s head, down his silky, black hair and spawned one shoulder to give it a reassuring, yet gentle squeeze. The young man smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you understand now, Mr. Loire?” he asked, unable to lift his eyes any higher. “Do you now understand why I have to be the best? Do you have any idea how much shame I’ve brought to my uncle tonight? How much disgrace I’ve brought to his name and my father’s name? When he finds out that a Hyuuga was responsible for us losing the championships…he’s going to kill me.”

Two large hands grabbed him by his shoulders and Laguna turned the boy until he was facing him but even then Neji didn’t raise his head. “He’s not going to kill you, Neji.”

“You don’t know my uncle like I do,” he muttered.

“You’re right, I don’t. But I do know that he’s not going to kill you…and I do understand what you’re going through.”

His head snapped up then and he looked the other man straight in his sea-blue eyes just to make sure he wasn’t just saying that, and he wasn’t. He’d meant it, he really did understand. “Y-You do?”

“Yep,” he smirked and released the boy so he could lean back against his chair. “I know what it’s like to live in your father’s shadow and make decisions based on the type of life he left behind. You see, my father used to be a policeman, he was also very patriotic and he loved his country more than he loved his own life so when he left the force and joined the army no one was surprised,” and it was Laguna’s turn to smile at the memory of his father, the bravest man he’d ever known.

“Nothing was impossible for that man and his optimism was much too contagious. He encouraged others to reach for the stars and to fight for what you believed in, no matter how inconsequential it may seem and everyone believed that he was much too ornery and stubborn to die, that was why it came as a shock to us all when we got the telegram that he’d passed away on the battlefield.”

Neji frowned and was the one to give his condolences this time but Laguna only laughed. Even if his father hadn’t died in a war there was no way he’d still be alive at this age. “It’s okay,” he continued. “At the time I was an aspiring author and had just published my second book, but the thing is, that after he died, people expected that I’d put down my books and pick up his gun. I was still fairly young then and I did what I thought was right at the time. No one forced me, like your uncle did to you, but I did get the impression that I was letting everyone down by not continuing in my father’s footsteps.”

He had no right giving into that peer pressure, if his father were alive he would have told him to keep writing his books and Laguna only learned from his mistake after all these years. It was too late to go back and change the past but if only she’d told him…if only she’d let him know that she was carrying his child he never would have joined the army in the first place. He knew why she remained silent, she didn’t want to come between him and his destiny, but the ‘sword’ was never his destiny; the ‘pen’ was.

He had his chance to back out when he received word that he had a son. He wanted to quit right then and there and return home but it was too late to back out then…No! He was too cowardly to back out then. He kept wondering what people would say if he left, how much they would blame him for disgracing his father’s name by abandoning the battlefield but he never should have cared what other people thought, the most important thing should have been his family but why didn’t he believe that at the time? Why did he keep telling himself that this was for the best? Why did he convince himself that he was fighting for his son’s future?

‘But look at his future now,’ Laguna mused wryly. His son was still alive and probably still would have been whether he’d joined the army or not but at least they would have been together…unlike now.

The wall that had been constructed around Neji’s heart had started to crack the moment he first had this conversation with him but it crumbled completely as he shared his own life’s experience and Neji’s body tingled as if thousands of needles were poking him from the inside out.

This man really did understand!

“It’s not fair for your uncle to expect you to pick up where your father left off. No parent should expect that of their child. They’ve lived their lives and whatever they left unfinished, whatever they regret never doing, they should never expect their children to complete on their behalf.”

He spoke with such conviction, as if this was something every parent should know, then why didn’t Hiashi know this too?

“Your life is your own, Neji. Don’t let your uncle tell you how to live it, but don’t be rude to him either. Just talk to him and let him know that you want to make your own decisions, that you want to follow your own path. It’s not going to be easy, I know, but you have to do this…Please don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t throw away your life on ‘what ifs’ and ‘I could haves’, you only have one chance to get it right and there’s no rewind button,” he reached out to stroke his hair again. “Trust me…I know.”

Neji had never felt so courageous in his entire life and if his uncle were here right now he’d tell him to his face exactly what he had to say, but he had to be realistic about this. He’d never be able to get any sleep thinking about the confrontation he was going to have with his uncle and the anxiety on the plane ride home would probably make him so sick that he’d lose his nerve and go on being the Hyuuga head’s little puppet. Laguna saw his mettle evaporate and the uncertainty clouded his luminescent eyes once again.

“If you want I can call and talk to your uncle for you.”

Oh how he would love that and the desperate look on his face housed that silent plea, but Hiashi was the kind of man that believed that Hyuuga affairs were not to be discussed with outsiders so he’d never give Laguna the time of day, not to mention what he’d probably do if he found out that Neji had spoken to another person about their private lives.

“N-No…it-it’s okay, Mr. Loire…I…I can do this,” he stammered, his bold countenance already wavering.

Laguna knew he didn’t have the heart for it. He knew how hard it was for a child to confront their parents about something they didn’t agree with, in fact, his boys confided in him whenever they had arguments with their parents and Laguna was always ready to offer unbiased advice.

He ruffled the top of Neji’s head, he really wasn’t a bad kid after all, and he stood to his feet and Neji did the same. “Let’s go,” he stretched, extending his hands far above his head while making a guttural ‘Dad’ noise. “I better get you back to Kakashi before he has a panic attack.”

“Mr. Loire.”

“Hm?” he’d started to walk off towards the Jeep that was just a few meters away now but when he turned to face the boy that had called his name he realized that he hadn’t moved from his spot by the table.

“Thank you for everything, I really appreciate it.”

A wide smile spread across his face. “Don’t mention it,” he shrugged, as if it really was nothing. “Oh and you don’t have to call me Mr. Loire. I know I’m old but it makes me feel as if I’ve already got one foot in the grave,” and he laughed.

“I’m sorry,” Neji muttered. “Then, is it okay if I call you Laguna-san?”

He really didn’t see any problem with it. He wasn’t quite sure as to the significance of the ‘san’ part though, but it did sound rather cute. “That’s fine!”

He led him to his off-white Toyota Highlander and Laguna groaned when he saw the ticket under the windshield. He’d forgotten to feed the parking meter. He tossed Neji’s bag into the back seat and drove straight to the diner and he wasn’t at all surprised to find Seifer’s car still there. That boy had this problem where he never went home before one o’ clock in the morning.

“We’re here, Neji,” Laguna said after shutting off the motor and removing his seatbelt but when Neji made no movement to get out and just stared at the diner as if it was a vacant lot, the other man frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Laguna-san, I’m sorry to inconvenience you, but can you take me straight to the hotel instead? I don’t feel like talking to anyone else right now.”

It was no inconvenience at all. He understood the need to be alone with his thoughts. He consented and drove off before calling Kakashi on his cell phone and letting him know that he found Neji and told him that the boy was exhausted and he was taking him straight to the hotel and Laguna didn’t remember ever hearing another human being sound so relieved in his entire life.

“Can I speak to him?”

“Uhh,” he checked the expanse of road in front before taking a quick glance at the child who was idly gazing through the passenger’s seat window. “He’s asleep right now.”

The other coach believed him and after thanking him profusely for all his help he hung up. Laguna looked over at the boy again and he barely made out the apparition of his reflection in the glass and he furrowed his brow when he noticed that, even after the pep talk he’d given him and even after he swore that he would confront his uncle, his spirit had faded and he knew that Neji was not going to have that talk when he got back to Japan.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop and the wheels locked up causing the tyres to screech against the asphalt. Neji bucked forward in his seat and swung his head around to look at his chauffer who was concentrating on making his illegal U-turn.

“Laguna-san, I don’t want to go back to the diner,” he reminded him.

“I’m not taking you to the diner.”

“But the hotel is the other way,” Neji argued, looking around his seat and pointing towards the rear window.

“I know, but I’m not taking you to the hotel either, ” he chirped, suddenly feeling hyper and opening the can of beer Seifer had given him earlier to take a long sip from it.

Neji shifted uneasily in his seat as he watched him drink from the can. Should he really be consuming that while he was driving?

“Wh-Where are you taking me, then?” he asked, trying not to sound the least bit afraid, but the truth was, he was terrified. This man wouldn’t try anything funny with him would he? Not after he’d said all those comforting things to him just now.

“Relax,” the older man laughed and turned on the radio to the mellow mood station when he saw the uncertainty on the lad’s face. “I can’t tell you where I’m going because it’s a secret,” he admitted apologetically. “But trust me, you’re going to like it.”

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Yeah! Laguna is a BOSS! Respect your elders! *Man he straigtened out Neji pretty easily though…it makes loving him down MUCH easier* >:D