Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 01

It was a warm night that would make most people turn up the AC and sleep easily. Not Shinji. Through rain, snow, or even a tornado, he was outside. The basketball dribbles echoed through the block he lived in. The damaged streetlights were his only light source, but he didn't mind; he could practice in his sleep. Basketball ran through his veins and blood; the ball was a part of him. He shuffled down the court spinning his heel left, dodging invisible players. Strands of brown hair covered his eyes as he moved left and right, driving the ball into the perfect spot. Then he shot the ball up, and it landed into the net. Someone threw a shoe at him before he could grab the basketball again. It was Asuka, Shinji's annoying neighbor and childhood friend. Her eye cover covered one eye like an eye patch, and she gripped her other shoe threateningly. Even though she was so high up, she hit him with almost perfect aim. 

      “SHINJI, STOP HITTING THAT STUPID BALL!! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THIS LITERALLY LAST NIGHT” She yelled, winding up her arm to throw her other shoe.

      “Ok, ok!! I'm sorry, I'm going!” Shinji said, throwing back her shoe to her apartment window. Shinji gathered his things and checked his watch: it read 11:30 pm. 

     “Sheesh, it is late,” Shinji thought. 

He walked down the street towards his apartment. The part of town he lived in wasn’t terrible, but It wasn’t great either. Tokyo's slums were fairly clean and well kept, but you still had times when you had to cover a broken window with some cheap tape. He lived towards the city's edge where the lights never seemed to turn off, and cars honking lulled them to sleep. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheek, and he probably needed to shower. He quickly entered the apartment and locked the door behind him. The apartment smelled of cigarettes and cheap leather, but after a while, he became nose blind to it. He finally reached his door and slowly unlocked it, trying not to wake up his older sister. His father wouldn't be back until much later in the night. Not that his presence differed from when he was gone. His mother had died when Shinji was pretty young. He still can't remember why. Most of the time, it was just him and his sister. It was enough. His thoughts soon faded when opened the door to his sister sleeping on the couch for some reason. 

     “Rei, Rei, wake up,” Shinji said, lightly tapping her shoulders. He really didn't want to wake her up since she looked so peaceful, but it was probably better to sleep on her bed. Shinji picked her up and carried her to her room when she didn't wake up. Her room was decorated with posters from shows she liked and many art pieces. He laid her on her fluffy bed and put the sheets over her. Only then did he recognize something in her hand. It was a piece of paper. He turned off the light in her room and closed the door. Wandering to the kitchen table, he realized Rei must have made dinner for the both of them. He wanted to slap himself for practicing for that long. Even though he was the best cook, eating a meal just for you tastes better than any gourmet. As the food warmed in the microwave, he pulled the paper from Rei and began reading. It was a flier from the new high school Shinji and Rei will attend in a few days.

    “This is a sign-up for basketball tryouts? Rei signed me up! I don't even remember talking to her about it.” Shinji thought. 

The paper stated that the tryouts would be a few days after first-year orientation this school year. He clenched his fists in determination. He was finally going to be able to show off his talent. This was going to be too easy. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Kaworu hated parties. It was always too loud; someone wanted to talk to him, and too many people. It’s not like he didn't like people or anything. Too many just made him queasy. Music blared from the room's corners, shaking the house he was in. He slouched down on a couch he was sitting on, holding a cup of with some drink. The liquid swished back and forth from the aggressive motions around him. He decided to leave once everyone was distracted so he could easily slip out. It’s been so long that he completely forgot why he came, but he was promptly reminded. The music died down, and someone grabbed the DJ's microphone. Kaworu recognized him as the graduating team captain. 

“Hello, everyone. I’d like to make an announcement,” the senior said into the microphone, waving his hands to get everyone's attention. Kaworu could tell by the look on his face that he was definitely drunk. In fact, everyone probably was, excluding freshmen, of course. 

“This party was held to welcome…all the new first years who will be taking over the team.” Everyone cheered widely. “I hope the team will take good care of the team, and everyone will be happy!” The captain slurred, trying his best not to pass out. Kaworu faked a smile and clapped along with the rest of the group. The music played full blast again, making Kaworu almost jump out of his skin. He finally found an open window which someone probably opened to vomit, and snuck towards it. Just as he was heading out, someone caught his wrist. 

“Heyyyy, you're Kaworu, right? I heard about you, our new captain, right?”

It was a freshman around his height, just a little smaller. He had blue highlights in his dark hair and a very angular facial structure which probably attracted many girls.  Even though he wanted to deny any recollection of the name and leave, he figured it would probably backfire on him sooner or later. So just as usual, he faked a cordial smile and shook his hand. 

“Yup, I’m Kaworu. And who might you be?” 

“I’m Ramiel. Super cool hair and the ladies man, ehehe. Have you met everyone else?” 

“No, I don’t think so. It's pretty crowded here, hehe.” Kaworu joked, inching towards the window.

“So you're a first year right? So am I. I think everyone else are upperclassmen.” 

“Yup, sure am.” 

“Well being the only first years might suck. It won't be so bad, though. With you on our team, we can defeat all competition. Not to mention our first practice game is with the worst team in the league, who are also most likely first years.” Ramiel said, taking a sip of his drink. 

  “Soooo, you see anyone here you like? Being a basketball player can have a ton of perks, like talking to girls,” Ramiel said, nudging his shoulder. 

“Haha, not really? I think I’m more focused on the game, y'know” Kaworu said, hoping he'd change the subject to something less embarrassing. 

“Ah, that’s fair, so why do you play basketball? I personally play because ,well, I think it's pretty obvious why now, hehe. How about you?” 

Just before Kaworu could reply, a buzzing noise came from his pocket. He picked up his phone and read four missed calls from his father. 

“Oh, that's great. Hey, um, I actually have to go.” 

“No problem, man. See you in a couple of days for orientation.”  

Kaworu waved goodbye and hopped out the window. As soon as he saw his father's car parked by the curb, his smile dropped. It was his fault he was even at the party. After years of telling his father that he never wanted to play basketball, he never cared to listen to him. Since his mother died when he was young, there was no shield to protect him from his father. 

“How was it?” His father asked as Kaworu stepped into the car. 

His father was one of Japan's best basketball players until he retired and pushed his dream onto his son. Like it was Kaworu's only purpose in life. 

“It was fun, and yes, I met everyone there. They were really nice and congratulated me on my position as the new captain.” Kaworu lied. 

“Well, that’s good that you're settling in.” His father said, not even bothering to look at him. Although Kaworu had top grades, many friends, and was now the basketball team coach, his father still wouldn't praise him. Honestly, he really did love playing basketball, but constantly living under his father’s shadow killed that passion many years ago. 

“The first practice game is soon. You need to be training more.” 

“Yes, I will,” Kaworu said. 

He would crush anything that came toward him, whatever it took. All he had to do was win; too easy.  

Chapter Text

Tokyo, Japan. 1995
April, 05, First-year orientation.

Chapter 02-New beginnings

Shinji passed the ball and dodged all the other opponents with perfect swivels causing the opponents to fall to the ground. A huge crowd was cheering him on as he dribbled toward the opposing side of the court. With only a couple of seconds left on the clock, he couldn't waste any more time. He jumped as high as the net and SLAMMED it into the net. It landed with only a second left on the clock. The crowd jumped up and yelled his name in praise.

“SHINJI! SHINJI!” however his dream slowly faded and instead of a crowd yelling his name it was Asuka.

“SHINJI, GET UP, YOU BIG IDIOT! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE TO THE ORIENTATION,” She yelled, about to slap him awake.

“What are you...HEY, WAIT, DON'T SLAP ME!!” Shinji said, scooching to the other side of the bed.”

“I’ve been trying to wake you up! Ugh, never mind. Look, Reis is already ready. Just get your uniform on, and let’s go.” Asuka said, closing his door. He quickly got up and got dressed. After getting himself ready, he quickly ran outside and met up with the two girls.

“Finally! Ok, let’s go!” Asuka said, running towards the school.

They finally made it only 3 minutes late. There were booths of different clubs set all around the school. Shinji already decided on his club, so he headed over to the gym to see if there was a basketball team.
“

Are you seriously leaving us?” Asuka asked angrily.

“Well, yeah. I already know what club I want to join, so how about you guys just find something that interests you.” Shinji said, sticking his tongue out.

“I think I want to join some baking club, Asuka. Let’s check it out,” said Rei, waving at Shinji. He waved at them and walked towards the gym, a bit nervous. Outside, there was a girl with short brown hair with cute pins. She was standing in front of a table and was sorting through piles of papers. Noticing Shinji, she looked up and smiled.

“Hello! If you're looking for the baseball team they're behind the school by the field.”

“Oh, um, I'm actually here for basketball?”

“Oh really!?” She said with surprise. “That's great! Well, I'm your team manager, Maya.”

“Shinji,” he said, holding his hand out
She shook his hand with great enthusiasm.

“Are you a first-year?” he asked

“Nope, second. Here, let me show you around the place.” She said, taking his hand towards the gym doors. After pressing her body against the doors, they finally opened with a screech. Inside was a regular-sized court illuminated by windows near the ceiling. There were baskets of basketballs lined near the far side of the court along with cleaning supplies. The floor was extremely polished, and everything seemed well-dusted.

“Woahh, did you clean this all by yourself?” He asked.

“Oh no, it's from last year. The old team always cleans for the next.” Maya said,

propping the doors open.
“So when does practice start?” Shinji asked.

“Well, first, you must make the team. Tryouts are from the 10th to the 12th. School starts on the 10th, so I’d get situated first, then tryout. Do you, by any chance, have a form for tryouts?”

“Oh yes, here,” he said, handing her the piece of paper from a couple nights ago. She looked it over and returned a smile.

“Alright, thank you. Enjoy the rest of your orientation!” She said,
Shinji thanked her and headed off toward Asuka and Rei. He was more than positive he’d get on the team. Now he just had to wait.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* A couple days later ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Shinji was already getting dressed, so Asuka didn't have to wake him up this time. It was the first day of school in his new high school. His middle school teachers always told him how serious high school was so he was a bit nervous. Not only was meeting new people pretty terrifying but also schoolwork sucked too. His grades have always been average. Doing what the teacher asked was the key. Which got him out of trouble, but it mainly bored him. Even his school uniform seemed boring. Just a blue undershirt with a white shirt on top, dark brown pants, and brown shoes.

“They at least could have gotten someone to come up with a better outfit,” Shinji thought as he brushed his teeth.
He heard Rei getting ready in her room; she usually slept in a bit. Shinji decided to make a quick meal for both of them. He opened the fridge, and to no surprise, there was almost nothing there. He looked over at his father's bedroom door and so badly wanted to go in there and slap him. Shinji slipped two pieces of bread into the toaster and decided to pick up some food after school. To his surprise, Asuka wasn't there to wake them up today; she was probably at school. Absent-mindedly, He looked over at the clock as it read 7:55. If they didn't leave now they were definitely going to be late. School started at 8, but it took them five minutes to run. Shinji quickly knocked on Reis's door.

“Rei, Hurry!” She opened the door, and Shinji almost knocked on her head.

“Let's go,” she said, already walking to the door. Shinji handed her the toast, and they headed out. They ran towards the school, dodging people left and right. After finally making it to school, they were only there for one minute. Shinji finished the last piece of his bread and headed inside. He wasn't sure if he was anxious or excited but he was almost positive it was the former. The sun beamed down on them as they entered the school doors. There were a ton of students shoving past each other hoping to get to their next class before their teachers scolded them. Rei and Shinji went to their classroom and went through separate doors, Shinji towards the front and Rei towards the back. When he entered, everyone was staring right at him. His worst nightmare. He quickly sat down and forced his attention to his teacher, who was writing something on a board. She turned around and had short blonde hair, green eyes, and a mole near her left eye.

“And who might you be?” The lady asked Shinji. Shinji stood up, trying not to show his embarrassment.

“I’m Shinji Ikari! Ma’am!” Shinji said, standing up straight. The teacher smiled, almost holding back a laugh.

“Alright, you're fine, It's the first day after all. Now that everyone is here, I will introduce myself. My name is Ms. Akagi, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I will go over some of the things you will learn about how homeroom will go.”
Almost immediately, the kids in the classroom lost interest. Shinji looked around the classroom and noticed a familiar face. Asuka was sitting towards the back, staring outside. There was a girl sitting next to her who clearly was a top student. Her posture was straight, and her hair was combed neatly into two pigtails. The girl completely contrasted with the boy next to her, who was slouching in his chair and seemed to be asleep. The teacher noticed this and started walking towards the boy.

“And if you don't pay attention,” she said, slamming her fist on his desk making the boy jump up in his seat. “there will be consequences.” The boy sat up straight and grumbled something under his breath. The boy noticed Shinji and stuck his tongue out.
Ms. Akagi continued to drone about courtesy, responsibility, and expectations, which made Shinji want to fall asleep but he was saved by the bell. The bell rang loudly, waking up most of the students from their daydreams, and they crammed out the doors. The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Getting used to the boringness was going to be difficult. It was now the end of the day which meant basketball tryouts.
“Rei, Asuka. You guys can walk home. I’ll be doing basketball tryouts,” Shinji said, grabbing his bag.

“Basketball tryouts? OH, DON'T TELL ME, you're not planning on playing basketball in high school, are you? Man, you really need to grow up!” Asuka said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“Actually, Shinji, I was wondering if maybe I could watch you? I am very curious about how basketball works,” Rei said, holding her bag with two hands.

“Of course, I'm glad one person lets me enjoy things UNLIKE SOMEONE I KNOW,” Shinji said, shooting a glare at Asuka. She responded with a “Hmph!” and started walking home. Rei and Shinji walked around trying to find the gym. Shinji recognized the team manager from a couple of days ago. She was holding a clipboard and looked pretty upset.

“Um, hi, are basketball tryouts going on right now?” Shinji asked, trying not to seem nervous.

“Oh, hello again! Shinji, right? Also, yes, they are. I thought you were going to wait. Guess you settled in pretty well, that's good” Maya said with a smile.

“O-oh, sorry, guess I got too excited.” He said, a bit pink.

“No problem! Here I’ll show you in,” Maya said, opening the door with a big push. There were a couple of other people in the gym just walking around, trying to entertain themselves. All of them were first years. Shinji wondered why there weren't any third or second years.
“The only problem is, our captain is running a bit…late,” Maya said, placing her hand on her forehead. However, just as she said that a woman slammed her way into the gym, almost knocking Shinji over.
“I'm here! I wasn't too late, was I?” The woman said nervously, laughing. She had messy hair pulled into a ponytail and was carrying multiple bags on her shoulders and a cup of coffee. Everyone stared at her with confused looks, hoping she wasn't their coach.

“You were only 6 minutes late, that's probably a new record,” Maya said with a sigh

“Great! Alrighty, everyone, I'm your new basketball coach! You can call me Ms. Katsuragi.” She said, holding up her half-drunk coffee like she was holding a toast. Everyone looked at each other with a tired look.“That is if you make the team,” she placed down all her bags and grabbed a clipboard.

“Alright, everyone, let's begin tryouts!”

Chapter Text

Tokyo, Japan. 1995
April 10, Tryouts.

Chapter 03-Bring it on!

Everyone was lined up across the division line splitting the court in half. Shinji would have thought he signed up for the military if it wasn't for the basketball spinning on his coach's finger. Despite her looks, she seemed skilled. Shinji caught Rei in the corner of his eye, waving to him. He gave a small wave back.

"Alright, everyone, before we start tryouts, I want to mention that this will be difficult. I'm not looking for a team of regular players. I'm looking for potential. If you can prove that you have enough to show me that you belong on the team, by all means, try out. However, if you think you don't, I suggest leaving now." The coach said, eyeing down the row of participants.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering if anyone would leave. When no one did, the coach threw her ball toward the person next to Shinji. The ball whipped past him so fast he almost thought it sliced his face off. The boy that caught it winced at the pressure. Shinji recognized him as the boy from his class.

"What's your name, kid?" The coach asked.

"Toji, Toji Suzuhara," The boy said, standing up straight.

"Toji will start running laps around the court. Jog around the court for ten minutes as a warm-up; then we'll go from there." She said, blowing her whistle.

Shinji considered himself to be decent at endurance. Jogging around the court wasn't terrible, but it got too cramped towards the back of the line so Shinji decided to move up. The line leader, Toji, was stubborn to let anyone be near him and sped up when someone got close. Shinji accepted this challenge and sprinted past Toji, which also triggered Toji to sprint. Toji was so close to him that Shinji thought he was going to pounce on him. A whistle rang in his ears, causing him to stop, and Toji slammed into him.

"Time's up!!" Ms. Katsuragi yelled, flipping through her clipboard. "The first drill will test your shooting and aiming. Pick a partner, and then I'll explain the next part."

There seemed to be enough players for everyone to have a partner, but Shinji didn't make friends easily. His friends were either because of his parents or because they were related. Shinji looked around awkwardly to see everyone grouping up. Everyone seemed to have a partner except for Shinji. He felt a strong grip on his shoulder and turned to see the boy he had almost out ran, Toji.

"Guess you're my partner now," He said.

Shinji pried his iron grip off his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, looks like it."

"Great, now that everyone has a partner, I will explain the next drill. This will test your endurance, aim, speed, and coordination. You and your partner will start on different sides of the court. The idea is to get as many layups as you can by starting at one net, shooting, then running over to the other net. Once you finish your shot, give the ball to the next person. You'll have five minutes." The coach said.

Shinji stayed on the side nearest to Rei, while Toji was on the other. When she blew the whistle, the kids began the drill as if they were familiar with it. When the person in front of him finished, he did a layup and headed toward the other side. Toji sped up past him, which pissed him off. He felt himself become more and more competitive towards the end of the drill, which led him to go faster but less accurately, having missed a basket or two. Everyone else seemed to catch the frenzy too, and soon everyone was giving their all for the last couple of seconds. Shinji tried to catch up to everyone's pace but tripped on his shoelaces, causing him to throw the ball right in his partner's face. The ball bounced off his face leaving a red mark on his cheek and a scowl. Before Toji could grab him, Ms. Katsuragi blew the whistle, and everyone went to the bleachers. Some players were sweating and breathing heavily; they probably wouldn't make it to the team. Shinji sat on the other side of the bleachers, away from his partner. He could only pray they wouldn't be on the same team. Peeking over to where his partner was, he made eye contact with him, scowling in his direction.

Once everyone was cooled down, Ms. Katsuragi introduced another drill.

"Alright, everyone. Get with your partner for a head-to-head match."

"ARE YOU KIDDING?? This guy is gonna kill me for sure." Shinji thought, ignoring the eerie feeling of being stared at by his partner.

"Pretend that your partner is a player on another team. Be aggressive and show off. You'll be stationed at one net; try to make as many points as possible. Also, rules don't apply here; just do your best to get into the game."

Shinji decided to apologize beforehand so Toji didn't completely murder him. Walking up to him, he already knew he was dead.
"Hey, so, um, sorry for hitting you in the face. I'm Shinji, by the way." He said awkwardly. He internally slapped himself for being so friendly.
Toji crossed his arms and looked him up and down. He softened his glare.

"Alright, you better play good to make up for it. Also, I made three more layups than you," He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nice..." Shinji said, looking away with an annoyed expression.

Once everyone was paired up, they began the mini-matches between partners. Shinji felt his chest become a mix of excitement and nervousness.

Time passed to their turn, and they stood in front of the baskets opposite each other. The pressure of being watched by a crowd suddenly hit him. His feet were glued onto the court. Ms. Katsuragi threw the ball, and Toji charged toward it. He held the ball and shot for the net in a split second behind Shinji. The ball swooshed in the net and bounced on the ground. He lunged towards the ball before Toji grabbed it and started towards the other side. Toji caught up, and the two were face to face. Shinji shifted his fight foot towards Toji but crossed the ball to the left side and passed him. He dribbled the ball toward the other net and made a layup. He turned to see Toji right next to him, grabbing the ball and making his way to the other side of the court. Shinji quickly ran towards him. Toji stood on the 3-point line taking a shot. Shinji watched it fall into the net with another swish, he gained possession, but he was in trouble. Toji was now up by two points, and he needed to win.
Toji came towards him again with his guard completely up. Shinji had no time to think and could feel his body spiking with adrenaline. The next steps were a complete blur. As Toji came forward, Shinji bounced the ball underneath Toji's legs and retrieved it behind him. Toji swiveled around and ran towards him. He was now running beside him. He halted at the 3-point line causing Toji to slide, but he still held his grip. Shinji moved forward, dribbled, putting Toji's guard down, and faked a shot. When Toji reached forward, he shifted to the side and shot. When the ball fell through the net, Ms. Katesuragi blew her whistle.

Toji and Shinji shook hands per sportsmanship rules; Toji gripped his hand hard. As Shinji was drinking from his water bottle on the bleachers, He could see Toji shooting him a side-eye. Toji also seemed slightly surprised; he didn't expect him to be that competitive.

"What? Didn't you tell me to beat you?" Shinji said.

"Whatever, I want a rematch," Toji said stubbornly.

Soon later, Ms. Katsuragi recorded their stats, such as running, jumping, and basic shots, until about nine o'clock. Shinji was completely worn out, and so was everyone else. "Alright, guys, I hope you had fun today, and hopefully you made the team. Results will be posted on the bulletins in the school in a couple of days. If you have any questions, ask the team manager Maya. Ok, goodnight." just like that, Ms. Katsuragi walked out of the gym yawning. Maya started turning off the lights as everyone was walking out. Everyone seemed half asleep and extremely tired. Shinji was so nervous about the tryouts that he almost forgot about Rei. He found her sleeping on the side of the gym.

"Rei, wake up!" he said, gently shaking her. She immediately woke up with a yawn.

"Did you fall asleep?"

"I guess so. It was too loud, so I came outside. Your playing was very cool," Rei said, rubbing her eyes. 

"Thanks, let's get home," Shinji said, helping her up. The two walked toward home, keeping each other awake.

Chapter Text

Tokyo, Japan, 1995.

Wed, April 12, Morning.

Chapter 04-Team-building

"Three more people!?" Shinji thought. He read the basketball tryouts beside a club flier on the school's message board. There was no way what he had just read was true. Shinji read it over and even checked the backside to see if it was a prank. The team needed three more people to have a full team. There was a little note on the bottom of the paper. Shinji opened the paper and read: "Please recruit more players." Shinji almost laughed out loud, wasn't that the coach's whole job?! Shinji decided to head to class and think it through later. At lunch, he thought about asking Asuka and Rei but decided to wait until after school.

"You must be insane if you really think I'm going to join your stupid team!" Asuka said, laughing as she got her things out of her locker.

"Asuka, please, weren't you one of the most athletic people when we were in middle school? I'll even pay you." Shinji said, almost begging her.

"What's going on?" Rei asked, coming towards them.

"Shinji's stupid team doesn't have enough players, so now he's begging me to join." Asuka said with a sinister smirk.

"You don't have enough players? How come?" Rei asked Shinji.

"I'm not really sure to be honest." Shinji said.

"What if I joined Shinji? I'm pretty good at basketball." Rei said, ignoring Asuka.

"You would? That's amazing, Rei! Thank you so much." He said, smiling. "We should probably sign you up before they start practice."

"Wait, wait, wait, Rei. Are you sure you wanna join basketball? With boys? Smelly ones, in fact." Asuka whispered.

"Well, it's for Shinji, so I don't mind. And you'll be joining too, right?"

"What? Of course not? I'm going home." Asuka said, walking by them to go home.

"Asuka, please, you're not even in a club anyways. And besides, we're first years. You can just quit later." Shinji said.

Asuka thought about it for a while as Rei smiled with two thumbs up. "Hmph, ok, fine, but only because I don't wanna go through the work of signing up for a lame club," Asuka said while rolling her eyes.

The girls followed him out the doors into the gym. Inside was the coach and what seemed to be a couple of players. Shinji noticed two players talking to the coach. The first was Toji which made Shinji internally groan and another boy. He had tan freckled skin and wore chunky glasses on the bridge of his nose. Shinji was noticed as the door closed.

"Oh, Shinji! Welcome, come in!" Ms. Katsuragi said, waving towards the both of them. They walked in and headed toward the group. The two boys took notice of them.

"Who'd you bring with you?" Asked Toji, his arms crossed as usual.

"My sister, Rei. And Asuka. I was thinking they could join the team so.." Shinji said shyly.

"Ohh, you saw the note. Nice job! Toji also brought one of his friends. Introduce yourself." She said toward the other boy.

"I'm Kensuke!" The boy said with a chipper smile reaching out his hand to shake Shinjis. "Wow! Is that a NERV official 1988 chrome watch? I've only seen those in magazines! Where did you get it?" The boy examined his watch with excitement.

"Uh, it was my fathers, I found it," Shinji said, shaking his hand.

"Wow, your dad prolly has a lot of those, huh? Did your dad work for NERV? Does he know any secr-." Kensuke started before he got cut off.

"Kensuke, leave the guy alone," Toji said, grabbing his shirt like he was a kitten.

"Oh, sorry, I just got really excited. Well, it's nice to meet you. And your friends." He said, flashing a smile.

"Maya can help Asuka and Rei fill out player forms while I start to practice," Ms. Katsuragi said.

Maya took the girls towards the front to hand the forms while Misato flipped through her clipboard. Shinji could tell she was pretty tired, but she tried her best to pull everything together. She scanned through the pages checking off the attendance and writing three new names in the list.

"Ok, everyone! Good afternoon. I'm going to start off practice by mentioning something super important! As you might know, preliminaries will be starting soon for the Kanto Tournament. Since most of you are first years, there's something I should explain. Every year, we get challenged by our rival school Shito Academy." A couple of boos followed her statement. "So next week, we will have a practice game with them. The thing is, they were ranked top school last year and made it to nationals."

"So basically, we're screwed," Shinji thought, sighing.

"However, you shouldn't feel discouraged if you lose. They're doing it to break our spirits. We won't let that happen, right?"

"Right!" the team shouted.

"So let's train our hardest to beat those jerks at Shito Academy!" Misato said with her fist in the air. The team was pumped up and ready to train. Misato first made them warm up by running around the court. Asuka and Rei joined Shinji's side.

"So, Asuka, you joined? It's not going to be as easy as you think." Shinji said smirking

"Yeah, well, it won't be any problem for me. Rei? Probably." Asuka said sardonically.

"Actually, Asuka, I've played basketball with Shinji ever since we were young," Rei said. "Yeah yeah, we'll see."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Kaworu was standing along with his team on the mid-court line. Everyone in the line was talking and laughing with each other. To be honest, training wasn't what he was worried about; it was the people. It was always hard for him to make friends; most of the people his age disliked him because they became jealous or thought he was weird. It was hard to blend in and pretend to feel something else or be someone else.

"Alright, everyone! Im, Mr. Ryoji, and I'll be your coach," a man holding a clipboard in front of the team said. "Even though today is the first day of practice, I should mention something I'm sure most of you already know. Next week will be our practice game with our beloved Tokyo-3 High School." Mr. Ryoji said with a smirk. The team roared in excitement. "Since we already know the outcome, I'll move on to something more concerning, preliminaries. We'll be training intensely up until they begin. Also, I'd like to introduce our lovely team manager." Mr. Ryoji said, stepping aside. A girl wearing pink lip gloss and a more girly outfit stepped up with her own clipboard.

"Hiya! I'm Mari! I'll be your team manager, nice to meet ya!" The girl said, blowing a kiss.

"Alright, with introductions being done. Let's move on to training. First, we'll start with warm-ups, then move on to some shooting, passing, and movement drills, and then towards the end, scrimmages. For warm-ups today, we'll head outside and use the track instead of the basketball court."

The group followed outside; it was good for running, not too hot but not too cool. Just as they were about to begin, someone caught his arm. It was the boy from the party.

"Hey, Kaworu! You didn't forget about me, right?" Ramiel beamed.

"I didn't; it's nice to see you again," Kaworu said genuinely, it was good to see a familiar face.

"Thank you too! Anyways, are you excited for the practice game next week? It'll be hilarious!"

"Hilarious?"

"Don't you know? The team we're fighting is TERRIBLE, basically the worst in the league. They're basically a joke."

"Why?"

"Well, because they're our rival school. I forgot why, but there's a whole story some people say the basketball coaches were once da-." Ramiel whispered before getting cut off.

"Ok, everyone, line up here." Kaji said, pointing to the track line.

Once everyone was ready, he blew the whistle, and everyone began to jog around the track. While he was running, Kaworu thought about the next game. He was upset that it wouldn't be a challenge but relieved because his father wouldn't be terribly mad. He would never want that. But he also didn't want to disappoint his team. There were so many things to worry about.

"Hey man, you ok? What's up?" Ramiel said, jogging next to Kaworu.

"What do you mean?" He asked

"I dunno, you just looked a bit sad."

"I'm fine, just thinking." He said with a slight smile.

"Alright, if you say so. Have you met the other teammates yet?"

"I don't think so, have you?"

"Well, sure! Let's go meet them!" Ramiel said, eyeing them across the track.

They ran up the track to meet up with the other players. "Hey, guys! Have you met Kaworu? He's a first-year." Ramiel said to a taller boy with tied backlight blue hair and a kid with many bracelets and light short hair.

"Hello, nice to meet you," Kaworu said, holding out his hand.

The boys glanced at each other. "What's your last name?" one of the boys asked, ignoring his hand.

"My last name? Why do you uh want to know that..?" Kaworu asked, taking his hand back.

"It's Nagisa, right? Your dad, he's Adam Nagisa, right?" the other boy asked, crossing his arms.

"Uh…yes, that's my father," he said, looking at his feet.

The two boys looked him up and down. Before they could speak, the coach whistled at them to keep jogging. They walked next to Kaworu and introduced themselves. "Im, Armiseal," said the kid with the bracelets.

"Im Arael," said the boy with tied-back hair.

"What position are you?" Arael asked.

"Ah, I'm usually a point guard. I'm pretty good at coming up with plays quickly, I suppose."

"I'm a center, and Armiseal is usually a forward. Nice to meet you, Kaworu."

"You too"

As soon as the warm-up was over, everyone returned inside and continued the rest of the practice. One moment he was running, and the next, he was on the court in a scrimmage; the squeaking of shoes broke his internal silence. When Armiseal had possession, Kaworu made himself open for him to receive the ball. However, Armiseal smirked and passed the ball to Arael, behind him. He thought it was a bit weird but ignored it and kept playing. He followed his muscle memory and programmed movements to score. After practice, he was outside leaning against the gym wall, waiting for his father, and heard a giggle in the distance.

"He's such a freak, and because of his dad, he probably thinks he's all that," The voice snickered.

He peaked over the side of the wall and saw the same kids from before, Armiseal and Arael. "I know. He's so weird. I doubt he's even that good. What was his name? Kaworu or something I already forgot."

Arael laughed, tying his hair back again. Kaworu's heart sank, and he felt tears begin to blur his vision. Before he could react, he heard a car pull up; it was his father. He wiped his tears and headed towards his car. He got in the backseat of the car and hid his face from view. He knew his father didn't care how practice went, and he probably wouldn't ask anyways. Kaworu watched the two boys giggle underneath a lampost as the car started towards home. He sighed and closed his eyes. When they arrived, he headed straight for his room. How many times has he found himself like this? How many years? He took a deep breath to calm himself, quietly played piano songs on the vinyl in his room, and curled up underneath his duvet. The rain was quiet tonight.

"This year will be different." He whispered to himself, letting his eyes fall.

Chapter Text

Tokyo, Japan, 1995.
Tues, April 18, Morning.
Chapter 05-A worthy opponent

Shinji and the rest of the basketball team were let out early from school because of the practice game. The team slowly made their way onto the bus outside. Most of the group felt ready after a couple of practices. Shinji was a bit nervous but confident. Rei was thoroughly prepared with a bag of necessary items, such as a water bottle for Shinji and her, energy snacks, and a stuffie for comfort. Kensuke and Toji both seemed to be conspiring something but overall seemed prepared. And Asuka was extremely annoyed.
"Why are we even doing this again? Isn't it so they can make fun of us?" Asuka said, walking down the bus aisle.

"Well, it's good practice, and it's already been decided." Misato sighed; she wasn't too happy about it either.

"That's so dumb, those jerks. We're gonna shove our win in their face." Toji said, smiling at Kensuke.

"Yeah, we'll show those cocky bastards, especially that one kid. What was his name? The one with silver hair, I remember the others. " Kensuke asked, sitting down next to Toji.

"Ah, shoot, I forgot too," Toji replied. Shinji and Rei sat across from the two friends while Asuka sat behind them, reading a girly magazine.

"Wait, who are you talking about?" Shinji asked, leaning over.

"This guy on the other team is supposed to be crazy good. Not to mention, his dad was like a MAJOR professional." Toji said.

"Yeah, his dad's nickname was the "silver bullet," which is kinda lame, but people were terrified of him. I guess they called him that because he had silver hair and was super fast. Besides the name, he was one of the best Japanese players. He's retired, but he probably taught his son everything he knew. Oh wait, Toji wasn't his name like…Kaworu or something?"

"Ohh, that was it," Toji said, nodding.

"Wait, who are the other players?" Shinji asked.

"Ok, from what I heard, Kaworu is a point guard with silver hair and red eyes, kinda like Rei. Then there's Armiseal, who's a small forward. He gives me weird vibes, but he's the only one with a normal hair color, which is a light brown. Then Ramiel, he's a power forward, and he's got dark hair and blue highlights. Arael is a center, tall, and has light blue hair. And then there's Zeruel, their shooting guard. I couldn't find much info on him, but from what I've heard, he has dark hair and orange highlights. Besides appearance and position, I don't know much about them besides Kaworu. Kensuke stated. "Anyways, everyone should be on guard. The team went to Nationals last year. " He said, pushing his glasses up.

"Sounds like a bunch of weirdos," Asuka said, eyes still glued on her magazine.

"Let's just hope they're not as good as they say," Kensuke sighed.

Maya went down the bus aisle to check attendance while Kensuke rambled to Toji. As soon as Maya reported the attendance to Misato, she stood up to make a pep talk.

"Alright, everyone, If I could have your attention, please! I just want to say that whatever happens today, I'll be very proud. Just work on your skills, be aggressive, and have some fun. Make sure to give 'em hell!" Misato announced as the team cheered weakly. "Also! I have new jerseys for the game today. I figured it would cheer you guys up." She said, holding up a box. She walked down the aisle tossing and hanging jerseys to the players. Shinji was handed a purple jersey with green stitching on the straps.

"They're all the same number since it's so early in the season. I'll see if we can get personalized ones later." Misato announced, heading back to the front of the bus. She gave a thumbs up to the driver, and he started the bus. The engine sputtered up, and they began their journey towards enemy grounds. Rei watched the road passing by while Shinji tried to use the time to take a small nap.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Forty minutes later, Shinji was awoken by Rei, slightly shaking him awake.

"Asuka, Shinji, we're here." Rei said, peeking over the bus seat to see Asuka asleep. Rei giggled from Asuka's sleeping position and reached over to wake her. Asuka was rubbing her eyes and slowly starting to wake up.

"Ughhhh, what time is it?" She grumbled.

"Uh, game time?" Rei said.

"HELL YEAH!!" She said, immediately jumping up.

Shinji slowly woke up and saw everyone piling off the bus. He groaned and sat up.
"Come on, Shinji! Get your head in the game!" Asuka said, slapping him on the back of his head.

"Owch! Asuka!" Shinji groaned.

"Come on, there's no time, let's go," She giggled.

They stepped off the bus and followed the crowd toward the gym. Shinji placed a hand over his eyes to block the sun to get a view of the school. The school preceded its reputation as a private school. The colossal building had stairs cascading up towards wide wooden doors. Textured with prestigious architecture and massive columns that exuded wealth, the two schools were starkly juxtaposed. The trio wandered into the main gym, and they were stunned.

"Jinkies! This place is crazy big!" exclaimed Kensuke, looking around in circles.

"Holy crap! This place can fit like three teams." Toji said to himself.

The inside of the court was about the size of a professional basketball court. Each basket was polished, and the lines looked newly painted. It was polished so deep the court was almost sticky. They wanted to impress. The team headed to the away team lockers and started to change. Asuka and Rei were the first to finish.

"Yooo! I look awesome! Rei, look!" Asuka said, posing in her jersey. Asuka and Rei exited their locker room and headed towards the gym.

"You look good, Asuka," Rei said with a smile.

"Hehee, thanks," Asuka said, doing a twirl.

Shinji and the rest of the team slowly left the boys' locker room and headed towards the court where Rei and Asuka were already stretching. Kesnuke adjusted his sports glasses, and Toji checked that his jersey was on the right side. Maya and Misato started preparing everyone for the game and checking that everyone had their jerseys and water bottles. Maya set up the scoreboard, ensuring everything was functional, while Misato began warming the team up.

A couple minutes later, the school bell rang, and Shinji could hear a cacophony of laughs and footsteps from beyond the gym door. The door swung open, and the court erupted in noise. The rival team pushed past them into the locker room, disregarding the other team. From the back of the horde, Shinji recognized a boy with silvery hair next to a boy with blue.

"Oh, check it, that's the guy I was talking about!" Kensuke says behind Shinji, pointing.

"Dude, it's rude to point," Shinji says, nudging him slightly.

"You're right, ahh, I'm getting kinda nervous!" He said, looking at Toji with a grin.

"Alright, guys, remember the strategies we went over last practice. Keep your head in the game, and don't lose focus!" Misato said, tying her dark hair back.

"Yeah, guys, don't get lost in my amazing skills," Asuka smirked.

"What? If there's anyone here with amazing skills, it's me." Toji said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, amazing at tripping over the ball!" Asuka laughed.

"That happened once!!" Toji said, mumbling under his breath, trying to hide his red face.

"Asuka…" Rei said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hehe, sorry," Asuka said, trying to contain her giggles.

Kensuke and Shinji looked at each other and sighed. Asuka and Toji have been feuding ever since the first practice. Usually, Shinji steps in to stop it, but Rei beat him to it. Toji really didn't get along with anyone except Kensuke and maybe Rei. And Asuka, well, she was definitely a wild card.
"Guys, let's practice, come on," Shinji said.

"Yeah, yeah, we better before the other team comes out," Toji says, stretching his legs one last time.

They passed the basketball, doing a couple shots until the other team filed out. They were much taller and buffer than Shinji's small and mainly scruffy team. Anxiety bubbled in his chest as he saw the main target of the other team. Kaworu had an uninterested look on his face as he stretched his arms over his chest. A boy with blue hair walked backward beside Kaworu (which he determined was the boy named Ramiel) and talked to players behind them. Even though he's played against teams before in middle school, the games would be highly competitive this time. Shinji shot an anxious look at Rei, and she responded with an affirming thumbs up. Kensuke and Asuka had smug smirks and were excited to rival the team, while Rei and Toji understood not to underestimate the enemy. Misato walked over and was about to direct the players to their positions but was interrupted by someone.

"Katsuragi, is that you?" A man said behind her. Misato's face completely drained from fear as she slowly turned around.

"Long time no see, Ms. Katsuragi," The man said, smirking. Misato was completely dumbfounded but quickly found her composure.

"Y-yup, been so long. Shouldn't you be with your team?" Misato said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I thought I would introduce myself to your team. You're starting players are first-years, so they might not know me. I'm Mr. Kaji from Shito Academy," he said, holding his hand out to Shinji. Shinji hesitated but returned the gesture with a slight shake.

"So Misato, how've you been these days? Haven't missed me too much, right? "He said, winking.

Misato tried stuttering a response but was interrupted by a player from the other team. "Mr. Kaji! One of the lockers won't open! We need your key!" the player called out.

Well, guess I gotta go, see you, Misato," he said, bowing slightly.

When Misato turned around, her face was completely red. Asuka and Shinji both gave each other confused glances but shrugged it off. "Ahem, w-well anyways, I'll now begin with your positions. Just remember what was discussed during practice, and you'll be fine. Toji, you're a center, meaning you'll play near the basket. You'll be doing everything you can to block shots and make them. You're already pretty experienced, so you'll be fine. Kensuke, our power forward, you'll be near the basket and be similar to Toji so you can follow him. You might be throwing pretty far, so remember what we practiced. Rei, as a power forward, you'll be all over the court, so don't let the bigger or faster players scare you. Do whatever you can to help the team out. Asuka, you're our shooting guard. Remember the shooting techniques you learned, and you'll be fine. Also, don't get too caught up, and make sure you contr-"

"Control my emotions. I got it, yeah. I won't freak out, I swear!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Ok, that's what we're counting on, and finally, Shinji. Our point guard, you'll be leading the way most of the game. Remember, you're on a team, trust in the team as much as you do yourself. With all that being said, I have full faith in you guys!" Misato said, pumping her fist.

The other team came out of the locker, howling and running onto the court.

"LET'S GO!!" Kensuke squealed, shaking Toji.

"CALM DOWN! Jeez! Ok, listen, you better not mess this up for everyone," Toji said

"I won't!" Kensuke said with a salute.

Misato motioned for everyone to start on the court and continue warming up. Shinji watched the other team in his peripheral vision. They were smoother and more calculated than Shinji's team. He sighed and decided to ignore them and continue to warm up. After a bit, people started coming into the gym. Students from Shito Academy and Tokyo-3 started to arrive.

"What's going on? Why are there so many people? They're not here to watch us, are they?" Toji asked.

"I think they are. They're headed towards the bleachers. Ooohh, Tojiii, Hikaris here, hehe," Kensuke snickered.

"Hikari? Seriously? Where?!" Toji said, his face slowly turning bright red.

"Over there in the bleachers," Kensuke pointed.

Shinji looked over at the bleachers and recognized a girl from his class. From Toji's face, he assumed he had a crush on her.

"Now you'll have to play REALLY good!" Kensuke teased.

Hikari caught Toji looking toward her, so she giggled and waved. Toji waved back red-faced and quickly turned away.

"Come on, guys, we gotta warm up," Toji said, mumbling.

Kensuke laughed but listened and continued to warm up. Rei and Shinji passed back and forth and practiced layups. Asuka practiced shooting and was now fully confident. Minutes later, both teams were ready to line up.
The game begins with the referee tossing the ball in the air, and the two players in the middle tap it to their side. Since Toji is the tallest, he's tipping off. Toji and a player from the other team lined up in the middle. The player lining up with Toji had light blue hair tied into a ponytail; Shinji recognized as Arael from Kensuke's information. The other players he recognized were Armiseal, Ramiel, Zeruel, and Kaworu, matching Kensuke's descriptions. As soon as she was ready, Maya gave a thumbs-up to Misato. The referee approached the court with the basketball and a bright pink whistle around his neck. For a referee, he was definitely unprofessional. He wore baggy pants, a beanie, a Hello Kitty shirt, and a name tag with "Pinkman" scrawled on it.

"Alright, yo, I'm your ref, Pinkman. Let's keep it clean, and remember, there's no crying in basketball. So kick some ass and smoke some grass!" the referee exclaimed, spinning the ball on his fingertips. The ref tossed the ball in the air, and Shinji watched as Toji jumped to tip it to their side. Arael quickly tipped it over Toji, where another player swooped in and drove toward Shinji. Before Shinji could react, another player with dark hair and blue highlights guarded him.

"Sorry, nothing personal!" Ramiel said with a smile.

Armiseal was in front of the basket guarded by Kensuke and Rei. Kensuke pressed forward to block any shots he could throw while Rei defended his right. Armiseal stepped quickly toward the right, so Kensuke followed his movement but then spun around and dribbled toward the left. Shinji was still guarded, but Asuka managed to pass by and charged towards Armiseal. Both were underneath the net. Armiseal jumped to fake a dunk, and when Asuka jumped to block the ball, Armiseal quickly passed the ball behind Asuka to Arael. Arael slammed the ball into the net behind Asuka. The bleachers roared with excitement from the home team.

"What the hell?!" Asuka mumbled.

"God damn it! This always happens," Shinji thought, clenching his teeth. "I won't let them get past me anymore!"

"Nice one, Armiseal!" Arael said, giving a fist bump.

Kensuke rebounded the ball and passed it to Shinji. He was passive and calm off the court but made himself known on the court with quick and heavy techniques. He pushed down the court with swift, jagged movements. Shinji got halfway down the court, quickly dribbling between his legs. Just as he tried to construct a play, Ramiel returned and swiped the ball from his grasp. He couldn't read his movements fast enough, but he could react. He spun on his heel and tried to catch up before he could shoot it. Ramiel stopped quickly, making Shinji almost fall forward, and shot the ball at the three-point line. Kensuke tried jumping up to block, but he was many inches short. The ball went through the net smoothly. The bleachers rang out in cheers once again. Shito Academy was in the lead by five points.

"Nice going, Ramiel!" Arael said.

"Thanks," he said, giving back a thumbs up.

"You got this!" yelled Shinji's classmates from their bleachers.

Just before the ball was passed back to Shinj, he decided to try something different. He dribbled down the middle court and hip-swiveled to avoid Kaworu. Rei was underneath the net, guarding Zureal, while Asuka was guarding players to his left and Kensuke to his right. Going towards his plan, he feinted towards the basket and then passed towards Toji. As if they expected the play, the players quickly moved the guard Toji. Even though he was close to the net, he had no space to move. The referee blew his whistle and held up three fingers.

"That was more than 3 seconds, yo!" the referee called out.

Toji only had three seconds to pass or score while underneath the net, also known as the free throw lane. Since he was guarded and didn't throw, it resulted in a violation, also known as the three-second violation. Shinji cussed at himself for making such a stupid play. He knew he should have anticipated a turnover like that.

"Keep your head up, Shinji," Rei said, patting his shoulder. Rei was right. He couldn't let losses get to his head too much.

Violations resulted in the other team having a free throw. The black and orange-haired player stood at the free-throw line. The player dribbled it and then shot. It went in perfectly. He was given another shot since the first went in. Zureal shot again and made it. Kenuke grasped the ball and passed it to Shinji. His body was electrified with determination. He wouldn't let anyone else stop him. Shinji started to dribble towards the other team's basket until Kaworu sliced past him. He almost grabbed the ball, but Shinji held back. It took him a second to realize that none of his teammates were around him. They were all being guarded back at their net. A feeling of dread washed over Shinji.

Kaworu was the team's trump card, and they knew it. Kaworu stayed in the shadows until this moment. He fell straight into his grasp, and he could do nothing. Each movement towards escape Shinji made was mirrored by Kaworu. He crossovered to the right to get room and aim for the basket. When the ball left his fingers, Kaworu snatched it at light speed. Kaworu sped past Shinji and left him standing like an idiot. He turned around and watched Kaworu spring up from the ground. His airtime was longer than Shinjis had ever seen; it was like he was flying. Kaworu slammed the ball into the basket and landed gracefully. The crowd exploded in cheers and howls.

"This guy is insane!" Shinji thought in horror.

Fanart below (its kinda big) 

I just wanted to release some drawings of the main characters (drawings of kaworus main team will be released in the next chapter). :D 

Chapter Text

Kaworu took a sharp breath and leaped into the air. He smacked the basketball through the net leaving the backboard with a shock of vibrations. He gracefully landed on the court like a cat. The crowd ignited in a burst of shouts. He winced at the sudden noise but gave a small cheer with his friends.

“NICE JOB KAWORU!! They didn’t see that coming at all!” Ramiel said, initiating a fist bump with Kaworu. Kaworu adored his friend’s enthusiasm.

“All part of the plan right?” Kaworu chuckled. Kaworu glanced at the player he stole the ball from. They made eye contact for a moment. He had tousled brown hair spiking out on the edges. His brown eyes had a flurry of rage and anxiety swirling in them. The boy quickly avoided eye contact and retired to his position. Kaworu observed the player, the boy seemed to have been talking to another player. The two players conversed and argued leaving the boy with a surprised look. Kaworu giggled at his expression but went back to his position. He assumed that the two players had been discussing a plan and he was more and excited to find out what it was.

The ball was passed to a girl with red hair. The red haired girl made an attempt to get past the wall Kaworu’s teammates built. It seemed the other team had quite a struggle getting past the half court line. The red haired girl was definitely built for offense, her muscular but thin arms were good for pushing and dribbling quickly. Ramiel had soon locked her in a pivot. Her only movements were to keep the ball from Ramiel by shifting back and forth. Kaworu knew his turn was coming up once again by the look Ramiel gave. He inched towards the red haired girl. Ramiel gave the girl a slight opening and she shot the ball in the direction of her teammate. Areal intercepted it and immediately passed it to Kaworu. He sprinted towards the ball to retrieve it. With only one minute left on the clock, he calculated about two more goals.He cradled the ball in his right hand and began to dribble past his allies. However, he missed one player. His trajectory was interrupted by a zealous force. The boy from before stole the ball from his grasp.

“No one’s ever caught up to me before.” Kaworu thought as the player slipped from his field of view. He turned to watched the player dribble past his teammates with excessive speed. Saying Kaworu was in awe is an understatement. For the first time, he felt like he had a deep breath of air. The burning passion from his boy alone sparked a match against Kaworu's soul. He watched the player quickly move towards Aeral who was in front of him. Within a second he bounced the ball underneath Aerals legs leaving him completely confused. The red girl from before had a smirk on her face as she guarded Ramiel while the blue haired girl swooped in to guard Aeral. Zeruel and Arimseal were both ahead but being guarded by two of the other team players. Kaworu's legs began running before he could think. There wasn’t enough time to watch. Just as before, the player dribbled with extreme dexterity masking his next move. Armiseal was the closest to the player but was being held back by the boy with nerdy sports glasses. Zeruel pushed past one of the players and played offense which wasn’t his strong suit. The player had one more wall to pass and he wasn’t afraid to slam through. Kaworu noticed his feet position, knees slightly bent and left foot slightly back. He was going to run and slam dunk. Adrenaline surged through. Kaworu as he ran underneath the basket. His other players caught on and pushed the other players back. Just as Kaworu predicted the play, the player rushed past Zeruel and flew into the air. Kaworu jumped, sticking his hand out to smack the ball away from the net. What he didn’t expect was there to be no ball.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *First quarter

Shinji landed on his feet underneath the basket. The jump for the dunk was too short and he didn’t make the net. There wasn’t a second to process anything. Kaworu was in the air blocking his non-existent ball which left the perfect spot for him to shoot the basket through. He flung the ball through his sweaty palms up in the air. The ball arched downward into the basket. Instead of a dunk he went for a layup. The buzzer went off signaling the end of the period. Kaworu landed down on the ground with the sound of the basketball bouncing a second later. His face was completely surprised. Shinji's heart was burning with adrenaline. The scoreboard now read 9-2 with Shito Academy in the lead.

“Damn Toji! He shouldn’t have given me a plan out of nowhere like that!” Shinji thought to himself as his heart rate calmed down. The silver haired boy in front of him looked like he was about to say something but Shinji was pulled away by Asuka.

“Come on Shinji!” She said, dragging him back to their team area. Misato had a cheerful grin and Maya was holding a thumbs up.

“Great job Shinji!!” Misato said, slapping him on the back. He winced at the slap.

“Thanks Misato,” he said, holding up a thumbs up.

“Yeah Shinji, you managed to not mess up my plan,” Toji said grinning.

“I could have because you came out of nowhere! What was that! Also you should know I can’t…I mean, nevermind! You shouldn’t have done that! I wasn’t prepared!” Shinji yelled at Toji, wiping off the sweat he broke on his forehead.

“Dude, settle down! We had barely enough time for a full plan! Besides all I said was to dunk like Kaworu or whatever did. Speaking of that, that wasn’t really a dunk,” Toji said looking him up and down. “Oh dont tell me, you can't slam dunk can you!” he laughed out loud. Shinji swore that the whole court heard that.

“Oh my gosh youre totally right! Ive never seen him dunk before. He's too short!” Asuka spat out leaning over to clutch her stomach. Kensuke looked at Shinji and gave a sympathetic shrug. Rei gave him an innocent grin. Both Kensuke and Rei remained silent so as to not catalyze Shinji's anger.

“Come on guys, no arguing. We only have a couple minutes, focus on the game. Make sure you all cool down.” Misato said with eager fists.

Shinji grumbled, turning towards his sport bag hiding his red face with Rei following behind him. Shinji handed her a water bottle and she sat next to him on the team bench. He watched Misato talk to Toji about the next quarter. Asuka was scrutinizing the other team with a death glare and Kensuke was unfogging his glasses.

“You played well. Everyone was pretty impressed. Even the other team.” Rei said with a soft smile.

“Really? I couldn't even dunk it, I’m not tall enough either.” Shinji said, embarrassed.

“They weren’t impressed with your play, I think they were impressed by your…feeling” Rei said with a thinking expression.

“My feeling?” Shinji said, taking a swig of his water.

“You’re very passionate and you give off this…feeling that makes everyone more determined,” Rei said, nodding in the direction of the other team. Across the court, Shinji caught the eye of Kaworu who was looking at him, he quickly averted eye contact. Rei looked back at him with a smile, and he was slowly cleared of any anxiety.

“Thank you Rei. You’re the best.” He said, giving her a quick side hug which Rei returned. Once Misato was done with Toji and the rest of the team, she called Shinji and Rei over. She explained the next plan for the game. Once everyone was clear on the plan, Misato made everyone put their fists in a circle. Shinji winced at how cringy the celebration was but went along regardless.

“Alright guys, don’t worry too much it’s only a practice game just go out there and do your best!” Misto exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. The team stretched until it was time to file back on the court.

“Go get em Shinji” Asuka said, punching his shoulder.

“Yeah you too Asuka.” Shinji said rubbing his shoulder. Rei was right, they had a lot more vigor than before.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Break between the first and second quarter.

“Kaworu, Kaworu!” Ramiel said, waving his hands in front of his face.

“What? Oh hi Ramiel,” Kaworu said, rubbing his eyes.

“Dude are you ok? You totally let that guy get past you!” Ramiel said shaking his shoulders.

“What, no I didn’t. He just managed to catch up to me, that's all.” Kaworu said stepping back from Ramiel’s grip. “I guess that last move caught me off guard too.” He said looking over at the boy. He seemed to be talking to another player. Suddenly, they made eye contact and Kaworu quickly looked away.

“Heya, the coach wants to talk to everyone~” The team manager Mari said with a smile. Even for a basketball game, she made sure she looked stylish with lipgloss and painted nails with matching pink hues.

“Huh? Oh ok, Kaworu come on.” Ramiel said heading towards the circle of players.

“Ramiel, who’s that player on the other team? The one that slam dunked?” Kaworu asked.

“Which one? The point guard? Heard it was Shinji, why?”

“Nothing, just wondering.” Kaworu said, looking back at the other team. Armiseal and Arael gave him an up and down glare; he ignored them and stared at the floor embarrassed. The team was huddled in a circle beside their team bench. Kaworu noticed a roster of the other team. He began analyzing it while Kaji lectured.

“To begin, excellent team work all around. I’m incredibly impressed at how everyone used their talents and combined them to make plays. As you know, since we had the ball in the first quarter, the other team will have possession of the ball to begin this quarter. Even though we’re 7 points ahead, we still need to play the best we can.” Coach Kaji said, flipping through his clipboard reading off his notes. “We need to change up our tactics from last quarter. Armisael and Arael, you were a tag team this quarter so make sure to split up.” As Coach Kaji directed the players, Kaworu found himself behind the group flipping through the pages of the player roster and quickly became familiar with the other team.
“Lastly, Kaworu, follow through with your instructions from before. Make sure to drive through and score just like usual.” Coach Kaji said. Kaworu turned around and nodded at his coach even though he thought the same plan wouldn't work for him. Something told him that this quarter would be different.

The buzzer rang and the team headed back on the court again.. The ball was passed to a red haired girl (who he had learned was Asuka) who had a mean look on her face. She shoved her way past Armiseal and when Zeruel guarded her she maneuvered past him and managed to score immediately. Rei gave her a high five and they continued to play. Kaworu was fascinated by the team. Against all odds, the other team managed to score against one of the best teams in the region. Kaworu believed that their point guard had to be the reason. The ball passed to Kaworu and he took it down the court. It seemed like the other players were waiting for him to strike. Shinji immediately stopped his path. Kaworu passed to Ramiel who conveniently was to the side of him. Rameil received the ball but was guarded by Kensuke. Rameil tried to move but the boy wouldn’t let him. Kensuke snatched the ball and passed it behind Ramiel.

“Toji!” The boy called. Toji caught the ball and proceeded to attempt a shot. However, Arael jumped and slammed the ball down. Armiseal snatched it and threw it towards the net. Asuka ferociously slapped the ball to the ground and dribbled down the court in the opposite direction. She had a face of determination. She shoved her way past the other team and managed to slam the ball in the net to give her team two points. Her face was red of anger and excitement. The stands cheered once again in excitement. She smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

The game continued back and forth between the opposing teams, each player not willing to give up. It went back and forth until around the 5 minute mark. Kaworu stayed behind as much as he could for being a point guard. Armiseal and Aerial slowed down a bit but they were still eager as ever. The other team was playing much better than they expected; they definitely underestimated them. Kaworu’s observing habit quickly ended as he passed the ball. Like sharks to blood, the other team turned to him and locked eyes. He dribbled down the court attempting to pass to Ramiel when Shinji ended up in front of him. Instead of passing, he decided to take the shot. He knew Shinji could catch up to him so he need to pass by him as quick as possible. He quickly dribbled to the side and drove past Shinji. As he dribbled forward Shinji caught up to him.

“Shit! I knew he’d catch up!” He thought.

He decided to toss the ball to Armiseal who could make the score easier. Armiseal took the shot as soon as he gained possession of the ball. Shinji jumped and his fingertips barely managed to grab the ball into his possession. Shinji dribbled down to the halfcourt line for a turn at a three point shot. Kaworus team moved up to deflect the ball but it landed in the net before they could stop the line of motion. The crowd gave out a cheer and seconds later the buzzer signaled the end of the quarter. The teams headed back to their coaches. Kaworu slumped down on the bench next to Ramiel.

“Hey! Don't be so hard on yourself man! You'll get em next time.” Ramiel said, patting Kaworu's spikey hair.

“Thanks, just sort of…lost focus? Think imma get some water,” Kaworu said. He got up and headed towards the water fountain. Before Kaworu could reach it, Shinji swung open the locker door. The two made eye contact. His brown hair was tied back and a white hand towel was draped over his shoulder.

“…Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of the court…?” Shinji questioned, looking him up and down with a raised brow.

“What? Oh, yeah I guess so. I just needed some water.” Kaworu smiled. “Ah. I’m Kaworu by the way, I believe you stole my ball.” He smiled holding his hand out. He hoped that didn’t sound as passive aggressive as it might have sounded. Shinji hesitated before answering.

“S-shinji, and um, I guess I did.” He said, shaking his hand. Kaworu noticed that Shinji was less confident then he was on the court. He could feel a slight tremble from the other boy as if he was scared. Kaworu took back his hand but returned a smile.

“It's nice to meet you Shinji, I can’t wait to see you on the court again.”

“You too”