Chapter 6: First Match
"I'm home!" As soon as he opened the door of his house, Shinoda announced his arrival to his family.
While he was taking off his shoes, a smile bloomed on Shinoda's face as he heard the footsteps of his sister running towards him. "Bro! You're back!" A small force made Shinoda take a step back as his sister gave him a hug. "I missed you!"
Shinoda returned the hug as he heard his mother's voice from the kitchen. "Welcome back Shinoda! How was your day?" Looking up, he saw his mother holding a ladle at it was only then did Shinoda notice the aromatic smell floating in the air.
Grrrrrrrr. Sayako snapped her eyes open and broke the hug, looking up at the embarrassed face of her brother. "Bro, you must be starving for your stomach to be that loud." She had an amused look on her face as he dragged Shinoda into the kitchen. "Well, we don't want that," His mother chimed in with a smile. "Come and sit, the two of you. You're lucky I have just finished cooking."
Shinoda could feel his mouth watering as he saw the array of dishes on the table. "Wow! You cooked a lot, mom!" He couldn't wait to dig in. His mother placed bowls and gave each of her children a pair of chopsticks and spoons. "Of course! It's a celebration for your first day in school!"
Happiness began to spread in Shinoda's heart. "Thanks, mom." He began to look around the house while he placed the food on his plate. "Where's dad?" At the moment, he noticed that it was only him, Sayako, and their mother in the house. "He's working overtime at the office. There was something that came up that needed his attention." His mother's gentle voice floated through the kitchen as she placed another kind of viand on the table.
His parents were co-owners of a clothing line. Shinoda was grateful that because of their hard work, he and his little sister were able to live comfortably without any worries. Furthermore, his parents, although busy, always had time for them and were present in the important events of their lives – birthdays, graduations, and vacations.
Sayako, his little sister, passed him a bowl of rice. "So, bro… How was your first day?" A huge smile appeared on Shinoda's face. "It was great! I got to meet a bunch of great people. Everyone was very nice and energetic. Plus…" Shinoda paused to add suspense as he looks at his family excitedly.
"Whaaat!!! Tell me, bro! Don't keep me waiting!" His little sister urged in curiosity. Taking a deep breath, Shinoda announced his achievement. "I got in the basketball club!"
"Yaaaaaay!!!!" Sayako stood up from her seat, went around the table, and gave Shinoda a tight hug. "I knew you could do it, bro! I'm so happy for you!" It was clear that she was ecstatic for her brother. Their mother was no different. "Oh, this is great news! Congratulations Shinoda! Your dad would be so proud of you when he hears about this!"
The atmosphere inside the kitchen was warm and happy. Everyone had smiles on their faces as they talked about their day. This is such a great day. Shinoda thought as he recounted all the things that happened.
New school. New friends. Becoming a player of the Basketball club. Joining the first strings. Having a supportive family.
As he was lying down on his bed waiting for sleep to come to him, Shinoda was staring at his ceiling with a smile. I can't wait for tomorrow. I wonder what we will be doing for practice? That was his last thought as he dozed off.
The next day, after saying goodbye to his family in the morning, Shinoda left for school. Although his sister was still unwilling to be away from him, it was much easier for her now to say goodbye that it was yesterday. When he had entered his classroom, he was greeted with a lot of congratulations from his classmates.
"Oi! Shinoda! I heard that you were so cool in the tryouts yesterday!"
"Congratulations on becoming a basketball club member!"
"First string?! That's amazing, dude! Congrats!"
His classmates were congratulating him and the others who were accepted to join the basketball team. Classes soon ended smoothly and the newly accepted basketball players were excited to join the practice. As the bell rang, Shinoda could feel his heart thumping in excitement. "Hey, Shinoda!" The blond saw Aomine walking towards him. "Wanna go to the gym together?"
Shinoda nodded as he stood up. His yellow eyes glanced at the other students who had colorful hairs who were walking closer, he remembered seeing them during tryouts. "Akashi right?" The redhead nodded silently. "And you two must be-" He left his sentence hanging.
"Murasakibara…" The purple giant yawned as tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Shinoda looked at the green-haired one. "Midorima." It was official, all of them now had introduced each other, not including the time they were asked by their teacher in front of the class. "This is great! Now we know each other, and we are in the same club!" Shinoda gave off a friendly vibe as he smiled.
Aomine had a playful smirk, "I'm still hanging on that 1 vs 1 against you Shinoda." He pointed at the blond which made Shinoda laugh with a small sweat drop on the side of his head. "Alright. Alright… Don't worry, I remember."
The colorful group was walking towards the gymnasium of their campus. When they entered the court, the coach blew his whistle and told everyone to form a line. "Alright, everyone! My name is Naoto Sanada, and I am the head coach of Teiko Junior High." A stern-looking man who wore glasses appraised all of the newly accepted players.
"As the first strings, we are required to be the best and the strongest." His voice echoed loudly through the court. "And for your first evaluation, all of you will be playing your first match." As soon as he spoke those words, the row of rookies was in a buzz, filled with excitement and trepidation. "As you can see, the people behind me are the ones who you will be playing against. They are from the Nambara Junior High."
The student from Teiko glanced at the visitors. "However, for this match… I will be doing something different." This caught the attention of the rookies and the students from the other team. "For the first time ever in history for Teiko Junior High, we will have the first years of the first string play on the first half." This elicited various reactions from everyone.
The coach ignored this and continued. "I will be calling out the names of the students who will be playing." He took the clipboard that was handed to him by a manager. "For the first half, small forward will be…" The coach glanced at Shinoda with an unknown emotion that made the blond confused. "Shinoda Hyokishi."
When he heard his name being called, a large grin broke on his face. Another game! This is great! Shinoda had always loved playing basketball, and no matter the occasion, he would always feel pumped and thrilled. He wasn't able to hear the other names included in the list as his ears were tinging due to the emotion he was feeling.
The seniors who were present and the other rookies were also looking forwards to what Shinoda was about to offer. Everyone had different thoughts and opinions.
I bet it would be another cool game.
Hmmm… Will he be able to bring an amazing match?
I wonder if he's as good as they say.
Shinoda didn't wait for a second and started stretching. Being the small forward would mean that he needs to be versatile as he will be responsible for scoring points with a little bit of defending his teammates. His enthusiasm could be felt by everyone near him. The blond couldn't stop smiling as he took a step inside the basketball court. Bring it on.
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