Walking across the campus Naoki stifled a yawn thinking over his Japanese history class. They were talking about the Kamakura period. Thinking over in his head the names of important figures and battles in history of this time. Hearing the sound of squeaking shoes and the bouncing of a ball Naoki looked at the gymnasium. Curios Naoki walked over to the huge building. He had only been in the building a couple times since he wasn't made to take a gym class because of his injuries. Walking in he sat in the back of the stands watching the lone player move on the court. Suddenly two more players appeared. Naoki noticed these were the students he saw earlier this morning. Smiling he watched analyzing them.

Momo Wakana walks around the campus, everyone didn't even see her. "As always" She spoke to herself as she bouncing the basketball around while she walk. "Most likely I would have no friends my time here too." She mumbled to herself.

Rikyu said, "If you want friends just talk to people more," from right behind the girl, then said, "I have to go to basketball practice, goodbye," and walked off, then got changed into a white tank top with a picture of a beach on it, and loose white shorts with no pattern on it. Then he walked behind Masura who was laughing as he left the classroom and said, "C'mon Masura, we've got practice," and Masura looked at Rikyu, still laughing. "What's funny?" Rikyu asked, and he spun around to see Michiko running as hard as she could to the court wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Seeing a few people around, one seeming new, Michiko called out, "Hello, who is here for practice for the basketball team!?" while panting a bit.

Rikyu and Masaru followed closely, Rikyu for once not drawing attention away from himself, he didn't need to with Masura's tendency to do the opposite of Rikyu. Which was why Michiko thought they would be good to use together, perhaps Rikyu stealing and passing the ball to Masura and Masura using his raw skill to go forward. Rikyu was not known for raw skill although he may have some. Michiko decided she would have to check this to be able to form strategies in games. Masura gave a wide smile and yelled, "C'mon guys, we need to get all you up to an acceptable level," with no joking tone, but still a happy tone.

Kimura paused as other shoes began to squeak behind him. First the twins, which seemed to be joking around instead of stretching or warming up. Secondly, a strange figure appeared in the distance. He sat down, watching as if he was fond of the sport, but did not say a word. He was pretty tall, it was obvious he had some sort of basketball background, his smile gave it away. After that, the rest of the bunch made a ruckus as they entered the gymnasium, Michiko leading the path. Copy Cat and Shadow were the ones following her. Little ol' Copy Cat though, decided to make a stupid remark.

"....we need to get all you up to an acceptable level..." he had said. This phrase ran circles in Kimura's head. His blood began to boil irritably, forcing him to stop dribbling and start walking up to the wannabe. "Look her kid!" Kimura started. "Just because you think you're all that doesn't mean a damn thing. If your gonna bring that attitude into this gym, the forget about it. You can kiss your sign-up sheet goodbye and walk away. I don't have time to deal with people who think they're better than everyone else here. Got that?!"

Without waiting for a response, Teshira-senpai, as he was called, started placing orange cones from rim to rim. There was one cone between each rim and half court. They would start with some conditioning. The exercise itself is known as the Suicide Drill. "Michiko, I hope you brought a timer of some sort. Now, everyone get over there at the starting line" Kimura pointed towards the baseline closest to the door. "What you will do is run from the baseline to the first cone, sprint back to the baseline then run to half court. You continue by running back to the baseline, then all the way to the opposite baseline and back. You've got thirty seconds to do the first one, plenty of time. Michiko, go ahead and time them. If one of them doesn't make the time, then make them do twenty burpees. I've got something I need to take care of" Kimura finished, looking up at the guy watching them.

So with that done, Kimura began to walk up to the mysterious figure. He sat in the row below him, watching the court and his new teammates. "You play?" he asked the mysterious guy, already knowing the answer to his own question. "Why don't you join us? We could use someone your size" Kimura stated, not making contact with the student. "As you can obviously see, our this team is brand new. I can't promise you we'll get anything out of this season, but I can make sure we try our best. You don't have to make a decision right now, just think it over" Kimura said, standing back up. "There is a couple of spare shorts in the men's locker room" he added as he began his journey back to the sideline.

Taki allowed his sis to make an easy layup and caught his ball as it fell through

Shouldn't you be helping the Coach assistant coach Izumi-chan? Taki asks as he turns an heads over to the sideline to warm up an stretch.

Izumi sticks out her tongue playfully and heads over to Michiko to help her out.

Hello Michiko, just tell me what you need an I'm your girl. says Izumi skidding to a squeaking stop beside the other girl

Taki grins seeing the cones which outside of actually playing the game are his favorite part.
Once he's stretched he twists his feet on te sideline warming the soles of his shoes so they'll be sticker even though he knows they don't need it.
This is the ritual of the Fast break Prince who did he not play basket ball would be a sprinter of the first order

Able to cover 50 meters in 5.92 Taki was declared one of the finals fastest players last year in the junior high tournament and this year he plans on being even faster.

As he waits the order to begin he prepares himself by controlling his breathing and crouching. If he were already engaged in a game he wouldn't need this ritual as the music of the court would be his insperation.

Masaru gave a smile and walked down to Taki and said loudly, "Hey Coach and Coach Junior, I'll go after Taki!" and put a hand on Taki's shoulder. Michiko sighed at Masaru then looked at Izumi. "Sure thing Izumi-san, could you time the boys? I'm going to see what the captain is up to," Michiko said throwing up a timer and running over to the captain. Panting a little bit, Michiko smiled and said, "Hey Teshira-sempai, who's the new guy?"

Meanwhile, Rikyu gives a sigh, walking to Masura and Taki, and says, "Hopefully I'll make it," with a bit of a sigh, revealing his weakness quite obviously. Rikyu then looked forward and gave a sigh, breathing heavily, quite uncertain at whether he will make the run or not.

Izumi grins knowing her brother an his ability
GO! she suddenly shouts hoping to catch him off guard as Masaru rests his hand on Taki's shoulder an the new boy steps up

Taki seems to explode into action his shoulder vaporizing beneath Masaru's hand as his shoe's squeal in protest. He makes the first cone and pivots without any apparent loss of speed and races back.
He makes the foul line and again pivots using his advancing foot's momentum as a swing arm to shift his balance in the opposite direction. His movements are less about skill and more about raw power.

When he makes the last cone Izumi snaps the stop watch stopping it and looking at it saying "Slowing down bro she giggles then writes down his time an turns to
Masaru.

[B]"Your turn Masaru-kun she says with a delighted smile just before shoutinig GO!

Smiling the whole way, Masaru uses his leg power and sharp eye to repeat Taki's maneuvers almost perfectly, pivoting at the cone and dashing back, but at the baseline does a different technique, ducking and going into a tight spin right at the foul line, pushing more power into the release of the spin. Masaru continues sprinting and as he reaches opposite baseline he gives a smile, knowing his legs are less used to sprinting than Taki, and must have had a worse time. But even so, Masaru was glad to think of the impact it could have on Taki, seeing the style he played copied and used.

Rikyu sighed at Masaru, having seen his skill many times before, and hunched down, ready to run when the assistant coach gave the word. Masaru, the Copy Cat, Taki, the Lightspeed Player, Me, the Shadow that Grows in the Light, and the coach, the Spy. I wonder how the captain plays? Rikyu thought offhandedly while mentally preparing himself to run.

"Hey Teshira-sempai, who's the new guy?" Michiko had asked. Kimura started walking back to the sideline along side her. He couldn't help but notice how fast her heart was beating, he could hear it. She was also quietly panting, it was obvious that little sprint made her tired. Michiko was sadly out of shape, though she looked as if she was.

With a sigh, Kimura started. "I don't know, but I hope he listens to what I said. He's got that glare in his eyes. He certainly enjoys the sport, so I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what he decides to do"

Kimura then started watching the sprinters blast off into the exercise. Taki was fast, faster than expected. His sudden breaks were near perfect, but he used too much power rather than speed or skill. Copy Cat Masaru did the exact same, though near the end, he added his own little touch. The question was, what if he can't copy his opponent? Then what?

Kimura turned to the next sprinter which was Rikyu. He didn't know much about the guy, but heard about his skill. One who can just vanish from sight within in instance by misdirecting ones field of vision. Kimura didn't know the secret of how to get around it, but he'd have to figure it out. For some odd reason though, Izumi was the one timing the sprinters. Though Michiko assigned her as the assistant manager, Kimura also wanted to see her do the exercise. She was as much of a basketball player as the next guy. "Michiko, after Rikyu goes, have Izumi line up. Once she's done, have everyone repeat the exercise two more times. Then move into a drill of your choice, I'll join y'all then, but have Izumi and Taki continue the suicide drill simultaneously. I want them to race. Have them go an extra ten times, if they can make it."

Listening to the player who he first saw and recognized as who he called the Thief he watched Taki the Lightspeed player and grinned eternally. it's been awhile since I've seen Taki run. he thought thinking back to junior high when he ran down the court the only one who could catch up was Taki. Hearing what the Thief said about the shorts he started to think. Dissapering Naoki went to the locker room looking for the shorts. Changing he thought about the grueling hours of physical therapy and pain he went through to get his body back to the way it was before tearing the muscles in his legs. Smiling he walked out of the lockeroom putting his hair in a pony tail.

Seeing some really tall new guy come in, Masaru ran over to him now that Masaru finished the suicide drill, and asked, "Hey man, you joinin' the team?" with a smirk. Michiko nodded to the captain and ran back, picking up an exercise book she put aside for training schedules and wrote everyone's training schedule in a table format:

Kimura: _____N/A________Hexagonal Obstacle Test x 3_____Agility Ladder x3
Masaru: Suicide Drill x2____Hexagonal Obstacle Test x 3_____Agility Ladder x3
Rikyu: Suicide Drill x2_____Hexagonal Obstacle Test x 3______Agility Ladder x 3
Taki: Suicide Drill x10_____________N/A_____________Hexagonal Obstacle Test x 1
Izumi: Suicide Drill x10_____________N/A_____________ Hexagonal Obstacle Test x 1

Michiko smiled at the list, deciding to include Izumi in the Hexagonal Obstacle Test as well, to test all their agility. "Izumi-san!" Michiko called out. "You'll be next after Rikyu-kun, the captain wants to see what you've got!" Michiko continued, deciding not to tell them about the race until after, and wait to tell everyone they're going again until after Izumi-san does her race. Rikyu continued looking down, awaiting the start of the suicide drill, which had a name seeming likely only to apply to him. Michiko figured that she should add some 1 on 1s at the end to observe overall skill, including Izumi if the new guy is joining the team.

She peeks into the gym and smiles as she sees people doing drill for basketball. She closes the door and walks over to the other gym.

Stretching out his muscles Naoki didn't respond. Picking up a extra ball by his palm he played with it.

Izumi giggles happily an says "Sure Michiko-chan"

She looks over at Rikyu and gives the go command as she clicks the stopwatch

Rikyu after a small delay starts running at an average speed, not extremely slow for an average person but for a basketball player with such a reputation it was painful to watch. Rikyu made the halfway mark and turned, running back, then ran to the other side with no particular pattern or style, seeming like someone you'd see as maybe a third string player on a team, someone barely ever used. Rikyu made it, but was not sure if he made the time or not. Masaru laughed and ran over to him since the new guy seemed boring, and yelled out, "My dear flower, how did Rikyu and I fare?" with a grin.

IZUMI

Izumi watches as the boy runs proving to be a good runner but lacking spirit which can be worked on an improved, besides a team of all speed runners isn't necessarily good so she decides to wait for the other drills before passing judgment.

Hearing the Snake call her Flower Izumi sighs
You an Taki both were adequate but Rikyu needs some work, this is first practice after all then she turns to Michiko

Two minutes to stretch please Michiko-chan says Izumi as she twists left to right a few times

She looks down the court and smiles her thoughts turning to the fire of competition
Izumi filled with life and energy has always enjoyed trying to close on her brother's speed.. She begins stretching out by sliding to the floor in a full split and bending her body side to side in what looks to be a painful display of flexibility.
Next she bring her legs back together her powerful thighs pushing her up off the floor without the use of her hands.
Izumi's stretching looks less like a basketball player an more a cross between gymnast and a wrestlers as she shows to be as flexible as a contortionist.

She finishes by taking several deep breaths and holding them as she allows her lungs to absorb oxygen and her spirit to calm.

When her turn comes Izumi is on the line waiting the signal an as she waits she fixes the retreating form of her brother just ahead of her. He has always been faster than she and she loves chasing him hoping to one day pass him, he is her inspiration.

When Izumi hears "GO!" She's off like a greyhound from the slips. Her sprinting style is very different than her brothers as she moves forward on light steps that's spanned distance appear as if she's a ballerina dancing across stage. In the first two seconds her choice of foot wear which look more like the ultra light shoes of a sprinter become apparent. Her heels never strike the floor even when she turns back.

She unlike the boys before pivoting before she reaches the cone her crouching body sliding back on her toe tip so that her heel barely taps the cone as she uses her entire form like a coiled spring which stores then releases the energy of her turn in a near perfect line straight up her body. Any of the boys attempting this trick would be thrown off balance because it takes full advantage of her hips which are able to shift her center of balance as only a girl can.

Her long legs seem to move without any wasted effort as she propels herself to the foul line and repeats her pivot and toe slide her foot never touching the offending stripe.
Her strides are even and as measured as a machines lending her the appearance of an olympic sprinter running for the gold. Her far pivot is a mirror of her first and second demonstrating why she's the first girl to ever win all three MVPs in the girls junior.

She completes her run 1.5 seconds slower than her brother's time but faster than any would suspect her able to. Smiling she's breathing deeply but more controlled an less winded

"That was great but I prefer doing them while dribbling, it makes them more interesting.
No offense Michiko-chan but before you try this drill I think you an I should work on your endurance and breath control or it may injure or discourage you.
You've got a great body but anyone can see you've never really pushed it" says Izumi stepping close to Michiko.

---

TAKI

Taki chuckles as he watches his sis run because as fast as he is he knows there are boys faster than he but his sister Izumi runs with the legendary speed an grace of Atlanta.
Izumi could as easily been a girl's track legend as a basketball player but chose his sport so that they'd share a common joy.

When she finishes Taki watches as she walks to Michiko with that relaxed smile of hers

Taki winces as he hears his sis say that Michiko is out of shape an needs work. Sometimes she forgets other girls body self images are very important to them.

God she needs to stop hanging out with guys as friends because she's become as clumsy as they are when talking to girls he thinks as he groans quietly

Spinning the basketball on his finger Naoki watched the girl who was timing get on the line and sprint. After she was done he let out a low whistle while muttering "That's quite impressive." Quietly. Stretching out his legs more Naoki sighed. Dribbling the ball his enternal smile deepened. It feels good to hold and hear the bouncing of the ball he. He thought without realizing he started doing complex ball handling drills.

Since everyone was done with their suicides, it was time to get the real practice started. Captain step forth along side Michiko as he faced all his teammates simultaneously. Before speaking, the captain peaked at Michiko's notebook to see what she had planned for the day. Quickly he returned to his people.

"Taki and Izumi, return to baseline. You've got ten more suicides. I want you running them at the same time. Michiko, keep your timer out, give them twenty seconds per suicide. If either one goes over the time limit, they both have ten burpees. After all ten, whoever gets first on the most suicides get to watch the other one run thirty pacers. Full court" he then turned to Masaru. "Copy Cat! You and ..........umm, I never got your name?" he questioned, looking at the tall fellow that had just joined them. "Anyhow, you two start on the agility ladder. You've got three rounds. Each round will consist of high knees there-and-back" Captain then locked onto Rikyu. You and I have will be at the hexagonal drill station over there. Any question?...................I didn't think so. Michiko, keep tabs on everyone, make sure they aren't taking the easy way out. Now everyone go! I don't want anyone whining!" Kimura yelled, rushing to his station.

After Izumi went through her stretches, Michiko quickly wrote the times down next to the schedule. As Izumi approached the line Michiko readied the stopwatch, then yelled, "GO!," Impressed by Izumi's run, Michiko gave a wide smile as Izumi walked over to her. However that smile obliterated by the time Izumi finished speaking. "Uhh yeah, okay, sure," Michiko mumbled, then jumped back a bit at Rikyu, who was right behind Izumi. He couldn't run too fast yet he seemed to come across the court in an instant, interesting.

Masaru ran over to Michiko and asked, "Hey coach, how'd we all do?" and Michiko looked up. "Taki-kun, I'm announcing the times!" Michiko yelled out then looked down, not paying attention to whether Taki came over and said, "Taki got 15.64 seconds, Masura got 15.78 seconds, Rikyu got 27.93 seconds and Izumi got 17.06 seconds, good job everyone," with a bit of a smile, analyzing the results.

Taki was remarkably fast and had a good sense of balance, working well around the court, keeping a style relying on lower body strength, not speed or technique, powering through the course. He seemed to hardly break a sweat, even though one suicide drill is easy most people show slight stress setting their body into motion. However Taki visibly had endurance as well as excellent acceleration and deceleration.

Masura decided to take the drill as a chance to show off his skill of mimicry. However, an interesting part existed. A duck and spin at the baseline, which saved him time on the turn better than Taki. Masura may have just stolen this from someone else, but it was also possible this was Masura's original skill. Masura's copying was near flawless, with only 14 splitseconds behind Taki.

Rikyu had competent running skill, better than a normal person but for a basketball player, especially one with his reputation in middle school, he seemed painfully slow. One would think that Rikyu had good all-around skills but his lack of endurance and speed would make one think otherwise. Rikyu, the Shadow, his skills seem to be on a whole different plane to the normal basketball player. He has literally never tried to shoot in a game, always using his invisible passes and sudden steals, normally sending it to a skilled shooter.

Izumi had remarkable skill, unlike Taki she used mainly technique in her movements, pretty close behind the two leading boys. Izumi would be a great addition to the team if girls were allowed, Izumi could easily hold her own in a game with guys in it, in fact she has probably done exactly that many times in past, that would explain the lack of femininity.

As Kimura announced the training schedule, Michiko nodded and went up the sidelines to watch everyone from above. Masura simply smiled and ran up to the agility ladder, waiting for the not-so-friendly giant to come over to it. Who knows, thought Masura, maybe he can even talk.

At the news of the training Rikyu gave a sigh. In his first year of middle school he was judged for his lack of athletic ability by everyone but the captain of his team who would now be a third year. Ever since his captain told Rikyu that his skill was completely different to normal basketball players, Rikyu worked to develop his ability and gained respect. Now it seemed all over again he would be compared to a normal basketball player's skills. Rikyu ran over to the tape hexagon and remembered it as a co-ordination exercise, doing two-footed jumps over each edge all around. The time could be used to figure out a co-ordination score in comparison with the normal basketball player, from 0-100. Although 0-20 would require skills worse than someone with two broken legs and no crutches or wheelchair. "Well," Rikyu muttered to himself, "Here we go again,"

Naoki stooped mid drill letting the ball bounce away. Standing up he walked over to his dril looking at the ladders. "My name is Saruwatari Naoki." He said his voice smooth as the lapping of the ocaen waves. Looking at the kid he was paired up with Taki sighed already disliking him. This guy seems to flashy and loud. But what ever floats his boat. Atleast there are some cute girls here. He thought looking round at everyone in the gym but hearing the sound of someone in the gym next door. Shrugging he grimaced as the the verry skilled girl called the other more or less fat. Ouch!!!!! That was harsh. He thought trying not to laugh. This team was interesting in least and it made him smile. Shaking his head he focused on the drill ahead.