2.17: Music

SWISH!!

"And-ONE!"

Franco and Bison were having a basketball match against Haruro and Lincoln. "That makes it a tie game," Bison said.

"Aww, no fair. Lincoln is still learning NOT TO STAND IN THE RESTRICTED AREA!" Haruro bloated.

"My apologies, Captain. I will shoot for four points next."

"Whatever, we are not losing game points to you."

SWISH!

Franco made the free throw and passed the ball back to them. "Let's end this. One more turnover and you guys are cooked!"

Lincoln opened his eyes and began dribbling fast. "Don't underestimate my captain."

Bison was slightly surprised and focused. "(Wow, he's pretty fast all of a sudden…) I got you locked down!"

WHOOSH!!

Lincoln moved too fast for him, leaving him still blinking at his old post. "WHAT?!"

"Careful! Watch out for the three-pointer!" Franco yelled while guarding Haruro.

"He-he, you're guarding the wrong shooter…" Haruro whispered and stood in the paint.

"(Oh no, he's going for a pick-and-roll? No, Bison will get his ankles taken!) BISON, DOUBLE TEAM!"

Franco ran to Lincoln, and they both defended him simultaneously. "No threes for you!"

"Did you not here?"

BOUNCE!

Lincoln pulled a bullet pass in between the brothers straight to Haruro. "You're guarding the wrong guy."

"Nice pass, and NET!"

SWISH!!

He hit the game-winning three, and the shot clock sounded.

"Ahh, dammit! That was a close game." Franco laughed and drank some water.

CLAP!

Bison shook Lincoln's hand out of respect. "You clarified why you are the school's Power Forward."

"Thanks to your great foul-hunting, I had to get used to dribbling more."

They all laughed and rested on the benches.

"Now I can say our starting lineup is looking strong," Franco said.

"Yeah, but we're still missing a Point Guard," Bison said, tiding his hair back together. "Most of the team is made of sophomores…excluding me, we don't have a single person good enough to bring the ball up."

Franco held his chin. "Well, if we want to fill that spot, I think we can give it to-"

"Tedashii?" Haruro asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly who I was thinking of too."

"No, Tedashii is at Makoto's house."

They all turned to see him sitting by the closed window.

"Whoa, I didn't know they were close friends," Bison said.

But Franco only smiled at the scene. "(He really did go and get close with the team…well done, Captain.)"

***

"Whoa, your room is pretty neat." Noriko complimented it while sitting on the drum kit.

"If you have a friend like Ado who visits, cleaning was the least of my problems…"

"I'm surprised you live near Franco; no wonder you guys are close," Tedashii said.

"Wasn't really by choice…it was pure coincidence." Makoto gave them refreshments. "When the city returned to normal, it was a whole dog fight for most citizens to buy houses and apartments. So, while we were all recovering, my mom contacted Franco's dad about a good place with the higher-up people. Of course, he gave her the EXACT neighborhood as them…"

"Hahaha, wow, I'm sorry for that, Mister Makoto."

"It's okay; I've gotten used to it, seeing that we are teammates now."

Tedashii looked at the family portrait. "!!!" He saw Malcolm and Makoto at the bottom. "(He's the guy who saved me at the beach.) Sorry if this is personal, but where are your dad and little brother?"

The smile on his face vanished. "…you saw the family photo?"

"It caught my attention while walking around."

He approached Tedashii and stared at it as well. "That's my older brother. He works with the Anti-Ronins now."

"Ahhhhh…" Tedashii tried to act shocked that he had not been attacked right there.

"My dad…was supposed to return after attempting to save him. But till today, no news on whether he's alive or…yeah…"

Tedashii felt terrible that he had to open up to a touchy subject, so the idea came to mind. "You know…the day we all met at the apprehension, I had to take that test right after knowing I killed my grandfather…"

Makoto and Noriko were shocked. "Apparently, I have that transformation that took over me during a raid at our house. I tried to defend the family…but I was too late and weak even to make a difference. The next thing I knew, I woke up chained to a bed, and they started calling me a monster."

"Whoa…I didn't know about that. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay…I am living my dream every single day with you guys. So I want to do my best to make him proud here." He smiled again. "And besides, I've got a team that will make it to the top! So, no need to be down now."

Makoto smiled at his statement, "Right back at you, let's keep the team's name up high."

Knock-Knock!

"Come in."

Makoto's little sister entered with a patched-up Seto. "Hey, I just finished healing your friend. You owe me one."

"Come on, Marina. I just-"

WHACK!!

She threw her thermometer at his nose. "MMMMMMM!!!!"

"That's what you get for thinking medical work is gratuity!"

"So you are Makoto's little sister?"

"To whom do I owe the pleasure?" She asked sarcastically.

"I'm Tedashii Katsuno, the captain of-"

"K-KATSUNO?!" Tedashii was spooked. "Are you perhaps related to my sensei?!"

"You mean my mom…Izanami Katsuno?"

She could not hold her excitement. "WOW, I FINALLY GET TO MEET THE SON OF THE STRONGEST RONIN IN THE PRIMAL REGION!!"

"Why is everyone saying that? Isn't Uncle Gaiyato the strongest?" Tedashii asked.

"No, Miss Izanami was bound to be the protector way before Gaiyato even considered being a hero. People hail her as the only person who would've given him a run for his money."

"Ah, I see."

Seto removed the tape on his mouth and stretched a bit. "Okay! I'm good to go!"

"Alright, well Max…this was fun, but before I forget…"

Seto pulled out a gig bag from his left pocket.

"WHOA!" Makoto stepped back as it dropped into his arms. "Is…this a guitar?!"

"Yeah! Kim Tam is good at carpentering, so he made this one from scratch."

"How did you know that I wanted one?!"

"I met someone at the sea who told me that you were into music, so this was the best instrument that came to mind."

Makoto teared up a bit, trying to keep calm. "Wow…its him…" He faintly whispered. "Thank you so much. This is the best gift I've received in a while."

Tedashii smiled before getting dragged out by Seto and Noriko. "Whoa! Alright, I'll see you tomorrow at the school then!"

Off they went out and ran down the streets. Marina sighed and closed the door behind her while Makoto sat on his bed and took out the letter. "For Max…"

"Hey, Max. It's Malcolm…"

He wiped the tears and focused.

"If you're reading this, then that means you survived our previous encounter. I hope you like the guitar I got you…because I will kill you the next time we cross paths."

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