(no subject)
Title: Basketball Star
Characters: N, Hilda/White/Touyo, Hilbert/Black/Touya
Notes: N's got that basketball court in his room for good reason. Warning: Possible spoilers for those who haven't reached the castle.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. A careful, thoughtful moment, and then he shot from the three-point line. The ball circled the rim once, twice, and dropped in as the crowds began to cheer from the large, audience-filled bleachers. The young man smiled and took a small, fun bow, waving to his fans in the crowd. The game resumed, and he single-handedly won the game 65-0. It'd been hard, as evidenced by the heavy breathing and tiredness he felt in his limbs now, but it'd been fun and worth it. He closed his eyes and raised his arms to the screams above, enjoying the feeling of lights on him, of the crowd cheering his name - N! N! N! - and of the refreshing feeling of hard-earned victory that made his heart pump as fast as it did.
N opened his eyes and, just for a moment, hated reality. He dropped his arms to his sides and picked up the basketball, rolling it towards a corner near the small court. He surveyed his not-so-neat room, with all its toys, and felt a little lonely without someone to really play against. Without another thought he strode out of the room, told one of his subjects to tell the Seven Sages he'd be back early tomorrow, and set off for Nimbasa City, where he could play basketball to his heart's content - and with others, too. They wouldn't be Pokémon like he'd been used to as a child, or himself as he'd come to terms with now, but that would make it an uncontrolled variable he was excited to learn.
Nimbasa was, as always even in the coming evening like now, busy with the comings and goings of fun-lovers, many heading towards the beautiful Ferris Wheel and others towards the Musical, but he towards the arena that held his chosen sport. With there being a game on, he was forced to instead watch until it was over with. With the game being so interesting to him, N had hardly noticed the approach of two trainers until a girlish voice had spoken his name.
"N?"
Instead of turning - that would make him miss part of the game, he merely gestured to the seats on either side of him, and the two trainers sat down, Hilda on one side and Hilbert on the other. The latter leaned against the railing provided and watched the game with the same intensity that N did. Hilda, on the other hand, tapped his shoulder.
"We didn't expect to see you here." That snapped Hilbert's attention back to the green-haired trainer, but he didn't turn, just nodded.
"You like basketball?"
N was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, it's one of the only sports I enjoy."
"... It's not because you know the exact angle and velocity or whatever of what to shoot the ball at, is it?" Hilbert asked, glancing slightly at the older teen. The other smiled, leaning against the railing like him to get a better look. The questioner sighed, shaking his head and smiling. "I thought it might be something like that. Hilda only likes it 'cause it's got really nice looking guys-- Ow! Hey, that hurt."
Hilda grinned as Hilbert rubbed the back of his head. "You shouldn't have said things you're not supposed to say, Hilbert. I like basketball because--"
"Of all the cute guys."
"Because it's a very interesting sport."
Hilbert hid his laugh with a cough, covering his mouth. N glanced between them and checked the timer for the game. Five minutes til the end, provided there wasn't any overtime. Good. He smiled with a small curve of his lips, barely noticeable to the other two, and stood, hands pressed against his sides nervously.
"Why don't we have a shoot out? The three of us. Until the end of the game." The two stared at him, and finally Hilbert had to ask.
"But what about the game?"
"The first to ten wins. If we're lucky, we might finish before time is up and get to see the end."
The duo stood and followed him out, the court being easily put together with the lines marked in chalk, the basket made with fishing net a Fisherman gave them when asked, and the ball itself was borrowed from a child who only gave it to them after they said he could watch. Needless to say, N was very proud of being able to do all of this in a timely manner. Hilda and Hilbert stood a few feet from him, all three standing on the curved three-point line in anticipation. N tossed the ball to Hilbert, who was first, and waited on his difficult corner of the court.
Being the big shot he was, Hilbert shot it from where he stood, jumping a little for an extra push. It went straight over the make-shift hoop and he sighed, going to get the ball with slouched shoulders as Hilda laughed openly. When it was thrown at her head, she went forward to the two-point line and made a shot from there, making it in easily. Finally, as she bounced the ball to N, it was his turn. He shifted his position to an offensive mode and attacked, taking a shot from the third and scoring. The two clapped, impressed at the skill shown, and the game continued.
Soon it was all three of them neck and neck, each just a few points from their goal. Hilbert was one, Hilda two, and N three. The past few shots hadn't been as kind to N as it had been to Hilbert, who had stuck to performing impressive one-pointers after his first failure. Hilda had had a few misses, but she was locked onto this target. Before they'd realized it, it had gotten darker, and only the streetlights were their companions. But the game continued. Hilbert's shot rolled off the rim, Hilda's had rebounded back into her face, and N felt his heartbeat race as the orange ball was passed to him. This was it, his shining moment. He felt the crowd soften their cheers, murmuring their doubts on him scoring with such little light available, and he took it. It rolled the rim one, twice, peeked over the opposite edge at the third...
And fell in backwards.
Hilda and Hilbert whooped and hollered, smacking N on the back and congratulating him on that awesome shot, Hilbert having doubted that it would've gone in and Hilda having a bit of hope it would go in so they could just end the game. N, unfamiliar to grinning so hard, felt his cheeks going numb from the pain and shook his head, feeling giddy enough to let them lean against him tired. He was exhausted himself, and he moved all three of them to a bench, watching the ball roll slowly into the darkness. He stayed quiet for a few minutes, regaining his composure.
"... Thank you, you two, for playing with me." Silence greeted him in response and he looked down at the two teens, who had fallen asleep curled up next to him, Hilbert snoring softly and Hilda drooling a little. N scrunched his nose a little at the unpleasant sight of both of them and let his head fall back against the bench, closing his eyes. He opened them a second later, carefully extracting himself from the sleeping teens to fetch the ball, the Fisher's net, and the chalk they'd used. All three items were put under the park bench and the two kids slept soundly side-by-side, the warmth of a white jacket over them. N sat a foot away, leaned his head back on the bench, and slept more peacefully and content than he had in a while.
Characters: N, Hilda/White/Touyo, Hilbert/Black/Touya
Notes: N's got that basketball court in his room for good reason. Warning: Possible spoilers for those who haven't reached the castle.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. A careful, thoughtful moment, and then he shot from the three-point line. The ball circled the rim once, twice, and dropped in as the crowds began to cheer from the large, audience-filled bleachers. The young man smiled and took a small, fun bow, waving to his fans in the crowd. The game resumed, and he single-handedly won the game 65-0. It'd been hard, as evidenced by the heavy breathing and tiredness he felt in his limbs now, but it'd been fun and worth it. He closed his eyes and raised his arms to the screams above, enjoying the feeling of lights on him, of the crowd cheering his name - N! N! N! - and of the refreshing feeling of hard-earned victory that made his heart pump as fast as it did.
N opened his eyes and, just for a moment, hated reality. He dropped his arms to his sides and picked up the basketball, rolling it towards a corner near the small court. He surveyed his not-so-neat room, with all its toys, and felt a little lonely without someone to really play against. Without another thought he strode out of the room, told one of his subjects to tell the Seven Sages he'd be back early tomorrow, and set off for Nimbasa City, where he could play basketball to his heart's content - and with others, too. They wouldn't be Pokémon like he'd been used to as a child, or himself as he'd come to terms with now, but that would make it an uncontrolled variable he was excited to learn.
Nimbasa was, as always even in the coming evening like now, busy with the comings and goings of fun-lovers, many heading towards the beautiful Ferris Wheel and others towards the Musical, but he towards the arena that held his chosen sport. With there being a game on, he was forced to instead watch until it was over with. With the game being so interesting to him, N had hardly noticed the approach of two trainers until a girlish voice had spoken his name.
"N?"
Instead of turning - that would make him miss part of the game, he merely gestured to the seats on either side of him, and the two trainers sat down, Hilda on one side and Hilbert on the other. The latter leaned against the railing provided and watched the game with the same intensity that N did. Hilda, on the other hand, tapped his shoulder.
"We didn't expect to see you here." That snapped Hilbert's attention back to the green-haired trainer, but he didn't turn, just nodded.
"You like basketball?"
N was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, it's one of the only sports I enjoy."
"... It's not because you know the exact angle and velocity or whatever of what to shoot the ball at, is it?" Hilbert asked, glancing slightly at the older teen. The other smiled, leaning against the railing like him to get a better look. The questioner sighed, shaking his head and smiling. "I thought it might be something like that. Hilda only likes it 'cause it's got really nice looking guys-- Ow! Hey, that hurt."
Hilda grinned as Hilbert rubbed the back of his head. "You shouldn't have said things you're not supposed to say, Hilbert. I like basketball because--"
"Of all the cute guys."
"Because it's a very interesting sport."
Hilbert hid his laugh with a cough, covering his mouth. N glanced between them and checked the timer for the game. Five minutes til the end, provided there wasn't any overtime. Good. He smiled with a small curve of his lips, barely noticeable to the other two, and stood, hands pressed against his sides nervously.
"Why don't we have a shoot out? The three of us. Until the end of the game." The two stared at him, and finally Hilbert had to ask.
"But what about the game?"
"The first to ten wins. If we're lucky, we might finish before time is up and get to see the end."
The duo stood and followed him out, the court being easily put together with the lines marked in chalk, the basket made with fishing net a Fisherman gave them when asked, and the ball itself was borrowed from a child who only gave it to them after they said he could watch. Needless to say, N was very proud of being able to do all of this in a timely manner. Hilda and Hilbert stood a few feet from him, all three standing on the curved three-point line in anticipation. N tossed the ball to Hilbert, who was first, and waited on his difficult corner of the court.
Being the big shot he was, Hilbert shot it from where he stood, jumping a little for an extra push. It went straight over the make-shift hoop and he sighed, going to get the ball with slouched shoulders as Hilda laughed openly. When it was thrown at her head, she went forward to the two-point line and made a shot from there, making it in easily. Finally, as she bounced the ball to N, it was his turn. He shifted his position to an offensive mode and attacked, taking a shot from the third and scoring. The two clapped, impressed at the skill shown, and the game continued.
Soon it was all three of them neck and neck, each just a few points from their goal. Hilbert was one, Hilda two, and N three. The past few shots hadn't been as kind to N as it had been to Hilbert, who had stuck to performing impressive one-pointers after his first failure. Hilda had had a few misses, but she was locked onto this target. Before they'd realized it, it had gotten darker, and only the streetlights were their companions. But the game continued. Hilbert's shot rolled off the rim, Hilda's had rebounded back into her face, and N felt his heartbeat race as the orange ball was passed to him. This was it, his shining moment. He felt the crowd soften their cheers, murmuring their doubts on him scoring with such little light available, and he took it. It rolled the rim one, twice, peeked over the opposite edge at the third...
And fell in backwards.
Hilda and Hilbert whooped and hollered, smacking N on the back and congratulating him on that awesome shot, Hilbert having doubted that it would've gone in and Hilda having a bit of hope it would go in so they could just end the game. N, unfamiliar to grinning so hard, felt his cheeks going numb from the pain and shook his head, feeling giddy enough to let them lean against him tired. He was exhausted himself, and he moved all three of them to a bench, watching the ball roll slowly into the darkness. He stayed quiet for a few minutes, regaining his composure.
"... Thank you, you two, for playing with me." Silence greeted him in response and he looked down at the two teens, who had fallen asleep curled up next to him, Hilbert snoring softly and Hilda drooling a little. N scrunched his nose a little at the unpleasant sight of both of them and let his head fall back against the bench, closing his eyes. He opened them a second later, carefully extracting himself from the sleeping teens to fetch the ball, the Fisher's net, and the chalk they'd used. All three items were put under the park bench and the two kids slept soundly side-by-side, the warmth of a white jacket over them. N sat a foot away, leaned his head back on the bench, and slept more peacefully and content than he had in a while.