Finding My Place ⚙️ Knot (a SOTUS fanfic)

vol.15: p r o m i s e

"Yeah, I got a bird's eyes view of the whole battle.
Sensei, this a cage that you won't rattle.
I run free, rare breed that you won't saddle.
You ain't dead boy, you scared of your own shadow.
It's built in our bones."
- Built in Our Bones - Hidden Citizens, Adam Christopher, KO the Legend

⚙️

"Time out!" the coach called, causing the ref to blow his whistle. The group gathered up at the bench and I met eyes with Kong who was now sitting at the end of the bench.

He smiled at me, holding his hand up for a high-five. "You're doing great out there. Sorry I wasn't here in time."

"You're good," I breathed out, smiling through my tiredness and nerves, poking him in the cheek. "Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face for the contest, eh?"

"It's all right," the coach encouraged as we all sat down, accepting bottles of water. "We're behind by five. We can still win this. But every time we attack, we need to score. Do you get it? Play one on one with them. M, you stick with number seven. That guy is quick on his feet."

"Sure."

"Waad, mobilize from the rebound position. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

I frowned at Waad from where I was sitting between him and Kong. He sounds so tired, but he's one of our best players, we can't afford to sub him out especially if he doesn't want to be subbed out.

"Aspen, number five is aggressive, I want you to stick with him and block him from making those powerful jumps."

"Right."

"I need a break," Klam huffed out.

The coach rubbed his hand beneath his nose, clearly worried about the way the match was going. "Kong, you'll replace him. If you can't play inside their three-point line, pass it to Kongpob. He can do a three-point shot."

"Okay."

"Come on," Tee patted the knee of M and Waad who sat on either side of him before pulling himself up. "Let's do it!"

"Come on."

"Let's go!"

The coach held his hand out as we all stood up, placing our hands one on top of the other to form a stack. "Engineers... rock!" we chorused, throwing our hands up.

As soon as I was back on the court, I located number five and stayed close to him. If he was going to mess with another of my teammates, whether by accident or on purpose, I wouldn't let it happen on my watch!

Kong got the ball and managed to fake out the two guys marking him before tossing the ball into the hoop, but the other team managed to snag the next basket. Time seemed to tick by quicker than normal as the scores increased. Five tried to get past to me to get to get to Kong, realizing that he was a serious threat to their team, but I refused to let him pass. He glared at me, trying to fake left and then right, but I managed to stay in front of him, his body colliding with my own as he tried to force his way past.

There was only one minute left on the clock and we're down by one point.

Tee got the ball and tossed it to Waad. I looked away for a split second to see the scoreboard and number five rushed past me, nearly knocking me to my ass in the process. I grunted, taking chase but he was faster than me. Just as Waad jumped into the air, five jumped after him, knocking him to the ground.