Vengeance of the Phantom

Chapter 4

Ogiwara?

"Seriously? I have to do this now? I just got back from Japan. Can't we do this tomorrow?" I complained as we stood in the hot sun of our house basketball court, the outside one.

"Yes now. I need to see what I should put on your training regimen." Kaho explained loudly from the sidelines.

"I want to see why the hell Kaho said you're weak now." Kiki shouted.

"I just want to see how badly you suck now." Tetsuji shouted at me. I rolled my eyes. But that made me realize something.

"June." I said to my best friend stretching in front of me. She looked up and hummed, "Do you know where Tadashi is?"

"Oh, right, I dropped him and Max off as his shoot today. Typical for his schedule. Don't worry though, I told Max you were back and not to tell Tad. He'll be home soon." I nodded as we talked about my 5 year old brother.

Yeah, Tadashi, my five year-old brother, is a model.

"Alright then, I'm ready, let's go. Simple stuff first. Dribble left hand." I did that and she looked at me confused but then told me to switch. And, obviously, I switched to my right hand.

"What the hell is that, Tetsuya!" Kaho screamed. "It's completely off balance and has not strength behind it what so ever." I flinched as her brutal truth.

"Don't flinch. She's right." June argued and I just sighed. "Back up." She said.

"What?"

"Back up." I took a step backwards. "Further." I took a few more steps. "Further." By now I was on the three point line. June pointed to the basketball before saying, "Shoot it." I was about to ask why but she looked pissed off, so I shot.

...Miss. No surprise there.

"What the hell was that?" My entire "fan-section" yelled.

"Wow, I've never actually seen you miss that. You are not okay. Are you sick? Maybe it's the cold. Should we go to the indoor gym?" June asked.

"No, June." I shouted causing everyone, even myself, to be in shock. "It's just me. Somethings wrong, when joining middle school, I completely lost myself, my true self." I looked at my hands. They were trembling. I wanted to push my old self away because I thought that the GoM and Seirin were actually happy with this, but I was wrong. "I'm a shadow, an advanced one, but I need to join that with my true form. So please, help me." My face probably looked like I was about to cry, so I looked at me feet.

Not going to lie, I felt like it.

"Tetsuya." June said softly. I looked up and a ball was passed to me. I was confused but June got in a basketball stance. "Show me, the shadow. Become a phantom and show me what you've accomplished."

I wiped my face and nodded. I began dribbling, 'Focus Tetsuya, focus on changing your presence.' I felt it. For the first time, I felt myself changing to being unseen. It's usually just happened but now I did it myself. Of course misdirection helps with disappearing and becoming as phantom, but what people don't know is that I can actually change my presence and if I have no presence, no one can see me. I combined that with misdirection a week before leaving Japan. I knew June could see me, I was right in front of her obviously but a split second went by. I dribble at her and then, I get pass her going to the basket. I missed my lay up, sadly, but June was frozen.