CYPHER ~ Naruhina

Chapter - 8

Hinata fidgetingly sat in one of the front seats, led by Sakura and Sasuke. The match had not started yet. Her eyes set on the empty court, she dazedly thought of how he had called her a sweetheart. She wondered if he had really meant it. To maintain her sanity, she concluded that it was a common term he used in daily conversations. Else, she would lose her mind being embarrassed, since it would be a dream come true. 

A few minutes later, the gymnasium was full of dull clamour from the crowd that had gathered. Most of them were either there in interest to watch the match itself, while a fair number of people had come to watch the college's golden boy in action. The cheerleaders were ready, even though it was just a practice match. 

There was a sudden uproar in the audience when they saw the college's team enter the court from one side and the opponent's team from the other. The substitutes' bench was fully occupied by players who were ready to get their chance to switch out anybody. The coach was on his toes, giving the players pep talk. 

A whistle was blown to indicate that the match was starting. The players from each team lined up against each other in the centre of the court, with the referee between the lines of five, holding the ball. Commentators formally announced the start of the match.  The tension between the two rival teams was real. The captain of the home college extended his hand for a handshake as per the rules, only to receive a stiff and unwelcome one, accompanied by a glare from the opponent captain. 

Naruto patted the captain on his shoulder to calm him down from the frustration that had already begun to build up. The players noticed the amount of ego that their opponents were showing. The tip-off was announced, and the audience, including Hinata, was on the edge of its seat. Naruto stepped forward towards the referee and so did his tall opponent with red hair, who gave Naruto an overconfident smirk. The shrill sound of the whistle resonated, as the ball was thrown into the air. 

The blonde boy and the redhead jumped, lunging at the ball that was thrown high. Naruto's fingers grasped it first and he quickly shot it toward his teammates. It was his turn to smirk now. The home team scored six quick points right off the bat, despite the heavy defense. 

They were starting to enjoy the game. The first quarter ended in a decent lead for the home team, about an 8 point lead. The opponents were starting to get frustrated. The captain, a tall and condescending young man with an attitude, aggravated his teammates by insulting them. Naruto was irked by his principles, but it wasn't his place to step in, so he went back to the bench during the one minute break. 

"Good going, guys" their captain praised them. "Naruto, the coach asked you to keep an eye on the centre. He seems like a troublesome guy."

"Roger that, cap."

"Konohamaru, make sure at least one guy is flanking you while you're on the offense" advised the coach.

"Yessir." The relatively young, brown-haired boy answered. He was all smiles, now that Naruto had kept his promise to play alongside him.

The second quarter ended after some remarkable moves. It was phenomenal to watch the high-speed battle between the two teams, raging at the ball like animals with instincts. The crowd grew wild, seeing their skills, and it was safe to say that the home team had scored more fans and admirers than ever. The whistle blew to indicate the 15 min break at halftime. As the teams took to the bench, the people from the audience kept yelling compliments and showered their love onto the home team.

"They love us," a teammate smiled sheepishly.

"Don't get too cocky bro, you'll break your nose" Naruto jokingly warned. 

"Look who's talking... Mr Popular, we don't get chances like this every day, you know. We're not as dashing like a certain someone" The captain rolled his eyes.