On the Second String

Chapter 11- Game One

Balls bounced across the court, and sneakers squeaked. Midoriya sat in the bleachers as he watched the first string warm up.

The last week, the strings had been working separately with their respective coaches.

Aizawa was the coach of the First String, Meanwhile, Vlad King was for the Second String. All Might helped both teams out when he could.

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The whistle blew, as time to practice ran out. Both teams ran back to their benches. Midoriya looked around at the huge UA Gym. It was full of spectators and scouts, coming to look at the crop of young talent. There were very few open seats, and UA even charged money for admission. It was clear that everyone wanted a peak at UA.

That's when Midoriya spotted a television camera.

"Damn, this thing is televised?" He thought to himself. "Maybe that's why this school was so eager to face us."

The ref walked to the middle, holding up a ball. Shoji walked to the center of the court for tip off, as did the other teams center. While Shoji's read his name on the back, and said UA on the front, it was clear this school didn't happen to have so much money. While the front read "Hikishikata High" on the front, there were no names on the back, and some lacked numbers.

The ref blew his whistle, and threw the ball up.

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"UA wins! The final score is, 97 UA, 57 Hikishikata High. The game for the Second String will now commence!"

The second stringers stood up off of the bleachers and walked into the court over to the bench. In passing, Bakugo bumped into him and spoke.

"Better play well, because I know you're just a fluke."

He kept walking right out the door. Reporters followed the team with microphones and cameras.

"What's his problem? What a jerk." TetsuTetsu scoffed. "Just ignore him. Focus on the game." A quick shoulder pat later and TetsuTetsu walked over to the bench.

Midoriya looked around at his surroundings. The camera crew had left with the first stringers, as did most of the spectators. It was mostly just parents and die hard fans from each school. He like it better that way though. Way less things to focus on, just basketball.

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"Teams ready?" The referee asked. A nod from both Koda and the other teams center, and the game was on. Koda won the top, and the ball went back to Tsuyu. She dribbled up the court and called the play.

"Midoriya 97."

Midoriya quickly set a pick on the player guarding Tsuyu. Tsuyu quickly sprung around the defender and drove into the paint. The Hishikata defense collapsed around her, trying to block her shot, but she quickly passed the ball to Midoriya, who drained the Three pointer. A quick high five from Tsuyu and they were back in defense.

After a missed shot, TetsuTetsu steeled himself in the paint and grabbed a rebound, before launching a throw down the court to Todoroki, who laid it in. It was quickly 5-0 UA.

The momentum quickly went the other way though. A couple quick threes and some free throw because of a foul from Koda and Hishikata started to run away with it. It went from 8-5 to 15-10, and at the end of the first half, UA was down 56-41. The starters had been removed part way through, and the back ups played ok. However, it seemed as though the second string was not cut out for this game.

Vlad King took the team to the bench and tore them a new one.

"WHERE IS THE DAMN DEFENSE, YOU'RE PLAYING LIKE A BUNCH OF MONKEYS OUT THERE!" He screamed. "IF YOU'RE BASKETBALL PLAYERS, YOU SURE IN THE HELL AREN'T PLAYING LIKE THEM!" He then turned to Todoroki. "And you. Shoot. The. Damn. Ball! You are WIDE OPEN EVERY TIME! SHOOT THE THREE!" He slammed his clipboard down, only to pick it up again and write something on it.

"There's a new starting five for the second half. If you mess up you're out." He pointed at Midoriya. "And you're the starting Point Guard."