Thump Thump Swish

Thump Thump Swish

Henry caught the basketball as it fell from the hoop. It was a nice morning. The sun had lazily risen and the cool night air fought against its heat to make the spring morning bearable. He would be having a class later that day and had come early to shoot some hoops.

Basketball reminded Henry of his youth. Hours spent with his numerous siblings rough housing and playing doubles. He had been good, forced to learn fast while playing with the local boys whom were older and taller. Now with years of grueling physical training behind him he was strong and fast to compliment his skill.

He wore a plain white tee-shirt and shorts with his customary combat leg pouch. He wore the thing out of some old instinct, a practical defense of things ever went bad. By necessity he had been forced to leave his gun in the his duffle along with a change of clothes. A red bandana was tied around his brow to help keep the sweat put of his eyes.

He dribbled across the court lazily and heard the creaking sound of the chain link gate being opened. He turned to look at whoever was entering.

"Morning." He called before his eyes found their target.

Having a class later on in the day was a great excuse to come to the mansion early. One could really get things done! Or not.

He'd already graded. He'd already planned lessons and tests, and knew who would need some extra help. Shin had nudged them to organize study groups or seek tutors. His students were surprisingly capable. At least, he could believe so with new teacher naivety. But since he'd come early and eaten breakfast, had a bag of spare clothes on-site and access to mansion showers in the locker rooms, he had all the necessary things to allow him to skip off for a game of basketball before his classes around noon.

He changed into shorts and a t-shirt with some J-rock band on it in the locker room. What was it, Orange Range? L~arc en ciel? Some other j-rock band that had done anime openings in the early 2000s? Actually, it was the pillows. So it was older than that. It was a picture from one of their cd covers, a very beige cover with three babies in three strollers. The babies had to be the band members. Three nurses were rolling the strollers along. The babies had shades. Penalty Life was the cd. One baby had a cigarette, one had a nudey mag with a centerfold, and one was eating a burrito. It was a very beige shirt. A workout shirt. He didn't wear many j-rock band shirts in his day to day life. He was woefully out of touch with the j-rock scene. He was old.

He was old. But he could still play basketball!

The Asian used his free time, and went out to the basketball court. It seemed he wasn't alone. He did a two finger wave at the man. "Yo."

He hadn't met him. Guy looked like a grown up, not your traditional mansion student. He was assuming ages, being an assumey assumer and you know what they say about those, but... from his perspective, it seemed like the man might be a teacher. He remembered hearing about a new teacher.

"New here?" Shin asked.

Henry turned to see a Japanese man approaching him in workout clothes. He seemed to be in his mid twenties and was wearing workout clothes. Henry had no idea what his shirt was supposed to be about but the image of the infants with various means of debauchery brought a smile to Henry's face. He caught the ball and held it in the crook of his arm.

"New here?" The man asked.

Henry gave a quick nod and extended his free arm for a shake.

"Yup. Henry Turner. Home Economics. Just started this week." He replied.

He hadn't gotten a chance to meet all of the staff yet, only a few quick run ins with them in the teachers lounge or in hallways. Everyone in the mansion had a pleasant air to them, and we're helpful to almost an unbelievable extent.

"Looking to get a game in before class?" He asked," I've been killing some time myself."

The Asian shook hands with the new guy. He was a teacher! Shin had been right. And home economics. Well well well! He knew who he was going to turn to the next time he forgot lunch. Home ec teachers always have spare baked goods lying around from what their students bake in bulk. They often share them with teachers, or so the legends say. Teachers stick together.

"Nice to meet you," Shin smiled. "Tetsuya Shinbo, math and Japanese. Call me Shin." That was pronounced unlike the surname, surprisingly enough, like the body part rather than sheen. A nickname from Americans who didn't understand that it was pronounced Sheenbo, not like shin bone, it had stuck. And he liked it, too.

"Now I know who to turn to the next time I'm in desperate need of baked goods." He joked.

The man asked if he wanted to play, and Shin grinned at him.

"You know it." He said. "I've been looking for a good opponent." He'd come early looking for a game and some exercise. This suited his goals well. Plus it never hurt to make more teacher friends.

Shin shook Henry's hand and introduced himself. Math and Japanese, Henry had thought his class load of three classes a week had been a bit much. Shin must be here all day every day. Henry tried to remind himself that he also ran a business, that took up plenty of his time too. The thought bolstered his ego, Henry liked being the harvester working person in the room, even if he would complain about it later.

"-Now I know who to turn to the next time I'm in desperate need of baked goods."

Henry gave a little laugh.

"You have no idea man. I own a bakery in twelfth. If you ever need a ton of sugary calories I'm your guy." He said.

Shin accepted his offer of a game and Henry passed him the ball.

"One on one. Now fouls? What about powers, any rules for those? You wanna warm up?" He asked.

>>"You have no idea man. I own a bakery in twelfth. If you ever need a ton of sugary calories I'm your guy."

"Nice," Shin grinned, and made a mental note of that.

The guy asked about powers and rules, and Shin shrugged. "I don't really have anything that helps me out in basketball. But what I do got, I can't shut off. I'm really good at judging distances and calculating angle measurements. If you think that will help me, feel free to use your powers." He laughed. He didn't see how being able to tell someone the hoop's diameter, or the distance they were from the net would help in a fast-paced game. But maybe the man would see something he did not. Worst case scenario, Shin would get motion sick if he focused too heavily on the ball. But that hadn't happened in a long time.

He stood in free throw range, and practiced the motion of his throw and follow through. "I don't think I need any warming up. Already stretched in the locker room." Shin said. "Though if you want to, feel free." Though hadn't he already been there when he'd arrived? Whoops. Maybe he was warm as warm could be.

Shin told Henry a little bit about his ability and the soldier laughed.

"Hell I would have paid a million dollar a for a spotter with those kind of skills when I was taking sniper training," He chuckled, "two million if you can Guage wind speed too. Seems fair, no powers then."

Shin said he was good to go and Henry nodded.

"I'm good."

He walked over to the edge of the court and looked at Shin.

"You can have ball first. Check." He said.

He waited with hands up for Shin to walk out of bounds and toss him the ball to pass back and play.

Wind speed? He considered that for a moment. "If I could see something being blown, knew the right equations, I could probably figure it out. But sniping isn't the same as throwing a ball in a hoop.

Sniping. This man was ex-military. Army? Navy? Interesting.

How would he have fared in the military. Poorly. Like with the NYPD. He was too soft. And bent rules for the X-men too easily. He shelved the thought for later. His marksmanship had never been bad. But it was game time.

Shin moved to start the game. He did a few experimental dribbles, then tossed in the ball.

But sniping isn't the same as throwing a ball in a hoop

Henry nodded, "You got that right."

Sniping was an art all its own. And those skilled at it were some of the most dangerous men Henry had ever worked with. Killing someone up close was one thing, you had adrenaline and fear. Sniping was cold, calculated. You were God firing death from a mile away.

Shin dribbled for a moment before passing back to Henry. Henry dribbled the ball for a moment.

"So you just staff or are you one of the X Men?" He asked.

He knew it might be a bit up front or rude, but Henry had never been known for his subtly.

"They do a hell of a lot of good work. I've seen army teams with less coordination." He said.

He passed Shin the ball back and brought his arms up and out to guard the man. He would take things slow, gauge out the man's speed and skill before pushing himself.

So are you staff or are you one of the x-men, Henry had asked him. Part of him wanted to be cheeky, and just say 'Yes.' A one syllable answer to both. A great time-saver, yeah, but not the friendliest response. It's easy to mistake tongue-in-cheek succinctness for ass-on-face succinctness (the style of buttheads). He smiled slightly at the horribly childish thought. He'd been spending way too much time around teenagers.

"I do both," Shin answered him.

Henry thought they did great work. "I agree," Shin said, smiling. "I'm a team leader. My role is mainly being a leader on missions now."

Shin dribbled, figuring out how to pass the man. He pushed forward, then dribbled to the right, keeping control of the ball well. Henry wouldn't just be able to swat it out of his grasp. Then, without warning, Shin surged to the other side, aiming to pass Henry. If Henry failed to guard, he'd pass him and shoot. If not... well, they'd see. He'd double back and regroup, worst case scenario.

He hadn't been very clear, with how he'd ended his comment. His role was mainly just leadership 'now.' What had it been before, one might ask.

"I'm a team leader. My role is mainly being a leader on missions now."

Without more explanation Shin began dribbling, he handled the ball well and Henry adjusted himself, keeping his body between Shin and the basket. Henry had questions but kept his focus on the game.

Shin juked left and Henry was surprised by his speed and agility. The man out stripped him and approached the hoop. Henry knew a lost cause when he saw one. He'd been taken on this exchange.

He slowed and crossed his arms, impressed.

"Pretty quick. So is that like a squad leader? I used to run some ops back in the army." He observed.

He still had skills, it seemed. Train for police obstacle courses in addition to x-men danger room sessions and you gain a bit of agility. And he was good at making baskets as well.

The ball went easily through the net. The Asian retrieved it, walking back to Henry.

"Kind of like a squad leader," he hedged. "Used to be, I went with the team into the thick of it and helped out in the event of, oh I dunno, giant Robot sleepwalkers or rogue object teleporters kidnapping mansion librarians. Now, its more of a supervisory role. Still useful. Less direct combat. Not that I wouldn't, if I still could."

He brushed over the whole subject matter briefly, with a friendly smile for the explanation, then set up for the next exchange.