VESSEL OF AN ANCIENT GOD

"GO,GO, GO!" A male's voice sounded in a high pitched tone, cheering up his friend from the stand. The place was quite noisy with hundreds of supporters watching the ongoing basketball game being played by the highschool students.

People wearing the same jersey as their highschool players, and also holding up banners of their favourite players and team ace while chanting their names. But among the crowd, no one cheered up Kakashi Aoki, except for his best friend.

Kakashi was among the Shibuya highschool basketball team, but never played a single game even if he always showed up early to training. He only got to play the ongoing match because the starting player developed an illness and wasn't able to play.

Standing on the same spot, dressed in the yellow sleeveless jersey with the number 72 behind him and yellow shorts, Kakashi waited patiently for the whistle to be blown. The opposing teammates were clad in red sleeveless jerseys, and their body features were almost like giants, making Kakashi look like an ant beside them.

'Phew, I am going to give it my best shot today.' Kakashi intoned, taking a deep breath in and out as the whistle was blown and the ball was dropped. The players began moving to their positions, while the opposing team charged forward to tackle the ball away from the student.

Shibuya High's student currently had possession of the ball, bouncing it on the floor and traversing forward . One of the opposing team's players tried to tackle the ball off, but with his outstanding skills, the student was able to dribble past the opposing team's player and then passed the ball onto the team's Ace.

Once the team's ace got hold of the ball, noises erupted from the supporters as they all began to chant his name like a god. The team's ace didn't let the praises distract him, charging forward while bouncing the ball, he was able to dribble the defenders with unwavering skills and talent, until he was now one on one with the basketball court.

Taking a high leap into the air with the ball held in his hand, the team's ace performed a nice dunk. Surprisingly, the ball didn't score, instead it hit the bar and bounced off backwards, and ended up in Kakashi's hands.

All eyes were now fixed on the new player as he stood there in confusion on just what he should do.

"Just throw it already!" The team's ace shouted in anger after spotting three bulky players charging towards the frozen Kakashi. The shout from the team's ace snapped Kakashi out of his gaze. He took a deep breath in before pulling his hands backwards and throwing the ball towards the court.

The ball flew through the air and headed straight to the court. The whole crowd became silent, their expression filled with anticipation as they watched the ball move closer to the court and was about to score.

Unfortunately, the ball hit the bar and bounced outside the pitch. The crowd erupted in noise, raining curses on Kakashi, saying all sorts of hurtful things to him. Kakashi stood there, his hands gripping his spiky orange air, attempting to pull them off out of frustration.

"Dude, next time just pass the ball back to me. Useless fool." The team's ace cursed in disdain, bumping into Kakashi and walking back to his position.

***

The game finally ended with Shibuya High taking the loss, and the opposing team won. Kakashi returned back to the changing room and began to take off his jersey and have a nice bath before heading back home.

Kakashi took off the yellow jersey and wiped his sweaty face with it before tossing it into his locker and attempting to close it.

Before Kakashi could shut the locker, someone slammed it shut from behind, causing a loud banging sound to reverberate throughout the dressing room. Out of curiosity, Kakashi turned around to see just who it was.

Standing behind him were three bulky individuals. The guy standing in their middle had spiky black hair, his facial looks weren't bad at all with his straight jawline to make him even more hot. His muscular arms were visible due to the sleeveless jersey he wore, and his nice abs prints could be seen through the jersey. His name was Aoki Aoki, the team's ace.

"What's good, Aoki?" Kakashi asked, shifting his gaze back to what he was doing after recognizing who it was.

"We lost because of you, you know that?" Aoki voiced, his face bright red in anger and his two fists clenched tightly. "Get off the damn team, you are not needed here."

"We lost because of me? Dude please." Kakashi let out a slight chuckle before grabbing a towel and walking towards the bathroom. "If you were so good, why didn't you carry the team to victory? And besides, I am not even a part of them , I am just a substitute." Saying those words, Kakashi stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Aoki and his boys stunned by his words.

***

The sun already set and the day was gradually becoming dark, Kadori could be seen sitting at the edge of a cliff alone in the darkness. The night breeze made his hair flow and his head facing the night sky.

"Today makes it four years since you left me." Kakashi sounded, trying hard to control his tears but they kept streaming down his cheeks like waterfall. At the tender age of 11, Kakashi lost his parents in a car accident. Kakashi was also inside the car with them, but he didn't get a single scratch from the accident, which came as a surprise to everyone.

Some say it was a miracle from the gods, some said he was a Harbinger of the underworld. But no one knew which one was true, and years later they all forgot about it and moved on with their lives, while Kakashi was left to struggle alone.

The government was only able to provide him a one room apartment, and that was it. He did different odd jobs to feed and cloth himself throughout these years.

"Well, like I promised, I will keep on visiting this mountain where we were all once happy. At Least, anytime I am here, I feel the rest of mi.." The once cool and relaxing atmosphere changed instantly to a mighty strong wind that overwhelmed the mountain and blew off the dirt and dust around.

Kakashi was forced to cover his eyes with his hand to prevent the dust from entering. 

Within the strong wind, a black energy that looked like a black smoke passed through the mountain and headed straight to Kakashi. Kakashi still had his eyes covered and wasn't quick to notice the strange smoke heading towards him.

The strange smoke got to where Kakashi stood, and Kakashi ended up inhaling it which resulted in a loud sneeze and cough. Kakashi fell down to his knees, his eyes watery and his hands gripping his neck tightly as he felt something pass through it.

"Hey, who are you, and what are you doing in a place like this?!" A guy's voice sounded from behind, but Kakashi paid no attention, he kept on coughing heavily and profusely.

The man stood there, his eyes fixated on Kakashi as he kept on coughing and coughing, before he finally stopped. 'Did he inhale Lord Zodiac's dust?' The man pondered, watching Kakashi lift his body off the floor slowly. 'I..i..if he inhaled the dust, then...no way..it can't be..' The man pondered with a tensed expression.