"Soccer is played freely, no matter what gender or race you are."
That was the motto Sakuma's twin sister had lived by, though, no one would ever understand, since people believed that, "What's for boys are boys and what's for girls are for girls on...
The next day, I was greeted by everyone at Teikoku. Narukami asked if I was still going to join the soccer club, but I told him I have to think about it first...
Kuroi and Kidou's messages made me confused, but I wanted to think everything through. Rosa, Kidou, Kuroi, Koujirou, and my family members, except my mom, wanted me to continue playing soccer. I really wanted to play, but if I did, I'd just hurt everyone again.
My phone vibrated again; I sighed and checked my messages. One from Shuuya, and one from that unknown number who knew Kuroi.
Unknown: Hey, I saw you leave and you hurt my cousin. But, if you didn't leave, he wouldn't have made his own technique. Thanks for that.
Gouenji: I'm in Okinawa in the meantime. The unknown number is Ikisara. Continue playing soccer, Rena. You made it this far.
Ugh, even he found out. Wait, how did Tsuki get my number? I'm guessing she got it from Yamato. Speaking of them... I better visit them. I haven't seen them in a while... And I'm guessing Kenjirou must've joined too...
"Masa ni renai saiban, kimi wa boku ni Dore kurai no tsumi wo tou Saishuu benron, namida no ato ni Kimi kara tsugerareta Boku wa 'Giruti'---"
"Yellow?" I asked.
"It's Kenjie. Yamato and Taichi are somewhere, so Taichi made me in charge. You should get here. I have some people you have to meet."
"Oh, OK. Now?"
"Right now."
He hanged up. Who were the people he wanted me to meet, and why are Yamato and Taichi gone? Must've been an emergency... Hmm... I stood up and quickly removed my long, dark pink shirt and changed into my white shirt, green pants, and brown shoes.
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"This is her?"
"She looks exactly like Jirou!"
I realized that Kenjirou had gotten a haircut, so when I saw him, I didn't recognize him right away. But he wasn't lying when he said there were people I needed to meet; 2 girls.
One had black hair, almost like a Filipino, and she was wearing a white dress with a somewhat pleated thing covering it.
The other girl had people hair, and she was wearing a black blouse that had violet ribbons and a skirt. Asuka did mention about a girl he was childhood friends with before she left... I'm thinking she's that girl.
"Rena, this is Nuichi Azumi and Katsura Chiyuri." Kenjirou introduced.
"Hi." I said, waving awkwardly.
"Hi." Nuichi waved back at me.
"Hey." Chiyuri gave a thumbs up.
"So... what else?" I asked.
"I heard from Kouji that you're quitting soccer." Kenjirou said. "You can't quit, man! You're so close!"
'Yeah, close to hurting them and close to killing them.' I thought, rolling my eyes.
"Kenjirou told us. And we think that you shouldn't quit over it." Nuichi said.
"Yeah, especially when I heard so much about you from Asuka." Chiyuri smiled at me. "The Copy Cat of Teikoku, eh? That's a good title to live by."
Yep, she's the girl alright.
"Yeah but... I'm hurting them." I muttered. "Every moment that I'm with them... I just..." I sighed.
"How does a moment last forever anyway?" Nuichi asked.
"How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?" Kenjirou started singing, and I admit, he sounds good. "It is love we must hold onto. Never easy, but we try..."
"Sometimes our happiness is captured, Somehow, our time and place stand still. Love lives on inside our hearts and always will. Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone. But when all else has been forgotten, still our song lives on..." Nuichi continued. I giggled a little.
"Maybe some moments weren't so perfect, maybe some memories not so sweet..." Chiyuri looked at the ground.
"But we have to know some bad times, or our lives are incomplete." I sang as I placed a hand on her shoulder, and she gave a glance and smiled at me.
" Then when the shadows overtake us,just when we feel all hope is gone, we'll hear our song and know once more. Our love lives on~" I continued, looking at them with a bright smile.
"How does a moment last forever? How does our happiness endure? Through the darkest of our troubles, love is beauty, love is pure, love pays no mind to desolation..." Kenjirou sang again, this time, looking at me brightly.
"It flows like a river through the soul. Protects, proceeds, and perseveres, and makes us whole..." I sang again.
"Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone," Nuichi sang
"But when all else has been forgotten, still our song lives on..." Chiyuri continued.
"How does a moment last forever: When our song lives on..." All of us ended, and laughed after that.
"Do you get the message?" Chiyuri asked. "Not all moments last forever. There are some bad times and memories that we encounter. But without them, we wouldn't be here right now."
"Katsura-san's right, Rena." Nuichi sat down next to me. "Every moment that we spend with people... either good or bad, it's like a memory that lasts forever."
"Yeah," Kenjirou held a soccer ball.
I couldn't help but smile.
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