On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Edo Period I

Nishiki's eyes went wide. "Ryouma?!"

"So our next target is Sakamoto Ryouma?" Tenma asked.

"Power number five of the strongest eleven in history! A super tricky midfielder with a heart as big as the sea and who acts as the bridge between offense and defense."

"He's the perfect choice!" Nishiki exclaimed, his eyer burning with a new kind of resolve. "And if it's Ryouma, then it has to be me! I'm not letting anyone else take it!"

"Very well. Power number five will be entrusted to Nishiki."

"Alright!"

"The era is the late shogunate period. I have one more candidate. To make it short and sweet, it's the genius swordsman, Okita Souji!"

"Okita Souji?!" Now, it was Midori's turn to get excited.

"Power number six! A speedy striker as quick as lightning, who cuts up the field like a lightning bolt."

"I see! That's the perfect description of Shinsengumi's best swordsman, Okita Souji!"

Nishiki turned to her with a look. "Shinsengumi? They're the enemies who wanted to strike down Ryouma and his plans to change Japan. I will never accept them."

"Huh?! It's the Shinsengumi that protected the dying Bakufu and the capital city. They're what you call real men!"

They're argument turned into a glaring contest.

"A man of the sword... and the capital city... Which means..." Akane, along with Kinako, turned to the navy haired boy.

Tsurugi Kyousuke. The first kanji in his surname could be read as 'ken' which meant 'sword'. And the first kanji in given name is read as 'kyou' which meant 'capital'.

Kimiko deadpanned. "Not that I'm complaining that Kyousuke's gonna get MixiMaxed with an actual swordsman... In fact, I think that it's really cool that that's going to happen, but is it really going to succeed based on name puns?"

He seemed to be a little unsure himself, but... "It can't hurt to try."

"I didn't know Nishiki and Midori liked history so much..." Haruna said with a nervous chuckle.

"I'm only an expert on Ryouma!"

"I'm a fan of Mito Koumon and Shinsengumi and Ooka Echizen and―"

"You're just a fan of period dramas..." Akane cut her classmate off.

"Sakamoto Ryouma and Okita Souji were enemies?" Tenma repeated, getting them back on track.

"Both of them lived in an era that fought over different ideas on how to shape Japan." The woman explained.

"That is the blood-gushing, flesh-chopping era of the late Edo period!" Wondeba exclaimed.

"Sounds pretty exciting!"

"Yeah!"

And deadly...

Don't you start.

~~~~~

"It's the year 1867 in Kyoto." Fei said as they got off the caravan.

Wondeba had switched their clothes back to what they used during the Sengoku Period. He gave Kinako a yellow yukata with a red skirt, Hikaru green and black, Kariya purple and white, and Taiyou a white and blue one.

"The capital of the late Edo period! I'm all fired up!" Midori exclaimed.

"Where would those two be?" Tenma asked.