On The Side Of The Pitch With You

No 'I' in Team!

His eyes narrowed as he looked down in thought, but they didn't have a lot of time, so his question was left unanswered.

Kusaka managed to take the ball in the next scuffle, but he lost it not too long after to another Rolling Cutter. Luckily, Tenma was there to clear it.

In the next throw-in, Sakura took the ball, but she ignored Tenma's order to pass to Matatagi and was blocked by yet another Rolling Cutter.

They're really not getting sick of that move any time soon, are they?

But since it had worked every time they used it thus far, he supposed he couldn't hold it against them.

Their enemies continued to pass up the field, getting through Tetsukado, who had refused the help of Manabe and Minaho. They used another Gold Fever, which Ibuki was able to stop with his own hissatsu that time, but he was also sent flying and the ball was still in the field.

"Too slow!" One of their opponents was near enough to make another shot while he was down.

~~~~~

"No!"

"He can't block it from there!"

The white haired keeper positioned below her could barely get up. They were going to lose another point.

"... Or so the team thought."

"SHINDOU, HELP ME!!!"

And immediately, the virtuoso moved. "Einsatz!" And the ball was cleared.

And from that alone, the whole team was able to come together. They exchanged glances, nodding at one another. Shindou was even moving back to his original position, while in all the past matches she had seen, he'd stick to his spot in the defense no matter what.

As she watched their newfound understanding, she couldn't help a smile. Reminds me of the Mannouzaka match. Kyou teamed up with them for the first time, and Midori-san's words...

People trusting other people?

Her eyes widened as she searched for the one who's thoughts she accidentally heard. Matatagi.

They have no idea how big of a disappointment it feels when those same people betray you.

"... Wow, who the heck hurt him?" She frowned a little before shaking her head. "No, that's prying. Leave it alone, Kimiko. He's not a friend, so it's none of your business."

Instead, she turned her attention to the other forward. Her best friend was talking with Tenma and Shindou. The legendary trio of Raimon's current generation. They seem to have a plan.

Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please―

Her thoughts were cut off by the whistle and the next round started with Storm Wolf's throw-in, which Shindou was immediately able to steal from. He dribbled past the opponents and passed to Kusaka, who responded properly to Tenma's call by giving him the ball.

From that point on, their passes kept connecting, and even if they did lose the ball, they were able to take it back easily, like how Morimura used her hissatsu, Konoha Roll.

The match was getting more and more fun by the minute. But minutes were also what they were running out of.

With very few left on the clock of the first half, Storm Wolf managed to break through once again.

"Manabe! Minaho!" Ibuki suddenly called.

"Yeah!"

"Leave it to us!"

With the two coming at the opponent from the sides, Ibuki was able to concentrate on the center, which he will no doubt be attacking from. Once he was through the two defenders, he used another Gold Fever.

A bright energy wrapped around Ibuki's hand and he ran forward to meet the ball head on. "Rising Slash!" He made an uppercut just before the ball could arrive and slammed his fist to the ground, summoning five slashes to block the shot.

Ohh! A new technique!

Shindou caught the rolling ball with a proud smile. He ran up the field, passing to Nozaki, who then gave it to Tenma. The brunette used Z Slash to get past his opponents, and then...

Yes! Yes! YES!

"Bicycle Sword!"

Before the keeper could react, Tsurugi's shot made the goal.

The first half ended 2-1.

~~~~~

"There's the whistle ending the first half! The score is 2-1! Storm Wolf has a small one point lead! Now there's no telling where the match will go from here!"

"You did great, everyone! You took back a point first!" Aoi congratulated them all before turning to him. "Tsurugi, nice shoot!"

The fact she singled him out surprised him, but when he saw her expression, he gave her a grateful smile. She was saying it in her place.

"Good job too, Ibuki, with your new hissatsu technique." She continued.

He had his own proud smile.

"Ibuki, when did you come up with a hissatsu like that?" Kusaka asked.

"Because of your training, right?" Tetsukado said.

"No, it was thanks to Manabe and Minaho. I was able to concentrate on the ball because Manabe and Minaho blocked his course. As long as I can concentrate, stopping a shoot like that is a piece of cake."

"...Is he being grateful to us?"

"Or is he just bragging?"

The two of them, being very unused to praise from their narcissistic goalkeeper, only stared at him in confusion.

That, in turn, got a look from him. "What?"

They ended up laughing their thoughts away.

"While you're at it, you should thank Tsurugi for training with you all the time too." Shindou jokingly piped in. "And Hakuryuu, and Yukimura, and Mahoro-san, and Kimiko―"

"Okay, okay! I get it, Shindou! Thanks."

"Shindou-san really is the one you should be thanking since he's the one that made you realize what was most important." He pointed out.

"I..." He took a deep breath before letting it out as a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Shindou."

"Just doing a teammate's job."

"Yeah, yeah." Plum eyes rolled before landing back on him. "Tsurugi too. I wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't supported me from the very start. Your shots are the real deal, so keep them up in the second half!"

"You don't need to tell me twice."

"If I'm not mistaken," Manabe said, pushing his glasses up. "Tsurugi's shots have gotten 23.8% more powerful than in our match against Resistance Japan. That's quite a notable increase since you didn't join our training in the Black Room."

"The right kind of motivation can bring out that side of a person." Minaho stated with the smile he usually has when he guessed something correctly. "Is it because you now know Kimiko is here?"

He gave a smirk, turning his gaze to the blonde up in the balcony. She immediately noticed and waved excitedly at him. He didn't care who was watching, and lifted his own hand up to greet her before turning his attention back to the mini-detective. "One time, something possessed her to tell me that I was cooler than my idol. I can't afford to not live up to that when she's watching me today."

"Alright, everyone!" Tenma called, pumping his fist. "We'll catch up to them in the second half!"

"Yeah!"