On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Faram Orbius VIII

"Unbelievable! Kuroiwa has been eliminated by a laser beam from the sky!"

"T-This is..."

"An android?"

"Everybody, I've received a report from tournament headquarters! Kuroiwa was an android! The game's surveillance satellite deemed this as foul play and has destroyed him!"

K-Kyou...?

I'm alive. What-the-fuck-ing, but alive. He made sure his replies were in his head this time with how all of the Earth Eleven were coming over to Faram's side of the pitch to see the wreckage.

"I don't understand." Manabe muttered as he picked up the sunglasses. Strangely enough, it was the one thing that was still mostly intact. "Why would Coach Kuroiwa go so far that he'll even use an android?"

"Before he joined, the match was a stalemate." Minaho piped in, not really to give an answer, but more to just stating his own deductions. "Everyone was turning passive. If you consider all of that..."

Oh... That's why...

Why what?

He caught himself before he jumped. He didn't realize she was still connected to his thoughts. Why the coach did all of that. He was trying to―

"Warriors who are fighting for the fate of the galaxy, listen closely." The stadium's main monitor was once again hijacked, this time by the man they were just talking about. "Soccer is not about competing to see whose individual flesh has greater merit. It involves the bonds of flesh, of spirit, of other people. It utilizes all specifications that humans possess. A competition that vies for everything that makes up your existence. Right now, you are fighting to see who is worthy of continuing to live in this galaxy. In that case, you must not be fighting with your flesh! You must fight with your very spirits!"

"Fight with our spirits?"

"What is that guy talking about?"

"I don't get it..."

But we do. Right? His gaze briefly went to the blonde, who gave a small nod.

Though I hate to admit it...

Yeah, well, what else is new? His gaze went upwards as the Earth Eleven moved back to their positions. But that beam...

If it's really under the control of tournament staff, then...

I don't think there's anything to worry about as long as we don't make a foul.

The guy that controls it is the same guy that took over the planet's control centers.

... Alright, but is there anything we could do about it?

... I'll contact Zanark.

Right as she entered the tunnel, the match resumed.

~~~~~

She told the two on the bench that she was going for a quick toilet run, but she had to go all the way to the lobby to escape the cheers of the audience, and even then, she was still able to hear them. Thankfully, it was muffled enough, so she was sure she would be able to hear her brother's voice.

After looking around one last time and making sure she was alone, she activated her bracelet. "Z? You there?"

No reply came. She expected him to appear and immediately teleport her to where she needed to be like he did during their previous calls, but no, that didn't happen either. There was only silence.

"Zanark? The hell, are you asleep?" She tapped on some buttons to make sure she was dialing the right device. Sure enough, it was connected to his bike. "Wha...?"

Suddenly, the holographic screen came to life, making her jump. The boy on the other side of the screen had his expressions hidden by his riding goggles. "Kiko, I know what you're going to say, but can you wait like half an hour?"

"By then, the match will be over and there would be no point in asking you for help." She raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing anyways?"

"Dealing with a natural disaster. You know, the usual."

She tried to look past him to see what exactly the disaster was, but his body was blocking the camera. She could only hear some kind of ruckus going on from behind him. "It's really going to take you half an hour?"

"It's going to take longer if I don't hang up."

"Can't you teleport elsewhere first, help me, then go back to all of that?"

"Nope. If we interrupt the process, we won't make it before it destroys the next town."

So it's not just for fun this time.

It wasn't the first time that they were put into situations like that. El Dorado had given them similar missions in the past as they were the two remaining powered Second Stage Children in their timeline. It was to keep the team from causing problems for the organization too. They deal with all kinds of things that even Perfect Cascade couldn't handle (like disasters, and stray SSCs) in exchange for a clean record. This would only last until both her and their captain got their cures. After that, Zanark Domain would have... near total freedom.

(Their timejumping shenanigans would still be kept under close watch, but as long as they avoided messing with the flow of time, they wouldn't get in trouble.)

She let out a sigh. "Fine... Take care, then."

"Don't worry, no one will die in this match."

Her eyes widened at that, but then again... Of course he'd know. "Thanks."

He gave a two-finger salute. "Toodles!"

And the screen went blank.

It was almost as if the universe heard it too, because right then and there, the cheers only got louder. This time, she was even hearing voices loud for Earth Eleven. So, she made her way back to the audience.

"Wow! Matsukaze and Tsurugi! It's the clash of souls against souls!"

Reaching the top row of the stands, what she found was a chaotic mess of Souls and hissatsus being brought out all over the field. But none of that could compare to how intense the two captains' clashes were whenever they struggled for the ball.

With all the seats packed, she stood next to the exit and leaned against the wall, deciding to watch the rest of the match from there. But even though she was sat the farthest from the match itself, she could still feel the intense layers of energy that their fight was giving off.

Life Energy being thrown here and there and everywhere... Surely, this much is enough, right?

Suddenly, she caught a flash of red from above her. Just as she looked up, the stadium felt multiple waves blowing through, a bright light surrounding them. She could just barely open her eyes enough to confirm that the red really was another beam from the sky, only that it was blocked by the sphere they were encased in.

Thank fucking god... She couldn't have done anything in that situation, so she was glad to know that Zanark was once again right.

When the light dissipated, her eyes trailed back to the field, widening by tenfold.

A wolf and a horse were there.