Could Soccer Save Me? || Inazuma Eleven GO ||

Chapter 8: We Won, But...

"Hey, are you sure you're alright?" He asked me again but he sounded a little frustrated this time. "I've noticed you kept zoning out in the middle of a game."

Tenma, Kirino, Coach Endou, and the others began to look at us, also concerned about what he was asking me.

"My apologies," I said with a apologetic smile, bowing my head a little, "I admit I was distracted by my own thoughts. It won't happen again."

"It's not like you to get distracted easily. What were you thinking about that was so important than soccer?!" Shindou asked me sternly as he frowned. It seemed like he was onto me.

"Captain, don't be so hard on her," said Tenma, feeling sympathetic. "It's her first game." Kirino nodded, agreeing with him.

"I'm not going to treat her differently just because I'm in the same class as her and she's popular amongst the students. Just like the rest of you, I'm also her captain of the soccer club now."

"Yes, but..." Tenma trailed off.

"It's okay Tenma," I said to him calmly. "I understand the consequences. Captain has every right to be upset at me. It was my own fault. I let my guard down."

"What were you thinking, [Name]?" Shindou asked me again. I sighed, which got his full attention. I was about to answer until someone finally showed up.

"Put me on!" Tsurugi ran to us. "Let me play in the match instead!"

I heard Coach Endou whispered to Shindou, "Let's talk about her situation later." He nodded, a little reluctantly.

"I will not run away. As a soccer player, I'm asking you to let me on! Please!"

In the end, after seeing Tsurugi pleading to play, they eventually allowed him.

"But which forward should we switch out?" Shinsuke asked no one in particular, looking at me and Kurama. Kurama looked like he knew he was about get switched out when he looked somewhere off to the side.

"Coach...?" Shindou asked, as his voice trailed off.

"[Name]," Coach Endou began, "you're on the bench, okay?"

"Yes, Coach Endou." I nodded understandably.

I went over to Tsurugi and set my hand on his shoulder, smiling, "Thanks."

He was confused at first but smiled a little, "You're welcome, [Name]-san."

The team exchanged curious looks between us. It was like they didn't expect Tsurugi to suddenly act respectful to me. They snapped back to reality when the whistle blew at the end of halftime. I sat on the bench with the managers while Tsurugi and the others ran to their spots on the field.

I was sitting next to Aoi. Akane was trying to be sneaky taking photos of me with her pink camera, which I didn't care.

The score was 2-0 at the end of the first half. A new match starts. Tsurugi ran to the back while the Shindou passed the ball to Hayami, attempting to redo the Ultimate Thunder. Everyone was shocked and some were skeptical if he was holding back, after Tsurugi failed to  shoot it at the defenders. He looked like he was still troubled from his brother scolding him.

I thought there wasn't much I could do other than watching them with a straight face, with my hands on my lap elegantly. I watched Kirino used his hissatsu technique, The Mist, which was him sneaking behind Itsumi in midst of mist to steal the ball. His hissatsu technique was uninteresting to me, just like the rest of them.

I was loosing interest in this game, soccer. If I couldn't find what I'm looking for, then I'll simply quit. I worked hard and gave effort to find it. I did everything in order to find it. I painted, produced and played music, and played a mere sports game. And yet, I still couldn't find what I'm looking for. All those years, it was just a waste.