She hopped off the train and walked out of the station, coming face to face with the navy haired boy. She gave him a smile. "Good morning!" She tried to tackle him in a hug, but was easily evaded.
"You're late." He stated bluntly.
"I can't help that the train got delayed." She huffed back. "What? You excited for your second day at school?" Ignoring her, he began to walk off. She huffed a second time and covered her head with her hoodie again.
They headed to the soccer building first, where the chairman and principal agreed to meet them. They found the club members in a state of despair while practicing.
Shindou placed a ball by his feet. "We've got to do what we can with the nine members left at Raimon's soccer club." Just as he kicked the ball up, a blur of red and purple passed him by and trapped the ball mid-air.
"You mean ten members." The ball was kicked into the goal, the keeper unable to react.
Clapping came from the stands. "Chairman!"
"Tsurugi is joining the soccer club." The old man's words somehow managed to worsen the mood.
Tsurugi's own sneer didn't help either. "Glad to be working with you, captain."
Shindou reluctantly went to grab one of their jerseys. He shook as he held it in his hands and took hesitant steps towards the first-year.
"Now, give Tsurugi his uniform. Go on."
He couldn't do anything but obey, but as soon as he held it out, the uniform was slapped out of his hands. He glared at the younger boy. "Do you know what you just did?! That's the Raimon uniform!"
But Tsurugi kept the ever-lasting smirk on his face. "I'm an observer from Fifth Sector. I'm not like you."
"Tsurugi!" The only thing that kept him from punching the delinquent was the keeper's voice telling him to stop.
"W-Well, since it appears that introductions are over... That's how it is." The chairman and principal took their leave. Tsurugi stared him down a little longer before eventually heading out himself, the girl tailing him.
~~~~~
No calls, no messages, no summons. It was a free day for her, so she spent her time walking around town. When she got back to the school, she found the outdoor field being used. Tenma and four unfamiliar faces were facing off against the soccer team. On the bench were the coach, the woman from the day before, and two girls, most likely the managers.
Tsurugi was on the stairs, watching the match unfold. She took a seat beside him, placing the backpack she carried on her lap. She took out a bag of chips and waved it in front of his face. "Want some?" He didn't reply, but when she opened the bag, his hand reached in and popped some into his mouth.
She didn't comment and the two continued to watch as the five try-outs failed miserably. Four of them began to slow down, but Tenma kept on going at it. It brought a small smile to her face. "Can I be honest with you?" He hummed in reply, letting her know he was listening. "Matsukaze Tenma is his name, right? I think I'm really going to like him."
"... Are we talking about that same idiot who keeps falling on his face?"
"Yup." Her smile grew by just a bit when a much shorter boy began to fight just as hard. "That one too."
"What? Because of their 'soccer'?"
"Something like that." She finished the last of the chips. "I don't need to read minds to tell that those two will definitely pass the test."
"But in the end," He smirked when the brunette collapsed after taking a hit to the face. "That's all they've got."
Her premonition came to pass as Tenma and the shorter boy, Nishizono Shinsuke, had succeeded in their goal. The other three tried to protest, but were only stared at by the coach. They left, dejectedly muttering about how the 'losers' were granted in.
"In other words, that means..." The three looked up at Tsurugi, who was smirking down on them. "You guys are worse than losers, hm?" They grunted before taking the long way around, just to avoid his gaze.
The two turned to each other, a single word crossing both their minds as they watched them leave.
Pathetic.
~~~~~
"Let's have the new members introduce themselves."
It was almost 24 hours later that they finally had proper introductions to one another. They all gathered in the club room, lockers lining up an entire wall. In by the entrance were a few tables and stools, while in the center of the room were sofas lined in front of a built in TV screen. The second and third years stood behind the sofas while the new members were in front of it, Kudou and the blue haired woman present on the side.
At Shindou's words, a girl smiled. "Okay." She was someone she hadn't seen before. She had long, red hair and green-ish eyes, and her bow, which should be on her collar, was tied above her head. She slapped Tenma on the back, pushing him slightly forward. "You're up first. Go, Tenma. Tell 'em good!"
The woman blinked. "Who are you?"
The girl pointed at herself. "Me?"
"Are you interested in joining as a manager?"
"Huh? I don't do anything I find bothersome. Hm... how do I explain this?" Her hand went to Tenma's head. "I think I'll be this guy's private cheer squad."
"Private cheer squad?" One of the club members asked. He was one of the shortest there, with black hair and purple swimming goggles on his forehead.
"Oh, but you don't have to worry about any trouble from me." She turned back to the brunette beside her, pushing him forward. "C'mon."
He looked around nervously. "I'm Matsukaze Tenma, a first-year! Um... uh..." His head went down for a second, and she thought she heard Shinsuke whisper something to him before he turned back to the seniors. "Anyway, I really like soccer, so I'm glad to be here!" He bowed.
"Yeah, good to have you." The goalkeeper smiled warmly.
"Yes!"
"Next." Shindou called.
The tiny boy walked forward. "Okay! Nishizono Shinsuke, a first-year. I was a defender in elementary school. I'll do my best, so I hope we have a good year!" He ended with a bow.
"Next." His gaze turned to the boy leaning against a wall, a bit far off from the rest of the group.
"Hey, you're up! Can't you hear?" Another member with black hair and a bandage on his nose called to him.
He seemed to be enjoying their frustration, and, knowing him, he probably is. "Tsurugi Kyousuke."
The blue haired woman regained their attention with a clap. "Next up are the managers!"
"Okay!" A girl with blue hair and eyes stood up straight. "I'm Sorano Aoi, a first-year. I hope we have a good year!" She bowed.
A brown-haired girl holding a pink camera peeked out from behind her. "Yamana Akane, a second-year." With a shy smile, she took a pic of the group of second and third years.
The red-haired girl pushed Tenma and Aoi aside. "Then for the record, Seto Midori, a second-year. Good to be here."
"And you?" All eyes finally turned to her. "And show us your face while at it."
She shrugged and took her hoodie off. The first thing they noticed was the light pink streaks in her blonde hair, matching the shade of her hoodie. Her purple eyes were soft in contrast to her friend's sharp ones, and she smiled at them kindly. Not at all what they expected someone sent by Fifth Sector to do. "You can call me Kimiko."
The club members all turned to each other before the keeper spoke up. "Alright, it's our turn next."
Shindou turned to them one at a time. "The third years are the goalkeeper, Sangoku-senpai, Minamisawa-senpai," The striker with purple hair and long bangs, "Kurumada-senpai," The one with a bandage, "And Amagi-senpai." The tallest and largest of all the members with goggles on his chin.
"Nice to meet you." Sangoku continued to smile at them.
"Nice to meet you!"
"The rest are second-years... Kurama," The shortest of them with tanned skin and light blue hair, "Kirino," A boy with pink hair tied in twin tails, "Hayami," A redhead with white round glasses, "Hamano," The one with purple swimming goggles, "And I'm the captain, Shindou."
"And I'm the soccer club's counselor, Otonashi Haruna." The blue haired woman pointed to herself and then the man beside her. "This is Coach Kudou."
"It's nice to meet you!"
"And now, here are your uniforms." As she handed them out, the two newbies stared at them in surprise.
"Aren't these uniforms for the first team?" Tenma asked.
"Normally, you'd start from the second team, but since so many people quit after the incident earlier..." Kirino trailed.
"Is this really okay?"
"This doesn't mean you're officially on the first team yet." Kurumada stated.
Still, Tenma gave a large grin. "Okay! I'll do my best!" He held up the jersey in front of him. "The first team's uniform..."
"This might be a bit big for me." They could barely hear Shinsuke mutter.
"Come to practice as soon as you change."
With the captain's cold words, they snapped out of their daze. "Okay!"