"Um, please take these." Jeanne said, opening her pouch to show a small mountain of sweets.
She had spotted them playing not too long ago and took enough interest to sit and watch them play along with the managers.
When they decided to take a break, she offered them candy, which they helped themselves to. As they talked, Wondeba tried to use the MixiMax guns, but it failed. Daisuke concluded that her power hasn't awakened yet, and so it was the exact opposite of the case with Nobunaga.
Hearing that, Kinako passed a ball to her. "So, do you like soccer?"
The pale blonde gave a wry smile. "Um... It looks interesting, but I still don't understand it."
"Hmm... To put it simply... Soccer is like war."
Kimiko nearly choked on her candy.
"You move to keep the ball from getting stolen. From there, everyone works together to defend and attack."
I-I mean... I guess that's not wrong...
"Everyone works together..." Jeanne muttered, staring at the ball. "How do you get everyone to work together?"
"Well, there are various ways to do it... But I guess the first step is exchanging passes."
"'Passes'?"
"Want to try it?"
"Huh, uh... Y-Yes!"
And the two began playing together. After a while, she went up to the soldiers by the gate and told them that they no longer had to stay on guard.
"I don't think they are spies."
"Why is that? How can you be so sure?"
"While we were on our way back here, I saw a strange light in the sky. And then, these people showed up. They may be the helping hand we need that God has sent to us."
"These people...?"
"If that is God's will, then it is destiny that they come with me."
As they talked, the rest of them exchanged worried glances. Shindou and Kirino went ahead to break the reality to Jeanne.
"Enlisting children to go to war..." Kimiko muttered. "That's..."
"History."
She shot a look at her friend before sighing. "I don't want to admit it, but yeah... Even in Nobunaga's era, there was the Shiroshika..."
"Children are less likely to resist out of fear of punishment, so that's the easiest way to raise loyal soldiers..." He trailed off, pausing for a moment before quietly adding, "Like Fifth Sector."
She knew that was coming. She knew, but she still felt the weight crushing her heart. It wasn't just the guilt of inviting him in, but memories of her own training too. Her hand clasped around the necklace she wore. Taking a deep breath, she took an unused ball and passed it to him.
"Tag. I'm it."
An invitation to temporarily forget everything.
With a small smile, he kicked the ball up to his knee and began juggling. "Then, come at me!"
The others exchanged glances before pairing up and following along.
~~~~~
That afternoon, once they've cleaned up and changed, they were led to a small tower, where they were allowed to stay in. The lobby had a single large table while the floors above had space for them to sleep in.
Once they had settled on who would sleep where, they headed back down to eat, while also getting a visit from Jeanne. She informed them that she'll be leaving to meet with Prince Charles to ask for reinforcements to fend off the British army, and that she wanted them to be her escorts. Her reason was that their soccer tactics might be useful for crossing enemy lines.
"Once we bring back reinforcements and free Orleans safely, I will do everything in my power to help you."
It was an offer they couldn't refuse, they knew. But it was also incredibly dangerous.
They were hesitant, but Kirino stood up with a sure look. "Okay. We need Jeanne's power. So if Jeanne needs our power, we should help her."
Shindou nodded. "You're right."
"Thank you, everyone!"
The war maiden informed them that the carriage can only carry seven people, and so Shindou chose Kirino, Tenma, Tsurugi, Kinako, Fei, and Shinsuke to go with her. With that decided, they called it a night.
Or most did.
Aoi woke in the middle of the night, spotting a familiar shadow moving. She followed it downstairs, finding the door closing and another shadow getting up.
Amber eyes noticed her and the boy dipped his head. "I'll talk to her." He said, quietly as to not wake the others.
The blue haired girl watched him leave with worry clear in her expression. And it seemed she wasn't the only one.
~~~~~
"Something tells me you aren't sneaking out because it's suffocating."
His voice made her drop the ball she was juggling.
Kimiko gave him a small smile before making a pass. "Not this time, no."
He stopped the rolling ball with his foot and began to bounce it. "Then?"
"I just..." She shook her head and shrugged. "I'm not used to this. I'm not used to being around so many people all the time."
"Mmhm." He passed it back to her and she juggled it around as she continued.
"I've been doing things alone for so long that I just... Being surrounded by all this warmth... It's so new." She let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Back then, when I'm not alone, I'm with you... Just you... I had no other friends, or even people my age that I could talk to. It's kind of..."
"Unsettling?"
"For lack of a better word, yeah." She blinked. "You know how it feels?"
He rolled his eyes. "Obviously. I spent my first month at Raimon threatening to destroy the soccer club, only to be entrusted with scoring the goals for them a quarter way through Holy Road."
"Ahaha... And I'm guessing that how nice everyone is to you didn't help either because it was so sudden?"
"Precisely. So I was stuck being the only one mad at myself." He sighed before eying her. "You're feeling that now too, right? Anger towards yourself."
"Mm." She passed the ball to him again and watched him do his tricks as she replied. "If we're trying to be accurate, I'm angry at how jealous I am."
"Jealous?"
"I told you that Masato-nii's the one who's been training me, right? And you also know about all my sudden trips."
"Yeah?" His movements stopped when he realized what she meant. "... Oh."
"You have Raimon to play with, while I'm still stuck going place to place, trying and failing at a ton of different things." She huffed. "And even though I've gone to so many places, I wasn't given the chance to befriend anyone. It was just training drill after training drill. That's why I always look forward to the weekends when I get to play with you. At least I have someone to actually talk to then."
"But you're always alone otherwise..."
She nodded slowly. "It feels so weird to suddenly be with so many people. And even more ironically, the soccer club... When I can't even play properly."
"Hey, that's not―"
"How is it not true?" She threw her arms up in frustration while keeping her voice down, not wanting to alert anyone. "You saw how badly I did earlier when everyone was playing together! I kept freezing up! I only managed to do anything when I was playing tag with you..."
He frowned, not knowing what to say. He watched her pinch the bridge of her nose before sitting on the bench. He kicked the ball up and caught it in his hands before following her lead.
"I want to help everyone too. I want to be able to do something to get Masato-nii and soccer back... But how can I do anything if I'm frozen stiff every time I'm on the field?" She sighed. "What's worse is that my keshin isn't even complete..."
His eyes widened at that. "What? What do you mean it's not? It already has a physical form."
"Even so, there's something missing." She looked down at her hands. They were shaking again. "... What was it that Tenma said? Keshins and hissatsu techniques are an embodiment of our feelings for soccer? If that's so then, maybe... Maybe my fear is what's holding me back. Maybe I need to re-learn to love soccer before I do anything..."
His eyes narrowed at that. His hand went on top of hers, stopping it once again. "Don't push yourself too hard. There's no need to rush."
"Yes, there is!" She hissed. Both hands were clinging on to his now. "I hate being this pathetic! Especially when I know I am powerful..." Before he could interject, she cut him off. "It's not just about wanting to be more useful to you guys, or saving my brother... I also..."
She bit her lip as her gaze dropped further. He waited patiently for her to continue.
"I still want to make that combo hissatsu with you."
"Combo hissatsu...?" His eyes widened when he remembered. "The one we were supposed to spend your birthday working on last year?"
She nodded. "Joker Rains, Evolution, and Fire Tornado Double Drive... And you even have Matei Gryphon. Three combos, and a Keshin Fusion..." She let out a bitter laugh. "Before I knew it, the other guys were miles ahead of me."
"That's the real reason why seeing Ichiyajou made you restless." His other arm went around her shoulders.
She leaned over to rest on his. "It's a stupid thing to be upset about, but I can't help it..." I'm jealous of how far your world expanded thanks to soccer. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here on my own.
He cast a glance before replying. There's nothing to be jealous of. My world's not perfect either.
How is it not? Yuuichi-san's already in rehab. You'll have everything you've ever wanted.
Not everything. You aren't there yet.
... Wait, wha―
You're my best friend. It's only natural I'd want you there too.
That's― ...Right.
Even in the dark, she could still see his smirk. You did it to me first.
I know, I know! I deserve that, I admit it! Geez...
She pulled away, completely flustered. That satisfied him.
He stood up and began bouncing the ball again, doing a few tricks in a pattern. She watched him intently, a small smile forming. Seeing him play was always a relaxing sight to her.
"I promise."
She blinked up at him. "Hm?"
"I promise I'll help pull you through this, and someday, I'll show you the kind of world I live in now."
"Kyou..."
"But until then," He passed it over to her, making her stand up and catch it with her chest. "I'll keep you company here... Whenever and wherever you want, even if it's just in the small space beside the pitch."
He showed her one of the softest smiles she had ever seen him make. With that expression, he looked more cute than cool.
Still, it pulled out her own smile.
"... Thanks. I'll look forward to that day."
~~~~~
"Looks like we didn't have to worry so much." Shindou said, gesturing for the others to move away from the window.
"Seems so." Fei nodded. "Let's go back to sleep. They'll come back on their own."
"You're right." Aoi gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry for making you all worry."
Tenma shook his head. "It's fine. Kimiko is one of us, so we'll do our best to support her too."
"But that's not the only reason, is it, Tenma?" Shinsuke gave a knowing smile.
The brunette sheepishly chuckled before a confident look appeared on his face. "Just seeing how she held her own against Tsurugi earlier... It makes me want to see her play seriously!"
Meanwhile, Kirino continued to stare at them as they continued playing. Jealous, huh?