It's because of me that we're losing. What is wrong with me?
"It's okay!" Tenma said, walking up to his distressed teammate. "You'll be back to your usual self soon enough!"
"Tenma. I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"I joined you so I could help, but I'm dragging you down instead."
They all frowned, not used to seeing the usually-bright boy this upset. Still, Tenma continued to cheer him on. "Everyone has their bad moments when they're not doing great or make mistakes! When that happens, we all need to work together!"
"Tenma..." When he looked up, they were all giving him reassuring smiles.
"You'll be able to get over this hurdle, Taiyou." Shindou said.
"Until you've regained your form, Taiyou, we've all got your back!" Nishiki added.
"We're here for you!" Kinako said. Kurama and Shinsuke nodded, with Kariya saying, "I'm here for you too."
"Guys..."
"We're just getting warmed up." Fei said. "Let's bounce Zanark Domain's offense right back at them and win!"
Taiyou gave a small nod, but before he could move back to his position, something started ringing in his head.
Sunshine!
Tenma was first to notice the boy holding his head. "E-Eh? Taiyou, are you okay?"
"F-Fine... But what was―" He blinked before turning to the sidelines, his headache completely gone. "That voice is... Kimiko?"
Sorry, sorry. It tends to sting the first time.
"What... How are you... inside my head...?"
Tsurugi narrowed his eyes at that. "She's using her telepathy on you, isn't she?"
The others all widened their eyes at that. "Huh?! She can do that?!"
"In that case, you should be fine." Kirino suddenly said. "The headache doesn't last long."
Shindou's eyes were still wide as he turned to him. "Kirino, you knew?"
"Yeah, she did it to me once too."
Ahaha... Everyone's making a fuss because of me, huh?
"W-Well... Telepathy isn't exactly something everyone can do..."
True. I just wanted to cheer you up, but it looks like everyone's beaten me to it.
"Yeah. I'll work with everyone and pull through. And I wouldn't want you getting angry at me for not contributing when I'm here on the field."
You know me well.
"No, I just heard you talking with Shinsuke earlier."
Fair enough. In any case, you definitely got this, Taiyou. You're the sunshine after all. No matter how dark the night is, the sun will always come about and bring the light of dawn!
He chuckled. "Poetry really doesn't suit you, you know? But thanks, Kimiko. I won't disappoint!"
She gave him a thumbs up.
~~~~~
"There's no doubt about it now, is there?" Maze said, eying the blonde girl on the side of the field.
"'Kimiko', huh..." Shinjami smiled. "So that's the name she goes by now."
"Her memory must've mixed up the two names she had." Goblis chuckled.
Their leader only mocked exhaustion. "Honestly, after all the trouble I went through to make sure she escaped El Dorado's radar... Somehow she managed to get herself on to the top of their most wanted list along with the rest of them."
"Then, what should we do with her, Zanark?" Org asked.
For the first time in the whole match, his smirk dropped. "Once we're done playing, we take her and go. I doubt those old farts would mind when she isn't even a player."
"And even if they do, we can just force our way to an agreement. Right?" Shura said.
"Oh, I hope they do." Yasha smiled cruelly. "Things wouldn't be fun otherwise."
"But, Zanark, she doesn't remember us." Gouzu reminded. "She's close friends with them now. What if she's the one who refuses to come with us?"
"Didn't think about that yet." He said, his smirk returning. "Well, it's fine. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
~~~~~
The match continued with Tenma's throw-in. He gave it to Taiyou despite him being targeted. He tried to move up the field, but the ball was stolen by Gouzu. Tenma used Wonder Trap to take it back and return it to him. He managed to get past Yasha, but he lost it again to Org. Tenma jumped to take it before anyone else could, and at the same time, Fei activated his dinosaur MixiMax.
"Let's go, Fei!"
"Yeah!" He went near the enemy to lure them in before yelling, "Go for it!"
"Taiyou!"
Seeing their play, Zanark couldn't help but laugh. "Nice strategy. Now try and shoot!"
"Taiyou Shin Apollo!" His eyes narrowed at the goal. "I made it this far with backup from Tenma and Fei! I won't put it to waste! Sunshine Force!"
Shuten brought his hands together and blue sparks appeared between his fingers. His right hand went near the ground and black dust swirled around it, growing bigger as he lifted his arm above his head. "Sand Cutter!" He then threw the spiral at the ball, stopping it.
"Almost had it." Zanark teased.
"We still have a chance!"
"Let's score the next one!"
"Yeah! I'll make it in for sure next time!"
He tried again, using Sunshine Force, but Zanark activated his MixiMax and summoned Gouriki no Genbu. This time, he simply had to stand there to block it, like an iron wall.
Taiyou went to try again, but he couldn't. He was too tired to bring out Taiyou Shin Apollo.
"Is that all you've got?"
"Not yet... I'm not done yet!"
Perhaps a little impressed, or bored of how repetitive things are becoming, Zanark dashed through him. "Okay then, let's make some passes!"
He kicked to Meizu, who kicked to Org, who kicked to Gouzu, who kicked to Shinjami, who kicked the ball through Kurama and Tsurugi, sending them flying.
Kurama winced as he got up. "That was a pass?"
Tsurugi was still up right, but he was on one knee. "It was as strong as a hissatsu shoot!"
Shura got the ball and sent it through Fei and Tenma. Rasetsu passed it through Shindou and Nishiki. It continued on, perhaps because they didn't feel the need to score any more points. After all, they already had the 1 to 0 lead.
"If this keeps up, Tenma and the others...!"
"Shin-sama!"
"Isn't there a way out of this?"
"Kyou..."
"In that case...!" Wondeba had one gun aimed at Kongming, but the other was shaking. "Who do I pick?!"
He needed someone compatible with Kongming, though that was rough as he hadn't seen her take any interest in any of them.
Maze made a random pass that Kinako tried to cut. However, due to its strength, she was only barely able to deflect it before being pushed back. It slowed down considerably and reached Taiyou. The ball hit him in the chest, and what should've been a perfect pass ended up pushing him back.
"Taiyou, come on...!"
He groggily began walking up to the ball. "I can't... I can't afford to... LET IT END HERE!!!"
An aura can be felt pulsing throughout the whole summit. There was of course nothing strange about it... if it hadn't come from outside the field. A white dragon appeared from near the patio.
"Kongming is a dragon after all." Liu Bei said.
"That's not her." Aoi said, pointing below the dragon. "Look, down there."
The woman was standing there with an amused expression.
"What's going on?"
"That's what we call a keshin. It's the physical form of the strength in a person's heart."
Kimiko's eyes widened at that statement. A person's heart...? Not just their love for soccer?
The dragon roared loud into the sky before opening its jaws at Taiyou, a bright light crashing down on him. When the light vanished, the boy's appearance had changed. He had lavender hair, and the two tresses around his neck grew longer with ties on the end. His eyes had a darker shade as well.
"They fused without the MixiMax gun?" Akane asked.
"Incredible! A forced MixiMax!" Wondeba said, turning to the woman who was making her way over to the field. "I can't believe she's able to do that!"
"As expected of Zhuge Kongming!" Daisuke the stone said, appearing out of nowhere. "Exactly the man I had my eye on!"
"No, she's a woman..." Midori sweatdropped.
"This is MixiMax..." Taiyou had a large smile on his face as he stared down at himself. A large power was flowing within him.
"For what purpose you choose to wield that power is up to you." Kongming said, pointing her fan at him.
"I will use this power for soccer, and for our victory!"
Seeming to regain his confidence, he dribbled ahead, only to be cut off by Zanark. He unleashed his own MixiMax, as well as his keshin. Calmly, he moved past him, getting through.
"What?!"
Caught off guard, Shuten wasn't able to react quickly enough to stop the shoot he made. And now the scores are tied.
"Yes! Taiyou made it in!"
"He moves so differently now that I hardly recognize him."
"So that's Taiyou's MixiMax!"
She noticed Fei smiling at someone off the field. Kongming-san knew what Taiyou was lacking. That's why she lent him her power.
Kongming-san knew, huh... After only watching him for a little while. Kimiko smiled at the woman before turning back to the field. "Nice one, sunshine!"
And that's where the first half ended.
~~~~~
"You did wonderfully out there, Taiyou." Liu Bei complimented, before turning to the woman that joined their side of the field. "Kongming, I thank you for lending him your power." Taiyou smiled as he thanked her as well.
"I did not do it for you." Was her reply.
"Huh?"
"I used you in order to extinguish the sparks that have fallen upon me. You seemed the most effective at utilizing my power."
"You didn't mean to help us?" Zhang Fei asked, his fists tightening on his spear.
"So your evaluation of us hasn't ended." Guan Yu said.
Liu Bei smiled. "Well, she helped us out in the end, so it's okay."
"Right! I thought so too!"
You did not―!
Kimiko, don't or I swear to everything alive...!
But he's so annoying!
And I get that, but no. You'll just make him try to kill us again.
But...!
No. That's final.
No one paid attention to the blonde manager and the navy haired striker glaring at each other.
"Okay! Let's move in on this momentum and turn things around!"
"Okay, Liu Bei-san!"
As the man continued talking, Wondeba pulled out his guns again and shot at both Liu Bei and Shinsuke, but nothing happened. "Hmm, it didn't work."
Shinsuke frowned. "Will I really be able to MixiMax? I promised Sangoku-senpai..."
"You'll be fine, Shinsuke." Tenma smiled, earning a half-hearted nod.
~~~~~
As they got ready in their positions, Shindou suggested they focus on defense first. Then, Taiyou told them all to leave the strategy ideas to him.
As soon as the gong was hit, the ball was passed to Zanark and he activated his MixiMax. Taiyou responded with his own MixiMax.
"Tenma! Tsurugi! Kurama-san! Surround the ball and circle to the right!"
"Okay!" And Zanark was stopped in his tracks.
"Nishiki-san and Fei, circle with me to the left!"
"Okay!" The enemy was surrounded by two layers of circles.
"Everyone else, surround us and circle right!"
And now he was stuck in the middle of three.
"That formation! Could it be...?"
Zanark's eyes narrowed. "Fools! You're wide open!" He kicked the ball, but instead of going into the goal, it hit the post instead. "What?!"
"Thank goodness it missed..." Shinsuke muttered.
"We made it miss." Taiyou corrected.
"Huh?"
Guan Yu nodded to himself. "As I thought! It is the Qi Men Dun Jia Formation!"
"As expected from Lord Guan Yu. You are aware of it." Kongming said. "When the enemy is completely surrounded, they attack with all of their might. But by creating a hole in one spot, you can make them expend that energy for naught into that opening."
"And that's how you guided Zanark's shoot to miss!" Wondeba exclaimed.
Shindou smiled. "Our new hissatsu tactics, Qi Men Dun Jia Formation!"
"This is the strategy of Zhuge Kongming, known as one of the most intelligent people in history." Fei said, awe clear in his tone. "And the one to make it happen is the genius who comes once every decade, Amemiya Taiyou."
"Takes a genius to boost a genius, huh..."
Midori sweatdropped at the blonde. "I don't think that kind of saying exists."
As they began to move up the field with the ball, Zanark suddenly undid his MixiMax.
"In that case... I'll give you a taste of fear that comes only once in a thousand years!"
~~~~~~~~~~
I forgot to publish these chapters yesterday, sorry! Also I have a small announcement (*cough* promotion *cough*)
Not sure if anyone knows, but I have an AO3 account under the same user name as my Wattpad. And there, I have about 5 Inazuma Eleven short stories published (all of them Kyousuke, if not Yuuichi, related), so why not check them out :3
See you next week again! :)