"I see. So this is the power of Shinsengumi's best swordsman, Okita Souji." Zanark said, still smirking. "But your struggle is useless. You are no match for me."
The conch shell was blown on again.
Goblis had the ball, but this time, Kariya was able to stop him with an upgraded Hunter's Net.
"What?!"
He passed it to Taiyou, who passed it to Tenma before Shinjami could get to him.
Tsurugi and Okita-san's feelings... We won't put them to waste! The brunette thought as he charged ahead.
Zanark's eyes narrowed. "Impossible! Are you telling me that his plays renewed Raimon's strength?!"
Yasha managed to steal the ball from Tenma with Screwdriver, and she sent the ball to Shura, who gave it to Rasetsu. The purple haired boy used Ogre Blade, but this time, it was stopped by Shinsuke's Keshin Armed.
"He stopped our shoot?!"
"Ack―!" Kimiko felt something inside her pulsing, before quickly disappearing. She managed to hold herself together without alerting the others. Just now, that's... It's just like yesterday!
Shinsuke got the ball back to Tenma, but Zanark cut in. "I won't accept this! How can you be pushing us back?!" He forced his way through Fei's MixiMax form. He also sent Sakamoto and Kirino flying.
Is he... glowing?! It was pulsing again, with an even stronger force. This power is... It's not mine!
Nishiki made his way in front of the goal. "A head-to-head fight between two powers! I don't dislike that!"
The power that's fighting my keshin... is Zanark's?!
"The likes of you can't stop me!" He pushed through, and smirked at Shinsuke. "I'll show you the power of Zanark Domai― Again?! Damn it!" He kicked the ball, but no power went into it. Shinsuke was able to catch it easily.
He stopped moving, and dark energy burst out of him once again. As he screamed out, his keshin appeared. What's different is that its claw-like wings were tucked in its back, and it was bound by chains. He screamed and screamed until he was out of breath, and he continued on screaming.
"M-My body...!"
"Zanark!" Nishiki ran up and called on his keshin. "Sengoku Bushin Musashi! I'll save you right now!"
The giant samurai lifted its sword, and cut the chains with a swift slash. The energy around Zanark disappeared, his avatar along with it. He fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?!"
"Why... Why did you help me?"
The ponytailed boy smiled. "Isn't that obvious? So I can fight with you to the end. All we want is to win through soccer."
"Now!" Daisuke the stone said. "MixiMax Nishiki with Sakamoto Ryouma! If Ryouma has acknowledged his big heart, then it should definitely work!"
And it did.
Nishiki now had blue eyes, with hair of the same color flowing messily like the ocean waves.
"So that's your new power?" Zanark smirked, immediately reverting to his previous self. "I'll take you on! Mixi Trans, Cao Cao!"
Shinsuke gave his senior the ball, and Zanark charged at him.
A whirlpool appeared, him with crossed arms at its center. Suddenly, a geyser sprouted from beneath his feet, turning into a dragon made of water, pushing through his opponent.
"Kuroshio Ride!"
He then got through Maze with his acrobatic skills and passed to Shindou, who activated his MixiMax with Nobunaga. He then used Setsuna Boost to score their tying goal.
"A tie... But I can't afford to lose this match! Not because of the old farts in El Dorado, but because my own pride won't allow it!" Zanark declared, earning nods from his teammates.
He passed to Maze, who got through Fei with Bungee Thrust, but was stopped by Kinako's Mochi Mochi Kinako Mochi. She gave it to Fei, who tried to score with his MixiMax's Ancient Fangs, but was blocked by Sand Cutter. Soon, Rasetsu had the ball and tried to shoot with Ogre Blade again, but Shinsuke's MixiMax was able to stop it.
Their game of back and forth continued on for a while, turning the match into one that was really fun to watch. Finally, after a clash between Nishiki and Zanark's Keshin Armeds, Raimon won the next and final point of the match.
"We lost..." Zanark admitted. "Oh well. I'll accept that for today."
Nishiki smirked. "I thought you'd say that."
"Kimiko!"
"Hey!"
"Hang in there!"
They turned around at the girls' panicked voices. They were surrounding their youngest friend, who was kneeling down, clutching her heart.
Shadows came out.
"E-Everyone... stay back!"
The armored archer appeared once again. The bow was aimed at those on the bench.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Not again!"
"Hold on!" Tsurugi was first to run over, calling out his own keshin.
He managed to put his shield up right before the arrows could hit them. He kept the archer distracted as the others got away.
I have to do that again, don't I? He clicked his tongue, not liking the idea, but not having any other choice either.
Kimiko looked up at him as he got into position. "K-Kyou... Don't...! You don't... have enough strength... to..."
"Even so, I still have to try!"
He kept his shield up as he charged at her. However, this time, the archer didn't have any intention of using her bow like a hammer. She kept her aim steady, and the arrow it held seemed to charge up with energy. Letting go, it pierced through the knight, knocking the boy back.
"Tsurugi!"
Tenma and Okita went to his side, just as he sat up. "Damn it...!" He couldn't summon Lancelot anymore.
"We can't do the same thing as last time..." Shindou muttered. "This place is an open field! We need to get everyone out of here!"
"No. Everyone, stay where you are!"
"Zanark?!"
The green haired boy walked towards the girl with a serious expression. "Don't move. Don't blink. Don't even so much as breathe. As long as you stay still, it won't think you're attacking it."
"How do you know?" Nishiki asked. He only got a smirk in reply.
"Hey, Zanark." Shura called from behind him. "Is this the same thing as last time?"
He didn't respond to him either. He only kept walking.
"H-Hey, aren't you a bit too close?!" Sakamoto warned.
He stopped right in front of the girl, the archer's bow right on his head. His smirk grew wider. "Makaiou Zodiac!"
The giant appeared out of his back, and immediately, the archer began to shoot at him. However, its claw-like wings were able to deflect them with ease. Its two forearms grabbed on the bow, preventing her from shooting more, and the two wings went to her shoulders, pushing her back.
It made the girl cry out.
"Kimiko!" Tsurugi glared at him. "What are you doing?!"
He only blinked. "Huh... It wasn't painful last time... Well, all the more reason to end it. Zodiac!"
The two claws lifted before quickly cross-slashing her torso, making the archer disappear. With a final cry, Kimiko fell to her knees.
Zodiac retreated into his back, but before anyone could ask, his eyes glowed.
Okita's widened. "That trick... That's how he gave me his power to move so freely!"
"What?"
"Zanark is..."
"Giving power to Kimiko?"
"Wrong." He replied. "I'm taking it back."
The girl's body suddenly stiffened. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out again, so hard it bled. Her fingers dug into the soil, clenching so hard her knuckles were turning white.
"Zanark." Gouzu called. "If you take it away, then what'll stop her from getting out of control?"
"She already did go out of control." Shinjami pointed out. "There's no point in keeping that seal on her. Her powers had grown too much for his forced MixiMax."
Taiyou looked up at that. "Forced MixiMax? Like what Kongming did?"
"And just when did you manage to do that to Kimiko?" Kirino asked.
"Come on. Are we really going to believe the enemy's word?" Kariya said.
"Believe your own eyes then." Shuten pointed at the girl.
When they turned to her, their jaws dropped. Her skin had changed to a tanned tone, and her hair went from blonde to a minty green. It was like the Protocol Omega they ran into when they were in France.
Slowly, she changed back to normal, and Zanark's eyes stopped glowing. Shakily, she sat up, looking up at him.
"T-Thanks... I... I guess I owe you one...?"
"Actually, you owe me two." He smirked while she frowned.
"Who... Who are you? W-Why do you know so much about me? And... why do I also just barely know you all?"
"I am Zanark Avalonic. A member of the lower middle class without a name, and captain of Zanark Domain."
"But you do have a name." Sakamoto pointed out.
"And you know full well that's not what I mean." She said, trying to stand. Taking notice, Tsurugi was by her side at once and helped her stay up.
"Then, I'll tell you two things." He held a finger up. "First, we have no personal ties to one another. The only reason I'm willing to help you is because I owe someone."
Someone wanted him to help me? "Who?"
He didn't answer that. "Second, it's in your best interest to master that keshin of yours. Preferably before it destroys another forest."
Her eyes widened. "Another?! You mean I―"
"You're older now, so you should be able to do that much."
"Older? Wha..." She was getting more questions than answers at this rate. But then, his teammate's words from before the match rang in her ears. "... Yasha mentioned the name 'Kiko'. What does that have to do with me?"
"Who knows?"
"Zanark!"
"I don't have any reason to tell you anything, nor are you in the position to demand an answer." He said, his expression turning serious. "I'm calling in one of those favors now."
Her lips zipped shut. She didn't like it, but she did owe him. At least for what he just did. She threw him a look that said "This isn't over" and left it at that.
He suddenly took out his sphere device, teleporting his team away and clearing the field.
The team gave their youngest friend a worried look before turning back to their opponent.
"Get rid of the soccer ban!"
"Give us back Coach Endou!"
His hand reached to his back pocket and pulled out what looked like a purple gem. "By Endou, you mean this stone, right?"
Tenma's eyes widened. "Coach Endou is a Chrono Stone!"
"Here."
He tossed it over to them, only for someone in full white to grab it. A bright light was emitted, and when they regained their sight, they found the person had gone.
"Coach Endou!"
"T-That was―" Kimiko cut herself short when she heard the sound of a jet. "Zanark!"
The boy had hopped on to his bike and rode off, disappearing into a wormhole.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the late update! Got caught up with some things, but the next one should be updated on Monday still!