"K-Kimiko...?"
"Yes, Aoi?"
"... Nevermind. I don't think I'll understand even if I asked..."
"Yeah, no, you probably won't."
Ibuki raised an eyebrow at the two girls he was sitting next to. "What are you both talking about?"
"N-Nothing, Ibuki! Don't worry about it!" Aoi tried to laugh it off.
He wasn't buying it. "Did Ichikawa's move mean something to you two?" That was the only conclusion he could come up with, seeing how that was the most recent thing they could've been commenting on. On top of that, he noticed that the three others from Raimon (four if he were to include Tsurugi) had quite the looks on their faces when he did it.
"It does." Kimiko replied calmly, smiling wryly. "But for you to understand it all, we're going to have to go back to the time travel stuff."
... Yeah, no. Not worth it. "I'll pass on that."
"Good."
~~~~~
My inner Okita Souji is acting up.
Is it actually?
No, but you know what I mean.
Yeah... I didn't expect for there to be an awakening at this point of time.
Awakening? Y-You mean Ichikawa is...?!
Of the first generation of the Second Stage Children, yeah. Just like Tenma.
... Just to be sure, how are their lifespans?
No worries. Every child that awakened in this era will grow old like regular people. Their DNAs haven't evolved so far that they would gain the powers that I have. It would take at least another few dozen years before people with just one or two of those superhuman abilities start popping up.
You really studied up on all that, huh...
When you've practically lived in the lab for that long, you'll learn it all involuntarily.
She could see him trying to keep himself from cringing that far down the field. But before he could give another reply, the commentator started speaking.
"We restart with a tied score. Will Faram Dite win, or Earth Eleven?! There's no telling how this match will end!"
Faram's kickoff, and he was the one to start it. The ball went from him to Ryugel, to Gandales, and after getting through, it was passed back to him again. Tenma caught up before he could get very far, and the two clashed fiercely.
And the rest of the field followed suit.
With every attack, there was someone to defend. Neither side would give in to the other, and there were more off-pitch kicks than she had ever seen in any match before.
(Both Aoi and Ibuki noticed how tightly she was crossing her arms. She did not.)
"Hey, hey! Earth Eleven and Faram Dite are fifty-fifty! Who will break through this power game first?! ... Whoa! Looks like Faram Dite will be switching players!"
All eyes went to the bench where Kuroiwa was now standing. However, when their reserved player began to move, the man held a hand to stop him. Moments later, he came onto the field, wearing a uniform with the number 96.
Wha...?!
"Oh my god! The player that Faram Dite is switching in is Coach Kuroiwa himself! Unbelievable!" There was a minute of absolute silence throughout the stadium as the players, audience, and even staff members tried to process this development. Any and all complaints, however, washed away when Ducksgun began speaking again. "Hey! I just received a report from tournament headquarters! Having the coach play for his team is apparently not a problem! As expected from Grand Celesta Galaxy, it's so cool!"
"You mean, it's so fucked."
"I-Ibuki..." Aoi sweatdropped.
"Let him curse." Kimiko clicked her tongue in annoyance. "If he hadn't, I would've."
"We know going in how insane this tournament would be, but... Still, what the shit?!"
She patted his shoulder exactly twice. "Yeah, let it out, buddy. For both our sakes."
So he continued rambling and ranting until the whistle came.
~~~~~
There was something different about seeing the Faramians going through Earth Eleven and seeing the coach do it. His entire body couldn't move for a good while, not as he watched him and the Baran Brothers using Teikoku's signature move.
(His eyes involuntarily darted over to the blonde on the other bench. She was clearly uncomfortable, and it was killing him that he couldn't just run over to snap her out of it.)
Shinsuke was able to stop it with his new hissatsu, and that was when he finally mentally slapped himself. Hilary got to the ball first, and it went to Ryugel before it reached him, just after he got through the midfielders with Rodan's help. Minaho and Manabe were in front of him once again, and with the minimal amount of space he had, he couldn't just move around them like previous times.
They're starting to learn my patterns. Honestly, good for them. He could almost feel a smile on his face as he struggled. Improving as the match goes on... This is real soccer! How blessed he was that, after nearly a month-long hiatus, he was able to fight against people like them first.
"You're fighting the deciding match for who is strongest in the galaxy at this level?!"
Before he could blink, Kuroiwa had the ball, and Manabe and Minaho were thrown off the ground.
"Too soft!'
Wha...?! Barely a second later, the man was charging straight for him. He didn't have time to react and was tackled as he continued to bulldoze through the field.
Kyou?!
"I'm fine..." He groaned as he sat up. "It'll take more than that to keep me down."
I know, but...
"Sit back down or you're gonna make people question."
... You're the one talking out loud, dumbass.
"If you don't defy conventional wisdom, then you won't obtain the strongest power." Kuroiwa declared loudly. "Try and stop me!"
He clicked his tongue as he watched him go through the entire field, friend and foe. "No one's here to hear me, stupid."
As soon as he got up, he went as fast as he could to catch up. Tenma was just a little ways ahead of him, while Matatagi was closer to the coach. After beating Barga back, Kuroiwa jumped and surrounded himself in flames.
No fucking way...!
"Fire Tornado!"
Matatagi, having run past him, was now standing between the ball and the keeper, eyes wide in shock. His own feet moved faster, throwing himself in front of Matatagi, and it seemed Tenma had the same idea. Both their legs reached the ball right before it could hit the other boy's face.
While they were able to deflect it, the impact still sent the three of them to the ground.
Right as they sat up, they saw a red beam shooting from the sky, disentegrating the flying ball. It landed right on Kuroiwa, and the next thing they knew, an explosion occured. When the dust cleared, bits of metal were scattered about.
"Unbelievable! Kuroiwa has been eliminated by a laser beam from the sky!"
"T-This is..."
"An android?"
"Everybody, I've received a report from tournament headquarters! Kuroiwa was an android! The game's surveillance satellite deemed this as foul play and has destroyed him!"
K-Kyou...?
I'm alive. What-the-fuck-ing, but alive. He made sure his replies were in his head this time with how all of the Earth Eleven were coming over to Faram's side of the pitch to see the wreckage.
"I don't understand." Manabe muttered as he picked up the sunglasses. Strangely enough, it was the one thing that was still mostly intact. "Why would Coach Kuroiwa go so far that he'll even use an android?"
"Before he joined, the match was a stalemate." Minaho piped in, not really to give an answer, but more to just stating his own deductions. "Everyone was turning passive. If you consider all of that..."
Oh... That's why...
Why what?
He caught himself before he jumped. He didn't realize she was still connected to his thoughts. Why the coach did all of that. He was trying to―
"Warriors who are fighting for the fate of the galaxy, listen closely." The stadium's main monitor was once again hijacked, this time by the man they were just talking about. "Soccer is not about competing to see whose individual flesh has greater merit. It involves the bonds of flesh, of spirit, of other people. It utilizes all specifications that humans possess. A competition that vies for everything that makes up your existence. Right now, you are fighting to see who is worthy of continuing to live in this galaxy. In that case, you must not be fighting with your flesh! You must fight with your very spirits!"
"Fight with our spirits?"
"What is that guy talking about?"
"I don't get it..."
But we do. Right? His gaze briefly went to the blonde, who gave a small nod.
Though I hate to admit it...
Yeah, well, what else is new? His gaze went upwards as the Earth Eleven moved back to their positions. But that beam...
If it's really under the control of tournament staff, then...
I don't think there's anything to worry about as long as we don't make a foul.
The guy that controls it is the same guy that took over the planet's control centers.
... Alright, but is there anything we could do about it?
... I'll contact Zanark.
Right as she entered the tunnel, the match resumed.
~~~~~
She told the two on the bench that she was going for a quick toilet run, but she had to go all the way to the lobby to escape the cheers of the audience, and even then, she was still able to hear them. Thankfully, it was muffled enough, so she was sure she would be able to hear her brother's voice.
After looking around one last time and making sure she was alone, she activated her bracelet. "Z? You there?"
No reply came. She expected him to appear and immediately teleport her to where she needed to be like he did during their previous calls, but no, that didn't happen either. There was only silence.
"Zanark? The hell, are you asleep?" She tapped on some buttons to make sure she was dialing the right device. Sure enough, it was connected to his bike. "Wha...?"
Suddenly, the holographic screen came to life, making her jump. The boy on the other side of the screen had his expressions hidden by his riding goggles. "Kiko, I know what you're going to say, but can you wait like half an hour?"
"By then, the match will be over and there would be no point in asking you for help." She raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing anyways?"
"Dealing with a natural disaster. You know, the usual."
She tried to look past him to see what exactly the disaster was, but his body was blocking the camera. She could only hear some kind of ruckus going on from behind him. "It's really going to take you half an hour?"
"It's going to take longer if I don't hang up."
"Can't you teleport elsewhere first, help me, then go back to all of that?"
"Nope. If we interrupt the process, we won't make it before it destroys the next town."
So it's not just for fun this time.
It wasn't the first time that they were put into situations like that. El Dorado had given them similar missions in the past as they were the two remaining powered Second Stage Children in their timeline. It was to keep the team from causing problems for the organization too. They deal with all kinds of things that even Perfect Cascade couldn't handle (like disasters, and stray SSCs) in exchange for a clean record. This would only last until both her and their captain got their cures. After that, Zanark Domain would have... near total freedom.
(Their timejumping shenanigans would still be kept under close watch, but as long as they avoided messing with the flow of time, they wouldn't get in trouble.)
She let out a sigh. "Fine... Take care, then."
"Don't worry, no one will die in this match."
Her eyes widened at that, but then again... Of course he'd know. "Thanks."
He gave a two-finger salute. "Toodles!"
And the screen went blank.
It was almost as if the universe heard it too, because right then and there, the cheers only got louder. This time, she was even hearing voices loud for Earth Eleven. So, she made her way back to the audience.
"Wow! Matsukaze and Tsurugi! It's the clash of souls against souls!"
Reaching the top row of the stands, what she found was a chaotic mess of Souls and hissatsus being brought out all over the field. But none of that could compare to how intense the two captains' clashes were whenever they struggled for the ball.
With all the seats packed, she stood next to the exit and leaned against the wall, deciding to watch the rest of the match from there. But even though she was sat the farthest from the match itself, she could still feel the intense layers of energy that their fight was giving off.
Life Energy being thrown here and there and everywhere... Surely, this much is enough, right?
Suddenly, she caught a flash of red from above her. Just as she looked up, the stadium felt multiple waves blowing through, a bright light surrounding them. She could just barely open her eyes enough to confirm that the red really was another beam from the sky, only that it was blocked by the sphere they were encased in.
Thank fucking god... She couldn't have done anything in that situation, so she was glad to know that Zanark was once again right.
When the light dissipated, her eyes trailed back to the field, widening by tenfold.
A wolf and a horse were there.