"Hey Kimiko" Tsurugi piped up as they were doing some practice questions for the upcoming finals.
"Yeah?"
"About that letter you got during the camp, do you know who gave it to you?"
"Nope. I mean like there could be so many people cause almost everyone calls me by my first name"
"Well it must be someone you're close to right? Otherwise they wouldn't write something like this to you"
"It could be Miyazaki-kun" Kimiko suggested.
"What? Why would you think it's him?"
"I don't know. Who else could it be?"
"I don't think it's him"
"You speak as if you know who wrote it"
Tsurugi went quiet, causing Kimiko to look up from her book.
"Wait. You do know don't you?"
"Maybe?"
"Who is it?"
"You figure it out yourself. Thats the reason why its in a riddle in the first place. If I just tell you it wouldn't be fun"
"Fine. I'll do it without your help."
***
"Our next opponent for the nationals will be Haukren Junior High" Aoi-chan announced the next day before practice.
Hakuren? Isn't that Fubuki-san's old school?
Kimiko remembered being introduced to Fubuki Shirou-san at Ichinose-san's wedding. Ace striker of the north and oniichan's old teammate.
"It says here that the trainer for Hakuren is Fubuki-san. Theres still hope." Shindou-san declared happily.
"Fubuki Shirou from Inazuma Japan!?" Tenma asked excitedly.
"Yeah, he was a close friend who player on Endou-san and Trainer Kidou's team"
"Then we might actually get to play a real game this time!"
"Yeah"
***
During practice, everyone worked the hardest they could, with Hikaru-kun cheering at the sidelines. Hakuren was a strong team and everyone couldn't afford to lose just yet.
"Fubuki?" came Endou-san's voice as he noticed the man standing by the pitch.
"It's been a while everyone" said Fubuki-san.
"It really is you"
"So this is Fubuki Shirou-san!?" Tenma shouted with excitement.
"I was worried about you Fubuki. I heard you were removed from your position as Hakuren's trainer and then went missing"
Fubuki smiled dryly.
"Hakuren has fallen into the hands of Fifth Sector. They secretly infiltrated Hakuren and by the time I realised, nearly all the players were under Fifth Sector's control. I was declared as a rebel to the Holy Emperor and was forced out of the school. But there are still good players in there. I want to save them" Fubuki-san explained.
"We'll help you. We will win Hakuren and free them from Fifth Sector" Shindou-san announced.
"Thank you so much Raimon. But, defeating Hakuren will be hard for you as you are right now. Unless you can break down Absolute Barrier, you cannot win"
Fubuki-san and Kidou-san spent some time devising a Hissatsu technique that surpassed Ultimate Thunder and would be able to break through Absolute Barrier. The technique they came up with require two players with speed and enough finishing power to score. The team decided that it would be Tsurugi and Tenma with Kuruma-san as the decoy.
The rest of training was spent practicing the technique. The other players simulated the Absolute Barrier while Tsurugi and Tenma tried to find the technique that would get past it.
"This technique is so much harder than I thought" Tenma complained as they sat down for a water break.
"Have some water Tsurugi" Kimiko offered.
"Thanks" he said with a smile.
"Shindou-san, you have an air mail" Akane-san said, running over from the door to the indoor stadium to hand him an envelope.
"Ryouma? Is this from Nishiki?" Shindou-san read.
"Nishiki?" Sangoku-san asked and Shindou-san handed him the letter for him to read.
"He still goes around talking like Sakamoto Ryouma?" Midori-san commented.
"You know Nishiki?" Kirino-san asked.
"Ryouma and I were in the same class in our first year" Midori-san explained.
"Ryouma? You two must be close" Hamano-san teased.
"N-no we're not"
Shindou-san explained to the first years that Nishiki-san was his good friend and a striker in the club until last year when he got called to play overseas in Italy when they recognised his talents.
"He must be an amazing player!" Aoi-chan said.
"He used to call himself Raimon's score King" Hamano-san laughed.
Then all the seniors gathered around and fought to talk about Nishiki-san.
"I wonder if he would be able to complete this technique if he were still here" Hamano-san wondered aloud.
***
Yukimura-kun. I wonder how you are doing.
The voice of the young boy who he hand trained with his own hands echoed into his mind once again. Yukimura reminded Fubuki of his younger self and he had taught the boy how to master Eternal Blizzard, his own Hissatsu technique.
"So this is where you have been" came a voice from behind.
"Shirosaki. What do you want from me" Fubuki questioned the boy.
Hakuren's new captain and a player from Fifth Sector. What does he intend to do by coming here to see me after they forced me out?
"I just came to give my greetings before the important match" and he clicked his fingers.
"Yukimura!" Fubuki-san called to his student as he ran up to him. His words laced with worry and confusion. "Don't tell me Fifth Sector got to you too"
"Hands off!" the boy shouted, "You betrayed Hakuren and you betrayed me. Now you're just an enemy That I need to defeat"
"That's right Yukimura. Fifth Sector would never betray you" Shirosaki whispered into the boy's ears.
***
Tenma and Tsurugi managed to complete the technique just before the day of the match. Double Wing was the name the team agreed to give this technique that would be able to break down the Absolute Barrier.
Boarding the train to the stadium, Kimiko noticed Fubuki-san's solemn expression as he looked towards the boy sitting across from her. The boy with purple hair gave Kimiko a polite smile when he noticed her staring at him.
She smile back politely and quickly looked away, coming face to face with an angry looking Tsurugi. Kimiko pretended to ignore as Tsurugi looked between her and the boy.
Upon arriving at the stadium, the other managers commented that it was strangely cold. Only when they entered the stadium did they realise the reason why.
Wow, what a coincidence. A match in the Snowland Stadium against a team from the north. This match is totally fair.
Just as Kimiko had predicted, Raimon had a hard time getting used to the slippery floor which was made entirely out of ice. According to Kidou-san, it was better to save Kimiko for a different match because he afraid she wouldn't get to play the important matches if she uses her quota too early on in the competition.
She found herself staring at the same purple head again as they warmed up. He moved swiftly on the ice and his movements were very graceful. There was something in his eyes that seemed different. He looked confused and angered.
He might be one of the players in Hakuren Fubuki-san mentioned that don't follow Fifth Sector.
As the match started, Raimon quickly lost the ball as they slipped and fell due to the icy floor they haven't yet adjusted to. Raimon was going to have a hard time.
The same purple head boy gets the ball and shoots using his Hissatsu technique, Panther Blizzard to effortlessly score Hakuren's first goal. She noticed that the technique was very familiar to Fubuki-san's technique, Eternal Blizzard that she had seen in the videos Haruna-san showed her. Beside her, Kimiko saw Fubuki-san's frustrated expression.
"Who is that boy?" Kimiko decided to ask.
"His name is Yukimura Hyouga. He was my student who I personally trained before Fifth Sector took over. Now, he's under their control and was trained to become a SEED." Fubuki-san explained.
"He's such a good player. His movements and shooting technique are very smooth" Kimiko commented.
"Yeah. His talent is the real thing. I really hope Raimon can win and save Yukimura-kun from Fifth Sector"
"I hope so too. For Raimon's sake, for Hakuren's sake and for the sake of future soccer"