Afternoon came by sooner than expected. They were put into groups by the adults to either gather sticks for a fire, drawing water to cook and drink, catch fish from the lake, or gather fruits from the trees.
Tenma and Shinsuke didn't have to wait long before they got a bite, but their problem started when the fish began pulling back. Ikaros Force and Ikaros Zero flew in, grabbing on to the stick and helping them reel it in.
The two watched in awe as the LBXs flew to their owners' sides, who were also holding soccer balls each. Ban grinned. "Good thing we came when we did."
The two could only smile. "Yeah!"
Meanwhile, not too far away, Eva watched warily as Kimiko pulled out a blaster out of her boot. The latter gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Saru trained me for weeks. And I won't be using bullets this time."
Eva blinked at the claws she put on. "A grapple?"
"Yup! I have all kinds of different tools that I could install into this. Could you please move that bucket over to my right?" She did. "Thanks. Now, you might want to stand back."
Eva witnessed in awe as she reeled in multiple fish at a time. It didn't take long for the small bucket to be full of fish. "I think that's enough for everyone." She then blinked. "Or actually, hang on. I think we should release the smaller ones back into the water."
Kimiko looked down and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. They wouldn't make much of a meal anyway. I'll go get another-"
"Here." Before she could go anywhere, Tsurugi appeared, holding out another bucket to her. There was an even larger can cradled in his other arm. He must've poured the water from the bucket into it already. "You need it more than I do, and I owed you for earlier."
Her eyes lit up. As always, you're so attentive and kind... "Thanks! You don't owe me anything, though." He gave her a shrug before leaving. She and Eva quickly separated the fishes before heading back to the campsite.
~~~~~
"And well..." Kimiko made a rather exasperated face. "I flew off the bike and landed inside the box."
"That must've hurt..." Aoi grimaced.
Akane nodded. "It's a good thing nothing was broken."
"The professor sure could do with better timing, though." She sighed before turning to the other blonde next to her. "What about you, Eva? What were you doing before he dragged you into the box?"
"Oh, I was..." Her eyes darted to the alternate timeline versions of her friends. "We were heading out to the arcade to play. Takuya-san gave us the day off because we've been helping a bit too much with the clean-up after the latest incident." Then she her face fell. "Although, I think they might've cancelled it when I disappeared."
Kimiko blinked before realizing the same thing. "Shoot, I forgot. Fei's probably going nuts. Hope he won't make too big a deal about it, much-less tell Masato-nii... or Shuuya-nii..."
Tsurugi turned to her. "Shuuya? As in-"
"Gouenji Shuuya, yeah. He's my foster cousin." She ignored the surprised looks the soccer children gave her, mainly because she's gone through this before and would prefer not to again.
"Which is why I had taken the liberty to let them all know where you've gone!" A familiar laugh interrupted their conversation. The space-time professor appeared, smiling wide. "This is for Kimiko." He handed her a letter. "And Eva, can you hold out your um... phone, please?" He held up a strange device.
"You mean my CCM? Sure." She took it out and almost immediately, it beeped. A video message? She'll have to check it later.
"Thanks, professor!" Kimiko smiled, already opening hers. It was a single piece of paper with multiple hand writings scribbled on it.
Come back quick. Beta and Gamma are unbearable. -Alpha
(To Alpha: What's that supposed to mean?!) Go, go, girl power! Show them what you're made of, Kimiko! -Beta
(To A&B: I hate to agree with either of you, so I won't) Try to hurry back. Zanark is looking for other toys and none of us want to be it! -Gamma
This letter will not help you save the world, so I do not understand why we are writing it to you. Nevertheless, good luck. -Rei
The power of love will be your greatest strenght! -Meia and Giris <3
You really scared us... Fei would've called your friends from the past if the professor hadn't shown up. Use the ampule gun wisely. -Saru
(To Saru: Don't tell her that!) I wish we could've been there for you, but I suppose two of me in the same timeline would've caused a catastrophe instead. Though, since it's you, I guess I don't have to worry. Don't use the ampules unless you really have to! You know the side-effects. Good luck saving the world! -Fei
Finally, there were arrows pointing at all the other texts, branching from the last message, which was noticeably written in a much larger and messier font than the rest.
I knew they were all going to say that. Enjoy the adventure, but don't take too long. We have a race to finish! -Z
Kimiko smiled. "Aww, they all missed me."
~~~~~
It was a peaceful night. The absence of buildings made the dark sky clear to see, and with it, millions of stars.
She peaked out of the tent, almost entranced by the tiny lights. Slowly, she sat up from her sleeping bag and wiggled her way out. Stepping on to the grass, she glanced back once more to make sure the rest were still asleep. Then, she wandered off, not noticing a single person wide awake.
She looked over all the tents, as well as the nature around them. This reminded her a little too much about the villa from the year before. But they were all here... relatively.
~~~~~
"Whoa! It looks like I can touch the sky!" Tenma smiled as he held a hand out to the stars. He was currently stargazing on top of the Duck Shuttle.
"And like the stars are covering us." Hiro added. "Let's invite the others to see this next time."
The brunette's face fell. "I wonder how they're doing... Endou-san and the rest who disappeared. Friends from Raimon Junior High."
"I'm sure they're fine." Shindou replied.
Tsurugi's eyes narrowed. "As long as we don't give up."
"This isn't a time for us to be sad. Because you're the captain."
"That's right!" Ban sat up, turning to him. "Not giving up is the key. We have the same feelings to fight with."
"That's right." Hiro was up now too. "Come on, Tenma."
"Ban... Hiro..." Finally, Tenma joined them, smiling once again, Shindou following his lead.
"What a wonderful feeling. We might have been chasing the same star before we met each other." Hiro smiled.
"That may very well be true." Shindou looked up to the sky once more before turning back to them. "It's getting really late. We should head back to our tents."
"Oh, right. Wouldn't want the others to finish breakfast without us." They all began to head down, but Tenma stopped when he realized one of them was left behind. "Tsurugi? Are you coming?"
The blue haired boy looked back at him before shaking his head. "No, you go on ahead. I'm not sleepy yet."
"Oh, alright then."
"Don't stay up too late, Tsurugi." Shindou reminded him sternly, almost like a mother. He simply dismissed them with a wave.
Once he was sure they've gone into their tents, he stalked down and went to hid in the trees. He found a blonde sitting not too far from the TM Caravan, staring blankly towards the lake. It was dark, so it was hard to tell whether this one had pink streaks in her hair or not, but he was curious to what she was doing out here all by herself. He tried to get closer, still keeping himself hidden behind the large trunks, making sure to be a quiet as possible. By the time he reached the edge of the foliage, he could hear a singing voice.
'We've almost reached the sky
The morning as it gets brighter is right around the corner'
He was now sure that was Eva.
'Yet you look depressed for some reason
It's not like you
Don't look down so much
Look around you...'
He heard footsteps and another voice cutting her off.
'Take my hand and let's walk together
We're right next to you
Nothing scares us
Those wounds of yours
Will turn into scars one day
As soon as they change
You'll get stronger'
Then that has to be Kimiko. He heard her chuckle. "'Issho ni Arukou'. I know that song too. It must be one of the convergences that Professor Aruno mentioned."
"Kimiko..." He could hear the smile in her voice too. "Our worlds are really closely linked, huh... I was so surprised to hear that your timeline has a Prime Minister Zaizen too."
"Yeah, that's really weird. But to think, things like songs could be converged too... Who sung that song in your world?"
"Oh, it was by Little Blue Box and TPK. They were the top two bands in my timeline, with Little Blue Box being at the top of the charts usually."
"And that's where we differ. In my world, TPK is more popular than Little Blue Box."
"Wow, it's really strange how these things work, huh?"
"Yeah, tell me about it. But Eva, you have a really nice voice. Does Jin like music too?"
"Jin's not really into-... W-wait, why are you asking about him specifically?!"
"It's... kind of obvious. He's the one you're closest too, right? I could see some sparks going off in your head whenever you look at him. I would say you two must be dating in your timeline, but... I think if you're acting this way, then it must still be in the crushing stage."
"M-Miko!"
"Bullseye?"
"Shush!" He would probably have felt bad if he hadn't agreed with Kimiko. It really was too obvious that the girl had a thing for the black and white haired boy, especially after the tension in their battle. He wondered how no one else had caught on.
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Kimiko's voice caught his attention again. "Well, I'm not surprised. He looks like he grew up in a really uptight place."
"Yeah..."
"On the other hand, Kyou used to like TPK a lot. His brother too." He felt himself tense up.
"Tsurugi has a brother?"
"Yeah, an older brother, Yuuichi-san. Those two really liked TPK, and they used to make me sing along with them when we hang out. Kyou's favorite was 'Uchi Kudaku'."
"I think I've heard of that one before... Can you sing it, Miko?"
She got a nervous laugh in reply. "I think so? But it's a loud song, and it's kind of late... It'll be embarrassing if the others woke up all of a sudden."
"We're pretty far from the campsite, so it should be okay. Please, Miko?"
"Well... I mean... Gosh, stop looking at me like that, Eva! You're making it very hard for me to say no!" She sighed. "Fine. Here goes nothing..."
'Smash it!
(Dark, dark)
On the path we proceed on
A mysterious shadow suddenly closes in
(Dark, dark)
The black shadow
Tries to taint the pure white heart
I won't forgive those who play around with people's heart!
What blocks your path
Is always the weakness in your heart, right?
Don't hesitate! You just have to go
There's no other path for you
Yell it in the darkness!
Having something to protect makes us stronger
Than not having anything to protect
When we seriously feel, "I want to protect it!"
That's when
We can truly become strong!
Smash it!'
He heard Eva's laughter. "That was amazing, Miko! And I can see why Tsurugi would like that song. With what I've seen from him so far, the song itself suits his image." It then got quieter and quieter, until, "Kimiko? Are you okay?"
"I... I was just thinking... We don't exist in this timeline, so they have no idea who we are..."
"... That's right, but-"
"I know that it doesn't matter. I know that they're not the Kyousuke, Tenma, Hakuryuu, and others that I know, but... They could go this far without knowing who we are... Which meant that, even if we never existed in our own timeline..." It wouldn't matter. He knew that was what she wanted to say. She took a shaky breath. "This... really sucks..."
"... I mean, I agree, but-"
"And it's not just that, it's... Eva, I told you all that I'm from 200 years in the future, right? And there was that whole 'time travel, adoption, and circumstance' thing that happened?"
"Yes...?"
"Well... Long story short, I was born 200 years in the future, got sent into the past, got adopted by the Gouenji family, grew up and went to Raimon Junior High with Kyou, chaos ensues, time travel stuff happens, bla bla bla, we played matches against future children, and then I found out about my lineage..." There was a short pause before she continued. "When it was time for us to part... I didn't stay with them. I wanted to find out more about myself. Staying in the future was my best shot at that... Kyou wasn't happy with my decision."
"Well... I can understand that... I'd be upset too if my best friend was going to leave me, no matter how long a time it'll be." Eva's tone made it sound like it had happened before.
"... Upset enough to want to forget me?" He swore he heard her choke. "I didn't want to think about it at first, but what if... the Kyou in my timeline also didn't want to think I existed? What if I... What if I hurt him with that decision?" He bit his lip. He's sure she's sobbing right now. "He's always been there for me when we were little... For me to stay in the future like that... Was that... Was that selfish of me?"
A part of him was screaming that he had heard enough. He should never had eavesdropped like this. But there he was, listening to a smaller part of himself that said it's too late to turn back. He might as well hear whatever's next.
"Kimiko... I don't think that'll happen." Eva's tone dropped. This was perhaps the most serious he had ever heard her be. "Believe me, I've experienced my fair share of being abandoned... But no matter how much it hurt, I know I'll never forget them. Even when we're apart like this... Especially at times like this is when my memory of them is the most vivid, because that's just how much they mean to me. If my best friend left me, for any reason, for any length of time, I'll wait for them. I'll wait for them for a thousand years if I have to, but I will never lose my faith. I'll believe towards the end that they'll return." Her voice got softer, a little hint of joy in them. "And I'll wish them good luck in their quest every single day, and hope they come back with the biggest smiles on their faces."
"... Do you think he's wishing me luck right now?"
"I know he is. Because if he means so much to you that you'd worry about that, you must mean just as much to him."
"... Thanks, Eva. you're the best parallel-timeline-twin anyone could ever ask for."
"I can only feel this way because you're here, Miko. How levelheaded you were when this fiasco started really gave me a lot of strength and courage. I'm only giving back what you gave me."
She grunted. "So we're saving each other? Good thing we're doing this early on. Now we can focus on saving everyone else."
Eva chuckled. "I guess we can." She turned to the sky before nodding. "We should probably head back to bed now."
"Yeah..." Kimiko yawned. "Wouldn't want the others to steal our breakfast."
The footsteps faded fairly quickly, leaving him to his thoughts. He knew he wasn't the Tsurugi Kyousuke she was talking about, yet why did he felt so bad? There was a second when he felt like he should've been the one comforting her, and not Eva. Yet, it had nothing to do with him... right?
He headed back to camp with muddled thoughts. One thing's for sure, any doubt he had of them is gone. They were just two more souls unfortunate enough to get caught in the mess.
~~~~~~~~~~
Issho ni Arukou (Translation: Let's Walk Together) is the song that played in the movie, when the children were all hanging out together.
Uchi Kudaku (Translation: Smash It) is the fourth opening of Inazuma Eleven GO