3 Weeks Ago, Zeus Northern Forest Path
Bang Bang Bang
Khronoa dodged the falling leaves from the shaking trees that had just been hit fiercely by the ball that was still zig zagging its way along the path of dark trees. With the forest lit only by the last rays of the setting sun, shadows flickered upon her face as she silently chased after the ball. Khronoa's lungs heaved up and down laboriously as she raced along the steep forest trail while the distance between her and the ball rapidly increasing until a loud 'thwunk' indicated the ball had finally stopped upon hitting an imposing evergreen tree.
"Hah..."
Running her left hand on the cracked and rough bark of the tree, Khronoa's eyes drooped melancholically as the ball rolled along the roots of the tree with the wind.
Was all of their efforts up to this point for naught?
It seemed like no matter how hard they tried, they would never be able to overcome the gap between them and Outei Tsukinomiya, or more specifically, the 'Child of Soccer' Tamaki Takashima...
Khronoa had never felt such...distance from another person before. Even with their upgraded individual hissatsus, they still hadn't been able to stop Tamaki in the slightest from soloing them with his perfect individual plays. And so, Khronoa wasn't able to suppress the doubt inside of her that was telling her the practice she was doing right now was futile.
Giving the ball a half-hearted kick, Khronoa muttered despairingly,
"It's not useless...right?"
Drowning in the waves of helplessness that were washing over her, Khronoa didn't notice the ball flying back in an arc towards her and let out a small 'Oh' as the ball swirled in front of her feet.
Looking upwards, Khronoa found herself staring at a tall, well-built man, possibly in his late twenties or early thirties and stood out due to his clearly foreign features.
"You dropped this, young lady."
Khronoa bowed quickly in apology with one hand over her chest, and let her hair fly over her face while she respectfully replied,
"I'm sorry for troubling you. Thank you for returning it."
Not hearing a response, Khronoa peeked through her strands of hair and was surprised to see the man had sat down along the big tree and begun staring upwards at the pink-orange sunset.
"Japan is very beautiful, isn't it?"
Unsure whether or not the man was simply musing to himself or seeking a reply, Khronoa nodded politely and decided to comment,
"Yes, it's very beautiful..."
Hmm
Letting out a sigh, the man took in a deep breath through his nostrils and stretched his arms like a cat before turning to Khronoa and giving her a kind smile.
"Do I sound too much like an old man?"
The man laughed at himself heartily and continued,
"It sure does bring back memories, being back in Japan..."
Eyes glazing over nostalgically, the man stroked his chin while looking at the ball, now resting at Khronoa's feet.
"I saw your match the other day with Outei Tsukinomiya, it was a great game! It looks like Japan's soccer continues to have a bright future with talented young players like you, young lady...or should I say Ms.No 10."
Feeling her face flush with a strawberry pink tinge, Khronoa closed her eyes tightly and waved her hands in front of her face hurriedly.
"No...no...That's very kind of you sir but I'm really not that good at all...And we still ended up losing in the end so...."
"And so losing makes you a bad player then?"
"What? No! Umm...That's not what I meant...I just..."
"I understand, I was just teasing. However, don't let the frustration of defeat cloud your judgement, young lady. I was in the same position as you before..."
Eyes widening, Khronoa let out a small gasp and asked in astonishment,
"Even you Mr.Ardena?"
Cocking an eyebrow, Fideo smiled mischievously and asked with humour in his voice,
"So you knew me after all?
Khronoa realised she had slipped up, and with the jig up she nodded shyly and answered in a small voice.
"I thought Mr.Ardena would be burdened if you knew I was a fan. I'm sorry for the deception."
"It's fine, you don't have to be so concerned about the small stuff...."
Khronoa watched as Fideo seemed to be struggling for a name and was quick to offer up an answer.
"Khronoa. My name is Khronoa Yoshizawa, Mr.Ardena."
"I see, it's nice to meet you Yoshizawa-san."
Satisfied that the pleasantries were out of the way, Fideo got up and motioned with Khronoa to pass the ball and began to dribble with it mindlessly.
"I'm not sure if you know but in my first year participating in the FFI, I was the captain of Italy's National team, the Orpheus."
Khronoa clasped her hands with stars in her eyes as Fideo recounted his memories of his first Football Frontier International and responded enthusiastically,
"Of course I know it! My friends and I watched it together when we joined the club team at Zeus! It's the first FFI that the legendary Inazuma Japan won! I wasn't able to watch it live unfortunately because I was only one year old at the time...but it's one of my favourite FFIs to watch and is widely considered one of the best FFIs of all time!"
Kugh.
Fideo feigned being stabbed and coughing up blood, upon hearing that Khronoa was only one year old during his first FFI and gathered the mental strength to continue despite that lovely reminder of how old he was now.
"Yes, well, under my leadership we lost miserably to the Cotarl National team, Little Gigant in the semifinals and unlike your match the other day, we weren't even able to score a single goal..."
"But that was so long ago Mr.Ardena! Not to mention that you led the Italian national team to victory in the U-20 World Cup only four years later and then continued to make a name for yourself in the Pro League while becoming one of the youngest recipients of the Ballon d'Or!"
"Ah, it's a little embarrassing when you put it that way heh."
Rubbing his nose a bit awkwardly as Khronoa continued to praise him enthusiastically, Fideo stopped her with his hand and coughed to clear his throat.
"Ahem, well it wasn't as easy as the media would want you to believe and it all started with our defeat to Little Gigant if you can believe it. After that match, all of the Orpheus members trained tirelessly...We worked with a new coach, new trainers, joined different teams, found new mentors, new rivals, studied tactics endlessly...
We did whatever it took to change...
To win...
We may have lost the U-20 the first year we participated but we took that defeat and finally were able to make that a springboard for our revenge against the Cotarl U-20 team in the next World Cup and win! So don't ever cower in fear of the powerful because what's strongest doesn't stay that way forever and the next strongest thing is always waiting inside of you!"
Khronoa didn't know whether or not she should applaud as Fideo put his hands on his hips inspiringly, but despite her appreciation for the older man's pep talk, the thought of taking on Outei Tsukinomiya still made her nervous and so she bit her lip with worry as the older man closed his mouth to see her response.
"You don't seem convinced, Yoshizawa-san."
"No! I am! It's just that..." hesitated Khronoa before deciding to reveal her true thoughts.
"It's just that...I want to win, no, I want my team to win now, not next year....Rhea-san and the other senpai only have one more year left and this is our last chance to win as the team we are now! Isn't there someway we can get stronger just a little bit...faster?"
Hahaha
Clutching his belly with his left arm, Fideo wiped the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes with his right and reassured the blushing Khronoa,
"I'm not laughing at you, Yoshizawa-san...You just remind me of someone I know..."
Then, face turning serious, he spoke in a lower voice causing the atmosphere to turn dark, as the sun finally disappeared from the sky, leaving the two under the moonlight and few lamps that illuminated the path and surrounding area.
"Have you heard the saying La gatta frettolosa ha fatto i gattini ciechi?"
A bit confused at why Khronoa was staring at him blankly at first, Fideo quickly corrected himself and repeated,
"Hmm...sorry, I think the Japanese say...急がば回れ (If you rush, you'll go around in circles)?"
"Ah yes..."
Now understanding the intention behind Fideo's words, Khronoa's face turned downcast as she realised if even Fideo was saying it then it truly seemed that Zeus's prospects in the upcoming Holy Road were bleak.
"Don't look too disappointed, Yoshizawa-san. Even if you lack individual strength right now, that doesn't mean you can't win. Besides, soccer isn't a sport played by one person so why are you trying to do everything by yourself?"
"That wasn't my intention at all! It's just..."
Khronoa closed her eyes and felt her body stiffen as she remembered the fallen bodies of her teammates after their battle against Outei Tsukinomiya. Though she was more aware than anybody that soccer was a team sport, she still didn't want to risk her teammates getting hurt if she could help it.
"Are your teammates that weak?"
"No! No..."
"Then, how about you go tell your friends over there to stop hiding and come out so we can start training?"
Ignoring her initial shock at hearing Fideo say 'we', Khronoa processed the first part of his words first.
"What?!"
Whipping her head around so fast that she almost fell over, Khronoa saw a very familiar patch of spiky sun-orange hair sticking out from behind one of the trees like an orange pineapple and put her hands on her hips knowing much too well who it was.
"Prometheus Yoshizawa, what do you think you're doing here? The doctor said you weren't supposed to do any strenuous activity and you know mom said not to leave the house for at least a week!"
A bit abashedly, Prometheus walked outwards from behind the tree and whined in response to Khronoa's rebuke.
"It's not my fault! Selene nee-san is the one who said we should follow you! Besides, I'm feeling completely fine so mom is just worrying for nothing..."
However, Prometheus was interrupted by a shrill scream and the shaking of a tree as a girl jumped down from the upper branches.
"What did you say you little piece of crap?!" screamed Selene as Prometheus was shamelessly throwing her under the bus. After hearing Prometheus's comment she couldn't help but drop from her hiding spot in the tree and stare at the young boy with murderous flames in her eyes.
"Don't listen to this dumbass, Noa! He was the one who said we should see what you're up to and I was just following him along to make sure he didn't get into any trouble like usual! And it's not like I was the only one..."
Deciding if she was going to going down, then she wasn't going down alone, Selene turned around and let out a crisp bark,
"Hey, you guys! Get over here! Now!"
"Oh, what lovely weather today! Fancy meeting you all here!" replied a melodic voice from a few trees over.
"Rhea-san?" asked Khronoa with disbelief mixed into her voice, recognising the mellifluous voice of their captain.
Brushing some dirt and leaves from her clothes, Rhea smiled as if she hadn't just been sitting in a bush the past ten minutes and was followed by the rest of the Zeus members who had all been summoned to the woody area by Selene and Prometheus.
"If our 'Saintess' was training this late, we couldn't just let her do it all by herself now could we?" said Rhea in an indignant tone.
"That's right! We came because we were worried about you!" followed up Menoetius with cheerful exuberance as the other members nodded their heads in agreement.
"You guys..."
Seeing the ten Zeus members standing side-by-side in front of her, all of Khronoa's worries dissipated like morning mist under the first rays of sun and a warmth spread through her body that filled her with newfound assurance.
"Khronoa-san. We're not as weak as you think. Whether we win or lose...we'll do it as a team, so don't think you'll be fighting alone! As long as we're here, we'll always have your back, is that understood?" said Rhea authoritatively as she made eye contact with Khronoa.
Face now loosening up, Khronoa's lips turned up softly and she answered back fluidly,
"Understood."
Present, Zeus vs Susanoo Quarterfinal Match. Susanoo Stadium.
"Kekekekeke"
Licking his lizard-like tongue in an enthusiastic manner, Senna smiled greedily as he saw the Zeus members get into a 3-5-2 formation in front of them. It was exactly like Nosaka-san had informed them.
The mighty gods of Zeus Academy were no more.
Just like the preliminaries, it seemed that Zeus would be attempting a defensive formation in order to hide like the snivelling cowards they had become.
It was all pointless, no matter what tricks or defensive strategies they tried today...
Senna would be sure to devour them in their entirety. While he had never eaten a god before there was no time like the present and Senna would be sure to savour every last morsel during their match today.
"K-K-Kaibushi-san. What do you want m-me to do this match?"
Irritated that someone was interrupting his inner fantasising, Senna turned his head to where a much larger girl was towering over him and squirming as if she were embarrassed just to be standing on the field. Though Senna couldn't see her face due to a custom hood that she had added to her kit, somehow the inability to see her face made him feel even more annoyed.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Just do what you always do and don't get in my way. I don't know why Nosaka-san put a useless player like you on my team but I'll be the one to score the goals, so just sit back and watch the show Okumi-chan."
Meekly hiding her arms behind her back, Okumi whispered something that Senna couldn't hear as the younger boy got ready for the kickoff to begin.
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[WELCOME TO THE SECOND QUARTERFINAL MATCH OF THE 2XXX HOLY ROAD AT SUSANOO STADIUM! WHOEVER COMES OUT VICTORIOUS TODAY WILL BE FIGHTING RAIMON IN THE SEMIFINALS NEXT WEEK! WHO WILL THE GODDESS OF VICTORY SHINE ON TODAY? THE GODS OF ZEUS ACADEMY OR THE GRADUATES OF PROJECT MARS, SUSANOO ACADEMY?]
Mmmmm
Moaning with ecstatic delight, Senna giggled as he aggressively began to charge by himself through Zeus's midfield, wasting no time as he evaded the centre and right midfielders Iapetus and Polus. Seeing their stunned looks of stupidity as he evaded their sloppy movements made his heart race and face flush with pleasure. There truly was nothing better than crushing the egos of arrogant geniuses and seeing their faces distort with resentment and vexation.
Slurp
"How's it feel to be defeated by a mortal?" screamed Senna widely as he made his final dash into Zeus's inside left channel with his tongue hanging out and saliva dripping from the tip.
"What the–?"
Narrowing his snake-like, slimy green eyes with suspicion, Senna watched carefully as he felt six presences surround him in a hexagonal formation.
"You're not taking a step further Kaibushi-san!"
Swivelling around, Senna's vision was quickly covered by a wave of long, yellow-orange hair attached to a girl who was currently spinning around him whilst in the middle of stealing the ball smoothly.
Susanoo Stadium Stands, South Side
"It looks like the rumours that the 'White Meteor of Italy' was in Japan this month were true after all" muttered Nosaka under his breath lazily. With his usual disinterested eyes he didn't seem surprised as he watched Senna quickly surrounded by the seven Zeus players organised by Khronoa Yoshizawa. Leisurely moving his gaze to Yuka who was leaning on the railing beside him, Nosaka looked on as the boy's void black eyes showed a faint glint of interest before disappearing.
"You recognise that formation?" asked Nosaka knowingly.
"Mmm."
Giving Nosaka a grunt of acknowledgement, Yuka answered in a prickly manner while continuing to watch the match attentively
"I'm not an idiot, anyone who's worth anything knows that's the..."
Present, Zeus vs Susanoo Quarterfinals
Hissatsu Tactics : Catenaccio Counter!
"Iapetus!" shouted Khronoa after smoothly stealing the ball away from Senna.
"You got it, Miss Yoshizawa! No way, these slowpokes will be able to keep up with my legs!" quipped back a rather long-legged boy, with cloud-like hair.
Seeing two Susanoo defensive midfielders rush towards him robotically, Iapetus snorted and jumped upwards into the air creating a big vacuum of wind around the three players. Jumping across the small tornado, Iapetus kicked the ball a few times while doing precise, successive kicks until the tornado dissipated sending both Saburo Ito and Kei Nakamura flying into the air.
Dance of the Wind God!
"Selene-san!"
"Not too shabby Iapetus" cried out Selene as she trapped the ball behind her before using her left heel to flick it over her head and then sending it flying whilst still midair to the awaiting Khronoa.
"Noa!!"
Hup
Flying upwards, Khronoa's hair flew around wildly as clouds gathered above the stadium and she began to surround herself with a dazzling, golden light.
WHITE HURRICANE!
[GOALLL! Zeus takes the lead with a brilliant usage of 'Catenaccio Counter' to contain Susanoo forward Senna Kaibushi and turn that into a tactful counterattack that was finished by Japan's Current Rank No.2 Forward 'Khronoa Yoshizawa! A textbook and skillful execution by Zeus here at Susanoo Stadium today.]
Grinding his molars nervously, Senna felt sweat drip off his reptilian skin as he gazed at the celebrating Zeus members who were currently lifting Khronoa on their shoulders. There had been nothing in the data Nosaka sent him that indicated Zeus could utilise 'Catenaccio Counter'.
Licking his lips that had dried, Senna did a quick survey of the field. While he could get the useless dead weights Nosaka had assigned to the team to defend using those things, they would be hard pressed to get past Zeus's annoying heavy low-press formation considering no one on their team was particularly skilled at dribbling...
Covering his eyes as he realised they had been completely outplayed by Zeus, Senna laughed as he stood in the middle of the field by his lonesome.
Hahahahaha.
HAHAHAHA.
Hearing the shrill laughter, Khronoa's skin began to crawl as their previously triumphant mood was soured by Senna's laughter that sounded as if he were dying or swimming in a vat of toxic chemicals.
"Don't let your guard down! Let's keep up the defensive pressure and don't give them any gaps to exploit!" exclaimed Rhea as she stared at Senna warily. As the captain of Zeus's team for two years in a row, that boy gave her an eerie feeling for some reason that was different from Tamaki...
While Tamaki had given an impression of being untouchable due to his mesmerising plays, Senna gave off a much more...malevolent aura that seemed to be reaching deep into her core.
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With the match restarting, Okumi watched agitatedly as she passed the ball to Senna at the kickoff. While she knew he was unhinged, it seemed like he had completely lost whatever semblance of rationality he had was remaining after the shock of losing the first point and so she worriedly called out timidly,
"K-Kaibushi-san?"
However, Senna ignored her words and paused with the ball at centerfield and looked downwards with his shoulders shaking. Then, looking upwards at the sky his face became truly wretched as he howled at the Zeus members,
"If you're going to act like cowards and hide like the pathetic fallen gods you are then I'll just have to shoot from here!"
And with that, jumping up with the ball trapped between his legs, Senna kicked the ball straight upwards into the air while in the midst of a backwards flip. As the ball floated in the air, two large circles began to surround the ball diagonally as fierce winds began to surround the ball. Then, the winds became increasingly violent until they reached storm levels with Senna performing one final leap back into the air before giving the ball a violent kick which summoned two ferocious dragons from the two circles that then coalesced into one large azure dragon.
DRAGON GENESIS!!
Susanoo Stadium Stands, North Side
"Aniki! Aniki! Aniki! That's your hissatsu isn't it?"
Mouth hanging open, as he watched the Susanoo striker performing the same movements as their older brother, Daigiichi looked at the field below and then back at Seiryuu then back and forth until his head began to spin and he saw birds flying around him.
Not really watching the match, Seiryuu continued cutting apple slices for the other Eisei members who were all sitting around him and Suzaku, the duo currently feeding the other members while Haruka who was off to the side continued taking notes on her laptop.
Replying nonchalantly, he answered confidently,
"It's only natural for apes to copy the behaviour of a superior species Daigiichi. But, they'll soon realise...."
Pausing, Seiryuu looked at his reflection in the knife he was holding before letting out a light laugh of derision
"That you can only get so far with a cheap imitation."
Present, Zeus vs Susanoo Quarterfinals
"Prometheus Yoshizawa!" cried out Khronoa with exasperation.
She thought he would have learned his lesson after their dangerous match with Outei Tsukinomiya but Prometheus was still up to his usual antics and lounging in the goal,picking his nose as the azure dragon hurtled towards the goal.
She had already told him a thousand times not to play in the pitch but Prometheus still insisted that it was 'more fun' to make a last minute save. However, this didn't comfort her at all and so she still closed her eyes as the dragon opened its maw and began to devour the goal and Prometheus's small body.
Brazen Theft
Knocking on the ground twice with his right knuckle while still on the ground, Prometheus smirked mischievously as the dragon and ball were led up a tall mountain that emerged from the ground. Then the world turned black as darkness covered the field with the dragon beginning to lose its luminescence as it climbed the mountain until finally, upon reaching the tip it dimmed until only a small flame could be seen lighting up the field. Disappearing from the ground, Prometheus reappeared behind the flame and gave it a kick that sent it flying across the darkened sky before teleporting back on the ground.
"Damn it!"
Watching the flaming ball arc over his head, Senna swore as he saw the ball quickly picked up by an athletic girl with purple hair, who bounded across the field with the ball before stopping in front of the goal.
With no choice, Senna forced his mouth open and shouted,
"Permission granted! Project Mars : Level Delta Approved!"
Receiving their orders, two Susanoo defenders, Minoru Ishikawa and Minakami Takagi ran up to Selene who was preparing to shoot and blocked her roughly while yelling in grating voices,
Dark Keshin : Vengeful Shade
Dark Keshin : Vengeful Shade
"What the hell—"
Selene did her best to dodge the wispy tendrils that were extending from the strange hooded figures that had appeared behind the Susanoo defenders but swore when she realised the ball had already been stolen from her.
"Defence, watch out!"
"If that didn't work, then how about this!"
Not willing to give up his meal, Senna persistently forced the Susanoo members to send the ball back up to him but no sooner had he crossed into Zeus's defensive zone did he find himself yet again surrounded by a hexagonal formation of Zeus players.
Hissatsu Tactics : Catenaccio Counter!
"Gah!!"
Frustrated as he aggressively fought for possession of the ball with Khronoa who yet again managed to steal it away from him, his ears perked when he heard an annoying voice calling out to him.
"Kaibushi-san!!! I-I'm coming to helppp!"
Eyes widening, Khronoa and the other Zeus members fell into disarray as Okumi lumbered over carelessly and using her large build managed to get past Menoetius and Phoebe easily with the two falling over like twigs. Not missing a beat, Senna moved instantly to take advantage of the confusion and lunged forwards from behind to steal the ball while Khronoa was still distracted.
"Have a test of your own medicine, you idiot gods!"
Jumping upwards into the sky in an all too familiar manner, Senna let out a loud roar as storm clouds gathered over the stadium. Letting golden light wrap and envelop the ball, Senna gave a fierce kick that sent a fierce tornado of light flying towards the goal.
White Hurricane!
"My hissatsu too?" exclaimed Khronoa with wonder in her voice. She had already been taken by surprise to find out that Senna was capable of using 'Dragon Genesis' but now he was using 'White Hurricane' as well?!
"Don't worry Khronoa, we got you covered!"
Rushing over to defend, Rhea let out a yell while a void emerged to suck in the shoot,
Door of Origin!
"Ughhhh..."
Blown back, Rhea fell to the ground while a girl with an orange eyepatch over her left eye ran to support her. Whistling with her right hand, Phoebe lifted the eyepatch with her left hand and chanted,
"Howling song of the roaring dragon, highest power of the frozen tundra, flames from the lowest depths of the underworld. Hear my prayer! Surge forth and stand witness to this sacred covenant. Awaken the Spirit of the Further Order!"
GHOSTS OF FORGOTTEN PAST!
As tombstones emerged from the ground in a semicircle, ghostly apparitions in the shape of three emperor penguins materialised in front of the ball and spun in a circle until a large cyclone guided the ball to the sidelines.
"Shit."
Irritated but not surprised, Senna watched as the two Zeus defenders managed to clear the ball before it could make it to the goal. His interest lied elsewhere right now...
"OKUMI!"
Jumping out of her skin at Senna's harsh yell, Okumi put her index fingers awkwardly against each other in fear that she had done something wrong and answered meekly,
"Yes, Kaibushi-san?"
"If you could play like that, then why haven't you been playing like that this entire time?"
"I thought you said 'Just do what you always do and don't get in my way. I don't know why Nosaka-san put a useless player like you on my team but I'll be the one to score the goals, so just sit back and watch the show'..." recollected Okumi, not missing a single word spat out by Senna at the beginning of the match.
"If you have such a uselessly large body then you might as well use it so just forget about the past and focus on the now!"
"But I'll look like a m-monster if I do any more solo plays...and Nosaka-sama said that if I joined Project Mars he would make me an i-idol!" refuted Okumi though her voice began to trail off as Senna began to stare at her with more and more intensity as if she had begun speaking a foreign language.
"Is that what Nosaka promised you? Why the hell would you want to become an idol? They're just idiots who dance and sing on stage while acting like babies. Playing football is better in every possible way!"
Upon hearing her idols being insulted, Okumi's inner fan burst forth and in a passionate outcry yelled back at Senna,
"Take that back! Idols are cute, pretty and work hard to be loved by their fans! They give love, receive love and are an inspiration to people across the globe! They sweat and sacrifice their bodies for the happiness of others and make the world a better place! Being an idol is one of the most noble professions in the world and I won't let even you insult them Kaibushi-san! Someone like me however...Someone with a body like this..."
Wilting as she looked at her large statured body that was easily the tallest on the field despite being one of the youngest players, Okumi's voice cracked and mumbled,
"Someone as big as me could never be 'kawaii' because I'm just a monster...T-That's why when Nosaka promised he could change me and help me become an idol...O-Of course I had to say yes! There's no way someone like me could become an idol through normal means after all...Don't you get it Kaibushi-san! I want to be graceful and beautiful...and loved too!"[1]
"...."
Senna watched wordlessly as big, gooey tears began to drip from the face that was hidden by the unicorn pink hoodie and rain down on his face. Then, standing on his tippy toes he reached out with his hands and grabbed her by the face to drag her head down so they could speak face to face.
"Did you become dumb or were you born this dumb? Your body is way more beautiful than those tiny idols so stop comparing yourself to those idiotic prancing dolls and start appreciating that stupidly gigantic body of yours. I'd kill to have your height and build so I don't want to hear your bitching anymore you freakin' giant."
Overheating from Senna's words, Okumi felt dazed and fell to her knees while Senna continued,
"Someone like you who was born exceptional would never understand what it's like to be completely normal after all. Average height, average hair colour, average eye colour! Everything about me has been unremarkable since the day I was born but you didn't hear me whining like a big baby, bemoaning my birth did you? If I couldn't be born remarkable then I'll just work hard to devour all of you so-called geniuses and make you lick the ground beneath my feet! So stop whimpering about your dumbass idols and start moving!!! Now!"
"Y-You think I'm beautiful?"
"What?"
Blushing with rosy cheeks underneath her hood, Okumi put the backs of her hands on her cheeks to cool herself down and stood up while grabbing Senna's hands.
"You said so right? You said I'm beautiful? You really think so?"
Confused at the direction of their conversation, Senna stared at the large hands that covered his own, and felt intuitively that there was only one proper answer to Okumi's questions.
"Err—Well I mean, objectively speaking, your body is beautiful from an athletic standpoint and I'm sure anyone would want to have a physique like yours..."
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes?"
Hehe
Letting out an innocent, child-like laugh, Okumi stretched out her full height for the first time during the match and stood imposingly in front of Senna.
"Then leave it to me! I'll definitely score a goal, Kaibushi-san!"
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Hehehe
Ever since Okumi was born, the first thing she could remember was a woman telling her mother
"Oh my, what a heavy baby...7kg?! You must've suffered a lot, you poor thing..."
And so growing up, even her parents would constantly bemoan how much she ate asking if she intended on making their entire family bankrupt, despite Okumi eating significantly less than both of her brothers each meal.
And even when she left home... there was no escape at school where she quickly grew taller than her teachers by the grade 4. Whenever she tried to play with the other girls they would tell her to play with the boys even though she did her best to show off the bright pink shoes her eldest brother bought her, and when she tried to play with the boys they asked her,
"Who would want to play with a monster, you big ogre!"
It didn't make any sense to Okumi...
She saw ogres on TV and they had green skin and horns, she didn't have any horns or green skin so how could she be an ogre?
Those boys must be blind she reasoned and so Okumi was okay and continued to play by herself as she told herself things would be different the next year.
"You're a pig, you eat like a pig and you look like one too! Pig, pig, pig!"
It was okay, things would be different next year, Okumi told herself.
"Everyone watch out! The giant is coming! Ahhh!! Earthquake, earthquake!!"
That's okay, Okumi told herself while watching her classmates pretend they were falling over as she walked by them.
Things would be different next year...
"Weigh yourself, weigh yourself, weigh yourself!"
Okumi began to sweat nervously as the boys cheered on the girls who were pushing Okumi onto the scale one of her classmates had brought to school.
Next year...
Things will be different...
Okumi told herself while sitting on the toilet seat of the bathroom.
Things will be different next year...
However, that year...
"Onii-chan! What's this?" asked a slightly smaller Okumi while pointing to a cute sticker of some girls doing various poses on his phone.
Quickly taking off the sticker, Okumi's older brother thanked her for pointing out one of the multitude of stickers his friends had attached to his belongings as a prank, and answered,
"They're just an idol group that's popular these days, Umi-chan...do you want it?"
Unfamiliar with the term 'idol', Okumi nodded shyly and accepted the sticker curiously before disappearing into her room to look up the group shown in the sticker.
And so,
That year, Okumi discovered the world of idols...
It was brilliant and dazzling...
A world, Okumi quickly discovered, someone like her could never reach...
"I can make all your dreams come true, just take my hand Kujira-san." whispered a strange boy with pink hair and cunning grey eyes.
Or so she had thought.
Upon meeting Nosaka, Okumi had been confused and bewildered by the teen's strange proposal but filled with a desperation that threatened to consume her until no traces were left, she had agreed.
However, after taking his hand, Nosaka had simply done...nothing.
After completing his strange training program, she had been assigned to Susanoo Academy's team with Senna and while she had thought the green eyed boy to be a bit...strange she had never realised he had thought so highly of her. With flowers blossoming around his face, she had never imagined he could be so bold! Lost in the memory of the whirlwind of the match, Okumi flushed from her toes to her head as she became lost in her delusion while dribbling the ball.
"Okumi Kujira, you're the prettiest girl in the entire world. The beauty of even the gods would never compare to even a fallen fingernail of yours! I'm your eternal stan, I love you Okumi-chan! You're my number one!"
Hissatsu Tactics : Cattenacio Counter!
Lost in her imaginations, Okumi barely noticed the well-coordinated movements of the Zeus members as they attempted to lock her down but how could the gods lock her down now? Not when she was finally getting the chance to show off her new self!
"G-Get out of my way!!" shrieked Okumi as a dark shadow began to emerge from the earth behind her.
Increasing in size, the shadow became so enormous it completely blocked the sun's rays from penetrating the stadium, and the stadium became completely enveloped in a cold darkness. First, a rough, raven-black tail with a grey tinge could be seen. Second, four fins so large, one alone could make a plane appear as small as a bird. Third, multiple scarlet eyes that were all moving in different directions, with enough eyes that each was able to stare at a Zeus member directly.
Awooooooo
Hearing the deafening roar, the Zeus members were forced to their knees as the shadow finished materialising into an enormous whale in the sky that made them feel completely insignificant before its might.
DARK KESHIN : Titan of the Ocean , Yu-Kiang!!!
Smashing her right foot into the ground, Okumi propelled herself onto the whale's back as a black whirlpool emerged, swallowing up the Zeus members completely while the titanic whale smashed its tail forcefully into the whirlpool sending a funnel of cold, dark water hurtling towards Prometheus.
DEEP SEA CALL!
Watching with satisfaction as the ball hit the back of the net, Okumi turned around with her hands spread out to emphasise the cheering crowd that was now chanting with renewed vigour. And as she spoke, her hood slowly fell off her face, though the light was now shining once more rendering Senna blind and only able to hear her words.
"Don't you hear that, Kaibushi-san? They love me! They really love me!"
"Hah..."
Senna watched as Okumi continued to soak in the enthusiastic chants and stare at him with deranged eyes.
"Khronoa-san! You can do it!" yelled out one fan.
"Zeus, keep on fighting! Just one more goal!" screamed out another.
"Zeus, don't give up! Don't let those monsters beat you!" shouted yet another fan.
"Khronoa <3" was written on one person's phone.
Not a single person was cheering for Susanoo academy despite being in their own stadium.
Unbelievable...
Feeling both terror and excitement as he watched the giant girl in front of him continue to bathe in the imagined adulation, Senna realised his first impression of Okumi had been right after all...
She really was a crazy bitch.