“Is anyone sitting here?”
“No”
Plop
Unfazed by the blue haired teen who unceremoniously made himself comfortable in the seat next to her, Mika rested her chin on her hand as she looked out the window.
Meanwhile, resting backwards in the seat, Seiryuu closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep in his seat ignoring the curious gazes from his siblings who were boarding the Shinkansen behind him and the heated glares from the Raimon members who had all been arguing about who would get to sit next to her on the train ride to Hokkaido.[1]
However, about 10 minutes in, Mika felt a finger hesitantly tap her shoulder and she turned around to see a boy with genial green and blue eyes bend down to whisper
“If you want to switch seats with me Ojou-sama, I’m sitting in the back next to Hiroaki, one of my older sisters. She’s a little stingy with money but she won’t charge you for anything…probably! Anyway, I know some people think aniki is a little burdensome to be around so…”
“It’s fine, there’s no need for that Daigiichi-kun”
“Yes! Of course, Ojou-sama! Sorry to bother you!”
Making his escape from the suffocating air that was emanating from the two strikers at the front, Daigiichi let out a deep sigh of relief before making his way to the back. Seeing the faces that were eagerly anticipating to see Mika, fall in disappointment at seeing Daigiichi’s face instead be the one to return, Daigiichi decided to complain to Haruka who was the one who had sent him on his little trip in the first place.
“Why am I always the one that loses Janken!”[2]
Shrugging, Haruka gave a short retort.
“Get good then bro. Sucks to suck”
“But I can never beat Tiger! And you’re the only one who’s allowed to use Tiger!”
Listening to the ridiculous scamming that was going on across the aisle, Serika couldn’t help herself from exclaiming
“Tiger?? That’s not a real—”
“Shut it Penguin Princess!”
“WHAT did you just call me, you mangy cat?!”
Seeing Haruka blow a raspberry mockingly at her, Serika began to roll up her sleeves aggressively before Gabriel interrupted the two girls by shoving a basket of croissants into their faces.
“Hungry?”
Haruka looked up at the giant who was towering over her with a childish face that didn’t suit his enormous body and mutely accepted the croissant while Serika did the same disgruntledly.
Ignoring the two girls catfighting behind him, Daigiichi stood up to look over at the boy in front of him who was giving off a sunny yellow aura that was very comfortable to sit beside.
“You’re Yozora-kun right?”
“......”
“Hello?”
Surprised by the voice that was calling him, Galahad distractedly turned around in his seat after intensely staring at the front of the train car and looked up to see Eisei’s ‘Black Tortoise’ trying to talk to him.
“Oh, Hi. Yeah, that’s right but you can just call me Galahad”
“Sure! You can call me…oh right! I only have one name anyway. I’m Daigiichi! Nice to meet ya”
“Nice to meet you”
“You seem worried about something?
“Do I?”
Having his emotions read so easily, Galahad awkwardly scratched at his cheek in embarrassment and tried to cover it up.
“I was just thinking about something…”
“Wanna sit next to me? Lemme ask if my sister will switch seats with you!”
Before he could say anything, Galahad watched the black hair of the energetic boy disappear as he sat down and animatedly began to converse with Hiroaki who just nodded her head, only half-listening to what Daigiichi was saying.
“So, whaddya know about Hakuren Jr.High?”
One minute after Daigiichi’s head had disappeared from above his seat, Galahad had completely been swept up in the flow, said goodbye to Hyun-Ki, and found himself sitting next to the other second-year defender. Going along with Daigiichi’s outgoing atmosphere Galahad quickly found himself entertaining the other boy.
“Hakuren Jr.High is pretty famous right? I’m pretty sure Legend Inazuma Japan’s Fubuki Shirou is from there and so is a really good high school player, Yukimura Hyouga. I even heard that Yukimura-san will probably go abroad soon to play in Germany.”
“Yup! Despite Yukimura graduating pretty recently though it seems like they’re only continuing to get stronger under their new captains.”
“Captains?”
“Weird right? They’re the only team who made it to the finals with two captains and apparently they don’t get along at all”
“If they don’t get along then wouldn’t that make them weaker, not stronger?”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. They’re really strong. We fought them in the semi-finals last year and it was a lot more fun than the match with you guys, oops!”
Sweatdropping at the other boy’s honest slip-up, Galahad just waved it off and told him not to worry about it so he could finish the story.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty funny story actually…”
One Year Ago, Holy Road Semifinals : Eisei Gakuen vs Hakuren Jr.High
Daigiichi watched as his brother walked to the center of the pitch to shake hands with a girl that was surprisingly taller than Seiryuu, with sunglasses in her hair despite it being cloudy, and an eyesmile such that her pupils could not be seen. With an amicable smile on her face and a misty white aura that wrapped around her like a fog, it was impossible for Daigiichi to decipher what she was thinking.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to fight against Hakuren’s elusive ‘Winter Lady’, I hope I’ll be able to see plays deserving of that title today”
Haha .
“It seems that the infamous ‘Blue Dragon’ of Eisei Gakuen is more charming than the rumors say? Well, just go easy on me okay Dragon-chan?”
Frowning at her laidback reply, Seiryuu tightened his grip that was holding the girl’s hand before growling
“If the Lady has read any fairy tales, I would suggest you don’t test the patience of a dragon”
“Oh so scary!”
Seeing the girl in front of him let go of his hand and cover her mouth with her hands in feigned surprise like she was shocked at his rather aggressive provocation, Seiryuu tried not to roll his eyes in disgust before getting into position. However, as he was walking away he heard a voice call out from behind him teasingly
“Thanks for the warning though Dragon-chan~~”
Seiryuu felt his eyebrow twitch in anger but decided to bear it silently. His senses were never wrong, just by watching their previous matches he knew she was hiding her strength so all he had to do was crush them completely and she was sure to go all out…
[The semifinal match between Eisei Gakuen and Hakuren Jr.High begins with Hakuren’s kickoff with their Ace Striker Tsukishiro making a quick backpass to midfielder Darika Tamenaga.]
“Haruka, Hyosuke”
“Yes, big brother!”
“On my way Nii-san!”
A white and red blur dashed from behind him and surrounded the Hakuren forward who had possession of the ball
Hup
Quickly sliding to steal the ball, Haruka kicked the ball upwards as Hyosuke jumped up in front of her in preparation.
From behind the boy appeared a pulsating sun and as he began his backflip a flame began to wrap around near his left foot. Kicking the ball, a storm of fire surrounded it before flying forward explosively
ATOMIC FLARE
As the fiery red ball got closer to the goal, a muscular boy’s red eyes flashed dangerously and with snake-like movements ran forwards and jumped onto the ball before slamming it down with both his feet.
Securing the ball easily, Ryoga grunted before kicking the ball high up in the air
“Don’t let the ball get stolen so easily you idiots!”
Feeling the pressure emanating from Ryoga behind her, Darika gulped nervously before seeing a girl from Eisei Gakuen with orange hair and black hair begin to run towards her.
If she didn’t get the ball up the field, Ryoga was likely going to murder them all tomorrow…
With tears in her eyes, Darika began to dribble the ball up in the air a few times before disappearing from the other girl’s sight and reappearing at the corner of her eye then dashing ahead leaving a trail of dust behind her.
PRESTO TURN!
[Hakuren’s midfielder makes a skilled play, making it past Eisei’s midfielder Rikku and putting Hakuren in the perfect position to shoot]
“Sora go up! Ehhh?!”
“Finally, it’s my turn!”
Before she could complete the pass to Sora, Daigiichi raised his hands upwards calling on a dark shockwave then brought his hands downwards cracking the ground beneath him and forcing Darika to the ground.
GRAVITATION
Ugh.
Darika could only groan from the force of ‘Gravitation’ as the Eisei defender stole the ball in a quick movement. Giving the ball a sharp kick up to his sister, Daigiichi let out a shout.
“Suzaku-nee!”
Trapping the ball, Suzaku dribbled it smoothly around the Hakuren defensive line before passing it up to Seiryuu who was approaching the goal.
“Captain!”
Jumping up in the air with the ball trapped, Seiryuu kicked the ball upwards while mid-air.
DRAGON GENESIS!
Wetting his lips with his tongue, Ryoga jumped into the air before doing a flip and stomping hard on the ground with both feet in front of the approaching dragon.
A white circle emerged from the sky above the dragon and three icy prongs descended from the circle before falling onto the dragon’s neck.
SUBZERO TRIDENT!!!
Tch.
As the dragon struggled to break free from the trident, eventually both Seiryuu and Ryoga were blown back as both hissatsus dissipated and the ball was released into the air.
Getting up first, Seiryuu quickly got into a crouching position before jumping into the air and kicking the ball again.
TENKUU OTOSHI
[GOAAAAAAAAAAAL!! Seiryuu blasts through Ryoga Katata who has been making a name for himself this Holy Road as Hakuren’s ‘Adamantine Glaciar’, letting no goals past him until now! It looks like in the clash between the ultimate spear and shield, the spear comes out victorious!]
“What?!”
Shocked that Seiryuu had managed to break through ‘Subzero Trident’ Ryoga was still on the ground while Seiryuu leisurely walked past him and didn’t even pause to look at him.
“That son of a bi—”
“Are you okay my cutie patootie!”
Feeling himself get strangled as Tsukishiro put her arms around him and began to check for any injuries, Ryoga threw her hands off and yelled
“I’m fine! So just go back and score some goals already!”
“But I’m so worried about all my babies defending that scary shoot…what to do…what to do….”
Pushing her up to her position, Ryoga pinched his forehead in frustration and ran back to defend, ignoring Tsukishiro’s protests.
As they waited for the Hakuren members to get ready for the next kickoff Haruka nudged Seiryuu lightly in order to tease him.
“That’s the first time ‘Dragon Genesis’ has been blocked this Holy Road, right big bro?”
Snorting, Seiryuu arrogantly replied
“If they couldn’t do this much, I’d be worried about the future of Japan’s soccer”
“Still! Even the ‘Adamantine Glaciar’ of Hakuren is no match for you big bro! You really are Japan’s best striker!”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Oh, so you had doubts before?”
Knowing that he was just messing with her, Haruka shrugged her shoulders playfully and stuck her tongue out before running away.
As the match continued, Ryoga began to coordinate the Hakuren defense to try and prevent Eisei from making any more goals but Haruka nimbly managed to evade the other defenders and got in position for ‘Astro Break’ when…
Sliding forward with one foot in front and extending his arms out, Ryoga crossed them and jumped into the air while spinning around. As he began to fall back downwards, he let out his arms and stomped on the ground leading to huge spikes of ice that quickly covered her entire body.
ICE GROUND
Huff Huff Huff
“Ugh”
Shaking her head to get the ice off her, Haruka let out a displeased sigh. She had underestimated Ryoga a little because Seiryuu had managed to get past him earlier, but that wouldn’t happen again. Running back to protect the goal however, it was too late and 3 of Hakuren’s members had already run deep into Eisei’s side of the field with a boy with a peaceful expression dribbling first in the center, while two other girls ran beside him.
As the 3 intersected the ball, a trail left behind the three lit up with a blue-white ice that sent the ball upwards in the air with an ice-covered phoenix appearing below and the three jumping on top of the ball one at a time to send the ball to the goal with a powerful wind.
THE CRYOPHOENIX!!!
Tsk
Wondering how much she would need to charge Daigiichi for letting this through later, Hiroaki began to form a small black hole with both of her hands that began to attract the ball towards it as the vacuum increased in power.
BLACK HOLE
“Ughhhhhh”
Struggling to keep the ball stopped within her hands, Hiroaki’s hands began to turn to ice and eventually the blue phoenix revived itself and blew her backwards into the goal.
[GOAAAAAAAAAAAAL! Eisei Gakuen’s goalkeeper Hiroaki is unable to stop Hakuren’s ‘The Cryphoenix’ tying it up at 1-1!! The spot to the finals is still anyone’s game!]
“Sorry big bro, I should’ve passed it to you instead of trying to make the shoot myself”
Feeling a bit apologetic that she had allowed the ball to be stolen so easily, Haruka bowed her head slightly when, to her surprise, she felt a hand patting her head gently. Looking upwards, she tried to check her brother’s expression but Seiryuu’s hand blocked her eyes so she couldn't see anything.
“Don’t move up once the kickoff starts.”
Tweet Tweet Tweet
[OH! What’s happening!! Immediately after the kickoff, fellow forward Hyosuke passes it to Seiryuu who is charging through Hakuren’s offensive and defensive lines alone!]
Feeling that he had gotten close enough, Seiryuu crouched down again before jumping upwards and kicking the ball with terrifying ferocity. As the purple aura of planets and space barreled towards the goal, the Hakuren defenders all moved up to try to block the shoot including Ryoga.
TENKUU OTOSHI!!
SUBZERO TRIDENT!!!
[GOAAAAAAAALL!! Eisei’s Blue Dragon Seiryuu is showing off a clear level difference today as he breezes through Hakuren’s defense by himself and gives Eisei the point advantage once again! What an exhilarating play to watch!]
Looking at the Hakuren captain who was still had that insufferable and unreadable smile on her face as she silently stood by and watched Seiryuu walk back to his side of the field, he stopped to ask the girl
“You’re still smiling in a situation like this?”
“Should I be crying right now?”
“......”
Seiryuu continued to walk past the Hakuren members who were struggling to get back up after being blown by the force of ‘Tenkuu Otoshi’ and were still lying on the ground. However, despite seeing her teammates like this, Tsukishiro showed no signs of intending to move this match and so Seiryuu couldn’t help himself and angrily yell
“Why aren’t you making a move?!”
“You said it yourself, dragon-chan, I’m a lady. It’d wouldn’t be proper etiquette for a lady to do something like make a goal don’t you think?”
“Don’t mess with me! If not, I can't guarantee your teammates’ safety…”
“Oh my, are you threatening a lady right now? It seems you’re really enjoying your role, scary Dragon-chan!”
“.....”
Knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer to his question, Seiryuu ignored the girl before muttered to himself
“Boring”
Tweet Tweet Tweet
[Seiryuu seems to be out for blood today as he ferociously charges and steals the ball from Hakuren minutes into the second half and seems to be getting into position for another…]
TENKU OTOSHI!!
“Sorry Dragon-Chan~~”
Seeing Tsukishiro pop out from nowhere, Ryoga growled at her
“Tsukishiro, what the hell are you doing here?”
“I can’t just let my babies face the scary Dragon all alone can I?”
“Get out of here Tsu–”
Ignoring his protests, Tsukishiro jumped up in front of the incoming shoot and kicked her right leg up and then her left leg down before spinning around and kicking her left leg once more. As a light cyclone of wind and snow began to surround her, the entire aura of purple space including the ball were frozen into a pillar of ice.
SNOW ANGEL~~
[EHHHHH? In an unexpected development, Hakuren’s ace forward, Tsukishiro, dashes back to the goal in order to block ‘Tenkuu Otoshi’ easily with Fubuki Shirou’s hissatsu technique ‘Snow Angel’!!]
Seeing his hissatsu shoot stopped easily by the smiling girl, Seiryuu narrowed his eyes before angrily shouting under his breath
“I knew it!”
As the match continued, every time Eisei moved to make a shoot…
ATOMIC FLARE
ASTRO BREAK
DRAGON GENESIS
SNOW ANGEL!!
[Despite Eisei’s fierce onslaught of attacks, Tsukishiro is skillfully preventing them from getting close to the goal, showing off the grace and elegance you would expect to see from Hakuren’s ‘Winter Lady’!!]
“TSUKISHIRO!!! Get out of here! I can protect the goal by myself!”
“But Ryo-chan—
“I’m serious Tsukishiro…”
“......”
“Okay Ryo-chan~~ If that’s what you want, just make sure you and the other cuties don’t get too hurt or I’ll have to come running back here~~”
Present, Shinkansen
“Told ya, it was funny right?”
“I guess…”
Hearing about the match between Hakuren and Eisei Gakuen last year, Galahad was a little surprised to hear how skilled the Hokkaido team was if they were able to fight evenly with the team that had utterly crushed them only a few weeks ago.
“Yeah, well after that, Seiryuu really flipped out because Tsukishiro refused to do anything the rest of the match so after that it was a lot easier. After we won though, it was even funnier to see Ryoga, you’ll meet him soon! He was completely seething , I thought foam was about to start coming from his mouth haha!! I’m a little disappointed though that the JYSA ranked him above me to be honest, but he was the only one who could block ‘Dragon Genesis’ last season and apparently has gotten a lot better since then… so we’ll see who’s better soon!”
LIstening to Daigiichi talk his ear off happily, Galahad was starting to realize just how large the gap was between him and the top defenders that they would need to fight in Holy Road…Daigiichi was already this strong and only ranked second…
“If a dog wants to bare his fangs…”
“He should have the skills to back it up!”
Recalling Seiryuu’s words from their match in the preliminaries, Galahad looked over at the duo at the front who were sitting unbothered by themselves. Tightening his fist, Galahad thought to himself silently
“I can’t protect anyone the way I am now…”
Looking up determinedly, Galahad turned to Daigiichi who was still chatting merrily without realizing that Galahad had stopped listening.
“Hey Daigiichi, do you think you could train with me a bit during this camp?”
“Sure!”
“Really? That easily?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Plus that’ll just mean I don’t have to train with Aniki! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve cried during his training sessions!”
“Oh okay…thanks.”
Galahad made a mental note to himself seeing how agreeably Daigiichi replied. He had initially just thought of the rival defender as a bit of an idiot but it seemed like they could get along better than he had thought they would.
30 Minutes Before Arrival in Hakuren
“How’d you learn that ?”
“It’s polite to give an indication to someone that you’ve woken up first before initiating a conversation Mr.Seiryuu”
“My apologies for scaring the Young Lady, please be merciful and overlook this dirty orphan’s mistake…Now could you answer the question?”
Frowning at his sarcastic apology, Mika sighed before touching her hair to push it out of her face.
“And for exactly what reason am I obligated to give you a reply?”
Yawning, Seiryuu stretched his arms leisurely while giving a languid look at Mika before answering.
“I know Afuro-sama wouldn’t be able to teach you that move, Matsukaze-san wouldn’t have the time to teach you, and there’s no one else who could coach you”
“How do you know I didn’t teach it to myself?”
“...You wouldn’t be able to master that hissatsu in a week by yourself”
“I could have started learning it earlier for all you know”
“Then you would have used it in the match against us, so why don’t you stop evading and answer Mika”
“....”
Feeling no particular inclination to tell him or not to tell him about the training she had done by the riverside with the strange passerby to learn ‘Aggressive Beat’, Mika decided to pretend she didn’t hear anything and go back to resting before they arrived and readjusted her pillow.
“...You’re really not going to tell me?”
“.......Mika!”
“Do you fans know that you’re this clingy Mr.Seiryuu? Or is this a secret only I have the privilege to know?”
Ears turning slightly pink, Seiryuu slumped back into his seat feeling particularly wronged and decided to pretend it didn’t bother him and yelled at her without looking in her direction.
“I didn’t want to know any–”
“Old Man”
“??”
“A random old man I met on the road. Happy? I hope your little temper tantrum was worth it Mr.Seiryuu”
“So if any random old man tells you he can teach hissatsus I guess you’ll just say yes then huh? Wasn’t there a person who was telling me earlier they didn’t accept free gifts?”
“You’re still hung up about that?”
Tsking like he was being a petulant child, Mika just spat out one word scornfully that hit Seiryuu like a bullet.
“Clingy”
“!!”
Then closing her eyes to ignore the teen beside her who kept pestering her for more information Mika began to nap peacefully in the last few minutes of their trip.
Evening, Hakuren Jr.High Outdoor Field
“KYAAAAAAAAAA”
“Oh my gosh! You’re even more adorable in person than you are on TV!”
Oof
“!!”
As soon as she had gotten off the bus they had taken to Hakuren, Mika felt herself be embraced by a girl with white hair that was to her surprise decently taller than her. Mika was usually the tallest girl around so it felt a bit strange to have to look upwards only to be greeted by a face that was smiling such that her eyes had bent into crescents.
Feeling her cheeks pinched as if the other girl was the sort of grandmother you saw on TV, Mika bemoaned to herself : it seemed that more and more troublesome people were being drawn to her like flies to honey.
“You look just like a doll! How can someone even look like this!!”
“I didn’t expect this kind of rude behavior from the Winter Lady”
“Oh Dragon-chan!!!! Don’t be jealous, I’ll make sure everyone gets their turn”
Lips turning up in disgust at the thought of his cheeks being played with like putty, Seiryuu scoffed and grabbed his suitcase angrily, still in an unpleasant mood after being forced to mull over what Mika had meant by “random old man” the entire bus ride here.
“Hey Seiryuu, wait up!”
Hopping off the bus, Daigiichi and Haruka quickly followed behind Seiryuu who was heading to the lodging Hiroto had reserved for them at a nearby hotel, while Suzaku waited for the other Eisei members to grab their things.
“See ya later Galahad!”
“See ya around Senia”
“It’s Serika!!! Not that I would expect someone with a pea-sized brain to be able to remember such a magnificent name!”
Holding Serika back from attacking Haruka who stuck her tongue out at her after they had argued for both the entire train and bus ride, Galahad waved to Daigiichi before going over to save Mika from the embrace of a smiling white-haired girl.
“Oh who’s this Mimi-chan?”
“This is one of our defenders Galahad Yozora and this is our captain Serika Afuro”
“Wow! So these are your friends Mimi-chan? Looks like your team has as many cuties as mine does Mimi! Nice to meet you Puppy-chan and Angel-chan. I'm Tsukishiro, captain of the Hakuren team. You can call me Tsuki, Nee-chan or whatever else you can come up with!”
Having her ego stroked hearing the nickname Tsukishiro had come up with for her, Serika stuck her nose up and decided that this girl at least had more sense than a certain other girl who seemed to lack a brain and eyes.
A bit more cautiously, Galahad looked at the Hakuren striker in front of them. So she was the co-captain Daigiichi had mentioned earlier on the train? With an enigmatic smile on her face, turquoise-blue snowflake earrings, pure-white hair and almost translucent pale skin, if a yuki-onna was real he imagined they would resemble her.[3] While she certainly didn’t appear dangerous from the outside that somehow that made him even more on edge. If she was someone that even Seiryuu had a hard time dealing with then she definitely wasn’t someone they could take lightly.
Clap Clap Clap
The sound of Tsukishiro clapping her hands together broke Galahad out of his thoughts and he and the other Raimon players watched as 10 heads popped out from behind some bushes and lined up to take their bags and suitcases from them.
“Unlike the Eisei members, since the rest of you haven’t been to Hakuren before, I'll have our manager Leo-chan show you around while the other members of our team take your things to the hotel. How’s that sound, hmmm?”
“Thank you Tsukishiro-san, it’s very thoughtful of you to set up a tour for us, we’ll have to trouble you”
“Oh it’s no trouble at all! It’s an honor to be able to greet the ‘Ruler of the Skies’ Afuro Terumi and the legendary Raimon Eleven!”
Face beaming as she addressed Aphrodi, who had spoken up for them to accept Tsukishiro’s offer, Tsukishiro ran behind a boy that appeared very tiny next to her with long green hair and melancholy orange eyes and pushed him forward to greet the Raimon members.
“Say hello to all of them Leo-chan”
[Hello, I am Hakuren’s manager Leonidas Tsujo. You may call me as you please. Please take care of me]
“Who’s this sad sack of a kid? He looks like a balloon that just deflated came to life”
“Yamashiro-senpai!”
Galahad rebuked Nariko who insensitively had said what was on her mind but for once he couldn’t exactly blame her. The boy standing in front of them didn’t open his mouth to speak and instead was using a tablet to write out everything he had wanted to say. His green hair had strands flying everywhere as if he lived in a zoo, and his shoulders were hunched over making him appear even shorter than he actually was. With thin, purple lips that were horribly dry and clothes that were many sizes too large for him it wasn’t completely unfair to say he looked like a deflated balloon that became a human.
[Please follow me]
Unsure if he hadn’t heard Nariko or if he had heard and just didn’t care, Galahad watched the boy beckon with his stylus for them to follow him..
**********************************************************************************
[Library]
[Main street, members come eat, relax here.]
[Right, Movie theater, Left, karaoke bar…]
[Here, Hakuren Onsen. Tsukishiro recommends.][4]
Huff Huff Huff
“How much…more…do we have…to see…”
“I told ya you should’ve left your backpack with the Hakuren team Aihara-kun.”
Seeing Kenji stopping to sit and catch his breath, Makoto looked at him pitifully before catching Leonidas’s attention to ask him
“How many more places do you intend on showing us Tsujo-kun? Is it alright if we head back to the hotel now? We’ve been traveling on day so I think it’d be good idea for us to get some rest now”
Checking with the others to get their approval, who all unanimously agreed with Makoto’s suggestion, Leo typed a simple
[Okay]
Then turned off his tablet to lead them back to the hotel where they all changed out of their dirty clothes, showered and got ready to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant on the first floor with the Eisei members who had already been relaxing at the hotel for a few hours by now.
After Dinner, Hakuren Hotel
“Oh Mika, were you—”
“Galahad-kun, I see you had the same as idea as us”
“Oh hi Afuro-san, you’re going to the gym too I guess?”
“Try not to make your disappointment too obvious servant boy”
“W-What! I never said I was disappointed! I was just surprised!”
“Mmhmm”
In the meantime, Mika paid no attention to the two blondes behind her who were bickering as usual, and pressed the button for the first floor.
Ding
As the trio walked outside, Mika put on the jacket that Galahad had wrapped around her shoulders while asking
“So Mika…was the trip coming here okay for you? That guy didn’t bother you or anything?”
Reminded of the blue-haired captain that had stolen her seat, Serika butt in to give her two cents on the matter.
“Ugh, I don’t even know what that guy was thinking! Who does he think he is sitting next to you Mika! You should’ve told him to find another spot, there were plenty of open spaces on our car anyway”
“There were no incidents during the trip, Serika. And Galahad, it was satisfactory, although I did think the beef they served was a bit cool for first class…However, there were minimal disturbances and I was able to sleep well so there were no major issues. Thank you for you inquiring”
Relieved that nothing strange had happened, the trio walked casually as they discussed what type of training they were planning on doing, the latest match between England’s Liverpool FC and Italy’s Inter Milan (which England had won 4-3 under Edgar Valtinas’s leadership), and the newest song Yoasobi had released.[5]
Since night came quickly in Hokkaido, despite it only being early evening, the sky had already turned pitch black, but due to the location the stars could be seen easily and shined like tiny gems that had been dropped onto a black cloth. With a chill breeze gently blowing through their hair, the mood was quite peaceful and the three made their way to the Hakuren Jr.High Gym leisurely under the stars.
Finally having time to process all the information he had gotten today in the quiet calm of their walk, Galahad paused making the two girls who were walking in front of him stop to see why he had stopped walking so abruptly.
“Hakuren Jr.High is sort of strange?”
“What are you talking about servant boy?”
“Please clarify the intention behind your words Galahad. Are you telling us or are you asking a question”
Coughing with a twinge of embarrassment, Galahad expounded on his earlier thought
“I just mean that one of their captains didn’t even show up with the rest of the team, there was that manager who was showing us around who wouldn’t speak to us and then the captain who did show up was…”
Trying to come up with a word that could describe the tall, grinning white-haired captain that had greeted them in the afternoon he found it was impossible, but luckily Serika and Mika understood what he was getting at and finished his thought in unison
“Interesting?” Serika said with a curious tone, putting her finger to her lip thoughtfully.
“Bothersome” Mika responded in a humourless voice.
Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Serika recalled Tsukishiro’s pleasant voice and indecipherable smile that seemed like it had never left her face before.
“At least she’s better than a certain other captain we know. She’s a bit weird but I don’t think we’re ones to talk”
Shrugging her shoulders, Serika indicated that she didn’t think much of the other Hakuren captain before asking Galahad quizzically
“Why? Do you know something?”
Recounting the story of the Hakuren vs Eisei Gakuen semifinals from last year to the two, Mika and Serika listened attentively as Galahad finished with his own conclusion.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that she’s hiding her strength for some reason…but she could be trouble if she decides she wants to go all out. I just can’t figure her out though because she didn’t even do anything when her team was losing in the semifinals where they got eliminated…”
“It’s best not to try to figure out those types of people Galahad, my father has informed me about these type of personalities”
“??”
Touching her lips as she recalled her father’s words Mika tried to explain it to them concisely
“There are some people who have everything they want and are just looking for entertainment. Those are the dangerous ones because you’ll never be able to predict what they’ll do next. If you meet them you either need to make sure your interests align or keep them at a distance and avoid them altogether. You’re both rather naive so it’d be best if you followed the second option my father recommended”
Wanting to protest Mika’s evaluation of him as “naive”, Galahad was interrupted by a finger that shoved itself between his and Mika’s faces as Serika pointed to a building in front of them
“This is it, right?”
In front of the trio was a 4 story, tall building with lights on each floor permeating the darkness. Raimon had an extremely nice gym that had been built recently due to their consecutive wins at Holy Road until last year but Hakuren’s didn’t look like it would lose out to Raimon’s.
Greeted by a clerk who was attending the front desk, they were all given locker keys and told to change their shoes before entering.
“As you can see the first floor is the swimming pool and changing rooms. On the second and third floor are the two gyms while on the fourth floor a virtual reality simulation room that you’ll need to reserve in advance if you want to use”
Watching the tall blonde boy next to her give a look of amazement at the map the woman had given them of the facility, Mika tapped him on the shoulder to tell him that she and Serika would meet him on the 3rd floor after changing to which he gave a nod of confirmation while Serika dragged her by the arm away before he could say anything.
Mika was a bit surprised when she arrived on the 3rd floor and didn’t see Galahad… well she supposed some men could take longer than women and chided herself for having antiquated gender stereotypes. Walking around the area, she began to check out the types of equipment the facility was equipped with before her ears pricked up hearing a gruff voice shouting from across the floor.
Spit
“What the hell is this?! I thought I told you to get me water, not an energy drink! Are you trying to poison me?”
Approaching the commotion, Mika saw a muscular boy who had drops of perspiration running down his face and was panting heavily beside the treadmills. Beside him was a boy with long green hair who had his head bent over and was silent as the other boy continued to rebuke him for his mistake.
As she got closer she recognized the child who was holding a towel in his hands out patiently, he was the one who had shown them around Hakuren today, Hakuren Jr. High’s manager Leonidas Tsujo. Judging by the terrible attitude of the other boy and his venomous red eyes she guessed she was looking at the other Hakuren captain, Ryoga Katata, who Galahad had mentioned on their way to the gym and was the the current No.1 Defender according to the JYSA.
Letting out a pissed off sigh, Ryoga finally picked up the towel that Leonidas had brought for him and wiped the sweat from his forehead before lazily throwing it onto the boy’s head where it draped around him making him look like a white mushroom.
Narrowing her eyes at the irate attitude of the black haired boy and Leonidas’s bleak face, who in the meantime had finished taking off the towel that had been tossed onto him, folded it neatly and was now organizing Ryoga’s things before picking them up, Mika crossed her arms and blocked the path of the Hakuren defender who was now approaching her to leave the gym.
“You should apologise to him”
“There’s no way you’re talking to me right?”
Giving her an incredulous look like he had just misheard her, Mika gave him a repulsed glare before repeating herself.
“You should show more respect to your manager Katata-san, and apologize.”
Ha
Letting out a laugh in disbelief, Ryoga ran his hand through his hair before glaring at her and crossly telling her
“I think you have the wrong idea here you little bitch. This thing here likes being my towel rack so I’d ask that you kindly keep your nose out of my business. Besides, he should be the one apologizing to me for poisoning me with that disgusting garbage”
Shaking the energy drink in his hand for emphasis, Ryoga stepped forward ignoring the chilling gaze of the girl in front of him and leaned in to whisper
“So why doesn’t Ms.Hero butt out while I’m being nice, hmm?”
Ugh
“What the hell???”
“That’s enough Kurosawa-san”
Raising her hand calmly, Mika gave a signal to her bodyguard who had popped out of the shadows and grabbed Ryoga’s arms before securing them behind his back making sure not to injure the boy but still preventing him from getting closer to the lady.
Huff Huff Huff
“Mika are you okay?”
Mika looked over at the familiar voice coming from the blonde teen that had rushed over when he saw a suspicious guy bent over in a threatening position whispering in her ear and was panting slightly after running over as quickly as he could.
“I’m fine Galahad, Katata-san was just leaving”
Motioning to let him go, her bodyguard roughly released Ryoga’s arms who gave her a dirty look before brushing up his clothes and spitting out
“I’ll be looking forward to our practice match tomorrow… Mika ” and with that forcefully made his way past the duo to make his exit.
“Who was that?”
Arriving last, Serika gave a look at a black-haired teen with red eyes and a terrible expression on his face who was leaving, while Galahad and Mika watched him alongside some buff guy in a suit she had never seen before and that strange mute kid from their tour earlier in the day.
“That was the other captain of the Hakuren team, Ryoga Katata. We had a slightly unpleasant encounter just now but it was nothing serious”
Finally paying attention to the boy who was still just standing behind them mutely while carrying Ryoga’s things, Mika bent down a little to scold him.
“Just because you’re a manager Tsujo-kun doesn’t mean you can let other people treat you like that. Employees at any company are entitled to respect, fair working hours and reasonable working conditions…”
Mika paused her lesson on workers’ rights and benefits tirade as she watched Leonidas dig through a bag he was carrying and bring out a tablet.
[Please don’t bother Katata-sama again]
“....”
Rereading the tablet that was held out in front of her, Mika was a bit taken aback but decided to drop it for today. There was likely something else going on she wasn’t aware of if this was the reaction he was giving her after all of this.
“My apologies Tsujo-kun, that was rude of me. If you need compensation please contact this number”
Accepting the business card Mika handed him and putting it in his pocket, Leonidas shook his head quietly and wrote
[It’s fine]
Before putting away the tablet back into his bag and hurrying to follow Ryoga who had already taken the elevator to the first floor without him.
“......”
“What a weird kid…and what were you apologizing for Mika?!”
“Serika is right this time Mika, from what I saw it looked like you were just trying to help that kid out.”
“Tsujo-kun was correct Galahad. If someone doesn’t ask for help it can be rude to provide it to them without getting permission first. Now let’s get started before curfew, we only have 2 hours left before we need to head back to the hotel”
Paying no attention to Galahad who was looking at her worriedly and Serika who was still unhappy that Mika had apologized to Leonidas for what she thought was a ridiculous reason, Mika couldn’t shake the dead orange eyes that had stared at her apathetically as if nothing mattered in the world. She couldn’t put her finger on it now but she felt as if she had seen those eyes before…
“Mika are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m coming. Apologies for the delay”
Picking up her bag that she had dropped, Mika got ready to use the treadmill that had just been abandoned by the two Hakuren members and set it to the highest elevation possible. Now wasn’t the time to worry about other people, she could sense it…
She still wasn’t even close to Seiryuu or Tsukishiro’s level yet…
Huff Huff Huff
Raising the speed up even more, sweat began to drip from Mika’s forehead as Seiryuu’s words from earlier took residence in her head.
“It’s still not enough”
“You’re going to have bigger problems if you think Susanoo are the ones to watch out for…”
Huff Huff Huff
Since she had decided to face soccer head-on, she had no intention of backing down now…
Not when she still had so many questions left…
Not for her mother’s sake or her father’s…Mika wanted to answer the questions she had…for her own sake for once…