"I'm so excited my brother is visiting today," Syrus said, excitedly.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see him," Jaden said, grinning at Syrus.
"He should be here any second now."
Suddenly, as if on cue, the door opened and Syrus's older brother Zane walked in.
"Zane!," Syrus exclaimed as he ran to give him a hug.
"Hey Syrus," he said, giving him a smile.
"Hey Zane," Jaden said.
Zane's smile turned to a frown. "Hello Jaden."
I wonder if he's upset with me about Syrus and I seeing each other, Jaden thought to himself.
"So Zane, how have you been?" Syrus asked.
"Good," Zane said,"I've won all of my matches in the Pro League and I'm scheduled to have a rematch against Aster soon."
"That's great Zane!"
"Yeah," Jaden added.
"So, what about you Syrus? How have you been?" Zane asked, glaring at Jaden.
I guess he is upset with me, Jaden thought as he smiled back.
"Good, too...not as good as you big bro, but I have been improving too," he said, grinning at Zane.
"Oh, really?"
"Yup, I'm one of the top duelists in Ra Yellow now."
"That's great Syrus," he said, as he ruffled Syrus's hair.
"Jaden's been doing good too," he said,"he's going to be representing our school in the upcoming school duel."
Zane turned to face Jaden, who looked away to avoid looking into Zane's eyes.
"Congratulations Jaden," he said coldly, turning his attention back to Syrus.
Jaden laughed nervously. "Thanks Zane."
"So, little brother, what do you want to do today?"
Syrus put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment before he said,"Let's play soccer."
"Okay, I'll go ask the others if they want to join in as well," Zane said, as he left the room.
"Come on Jaden, let's go," Syrus said, following his brother.
When Jaden walked out of the room, Zane was standing next to the door, leaning against the wall. "Syrus, you go on ahead, I need to talk to Jaden for a second."
"Okay, big bro," he said, a worried expression on his face as he left.
"How about a bet?" Zane said, sounding more like a demand than a question.
"What kind of a bet?" Jaden asked curiously.
"If you lose this game, I want you to break up with Syrus."
"And if I win?"
"You can stay with Syrus and I'll leave you alone from now on."
Jaden thought for a moment."Okay, it's a deal."
Jaden went into the changing room to change into his P.E. clothes. I have to win...for Syrus...for me...for us, he thought as he tied his shoes.
Syrus entered the changing room wearing his old soccer uniform.
"I'm surprised it still fits me," Syrus said, as he looked at his uniform. His uniform consisted of a navy blue shirt with a large white stripe in the middle and a navy blue pair of shorts.
"I guess you haven't grown much," Jaden said, jokingly as he patted him on the head.
He smirked at Jaden."I guess not."
Jaden's smile faded into a worried expression.
"Is there something wrong Jaden?" he asked, looking worried.
"No, it's nothing," replied Jaden.
"You sure?"
"Postive," he said, giving Syrus a convincing smile.
"Alright then, but if there's something worrying you, you can always talk to me," he said, smiling warmly at Jaden as he turned to leave.
Jaden wished he could tell Syrus about the bet he had made with Zane, but he couldn't because he didn't want Syrus to know about it.
"Okay, here I go," he said, a determined expression on his face as he left the changing room to join the others on the field.
On the soccer field, Syrus, Misawa, Hassleberry, Atticus, Chazz, and Alexis formed a line as Zane and Jaden began choosing people for their team.
"Why does Jaden get to be captain?" Chazz asked, frowning at Jaden.
"Cos he's a better duelist than you," Alexis snapped.
"Yeah, right...Jaden a better duelist than me...that'll be the day"
"Not a good way to talk to your boyfriend sis," Atticus whispered.
"He's not my boyfriend Atticus!" she shouted at Atticus.
"Oh come on sis, I was only kidding," he said, grinning at her.
"Come on, Jaden, old buddy, old pal, pick me," Hassleberry said, waving at Jaden.
Misawa stood there quietly as though meditating as he waited for the captains to begin selecting their teams. I hope Zane picks me...I've calculated the perfect formula to defeat Jaden in soccer.
Zane had the first pick and he chose none other than his little brother, Syrus.
It was Jaden's turn to pick now.
Please don't pick me, Please don't pick me, Misawa repeated in his mind.
Jaden thought for a moment and then said,"Misawa, I choose you!" Jaden said, as he pointed at him.
Curse you Jaden!
"I pick Atticus," Zane said.
"Alright!," Atticus said, jumping up in excitement.
"I pick Hassleberry," Jaden said.
"Thanks sarge, I knew, you'd pick me," said Hassleberry..
"No problem Hassleberry."
"I pick Alexis."
Alexis looked kind of disappointed as she joined Syrus and Atticus in the line behind Zane.
"I pick uh...Chazz," Jaden said, not sounding too happy about it.
"Aw man, I have to be on the same team as Jaden," he said angrily as he got in line.
After they were done selecting their teams, the teams gathered in the middle of the field and prepared to start the game.
"Remember, which ever team scores five goals first is the winner okay?" Zane said, staring at Jaden.
"Got it," Jaden replied as he nodded.
Here goes nothing, Jaden thought as Zane threw the ball straight up in the air, ready to start the game.
As the game began, Zane quickly dribbled the ball past Jaden, Hassleberry, and Misawa with ease as he made the first goal of the game.
Not good...I didn't know Zane knew how to play soccer so well. No big deal...I'll just have to try harder.
After the kick-off, Jaden rushed forward as he attempted to make a goal, but was blocked by Alexis who stole the ball from him and dribbled it down the opposite direction.
I need a strategy, he thought. "Misawa, we need a strategy."
"How about teamwork...you should try passing the ball," Misawa replied.
Oh, right, I forgot I have teammates, thought Jaden, feeling foolish.
Misawa stopped her advances, quickly stealing the ball back and passing it to Hassleberry. He went far down the opposite way as Syrus defended against his attempts to make a goal. "Out of my way, half-pint," Hasslebery said as he tried his best to get past Syrus.
"I maybe be little, but in this game, size doesn't matter," he said, quickly stealing the ball from Hassleberry and passing it to Zane.
Jaden quickly ran in to defend against Zane, surprising him as he stole the ball. He zoomed past Alexis and Syrus, kicking the ball passed Atticus who tried his best to block the shot.
Alright! It's one to one.
The game continued like this, each team scored another point after the other until both teams were tied, four to four. The team who made the next goal would be the winner. Jaden had never taken a game so seriously before, except for the time he dueled against Zane in his graduation match. Zane on the other hand, looked completely relaxed as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Jaden kicked-off, kicking the ball as hard as he could. Before Hassleberry could try to steal the ball from Zane, he quickly passed the ball down the field to Alexis. Alexis dribbled the ball as far down the field as she could until she was stopped in her tracks by Misawa. She then, dodged Misawa and passed it to Syrus. As soon as Syrus caught the pass, Jaden stepped in to block him and try to steal the ball.
"It's just you and me, J," he said playfully, dribbling the ball towards the goal.
"Not for long," he replied. As Jaden was about to steal the ball, he was accidentally kicked in the crotch by Syrus who attempted to make the winning goal just as Jaden took the ball. Jaden fell to his knees as the pain overwhelmed him. He had never been kicked there before and he never thought it would hurt as much as it did right now.
"I'm so sorry Jaden, are you okay?" Syrus asked, as he knelt down beside him.
"Time out!," Zane shouted as he watched from a distance, a worried expression on his face.
Ouch, that had to hurt, Alexis thought as she ran to see if he was okay.
Jaden took a moment to recover from the kick and then slowly stood up. "Yeah, I'm okay, but next time, try to kick the ball Sy, not me," he said, giving Syrus a weak smile.
"I'm really sorry Jaden," he said, blushing.
"Since it was a foul, you get a penalty kick Jaden," Zane said.
Both teams lined up on opposite sides of the goal as Jaden prepared to make his penalty kick.
Alright, here's my chance, he thought.
He took a moment to focus, and then kicked the ball swiftly into the goal before Atticus had a chance to try and block it.
Jaden's team jumped in excitement as the kick went in. "I knew you could do it sarge."
"Yes, well played Jaden."
"Yeah, yeah, I could have done better," Chazz said, crossing his arms.
"Good game Jaden," Zane said, smiling at Jaden as he walked off the field.
"Good job Jaden!," Syrus said as he hugged Jaden.
"Thanks Sy," he said, smiling. "I couldn't have done it without you."