A Long-term Wish

Emerald eyes darted across the field just before she made a backflip to avoid the tackle from behind, making sure to keep the ball with her. Her long ponytail swished behind her as she dribbled across the field, avoiding any player that would try to intercept her.

"Carlo, you use sliding too much," she called out while spinning to avoid the oncoming defender. "Enzo, move around more. Just because someone's passed you doesn't mean that you're job's over."

She shot the ball to the goal but the keeper made no move to stop it, staring into space while still in stance. Rushe frowned for a second before her features morphed into a small glare. "Ivan, you didn't even try to stop that."

The keeper blinked, as though he had just been brought back to Earth. Rushe made a "tch". Damnit, they knew she hated being non-serious during training.

"Coach!" Ivan exclaimed quickly — a bit too quickly — and her eyes widened.

Turning around, she saw he brunet she had come to know as an older brother trying to hide his amusement, probably at Ivan using him as an excuse to divert her attention. She'd get back at him later.

Soon, the whole team was cluttered around their coach with a synchronized shout of, "Coach Fidio!"

In front of the huddle her team had formed, Rushe stared at Fidio for a while as a smile made it's way to her face at a snail's pace. "I though you were in Japan."

"My job there is done." He smiled the same way he would whenever he would make a teasing remark. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the name of your own coach."

Rushe rolled her eyes. "Very funny." Turning to the meaning faces of the rest, she announced, "Guys, that's all for today's practice."

If possible, their faces lit up even more.

Over everyone's chatter, she heard Fidio say, "Rushe, I need to talk to you about something. Alone."

Rushe turned to him with a frown of confusion, blinking in surprise. Usually, Fidio said whatever he wanted in front of everyone.

"Okay."

The two left their celebrating team in the field, taking their conversation inside Team Rinascintica's lounge. Rushe found herself staring as Fidio took what seemed to be a DVD from his bag. "Uh...coach?"

Fidio sighed. "I told you that I had to go to see a sick friend, right?" Bewildered, Rushe just nodded mutely. She wanted to say something even though she didn't know what, but words refused to come out of her mouth as though trapped. Where was this conversation going?

Fidio looked away, busying himself with the DVD player on top of the TV. "I lied."

The two words seemed to break the barrier that had suddenly appeared between her mouth and outside. "Wha—? Why? What were you doing then? Why couldn't you tell us?" Just like that, the fog of questions that had abruptly clouded her mind flowed out of her like a stream.

The sigh Fidio heaved this time was more long suffering than he last. "The real reason I had to go was..."

Instead of completing the statement, Fidio played the DVD. Rushe's eyebrows furrowed as the screen lit up to show a stadium she didn't recognize.

"At long last, the members of Shinsei Inazuma Japan who will fight the world are going to be announced!"

"Shinsei...Inazuma Japan?" Wasn't it too early to worry about team's not from their preliminary division?

She watched the scene unfold as a grey-haired man wearing a white coat and black sunglasses emerged from what seemed to be a door. Emerald eyes widened while the man, Kuroiwa Ryuusei apparently, announced the members.

Slowly, the world around her faded out of existence as her mind reeled back to the first time she had seen the man.

Five year old Rushe watched as Nakata — she had learned his name later, having never been good at memorising them — talked to a man with blond hair — like hers, she noted with the innocent enthusiasm of a child — near the team clad in bright blue. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but it seemed to be serious, their grim expressions making her smile vanish into thin air.For some reason behind her comprehension, she found herself walking toward the blond man. She could feel the platinum blond — Luca, she remembered — release his grip on her hand.All eyes fell to her, but Rushe kept hers trained on the man. Even years later, she couldn't figure out what made her do it, but she couldn't help but say, "Oji-san?"The man who had looked away from her finally turned to face her. "Rushe."

The voice registered in her brain almost too slow. "That voice..." The little girl beamed. "I knew it was you!"

And the last.

Rushe didn't know what was going on. One moment, she had been watching the soccer match as an unexplainable joy bubbled within her, wishing that she could kick the ball around too. The next, some people had come and were leading the man called Kageyama away.Rushe rushed closer to him and called out, "Where are you going? There are so many things I want to talk to you about."The man glanced at her for a few seconds before turned his head ahead. "I'll write you another letter."And then, he walked away, leaving Rushe behind with mixed feelings. Another letter? But she wanted to talk to him in person.Then, another thought entered her mind. Maybe she could write back! That way, they could talk wherever they were.

Rushe stepped backwards, almost stumbling as she sat down on the sofa behind her. Only one word escaped her lips. "Oji-san..."

Hadn't they told her that he had died? So, why was he there, acting as Inazuma Japan's coach under a different name? How was he still alive?

The screen suddenly faded to black and Rushe blinked, turning to find Fidio with the remote. She had even forgotten where she was, in the present and not in the past.

They sat in silence for a while, before Rushe herself broke it when she believed that she was able to ask questions. "How did you know?"

"Kidou called. That's why I left, so I could see him once more."

"Why didn't you take me along?" Fidio didn't answer her question, but he didn't have to all the knew why. Leaving the team without a coach was bad enough. Leaving them without a coach or captain was just plain stupid.

Then, another question came to her, sudden like lightning. "Can I talk to him?"

She could see the corner of his mouth twitch upwards slightly. "Sure."

Soon, she was holding Fidio's phone to her ear, biting her lips in anticipation while waiting for tbe familiar "click" from the other side. Finally, it came painstakingly slow.

"Yes?"

A small gasp escaped her lips. Finally, finally, she was getting her wish of talking to Kageyama Reiji. All of a sudden, her mind went blank. She couldn't even remember the things that she had been planning to say for ten years.

In the end, with more effort than it should have taken, she finally said, "Oji-san?"

She could hear a small gasp on the other side. For a while, a long, tense silence reigned on both sides and a baseless doubt gnawed its way to the surface. Had she mistaken the voice for someone else? No, she knew it was the same.

But then, why wasn't he answering? Didn't he want to talk to her anymore? Had she really changed that much in ten years, so much that he didn't like her anymore? Or was it him that had changed, moved on while leaving her behind again as a silhouette from the past?

Then, as if it were a ray of sunshine that vaporized her doubts, the man on the other side answered, "Rushe." And just like that, all her doubts faded to the back of her mind as she remembered the first time he had said her name.

His voice was no different from the one she had first recognized him with ten years ago. From her peripheral vision, she could see her emerald eyes light up with excitement in the mirror.

"I knew it was you!"

Suddenly, Rushe felt like the five year old girl again, who, while watching the world from a new perspective, only wished to talk to the man who had saved her from the darkness he himself had fallen prey to.

"Remember, I told you I would learn about soccer? I did!"

The captain of Team Rinascintica spent the next two hours talking non-stop but no one stopped her. After all, she was getting her long-term wish.

Word count: 1470 words

Man, I've been planning this for ages! I honestly feel quite accomplished. Oh, and if anyone's confused, this is set after the first episode of Galaxy.