"Fubuki Atsuya, also called Fubuki the blizzard, captain and ace striker of Hakuren's soccer team... also known as the bear killer...? Scored ten times on his own in a single match...?" Now that made everyone go from vague interest to varying degrees of alarmed curiosity. That couldn't possibly be true, right? ... Right?
"Bear killer? That has to be just a rumor or something..."
"Ten gols? And all on his own?"
"Aren't they exaggerating a bit...?"
When Otonashi struggled to find an answer, mouth opening and closing as she failed to find any words just like she couldn't find any real information, more than one of them was starting to doubt the idea to scout this specific kid. They didn't even need to look at Someoka to feel how he grew angrier at each word, as if they were somehow personally insulting their missing striker just thinking of this rumored Fubuki as a possible teammate. If only they knew what kind of chaos was waiting for them.
The drive to Hakuren was a relatively quiet one between idle chatter and some naps, the kids simply relaxing and lazing around with nothing better to do for the time being. And of course that meant things wouldn't be quiet and peaceful for a long time.
It all started when the bus stopped suddenly, a wheel stuck in the snow. Then, came a bear of all the things, growling and attacking the bus, not too happy about this invasion of its territory.
When they were sure that this was how they would die, the shaking stopped, and the bear trying to attack them was laying on the ground, probably unconscious. Before anyone had a chance to wonder what just happened, the door of the bus opened, a short kid with fiery hair and an expression pissed enough to rival Someoka's peeking in.
"Are you guys crazy or what? You can't drive into the old man's territory so carelessly!"
The most awkward and tense silence possible descended upon the bus like a layer of soggy, melting snow, everyone too busy just processing the sheer absurdity of the whole situation to even think of an answer for this weird kid. Everyone except the coach.
"Who are you?"
"Not important." He frowned as if somehow that was the dumbest question he's ever been asked. "Just get out of this place before the old man wakes up." Then he mumbled as an afterthought. "If he didn't die this time around, I guess..."
A beat. More uncomfortable silence. Then the kid was shrugging and leaving.
"W-wait!" Endou was the first to find his voice. "Don't you need a ride or something...?"
"Nah, I'm fine- I walk around here almost everyday, I know my way around the place." And with that, he left for good.
The silence lingered until the bus slowly left to continue their trip.
"... What just happened?"
"Atsuya-kun isn't here yet, sorry." The little girl, Araya, gave them an apologetic smile, her hands still nervously fidgeting with her hat. The Raimon shared an unsure glance as the Hakuren students started arguing over his whereabouts; of course they would know their captain better than them, but was all they were saying true...? It was getting more and more far fetched with each new argument.
"What's going on here? I swear if it's another prank I'll-" The irritated voice came to a halt once the new kid entered the room, his eyes falling on the newcomers, his tone quickly going from slightly annoyed to completely deadpan. "Oh, it's you."
Awkward silence fell on the room. It only lasted for about a minute or so before hell broke loose.
"What- captain you know them?!"
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Where did you go this time?"
"Don't be so rude, captain!"
"Will you guys calm down?!" It didn't take much for their captain's patience to snap.
Everyone quickly fell silent. "I just met them this morning, alright? I kicked the old man's ass this morning when they drove into its territory. And I already told you to not call me captain!" With the few murmurs of agreement settling the argument, he huffed in annoyance before turning to the newcomers.
"So, what's the Raimon Eleven doing here? Hakuren's soccer club isn't big enough to catch anyone's attention."
"Are you Fubuki Atsuya?" Hitomiko was the first to speak up, seemingly unbothered by the whole situation. The kid quirked an eyebrow in answer.
"Yeah, that's me. What do you want?"
"There's something we need to discuss, can we have some of your time?"
While everyone else was making a mess outside in the snow, Hitomiko had calmly explained the situation to Atsuya. To his credit, he seemed to be at least considering it.
"So, will you join us, Fubuki-kun?" Endou eagerly stared at him, looking far too excited about the possibility of having such a strong player joining them.
"Thanks, but no thanks- and just call me Atsuya." For someone who just refused to help against a pretty big threat, he was pretty nonchalant about it.
"What?!" Before he could have a chance to object, Hitomiko cut the confused Endou off.
"I don't think you understand how serious this situation is." Atsuya glared at her, as if that could somehow get her to rethink her offer and back off.
"I understand it- that's exactly why I'm refusing. I doubt those assholes will come to a school with such a small team, but if they do I refuse to leave my team dealing with it alone." He didn't admit it, but they all could hear the hidden worry lacing his voice. He refused to leave his team when they might need him. Besides, contrary to what others might think, he quite liked it at Hakuren, even with the lack of strong opponents to face or big tournaments to take on.
"Will you at least let us see your abilities then?" She didn't seem to be taking no for an answer. Atsuya could only sigh, clearly annoyed at her persistence.
"Alright, if that's what it takes to make you back off..."
It was when everyone was on the field and ready to start their match that the Raimon started to take note of a few things.
Just for starters, Atsuya was in the back of Hakuren's side of the field, taking the position of a defender. Then, the smile on his face was calm, a far cry from the predatory grin he flashed them earlier, yet the confidence it held was akin to the calm before the blizzard. It was oddly frightening in its own way.
Of course, cocky smile or not, that didn't stop Someoka from growing more and more pissed at this guy's attitude with each minute that passed. No one was surprised when he took the ball and rushed towards Hakuren's with the same fury of a dragon, really, they all saw it coming.
Some of the Hakuren players might have been intimidated by his aggressive and ruthless charge, quickly pushed aside like they were nothing more than a minor hindrance. That didn't stop Atsuya, calmly standing in his path, relaxed yet ready to jump into action as soon as the right time came.
"Captain, stop him!"
"Leave it to me." Unbothered by his rough and aggressive playstyle, Atsuya jumped, spinning in the air like he was skating instead of playing soccer. "Ice ground!"
What no one saw coming was how easily Atsuya stopped his relentless charge and powerful hissatsu, the flawless execution of his hissatsu and grace of his skating movements somewhat ruined by the predatory grin back on his face full force, the ball now secured under his foot. If anyone noticed how he didn't react to the title mere seconds ago, they were too busy gawking to point it out. Hard to blame them when this kid had single handedly stopped both Someoka's charge and hissatsu shoot. Vanishing the mighty dragon without even flinching or using a hissatsu of his own, to top it all off.
"It's my turn now."
With his terrifying grin only missing an animal's fangs, Atsuya rushed ahead, pushing alone through the whole Raimon team with sheer power. It didn't take long for him to stand in front of Endou, no one able to stop him in time. His grin only widened.
"Eternal Blizzard."
The wind picked up, bitter cold and ice biting into their skin as if trying to reach their very souls, taking and crumbling anything in its path with an unsettling ease. The ball encased in ice quickly made its way into the net, shards of ices and snowflakes gently falling to the ground once it scored. Atsuya stood unbothered by the weather, his blizzard slowly coming to a halt and his ice retreating, not even looking at the goal. He already knew it scored anyways, it always did, his blizzard would never stop raging, always strong and fierce. It was eternal.
"Listen here, losers! I'm the real ace striker, Fubuki Atsuya!"
Raimon's coach had stopped the match right after his hissatsu, much to his disappointment. How was he supposed to score a bunch of goals for his team if they didn't play long enough for him to score that much? Not even his little improvised fight with their pissed off forward was that much fun. Disappointing, really.
"If that was all then I'm leaving."
He was gone before anyone could stop him.
The Aliea Academy was coming to fight against Hakuren.
"Damnit, those bastards..." Atsuya didn't like this at all. He could hold his own against a normal team without a problem, but against those freaks? He hated to admit it, but he wasn't so sure he could win against them, at least not on his own. After having seen how the teams that faced them ended up, he couldn't let that happen to his team.
Overhearing the Raimon already planning how to fight against them, he sighed, knowing there was no choice now.
"Hey!" He growled out, walking up to the other team. Endou turned to him, confusion written all over his face. "Just this once. I'll play with you just this time, alright? I'll kick their sorry asses back to whatever rock they came from before they so much as lay a finger on my team."
The smile lighting up Endou's face was too disgustingly bright for his own good.
The first day of training before their match against the Aliea had started. And one of their players was missing.
Honestly, they shouldn't have been surprised when Atsuya didn't show up to train with them, he was far too used to playing pretty much on his own. And so, thanks to Endou's seemingly endless stubbornness, they went looking for Atsuya after their own training.
When asking the rest of Hakuren's team didn't give any results -seriously, how could a team lose their own captain so easily-, they started looking around the school, moving to its surroundings when there was no sign of the striker in the school grounds.
"Where did he-?" Through the thick of the forest, Endou spotted a familiar scarf. "Guys, come over here!" The team was quick to gather with their captain. In the skiing track near the school, Atsuya was sliding down on his snowboard at an impressive speed, twisting, jumping and spinning with deadly precision. It was a breathtaking show.
Of course, not everyone shared that opinion.
"What the hell does he think he's doing?!" No one was surprised when Someoka got pissed off and proceeded to take his anger out on the nearest tree. The higher branches shook dangerously, the snow piled up on them quickly falling in big chunks that threatened to bury him under had he not moved in time.
There was a muffled crash nearby, and when they looked back at the track, Atsuya was sitting in the snow, half buried in it and not making a sound.
"Atsuya! Are you ok?!" Endou was the first to rush towards him, stumbling on his feet and barely avoiding a nasty fall once he reached the bottom, the rest of the team quick to follow him. "Atsuya?"
Atsuya didn't reply, gaze wide and unfocused like he wasn't even there anymore. Endou only noticed he was shaking when he placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to snap him out of it, whatever that it was. It was unsettling to see the usually foul mouthed, loud and stubborn kid so quiet and subdued.
"Atsuya...?" A blink, and Atsuya was warily looking around, taking in all the varying degrees of concern plastered on their faces before finally reacting.
"W-what the hell do you want?!" He was quick to swat away the hand on his shoulder, albeit with far less strength than usual. Not even Someoka, always fast to call him out on his offensive behavior, commented on it.
"... Are you-"
"I'm fine, don't bother." Despite the obvious anger in his voice, it was hard to not notice how defensive he had suddenly gotten. "What are you doing here?" Everyone silently appreciated the change of topic, as rude as it was. Whatever was bothering Atsuya must've been serious, prying in when they were pretty much strangers was definitely not the best idea.
"We were looking for you! You didn't show up for training!" Hearing that, Atsuya looked up for the snowboard he was picking up, an 'are you fucking serious' look on his face.
"I only agreed to play with you against the bastard aliens, who said anything about training?" Ichinose and Domon were trying really hard to hold back Someoka. "Sides, I'm already doing my own training."
"Training? You're just playing like a brat! Take this more seriously!" Atsuya only smirked in answer, and Someoka had to stop himself from punching the shit eating grin off his face.
"If you want to be a turtle then go ahead and keep training the old boring way. Wanna actually be fast? Then come and train with me."
After finally calming down the furious striker, they decided there was no harm in trying at least for a little while, and followed Atsuya back to the school.
"This is where we keep all the sports' gear, just pick a snowboard each- I'll take the protective gear and we'll be on our way. Feel free to come and take them any time, as long as you take them back when you're done we won't get in trouble." While Atsuya turned to search for the gear, quietly complaining under his breath about the absolute mess that was the storage room, everyone else scattered, some curiously looking at the various equipment used for other winter sports, others picking the snowboards with the designs they found cooler.
It was while looking through all the gear that Endou noticed it. A seemingly forgotten snowboard, carefully laid in a corner of the room and almost hidden from sight, left to collect dust. Upon closer inspection, he also found a pair of skates and skis with it.
Curiosity having the better of him, Endou decided there couldn't be any harm in taking a closer look, reaching out with a hesitant hand and- and suddenly someone was roughly grabbing his wrist and pulling him away.
"Don't. Touch that." Atsuya hissed at him, an almost threatening edge to his voice that sent a shiver down Endou's spine. Now sure that he made himself clear, Atsuya let his wrist go, retreating without a word. Endou wisely decided to stay as far away as possible from that dusty equipment and not dare to ask.
Finally looking at the aliens in person, Atsuya's first thought was to tell them where to go shove their balls, before deciding that it would be wiser to not rile up an unknown enemy just yet. He would definitely do it mid match though.
"They don't look so tough." But he knew better than judge someone based on appearance alone. "Come on, let's show them to not mess with us!"
"Fubuki-kun, I want you to play as a defender for the time being."
If you tried hard enough, you could heard the record scratching and coming to a halt.
"What?!" To say Atsuya wasn't happy with this was an understatement. Kidou was the first to speak up and try to calm down their angry teammate.
"Let's do what she says." He was surprisingly calm when Atsuya snarled at him. "There must be a reason for her choice. Don't worry, you'll have your chance to attack." Growling in annoyance, Atsuya begrudgingly complied, silently walking into the field.
"Alright, it's your turn for now. Don't make us look bad in front of those assholes, ok?"
"Don't worry, I won't let the aliens hurt anyone." His smile grew gentler as he reached his position.
When the match started, everyone was fully expecting Atsuya to ignore the coach's instructions and do whatever he wanted, carelessly rushing in to score on his own and keeping the ball to himself. They were trusting him for his skills, not his teamwork. It was a surprise to see him so calm and composed, unbothered by the enemy's taunts and keeping the peaceful smile on his face, quickly passing the ball without a snarky remark or a complain whenever he stole it.
It was almost like playing with an entirely different person. While as a forward he was aggressive and rude, as a defender he was tranquil and collected, almost friendly too. Despite the tough enemy they were facing, his presence helped them feel more at ease, much like the way a calm winter landscape could soothe someone with its sight alone. He held the aura of a protector.
No one noticed how Hakuren's team was cheering on Fubuki-kun instead of Atsuya.
With the first half over and the Aliea holding one mere point over them, they were all fired up to finally defeat this impossibly strong enemy, Atsuya more than anyone else. Danger or not, it wasn't every day that he got to face such a strong team in a match where he could give it his all.
"Atsuya-kun, you can shoot now."
That sentence was all he needed. The quiet and controlled aura crumbled, melting like fresh snow under the sun, and the wolfish grin was back on his face, dangerous excitement sparkling in his eyes.
"My turn now."
He was so fierce and relentless when pushing through the enemy lines, it was almost scary to watch. It didn't matter what they threw at him, how many times he was stopped and the ball was taken from him, he got back up and tried again and again just as many times, even fiercer than before. Fierce like a raging blizzard.
The aliens had been so focused on stopping his furious attacks, they didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late, the ball swiftly passed to Someoka and heading straight for the net before they could even blink.
It was all the Raimon needed to throw off their game.
With their growing panic at the prospect of losing, it was far too easy for Atsuya to score the winning goal. His blizzard was too powerful for the unfortunate keeper to even try to stop it without quite literally risking his life in the process, and the net was soon frozen in a massive sculpture of deadly ice.
They won against the aliens.
The silence that fell on the field was quickly broken by the screams of pure joy and laughter as they congratulated each others, the sweet happiness of their victory washing away all the fear and worries that permeated the area. Atsuya was more than happy just quietly standing far enough from the Raimon to not get in the way of their overly excited hugs and high fives. His peace lasted a whole total of a few seconds, the Hakuren team quickly swarming and crushing him into a very unwelcome group hug, ignoring his exasperated yells and attempts to free himself.
The celebration was cut short when more alien assholes showed up to get rid of the losers, because of course there just had to be more of them. At least the new guys- Epsilon didn't attack right away. Atsuya released the breath he was holding in once they left, silently relieved that they wouldn't have to face an unknown enemy so soon after the last team. The last thing he wanted was his team and school being put in even more danger.
They all left the field in a heavy silence.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" The disappointment in his voice was clear, yet it didn't seem to bother Atsuya.
"Yeah, yeah. These guys need me, alright? Good luck on your search." Atsuya was ready to turn and go back to his school when suddenly he was swarmed by the rest of Hakuren's team, the overly eager kids almost making him lose his balance and fall on his face.
"What the hell-?"
"Sorry ca- Atsuya-kun..." With an exasperated groan, he took a deep breath and faced his team.
"So, what's going on now?"
"Well..." Araya was the first to talk, her face set into the determined pout she reserved before pelting someone with snow balls. "We think you should go with the Raimon!" Atsuya blinked, taken aback.
"What- are you guys serious?"
"Of course! They'll need your strength to fight against the aliens!" Then, her expression softened. "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine! Besides, the sooner you beat them the sooner they'll stop hurting everyone."
"Ugh, alright... there's no winning with you guys, is there?" The annoyance in his tone was betrayed by the smile he had to fight back. "And don't even think of slacking off while I'm not around!" The giggles he received as an answer were far from reassuring, but he didn't care. One of them handed him a bag, and after a split second of hesitance, he took it. It wouldn't be easy, but he was ready to leave.
"Take care of yourself, Atsuya-kun! And be careful!"
"Hey, I'm always careful!" The glares he received said otherwise. "Traitors..."
"Hurry up before they leave!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going!"
Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Atsuya waved them goodbye, almost hesitating to take his eyes off the sight of his team- no, he wasn't that attached, just worried for the trouble they'd get into without supervision, that's all, really. Before they could tell him again to hurry up and move, he quickly turned and rushed to the Inazuma Caravan, hopping on the doorstep before it could close and giving at least half of the team onboard quite a few heart attacks in the process.
"Hey, got place for one more?"
Endou just grinned, standing and walking up to him, offering a hand to welcome him.
"Welcome to the team!"