The whistle is blown as a signal that the match, a soccer match, has started.
In the soccer field, eleven people stood in both sides. One wore an uniform of black and tints of red with them. The other wore blue and white with a lightning insignia on it.
On the bench of the field stood one old man wearing a magenta suit, face mostly covered in a gray beard. On the other side, there are seven players, accompanied with four more girls, the managers.
Accompanying them are two older men, one who wore a red cap and glasses to hide his eyes, his facial structure shows sign of aging, while the other looked younger. And with the old man, is a young soccer player whose uniform stood out for being different from the teams that are about to fight against each other.
As the match starts, two of the players, bearing gray lilac locks, bearing similar facial features, one was a boy who wore glasses, and the other, a girl whose had some strands in her hair that are braided and flowed down like a waterfall, observed.
It was not an easy moment for the team in blue, Inazuma Japan as their opponents had overcome them in many ways. And the first half ends with the opponents leading.
The pair said nothing, only observe and keep their opinions in silence as they formulate a plan that would lead the team to victory.
"They're way too specialized."
The boy of the pair spoke up when the match reached half-time and they rested for the second half.
A google wearing boy with tied, braided long hair pondered at his statement. "What do you mean?"
"Just as I said, Kidou. They are good at what they do with their intended position, but that's it."
"That doesn't help much." The goal keeper of the team, who had brown hair that matched his eyes along with an orange headband, commented.
"Do you mean over-specialization?" A red haired boy with green eyes suggested while the other players are thinking of what the the boy meant.
"You are correct, Hiroto." One of the managers spoke up. Her brown hair flowed with the wind as she walked towards the players. "They are too specialized in the position they are assigned with that if they are to come across a situation in a field that would force them to adapt in a different way, they will fail to adapt."
"What do you suggest?" A boy with spiky ashen blonde hair implored.
"...A change of positions." The one to suggest this was the female among the pair with shared gray lilac hair.
"If we are to fight against over-specialized members, then we would have to switch some of the players around to catch them off guard. They might have been trained with only the data they have of our Football Frontier International matches in mind." She explained, then turned her gaze to a spiky grey haired boy with gray eyes.
"Fubuki can play and work in both offense and defense well," she then pointed her finger to a long green haired ponytail-ed boy, one of his eyes are framed behind the green locks. "Kazemaru played in every position sans goalkeeper in the past," Then she pointed to a pink haired boy whose skin tone is darker, a sign of being under the sun for so long. "Tsunami-san had a lot of shoot-type Hissatsu's that he could have also applied being a Forward instead of a Defender," And lastly, she pointed towards the second goalkeeper of the team, a boy with yellow-brown hair. "Tachimukai was midfielder before he decided to become a goalkeeper."
She then concluded. "In short, our team has an adaptability that Garshield's chosen players don't have."
The boy inputted after her. "That's why we thought that for the second half, we're going to switch the team's position around." He turned to the brown haired manager. "But from the looks of it... you and Endou's grandfather also had the same idea in mind, right? Natsumi-san?"
Natsumi nodded. "And so for the second half..."
Time ticks on as she discussed of their plans for the next half.
"...Does that sound alright, Akito-kun? Tsubaki-san?" Natsumi asked the two.
"That's about the same as what Nii-san and I thought. Though, we had the idea of putting Tsunami-san in as forward and Tachimukai in defense." The girl, Tsubaki, answered.
The boy, Akito, added. "Just to give everyone a fair chance in the match."
Kidou smiled. "That's just like the two of you twins."
The brown-haired goal keeper then shouts, declaring. "Alright, we're going to win this!"
"Yeah!"
Fifteen minutes.
The opposing team started their kick off and advanced towards Inazuma Japan.
Fourteen minutes, twenty seven seconds.
A mohawk haired boy stopped their advances and passed the soccer ball to Gouenji.
Thirteen minutes, ten seconds.
Gouenji swiftly avoided the oncoming onslaught of his opponents with his speed.
Twelve minutes. Forty five seconds.
Passes were made between the members of Inazuma Japan with the team keeping a steady rhythm of passes but a tag team from the opposing team stole Inazuma Japan's possession of the soccer ball.
Twelve minutes. Twenty seconds.
A tanned, large player stopped that as he jumped, the earth moved and bended to his whim. "The Mountain!"
Twelve minutes. Fifteen seconds.
The soccer ball is back in their possession and the large player made a pass. "Toramaru-kun!"
The black haired boy answered by receiving the ball, calling out. "Gouenji-san!"
"Got it!" Said player affirmed.
The black haired boy prepared himself in a stance, a tiger appeared behing him. "Tiger-"
He kicked the ball upwards, followed by Gouenji calling onto a spirit made of fire energy as he kicked the ball overhead. "Storm!"
Ten minutes. Fifty seconds.
The shoot makes it into the goal despite the opposing goalkeeper doing their best to defend it.
The opposing team dismiss it as a fluke and started their counter attack against their foe.
Eight minutes.
Inazuma Japan once more took possession of the soccer ball after outmaneuvering their foes. Fubuki and Kazemaru went forward. Kazemaru ran with a great speed, the wind surrounds him as Fubuki spun the soccer ball.
"The Hurricane!"
The soccer ball reached Kazemaru, who kicked the now crystalized ball towards the goal, the score between the two team's are now even.
Seven minutes. Fifty seconds.
Their opponents are growing desperate to take back their lead against Inazuma Japan as they advanced.
Six minutes. Thirty three seconds.
The opponents attempt to score is yet again foiled as a player with purple-gray hair blocks it and called upon a dimensional rift that blocked the shoot. "Shinkuuma! V2!"
Six minutes. Eleven seconds.
The player makes a pass to Gouenji, who now moved with Toramaru and Hiroto. Toramaru and Hiroto jumped as Gouenji makes a kick.
"Grand Fire! G2!"
The flames grow as it advanced towards the goal post. Several players from the opposing team went back to their side of the field to stop the shoot but to no avail, as the shoot made it into the goal.
Five minutes.
The two team's are left on a stalemate as they try to prevent the other from scoring another goal.
Four minutes.
Three minutes.
Two minutes.
One minute.
Zero.
The whistle blew for Inazuma Japan's victory.
Garshield Bayhan has failed.
That alone, they can gather.
Garshield is too proud of his program he failed to account in the adaptability of his players.
No matter.
Garshield may have failed their leader, but they still have a chance in attaining one of their targets.
"Maeda Akito, you shall be of great use for the leader."
Tsubaki felt a horrible feeling of ill intent aimed at their way as Inazuma Japan watched the plane carry away Garshield and his chosen players.
Garshield is now officially locked behind the bars for good.
She turned around, surveying her surroundings when she felt that horrible feeling and saw a blur moving towards-
No no no! No one is hurting her brother!
Akito was caught off guard when his sister suddenly ran towards him and at the next moment, he saw her being knocked all the way to the side, her form now limp on the ground.
"Not my intended target... but Maeda Tsubaki will suffice."
Oh hell no-
Crackle of electricity flowed around his body as he made a dash towards where his sister was.
But the stranger had been faster and reached her first.
Akito is a step too late.
He glared at the stranger who carried his fallen sister like he carried a sack. "Let my sister go."
The stranger stares at him, eyebrows curved in a way as if they are challenging him.
"I'd like to see-"
Akito kicked at them before they can finish.
His sight is now clearer than usual without his glasses that fell on to the ground when he rushed towards Tsubaki. He can see the stranger attempting to make another move and get out of this place.
He didn't let the stranger go without a fight and sent another kick, electricity followed him as he made his attack.
He refused to let the stranger go as he kept on with his on slaught of attacks, electricity continue to crackle around him and follow his command.
A dash, a kick, a punch, he did what he could to take his sister back.
Then the stranger stopped at his right and then he lost balance of his footing.
He tumbled and took a moment to kept himself balanced on the ground before he turned.
The stranger and his sister is no more. The only ones in the area now are Inazuma Japan, Endou Daisuke, Rococo, the captain of Cotarl's Little Gigant, and Akito himself. The former watched in silence, some in shock at the events that transpired.
Akito can only grit his teeth as he restrains himself from screaming in frustration.
His sister is taken away right in front of him and he had been too late.
His name is Kei.
He is currently twelve years old and he had been in this gilded cage ever since he is 8 years old.
Or so he was told by the people that trapped him here.
He doesn't remember his past. Because something happened during his captivity that made him lose all the memories he had of his past without a chance of recovering them at all.
He was placed in a room that is well furnished with a bed, ventilation, some toys and things that can keep him entertained, mainly story books and educational ones, along with a window that lets him see the sky and an unlockable door. No TV though. It may seem like a normal room in first glance, but he knows that it's a prison to catch his guard down.
He may not remember his past, but he knows that the people that trapped him here can't be trusted and he had to fight for his freedom.
He may have been hurt far too many times, but he still wants to fight to earn his freedom.
That determination is what kept him going for as long as he remembered and why he refused to budge and relent to their demands and will.
Today doesn't seem to be any different until he heard the door to his cell, open to make way for an older girl with gray like, lilac hair, and one of the people working here saying something.
He can only make out the tail end of their conversation from where he stood.
"...If I refuse?"
"...We'll see about that."
The person left him with the older girl after that.
He took the opportunity to take his pen and notebook and wrote. "Who are you? One of the new people they tried to brainwash?"
Kei lost his ability to speak. His vocal chords were fine, but no matter how much he try, his voice just couldn't come out. Whatever that made him forget about his past must have rendered him traumatized enough to lose his voice.
He read that it's something called Selective Mutism. A condition where something happened so the person consciously could not speak to anyone else except when they are around an environment that calms them down.
He showed the girl his reply. The girl looked distinctively Asian but he wasn't sure if the girl is Chinese or somewhere else... Asian American, for example, and they said that English is a global language, so he wrote his question in English.
He knows that he is Japanese from what he can remember, and his name sounds distinctively Japanese, but he can't write Kanji, he can only write and read Hiragana and Katakana, so he felt much more confident in English more than his own mothertongue.
The girl then answered to him in English. "I might be. But I don't have plans to let them get what they want out of me."
He wrote again, asking her. "Who are you then?"
At that, the girl's hand moved, one holding her chin and the other crossed to support the elbow. "Why don't you introduce yourself first?"
He pointed to himself.
"Yes, you. I can't keep calling you as "Boy" or "Kid" in my head all the time."
Ah. Well.
He answered. "I'm Kei."
"Kei, huh? That's a cool name."
She introduced herself in return. "I'm Maeda Tsubaki. I'm currently going under a different surname to protect myself. I also have a twin older brother, his name is Akito."
Huh, so she's Japanese. Phew.
She turned her head around, observing the room. He noticed that her left hand is reaching onto her ear that is hidden by her gray lilac hair. A habit? He wasn't sure as she commented. This time, she spoke in Japanese. He may not be confident about his ability to speak and write in his mothertongue but Kei can still understand what she is saying. "If they're trying to put us into a false sense of security then it sure as heck working."
...Is that sarcasm that he detected?
He implored. This time, in Japanese. "What do you mean?"
Tsubaki blinked as she read his question before she answered. Replying back in Japanese as well. "There is not a single surveliance camera around in this gilded cage you call a room."
Ah well... He may or may not have been messing around with the camera's a few times before that they ended up not putting anymore camera's on his cell.
Maybe they don't want to waste anymore materials? Who knows.
She continued. "It also means that no one is going to be listening or giving a careful watch to this cell. This makes it easier to talk without anyone knowing what topic we are talking about."
"That makes sense." He inputted.
"Do you know where we are right now?"
She asked him.
"I'm... I'm not sure. But I think I vaguely heard the people here talking about this place being the African base? The base is provided by some guy whose name starts with Gar or something."
"Garshield."
He nodded.
The girl pondered in thought before she settled onto the chair near the table.
"Well, since I'll be here until these people decided that they want something from me so soon, what do you want to talk about?"
He turned to a new page of his notebook and wrote. "Can I ask you of how you got here?"
Tsubaki hummed. "Hmm... you want me to tell you the story of how I got here? Well… I took a hit that was meant for my brother..."
He shook his head in response.
"...No?"
He clarified. "I want you to tell me about your life along with how you got here."
"You want me to tell you the story of my life instead for the "How I got here" part? All the way from my childhood?"
He nodded.
Tsubaki stayed quiet for a moment, looking deep in thought, before she obliged.
"Alright, I guess I can make an exception. Since... well. You're just like me."