It sure feels nice to translate sometimes.

Hello and welcome to A Worried Great-Grandson! This is the introduction to all of my Inazuma-related fics (and all I ever do is write about Inazuma Eleven). These are the foundations all of my stories are built upon, so it's convenient, although by no means mandatory, to check this out first.

And talk about first… First of all, I want to thank my wonderful girlfriend, who took the time to recheck this whole story for me and make it better overall. She's the best, even if she's been too busy lately and it's taken her a while to finish. You can have the job done right or you can have it done fast, I guess, but I definitely prefer quality over speed. ww Thanks, honey!

It had been a heck of a long time since I last wrote. University and my work as a game designer kept me pretty busy, but I felt like going back to my roots and fixing this hellish disaster I set up so many years ago. The original version of this story wasn't even a story, but some kind of… I can't even define it myself. A plotless catastrophe, all in all. (Like, really. It had no plot. Nothing happened. It brought shame to my family and girlfriend.) That's why I have been meaning to add some extra content to this story for a long time now, and, at long last, here it is! There are more than a few people following this story even though it's always been a one-shot and I marked it as such from the very beginning (including someone who followed this story just a few days after I published the original version in Spanish—hello there, Mary!), so one or two of those people might come back to this story after so many years and find this renewed and improved version. I truly hope that will happen—I would be so happy if it were the case. It happened with the original Spanish version and I was super happy, so I know what I'm talking about, ha ha. Also, it went from having less than 900 words to more than 8,000, so it's much more than just a simple remastering, obviously.

I don't want to make this any longer, so that's all. Happy reading!

A single punch. After a single punch, the ground began to shake. He looked at his hand in fear. He had become stronger later, but not that much stronger.

Mamoru Endou, Raimon's soccer team's goalkeeper and captain, looked around. There was hardly anybody at the Steel Tower Plaza, but the few kids who ran around him and the people sitting by the lake didn't seem to have batted an eyelid in the slightest. Not even the great tree next to him seemed perturbed. The tyre he had just punched, which hung from a rope tied to one of the sturdiest branches of the tree, kept on swinging, unshaken, alien to everything but the strike and gravity itself. However, Mamoru could feel it clearly: the ground was shaking, more and more.

And, suddenly, everything was light.

The plaza had vanished. People had vanished. And when he succumbed to the blinding light that forced him to close his eyes, he vanished as well.

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't anywhere. At least, not anywhere he could recognise. While his eyes got used to the void, to that endless white and bright space in which he seemed to be, he tried to sit up. In spite of not being able to distinguish a ceiling nor any limits within that space, he was surprised to find out he was lying on a floor free of any kind of relief or imperfection. It was like a tangible cloud: totally firm and safe, but strange and almost unreal to the touch. Something told him he wouldn't split his head open if he crashed head-first against that floor, but he had no intention of trying that out either.

Mamoru finished standing up. Still bothered by the light, he screwed his eyes up, trying to find something, anything, within that endless white. But there didn't seem to be anything.

"Is anyone there!?" He shouted, placing his hands around his mouth as a speaker.

"Yeah~!" His own voice replied behind his back.

Mamoru got so scared that he fell flat on his face. Not the way he would have wanted to, but he found that, indeed, crashing against that floor didn't hurt on its own, but it could make someone bite their own tongue from the impact. Hurt, lost and scared, he turned around without even bothering standing up to be, at least, facing danger.

A part of himself expected to see nothing. If his mind was playing tricks on him, he wouldn't be surprised to hear voices too. However, what he found was, perhaps, an even worse omen than a possible ghost.

Mamoru couldn't articulate a single word at first. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't make a sound. What started as a surprised grimace gradually turned into one of confusion, as extreme as the rest of his facial expressions.

The figure in front of him, uncomfortably familiar, talked again.

"Hi, Great-Grandpa~!" He exclaimed. Despite his blue eyes and his spiky green hair, the boy was extraordinarily similar to Mamoru himself. Of his same height and wearing the exact same orange headband Mamoru inherited from his grandfather, the only noticeable physical difference between them was that the boy had a better-defined chin than his: a flamboyant proof that the Endou gene had diluted with time.

"Kanon?" Mamoru asked with difficulty. "Is that you?"

Kanon, Mamoru's great-grandson, nodded. Mamoru was still very young: he had barely turned fifteen. However, about a year prior, a series of strange events—that he still couldn't fully understand—led his great-grandson, from 80 years in the future, to get involved in an important mission through time to protect soccer and to protect him as well.

Mamoru adored Kanon. Being able to play soccer with him was a dream come true; a dream he wasn't even aware of until he met him, but a dream nonetheless. Half of what he said may have been riddles and he may have been, perhaps, a little noisy at times, but his great-grandson was everything he had always looked for in a friend: jolly, extroverted, resolute, trustworthy, strong-willed and, above all, an exceptional soccer player who helped him grow beyond his dreams.

But Kanon was much more than a good soccer teammate. Kanon was his own flesh and blood. Kanon was proof that, one day, he would get married, have children and start a family. Mamoru had never even considered that possibility until he met him, and that revelation made a whole new world present itself to his eyes. Feelings that had been asleep until then woke up all of a sudden within his heart: love, paternal instinct and even a tiny little bit of maturity and responsibility. In fact, those feelings might have never been there and Kanon himself might have been the one to plant them within his heart. Did that mean Kanon was responsible for his own birth? Thinking of that used to give him a headache, so he tried to avoid it.

However, and despite how happy it made him to see Kanon, Mamoru had learnt his lesson quickly and he knew that meeting his great-grandson would only be trouble. Big trouble. And finding himself in such a strange place only worried him more.

"What is this place, Kanon? And what are we doing here?"

Kanon grinned. It was obvious he was expecting that answer. Smiling as he went, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"We are in the epicentre of a time compression!"

Kanon did suppose his great-grandfather wouldn't know what he was talking about; he didn't know either until recently. But he had him so idealised that he thought it wouldn't hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even so, Mamoru's face showed that he only word of that sentence he had understood was 'we.' Kanon breathed in and began to talk.

"The epicentre of a time compression is an area away from space-time: a safe place while reality readjusts after the compression. You're here because I brought you, and I'm here because I caused it." His smile grew even bigger than before. He seemed really proud.

Mamoru took a few seconds to reply as he tried to process all of that.

He failed miserably.

"I don't really get it, but…" He scratched his cheek, "you're not in danger again or anything like that, are you?"

"Well… I think reality could implode, but I don't think that'll happen."

Mamoru's eyes almost popped out, but Kanon didn't even notice. Sometimes, he didn't know what to think about his great-grandchild.

"Other than that, nope~! It's not like The Ogre is back or anything like that." Kanon shook his hand to play that subject down. "I'm doing this for you, Great-Grandpa! You helped me once and I want to return the favour!"

Mamoru wanted to ask, but he couldn't. Right before he could start talking, that strange, infinite space began to shake again. They both lost their balance and fell on their knees.

"What's going on!?" Mamoru asked as he tried to stand up again, frantically looking around.

"I… I don't know, Great-Grandpa! This shouldn't be happening!"

That place started to darken. The floor they were on, the so-called ceiling, the infinite horizon: they all went from the purest white to a dirty grey and, from that grey, to the darkest black. Despite all, both of them could still see perfectly, but what they saw was as dark as infinite itself and it was difficult to know if it really was there. Mamoru, squatting and with his fingers resting on the floor to keep his balance, looked at Kanon when the tremors ended. Kanon, who had given up and remained seated on the floor, returned the gaze. None of them knew what was happening.

"Finally…"

And, then, a new flash of light blinded them.

It took them a few seconds to be able to open their eyes again. But, when they did, what they found in front of them was a soccer field.

Mamoru looked around: they found themselves next to where one of the goals should have been, but there was nothing there. Then, he looked at Kanon, who was already standing on his feet. His great-grandchild's expression was far, far more serious than usual. It somewhat scared him.

Kanon was looking around, too, but with a furrowed brow and half-closed eyes. Mamoru could sense something was very wrong.

"What's the matter, Kanon? Do you know this place?" Mamoru asked as he stood up.

"I don't know if this can be called 'place.'"

Kanon pointed at the stands that surrounded the field and even at the ceiling. It was an indoor stadium, full of floodlights that lit it up. Interesting, cosy and modern, but nothing exaggerated. It seemed to have been designed as a training place for a youth team. Then, he began to walk. He stepped out of the playfield and took a few steps towards the stands. However, beyond one point, he stopped moving forward. He was still waking, his feet were moving and, of course, he seemed to move towards them, but the distance between him and the stands had stopped shortening. Kanon turned around quickly and said, "Great-Grandpa, touch the pitch, please. Bare-handed."

Mamoru wasn't getting it, but he did as told. He took one of his thick and worn out goalkeeper gloves off. Kanon couldn't help but notice that his hand was red and full of wounds. Mamoru touched the grass on the field.

"How weird. It feels as if—"

"—it weren't there, right?" Kanon cut him short. Mamoru nodded as he stood up and put his glove back on.

Mamoru furrowed his brow, just like Kanon did before.

"I don't think we moved, Great-Grandpa," Kanon replied. "I suppose we're still in the epicentre of the time compression. This around us is—" he looked for the right words as he scratched the nape of his neck, "—like a picture. A very, very big and very, very realistic picture. As if someone had stuck it to the infinite to make us believe we are in a stadium, but it's simply a layer of paint. None of this is real. That's why you can't feel the grass and that's why we can't move from here."

"Is this normal, Kanon?"

"No. Well, actually, I don't know. Nothing like this had ever been done before, so we can only work with theories… But Professor Killard didn't tell me about anything like this. Also, I don't get why we ended up at a soccer stadium…" He folded his arms.

"Then, what do we do?"

"I think… we'll have to wait. The compression should be done soon."

Great-grandfather and great-grandchild shared worried looks. Mamoru couldn't bear it anymore.

"Hey, Kanon… What are you doing here?" Mamoru finally asked.

"As I said before… I just wanted to help you."

Mamoru and Kanon sat on the fake grass, facing each other. Mamoru smiled at him. It wasn't one of his usual big smiles that could fix everything, but a more succinct and understanding one. Not entirely paternal, but just enough for Kanon to feel safe.

"Great-Grandpa, none of what I've told you is a lie. It's true there is no threat whatsoever. No one is chasing me and no one is chasing you. Everyone is safe. But… there's something weird."

"I think you being here is weird enough as it is, Kanon." Mamoru folded his arms and wrinkled his nose.

Kanon shook his head.

"No, it's not that. But… almost."

Mamoru frowned.

"Say, Great-Grandpa… Have you noticed anything odd lately?" Kanon asked.

"Normal odd or… you odd?"

"…Either, I guess, but I was talking to something a bit more normal, yes." Kanon nodded.

"Let's see…" Mamoru folded his arms even more tightly and closed his eyes, trying to think. After a few seconds, he looked at him again and said, "Well, it has nothing to do, but—"

"But…?"

"I… I guess those things are normal, but truth is everyone's acting in a really weird way lately… Everyone says it's just age, though. I don't know, I don't know…"

"Tell me, Great-Grandpa. Please," Kanon begged.

Mamoru tried to find the words, since no one had wanted to listen to him and he hadn't had to look for them until then. He tried with all of his might. He looked for the kindest way to say that his teammates were acting in a strange way, that they would argue all the time, that the atmosphere wasn't good, that something wasn't right and that things, much to his chagrin, weren't like they used to be anymore. But he only managed to say one thing. Something that, coming from him, explained the seriousness of the situation better than anything else.

"No one wants to play soccer with me anymore…" He said in an extremely distressed sigh.

"I thought so."

"Uh?" Mamoru raised his head quickly when he heard that immediate reply. "You… You already knew?!"

Kanon nodded.

Mamoru moved closer to Kanon and held his hands tightly. His eyes sparkled as he stared at his great-grandchild.

"I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING ON! No one would listen to me, Kanon! Everyone else said it comes with our age, but that's not true! I'm a teenager too and I'm fine; they're the ones acting funny! What's going on!?"

Kanon was having a hard time holding his great-grandfather's stare. Before answering, he had to avert his eyes and stare at the ground.

"…This is my fault."

"Eh?"

Mamoru quickly let go of Kanon's hands. He felt extremely betrayed. His own grandchild, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood, had taken away from him what he loved the most in this world. He was already swearing to himself he would never form a family when Kanon began to shake his hands.

"N-no! I mean… It's possible that The Ogre's attack and my coming to your help have caused this. L-let me explain!" Kanon exclaimed when he saw his great-grandfather's pupil contracting in utmost fear.

"Let me see…" Kanon muttered, drawing an imaginary line on the ground. "Imagine this line is your life. It starts here, on the left end, and it extends all the way to the right end, which is the… end," he said carefully. "This should be your normal life. But, when The Ogre attacked…" Kanon placed a finger on a point near the left end of the line and dragged it outside the continuity he had previously marked, "…a new timeline was created, where we met and we defeated them. So, technically, there are two versions of you now: one that never met me and another one who did. Got it?"

Surprisingly, Mamoru nodded. Kanon smiled at him, although he was afraid his poor great-grandfather might have already seen it all because of him.

"But these are not your only timelines, Great-Grandpa." Kanon placed a finger on the main line again, slightly closer to the left end than before. "The Ogre attacked here too, during the Football Frontier."

"What?!" Mamoru exclaimed. "N-no! The Ogre attacked while we were playing the world cup, not the Football Frontier!"

"In your timeline, that's right," Kanon nodded, "but, as I was saying, there is more than one. I helped you in both cases, although… it's tough to explain. But, please, trust me."

Mamoru nodded again. Even though he trusted his great-grandchild, he was having a very rough time understanding it.

"Okay. As I was saying…" Kanon dragged his finger outside the timeline again, "that created a different reality. That means there are three versions of you: one that never met me, one that met me at the end of the Football Frontier, and one that met me during the world cup. The last one is yours, Great-Grandpa."

"I see…" Mamoru said, pursing his lips. "Do I have any more of those… lines?"

"It's very likely, but we have no way of knowing. If it weren't because I have seen all three of the timelines I told you about, I wouldn't be able to know they exist either. Then again…"

Kanon drew a bunch of lines in quick succession.

"…what would happen if you weren't the only one who was affected? All of your teammates were there with you, right? They fought against The Ogre as well and met me, so—"

"—they have new timelines, too."

"Yes! And that's the problem."

This time, it was Kanon who held Mamoru's hands.

"Great-Grandpa, in the future, what you achieved during your second year at Raimon has been known as "Mamoru Endou's Legend," but you're destined to do much more than that! You have to keep becoming stronger and stronger! If the time comes and you aren't ready yet, history as we know it could change for the worse."

"But…" Mamoru looked down, "I can't become stronger, Kanon. I have been trying day and night, I mean it, but all I have managed to do is tear my hands." He caressed the hand he had had to show Kanon before. He was fully aware he had been looking at it. "I can't improve without my teammates…"

Kanon carefully squeezed Mamoru's hands and stared at him.

"That's why I'm here!"

"Will you help me train, Kanon!?" Mamoru's eyes were gleaming.

"Of course~!" He smiled. "But that isn't—"

The stadium began to distort around them.

Shapes, items, shadows. Everything in sight from the point they were at began to contract, to twist, to crumble.

Kanon and Mamoru stood up and were on their guard. What should have been a calm space, made-to-measure for the two of them, was turning into a more and more hostile environment. Neither of them had wanted to mention it so as to not worry the other, but they had both seen that shadow. They had both heard that voice. They didn't know what it was, where it had come from nor why it was there, but their instinct was telling them it was up to no good, and their nature pressed them to be ready for anything and everything.

Everything in sight was twisted and was beginning to fold over. That space, or at least the layer of paint that decorated it, was contracting. Scared, Mamoru and Kanon pressed their backs together to leave no flank uncovered. They felt that infinite space was trying to swallow them and something within them, something animal, told them they had to fight it. But neither of them knew how. Mamoru would tell himself Kanon would eventually understand what was going on, while the latter trusted his great-grandfather would come with flying colours out of this situation as well. They didn't exchange a word. They didn't imply anything. But, at least, the mutual and blind trust they felt for each other helped them stand on their trembling legs.

The stadium fell upon them and what it left behind was an infinite black they had already faced before. Nonetheless, that darkness didn't seem so clear anymore. That feeling of being able to see despite the lack of light did not exist. The feeling that something tangible would remain under their feet did not exist. There is a great difference between darkness and void that only those who have faced both can understand, and that difference was right in front of them.

When the only trail of colour left was right under their feet in the shape of green grass, Kanon and Mamoru held each other instinctively. They expected to fall into an abyss, and it was tough to believe when the last inkling of colour vanished without them feeling anything.

Mamoru and Kanon turned around and looked at each other. Kanon held his great-grandfather's hands and smiled at him, trying to calm him down. He was just as scared as Mamoru, but he had caused this situation himself and he was supposed to have control over it. He couldn't let his great-grandfather think otherwise.

A flash, more violent than the last one, appeared right between them and hurled them backwards, far away from each other. This flash didn't blind them, so they got to see everything perfectly.

The world that had just contracted on itself was spreading again in front of their eyes and at high speed, as if it were a Big Bang, but it was far from how they remembered it. The illusion was completely and grotesquely deformed. The stands were distorted and undulating. The colours of everything around them seemed to have randomly changed, with grey snippets and mistakes everywhere.

But, surprisingly, the lines of the soccer field were still perfect: white, straight, of the right size. The grass had changed colours and, rather than green, it seemed to have taken a dark turquoise colour, as if the darkness that it was trying to mask were penetrating into it. However, the strangest thing about the field wasn't the fact that it had been so well preserved nor the colour of the grass, but what had appeared right in the middle, on the kick-off point.

In spite of how much that yellow stood up over the grass, it took Kanon and Mamoru a while to see it. They were too busy looking at how, by all appearances, reality was forming itself again before their eyes. Even so, when they finally saw it, they couldn't take their eyes off it. Kanon looked at Mamoru, and Mamoru told him with a head movement that he was going to get closer. He walked slowly, with Kanon in the rear.

Their pulses raced as soon as they could distinguish what that was.

Before them was a grey-haired boy, lying on the floor in foetal position. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a lightning bolt printed on one side and a red bracelet on his arm.

Mamoru crouched down to examine him. He didn't know about such things, but he knew enough to be able to say that, if he breathed, he was alive. He placed a hand in front of his mouth and nose and waited for a few seconds.

Breath. Mamoru sighed in relief and fell on his butt, exhausted from all those sudden emotions. Even so, his relief didn't last long. He looked up and saw Kanon had become petrified upon seeing that boy's body.

He hadn't even thought about that until then, but his great-grandchild's expression made him doubtful. He had been happy to know that boy was still alive and well, but he probably shouldn't have drawn such hasty conclusions. Indeed, Kanon's gaze told him something wasn't right. Mamoru decided to ask.

"He shouldn't be here, Great-Grandpa…"

"Eh?!" Mamoru exclaimed. "You know him!? Who is this boy, Kanon?"

"He's…" Kanon scratched the nape of his neck. He didn't think he would have to say it so soon, but he didn't think that was a good time for games or surprises either. "He's Raimon's captain, Great-Grandpa."

Mamoru opened his mouth and reality ripped up.

They looked around. The noise was deafening. While the place they were at seemed to rip as if claws were shattering it from the outside, the sound it made was indescribable. Neither Kanon nor Mamoru had ever heard anything like that. They only knew it was irregular, extremely acute and that it was drilling their eardrums until they felt a shooting pain on their heads. Despite the pain, fear kept them on the alert.

There was nothing behind the vertical breaches that were appearing everywhere. They were once again overwhelmed by that feeling, that abysmal difference between darkness and the most absolute void. Despite that, that void wasn't slowly getting closer through folds and contractions, but it was leaping onto them aggressively, destroying the environment that, at least in appearance, seemed to shelter them. It was as if it were trying to prove a point. As if it wanted to show that they could never escape from it even when they felt at home.

The breaches became stable. The noise stopped. Their surroundings were full of holes that let them see reality: that what they called reality was nothing but a lie. And, then, from the place where one of the goals should have been, something caught their attention. A breach seemed to be appearing there too, but it was radically different from the rest.

The breach was horizontal, and not vertical like all the previous ones. It was opening very, very slowly and in utter silence, while the rest had appeared quickly and noisily, as if a scratch had caused them. Although the reason why it caught their attention so much was because, behind that breach, there wasn't an absolute void, but an intense source of light.

Within that absolute void, that seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel. Or it would have if it weren't because of the enormous black claws that, without any kind of cunning, were ripping reality apart and making its way towards them.

It came out crawling and, as soon as it did, the breach widened. It wasn't as black as darkness: it was as black as the void. It could only be distinguished because it stood out over that glimmering light, but that same light kept them from distinguishing any details of its anatomy, except for its silhouette.

It placed its claws on the supposed floor and propelled itself upwads, revealing that what seemed to be a reptile actually had an almost humanoid shape. Almost. But what they actually found was something deformed, twisted, melted. A shadow so amorphous it couldn't be real.

It hissed in a known voice.

"Not enough…"

That spectre raised its claw. On top of it, something spherical appeared, covered in a dark aura. The shadow twisted what should have been its head to face that thing. It had no eyes, but it seemed to be looking at it curiously, as if it didn't know what to do with it. It eventually twisted its head towards Mamoru and Kanon again and, with an extremely fast movement that was unlike anything they had seen of it up until that point, the shadow hurled that sphere directly at Kanon.

Kanon was petrified in fear. His pupils dilated, trying to get used to that ball of darkness he was staring at. An orange-coloured stain stood between them. Kanon wanted to scream, but there was no air left in his lungs.

Mamoru set his feet firmly on the floor, frowned and breathed in. He was more furious than scared.

"I don't know what you are, but nothing and no one will hurt Kanon as long as I'm here!!"

Mamoru twisted his body to the side and his right hand began to shine. He hurled a punch to the air and its light, warm and protective, lit everything up. If anything in the world could stand up to the void, it was undoubtedly that.

Imposing golden lightning bolts emerged from Mamoru's fist. They spread towards the sky, and the glimmering spectre of a closed hand was born from them.

"Omega The—"

The hand seemed to be absorbing all the light in the universe and growing thanks to it. When the hand opened with a massive energy explosion, it seemed bigger than the spectre. Bigger than that stadium. Bigger than the whole universe.

Mamoru threw his hand forwards, and the massive golden hand followed him, making direct contact with the dark sphere.

"—HAAAND!!"

The sphere destroyed the hissatsu as soon as it came into contact with it. There was no struggle whatsoever. Horrified, Mamoru could only look as that darkness disintegrated the light of his strongest technique and the sphere hit him directly in the stomach, hurling him towards Kanon.

Great-grandfather and great-grandson rolled together until they ended up lying next to the mysterious boy that had appeared in the centre of the field. Kanon was terrified, but he gathered all his strength to look at the other two. The boy was still unconscious, and Mamoru held his stomach as he wriggled in pain. Even though it seemed like it had had no effect, his Omega The Hand had managed to reduce the strength of the projectile just enough so Mamoru wouldn't lose his consciousness from the hit.

Kanon looked at the dark spectre. Its silhouette still stood out thanks to the light coming from the breach. He wasn't as strong as his great-grandfather: all he could do was feel fright, without a single ounce of rage. But, at least, he knew that that wasn't the light at the end of the tunnel.

Mamoru made a supreme effort to sit up. Kanon looked at him with empty eyes.

"We can play that game too," Mamoru said with a smile. Kanon couldn't understand where he was getting the strength from to fight despite everything that was happening, but neither could he understand why a single smile from his great-grandfather was able to bring his faith and energy back like that.

Mamoru looked at the spherical projectile the spectre had thrown and gestured with his head. Now that it wasn't surrounded by a strange aura nor in motion, it looked like little more than a black ball. A black ball or a cannonball, Kanon thought, but the latter option didn't even cross Mamoru's mind.

Mamoru stood up.

"Imagine that light is the goal, Kanon. We have to score."

"Are you sure, Great-Grandpa…?"

"Don't worry about me! I've been hit by so many soccer balls that my body has turned into one giant callus. I didn't even feel it!"

Kanon nodded and, without having to share another word, he broke into a run forwards.

Ignoring the pain, Mamoru ran towards the black ball. With a single kick, he threw it upwards.

He slightly crouched down for a second, focusing on collecting energy from every corner of his body. He stood up again, violently, letting out a furious cry that made a massive shining hand appear over his head. With his jaw clenched, he crossed his arms over his forehead to gather all the energy he had collected before on that point. The hand closed into a fist.

"Megaton Head—!"

Mamoru leant his head and shoulders back, making the hand move back with him. He waited for a split second and, with millimetric accuracy, he threw his body forth again to give a strong head-butt that the fist mimicked obediently, hitting the ball straight as he shouted with all of his might:

"—G3!!"

The ball flew off forwards with great strength. If they hadn't had such fantastic chemistry, Kanon would have never managed to give the ball the extra kick he needed.

With all the energy from Mamoru's Megaton Head still charged within it, the ball moved forward, stopped and went back.

He kicked the ground and, in an instant, he went up to the ball, which was gently hovering over the ground. He somersaulted quickly in the air and leant both of his feet against the ball, making sparks fly out of it.

"God—!" He exclaimed as the ball started giving an intense golden glow off and the sparks turned into huge lightning bolts, very similar to those who connected Mamoru's body to his Omega The Hand.

Kanon crouched down on the ball, pressing his body against it as much as possible to give it all the power he could in the little time he had.

"—Cannon!!" He finally screamed, stretching and letting the energy flow. The ball flew towards the spectre like a cannon shot, shrouded in a bright golden light.

The spectre took a long leap forwards and stopped the ball with its chest.

It didn't even break a sweat.

Kanon and Mamoru were left breathless. That monster was absolutely unbeatable. They had used all of their power and rage, but they hadn't achieved anything. They couldn't attack, and they couldn't defend themselves from its attacks. It might have been a mixture of pain, helplessness, fright and doubt, but, for the first time in a while, Mamoru lost his hope. He told himself it was useless to fight. Impossible, even.

They were done for.

And, just as his legs were no longer able to hold him and he finally collapsed, he noticed the light of the breach was already too far away. The spectre was already close enough for him to see it properly. There was nothing blinding him.

Using the last bit of energy left in him, he made sure to place himself on top of the mysterious boy, covering his body with his own to protect him from whatever could happen next. Then, he fainted.

Kanon was alone, and what used to seem like a shadow was approaching them. It wasn't hiding in the light anymore. There was no excuse left to not see anything but a silhouette, but that's what it still was: a dark shape, very undefined, biped and vaguely humanoid. The light from the breach had never blinded them. As it had happened from the very beginning, despite the lack of light and excess thereof, everything was perfectly visible. That being, that monster, that spectre was still that: a spectre. And realising that scared Kanon even more.

Despite all, the young one gathered strength from where there was nothing but fear to stand between the enemy and his great-grandfather. He spread his arms and set his feet firmly on the floor, blocking its way. The spectre began to laugh. That laughter penetrated Kanon's skin and soaked his very bones.

But he wasn't going to let someone like that intimidate him. Not after everything that had happened. Not after what he had done to his great-grandfather.

He plucked up enough courage to stop shivering, stick his chest out and look at it in the face.

"Who are you?" Kanon asked.

"Right now, no one," it replied.

"How did you get in here?"

"Because I have been waiting for a long time."

Kanon frowned.

"And what do you want from us?"

The spectre dislocated its mouth. It looked like a smile, but it was as twisted as the world around them.

"Destroy you."

Then, it was Kanon who smiled. Soon after, he started laughing. He was still afraid, but he genuinely felt like laughing.

The spectre grimaced. It was smiling too.

"Do you think you can take on me all on your own?" The spectre asked sarcastically.

"Oh, of course not!" Kanon said as soon as he managed to stop laughing. "But you won't be able to take on us either."

"I think he begs to differ." The spectre looked at Mamoru.

"Yes, he does. But not me."

"They are unconscious and you are too scared to face me. What makes you think I can't destroy you as soon as I feel like it?"

"That your time has run out."

Before the spectre could ask or even react, Kanon turned around quickly and jumped on his great-grandfather and the mysterious boy.

"What!? No!!" It bellowed. But it was too late.

Kanon held onto Mamoru and the boy firmly as the time compression exploded and ran the spectre over, throwing it back through the breach it had come from.

With a flash no one saw, the mysterious boy, Mamoru and Kanon appeared at the Steel Tower Plaza again, right next to the tyre Mamoru would always hit. It was already night. Kanon got up with a jump and felt his whole body with his hands. Head: in its place. Arms: working. Legs: hurt, but there they were. He checked his joints and muscles. Everything seemed to be okay. He let out a deep sigh as time moved again.

Kanon hurried to press the button on his communicator.

"Kanon, my boy! Are you two okay?" A voice on the other side replied.

"We're okay, Professor Killard, but… something really odd happened. I'm sorry—I have to hang up. I promise I'll call you soon!"

"Hmm…" Professor Killard muttered with concern. "Fine, but tell me all about it as soon as you can."

"Sure, Professor! See you!"

Kanon pressed the button again. Once done with formalities, he hurled himself onto his great-grandfather and shook him gently to wake him up.

"Kanon…?" Mamoru muttered. "What happened…?"

Kanon couldn't hold himself back anymore and he hugged him tight. Mamoru was still dizzy, but he returned it with the same strength.

"Hey, Kanon…"

"Yes, Great-Grandpa?" Kanon said, teary-eyed.

"I think it's about time you tell me everything."

Mamoru and Kanon sat down on a nearby bench after making sure that the mysterious boy was comfortably lying on the grass. Mamoru had his eyes fixed on his great-grandchild, but he was having a hard time starting up.

"After everything that's happened, I don't know where to start from…" Kanon confessed as he looked down.

"Well…" Mamoru scratched his chin. "You could start by telling me what this whole whatever comprehension thing was about."

"'Compression,' Great-Grandpa," Kanon laughed. "Time compression."

"You get what I mean!" Mamoru shook his hand as he smiled to play it down. "I think I prefer to hear why you did this first."

"Okay."

Kanon breathed in before talking. He had inherited that from his great-grandfather, like many other things.

"As I was telling you before, we are in a different timeline than normal. History says you and your teammates kept training as a team and kept becoming stronger and stronger, so you could always fight when necessary.

"But this timeline is different and I don't exactly know why. I guess it is because of The Ogre's attack, but who knows… Thing is, all those weird things you told me about aren't just in your head, Great-Grandpa. Something is going on: something that is keeping you from training and living the life you should be living. I can't tell you anything about the future, but you must become stronger. If those who need to get stronger don't manage to do that, the outcome could be terrible."

"'Those who need to get stronger'?" Mamoru tilted his head.

"Well, I don't know all of them by heart…" Kanon scratched his chin. "But I know it's especially important in the case of one specific person."

"Who is that?" Mamoru asked again.

"Geez…" Kanon knocked on his forehead lightly. "I can't remember the name… It's that guy from your team…"

"Shu-shu?"

"No, it's not Gouenji-sa— Wait, how did you call him?"

What truly surprised Mamoru was the fact that he had guessed right away that he was talking about Shuuya Gouenji.

"Shu-shu, but… i-it's a long story. I'll tell you about that. But, if it's not him… I don't know, ¿Fu-fu?"

"Nope, it's not Fubuki-san either. I know they weren't part of Inazuma Japan…"

"So, it's someone from Raimon?" Mamoru started in fear after a few seconds. "It isn't Mega-mega, is it?!"

"What? No, it's not Megane-san!" Kanon laughed, but he immediately stopped and pursed his lips. "Well, just a little bit… But I wasn't talking about him."

"Then, I don't know…" Mamoru began to count with his fingers. "Shourin? Shadow? Kage-kage? Shishi?"

Kanon, with his eyes closed and his arms folded to focus, shook his head after hearing each of those names, but he was surprised when Mamoru stopped reciting the list. He opened his eyes and, when he saw him again, he was looking very serious.

"I know who it is, Kanon," he told him. "It's Shin-shin."

"…Shin-shin?"

"Shinichi Handa."

"Yes!! That one!!" Kanon hit the palm of his hand lightly with his fist. "You're incredible, Great-Grandpa! How did you know!?"

Mamoru smiled tenderly.

"You see… Lately, the more I see Shin-shin, the more I'm convinced he's destined to great things. But something is keeping him from growing and I don't know what that could be. Something has been tormenting him for so long; much longer than we imagine. If it hadn't been because of that, I think we would have been able to go together to the FFI…"

"Your instinct is amazing, Great-Grandpa!!" Kanon's eyes were sparkling. Mamoru smiled; not out of pride, but out of happiness. Hearing that from Handa made him happier than any compliment he could have ever got.

"And this time compression thing is meant to fix those, uh, lines?"

"That's ridiculous!" Kanon laughed. "Time compressions can't change timelines!" Then, he stopped laughing and he simply smiled at him before saying, "But you can. You could even help Handa-san!"

"I think his problem was there even before you came around, Kanon. I don't think it has anything to do with you."

"Well, I'm glad it isn't my fault… It would really hurt me to have caused him so much pain."

"Don't worry," he smiled. "So, what is this… thing you did for?"

"I think I would better explain to you what a time compression is. Listen up.

"To put it simply, a time compression is a fusion of periods. On a large scale, it should fuse all of space-time to be and have ever been into one and create a single, unified world, but… I would expect that from a witch more than from a normal person," he laughed, although the idea of a witch didn't seem too funny to Mamoru. "I wanted to do something simpler and less… risky.

"You need to get stronger, and you need to train in order to do that, but no one tells us we can fix your teammates' timelines, so… the safest option is to give you new people to train with. That's why I combined the Japan from your time and the Japan from ten years in the future!"

Mamoru had his index finger pressed against his forehead and his eyes tightly shut. He was having an extremely hard time, but he was trying everything possible to understand what he was being told. He wasn't sure, but he thought the pieces were starting to come together, although in a very odd way. He decided to ask just in case.

"So that boy," he said, pointing at the mysterious boy who had appeared before them within the time compression, "he's from the future?"

"You're so smart, Great-Grandpa!!" Kanon exclaimed. "Yes, he's from the future! This is Takuto Shindou and, as I told you before, he is Raimon's captain, but from ten years in the future!"

Mamoru looked at him with curiosity and then back at Kanon.

"…Are you telling me I'll be able to see, meet and train with the Raimon from the future?"

"Yes, yes!" Kanon nodded with a smile. "And with many more people: Raimon isn't the only team in the world! You could even meet with the adult versions of people you already know!"

"I see…" Mamoru stuttered. He stood up, shaking, and Kanon stared at him.

"Great-Grandpa, are you—"

"THAT'S SO COOL!!" Mamoru shouted, taking a huge leap. "THIS IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!!"

Kanon blinked in surprise.

"I don't know… It went much worse than expect and I put the two of us in danger. Aren't you mad at me or anything, Great-Grandpa…?"

"Of course not!" What's done is done, right? Then, let's try to enjoy this while we can!"

The young goalkeeper graced his great-grandson with a grin. Kanon returned it cheerfully. He still felt guilty for what he had done, but Mamoru's smile made him feel much safer.

"But," Mamoru continued, looking at Shindou, "what I still don't get is why Taku-taku appeared inside the compression."

Kanon grimaced at Mamoru. He hadn't even met him yet and he had already given Shindou a nickname? It felt odd to him, but he concluded he wasn't in a place to ask questions. After everything he had put Mamoru through, he was the one who was should answer. That subject would have to wait.

"I don't really know…" He answered. "My plan was to appear next to Shindou-san upon getting out of the compression to introduce him to you and tell you both about this whole issue calmly. Since we were going to land next to him, something might have sucked him in when everything started going awry…"

"I see…" The smile had vanished from Mamoru's face. At that time, he could do nothing but look at Shindou with sad eyes. Even though nothing bad had happened to him and he was probably not even aware of what had happened around him, he was very sorry he had been in danger. Eventually, he looked at Kanon again. "Hey, and… what happened in there…?"

Kanon let out a long sigh.

"I don't know either… I guess that thing, whatever it was, somehow caused those illusions, even though I don't know why we appeared at a stadium nor what it wanted. It might have wanted us to feel like we were defeated in our own home ground or something like that… If it hadn't been because the compression ended in time, I don't know what would have happened to us."

"More of a reason to keep training!" Mamoru replied immediately. "We couldn't do absolutely anything against that thing… We must be stronger!"

Kanon was mesmerised. Despite having been in danger, and despite how angry and frustrated his great-grandfather should be, all he had in mind was to continue becoming stronger. He could notice in his voice that, despite all, he would love to be pitted against that spectre one day.

He was out of his tree, but that only made Kanon admire him even more.

Then, they heard a soft groan. They turned their heads just as Shindou opened his eyes. They both pounced on him until they were uncomfortably close to his face.

"Heya!" Mamoru said with a grin. "Are you okay?"

"I… I think so. Where am I…?" Shindou managed to say. It looked like he was having a hard time talking, as if he had a dry mouth or he hadn't said a word in days.

"You're at the Steel Tower Plaza," Kanon said quickly without giving any time to his great-grandfather to reply. "We found you lying on the ground, unconscious, and we have been taking care of you. Do you know what happened to you?"

For once, Mamoru understood what was happening and had to admit that 'you got trapped in a time compression and your life was in danger' wasn't a very proper way of talking to him at that time. He was glad Kanon had realised that, because he hadn't planned on sugar-coating it whatsoever.

"No…" Shindou held his head. "But thank you very much for your help," he said with a small smile. "Albeit I'm sorry to say my head's still spinning… Could you help me stand up…?"

Carefully, they held him and helped him get up. Once he said he felt ready to stay on his feet on his own, they finally let go of him, and Shindou got to take a good look at them.

He stared at Mamoru.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you two at all?" He asked.

"Ah, n-no! I'm sorry we didn't introduce ourselves!" Mamoru stretched his hand. "My name is Mamoru Endou and this is Kanon. Nice to meet you!"

Shindou shook his hand as he half-closed his eyes slightly. That boy was just so similar to his coach… And he had the same name to boot. He wondered if he was his son or any kind of relative of his, but, even so, it seemed discourteous to ask such a personal question within seconds of meeting him, so he bit his tongue.

"I'm Takuto Shindou. Thank you very much for your help. It scares me to think about what could have happened to me if you hadn't found me."

"What worries us is what happened to you, Shindou-san," Kanon replied. "If you remember anything, I hope you'll tell us."

"Of course; it's the least I can do. But, likewise, if I can ever do anything for you, tell me and I will be there."

"I take your word for that, Taku-taku!" Mamoru replied with a grin.

Shindou squinted upon hearing 'Taku-taku,' but to countenance someone who had helped him so much without even knowing him to give him a friendly nickname was the least he could do.

"Shindou-san," Kanon said, interrupting Shindou's track of thought, "it's late. You should go back home before someone gets worried. Do you think you'll be fine?"

"Worry not. I'm tougher than I look," he said with his usual little smile.

After a brief and courteous gesture with his hand, Shindou was on his way. The plaza was even more deserted.

Mamoru looked at Kanon.

"Well, since we're here… Shall we play soccer?"

Kanon sighed deeply.

"I think I've had more than enough action for a single day, Great-Grandpa…"

They said bye to each other and Mamoru headed back home. He went to his room upstairs and lay on his bed with his hands behind his head. The plan hadn't quite convinced him yet: if the beginning had been so turbulent, there was no telling what else could happen. Even so, the idea of getting to know the soccer played in the future had him all fired up. He would give that whole thing a fair chance. After all…

What could possibly go wrong?