Note: I'm new to this fanfiction thing. I like a lot of the Captain Tsubasa characters, and thought I'd try my hand at a story that offers some more character development. This is turning out to be a bigger endeavor than I had anticipated though. I haven't written the whole thing yet... Not sure where it will end.

Your comments would be a great help to me. I'd love to know if there's an audience out there. So if you like it, please tell your friends about it. If you'd like this story to progress, please, please tell me, so I can keep writing... Writing is a fun process in itself, but I'm not sure how long I can keep it up, if I'm just writing this for myself...

Captain Tsubasa and its characters belong to Yōichi Takahashi.

*** Chapter 1 - A New Start ***

Today will be my first day at a new school. Just one more "new" thing in a string of "new" things, starting with a new town, and a new house.

What hasn't changed is life with my mother. In my mind, she and I make up our little family.

My father? My father is a soccer coach. I love soccer. As a toddler, I used to love running on the field with him. He taught me to play early. He used to tell me I was a quick learner, and that I had a lot of talent. But that was a long time ago. Since then, I've played in soccer teams throughout elementary school, but my father hasn't been to many of my games.

No, being a soccer coach is not a problem. It's the fact that he's never home, and when he is, he's too busy to bother with the lives of his wife and only daughter. He's a highly acclaimed soccer instructor, one of a handful of people the country is relying on to bring Japanese soccer to an all new level. A group of former national team players, including my father, a respected goal-keeper in his day, are dedicated to this "mission." Because of this, he travels extensively around the country, and increasingly, even internationally. The little time he spends at home, he uses to train his select group of students – all chosen for their potential to further Japanese football on the international level.

You would think that after introducing me to the game of soccer, that he would be the one to train me. Sadly, that's not the case, unless you attribute part of my dedication to soccer to the fact that I naively thought that maybe, just maybe, if I played well-enough, he'd spend more time at home, with me and my mother. But I know better now. The fact is, men's soccer has the potential for glory. Women's soccer is an amateur sport, with much less attention. Where would the fame be in glorifying women's soccer? Maybe that's what he thinks. I don't really know. I'm not sure I care.

So he's never around. A few weeks ago, he decided to move us here, to Nankatsu, despite it being in the middle of my school year. I couldn't believe that he didn't even let me finish my final year at my previous school. Moving here means that he is closer to some of his "prodigy" students, like that hot-shot goal-keeper, Genzo Waka-something. I hear he's from a rich family that pays a lot to have their prized son trained privately by my father. Perhaps I should be thanking them for this nice new home on this nice little street...

It's a warm day in September. The first day of school for me...the start of second term for everyone else at this school. I don't want to get there when everyone else is waiting for the bell so that they can all gawk at the "new girl," so I've left the house early. The streets are still empty. Occasionally, I hear the sound of cooking or talking coming from the houses I pass – an old woman making breakfast, a mother pleading with her kids to hurry up and get dressed, a man sweeping his front porch.

Nankatsu Elementary school is a ten minute walk from my house. After passing the rows of well-kept houses with their little gardens, soaring trees, or, well-pruned bushes, I come up to a soccer field first, and cross it to get to the school building. There are more school grounds on the other side of the building, but I'm not in the mood for exploring right now. I look at the stately building that will now be my school. At the moment, the grounds are quiet, but I'm sure that will change shortly. I try the front door, and find that it has already been unlocked. It would save me the awkwardness of getting lost amidst the commotion of hundreds of students entering the building, if I could just find my way to class now. I look at my schedule. My homeroom is room 125. I walk down the main hallway, peering down the secondary halls, passing offices and trophy cases. I reach room 125. The door is open. I turn on the lights and look around. Where should I sit? Everyone else has been here for first term. I wonder if they expect to keep their seats? I look inside some of the desks. They are all empty. Good, that probably means that they'll start a new seating arrangement. I choose a desk by the window, close to the front, but not right at the front of the classroom.

Outside the window, I can see more students arriving. Many are talking, laughing, no doubt catching up with friends after their short break. What would I be doing, if I weren't here at Nankatsu now? Probably hanging out with my teammates from soccer, catching up, just like everyone else outside this window. I looked back at the empty room. It's so quiet and peaceful. The calm before the storm.

The school bell has rung, and students begin filing into the school. Before long, I hear a stream of footsteps in the hall.

"Hi, I'm Sanae, are you new here?" asks a girl with shoulder-length hair.

"I'm Rai, I just moved here," I replied, returning her kindness with a smile.

"This is Manabu." she continued, as she pointed to a short boy with large glasses, who gave me a nod and a smile. "You'll get to know everyone and everything here soon enough. Don't worry," she assured me.

Instead of sitting next to me though, she sat a few desks over, as if she already had a pre-assigned seat. I wondered whose seat I was in.

As more students shuffled in, the desks around me began to fill. Some students smiled as they passed, others stared. A few sleeply looking people went by without even noticing me. A few other students introduced themselves. By the time the bell rang, I had met various people, and their names were beginning to swim in my head: Kazue, Misaki, Sachi, Tsubasa, Ishizake, Namika...