Chapter two.
"So you like soccer?" coach Kageyama asked me.
He was a creepy looking guy with a weird laugh.
"Uh, yeah"
"Do you know how to play?"
"I can learn"
He sighed, "Do you know, Joseph, that only one out of a million boys actually stands a chance of making it to the national team?"
I nodded, "but if someone has to rise to the top, why can't it be me?"
"And who told you that you're that special?"
That was something I couldn't answer.
Coach Kageyama looked up and down at me.
"Which position do you want to play?"
I thought about it for a while, "I'm gonna be your goalkeeper"
.;.
"So, what number do you want on your jersey?" Sakuma asked me the following day.
"Eight" I replied decisively.
"Eight? Why?" he asked.
"Because in math the number eight symbolizes-"
"Infinity" Kidou completed.
"Yeah," I said, "infinity"
.;.
A loud, excited scream greeted me as I stepped in the grounds of Teikoku academy.
"Sakuma! Why are you shouting?" I asked the boy as he practically skipped around the changing room waving a copy of the daily newspaper.
"WHY, CRAZY BOY, WHY AREN'T YOU HOPPING MAD?" Sakuma shouted back at me, shoving the newspaper in my hands.
I opened it to see the photo of our team on the front page holding up our second football frontier trophy.
We were, by now, the best junior high soccer team in Japan.
"WE ARE THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM!" Sakuma shouted.
"Soccer" I corrected.
"WHATEVER~" Sakuma snapped back.
"So what are we gonna do next?" I asked Kidou, accepting the fact that Sakuma was probably drunk.
Everyone hushed down and turned to Kidou.
"You guys ever heard of Gouenji Shuyya?" Kidou asked, looking out the window.
"Yup" I nodded, "that guy from Occult?"
"Didn't he chicken out just before the finals?" Jimon piped up.
"Yeah" Kidou said, turning back to us, "we're going to find him"
.;.
"Raimon?" I asked Kidou, wondering if he had lost his mind.
"They don't even have a football team," Sakuma added.
"Come on guys," Kidou said, "a challenge match won't hurt"
"How do you even know we'll find Shuyya there?" I asked.
"I have" Kidou replied, "connections"
.;.
I knew coach Kageyama was not fond of by the way he reacted when we talked to him about our "plan".
I wondered why but then let it go; it was none of my business.
"So, where is the famous Gouenji Shuyya?" I asked Kidou, overlooking the rest of the team warming up on the Raimon football field.
Raimon seemed to have sprouted up with a team overnight.
"He'll get here" Kidou replied.
I saw he was looking at a guy with an orange headband from the Raimon team.
"Who's that?"
"Raimon's goalkeeper, Endou M."
"Endou?" I asked.
"Yeah," Jude replied.
"Well, then this is going to be interesting"
Kidou grinned at me, "you bet."
.;.
"Fire tornado!"
The move got me so baffled I could hardly move.
And by the time I could create a shield, the ball was already in.
The scoreboard read : Teikoku-10 Raimon-1
I didn't even remember the last time any team had scored against us.
It was unbeli-
"Unbelievable!"
Huh? I blinked at Sakuma as he said the word that had just popped into my mind.
"Did you see that?" he asked me.
"See what?"
"The God hand!"
Apparently, I was so busy seething about the Fire tornado that I had missed out on Endou's famous God hand.
.;.
"Come on Joe!" Sakuma shouted, pulling me with all his might.
"Someone scored against me!" I replied, holding on to the handle of the door of the locker room, "let me just sulk"
"Wouldn't you rather be doing something about it that sitting in the locker room and sulking?" Kidou asked me, looking at the two of us with a mixture of amusement and exaggerated disgust.
"Yeah, let's go practice!" Sakuma said, pulling harder.
At this point, I let go of the handle and the two of us fell down.
"Would you please explain to me, why the three of you are not on the field practicing?"
Coach Kageyama's angry voice boomed at us as he walked in.
"We were just going-,"Kidou said as the three of us got up to go.
"Joseph?" Coach Kageyama called me.
I knew I was not going to hear anything good.
"Yes, sir?"
"Why don't you take a break?" he said, "You seem worn out"
Just as I thought he was being nice, he added in a stern voice, "you better shape up kid, this team is for the jewels".
.;.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but myself.
Thanks for reading. Reviews would be appreciated.
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed.
Oh, and special thanks to Sakuchii-chan who helped me get the info I needed on Teikoku. You rock!
And, yes, I finally learned how to spell Teikoku.
(^^)/ Seeya then,
(I hope) I'll update soon.