What if Takeshi never left the Tobita Club? And Kouya never met Jirou, Kuroudu or Kyousuke… would everything change? Would the soul mates still be united?

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Soul Mates

Chapter 2 – Enter Jirou Oriza

By: Klyukaizer

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"Jirou… Jirou…" Kouya recited as they walked back on the same road heading back to the club. "Takeshi, have you heard of the name 'Jirou' in the Crush Gear World?" Kouya asked. Takeshi looked at the boy and shook his head.

'He's thinking about Crush Gear again!' Takeshi thought, so he decided to change the topic. "Did you like the crab in that restaurant?"

"Oh! That was the best Crab Palate I ever had in my life!" Kouya replied as he licked his lips. "You liked it?" Takeshi asked. "Oh yeah! Thank you so much, Takeshi!"

"Good!" Takeshi sighed.

"Huh?" Kouya wondered. "It's good seeing you like this, Kouya!" Takeshi said. "Eh? What do you mean? I've been always like this!" Kouya smiled. "No… I know it's not!" Takeshi argued as he knelt down in front of Kouya and laid his hands on his shoulders, "I know how you feel, Kouya! You don't have to hide it!"

"W- what do you mean, Takeshi?" Kouya's face was now trying to give out his worst frown. "Since your brother died… you've been pressured to do a lot of things to follow his footsteps! Although you never wanted it in the beginning!"

"But I do, Takeshi! I honestly do!" Kouya returned his smile, trying to hide his true emotions from his eyes. But Takeshi never agreed to it… he still looked at Kouya with those eyes of pity.

"You don't understand, Takeshi!" Kouya finally yelled, shrugging of Takeshi's hands. "No one will ever will!" Kouya broke off into a run as Takeshi called him… but he never came back.

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Jirou threw the ball into the air as he caught it with his baseball gloves. Again and again, he repeated the procedure, thinking about the boy he saw. "He's very familiar… if only I get to know his name, then maybe I would recognize him!" He said to himself.

"Well… I guess it was just a fluke of acquaintance! Nothing to worry about, Jirou Oriza!" He stopped when he heard the fast rushing of the river. He looked at the rushing water ad smelled it from his spot. "Ah! The smell!" He slowly stared at the bridge furthermore when he saw… the brunette boy looking down on the river. "What the?" He gasped.

"Is- is this some sort of joke? I don't think this is a coincidence anymore!"

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'Do I really feel pressured?' Kouya thought. 'Am I regretting everything that has been happening to me?' Kouya sighed and leaned his chin on top of his arms at the rail of the bridge. "I'm doing this for myself… not because I want to follow my brother's footsteps… but for my dream!" He whispered.

"But… I don't even know what my dream is!" Kouya sighed sadly again when he felt someone approach him. "Go away, Takeshi!" he said without looking at the man beside him.

He looked up not to see Takeshi, but Jirou. "Y- you again!" He gasped.

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"I thought so! I knew you looked familiar! You're Kouya Marino, right? The Champion God!" Jirou said as Kouya blushed, "Where did you hear that nickname?"

"From the GFA website! I play Crush Gear too, you know! And it's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Marino!" Jirou gave out his hand for Kouya to shake, which Kouya gladly took. "Just call me, Kouya! Umm… I can't help but think that you're very familiar to me! Have I seen you before in any tournaments?" Kouya asked.

"No… actually, I never participate in Crush Gear tournaments!"

"Why is that?" Kouya asked. "I stick to baseball!" Jirou smiled as he showed Kouya his ball and gloves. "I see… Oh! I never get to catch your name!" Kouya changed the topic.

"Jirou… Jirou Oriza!"

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"Bye, Jirou!" Kouya waved as he turned to leave. "Wait 'till the others hear that I've met the Champion God!" Jirou jumped up excitedly. 'Hmm… I never felt this way before I met Kouya… The feeling inside of me was like… a close friend's… like, we've known each other for a long while already!'

And on the other side, the boy was also thinking about the same thing… 'He hasn't participated a single tournament in his life! He only treats Crush Gear as a plain hobby but not like an obsession! Like the way he treated his baseball games!'

'What the heck is going on?'

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Kouya went back to the restaurant Takeshi and him came before, hoping to find Takeshi waiting for him there… but he wasn't. So he decided to go back to the club… but he didn't know what to say to his trainer. "I'm back!" He called as he opened the door and came in.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" It was Takeshi.

To be continued…