First: I kinda lied about the Gouenji x Natsumi being next. Tomorrow, I promise! ;3
-.-.-
"Hey, Kazemaru, wait up!"
Kazemaru turned around to see Miyasaka running towards him and waving his arms to get his attention. Kazemaru stopped and waited for him to catch up, and when he did he leaned over and tried to catch his breath.
"Hi Miyasaka," Kazemaru said. "What's up?"
Miyasaka stood up straight and smiled. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favor," he said.
"What kind of favor?" Kazemaru asked. I swear, he thought. If this has to do with me rejoining the track team...
"Well, I was just thinking, now that we're in different sports, we don't do much together anymore." Miyasaka said. "So, I was wondering if you could teach me how to play soccer."
Kazemaru sighed. Oh, that's all. "Sure I can." he smiled. Miyasaka smiled too, and he punched the air in excitement.
"Awesome! I can't wait!" he said. Kazemaru laughed. Miyasaka had always gotten excited over the smallest things. In fact, he remembered one time during a track meet, everyone got participation ribbons, and when Miyasaka got his he was just thrilled. "When are we gonna start?"
"Well, the sooner the better, right?" Kazemaru said. He started walking in the direction of the soccer field and he waved for Miyasaka to follow. "Come on, let's go."
"Right behind you!" Miyasaka said, and he ran after his friend.
-.-.-
"Stop using my armrest!"
"Your armrest? Nuh-uh, it's mine!"
"Move! I mean it!"
"Make me!"
"Would you two stop bickering, please?" Aphrodi snapped. "We're almost there. If you're going to kill each other, please wait until we've made it back on land." Aphrodi, Gazel, and Burn had decided to pay Raimon a little visit from Korea. After all, they hadn't seen each other since the preliminary matches, and that was quite a while ago. Burn, who was sitting in the middle of the row, sighed and crossed his arms.
"Fine. I'll let the baby have his stupid armrest." he said.
Gazel ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't want it anymore. Not if you're going to act like a child who doesn't get what he wants." he turned and faced the isle, and Burn grabbed his arm.
"No! I'm letting you have it, so use it!" he attempted to force Gazel's arm down, and the two of them started wrestling around. Aphrodi sighed and looked out the window. He could see the airport down below. Everything looked so tiny from up here...
"Ow! Did you just bite me?"
Aphrodi closed his eyes and shook his head. They couldn't reach the airport soon enough.
-.-.-
"So... all I do is dribble the ball between those cones?" Miyasaka asked. He and Kazemaru were on the field. Kazemaru had gone to the clubhouse and grabbed a few cones to use, and he had set them up in a straight line. He nodded at Miyasaka.
"Yep. See if you can make it to the end without going out of bounds." Kazemaru said. Miyasaka smiled and started kicking the ball.
"This is going to be a piece of cake!" he said. He made his way around one cone... two... three...
On the fourth cone, however, he kicked the ball a little too far, and it rolled off to the side. Miyasaka watched it and frowned, while Kazemaru smirked.
"So, piece of cake, eh?"
"Shut up." Miyasaka ran after the ball and picked it up. He went to the beginning of the cones again, and he set the ball down. "I'll get it this time. Just watch." Miyasaka started dribbling again, and this time he made it to cone eight before he kicked it to the side again. He cursed under his breath and fetched the ball again. This continued several times; Miyasaka kicked the ball for a while and when it went out of bounds he fetched it and started over. No matter how many times he tried, though, he couldn't seem to get it all the way to the end.
After trial twenty, Miyasaka didn't go get the ball. Instead he flopped down on the ground.
"Why can't I get it, Kazemaru?" he asked. Kazemaru went over and sat down next to him.
"You will eventually," he said. "You just need more practice."
"But that's what I've been doing!" Miyasaka said. He sighed in frustration. "There's probably something wrong with me."
"Hey, don't think like that." Kazemaru said. He stood up and held out a hand to Miyasaka. "Let's go and try again, okay?"
Miyasaka grabbed his hand and stood up. "Okay..."
-.-.-
As the three of them approached Raimon's front gate, Aphrodi smiled.
"Well, here we are." he said. Burn and Gazel were close behind him. The two boys were covered in scratches and bruises, and Gazel was holding his arm.
"Nice lightning bolt." Burn laughed. Gazel nudged him.
"Be nice. So Terumi, do you think the Raimon Eleven are here?" Gazel asked. Aphrodi shrugged.
"I have no idea. I do hope they are, though." Aphrodi smiled. "It's been too long since I've seen them."
"Hey, what's that little shack over there?" Burn asked. He pointed over at an old, rundown building.
"That's the soccer team's clubhouse," Aphrodi said. "Come on, let's go see if they're there!" he ran ahead, leaving Gazel and Burn to catch up with him.
-.-.-
"Can we take a break? I'm getting kinda tired." Miyasaka said. He wiped some sweat from his brow and looked down at the soccer ball.
"Sure." Kazemaru said. He and Miyasaka sat down on the sidelines. "You know, you are getting better."
Miyasaka rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that. I've been practicing forever and I still can't get all the way through..."
"You know, Miyasaka, you're not going to be perfect right away. You should know that it takes hard work and lots of practice to get good at something." Kazemaru said. "And if this is your first time playing soccer, I'd say you're pretty good."
Miyasaka brought his knees up under his chin and was quiet for a while. He must have seen something in the distance, though, because he perked up and squinted his eyes. "Hey... who are they?"
Kazemaru followed his gaze and tried to make out the figures. There were three of them, and they were getting closer. As they neared, Kazemaru could start to make out the features on them. One had long, blonde hair and...
"Aphrodi?" Kazemaru stood up and shielded his eyes from the sun.
"Hey, that guy looks familiar!" Miyasaka said. "Didn't you play him in the finals?"
"Yeah, we did," Kazemaru said. "Hey Aphrodi! Over here!"
-.-.-
"Hey, who's over there?" Gazel asked. He had caught up to Aphrodi, and he noticed two people sitting by the soccer field. "Are they on the team?"
Aphrodi squinted and looked over there. "Let's go see." he said. The two of them headed over to see who they were. "Hey, where did Nagumo go?"
Gazel shrugged. "He said he wanted to go check out the clubhouse. Maybe to see if they're there?"
As they got closer, Aphrodi could see the two people better, and he smiled when he recognized one of them. "Hey, it's Kazemaru!" He must have seen them too, because one of them stood up and started waving. Aphrodi started to run, and Gazel was right behind him.
"Hey Aphrodi! Over here!" No doubt that was Kazemaru's voice. But Aphrodi didn't recognize the girl sitting next to him. Soon they had met up, and Kazemaru patted Aphrodi's back. "It's been a while! How have you been?"
"I've been fine. Korea's got us training hard, though." Aphrodi laughed. "So, who's this?" he nodded towards Miyasaka. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Miyasaka blushed. "What? No! I happen to be a boy, thank you very much. I'm just Kazemaru's friend."
Kazemaru, whose face was also a bit on the pink side, rubbed the back of his head. "That's a lot coming from you, Aphrodi." Gazel laughed.
Aphrodi crossed his arms and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "Oh, be quiet. I'm fabulous, not feminine."
"Anyway, we just stopped by to visit the Raimon team. Are any of them around?" Gazel asked.
Kazemaru shook his head. "Nope. Just me and Miyasaka."
Miyasaka nodded. "Kazemaru's teaching me how to play soccer. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be..."
"You're learning soccer, eh?" Aphrodi said. He looked over at Gazel, who nodded. "How about playing a little game with us? A friendly two-on-two contest. What do you say?"
"Well, I don't know... I mean, he just started today-" Kazemaru began, but Miyasaka cut him off.
"Sounds great!" he said.
Kazemaru put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure? These guys are on the national level,"
"I seem to remember someone saying that it takes a lot of hard work and lots of practice to get good at something, and this seems like a great chance." Miyasaka smirked at a frowning Kazemaru. "And besides. You even said I was pretty good for only one day."
"Yeah, one day." Kazemaru said.
Aphrodi held up his hands. "Hey, if you don't want to play, that's fine. We can just visit if you would like."
Miyasaka shook his head. "Are you kidding me? Let's get playing!"
-.-.-
"We'll let you guys have the ball first." Gazel said. He kicked the ball towards Kazemaru and Miyasaka. They were standing in the middle of the field, ready to go.
"Okay, Miyasaka. Here's the plan. You run up as close as you can to the goal, and when we're both clear I'll pass it to you. Sound good?" Kazemaru said. Miyasaka nodded. "Alright. Keep an eye on me, okay?"
"You got it!" Miyasaka said. He clenched his fists and smiled. "This is going to be so fun!"
"Ready when you are!" Aphrodi called. Miyasaka looked over at Kazemaru, who nodded, and he kicked the ball to him.
"Go!" Kazemaru said. Miyasaka immediately started running towards the goal, and Aphrodi quickly came and covered him. Kazemaru and Gazel were working their way down as well, and Gazel was trying his best to get the ball.
"You've gotten better," Gazel said.
"Same with you," Kazemaru faked a left, and Gazel fell for it. "Miyasaka!"
"I got it!" Miyasaka called. He ran up to Kazemaru, and Kazemaru kicked the ball towards him. He reached the ball and started dribbling to the goal. But Aphrodi was a pretty good defender, so he had blocked Miyasaka fairly quickly. They were both moving in sync, and Aphrodi laughed.
"You're not bad for a beginner." he said. Miyasaka smiled.
"Thanks, but flattery's not going to get you anywhere." Miyasaka tried to get past him, but Aphrodi always seemed to be one step ahead. He kept his place right in front of Miyasaka, and Miyasaka started to panic.
Aw man... what do I do? Miyasaka thought. If I just stand here, he'll steal the ball for sure!
"Hey, Miyasaka!" Kazemaru called. "Remember the cones!"
Miyasaka raised his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Think!"
Miyasaka tried to think of what the cones would do... then he got it. If I had to weave through the cones to get past them... maybe that will work here! Even though he never made it to the end of the cone line, this idea was Miyasaka's best bet. He started to push forward with the ball, going left and right and left and right. Soon, they had approached the goal. Miyasaka took a deep breath and pushed left, then he took a hard right, and that was enough to lose Aphrodi. And that meant that Miyasaka had a clear shot at the goal. He brought his leg back and...
Diiiing...
Miyasaka had kicked the ball with everything he had, but unfortunately he didn't take aim into consideration. The ball had hit one of the posts and ricocheted back, nearly hitting him in the face. Aphrodi had recovered the ball, and he stood in front of Miyasaka.
"I missed..." Miyasaka sulked. Aphrodi walked up to him and smiled.
"But you were great! You managed to get past me, and I'm amazing." Aphrodi said. Miyasaka smiled.
"Yeah... that was pretty neat, wasn't it?" He said. Aphrodi nodded.
"You bet. Hey, next time you try to shoot, focus more on aim then power. That really helps a lot of the time."
"Really?" Miyasaka said. "I have to try that."
"You'll have to get the ball back first!" Aphrodi called, and he hurried down the field.
"Hey! Wait up!" Miyasaka laughed and chased after him. Kazemaru and Gazel watched as the other two ran around the field and laughed. They had started to kick the back and forth to each other, and they seemed like they had completely forgotten about the game they were in.
"That kid's got some talent," Gazel said. "Who knows? Maybe he'll be your next recruit."
Kazemaru smiled. "After all, he's got an amazing teacher like me to learn from." Gazel shook his head and smiled.
"Of course he does."
-.-.-
"Thank you so much for playing with us, guys! That was so fun!" Miyasaka said. Kazemaru, Aphrodi, and Gazel were sitting down, drinking their water bottles, while Miyasaka was still up and pacing around. "Oh man, did you guys see when I made my first goal? I totally ran right past Aphrodi and got it in! How cool is that?"
The three let him ramble on and on about the game. Kazemaru wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was pretty fun."
Gazel nodded. "I have to agree. I haven't had this much fun since the prelims."
"I'm surprised that someone could be this good after one day! Kazemaru, you must be some kind of miracle worker!" Aphrodi said. Kazemaru laughed.
"It's not all me. Once Miyasaka puts his mind to something, he can do pretty much anything." Kazemaru said. Well, aside from the whole track team thing... but that was different.
"Hey, who's that over there?" Miyasaka said. He pointed over by the clubhouse. Someone was walking towards them. But once everyone saw the red tuilp-like haircut, there was no mistaking who it was.
"Jeeze Burn, what took you so long?" Gazel said. Burn shrugged.
"Oh, I was just... checking some things out. It's good to see you again, Kazemaru." Burn said. "Who's the chick?" He pointed to Miyasaka, who went red all over again.
"I'm not a girl! I'm a boy! When are you people going to understand that?" Miyasaka yelled. Burn laughed.
"Hey, hey, calm down." he said. "But Aphrodi, don't you think it's about time we head back? It's getting pretty late." Sure enough, the sun was already starting to set, and the sky was turning pink and orange. Aphrodi nodded.
"I suppose you're right." Him and Gazel stood up. "Kazemaru, Miyasaka, thank you for the great game. We'll have to get together like this more often!" Aphrodi said.
"Yeah, I want to see how much little Miyasaka improves." Gazel said. He smiled at Miyasaka, who was sticking his tongue out at him.
"I'm not that little," Miyasaka said.
Kazemaru shook Aphrodi's hand. "Thanks again for the game. Today was great." he said. Aphrodi flipped his hair over his shoulder and nodded.
"Well, we should be going then. We'll see you later!" Aphrodi said. He, Gazel, and Burn started to head back to the main gates, and Kazemaru and Miyasaka waved them goodbye.
"Oh, Kazemaru!" Burn stopped walking and turned around. "I left a little surprise for you in your locker! I'm sure you'll love it!" he called, and after that he turned around and caught up with his group.
"I wish I got a surprise." Miyasaka said. "Oh well. Kazemaru, thank you so much for helping me out today."
Kazemaru smiled and nodded. "Hey, no problem. I kinda miss practicing with you. We'll have to do it again sometime."
Miyasaka nodded. "Well, I should be going too. I'll see you tomorrow!" he said. Kazemaru waved goodbye, and the two of them headed back home in their respective directions.
Kazemaru looked up at the sky. Soccer was really a great thing. It could bring people together – like today – and it let them have so much fun. And it felt great to be back with Miyasaka, too. Even though he had really gotten on his nerves about the whole track club thing... they were still friends, and Kazemaru was glad Miyasaka understood the joys of soccer too.
He knew he'd never forget this day.
-.-.-
The next day at practice, the boys were in the clubhouse getting changed. Kazemaru went up to the locker and spun in the combination on the lock. He then remembered what Burn had said yesterday; he had left him a surprise. Curious to see what it was, Kazemaru opened his locker door. When he saw the 'surprise', his eyes widened in horror.
"What is that?"
Instead of seeing his normal soccer uniform in there, he was treated to a nice set of girl's pajamas. He lifted the shirt – it was light pink and had flower and cat designs on it. Kazemaru felt his face get hot, and he set the shirt back in his locker and closed the door without a word.
Thanks, Burn. What a delightful surprise.
-.-.-
AN:
This was requested by Cenkovah on deviantART. She just gave me a list of characters she liked, and I managed to get everyone in there except for poor Fubuki. I hope she doesn't mind! Anyway, go check out her deviantART sometime, she has really great art! :D
I actually had a lot of fun writing this :D I just rewatched some episodes with Burn, and I remembered how much I loved that guy. XD Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this!
Icee Suicune