OSPREY…SWOOSH
UO: Well the studio is wrecked and the 2nd Magnolia set is ruined for the foreseeable future. So let's get this one of the ground for a couple of chapters.
Lucy: Yay! No more feeling useless!
Grey: No Deaths in this one.
Natsu: Let's do this! (Let's out a giant fireball)
UO: I just got the fire system installed and its tuned to your magic.
(Fire is extinguished.)
UO: Not this time. (Explosion is heard.) God damn it. (Sees Erza attacking Brock) OH COME ON! Brock what the heck?
Brock: I didn't do anything. I was commenting on how she looked in her uniform.
UO: Ugh. Disclaimer Now!
Lisanna: UnitedOsprey1991 does not own Fairy Tail or Soccer or League of Legends. He only owns the plot and his OC's
UO: Thank you, let's play
Normal text: Speaking or normal talking
"Quotes and Italics: Phone Conversation
'Apostrophe and Italics': Thoughts
Bold: Yelling
Underline: Location and Time in match
Person's name followed by a colon: In-game announcer
Chapter 4: Facing the Reaper: Oshibanna Town Vs Magnolia City
Sunday September 7, 2060 about 9:00 AM
When we last left the First Saint League, Magnolia City was able to win their first home against the Southtown Wolves. Stephen had scored one of the goals and had started to become quite popular with the Magnolia City Fandom. But the league was still young and they are about enter a tough stretch of games. So some people are taking advantage of every rest period they could get.
Stephen was one such person as he stretched out his limbs. "Damn, yesterday was fun." He rubbed his legs. "Though I could deal without having to make my legs feel like jello. He rolled out of bed and went to take his shower. A few minutes later, he left the bathroom dressed in a blue t-shirt and black shorts. He immediately sat down and logged onto League of Legends.
"Alright, let's see what we can do today. Maybe I can also do Overwatch, Blizzcon's coming up. Oh yeah, got to talk to dad about shipping my recording equipment." He loaded into his file and queued up. A few moments later he was in the game selecting his champion when he heard a knock on the door. "Damn it." He stood up and walked over to the door. "Can I…Lisanna?" The boy asked surprised. Indeed it was the youngest Strauss sibling, dressed in a light blue shirt and grey shorts. "Uh, hello Lisanna."
"Hey, didn't think to see you up this early," she said smiling.
"Nah, I'm up cause I want to take advantage of the day off for my hobby. Come on in, excuse the mess," He opened up the door to let the girl in. He marched over to Natsu's door and knocked on it. "Hey knucklehead, wake up, we got company!" He said as he marched back into his room. Moments later, Natsu groggily stepped out. He saw Lisanna and sobered up. "Oh hey Lis."
"Hey there. Just thought I say hello. I wanted to hang out with Stephen today."
Natsu grunted and went to the shower. Lisanna went into Stephen's room, to see him typing something.
"Oh good, Kennan is available, should I get him or should I get…Nautilus. Kennan it is, lock it in."
Lisanna sat on the bed. "So this is League of Legends. I don't quite understand this game, never really got into video games.
Stephen was setting it up so that she could watch. "Yeah, well gaming has been my stress relief and my way to escape from being a soccer player. Your more than welcome to watch. Shame I don't have a reliable way to record anything."
"Recording?" She asked.
"Yeah, I record games I play and then put them on Youtube. I also stream them, which is why I want my recording equipment. When you don't make as much money as say an NFL player, you need some way to help with expenses. I nearly got in trouble with the NCAA because of that. Some archaic rule about making money because I was on scholarship. Was able to prove that because I didn't make money playing my sport, I was not liable to be suspended and that go the ball rolling on fixing that rule. Anyway, game is on, I'll try to explain as I go."
Lisanna sat back on the bed and watched as he explained some of the mechanics as best he could. She understood it was a team game and the role he played was to take damage while roam around killing some of the smaller creatures and then targeting the enemy champions before eventually going after the other teams base. It seemed simple but as the match wore on it became clear there was not a lot teamwork involved in this particular match, at least early on. Eventually, Steve managed to rally his team and get some lucky strikes in and they finally pushed towards the base. In 33 minutes, Steve racked up 12 kills with 7 assists and 4 deaths which for his team was about a third of the total kills.
"And that's GG. Man that was exhausting." He looked over at Lisanna. "So that's basically it, it's a team orientated game. The best players in the world compete against each other not unlike real sports teams. This game's World Championship is gonna be in Germany, England and Spain, top prize of about $6 Million. I know the Dota 4 championship had like 120 Million dollar prize pool for the International 60 last month.
Lisanna widened her eyes, $6 million was a lot of money even for a mid-tier soccer player. And 120 Million prize pool for playing esports? That was insane.
"Well I can say that our schedule would allow me to see most of that tournament and at a decent time. Anyway gonna queue up again, you want to pick my champ?"
Lisanna blinked her eyes. "You would let me do that?"
"Yeah, knock yourself out. We all choose a ban and then we choose a champion. Let me do the ban." He looked at the list and seeing a particular champion up, he immediately clicked it. "Sorry, Nidalee. And if that was your pick, someone else was gonna ban it," Stephen explained to Lisanna's confusion. "She's too good in the jungle and the constant buffs and nerfs seem to not affect her." The white haired girl nodded as the rest of the bans came down. When it came to his pick he turned around. "Alright, I'm the Top laner, so I'm looking for people that have staying power and don't need to rely on the others." He started to scroll through the champions.
Lisanna watched the pictures scroll past. Many of them looked strong or cool. As he got to the T's, she spotted one. "That one, the one with the bronze helmet. She reminds me of Erza."
Stephen looked. "Quinn? Hm…Well she got buffed a patch or two ago, might see some play in Worlds. Alright, let's go!" He pressed lock in and Lisanna suddenly felt really excited for the game. She sat back and gently grabbed one of Stephen's pillows to watch him play.
Meanwhile, Natsu, not content with staying in the room, decided to head out of the room. He decided to go see if Lucy was available. Said blonde was taking a nice bath, the warm waters soothing her aching legs.
"Man, the last two weeks have been tough. But they've been amazing. I can't believe I actually scored a goal already. Everyone's being nice to me and so have the fans," She softly said stretching her arms getting her breasts to bounce in the water. "And then there's Natsu," She blushed at the thoughts. She quickly shook her head of the thoughts. "So what if he's cute, he's still an idiot. An adorable idiot…GAHHH!" She sighed and was about to lean back when she heard the door. She groaned. "Levy, did you forget something. She climbed out of the tub and wrapped a fluffy blanket around her well-endowed chest. She walked to the door to tell Levy off only to see Natsu at the door. Both froze at the site of each other, Lucy seeing Natsu at the door and Natsu seeing, Lucy in a towel. Said towel slowly slid off and fell to the floor. Fortunately for Lucy's sake the floor was unoccupied.
Natsu gulped and turned red at the sight of Lucy's naked body. Lucy noticed this and looked down. Screeching in surprise she slapped Natsu and slammed the door after grabbing her towel.
"Ow, Luce. I'm sorry," He moaned sliding next to the door.
"What are you doing here?" She yelled through the door covering herself instinctively.
"I just wanted to hang out. Stephen is playing his games and I get bored easily. Come on, Lucy."
Lucy blushed, her heart pounding as she slid down to the floor. "I wouldn't mind that, but you kind of caught be off guard."
"Sorry Lucy."
She had to giggle. "It's fine. If you want to hang out, give me like thirty minutes okay?"
"Alright."
Lucy stood up. "Oh, and if you tell anyone what you saw, Magnolia City will be looking for a new striker."
Natsu gulped. "Um…can I say that you looked great?"
Lucy's sputtering gave him the confidence to leave to dash to his room. A half hour later, Lucy knocked on his door. The pink haired man opened the door to see Lucy in an Orange top and blue skirt.
"Ready to go?" She asked sweetly.
"Yeah, I'm all fired up! Later Steve!"
"Later Natsu, hi/bye Lucy!" He called out.
The two waved to the concentrating gamer and headed out to their date. Three hours later, as Stephen was playing another round and Lisanna was cleaning the room when the door knocked again. The blue eyed girl walked up to the door and opened it to reveal her sister Mira.
"Hey sis, how's it going?"
"Oh. I just came here to see how Stephen was doing, where is he?"
"God damn it, stupid Rengar!" Said striker's voice cursed. Curious, Mira looked in his room to see him rubbing his eyes. "Great, should we surrender? I guess so. Ugh, I need a break." He looked and saw his defender teammate. "Hey Mira."
"So you've been spending all morning playing video games. That seems a little unhealthy for you," she told him crossly.
"Well excuse me, Ms. Strauss for doing something I like on my down time and I can spend it the way I want."
Mira shook her head. "Such a waste of time. You could be going out and exploring the city."
"Quite sure Natsu and Lucy are doing that right now. Besides, people do make money off this," Stephen retaliated.
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Really? I find that hard to believe."
"A 120 Million dollar prize pool for one of the biggest tournaments of the year, says it's pretty good. And that's American money. Also, some of the so called real sports teams have bought into this game."
"Name three I might give you the point," She challenged.
Stephen didn't even bat an eye. "In Europe, I know FC Schalke 04, one of the German Champion's League qualifiers and along with the French Champion PSG, have teams in the European LCS. In North America, I know two basketball teams own them, the 76ers and the Bucks and I also know a couple of former legends have teams, Echo Fox and NRG."
Mira looked at him with an unreadable expression and then looked at her phone looking up the specific teams. Finding that Stephen was right, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but people watching people play video games sounds really stupid."
"They make money and they are reach the key demographics. I myself have a Youtube and Twitch account that I still post videos, gonna be uploading videos as soon as my equipment gets here. I'm waiting on my recording equipment before I do something else. Actually, I've been meaning to ask Makarov for permission to put up highlights."
Mira frowned. "Why would you ask for permission, can't you just post it?"
"If I want to be brought down for plagiarism, sure I can." Stephen said sarcastically. "Yeah, I rather make sure that everything is legal. I won't make money from it unless he says I can."
Mira nodded. "I'll talk to him. Now, I bet you're hungry." At this, his stomach growled, much to his embarrassment. "Come on, let me treat you and Lis to lunch."
He nodded and three walked out after locking up. Meanwhile, Lucy was sitting at a pub overlooking Magnolia harbor. It wasn't where she planned to be on a Sunday date, but Natsu had been insistent on coming here. She had to admit for a pub it was pretty clean especially one based on American cuisine. She couldn't say the same thing about Natsu as he wolfed down his lunch.
"Natsu, could you please eat a little neater please? You're supposed to be representing the team on and off the field. You can't eat like a pig."
Natsu finished gulping down a chicken wing. "But I get hungry very easily and this food is delicious," he said with his mouth still full of food.
Lucy sighed as she finished eating her chicken. She felt a tap on her leg and turned to see two children a boy and a girl that looked about eight years old. "Hello there what are your names?"
"Oh my apologies, Katie and Johan here saw you two and wanted to ask for some autographs." The black haired woman she presumed was their mother.
Lucy beamed and kicked Natsu in the shin to get him to stop eating. "Sure thing!"
The little girl, Katie beam as she held up her cap. "You're so pretty, you're like Miss Mira!"
"Aww, I'm not that pretty. But thank you." Lucy said as she signed the hat.
"Pretty, huh?" Natsu mumbled only to yelp in pain as Lucy kicked him again. He wipe his hands. "Sorry, so what's your name?
"Johan, Mr. Dragneel. I saw your goal against Hargeon. You were awesome. You guys are much nicer than those smelly Tigers."
Natsu laughed. "Of course! We're gonna beat them and win the whole league!"
"Really?" Johan asked eyes sparkling. At Natsu's nod the small boy cheered. His cheer got the rest of the bar to cheer as well.
Lucy laughed. "There is a lot of support here!"
"Yeah. Magnolia, being the second largest city in Fiore hosts three First Saint teams and three other teams of lower tiers. They can be roughly split three sections, the area around the port is City's section, the area where the tourists go is United's and the rich area is home to Real Veronica. It gets ugly especially on Derby days. We play at United in November and Vs. Veronica before the end of the year."
Natsu finished up and two allowed the kids to take pictures with them. Lucy fought to fight down a blush as Natsu wrapped his arm around her as the kids enjoyed being in the same picture of two of their stars. They finished their meals amidst their raucous supporters and headed back to the dorms.
Next Day about 10AM
Coach Clive smiled as the healthy players trickled into the conference room. He especially looked at his new players, Stephen and Lucy. The blonde was talking with Levy and Mira and looking like she fit right in. The American was glancing at his phone, more likely catching up on something related to the U.S.
"Alright, glad to see everyone here, we have a few things to talk about mostly about the upcoming schedule. We have Oshibanna Town this week, then FC Crocus next week, then our Champion's League game in London against Arsenal. Then we come back and play Oak Town. Then it's the Ishgar cup. Between now and the end of November we will be playing 12 league games, five Champion's League games and possibly up to three Ishgar games. The Mavis Cup does not begin for us until the beginning of the year. But I want all of you to give your all as I know you can. So that being said, here's the deal. Those who are playing Oshibanna town may not start against Arsenal. And those playing against Crocus may not play against Barcelona."
Those normally on the bench knew what that meant. They would get a chance to shine against their league compatriots and lower tier opponents while those who normally got the start could rest for the games against international competition. The Barcelona game was especially important as the Spanish club was considered one best clubs in the world. They were the current La Liga champions, leaders of the current Spanish season and the runner-up to last year's Champion's league. With stars like Lionel Messi III, Juan Suarez and Raymundo, it was easy to see how they could dominate. They had heard the whisperings, Magnolia City was not going to make it out of their group especially with Arsenal playing the way they were in England, currently 2nd behind their rivals Chelsea. They would need their best players at peak condition to even have a chance especially away from Magnolia.
"So those who we plan on using in Arsenal will play sparingly, so be ready for a short leash. That's next week. Let's focus on this week. We have Oshibanna Town. They have 1 win against Hargeon and 1 loss against Alverez.
Stephen noticed Natsu clench his fist at the mention of the current champs. He would figure it out later.
"Their formation is based around Erigor, their striker, who has been responsible for 2 of their gals this year. Last year he scored 20 goals which while well behind someone like Erza and Natsu, still led the team and helped them finish 17th, good enough to stay out of Relegation. Their 4-3-2-1 is otherwise not impressive but do not let the game we have against Arsenal distract you. Anyway, now for the line ups, we will be making a lot of changes in prep for the International game. So Elfman will stay as Goal keeper. Bickslow, Droy, Mira and Redfox in the backline. Ever, Erza, Cana and Freed will be the midfield. And Natsu and Mest will be the Forwards. Lisanna, Stephen, Lucy, Jet, Wakaba and Macao will be our reserves. Alright, I want you back here after lunch to practice and to go over film."
The group dispersed into their groups. Stephen walked over to Makarov who was watching the meeting with a stern look. "Sir, can I talk to you about something?"
"Ah yes, you wanted to talk about your video site. Come on, we can talk in my office."
Stephen followed the diminutive owner and the coach through the halls and up towards the relatively lavish office. It had pictures of all the teams that passed through Magnolia City's history along with the pictures of the various owners and coaches. He looked at one in particular. This one was labeled 2023-2024 and had what looked to be a younger Makarov sitting with the rest of the players.
"Haha, curious are you my boy?" Makarov asked jovially. "Well, I can say I've been with this team since before your father was born. I grew up rooting for them, I played with them and now I own it. Anything since the 2010's I've been a part of this team's fortunes, good and bad." The man walked behind his desk. "So, what can I do for ya?"
Stephen cleared his throat. "Okay. So, in case you haven't heard, I run a Youtube and Twitch channel on the side. It focuses on gaming content and other stuff that I like. I record stuff and post it on the site and then if I get a certain number of views I can make a little bit of money of it. I made some money in college doing this and if I didn't like soccer so much I could have made a career out of it."
"Ah, yes, your Let's Play channel. Must say when I did my background check, I saw your channels. Haha, you are pretty good at these games and the commentary," Makarov chuckled. Stephen smiled, seeing he was getting to him
"Yes, well that was part of why I wanted to talk to you. See, my recording equipment is being shipped out and hopefully by the time we get back from Barcelona it will be here. So I have two questions. One, do I have your permission to keep doing that?"
The owner and coach looked at each other and then Gildarts spoke. "If these, games, don't interfere with your work, then I can't see any reason to stop you. If I recall you might have to do some crazy tax keeping because of that."
Stephen shivered. "Yeah, right. Uh, thank you. Anyway, question number 2 is, can I post highlights of our games on my channel. Or perhaps full games? It will help expose the brand and maybe get some fans across the pond
Makarov hummed. "The primary issue to broadcasting an actual game would be due to the exclusivity for this country's games being given to Sky Sports for the International and the Fiore Sports Network for Domestic. We would have to ask them to allow a rebroadcast on Twitch However, the highlights would be much easier 'cause it only involves clips. And because I'm giving you permission to release the video, I can discuss it with the league if something comes up."
Stephen sighed. One out of two wasn't bad. "Alright, thanks. I might ask the other players to play with me sometime. I'll work on getting the videos published." He said and he got up to leave.
"How are you adjusting?"
This question caught the young man off guard. He looked over his shoulder, "Oh, it's been nice. Natsu, Lucy and Lisanna have been helping me adjust, it's been fun. Its kind of hard for a guy like me to be social with the whole team."
"Yes, it is quite difficult being away from home, especially one with your, particular issue." The owner revealed.
Stephen stiffened getting Gildarts to raise an eyebrow. Makarov continued. "If there is one thing about Magnolia City, it's as long as you wield that shield, you will always have family here. Whether it's as a foreign national or my idiot grandson, we don't throw people out unless they have wronged us. You will find that discrimination has no place here unlike the rest of Europe. Just don't shut yourself off."
Stephen nodded and left the office. Gildarts looked at Makarov. "What do you mean condition? If its something that could be a determent then why did you sign him?"
"It's not physical if that's what you're thinking. His asthma was well known in the scouting reports and is well controlled. No, the issue is mental. He is a nice boy, however most took one look at his psychological profile and dropped their pursuit. He's autistic."
Gildarts closed his eyes and sighed. "That would explain a few things. And would also tell us why they would not want him. Because of his potential for outbursts and his inability to focus they would assume he has a bad attitude. Combined with being an American, I doubt we were his first choice."
"He sent his videos to as many teams as he could. Arsenal, Manchester, Madrid, PSG, Millan, Porto, you name the team they turned him down.'
"Why take that risk?" The coach wondered.
"Because I believe he needs us just as much as we need him." Makarov said as he walked over to the window that overlooked the pitch. "Most of our team grew up together and they bonded through mutual respect. Barring Miss Heartfillia's situation and yours with Cana, how many of our young brats have actual parents."
Gildarts thought about it and realized how many orphans there were. "Only Natsu has some parental upbringing. Alzack and Bisca are parents of course but not a lot of them have that. And then Macao has Romeo who's in the academy."
Makarov watched as Stephen began to warm up. "I personally believed he would have suffered on those teams. This being a friendlier environment might make him shine. Stephen being an outsider would also get some people to open up more. He's already doing a great job with the younger Ms. Strauss." He said as Lisanna walked over to Stephen. The young man was talking adamantly about something that the white haired girl seemed intrigued by. "This team, I feel something special about it this year."
Gildarts nodded and walked out. "We'll see. I can't believe I might have to start a rookie against the best team in the world."
"Until Laxus is better, he's the best we got. Now then the brats need some guidance, go be a coach."
Gildarts laughed and waved back before heading downstairs. Makarov returned to his paperwork and sighed. He really wished he was thirty years younger.
Saturday, September 12th, Ninety minutes before kickoff, 11:30 AM local time
Stephen was warming up on the Magnolia City side. The stadium, Reaper's Alley was of a decent size, about 34,000 people could sit comfortably in the stands. Like Mavis Memorial, this was completely enclosed. Unlike the Fairies stadium it wasn't big height wise, perhaps 10 or 12 rows high. While smaller, it was more intimate and allowed the fans to be closer to the field.
"You Fairies are going down!" A fan boasted.
This unfortunately meant that any fans could come closer to the field and hurl insults at opposing players. Which at the moment was Stephen and Lucy.
He sighed. "Geez, this is worse than College Football. At least the fans are far enough away from the field."
Lucy looked at her American teammate. "Is it that bad?"
Stephen ignored the rant. "Most games are civil enough. It's the rivalry games that are really bad. Seriously though, it should be illegal to be drinking this early."
Lisanna jogged over. "What's up guys?"
"Just dealing with some hecklers. They can be so annoying. So glad Florida State never got that bad. Save maybe Miami…no wait, they have been worse," Stephen deadpanned.
"How bad could they be?" Lisanna asked as they started do long steps.
"Garbage thrown onto the field because of a call that was correct. Let's also add in that the hit was a helmet to helmet blow and got him ejected," Stephen pointed out.
Lucy shook her head. "Remind me to not go to a game like that."
"It's not that bad. Most of the time." Stephen grumbled.
As they walked they saw Natsu take another shot at the net. Lucy smiled and blushed at the shot. Lisanna noticed and smiled. "Natsu's amazing huh."
The blonde sputtered getting the two to laugh. She was saved from answering by Erza's call for them to fall in and head to the locker room. In Lisanna's mind, she was thinking of ways to get the two together.
An hour later: Commentary booth
Chimati: Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Week 3 of the Carnival First Saint League. We are here live from the Reaper's Alley, Home of Oshibanna Town. This is one of 10 games this week in Fiore's top tier with the biggest game today being in Belladonna City, where AFC Black Cube is playing Tenrou Island. But here at the Alley, its Oshibanna Town and Magnolia City. Alongside Jason Thompson, I am Chipatti Lola. The hometown Reapers are sitting on three points thanks to a 2-0 win over Hargeon last week. Jason, it's still early but Oshibanna could use the early games to make a push for the top of the table. With Erigor as part of the attack, they are tough to stop.
Jason: He's scored two of Oshibanna's goals this year and it has to do with his physical toughness. He barrels through players like no one's business. While this toughness has given him opportunities, he's also picked up two yellow cards. Magnolia City could use that to their advantage.
Chimati: Speaking of the Fairies, they are starting their fourth different Forward in three matches, but not because of injury. Magnolia City will be traveling to London to face powerhouse Arsenal, so many of the young talent that has shined so far this year will be on the bench. (Magnolia's line-up is shown) Among the changes are Bicklsow in the back line while Evergreen, Freed Justine, and Cana Albornia are in the midfield, with Mest Gryder up with Natsu Dragneel.
Jason: The biggest surprise is having both Dragneel and Scarlet start this game when they are probably going to play in London. My guess is Coach Clive wants to have both Natsu and Erza lead the team through this game and then give it up to their bench. Don't be surprised if the hook is early for both of them.
Chimati: This is probably a good problem to have, a plethora of good players that they could swap around at will and worry about certain players getting playing. But Europe and Fiore are two different leagues entirely. If there was one stretch of games that they would be missing their injured striker Laxus Dreyer, this would be it.
In the tunnel, Magnolia City was walking towards the entrance of the locker room. Natsu was bouncing on his legs. "I'm all fired up, Come on let's get this show on the road.
"Yes…this show to destroy you pathetic flies," A snide voice snarked. Everyone turned to see a tall silver haired man with Oshibanna's home uniform on, a dark purple with blue stripes and black shorts. On his arm was the captain's armband.
Natsu knew he wanted to make a move, heck most of the starters wanted to return the insult, but they were calmer than that. They watched as the Reapers headed down the hall. Erza began to speak. "Do not look forward to next week, we take this one season at a time. Stay vigilant, stay focused, stay clean."
Everyone else positively replied. An official got her attention and led them onto the field to a small chorus of boos. These boos changed as the first bars of Volbeat's Heaven or Hell began to play. Out of the entrance on the Southside of the stadium, the starting eleven marched out to the cheers and the waves of the crowd. On the bench, Stephen sighed. "Damn, that's two songs I like, are all of Fiore's entrance heavy rock?"
Lisanna looked up in thought. "Most of them, I think we have one of the prettier ones."
"Not bashing U2, I like them. But it seems like Fiore took a page from the NFL. Speaking of which, I really wish I could watch my football but we are seven hours ahead of US Eastern Time. Pros would be fine if they aren't the night games. College different story."
"You could stay up and stream while watching it?"
"Maybe."
Gildarts came over to two. "Alright, focus guys, game's about to start," he ordered. They turned to see Natsu and Mest in the circle. At the ref's whistle, Natsu passed it out to Erza who sent it down to Cana.
Chimati: And we are underway here at the Alley. Dragneel passes to Scarlet, dumps to Albornia, who sends into the attacking zone. Passes up to Gryder who gets intercepted by Kageyama. He tries to pass forward to Erigor, but it goes wide and the male Strauss sibling wraps it up.
Most of the first half continued this way as Oshibanna's one dimension offense was barely getting through the midfield while Magnolia's conservative attack was easily stymied.
Stephen groaned watching from the bench. "This is seriously like watch Florida State crush teams like Charleston Southern."
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Typically before the meat of their schedule pops up, they play a warm up game. They would pay the teams to essentially lose so the starters and their backups get work in. Because we got Arsenal and Barcelona in the next couple of weeks, this is to save as much of their legs as possible."
"I see. So by keeping us on the bench, he could theoretically use all of us at Arsenal. But why start Erza and Natsu?" Lucy pondered
"Natsu and Erza have the most energy among us. Natsu could go three matches plus extra time on his energy output alone. Erza rarely misses a game that wasn't due to card accumulation. My guess is Coach Clive wants leadership out there," Lisanna theorized.
Stephen watched as Natsu took another pass only for to be knocked out of bounds off him. "You guys have been together for a very long time haven't ya?"
Lisanna watched the throw in. "Most of us have been together since we were really young. I believe Gajeel was the one before you that the so called new guy. With the exception of the Dragneels, Magnolia City is all we have. Heck, we were on the streets when Makarov happened to see Mira and Elfman play. It was only a matter of time before I joined them."
"Lisanna…" Lucy whispered. "I never knew it was that bad."
The white haired girl looked at the two. "Don't worry about it. We may come from different worlds, but what matters is right here." She pounded the shield. "We are Fairies where it counts."
Stephen chuckled. "I guess so. Just be careful with that word. In the U.S Fairy can actually mean gay. But, I guess you're right. You guys got another nickname?"
"Um…I think the one name that gets tossed around a bit are the Phoenixes. Because we were so close to bankruptcy a couple of times and then we roared back to be relevant again. We are in the middle of one of those rebirths so to speak."
"Right. Well, just saying that's the name I would prefer to use. Nothing against the other name though."
After that, the trio paid a little bit closer attention to the game. Other than a few fouls, the game was quiet a testament to the playstyle the team had adopted today. When the First Half whistle blew they actually were glad, because that meant they were probably going to be subbed in the second half.
Entering the locker room, the three watched as the starters walk in. Natsu looked incredibly antsy. "Damn it coach just let me get going. I can't just play conservative!"
"Natsu, the orders were to keep your energy high so you won't need to rest as much for when we go to London," Erza admonished.
"Screw that, I saw Erigor. If he wasn't such a cocky prick, he would have gotten to Elfman more."
"As much as I hate to say it, Salamander has a point, why can't we push forward?" Gajeel brought up.
"The plan is working and our backline is doing fine. Mira, how are you holding up?" Gildarts asked.
"I can keep going!" Mira said smiling. "Gajeel is being a baby but he's okay. Bickslow and Alzack are a little winded but they continue."
Gildarts nodded. Then he turned to his left. "Steven, Lisanna." The two turned around at their coaches orders. "Be ready to sub in the second half."
Lisanna looked confused. "Why not Lucy?"
"Cause you haven't gotten playing time and she has. Besides, I'm still experimenting with the main line up going forward."
The coach left and Lisanna turned to Lucy. "You should have taken that spot.
Lucy shook her head "Lisanna, don't. I want to see you play. There are plenty more games ahead of us," She took her hand. "You will be great."
Lisanna smiled. "Thanks Lucy."
Stephen chuckled. "It's like your long lost sisters or something." He held out his hand. "Let's show them we mean business."
The two girls pounded his fist and headed out to the bench to warm up.
Chimatti: As the second half begins, do we see a change in strategy for Magnolia City who only had three shots on goal.
Jason: If their goal is to rest their key players, they have done well so far. If their defense can hold it, they will take a point.
Chimatti: (Whistle blows) There's the whistle. Kageyama takes, dumps it to Erigor who barrels right through the midfield. He takes a shot and it goes wide
Jason: Trying to catch the defense off guard. But too much power in kick and Erigor must be regretting the lack of control.
The next ten minutes was Oshibanna trying to aggressively attack, taking advantage of the playstyle Magnolia City were employing. While the defense held, it was obvaious that if their concentration lapsed there would be a goal.
At the 56 minute mark, after Erza sent a shot in, Gildarts had seen enough. He looked to see Stephen and Lisanna stretching out. "Strauss, Decatur, finish getting ready, you're going in!"
The two nodded and sped up their preparations to take the field.
Chiamtti; Looks like City is warming up the subs. Decatur is one and look at this, it's the third Strauss sibling, Lisanna.
Jason: My guess is Decatur is coming on for Dragneel, the question is is Lisanna going to replace Scarlet?
At about the hour mark, Erza deflected a shot off the opposing midfielder. The fourth ref signaled for the subs. First the 24 for Stephen showed up in green then Natsu's 10. The second numbers were Lisanna's 12 and Erza's 5. Gildarts pulled them aside. "Remember the strategy."
Stephen nodded and pounded Lisanna's fist again. Natsu came in and tagged Stephen in. Erza arrived moments later and hugged the young girl whispering good luck. She quickly followed after the American. He looked behind him and shook his head. "Screw that strategy, if I see a chance I'm taking it. You with me?" He asked Lisanna.
Lisanna looked at the rest of the team and then at Erigor who was mocking them. "Yeah. Let me try to get the ball. I have more control than you."
Stephen moved up field as Lisanna moved closer to the throw in spot. When the ball was thrown, Lisanna was right there aggressively taking the pass and sending it up field. Mest was unprepared for the aggressiveness but he still handled it and sent it towards Stephen who was in the 18 yard box. He took a shot which went in but he heard the whistle that he was offisdes.
"Well damn." He turned around to head back to defend.
Chimatti: Kracka takes the throw in, intercepted by Strauss. That will get confusing! Passes it up field to Gryder, dumps it to Decatur and he takes the shot! Its in, but he's offside!
Jason: Something tells me that wasn't in the playbook because Gryder was surprised to get the ball that far up! But like the game with Hargeon, Decatur has provided a bolt to this offense.
On the City bench, Gildarts looked livid. "What is that idiot thinking? What are both of them thinking?" He looked to see his bench actually energized for the first time all game.
"Maybe he's doing this to get the team fired up." Erza suggested. "He had been on the bench for at least an hour and he was probably just as antsy as Natsu was."
The coach calmed down as he thought about it. It did make some sense. The back line seems to get the message too as they prevented another run in.
Erigor was just as livid but for a different reason. He was one or two good plays from scoring on a less motivated defense and now they were ready to fight back. He knew who was responsible and glared at the offending striker. Two minutes later, Stephen was making a run when Erigor came charging in. Stephen detected it and attempted to jump out of the way but he still go caught and landed on the turf. He rolled around but didn't feel any pain. The ref though saw the charge and stomped over to the striker to give him a yellow and give Stephen a free kick.
Lisanna ran over to him. "You alright?" She asked helping him up.
"I've been hit with worse. Don't worry, I can take it. But there is no way we can score with Erigor in our face like this. Any ideas?"
"Not at the moment, still trying to fight in the midfield here. Though with that yellow, Erigor might be more relenting."
"Don't count on it."
The next twenty minutes was proving to be a back and forth affair as Magnolia City had renewed their attack. But bad luck either had them shooting wide or being offside at the wrong moment. At the 85th minute mark, Elfman was kicking it out to the midfield. Oshibanna had moved all of their midfield up and were trying to double team Stephen.
As he crossed midfield and headed towards to the goal, Erigor got into his face. "You little fly can't you see, it's impossible to get through. We'll beat you and then we'll go all the way to the top!"
Stephen didn't flinch as he controlled the ball in front of the Shinigami. As he turned around, he spotted Lisanna about 15 yards out. At a glance, suddenly a plan clicked between the two as the younger Strauss sibling began to dash at him. Stephen turned around and head back towards the sideline. Erigor kept up with him and made the mistake at focusing on his face. So focused on the American he didn't see him plant the ball and moved away.
(Play Fairy Tail Theme)
"Gotcha now, Fly!" Erigor laughed as he chased him down
"Have you been to an eye doctor? Look down!" Drew taunted as he turned away. Erigor did so and gasped at seeing the ball not there.
"Where…" He felt the wind brush by him. He turned to see Lisanna completely open and her leg stretched out. The ball sailed by his face. Then it sailed by the keeper who was too far out and hit the upper right side of the goal and the back of the net. Lisanna was already cheering as she ran around look celebrating. The first one there to greet her was her sister Mira who hugged her and raised her above her head.
Chimatti: Stephen controls the balls heads close, turns it back around he loses control of the ball…Lisanna Gets It! Shoots AND IN! She scores her first career goal in her first Cap and what a goal for the highlight reel! (Replays begin showing) Where did she come from? She wasn't even in the camera she takes advantage of a misplay by her teammate and launches the shot right into the back of the net
Jason: (Another replay shows the two strikers facing off) I think the misplay was not on Decatur but on Erigor. Because look at the American's footwork. (Zoom in) He…stopped the ball completely! He lured Erigor off to the side. Erigor wasn't paying attention to the ball and it cost Oshibanna Town. (Camera switches to Mira) Big sister's face says it all. (Switch Gildarts and the bench) The surprise on the coach is understandable as his team is now up with two minutes left in Regulation. (Switches to Stephen who cool pumped his fist) He looks as like an action hero as he turns away. Cool guys don't watch explosions indeed.
Stephen jogged over to the jubilant girl. "Great finish Lisanna."
"All thanks to you. Where did you come up with that trick?"
"Honestly, the moment I saw you, it was instinct."
Mira happened to be in ear shot and had to hold in a gasp. That play was on the spot? They had only being playing real soccer together for less than a half an hour, how did they develop that instinct already? She had to find out from Stephen later. Now they had to finish the game
Oshibanna Town 0-1 Magnolia City
Li. Strauss 87' (MAGC)
Oshibanna took the kickoff and tried to score again but they only managed to get close enough once as the remaining time ticked away. Thanks to Lisanna's goal, they now had nine points from three matches. But now, they must be ready to tackle the world stage. Who will win as the best in Europe prepare to play for one of the most prestigious trophies in sports? Find out next time.
END OF CHAPTER
UO: Consider this your Christmas gift and last update of the year.
Teams
Oshibanna Town: A small club founded in the early days of the First Saint League. They have never won the First Saint League, the closest being 5th in 2005.
Previous year: 16th
Colors: Home: Purple with blue stripes and Blue shorts. Away: Black with red shorts
Shield: Eisenwald symbol
Preview: As the Champion's League unfolds, Magnolia City is considered the underdogs in a group that contain two of the best teams in the world. How will Magnolia City handle the legendary Camp Nou in Barcelona? Find out next time
Next Chapter: The World Stage: FC Barcelona Vs Magnolia City
Next Update is Nakama United
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OSPREY...SWOOOSH
Update 1/5/17: Due to the site not liking my spacing when there is a score i will have to label each score for which team. In this case MAGC is Magnolia City. Yes it says Magic and yes it also fits RWBY's team style