Chapter 9: Bidding Farewell
-The Chapter continues from the last chapter's end-
Everyone remained speechless, from what they saw from the video, Spain national team, nicknamed [The Matador] was practically invincible, but Coach Nikaidou said that he have a plan to crush [The Matador] and make [Inazuma Japan] the world's champions.
"How are you even planning to do this ?" asked Haizaki after a moment of silence.
Nikaidou turned in Haizaki's direction and smiled, earning a curious look from everyone else, "It's true that surpassing them is no small feat, but I have prepared a plan to do so with Coach Kudou, if you have enough dedication, willpower and patience, We can achieve it."
"There's just three weeks left, can we manage to complete it in time ?" asked Asuto.
"Yeah, I am planning to raise your Physical Power and Speed to Spain's level in three weeks." explained Nikaidou, holding three fingers.
"Even if we manage to do that, they are tactically better than us too." Mizukamiya retorted.
"It's not like we're going to train twenty-four hours a day, there's always time to analyze." Nikaidou replied.
Even if Nikaidou's words held some truth, It was still very hard, achieving that power in three weeks, even if achievavle will be a really hard task.
"Alright, we'll do this!" Asuto exclaimed, and everyone turned in his direction.
"Asuto, Are you serious ?" asked Hiura, bewildered by his teammate's statement.
"We won't lose anything If we try, so let's give it a chance!" Asuto explained.
Nosaka smiled, "Indeed, It'll be a great help for us in the future, Even if we don't win against Spain, if we do a good performance we might found ourselves pro soccer players just after high school."
"...I haven't thought of that." Haizaki admitted.
"True, we had a tunnel vision, all what we were thinking was the FFI's main stage, we didn't look at the future at all." Tatsuya added.
"Pro soccer players, huh ? Interesting!" Atsuya exclaimed with a smirk.
"The world will finally see the God Striker's true worth!" boasted Kira.
"Come to think of it, I might play here instead of Russia." Ichihoshi said, cupping his chin.
"Seriously, Ichihoshi ?" Asuto asked, looking confused by his teammate's statement.
"I grew fond of the Japanese playstyle, it's so direct instead of the Russian playstyle where you have to rely mostly on speed." Ichihoshi explained.
"Variety is the spice of life." Midorikawa quoted, earning a chuckle from Tatsuya.
"Alright everyone, training starts now!" Asuto exclaimed.
"Yeah!"
-Nineteen Days Later-
It was early in the morning when Asuto woke up, he saw the clock and decided it was too early to wake up, so he returned to sleep, but to no avail, he couldn't shake the excitement he was feeling, tomorrow is the draw and after two days, the FFI's main phase will begin.
Asuto gave up after a minute and stood up, he went on his morning routine then decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air, the morning's cool breeze was great.
"You couldn't sleep too ?"
Asuto was taken aback to hear the familiar voice, then turned to see Mansaku.
"Yo, Good Morning." Mansaku greeted with a smile as walked to Asuto.
"Good Morning." Asuto greeted back, then the two continued their walk.
"Tomorrow is the draw, huh ?" said Mansaku.
"Yeah, I wonder which teams we will be against." Asuto replied.
Mansaku nodded, "If this was me three weeks ago, I would've certainly hoped to avoid Spain."
Asuto smirked, "But today, We hope that they are our first opponent." He said confidently.
As the two were walking, they suddenly sensed a shoot going their way, Asuto immediately turned and prepared to block it.
"Ice ?" Asuto noted as he kicked the ball back in the direction it came from.
"Good Morning, Asuto, Mansaku." Hiura said as he caught the ball with his hands.
"If that weak shoot is your best, then looks like Midorikawa and Tatsuya will be regulars in the team from now on." Mansaku said teasingly.
"Unfortunately for them, that was just my pass, [Koori no Ya]. If you couldn't figure that much then looks like Sakanoue will be our libero in the tournament." Hiura replied challenging Mansaku.
Asuto grinned at his teammates's enthusiasm, but he said nothing as he watched the two argue comically.
XxX
"Everyone, you have came a long way from nineteen days ago, congratulations." Nikaidou praised, earning prideful grins from his players.
"We completed our training yesterday, and the draw is tomorrow, so today you're free." He continued.
"I guess I'll go to Raimon." Asuto said, "What do you say ?" He asked his former Raimon teammates.
"Good idea." Norika agreed, Mansaku and Hiura nodded in agreement.
Asuto then turned to Haizaki, "What about you, Haizaki ?"
"I am going with Captain to Seishou." Haizaki replied, Mizukamiya confirmed by nodding.
"Kaname-senpai, Let's go to Tonegawa!" Sakanoue exclaimed cheerfully, Kaname chuckled and nodded.
"Nosaka-san, Nishikage. Outei Tsukinomiya's soccer team was reformed, how about we take a look ?" Sakuraba suggested, Nosaka and Nishikage agreed.
"Tatsuya, Hiroto, One last visit to Eisei Gakuen!" said Midorikawa.
"Atsuya~, Let's go to Hakuren!" Nae exclaimed cheerfully while dragging Atsuya by his arm, ignoring the later's protests.
A minute later, the room was empty, save for Inakuni Raimon's former members and Ichihoshi.
"Why don't you come with us, Ichihoshi ?" Asuto suggested as he turned for him.
Ichihoshi was visibly startled and confused by Asuto's suggestion, "But I am not a student of Raimon."
This time it was Asuto's turn to be confused, "So ?"
After a moment of silence, Ichihoshi finally nodded his head, "Alright." he sounded still unsurem
Asuto smiled at him, "Let's go."
The Inakuni Raimon's former members left the room with Ichihoshi trailling behind them,
XxX
Haizaki and Mizukamiya stood in front of the school's entrance, It was 5:00PM so none should be here except for the club activites members, so the gate wasn't locked.
Mizukamiya opened the gate, then turned to Haizaki, "Come on, Let's go."
After a moment of hesitation, Haizaki entered the gate, he was wearing Raimon's school uniform. He felt that it was so wrong to walk in the school with this uniform.
They entered the school's gym, there was noises from every clubroom, save for the soccer club.
"Odd." Haizaki thought out loud as he followed Mizukamiya.
"It's locked." said Mizukamiya, who was trying to unlock the door.
"Don't you have the keys ?" asked Haizaki.
"I left them for the vice-captain Amano-" began Mizukamiya before he was interrupted.
Haizaki turned in time and kicked the ball back in the direction which it came from, the large boy catched it with ease.
"Speak of the devil." said Mizukamiya with a smile.
"Hey Captain, who's this runt you brought along with you ?" mocked Amano, earning a grunt from Haizaki.
"Oh ? Talking big just because you've improved a bit and you're wearing a colored piece of cloth ? I am disappointed, Amano-senpai." Haizaki mocked back.
"Don't push your luck so far, first-year."
"What are you gonna do about it ?"
"Are you testing my patience ?"
"Are you ?"
Mizukamiya sighed, "These two never get along."
"I know, right ?"
Mizukamiya was startled by the voice which came behind him,he turned to see Sasotsuka standing next to him, with his trademark cat smile as he watched Amano and Haizaki argue verbally.
"It's been so long, Captain, welcome back." greeted Sasotsuka.
Mizukamiya smiled, "Did you finish practice already ?"
"Yeah, there isn't much to do after the Football Frontier ended, and after you and Orio left, and the second team players aren't coming to practice, even Orio hasn't come after he was dropped out of Inazuma Japan." admited Sasotsuka, his smile fading and was replaced by a frown.
"What about Kidou-san ?" asked Mizukamiya.
"All the third-years like Endou-san, Gouenji-san and Kidou-san were summoned by Japan's Youth Football Association since Inazuma Japan was formed, They announced a training camp." Sasotsuka stated.
"What's the purpose ?" Mizukamiya asked.
"They said it was something related to the Enforcement program, but not so much
"So Kidou-san wasn't here all this time..." Mizukamiya said.
"Yeah, With its main members not present, Seishou Gakuen is no longer the same." Sasotsuka summarised.
"However, we do not intend to keep it like that." Amano joined the conversation.
Mizukamiya smiled, "Of course, I'll get back as soon as the tournament ends, Isn't that right, Haizaki ?"
Haizaki turned to him startled by his words, "Me ?"
"Don't play dumb, your contract with Raimon ends after the FFI." Amano pointed out.
"You're not planning to continue with Raimon, are you ?" Sasotsuka added with a smile.
"Seishou Gakuen was and will be always your home, Haizaki." Mizukamiya said with a smile.
Haizaki smiled back, "Of course."
XxX
"Hello!" Asuto greeted as entered Raimon's soccer club, alongside Hiura, Mansaku, Norika and Ichihoshi.
"Welcome back, Everyone!" Hiyori greeted back
Asuto looked around the room, "Where's Captain and Goujin-senpai ?"
"They were summoned by the Japan Football Youth Association." replied Kozoumaru
"The Japan Football Youth Association ?" repeated Hiura as he took a seat. "But why ?"
"A secret training camp, not much information is out." Okuiri answered.
"They summoned all the third year students which playex the Football Frontier." Hattori added.
"Weird." noted Norika.
"Anyway, Since we're ten, How about we play a mini game ?" Asuto suggested as he shifted in his seat.
"But, we don't have a goalkeeper." Hattori retorted.
"Then we'll play without keepers, Five against Five." explained Asuto with a smile, "You'll play as a defender, Is that okay, Norika ?"
"Sure." Norika replied with a smile.
XxX
"Ichihoshi!" Mansaku called as he got ready for a pass.
Ichihoshi who was running turned by his teammates's call and got ready to trap the ball.
Mansakh sent a lob pass for Ichihoshi, but a short figure ran between the two players.
[Shooting Cut!]
Hiyori summoned a small storm which interrupted the pass, the storm succeeded in that earning a smirk from Hiyori.
"Too bad for you but, Not today."
Hiyori's smirk faded as he heared those words from Hiura, the later who jumped and stole the ball from Hiyori.
"You let your guard down!"
Before Hiura could process those words, Hattori stole the ball back from him in a swift motion, then passing the ball for Okuiri.
Ichihoshi stood in Okuiri's way, trying to block his path.
[The Labyrin-]
Before Okuiri could use his hissatsu, Ichihoshi stole the ball.
"Asuto!" Ichihoshi called as he made a long pass.
Asuto trapped the ball in the air, he was so close to score.
[Inabikari Dash!]
[The Wall!]
Asuto, who was going in high-speed with hissatsu slammed into Golem's [The Wall] and couldn't get past him, he decided to retreat for now until he saw Hiura running on the side unmarked, so he passed for him.
The goal was empty so all what Hiura had to do is to simply push the ball.
1-0 for the Inazuma Japan members.
"But, They all sure improved." Asuto noted with a smile.
"Hiyori's [Tornado Cut] and Iwato's [The Wall] both improved, even Hattori's speed increased in he could steal the ball from me." Hiura was having the same thoughts as Asuto.
Inakuni's members resumed the mini-game, they exchanged high speed passes to shake Inazuma Japan's members, and they succeded in that.
Kozoumaru kicked the ball up then planted his right leg in the ground, engulfing it with flames, then he jumped following the ball while spinning, flames surrounding him.
[Hidaruma Bakunetsudan!]
Asuto, knowing that he doesn't have the time to use a hissatsu shoot, and doesn't stand a chance against one with a normal kick, tried to reduce the shoot's power with his leg.
"Kozoumaru too, he improved." Asuto noted as he struggled against the shoot before it finally forced its way through, scoring the equalizer for Inakuni's members almost immediately after the goal of Inazuma Japan's members.
XxX
-The Next Day, Tokyo's Airport.-
"I guess it's farewell, huh ?" said Asuto with a sad smile, as he prepared to get on the plane.
"Do your best, everyone!" Hattori cheered.
"Don't let your guard down, stay aware from all the opponents." Kozoumaru warned.
"You must fight in our place!" Iwato added.
"Flight 478 from Tokyo to London is parting after a minute, please take your seats"It's time." said Hiura.
"Let's go!" exclaimed Mansaku enthusiastically.
"To the world!" said Asuto!
"Yeah!"
-Chapter's End-
