Redemption
Chapter Ten
He was so thorough in avoiding the entire team that Fudou felt slightly impressed that Tachimukai managed to track him down.
"Fudou-san!" Tachimukai said, his voice wavering and – oh, god, were those tears in his eyes? Fudou considered whistling nonchalantly and pretending the sandy-haired midfielder/goalkeeper didn't exist. "I need your help."
Dammit.
"What?" Fudou heaved out a sigh, but stopped and gave Tachimukai his undivided attention.
Unfortunately, that one word seemed to break the dam – not the actual dam of waterworks, thankfully, Fudou did not know what to do with tears – and Tachimukai spilled out a story of random player changes and secret notebooks and nonsense words that created hissatsu techniques and…
"Wait!" Fudou said sharply, and Tachimukai stopped babbling, his lower lip trembling. "Hitomiko made Endou a libero?" he asked, trying to parse through the information.
"Yes." A structurally sound decision, given that Endou displayed the ability to block goals while out of the penalty area, but colossally poor timing given the general mood of the caravan, even by Coach Hitomiko's standards.
"And she made you the goalkeeper?"
Tachimukai nodded, looking miserable. He had probably been the only choice left, unless Kidou dabbled in goalkeeping – he probably did, genius prodigy that he was – but Fudou was at a loss as to why Tachimukai looked so wretched.
Hoping that the rest of his statement would clarify the issue, Fudou asked, "And what is this shoe… uh, whatever that nonsense was."
"Shotatata tan, dobababa bam!" Tachimukai yelled, half-hysterically. Oo-kay. Clearly that was the main problem.
"Yes, that," Fudou waved aside the pronunciation, "what does that have to do with anything?" He noted Tachimukai's rising panic and hastily added, "Take a few deep breaths first."
Tachimukai did as told and, after a few seconds, looked marginally better. "It's the explanation of a hissatsu technique left in Endou's grandfather's secret notebook."
"So it's a phonetic key?" Fudou summarized, and Tachimukai blinked. Clearly he had not thought of it in those terms. "And you're supposed to learn this hissatsu?"
"Majin the Hand and God Hand won't stop Aliea, and I can't learn Fist of Justice and it's constantly evolving and…" Tachimukai cut off and stared down at his shoes. "I'm so sorry to trouble you with my problems, Fudou-san."
Dear God. Heaving an aggravated sigh at the universe for ruining his perfectly good sulk, Fudou grabbed Tachimukai's hand and tugged him back in the general direction of the caravan. He'd passed a relatively empty football field on the way and while Fudou was shit at expressing his feelings, he was brilliant at expressing football.
"What are you doing? Fudou-san?"
Fudou didn't stop tugging Tachimukai behind him until they were standing in the middle of the deserted football field. He pulled the football out of Tachimukai's surprised hands and let it fall, watching it bounce once before he trapped it.
"So you learned the key to a new hissatsu technique," Fudou said calmly, "One that will stop Prominence and Gaia."
Tachimukai just blinked at him, looking a little lost, but that was fine. Now that Fudou was in his element, he could plan his way through this. It was just another match, another weakness that needed to be covered, just another strategy he needed to utilize.
"And you're getting scared because being goalkeeper is a huge responsibility," Fudou theorized. "And you don't understand the hissatsu key." That was probably an understatement. If Fudou didn't know how big a legend Endou Daisuke was, he'd probably label the man a lunatic.
"How can anyone possibly understand –" Tachimukai burst out, clearly frustrated but Fudou held up a hand to cut him off. He needed to get everything in order.
But he still bit back a mental snicker at the thought of Endou's face if Tachimukai muttered the same, clearly unflattering opinion of Endou Daisuke around his captain. Pity Tachimukai didn't possess nearly that level of disrespect.
"And you're under a lot of pressure, because Endou didn't manage to stop neither Atomic Flare, nor any of Gaia's shots. Also because Endou is your personal hero and you don't want to let him down," Fudou concluded, ignoring the bright red tint to Tachimukai's cheeks.
"Yes," Tachimukai mumbled, even though Fudou didn't need a response.
Fudou just shrugged. "Then I suppose we'll have to learn that hissatsu technique, won't we?"
Tachimukai stared at him in shock, which then transitioned to obvious disbelief and unflattering doubt. "How… how am I supposed to do that?" he asked, in a tone that clearly implied that Fudou was the crazy one.
"The same way Endou masters his techniques." And at this, Fudou finally cracked the smirk that he'd been suppressing since he realized what the problem was. "Practice."
Tachimukai looked faintly green.
Honestly, Kidou didn't know why he was here. Well, he did – the caravan was leaving in a half-hour and he seemed to be the only one who noticed that Fudou and Tachimukai were missing and somebody had to find them before they got ready to leave and Aphrodi threw another hissy fit at their absence – but that didn't really explain why he was going in search of them, by himself and without telling anyone.
He really was a terrible liar.
His mind flashed back to the end of the game, to the killing intent that he'd only noticed at Tachimukai's furious shout. He'd turned when Aphrodi and Gouenji managed to separate Fudou and Gazel, and for a second, the only thing he could see was the stark terror on Fudou's face.
Then it was gone, sliding neatly behind the blank mask that Kidou had seen ever since Fudou stepped through the caravan doors. He couldn't hide everything behind a mask, however, and Kidou had seen how fiercely Fudou gripped his temple charm. The whites of his knuckles had been stark against his stiff knobbly frame.
"Mugen the Hand!"
Kidou paused at the faint scream and begin walking in its general direction. It seemed like he'd found them – Tachimukai was presumably working on the technique that Endou had given him.
Speaking of techniques…
Endou's new position as libero opened up a slew of possibilities. He'd seen Endou's talent for scoring all the way back in Inazuma Break, and Endou had more than enough power to master another hissatsu technique. He'd been using the practice to ruminate on his choices – better a hissatsu technique that he already knew than trying to quickly master one he didn't – while Endou got used to playing in his new position.
One technique in particular stuck out, but Kidou was hesitant. Kidou didn't know the technique as well as he'd hoped, which meant he'd have to go back to the source. And while seeing Teikoku again would be painful for him – Kageyama and Sakuma and Genda and how many people had he failed – he couldn't imagine it would be any better for Fudou or Aphrodi.
And while Kidou couldn't care less about Aphrodi – the wannabe god was still far too arrogant for his own good – he was admittedly a bit concerned about Fudou. The prickly midfielder had made no overtures to befriend his own teammates, and Kidou doubted that he'd act any better in front of the team he'd once tried to emulate.
He finally reached the football field that Tachimukai was practicing on and paused for a second, watching Fudou's gray eyes dart from one point to another, silently calculating. Then the midfielder moved up a slot and hit the ball with such force that the ball whizzed past Tachimukai's wide eyes.
Hmm. Maybe they should teach Fudou a hissatsu technique as well. Something other than Emperor Penguin No. 1, at any rate.
"You didn't even try to stop it that time," Fudou said, clearly irritated.
"Kidou-san!" Tachimukai hurriedly pointed out, clearly using him as a distraction. Kidou didn't allow his amused smile to show as Fudou turned, gray eyes already narrowed.
Kidou unintentionally bristled. Fudou always looked like he was spoiling for a fight and honestly, Kidou was getting a bit weary of the midfielder's silent treatment.
Okay, so maybe that was a little hypocritical.
"Tachimukai," he acknowledged, and paused slightly – Kidou didn't want to talk to Fudou any more than he had to, but it was incredibly rude not to acknowledge he existed. "Fudou," he finished, and all three people pretended that they hadn't noticed his reluctance.
"The caravan is leaving in half an hour," Kidou informed them, before turning in a sweeping moment he knew made his cloak billow and stalking off of the field.
Fubuki sat down next to the window and stared out the glass. Several of his teammates were still standing outside, jabbing at a board full of player formations and trying to talk above one another. Endou's new position upset the mostly defensive formation they'd had and everyone from Kogure to Gouenji had an opinion on the new lineup.
Well, almost everyone.
Fubuki's eyes were instinctively drawn to fluttering brown hair and narrowed gray eyes. Fudou's face was set in a hard expression as he deliberately turned away from the discussion.
He was still listening to it, Fubuki could tell. Even as Tachimukai jumped around him, chattering about something, Fudou's attention was clearly on Kidou and his discussion. Kidou, however, didn't notice or didn't care.
Fubuki wondered why. Even in his view of strategy – which was mostly stealing the ball and then unleashing Atsuya on it – Fudou was a genius. He'd held his own against Burn and Gazel and the two Aliea captains were nothing to sneeze at.
Fubuki would know. Atsuya had lost it at Desarm's taunting and even him – the real him, the Shirou hiding inside – had fallen to pieces because of Gaia. That Fudou had faced off single-handedly against two master-rank captains and survived (Fubuki ignored the still-vibrant red line that stood out starkly against Fudou's pale skin) was a testament to either his strategies or his charming personality.
And Atsuya could personally attest that he didn't possess an inkling of the latter.
But that Kidou was so lost in his memories of Shin Teikoku that he ignored the brilliant mind in front of him was a tragic circumstance that had led to the breakdown in the second half of Diamond Dust. If Aphrodi hadn't been the skilled genius he was, then Fubuki had no doubt they would've lost.
Fubuki blinked, eyes still on Fudou as everyone entered the caravan, finally ready to leave. It seemed like they'd agreed on a destination. Of course, given Hitomiko's proclivity to sudden and upsetting proclamations, Fubuki wasn't the slightest bit surprised when she announced Teikoku Academy as their next stop.
He was, however, surprised when Kidou explained it was his idea.
"Teikoku Academy is the birthplace of many hissatsu techniques, some of which we can use," he said clearly, his eyes not quite meeting everyone and completely ignoring the corner where Aphrodi and Fudou sat. "Death Zone is the perfect technique to start with, given that Endou is now a libero, and only Teikoku has the information to help us reinvent this technique."
If anyone had a problem with his reasoning, they didn't mention it.
But Fubuki had a problem with his strategies. And as Endou, Gouenji and Ichinose had presumably noticed and discarded the idea of Fudou participating in discussions, for whatever reason, it was up to him.
Fubuki gulped. Shirou curled into himself while Atsuya prodded impatiently. After a particularly hard poke, Fubuki finally twisted in his seat – all the player changes had resulted in Fudou and Tachimukai sitting directly behind him and Gouenji – and whispered through the gap between the seat and the window.
"Fudou-kun?"
There was only silence. Fubuki twisted a little further, seating himself comfortably (and accidentally leaning against Gouenji, but fortunately the forward didn't seem to care). He could see Tachimukai's wide eyes watching him through the gap, so he'd definitely heard.
"Fudou-kun?" he tried again, before Atsuya pushed his way to the front. "Fudou!" he whispered harshly, and at this, the midfielder finally responded.
"Yes?" came the midfielder's lazy drawl. Fubuki bristled a bit at the bored tone, but Shirou pushed the irritation aside.
Now that he'd caught Fudou's attention, he didn't know what to do. Fubuki sat in silence for three seconds until Atsuya got fed up and pushed his way to the surface with a growl. "What did you think about our new strategy?"
Shirou immediately forced Atsuya back down and the backlash of anger unsettled Fubuki so much that he nearly missed Fudou's reply.
"What strategy?" Sarcasm dripped from his words.
Fubuki shot a guilty look at the front of the bus, where Endou, Kidou and Domon were talking, but no one seemed to have heard and he was pretty sure that Gouenji was politely pretending to have gone deaf.
"Is it that bad?" Fubuki whispered. He thought the idea of creating a few new offensive hissatsu techniques was great – it would enable them to finally get the upper hand on Aliea.
Fudou huffed and even though Fubuki couldn't see his face, he could imagine his look of annoyance. "Let me put this in a way that you can understand," he said, and Fubuki thought he did a very good job of keeping Atsuya from reacting to the veiled insult. "Imagine you're watching this team that very nearly gets crushed by every opponent they face and only manage to win by virtue of a supremely talented forward and a miracle worker for a goalkeeper."
"Okay," Fubuki said.
"Other major problems with this team include its constantly changing lineup and short and erratic practices," Fudou continued. "Now, the goalkeeper – one of the longest-serving members of the team, mind you – is changed to a libero. The strategy now switches from defense to offense."
"Which should hopefully lead to more goals scored," Fubuki said quietly.
"Our offense is perfectly capable of getting the ball into the goal. Our midfield can get the ball to the offense," Fudou said sharply. "But our defense cannot stop Aliea. The only person who could was Endou, and now you've put him in an offensive position."
"We've opened up a huge gap in our defense," Gouenji said softly, eyebrows furrowed. Fubuki thought he heard Fudou mutter 'what defense?' but ignored him, thinking on the matter.
Fudou was right. Other than Shirou, no one had been able to stop Burn and Gazel and Shirou was hardly in the best condition. And even if he had been, well, Fubuki was only one person. He couldn't be everywhere at once.
Raimon's defense had crumpled like a wet tissue against Gaia. He could see it happening again, and though he felt bad to be thinking this, with Tachimukai in goal instead of Endou, the resulting defeat would be a lot more definitive.
"So what exactly would you suggest?" Ichinose's voice came from behind them and Fubuki glanced up to see Ichinose peering at them from the gap between Fudou's and Tachimukai's seat. Fudou looked startled at being addressed. He paused a moment, perhaps to make sure that Ichinose was really talking to him, before speaking.
"I'd add more to the defense. Five – no, six would be ideal." Fudou hesitated a moment, eyes flickering to Tachimukai and Fubuki before his face smoothed out. "Change our two-top to just Gouenji and move Aphrodi down to attacking midfield. Ichinose, Aphrodi and I form a ring of three around Kidou to support him, with us two in attacking midfield and Ichinose in defensive midfield."
"And instead of teaching Endou offensive hissatsu techniques, teach him defensive ones," Ichinose mused. "That would increase our defensive capability, as well as take a lot of the burden off of Tachimukai's shoulders." He furrowed his forehead in thought. "Of course, Endou's position frees him up to go forward and take shots as well without totally compromising our defense."
"Why a one-top?" Gouenji asked lightly and calmly. Rather too calmly – Gouenji was doing this on purpose, well aware that any note of censure would cause Fudou to retreat back behind his silence. "Can't we keep Aphrodi as a forward?"
"And spread me, Ichinose and Kidou-kun out in the midfield? I thank you for the compliment, Gouenji," Fudou snorted, "but that space is too big for the three of us, especially if Ichinose has defense duty. I don't think that I could bring the ball up the field with only Kidou to assist. Aphrodi's Heaven's Time would be an asset in the midfield, and we all know that pretty boy is capable of hustling fast enough to catch up with you."
"Thank you, Fudou," Aphrodi's dry voice came from next to Ichinose, effectively breaking the pretense that no one was listening to them. Kabeyama, Kogure and Tsunami were all watching their discussion silently and with wide eyes, and Rika was forcibly holding Megane's mouth shut so that he wouldn't speak up. In the front, however, Endou was still holding court, and the managers were talking amongst themselves.
"That's a really aggressive strategy, though," Ichinose said, ignoring the awkward pause. "Aggressively conservative. Are you sure you want to take such a risk?"
"Strategies are thinly veiled risk-reward gambles," Fudou replied. "The whole point of strategy is to take risks. I'm well aware that Kidou-kun's been coddling you all this time, but Aliea's not going anywhere and we'll never get the upper hand if we don't try!"
He'd said the last part far too loud, breaking up Endou's discussion in the front right and turning seven curious faces towards their general direction.
Fubuki stared at the window innocently. He could hear Fudou slinking further back into his seat and, judging by the looks of confusion, everyone else was doing a good job in avoiding eye contact.
It was always one step forward, two steps back with Fudou, wasn't it?
Honestly, Fudou had been steadily freaking out ever since Kidou had announced that they were going to Teikoku. Actually, it was more like exponentially freaking out. He hadn't even realized Fubuki was calling him until Tachimukai elbowed him in the ribs.
That had actually hurt – perhaps Tachimukai was finally developing a spine. Fudou was a ruthless taskmaster, but at least Tachimukai had managed to conjure a glowing blue hand, even if it did nothing to stop Fudou's shots.
Unfortunately, Tachimukai's newfound courage would do nothing to change their destination. Fudou appreciated Fubuki's attempt to take his mind off of it – and didn't quite understand how everyone else got involved – but the instant his eyes met Kidou's, he remembered all over again.
Teikoku Academy. One of the premier schools in the country, boasting a student population consisting of the rich or the talented. Sometimes both. A football team that hadn't lost a match in fifty years, until Endou and Raimon came along.
A school that had been ruled completely by Kageyama Reiji, who used his influence to completely corrupt every aspect of football in Japan as his final vengeance against Endou Daisuke.
Fudou had followed Kageyama. He had broken him out of jail. He had recruited fifteen other people to follow the madman's insane plan and they had all paid the price.
He leaned back, feeling bile push against his throat as he remembered water rushing up, lapping at his shoes as he ran and ran and ran. He had been so frightened and so lost.
He'd nearly broken down into crying at the sight of his mother waiting at the police station. When the magnitude of what he'd done hit him, he actually did start crying.
He'd broken a convicted felon out of jail and helped him amass weapons of mass destruction, even if the weapons were football players and the destruction rent through footballs.
And that was the impersonal side of it. He'd personally recruited Kidou-kun's closest friends and corrupted their anger and rage and betrayal until all that was left was the thirst for power. He had made sure that Shin Teikoku was a slap in the face for Raimon – a reminder that the higher you go, the harder you fall.
But Fudou was the one who fell, and he had fallen hard. His stomach churned as he saw the spires of Teikoku in the distance and he closed his eyes, unable to take in the sight. But that just brought up the image of Sakuma staring into the distance, body contorted, a look of twisted agony on his face as he screamed and screamed. He saw Genda, hunched over on his knees, trying not to puke his guts up on the grass. He saw Kidou screaming at Kageyama with tears filling his goggles. He saw his teammates staring at him like he was the devil, and perhaps he was, because why else would he hate and lie and tear people's lives apart?
"Fudou-san?" Tachimukai said quietly, and that was enough to jolt him out from his daze. Fudou took a deep breath to settle his heart rate and resumed looking out of the window, ignoring the steel gray building that rose straight to the sky.
He could still see brown eyes bulging out against dark skin.
Tachimukai shifted a little closer. Perhaps he'd meant to do it unobtrusively, but Fudou saw the gesture and recognized it for what it was. He certainly did not lean into the movement, or use the warmth of Tachimukai's arm to chase away the smirking face that seemed seared into the back of his eyelids.
– "You're the useless one!" –
They exited off of the freeway, and suddenly the towers of Teikoku were much closer. They looked larger now that they were looking up, and Fudou felt faintly nauseous when he remembered the steel bars falling during Raimon's district final match against Teikoku.
It didn't seem like the other members of Raimon felt any better – Kabeyama kept shivering and Megane was adjusting his glasses every two seconds. Kidou was silent, staring out at the sharp points and hardened edges that he'd once called home.
There was a police car parked in front of the main entrance. Fudou's heart seized up at that, and he pressed himself far back into his seat. But at the next moment a student appeared and started running up to the caravan, waving at them with a big grin. It wasn't anyone Fudou recognized from Teikoku's football team, but it made sense that someone would have seen to their reception. This was still Kidou Yuuto, after all.
Royalty.
Fudou kept quiet and tried to calm himself as Raimon walked through empty halls. Kidou's light conversation with their escort, the restless muttering from the rest of Raimon, and the buzzing in his own head echoed all around him. Everything, from the pillars to the floor tiles to their escort's uniform, was much too close for comfort. It was clear where Kageyama had got his inspiration for Shin Teikoku from.
Another few turns in dimly lit halls and they stepped out into the bright sunlight. Fudou felt his heart stop. Those seats, the grass, the goalposts, the gray tower rising in the background –
"Fudou-san?" Tachimukai asked, and Fudou blinked, the image of Sakuma on the ground and Genda sobbing as smoke wafted in the air dissolving into the rich green grass and blue sky. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," Fudou said, but it came out as a croak. He cleared his throat and turned away. "Come on," he said, motioning to the empty side of the field, "let's start practicing."
It was difficult to think clearly on a field that felt so familiar, and even more difficult to practice with Kidou's shouted instructions in his ears, but Fudou turned his back on the rest of the team and faced Tachimukai in the goal.
"We have to match our movements," Kidou yelled behind him, and Fudou kicked the ball with a little too much force. Tachimukai lunged to catch it and missed.
"Still off center."
Fudou kicked again, careful to moderate his power. Something weird was happening with his kicks – power came out in bursts at times, and other times it didn't. Fudou resolved to figure out his unpredictable strength and watched impassively as the large blue hand shattered yet again.
"It took Teikoku a month to do this."
Fudou grit his teeth after accidentally overcompensating his kick and the ball rolled to a stop at Tachimukai's feet. Growling, he went to retrieve it – if Kidou couldn't see the obvious flaw in trying to recreate Death Zone, then Fudou was certainly not going to point it out.
He kicked again and watched as Tachimukai closed his eyes. His expression turned from annoyance that the younger boy wasn't taking the training seriously to surprise when Tachimukai actually caught the ball – that wasn't a hissatsu technique, of course, but situational awareness was important in any football player.
Tachimukai's brief second of exultation turned to despair when he realized that Mugen the Hand had not worked.
"I am never going to figure this out," Tachimukai groaned, staring at the ball glumly.
"Don't be stupid," Fudou said with a snort. "You can't expect to get it right on the first try."
At least the technique wasn't like Emperor Penguin No. 1 – screwing that destructive technique up caused unimaginable pain. Still, Tachimukai was looking much too unhappy for his liking. Had he expected this to be easy?
"The Great Wall of China wasn't built in a day," Fudou snapped, using his mother's favorite saying. "It took thousands of people over hundreds of years, each adding to it in their own small way to create the gigantic defense. You haven't even been at Mugen the Hand for one day and you're already quitting?"
Instead of looking furious, like Fudou would have if someone had said that to him – honestly, anger was the emotion he had been going for – Tachimukai's expression rearranged itself into a wide, beaming smile, his eyes getting fired up as he punched the air.
"You're right, Fudou-san! I can't give up now!" He tossed the ball back to Fudou and took up a ready stance.
Fudou wondered whether Endou was an infectious disease.
Inwardly groaning at Tachimukai's sudden enthusiasm, Fudou kicked the ball again. And again. And again.
Judging by the curses behind him, Kidou was having about as much luck with Death Zone as Tachimukai was having with Mugen the Hand.
"Welcome back, Kidou. It's been a long time!"
Fudou swerved and the ball glanced off of the goal post. He knew that voice. He'd recruited that voice, he'd played football with that voice, he'd listened to that voice's screams with the slowly dawning realization that everything was incredibly wrong…
"Fudou-san?" Tachimukai asked quietly after he retrieved the ball. His wide eyes were darting from Fudou to further behind him, where he could hear Kidou talking with Sakuma and what seemed to be the rest of the Teikoku Eleven. "Is everything okay?"
But their attention was diverted when Kidou spoke.
"Sakuma!" he said, sounding happier than Fudou had ever heard him, which was actually a pretty low bar, to be honest. "And Genda! You look well. I'm glad you could all make it."
Sakuma chuckled, or at least it sounded like it, because Fudou was still resolutely not looking in his direction.
"Give us some credit, Kidou," he said. "Something like that isn't going to drop us for long."
Something like that? Something like that? Fudou could still see brown eyes bulging out against –
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sakuma continued. His voice dropped, and, unconsciously, Fudou strained to hear the rest of his words. "We were actually with the police –"
Fudou's heart stopped.
"– sorting out some stuff. There was a break-in…" Sakuma trailed off. A few seconds later, he cleared his throat.
"Anyway! You don't need to hear about that. So you're Zeus' Aphrodi. Kidou told me what happened to you." Sakuma sounded neutral. "He said that Kageyama manipulated you like he manipulated us."
Like I manipulated you. Fudou felt sick to his stomach.
Aphrodi was as diplomatic as ever. "On behalf of my team, I apologize for the destruction we…"
Sakuma cut him off. "I wish you all the best in your fight against Aliea," he said, but rather than the bland formality Fudou expected from someone talking to their former enemy, Sakuma sounded sincere. He paused for a second and Fudou stifled the urge to turn around. He could feel red-brown eyes boring into his back. "And the same goes for everyone on your team."
Was Fudou imagining the slight emphasis on 'everyone'?
"So, shall we start a friendly?" Genda's deep voice rumbled over.
Oh, no, please let Kidou not be this stupid, not this time…
"Of course."
Kidou started giving instructions in a lower voice and the other members of Raimon were congregating around him, but Fudou was ready to run off the field and out of sight. He was calculating the space from his current position to the massive entranceway and wondered how much distance he could cross before he was caught.
But then he would be back in those cold hallways, like the hallways of Shin Teikoku. And without anyone by his side it would be all too easy to imagine the water lapping at his feet.
"Fudou," Ichinose said and Fudou turned to face him, muscles tensing. He flinched as he caught sight of steel-blue hair over Ichinose's shoulder (and focused his gaze on anything but the crutches), but Ichinose ignored his movement. "We'd like you to be the playmaker for this match."
Fudou blinked at him. And again, when Ichinose didn't immediately crack a grin and do his stupid trademark pose. "Psyche!" he'd say, or "Yeah, right!", or something like that, and everyone would burst into laughter like in those comedian prank shows on TV. But no, Gouenji and Fubuki were a half-step behind Ichinose, clearly supporting his statement and Fudou stared at all of them in unconcealed disbelief.
"And what about Kidou-kun?" Fudou raised an eyebrow. "Or is he fine with me taking his place?"
"Kidou's playing for Teikoku," Gouenji said. "Along with Endou and Domon."
Wait, what?
Fudou looked past Gouenji and sure enough, Kidou was standing opposite them, clad in red and green. (Which meant he had been standing frozen for a lot longer than he thought. God, he needed to get a hold of himself!) Fudou resolutely ignored the sight of Sakuma on the sidelines, not too far away from him, and Genda leaning against the inside of the goalpost.
So he and Kidou were on opposing sides again. Brilliant.
"You want me to strategize against Teikoku," Fudou said flatly. Against Kidou and Genda went unsaid.
"Yes," Ichinose said levelly, giving absolutely no indication that this was a cruel prank or some sort of revenge. "You're the best playmaker we have aside from Kidou."
And even that was debatable. Kidou had taken orders from Kageyama far too long to remember what to do on his own.
"Great," Fudou said, striding past Ichinose to enter the field. What was the curious feeling brewing in his chest? Did he dare? "Then we're using the formation we discussed on the way here."
There was no noise of dissent, no incredulous gasp, not even the slightest look of discontent as everyone got into position. Tachimukai settled into the goal, looking a little apprehensive. Touko, Rika, Fubuki, Kogure, Kabeyama, and Tsunami fanned out in front of him like a bizarre guard. Ichinose and Aphrodi took up the right and left side while Fudou stood in the middle, directly behind Gouenji.
The look of shock on Kidou's face was completely worth it.
a/n: Hello everyone! We apologize for the incredibly long gap in between updates! Suffice to say, life got in the way… We also noticed that the previous chapter was pretty darn long, and wanted to fix it this chapter, but it just kinda kept growing. Sorry about that. Hopefully the next few updates will go back to a more normal readable size and quicker updates!