Saturday, May 25, 2013

I could feel sweat drip down my neck as the blue blur ducked around the other team members. I had no idea she was so fast. I thought, preparing to block.

"Shiro, it's all yours!" Utamaro called from the sidelines. He'd finally recovered and would be replacing me during the second half of practice.

'And mom could chase down any crook.' I remembered what my shadow had said. While they had also been my thoughts, I'd always assumed they were just a child's exaggerations.

"C'mon Shiro!" Another team-mate called. "You're small, too!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!" I yelled. I could feel the sweat soaking my shirt and gulped. "Persona." I whispered to give me courage.

My vision clouded like when I was in the TV without glasses. Most details vanished until everything looked like a blur. In any other situation, this would have hindered my performance, but now, it was easier to focus on Naoto.

She moved to my left and set up for a strike. I took a slight step right to throw her off, then lunged left when she kicked the ball. I didn't catch it, but I did manage to use my face to deflect it.

"Shiro!" Rise gasped.

My vision returned to, for the most part, normal. "Ow." I breathed, holding my head.

An arm reached out to help me up. I took it, thinking it was Kyoya or Naoto. But when I looked up, I was met by a blonde blur.

"Shiro, are you alright?" Kanji waved his free hand in front of my face.

"I think so." I breathed. My head was spinning and I momentarily forgot where I was. "I'm fine, dad."

"What?"

"Tatsumi, is she okay?" Kyoya called, bringing me back.

My eyes grew wide and I blushed. "K-K-Kanji?!" I cried, sitting up on my own. "Sorry."

Kanji, who was also blushing and looking at me with wide eyes, nodded slowly. "Y-yeah. You got hit pretty hard."

"Kuroshin!" Utamaro ran up to help me stand even though I was surrounded. "That looked painful."

"Yeah, a little." I tried to grin at him. "Looks like you're back in net." I patted his shoulder and stumbled over to the sidelines toward Rise. Kanji and Naoto followed.

"What did you mean by 'dad'?" Kanji asked once I was sitting on a bench.

"You look like my dad." I confessed. My head hurt too much to think of a better excuse. "Head trauma. Blurry vision."

"It was a good save." Rise offered.

"Thanks, but I don't think I deserve it. I think I cheated." I confessed. "I think Kuma-kami helped me see Naoto's movements."

"You used your Persona outside of the TV?!" Kanji barely kept his voice below a scream. "How is that possible?"

"I didn't actually use her." I pointed out. "Just a little of her power."

"Does this have something to do with the vortex?" Naoto asked herself more than me. "Because she shouldn't exist in this time?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Rise handed me a cold cloth for my head. "All that's important right now is if Shiro's okay."

"Other than a headache, I'm fine." I looked up at Naoto and grinned. "Nice kick."

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The game had already started when I finally made it to the field. When Kyoya saw me, he looked more relieved than he should have been. "I'm glad you came."

"You do know I'm not part of the team, right?" I reminded him. "But I wouldn't miss this. How's Utamaro's ankle holding up?"

In response, he pointed out to the field where Utamaro was making a save. The crowd cheered as he stood up and tossed the ball to one of his team-mates.

"He's determined to become as good as you." Kyoya filled me in. "Can you believe he's only a first year? He's got real talent."

I watched Utamaro shuffling his feet as his team-mates moved the ball toward the opposite net. The first year goalies when I was in school always relaxed when the ball became closer to the opponent's goal. But Utamaro acted like, at any moment, someone was going to take a shot at him.

"Hey, Shiro, see that guy over there?" Kyoya pointed across the field at someone in the stands. "The guy with the bandage on his nose?"

I nodded when I caught sight of the man in question. His brown hair was cut really short, but fit his facial features perfectly.

"That's Nagase Daisuke. He graduated last year." Kyoya explained. "Utama watched all of his games last year and got hooked. Actually, he's the only first year on the team."

I saw that the man was having trouble sitting still. I laughed when he jumped to his feet and the guy beside him had to pull him back.

"Shiro?" I turned when Kyoya said my name. "Thanks. I know you'll be leaving soon, but thanks for taking the time to help us out."

"No problem." I smiled. "It was fun."

At halftime, Utamaro came over, drenched in sweat, and sat on the bench beside me. "You came!" He grabbed my hand. "Did you see me?! What did you think?!"

"You're amazing." I admitted. "Kyoya tells me your just a first year. By the time you graduate, you might be as good as a pro."

Utamaro blushed and looked away. "You think so? I just want to be as good as you. The way you could focus on Shirogane was awesome. I want to be able to get that focused."

"I know you can." Despite him being soaked, I gave him a hug. "Step by step."

This one's for anyone whose ever been hit in the head by a ball. It hurts.