Hey, guys, Storm here! Here's the next chapter of What Will It Take! This chapter is pretty much all about the soccer part again, except this time I'm trying my hand at writing an actual game. Criticism is not only accepted, it is appreciated!

See you guys later!

September 2nd

Eric took a deep breath, sitting on the bench in the visitor's locker room in Oak Town Stadium. His head nodded to the beat of Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers. A pat on his shoulder made him look up, and the team captain, Naruto, was standing next to him. Taking off his headphones, he turned to face his older midfield partner. "Nervous?" Naruto asked, extending a fist. Eric bumped it with his own. "A little. What if I don't live up to expectations? I'm supposed to be the next big thing here, the next you, and…" Eric trailed off, his fingers twitching with nervous energy. Naruto just laughed. "Hey, take it easy, kid. I'm still around, so there ain't that much pressure to replace me." He looked down, and Eric offered him a brief smile before returning his attention to his fidgeting hands. Naruto sighed. "You wanna hear the story of my first game?" He asked. Eric looked up curiously.

"I remember I was really highly recruited out of high school, but I wanted to get an education, not just play soccer. I came to Magnolia, and my first game was against Crocus State University, who were coming off a semi-final appearance in the championship tourney. I was so nervous that when I went to run out on the field, I got sick and threw up on coach's shoes." Eric's eyes widened, before he burst out in laughter. Naruto joined him after a few moments. "Anything else?" Eric asked, tears building in the corner of his eyes. "Uh, I think I got a goal and an assist, and we won 3-2. So…" Eric nodded, still smiling, before leaning down and lacing up his boots. "Thanks, Naruto. I needed that." Naruto smiled. "Anytime, rookie. Now, let's get that head in the game."

(First time writing like this…hope it turns out well…)

Eric bounced back and forth, stretching out in his position to the left of midfield, waiting for the ref to blow his whistle and get the game started. The ref looked at his watch, checked on both goalkeepers, then pointed to the center circle and blew his whistle, getting the match underway. Natsu, who stood in the circle by himself, passed the ball back to Alphonse, who took a few touches before passing it out wide to Andrew Ban.

The game had begun.

MINUTE NUMBER ELEVEN

OTC: 0-0: MU

Eric received the ball just a little bit in front of the center circle, his head up and looking around for the perfect pass. Edward was being marked closely by an Oak Town defender, as was Naruto. Natsu was slightly open, but the Oak Town center-backs were lurking nearby, ready to close him down if he received it. Glancing to his right, he saw Ichigo make his break past the opposing left-back, and lofted a searching through ball, trying to find him. Ichigo utilized his pace to run it down and hit a first-time cross towards the center of the penalty area, looking for Natsu, who rose to meet it with his head and nodded it down with power, but straight off the far post and out wide.

The first chance went to Magnolia.

MINUTE NUMBER TWENTY-SIX

OTC: 0-0: MU

Gray raced forward down the right sideline, knocking the ball past his defender and running after it. The Oak Town player managed to stay with him, so Gray used a back-heel chop to direct the ball inside, flashing past as his opponent tried to stop. Finally in a little bit of space, Gray unleashed a howitzer of a shot with his left foot that beat the keeper high, rang off the crossbar, and finally rattled the side netting of the goal. Gray smirked, his arms spread out wide as his teammates mobbed him.

It was his first goal of his college career, and man did it feel good.

MINUTE NUMBER THIRTY-TWO

OTC: 0-1: MU

Eric raced forward out of his own penalty area, having won the ball with a well-timed tackle that left the opposing forward flat on his ass. Smirking to himself, he took the space in front of him, flashing across the halfway line and daring the defender to come out and challenge him. When the Oak Town center-back, a big brute of a player, finally did come out and challenge him, he was about twenty-five yards from goal. HE knocked the ball wide, trying to find Edward, and the defender clattered into him, knocking them both to the field in a heap. Eric vaguely heard the referee's whistle as he was helped up by Alphonse, and watched, amused, as the defender tried to plead his case, but was shown a red card for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

As the player left the pitch in defeat, Eric placed the ball for the ensuing free kick, and glanced at Naruto, raising his eyebrow. Naruto nodded, and jogged towards the penalty area, leaving Eric as the only player standing over the ball. The ref sprayed down the marker, then paced off ten yards for the Oak Town wall, which had three of their tallest players in it. Eric paced off his steps, before kneeling down to tighten his laces. This was his moment, his time to seize the game. The ref blew his whistle. Eric took a deep breath, before starting his run up. He planted his foot, struck the ball, then watched as it curled up and over the wall and into the near corner, just passed the outstretched gloves of the goalkeeper.

Beaming, Eric jogged over to the corner, where the Magnolia fans were currently standing and going nuts with excitement. He leapt and karate kicked the flag before standing up straight and, in a moment of celebration, bowed to the Magnolia faithful, who cheered his name. As his teammates grouped around him, celebrating, Eric couldn't shake his smile.

Guess there wasn't that much to be worried about, after all.

HALFTIME

OTC: 0-2: MU

Fullbuster 26'

Noctem 33'

Eric ran out of the locker room and back onto the field, ready to get things under way. The first half had been a little back and forth, but Magnolia had made better work of their chances, with Grey and himself scoring to make it two to nil when the whistle blew. Now, as Oak Town got ready to kick off the second half, Eric was sure that it would get a lot more interesting.

MINUTE NUMBER FIFTY-THREE

OTC: 0-2: MU

Eric watched as the Oak Town forward tried to free himself up for the shot. Twisting one way, then the other, he spun and unleashed a haymaker towards the top corner, only to be denied by Laxus, who got just enough of a hand on it to tip off the crossbar and back into the field of play. Gajeel ran onto it and cleared it up-field. Eric let out a sigh of relief.

MINUTE NUMBER SEVENTY-ONE

OTC: 0-2: MU

Naruto ran powerfully through the center of midfield, calling for and receiving the ball from Alphonse, who played him through with a back-heel through the legs of his defender, who promptly through his hands over his face in humiliation. Naruto continued his run, laying it off to Natsu, who turned his defender and fired a powerful shot that caromed off of the keeper's gloves and back into Naruto's path, where he promptly chipped it first time over the keeper's sprawled form and into the back of the net for the Dragons' third goal.

Naruto sprinted towards the corner, sliding on his knees as he beat his chest with his fist. As he clambered back to his feet, Eric ran over and tackled him to the ground, followed by Natsu, Ichigo and the rest of his teammates as they mobbed him, yelling. They had surely opened the season with a win now.

MINUTE NUMBER NINETY

OTC: 0-3: MU

Eric threw his hands up in the air, celebrating as the ref blew the final whistle. As he shook hands with one of the Oak Town College players, he looked back at his performance. He scored a goal in his first game, so it wasn't half bad. As his teammates gathered around him, he clapped high-fives and hugged his teammates. It was a good game.

There you go! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll be back next update with more of the story, so never fear! Follow, favorite, and review if you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!

May the sun always be at your back and the wind fill your wings!

~StormDragonSlayer