Me: I have nothing to do, so I continued this thing! ^^

I apologize for sticking so much to the anime (it must be dull to read sometimes, isn't it?), but I'm rather unsure about how to change things without making it an AU. So please bear with me for the moment.

The usual disclaimer applies.

Aoi walked once more alongside Saryuu. Neither of them talked when they walked through the empty corridors. The walls weren't painted in warm shades of yellow, like the walls at Feida. These walls were cold, dark and gray. Aoi thought they gave the whole building a sinister image, but she didn't comment on it. After all, the one who designed it all was right beside her.

The previous afternoon, Saryuu had ordered every member of Feida to line up outside. They armed themselves with their guns and went to 'visit' El Dorado again. The 'not-so-friendly visit' that Saryuu talked about a few days ago meant that they would destroy El Dorado and build the Ragnarok Stadium with the gravel. Right now, they were walking the corridors of the Ragnarok Stadium. The idea that their enemies were just a few hallways away from them was quite uncomfortable to Aoi, but she drew strength from Saryuu's calm.

Saryuu opened a door that led to a balcony and Aoi followed him a bit hesitant. The stadium was packed with a huge crowd, and everyone was shouting the same words over and over. "El Dorado! El Dorado! El Dorado!" She could feel how the sound rumbled through the entire stadium. Even the floor of the balcony was slightly trembling at the beat of the words.

A commentator was shouting into a mic to make himself heard over the enormous crowd. "The soccer tournament to decide who will rule the world, Ragnarok, is ready to begin!"

"Are you nervous?" she heard in her head. When she turned to Saryuu, she saw that his eyes were glowing again. He didn't do this all that often anymore, but she understand he used his powers now to be heard over the crowd.

She put her thoughts into words, because she knew he would understand it. She told him that she was indeed very nervous, because everyone was against them. They had no support from the crowd, whatsoever. It's just like a duel between two knights, she thought. The no one will cheer for the smaller knight because they think he is too weak and will never win.

"A duel between two knights, eh?" Saryuu chuckled in her head and when his eyes stopped glowing, he smirked at her before he walked to the edge of the balcony. Aoi stayed in the back, where no one would see her. She didn't feel like being stared at by millions of people.

She saw how Saryuu raised his hand and the sky darkened. A holographic clip started to play above the field, showing a big and a small knight. Both swordsmen charged at each other and after the small one dodged the big knight's attack, he stabbed his sword in the big knight's chest. The crowed roared like wild animals at the fight above and Saryuu turned around to send her a smile.

"That's what the small knight will do," he smiled. "And the crowd immediately starts cheering for him."

He winked and Aoi laughed softly. "Baka."

Saryuu turned back to the field and laughed at the shocked faces of the opposing teams. "The crowd is getting so excited. What carefree people." With a snap of his fingers, fireworks exploded near the stadium. Aoi rolled her eyes and beckoned him to come back.

"You've had your fun. Now we need to go back to our survey room, remember?" She held out her hand, which Saryuu took after a few moments. Together, they walked back to their side of the stadium. Their hands were still entangled as they stepped inside the transport cabin, which teleported them into the survey room.

Saryuu walked to the glass and shot a glance at the teams below. "Now, let's begin... The final battle to decide the fate of mankind... Ragnarok!" He sat down in his chair and Aoi sat down on the chair on his left. There was another chair on his right, but it wasn't taken. Just as Aoi wondered for who it would be, someone was teleported into the room.

It was Helper X.

Without saying a word, he sat down on the other chair. Aoi tried to focus on the happenings on the field, but her eyes were constantly drawn towards the old man. Who was he exactly? And why did she get that feeling around him? Maybe it was because he never spoke. That certainly added up to the mystery that surrounded him.

The match started with El Dorado Team 01's kick off and the two forwards immediately miximaxed. They dived into Zan's territory at full speed, passing the ball to avoid the players. But much to Aoi's surprise, neither Zanark nor any other member of Zan moved. They just stood there like statues and allowed El Dorado Team 01's forward not one, not two, but three clear chances to shoot. Luckily, Zan's keeper didn't have any trouble to stop them. After he stopped the third, he threw the ball back... to El Dorado Team 01's forward!

"What are they doing?" Aoi voiced her thoughts.

"This is clearly one of Garo's ideas," Saryuu answered with his eyes glued to the field. "Their brutality really is a bother. I understand it's to crush the opponent, but still..."

When Aoi turned her eyes back to the field, she saw what Saryuu meant. The forward that got the ball was now lying on the ground, clutching onto his leg. His teammates surrounded him and they all wore worried expressions. He slowly stood up, pain written all over his face.

"The injured Tsurugi chooses to continue playing!" the commentator shouted. "But he can hardly stand. It doesn't look like he'll be very active!"

"That was cowardly and low of Zan," Aoi snorted.

"Don't worry," Saryuu said and he squeezed her knee for a moment. "Garo knows that I don't approve of this and I doubt he'll do it again."

"I hope you're right. This feels just wrong," she muttered.

It didn't go exactly like Saryuu said. Zan still played dirty, but the casualties on the opponent's side were limited because they covered for each other. Aoi decided to keep quiet about her unease about Zan's play style, because she didn't want Saryuu to think of her as a bore.

Her attention was directed to a player of El Dorado Team 01. His mint green hair and light blue eyes seemed somewhat familiar. But where had she seen him before? She dug in her memory. Where... Just where... And then it hit her. She saw him on that very first day, when her house was attacked and her family... After that, she remembered that she suddenly got a terrible head ache, caused by a boy with mint green hair.

The same boy with mint green hair that was now playing for El Dorado. But if he was with Saryuu before, then why was he with the enemy now? The boy received the ball for the first time in the match and immediately got through a few of Zan's defenders.

"Saryuu." Only saying his name was enough for now, for she knew his eyes were on the boy as well.

"Don't worry, I told you I had a few more tricks up my sleeves, right?"

Helper X shifted uneasily upon hearing these words. The movement drew Aoi's attention because it was the first time he moved since the start of the match. She sighed and watched again. She knew Saryuu wouldn't tell her, no matter how much she pleaded. She could better watch to see what he meant.

It happened after Zan scored their third point. Saryuu stood up without saying a word and walked to the balcony around Feida's survey room. He watched how El Dorado Team 01 kicked off before he directed his palm at one of the players. It was the boy with the mint green hair, the boy Aoi had recognized before.

Saryuu's palm started to glow and suddenly, the boy stopped playing. His teammates gave him confused looks and Aoi wasn't sure what was happening either. He took a step back and placed his hands before his eyes.

"What's happened to Fei Rune?" the commentator yelled and Helper X shifted uneasily once again. Fei's teammates started yelling at him when suddenly, he shot the ball. He shot the ball towards the goal, but not towards Zan's goal. In fact, he turned around and made an own goal.

The first half ended shortly after that and Saryuu came back with a smug smile. "What did you do to him?" Aoi inquired.

"I returned his memories."

"What?"

"I took away his memories when I sent him back in time to save Raimon. That was why he fought with El Dorado at first. But now he's one of us again."

And indeed, when the second half started, El Dorado Team 01 consisted of merely ten members. The match ended with a score of 5-1, Zan's win.

Saryuu went to the field to talk to Zanark, who didn't seem really happy despite Zan's win. Maybe he didn't like their style of playing? Then again, he was never really happy, so maybe she was just imagining it. She walked alongside Helper X towards Feida's meeting room. Of course, neither of them spoke and the silence was pretty awkward. Aoi wanted to ask him so much - who he was, why he was helping them - but she was a tad scared to do so.

When the reached the survey room, they sat down on opposite sides of the table. Saryuu soon came in, along with Fei Rune. Fei's eyes widened a bit in surprise when he eyed Aoi and Helper X, but he didn't say anything. When he regained his composure, he walked past them and exited the room through another door, which led to Feida's private quarters. Aoi and Helper X followed the him with their eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you interested in Fei?" Saryuu asked as he sat down on the head of the table. At first, she thought that he was talking to her, but when she turned to face him, she saw that he looked at Helper X. "I've always been wondering... who are you? You came to us introducing yourself as Helper X and offering us your help. You're the only supporter of us who is an adult."

"That's right." Those two words were the first thing Aoi ever heard him say. Helper X's voice was quite low, but it didn't sound as old as the beard would suggest. She unconsciously leaned forward, eager to hear the man's answers.

Saryuu went on. "What's more, you must have been one of El Dorado's leaders. You tell us what goes on in El Dorado and give us all sorts of advice... That information can't be obtained unless you were working on the inside. Who in the world can you be?"

Much to Aoi's dismay, Helper X didn't answer. He didn't say his real name, nor did he lower his hood. Saryuu gave him a few second time, but when he realized that the adult wouldn't say anything, he went on in the same relaxed tone as before.

"If you don't want to say it, fine. But whatever you do, don't double-cross me. You know what will happen if you do." He let the threat hang in the air as he got up. "Come on, Aoi." She nodded and followed him out of the room, leaving Helper X on his own.

"Is he really alright?" she asked once no one could hear them. "You said it yourself, he must have been working for El Dorado. What if he's a spy or something?"

"That's surely a possibility. However, it's a risk that we must take. But I don't think he's all that dangerous for us, Aoi. After all, he helped us to attack Saint Elda and he told us countless other secrets of them. I think we can trust him."

"Alright then." If Saryuu trusted him, who was she to object?

Saryuu took a step towards her. "You don't sound really convinced." Another step.

"It's nothing. He's just very mysterious, so I don't really know what I have to expect from him..." She let her voice trail away when she realized how close he was to her. A little overwhelmed by this, she tried to take a step back but failed when she realized that her back was against the wall. Literally. She knew how much space there was between their bodies: six inches. Saryuu smiled sweetly and leaned in. Now it was less than six inches.

He placed his lips on her forehead, just under her bangs. She simply closed her eyes and enjoyed it, whatever 'it' was. It wasn't a kiss, or maybe it was. He didn't move and neither did she, he just stood there with his mouth pressed to her skin.

"Ahem."

Saryuu pulled back and calmly faced the person that tried to grab their attention. Aoi tried to do the same, but her face was really flustered after being caught in that position.

"Fei," Saryuu smiled. Fei stood a couple of feet away from them with an amused smirk on his face. He had changed his orange coat for a white shirt and an orange jacked, and his long dark pants for shorts of the same colour.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb your little moment, but I wanted to discuss a few things with you."

"Alright. Now that I think of it, you are never introduced to each other, are you?"

Aoi shook her head and took the first step by extending her hand. "Fei Rune, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Sorano Aoi."

He shook her hand immediately and smiled kindly at her. "Nice to meet you too."

"Well, if you have business to discuss, I will leave you alone. I think I'll meet up with Meia and the others from Giru. After all, our match starts in a few hours. See you around, Fei, Saryuu." With a wave of her hand, she ran away to where Giru was waiting for her.

Four eyes, belonging to both youths, looked at her retrieving figure until she disappeared with help of a transport cabin.

Six eyes, if you counted the ones that were hidden in the shade of the hood of a cloak. These eyes kept staring at the place where she was last seen, even after Fei and Saryuu continued their discussion.

Me: Ooh~ Cliffhanger? I hope so!^^

Next chapter will be about Giru's match with El Dorado Team 02. After that, I have a little thing planned for this story, so please stay tuned until then! Bye!