Episode 24: Sazanara: Matatagi Hayato
"Yawn…" Narukami left his room. He couldn't sleep so decided to get some fresh air.
"Hey!" a voice yelled and as Narukami turned, someone grabbed the collar of his jersey.
"What!?" the white haired boy gasped as he came face to face with one of Earth Eleven's managers, Mizukawa Minori.
"Where the hell his this place, huh?" the girl yelled, "Why the hell am I here? Well, speak punk!"
Unable to comprehend the situation, Narukami didn't know what to say or do. He just stared with his mouth gaping.
"Well? Going to say anything?"
"Uh… Mi-Mizukawa-san?"
"Who gave you permission to say my name?" She spat putting her head against the boy's forehead, "How do you even know it?" She lifted her his fist ready to punch the defender.
"I-I'm sorry!" Narukami braced himself for the blow, but instead he felt the grip on his collar loosen. Opening his eyes, he saw Mizukawa in front of him casually dusting herself, "What?"
"Ah, I'm very sorry. I was out of her body for a little too long and she awakened. Are you alright, Narukami?"
"Uh… I… what?"
"Have you already forgotten; I mentioned before, I am merely using Mizukawa Minori's body as a vessel for my soul." Mizukawa explained, "What you just saw was her real personality."
"Haha… you have it rough, huh…" Narukami laughed nervously.
"Do it again, do it again" Tenma, Tetsukado and Sakura smiled surrounding Alsius and Han. A glass of water was placed in front of Alsius and she put her hands around the cup.
"What's she doing?" Minaho asked as he walked over to investigate the commotion along with Manabe.
"Just watch, it's so cool." Tetsukado exclaimed.
Bringing her hands up, the water in the glass started to move up along with her hand's motion. Soon the water was completely out of the glass. Waving her hands, she directed the water into an Inazuma symbol and instantly froze it in that shape. She handed the ice shard to Minaho to examine.
"What?" he gasped as he inspected the ice symbol when it was handed to him, "How?"
"It's something a Feyra can do. Han and I can manipulate water. I specialize in freezing them." Alsius explained.
"I can make water evaporate instantly into steam." Han grinned.
"Very interesting…" Manabe nodded.
"This day has finally come, the match against Earth Eleven and Sazanara Eleven! Which team will gain the right to move on to the next match; the chance to survive? Stay tuned!" the commentary yelled as the two teams walked out onto the stadium to their respective benches.
"This time we'll go with this line up,
FW: Matatagi Hayato, Kurogane Haku,"
"Huh? Tsurugi's not in?" Tenma whispered
"MF: Matsukaze Tenma, Shindou Takuto, Kusaka Ryuuji and Nozaki Sakura.
DF: Morimura Konoha, Narukami Naoto, Minaho Kazuto and Tetsukado Shin
GK: Ibuki Munemasa." Kuroiwa Coach ordered. "Now to your positions."
"Yes sir!"
"Bench, huh. I never have been benched before." Manabe sighed as he sat next to Tsurugi.
"Mm…" the striker mumbled.
The whistle blew and Alsius, a forward at the moment, passed the ball to Matatagi, who then back passed it to Tenma.
"Okay everyone, like always, let's play the best we can as a team."
"Yeah!"
Tenma dribbled forward, "Z-Slash!" he unleashed his dribble hissatsu avoiding the Sazanaran player.
Although he was able to get passed the first player, another Sazanaran marked him as soon as his hissatsu finished blocking his path. The ball was easily stolen from the captain.
"Shoot!"
"So easy!" a female Sazanaran, the captain, smiled.
"Don't let her through!" Shindou yelled and Tetsukado went to stop her.
"Footwork Draw!" He stole the ball from her, "Nozaki!" he yelled passing the ball to the pink haired girl. However, the pass was intercepted.
"What are you doing" Sakura sighed.
"Sorry…"
None of Earth Eleven's passes were going through. Their every movement was read. It wasn't long until Sazanara got their first goal, taking the lead point.
"What are they doing?" Matatagi mumbled darkly to himself, "I can't save Yuuta or Shun like this…" He then noticed the Sazanaran's around him were giggling and pointing fingers at him. "What's your problem?"
"Man, they were right. You're hilarious!" one of them smirked.
"Never thought I'd see something like this from an Earthling."
"What?"
The Sazanaran captain walked up to him, "Like I head, a lone wolf, no one will ever accept someone like you… pity since you have so much power…"
Matatagi clenched his fists, "What do you know about me…"
"Oh, I'm sorry…" the captain giggled and stepped away from the striker. As she walked away she paused by Alsius, "Hmm,,, you're quite interesting too… not an earthling are you?"
"Never said I was." Alsius frowned she glanced back at the Sazanaran bench, "You have a member not native to your planet as well, Powai Pichori."
"Well, it isn't against the rules," Powai smiled, "I'll have fun playing with you and your "buddy.""
"Hmf, we'll see about that."
"Kuroiwa-san." Narukami sighed, "Isn't it about time you put him in?"
The coach grinned, "Hmf, fine. I'll switch you and Zephyr then."
"There seems to be a change of players on the Earth Eleven side. Going into defense for Narukami Naoto is Zephyr Illous, a player making his first appearance for this tournament. How will this change the flow of the game?" the commentary screamed riling up the crowd.
"Does he somehow hold the key in beating these mind readers?" Shindou mumbled.
"A change at this timing… interesting…" Minaho grinned.
Right when it started, the ball was stolen and the Sazanaran forward raced towards the net.
"Leave it to me…" Zephyr nodded and charged towards the Sazanaran with the ball.
"Hmf, I'll easily get past… huh!?" the Sazanaran gasped as the ball got snatched from his possession.
"C'mon man, what are you doing?" another Sazanaran sighed charging towards Zephyr to stop them, however the Melfen boy swerved by him.
"Cool… I never thought that way of thinking existed" the Sazanaran gasped smiling."Powai, you have to see this!"
Zephyr passed the ball up to Alsius.
"The pass got through!?" Everyone gasped.
"Finally, I can use this…" she grinned. Kicking the area behind the ball, large claw marks appeared gathering energy around it. Turning, Alsius kicked the ball with the bottom of her foot. "Ice Cat!"
Before the goalkeeper could react, the ball seared inside.
"Yes!" Tenma cheered. "When did you learn that hissatsu, Alsius?"
"Heh, heh!" Alsius grinned.
"And, Zephyr, how did you get past them?"
Zephyr rubbed the back of his head, "They can tell our movements by our thoughts, however I see with the wind. It tells me what's in my surroundings; the Sazanaran's couldn't understand that."
"Um… wind?" Tenma cocked his head.
Zephyr's eyes moved to the ground, "Well… I'm blind."
"Uh…huh!?" the members gasped.
"I predicted much," Minaho smiled, "The way you reacted slightly slower and how Komori explained our gestures to you."
"But how can you play soccer so well even though… you can't see?" Kusaka asked.
"I use a different method…" Zephyr grinned.
The whistle blew indicating the end of the first half of the game.
"Hey, Powari…" an eye-patched female alien, not a Sazanaran, grinned, "Are you finally going to let me play? They got past your mind reading."
The captain nodded, "Fine, we'll put you in, Hilary Flail."
Hilary grinned maliciously.
The second half started with the ball in Sazanaran's possession. The Earth Eleven immediately noticed the eye patched female, who was obviously not the same race as the rest of her team.
"Finally, I can play…" she stretched, "Hello, Earth Eleven. I'm Hilary Flail of the Faram Obieus Shitenou." She cackled.
"Again?" Shindou frowned.
"Sorry, but this will be the last of you, Earthlings!" she laughed and charged up toward Matatagi. She flung sharp water shards past the forward, seemingly missing him, but it swung back behind him, knocking him down. "Jack Knife!"
"Kch…!" Matatagi grunted.
"What a waste…" a nearby Sazanaran whispered to the fallen striker.
Matatagi was dribbling up, but Powai went to steal it.
"You're right, what's the point playing with them." She whispered as she ran past the striker.
"…You…!" Matatagi growled
"Yes… that's it. Don't keep those thoughts to yourself… let us all see it; everyone here, see the true you."
Matatagi stopped running.
"Huh?" Powai frowned.
A small grin formed on the dark strikers face and he suddenly darted past the Sazanaran captain, stealing the ball.
"What was I thinking, waiting for someone to pass the damn ball to me." Matatagi cackled, "Thanks, I finally was able to remember, how pointless it is to "trust" others to do their job."
"Ma-Matatagi?" Tenma stuttered. A dark eerie aura surrounded the striker and slowly the right side of his hair dyed dark blue.
"If you want the ball…" Matatagi turned to his "teammates", "Better try your best to keep up to my speed!"
He then charged forward knocking away anyone in his path, including the Earth Eleven players.
"Heh, too easy!" Matatagi grinned shooting the ball.
"Aqua Breath!" the keeper spewed water from his mouth to stop the shoot, but it was overpowered by it.
"What…what happened to him…" Tenma gasped.
"Captain," Alsius frowned, "That's Matatagi Hayato's true colours."
"True… colours?"
"Someone he's been hiding the whole time. What will you do now…Captain?"
Episode 25 preview:
Matatagi's Dark Side is finally unleashed. With his drastic change of personality, will his teammates still accept him? Finally, Alsius' soul is shown. The final half of the match against Sazanara Eleven, will Earth Eleven be able to move their pieces to the next match? Episode 25: Sazanara: Betrayal, Trust and Acceptance.