So...I'm sure you've all been wondering where I've disappeared to these last weeks. Well I was on vacation in another country for two weeks, and I'm on a very strict special dance training camp with hours of rehearsal up to nine hours a day not to mention the news I just found out of my best friends betraying me so yeah. Sorry about not telling you guys beforehand, and here's a long chapter to make up for it (new cover too :D). Also, I want to ask you guys a very important question. Should I just continue into the Aliea arc or end the book at the end of the FF arc and start a second book with the Aliea and FFI, since this book is getting so long? Also, one more very important question (cuz the first arc is coming to an end *sniffs* we've gone a long way together) should I even include Fudou as one of the "love possibilities"? Cuz he doesn't actually fit that well with my planning in the future chapters and in GO (three boys, three arcs, get it?), but I know I said he was going to and there are some people probably waiting for his great debut *ba dum tss*. Of course he would still be there, but just not as a love interest? He'll still be important though. Comment or PM me, and thank you all my readers I love you guys chuu~
The next day came quickly. When I checked this morning, there was a call left on the answering machine from last night when I was at the training camp. Again, like Gouenji had said, I should look at the sender ID before taking the call.
When the first voice poured out of the phone, an immediate tear slid down my cheek as I recognize the carefree voice belonging to the one and only Yakata Naoto. Then as more voices joined in, they all became a blur, weaving together to make a beautiful symphony. I could hear Tobiyama's slightly nasal voice, Mitsumune's gruff but kind growl, Megawa's flutey voice, and everyone else's too. They were telling me to go score, go bring back the cup, and that they would be watching and playing the match in their own way as I ran on the field.
I'll win this match and finally finish what I first set out to do, even before I met Teikoku. For my friends at Kidokawa Seishuu. For Teikoku. And mostly, for the girl who was no longer Inoue Shizuro, but Sakurai Shizumi.
At The Stadium
"What?" Natsumi exclaimed to whoever was on the other side of the phone. When we first got here, the first thing we noticed was how empty of people it was. This was the finals, and now there is a closed sign on the gates of the entrance.
We already knew to be on guard after stories of what happened to the last Inazuma Japan, one which I definitely do not want to repeat, and this was definitely suspicious. But the problem was, I couldn't figure out what their plan was. I already knew Kageyama was on the council as along with Hibiki and Nikaidou (after all, Onigawara eventually told me it was he who had rigged the unanimous vote last year since he was afraid Kidokawa Seishuu as going to defeat Teikoku with their ace and joker), but moving the time without telling the players went against the rules written in Kakuma's rulebook, and even Kageyama couldn't do that without being opposed as sounding unfair.
"Yes..Yes I understand" Natsumi finally sighed and ended her call. All of us crowded around her, wanting to know what was going on.
"Who was that from?" Endou asked.
Natsumi seemed a little hesitant to answer, but she did. "That was from the Football Frontier headquarters." Then in a weary voice, she finished, "There was a sudden change in location for the finals."
"To where?" Raimon was starting to panic and their voices rose as they started conversing within themselves.
"Well…" Before Natsumi could finish, a shadow passed over the sky. As a natural instinct, we all looked up, only to be faced with a shock none of us could have prepared for.
It was a floating metal dome with three marble carvings of angels. And the creepy thing was, I could immediately tell that one of them was Eris even though they all looked very similar. The one next to her with three pairs of wings just like hers but had a flatter chest, could be recognized as Aphrodi if he was a god in ancient Greek. But it was the last one that really horrified me. It had that blank expression and the same holy posture as the other two, but I could tell that it was all wrong. Instantly, I could tell that that was supposed to be me. And in her heart pierced a knife.
Even with the emotionless face, as I saw anger and revenge with Eris's, rulership and victory with Aphrodi's, my "face" was twisted in the unmistakable expression that could be none other than death.
Time Skip
"Raimon Jr. High has finally climbed up to the finals after 40 years! Will they be able to finish what the legendary Inazuma Eleven failed to achieve?"
Endou gave the team a pep talk, but I was barely listening. My senses tingled with excitement and fear all at the same time. I was finally at the finals, after what happened last year. But seeing the chances we were not going to be the ones walking out the stadium with the trophy. Endou seems to think otherwise though, but hey, you never know. Endou had that tendency to rebel against the percentages. I hoped that this would apply for this match too, but I was probably wishing for too much.
"Rely on your own strength," Azami had always told me. And finally, now's the time to test if I was strong enough to stand on this field she and I couldn't stand on before.
Suddenly as Endou was delivering the last line of his speech, a gust of wind shook the stadium and as if forming from thin air appeared Zeus. From here, I could see the back of a head with locks of blonde, Aphrodi, and another with locks of silvery ice, Eris. As if she could feel my stare, she turned and glared with eyes of amber flames. Aphrodi noticed the girl's reaction and glanced at me, then put an arm on her back and she turned back to the rest of the team, where they were toasting to "their victory" and drinking water out of fancy cups as if it was a ritual of some sort.
From beside me Someoka growled. "They think it's already decided, well they'll be surprised soon enough," he said. I grinned with murderous glee in that way Inoue Shizuro always had right before a game. "Yeah, we'll annihilate them," the words slipped out of my mouth before my brain had time to register that words like that just weren't meant to be said in front of sunshine-and-rainbows Raimon. Someoka eyed me warily, but at least he didn't call me a monster.
As Raimon scattered onto the field, I walked calmly up to Hibiki-kantoku. He didn't look surprised, and I was pretty sure he already guessed what I wanted.
"Alright, you may play on the field for the full match."
Gouenji looked surprised as I took my place as a midfielder in Shourin's usual spot. From here I could back Someoka and activate our new hissatsu and since Kazemaru was behind me as defender, we could slip into position easily.
In the other team, they played with a 2-4-2 formation with mid-wings who could easily slip up to the front and the blocky guy who knocked out Sakuma as a solid center for the defense. Aphrodi and Eris however, didn't play as forwards like Aphrodi had done during the Teikoku match, but rather as the center mids.
"This is a first! Aphrodi joins the midfield and our favorite Death Bringer is playing at the start of the game! Also, introducing a new player of Zeus, Eris! For the first time in Football Frontier history, there will be a girl on the winning team, whichever team that ends up victorious! Let the game begin!" Kakuma Oshou's voice rang out through the crowd. The whistle echoed across the stadium right after he finished.
A boy from Zeus with auburn hair and a scar on his forehead passed the ball to his fellow striker with the silver helmet. Gouenji and Someoka rushed forward, but instead of passing it back to Hera who I had predicted was going to rush past the fowards in the blink of an eye like they did during the Teikoku match, he passed it backwards lightly. The ball bounced a few feet, then landed by the foot of none other than Aphrodi.
"He's not moving?" I heard Gouenji ask as he faltered in his step. No, you shouldn't have, Gouenji, it's a trap…
"Alright, shall we?" Aphrodi asked. "With pleasure," Eris replied with a layer of angelic blessings laced with pressed down murder at the same time.
Aphrodi snapped his fingers, and in a second they had passed our two strikers. They were then sent flying. Soon it'll be my turn. I remember seeing how this hissatsu was done during my time on the bench before, and it looked like it didn't evolve this time which was a good thing. As Aphrodi approached us, I got ready to pounce. The plan was to sprint right before the snap, so as Aphrodi was moving in superspeed I would intercept him.
"Heaven's…" I pushed off the ground one second before he snapped his fingers, "Time!" When the hissatsu had finished, Aphrodi had only moved one step from his spot and was directly in front of me. His expression read slightly amused. I looked down, and the ball was nowhere in sight. Then with a bad feeling, I turned my head, and there was Eris, already all the way to our defense, with the ball under her foot.
Eris turned around, nodded at Aphrodi, then turned back towards Endou. But not before a sneer at me. She raised her hand and used Heaven's Time on our defense, who was then blown away just like our offense.
"Raimon...I'm sure you remembered when you crushed all my hard work when I was back in Mikage Sennou," she said, the eeriness seeping back into her voice. While Eris had done Heaven's Time, Aphrodi had long passed me and was now only slightly behind her. "Well here's to show you just a taste of what happens when you knock me down," she did a pique turn then kicked the ball up and jumped towards the sky, Aphrodi in sync with a pique too, "I'll come back stronger!"
The two's hands entwined together, and then raised their feet. Together, they slammed it on the ball, which flew towards the goal with a female figure wearing the ballet costume of a swan following it. "Pas de Deux Remastered!" they shouted together. The female figure skipped along gracefully with sissones and glissades, then did a few chaines and leaped into a grand jete, her toe driving the ball forward. "Bakuretsu Punch!" Endou yelled as he drove his fists repeatedly into the ball. But the force of the shoot was too much, and it slipped above his head. Endou's eyes widened in shock, his mouth opening to say something that looked like, "Oh no!"
Just in time, Kazemaru had crawled up from where he was thrown by Heaven's Time and jumped at the ball with his head, resulting in it hitting the goal post and bouncing out. "Tch," Eris said angrily as her fist clenched and she started glowing like before. Aphrodi put his hand on her shoulder and said something to her, which I could only make out the words, "...overheat...time's up…limitater...". Those words chilled me to the bones.
"Endou!" the rest of the defense shouted as they ran to check if their captain and the teal haired defender was alright. When they were sure that both were fine, Kazemaru shouted, "Alright, it's our turn now!" "Yeah!" we all cheered along. From my peripheral vision, I saw a faint smile of amusement and disbelief on Aphrodi's lip, and I felt myself get angry at his reaction. Did he really think we couldn't score? Well he's about to get a taste of what happens if you underestimate Raimon. I knew that Poseidon was good, good enough to stop Emperor Penguin 2gou and Death Zone, but Raimon has The Phoenix which is stronger, and also Phoenix Feather and of course, Chi Sakura Mai. It looked like the goddess of victory was on our side, not theirs.
As our forwards and mids ran up, none of Zeus's members moved. They just stood there, some with arms crossed and stony expressions, others with taunting smirks.
"Dragon…Tornado!" the red dragon swirled after the soccer ball as Gouenji sent off his and Someoka's hissatsu towards the goalkeeper. All of a sudden, Poseidon's eyes hardened, and he slammed his fists on the ground, creating a big wall of water to rise out from the ground and drenching the ball of fire, which fell perfectly into his hand. Then Poseidon tossed the ball and it rolled perfectly in front Gouenji, confusing the said striker. Just as expected. He did this too when facing Teikoku.
Kidou stepped up towards Gouenji. "We'll show them that it was a mistake to tell us to shoot," he said with his signature grin. Gouenji nodded. The five of us, Gouenji, Kidou, Ichinose, Someoka, and me tried over and over to score with Emperor Penguin 2gou and Kuroi Hane Taifuu but with no prevail. He even blocked The Phoenix and broke a record by stopping Phoenix Feather since nobody in the Football Frontier has ever stopped it before, that was how good he was. I didn't know he was this strong, but since there has been nobody other than that time I surprised him who shot into Zeus's goal, there was no evidence how strong Poseidon actually was. For all I know he could be just toying with us right now. Which, to the looks of it, was probably true since he wasn't even breaking a sweat while the rest of us were panting hard and dripping with perspiration.
"Sakurai Shizumi…" he leered, "Come at me. I'm going to stop Chi Sakura Mai this time." His tone made me hesitant. He sounded so confident, I almost thought that he actually wasn't afraid, before I caught myself and reminded myself that his reaction from the last time I faced him was proof of the lasting effect Chi Sakurai Mai carved on him.
I caught the ball Someoka passed me with my feet and started dribbling up. "Alright then," I said, my voice changing into none other than Inoue Shizuro's bloodthirsty words just like it had before the game. Gouenji stared at me in horror, knowing what I was about to unleash.
I put my foot on the ball, stopping in front of Poseidon. His face twitched, but that was it. The crowd waited in anticipation. Even Kakuma Oushou leaned from his seat and remained silent, for only the deaf and blind would not notice the tenseness in the air.
I spun the ball up, and bloodstained cherry blossom petals started swirling around it. "Hey Endou, remember that I said my best shoot was not to be seen? Well here it is, enjoy it while it lasts," I snickered, then shot the ball.
At first, everything was fine, Poseidon's expression was one that of pure horror. Then something changed. His expression changed into panic, then anxiety. That was a first. It looked like he was trying to block out or calm himself down from the hallucinations of Chi Sakura Mai. It almost looked like he would not fall into the depth of my hissatsu, when at the last moment his face twisted back into fear and he ducked down and condensed himself into a lump at the goal.
I smirked. First point, stolen at last. Thoug something about how Poseidon acted still made me worry. "No doubts, it's alright," I tried to whisper reassurance to myself as I turned my back to the goal.
From across the field, I could feel Eris's glare as strong as lasers, and Aphrodi's like stone. Instantly, I realized the dark heavy feeling that had been pressing on me was the same that was always there whenever Teikoku played soccer, wherever Kageyama was watching. He was unsatisfied, I was sure, and watching this very match at this very second. And he was plotting to get even.
Poseidon finally regained himself, still a little shaky, mind you, and tossed the ball to Aphrodi. He probably didn't want to risk it again. Aphrodi rolled his eyes, then moved forward and passed it to his forward with the silver helmet.
"You know," Aphrodi whispered darkly into my ear when he passed by me and kicked the soccer ball at my gut,"If Eris didn't want you on the field so much, I would have wiped you out long before. You prove a threat to us by blemishing our perfect record twice. I won't let you shoot again." I shivered more from his words than from the pain, though it was a hard kick.
Within a few seconds, he blew through half of the field and shot at Endou, making the hard fought score even.
This process happened over and over again, until the score was 2-1. And whenever any of us even tried to advance more than a few steps with the ball, we would be knocked back and have the ball stolen.
Raimon was looking pretty bad too. Many of our members had to switch out. Thankfully the stronger guys were still in, so we still had a chance. A teeny tiny chance, but it's still a chance. That was, until Someoka injured his arm.
Now, playing with only ten members, and without me, Kazemaru, and Someoka's hissatsu, we were pretty much doomed.
"You won't have to lift a finger, my queen. We can leave cleaning up these cockroaches to them," Aphrodi said smugly, gesturing at the other two forwards, the one with the helmet and the one with a scar on his forehead.
They repetitively shot at Endou, reminding me of Teikoku. Though of course, these were much crueler and did much more damage and humiliation. Then he collapsed.
Eris chuckled in an insane way, then turned to look at me. "It'll be your turn soon."
The whole match may be rewritten someday since it has to be perfect (OCD me lol) and capture the true essence of Eris, but for now I'm pretty satisfied with it.