Channel 36- Prince of Soccer
"You guys have been waiting out here this entire time?" Kamio looked surprised as he and Kaidou approached the boy's locker room to discover the massive twelve person group.
"Well, we couldn't go in." said Eiji, trying to subtly gesture at Oishi and Fuji but they knew exactly what he was doing so they were offended.
"Well, we don't really have a lot of time to talk since we have to get ready for the game." Kaidou said.
"Listen, we let you guys go through an entire day of school because you asked us to, but now you're going to stay right here until we get our mission." Atobe said.
"Kaidou, Kamio, what are you two doing still out here?" said a random coach man as he walked over. His name was Christopher Cringle. "Get ready for the game!"
"Right, coach!" they both said as the coach went in the locker room.
Kamio and Kaidou were about to follow him when they were stopped by an angry mob.
"HELLO?" they all yelled.
"You heard him!" said Kamio. "The game!"
"We can't be late or we'll be benched for the first half of the game." Kaidou said.
"It doesn't matter." Said Inui. "We'll be leaving this Universe as soon as well complete the…"
He trailed off because his remote control beeped. He pulled it out, read it over and then stepped to the side.
"Good luck in your game." Inui said.
"All right." Said Kamio and Kaidou as they sidestepped around the others and went inside.
"What was the mission?" said Ryoma. "Don't tell me that it was for them to win their game today."
"It's not." Said Inui.
"Good." Said everyone else.
"What is it then?" Shishido asked.
"For them to win their game on Wednesday." Inui said, showing the remote control to everyone. It read, 'Win the finals'.
"This is the worst mission ever!" said Kirihara. "There's nothing we can do to help them!"
"I guess we could support them the best we can." Said Choutarou.
"Yeah!" said Eiji. "Oishi and Fuji can join the cheerleading team and the rest of us could—"
He was forced to stop speaking because he was promptly warned by everyone else that Fuji and Oishi were both about to go on the warpath. Getting Fuji on the warpath is not that big of a deal but if you manage get Oishi on the warpath (especially if you're EIJI) then you know you've gone too far.
"Wait, so they have to win today AND Wednesday and then the mission is complete?" said Oshitari.
"Yes." Said Inui. "And for the first time, we don't get a second chance at this mission. If we fail, we have to wait until next year."
Everyone gasped. "NEXT YEAR?"
"Next year." Inui replied. "So it is essential they win both games."
"Maybe I WILL join the cheerleading team…" said Oishi, and he was of course entirely joking.
"I'll join if you join!" said Eiji excitedly.
"No, Eiji." Said Oishi. "No."
"I'll join if both of you join." Fuji said.
"No!" said Oishi adamantly.
"Fine, I'll join if Fuji joins!" said Eiji.
"And I'll join if Eiji joins." Said Fuji.
The two of them paused for a moment.
"Okay…" they both said, looking at each other.
About twenty minutes later, the boy's soccer team was out on the field stretching and warming up while the away team arrived. Both school's names have not yet been specified, so we'll just name them now. The challenging school's name was Shuukyuu's School For Boys and their colors were pink and purple. People make fun of them all the time. The school that Kamio and Kaidou attend, however, was called St. Nicolas and their colors were obviously green and white.
Fuji joined the rest of the group.
"What's up?" said Oishi. "I thought you were going to join the cheerleading team."
"I actually came very close to doing it." Fuji admitted. "But they said they didn't need anymore girls. Apparently the only boy on the team got injured a few days ago, so they took Eiji."
"Wait, so now Eiji's on the cheerleading team?" said Oishi.
"So it would seem." Fuji said.
"But…he's more of a girl than we are." Oishi said.
"That's what I tried to say." Fuji shrugged.
That's when Eiji ran over wearing green sweatpants and a t-shirt that had "ST. NICOLAS" written across the front.
"Hey guys!" he said. "Guess what I am now?"
"Um… a cheerleader?" Momo tried.
"Yeah!" said Eiji. "Isn't that great?"
"…" no one really knew how to respond.
So Eiji decided to make his question more specific. "Oishi, isn't the fact that I'm a cheerleader great?"
"Um, sure, it's great Eiji." Said Oishi.
"Hurray!" cheered Eiji as he ran off.
"That right there made me feel uncomfortable." Shishido said.
Kaidou randomly came jogging up to them. "So you all came to watch?" he said. "With the exception of Eiji who has already managed to somehow make himself one of the cheerleaders?"
"Yes and yes." Ryoma answered.
"Play your best." Said Choutarou. "Our mission—"
"Can wait until the end of the game." Said Inui. "We're in no rush."
"All right." Said Kaidou. "Because I wasn't going to leave the game early anyway."
Then he ran off.
"Why didn't you tell him that the mission was that he had to win the games?" said Oshitari.
"Because then he'll be under too much pressure." Inui said. "Kaidou ALREADY stresses himself out enough before and during games. If he knows that our ability to leave this Universe depended on his ability to play in this game then he would probably freak out."
"Good call Inui." Said Momo. "That's why we keep you."
Inui decided not to talk to Momo anymore.
Coach Cringle called all of his players over to him and started making a game play. The game was about to start and Eiji was over with the cheerleaders already showing off his acrobatic tennis skillz and they had pretty much just started cheering for him.
Sure enough, Kaidou and Kamio were both starters and they were both out front. As soon as the referee blew the whistle, the intense game of soccer began. It was all a match to eventually determine who was THE PRINCE OF SOCCER!
"I've never really watched a soccer match before." Atobe admitted. "I'd be lying if I said I knew entirely what was going on."
"Well," Oshitari started. "When the ball goes out of the zone, the player on the team that didn't kick it out in the first place gets to serve the ball to his own player."
"Seems fair enough." Atobe said. "And obviously the object of the match is to hit the ball into the net, as ludicrous as that sounds."
"Yeah…imagine that…a game where you're actually TRYING to hit the net." Shishido said.
"And…" Choutarou started as the goalie received the ball and then punted it over the half line. "I see. When the person guarding the net receives the ball, he has to kick it over to the other team's court or else it doesn't count."
"Soccer is actually quite similar to tennis." Shishido commented.
Everyone who was not on Hyoutei decided to take a few steps away from them because they didn't want people to think they were as stupid as them.
"Anyone can see that it counts even when the ball doesn't reach the opposing team's court…" said Kirihara.
"Duh." Said all the others.
Everyone watched as Kamio zinged up and down the field, totally in the rhythm. When he had the ball, the only thing that could stop him was if he either collided with someone or if he was tripped illegally. Kamio was probably the only kid in the entire middle school league who could receive his own pass. Unfortunately, he didn't have a fancy kick that would put the ball in the net.
Kaidou, however, could easily stay in the entire game and hung out at center field. Whenever the ball came to him, he trapped it and then tried his best to run down the field in order to set up for his famous kick.
THE BOOMERANG SNAKE…KICK!
Don't ask me how he does it or how it works. After all, not even physics can explain how the Boomerang Snake itself works. But the Boomerang Snake KICK is essentially a ball that looks as though it will go out of bounds, but then curls around the back of the net and goes right into the goal. And, to add to it all, when it bounces on the ground, it comes back out and hits the goalie in the back of the head. It is grand, I tell you. Grand. Just don't ask me to explain how it works. JUST KNOW THAT IT DOES!
Though, sadly, Kaidou does not have the moves to make it down there all the time. He often gets the ball taken away from him because he tries to just plow right through the defense.
In what was likely the SHORTEST first half of all time, the score stood at 0-0. As in LOVE LOVE. As in a freakin' tie.
"Maybe we should tell them that this game is really important to the mission—" Taka began but he was suddenly distracted because the cheerleaders had all run out to do their half time show.
"ALL RIGHT BOYS." Said Coach Cringle. "We have to split the defense and utilize the corner kicks and make our throw-ins go to the correct people and…"
He continued to ramble as all the boys just huddled around and nodded and agreed and various other things.
Eiji then ran over to the team. "Coach and Team!" he exclaimed. "The girls and I have concocted a cheer that will turn this half-hearted game into a smoldering volcano of torrid passion!"
"Don't make me hurt you…" Kaidou started but Eiji ran back over to the cheerleaders and they proceeded to jump and do cartwheels and shriek various incoherent things.
"WHY is he a cheerleader?" Kamio said to Kaidou.
"Don't ask me." Said Kaidou.
The game began the second half and it officially became time to own the pink and purple Shuukyuu School For Boys.
But the ownage did not begin until the very last few minutes of the game.
"SMOLDERING VOLCANO OF TORRID PASSION!" Eiji shrieked as Kamio ran by with the ball.
"Shut up!" said Kamio. "You're throwing off my rhythm!"
He kicked the ball towards the net, where Kaidou happened to be waiting. Kaidou collected the ball and did his famous BOOMERANG SNAKE KICK! And how the hell do you stop one of those coming at you?
"GOAL!" said the referee, blowing his whistle.
"Yes." Said Kaidou, doing a tiny gesture of victory.
Everyone cheered as the referee ordered them to set up for another kick-off. But almost as they were kicking off, the game ended and everyone threw another little party.
Especially those who did not belong in this Universe.
Oh Lord, were they happy.