A/N- Gotta keep the ball rolling!

I'm undefeatable!

You think you'll win but soon you'll see you may beat some, but you can't beat me!

There's a feeling deep inside me, and it's always there to guide me! It's in my heart and in my soul, leading me to the ultimate goal you can try your best this might be fun, you go down to defeat before you begun

Ohhh a Ohhh a Ohhh I'm unbeatable!

Ishimaru was lying down in the locker room at Tokyo University listening to his mp3 player. Today was not an ordinary day of course. The National Semifinals of the Japanese High School Soccer playoffs began today. East Tokyo steamrolled every team they played so far and the once large tournament of 128 teams were now down to just 4. However, winning the regional championship and Winning the National Quarterfinals did not satisfy Ishimaru or his teammates. Today was the day they played for the Division I bracket championship against Makeinu High, a rural high school over in the Nasu District. Ishimaru recalled going on a vacation to the countryside in that area when he was a little kid. If he remembered correctly, it was a few hours outside of Tokyo by car.

That of course, did not matter today because nobody especially not a bunch of hicks who just so happened to have a lucky run through the playoffs, were going to beat national powerhouse East Tokyo. At least not when they're lead by him. Pulling his earbuds out, Ishimaru got up and went to the sink, turning the silver faucet; he splashed the cool water onto his face and blinked three times. He went back to where he was lying down at and opened up his bag, pulling out his soccer uniform. He took his jeans and boxers off and slipped on some black athletic tights that stopped at his knee caps. Next came his black soccer shorts, then came the black jersey with "East Tokyo" adorned on it in dark gold letters across the top part on the front of the jersey. Going through the East Tokyo letters, was a cavalier sabre with a silver blade and a gold and black handle. On the back of the jersey, a gold number "6" and "Kamikatsu" on the top of the back also in gold letters. Ishimaru slipped it on and pulled out his lucky black socks that his father played in when he was a professional soccer player. It was really a shame that he died a few weeks before Ishimaru was born but nonetheless, he knew his father was watching him play somewhere. After tying up his gold cleats, Ishimaru saw that the rest of his teammates were also dressed and ready to go. Coach Yuushi stood before the team and was preparing to give one of his typical pep talks. He had a few formations scribbled on the board but it wasn't anything Ishimaru hadn't seen before. Coach Yuushi then turned to face his players.

"As you all know, we're about to play the biggest game in our school's history. This year's team is undisputedly the greatest East Tokyo team ever assembled and arguably one of the best teams in the entire decade. You guys know what you can do and you guys know what needs to be done. What's on the scoreboard does not matter until the end of the game. We are one game away from playing for a National Championship. So go out there and bust their ass."

The players roared with cheers as everybody stood up. Like always, Ishimaru was the first one out of the locker room and onto the field. The National Semifinals game was being held at The University of Tokyo's soccer field. Roughly 32,000 people were attending the game. Ishimaru was not surprised seeing a handful of West Tokyo fans in the stands because the stadium was hosting a doubleheader. The other semifinal matchup was between West Tokyo and Kazanami Prep. Words could not describe the epic potential for an East Tokyo-West Tokyo national championship. Ishimaru figured that Mountain United's stadium would fill past capacity and the game would obviously be nationally televised. Most importantly, Ishimaru and Josh had unfinished business and wanted to settle it on the field eventually.

The Cavaliers ran onto the field as the crowd roared in applause. The Makeinu Lucky Stars galloped onto the field in yellow and blue uniforms shortly after East Tokyo and were welcomed with boos. Ishimaru was practicing penalty kicks while Daisuke caught them. After a few minutes of warm-ups, the starters from both teams took the positions on the field. The referee blew the whistle as a Makeinu player took the ball from Hiro Takanawa, the senior midfielder. The Lucky Stars got into an aggressive formation as they began attacking down the field. The Makeinu forward received the ball from his teammate. Vincent took charge and stole the ball. Seiku sprinted onto Vincent's right side as he passed the ball to him. Seiku was cornered by two Makeinu defenders and quickly passed the ball to Sakuraba Matsudo a junior forward, who darted up the field with it. He swung his foot back and booted the ball towards the goal but it bounced off of the edge.

The Makeinu Lucky Stars were back on offense and once again made their way down the field. Vincent's towering frame made it difficult for the Makeinu High defenders to keep him busy. This of course, caused the forwards to change his plans and divert towards the other side of the field. He passed it to their striker who booted the ball towards the goal but Daisuke Komahoya, the sensational sophomore goalie and the only underclassman on the varsity team, caught in it time. Ishimaru and Daisuke high fived each other as the ball was back in play. Daisuke tossed the ball to Sakuraba as Ishimaru darted back down the field. He knew all eyes were on him and his ego swelled with pride. He got into position near the Lucky Stars' goal. Sakuraba kicked the ball in Ishimaru's direction and he bounced the ball off of his head and into the goal.

"GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!" The announcer yelled as the Scoreboard reflected

"Cavaliers 1 Lucky Stars 0"

The crowd roared as Ishimaru jumped around with his teammates. He took his jersey off as he ran across the field. The referee blew his whistle and presented him with a Yellow Card. "What the hell? You gotta be kidding me!" Ishimaru exclaimed

"Watch your language. That excessive celebration is uncalled for." The referee shot back

Ishimaru glared at the referee but was pulled away by Seiku and Hiro. After another fifteen minutes of play, it was Halftime. East Tokyo went into the locker room still leading 1-0. Ishimaru was about to go into the door but he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his best friend. "Ishimaru, you need to calm down and put your ego aside for the team. You always act like this when it comes to soccer."

"Like I told you before Seiku, I am the captain and I need this game if I want to become a 5-star recruit. Being 4 stars is not good enough for me."

"Why do you care about a stupid rating from a scouting service which isn't even accurate half the time?"

"It isn't just the main site; ALL of them have me at 4 stars. I am better than 4 stars."

"Get your head out of your ass Ishimaru and stop being so selfish."

"I am nowhere near selfish! I am one of the best players in the entire country!"

"And right now, you're the most selfish."

"This is real funny coming from somebody who's only 2 stars. You're just jealous that the best offer you got is from one of the worst University teams in the country." Ishimaru sneered

"You're being a prick right now. Just like your father was when he was ali—"

Seiku did not finish his sentence because Ishimaru socked him in the mouth almost like a reflex. "You don't know a damn thing about my father!"

Seiku lunged at Ishimaru and the commotion from the brawl between the two boys alerted Coach Yuushi and the rest of the team. After another minute or so, everything was back under control. "I don't know what exactly happened between you two but we'll discuss it after the game. We are one half away from playing for the National Championship. Something we have all worked hard towards since last winter in the offseason. We did not win a City Championship, a Conference Championship and a Regional Championship because of fighting and dividing the team. We won it because you all play as one. Now, let's go back out there and seal the deal."

The team broke the huddle and jogged back out to the field. Ishimaru did not mind playing in a sunny outdoor venue like the stadium at Tokyo U, but his heart was set on playing indoors at Mountain United's dome. It in comparison, made the Tokyo Dome look like a scrapheap.

The second half of the game began with the ball in East Tokyo's possession. Daisuke passed the ball to Sakuraba who then kicked it to Seiku who sped up the field with the ball, he reached the middle of the field only to encounter a few Lucky Star defenders. However, a path was formed thanks to the efforts of Vincent and Hiro. Seiku skated around various defenders and was nearing the goal protected by Makeinu's goalie and a pair of defenders. As a striker, Ishimaru got in position near the goal to score and put this game completely in the hands of the East Tokyo Cavaliers. Ishimaru's plans to score around the defenders never came to fruition because Seiku suddenly kicked the ball only for it to be caught by Makeinu's senior goalie. "Damn it Seiku, you should have passed me the ball." Ishimaru snarled

"I'm just showing that it isn't about you." Seiku snarled back

"Look, I don't give a fuck about all of that shit right now. We just need to win the damn game." Ishimaru said, holding his hands up in disbelief

Just as he finished talking, the referee presented Ishimaru with another yellow card. "No F-Bombs or any foul language. Next time it's an ejection."

For the next twenty minutes in the game, East Tokyo played incredible defense. Even after the little fight with Seiku, Ishimaru and the rest of the team gelled to near perfection. He knew there was no way they would lose at this point, even with the score still being 1-0. "I just have to play mistake-free, disciplined ball. I'm in a pretty foul mood but that doesn't matter. There is nothing that will—"

"THUD!"

Ishimaru opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on the grass. Looking up, he saw his teammates and Makeinu players looking at him. He slowly moved his hands towards his sweaty face and touched his lips and quickly winced at the stinging pain it brought him. He felt his bottom lip again and worked his finger into his mouth; removing his finger he watched the blood spill off of his fingertips. He slowly stood up and looked over at the Makeinu defender he ran into. The stocky kid wore an ugly grin on his face and Ishimaru's sense of reason and self-control vanished.

Within a blink of an eye, he was on top of the other payer, punching him repeatedly. He continued his flurry of punches and felt multiple hands pull him back, but Ishimaru wasn't having it and broke free of his restrainers with all of his strength and got back on top of the player, slapping choking him. Ishimaru felt an even stronger force this time pull him back. A sudden wave of relief surged within him ad Ishimaru quickly calmed down to the point of being level-headed again. "I'm good guys, you can let me go." Ishimaru said as his teammates released him. He turned and looked at Daisuke among the others. "I'm getting ejected aren't I?"

The referee flashed the red card as he disqualified Ishimaru from the rest of the game. Ishimaru walked over to the sideline where Coach Yuushi along with a Police Officer was waiting for him. Taking a quick look behind him, Ishimaru saw the player he attacked being tended to and taken off of the field on a stretcher along with glares from the rest of the Makeinu High School team and fans as well. After the announcer informed the crowd on Ishimaru's ejection, a mix of boos and cheers erupted from the stadium. The jeers from the Makeinu fans being the loudest.

"Not so big and bad now are you superstar?"

"Kamikatsu got ejected; we definitely have a chance to win."

"I can't believe the Big Shot actually got ejected!"

"I always thought he was a class act, but I guess he really is like his father."

That last comment Ishimaru heard from a fan drove him up a wall. Ayumu Kamikatsu was one of the top strikers in Japanese soccer history. Even though he was talented, Ayumu had his moments where he was out of control and got into on the field fights, brawls inside night clubs, bars, hotels, restaurants, etc. From what Ishimaru knew however, Ayumu met an attractive grad student at one of the nightclubs he and his pro teammates happened to have VIP status in. This young woman caught the eye of the pro soccer playboy and caused him to approach her. Ayumu tried his usual pickup lines that transformed the knees of many women into jelly. This girl however, turned him down and was about to tell him to shove his drink somewhere but Ayumu apologized and told the girl he would make it up to her by taking her out on a date. Impressed by the smooth talker, she accepted. That grad student ended up becoming Ishimaru's mother. Despite what the media said about him and his aggression on the field, Ishimaru knew he was a good guy off the field and his mother told him how he changed after being around her. He eventually abandoned his love for fighting and ultimately chose to settle down with her and start a life together. What saddened Ishimaru however, was the fact that he never got to meet him. Ayumu died in a one-car wreck when he crashed his car into a tree. Missing the birth of his son by a mere two weeks, Ishimaru knew that he wanted his son to be named Ishimaru and that his widowed mother honored his request.

Ishimaru reached the sidelines where Coach Yuushi motioned to ***, the backup striker. "If this was the University league or the pro league, we would be playing with one less man, lucky for us this is high school soccer so you're in. I know you played a lot of JV ball this past season but you've practiced and worked with Kamikatsu, you're our guy right now, so go get it done."

"YES SIR!" *** said as he ran onto the field

Coach Yuushi did not look at Ishimaru. He knew coach was pretty disappointed with him right now. That of course, wasn't important to Ishimaru at the moment. The stadium was impacted greatly by Ishimaru's ejection. The cavaliers were going at what seemed half-speed and the Lucky Stars took advantage of it and were going all out. The teams lined up for the penalty kick, the striker for Makeinu slammed his foot on the ball, beating Daisuke for the score.

Cavaliers 1 Lucky Stars 1

East Tokyo's side of the stadium went completely silent as Makeinu High had the momentum in their favor. East Tokyo had the ball as Daisuke tossed it to Seiku. He went up the field and passed it to Vincent. Vincent dodged a defender and kicked it back to Seiku who was nearing Makeinu's goal. Seiku then passed it to ***. He booted the ball towards the goal but the ball was over kicked and went over the goal. This happened again four more times, but instead of going over the goal, it went wide left, wide right and the goalie for Makeinu caught the ball twice. The clock was winding down and *** had one more opportunity to win the game before it went to a shootout but had the ball blocked from the goal by the goalie using his head. The horn blared as the game ended in a 1-1 tie in regulation, which called for a shootout.

East Tokyo formed the famous, yet half-hearted from Ishimaru's perspective, black wall around the goal. The Makeinu striker curved the kick and angle the ball into the goal. The Lucky Star fans went wild in their seats. However, it was not yet over. If East missed the incoming penalty shot, then Makeinu High will accomplish pulling off the biggest upsets in almost a decade. *** lined up for the kick, to Ishimaru and likely all of the East Tokyo fans and players, it felt like years had passed and that *** moved in slow motion. He kicked the ball and it was caught by the Lucky Stars' goalie. A sea of gold and blue flooded the field. Ishimaru fell to his knees and could not look up. It's over. They lost their shot at a National Title. Seniors like Yoshiro and Hiro would never get another chance. The team sulked back into the locker room where they gathered their stuff and got on a bus to go back to East Tokyo High School's Fieldhouse where it was solemnly quiet. Coach Yuushi looked up at his players and the hurt in his eyes felt like a thousand syringes. "Things….don't always go the way you planned. They made fewer mistakes but we are still the better team. We also must be held accountable for actions because they affect our teammates as well."

Ishimaru knew that last part was directed at him and was already in the shower at this point. He let the warm water drench his brown and black hair. Getting out the shower, Ishimaru saw the locker room empty and figured he was the only one left. He went to his locker and pulled out a grey t-shirt, black gym shorts and a fresh pair of boxers and put them on along with his socks and tennis shoes. He placed his sweaty soccer uniform into the bag and checked to make sure that Chainz's spell book was still in there as well. He strapped the bag around his shoulder and left the locker room. He walked past Coach Yuushi's office. "Ishimaru, come here for a minute." The coach said

Whenever Coach called somebody y their first name, he meant business so Ishimaru did what he was told and went inside the office. He looked around and saw the various pictures of past players on the wall and newspaper clippings. One that caught his eye was a clipping of Ishimaru's game winning goal his first game on varsity when he was a freshman two years ago. His attention shifted to Coach Yuushi who had a stern look on his face. "Ishimaru, that player you fought with earlier today went to the hospital on a stretcher."

"I know coach; I saw when they carted him off. Is he alright?"

"He only has a mild concussion. Nothing too serious, they're going to keep him overnight for evaluation."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry for what happened today, when we start offseason camp in a couple of weeks, I'm going to work on my discipline coach and everything. I didn't want to put *** in such a tough spot today."

"That won't be necessary."

"I insist coach, I'll work with him a lot more and—"

"Ishimaru. The High School athletics administration called me a little while ago, you have been suspended for a year and as a result, you have been kicked off of this team."

"WHAT?! I'm going to be a senior next year! I have to play!" Ishimaru shouted

"I have no choice in the matter Ishimaru, according to the administration and Tokyo police your behavior is grounds for assault charges, but they'll look the other way this time.

"You also have an expulsion hearing on Monday, you should use tomorrow and Sunday to prepare yourself."

Ishimaru did not want to hear anymore. "Why should I even bother on going, they can expel me for all I care! I only got a year-long suspension because of who my dad is! It's times like these when I regret playing soccer in the first place dammit!"

Ishimaru stormed out of Coach Yuushi's office and slammed the door. The walk home only took about ten minutes, but to Ishimaru it seemed like a few hours. As he opened the gate and walked inside of his house, he saw Chainz and Jyan playing checkers.

"Your move." Chainz said as he jumped another piece of Jyan's.

Jyan did not say anything; he simply picked up one of his pieces and slapped the entire checker off of the board except for the one in his hand. He then placed it at the end of the board. "I win."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Chainz growled

Ishimaru walked in and looked at what the mamodo boys were doing. Before anybody could say anything, the doorbell rang. Ishimaru opened the door to see none other than Josh standing in the doorway. "Hey Ishi, are you alright?"

"Nope, how did the game go?"

"We shut them out 3-0 and play Makeinu for the National Championship Monday Evening. That's not what I want to talk to you about; I came to tell you that I'm going back to America on Tuesday." This was exactly what Ishimaru needed to hear. First he gets kicked out of the game, next his team loses the Semifinals to a team that barely made the Summer Playoff Tournament, then he gets kicked off the team, suspended from soccer and possibly expelled; now Josh is going back to America.

"Come inside Josh, there's some stuff we need to talk about." Ishimaru told Josh about everything that happened in Coach Yuushi's office. "Well, you're not allowed to play soccer in Japan but they never said anything about you not being able to play soccer in the U.S."

"That is a…brilliant idea!" Ishimaru exclaimed

"It's simple; just apply to the same Foreign Exchange program I applied to. It's pretty half-assed and they take just about anybody. We can actually print out the papers over the internet and fax them when they're filled out. After about an hour of filling out paper work, the boys went into Mrs. Kamikatsu's office and faxed the papers off. "You should get a response sometime tomorrow and all there will be left is to get a plane ticket. Where's your mom anyway?"

"Business trip in Hokkaido, she said she was going to be heading here tomorrow. I'll give her call and let her know what I'm doing. She has some business contacts in America now that I think about it."

"Good stuff." Josh said as his face suddenly became serious. "Of course, we can't let our guard down in America. There are most likely mamodo teams lurking around over there."

Ishimaru agreed with Josh on that one, but they had not fought any enemy mamodo ever since fighting the last of the Chess Pieces back in Chase's castle about a month and a half ago. The boys along with their mamodo stayed up late having fun raiding the refrigerator, playing video games and beating the crap out of Jyan until they all crashed in the living room.

[Heart Household, East Tokyo, Japan]

"All right, I'm going to call her. No more texting."

Vincent lay down in his bed as he looked at his cell phone. He was tired from the soccer game and pissed off that they lost because of Ishimaru getting ejected and ***'s inexperience. Vincent had to admit he come to like the game, well the hitting and front tackling but at least he did not have to bother playing anymore… for a while at least. He dialed the number on his phone and just as he was on the point of pushing the call button, his bedroom door flew open.

"Hey little brother!" Rachel exclaimed with a big grin on her face

"Get the hell out of here! Haven't of heard of knocking?"

"Nope! Grandma wants you to come here anyway."

"For what?"

Rachel did not answer him, she simply turned and left. Vincent mumbled a few curse words under his breath as he stormed down the stairs and to the table where his grandmother was sitting. He saw CJ sitting with Beat and Angie. Knowing that Angie was here, Aaron wasn't too far away. "What is it?" Vincent huffed

"We're going to a family reunion and this year it's going to be held in New Orleans."

"If I can barely just you guys under one roof, what makes you think I would tolerate the whole damn family? What's next? Are you going to tell me that my parents are going to be there too?" Vincent said, trying not to laugh

Without another word, Vincent's grandmother punched him into a wall. Vincent climbed out of the hole and sat back at the table. "No matter how many walls you punch me through I. AM. NOT. GOING."

"Don't worry about packing Little Brother, I already did it for you." Angie said, pointing to Vincent's suitcase lined up against all of the other luggage. "How did you get into my room when I was gone?! I padlocked the door and everything?"

"A magician never reveals their secrets!" CJ exclaimed from the other side of the room, earning a glare from Vincent

"We leave in the morning." Vincent's Grandma said as she got up from the table.

"Has anybody been listening? I'm not going!"

Vincent felt his phone vibrate and saw Teal was calling him. He darted upstairs and slammed the door of his room. "Hello."

"Hi Vincent, I hope you had a great game."

"Of course. You know I kick ass like always."

Teal giggled and continued speaking. "Well, my daddy got a new job and I'll be coming to East next year with you guys for our senior year!"

Even though nobody could see him, Vincent had a smile on his face. A rare sight to see.

"Looks like Grandma won't have to force me to go to school anymore. Why don't we catch a movie at my house later on this week, the rest of the family is going to New Orleans for a reunion and I'll have the house to myself and-."

"You know I'd love to but I'm going to be in California for a while. Daddy has to finish up some business here."

"So….you're going to be in America?"

"That's right."

"Did I say I was staying home? I'm actually going to America too; I'll have to meet up with you."

"Sounds good."

Vincent hung up the phone; it looks like this summer won't be so bad after all.

A/N- I did not intend the chapter to be almost 5000 words but whatever lol. I get carried away with soccer scenes or any sport scenes for that matter but, telling a good story is what makes writing fun. There's a LOT more to come so stay tuned folks! I need more R&R's I'm hoping to get to 200 reviews by the 60th chapter! Til next time!