Charm of Motivation
Kagami watched with intensity as the white ball danced back and forth across the football pitch. Being a goalkeeper was a responsible task, and she would hate herself if she allowed the opposition to score another goal. A few rogue thoughts entered her mind as the game continued to play on: why did Konata let herself get suckered in by one of the boys who challenged her to take on an all-boys football team? Additionally, how did Konata manage to convince Kagami and the rest of the girls to come and aid her? To top things off, they were a professional all-boys football team, and taking on a team with that kind of status was virtually suicidal. As the match progressed however, Konata, Kagami and the rest of the girls somehow managed to hold their own. The boys were dressed in red t-shirts and yellow shorts, whereas the girls were dressed in blue t-shirts and white shorts.
Many students, and even a couple of teachers, were speculating the match with varying emotions. The game so far was tied at three goals each side. Kagami began to feel an overwhelming sensation inside her, for she honestly thought Konata's team didn't stand a chance, especially since they were three-nil down from the first ten minutes of play. It was thanks to Miyuki and Misao that they were able to even the score. Just when things were beginning to look bleak, Miyuki scored two brilliant goals out of nowhere; both times she blasted the ball with her left foot, and both shots were around ten yards away from the opponent's goal. There was no denying it, Miyuki possessed great athleticism as she did intelligence, and it was no surprise that most of the girls in her class strived to become just like her. The other goal-scorer, Misao, happened to be at the right place and the right time. Her goal was accidental, for the ball, kicked by the opposition, was ricocheted off the back of her skull, and somehow landed into the enemy's net. Remembering that goal caused Kagami to smile and shake her head; only Kusakabe could pull off something so unpredictable.
There were three minutes left in the game, and the pressure to win was almost overbearing for both sides; the boys had to win to retain their pride, and the girls needed to win in order to show everyone that they were capable of being just as athletic as the guys. Unfortunately, most of the girls on Konata's team were showing signs of fatigue; they were simply not used to playing football under such a long period of time. Kagami, with concern, watched her little sister jog around the field. Tsukasa was trying so hard not to disappoint anyone. Her face was beet red, and every little movement she made caused her to ache considerably, but still she did not give up.
Suddenly, a miss-timed pass immediately turned the whole game around; the boys were charging towards Kagami's goal with utmost ferocity.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," Kagami thought, as the ball was moving closer and closer, "during the first five minutes of the game, I accidentally hurt my ankle whilst trying to save their first goal, though I didn't inform anyone that I was injured. I guess it was stubbornness on my behalf, but I didn't want to show anyone that I was weak."
The opposition continued to plough through the defence; two of them were already waiting nearby the penalty area. Kagami was rooted on the spot. Though she hated to admit this fact, Kagami was... shaking.
"Damn it! I... I can't seem to move at all! Is this because of my injury? Or am I just paralysed with fear...? Sorry everyone... you tried so hard to make it this far, and now I'm going to ruin everything..."
A shot was made, one that was only a mere few yards away. Kagami managed to find the strength to dive to the right. Regrettably, she realised her dive was much too short...
…
...
...a small figure blurred out of nowhere, and had not only managed to stop the ball, but also managed to have immediate possession of it. The striker had a look of sheer frustration shown on his face.
"Konata!" Kagami gasped, who was currently still on her knees, "Nice save!"
Konata remained staring straight ahead, allowing Kagami to only see the back of her. The wind was gently blowing to the left, taking control of her vivid blue hair.
"Oh yeah, that's right," Kagami remembered, "Konata had chosen to play defence instead of offence. If it wasn't for her, we would probably be down ten goals by now. Konata chose to protect this goal. Konata chose to protect... ..."
"Kagamin," Konata said, calm, cool and collected, "thanks for your hard work. I'll take it from here."
Kagami glanced to one side and placed a hand over her heart. "Dummy, stop acting so cool... and what do you mean 'I'll take it from here?' What exactly are you planning?"
Without wasting another second, Konata dashed forward, dribbling the ball as though it was glued to her feet. She zigzagged past the two attackers with ease, and was already leaving them for the dust. However, a blonde, fearsome guy, towering at six foot one, had already taken note of the potential threat, and began to charge relentlessly in Konata's direction. He had the physique of a body-builder, and was easily the strongest player on the field. He ran towards Konata with evil intentions in his mind.
"Heh heh, this is endgame for you little miss!" the blonde thought and grinned to himself, "Once I execute my raging sliding tackle, you'll be kissing the grass for sure!"
When Konata was within distance, the footballing warrior unleashed his wicked technique; the raging sliding tackle was potent enough to take out anything that stood in its way. He was horrified, however, as he realised Konata had made a tremendous leap over himself and his sliding tackle, and still maintained the ball between her feet in mid-flight. The pro-footballer was in sheer disbelief.
"NO WAY! She leapt into the air, one second before I even executed my raging sliding tackle! Did she anticipate my own move beforehand?!"
Konata continued to be successful; she managed to weave past another allegedly professional footballer without much hassle. The crowd of people were ecstatic, amazed to see such a small girl possess so much talent and speed. It wasn't long before Konata faced her next opponent; the team captain whose name was Tadao T. Takashi. Tadao was an exceptional all rounder, and knows exactly twenty six ways to take the ball from the opposition. He was five foot seven, and has short, militant-styled brown hair. He and Konata stood a few yards apart.
"Heh... how noble of you, if foolish," Tadao thought with an evil smile, "do you honestly plan to take on all of us, the whole team in under two minutes? Silly girl. Have you forgotten that I know exactly twenty six ways to take the ball from the opposition? Face it! You have already lost!"
Konata looked around the field. There was nobody to pass the ball to; all of the girls were either out of her range, or were being blocked by the opposition. Lacking any other option, Konata kicked the ball straight towards Tadao, a strategy that was deemed rather questionable.
Tadao's smile amplified to a sinister grin. "Submitting defeat already are we? Fine by me! Even by this distance, I can still launch the ball into your defending area for my attackers to capitalise!"
Tadao lifted his right foot and prepared to launch the ball sky high; the chances of one of the attackers receiving the ball was almost certain, and once that happened, either of them were guaranteed to score, resulting in a four-three win against the girls. Unfortunately for Tadao, his plan never came to fruition. As he was just about to execute his powerful kick, the football abruptly stopped dead in its path. The ball then started to spin rapidly on the spot and, after much spinning, suddenly returned to Konata's feet with breakneck speed! This crazy manoeuvre caused the captain to lose his footing, as he stumbled rear-end first on the grassy ground. Konata tricked him, and had already left him for the dust.
"Impossible!" Tadao thought, as he tried to contemplate his own defeat, "She deliberately used backspin on the ball in order to trick me into thinking she was passing the ball to me! How could I have been so careless?!"
After having passed through the captain of the boys team, Konata came face to face with the defensive midfielder; a guy with beige, curly hair, who also happened to be half English, half Japanese. Konata had the full support of the crowd now, as well as all the girls on her team.
"Hmm! I admire your spirit for getting this far," the foreigner thought with a smile, "but if you think you can get through me-"
Konata dribbled passed the foreigner as though he never existed.
"H-Hey!" the guy turned around and shouted, "Don't dribble past me! I was just in the middle of my inner monologue!"
Once she neared herself towards the penalty area, Konata had a difficult time muscling past two other defenders. Misao and Miyuki, however, were currently unmarked.
"Hey! Chibikko!" Misao yelled, bouncing up and down, "I'm open! Pass to me! Pass to me!"
Miyuki gently placed a hand on Misao's shoulder, causing her to stop jumping and shouting.
"Let her be," Miyuki said quietly to her, "this is Izumi-san's moment."
Out of desperation, one of the male defenders suddenly shoulder-tackled Konata to the ground. Konata fell just inside the penalty area. The referee blew his whistle.
"It's a penalty!" Misao gasped, and every player on the pitch, as well as the people surrounding the pitch, shared the same amazed expression.
After getting back on her feet, Konata did not hesitate in taking the penalty kick herself; she carefully placed the football on the penalty spot, before stepping outside of the white-marked rectangle. There was silence, save for a gentle breeze that shifted to the right.
Meanwhile, the goalkeeper readied himself for Konata's deciding shot. His name was Kintaro, an eighteen year old with long, black hair, rectangular spectacles, and an extremely confident smile on his face. His confidence was earned however, for when it came to penalties, his save rate was over ninety two percent. With his forefinger, Kintaro gently pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. His glasses were filled with a brilliant whiteness.
"Interesting. Most interesting indeed," Kintaro summarised, "a girl, with no experience of the football genre, has somehow made it from one end of the pitch to the other. She is, truly, a girl with natural talent... but can her natural talent overcome my overwhelming level of experience?"
The goalkeeper's eyes were fixated on the way Konata's feet were positioned. Aside from Konata, himself, the ball and the field, everything else was null and void; Kintaro drowned every other sight and sound from existence.
"I see... she is left footed, and my experience tells me she is aiming for... the top leftmost corner... ..."
Everything happened in extreme slow motion. Konata ran and took the shot. As the goalkeeper predicted, she aimed the ball for the top left-hand corner. Kintaro dived to save the ball, but as he found himself hanging in mid-flight, he had a gut feeling something was wrong.
"... ...wait! The grass blades on the field! They are suddenly blowing strongly to the right! The wind has dramatically changed... ..."
Kintaro's suspicions were confirmed; as the ball was just about to reach the left-hand corner, it immediately halted its current course, and, thanks to the aid of the wind, curved violently to the right-hand corner. When the ball reached the back of the net, the referee whistled once to acknowledge the goal, and then a further three times to declare the end of the match.
"... ...UNBELIEVABLE! She... she used the wind as her ally and unleashed a devastating wind-guided banana shot!"
Tsukasa, despite being exhausted throughout the entire game, managed to find the energy to fun towards her older sister. She gave Kagami a giant hug.
"We did it Oneechan!" she cheered, elated with happiness, "Kona-chan did it! We won!"
Kagami was still surprised how Konata made it from one end of the pitch to the other. "Uh, yeah! She made it! I still can't get over the fact that she pulled it off!"
The rest of the girls ran towards Konata to congratulate her. Konata soaked in all the praise in a calm and collected manner; she simply showed her catlike smile, whilst rubbing the back of her head. The boys hung their heads in shame; never before had they suffered such a defeat, especially against a team of underdogs. Kintaro, meanwhile, was still on the ground, contemplating his loss.
"I see," Kintaro concluded, smiling and acknowledging defeat, "I feel this tingling sensation... this is what it feels like to come face to face with one who possesses natural talent! Izumi-sama, you have presented me a different outlook towards life! I shall look forward to the next time we meet!"
After the match, and after dressing back into their standard uniforms, Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki returned to the school cafeteria for the remainder of their lunch break. Though everyone had more than their fair share of exercise, Tsukasa was by far the more exhausted of the four; she sipped through her carton of apple juice as though her life depended on it.
"...I never expected us to draw against a professional football team, much less win against them!" Miyuki said, placing a hand on her cheek and making an eyesmile.
"Well, you did help us by scoring two amazing goals," Tsukasa reminded her, "you were really spectacular Yuki-chan!"
"Ah, but let's not forget Izumi-san as well!" Miyuki interrupted, before she allowed Tsukasa to embarrass her with more praise, "Towards the end of the game, I have never seen anyone run with such determination in all my life!"
Kagami simply nodded, more focused with her own thoughts instead of the conversation. "She was truly phenomenal, not only because of the way she single-handedly defeated the other team... but also before then, when she spent most of the time playing in defence. It must have been a tiring process, constantly dashing back and forth, and saving shots whenever I struggled to protect the ball myself. I wonder why she chose to play defence anyway?"
Remembering all the times Konata protected her goal, Kagami smiled in a dreamlike fashion.
"I guess she didn't want me to feel responsible every time I let in a goal; maybe she wanted to share the burden as well. Honestly Konata, if that were the case, you can be so thoughtful and caring sometimes."
A few bleeps and other unusual sound effects caused Kagami to break out of her wonderment. Her eyes shifted towards the source of the sound, and the source was a small, spherical object belonging to Konata Izumi. It was coloured in two halves that were split horizontally; the upper half was red whereas the bottom half was white. The centre of the object showed a small LCD screen, and below the screen were three small white buttons.
"What's that?" Kagami asked Konata.
"This?" Konata replied, and then showed her the item in question, "It's my Pokéwalker! With this, I can store any one of my pokémon from my DS inside here, and then the pokémon inside my Pokéwalker will gain experience every time I walk a number of steps! You could say its like a pacemaker, only much more fun to use!"
"I see," Kagami summarised.
The twin-tailed girl sipped into her can of lemonade. It was low-fat, so she didn't have to worry about gaining too many calories from drinking it. It was very refreshing to drink a can of lemonade, especially after an intense game of football.
"W-Wait a minute!" Kagami said suddenly, "D-Don't tell me you were carrying this thing throughout the entire match?!?"
Konata nodded twice, catlike smile inclusive. "Mm-mm! Thanks to this baby, my Jigglypuff has now advanced three whole levels!"
Upon hearing this, Miyuki and Tsukasa couldn't help but show a nervous eyesmile. Kagami, face smeared in mass disbelief, turned to face another direction.
"I should have known something was up from the very beginning!" Kagami thought bitterly to herself, "When she isn't motivated through gaming, she is motivated through devices related to gaming! It's almost scary when you think about it!"
"Ooh! I also found a moonstone!" added Konata, as she continued to fiddle around with her electronic friend.
