Author's note: Happy New Year to everyone. This took a while as I got hooked up on Star Trek Discovery and started a crossover fic on it. And I'm rewatching the Inazuma Eleven series again. In the Match chapter I mentioned that the Resistance Japan arc be expanded further. I haven't decided yet if I want to do it but here's a preview of what it will be about if I do it.'
'Merely two weeks after Resistance Japan disbanded, the team is called back together by Gouenji. With Japan's reputation on the line, the team has to travel to Italy and take part in an exhibition match with Italy's Junior National Team.'
"Where are those three?" Fudou fumed as he watched out the window for any sign of his missing players. The others were all accounted for before the storm started. And he is getting angsty the longer the hiking group doesn't return.
"Kantoku, we need to go look for them. They might be in trouble." Yamato argued for the hundredth time and this time, everyone was inclined to listen to him.
"We should all go. We can cover more ground that way." Hakuryuu suggested.
"No." Fudou shot it down. "Having more people outside is more dangerous. Senguuji, Mahoro, you're coming with me to look for them. Stick close to me and do as I say. The last thing we need is to get separated." He rummaged a cupboard and pulled out two packs and three satellite phones. He tossed one of them to Hakuryuu. "If we're not back in an hour, call the mountain rescue service. And stay here, don't go out."
Hakuryuu reluctantly nodded. Once he was sure that everyone understood his orders and the search party was in raincoats, Fudou and the two boys stepped out into the dark.
"Does anyone know where they went?" Fudou asked them, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.
"Cassandra said something about going on the green path." Mahoro helpfully supplied.
Fudou nodded. "Ok. I know where that is. Come on!"
A few minutes into the trek, Yamato spotted the orange of Kurosaki's jacket and called to his companions. "Over here!"
Kurosaki had taken shelter under a tree, prodding her foot gingerly. She can only hope that Fudou would come look for them soon. Cassandra and Yukimura needed to be rescued from the pit and soon.
"Kurosaki!"
She jerked her head up and exhaled in relief. "Yamato, Fudou-kantoku."
Fudou immediately crouched down and examined her outstretched foot. "What happened? Where's Yukimura and Cassandra?"
"We accidently went off path and Cassandra and Yukimura fell into a pit. I wanted to get help but I tripped and sprained my ankle." Kurosaki grimaced.
"It doesn't look broken." Fudou finally said after a brief examination. He turned to Yamato and nodded at Kurosaki. "You help her back. Mahoro and I will get Cassandra and Yukimura. Where's the pit?"
"Go up about 500 meters then go right. But there might be more pits." Kurosaki pointed in the direction they needed to go.
"Got it." Fudou gestured for Mahoro to follow him as they rushed off to save the two missing players. Yamato looped an arm under Kurosaki's shoulder and carefully pulled her up. She hissed in pain when she accidentally put pressure on her bad foot.
"You're not going to make it back to the cabin on like this." Yamato frowned. An idea popped into his mind and he mentally apologized to Kurosaki and prayed that she didn't kill him for this. He suddenly crouched down and carefully maneuvered Kurosaki on his back.
"What-!? Yamato!" Kurosaki yelped. "Put me down!"
"Nope. This is the fastest way to get you back." Yamato retorted, suddenly glad that Kurosaki was unable to use her death glare at this angle. Kurosaki was sullenly silent as Yamato climbed down the mountain as fast as he can in the storm. Though silent, she was assaulted by a myriad of emotions. Namely warmth from being carried by Yamato. It scared her that she still had this warmth from Yamato which could only mean one thing.
When he got closer to the cabin, Kurosaki suddenly tugged his shoulder. "Put me down before we go in."
"What? Don't want to them to see me carry you in?" Yamato snorted but acquiesced, gently putting the brunet down. But Kurosaki could tell Yamato think's it's because of their not-couple relationship.
"It's not you. It's me. I don't like people seeing me vulnerable." Kurosaki reluctantly admitted. Yamato visibly relaxed at the admission and shook his head.
"You're one of the toughest people I know. And they know it too. They won't think you as weak for needing help."
Kurosaki lightly punched his arm. "Just help me get inside. I'm freezing."
Yamato burst out laughing. "Whatever you say captain."
It didn't take long for Kurosaki to get dry after a warm shower and sat on the couch facing the fireplace with her foot elevated and iced. Fudou and Mahoro didn't take long to return with Yukimura and Cassandra, soaked and shivering. The coach rushed them to the bathrooms to get out of their wet clothes. Soon, they too were sitting in front of the fireplace bundled in blankets. Kishibe was kind enough to make hot broth for them and the rest of the team.
The rest of the team gathered around on the floor to play Uno. Cassandra and Yukimura opt out which was a relieve to most of them, the memory of their poker night still lingering on their minds.
"You three are going to be the death of me." Fudou groaned as he sank into the opposite couch. "Fubuki is going to kill me."
"That he will." Yukimura snorted. Hakuryuu and Cassandra nodded in agreement at that.
"And Saginuma-kantoku won't?" Kurosaki raised an eyebrow.
"I fear Fubuki more than Saginuma." Fudou told her seriously.
"Don't let Fubuki-senpai's kind demure fool you. He was known as the bear killer for a reason."
Kurosaki was instantly reminded of the practice match Seidouzan and Hakuren had together months back. Fubuki had casually brought up his dismissal and Yukimura's manipulation at the hands of the Fifth Sector and Gouenji flinched and stood back in slight fear.
"How's your ankle?" Cass asked with a small sneeze, eyeing the other girl's bandaged foot.
"Just a sprain." Kurosaki grimaced. "I'm not going to play for a week. What about you two?"
"It's a good thing Hyouga-kun and I are not going back to Hokkaido immediately. I think I'm already falling sick." Cassandra sniffed.
"Do you need more tea?" Kishibe asked in concern.
"Just focus on the game." Yukimura waved it off. Hakuryuu threw his friend a curious look. The blue haired striker raised an eyebrow and tapped his heart. Hakuryuu made an 'oh' with his mouth and nodded in understanding. Kishibe's eyes flittered between them uneasily but did as Yukimura said and adverted his attention to the game.
Meanwhile, Gomaki was giving Yamato exasperated glares as he was unable to focus on his cards or the game. The goalie was giving Kurosaki side glances when he thought no one was looking. Worse yet, everyone noticed this also, save for Kurosaki.
Looking around, Fudou sighed in relief that the camping trip was not a complete disaster like he thought. Minus the scare from the missing players, the trip went well overall. The storm was dying down which meant that he can call Midorikawa and inform him of the pit traps. The green haired man can deal with it with the authorities.
A thought occurred to him that now was the best time as any to tell them the truth about the FFI. Cue the internal debate of whether this is actually a good idea. Fudou secretly dreads their reaction as he knew that he would lash out badly in their place. Then again, his team might surprise him again.
Clearing his throat to get the team's attention, Fudou stood up. "I know that this team was brought together at the behest of Kuroiwa-kantoku. And all of you might be wondering why you were not selected for the national team. But working with all of you, I know that if there is a real FFI tournament, you guys would be selected to be representatives."
His words drew confusion from the players. Hakuryuu discarded his cards and stood up. "Fudou-kantoku, what do you mean by 'real FFI tournament'?"
Taking a deep breath, Fudou straightened up as he explained. "There is no FFI tournament. The Asia preliminaries is a tournament that is meant to test Japan's players and prepare them for the real tournament in space."
There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone tried to make sense of what Fudou was saying. Minamisawa flipped his hair and glared at the coach. "Oi kantoku! Did you team up with Namikawa to play a joke on us?!"
"Hey!"
"I did not." Fudou ignored Namikawa's indignant cry and gave Minamisawa a serious look. "I am not joking."
"He's not."
Everyone looked at Cassandra who was looking at Fudou intently. "His body language and tone show that he's not lying."
"But that's-!"
"Minamisawa." Fudou cut in with a slight glare. "Wait for me to finish explaining." That got the striker to clamp his mouth shut. Taking a deep breath, Fudou continued, "Three months ago, Gouenji was coerced by an alien to send a soccer team from Earth to take part in the Grand Celesta Galaxy. Long story short, many planets have to participate the tournament and win if they don't want to be invaded, Earth included."
"And the teams in the Asia preliminaries?" Kita shakily asked.
"They're all aliens. Don't ask me how Kuroiwa did it." Fudou grimaced.
"Wait, if that's the case, then why were we not chosen and the newbies were." Cassandra asked though she and the others were dreading the answer.
"Another long story short, Kuroiwa's real identity is Kageyama Reiji. He was supposed to have been killed ten years ago but was revived by an illegal drug." Cassandra's sharp eyes immediately noticed that Fudou was more subdue when talking about the coach of Inazuma Japan. "He said that he now has an ability that allows him to see some kind of new power in people. And the only people he could find who has that power are the ones currently in Inazuma Japan."
Everyone was struggling to make sense of the bomb Fudou dropped on them. Overwhelming was the mutual feeling for everyone in the room. Aliens? That was already pretty absurd. Then again, so was their Keshins (and time travel). But to let newbies play in an important tournament that will determine the fate of Earth? That was terrifying.
Finally, it was Hakuryuu who spoke up. "Fudou-kantoku, do you believe that Kuroiwa's team can do it?"
Fudou thought about it for a moment and sighed. "I knew Kuroiwa when he was Kageyama. He's someone who will do anything to win. But it's debatable if he will do this for Earth's sake. And he is planning on telling Inazuma Japan the truth after the preliminary finals."
Everyone exchanged looks as Fudou's answer was not helpful at all. But Hakuryuu only huffed and smirked at them. "Looks like we just need to trust in the Raimon trio to whip the newbies into shape."
"They weren't incline to do that before." Namikawa scowled.
"But they will now after our match." Hakuryuu turned to Fudou with a knowing look. "That's the other reason we needed to have the match with them, isn't it? We needed to shake up the Raimon trio to take the tournament seriously."
"Partially, the main reason was because Kuroiwa wanted to show the newbies the true terror of soccer and that they should not take it lightly." Fudou admitted.
"Hakuryuu, I think I understand what you are trying to tell us." Kurosaki spoke up. "You want us to trust the Raimon trio just as we trusted them to win against the Fifth Sector. To trust that they will lead the team to win the tournament."
"Is it that easy?" Kishibe said skeptically.
"Matsukaze was a newbie when he joined Raimon. Yet he managed to lead Raimon to win against Dragonlink." Minamisawa unexpectedly reminded them. He then turned to Yamato and Gomaki. "No offense."
"None taken." Yamato shook his head. "Raimon beat us because of their love for soccer. A love that we are slowly remembering."
"But the team is not Raimon." Mahoro pointed out.
"They still have Raimon's spirit. And I'm sure that whatever Matsukaze does, he will find a way to protect Earth." Yukimura put in firmly.
"You guys are taking this better than I expected." Fudou suddenly smirked.
"What? Were you expecting us to throw a tantrum and scream in denial?" Cassandra said cheekily.
"The latter."
"We're better than that, Fudou-kantoku." Hakuryuu rolled his eyes.
"Or maybe we're just believing your words for our peace of mind." Yukimura cocked an eyebrow at his friend. Everyone burst into chuckles and light laughter at that remark.
"Alright. I think we had enough excitement for today. Let's call it a day." At Fudou's urging, they cleaned up the room and went to get ready for bed.
In the girls' room, neither of them can sleep. Kurosaki wanted to toss and turn, but with her foot elevated, it was not possible. Turning to her roommate, she could see that the younger girl was in the same predicament.
"Do you mind if I turn up the heater?"
Kurosaki blinked at Cassandra who was sitting up, her blanket tossed over her shoulder. She nodded at the girl. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." Now that Kurosaki listened carefully, Cassandra's voice was becoming raspy. She frowned at her.
"Do you need to get some aspirin? Fudou-kantoku won't mind if you ask for some."
"Can't." Cassandra shook her head as she settled back on the bed. "This might be strange but I have a severe drug allergy. I can only take the ones that were cleared by my grandfather."
That was unusual. Kurosaki quirked an eyebrow at her. "Does Fudou-kantoku know?"
"It should be in my file. Hyouga-kun knows what to do if I have an anaphylactic shock and where my epinephrine autoinjector is."
"You really trust Yukimura." Kurosaki remarked softly.
"Yeah, he's one of the few people I trust to help me if I get into an anaphylactic shock, or in general."
Kurosaki flicked her eyes to her. "Are you two...?"
"Our relationship is strictly platonic, unlike you and Senguujii-san." Cassandra cut in with a scoff. "I know that Yukimura has a crush on someone that is not me and he knows that I'm not interested in him like that."
"Yamato and I also have a platonic relationship." Kurosaki frowned at her. Cassandra gave her a 'seriously?' look. Admittingly, that was starting to sound weak to Kurosaki.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but remember that time when we had the poker game?" At Kurosaki's wary nod, Cassandra gave her a deadpan look. "Everyone except for Hakuryuu revealed that they thought you and Senguuji-san were a couple."
There was silence as Kurosaki stared at Cassandra in disbelief. The younger girl gave her a sympathetic smile. "And poor Gomaki tried to correct everyone that you two aren't a couple. But I think he's second guessing himself now."
Kurosaki sat up and pushed her hair out of her face with a disturbed look. "We weren't trying to be a couple. I...I couldn't date him again after what happened with Dragonlink and my parents."
"Be honest with me. Do you like him?"
"I was starting to before the Holy Road. But he pushed me away for Dragonlink. And when he joined Seidouzan, we agreed to try to become friends. But I pushed away my feelings because of my parents."
"My grandfather had this saying, 'You can't have a relationship without friendship'." Cassandra gave her a knowing look. "You and Senguuji-san have genuine feelings for each other, I can tell. Being friends only made it stronger."
"Maybe." Kurosaki stared at her blanket, picking her nails to distract herself.
"Do you want to talk to him about it?"
"No." Kurosaki shook her head. "I meant what I said, I can't date anymore because of my parents. They want me...available for the next time they want to push me into an arranged relationship."
Cassandra let out an exasperated sigh. "Kurosaki-san, here's my advice. Be selfish for once or you'll be miserable for the rest of your life."
"What...?"
"Get together with Senguuji-san if it makes you happy." Cassandra told her seriously. "Trust me, I've seen what happened with Hakuba and his older brother when they let uncle dictate their lives to accomplish his goal of having professional soccer player sons coming out of Teikoku. Hakuba's brother ran away overseas and Hakuba got into fights with uncle to transfer to Seidouzan to the point they wouldn't talk to each other."
"What happened to Hakuba at Teikoku? He never says anything about it and you always imply that it was bad." Kurosaki frowned at her.
Cassandra tapped her fingers nervously and sighed. "Don't anyone what I'm telling you. He was bullied by the soccer team, especially by the SEEDs...It was really bad. He was getting hurt every day and becoming depressed. Uncle and Aunty don't know how bad it got. I only know because I surprised him with a visit."
Kurosaki's mouth was hanging and she clenched her fist angrily. "So that's why he was so jumpy when he first joined the team."
"Yeah. But my point is, your parents don't necessarily have to be the good guys in your life. They can be the wrong people to allow to control your happiness. So do what makes you happy, even if it means going against them."
Kurosaki lied back down and slowly breath out. "Thanks. I guess I always needed someone to tell me that."
Cassandra nodded back and huffed. "Alright, I'm getting sleepy now. Good night."
"Good night."