Mamoru noticed something was off a long time ago.
Him, Kazemaru and Goeunji were hanging out at Seigou's restaurant, chatting about the team and the most recent issue at hand. While Mamoru was quick to eat his food, and Goeunji ate his at his own pace, Kazemaru didn't even touch the noodles in his plate. He didn't get why, didn't really think much of it. "Your noodles will go stale if you don't eat soon."
The blue haired boy quickly turned around, away from him, and stared at his food for a second. He stuttered a "oh no" out, and slurped up some noodles. Mamoru looked at him, maybe stared, almost as if he felt he needed to make sure he was going to eat it, for reasons he, himself, barely understood, but his focus was shifted the moment Goeunji started to talk. He could hear Kazemaru chew, although slowly, but he didn't think too much of it. Maybe he didn't have much of an appetite, it happens to some people, or so he was told. That wasn't exactly something Mamoru ever struggled with.
The moment Inazuma Eleven's secret manual was mentioned, the thought of Kazemaru's weird eating matter slipped out of his mind immediately. Afterwards, it was all the three really talked about. Mamoru assumed Kazemaru simply ate all of his food, he didn't even check his plate to make sure, not even really thinking about it. Kazemaru ate nothing, though, and Seigou received a full plate of noodles back.
Mamoru, truly, never really thought much of it all.
It wasn't something he understood, far from it. He was known for having a big appetite, and there was nothing really wrong with eating a lot. Food was fuel for the body and they, as soccer players, needed loads of it to sustain their games, their training, and everything in-between. Even if they didn't, food was so delicious, there shouldn't have to be a reason why for you to eat a little more than usual.
He guessed the least he'd ever eaten was when he'd gotten a fever, a really bad one, and had been off school for an entire week because of it, though that was when he was about nine years old. Turns out, playing soccer for hours in the rain wasn't good for your health, who would have guessed? Still, it was awful. He couldn't really swallow much, his throat hurting too much for it, and hence, he mostly ate soups rather than real food. It was Hell.
But Kazemaru wasn't sick. He couldn't have been sick all the time, right?
Mamoru ignored it most of the time, the way Kazemaru would order food only to not eat any of it, or maybe take a bite or two when someone was watching. Sometimes, he would offer what was left, which was usually most of the plate, to Mamoru, stating he was already full, usually going on about how he grabbed a snack earlier or something along those lines. And yet, Mamoru had never actually seen the boy snack on anything.
He ignored it, most of the team did, because it was just odd, but they knew Kazemaru. He was responsible and smart, so why would he decide not to eat? Realistically, there was likely some sort of extremely valid reason. Maybe he just ate loads at home, maybe he had the biggest breakfast ever that could sustain him for the rest of the day. They didn't exactly bother making too many theories, they just trusted there was no way he would do something so dumb and irresponsible. That wasn't something their Kazemaru would do.
And besides, he was still as fast as ever. Sure, he wasn't physically the strongest, but when it came to running, Hell, if he ran. If something was truly wrong, he wouldn't be able to do that, right? That would be weird. Surely he can't just run off adrenaline alone. He had just enough fuel to do a good job, that was what mattered.
Sometimes, Kazemaru was still a bit weird.
He'd complain about how cold it was when it was just a bit chilly, and yet he would shiver and rush to go get a jacket. Sometimes he didn't have anything to cover up, but usually someone would offer him theirs, and he was always so damn grateful. Still, it was odd, and yet nobody really talked about it. Why would they? It was just a little quirk of his, getting cold easily, nothing to be worried over.
He never changed around the others, going somewhere more private to do so. The team guessed he was just a bit more shy and private, that wasn't an issue. Sometimes people just are, it doesn't have to become a problem. Kazemaru didn't want to be seen with his shirt off, just like Goeunji wouldn't want someone to see him showering. Just boundaries, right?
He bruised easily. Playing a sport like soccer meant lots of bruises, sure, but Kazemaru had that issue way more than his peers did. Sometimes it wouldn't even be soccer-related, he just accidentally hit his elbow against the table, not even that hard, and the next day, it was an unsettling purple. It was more worrying than the others, but he just claimed it was something that was normal within his family. Genetically weak blood vessels? That made sense, sure. Problem solved.
On that note, he also had a bit more trouble healing compared to his peers. Cuts, even small ones, would linger for ages, and sometimes they even got infected. It wasn't any good, but when the team learned about it, they just assumed it was Kazemaru naturally being on the weaker side, as he had shown to be with his cold resistance and his often purple-tinted skin.
He also seemed to struggle sleeping, they'd noticed that one at pajama parties. He was the first one to try going to sleep, but ended up being the last to actually manage falling asleep. Maybe it was just the fast, athletic nature inside of him, making him restless and in need of activity. Mamoru understood that, staying still was hard.
Kazemaru was weird, but no one thought it had anything to do with his eating habits.
After all, Kazemaru was impossible to tire. He was always full of energy, always gave his all to the team. He was truly an ace, one the team couldn't live without, so why would he put himself, willingly, through that Hell? No way.
So why was the entire team at his bedside, now, being told the boy had fainted on the way home from school, and he may not wake up?