Chapter Two: The World Cup
Touya stretched after getting off the plane. Normally he would take the team port key to the Cup, but since this year he was escorting his little sister and his friends he had willingly suffered the plane ride. Now came the part he was really going to hate...the ride on the Knight Bus.
"So how are we getting to the camp site?" asked Syaoran.
"My second least-favorite way of getting anywhere outside of Asia. The Knight Bus," said Touya grimacing. Syaoran grimaced as well.
It was well known that the one who drove that particular vehicle would have gotten a lifetime ban on his license from how bad he was.
Touya was quick to steady the girls while Yukito kept Syaoran from falling flat on his face.
"I hate Europe," grumbled Touya in Chinese. Syaoran shot him an odd look.
Sakura and Tomoyo are gaping at the half-hazard camping grounds of the World Cup. It was like a hodge-podge of magic.
Touya ignored it all with practiced ease. The only reason they were even in Ireland was because everyone had been so certain they would beat Bulgaria in the semi-finals...and they might have had their captain and star player not come down with a magical flu at the worst possible time.
Touya finally located the Japanese campsite and it took them little time to set up the tent for the team. One tent went up for Sakura and the girls, while the guys set up a much larger one for themselves.
It was easier to have two tents than to have several set up.
"HOE! It's so big in here!" said Sakura as she went in.
"That's magical tents for you. Now you see why we only needed two instead of five or more," said Tsurara.
Inside was like a girl's room. It was pink, but not a shade that would make anyone gag. Tomoyo and Sakura would be sharing the bigger bed, while Tsurara and Haruki would have the bunk beds.
In the back was a quaint kitchen that ran off of runes, and there were two showers. One big one for the team and the smaller one for the girls. All in all it looked like a small palace rather than a tent.
"Of course this is nothing compared to the boy's tent," said Haruki.
"It's bigger than ours isn't it?" asked Tomoyo.
"More along the lines of Touya-shisho shares his room with Yukito rather than with the rest of the team, and he has his own private shower. Special privileges for the captain and all that," said Tsurara.
Everyone on the team knew Touya had a thing for Yukito, but he had yet to admit it. It wasn't like same-gender couples were frowned upon in Japan after all.
However they liked him because while he was strict, he was also very fair.
"What's this?" asked Tomoyo, noticing a plaque about the rest area.
"That? That's Captain Kinomoto's speech for when he was first drafted. It inspired us so much we had it framed," laughed Haruki.
"Hoe!"
Tomoyo read aloud the short, but very passionate words of Touya.
"I know you don't like me for replacing your captain so suddenly. I openly admit my age is a bit of an issue. But what I lack in experience I promise to make up for in the field. All that I ask of you is not perfection, but that you give me your very best so that we can bring the Cup home to Japan!"
"I remember hearing such passion and love for the game that when Tojiro-kun asked why our new captain wasn't asking for perfection, he surprised us all with his reply," said Tsurara.
"'Perfection is something everyone strives for, but it's never a good thing to achieve. Perfection means that you have reached as far as you can and have nothing left to achieve. It's an impossible goal and one that I will never ask of my teammates. All that I ask is that you try to limit your mistakes and give nothing but your very best on the field so that we can prove we are better than the rest!'" quoted Haruki.
"Touya-shisho allows for mistakes and while he is strict about what happens off the field, he also forgives for minor infractions. He says that the only thing that belongs on that pitch is our very best and that our personal lives should stay off it," said Tsurara.
"What happened to the previous captain?" asked Kero.
"That's actually why Touya was brought in as a replacement. Our last captain kept bringing in his personal life onto the pitch and our game was suffering for it," admitted Tsurara sheepishly.
Ex-Captain Kubo kept flirting with the girls in between practice and it had gotten so bad that they had complained. Touya had been picked because he was a much better Seeker, his requests were quite reasonable, and it was clear he already had eyes on someone his own age and wouldn't harass the other players.
They had taken to him almost immediately because he was so friendly and easy to get along with. It had never mattered that he was the youngest on the team.
"Remember the first time he fell off his broom during practice and we all thought he was done for?" laughed Haruki.
"And then that little doll of his turned into black wings and stopped his fall! Nearly gave us all a heart attack in fright!"
"Hoe! Touya fell off his broom?"
"He's a bit of a show-off when he flies. There's a reason one of his many nicknames is the Daring Dragon," said Tsurara.
"Daring Dragon?" asked Tomoyo. The younger girls were sitting down while the boys decided who slept where. Haruki brought out some tea for them to drink while they waited.
"Daring Dragon, the Great Seiryuu, Gojiro-shisho, the Black-winged Angel..." listed Tsurara.
"And he always tells the fans his name is Tori, so they don't follow him back to his house!" laughed Haruki.
"He flies like a bird too."
"Why do you call him so many dragon related names?"
"You'll see when we showcase our mascots. Touya said he's planning to show off his animal form for the Cup, and I heard he convinced the Suzaku Sanctuary to lend us their birds to one-up the Bulgarians," snickered Haruki.
"I still can't believe he's on good terms with the Imperial Empress of the Sanctuary," said Tsurara.
"Sugoi! I never thought Touya-nii would be so popular!" said Sakura when they left the tent.
They had left the tent to get some water, mostly so the girls could see more of the campgrounds despite the fact that there were runes in place to conjure water in the tent.
And soon after leaving the designated area for the Japanese team, Sakura found a sea posters of her brother wearing special goggles and doing insane stunts...and they were all moving.
Syaoran and Yukito had gone with them to avoid any...issues...with the fans. If any of them knew Sakura was the same girl that Touya had spoken about in several interviews, people would swamp her in seconds.
There were a few posters of Yukito that moved to, several of them with the nickname 'Graceful Moon'...or in a few odd cases the name 'Tsukiyomi'.
"Why do they call Tsukishiro-san after the moon Kami?" asked Tomoyo.
"It's because of his broom. He's the only player in the league who's broom is spelled entirely by moon runes instead of traditional spells. That's why every time there's a game at night he's the one chosen to play keeper rather than the regular player," said Syaoran.
The minute he found out Yukito was in fact his favorite Quidditch player the Graceful Moon, he had asked for his autograph. He still couldn't believe he had used one of his talismans on his second favorite player, the Daring Dragon though.
When Yukito offered to let him join them to the World Cup, it had made his day. He never got to go even when the Chinese team, which had his third cousin, had made it to the finals.
They ran into a trio of kids a little older than them getting water for their tent. Yukito helpfully cast the translation charm for them so that Sakura and Tomoyo wouldn't be stuck trying to make themselves understood.
"Oh my! Are you from the Japanese group?" asked a bushy haired girl with a bossy air.
Sakura nodded, but said nothing.
"Blimey Hermione, give them a chance to breathe! Those crowds are pretty rough for kids," said a red head. The two girls were struck by how rude the red head was to his female friend.
The only other male of the group, who bore a very bizarre resemblance to Touya when he had his contacts out and had to put on his reading glasses, silently sighed. It was clear he was used to these two arguing.
"Sorry about them. We were forced to wake up rather early and it's made Ron here a little more tactless than usual," said the black-haired boy.
"It's alright. We're still dealing with a bit of jet-lag ourselves," said Yukito.
"I thought the Japanese team all took a port key? Why would you take a plane?" asked Hermione.
"I'm afraid Tori hates port keys and he thought taking one for straight to the World Cup would overwhelm these two, since they were only recently accepted into a magical academy," said Yukito.
"Hang on. Did you say Tory? As in Captain Tory of the Japanese Rising guy ju team?" asked Ron.
Sakura and Tomoyo winced at the way he mangled the words.
"It's Kaiju, not guy ju," said Syaoran irritably. He already disliked this red head for not even getting the name right.
"What does kai-ju mean? No one seems to be willing to tell me," asked the other boy. Syaoran liked him better than the red head for at least trying to sound out the word without mangling it.
"Kaiju means great beast. It's generally used to describe a very destructive species of magical creature that has a bad habit of leaving the island sanctuary and going after Tokyo. Thankfully it's currently having another two-decade long nap," said Yukito sweatdropping.
Gojira took naps that lasted a century in one was lucky, and mere decades if they weren't. He usually only left the sanctuary if some idiot woke him up.
"I've read that Japan has an entire treasury dedicated to rebuilding after a kai-ju attack," said Hermione.
"Actually it's more like a separate tax for people who live in Tokyo and other areas that are near nuclear power sources since Gojira has a habit of going after them. Considering it's easier to stockpile the cash before he wakes up and comes back than it is to make them pay more after, people tend not to complain...though they do tend to hex anyone stupid enough to wake him early," said Yukito.
"Shouldn't we be heading back before 'Tori' gets worried about us?" asked Syaoran.
He had been getting the water while they talked. He was good at multitasking.
"Is it true that Captain Tory will be showing off his animagus form?" asked the black haired boy eagerly.
"Tori wanted to do something special since this is Sakura's first ever Quidditch game. I heard he even convinced the Suzaku Sanctuary to lend him their birds to one-up the Bulgarians," said Yukito smiling.
"Suzaku Sanctuary?" asked Hermione.
"You'll see," Yukito said. He wasn't about to ruin the surprise.
Syaoran was the only one who knew what the Suzaku Sanctuary was, and he was eager to see them fly. Tomoyo had promised to record the entire game with her newly enchanted video camera.
Though Touya did ask she not show the video to his father later. He would end up grounded for sure!
"Come on Harry, I don't want to miss out on lunch!" said Ron, dragging the other boy away.
"Yeah, yeah...not everyone devours food at the same pace you do Ron," said Harry tiredly.
Sakura didn't miss the envious looks he shot their group...though she did have to voice her confusion about it to Yukito.
"I think we ran into Harry Potter. I heard the English have a bad habit of putting a lot of pressure on his shoulders and then whenever something big happens they blame him. He probably liked talking to us because we didn't make a big deal out of meeting him," said Yukito.
"His friends seemed very rude," said Syaoran sourly.
Sakura and Tomoyo nodded in agreement. The girl Hermione seemed rather bossy. Ron was tactless and rather loud.
Between the three of them, if they had to be around any of them they would prefer Harry, who had at least been quiet and tried to sound out the words he hadn't recognized.
"Too bad the Ministry nixed the idea to use the illusion Gojira," said Tojiro.
"Yeah, but they still let us use the Sanctuary birds to one-up the Bulgarians..." said Kai.
Touya grinned. The lead bird of the Sanctuary had always liked him the best, so when he asked for her help in showing off at the game to impress his sister she had agreed without hesitation.
Combined with the fact that his back-up plan included showing off his animagus for in a crowd of thousands, and he was in a good mood.
"I can't believe how popular you are, Touya-san!" said Tomoyo.
"Saw the posters did you?" sighed Touya.
"Is it true you got the Sanctuary to lend the birds for the pre-game show?" asked Syaoran.
"Himeno-josei happens to like me," shrugged Touya.
"Empress Himeno?" asked Sakura.
"It's the name of the lead bird in the sanctuary... though technically she's also Touya-shisho's secondary familiar. She lives with the others because it's less dangerous for her and for shisho," said Tojiro.
"I heard rumors that the Captain of the Kaiju had a second familiar," said Syaoran.
"Himeno's been with me ever since I passed the intermediary exams. She's like a mother bird with her chick around me for some reason."
"That reminds me! We ran into some of the British mages while getting water!" said Sakura.
"They call themselves wizards and witches here, kaiju," said Touya. He barely flinched when she stomped on his foot out of habit.
"I must say, if they're how magicals act in Europe I'm glad we live in Japan," said Tomoyo.
Touya made a face.
"You didn't run into someone by the name of Malfoy, Flint or Parkinson did you? They're noted pure blood radicals who don't like foreigners or first gens that much," said Touya.
"No, they ran into the so-called Gryffindor Golden Trio instead," said Yukito, passing out some food.
The team made their own food as a safety precaution. Some fans would go so far as to poison an opposing teams food before a game, so it was common practice for the teams to bring their own food and water.
Touya winced that time.
"Granger, Weasly and Potter? I'm guessing Weasly and Granger were rather rude," said Touya.
Tomoyo nodded.
"Her-my-oh-knee-san was rather bossy and she acted like she knew everything. Ron-san was loud and rather abrasive," said Tomoyo.
"It actually looked like Hari-san would rather join us instead of going back with his friends," added Sakura.
"From what I've read about the Golden Trio, he probably did. Those two are known to argue a lot and I've heard that the British always fuss about him," said Touya.
"I still don't get why you bother reading the Prophet when you dislike England so much," said Tsurara.