Summary: Victorious, Inazuma Japan return home after the FFI and resume their normal lives...until some realize that a champion archer transferred during their absence. The new girl seems pleasant enough, but something's out of place...but what? OCxCharacter
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul -
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Chapter 2 - Redebut Serenade
"So what happened between you two?" Kazemaru asked Gouenji. It was after school and he, Gouenji, Endo, and Kidou were walking home together.
Gouenji closed his eyes. "Why are you asking me?" he asked. "I think you should try asking the person most involved in that." He opened his eyes and pointed backwards.
Eh? Kazemaru turned around, as did Endo and Kidou. They saw Aya running towards them in the distance. When she was in front of the boys, she stopped and placed her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"Go-kun! I'm so glad I caught you guys!" she panted. Her ponytail was in disarray and loose hair stuck to her face and neck. It was obvious that she had been sprinting nonstop.
Go-kun? Endo, Kidou, and Kazemaru thought in surprise. When did Gouenji and Aya become close enough to call each other nicknames? They looked over at Gouenji, and saw that he didn't mind.
"What is it?" Gouenji asked. Once Aya had caught her breath, she straightened her back and readjusted her bag. Then she faced everyone and bowed deeply.
"I'm…I'm really sorry about what happened this afternoon!" she exclaimed. "I lied to you guys, and I shouldn't have."
"Lie? Hiding information about being a really famous person and having played soccer before?" Endo asked bluntly.
A weight fell in Aya's stomach. "Yeah…that."
"That's alright, Kujou-san," Kazemaru said. He rubbed his head. "This all started because I kicked the ball in your direction. Are you okay now?"
Aya nodded. "Yes. I'm fine."
"Thank goodness." Kazemaru smiled.
"Thanks for apologizing," Kidou said. "We were all surprised at first, but we figured that you had a valid reason for not telling us the truth."
Gouenji smirked. "She did, but it's okay now. Right, Kujou?"
"Yeah."
"Say…where do you live Kujou-san?" Endo asked. Aya pointed to the direction of the nearest subway station.
"I take the subway to school. I live about two stops away, in Shibuya."
"Are you going home alone?" Kidou asked.
Aya cocked her head. "I think so…no one else I know lives in Shibuya."
"I'll go with Kujou-san then," Kazemaru volunteered. "It's the least I can do."
"If you're fine with it…thanks for the offer." Aya smiled appreciatively.
"Then we'll be heading home. Bye guys!" Endo called as he, Gouenji, and Kidou walked on ahead. Gouenji held up his hand as his sign of saying goodbye. Aya waved and walked towards the subway station with Kazemaru.
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Kazemaru and Aya walked silently down the tranquil streets. Neither one knew what to say to start a friendly conversation, as they had only just met that afternoon. After a while, Kazemaru became fed up with the silence and decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a while.
"Say…what did happen?" he asked casually. "It's such a waste for you to do archery over soccer. You have a lot of potential."
"Well…a lot happened in the past," Aya answered. Her eyes glazed over. "I did something regrettable, and was punishing myself, but I'm not doing that anymore." Kazemaru stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Aya stopped walking. She looked back at Kazemaru, who was staring silently at the ground. His bangs covered his face.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
"About what?"
"I made you remember something painful, didn't I?"
Aya shook her head. "It's alright. I managed to get whatever happened past me, so don't worry too much about it." Kazemaru looked up at her. His face brightened, but only slightly.
"If you say so…so what's going to happen from now on?" As if she didn't hear him, Aya ran ahead. She saw that the train station wasn't too far away. Before she passed the gates, she swung around and grinned.
"I'm joining the soccer club starting tomorrow. See you tomorrow, teammate!" With that, Aya spun around again and disappeared into the crowd.
Kazemaru stared. Join the soccer club? Well, he reasoned. It wasn't unusual for her to not join the club. However, the soccer season was over, so for now, she could focus on the archery that she had "presumably," enrolled in Raimon for.
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"Aya-san! Good morning! I heard from Endo-kun. You're joining the club starting today, right? Welcome in!" Aki smiled as she saw Aya walking towards the front gates where she was standing. Aya looked up. She had been listening to music and contemplating on how to announce her plans to join the soccer club later in the afternoon. Seeing Aki greeting her, Aya waved and took off her earphones.
"Good morning. Thanks for the welcome, manager." Aya grinned. "And yeah, I decided to join the soccer club."
"Great to hear! We haven't had any female players before, so you'll be a great addition." Aki and Aya continued to chat as they walked into school together, both happy with the fact that there would be a female friend from the same class and grade to confide troubles with.
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"Alright everyone! Listen up!" Endo announced. Everyone sitting on the soccer field looked up from their bento. It was lunchtime, and like usual, the club members were hanging out together and eating outside. "Although the season ended," Endo continued, after making sure that he had everyone's attention, "Kujou-san will be joining the soccer club as a fellow player starting in the spring."
"Is that so?" Handa asked. Everyone began to talk amongst themselves as Aya arrived with Gouenji. The two had somehow made a silent agreement to go to the field together at lunchtime.
"Hey Kujou-senpai! We just heard the news. Welcome to the club!" the underclassmen chirped.
"Thanks, guys. And really, sorry about yesterday. I must have looked weird," Aya said.
"No, no. That's fine. It's all in the past," Kidou said. He would never tell Aya that the night before, Gouenji had already hinted to him and the others about her situation. "Say, after lunch, why don't we play a match?" Kidou added. "Kujou-san should join us. That way, she'll get used to our play style and we'll be used to hers." The other boys agreed.
And so began the rebirth of Raimon's soccer club with the debut of former soccer player Kujou Aya.