Chapter 2: Her Boys

"Nakazawa! Get your ass here and stop fusing about your boys. They'll be fine," Captain Izuzaki's voice rang throughout the field as she flinched on the slope, talking to the freshman regulars, or the Shuutetsu Trio back in their elementary days, or three of "her boys".

Although he wasn't there anymore, she didn't stop supporting the old members of the Nankatsu FC. She knew what they felt about him, Wakabayashi-kun, and Misaki-kun's leaving them. They thought that the only reason why they won, was because of those three. They lost all their hope winning ever again.

So, in true "Anego" fashion, she berated all of them, telling them of how much of a disgrace they are. She told them how much those three would be disgusted to be called their former teammates.

"Soccer is a team sports," she said to them. "You all won that trophy, as a TEAM. Those three were the only ones people talked about because they're idiots, but without every single one of you, then those three wouldn't even be as popular as they are. You guys are all important, whether you score or not, whether you're in the bench or not, you deserve that National Championships because you all worked hard to earn it. Whether those three are here or not, you can win, and you will because I said so."

That woke them up from their slump, and it showed. They all got into the club, all of them becoming regulars by their second year in junior high. She tried to watch every single of their games, as much as her schedule would let her. She cheered and supported them throughout their Junior High days. It didn't seem like it would stop soon. In turn, they went to hers, cheering the Girls' team on their matches.

They never stopped calling her "Anego", no matter how much she told them to stop.

"You'll always be 'Anego'," Izawa-kun told her. "You never stopped supporting us, even if we never did win Nationals, you're always there, taking care of us. So you'll always be 'Anego', because you're our main source of support, and we're grateful for it."

That warmed her heart, so much she wanted to cry and give every single one of them a hug, but instead she didn't and laughed at their explanation while saying thanks and said how honored she is to still be their "Anego".

She made them all good luck charms soon after that, for when she was absent for their games. It was a round pendant on a leather cord. At Ayame's insistence, she put the words "Anego's Boys" on it. She clearly meant it as a joke and asked if they wanted a different one. Instead of being disgusted with the charm, they absolutely adored it and kept it.

Next thing she knew, they made shirt with "Anego's Boys" printed on the back, along with their jersey numbers. They wore it at one of the Girls' Team's games and she almost fainted when she saw it. They were all wearing it proudly and with no shame. This made every one of her teammates teasing her of how she got herself a fan club of this high caliber. One of her senpai even joked if they're all in her harem. She could only stutter out in embarrassment.

When she finally managed to talk to them, she told them that they should stop wearing those shirts because people might get the wrong idea, but they relented.

"Like hell we are!" Ishizaki exclaimed. "We don't care how people think we're stupid. We made this shirt for you. We didn't make it for them. Why the hell would be stop showing our support to the one person who never stopped supporting us?"

That did it for her. The tears started and never stopped. She barely noticed them fussing and panicking until she hugged Ishizaki while calling all of them stupid and idiots.

"But you're all my idiots," she said to them as soon as she calmed down and a tissue in her hand. The smile on her face so big that she could only remember Ayame telling her she was radiating happiness.

She knew that those boys knew of her feelings for their former captain, and they must have thought how much it hurt her when he left, almost as much as them, if not maybe more. Love was different from the friendship they shared with him.

It was obvious how much she liked him, he was the only one who couldn't notice it.

They must have decided that they would be there for her, because she's not as she strong as she tried to be.

So they'll support her as long as she needed.

She'd do the same for them.

So here she was, being berated by her captain for skipping practice because she's so worried about how those three will perform in this friendly match against a nearby school that wasn't really know to play fairly.

"Sheesh, Anego," Taki said. "We'll be fine. It's not like it's our first time playing when we all entered high school."

"To prove our point, I'll even score a hat-trick for you, "Kisugi declared.

Izawa snorted from beside him. "You? A hat trick? You wish."

"You wanna repeat that, asshole?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said! I just wanted to make sure you meant it."

"I always mean what I say. In fact, I'm sure I'll be the one doing the hat trick," Izawa said,

"The hell you think it would be you!"

"Guys, guys," Taki interjected. "If anyone's doing a hat trick, it would be me."

The three soon got into a squabble, and she couldn't help but sigh as she watched them. How is she supposed to be not worried about them, if they bicker over the smallest things?

"They'll be fine," Captain Izuzaki said from beside her. "They're big boys now. You don't need to coddle them all the time, Nakazawa. I'm sure they know what to do."

"I know, it's just that-"she stopped when she couldn't exactly voice out her boys.

"They're your boys, aren't they?" Captain Izuzaki asked her, to which she answered with a nod. "Then they're going to be alright."

They watch them walk towards the field as their captain called for them to talk about strategies.

Her captain's right. They'll be fine. In fact, they'll be great! Because they're her boys, and she'll support them, whether she's watching or not.

"Okay," she said. Then she cupped her hands on her mouth. "You better be sure you will this game!" she screamed at them. "Score a goal for me!"

The three of them waved at her, as she waved back. The whistle sounded signaling the start of the match. She turned around and followed her captain back towards their field, ready to start practice.

No matter what happens, she'll be their "Anego" and they'll be "Her Boys".

End Chapter

AN: I think the boys' team are too dependent on the main characters, so I figured they would be in some kind of slump if ever Tsubasa did leave earlier. Most of their goals were scored by him and that seems a little unfair. It's really bad to only depend on one person to do everything for them. That's what happened to Brazil this World Cup (ironic since that would probably b Tsubasa's bet). They depended too much on Neymar and Silva, that without them, they were um... defeated.

But anyway, I wanted to show that even if Tsubasa and the other two aren't there, Sanae would still support them. I wanted Sanae to be a bigger part of the series than just a manager that only joined the club because "I 3 tsubsas-kun". Though she is still in love with him, didn't mean she wouldn't support the other boys. She's their Anego, their number one supporter, and that's not going to change even if Tsubasa left for Brazil.

Before this continue to be longer than expected, I'll say bye. Thanks for reading and drop a review if you want (very much appreciated).