AN: Aw. man I finally got some reviews! Thank you much if you gave one. I really appreciate it. I would doing some replies here at the beginning for those people who don't have a fanfiction account and pm those who have one privately. I hope you don't mind.

SoccerGirl- Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like my story. For some reason, I'm usually close with female characters and adore them to death, Sanae being one of them. I never really like how she was treated in the anime, or in the manga. So I guess this is me writing if Sanae was a bigger part in Captain Tsubasa. Again thank you and hope you continue reading!

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 6: Return

All three of them carried the three rectangular cakes into the Oozora home. The matriarch guided them towards the kitchen. Daichi hovered their legs, trying to get a glimpse of the baked goods. Oozora-san tried to make him stop doing that, which Daichi only obeyed when Sanae almost fell over from trying not to step on the three year old.

Once they put all cakes on the kitchen's table, they all finally managed to breathe out in relief. Oozora-san and Daichi took a peek on the cakes, gasping in delight when they saw what they look like.

"These look amazing!" Oozora-san exclaimed. "You guys made a wonderful job making them. I'm sure those three will be love this when they see it."

"Kaa-chan, can I have one?" Daichi asked as he eagerly pointed at one of them.

Oozora-san ruffled her son's head. "Not yet, darling. These are for your onii-chan and his friends. Let's wait until they arrive, okay?"

"Eh?" Daichi whined. "But I have to wait forever!"

They all chuckled at the little boy's statement, clearly showing a child's impatience, something most children seem to have.

"But, it really is disappointing you wouldn't be here to welcome them back, Sanae-chan," Oozora-san lamented as they all walked back towards the front door. "I guess family comes first."

She could feel her mother's and Ayame's calculative stare at her, and she gulped inconspicuously. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach that she tried to ignore, but couldn't.

"Yeah," she said, refusing to look at her eyes, or anyone's for that matter. She felt that if she looked at them, then she'll be forced to stay. "Oji-sama rarely sees us, so he must have figured that Golden Week will be one of his few chances to spend time with us."

Her mother and Ayame already went back to car, saying a quick good-bye to the Oozora's. She stayed a few more minutes to say her farewells. She was glad that they decided to do that, then they don't have to hear something she failed to do.

"The boys will look for you," Oozora-san told her, something her family have repeated countless of times.

"Wait, you're not gonna be here?" Daichi asked.

"Sanae-chan has to visit her grandpa for the week, Daichi-kun," Oozora-san explained.

"But I- y-you said that you'd meet my nii-chan with me!" Daichi stuttered. Sanae could already the tears coming out of his eyes. "I'm scared to meet him." He said as he rubbed his eyes.

Sanae sighed through her nose. She hated seeing Daichi crying, even more when she was done who made him do it. Daichi never saw Tsubasa before, and the times when his parents could talk to him using a webcam, Daichi was already asleep. She made a promise to the little boy that she'll be there when he and Tsubasa finally meet, and now she broke it. She had never broken a promise to him before, and he must have felt really betrayed.

She hated herself more for doing this.

She crouched on down to the boy's height. "Sweetie, don't be scared," she soothed. "Your brother is one of the nicest person I know. He's not going to hurt you. Didn't your Kaa-chan tell you that?"

Oozora-san nodded in confirmation.

"But, but, what if you're wrong?" Daichi countered.

"Daichi, look at me," she started in a serious tone. The boy stopped his sniffing and turned to face her. "Your brother will be the greatest person you'll know. He's the greatest person I know. Take my word for it. Besides," she ruffled the child's hair. "When have I ever been wrong?"

Daichi rubbed the snot from his nose with his finger, then smiled at her. His Anee-chan was right. Tsubasa-nii will never be a bad person. Anee-chan has never been wrong before, and surely she'll get this one right.

"I'll miss you," Daichi said as Sanae gave him a hug.

Sanae chuckled into the boy's ear before they separated. "I'll only be gone for five days, Daichi-kun. And you'll have your nii-chan to play with. You won't even notice the week pass by because he's a beast in soccer and he'll teach you all his tricks. You won't even have time to think of Anee-chan, who's stuck with jolly grandpas who're very emotional at their age."

Oozora-san hid her laugh from behind her hand, but Daichi could only tilt his head to the side in confusion.

She ruffled the boy's hair one last time before she stood up. "I'll be back before you know it. I'll even bake you cookies to apologize for breaking a promise."

"Really?" Daichi exclaimed.

"Yup!"

Daichi then held his pinky finger up to her, a tradition they always did for promises. "Promise?"

She linked her own pinky to his small one.

"I promise."

She waved back to them as the car started to move away from the Oozora house.

The sinking feeling in her stomach never left throughout their drive.

He looked out from the window of the plane. The Pacific Ocean's water sparkled under the sun's light. He could see land a few miles away from them, and felt his body shiver in excitement.

Finally, after three years, he would be back. He would finally be home again.

Misaki and Wakabayashi dozed off beside him. They were probably tired from all the plane hopping they've made from Europe to Brazil just so they could go home with him. He was touched by their thoughtfulness, and readily agreed to the arrangement.

He thought back on the reasons of their coming back to their homeland. First of all, he was finally contracted to play for Sao Paolo FC, but that wouldn't happen until he turned 18. Roberto suggested that he return to Japan and finish high school, but the way he said it made him think that's not all there is to it. Misaki-kun's father was contracted by a rich Japanese business owner to paint many paintings for him and convinced them to come back to Japan. Wakabayashi-kun's reason was said that Mikami-san was needed back in Japan for some reason, and he just went with his coach.

"Besides," Wakabayashi started. "It's been a while since I've last been to Japan. I figured this would be the right time to come back."

All three of them thought the same thing. It was the right time to come back. Three years is a pretty long time to be gone from home.

The adults sat on the row before them, snoozing as well.

He began to wonder about this friends back home. Did they still play soccer? Did they all grow into strong players? Did they changed a lot?

He hoped not. It would be a terrible if they all changed back into someone he didn't know anymore. Though according to the letters and emails he received, it seemed like they hardly changed at all. He thought that was a good sign. It would be awesome to play with all his old friends again.

There was also someone he was really looking forward to meet. His little brother Daichi. He was born long after he left for Brazil, and that's the one thing he regretted missing. Growing up all by himself was a little lonely, so the news of having a little brother brought joy to him. He always wondered how Daichi would be. According to his mom, it seemed like Daichi was quite like him, even sharing the same love for soccer as him. Though his friends might have influenced his brother, his mother's letter said.

Speaking of friends, his thoughts drifted to a certain loud cheerleader. Anego, as they all called her. He chuckled remembering how they used to call her that all those times because they never knew her name. He only did know when he remembered visiting the cafe their family owned and heard her mom calling her by her first name to help them out in the shop. Then, when he called her by her last name and had confused everyone, he found it amusing that even she forgot what her real name was sometimes.

The letters from his friends proved that they still call her that, though she wasn't part of the cheering squad anymore. That didn't mean she stopped cheering for them, they said. She still go to their games, but sometimes her schedule conflicts with theirs so she's absent to some of them.

That actually surprised him. He remembered her saying that she would be the soccer club's manager someday, but it looked like she wasn't. He hoped it wasn't his fault she didn't do it. He remembered one of them teasing her that she would only do that because he was there. He always thought she would be a great manager.

He asked about it one time in an email, but they answered that wasn't the case at all. She just changed her mind about it and he wasn't at fault at her sudden decision change. It didn't really help his mind at all. He still wanted to know what exactly made her decide to join a different club, and he even contemplated about sending a letter, or even an email just to know more.

He didn't though. He didn't exactly know what to write to her, and just asking about her joining a different club felt really rude. So, in the end, he didn't send any of those.

There seemed to be something inside him that hoped that she would be there helping and supporting the team when he came back.

Granted, he didn't know when he was coming back, but still. It felt different knowing that she wouldn't be there in his friends' matches, as if they couldn't play their fullest without her voice in the crowd, cheering for them.

There was a small part of him that expected a letter or an email telling her version of the matches his friends played. He was looking forward to her weird descriptions of the actions the others did in the game.

But he never got one.

He tried to not feel disappointed. She must be really busy. Junior high is quite different from elementary. Grades and clubs have to take up a lot her time. She probably helped around their café more often too since she's older. She didn't have time to write to someone like him.

Misaki stirred from beside him, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Are we there yet?" Misaki-kun yawned.

"Almost," he answered. "Just a few more hours, I think."

"Great," Misaki smiled. "I can't wait to see everybody."

He smiled in agreement and noticed that Wakabayashi was also waking up from his sleep. They both greeted him a good morning. Wakabayashi yawned before replying back and asking the same thing Misaki did. He answered the same thing he said to Misaki. They all started to chat, especially about their friends, and of course soccer. They talked for quite some time and before they knew it, the captain finally called out they were landing in the Shizuoka Airport.

Once they stepped off the plane, they officially confirmed to themselves that they were in Japan. The people, the signs, everything felt so familiar to them.

"It's nice to be back," Misaki declared as they walked towards the arrivals' area. They weren't carrying that much. A simple bag with a few change of clothes. Apparently they all shared the mentality that they could just buy their clothes here.

"It does," he agreed as they went down the elevator.

"It's supposed to be Golden Week, right?" Wakabayashi asked. "I guess that's the reason why there's many people leaving."

"Oh you're right!" Misaki said. "I wonder if any of our friends are here. I was looking forward to playing a match with them sometime this week."

"Well, you don't think wonder," Wakabayashi informed.

"Huh?" They both looked at him in confusion. Wakabayashi answered by pointing at a group of people holding a banner that read: Welcome home, Tsubasa, Taro, and Genzou. Tsubasa could spy his mother with them, holding a small child's hand. It must be Daichi, he figured.

He smiled and walked towards them. Misaki and Wakabayashi followed him as well as the two adults who walked much slower.

"Kaa-san!" he called out. He saw his mother turn to his direction, who beamed as she found him.

"Tsubasa-kun!" she exclaimed and waved him over. His friends heard him and faced their direction. Upon seeing them, they all immediately grinned.

The three of them ran towards them as those welcoming them back did as well. They all met in the middle, giving each other hugs and greeted each other warmly. The other people in the airport must have been looking at them weirdly, wondering why such a huge crowd of boys were all gathered in there. He barely noticed his mom greeting Misaki-san and Mikami-san from the sides.

"Man, look at you guys," Ishizaki remarked as they calmed down a little. "You three look really different."

"And you look like you haven't changed at all," Wakabayashi teased. "I don't even think you grew at all."

"What did you say?" Ishizaki roared. "I'll have you know, I've grown about 14 inches since you last saw me. "

"Really," Misaki questioned innocently. "It doesn't seem like it."

"Wha- Misaki! You traitor."

All of them started to laugh at Ishizaki's predicament. He was the easiest one to rile up. It all reminded them of their days as the members of Nankatsu FC. Laughing and joking around as they practiced.

"Tsubasa," his mother's voice was heard from all their ruckus.

"Kaa-san," he separated from his friends and gave his mother a big and long hug.

"Oh, look at you," Oozora-san said as they separated. "You're all grown up now. Did Brazil treat you alright?"

"Brazil's amazing mom," he told her. "You should go there sometime. I think you'll like it."

"We'll see," They chuckled. Then Tsubasa noticed the little boy hiding behind his mom's legs. He crouched down to see him closer.

"Is this him?" Tsubasa looked up to his mom, who nodded. She nudged the little boy towards Tsubasa, but the he only hid closer to the older woman. "Don't be shy, Daichi-kun. He won't bite you."

Tsubasa smiled Daichi. "So your name is Daichi?" the little boy shyly nodded. "I'm Tsubasa, or really your nii-chan. It's nice to finally meet you?"

"Y-you're my nii-chan?" Daichi asked, a little reserved.

Tsubasa nodded. "Sorry I couldn't meet you sooner," he apologized.

"It's okay," Daichi mumbled, looking down while holding his mom's legs tighter. "Kaa-chan told me it was for something important to you."

"Yeah," Tsubasa confirmed. He was starting to actually get nervous about this. Though he couldn't blame the little guy. They never met, so right now, he's not yet his older brother, but a stranger.

"You," Daichi started. "You play soccer, ne?"

Tsubasa looked surprised at the question, but smiled nevertheless. His mom did tell him that Daichi loved soccer as much as he does.

"Yep!" he confirmed. "How about you?"

"Of course!" Daichi answered, somewhat insulted that Tsubasa would ask that. "It's the best sport ever!"

Tsubasa laughed. This boy was definitely related to him. "I'm not going to argue with that. That's why I came to Brazil after all." This seemed to have caught Daichi's attention. Good, maybe this would be the start of their relationship of with his brother.

"You went to Barahil to play soccer?" Daichi asked, curious. "Did you get prick by many thorns? Did it hurt?"

Tsubasa and everyone around him laughed. "No, no, I didn't get hurt by roses. I went to Brazil. B-R-A-Z-I-L. It's a country far from Japan and many soccer players come from there. I went there to play and learn to be a better soccer player."

"Really?" Daichi's eyes seemed to sparkle when talking about soccer.

Tsubasa nodded. "Tell you what," he started, "When we get home, I'll teach you some of the tricks I learned while I was there."

"Eh? Really?" Daichi finally let go of their mother's legs, who looked at Tsubasa with concern and disagreement. Tsubasa gave her a look that said he'll take over it.

"Uh, huh," Tsubasa hummed.

"Like really cool super awesome tricks?" Daichi verified.

"As long as I think they're safe for you," Tsubasa confirmed.

"Awesome!" Daichi cheered.

"But," Tsubasa interrupted. Daichi stopped his cheers and looked at him confusedly, but that only made him grin wider. "Only if I get my welcome back hug."

Daichi's grin grew wider and tackled him with the biggest bear hug a person his age could make. Tsubasa laughed and returned it back. His friends and family cheered them on, happy for their relationship that should have started long ago.

He looked at everyone with him. He missed this. He wasn't even going to deny it, but he really missed this. His mom's smile, his friends' jokes and laughs, the familiar smell of Japanese food.

God, was it good to be back home.

But, he couldn't find her anywhere.

That would have made everything perfect.

"Cheers for the return of Tsubasa, Misaki, and Wakabayashi!"

"Cheers!"

They all clicked their glass together, and laughed together. His house was decorated for this special occasion. Streamers were littered throughout the living room and kitchen, and the banner his friends brought at the airport hung somewhere in the house.

The adults were all drinking tea in kitchen, while his friends and him where in the living room, sitting on the floor while in a circle with some snacks and drinks in the middle.

Misaki and Wakabayashi were talking about their experiences in Europe, his friends listening intently and was amazed by their stories. Even Daichi seemed to be interested in them as well, opting to sit on Izawa's legs.

It surprised him that his little brother had a close relationship with his friends. They answered that they looked after the boy when his mother was busy. Besides, they were the reason how Daichi knew how to play soccer at such a young age. They taught him.

It did surprise him though when the boy could kick it at such a great height for a three-year-old when Daichi demanded they play as they waited for the others to arrive at their house.

"With you guys back in Japan, just imagine how awesome we could be," Taki exclaimed as he took a sip from his drink. "Now Hyuuga can shove it."

"He still giving you a hard time?" Wakabayashi asked.

"Hard time?" Ishizaki scoffed. "More like he never stopped insulting us. Always telling us how low we got ever since the three of you left."

"Are you guys talking about Kojiro-nii-chan?" Daichi asked as he crawled from Izawa's lap all the way to Tsubasa. "I think he's nice."

"Kojiro-nii-chan?" Misaki asked quite puzzled.

"Hyuuga and Daichi had some history together when Daichi got lost in Tokyo one time," Kisugi explained. "Hyuuga was the one who saw him and led him back to Oozora-san."

"Turned out he was good with kids because he had a lot of little siblings," Izawa added. "Now whenever we have a match, Daichi always looked for him and asked if Hyuuga could play with him. For some reason, Hyuuga can't turn down kids and the rest is history,"

Tsubasa looked down toward his brother who made himself comfortable on his legs. "So you like Hyuuga-kun, huh?"

"Kojiro-nii-chan is super cool!" Daichi exclaimed. "But not as cool as you."

Tsubasa ruffled his brother's hair. "Ah, thanks little man," he said.

"Geez, Daichi how many times do I have to tell you not to call him your nii-chan," Ishizaki reminded.

"Why?" Daichi tilted his head to the side. "Are you jealous because he can play better than you?"

"Ooh," Taki snickered. "Burn."

"That just have hurt," Kisugi smirked.

"I think Ishizaki-kun needs some ice for that," Morisaki teased.

All of them laughed at Ishizaki's predicament, who was furiously blushing from embarrassment.

"Shut up, all of you!" he roared. Then he turned to Daichi. "No, I am not jealous," he denied. "Who even told you of such a ridiculous thing?"

"I think it was Aya-nee-chan," Daichi answered.

"Darn that Kiseki," Ishizaki seethed. He would have said something worse, but he had to watch what he say around Daichi. Besides, who knows what Tsubasa would do to him? The guy already had this protective aura around Daichi. "I'll get her back from this."

"Aya?" Misaki turned to them in question.

"She's a regular on the girls' team," Morisaki calmly explained.

Before they could anything, Ishizaki and Daichi were on it again.

"Nah, Ryou-nii-chan," Daichi waved off. "I don't think you can do that."

"Oh really?" Ishizaki challenged.

"Yup," Daichi confirmed as he munched on a cookie. "Aya-nee-chan will probably know before you can even do anything. Besides, you're too stupid to plan a good revenge on her."

There was a short moment of silence between all of them. They were surprised by what the boy said. But soon, Izawa snorted and started to laugh, the others following after. Except Ishizaki, he was just embarrassed again.

"WHAT!?" Ishizaki shouted.

"Another point to Daichi," Kisugi snickered. "Man, Tsubasa. I love your brother."

"I love you too, Teppei-nii-chan."

"Why would you think I can't be smart enough to trump Kiseki?" Ishizaki interrupted, still furious.

"Because Anee-chan said so," was Daichi's unwavering answer. "And Anee-chan is never wrong."

Taki nodded sagely. "Can't argue with that logic," he said.

"Yes," Izawa agreed. "Daichi's reasoning is right."

Soon, the other people nodded and voiced their agreement.

"Anee-chan?" Tsubasa wondered.

"Daichi's talking about Anego," Morisaki answered. "We were calling her that one day when Daichi was with us and it sort of stuck. Daichi started calling her that from then on."

"I remember the beating we got after that," Kisugi shivered. "Never wanna get on her bad side again."

"Beating?"

"We made a vow to never speak of it again," Taki said. "And we are not going to break it just for you guys."

Wakabayashi only raised his eyebrow but let it go. That girl did have quite a temper from what he remembered.

"Speaking of Anego," he started. "Where is she? I would have thought she would be the most excited to be here considering he," he pointed at Tsubasa who looked at them in confusion, "would be here."

Tsubasa had the same thought running through his head, and he was about to ask as well. Wakabayashi just beat him to it.

"Che," Ishizaki scoffed. "She left this morning to go somewhere. We didn't even know until Tsubasa's mom told us this morning."

"Do you know where she went?" Misaki asked.

"Nope."

The others shook their head to say they don't know either.

"Anee-chan went to see her grandpa," Daichi informed them. All of them turned to look at him.

"How do you know, Daichi?" Tsubasa asked his little brother.

"She told me this morning when they brought the cakes!"

Tsubasa figured he must have been talking about the cakes they saw that were made for them. It made sense. Her family did own a café. They must have ordered it there. Tsubasa have to admit though, the cake they made for him, a double chocolate cake, was really delicious.

"Oh yeah," Izawa exclaimed. "Why did I forget? Of course. She made the cake."

"Yeah, and all three of them were delicious," Taki said. "I can never get tired of her food."

"Wait," Misaki interrupted, "She made all three of them."

"Yeah," Kisugi confirmed. "Oozora-san asked her to make one. I didn't expect that she would make three. But, I'm not complaining. Why, you don't like them?"

"They were amazing," Misaki exclaimed. "I just didn't expect she would be this good baking."

Tsubasa didn't expect it either, but he thought that was a nice surprise.

"Welcome to Anego's cooking."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"I wonder how much Oozora-san paid for one," Izawa wondered. "I want one on my birthday."

"Kaa-chan didn't pay for any of them," Daichi told them.

"Woah, really?"

"Anee-chan said it was her gift to nii-chan and them to welcome you guys back," he explained. "She also said sorry for missing you guys. She said she doesn't see her grandpa as much so they had to visit for five days."

"That still didn't excuse her for not telling us sooner," Ishizaki grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"She's baking me cookies to say sorry," Daichi told him.

The others all whined and complained about how unfair it was that Daichi was the only one to get cookies when they deserved some as well. Misaki chuckled at their childishness, while Wakabayashi only rolled his eyes.

Tsubasa smiled, but couldn't help getting pulled into his thoughts.

She made the cake just for them, for him. And she got his favorite kind to boot. Granted his mother could have told her, but that was one of the best cakes he had. He couldn't wait until he could thank her properly.

Daichi did say that she would be back in five days. Maybe then, they'll be able to talk, and catch up with each other. She was one of the few people he hadn't really heard about from. The little information he got about her for the last three years was from the rare times his friends mentioned her in their letters and emails.

He wondered if she changed a lot. He knew that she wasn't a big part of their cheering squad anymore, and joined a different club instead. Though he didn't know what club it is. Now, he knew that she's a great baker. What else could he learn about her? They were friends, so it's normal to know more about each other, right?

He couldn't help looking forward to let the five days past.

End Chapter

AN: I actually had this chapter done already, and was waiting till I finish chapter 8 to post this. But man, reviews. I was really happy I decided to update sooner.

Anyway, you might have noticed I'm using modern technology and not the ones they used about 30 years ago (man, Captain Tsubasa is older than me). I don't know, writing with it is easier for me, and I get to have fun with them in later chapters. Lots of shenanigans between Sanae and the others. Also, Tsubasa's finally back. Yeah.

I don't know what to say anymore. If you have any questions, just drop a review (very much appreciated). Thanks for reading!ANAAA