AN: no reviews to answer this time

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 13: Of Training and Matches

"Man, it's so hot in here," Ayame complained as they got out of the bus. "Why did June have to be so hot?"

They were doing a training camp for prepare themselves for Nationals. Though the beach wasn't exactly one of the places she would pick first for something like this, but she guessed that works. It's also nice to have fun once in a while. Plus, then she didn't have to hear Ayame complain about summer vacation because she just wanted to show off the new bikini she bought.

Well, it's not like they're going to be playing beach soccer in just their swimsuits. It would be too uncomfortable with all those sand in places you didn't want it to be.

"Suck it up, Aya-chan," Chieko-senpai snickered towards her cousin. "Weren't you the one super excited for this trip?"

"I am. But this heat, I can't take it! Someone save me, I'm melting, arghhhhh!"

Rika peered down on her cousin as Ayame descended on the floor, pretending to be melting.

"I-is Ayame-chan going to be alright?" she asked, concerned.

She snorted as she walked past her cousin kissing the ground. "Don't worry about her Rika-chan. She always gets like this whenever we go to someone where it's really hot. She'll be fine," she assured her friend. "Just leave her there to complain about the heat."

"I-if you say so," Rika said as she followed her towards the villa they would renting for their whole stay of one week.

"You big asshole!" Ayame called out to her as she laid on her stomach and leaned on her elbows for support. "Why did I have a cousin like you who don't care about her poor little cousin whose birthday is coming up!?"

"Keep talking like that and I won't buy you that pair of shoes you wanted for your birthday," she replied offhandedly. "Maybe I should just use that money and buy your twin sister another game. It's still her birthday as well."

"No! Don't! I want those silver heels!" Ayame exclaimed as she got up from the cemented floor and quickly trudged her suitcase as she followed them inside. "Don't use your money to buy Ayuri another game. I love her and all but I need those shoes! Sanae!"

She laughed as she went upstairs to find the room she was going to be sharing with her cousin while her teammates chuckled at their antics.

"Wasn't that kind of mean?" Megumi-senpai asked as she followed her up the stairs. "Aya-chan is pretty into fashion and such."

"Nah, she'll be fine," she assured, "She knows I didn't mean it. Besides, I'll probably add clothes with those shoes."

"When is her birthday anyway?" Junko-senpai inquired as she opened the door across from the one was opening.

"In two weeks, on the Wednesday the week of National Preliminaries," she answered. "Better be ready for that because she's going to be pointing it out the whole day and making excuses that she need to do tough and draining stuff because it's her birthday."

"Did you hear that, buchou?" Junko-senpai called out down the hallway.

"Noted!" Their captain replied from one of the rooms. If she remembered correctly, she should be sharing a room with Emiko-senpai. "I'll be sure to give her more exercises on that day."

The people who heard her all laughed, and even the stoic Nao-senpai had a hint of a smile grace her face.

"Give who more exercises?" Ayame huffed as she finally managed to bring her stuffed suitcase up the stairs. Well, she was the one wanted to bring all those outfits with her. She told her cousin that she didn't need all of those, but Ayame only retorted that she never knew when a cute guy would talk to her. She only shook her head at that.

"Is that our room, Sanae?" her cousin asked as she found her entering the door of the room she opened.

"No, it's just the place where we're going to be sleeping for the next few days," she answered sardonically.

"Fudge you too!"

She laughed again as she proceeded to put her suitcase at the end of the left bed. She positioned her hands on her hips and looked around the room. It looked alright. There two beds against either wall as she stood across the large window that provided adequate lighting inside the room, but she was sure it would be better if the curtains weren't in the way. She walked towards the window and moved the curtains away. When she unlatched the lock on the window and opened it, she couldn't help but sigh in content as her face met the warm salty breeze.

She felt her phone vibrate from her shorts' pocket and quickly took it out from where it is.

She couldn't help but smile at who it was.

Did you guys get there safely?

He was so sweet sometimes.

"Woah that is some sweet view!" Ayame exclaimed as she ran beside her, dumping her suitcase and duffel bag on the floor. Sanae moved her phone closer to her. She didn't want to think what her cousin will do once she found out that she's been constantly texting Tsubasa for a few weeks now.

Ayame took out her phone and snapped some pictures of the view outside their villa.

She turned back to look at the view and she had to agree that it was quite spectacular.

The blue sea glistened under the sun's light as the white sand looked so beautiful against the color of the water. The waves rolled off into the sand lazily, pulled back in the same manner, as if it was inviting them get in there for a soak.

She couldn't help but wish he was here to see this.

"I'm going to go and ask Akane-buchou if we can take a quick dip in the sea before starting whatever she wants," Ayame told her as went out of there room, but stopping right by the doorway. "I heard we'd be eating first though. Don't take too long to get downstairs. You know how we are with food. It'll be gone in an instant."

She nodded, "I'll be down there soon."

"Okay!" Then Ayame was out of the room.

She went back to her phone and tapped in her reply.

Yes we got here safe and sound. You should see the view from our window. It's amazing!

She took a picture of the scenery and sent it to him.

Not even a moment passed, her phone vibrated again.

Awesome! Wish I was there to see it in person.

Her heart skipped a beat, like it usually did, and her smile grew wider.

Yeah, me too. But anyway don't you guys have a match today? What are you doing texting me?

Her phone vibrated as soon as she sent the message.

We do, but it doesn't start until a few more minutes. We're just waiting until they tell us to start.

She wasn't even done reading the message when she received another one.

Scratch that, we're starting. I have to go soon.

She quickly tapped in her reply.

Oh okay. Well, good luck! And tell everyone to play carefully. Don't want you guys getting injured right before your Prefectural Tournament.

She received his reply quickly.

Yes, mom. We will.

She pouted to herself and pressed her keys.

I'm just looking out for you guys! No need to be a smartass.

Her phone lighted up again.

Haha. I'm kidding. But seriously though I gotta go. We're starting.

Well, why didn't he say so earlier?

Well, go! And have fun. Try to go easy on them. Like let them get the ball at least once.

Her phone vibrated for the last time.

Haha. I'll try.

She put her phone back into her pocket and looked out the window again. There was another breeze coming and she welcomed it happily.

Seeing his name across her phone always made her happy. She couldn't help but feel excited whenever she gets a message from him. It felt like, he really did want to talk to her, even though his friends were always with him. Out of all people, he would rather talk to her than anybody.

Though she didn't look more into it. They were friends, close friends and she wouldn't let her feelings break that friendship.

She turned away from the window and stretched her arms high above her head. She did need to go downstairs to eat. Hopefully they still left some food for her.

Well, he did say that he would try giving their opponent the ball at least one, and he did. She never mentioned that they could have it more than that.

The ball was again in their possession, his teamwork with Misaki-kun coming into play again as he quickly passed the ball to him and score another goal.

The whistle resounded to tell of their fourth goal of the match.

All of his teammates congratulated them again as they scored the point for the team yet again. The other team must have been in shock and denial still. They probably didn't expect that a team like them who had six first years as their starting members would be destroying them in this match. Well, they were the ones who underestimated Nankatsu, and he never backed down from a challenge.

"Good job, Oozora, Misaki, keep it up," Takano-buchou said to them.

At first, he was a little wary of their captain. He did do nothing when they played against the upperclassmen. Both of his friends were injured so early in the game, and he didn't even say anything to the upperclassmen. Nobody knew about this, but he held a grudge against him for quite some time. Only when Takano-buchou sat them down for a talk and explained his actions at that time did he start to see him in a different light. The captain only wanted to how far they would go to be part of the team, and how determined they are to win Nationals for them. He did apologize for his lack of actions during that time. Of course, being them, they forgave him quite easily.

So, now they were part of the regular team and had a nice relationship with all his teammates. But more than that, it was fun to play with his friends again in an official match, friendly or not. Though it was just him, Misaki-kun, Izawa-kun, Taki-kun, Kisugi-kun, and Wakabayashi-kun, he heard that his friends were first choices when in need of substituting.

It was their second official game as part of the regular team, and the match was turning almost exactly like their first one, or in other words, total annihilation (that was what Wakabayashi-kun described it as). He just scored again, making the score 5-0.

He's not exactly complaining. Don't get him wrong, he was okay with winning, except maybe he wanted a little more challenge. He's not bragging his soccer skills, per say. It's just that, he was expecting the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart beating fast, and giving out everything he got because his opponent was doing the same thing.

Right now, it just feels like eh. It was an alright match. They're winning.

The whistle sounded again to end the second half. They won 6-0 nothing.

No surprises there. The other team kind of gave up once they scored their third goal of the match.

He had to admit but when he watched the finals of the Girls' Prefectural Tournament, he expected the games he would be playing would be as intense as that game. Or maybe it was just because she was there playing with all her heart that made him want to see the same thing on people.

Well, he just had to wait until they start the Prefecturals and hopefully Nationals.

Yes, Nationals would be awesome. Everyone was there and they were expecting Nankatsu to be in it. And he's not one to disappoint.

"Hey!" Kisugi surprised him as he threw an around his shoulder. "What's wrong with you? We won the game thanks to you guys!"

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Well, we didn't win it all by themselves, we had you guys."

"Sheesh, stop humbling yourself we all know you liked being praised so just shut up and take it."

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he pushed his friendly lightly away from him, but joined in with their laughter.

"Nah, he's just disappointed," Wakabayashi told them as they reached their bench. "I know I was. I mean I know it was only our second game but really, it didn't seem like they had a spine at all. I'm sure Tsubasa and Misaki probably agree with me. "

Their friends turned to them and expected an answer.

"Well, Wakabayashi-kun does have a point," Misaski admitted slowly. "I don't know maybe it's just because we've been away from Japan for so long, we have different expectations now. Though, it was different when with played with you guys. I don't exactly know how to explain it."

"I think it's just that people gave up when they saw they don't have a chance of winning anymore," Tsubasa added as he took a sip from his water bottle. "By the time we scored the third goal, they didn't put any more effort into playing, and I think that's what made us a little disappointed."

Izawa had a thoughtful look on his face. "I can't exactly fault you guys for thinking that. The only school here in Shizuoka that's really worth to notice is Otomo High, but that's because Urabe-kun and the others are in that school. He was captain of the Otomo Junior High last year and they were pretty tough."

"Hopefully they didn't lose his spunkiness by this point," Wakabayashi said.

"If anything, he'll probably be more fired up now that you guys are here," Taki answered as he put his arms behind his head as they started their walk home. They already separated from their senpai-tachi a few minutes ago.

"Besides, if you guys really wanted a challenge, the girls versus boys' game is coming up soon," Kisugi added excitedly.

"I've been hearing about that a lot of times now," Misaki remarked. "How does it work exactly?"

"It's just as the name describes, we play against the girls' team," Izawa explained. "It's just like a regular game, except you don't have to add overtime or penalty kicks if you don't want to. That's what we did last year.

"Hey, I remember Sanae-chan telling me about that event," Tsubasa interjected. "She told me you guys felt too lazy about that. So you guys decided to forget about it and make it a tie."

There were sly grins and smirks on his friends' faces, but he didn't know why exactly they were doing those.

"What?" he asked. "Did I say something funny?"

"Nothing," Izawa answered quickly. "But anyway, that was what Anego decided. She didn't want to go through all that hassle and just left it at that."

"That might be the case this year though," Taki said. "Ayame-chan's not sick anymore and their teamwork is better than ever. They're going to be a real pain."

Izawa tsked and gave smug smirk towards his friend. "Oh but you forget, we have this three with us this time." He gestured to Tsubasa, Misaki, and Wakabayashi, who only blinked owlishly. "Let's see them try and get pass them."

"Yeah but-"

He smiled as he listened to his friends talk about the odds of them winning the girls versus game. Misaki-kun and Wakabayashi-kun would sometimes join in to ask a question or the likes.

He didn't care about winning or losing in that match. He just that he would be having fun playing against the girls, especially her. He's been asking her about a match against him and she always told him to wait for this match, which was just around the corner. Man, he couldn't wait.

He separated from his friends when they reached his house.

"I'm home!" he called out as he started to take off his shoes.

"Welcome back!" his mom greeted him as she peeked out of the kitchen. "How was the match?"

"It was alright," he answered as he went towards her and gave her a hug. "We won."

"That's good," she replied as they went in the kitchen.

"Where's Daichi?" he asked as he grabbed a cookie from a plate on the table. Huh, it was definitely from the Nakazawa's shop. He could recognize the taste anywhere. She's been bringing some of her sweets to school and he couldn't say no whenever she offers them. Well, he's not complaining, anything they cook was bound to be amazing.

"He's up in his room, napping," his mom whispered. "Try not to wake him."

"Okay," he said as he went out of the kitchen with his duffel bag and a cookie in his mouth.

He quietly went up the stairs and proceeded to his room, closing the door gently so he didn't wake his brother up. He took his phone out of his bag and put it on top of his desk. He took some clothes out of his drawer to change into.

Before he could finish pulling down his shirt, his phone buzzed. He finished changing his clothes quickly and went to grab his phone from where it was.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw who it was.

I hope you guys didn't crush them so bad.

She was really witty sometimes.

He started tapping his screen as he plopped on his bed.

Well, it wasn't as bad as the first time. We won by six points.

His phone vibrated right away.

Six points?! That's horrible! I thought I said to take it easy on them and let them have the ball at least once.

He chuckled at her reaction. Trust her to lecture him about winning of all things.

They did! But even then they still couldn't manage to score.

Her reply made him laugh even more.

Oh Tsubasa-kun, what are we going to do with you? You're too much for small teams in Shizuoka.

He tapped his keys quickly.

I'm just that awesome.

His phone buzzed yet again.

Who are you and what happened to our humble Tsubasa-kun?

He was quick to reply back.

He and I are one the same. He just decided to grow up.

Another ping came from his phone.

Well, whatever. As long as you don't make your head to big. I'll be sure to pop it back to its normal size.

Oh, really now?

Really, now? And how are you going to do that?

There was a short pause, but his phone lighted up again.

Defeat you in a match of course! The girls versus boys match is coming up soon and that's the perfect chance to stop your head from growing too big.

That made him laugh. He knew she was joking, but he couldn't help but answer back.

Huh, I doubt it.

There was another reply.

Why else do you think we're in a training camp right now?

Then he replied just as fast.

Then you better make use of them training, because I'll be here waiting.

His phone vibrated once more.

Oh you bet I am. Just you wait till I kick your ass.

Before her could reply, there was another message.

But anyway, captain's calling for more training, THAT I'LL USE TO DEFEAT YOU, so I'll talk to you later. Ja ne!

He answered back quickly.

Right, take advantage of that training and like I said I'll be waiting. I'll see you later.

There was no reply after that. But that was alright. Just as long as she made some time to talk to him, it was fine.

"Nii-chan? Are you awake?" Daiichi's drowsy voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a second, Daichi!" he called out as he got up from his bed and pocketed his phone.

He couldn't wait until the girls' come back, then he could have that match with her.

End Chapter

AN: sorry this was a little late. I just got down with the next chapter and that might be the longest one yet.

Anyway, writing these two dorks texting is too adorable! They're like in relationship already but they're not. ugh i love this two so much i can puke. Their interactions are so cute, its so fluffy. Then Sanae has to be the pessimistic one and Tsubasa just there being all dense and stuff. Haa...

So that's it for now. Thanks for reading and hope you drop a review.