AN: i just really want to say thank you to all my reviewers and readers for giving me a chance

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 15: Pre-National Jitters

Summer Vacation have finally started that Friday afternoon, which meant that they would be leaving for Tokyo soon to participate in Nationals. It was nice of Akane-buchou to give them the afternoon off to spend some time with their families before they leave on Sunday with the boys. They do have their tournament the same two weeks as they do. Apparently, the Association thought it would be cheaper and more efficient if they made both tournaments happen around the same time.

Now she had to double check their schedule every single time just so she can make it to at least one of the boys' matches. Why did they have to do that? Now she has to go rush from one place to another just so she can make it to both games.

Well, whatever. She'll cross that bridge when she gets there.

It was a Saturday, and she and Ayame were already done packing for their trip a few days ago. Since they didn't have anything to do, and they couldn't stop pacing around because they were too much excited for the tournament. Actually it was just her. Ayame was on her phone, blogging on that same site yet again.

"Will you quit doing that and watch some TV or something? You're making me feel tired just looking at you stressing over Nationals," Ayame whined as she moved all over their living room area.

"I can't help it," she grumbled as she sat down on the couch beside her cousin, but she was still jittery and couldn't sit still. "I tried everything to calm myself down."

"Like what? 'Cause I didn't see them," Ayame remarked as she continued to scroll down her phone.

"Well," she said as she stood up and began to pace again. "I double checked my stuff five times now, which I confirmed that I have everything prepared. I cooked us some food for lunch, which we both ate already. I tried to do some jumping jacks in my room to get rid of all this energy, but it didn't work. I tried reading, napping, and eating snacks. I even tried to watch Howl's Moving Castle but nothing works! I just can't seem to calm down."

She gripped her hair in frustration. She looked back at Ayame who only stared at her unimpressed with her whole tirade.

"Well, I can't help you then," she replied as she went back to her phone. "Besides, I don't even think its Nationals getting to you. The boys are riding with us on the same train. You're probably nervous because Tsubasa-kun's going to be there and you might do something stupid."

"That's definitely not it!" she screamed towards her cousin, who was hiding a smirk from behind her phone.

"Well, if you don't know what exactly to do with yourself," They turned to see her mom coming from the stairs. "How about going downstairs and help out? It's really busy right now and we need all the help we can get."

She shared a look with Ayame and they stared at each other for a few moments. Then Ayame leaned more into the couch and scrolled down on her phone again.

"I'm good," Ayame said. "I can stay up here while she helps."

"Oh hell no," She said as she grabbed onto her cousin's arm. "I'm not doing all that work by myself. You're coming with me."

"But you're one who can't sit down! Don't bring into it."

"You are helping, whether you like it or not. So quit whining and let's go."

"Nooo!"

Ayame tried to dig her heels on the floor, but she always did have a stronger grip and managed to pull her cousin out of the couch. Her mom only laughed as she watched them move around like overgrown children.

So here she was, wearing an apron on top of her shirt and capris, taking the orders of some girls from the other nearby school in Nankatsu. Kiyotaka Academy if she remembers correctly from what they told her.

She was waiting for them to look through the menu when the door opened. She turned to the door to greet whoever arrived.

"Hello welcome to- Ah, Tsubasa-kun! Daichi-kun! What's up?" she exclaimed.

The two boys waved back. "Daichi wanted some bread before we go to the field and meet up with the guys," Tsubasa explained.

"Oh, okay! Let me just finish this and I'll be right with you guys in moment by the counter," she said as she turned back to the two girls who seemed to be about ready to order.

"Are you guys ready?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

They nodded and told her what they wanted. She wrote it down quickly and was about to leave when she noticed they seemed to be debating about something.

"Can I still help you guys with something?" she inquired.

The two of them shared looks before the one the right release a sigh in defeat.

"Can we ask you something?" she said.

"Go ahead," she answered pleasantly. "I'll be more than happy to."

The two shared another look and she couldn't help but knit her eyebrows in confusion.

"So that guy," the girl started. "The one you just talked to. C-can we ask for his name again?"

D-do they have a crush on Tsubasa-kun? Oh no, oh no, fuck, no. That is so unfair. She knew she should have expected other girls to start liking him, but still.

"You mean Tsubasa-kun?" she replied trying to sound as nice as possible.

"Yeah," the other girl nodded. "A-are you guys dating?"

She wished.

"Oh no, no. We're not dating," she denied. "We're just… friends. Close friends." That seemed like a good way to describe their relationship.

"Is he dating anyone then?" the first girl questioned further.

Oh god, she hoped not. He's only been here for two months and it didn't seem like he talked to other girls aside from her and the team.

"Not that I know of," she answered truthfully.

"Oh," they muttered.

"It's just that I think we saw him one time at our school," the girl on the left explained.

"Well, he is part of our school's soccer team," she explained. "I think they had a friendly match at your school one time."

"He's cute though," one of them stated as she turned to see him talking with Daichi about the food they have displayed.

She gave a forced smile. "Well," she started as pleasantly as could muster. Which was good enough because they didn't seem to notice it. "If that's all you guys need, I'll have someone bring your orders for you. If you need help don't be afraid to ask any of us."

"Thank you!"

She gave them one last smile and went towards the counter.

"I'll be with you guys in a sec," she told them as clipped the order on the small window into the kitchen and pressed the ringer.

Once she finished that, she turned around to face the two brothers who looked ready to order whatever they came for.

"Sorry that took a while," she apologized.

"It's alright," he said. "It was quite busy. I can understand. Besides, Daichi and I could handle a little wait, can't we little man?" he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Yup!" the child answered enthusiastically.

She chuckled at their replies. Trust them to be the perfect gentlemen.

"So what can I get for you today?" she asked them.

"Oh, can I get some of the chocolate cornet, Anee-chan?" Daichi requested.

She looked to be in thought for a moment. "Normally, I would say no since that's really unhealthy for a boy like you," she said with a teasing smirk. Daichi looked to be bummed out, but Tsubasa seemed to have noticed what she wanted to do. "But since you asked nicely, I guess I'll give it to you."

Daichi's face lit up. "Yay! Thank you!"

They both chuckled at the boy's joyful response, amused that such a simple thing could turn his whole mood around.

She turned towards Tsubasa. "How about you, Tsubasa-kun? Do you want anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. We just came here because Daichi said he wanted something from here."

She nodded her head. "Alright then," she said. "I'll be right back with the squirt's chocolate bread."

She didn't know why said that, she was going a few feet away to get the bread from the ones on display.

When she returned, she was about to ring it up when he asked something.

"Hey, do you and Ayame-chan want to go with us to field. The guys already called up Rika-chan and Shiori-chan and since they found out Daichi and me were already here, they wanted me ask you guys," he said, then added sheepishly. "That is, if you guys are free."

"Well," she started. "I have to ask my mom first."

"You can go," her mom's voice interjected. She appeared right beside Sanae. "Hello Tsubasa-kun, Daichi-kun."

They greeted her back politely.

"We can go?" she asked.

"Yes," her mother confirmed. "Rush hour is done by this time anyway. We can handle it from here. And don't ring that choco cornet up. It's on the house."

"Aww, really? Sweet," Tsubasa exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Nakazawa-san." Daichi followed suit.

Her mom chuckled. "You're very welcome," she said. "Just tell your mom to stop by sometimes."

"We will."

Then she turned to her daughter. "Now, shoo," she ordered jokingly. "You said you've been jittery the whole day. Go spend that energy playing soccer."

She gave a smile to her mom. "Thanks Mama," she said as she hugged her.

"Ayame," she called out to her cousin, who was in the process of untying her apron.

"I heard you," her cousin said.

She nodded then turned to face him again. "We'll be right with you. Just have to return my apron back."

"Take your time."

She dashed away from the counter to put her apron away. Ayame already returned her apron and was probably waiting along with Tsubasa and Daichi.

She returned once more to the shop and fair enough, Ayame was already with them chatting Tsubasa.

She went towards them with a smile, telling them that she was all set.

Once they started walking, they were back to talking about whatever Ayame and Tsubasa were chatting about.

Ayame tried to hide her smile as Daichi walked between them, holding onto one of their hands. They didn't seem to notice it at all. What Daichi just did made them look like a family, and it was pretty cute.

They also didn't seem to notice the two girls staring at them in bewilderment.

They arrived at the field to see the guys, along with Shiori and Rika, to be playing some kind of soccer with those who wanted to. Even Wakabayashi, who usually kept to his goalkeeper ways, was trying to grab the ball from Shiori using his feet.

They had to laugh as they heard him cry in frustration as Shiori nimbly moved the ball away from the goalkeeper while she and Rika passed it back and forth between them. What made it even funnier was the two girls weren't wearing any shoes at all. The boys who were playing with them, didn't stand a chance.

Ayame separated from them as she ran down the field, taking her sandals off along the way.

"Rika-chan right here!" She called out as she entered the field, completely shoeless.

"What, Ayame-chan is finally here? Oh hell no, this just made everything harder!"

They chuckled again and Daichi giggled on top of Tsubasa's shoulders. He said he wanted to be up there in the middle of their walk. Tsubasa could never say no to his brother.

"There you guys are," Misaki remarked as they arrived beside him. He didn't join in the weird game of keep away and instead laughed as his friends failed to steal the ball from the two, now three, girls. Morisaki and Takasugi were the only ones smart enough who decided to not join in the fun. "Thought you guys wouldn't make it."

"Who, us?" Tsubasa replied as Sanae helped him get Daichi off his shoulders, who decided he wanted to join with his other nii-chan and nee-chan playing keep away. "Like we would ever miss this."

Sanae took the seat beside Misaki as Tsubasa sat right beside her.

"It is our last free day before we go and play seriously for two whole weeks," she added as she began to her shoes off. She always liked the feel of grass between her toes. "We might as well spend it having fun."

"But aren't you playing soccer for fun?" Misaki asked her.

She turned to him with an incredulous look. "Yeah, but we're talking about Nationals here. Sure, you might have fun against them on the field, but once the game's done, someone has to go home with their dreams broken."

Misaki had a thoughtful look cross his face. "You have a point."

"But even then," Tsubasa interjected. "If you're actually having fun playing soccer, it doesn't really matter whether you win or lose."

Misaki and Tsubasa looked to her, expecting an answer.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I personally don't mind losing that much. That is if we lost fair and square. But doesn't everyone join Nationals just to prove that you're the best in the country? Where's the fun in that?"

"… Do you find it amusing to take the fun out of everything?" Tsubasa inquired.

She answered by punching him in the arm as she stuck her out at him. Misaki laughed at his friend's misfortune for angering their Anego.

"So, are you joining in there little game?" Tsubasa asked as he noticed her bare feet on the grass. "You did take your shoes off."

"Nope," she answered as stood up and stretch her arms. "I just like the feeling the grass with my feet. Besides," she grinned slyly. "I have something much more fun."

She tapped both boys on their shoulder. Both of them looking at her with puzzled expression.

"Tag," she said and with a louder voice, shouted, "The boys are it!"

She took off just as she said that, making small eye contact with the other girls, who got her message as they also ran away from the guys. The boys looked stunned for a moment before Tsubasa got up and started to run after her.

"Hey!" he exclaimed with a smile. "That wasn't fair. You got a head start!"

"Everything's fair in tag!" she answered as she tried to run away from as fast as possible.

Soon, every one of them were running around the field, chasing each other. They were all laughing and joking around, like they didn't have a National Title to fight for.

For now, they were just going to have a little fun.

End Chapter

AN: i think Sanae would have been pretty jealous when she finds out more girls start to like Tsubasa, which was shown a little bit back when Yayoi reappeared (though we all knew she had the hots for Misugi). But when she grew up though, we didn't see her react that much when Kumi Sugimoto appeared, except for maybe a small frown on her face. I just wanted to portray what she would be thinking if she learned that yes, Tsubasa does attract a lot of people opposite his gender (and maybe also those the same gender as his). I don't know I just really don't like how the females were written in Captain Tsubasa that much. ((´д｀))

anyway, that's it for today! thanks for reading and leave a review if possible