AN: this chapter has gone way out of my control

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 18: Champions

She wiped the sweat off from her face using her shirt. Her heart was beating fast and chest heaved up and down from the lack of oxygen. Her muscles were aching from playing for a long time now, and the injury she got from their semifinal match was bothering her a little, but it wasn't that bad.

The second half started seven minutes ago, and still neither teams have scored a point yet. Junko-senpai was up for a corner kick and they were all just waiting for her to hit it. She was right in the middle of the penalty area, preparing for a chance to score a goal.

Junko dropped her hand and kicked the ball. It soared right above them and the people around her jumped to do something with the ball. Luckily, she jumped high enough to do a header and directed the ball to Shiori. Her teammate shot and the goalkeeper was too late to save it.

The shrill ring of the whistle sounded and they finally scored the first goal of their game.

Everyone of their team ran towards their short pig-tailed teammate and praise her for the goal, that if they play it right, might win them Nationals.

She turned towards the clock, if they didn't have to play for overtime, then she might be able to make it. She might be able to see the boys' game in their last minutes.

After a few moments, they went back to their places. The ball was in there hands, and when the whistle blew, they attacked.

Now that she thought about it, they were lucky to even be able to score against this team. Kitagawa Academy has been holding the National title for two years straight, and they wanted this to be their third year. Especially since the one they were waiting for one person from the junior high girls' league, Hiyazaki Saya, was finally there.

She was said to be a soccer prodigy, just like him. Ever since she was young, she's been playing on the field, manipulating the ball with great precision and total control. Almost all the matches she played won, earning total victory for her team.

Except one.

She played against the female soccer genius once, in the semifinal of her third year's National Tournament. That was her first year back from the United States. She wanted to go there to gain more experience as a soccer player. And when she thought she gained enough she went back to Japan to play for Kitagawa Academy.

When they met on the field, Hiyazaki thought she could defeat Nankatsu easily and take the National title to KitaGaku. She thought that Nankatsu didn't deserve the title because they didn't look that strong at all. That Japanese players didn't have the same talent and strength as those foreigners she played against when she was in the United States, questioning her decision on why she even came back at all.

Ayame was about to talk her off, but she stopped her cousin and spoke to Hiyazaki instead.

"You were supposed to come back for one reason, Hiyazaki-san," she remembered telling her that, "to watch this team, MY team, who was strong enough to hold onto this title for two straight years, get that title again for the third year in a row."

That was the first time she played really seriously.

They won the game 4-0.

She humiliated Hiyazaki Saya, but she was aggravating her so much at the time and when she's pissed, she usually tend to not think of what she was doing. She honest to god wanted to say sorry, but she shook her apologies away and vowed that she would defeat her someone, no matter how long it took.

They finally met again today in the finals. Ayame and Shiori were weary of her, but she shook them off. She tried to exchange pleasantries to Hiyazaki, but the girl only glared at her, saying that she was going to defeat her right then.

Sorry, Hiyazaki, but that wouldn't happen right now. They had to win Nationals.

The ball was with her and Hiyazaki was there to block her. She tried to find if anyone was free, but they were all marked. Damnit.

"There's no one to pass to Nakazawa," Hiyazaki smirked as she tried to steal the ball from her.

"Oh so now you talk to me," she couldn't help but retort spitefully. She was still defending the ball from her. She needed to think of a way to get past her quickly."I thought you hated me?"

"I do!" she spat angrily as she attacked more aggressively. "I hate you with all my soul."

"Well, unfortunately for you," she said. "I don't."

She only glared at her and tried to get the ball away from her more. Come on, Sanae think. There has to be a way get around her.

"You're teammates are all blocked, and they are all tired," Hiyazaki started, "Just give up the ball."

There has to be something she could d-

Wait, she could try that. She only saw him doing that a few times but maybe she could do it. Though, what if she miscalculated the power she gave it?

But she wouldn't know until she tries.

"Sorry," she said, "but not today."

With that, she kicked the ball upwards with her heel and she took advantage of her shock to run pass her. The ball landed right in front of her and she took off. She didn't look back to see whether Hiyazaki was following her. She needed to get to the goal. That was the only thing on her mind.

She readied herself to kick the ball and when she knew where the goalie was going to jump, she moved.

The whistle resounded to tell of another goal for Nankatsu, as well as the end of the second half.

She stared at the ball as it rolled inside the net. The next thing she knew, the roar of the crowd entered her ears and Ayame jumping on her back as she stumbled forwards to steady both of them. Soon after that, she was surrounded by all her teammates.

"We won!" she heard Ayame scream in her ear. "We fucking won!"

"We did it!"

"Guys we won!"

"We're the National Champions!"

That finally registered in her head.

"We won?" she asked stupidly. "Oh my god, we won!"

They all cheered and laughed again. She didn't know why, but her eyes suddenly started to blur and she felt something wet run down her cheeks. Her face hurt from smiling too much and she finally to feel all the pain her body ignored before.

She barely heard the speaker announced that they won, because she was just too damn happy she finally made the dream of the people she looked up to, happen.

The match finally ended, and they won.

That woke her up from her joyful stupor.

The match finally ended.

She looked towards a nearby clock to see the time.

She could make it.

She looked back towards her teammates.

"We need to be somewhere don't we?" Akane-buchou stated. All her teammates wore knowing smiles on their faces.

"Go," Ayame told her. "I'll get your stuff. We'll catch up to you."

She looked back towards her other teammates who shared encouraging grins.

"Thank you!" she said to them and ran out of the field, passing by Hiyazaki, who seemed to have wanted to talk to her.

"Where is she going?" she asked the other players of Nankatsu.

"A group of idiots need her," Ayame answered as she stood beside her.

"Idiots?"

"She meant our boys team," Shiori explained. "They have their finals today as well, and Sanae-chan has precious friends playing today."

"Yeah, and one of them injured his shoulder so she's worried sick about him," Ayame snorted then turned to Hiyazaki. "If you were here to tell her you hated how she played today because she didn't seem into it, then that's it. That's the reason why you thought she was distracted."

"But it didn't really affect her that much, Hiyazaki-san," Shirori told her. "When she was fighting for the ball with you, she was one hundred percent into it. She's not going to be rude and look over your determination to defeat her. She's too noble for that."

"But why would she care about the boys' team?" Hiyazaki asked. "A boy shouldn't affect her that much. I doubt he's that good of a soccer player anyway."

"Oh trust me, he's not just good, he's amazing," Ayame said. "And Sanae's too smitten and crazy about him that she would do everything she can that he doesn't ruin his chances of being the best in the world because he was being an idiot. And his teammates can't do a simple thing right without her."

"That's not true, Aya-chan!"

"Calm down, I'm kidding. Sheesh," Ayame said as she started to walk away.

Shiori turned towards the KitaGaku player. "You should come see it, Hiyazaki-san. I think you would like watching the boys' match."

"I-I'll see," Hiyazaki replied.

"Well, I need to be going now if we want to see the end of the match. Ja ne!" With that Shiori left to join her teammates into rushing to the boys' match.

Those boys better win. It's not fun celebrating victory without them.

She arrived to just in time to see Tsubasa score the third goal for Nankatsu. They managed to catch up ti Toho, who now only led by one point. Just one more point and they could make it even. But when she looked back at the clock, there was barely anytime left. She turned back to Tsubasa and she just knew that his shoulder was hurting like hell.

She knew about the decision to have him play on the second half. The boys all told her when she asked what his diagnosis was when they brought him to a physical therapist. She told him she wasn't even sure if she should even be playing today after all, but he wouldn't have any of it and said he will definitely play. She knew she could never argue against him when he already made his mind.

"Anee-chan!"

Daichi called out to her. She turned to where she heard his voice and located the Oozora's quickly. The oldest male Oozora finally came home in the few days they were out of Nankatsu just to watch his oldest son play in Nationals for the first time. She could just imagine his worry when he found out Tsubasa's injured.

"How is he?" She asked as she took a seat beside the Oozora matriarch.

"He's… not quite well," Oozora-san answered. "His shoulder seems to be bothering him too much."

They turned back towards the field to see Tsubasa taking his hand off his shoulder, and standing up. That was the only thing she needed to know that his shoulder is worse than ever.

"He shouldn't have played today," she muttered to herself. "That idiot."

"Don't beat yourself up too much, Sanae-chan," Mr. Oozora told her. "You know he wouldn't even listen. He'll still play."

She could only nod slowly as they watched him race past the Toho team, Taki-kun and Misaki-kun following close by. She was clutching her shorts too tightly, she knew her knuckles were turning white.

All four of them jumped up as he fell down from his duel with Hyuuga-kun.

"Tsubasa!"

"Tsubasa-kun!"

"Onii-chan!"

He was on the ground for a few seconds. Seconds that felt too long for them.

They all finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief when he got up just as Takano-senpai passed the ball towards him. She caught a glimpse of the referee, who seemed to be ready to signal to end the second half.

No. Just let him score one more time. Just one more time, please.

She took a huge breath when he prepared to shoot, her hands clenched tightly together on top of her lap. The whistle was already on the referee's mouth, preparing to blow.

She watched tensely as he kicked the ball towards the goal. Wakashimazu-kun went to the direction where the ball headed, but it suddenly did a curve and went the other way.

The ball hit the net. The whistle rang.

They were going into extra time.

She finally released her breath in relief.

Daichi was cheering for his brother, as well as his parents. They were proud of him, she knew, because she was proud of him too.

She couldn't help the smile of her face when the team gathered around him to celebrate their point. But it didn't last long.

The boys were suddenly panicking, and they were leading to the ground. They were calling out his name in hysterics and suddenly, Misaki turned to officials and called for a stretcher.

Her heart stopped for a moment, and before she knew it, she got up from her seat and bolted towards the medical room, not hearing Mrs. Oozora calling her name.

She arrived to see them all waiting outside of the room, their faces blank.

They've been in this situation before. Except that time, she was wearing a perfectly clean set of clothes instead of her dirty soccer uniform, and there was a supposed to be a scream of pain coming from the other side of the door.

There was none.

She left them again to open the door and went inside the room, the door closing right behind her.

Takano-senpai only gave her a glance from where he stood leaning against the wall before going to ball to staring at the ground, getting pulled back to his thoughts. He was probably thinking of ways to defeat Toho without Tsubasa, but they both knew that it would be close to impossible.

She turned towards the bed and looked at him. His eyes were closed, but she knew, she could feel it, the pain he was in.

She just hoped this wouldn't lead to the end of his soccer career.

She walked towards the bed and stopped right beside it. She pushed back some of his hair that clung to his forehead gingerly.

He's such an idiot. A stupid, soccer-obsessed idiot. Why couldn't he just accept his limits? He practically threw his everything for this game. His career, his dreams, his life. A high school game wasn't worth risking all of those for.

But, if he wasn't playing with everything he had, he wouldn't be the Tsubasa they knew. He wouldn't be the Tsubasa she was absolutely, irrevocably in love with.

"Nakazawa-chan?"

She turned around to face Takano-senpai, who was giving her an encouraging smile, but she couldn't give him one back.

"We have to go back for the extra time, now," he informed her. "Will you take care of him? I figured he'd like to see a more familiar face when he wakes up."

"Alright," she mumbled lowly, looking down.

"Hey, chin up," he told her softly. "It's not going to be bad," he assured. "It's Tsubasa we're talking about. Even if we just met, I know he's strong. He'll be able to get over this."

She looked up to see him smiling softly at her. "Yeah, b-but-"

"Believe in him, Nakazawa-chan. Don't tell me you're stopping now."

"No!" she denied. "I'll always believe in him!"

He patted her shoulder comfortingly, "Then hold onto it."

She widened her eyes, and slapped herself mentally.

This was Oozora Tsubasa. He was the best soccer player she knew. He already played in Brazil and was coached by Roberto Hongo himself. He never gave up, and right now wouldn't be the first time.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, her usual cheerfulness was back. All needed was to wait for him to wake up, and maybe scold him a little, because she knew he will get back up and fight again.

"There's that smile I was looking for," Takano-senpai said. "You looked weird without it."

"Senpai," she rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

"Well, I better go," he told her. "I have to explain to my stubborn teammates that we can't stay out here forever. We have a match to win."

"I'll go with you," she said, "The boys will probably be stupid enough to reason with you on why they definitely need to stay here. I'll beat some sense into them."

"… That would be very much appreciated."

They opened the door to be greeted by concerned faces. Right away, they were bombarded by questions, all asking about his welfare.

"He's… stable," Takano-senpai answered. "He hasn't woken up yet."

Again, they were bombarded by request to come and see him, but one glare from her shut them all up.

"I know you guys are worried for Oozora, and I am too, but we can't exactly dilly dally here. We need to go back and play the extra time."

This time, they were met by complaints. That's where she came in.

"Will all of you shut up for a second?" she commanded, crossing her arms.

"Anego," her boys muttered in defeat.

"I know Tsubasa's not doing great right now-"

"He's unconscious!" Izawa interrupted. She directed her glare at him and it quickly shut him up.

"But you have to go out there," she told them. "And before any of you say anything about Tsubasa, I know. I saw how he is, you don't have to repeat it again."

She took a deep breath. She noticed from the corner of her eyes, Takano-senpai and the other upperclassmen leaving, trusting this stubborn first years in her hands.

"Tsubasa is important to all of us, but this match is important to him. This is his first year back from Brazil and also the first time he played with you guys, and reaching Nationals no less. He did everything he can to make that tie possible because he wanted to win this not just for him, but for you guys as well. A team can't play with just five people. Don't let this game go to waste. Don't let this be the end for the third years. Don't throw away all of Tsubasa's hard work to get you here."

She looked around the faces of her boys, who refused to meet her eyes.

"Do it for everyone that supports you. Do it for our senpai-tachi. Do it for Tsubasa."

They were envelope in silence and she released a sigh through her nose. It's all on them now.

"You're right," Wakabayashi broke the silence as he looked up towards her. "Anego's right. We can't let all of this go to waste. We've worked hard for this."

"Yeah," Misaki agreed. "This is Wakabayashi-kun's and my first year back in Japan, playing with all of you guys. I'm surprise I'm even playing in the finals of Nationals. I think we should know how Tsubasa-kun feels. It would be horrible if we didn't see this to the end."

The three other first years finally said their agreements, each with their own smile and a reason to win this game.

"See," she interrupted, "There's more than enough reasons to win this match. Don't let go now. Take this chance and hold onto it, because it might never appear again."

They all agreed with her, their spirits renewed. She the smile on her face was a sign, a sign of how much she was proud of them.

"We'll leave Tsubasa in your hands then, Anego?" Wakabayashi-kun asked as he fixed his hand.

"Of course," she answered. "What else am I supposed to do? I still have to give him a piece of my mind when he wakes up. He passed his recklessness quota days ago."

"You know if Ishizaki was here, he would tell you that you sound like his girlfriend already," Taki remarked cheekily.

She felt the blood flow to her face and glared at him. "Well, too bad he isn't," she replied hotly.

"But I am and I think you're more of a wife now," Wakabayashi said coolly.

That earned a snicker from everyone around them.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, her face was really red now. She could feel the heat all over her head.

They just laughed at her embarrassment. Oh just they wait, she'll get her revenge soon.

"We better be going," Misaki told everyone who nodded in agreement.

"We'll see you then, Anego," Kisugi said as they started to leave.

"When Tsubasa wakes up, tell him not to worry," Izawa told her.

"Tell him to just sit tight and rest," Taki added.

"We'll take care of this match," Misaki said.

"Because we'll definitely win," Wakabayashi ended. "Let's go everyone!"

They cheered and started to run back to the field, leaving her all alone.

She smiled as she watched their forms disappear from her view. When she couldn't see them anymore, she went back in the room.

"They're good children," the doctor told her once she was in and proceeded to walk to stand beside his bed. "He's lucky to have friends like them," he gestured to Tsubasa, who was still unconscious.

"Yeah," she agreed as she pushed his bangs away from his face again. "He is."

"He's even luckier to have such a young lady like you," he added.

"Doc!" she exclaimed in embarrassment. What is it with people and teasing her about their non-existing romantic relationship? It's not like he'll notice her feelings anyway. And she was fine with that.

"Hey, that's what I see," the doctor continued to tease. "Now why don't you take a seat? He should be out for a while."

She nodded and sat on the chair nearby the bed. She didn't even think about with, nor notice it, but her hand laced itself to his, thinking that a little physical contact would comfort him.

She didn't notice it, but he gave her hand a light squeeze.

The doctor went back to want he was doing while she turned towards the clock on the corner. The extra time should have started by now, and Nankatsu was playing with only ten members, but she knew all of them were playing hard, throwing everything they've got for this game.

She turned towards him, a soft look on her face.

They're playing hard just for him, because they didn't want to disappoint him. They were going to keep strong in this 20 minutes for him.

You'll wake up soon right, Tsubasa-kun?

She could only squeezed his hand to send her unspoken wish.

Minutes past as she and the doctor stayed alert for any signs of him starting to wake. She looked up to the clock and saw that the first half of extra time was almost over. She hoped that Toho hasn't scored any goal and that they're still keeping strong.

Just 11 more minutes. Just 11 more minutes and their done.

She heard a groan from beside her and she immediately whipped her head to look at him.

He was waking up!

She unconsciously took her hand away from him and stood up, her chair screeching against the floor. That must have caught the doctor's attention, as he turned towards Tsubasa.

When he opened his eyes, she sighed in relief.

"W-where am I?" he mumbled groggily as he blinked his eyes.

"The infirmary," she answered softly.

"The game?" he asked as he sat up and he immediately clutched his shoulder, probably from the pain. She released a breath through her nose. Trust him to think about the match than his wellbeing.

"They were extended for an overtime," the doctor explained.

"I see," he replied as he threw the covers off and stood up from the bed, taking his folded jersey with him. He put it on as he walked towards the door.

"H-hey where do you think you're going?" The doctor asked in a panic.

"The field," he replied, stopping in his tracks to turn to them seriously. "My team is waiting for me."

"What?" she exclaimed disbelievingly. "But, Tsubasa-kun, you- your-"

"I can't guarantee your recovery if you continue to play!" the doctor reasoned. "You might not be able to play soccer after this!"

Tsubasa only stared at him, before turning and walked out of the door.

"Tsubasa-kun!" she screamed as she followed him out of the door. "Get back here!"

She didn't know whether he was purposely ignoring her or he was just so focused to get to the field he couldn't hear her.

"Goddamnit Tsubasa, look at me!" she screamed in frustration.

That was when he finally turned to her.

"You can't go back out there!" she said as she walked closer to him. "You heard the doctor! You might not be able to play soccer after this."

"My team needs me," he argued calmly.

"And they know how much you need to recover," she argued. "They know how much being able to play is important to you. They know how much this game is important for you."

She could feel herself start to choke and her eyes were starting to blur.

"If you continue doing this, your shoulder," she sobbed. "J-just stop trying to be strong, will you? Your dream, your hopes, everything will end if you get out there. Soccer is your everything! Please don't throw everything away for this. Please. You have so much potential, Tsubasa. You're in for amazing things in the future. I don't know what I'll do if I saw you never reaching your dreams. I-"

There was a pair of arms wrapping around her and she was suddenly enveloped by his smell.

"Thank you," he whispered to her. "I know you're only looking out for me. But this is my decision."

"But-"

"I know," he said. "My shoulder hurts like shit, and I'll doing everything I can to ignore it because I know people like you are out there, cheering and supporting for Nankatsu, hoping with all their hearts that we win."

"Then don't meet their hopes!" she looked up to him, clutching onto his shirt tightly. "They'll understand! You have two more years to win Nationals."

"But then I would be wasting your support," he replied. "I would be abandoning all those people out there who wants us to win. I would be abandoning you. You're even here with me, even though you don't have to be. I can't just throw that away."

"You'll have my support forever," she countered, her voice sounding desperate. "Even if you don't play for the extra time and lose, I'll always support you!"

"And I want to repay that," he said. "I want to repay you not just for today, but for all those years when I was gone and cheering for my friends. So please, let me get back out there and repay you."

She only choked again and wrapped her arms around him tighter.

She went back to her seat and wasn't surprised to see her teammates sitting by the Oozora's. Though she was surprised to see some of the dark green jerseys of KitaGaku sitting by them, even more so when she spied Hiyazaki of all people sitting beside Shiori.

"Anee-chan!" Daichi exclaimed as he waved her over. She waved back and took the seat he gave up as he sat on her lap. She heard the crowd roar in excitement. Tsubasa was finally back in the game, even if there was only about ten minutes left in the game.

"'Sup, dear cousin of mine," Ayame tapped her on shoulder. "You alright?"

She turned to her with a slight sniff. "Yeah," she answered.

"Have you been crying?" Ayame asked in concern. "Because injury or not, I will kick Tsubasa's ass if he did something wrong to you."

"Don't swear in front of Daichi!" she chided her cousin as she covered Daichi's ears with her hands, who didn't seem to hear anything as he continued to watch the game.

"Sorry," Ayame apologized. "But seriously, what did he do to you?"

"Nothing," she answered as she looked away from her to watch him play on the field. "I just being an idiot."

"I'm not convinced," Ayame pushed on.

She sighed and turned back to her cousin. "I'll tell you later, okay?" she said. "But for now, I want to watch the game."

"Fine," Ayame conceded as they turned back to watch the match.

She tried so hard to not squeeze Daichi when he hit the goal post from returning Hyuuga's shot. Every time, he blocked Hyuuga's shot, she could feel her heart skip a beat. But she has to stay strong. She promised him that she would believe in, and right now, that's the only thing she could do.

She almost stopped breathing when he fell yet again from blocking Hyuuga's overhead shot. But it didn't end there.

He stood up, forcing his legs to run after the ball.

Please stop, she thought, her eyes were starting to water again. It's okay now. The game's almost over. Just stop.

He was still running, and her chest was starting to hurt. She was forcing back a sob as she watched him continue on. She hated this, knowing that she couldn't do anything to help him out of his pain.

He finally reached the ball, and he was preparing to shoot, but Hyuuga kicked it just as he did.

The ball flew upwards, and the whistle blew.

It was finally over. Nankatsu tied with Toho as National Champions.

The crowd began to cheer again, and finally, finally she could breathe again. She felt her tears finally run down her cheeks but she was beaming.

Daichi stood up from her lap and ran to give his parents a hug, happy for their brother's amazing play throughout the whole time. Mrs. Oozora's probably crying like her now.

Ayame gave her a hug from her seat above her and she turned towards her cousin, her huge smile on her face as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

Ayame only beamed at her back.

She returned her attention back to the field as the crowd louder this time.

She never thought that he never looked any weirder, holding the Victory Flag and wearing Hyuuga-kun's Toho jersey.

He turned to face her, and their eyes met. She didn't think their smiles could get any bigger.

She knew that she couldn't stop falling for him even more.

End Chapter

AN: Yeah this chapter was a monster to write. I wanted to show just how much Sanae was really in love Tsubasa because reasons. I guess I wanted to show how much she's grown from wanting get Tsubasa defeated when they were young to stopping himself from sacrificing his shoulder. I don't know I just think that could have shown character development instead just switching her into a demure wallflower. I mean I liked how Sanae's not as hot-blooded anymore when she was young, but i loved her spunkiness. It was a shame we didn't see her "Anego" self anymore once they've grown up in the anime and manga.

That's it for this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review!