AN: it was hard to write the first half, then it got easier

Hana2- nah subaru wont give up that easily. well, sort of because after this arc (oh my god, i have arcs), he'd kinda disappear for... forever? idk i hope he does. this story is getting out of hand and thats thats not how i planned it exactly. tsubasa will definitely tell his feelings after this schmuck, hopefully. anyway thanks for reading and reviewing!

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 36: Rivals

It was a tough match like usual when it comes to Toho and Nankatsu, but mostly between Tsubasa and Hyuuga-kun. There wasn't any surprise there. Everyone was at the edge of their seats just watching the two of them duke it out on the field. Honestly, she thought it was amusing. On the field, they're just monsters trying to kill each other, while off the field, they're so chill. Ugh, these boys should really stop taking soccer seriously.

But it wasn't just Tsubasa who gave Hyuuga-kun a hard time. Subaru-kun held his own against the fierce tiger, and with two people marking him, it was hard scoring for him. Plus, Wakabayashi-kun was guarding Nankatsu's goal.

Hyuuga-kun was prepared for Wakabayashi-kun though. His Tiger Shot was a lot stronger than what it was last time they played on the field. She might not be down there, but she could see how strong it was. Yeah, the hole in the net couldn't exactly say how strong it became, right?

But in the end, this exciting match ended with a score of 3-2 with Nankatsu winning.

Hell yeah.

Right after the whistle blew, she took off from her seat and rushed to the field, all the other girls following after her.

She dashed through the field, zipping through the grass and everyone else who went out of their seats to congratulate the new champions, but this time they weren't sharing it with anyone.

There was only person in her sights and all the adrenaline was forcing her to rush to him.

"Tsubasa!" she screamed once she was near them. She barely even noticed all the other boys around him or how he was just shaking Hyuuga-kun's hand.

She just really wanted to be close to him.

She couldn't help but flung herself to him, and he welcomed her with open arms. She held onto him as he twirled them both, her feet off the ground. She didn't notice anything, or anyone for that matter. She didn't notice the bewildered stares coming from their friends that slowly turned into knowing smiles. She didn't notice the teasing smirks on some of their faces. She didn't even notice the only frown in the area.

She was only aware of the two of them, and the beat of her heart telling her how much she was so so in love with him.

"You did it!" she exclaimed once she faced him. They weren't aware that hers arms were still around his neck, or his arms were still warped around her waist. "You won! For the second time in a row!"

He laughed heartily, sharing her excitement. "We both did it!" he said. "You guys won too! We're both back to back champions!"

She could only squeal in happiness before hugging him again, and honestly she thought that she would never get tired of feeling the rumble of his chest whenever he laughed.

Soon enough, their friends joined them. Some of them were laughing, and some of them were crying, and some were both because yes, they did it. They won Nationals twice in a row now.

The stadium was so cheering for them loudly they could barely hear the announcer over the speakers, congratulating Nankatsu for winning the tournament.

"Now, here is Mr. Hayato Ono, President of the Japan Football Association, presenting the representatives for the World Youth Tournament."

That made them stop celebrating. She directed her attention to where the president was, bowing humbly as everyone clapped for him. She separated herself from Tsubasa, opting to stand beside him instead.

She felt her breath hitch. She knew that the president wouldn't actually announce who the representatives. Subaru-kun made sure that she knew that. She just didn't want to see Tsubasa's reaction when he hears this.

"Thank you everyone," Ono-san said over the microphone. "First of all, I would like to congratulate Nankatsu for winning this year's Nationals again. It was a splendid match again this time against Toho. All of you did a wonderful job."

The crowd cheered again, this time praising the players who sheepishly accepted the cheers. She couldn't help but bump her shoulder against him, a teasing smile on her face. He only looked at her with that smile that never failed to let her heart race.

"Moving on," he coughed. Once the crowd quieted down, he started to speak again. "As much as I would like to tell everyone who our representatives for the much anticipated World Youth Tournament. We do have great athletes today. But I'm sad to say we have not decided on who our representatives will be."

The crowd erupted in hush whispers, asking themselves about what could be happening with the Association right now. They should have had the representatives picked by now. Why was it that they didn't have it ready?

She looked all around, and most of her boys had the same expression of confusion on their faces. The only people who didn't seemed exactly puzzled over this was Subaru-kun and Niwaki-kun. That was understandable. Subaru-kun probably told Niwaki-kun about this news.

"As I said Japan has a plethora of great soccer players today, and it is really hard to choose from them," the president continued. "But we did have it down to two sets of players.

"I hope you all remember the group chosen by Mizuki Sakamichi two years ago. They did lead our country to reach the semifinals in Argentina two years ago for the U-15 World Tournament."

This time the crowd voiced their agreements, maybe even reminiscing. She was sure that Subaru-kun and his teammates were quietly feeling proud of themselves. Well, they were judging from the discreet smiles Subaru-kun and Niwaki-kun shared.

"And how could we forget the All Japan Junior Youth Representatives chosen by Katagiri Munemasa that won the Junior Youth Tournament in France?" Ono-san reminded them. She could hear everyone cheering, apparently that event was still fresh in their minds. Maybe it helped that some of the representatives were down on the field, giving each other high fives.

Ono-san coughed, silencing the stadium. "At first we thought of combining these two great teams, wanting to see if we have them playing together would bring glory to Japan, but further consideration have us believing that it might be the greatest idea.

"So instead we have decided that we will only choosing one team."

There stadium was filled with chatter and whispers again, clearly blown away by this information.

She looked around, already her boys were stealing glances towards Subaru-kun and Niwaki-kun. Niwaki-kun didn't mind it and continued to look towards President Ono, but Subaru-kun's attention was directed at someone else, and she realized that it was the very same person standing right next to her.

Tsubasa and Subaru-kun were staring at each other intensely as if they both just declared war at each other. It- it actually scared her a bit. Tsubasa's eyes looked hard, as if it was steel and it was the first time she saw him like this.

"So, in three weeks," Ono-san began, "We are sponsoring a match between these young athletes in the Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka. Whoever wins the game will be the one representing our country for the World Youth."

When they heard those words, their stares were harder, fiercer.

She wasn't sure this was just about being representatives anymore.

To say that it was awkward right now was an understatement. It was downright uncomfortable.

Just like last year, both the girls' and boys' teams were off celebrating their victories, and it was in the same restaurant too. At this time they were supposed to be up and about acting like drunks without drinking any sort of alcoholic beverage. That's what happened last year.

Now, they were just sitting there silently staring at each other. Well, the guys anyway. The girls were trying to fill in the silence by chatting about the most random thing and trying to grill their meat as cheerfully as possible. It wasn't working though and only made the atmosphere more awkward than it already is.

The boys though, were just staring at each other. Usually they would be doing their antics like trying to win against Ayame over reasoning but failing miserably, or taking quips over Ishizaki becoming balder every second that pass. Nope, they're silent today.

They all knew the reason why they were like this. And it concerns some of the news they received from yesterday.

Who wouldn't be uncomfortable when you would be fighting against your teammates in three weeks for a chance to represent Japan? Not to mention the captains of the two teams were in the same school team and might have an unspoken rivalry over the central midfield position.

Or you know, a rivalry over the same girl they gave their hearts too.

Yeah. Awkward.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Ayame swore out loud as she stood abruptly from her seat, surprising everyone. Yes even the parents and other family members who also felt the tension among the boys. "I can't stand it anymore."

"What can't you stand anymore, Aya-chan?" Shiori asked her.

"Everything!" she exclaimed in distress pulling on her hair as she got out of her seat.

She stomped towards the table shared by the boys team and slammed her hand on the table. "Talk," she ordered. "I don't care that you guys are going to be against each other in three weeks. I don't care that you hate each other-"

"For the record, I don't really like them. I just tolerated them," Niwaki quipped. The other boys then turned to glare at him, to which he only rolled his eyes at and ignored them. He did get an elbow to his ribs from Subaru.

Ayame turned to him with a blank face. "Does it look like I care?"

"…No,"

"Good. Glad we understand that."

Then she went back to addressing everyone. "The point is," she started, "You guys just won Nationals. As members of the same team. You guys won it together. All of you guys made it happen. If this team was missing at least one of you guys, then it would be fucking terrible and you will be slain by Hyuuga and his Toho goons. So be fucking grateful for each other and celebrate goddamnit."

She was met by silence as she breathe hard, trying to grab some oxygen because she forgot to breathe while saying that speech.

"I think that's actually the nicest thing you've ever told us," Wakabayashi remarked, breaking the silence.

"Agreed," Kisugi nodded. "And I actually feel moved by it. Usually, Anego would be the one doing these kind of talks, but seeing that she's missing right now to who knows where-"

"Bathroom."

"Right. But anyway, it's kind of weird hearing Ayame-chan do it instead. Not to mention kinda insulting."

"Fuck both of you," Ayame hissed. To which the boys only smirked at.

"But Ayame-chan is kinda right," Misaki interrupted. "I mean, if it wasn't for Koizawa-kun and Niwaki-kun being part of the team, our team wouldn't be as great as it was, or is for that matter. Besides, they don't exactly become… our… enemies…? Until tomorrow when all of us have to go to our separate training camps."

"Thank you!" Ayame turned to him. "At least someone understands me."

"I guess," Ishizaki agreed as he crossed his arms. "But that doesn't mean I'll be friends with them."

"Ugh, grow up Ishizaki," Taki scoffed, "You're just jealous they have more talent than you."

"Hey!"

Taki promptly ignored them and turned to the Niwaki and Subaru, who were just silently watching them interact.

"So truce?" he asked, offering his hand up for high five. "At least until today. I mean you guys are still our teammates so why not."

Niwaki and Subaru looked at each other before shrugging.

"Ah fuck it," Niwaki said as he slapped Taki's hand with his. "It's not like it's going to kill us to actually like you for a day."

"I'm fine with them. You're just the one who… hates… them."

"You know what, Koizawa? No one cares what you say!"

Ayame then sighed in relief.

"Ah, praise God you guys finally figured everything out. Now everything can go back to normal," she muttered to herself. "Good, now do your thing. Get drunk out of sodas. Insult each other. As long as you just talk. I don't care."

"So does that mean we can make fun of your recent obsession with high heeled boots?"

"Oh hell no! You did not just go there Misaki. You're going down buddy!"

And with that the usual ruckus and chaos brought by Nankatsu finally appeared. Sorry for anything broken in advance.

He sighed as he took sip from his glass. Well, there they go again. At least they were having fun. They were already out of their seats doing lord knows what. Even Niwaki got roped into their antics.

The only problem was, he was left with Koizawa, who was coincidentally seared across him.

Maybe a few days ago, it wouldn't be hard being left with him. Just a little bit awkward, maybe try some little chats to fill in the silence. But with that stare-off yesterday, well let's just say there seemed to be a wall of ice between them now.

"So…" he started. "How's it going?"

"Great. The food's nice."

Cue silence.

"Are they always like this?" Koizawa asked as he looked at their teammates watching something on Izawa-kun's phone and laughing at it. They were obnoxious about it too.

"Yeah," he answered sheepishly. "They're uh, they're very loud when they're off of the field. Well, more like they become idiots when they're off the field."

Oh look at least he smiled. That's a plus.

Cue silence again.

He was about to drink from his glass again, but what he heard made him stop

"I'm not giving up," Koizawa said out of the blue.

What?

"I'm not giving up," he repeated. "Not on being the representatives."

Oh that's what he meant.

"Not on Sanae-chan either."

Well, that's a different story.

He heard Koizawa take a deep breath. "I know I can't have what you have, but I'm willing to fight for the match and for her. I'm willing to give my everything just to let her know that. Because I like her, Oozora. And I know you do too, but I'm not going to give up on her easily. Even if I know you're the one she likes."

This time it was his turn to take a deep breath. He could see Subaru was serious about this. He couldn't exactly blame him. There were great things on the line for the both of them.

But, he wasn't willing to give them easily too.

"Thanks for being honest with me," he smiled at Koizawa who seemed to be taken aback by it. "And I kinda figured you like her. You weren't exactly discreet with it

"I don't blame you for liking her," he added, "I can understand." They then turned towards where she was, trying to appease Ayame from rampaging over the boys while carrying Daichi in her arms. "She's everything any guy wished for."

Then she turned towards them, a smile on her face. They didn't know who was she was smiling at, but they returned it back. You just have to smile back because her smile could light up the whole world.

She could light up his world.

"But," he said as he stood up. Daichi was calling for him and who was he to break his brother's wishes. "I'm sorry. I'm not letting her go."

He excused himself from Koizawa, leaning the other guy dumbfounded as he went towards his brother and her. When he reached them, she greeted him with that smile reserved for him that he absolutely adored because she gave it just for him.

And it always made his heart soar

Yes, Koizawa liked her, but him? He's absolutely, irrevocably in love with her.

End Chapter

AN: haha remember when tsubasa said about when he was going to say those say worlds to sanae when he's definitely sure he feels the same way. welp, now he does so yeah. there's a silent rivalry thing going on between tsubasa and subaru that our girl have no idea about, and maybe she wont ever know. idk

anyway, i got an idea for Wakabayashi and Shiori if they never knew each other because of sanae. like it would not involve FOLW universe at all. but anyway, i thought that what if since wakabayashi's family got a new dog when he's old (john probably died when he was in his twenties *sobs*) and he was in japan visiting his family and taking a break from playing in the bundesliga, he decided to bring their dog to the vet. then low and behold the vet was shiori. sparks flew and the rest is history with a few bumps and potholes.

okay im done. thanks for reading and please review! cya soon