SailorStar9: Nya? Chapter 5 goes up and no review. No one is reading this fic! *Sob, sob, wails*
Tailmon (from 'Digital Light of Hope' and her current muse): Great, now you non-reviewing readers made her cry. Leave your comments in your review, or else... (Turns non-reviewing readers' faces into chessboards)
Disclaimers: I own nothing, well except the pairing.
Chapter 6: Flame Up, Soccer Kid
Damn, he managed to block my shot. Genzo cursed. And was able to kick a volley under the bus. That's not funny. And I can't stand him smiling like that.
"So, Wakabayashi?" Ryo taunted. "What do you think of the power of his shot?"
"Captain, what are you doing here?" the B-team voiced. "Haven't you returned yet?"
"You guys." Genzo noted. "Just in time. I admit that he has a powerful shot. But he's wrong if he thinks it's enough for him to play soccer. If you want to challenge me, you'll have to pass through them first, alone. We'll only confront each other after you fulfill that condition."
"What?" Ryo growled.
"If he's not satisfied with it, he can go home now." Genzo smirked.
"Wakabayashi, you're being really unfair." Ryo retorted.
"I'll do it." Tsubasa cut in.
"Huh?" Ryo blinked. "But, how can you do that against so many?"
"He's right." Sanae agreed.
"We can't know without trying." Tsubasa argued.
"Ishizaki, Nakazawa, don't even try." Ami told the two. "You can never out-argue with him when he's in that mood."
"This should be funny." The B-team laughed.
On the field…
"Hey, soccer ball." Tsubasa started his warm-up. "You and me, we're brothers, right? I would like you to help me again."
"He never changes." Ami noted amusedly.
"He accepted such a thing, but will it really be okay?" Ryo wondered.
"Ishizaki!" Sanae called, having gathered the rest of the team.
"Ah, everyone." Ryo blinked.
"We've heard about a confrontation against Shutetsu, so we came here to be the supporters." Sanae supplied. "Hey, we'll cheer you on during your confrontation with Wakabayashi."
"Do your best." Ryo shouted. "I'll also root for you."
"I'll try." Tsubasa chuckled.
"This man," Mikami spotted Roberto on the side. "I am sure that I have seen him somewhere before."
"Hey, have you seen him?" Tsubasa asked his soccer ball. "The goalkeeper who brought you here? He's really a great goalkeeper. But, if I don't pass through all of them, I won't be able to face him. You once saved my life when I was small, but, lend me a hand again, please."
"That guy…" the B-team wondered. "Who is he talking to?"
"I have to challenge him, no matter what." Tsubasa concluded.
"Why are you standing there like fools?" Genzo barked. "Hurry up and steal the ball from him."
"Yes." The B-team chorused. "Okay, let's go." They took their positions.
"Well, here we go." Tsubasa remarked. "Go!" he charged.
"Hey there, that guy is rather good." Ryo gushed, as Tsubasa passed through the B-team defenses.
"Damn!" two players slide-tackled Tsubasa.
"Look out!" Ryo warned as the feet closed in.
With a leap, Tsubasa dodged the tackled, taking the ball with him, before swiftly passing through the next defense lines.
Incredible. Roberto mused. His nutmegs and his dribbles. This boy, at his age, already became friends with the ball. There's really no doubt about it, it's this boy.
"Go, Tsubasa." Ryo cheered. "You're almost done."
This guy… Genzo frowned as Tsubasa drew closer. "Don't let him shoot. Gather yourself in front of the goal."
"Yes." The B-team obeyed and clustered around the net.
"What?" everyone else, but Ami, gaped when Tsubasa kicked the ball high up in the air.
"He's flying!" B-team gasped when Tsubasa took off after the soccer ball and sent the ball into the net with a header.
"Damn!" Genzo cursed, punching the shot out.
"Oh, it's really bad luck." Ryo remarked as the ball hit the post corner and got reflected out.
"Damn!" Genzo punched the grass in frustration.
"The ball can still be played." Roberto voiced.
Oh, I know! Mikami realized. This man… he's the center-forward of the national Brazilian team, Hongo Roberto.
"We'll settle this duel with a centering." Roberto sent the ball flying with a center passing and the two pre-teens jumped, with Tsubasa sending the ball into the net with a header.
"Great, he scored!" Ryo cheered.
"Impossible." Mikami was stunned. "Genzo lost…"
"Look out!" Roberto warned, the impact having sent Genzo crashing into the goalpost.
"Captain!" B-team gasped after the two boys crash-landed.
"Genzo!" Mikami exclaimed.
"Are you okay" Tsubasa asked, in concern.
"Don't touch me." Genzo slapped Tsubasa away. "I lost… I lost against this runt." He focused on the ball in the net. "Tsubasa." He barked. "A match. A match, we'll do a match. We can't know which one of us is the best player like this. We will only be able to determine it with a match. I'm accepting your challenge for the schools' tournament."
"The schools' tournament?" Tsubasa echoed.
"If you manage to score a goal on me during this match, then I'll admit my defeat." Genzo promised.
"Stop it, Wakabayashi." Roy retorted. "There's no need to get violent."
"Whatever the outcome of the match, the only stake here will be for you to score a goal." Genzo laid down the terms.
"You are Roberto." Mikami looked over at the other adult, the former center-forward walked off, whistling.
"Ishizaki, I'm leaving you this ground until then." Genzo declared. "Try and train yourself a bit to be up to the task."
"Captain, wait up!" B-team ran off after their captain.
"Seriously, I don't understand boys sometimes, especially bull-headed ones." Ami sighed. "You alright, Bas?"
"Yeah." Tsubasa replied. "By that way, where is the man who did the centering?" he thought to ask. "Eh? When did he leave?"
"Hey, you were incredible." Ryo voiced. "I thought my heart would stop."
"Yes, it was really incredible." Sanae agreed.
"Not really." Tsubasa blushed. "By the way, what is the schools' tournament?"
"Oh yeah, the tournament." Ryo supplied. "All the sports clubs from Nankatsu and Shutetsu face off on a yearly base. It looks like a bit of a festival. All the habitants of the town are completely passionate about it. Ah, that's right." He noted. "You'll go to Shutetsu. It's a pity. We would really have liked it if you joined our school."
"All of the good players are always going to Shutetsu." Masao added.
"But Wakabayashi thought that Tsubasa was a Nankatsu member." Ryo pointed out.
"The next time we meet, it'll be as opponents." Sanae noted.
"See ya." Ryo bade the cousins farewell.
"Hey, wait." Tsubasa voiced.
"What's the matter?" Ryo asked.
"Em, well, actually…" Tsubasa started. "Actually…" he whispered into Ryo's ear.
"What's happening, Ishizaki?" Sanae asked the laughing Ryo.
"This guy is really too much." Ryo chuckled. "He forgot the way to his house."
"Eh?" the group chorused.
"Figures." Ami muttered. "Only you, Bas. Only you."
In the Oozora household…
"Mom, that's enough." Tsubasa protested at his laughing mother. "Stop it."
"But to bring all these people home, he is really something." Ami giggled.
"Well, I got that from you, right Mom?" Tsubasa joked.
"Hey, Tsubasa." Natsuko chided. "But to make friends that fast, you too, you prefer playing soccer rather than eating?"
"Personally, I like both." Ryo admitted.
"I told you, Aunt Natsuko." Ami chuckled. "It's only Bas."
"Ami's right." Natsuko agreed. "You know, since kindergarten, Tsubasa always likes soccer. You just need to give him a ball for him to be happy. In fact, at one time, when he was playing with a ball as usual… the ball absorbed the shock and saved Tsubasa's life." She finished her narration. "Since that day, Tsubasa never stopped playing soccer. As if he was born for it."
"Really?" Masao echoed. "That happened to him?"
"Ah, Mom, why do you always have to bring up this story?" Tsubasa complained.
"But I'm doing it so that your friends can know a bit more about you." Natsuko pointed out. "Right?"
"Yeah…" Ryo trailed. "Well then…" he started.
"You're already going back?" Tsubasa blinked as the group stood to leave.
"You didn't finish cleaning up." Ryo reminded. "We'll see again another time."
"Sorry that I haven't been able to receive you well." Natsuko apologized.
"No, it was perfect." Ryo corrected. "See ya." He bade the family farewell at the doorstep.
"Thank you for everything." Tsubasa voiced. "Goodbye!" he bade the group farewell.
"Next time, don't forget your address." Ryo reminded and headed off.
The next morning…
"Hey, Tsubasa." Roberto knocked on Tsubasa's door and entered the room, the Brazilian center-forward's sudden appearance shocking the boy and throwing him to the ground.
"You're the center-forward of the national Brazilian team, Hongo Roberto." Tsubasa recognized.
"You know my name?" Roberto blinked.
"Of course." Tsubasa beamed. "Yesterday, when I came back home, I read this magazine and what a surprise. You're the famous center-forward of the national Brazilian team. But what are you doing here?"
"Here, Tsubasa." Natsuko handed her son a letter. "Here's a letter for you that your father gave to Roberto."
"Eh?" Tsubasa beamed. "A letter from Dad? Ask him to teach you what real soccer is. Your Dad will come back soon." He read the last sentence. "Great." He gushed. "I'll live in the same house with a player from the national Brazilian team. But, when did you arrive?"
"Oh Bas." Ami sighed, the adults chuckling.
"Well, your mother thought I was a burglar and suddenly threw a bucket of water on my face." Roberto stated as Natsuko served breakfast. "But that's normal. That is what happens to someone who visits people at 2 am."
"Yes, you should have shown me the letter in the beginning." Natsuko chided.
"By the way, Tsubasa." Roberto stated. "Which school will you and Ami go to?"
"Well…" the cousins looked at each other.
"I don't really know anymore." Tsubasa admitted. "I get the feeling that it would be better to go to Nankatsu and to have to have Wakabayashi as a rival."
"Furthermore, he mistook Bas for being one of them." Ami added.
"If I were you, I would choose Nankatsu." Roberto advised.
"Really?" Tsubasa asked. "That's what you think, Roberto? Okay, it's decided. Mom, I've changed my mind. I'll go to Nankatsu school."
"Tsubasa, don't say me that this is because Shutetsu is more strict concerning studies." Natsuko scolded.
"That's not it." Tsubasa protested. "I'll study seriously even in Nankatsu."
"Really?" Natsuko was unconvinced. "Well, we came to Nankatsu to let you play soccer, so in the end, it doesn't really matter which school you'll decide on."
"So, it's decided for Nankatsu." Tsubasa declared.
On the field…
"Gah, what the hell are you doing?" Ryo chided, the ball having hit Masao on the face. "Pull yourself together, Masao."
"But, I thought this Oozora Tsubasa will go to Shutetsu and that we'll be slaughtered again." Masao muttered.
"Stop talking about defeat." Ryo scolded. "As long as we're doing our best, do you really think that's important?"
"Yes." Sanae agreed. "Ishizaki is right. Let's do our best, guys."
"Yeah, let's go everyone." Ryo cheered.
"Yes!" the team chorused and resumed practice.
"What do you want?" Ryo demanded, when someone stole the ball.
"Now boys, if you don't train seriously, you won't even win against Shutetsu's back up team." The backup team player taunted.
"Damn!" Ryo cursed and charged to reclaim the ball, only to fall on his feet.
"So, having a ball or not, is the same for you." The team player mocked.
"You'll see!" the team charged. "Damn, we have to get our ball back."
"Fight!" Sanae shouted, the Nankatsu group was getting trashed by the two Shutetsu players. "You shouldn't lose to Shutetsu." When Tsubasa cut in, snatching the ball away from the Shutetsu player.
"You are…!" the two Shutetsu players gasped.
"Tsubasa!" the group echoed.
"Tell your captain, Wakabayashi, that Oozora Tsubasa will face him during the tournament in Nankatsu's team." Tsubasa declared.
"No way!" Sanae beamed.
"Way!" Ami nodded in affirmation.
"Damn!" the Shutetsu players cursed.
"I heard you fine." Genzo barked.
"Ara, speak of the devil." Ami remarked, everyone turning to the speaker.
"I'm looking forward to the schools' tournament." Genzo added. "Until then, try training yourself as much as you can."
"Captain, wait for us." The two Shutetsu players hurried after their captain.
"Tsubasa, Ami." Ryo ran over to the cousins. "Is that true that you'll come to Nankatsu?"
"I was waiting for this moment." Masao added.
"That's great." Sanae beamed.
"Okay, we'll all gather ourselves around Tsubasa and we'll do it." Ryo declared.
"Yeah!" the group cheered.
"Glad to welcome you among us." Ryo greeted the new member.
"This pleasure is mine." Tsubasa replied.
"Can I be one of you too?" Roberto requested. "What do you think of having a coach?"
"Wait a minute." Ryo voiced. "This may only be an elementary club, but don't say silly things. Okay, you have good centering, but anyone can do that. Therefore, for a drunk like you does not have the skills required to be a coach."
"So, let me prove it to you." Roberto stated and stole the ball from under Tsubasa's feet. "Let's go!" he charged straight for the goalpost.
"What will he do?" Ryo wondered. "He missed it." He snorted after Roberto kicked the ball into the goal bar.
"That is…!" Tsubasa gasped when Roberto delivered an overhead kick, sending the ball through the net.
"Overhead kick." Ami breathed.
"Amazing!" the Nankatsu group gaped in awe.
"He is the center-forward of the national Brazilian team, Hongo Roberto." Ami enlightened the group.
"He's actually living at my house." Tsubasa supplied.
"So, do you want me as a coach?" Roberto inquired.
"Yeah, of course." Ryo nodded.
"Who wouldn't?" Masao beamed.
"Great!" the team cheered.
Wakabayashi, we won't lose. Tsubasa swore.
Back in the present...
"He's right about that promise, though." Ami noted.
Omake
Because We Won Because We're the Good Guys
"So let me get this straight," 13-year old ANBU captain Uchiha Itachi said, making a herculean effort to cut through the vague political rhetoric, dissembling phraseology and flat-out bullshit of the past hour's 'conversation'. "You're saying that the Uchiha have grown resentful of being marginalized by the Village…"
"Correct," said Koharu, giving a single juddering nod of her withered old head in acknowledgment.
"Marginalized, even though you consider them to be one of the most powerful shinobi clans - as evidenced by your current fears…"
"True enough," Homura admitted, looking rather uncomfortable under the boy's intense gaze.
"And even though they helped to create this village, working side by side with the -now defunct- Senju clan..."
"A tragic fall," said Sarutobi, pretending to look mournful (though it remained unclear just which of the two great clans he was supposed to be grieving).
"Because you have, in fact, segregated them from the rest of the village, breeding fear and mistrust among the rest of the citizenry, and keeping them from achieving any real political power…"
"They can't be trusted!" shouted Danzō, slamming his single usable fist down on the table hard enough to rattle the teacups. "That bastard, Madara-"
"Was one man, rejected by his clan, who died at the hands of the Shodai over sixty years ago," Itachi interrupted, glaring at the one-eyed man as only a 13-year old boy can do.
"Way to hold a grudge," he added quietly, with a frown.
"And besides," Itachi continued, once again addressing the others. "He was simply afraid that you were going to do exactly what you have done. He was right all along…"
"Enough," Sarutobi interjected, affecting his patented 'tough-but-fair' grandfatherly demeanor in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. "We are not here to point fingers…"
Actually, Itachi thought to himself, That seems to be precisely why you are here. But you seem to forget - When you point your finger at us, you leave three more fingers, pointing back at yourselves.
"Do you understand the parameters of the mission, Itachi-kun?" Sandaime inquired, finally getting down to brass tacks.
"You suspect a coup," Itachi said, cutting straight to the heart of the matter; always the consummate professional as soon as someone mentioned the key word, 'mission'.
(It was ironic, really, that the post-hypnotic suggestion techniques used to drive Itachi to such rarefied heights of excellence could be turned against the Uchiha themselves this way; they had arrogantly thought that their little sleep-training program was better than Sylvan®.)
"And you want me to eliminate the ringleaders?" he continued, a slightly less 'coldly detached' and slightly more 'childishly hopeful' tone in his barely-adolescent voice.
"All of them," Koharu replied, with a slightly more 'chillingly ominou'' tone in hers.
"You mean, everyone involved in the plot?" Itachi asked.
"All of them," Homura repeated firmly, with a bit more emphasis.
"You mean, everyone supporting the supposed 'conspiracy'?" Itachi asked again.
"ALL! OF! THEM!" Danzō shouted, spelling it out for the reluctant prodigy, another delicate teacup tumbling with every punctuated syllable.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait up, hold on there, slow down, give me a second here," the normally stone-faced Itachi stammered, trying -with little success- to wrap his head around this mind-blowing concept. "You mean, 'all of them', as in... everyone?"
"Not just the 'guilty', or even those guilty by association, but everyone? The elderly, the disabled, the non-shinobi shopkeepers, pregnant women, untrained kids, babies, Uchiha-by-marriage…"
"Yes. All of them," the Third replied, cutting him off before (he hoped) it started sounding ridiculous. "It is for the good of the Village."
"For the good of the Village?" Itachi repeated dully. (ANBU had their own post-hypnotic key words as well, after all.)
"And what about me?" Itachi asked at last, finally coming back to his senses somewhat. "I'm an Uchiha, just like the others. Do you not fear and mistrust me? What will become of me, after I perform this task for you?"
"Don't worry, Itachi-kun," Sarutobi replied, with that horrible fake smile on his face. "There is no question in our minds about you. You have proven your strength and your loyalty. We will take care of you, after you complete your assignment."
That's just what I'm afraid of, Itachi thought, once again schooling his features to mask his uncertainty.
Itachi was running through the forest. He had tried to warn his kinsmen, but it was too late. Suspecting that their pawn was being influenced by useless and unbecoming 'emotions', Danzō had sent an overwhelming force of Ne ANBU operatives to eliminate the 'threat' of the Uchiha clan.
That Akatsuki group he'd been hearing rumors about sounded like his only hope.
Konoha might think that they could use his pathetic little brother as leverage; but someday, he would have his revenge.
SailorStar9: Without Madara and the Mangekyou, Sarutobi & Co. had no reason whatsoever to think that Itachi could actually pull it off. So what were they really thinking? If the ANBU had moved in to quell the resulting 'riot' in the Uchiha district, the other clans would still have suspected a bloodline purge. And if they did not follow through, this abortive first-strike would have forced the Uchiha's hands, provoking them into rising up against their oppressors and precipitating the much-feared and anticipated civil war. (And yes, the Uchiha were being oppressed; and had been, at least since the time of the Nidaime.) So what outcome could they have possibly been expecting? What would make 'Itachi's not-entirely-successful attempt to massacre the Uchiha clan' worth their while - and worth losing such a valuable resource? The death of the clan's greatest prodigy? If they feared all Uchiha, they surely considered Itachi their greatest threat. Elimination of the clan's strongest (disloyal) shinobi, with enough hostages ('prisoners') taken to cow the remainder? This would still lead to one of the two outcomes mentioned above. Seizure of clan assets? A nice side benefit, sure; but it would have to be something special to be a material cause, and worth losing the Uchiha over. The further ostracization of the Uchiha as a clan of untrustworthy, uncontrollable misfits? Which brings us right back where we started from. Weakening the Uchiha just enough so that they could simply shrug this headache off onto the next generation, like climate change or Social Security? Well, that's probably as good as we can get for rationalizing Kishimoto-sensei's half-assed storylines... But maybe you can come up with something better. The fact that the other founding clan (the Senju) was also mysteriously wiped out might be a good place to start.