This side story starts at Stamford Bridge, right at the end of the match there between Japan and Mexico;

Despite everyone thinking that Mexico would be totally defenseless, they actually did manage to put up a fight, which included bulldozing Seto Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and taking the early lead, and Manny Rivera even coming tantalizingly close to catching the Golden Snitch and winning the thing. But in the end, Sonic The Hedgehog pulled off his signature last-second supersonic blitz, coming out of nowhere and catching the Snitch right before Manny could, leading to Japan scoring a 175-10 victory over Mexico.

So now, as Sonic, along with his Japanese national teammates Shadow The Hedgehog, Seto Kaiba, Heero Yuy, Ash Ketchum, Gaara and Goku all head through the door leading to their locker room, their coach, Maximillion Pegasus, picks up something with his Millennium Eye;

"Why I do believe we have a couple of guests who are just dying to see you, Ash and Sonic-boys!"

No sooner does he say that than...

"ASH!"

"SONIC!"

Sonic and Ash's respective girlfriends, Amy Rose and May, suddenly come charging up from the confines of the room and practically slam right into them, kissing them ferociously on the lips as their teammates all shake their heads and roll their eyes, and as Pikachu ducks and covers behind them. Though not picked for the Japanese national team themselves, Amy and May have both made names for themselves in World League as Chasers for the Yokohama Yokai and Tokyo Tengu (especially Amy, what with the piko hammer she wields to devastating effect). They did both, nonetheless, still find the means to travel to London to support the Japanese team, and of course, their boyfriends. But right now, Sonic and Ash can't help but feel a little embarrassed as their girls embrace them so passionately in front of their teammates, all of whom happen to be other guys (Japan is, in fact, fielding the one and only all-male team in this World Cup).

"Hey, relax," Ash chuckles. "Besides, we didn't do as good as everyone thought we would."

"Yeah, they actually managed to put up a fight," notes Sonic. "ESPECIALLY with how they flattened Kaiba's best Duel Monster," he adds, earning a cold stare from Kaiba.

"But we won, didn't we?" May winks.

"And you saved the match for us all," Amy says to Sonic. "Oh, I'm so proud of my Sonic!" she exclaims ecstatically as she envelops Sonic in another bone-crushing hug.

"Alright, girls, give the boys a break," Pegasus steps in, sensing with his Eye that they would've spent a significant amount of time indeed embracing their boyfriends if he didn't do something. "Sonic and Ash are tired, and they need to wash up and get some energy back. Plus, you going lovey-dovey on them in front of everyone is embarrassing to them!"

As Sonic and Ash blush awkwardly, Amy and May both say, "Fine," then sit down to wait patiently for Sonic and Ash to get out of the showers, all the while discussing plans for tomorrow...

When the team does re-emerge from the shadows, Amy and May both enthusiastically skip up to meet Sonic and Ash, both of whom are still wearing nothing but towels. Since May is too preoccupied with starting at Ash's muscular chest and abs, Amy decides to do all the talking;

"So whaddya wanna do now, Sonic?" Amy asks.

"Well, we do have a day off tomorrow," Sonic points out. "Maybe we could go to one of the matches then? Italy, France and Tanzania are all playing, and those are all real good teams, and-"

"No way!" Amy breaks in. "If you have the day off, we should make the most of it; I propose a beach day!"

"Uh, but Amy," Ash steps in, "we're in London; I dunno of any beaches near here for you two to go to."

"Well, there is down in Southampton," explains Amy. "It faces the English Channel, so they'll have a number of beaches there. It's 80-something miles away, but our brooms could take us there in no time flat."

"Our brooms?" Ash asks. "May and I aren't invited too, are we?"

"Of course you are!" Amy smiles. "Whaddya guys say, eh?"

"Uh, sounds cool!" Ash smiles back. "What do you think, May? Uh... May?"

May, of course, was so busy drooling over Ash's bare torso that she wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation, thus forcing Amy to snap her fingers in front of her face to snap her out of her "trance." When she does, she quickly perks up and says, "Uh, yeah, sure. Let's do it!"

"Pikachu?" Ash asks, to which Pikachu answers with a happy "PIKA!"

"Ooh, yay!" Amy exclaims. "We're all gonna have SO much fun tomorrow!" And with that, the two couples leave the locker room, arm-in-arm, joining the rest of the proud players of Japan...

...

The next morning, on an empty beach just outside of Southampton, England, Ash, Sonic, May and Amy, with Pikachu riding along, all land their brooms, each one with a duffle bag containing their beach gear attached to it. For a minute, both couples do not much else but admire the natural beauty of the clear skies watching over the English Channel...

That's when Amy perks up, "Well, what the heck are we waiting for?" and everyone heads over to near the water's edge to set up shop. While they're all laying out their towels, Pikachu digs down a ways into a sand to make a hole to bury himself in. He very quickly settles into this hole in which he's buried up to his neck, dozing off rather quickly as the others undress. Sonic actually usually doesn't wear anything besides shoes and gloves anyway, whereas Amy is in a solid red one-piece swimsuit, Ash is in a pair of short team swim trunks that don't even make it down to his knees, and May is sporting an incredibly lacy red bikini that doesn't do a good job of covering her breasts or her buttocks.

"May, you know I get all weird when you wear that thing!" Ash blushes, trying not to stare at May as she picks up her surfboard from her duffle bag.

"That's the idea," May winks. "Now c'mon, get your surfboard and let's catch some waves!"

"Sure, OK," Ash grins as he grabs his surfboard and races with May out to the ocean...

"Shame we didn't bring surfboards, eh Amy?" Sonic shrugs as he and Amy watch Ash and May for a moment.

"Oh, that's alright," Amy giggles. "We could go swimming! You know, just you and me..."

As romantic as it may sound for Amy, Sonic, on the other hand, gets a bit nervous, saying, "Gee, I don't know, Amy - I'm actually not a strong swimmer."

"Aw, that's OK!" Amy croons as she slings a reassuring arm around him. "You don't have to be; besides, we're not going out that far, anyway. Still..." she adds as the idea pops into her head, "I could always teach you!"

"Uh, I still don't know..."

"C'mon, it'll be a sinch!" And with that, Amy takes Sonic by the arm and hurries him on towards the ocean...

Meanwhile, Ash and May have already caught a good-sized wave, and are both hanging ten, hooting and hollering like a couple of wild animals when suddenly, Ash loses his balance and topples over right onto May, leading to an awkward wipeout with the both of them falling underneath the water while their boards wash back up ashore.

"Sorry, that was my fault!" Ash gasps as they come up for air. "I really suck at this!"

"Aw, what do I care?" May smiles. "It was still fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Ash replies as he regains his own smile. "So... you wanna catch another wave?"

"Later, Ash-y boy!" May purrs as she pulls Ash in for a big kiss. Shocked as Ash may be at first, he quickly gives in, moaning into the kiss as May snuggles her half-naked body up to his own and sticks in her tongue...

Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy have made it out to past the point where the waves break; contrary to what Amy might've implied earlier, the water is actually quite well over both of their heads in depth. Luckily, Amy, being the better swimmer of the two, has a tight hold on Sonic's hand for comfort and support.

"Uh, I really am not sure about this!" complains a still-worrysome Sonic.

"Trust me on this, you'll be fine," Amy croons as she clutches Sonic's other hand. "I'll be right here for you. Now, relax, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and hold it."

The effect caused by gazing into the reassuring eyes of his loved one as last, allows Sonic to relax, and he does indeed close his eyes and take in a breath. Then Amy promptly turns him over onto his back and let's go...

"Ooh, yay!" Amy squeals to herself as Sonic stays perfectly afloat on the water's surface, arms spread out and eyes closed, looking about ready to doze off. "Aww, he looks so peaceful," she says to herself. "I think I'll let him doze for awhile." And with that, she plants a sweet loving kiss on his forehead while he continues to float there peacefully with the ever-loving face of his beloved smiling down upon him...

At the same time, Ash and May are back out on their surfboards, out further than Sonic and Amy are in the hopes of a really big wave coming along. Neither of them have to wait long - in fact, Amy also notices the big wave that is coming;

"Sonic, wake up!"

"Huh? Did I do it?"

"Yeah, now for the fun part! Now do as I do!" With that, Amy takes a hold of Sonic's hand and starts to swim, quickly kicking her feet and paddling with her free hand. With his complete trust in her, Sonic does the same, not even paying attention to the big wave coming up from behind.

At the same time, Ash and May are already riding atop the crest of the wave on their boards. "Hey, guys!" they both wave as the wave hits Sonic and Amy. Before either of them can answer, the wave picks them up and carries them along; hand-in-hand, Sonic and Amy bodysurf while Ash and May hang ten above them. While Amy is shouting out "Woo-hoo!" Sonic is clutching her hand harder than ever, trying not to drown. But before either of know it, the wave has subsided, and all four of them are lying on the sand together back at the beach's edge. Pikachu, meanwhile, is still dozing in the sand, not noticing a thing.

"Wow, that was... fun!" Sonic muses. "We should do it again sometime!"

"See, I KNEW you could do it!" Amy beams as she smash-hugs Sonic without warning. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!" she exclaims as she suddenly pins him onto his back and starts kissing him ferociously.

"Doesn't look like they wanna talk with us at all," Ash shrugs.

"Fine by me, Ash-y boy!" May purrs as she snuggles up to Ash and starts French-kissing him just as vigorously...

...

While that goes on, another one of the characters of the Japanese national team is also taking advantage of his day off; that would be Seto Kaiba, who plays as Beater for Japan, as well as for the Kyoto Kappa in the World League; the only non-American team thus far to win the Potter Bowl II. Right now he is headed to a huge apartment complex near the edge of London; this is where one would find the apartment that is being rented by Kaiba's family, including his wife Serenity Wheeler, his brother Mokuba Kaiba, and his baby son Tensai Kaiba.

At the moment, Serenity and Mokuba are sitting together on the couch, watching on TV the pre-match show for the upcoming group stage match between China and Italy. Baby Tensai, meanwhile, is being held on Mokuba's lap; the two have been taking turns holding him.

"Man, China doesn't stand a chance!" Mokuba declares. "Those magical girls playing for Italy have it made; seriously, those Rome Fairies have been quite a handful even for the Kyoto Kappa. Trust me, I know!"

"Still," Serenity notes, "those Chinese do have a lot of spirit. And their mascot is a dinosaur; that could make a difference, you know. Just look at what all these other mascots have pulled!"

"Aw, dinosaurs suck!" scoffs Mokuba. "If Rex Raptor can't win with 'em, I don't see why China has any more of a chance!" he boasts as Tensai lets out a spontaneous little giggle.

"Exactly!" As Mokuba says this, the soft, lovey-dovey side of him suddenly take over as he practically squeezes Tensai against his chest, proclaiming, "Oh, I just love my little nephew!"

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. "Serenity, Mokuba, are you two there? It's me, Seto!"

"SETO!" Enthusiastically, Serenity and Mokuba, still clutching baby Tensai in his arms, both rush to the door to answer it, where Seto Kaiba stands, greeting them with his signature smirk, as well as hugs for everyone, plus kisses for Serenity and Tensai.

"You all appear to be doing well," Kaiba grins as he walks in and sits down on the couch.

"Oh, you bet!" exclaims Mokuba as he and Serenity sit down on both sides of him. "China and Italy are about to face off - we can't wait! Tensai can't seen to wait either, can ya, Tensai?"

Baby Tensai simply giggles once more as Mokuba holds him up high, bouncing him playfully and making him giggle some more, along with the word "Mokuba" being shoehorned in at one point, causing Mokuba, Serenity and Kaiba to all stop dead where they sit.

"Oh my God, say that again!"

"Mokuba."

Mokuba, Serenity and Kaiba all gasp with joy, speechless. This here, is Tensai's official first word, and needless to say, all three of them are ecstatic beyond belief. Kaiba, of course, maintains a cool-headed smirk, but Serenity quickly reaches for her baby book to compile this milestone while Mokuba actually manages to shed a couple of happy tears.

"I'm your first word!" he whispers, almost at the point of sobbing.

"Of course," Kaiba replies coolly. "After all, he's just as crazy about you as you are about him."

"Oh, I just LOVE my little nephew!" proclaims Mokuba as he hugs baby Tensai tight once more, leading to another giggle and another "Mokuba," out of Tensai's little mouth.

"Hey, look," Kaiba says, now eager to get Tensai away from Mokuba so that he himself can hold him for awhile. "China and Italy just got started; you give Tensai to me, so I can hold him while you enjoy the match."

"Sure, OK," says Mokuba as he hands Tensai over to Kaiba before turning away to the TV to watch the Quidditch match...

"How do you like that?" Kaiba marvels. "Our little one talks! I would've liked his first word to be "Daddy," personally, but what're you gonna do?"

"I'd have preferred it to be "Mommy," myself," Serenity shrugs. "Ah, thinking about it makes me want to relive every moment with him all over again."

"Well you could, sorta," Kaiba suggests. "Just have another baby; besides, if you did, I just know he'd be just and sweet and beautiful as our Tensai!" he says softly as Tensai burps and falls asleep.

"Actually, I've been wanting that, yes!" Serenity beams. "I would like to right now, but, you know, you're in the middle of this World Cup, and Japan are one of the favorites to win..."

"Damn right we're the favorites to win!" Kaiba smirks. "But, uh, in all seriousness, I would like another kid too, yes. Heh, imagine how thrilled Mokuba would be."

"Yeah," muses Serenity. "But why don't we start thinking about it after the Cup? For now, let's just enjoy this match on TV as a family, okay babe?"

"But of course," smirks Kaiba. With that, husband and wife share a kiss, and then turn their attentions to the China vs. Italy match on TV, all while Kaiba cradles his sleeping baby; a sleep well-deserved, after having achieved such an important milestone in life...