Akari: I'll explain once more. All of these chapters are rewritten so take your time in reading it. About the Kiseki part mentioned in chapter 1, I didn't add in to the story line abruptly because I had already planned out everything in the future and it was suppose to be revealed few seasons later, but I decided that now would be a best time.
About Shana's personality, like I said, she didn't change, she's acting the way she is and I'm surprised to find a Shana fan here. She doesn't open up at first, but it will slowly be revealed she do care for her teammates. Right now, she's only fond of Fubuki, Sayaka and her close ones.
Warning: Slight humour in this chapter(if you find it funny). Tell me if you do.
You're not alone
Chapter 7: Ravelled In Between Past And Present
"Fairly, I didn't find that pleasant at all," Kurimatcu grumbled as Kabeyama once again apologized. He was distressed when his best friend had scream and called for help. During his search for his friend, he had imagined that that previous creature had kidnapped him and took him to the underworld or some sort. Yet, despite his unsettled wits, it all went down the drain when only to find him striving to get out a small pit. He was later also dragged in and dirtied when he tried to help the larger boy out, but failed disconsolately. He didn't blame the boy for being oversized and couldn't mount out from a pit, but sometimes he wished he was stronger to assist.
"As seen on the news, you've heard of Aliea Academy's destruction?" Kidou asked. "I assume that you've never met them due to your team's absence when Epsilon, Aliea Academy's first rank team, came to declare a match with you and part of your school's destruction was served as a warning that they'll return. So far, Tokyo is in a mess with the wrecking Gemini Storm have done, we cannot allow them to continue as they please. In order to do that, we are trying to form the strongest soccer team on Earth to defeat them, but because of our lack in numbers, we would like some aid from you. Do you understand?"
"I see. I understand what you're saying," Kageta said. His green hair pulled back into a gentleman like manner and copper eyes deadly calm. "We do not intend to fight." Raimon gasped. "We play soccer only to enhance our minds and bodies. Not for the sake of battle. We will tell them that we have no desire to fight and ask them to leave."
"Oi! Were you even listening to a damn thing Kidou had just explained! That kind of attitude won't work on these people!" Someoka roared and rose up to his feet, his fists balled up.
"That is because your heart is filled with wicked thoughts," Kageta countered, his facade still upholding. "If one speaks out to others with a blank heart, there is nothing that can't get through to them." He stood up and said, "Now if you will excuse us. We're in the middle of training."
"There is no use denying it right now," Shana commented, her body leaned on the wall as she and Fubuki preferred standing. "Everything is already revealed and begging for mercy? I don't think a bunch of aliens would get that utterance. Declaration from them has already threatened your school and a part of it was demolished for your absence. You think asking them to leave would leave their hearts sated?"
"Who said we were begging for mercy?" Fukumi questioned, eyes on her. A long scar embellished his bold head, but what his most distinctive feature were his long earlobes reaching past his shoulders. "You have no permission to say that. In fact, your words are nowhere near there!" His eyes darted to Fubuki with a glare as said teen flinched. "To hell would coach let someone like you in here again! Telling us and demanding out cooperation! Why don't you do it! After all, you're the infamous Kiseki no Sedai! Winning every single tournament and acting all nice in front of the camera when you're just looking down on everyone! What that teammate of yours did to me is nowhere near my hatred, but what he did to Araki-senpai is way beyond unforgivable!"
"Fukumi, calm down," Kageta silenced him.
"I can guess why your brainless team made you captain."
"Fukumi, stop it!"
"After all, you're the worst of the worst!"
"Fukumi!"
Fukumi snarled and left the dojo, slamming the door shut.
Kageta stood up and bowed toward Fubuki. "I'm sorry for his rudeness. Please forgive his actions and words."
"To hell would coach let someone like you in here again! Telling us and demanding out cooperation! Why don't you do it! After all, you're the infamous Kiseki no Sedai! Winning every single tournament and acting all nice in front of the camera when you're just looking down on everyone! What that teammate of yours did to me is nowhere near my hatred, but what he did to Araki-senpai is way beyond unforgivable!"
"I can guess why your brainless team made you captain."
"After all, you're the worst of the worst!"
Leaning on a wall at the sidelines, glimpsed at the managers handy work in cooking and his teammates discussing further matters about Manyuuji's demurral. He couldn't help, but recall his words in his mind, carefully repeating with a louder volume than the pervious one. He wanted to forget how Fukumi's words had stung him and he knew that all these years, he hadn't forgotten that tragedy that had befell Araki. "Even after all these years, you still held a grudge on him—all of us…"
"Mind explaining to me his sudden outburst?"
Fubuki looked up and smiled. "You could say that we were the reason Manyuuji never participate in any tournament later on."
Shana rested her hands on her hips. "I don't know the details, but it wasn't your fault or your team—from what I can tell." Upon seeing his head lowered to the ground, she sighed and gave a small smile. "No matter what happened years ago isn't your fault. I know you. What decision you made back then might or might not be the right choice, but you know," she trailed off and slumped onto the wall, looking up and frowned, "you can't change it now. No matter how much you wish, no matter how long your life mourn, no matter how you try to forget, time is the one thing that never reverts." A soft silence overtook as the breeze went out of tune. She detached herself from the wall and said, "Remember, a captain never wavers in his decisions." Grey eyes widened as she left.
Night dawned as darkness enveloped. Dimmed lights shone brighter as clouds transformed into midnight blue. The moon revealed itself floating in the sky and will eventually fade into broad daylight soon. Fubuki padded across the halls and inhaled the fresh air of nature from within the trees that decorated the garden, bubbles popping within the pond as fishes laid in slumber, scent of water lilies levitated over clear liquid and birds snuggled within their nests. Crickets came alive and sang in harmonies, some individually, expressing the need for company; some sang to their hearts content without a care in the world.
Sliding the door opened, he was welcomed with an aroma of cleanness and scented of dried leaves in autumn. A spacious room with a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon of fishes under water, sky blue cushioned pillows sat at each side of the table; a tabletop of tea set situated at a corner and a shelf with various amount of leaves and ingredients. Walls uncovered by wooden edges with the colour of light brown. His stoic look faltered into a bright side as soon as he noticed another presence.
Shutting the door behind him, he sat onto one of the pillows and observed the sage before him. "It's been a long time, Nijimura-oji-san."
"O-oh, it has, Fubuki. My, you've grown. Your ears got bigger and your tail got longer," he commented, giving a long smile, his bamboo hat sheltering his eyes. "How have you been?"
"Well," he replied with a small blush as his wolf ears twitched from the comment earlier and his tail waved up in the air, "I suppose they did." His impassive look returned as seriousness visible in his eyes. "Aliea Academy attacked your school, i've heard. We came to help, but it's going to take time to persuade them." He paused. "Manyuuji changed a lot since four years ago during that day," it came out as a whisper, but was heard by the other. His grim expression did not went unnoticed by him.
"It's not your fault at all. No one could have predict something like that to happen. I'm sure that Araki has never doubted you from the start and the ones that gratulated into high school already, but Fukumi was young back then, so he weren't understand the true meaning behind everything. Araki is like a brother to him, so I can understand how he feels, but both you and your team are not at fault. I know your team was desperate to win and it was a mere accident—"
"No!" Fubuki interrupted, head fixed on the table as he squeezed his clasped hands, his bangs shadowed his eyes. "It wasn't an accident at all, it was on purpose. He had everything planned out from the start and it was right under noses, we should have stopped him before it was too late. We should have… we should have… prevented it."
"I'm already grateful that all of you try your hardest. If only Fukumi could have seen how hard you—all of you tried, he would have thanked you."
Fubuki rose his head. "I'm happy that you have forgiven us."
"There is nothing to forgive. He's the only one who cannot be forgiven for such acts."
"Thank you," Fubuki bowed shortly. "We will do our best in assisting your team."
"Kogure. He's a member of the soccer team and quite troublesome. He seems to think that everyone around him is an enemy." Fubuki rose an eyebrow. "He is placed on reserves for the time being, but I don't blame his mischievous acts. Apparently, he was betrayed by his parents when he was young and left him. We picked him up from the train station and took him in until he is ready to walk his own path, but with how his personality going on like this, i'm troubled that that day won't come. Pranking everyone once in awhile out of revenge and resorting into disturbing training if we unintentionally anger him."
Woken up from his sea of regrets, he slowly registered his words and smiled. He admired how Nijimura learned to read the entire atmosphere and knew how to drop the subject if needed. "Well, isn't that far more interesting for the better. After all, fate isn't predictable nor controllable."
A smile. "I suppose so," he responded. "Is that really Kidou Yuuto with Raimon?"
"Hai…" he replied, confused. "Is there something that is important?"
"Actually…"
Fubuki blinked.
Dressed in her Raimon jersey with the sleeves reaching over her wrists, Shana tightened her scarf around her neck and blew frosty air. She didn't know Kyoto could have been this cold at night as she slipped her hands in her pockets, strolling around the area and passing by street lights. Houses stood by motionlessly and not a life sighted. It was totally different from the day where police officers were labouring to keep anyone out or in. Making her way back to Manyuuji, she stopped and shut her eyes when a gust of cold air brushed against her skin. When her eyes flew opened, she darted her head to where the wind had came from and found a playground with the swings moving back and forth, tempting and inviting her as she stared.
Shrugging off the cold, she past by metal poles and reached out a hand and laid it on the metal frame, caressing the smooth painted steel that looked a lot like coal. Grabbing the chain that held the seat hanging and in place, cold metal rubbed against her warm ones. She scanned the place throughly for any unwanted intruders before she swung herself onto the seat gracefully, her weight landed onto the rump soundlessly as if she was a feather, the chains straightened and clattered into the night air, her hands held on tight to the chains firmly.
This was a lot different from the ride she rode in amusement parks where vehicles reached over the sky before plunging down with amount of screams from the passengers. Sitting on the swing felt like she was in control and way more harmless with only inches away from ground. Would it be weird to sit here all night long and stared out into space?
"What are you doing, Shana?" Fubuki asked.
Said teen let out a squeak and pushed herself up from the seat. Seeing a temporary small tint of blush on her face, he rose an eyebrow while the other coughed unnervingly into her hand. Clearing her throat, fighting away the blush, she said, "Nothing in particular."
Fubuki was perplexed by her odd behaviour. Another thing was, what triggered her drastic changed of interest into playgrounds? Sure the kids in the orphanage have a thing or two about influencing others into their childish plays, but he never had expected Shana would be disease by it. A thought occurred to him. He smiled and pushed Shana back down onto the seat while the other protested. "It's okay. It's not a crime for teenagers like us to have a little fun once in awhile." Fubuki laughed, not too cold, but warm enough to maintain her so-called solid equanimity. "Wouldn't it be more easier for the others to understand you if you express your feelings more?"
Shana tsked and looked away. "Like I would do that," she retorted.
"Looks like it." Fubuki turned up behind Shana. "Let's take flight!" Shana startled when she was hoisted up into the air, hands scrambling for the chains that would apply more welfare for her. Off the ground and high up in the air, her violet eyes—gleamed in the night like the colour of light-green in a dark room—gazed up and witnessed the stars glittered in an ocean of navy blue. The seat oscillated like a pendulum as Fubuki applied the right amount of pressure into gear. "What were you thinking just now?"
It took her a moment to answer. "About that day."
Everything ceased.
Fubuki—who was the wind of her essential flight—was frozen in between time, his bangs shaded his eyes while he left his hands resting at his sides. Shana didn't bother to ask what was wrong, because he knew what she meant without words to explain, without eye contact for gestures. Her grip tightened on the chains. If it weren't made of metal, would the camouflaged metal break under her grasp? Would metal be appointed glass and remained fragile, the once unbreakable and undefeated crumbled?
Nothing matters right now to Shana, because without a lock, her memories that were stored within boxes would always have the tendency to release, no matter how far she set them aside from her mind, no matter how much she taped them until her hands bled, their awakening were destined to held her against her will. For a moment, nothing moved until the light taps of shoes came closer to her from behind. Her half-lifted downcast eyes opened fully and rose her head as a new form leaned against hers.
Their backs compressed against each other as Fubuki took up the small space that separated her from the end of the seat. Being taller than the younger teen, Shana tipped her head onto his and his beneath hers like the end piece of a fitting puzzle. They stayed quiet without a word said because they knew that the only thing that was better than words or actions towards one and another, was silence that stretched across their unspoken conversation.
Clouds of east and west dusted the sky into a background of blue and white. The stars and moon fled from the fine day of the spring morning into the darkness of the chilly night. Crawling out from the bigger ones, miniature sheets of white began shaping it's own performance and grouping around, hovering over the sky in a slow dance of a massive ballroom that extended throughout the globe. Blissful shrines of purity stood and multiple over Kyoto like a wide-range of birds.
Morning found Raimon roaming around Kyoto like toddlers in a zoo. While their joy was sprouting out, the police force were needed once more again in holding back the stubbornness of the parents. Their problems had lessened when none of the students had planned another scheme, but it was restless as ever. Chief Nanami reluctantly had to get out from her bed and not touch her laptop that was laying on her bedroom desk. She silently cursed the aliens for ruining her two weeks vacation that she requested from her superior. She really hated how life never went the way she wanted. If it weren't for the aliens, she would have surfed the internet on new updates in idols, singers, actors and so on.
On the other hand, Officer Kenzaki was moved into the investigating force of finding any hidden clues in the last attack of a certain school in Hiroshima. After a search party was conducted, Kenzaki sat at a nearby bench in an attempt to get some sleep after yesterday's mission. He wasn't worried of people calling him a slacker because the only reason he was here for was interrogation. An hour had found a commoner wandering around the place like a hawk, reported to have been sneaking around. And thus, his 'little' questioning routine had begun.
Kenzaki sighed as brown eyes eyed him. "Look, I'll make this easy for both of us and get on with it without any dishonest answers or complicating misunderstandings ahead of us, so just answer my questions decently. I'm just going to ask a few questions, nothing too burdensome." He looked up, making sure the other was listening diligently, but only received hazel eyes on him in return. He felt excruciating even with four trained police officers standing guard, armed with guns. Each of them had already received a degree in exceeding higher-ups and were considered the best sharp-shooters in the force.
He fidgeted with the pocket knife in his pocket and slapped a hand onto his other pocket in order to confirm that the gun was still there. The old man before him was nearly around the age of ninety. His long sliver hair and beard reached over his waist. He wore a red robe with the sleeves reached past his wrists and the remains of the fabric extended onto the ground. Normally, loose clothing would be hard to walk around with the nuisance of dragging it with you, but he was walking fine
"Why are you squirming your hands around a lot?" he asked, his eyes stared into Kenzaki's.
"You know what? Stop. This is getting nowhere. You and me wanna be out of here fast, right? So, who are you?"
For a minute, Kenzaki saw him silently asking are you an idiot or what? "What kind of a damn fool question is that?" he mockingly said. "I am who I am and I am who I was and I am who I will always be!"
Kenzaki rose an eyebrow at the odd reply. "Excuse me? That's no answer."
"What other answer is there?" His voice had a hint of sarcasm in it. "It's the only answer worth giving," he stated.
"Okay, never mind, forget what I asked," Kenzaki waved his hand in a manner. "What were you doing wandering around the school?"
"In—credible, you follow one idiot question with another! I'm having a stroll as you perfectly well know."
"No you're not," Kenzaki hesitated. "Unless I said so, you're not."
"But you already said so, only ten minutes ago you said so you said and you did so!"
Kenzaki stole a glance or two from his guards then returned to him. "No, I didn't."
"What on earth is wrong with you," he said, tiresome. "Something interested in your mind is there? If you can't remember who you let it in and who you let it out, YOU LET ME IN! And I thank you for that and now, apparently, I have to let myself out!"
He stood up, but Kenzaki stopped him. "You are not going anywhere with these ridiculous answers! Answer me properly right now!"
"Oh, good grief," he snorted as five of them were sent flying to the wall, knocking them instantly unconscious. "Should have done that years ago."
Haruna sauntered through the maze of crowd. Somehow, she ended up in the wrong side of Kyoto with devil looking people walking around in frilly skirts and ridiculous costumes: a male dressed in oversized pants pulled up to his chest with a clown hat sitting on top of his head; a gang of girls wore heavy make-up and looked a lot more like jokers than human beings, chatted at a reserved table that was meant for somebody else.
Animal costumes adorned a group of musicians as they struggled to play on stage with the fabric catching and tangling in their play; the drummer would bang the drums so hard that he hardly realized that his costume was the cause of the misshaped in his notes; the bassist and guitarist had trouble strumming and pressing when their arms were caught as the sound of a broken radio radiated from the speakers; the keyboardist occasionally played two keys with a finger and messed up with a few chords and minors; the lead vocalist had a strain voice like he had dehydrated hours ago and was just a living corpse that stood in the mortal realm.
Stores pulled up in different colours and the stench of dead fish and raw meat whizzed into her nostrils. She coughed slightly from the foul smell. In order to escape, she parked herself in a tent that seemed to be packed with people in benches and a show on on stage. Looking at the flyer beside her, at the top part of the flyer read 'Betrayal in Life'. Everyone was the same in here, monster looking make-up with bad taste of clothing that was far more worst. The only one who stood out the most—besides her—was a boy in the corner of the tent and was went unnoticed by people a couple of times due to his short statue.
The familiarity of his features pictured in her head and she instantaneously knew that he was the boy who pranked them yesterday when on the way to the clubroom. In her observation, he must be a student of Manyuuji with his kimono uniform as prove, but wasn't the place under lockdown for the meantime until the case with Aliea Academy is chilled down? Nonetheless, it was wrong for him to sneak out when the principle was only trying to keep them safe and weren't his parents be worried about his absence during classes? She pushed through the crowd, having to apologize for her behaviour for bumping some of their children down during the process. His eyes were focused on the performance and a thin line carved onto his lips.
Just when she was near, her body stopped functioning in an irrational rate. Her greenish-grey eyes widened as she slowly turned to the play and found the main heroin cuddled in the hero's arms. The background for the scene was in bright yellow as a window with curtains was drawn in the scenery. This was certainly a flashback that occurred in movies and if her hearing was right, this scene was said to have occurred nine years ago in the storyline where the girl was five and her brother was six.
No… Everything was too same, it must have not been a coincidence that it showed at the right time she'd arrived and was about to leave.
The girl continued to cry into her brother's chest as the audience were at the verged of tears. The actors were perfect, too perfect for her liking. "Why aren't they back yet? They promised me they would come celebrate my birthday! It's late already! Why aren't they coming back! You heard them! They promised!"
Under the ominous light of yellow, the loud cries rang of the walls as hands kept coming contact with his chest. Her tears streamed down like rivers into lakes while his hand never provided much comfort for his younger sister that needed everything to end from the nightmare, but reality was different. It wasn't like a painting that could be repainted in a different way countless of times with more beauty in result; it wasn't a data that could be simply erased as you wished; it was the manifold of paths within a circle as you choose with only one path to be right and others were a plain DEAD END.
She gave her face a hard slap. Her mind cleared from any unwanted images that were flushed through her head awhile ago. The past was the past, nothing will do good if she kept on handing back on her past. The boy before her was disinterested and left the tent while she followed from behind. A hand landed onto his shoulder as he shivered and shrieked from the contact. "Hey, you. Aren't you suppose to be back in Manyuuji?"
He turned back and sneered. "Oh, it's you. Why are you doing out here?"
"That should be my line," she retorted.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just leave me alone."
"Why were you interested in that play earlier?"
He stopped. Then he continued on walking. "Who said I was? I was just stopping by for a break."
Haruna's gaze softened. "Don't tell me your parents betrayed you, too?"
"How—" he stammered and recalled her words. "Too?"
Haruna smiled and she weren't have thought she was giving this to a stranger she never knew. Her fingers were slightly trembling from her indecisiveness in telling her story. She led him to a darker alley where no life was in sight and sat on an abandoned chair that was thrown out. She was bewildered that the other complied to her wishes easily and stayed muted the whole time. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought when the team tried chasing the claimed 'monster' out of the lawn. Unfortunately or fortunately, he slipped away and Fubuki was too confused himself to answer who the boy was. The only thing they got in return from Fubuki was the boy adding wax to the area for a harmless prank—he had emphasized to ease their anger.
"I, my parents and my brother used to live together in a small house in Inazuma Town. Although we weren't rich, we enjoyed out lives and I was really happy when they promised they would attend my birthday when they couldn't do it during my fourth birthday due to having to earn extra money to pay up our finances. I was young and didn't understand their feelings and usually pestered them a lot about being together. During my fifth birthday, Otou-san and Okaa-san had a car crash and I was depressed. When I came to realized it, my sorrows and the betrayal from them have become hatred towards them."
She paused. Her fingers that were trembling, shook violently and her eyes were uncontrollably shaking. She begun to regret telling her side of the story when the pain itself was eating her up. "So, how about you?" she awkwardly asked, minding her slight hesitation in her voice. When a reply didn't come, she quickly said, "It's okay if you don't want to share your—"
"Kaa-san left me at the train station while she left to grab something and I was too bubbled up in dreamland because she said that we should go on a trip together. I waited the whole time, but she never came back. I finally knew what the look Tou-san was giving me before that happened. She betrayed me and left without a single word." His eyes dead and lifeless and he looked far away from a distance that she couldn't quite reached it. He was deep in thought and Haruna respected his ordeal, the stinging in her chest was lifted and she knew both of them were happy to have shared their stories instead of keeping hold of it.
"Kaa-san wanted to get rid of me and she got what she wanted," he shrugged, as if he didn't care about what he felt back then and she knew he had moved on. "That's why I find it hard to trust anyone else. I thought that pranking them would ease my pain, but it only made things worst when they finally gave up and forced me into cleaning the school instead of soccer practice." He knew that tricking his teammates into traps and messing up their training were wrong, but he did it out of attention. He never wanted to be left behind to scrape up things while they got the fun.
"I don't think they hate you," Haruna said. Both of their eyes finally locking onto each other. "Sooner or later, you'll know their true intentions."
Haruna stood up and extended a hand towards him. "Nice to meet. My name is Haruna. Otonashi Haruna."
He took her hand with a small smile. "Kogure Yuuya."
Akari: So, who loves the old man?