AN: wowowow, an update within just two days! no i have a small break and im procrastinating homework so i worked on this instead

Thao Nhi- i like jealous Tsubasa. i think its hilarious. also i love you too and your reviews! 3

Hana2- you're fine! don't worry about translating yet. make your work your first priority, that's more important! and yeah, i dont think Distractions is going to have more stuff on it. i only intended it to be a oneshot, but maybe i'll do another one with just a jealous tsubasa? who knows. anyway, like i said a jealous and possesive tsubasa is hilarious, like we never actually see him do stuff outside of soccer (which i can understand its a shonen manga after all) the thought of him being just so angry at some random dude hitting on sanae never fails so amuse me and then he does this subtle thing like idk go up to Sanae and wrap an around her while being all pleasant and all then kissing her on the forehead or something then after that he gives a small glare to the poor dude who backs away a little bit understanding that she's taken. i mean who wanted to take on the soccer star anyway lol. man i have too scenarios for a jealous Tsubasa to rear its head.

i speak filipino btw.

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 14: First Round

The next three days went by uneventful, aside from the occasional teasing from the whole team once they finally confirmed that yes, they were in fact dating. Tsubasa seemed to be so proud declaring it to everyone that she couldn't find it in her to make him stop because he was just so happy. And it did make her happy too, because he was so proud that they were dating it made the butterflies come back to her stomach.

So she didn't stop him from stating their relationship status, even if it was a little embarrassing for her.

Anyway, the members of Real Japan could only watch, most of the time. Natsukawa-san was very adamant that they only watch as per her agreement with Gamo-san. They couldn't exactly join any of the matches since they didn't even do that much for the next days. Although, Coach Gamo did say they (yes, Natsukawa-san knew about this) were waiting someone. She caught Coach Gamo muttering about a "brat from Italy who gives him problems by refusing to come back and train with them." She didn't really think about it and focused more on their training. Whoever this person might be, might not even come in time for the first round. So what's the point of worrying about it?

All of the coaches wanted them to be in perfect shape for the first round, more so that they already have two people unavailable. It did leave Misaki-kun and Jito-kun frustrated though.

But they managed to train with the available members they have and make their plays work without them (for the time being anyway). And before they knew it, the day of the first round finally arrived.

They were divided in seven groups of four. Their group consisted of the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, them, and Thailand.

Their first match against the Philippines was easy enough. Not that they were terrible players. They were awesome, it's just that they were better so to speak. They were lacking something she couldn't put a finger on but it was pushed out of her mind once they beat them. Though it was a little sad she couldn't give them tips to help them work on their team.

The game with Chinese Taipei was a little bit harder, but they still ended winning the match. They weren't necessarily hard opponents. Their team was just a little bit tense because freaking Thailand just had to prove itself by scoring against the Philippines and Chinese Taipei with double digits.

She didn't even know where that came from! According to the rankings right now, they should just be between the other two teams, but that didn't seem the case at all because according to some sources, they even defeated the national team of Thailand. Adult men that should be the best of the best in their country.

And what in the world is sepak takraw? Apparently that sport (that's what Ayame told her) helped them win their matches because three brothers used their amazing skill in it and incorporated it in soccer.

That's unfair.

You could say that definitely shattered their confidence. Well, most of it anyway. Tsubasa, ever the optimist, raised it back up with a few words of encouragement. It didn't even feel like they were down at all.

So here they were, waiting for the match to start. Their lineup for today's match consisted of Shiori-chan and Hoshi-chan as their forwards; Ayame, Sano-kun, Matsuyama-kun, and Tsubasa handling the midfield; Noriko-chan, Misugi-kun, Takasugi-kun, and Mika-chan in defense; and Morisaki-kun guarding their goal. She was a little curious why they didn't put Wakabayashi-kun or Wakashimazu-kun in there, but both goalkeepers seemed to be okay with the decision. In fact they seemed to be supportive of it.

It was nice of them to give Morisaki-kun chances to be goalie, but he already played for the last two. Weren't they itching to play at all?

But apparently, Morisaki-kun understood what they wanted from a mere glance from both Waka keepers. There was a determined look in Morisaki-kun's eyes that spoke something that all of their goalkeepers could understand. Whatever that was.

She wasn't part of the starting members this match, actually she haven't even played yet. She was sitting in the benches with all the other reserved players. The coaches said they were saving her. For what, she didn't know. She just knew that along with Misaki-kun (he couldn't play either way), Jito-kun (again for obvious reasons), Saya-chan, Hyuuga-kun, Wakabayashi-kun, and many more were not supposed to be in the first round matches for some reason or another.

Ayame said they were thinking of the second round already, which she couldn't understand because they needed to advance from this round in order to get there.

But somehow, she had a terrible feeling they might have to put her in. She didn't like the way that Bunnark person was looking at their teammates. That and the three sepak takraw brothers were giving her bad vibes as well. And Kamala Chaiprasit looked like a formidable midfielder. They didn't really have any data on her, on most of the team actually, so it'll be hard trying to beat this team.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her, the October wind was getting chillier by the day. She turned her attention to the field, watching as her teammates wait for the whistle to blow. Once they heard the shrill sound, they were on the

She just hoped that nothing really horrible happens.

Well, she jinxed it.

The awful feeling in her body almost left when Tsubasa scored the first goal for them, and she thought everything was going to be fine. After all, the first goal sets the tone for the rest of the match. She almost believed that nothing bad was going to happen.

But of course, the world just hated her.

When Tsubasa and Bunnark first had their one-on-one, that's when everything started to fall into pieces.

That kick Bunnark made should have been a foul, a red card even. Tsubasa was on the ground for heaven's sake! But there wasn't even a flag up, or even a yellow card. The referee continued the match while her boyfriend laid on the grass clutching his stomach in pain. She wanted so bad to run out there and checked on him, but she knew she couldn't or else they'll risked disqualification.

So she stayed put in her seat, clenching her hands tight.

Their teammates, concerned for their captain's wellbeing, tried to make the ball go out of play to have a chance to check on him, but those damned brothers wouldn't let them. It wasn't until the whistle blew to signal Thailand's goal did Tsubasa finally stand up.

She sighed in relief, but it didn't last long when they saw how he was holding onto his stomach. He was clearly in so much pain, and she couldn't stand seeing him like this. But that stubborn idiot would only refused to be switched out and would rather play this match until the very end.

So she didn't say anything. Not even when he fell yet again because of another kick from that fucking Bunnark. Rika-chan held onto her hands, her nails were already digging too roughly onto her palm that it was almost breaking her skin.

She couldn't take it anymore when he fell for the third time, blood oozing out of his head. Bunnark was bleeding too, but he had the gall to smirk as he looked over Tsubasa's unconscious form. As if it was such an accomplishment that he gave him a severe concussion.

When they brought the stretcher out to pick Tsubasa up, she wasted no time in getting up from her seat and following the medics to the infirmary.

She knew she could leave her teammates in the others care. They were more than enough to support them. Right now she needed to go to Tsubasa, needed to make sure that he was okay.

The coaches didn't even stop her. They knew they couldn't, not even if they told her to stay.

She reached the infirmary just as they finished wrapping his wound with bandages. The medics cleaned most of the blood off his face and neck, and the bandage was stopping the blood from flowing even more.

She released a deep breath. He was mostly fine, except unconscious.

She let the medics finish what they were doing before she went closer to the bed he was on. He looked really pale, and his face screamed that he was hurt.

She sat on a nearby chair and grabbed one of his hands. This was the second time he did this to her, and she hoped the first time would be the last. Apparently, he didn't think the same as she did because here they were yet again, in an infirmary with him unconscious and her, worried to death.

"You're such an idiot," she said out loud. She didn't know whether he heard her, nor did she really care. She just needed to vent. "You should have pulled out once you got hurt the first time. I wanted you to leave that time, but I knew you wouldn't like that, so I kept quiet. I kept quiet even when you fell for the second time. And look at where that got you, falling for a third time with a head wound. I should have told them to take you."

"And I'm glad you didn't," she heard his voice say to her. She turned to look at him to see that he was awake. There was a smile on his face, as if he didn't have a concussion or in any sort of pain. He looked around and swore under his breath. "Damn, they took me off the field, huh. Must have been one hell of a hit."

He felt for the bandages on his head, not even concerned about them, and she couldn't believe how nonchalant he was about this.

"Tsubasa, you were unconscious," she told him. "Please, at least think about your wellbeing."

"I am," he replied while swinging his legs to the side of the bed. "And I'm fine. I need to get back out there. They need me."

Was he serious? Of all things, he was more concerned about that match than his condition?

"I know you're thinking that I'm not," he said, "but I am totally fine. We need to win this match Sanae. I can't just abandon our team."

She bit her lip and looked down. She knew that no matter what she say, no matter what she do, he'll only want to come back out there and continue the match. But, she didn't want him to get hurt even more.

"Please, just let me go out there," he pleaded.

She sighed and stood up, cupping his face with her hands to stare directly at his eyes. She already knew what she was looking for, but she needed to make sure, needed to assure herself that this was the right decision, that he'll be okay if she said yes.

She already knew that she already lost when she first saw his determined gaze.

She sighed and put her forehead against his, closing her eyes.

"Promise me that you'll take care of yourself," she begged, "that you're going to be okay and come back to me in one piece."

She heard him chuckle and she opened her eyes to glare at him.

"You make it sound like I'm going to war," he joked.

"It feels like it," she mumbled.

"I'm going to be all right," he assured her with a smile. "It's not the first time I went back into a game with an injury. I've had worse before."

"I know," she muttered, remembering his first year back. She didn't think she could go through that again. "I know. But I don't like seeing you in pain. Never was and never will. Last year was awful enough I don't think I can take another one."

"Hey," he said, this time it was his turn to cup her face his hands. "I turned out fine, didn't I? And I promise you, I'm going to be okay after this match. Trust me."

She separated her forehead with his and looked directly into his eyes. "Always," she declared.

He smiled once more and pulled her down for a kiss.

They broke apart and he took this chance to get up from the bed.

"Is my bandage good?" he asked, feeling his head.

"Not yet," she said before walking close to him, stood on her toes, and kissed his bandaged head. "There, now it's good."

He blinked at her bewildered, before grinning and wrapping her in his arms for a bear hug her and lifted her up, her feet off the ground.

"Now go out there and finish this match quickly," she ordered him once he set her down. "This way I don't have to worry myself to death."

"Don't worry too much," he assured her again. "Or else you'll get wrinkles." He teased.

She could only roll her eyes while he laughed at her expense and starting for the door.

"You coming?" he asked over his shoulder, waiting for her to make a move.

"You go ahead, I think I'm grabbing my pants from the changing rooms," she answered. "I'm not going to be playing today either anyway."

He's lips turned into a small frown, but she didn't notice it. She was busy stretching her arms as she walked towards him.

"You know anything can happen, and we might need you anytime," he argued.

"Doubt it," she replied. "Knowing everyone in the team, they're only holding the fort until you come back. Ayame's probably trying her best to fill in your role as game maker for now, and although she's not that used to it, she's going to be using her 'miracle' plays to maintain the defense. Hoshi-chan and Shiori-chan are also finding ways to score, and they're getting antsy to score. Most of Ayame's miracles happen when she has a solid game maker leading the midfield. And besides, they've already warmed up to Thailand's movements. All they need is for you to be there and you can leave the rest to them."

She chuckled at his confused expression. "They get pretty vicious when angry. More so because one of their teammates got mauled over three times. They're probably eager to destroy Thailand by this point."

"You girls are frightening," he remarked. "It's a good thing I'm on your side."

"You're lucky Saya-chan's not playing today. She'd probably switch places with you and do the game making to decimate Thailand's defense," she added.

"What would have happened if you're on the field?" he asked curiously.

"Who knows," she shrugged.

"… I don't think I want to know either."

She grinned before pushing him lightly. "Anyway, they're waiting for you out there. Don't make Ayame scream your ears off. You know how she could be."

He chuckled and heeded her anyway. "I'll see you later, then?"

"You know it," she answered.

With that, he turned away, giving her a salute before running to the direction of the stadium. She watched his form until it completely disappeared from her view. Once she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, she started to start towards the changing rooms. She wanted to grab her sweatpants, she was getting cold.

She was about to go back to the stadium, when someone suddenly crashed into her and made her fall to the ground.

"Oh god I'm so sorry!" a guy's voice suddenly said. She looked to see who it was and saw a guy no older than she was –a little younger maybe- frantically apologizing to her.

"You're fine," she assured him as she stood up. The guy suddenly stopped bowing and looked at her, and he saw her, his cheeks suddenly turned pink.

Oh dear, was he getting a fever? It wasn't good for him to be running around them.

"Aoi!" an older voice called out. She looked behind him and saw Katagiri-san running towards them. "What are you doing talking to Nakazawa? Go and get changed! You only have a few minutes left before the first half ends."

"O-oh, right!" the boy exclaimed. Apologizing to her again, he immediately zoomed past her to get into the boys' changing room.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Nakazawa," Katagiri-san told her. "His stalling was a little frustrating. Anyway, is something wrong with you?"

"Oh no, I'm fine," she said. "I was just getting cold so I grabbed my sweat pants. I figured since they weren't going to put me in again today, I might as well make myself comfortable. And they did decide that I needed to be put in, I can just easily take it off."

Katagiri-san nodded. "Are you going back them?"

She nodded her head to say yes.

"Could you do me a favor and tell Coach Gamo and Coach Natsukawa that Aoi Shingo is here and will be out there in a few moments," he asked her.

A green light*? Why would they need a green light?

"Um, sure," she replied. "I can do that."

"Thank you."

She still didn't understand why in the world their coaches would want a green light, but she really did need to return. So saying her goodbyes to Katagiri-san, she went back to the stadium.

She arrived to see that Tsubasa was back on the field, as well as that they called Wakabayashi-kun to replace Morisaki-kun. The other goalkeeper didn't seem to mind and was cheering their teammates whole heartedly. What a sweet boy.

"You're pep talk with Tsubasa-kun worked, Sanae-chan," Natsukawa-kun took her attention. "He seemed to be more determined but careful at the same time. The wonders of young love am I right?"

She felt her cheeks flush and cried out her name in embarrassment. It still didn't stop her other teammates from sniggering. Jerks.

Wasn't she supposed to be saying something? Oh right.

"Hey Coach," she grabbed their attentions. "I bumped into Katagiri-san on the way here and he wanted me to tell you that an Aoi Shingo is here?"

"Fucking finally!" Coach Gamo exclaimed in relief, and even Natsukawa-san looked relieved as well. "Where is he then?"

"He said that he'll be here in a few mo-" she couldn't finish her sentenced when someone just rolled out of the entrance, stopping right before he passed the line. He stood up with his arms up in the air as if he just completed an acrobatic act.

Oh! Wasn't he the guy that crashed into her a while ago?

And as luck would have it, the ball was flying towards him and he caught it just in time.

"Sorry for being late everyone," he said loudly, "Aoi Shingo is finally here!

So he's Aoi Shingo! He wasn't a green light at all.

"Who?" Ishizaki-kun said.

Aoi-kun almost to the ground. "No one knows about me?" he cried. "So you weren't waiting for me?"

"Dude, we don't even know you."

He looked like he was about to cry and she almost felt bad for him. But then, it wasn't exactly their fault they had no idea who he was.

"Forget about that!" Coach Gamo interrupted. "Why are you late?"

"W-well you see," Aoi-kun stuttered, "my flight got delayed, and then there was a huge traffic com-"

"Okay, we understand Aoi-kun but would you please get ready, we're going to substitute you in," Coach Natsukawa said to him.

"B-but we only have loss time left!"

Coach Gamo nodded, ignoring the other assistant coaches' complaints. "Referee, substitution!"

All of them watched as the events happened like a whirlwind. Coach Gamo called Sano-kun back and replaced him with Aoi-kun. She wasn't exactly sure if this was a good idea since the guy have no idea how they work, like Hino-kun and the others, but it seemed like she needed to worry. He fit in just fine. Everyone liked him straight away, and he was such an energetic guy he had everyone smiling.

It also helped that Tsubasa seemed to know him from somewhere.

Aoi Shingo changed the flow of the match in their favor and everyone was eternally grateful.

By the end of the first round, she found that she could breathe again.

The match finally ended win them winning 5-4 all because of their little Prince of the Sun.

End Chapter

AN: once upon a time i planned the first round to be harder than what it was in the manga, but according to the FIFA World Rankings (im using the adult ones), they weren't that off from the manga, so i just followed through with it. i did make a few changes here and there i mean since i am making it mixed gendered, so some of them are changed. tbh, i just kinda vomited this chapter out. i wanted to add aoi as soon as possible because once you read the first five chapters of WY, he kinda grows on you. plus he's so peppy it makes me smile.

but yeah, first round is over, and im going to make sure that round 2 should be more soccer oriented than this one. the only team in the manga that really mattered in the first round was thailand and i already did that. the second round had more teams that i can play around with, then after that its the official tournament. im not going directly to those though, maybe show a few chapters of normal life (they are still in school after all), bring back some characters from FOLW, show a passing of another year, random events, some more heated kisses between more characters, animals, who knows what i do. maybe even start a new fanfiction?

so i guess tune in for that?

anyway, thanks for taking the time to always read WOS and please, please review. idc if you have to review in a different language. its nice to hear from all my readers knowing that you guys enjoy something i love to write. at least i hope you do. your reviews are so helpful! if you have any questions or cant understand something just ask in a review or something. i love all of you guys and i'll try and answer as best as i can.

i should probably end this before it gets too long.

again thank you and pls review! :)