AN: hi its an update i did not mean it to get this big but oh well

mimiiii- i love writing about their love lives, mostly because it gives me the tingles and happiness. definitely tsubasa shouldn't worry about anything. like, sanae fell in love with him when she was 11 (in my story anyway) and her feelings for him are still strong. i dont think its going to be changing anytime soon lol. not if i have a say it. thanks for the wishes! i took my exams and i wont be getting the results back until july so fingers crossed. thanks for reading!

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 20: Passing Time

She was bored. There was no other way to say it. To be honest, she didn't see the point of being out here in the cold when they weren't going to play. Not her anyway. Today was the "anticipated" showdown between the members of Real Japan and their boys, conveniently dubbed "All-Japan." Creative right?

Most of the girls were on the same boat, most of them doing something to pass the time until this finished. Natsukawa-san, much to her chagrin was roped into being a referee for the match, along with the other coaches. So most of them were either sitting down on the grass like her, or laying down and dozing off (she couldn't fathom how they could lay down on such cold floor. She's only sitting but she was freezing).

She blew a strand of her hair out of her face. She already knew what the results would be anyway. No matter what RJ7 do, their boys will probably win the game.

From what she heard, some of them went into some pretty serious training over their break from the camp. For sure, she knew Misaki-kun went all over the world learning different soccer styles (it still confuses and infuriates her how he managed to pass his exams after he traveled, with scores of 90 or higher no less. That was totally unfair!), and Hyuuga-kun went to Okinawa again to learn from Coach Kira. Jito-kun worked on his speed by constantly running, the twins secluded themselves in the mountain doing god knows what, and Soda-kun did his own thing. Nitta-kun though was a surprise. After taking the entrance exam for Nankatsu High, he sought her boys, and asked for their help in improving his Falcon Shot.

Of course, knowing Tsubasa and them, they couldn't say no. In fact, they readily agreed to help him. Tsubasa even managed to grab the girls' team to help the junior high student. Besides, Nitta-kun was definitely going to be part of the team next year, might as well get him used to how things were run in the team.

It was still too funny and adorable seeing the embarrassed look he got when he was suddenly swamped by the girls. No matter, he'll get used to it soon.

Anyway, speaking of her boyfriend…

Tsubasa sat beside her, his arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face. She would even describe it as a pout but he always denied it, so she just gave it to him.

See, he was upset. He wanted to play a match with Real Japan, but they specifically banned him from joining. He did a whole fit about how that was unfair and everything, and really he was basically being a huge child over it. In the end, she had to drag him away from the small 7 vs 7 game that was going on right now.

It was actually hilarious to be honest. He was like Daichi when his little brother wanted something he couldn't have. She was so close to pinching his cheeks, but she thought against in fear of making his mood bad enough.

"This is so unfair," she heard him complain from beside her. "Why can't I join in? Why only me?"

"Wakabayashi-kun's not permitted to join," she pointed out amusedly.

Sure enough, the goalkeeper was laying on the grass dozing off right beside Shiori-chan while his cap covered his face.

He gave her an annoyed look, and she felt a laugh bubble out of her. Hey, maybe teasing Tsubasa will get rid of some of the boredom she had. Man, she's so mean.

"That's not the point," he replied. "I mean, why can't we play? I want to go against the Hino too! And Yumikura's a really strong playmaker, and why can't I play against them?!"

She had to stop her giggles from her coming out of her. It was rare to see him so distraught, and normally she would be as upset as he was, but knowing the reason why he was unhappy made the whole thing comical to her.

She threw her arms around him with a smile, and he leaned into her while crossing his arms, a pout on his lips. She released another laugh from seeing his expression, before kissing him on the cheek.

"Come on Eagle," she said while she rested her chin on his shoulder. "Don't be like that. I know you want to play against them, but see, you weren't there when they first appeared. Let's just say that they specifically had someone in mind as a rival, and sad to say it's not you, my Eagle."

He turned to her with an incredulous expression. "Really?"

She hummed to respond.

"Well," he began, "I don't know whether to be offended or relieved by it. Not that I'm trying stroke my ego or anything," she rolled her eyes at his remark, "but usually people run to me for a challenge. I wonder why they didn't this time."

"If I remember correctly, I think it has something to do with how they were chosen to accommodate you in the tournament, like they were on the 'same level' as you are, whatever that meant," she explained.

"That's…" Tsubasa trailed off, and she hummed again in agreement, but she failed to see the pensive look on her boyfriend's face.

She turned her attention back to the field. Real Japan was up against Misaki-kun, Hyuuga-kun, the Tachibana twins, Soda-kun, Jito-kun, and Nitta-kun. They looked confident enough. And she would admit that Kazuo-kun choosing to be the goalkeeper was a surprise, but it was a sign of how much they improved.

Somehow, she was actually kind of excited with how this match will unfold. Even if they did already know how it was going to turn out. It was still nice to see how much they changed over a period of time.

It's not that she had anything against with the members of Real Japan. Sure they did start on the wrong foot, but the last weeks with them weren't that bad. They mostly kept to themselves so she guessed she didn't really have anything to say about them, but they were with them during training. They were good- really good. They managed to be able to integrate themselves with the team easily, albeit there was a little bit of confusion and frustration in the beginning, but they were open to mistakes and fixed them right away. She even shared a joke with the girls (behind the boys' back, of course, unless they want another war between sexes to start again) that maybe they'd rather have them as teammates than some of their boys.

So yeah, training with Real Japan went really smoothly.

Though, she did notice they seemed to be helping them train instead of being trained. She didn't mind it that much. It's not like she had to know everything about them. She's not like Sachi-chan and Hoshi-chan, who shoved their nose in everyone's business. She's not that nosy.

She took off her arms around Tsubasa, and chose to snuggle closer to him. Natsukawa-san finally blew the whistle to begin the match.

Immediately, Real Japan was on the attack. They easily reached the boys' goal area, but she didn't worry about it. They didn't look worried so why should she? She trusted them to know what to do.

Tsubasa though, wasn't exactly in the same page. He was fidgeting in his seat, and he had his teeth clenched tightly. If they weren't sitting the grass, he was probably going to be bouncing his knees in anxiety.

Yumikura-kun took a shot, and Tsubasa jumped in his seat and clenched his hands into fists and it his lip. He released a relieved sigh when Kazuo-kun managed to save the goal.

She took one of his hands, lacing their hands together. "Calm down," she told him. "Don't worry. They'll be fine."

"I know," he answered while squeezing her hand. "I just- I don't like being on the sides. I would rather be on the field. I can't stand sitting still."

She hummed and laid her head on his shoulder, trying to ease him from his nerves, but even that didn't work. He was still fidgeting, and he would squeeze her hand harder whenever Real Japan could score and he would release another sigh when it was Misaki-kun or the others that gained a point.

As much as she wanted to see how everyone improved, He just wouldn't sit still and it was getting kind of annoying.

She released his hand and stood up suddenly, stretching her arms up in the air. While stretching, she didn't notice the confused look on his face.

"Come on," she said while offering her hand to him.

"What?" he asked perplexed, but he still took her hand, and she pulled him up to stand before her. "Where are going?"

"Sitting here doing nothing will get you nowhere," she said. "It's literally painful watching you see there fidgeting like a restless child. That, and I think I might have broken one of my fingers when you've squeezed my hand really hard that one time."

Tsubasa's face contorted into a horrified expression, and she couldn't help the laugh that came out of her.

"I'm kidding," she assured him while kissing his cheek again. "I'm fine. See?" she showed him her hand and wiggled them, proving that she really still have all of her fingers moving.

"Don't do that!" he whined. "Like you said, I'm already tense as it is. Don't make me more anxious than I already am."

Damn, that wasn't the reaction she wanted.

"I'm sorry," she apologized while cupping his face with her hand. "I just thought a little joke will help you to ease up a little bit. Apparently, I thought wrong."

He hummed in agreement as he leaned into her touch, a small frown on his face. One of the corners of her mouth quirked into a humorless smile, and she patted his cheek softly.

"Why don't we get rid of that stress then?" she asked.

He looked up to face her, "How exactly?"

She giggled while taking her hand off his face and tugged on his arm. "By kicking a ball, of course. So come on, you heard Coach Gamo. This match is going to take a while."

He finally gave her a smile and she couldn't help but grin back. She discreetly grabbed a ball from the nets, trying not to disturb them. It really wasn't that necessary since almost everyone was focused on the match. Last time she checked, the score was tied between the two teams.

She turned back to Tsubasa and directed him to follow her to the one of the open fields. He went to walk beside her and both of them started to the field.

"Don't you want to watch how it'll end?" he asked as they neared the pitch.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Eh," she said. "Misaki-kun and everyone's going to win anyway. I don't really see the point of seeing it until the end."

"You seem to trust them a lot."

"Of course," she replied as she set the ball down on the center circle. "I don't know how, but something in me just told me that they improved leaps and bounds. Like I don't know how to explain it, but when I first saw them again, I already had a feeling that they're going to make me proud."

He chuckled at her declaration. "You sound like their mom," he pointed out.

She gave him a blank stare, to which he only laughed at. She could only roll her eyes at him in exasperation.

"Besides," she continued once they were facing each other. "If they lose, I assure you they're not going to hear the end of it. Not just from me either."

"Probably not," he agreed with a chuckle as she followed his gaze to where most of the girls were lounging at. She took this time to glance at the other field, and smirked once she saw Hyuuga-kun dribbling the ball. There really wasn't any point in worrying about them. They know what they're doing.

"Come on," she said as they faced each other again. "Let's get this started. I did not stand up just to freeze my ass."

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to do this," he said. "I was mostly content watching."

She gave him another blank look, but he only laughed at her expression again.

"It's better than watching you fidget like a child who can't sit still," she retorted playfully.

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes at her. "Touché, Miss Nakazawa, touché."

She gave him a victorious smirk in reply.

"So what exactly are we doing?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "Just a one-on-one. Score as much as possible. The works. We're just passing time anyway."

"Sounds simple enough," he remarked.

"Yup," she agreed. After a few moments, they readied themselves and prepared to start.

"Ready?" she asked while meeting his eyes. She didn't even need to ask if he was.

"Go!" he finished and kicked the ball to the side.

Immediately, the two of them started to run after it. It wasn't even a surprise that he was the first one who reached the ball, but she didn't think about it and focused on trying to steal it from him. He was running down her half of the field, and she followed after him. When they were a few yards from the goal, she sprinted pass him and blocked him.

When he saw her in front of him, she saw him smile teasingly and all of the sudden she felt irritated at him.

"That all you can do, love?" he taunted while trying to find a way to pass her. Ugh, she hated when he got like this. Now she knew why she was suddenly irritated.

"Shut up, darling," she hissed in annoyance. "I assure you I can do more than that."

Again, he had that teasing smile on his face. "Prove it then," he challenged.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but he only smirked before finally making a move. She saw him lift the ball up in the air with his heel, and she suddenly grinned to herself.

Ha, too bad for him, she's already familiar with this technique she already know how to counter it. She's used it too, duh.

She took her eyes off Tsubasa and followed the ball, easily calculating where the ball will land. She proceeded to leave him umarked to rush towards the ball before him, which she totally managed.

"You were saying?" she said as smirked, keeping the ball under her feet to see the dumbfounded look on her boyfriend's face. Man, no one had any idea how much she wanted to laugh out loud at his face.

Before he could even react, she started to run to the other side with the ball, smiling while he chased after her. He was probably more fired up to catch her and that was what she wanted.

In no time, they found themselves in the same position, except this time she was the one trying to get pass him.

"Okay, I'll admit it was wrong to underestimate you," he confessed while he tried to steal the ball from her.

"It's always wrong to underestimate me, Mister Oozora," she retorted with a smirk. "Those that did never liked what happened to them. Besides, I would have figured you would have learned from the last time you did it."

"Apparently I haven't," he replied with a smirk, and he caught her off guard by moving suddenly. He tried to steal the ball from her foot, but her body moved on its own.

She suddenly turned around from him, keeping the ball from reaching his attacking foot.

"Damn it," she heard him swear under his breath. She couldn't help the grin to form on her face. It's always been one of her pride and joy that she was one of the few people who could frustrate Tsubasa on the field.

"Having a hard time?" she teased over her shoulder. She needed to think of something to get past him. She had an idea, but she didn't know if it was going to work.

"No," he denied quickly. He was still trying to grab the ball to her amusement. "I'm good. Just- just a little bit more and I'm sure I'll be able to get my friend from you."

She giggled lightly, and gave him a wink over her shoulder. "Not quite, dear."

Might as well try this out.

She kicked the ball upward with her shoe, taking a few moments to watch the ball as it made an arch above them, before turning around and sprinting pass Tsubasa. She wanted to laugh at his stunned expression as he watched the ball above him, but she didn't have time because she immediately took the ball back when it landed on the ground, right where she wanted it to be.

"Ah fuck!" she heard him exclaim as she dribbled towards the goal. She knew he heard the laugh she made, but she couldn't keep it going because she felt him get near her.

Well, shit.

Okay, no worries. She was close to the goal. She could see it. And like they always said, if you can see it, take the shot.

And she did.

Before Tsubasa could tackle the ball from her, she kicked the ball and both of them watched as it hit the net with a soft thud before falling down on the turf.

She squealed in join and raised her arms up in the air in celebration. She turned to face her boyfriend, who was still on the floor, staring at goal in shock.

"Eat it, Oozora!" she cried. "That's what you get for not learning about underestimating me."

He gave her a small glare, but it didn't last long. He never could be angry at her. Besides, her smile had always been contagious, he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Fine," he conceded with fake annoyance, "I admit that was a mistake on my part-"

"A grave mistake," she interrupted proudly. He gave her a blank look, to which she only giggled at. He only rolled his eyes and continued on.

"-but that doesn't mean that you won, missy," he ended.

She stuck her tongue out at him good naturedly. "You just don't want to admit I won, you sore loser."

"What? No! I'm not a sore loser. Besides, we only played one round. It's far from over. Hey- Stop!"

She started to sing and calling him a sore loser. He was constantly telling her to stop, but failing because he was starting to laugh as well.

"Come here you," he said finally as he pulled her close to him. She yelped in glee, and tried to pull away. But both of them knew she didn't mean it and she proceeded to land between his legs.

Tsubasa began to tickle her sides, and she started squirming while giggling uncontrollably.

"Stop!" she squealed as she tried to get away from him.

"Nope," he laughed. "This is revenge for calling me a sore loser."

"Okay, okay I'm sorry," she still continued to giggle, but she could his tickling begin to subside. Once it finally stopped completely, she leaned into him and started to catch her breath. All that laughing and giggling was tiring after all.

After finally being able to breathe regularly, she turned around to face him with a huge grin on her face. He smiled back and felt his arms wrap her waist loosely. She giggled again and cupped his face with her hands before leaning in to rub their noses together.

She gave his lips a chase kiss. "I love you," she whispered.

She saw his smile grew wider and he replied to her by hugging her close, sighing contentedly.

"Yo lovebirds, are you done yet?"

They turned to the side to see everyone staring at them.

Well, this was a little embarrassing.

Most of them had amused expressions on their faces, others like the Real Japan, were looking at them with a weird look. Now that she thought about it, they haven't seen them act like this while everyone else already knew how… affectionate they could be.

And she really wanted to rip Ayame's smirk on her face.

"Yes, we're done!" she answered. "We'll be there in a sec." She separated herself from Tsubasa and stood up, offering her hand to pull him up to his feet.

They exchanged smiles between the two of them before starting to walk towards where everyone was.

"Nice of you to finally join us," her cousin remarked when they arrived. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and Tsubasa merely gave her a glare.

"You guys are so adorable," Natsukawa-san gushed. "Oh to be young again."

Both of them blushed as everyone else snickered and chuckled at their reactions.

Tsubasa finally coughed and talked to change the subject.

"So, what's up?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing much," Ayame answered nonchalantly, probably to piss them off. "Just finding out what the true purpose of Real Japan is. You know, the likes.

Whoa, what?

"Wait, the real purpose?" Tsubasa repeated in confusion.

"See, that's what you get for not paying attention," Wakabayashi-kun said as he smirked and crossed his arms. Tsubasa replied by glaring at him. She also gave her two cents by narrowing her eyes at the goalkeeper.

"Okay, that's enough everyone," Coach Gamo said while rubbing his temples. "I swear, you kids are going to be the death of me."

Everyone laughed at their coach's statement. Of course, that's what they were there for, to stress the coaches out.

Coach Gamo then proceeded to explain to them why RJ was created. To be honest, she was a little surprised by what he told them. Wow, most of them were actually already in the J-League? Who would have thought? They look so young! Plus, Hino-kun being Uruguayan, man they were just dropping bombs today.

"So you're not going to be playing us?" Tsubasa asked Hino-kun after everything was explained to them.

"No," Hino-kun answered. "I'm going to join the Uruguay team. I want to play an official match against you, the Golden Generation of Japan. Besides, I have a score to settle."

He gave a discreet glance to Hyuuga-kun, who smirked in reply.

"You would have been a great addition to the team," she said with a smile. Hino-kun smiled back at her and shrugged. "But I guess we can't stop you from making your own decisions. I hope you have fun in their team."

Hino-kun thanked her before turning back to Tsubasa. He offered his hand to him, "I better see you pass the second round, Oozora. I still want a match against you too."

Tsubasa took his hand with a smile. "Never going to miss it for the world."

End Chapter

AN: dont you just love diabetes inducing fluff in fanfictions? i do. so have some. i wanted to finish this little arc if you can call it that because theyre definitely going to indonesia next chapter to prepare for the second round, so the little soccer 1 on 1 between tsubasa and sanae was like a practice run for me before i start writing matches again. its hard. i can only use so much words to describe a soccer game going on. anyway, hope you like this chapter before i peace out for a while again.

thanks for reading and please review!