AN: yo has everyone been watching the women's world cup? it's so awesome!

Thao Nhi- thanks! it's always been my plan to switch the captaincy between tsubasa and sanae. depending on who was acting playmaker for the match. im glad you enjoyed how sanae played. i mean, i literally pulled it out of my ass, but i guess it made sense. anyway, thank you again for reading and reviewing.

Hana2- that was a good match! im so sad France didn't get into the semis. i mean, if you didn't look at the scores, i think France should have advanced (sorry German friends) since they dictated the flow of the match. but i guess Germany's just to good mentally. tbh though, that match should have been a final match because they were the best two teams in tournament (as much as i love US, they're not the team i expected them to be right now. I mean, Japan's been amazing too, but the France-Germany game was breathtaking). FIFA just really did awful match ups this cup

yeah i don't own captain tsubasa

Chapter 24: Bad News

"Hey there superstar. Whatcha doing here cooped up in your room?"

She raised her head up from her pillow looked to the room's door to see Tsubasa leaning on the doorway, his hands on his pockets. "Everyone's celebrating our definite win for the group stage downstairs. You should be down there. You're the one who was basically the reason why we always won by such a huge margin."

"I wasn't the one who got a hat tricks every game," she answered with a yawn, sitting up and stretching her arms up above her head. "Besides, everyone worked hard to achieve that victory." They also have another

"Sure they did," he agreed as he walked towards her bed, and she scooched over to give him some space to sit beside her. He kicked off his shoes and sat on her bed, leaning against the headboard. She immediately cuddled up to him, laying her head on his chest while he wrapped an arm around her. "But you were the game maker. You were the one who was the trigger for most of our goals."

She sat up straight to deny his claims, but he only put a finger on her lips to stop her, a strict look on her face. She immediately backed down with a pout. She only sighed and laid her head back on his chest.

"I told you, didn't I?" Tsubasa began as he ran his hand through her hair. "Stop underestimating yourself. You're more talented than you think. Everyone can see it, except you."

She snuggled closer to him. "I know… it's just that, I don't like being in the spotlight. It's a little uncomfortable."

Tsubasa kissed the top of her head, and started drawing circles on her back. "You gotta get used to it, babe. We're soccer players, we can't help being in the spotlight."

She didn't reply to him, and instead leaned into his warmth. As much as she loved playing for her country, she really hated the publicity that came with it. Sure, she was pushed into the spotlight two and half years ago when she played the U-15 tournament with all the other girls, but they were young. The only people that really cared about them were the professionals. Plus, they were girls, and as much as she didn't like it, nobody cares about them.

But it was a different now, even more when they're playing with the boys. Everyone was on them, pressuring them to do their best and expect them to win. They were the Golden Generation of Japanese soccer, they needed to win.

It was a little suffocating.

And she could still survive that pressure, but what she hated was all those journalists on their tail, asking them all sorts of questions. She was pretty sure that half of them was invasive too. She hated that because she was doing something she loved, her life suddenly became something everyone should know about. One wrong move, and everything will crumble.

Ugh, she didn't sign up for this, but this was she gets for not thinking about the consequences of what agreeing to join this meant.

She discreetly glanced up towards Tsubasa, who had a pensive look on his face.

But if she didn't sign up to join this tournament, then she wouldn't have the chance to play and represent their country together.

She gave out a sigh of contentment before going up on her knees to lean over Tsubasa and grab her laptop from the bedside table.

Tsubasa raised his eyebrows as he watched his girlfriend lean over to grab her laptop with a little difficulty. He's not complaining, he appreciated the view she was giving him of her shapely body. He didn't know how he wasn't already pushing her down on the bed and kissing her senseless with her ass in the air like that. Plus, she was wearing those kind of short shorts that showed off her toned legs and never failed to make him crazy.

"Finally," Sanae muttered under her breath once she had her laptop. She sat back down beside Tsubasa and he couldn't help to be disappointed knowing that the show was over. Oh well, having her close was enough for now.

She set her computer on her lap as Tsubasa wrapped an arm around her once more.

"Hey, wanna watch a movie?" she asked him while turning her laptop on. She turned to him while waiting for her screen to load, expecting an answer.

"A movie? Right now?" Tsubasa knitted his eyebrows in confusion while he looked down on her.

Sanae nodded, blinking innocently.

"Sure, but, you know, why?"

"Why not?" she replied with a shrug, she turned back to her laptop and clicked on iTunes. "I was planning going to sleep and rest, but I don't feel sleepy anymore so I guess I could watch Princess Mononoke*."

Then she turned back to him once more, a smile on her face. "Besides, with training and everything, we barely had anytime to hang out for the past days. You know, with just the two of us. I miss you."

Tsubasa stared at her in surprise, unprepared for her straightforward confession. He looked away from her, his cheeks flushed. Damn it, was this how she felt when he was doing this to her.

"You're making it hard to refuse when you say it like that?" he replied as he coughed, trying to will his blush away.

She chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, I still have some snacks in my bag we could eat. I know you won't be able to say no to that."

Tsubasa only smirked and looked at her mischievously. "Only if I can have you as my snack."

"…Damn it Tsubasa! I told you to stop doing that!"

They were on the field, training for match with China. Their last match for the group stages. If they win this, they would have three straight victories and win the group. Since they won their matches against Uzbekistan and the UAE, they were leading China by two points. They only need a draw to still win the group.

Frankly, she didn't know how good China's team is, but she knew they had great players in their roster. Like, Wu Xiu Mei was the poster girl for youth soccer in Asia. Along with Saya-chan, you would always see her in commercials, trying to encourage girls to continue doing soccer. It also helped that she was one of the best strikers emerging in their age group. Last time she heard, she had an offer to play for Lyon in France. She didn't know if that was true, or if she even accepter, but Wu was someone they should look out for.

And even though she didn't have any idea with how boys in the team are, she was sure that they were trouble too. If her sources were correct, there was this mysterious "ace killer" or whatever that China was hiding. Whether that was true or not is still, well, a mystery.

She's not exactly hoping for a win in this match, but as long as they didn't lose, then she's fine. Hopefully, nothing bad will happen to any of them.

"Hyuuga, Phone for you!" one of the trainers called out to their ace striker. All of them stopped what they were doing, halting their dribbling or their shooting. They watched as he knitted his eyebrows in confusion, before he ran off the field, thanking the trainer who told him. She didn't know why the trainer looked so grim though.

That's weird. Since they all have cellphones, personal calls from friends or family usually went directly to their own phones, not to the Association.

Hey maybe Hyuuga-kun finally got an offer to play internationally. Yeah, that might be it. With all the stuff he's been done since the tournament, clubs should be noticing him by now.

The trainer then went closer to Gamo-san and Natsukawa-san, whispering something to them. A few moments after, they both widened their eyes in shock. Coach Gamo's jaw dropped while Coach Natsukawa hid her gasp behind her hand. Mikami-san and Nagasato-san immediately went to them as the two main coaches started whispering fervently towards the trainer, who was fidgeting uncomfortably.

The team shared looks between them, and she suddenly had a bad feeling about this. She glanced at her cousin, Ayame knowing her apprehension just from her simple act of biting her lower lip in worry.

Coach Gamo rubbed his temples, Natsukawa-san was biting the nail on her thumb, her eyebrows creased in worry.

Sanae felt her stomach drop. That didn't look like a good sign.

The four coaches talked among themselves as they gave everyone a break. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but their faces looked grim and it wasn't helping to calm her down.

Coach Gamo sighed once more and all four of them turned to look at the team. He went closer to everyone and told them to huddle around. They heeded his orders silently, and suddenly the air around them became a few degrees colder.

"Well, we got news for you," he remarked, trying to keep the tone light, but Sanae could pick up that what these were was far from light.

"What kind of news, Coach?" Ishizaki-kun asked.

The four coaches shared looks with each other, their faces all had uncertainty written on them.

"It's not exactly good news so to say," Natsukawa-san answered softly. "I'm afraid that it may affect our team somehow."

All of them were silent, sharing concerned looks among them. Affect their team?

"Hyuuga's mom was rushed to the hospital today. She overworked herself that she fainted, causing her to have a traumatic head injury."

Oh fuck.

Mrs. Hyuuga worked for their grandfather's company. Having known Hyuuga-kun because of Sanae, their grandfather, being an advocate for children's education and always ready to help those in need, went directly to the Hyuuga matriarch to offer her a job in the company's headquarters to help the family over their financial problems, he insisted even more when Hyuuga-kun arrived from his job right after he came from school. At their first they relented, saying the most polite manner that they didn't need their pity, but their grandfather insisted, saying that he wasn't pitying them, he was giving them the opportunities to succeed. Besides, most of their employees were like them, struggling families that just needed the right opportunities to help themselves.

The family finally accepted reluctantly, and asked how they were able to repay them. He only replied by asking them to promise him that they will work hard to make their futures better.

And they did. The Hyuuga's, along with Hyuuga-kun's sideline job as a teen superstar athlete managed to make their lives better, and in return for the help that they receive from Kiseki Takahiro, Hyuuga-san continued to work hard for the company.

But it seemed like because of Hyuuga-kun's absence, she overworked herself to the point of fatigue, or worse.

Sanae glanced at Ayame, who was glancing her as well. Their chocolate eyes met (a Kiseki trait), and Ayame immediately set out to grab her phone from her bag. They didn't know whether their grandfather knew of what happened to the mother of their friend.

"Is she okay?" Sawada-kun asked in worry. Wakashimazu-kun voicing his agreements. They've always been close to the striker. They probably had a close relationship with his family too.

"We don't know yet," Coach Natsukawa answered, "Right now, they're probably informing Hyuuga-kun of his mother's status. Let's all hope it's for the better."

She hoped she was. Hyuuga-san was one of the nicest ladies she knew. She didn't deserve any of this.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and Sanae turned to see Ayame offering her phone to her. She nodded and followed her cousin to move far from everyone right as they started talking about Hyuuga-kun's family.

Once they far from everyone's ears (though they did notice that they weren't far enough from their –Tsubasa and Misaki-kun's- eyes), Sanae finally put the phone against her ear.

"Sanae-chan?"

"It's me Oji-san," she answered. "I'm guessing Ayame already told you why we called."

"Yes, yes, she did," she heard him reply. "And my Mitsuko informed me right away when she collapsed. I was in a meeting with the directors when she told me so I haven't checked up on her. I'll be heading to the hospital soon to see her."

Oh thank God. At least, she knew that their grandfather knew of what's going on.

"I'm sure that Kojiro-kun must be worrying terribly right now about things, but rest assured, tell him not to think of the money needed to pay for the hospital expenses. I'll be taking care of any financial matters. After all, I have to take care of my employees," he ended with a chuckle. "So please, tell that young man to focus on the tournament. Make his mother proud."

She felt her lips curl up in a smile. Trust her grandfather to assure her easily.

After asking him to promise her to give him updates on the Hyuuga matriarch's health, she told him her goodbyes and promised him they'd win the qualifiers, and hung up. Sanae gave Ayame her phone back and they started to walk back towards where everyone was while informing her cousin of her conversation with their grandfather. Hyuuga-kun finally came back, his head down. He was probably informing them of his mother's condition, and it didn't look good at all.

"What did I miss?" she whispered to Tsubasa as she arrived beside him.

"Hyuuga-kun's mom in a coma," he replied quietly. Sanae inhaled deeply. That wasn't the news she wanted at all. "And we're waiting for Hyuuga-kun's decision."

She nodded solemnly, and turned to where their striker was, looking baffled at where Ishizaki-kun was raging against some of their teammates. She unconsciously held onto Tsubasa's hand, squeezing it in her hand. He squeezed back in reassurance.

Suddenly, a smile came onto Hyuuga-kun's face.

"I," he started, earning everyone's attention. "I'm staying."

Everyone looked at him in shock, speechless at his decision.

"But I want to return right away after the match with China," he ended.

"Mom has always been critical of me working to earn money for my family and wanted me to pursue my dreams. I know she would rather have stay here and win. And that's what I'm going to be doing."

"Hell yeah we are!"

Everyone voiced their agreements, cheering their burst of enthusiasm. Hyuuga-kun rubbed his eyes, his smirk back in its place. Thank God, he looked weird without it.

"I called my dad," Noriko-chan informed him as she neared him, a hand on her hip. Hyuuga-kun raised an eyebrow, as if he was asking her what about it nonverbally. "He's going to be overseeing your mom while she's in the hospital."

"I thought you don't like me," Hyuuga-kun joked.

"Oh I don't," Noriko-chan freely admitted, making the forward narrow his eyes. "But your mom on the other hand… Let's just say I like her more than I ever liked you."

"Wow, thanks 'your majesty'. Nice to know you only keep me around for my mother."

Noriko-chan glared at him, annoyed by his teasing. "Shut up, Cat."

Hyuuga-kun smirked once more. "Make me, Ice Queen."

"Don't test me, kitten."

Before their volleying of insults could continue, Sanae let go of her boyfriend's hand to stand between the two.

"Okay you two, let's not get carried away," she interrupted Hyuuga-kun who was in the middle of retorting. "It's not the time to have another name calling showdown."

Both staryed to open their mouths, but she only glared at them to stop them from saying anything.

"Good," Sanae said. "We're teammates, not enemies. We help each other. Understood?"

Both of them nodded, albeit begrudgingly.

"Awesomen," she said before finally turning to their striker with a softer smile. "Anyway, don't worry about the money Hyuuga-kun. Oji-san said we'll take care of it."

Hyuuga-kun stared at her for a long while, before he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground.

"When will your family ever stop helping mine?" he asked as he set her down.

She chuckled, "Oh I don't know. After 30 years? 72 years? Never? You know you can never get rid of us."

He laughed, something he rarely did and looked over her shoulder.

"Hey Tsubasa," he said. "Can I have your girlfriend?"

She turned around to see her boyfriend stare at Hyuuga-kun with his jaw dropped. Actually, almost everyone was staring at him in shock. The striker meanwhile, had a mischievous smirk on his face. That asshole, he was teasing Tsubasa.

She chuckled and punched Hyuuga-kun lightly on the shoulder. "In your dreams, Hyuuga-kun," she replied, winking at him to know what he was planning "Like I would ever leave Tsubasa. I waited five years for him."

"All the more reason to be with me instead," he continued. "I wouldn't be an idiot to make you wait that long."

"Hey!" Tsubasa shouted indignantly.

"True," she admitted as she walked away from the striker, a bounce on her step. She stopped right before Tsubasa, who looked at her uncertainly. She gave him a smile and laced her hands with his. "But he's my idiot."

She went on her toes and gave Tsubasa's lips a kiss. Their teammates whooped and whistled around them, laughing at Hyuuga-kun's "failure." He didn't even meant all that. He just wanted to pull Tsubasa's leg, everyon'es leg really.

"Besides," she said while moved to stand beside her boyfriend, who seemed much happier than before. "What would that girl from Okinawa say?" she said with fake sincerity. "She's going to be heartbroken when she finds out you cheated on her."

"I-what-cheated?" Hyuuga-kun spluttered. "We're not even dating!"

"Oh so there is a girl!"

"W-wha-no-I-I mean, argh!" he cried out before glaring at her. "I hate you Nakazawa."

She only smirked at him.

And before he could say anything back, their teammates knowing them, bombarded him with questions about this girl.

She felt Tsubasa's arm wrapped around her and she immediately leaned her head on his chest as they watched Hyuuga-kun get flustered from all the questions being thrown at him. Everyone had excited smiles on their faces, and it was a little hard to believe they just received awful news before. But that's how they were. They support each other, and care for each other because they're a family.

She knew that they were going to be alright.

End Chapter

AN: i don't understand this chapter tbh, but i guess here you go? and i'm kind of scared that Sanae and Tsubasa's getting a little bit out of character, which is really awful because writing a fanfiction with OOC characters is a fanfic author's worst nightmare. i mean, not the crack authors anyway, but for serious writers... it's terrible. hopefully i could still reel them back in in the next chapter.

anyway, thanks for reading and reviews are really really helpful. so please drop one to make a teen happy

see you soon thanks