Act 2: Secrets of the Skies

Segment 2: Calm After the Storm

Chapter 2-6: Strands Unravel

Title from: Strands Unravel by DEADLIFE

Dracomon shook their head sleepily and snorted. "Rhhf… Guilmon?" The red sauropod was still fast asleep. The three travellers – the two of them, plus Patamon – had decided to make the journey back to the place Dracomon called Obsidia-pon. The other two, having come from Teragu-ino and not the backwaters of Awachosha-ino, pronounced it with the common accent: Obushidjia-pon.

Dracomon nudged Guilmon in the shoulder. "Mhhm… bread…" was the only response.

"Time to get going." Dracomon looked up at the voice. Patamon was flapping overhead impatiently. "Come on, it's only a few days at sea, maybe."

Guilmon cracked an eye open, then yawned. "Bluh." They got to their feet and stepped around unsurely. The Whamon ferries were the only option they had as they charged only a few bits for the journey. As useful as they were, they were often wet and uncomfortable, and the wait times were long. "Awachosha doesn't have many Trailmon, huh?"

"Nope. That's how it's been for a long time. It's not the east or the south, after all." The three of them made their way back to the dirt path they'd turned from. They'd spent most of their funds on Trailmon already and needed to keep a few bits in savings just in case they did need to buy food again at some point. The trip would take at least a few more weeks on foot, if not a month.

"If only one of us could carry us all on their backs," Patamon mused as the faint outline of some distant Digimon soaring through the cloudy skies passed by overhead. If it was a sky ferry, it was certain to be expensive. Barely any Digimon ever had the ability to carry others for such great distances.

"Going to be a long time before that happens," Dracomon remarked. They did not stop to check the sight overhead. "If ever. Like we'll ever get to that."

Guilmon and Patamon glanced at each other. Their travelling partner had been like that since the battles cleared up. The rumours had gone that every Ino, even the frozen cold and barren Koparyo-ino, had been under attack simultaneously for multiple weeks. It had been so severe that the Four Holy Beasts had been forced into active battle, which was a move they normally did not risk out of fear that they might be destroyed in battle. Their loss would greatly destabilize the Digital World. Even still, nobody seemed to know what had allowed such an intense invasion in the first place, nor did they know why it suddenly tapered so quickly. With a year since the last incident, most cities and towns had rebuilt, but some had been totally wiped off the map. Dracomon hoped its village wasn't one of those.

The three passed by a travelling group of Digimon, both Champion level, staring at a worn map. Dracomon looked up and passed by them, followed by Guilmon and Patamon.

The Leomon in the group called out. "Hey! Are you three, by chance, on your way to Ratsur?"

"Ratur?" Dracomon asked. The Leomon was carrying a Koromon. "The zai?"

"Yes, zai, sorry. You sound like a local."

"I am, though we're not quite going there, but close. If you're looking for directions, then I guess we can take you there before we split up."

The Tailmon nodded. "That would be appreciated." The three continued walking the dirt path with the two feline Digimon and the Koromon in Leomon's arms. It was snoozing still after being fed earlier. "I had no idea Ratsur was a Sector," it continued. "Only heard about the island and the mountains."

"That's usually what happens," Dracomon remarked. "Taria-kan is far away, and not a lot of mon live on Ratur-do either." The gentle forests of Awachosha-ino provided sufficient shade to cool them down. The northern hemisphere was still gently effused with the last rays of summer. It would not be long before they returned to winter. Even so, Awachosha seemed constantly temperate. "But travelling to Ratur-zai? That's certainly an interesting choice. Why there?"

The Tailmon let out a long and heavy breath. "It's the only place we had friends who offered a place to stay and work. Everyone else was too busy with rebuilding for themselves. I suppose the isolation made it less of a target."

Patamon eyed them. They both seemed like they had travelled a long distance and had a familiar accent. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

"Keteson-kan, Anchioba-zai, Mizeniya-pon. I know. It's a long way away. It's been a few months. I hope our friends are still waiting for us."

"Keteson-kan…" Guilmon repeated. "That's not too far from where we came from, Patamon." They bumped into the stopped Dracomon. "Dracomon, what did you stop for?" The blue-scaled Digimon pointed ahead and to their right at a white seam that had taken over a gap between trees. It was nearly as tall as Leomon and many hosa wide. Nearby was a small artifact on a metal post stabbed into the dirt at an angle.

Leomon approached it. Their neck fur bristled. "What is… this?" They tapped the artifact a few times with a claw. "Glass? Why is it red, yellow, and green?" The rest sounded metallic. "More importantly…" They glanced over at Tailmon, who shrugged. "Any of you seen a rift like this before?"

"Uh…" the three glanced at each other. "Once?" Guilmon replied. "But we don't know what it was either. It disappeared quickly, along with the artifact."

"Actually," Dracomon added, "it got zapped by a stray energy beam and disintegrated."

Leomon thought for a while with a paw tapping on its dagger. Eventually, it handed the sleeping Koromon to Tailmon and said, "We can't leave this here. You said breaking the artifact made it disappear, huh?"

"I think so."

"Then, hyah!" They produced its dagger and sliced the traffic light pole. The top half slid off and thumped on the ground, but the two pieces simply sat there, as if taunting them. "Hm. Perhaps that wasn't enough force."

"Let me try!" Dracomon spat a fireball at the sliced metal pole, but nothing happened. "Well, maybe we need an Ultimate or something. Ugh." They looked up at the glowing rift and squinted. "Guilmon…"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember how the last one felt?"

They shook their head. "Not really, no."

"Kutte. What if…"

Before Guilmon could charge into the awaiting portal, Leomon put a paw on their shoulder. "Wait!" they warned. "That could be dangerous!"

Guilmon replied, "True. But we don't have the energy to break this rift, it seems, or this artifact. It might be worth investigating from inside, right?"

"Hm." Leomon contemplated the possibility. "Tailmon?"

The shorter feline Digimon nodded. "I agree, but we should be careful. This could be the start of something. I'll stay here with Koromon." Guilmon glanced at the others, then paced forward along with Dracomon. Patamon fluttered overhead.

"Sure." Leomon stepped towards the portal and suddenly encountered resistance. "What – hrr?" They stood around confused. What was so odd about itself that it couldn't enter the gap? "What's going on?" They tried again, and again they struggled to enter the portal. The blue-white glow seemed to stretch like the membrane of a fresh drumhead.

"That's bizarre," Tailmon commented. "What about me?" They handed Koromon back to Leomon and tried themselves. The result was the same. "Why only those three and not us?" The two stared at each other with confusion.

"What about… the little one?" Leomon warily held out the ears of Koromon. The tips passed through the portal's surface without issue.

"It seems we might be too much data to pass through it."

"But why?" Leomon wondered.

Meanwhile, the other three were still plumbing the winding depths of the space they found themselves in. Patamon looked around. "Any idea what this is?"

Dracomon's eyes narrowed. "No. But I don't like it. Not in the slightest."

"It feels strange, doesn't it?" Guilmon added. "It doesn't look very concerning, though." The space around them was only a faint hint of blue, as was the glass-like platform they were walking on. The Digimon turned around. "Where did Leomon go?"

"I don't think it came in. Not sure why."

As they turned a corner in the long and winding space, Patamon shrieked. "W-what is that?" And before the three Rookies was a thick trunk of black material, vibrating ever so gently, as if alive.

Amedramon yawned and leaned back to stretch its forelegs, then hopped onto the foot of Ryuta's bed and fanned its wings. Daylight savings had just passed the previous weekend, and the clock change had messed up both its and Ryuta's sleeping schedules, again. The sound of running water started again, then turned off, and was followed by the high whir of a hair dryer. It flapped its wings again. Only when Ryuta was in the washroom did it have enough space to stretch its wings, and it had been a long time since it had been able to put them to use. It shook itself from head to tail and leapt off the bed as Ryuta's phone buzzed. "What's this?"

• • • • • • •

Sumida Tamers

Nagatomo Asuka
ahhhhhh~
just sniffing the top
March 13 04:05

Segawa Takaharu
It's a close season this year damn
Tied for first on points
March 13 04:14

Shimizu Kazuhiko
Nice assist by the way
March 13 04:16

Nagatomo Asuka
thx~!
was an easy game tho
March 13 04:17

Ishida Yuuka
Just one more left for you, right?
March 13 04:17

Nagatomo Asuka
ye~
March 13 04:17

Ishida Yuuka
Good luck~!
March 13 04:18

Nagatomo Asuka
hopefully I can start the last game
should be an easy one too www
sendai are nothing
March 13 04:18

Segawa Takaharu
So it's been a year w
Kazuhiko Satsuki you two still dating or…
06:48

Tokuda Satsuki
… I'll let Kazu comment on that
Also, I can't believe you actually remembered
06:50

Segawa Takaharu
I set an alert wwww
06:51

Shimizu Kazuhiko
Satsuki Yes?
06:51

Tokuda Satsuki
Then yes
06:52

Segawa Takaharu
Disaster averted www
06:52

Shimizu Kazuhiko
My heart is racing
06:53

Segawa Takaharu
Dreaming about seeing your girl in person
I understand
I feel that way sometimes too
06:52

Shimizu Kazuhiko
That's not it! ww
06:53

Tokuda Satsuki
Do you though
How did that last date work out
06:53

Segawa Takaharu
Let's not talk about that
06:54

Tokuda Satsuki
A little unfair, don't you think
Let's talk about your romance for a while
06:54

Segawa Takaharu
(งಠ_ಠ)ง
06:54

Shimizu Kazuhiko
I agree wholeheartedly with Satsuki wwwwww
06:55

Segawa Takaharu
How about Ryuta
06:55

Tokuda Satsuki
You can't escape, goggle boy
06:56

Shimizu Kazuhiko
Goggle boy? w
You still swim?
06:56

Segawa Takaharu
Yeah, when I can
Not easy to find a free pool lane around here
Beach is nice though
06:56

Koyama Ryuta
Yuuka and I are just fine
06:57

Segawa Takaharu
Course you are
06:57

• • • • • • •

Ryuta set the phone back into his pocket and shook his head. Just casual conversation. His hair was still setting in place as he slipped a jacket on. Vancouver finally had a decent day without too much rain, but it was still relatively cold. "Ready to go?"

"Mmhm!" Amedramon disappeared into his phone once again.

"Hopefully there aren't too many kids running around."

"This early?"

"The elementary and secondary kids are all on spring break as well." He slipped out of his dorm and treaded the familiar path to the elevators. Despite the university students being on spring break, there was still plenty of activity in the cafeteria. "Kids? Secondary kids? What am I talking about?" He snorted at how old he was trying to act. "I just graduated high school last year."

"So, where to?" Amedramon asked as Ryuta stepped out of Orchard Commons.

Ryuta dodged an inattentive pair of students on his way to the bus stop. "I'm going to drop by a doughnut shop in Kitsilano first. I heard they made excellent doughnuts."

"What's a doughnut?"

Ryuta glanced at his phone screen as his feet continued to carry him to the bus stop. "You've never seen one?"

"Never noticed. Maybe I have."

Ryuta looked about. A Route 4 bus was rolling in. "I can't believe I never showed you before now." The bus was quieter than usual. "Though, I suppose I never cared to. Yuuka made enough quality pastries for all of us." He settled into a seat at the rear of the bus and pulled out his phone so he could see Amedramon. He had been tinkering once again with the app that let him see it through his screen. Now, it was a decently high-quality image. Even its violet irises were in full view. "They're fried dough with sweet glaze."

"Oh! Like the éclairs Yuuka makes?" The bus rolled away from UBC Exchange on its way back to the city centre.

"Sort of. They're much denser than those."

"Like… bread?"

"Some of them. Others are like cake. But they're usually round with a hole punched out of the middle. That, or they're filled with jelly or cream."

"Oh…" Amedramon seemed to recall something. "Maybe I did see them when I was first in the Human World. But the shops were closed."

"Closed, eh?"

"Mm."

"Then I guess when you found me that night, you'd just gotten to Tokyo."

It shook its head. "Nope. It had been a whole day. I got there the night before."

Ryuta eyebrows went up. "You were up there for a whole day?"

"I needed a nap, and it was safer being hidden on the rooftop than being out on the street."

Ryuta stared out the window as Jericho Hill passed by. How did it get up to the rooftop if it couldn't fly with its small wings? Did it follow someone upstairs? The bus rolled past large houses. One of his uncles that lived here, in Kitsilano, had offered their home's extra bedroom for him to stay in as their own children had long moved out on their own. He was sure the last time he had talked to his father's brother directly had been a month before they had returned to Japan. What would they think now? He didn't even know where his cousins were, only that his father's brother had a son and daughter. They should have both graduated by now, surely. Was that why they had extended the invitation? Were they looking for company?

"What are you worrying about now, you goof?" Amedramon asked with a toothy grin.

Ryuta was jolted from his introspection. "N-nothing."

"Nothing is something, got it."

"Really, it's nothing! Nothing important, anyway."

"Mmhm. I'm sure it's not." Amedramon flexed its wings. The upgrade to the app seemed to have affected the space within his phone as well. The bus's interior was tangible now, although Amedramon was well aware it was fake. It leapt up on a bench and curled up.

Ryuta watched as Amedramon seemed to hop up onto something and curl up on it. "What are you doing?"

"I think your app is letting the phone render more of the outside world."

"Huh. Weird."

"Isn't it?" Amedramon rhetorically asked. "This bus bench seems real enough, though I know it's not. But it feels that way. It even feels a bit soft."

"I wonder why the phone is doing that. It's not like it's got a 360 degree view." Ryuta glanced up as the automated voice read out, Next stop: Trafalgar Street. Not long now. He stood up. "I wonder – what will happen if I get off the bus? Will that bench just disappear?"

"I'll find out soon enough, I guess." Next stop: Vine Street. That was the one. It would be a short walk to the shop a little farther down West 4th Avenue. As Ryuta moved through the bus, the bench began to fade and lose its colour, and when Ryuta stepped off it completely, it completely de-rendered, then turned back to wireframe and disintegrated. Instead, the world around Amedramon turned to vague shopfronts and asphalt. Amedramon nimbly caught itself before it fell. "I should have expected it to just disappear, I guess."

"That seemed like the most sensible thing. Still, curious as to why the phone can do that. I wonder." He fell silent as he walked towards the shop. The sun was finally fully above the horizon and put the city of Vancouver into full daylight. Ryuta still wasn't used to switching back and forth just yet. He and Chris had commiserated at length about the daylight savings switching, but it seemed it would be stuck with Canada for the foreseeable future. They both detested it regardless.

"Wonder what?" Amedramon asked. Ryuta flicked his eyes up and down to make sure he didn't walk into somebody.

"I've been thinking still about why our phones worked that one time, but all the other electronics didn't. I think it's because of you."

Amedramon cocked its head. "What did I do?"

"To be precise, I think it's all the Digimon. I think… maybe your presence changed our devices, somehow. But I'm not sure exactly how." He pulled the door of the shop open and walked in. There were several customers milling about, along with a few staff behind the counter. "It might have let them function in ways they shouldn't, just like how Prometheus ended up doing things it shouldn't have, because it came into contact with the Digital World." He interrupted himself as he took his phone out and pointed it at the display case of doughnuts.

"Oh! Yeah, I have seen these before! But these look so much fancier."

"I know, Laura and Chris were recommending them. Which one do you want? We can split two, if you want to try two flavours."

"Only two?" Amedramon laughed.

"Uh…"

"I can eat more than you think, you know."

"Really? You never seem to eat much. I imagine not nearly as much as Lomamon."

Amedramon sniffed. "Truthfully, I can."

Ryuta snorted. "Well, my wallet is very glad you don't. Buying this much quartz and other gems is hard enough as it is."

"Not my fault the Real World doesn't have so many gems in it. What's a … Bismarck?"

"I'm not sure. I guess it's filled with something." He got another angle of the display case. "Oh, this one's a cream filling. But the others look like fruit jam? Maybe the difference is the dough or the sugar on top." He moved the phone camera around. "Anything catch your eye? Maybe that tiramisu Bismarck?"

"The one with cream filling?"

"That's the one."

"Let's give it a try! What about you?"

Ryuta looked up at the old-fashioned doughnuts. If he remembered correctly, they were made with a bit of sour cream to take the sweet edge off. "Maybe that coffee cake doughnut." He straightened up and moved to the counter. There were a few people in line, but being this far out from downtown, the line wasn't too long even for a weekday. As he waited, he checked the coffee boards. They had several espresso drinks, but the doughnuts were going to be more than enough fat. Black coffee would wash it down best. Besides, it was more of their style.

He walked up to the counter. "Hey, a coffee cake old fashioned and a tiramisu Bismarck to go, please."

"Sure thing," the cashier replied. "Any drinks?"

"Two coffees, dark roast. Uh, medium size." A barista behind the counter swiftly poured out the two cups of coffee while the cashier boxed the two doughnuts in a small cardboard box and placed them on the counter along with the coffees in a paper container.

"That's fifteen-fourteen." Ryuta produced his debit card and tapped it on a payment terminal. The payment went through instantly. "Thanks! Have a great day!"

"Yeah, you too." Ryuta picked up the box with one hand and moved the tray of coffees to a milk station, where he applied plastic lids to the cups, and gently shouldered the shop door open to make his way back to the bus stop. He placed the box of doughnuts carefully on the coffees and pulled his phone out.

When they were safely out of earshot, Amedramon asked, "Where now? Science World?"

"They're not going to open that early, I think. I was going to stop by the nearby park and let you out for a bit. It shouldn't be too busy there if we go somewhere the kids won't be." He carefully made his way back to the bus stop he'd last used and arrived just in time for the Route 84 bus to stop. He balanced the box on top of the coffee lids and produced his student ID for the driver, who tapped at her payment screen to record the prepaid fare. As he made his way to a nearby seat, he continued, "It'll also give these coffees some time to cool down. They're quite hot."

He watched as West 4th Avenue turned south slightly under Highway 99. He made a mental note to browse Granville Island before he returned to Japan. West 4th Avenue merged into West 6th Avenue as the bus continued to roll eastward.

"I might try to see if, when Yuuka's done her full studies, if she wants to visit. That's three years from now, I think? I'll be almost done by then."

"Maybe we should get the others to come, too," Amedramon suggested.

"That I'm not so sure. We could try, but I don't think Asuka will be available, and Takaharu almost certainly won't be. He'll have internships to worry about. Satsuki should be… in California still? I think? It would be her last year too, but Canadian and American university school breaks don't really overlap. And Kazuhiko might be busy with full-time work by then. Besides, flights between here and Japan aren't low-cost."

Amedramon snorted with amusement. "You just want to be alone with Yuuka, don't you?"

"I-" he started, then blushed and cracked a half-smile. "Yes."

"Mm. Then Falcomon and I will go exploring on our own while you two enjoy yourselves."

"Exploring? You're going to get spotted. You'll both end up broadcasted all over The National or worse, the RCMP will try to capture you." The bus turned back north as West 6th turned into West 2nd Avenue and crossed past the old Olympic Village, then the Olympic Village Skytrain station. A homeless man was tightly bundled in a mildly dirt-stained blanket and a sleeping bag under the Cambie Street bridge. His small blue tent was half-collapsed next to him. The soulless stare pointed straight ahead at the sedan ahead of the bus. Beside that were yet more tents.

The phone camera was pointed directly at the man and his stained and empty coffee cup. Amedramon asked, "Another homeless person?"

Ryuta shook his head slightly and frowned. "It wasn't this bad when we left a decade ago. I heard about it a bit. But there's more of them than I thought there would be." He adjusted in his chair uncomfortably. "I heard that housing here costs even more than in Sumida. Like, a lot more. Somehow."

"Don't people need a place to live?"

"The market doesn't care. People with wealth will pay what they feel like they want to. Or, at least, people who can borrow enough money." He watched sadly as the bus pulled away from the intersection. He wished he could do something in that moment, but the man was already out of sight.

"Huh. We've never seen them in Tokyo. At least, I haven't," Amedramon replied.

"They're usually out of sight in Tokyo. There's a … culture of not letting these 'undesirable' things be seen. But, also, we've never been inside an Internet café either. If we went in one, I think you'd see them. Tokyo has its share of problems." He paused and stared out the window as small streets passed by. "A lot of them, to be honest."

The two of them fell silent. Ryuta looked down at the box of doughnuts and the coffees in his hands. Suddenly it felt perverse. What made him so deserving of a four-dollar doughnut and single-origin coffee? What misfortune had befallen that man out there? Or perhaps the many hundreds, if not thousands, he couldn't see? He'd been told East Hastings was the place to avoid. Did nobody care to solve the problem?

Next stop: Ontario Street. That was the stop. He got up and pressed the signal strip, then carefully walked to the doors at the rear with box and coffees in hand, then alighted to the street as the bus stopped. He tried to dispel the thoughts. They stubbornly remained.

Bicyclists had queued up at the intersection. Ryuta realized that this was redesigned; vehicles had used to be able to cross freely, but now were forced to turn. Only bicyclists were allowed through. The light eventually switched over and allowed him to walk. He wished he could join them, but the bike from UBC all the way to here was long, even for him.

He scanned his surroundings as he continued walking north towards the isometric sphere in the distance. The condominiums must have been new as well. He had no recollection of this area being so densely populated. The sidewalks were busy with people on their way to their offices, but as Ryuta took the turn towards Science World, many turned away to the Skytrain station. The south end of Creekside Park was relatively empty for a March morning.

Ryuta settled on a bench built into a short pier jutting into False Creek with a direct view of Science World. "I think this is about as good as it gets, honestly. It's not easy to hide you."

Amedramon popped out. Its claws clacked on the decking as it turned around and around to get a sense of the surroundings. Ryuta set the box of doughnuts and the coffees on the bench, then gave one of them a sip. It might have even been a bit too long of a wait. The coffee had gone cold. Perhaps he had underestimated the Vancouver chill. Amedramon gave the coffee a sip as well. "Does it taste like fruit to you?" it asked.

"A bit. Blueberries, maybe."

"I thought it tasted like berries of some kind." Amedramon watched as Ryuta pulled out the filled cream doughnut and struggled to split it.

"Ahh, err, I guess this is good enough." He had only managed to get part of the tear clean while he worked around the cream filling; the other half of the tear was lopsided. He tried his best to give Amedramon one half without dropping any cream, then tilted his head to make sure the dangling thick paste didn't drip.

Amedramon licked out some of the cream as well before chewing down on the fried dough. Ryuta took another sip of his coffee. "How is it?"

"It's so rich!" A touch of cocoa powder had gotten onto its upper lip. It bit and tore off another piece of dough. More cocoa powder got on its snout.

"Hm. I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. It is a lot." He took another bite anyway. "But it is delicious other than all the cream."

"Good thing I got most of it then." Amedramon balanced on its haunches and picked up the coffee cup. Ryuta never grew tired of watching it do that, or any of the Digimon, for that matter. It was so bizarre watching them use such nimble digits. From a good distance, it would probably look like a bizarre Samoyed. Anywhere up close, though, and it would quickly become apparent that a Samoyed wasn't supposed to have horns or wings. Still, the bicyclists passing by behind them hadn't seemed to notice anything. Perhaps he was too worried about it.

He dusted off his fingers and ripped the other doughnut in half. This one was far easier to deal with. Amedramon gave it a sniff, then grasped hold of it.

He gave it a bite. It was familiar enough; the cheaper coffee chains had versions of these before. He had been warned not to go back to those. He'd tried himself anyway and agreed; the quality was much worse than it had been despite the price going up. This was far better, even if it did cost twice as much.

Amedramon gave the half-ring a good chomp. Ryuta brushed off some of the cocoa powder from its white-scaled lip as it chewed. It grinned back at him.

―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――

WE League leaderboard remains tight as inaugural season nears conclusion

NNK Sports | Published 2022.03.14 09:54

AC Nagano Parceiro hosted Urawa Red Diamonds, who picked up a win in a tight 1-2 decision over the home side. The Reds picked up their goal by a quick interplay on the counter, with the final pass coming from the outside foot of midfielder YAMAZAKI Yoshino and scored on the half-volley by ENDOH Harue (31'). The home side responded much in kind in the second half. This time, the service was provided by American international Erin EWING and scored by fellow forward SHIBATA Kiho (52'), only for the Reds to swiftly reclaim the lead after a scramble for the ball in the Nagano box following a corner. Midfielder OKUHARA Mana potted the goal from a tight angle into the far corner to restore the lead (57'). Nagano would seem to slump offensively following this as they passed without much intent to break down the Urawa side, which were more than happy to see out the result from there.

Then, crucially, JEF United Chiba dispatched an outmatched Nojima Stella Kanagawa, who missed four of their usual starting XI. The Dogs stayed in third gear and cruised to a 2-0 victory to put them level with the league leaders. The first goal was scored following a sixteen-pass buildup culminating in a through ball to forward SUGAWARA Saya, who was elected to step in for usual forward NAKANO Kanna, as she was ruled out with a slight ankle sprain before the match (20'). The intelligent pass was provided by Philippine international Maria CRUZ. Then, in the second half, as Nojima pressed for an equalizer, Chiba sprung the counterattack swiftly via pacy right winger NAGATOMO Asuka. Following a cheeky nutmeg of her counterpart and left back KANEKO Yasuko, she found herself in free space and made the low cross at the top of the box to Saya for her second of the match (71'). The hosts would see out another two slow shots on goal and take the victory and clean sheet.

Chifure AS Elfen rounded out the Saturday with their 1-0 win over visiting Omija Ardija Ventus. The sole goal arrived at the bottom of the first hour on a penalty conceded by EDANO Megumi after a shove in the box and was converted by Chifure captain HADA Wakana to the top right corner (59'). Both sides misfired on the night as both tried new and experimental tactics and personnel considering their positions in the rankings.

Albirex Niigata played slight spoiler on Sunday afternoon as they found a late second goal to force a 2-2 draw with guests Tokyo Verdy Beleza. The visiting side blitzed the home team quickly and early. Forward Karin Elsa ZIMMERMAN found herself in space after the Niigata back line was caught asleep and easily slid the ball over to rushing forward MIYAGAHARA Kyo for the tap-in (12'). Then, Verdy Beleza's TAGAWA Tsubasa picked up the ball after a recycled free kick routine and unleashed a twenty-six yard screamer that kept Niigata keeper AWAJI Himeko rooted to the spot (25'). After a quick tactical rearrangement, Niigata steadied the ship and forced the visitors back. Their counter-pressure eventually resulted in Verdy Beleza coughing up the ball in midfield as they have been prone to do all season. A quick step-in by defensive midfielder OKADA Yoshimi resulted in a quick layoff to HIRAO Aki, who crossed to the head of TAKEDA Io (38'). The ball was knocked down to the goal line with Verdy Beleza keeper EGAWA Yuzuki flapping aimlessly for the ball. Verdy Beleza attempted to right the ship after the break and limited the home side's shots on target to just 1 in the next thirty minutes, but after a few more key substitutions and changes by Niigata, substitutes NARAHARA Seiko, YAMAGUCHI Mayako, and YOKOI Sumie combined to feed forward Io again, this time to her left foot near the penalty dot (82'). Verdy Beleza would push for a lead again, but an open header by replacement forward NAKAUCHI Nonoka and a difficult shot by ZIMMERMAN would be the only two chances left for them in the final ten minutes of play. With the result, their mission of claiming the championship gets much harder, as they now must hope for losses by both Kobe and Chiba – in all games – and win their final game outright, or hope that goal differential rescues their campaign.

With regards to INAC Kobe Leonessa and losing games, there was none of that to be found this week as they turned in yet another potent attacking performance with a 5-2 crushing of falling Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina, who are now solidly out of the race, though miracles could still happen. Kobe Leonessa started the firing by scoring with their first two shots. The first goal arrived off a deflected free kick taken by FUKUDA Konomi (9') while a rebound was coolly chased down and finished by Canadian international WONG Lily Hei-Fook (30'). Hiroshoma managed a response shortly after with a quick launch of the ball from rear to front. The long ball was sighted by centre-back MURAKAMI Kyo, who opted not to play with the team's usual possession-heavy play and advanced the ball straight to KOBAYASHI Ran. The knockdown seemed to fool opposing centre-back Sophie DE VRIES, who tripped on the turf and failed to catch up to a sprinting HIGASHINO Mie. The shot was deftly slotted to the bottom right corner (41').

After the break, however, INAC Kobe Leonessa would assert themselves once again. A flick header by FUKUDA Konomi (64') as she rushed to the near post on a corner would surprise the entire Hiroshima squad, and she would complete the hat trick with a penalty due to a handball by Collette BERTRAND (72'). She would soon be substituted to a great roar of cheering and drumming, and applauded the crowd as she returned to the Kobe bench. Meanwhile, Hiroshima pressed for more goals and subsequently gave up the counterattack in the 79', with American international Naomi TAYLOR cutting inside and faking out the Hiroshima goalkeeper ASO Hikari before punting into the roof of the net for the fourth Kobe goal. The fifth Kobe goal was called as scored by right midfielder WATANABE Tamao, but would later be noted as an own-goal due to the stray calf of MURAKAMI Kyo; it was judged that without it, the ball would have sailed just wide of the left post instead (83'). Hiroshima would then go on to score a consolation second goal through a strong and firm header from the foot of winger MIYAZAKI Eriko to the forehead of substitute KOSHIMOTO Kurenai (90+1').

LEO: 36 (11-3-4) | +18 (39-21)
JEF: 36 (10-6-3) | +13 (27-14)
BEL: 35 (9-8-2) | +13 (38-25)
REG: 32 (9-5-4) | +10 (32-22)
RED: 30 (7-9-2) | +6 (28-22)
ALB: 21 (4-9-5) | -3 (21-24)
STE: 20 (5-5-8) | -5 (21-26)
PAR: 17 (4-5-9) | -13 (12-25)
ELF: 16 (4-4-10) | -13 (15-28)
MYN: 13 (2-7-9) | -10 (15-25)
VEN: 11 (2-5-11) | -16 (9-25)

―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――