Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Hungry Heart Wild Striker

Kanou POV

I couldn't go see her yet. I knew that I had a lot to explain and that she probably wouldn't give me the time of day. She had every right to be mad of course! I would have to suffer a little to earn her forgiveness. The prospect seemed more than a little daunting. I knew what I was supposed to do but I was too much of a coward to follow through. So here I was, wandering among the crowded streets of my hometown, no particular goal in mind, when, as though Karma had decided to punish me for my weak will power, SMACK! It felt like a rock had been smashed against my head! What the hell! Fury made me turn around, determined to beat the shit out of ...! SERGEANT CHIN! And a bunch of my old teammates too! Well there goes that idea...

"What do you think you are doing in Japan without letting us know? " Sergeant Chin yelled.

"Maybe he got kicked off the team! And he was so ashamed, he had to hide his return from us!" Kiba pointed out gleefully.

"Let's face it... If that's true, Hiding may not have been the most brilliant idea you could have come up with." Esaka quipped "You are still just as easy to find in a crowd. With that orange hair of yours, there's no way we wouldn't be able to find you!" Everybody laughed.

"Hey guys! Hold it! Stop jumping to conclusions and let me explain! I did NOT get kicked off the team!" I glared at Kiba for assuming the worst, "My contract got over so I'm taking a break. And I just landed here in Japan this afternoon. I thought you guys would only be free in the evening so I was biding my time wandering the streets! Speaking of...What are you guys doing here? Don't tell me you are all just a bunch of jobless losers now!" I smirked, smug at having evened the score.

"You wish!"

"As if!"

"Who're you calling losers?"

"Yeah! Who's jumping to conclusions now? It's our day off today, moron!"

"Has the time difference addled you? It's Saturday today!" Ichikawa explained.

That threw me! I really hadn't keeping track of time...They laughed at the blank look on my face. "You really are something! I can't believe you even managed to catch your flight on time!" Sako exclaimed as he shook his head.

"Hey! I only mixed up the days! I remember the dates!" I protested. My protest only spurred more laughter.

Surrounded by the familiarity of meaningless banter with friends, I couldn't help grinning, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually missed having you goofs around!"

There were a lot of "We missed you too"s and "Welcome back"s along with some "Who're you calling goofs?" followed by resounding smacks to my head and my back!

"Ow!! Hey! I meant that in the nicest possible way!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head.

"Right! And we were just welcoming you with some love taps!" Ichikawa proclaimed as the others laughed. I looked around to glare at them (playfully) when I noticed that Rodrigo and Sakai were missing.

"Can't you guess? Sakai is on a date and Rodrigo is at practice! They haven't changed either!" Sergeant Chin said, when I asked about them.

"Well then, Let's go round them up and start my 'welcome home' party! I am starving like hell!" I decided!

"There's the Orangehead we all know and love!!" Ichikawa commented. "The world would be a dull place without you!"

"More like, the world would be a well stocked place without you around to eat it out of house and home!" Esaka pointed out, causing a fresh burst of laughter!

I shook my head, focusing on my priorities." Enough jokes at my expense! We all know this could go on all day! But there's a cake waiting for me with my name on it. So Let's go find Rodrigo and Sakai!"

I couldn't deny the thrill that went through me at the possibility of meeting my best friends again after such a long time. As the excitement built in me, I felt a sense of tranquility that I hadn't felt in a long time. For three years, I hadn't been able to feel like this. Nothing had been able to invoke in me, this feeling of being home, at last!!!