Notes: Sorry for taking so long and thank you for the continuous support and kind comments this fic has been receiving! It's seriously been overwhelming and unexpected, so really, thank you so so much for the support and being such amazing readers!

I just want to make a little announcement to say that the reason why I took so long is because my darling best friend and beta, Elis, has gotten married and I had the wonderful honour of being her bridesmaid! And as this fic tackles the subject of marriage, this is the perfect opportunity to say congratulations, Elis and to her new husband whom I am also very fond of! May your journey together be filled with happiness, joy, blessings, but most of all... love! Also, thank you once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to beta this! Love you!

Now on to the fic!

Banba heard the familiar tone from his phone, alerting him of the mail he had just received. Staring at the bag that was placed near his feet, Banba decided it was too much trouble to get up at this point. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Fists wrapped tightly around the bar above him, he carried on lifting the 170 kg weight for the 86th time, counting his way to 100 when Yamato left the locker room, looking fresh after his own late night workout at the well-equipped Saikyoudai gym. Not everyone would stay in the gym this late, but Banba had a personal goal to achieve, and by the looks of it, Yamato had one too. Though instead of signing off with his usual cheery goodbye, Yamato looked a little concerned with his eyes glued to the screen of his phone.

"Have you checked your phone?" he asked.

"You're distracting me," Banba replied. 92... 93...

"I believe Anezaki sent a mail to all of us, you included."

Banba stopped at 95. It wasn't like him to stop when he was so close to reaching 100. But the Wizards manager had finally contacted them after leaving for over a day to search for their missing Quarterback. He looked at the clock in the Saikyoudai gym room, it was almost 10pm. "Took her long enough."

"And it looks like she would take longer." Yamato sighed as he placed his phone back in his pocket.

This didn't sit well with Banba. "Did she find him?"

"She did, actually. Just read your mail."

Banba reached for his bag and picked up his bottle of water first before grabbing his phone. He took big gulps as he checked his mail.

I've found him and he's fine. Everything is alright, but it will take time to settle the issues he's having. I hope to hasten the process. We will be back in Tokyo by Monday and catch up as much as we can. Keep training. – Anezaki Mamori

"Somehow this doesn't sound that assuring," said Banba as he threw his phone back in his bag. "It must be serious if it's taking this long to settle it."

"I'm sure there isn't anything to worry about for now," Yamato replied. "Knowing Hiruma and Anezaki, they're going to do whatever it takes to ensure this issue doesn't affect our future games any further."

"But if it really does involve Anezaki, you do have to wonder what sort of role she's playing. I hope he didn't get into anything dangerous that could endanger their lives. Like a mafia or something."

Yamato laughed. "Mafia?"

Banba shrugged. "It is Hiruma after all."

"Right, because of the guns and blackmail." He shook his head, though he remained amused. "Honestly, it's hard to predict when it involves Hiruma. It could be something incredibly drastic, or just some domestic issues that he needed Anezaki's womanly touch to handle. But there's no use speculating now." Yamato made his way towards the exit of the gym, his smile remaining as he turned to look at Banba for a moment. "Either way, we don't have our Quarterback and Manager with us for the rest of the week. Pretty sure a couple of the members would be sad to not have their favourite manager watch over them. The newbies are going to slack off, but I'm sure we all know what needs to be done, and that's what those two are thinking right at this moment."

Banba grinned as he laid back down on the bench press, the last sentence in Anezaki's message sprang forth in his mind as he lifted the weights five more times. There is training to be done. "Win the Rice Bowl."

oOo

Mamori read and reread her message over and over again before finally sucking her breath in, nodding in conviction that this was the right thing to say, and pressed the send button. As the little sent display appeared, Mamori tried to relax, but she still felt tense around her shoulders. Breathing in a couple more times, she told herself that this was not the time to have such doubtful thoughts.

Believing she had done what she could, she got up in time to see Hiruma opening the sliding door, Sugiyo behind him. "Are you done?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. He's awake."

Mamori nodded. "Let's go then."

She walked along the hallway with them, Sugiyo leading the way as Hiruma walked beside her. "I have just spoken to the people at the temple. I've confirmed that the ceremony will be held this Saturday. As it is Thursday night, approaching Friday morning, we have no time to waste."

She nodded once more. "Okay."

"So did you mail everyone?" Hiruma asked.

"To all the key players, yes," Mamori replied. "I'm sure they would all be really worried but I believe they would understand and keep training."

"Keh, not worried about them," Hiruma grinned. "They're the best players of Saikyoudai. Even if I'm shot dead, they'd still fight their way to the win."

Mamori cringed, then shook her head. "Don't say that, we're in a crucial position now and we're in this together. If you're not that worried about the team, why leave me in that room when I could be helping you or Sugiyo with the preparations?"

He glanced at her before looking forward again. "We're just getting the old man and damn woman ready for the 'special' announcement we're about to make, seeing how limited our time is after the discussion with Sugiyo. You might as well do something more important than that. In other words, I know you sent a message to someone more important than the key players of the Wizards."

Mamori froze for a second, her eyes wide and staring at Hiruma, who merely grinned at her. A flash of concern crossed her mind but she quickly pushed it aside as a low moan could be heard from one of the rooms ahead.

Sugiyo groaned. "He better not be trying to get up."

She moved quickly to open the door, Hiruma and Mamori behind her. To their surprise, Hiruma Yuuya merely got up from his futon to grab a glass of water beside him. The room was dark, barely lit by a lamp by his bedside. As they entered the room, Mamori took a good look at him, and thought once again that the Hirumas did look quite alike, except that he didn't have the elf ears Hiruma had, and his hair was jet black as Hiruma's should be.

"Yuuya, you could have waited," Sugiyo scolded. "I don't want you spilling water all over the floor. Frankly, I'm tired of cleaning up after you."

He shook his head in reply. His eyes were dead set on Mamori, and that was when she realised his eyes were dark brown, a different colour than Hiruma's green ones. He nodded at her, urging both her and Hiruma to sit down beside his futon.

Once they sat on the cushions provided, he finally looked at Hiruma. "Sugiyo told me a little bit of what is going on. Tell me more."

Hiruma narrowed his eyes. "Anezaki and I are getting married as a means to bring Kirie back. What more do you need to know?"

Yuuya frowned at his son's nonchalant reply. So he turned towards Mamori. "Are you okay with this?"

Mamori nodded, although her fingers clutched the hem of her shirt, stretching it. "We believe it is the best way to settle this issue."

He seemed to have noticed the tense tone in her voice, and he spat out his first word. "Keh. It's one thing to get my son involved, but for you to get involved is ridiculous. You are a stranger, an outsider. Don't force yourself into our problems, this is none of your concern."

"Fucking old timer," Hiruma growled.

"Honestly, making a fool out of marriage just to get Kirie back. Both of you are too young to get involved in this any further. I will find a way to get her back myself no matter what it takes, so you two idiots just stay out of this."

"You say the same shit all the time. If you could do that, we wouldn't be doing this in the first place, you idiot!" Hiruma snapped, but Mamori placed a hand on Hiruma's shoulder. She looked at him for a moment, and with a frustrated sigh, he nodded. "Fine."

Mamori smiled at him for a moment to thank him, then turned to Yuuya, raising her head in an attempt to ready herself. "Hiruma-san, I'm sorry for speaking out like this in a family matter. I want you to understand that I am not here to meddle, but to seriously figure out a way to solve this problem together," said Mamori, the tone in her voice becoming calm. "I do not wish to trouble you or your son further, but we both realise that this marriage could help-"

"This marriage helps NO ONE!" Yuuya barked, his own fists gripping the sheets. "Listen to me, young lady, you do not understand what you are dealing with here. This family, this feud, you would just get in the way, make things more complicated! Stop forcing yourself and stop this at once!"

"Yuuya!" Sugiyo snapped, but Mamori continued to talk in that calm tone.

"I am not forcing myself. I am already here, I am already involved," Mamori smiled. "And I cannot turn away anymore, so I believe that this is the right thing to do. I will be here for you, Hiruma-san, and I will be your ally, just as I have been with your son for the past five years now. The two of us have faced great opponents, many challenging obstacles, a lot of heartaches and pain. And we will continue to face them together, because we both have the same goal, and we both want to see it come true. And if this feud is getting in the way of that, I will fight alongside with him."

Yuuya's jaw dropped at the words Mamori had spoken. He looked at his son once more. "I know I have gotten you involved for too long, and I want you to go back and focus on your games. It will be over soon, so stop this. Don't marry each other and ruin your lives, your future."

Hiruma let out a cynical laugh. "Ruin our lives and future? If you keep this up there's no doubt you will ruin it for us anyways! Do you really expect me to believe that after you've been keeping me here for over three fucking days now and I've seen your condition, where you can barely stand and you're trying to kill someone, that you will somehow figure out a solution to stop this feud?"

Yuuya shook his head, looking weaker with each word being uttered. "This is ridiculous."

"Of course it's ridiculous! This entire fucking feud, you demanding Kirie back, you being sick, this whole shit we're facing is utterly ridiculous!" Hiruma leaned forward, his eyes gleaming in a familiar way Mamori recognised as one looking at a challenge, and he had a plan. "Which is why we need something as ridiculous as this to fight it back. And if there's anyone who can best support me and fight this ridiculous muck we're in, then it's this idiot right next to me."

Despite being called an idiot, Mamori took it all in stride. She supposed they were both idiots for still going along with this. "Please, Hiruma-san, please understand and support us. We need you on our side."

Yuuya began to grow weak, his body slumped forward. "... I still don't know if this is right. Why do you need me on your side? What do you want from me?"

"Your blessing," Hiruma quickly replied, though the word obviously tasted bitter in his mouth. "Because Anezaki won't be getting any from her parents, and she will need your support too throughout this marriage."

Yuuya seemed to straighten up at this. He looked at Mamori with such pitiful eyes that it confused Mamori. "I'm all right!" she assured him. "I need to keep my parents away from this as much as I can. But it would be great to have well... a family member supporting us. Hiruma-I mean... Youichi-san is against it. He just wanted to tell you after the wedding and keep you as distant as possible from our entire plan. But earlier when we were discussing the wedding, I convinced him that you are important in ensuring we bring Kirie back. We need you to be there for us in some way, even if it's just to bear witness to the wedding. So please...

Help us."

It was at this point that Yuuya finally laid back down, a tired sigh escaped his lips. They were silent for a moment as Yuuya breathed deeply for a couple of minutes, which seemed to calm all of them down. Only when his breathing became slow did he finally speak. "I honestly never saw you as the marrying type, Youichi," he said with a weary, morose voice. "After everything you've witnessed, all that I've put you through..." He chuckled. "You are cruel, and reckless, but you did it to survive. And admittedly I taught you nothing about caring for another so I fear this union would only result in a lot of pain and heartbreak. But..."

Yuuya closed his eyes and continued. "I know... You have met many people who have taught you kindness, compassion and strength. And this woman next to you continues to exemplify that. You are strong in your own way, Youichi, but you are stubborn, and sometimes selfish. My request is that you care for her, better than I did for Kirie, and protect her. For this feud, her role, will surely take its toll on her. It will not be easy but..."

He opened his eyes for a moment to reach out and grab both Hiruma and Mamori's hands, placing them between his hands with their hands laid on top of each other.

"You have my blessing. Even if it is temporary, I wish this marriage great success. Go and tell Kaede. It has begun."

oOo

Sugiyo had left after that to check on Kaede, leaving Mamori and Hiruma in the room, silent until Yuuya had finally fallen asleep. They continued to hold hands, even after Yuuya let them go. They shared glances at each other, wondering what to do or even say next. Everything was going by so fast, and it was far from over.

The heavy words Yuuya had spoken seemed to hang above them, it urged Hiruma to finally speak up. "He has a right to worry about me," he said with a quiet voice unlike him. "He knows I will be the one to make this fucking marriage fail."

"Don't say that." Mamori gripped his hand in hers as she felt his own slowly slip away. "He may have a point. You are cruel, you are stubborn, you are selfish. But I know you, I know you did all that to win, to have that one moment of glory in your hands. If this marriage fails it is because we both want it to fail, so don't worry. As long as we share common goals, we'll pull through."

Hiruma stared at Mamori's hand that continued to grip his. His fingers tangled themselves with hers to return that warm grasp. "You sure know how to speak pretty words, Anezaki. But you heard what he said. Between all of us, this will be the hardest for you. Trust me when I say that that woman fully intends to crush you, especially since she will know our motives. So listen to me, Anezaki..."

He slowly pulled her closer to him, his eyes staring directly into hers. "If this marriage is a contract, and we are merely conducting business in order to save this family, you are on the losing streak. You should be gaining the most rewards here, not us. Even if you think it's all right, what with you and your damn self-sacrificing ways, I will not accept it. So I would like to give you something in return."

Mamori cocked her head slightly. "I... don't understand."

Hiruma sighed in annoyance. "What do you really want, Anezaki? Especially from me, as a... thank you... for all the shit I'm putting you through."

He seemed so out of character that Mamori wanted to laugh at the strange sight before her, but only a smile escaped from the corner from her lips. "That's really sweet of you, but I really don't need anything right now."

He rolled his eyes. "Damn it, Anezaki. Fine. You get three wishes."

Mamori's eyes widened and swallowed the exclamation she was about to make. "Eh? A-are you sure? Three? One is enough!"

"Fucking Manager," Hiruma growled impatiently. "I will give you three, don't try to bargain here. You can tell me what you want when you've finally figured it out. Learn to be selfish, and trust me when I say that you deserve every bit of it for everything that you're about to go through."

Mamori wanted to protest some more, but Sugiyo quietly slid the door open. " Kaede is dressed and ready to see you both."

oOo

Sitting before Kaede proved to be more tense than it had been with Yuuya. Kaede merely stared at the both of them with a serious expression, though sometimes she looked amused. Kaede was the only one drinking her tea and made it a point to savour the flavour and the moment as both Hiruma and Mamori began to feel exhausted, both wanting nothing more than for this day to end.

When Kaede finally spoke, her words sliced through the air. "This truly has to be the most absurd wedding arrangement I have ever heard of."

Mamori pressed her lips as Hiruma made an impatient sound. Sugiyo spoke in their stead. "Come now, Kaede. As I have told you, they have been together for quite some time, and are merely hastening their wedding due to the current circumstances."

"I must say it never occurred to me that the Hiruma family would even consider having another woman in their lives. I must warn you then young lady, to look out for your life once you do join them. I do worry they have a certain... reputation... with women." Kaede's laugh was painful to hear. "But really, letting this 'outsider' join the Sato family and help Yuuya?" Kaede continued to laugh as she shook her head, placing the cup of tea close to her lips. "Hmph, you must be joking."

The words came out before Mamori could stop them. "Is there... something wrong?"

Kaede grinned. "Plenty. First of all, you are a complete disgrace to even be considered as part of such a pure Japanese family line like the Sato family. What's with those blue eyes? Is that even your original hair colour? You don't look fully Japanese."

"And you think I am?" Hiruma snarled.

"I will get to you later," Kaede glared at Hiruma for a moment before returning to give Mamori a belittling look. "You burst into this place, looking dishevelled and a mess, sweaty and dirty, and you expect me to accept you into this family? Tell me, which planet do you come from? Has your mother taught you nothing in basic courtesy or do you have her horrible mannerism?"

Mamori's jaw dropped. Her mind was screaming all the words she wanted to throw at this woman for the atrocities she had said, but they refused to come out. Rather, they seem to be reflected in her eyes as Hiruma quickly grabbed her hand once more, forcing her to look at him as he whispered, "Calm down."

Mamori bit her lip, holding back the outpour of angry emotions welling inside of her. She nodded at him.

He faced Kaede. "Oi, Fucking Old Woman, you seem to be having a lot of fun insulting us. What game are you playing here?"

Kaede looked rather entertained by the short display before her. "I am merely pointing out the truth. I suppose this is why I find it so amusing. But I suppose that yes, you're both perfect for each other. This so-called Japanese woman with no manners is very fitting for the pariah-like Hiruma family. It's perfectly hilarious!"

Both of them were losing patience at this point. Sugiyo spoke to them hastily. "I do not suggest lengthening this any further, you are both no longer in a good condition to handle her or this situation."

They both agreed, but Hiruma wasn't done yet. "Laugh at us all you want, Kaede," he sneered. "You know exactly what it is that we want. And you should know we will not back down until we get it."

"If that's what you're betting this marriage on then," Kaede took another sip of her tea and carefully placed the cup down. When she looked at Mamori, her smile seemed to stretch across her face in a manner that reminded Mamori of what true demons looked like. "I will be quite prepared to welcome you, soon to be Mrs Hiruma Youichi."

Much calmer now, and with her head held high, Mamori nodded.

oOo

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Mamori sighed as she laid her futon down on the floor in the room Sugiyo had provided. "I really am. You can go to your room now."

"Not until I know you're fine," he replied as he took a step inside the room.

"Hiruma-kun, please!"

"Are you sure you want to still call me that now?"

Mamori bit her lip. As they looked at each other, she knew that despite the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions they were having, their eyes were reflecting off each other the same emotion.

Fear.

"After speaking to those two, I realise I don't know what we're doing anymore," Mamori whispered. "What I'm doing."

She was sure he felt the same way, he opened his mouth to say something but the words never came. Instead, something else crossed his mind, making him reach out to hold her hand once more. "Have we ever held hands this much before?"

Mamori looked at their linked hands. "No, I don't believe we were ever this affectionate to each other."

"Why did we do it so much today then?"

"Because..." Mamori began, but realising the true weight and significance of this gesture made the words she wanted to say too simple. Because they needed to support each other? But they were already doing that from long before. Because they needed to remind the other they were not alone? They've told each other that many times the moment they agreed on the marriage.

Hiruma caught on to her worried thoughts. "Even though we've both been supporting each other in Football, knowing we're never alone both on and off the field and assuring each other on that, we communicated in gestures and unspoken words. This entire situation, us getting married, is going to change that. So just like you, I have no fucking clue what I'm doing and we both might end up completely trashed by the end of it."

He finally let go of her hand and made his way to the door. She watched him as her mind tried to find the right words that would hopefully ease them both. "Maybe for now... that doesn't matter? Maybe we'll both figure all of this out in time?"

Hiruma stopped to glance back at her.

"I mean," Mamori crossed her arms, looking away. "Maybe all this worrying about holding hands is ridiculous, and soon something like that will be seen as small and insignificant. Who knows... maybe we would view this marriage the same way in light of more important things. Whatever it is, let's just take everything as it goes one step at a time, while holding on to the most important reminder... that we are doing this together. And we are not alone. And if it takes holding hands or other silly affections to remind us of that, then we will do it as many times as it takes if it means we will both reach our goal."

Hiruma looked satisfied with her words. He gave her one last grin for the day. "Well, then. Good night, Mamori."

Mamori smiled in response. "Good night, Youichi."

Extra notes: I also have another little announcement. After being unemployed for a couple of months, I am going to be starting my new job next week. As I have been told that it would be pretty hectic, I may be churning out the chapters a lot slower than usual. But do know that this fic is definitely one of my top priorities so I will do my best to keep updating this. Thank you so much, and I hope you will continue to support this story to see it to the end!