I must first thank those of you who never gave up on this fic and continued to review and leave really encouraging messages despite the 16 month hiatus this fic got. You are the reason why I'm pretty certain this fic will reach its end, even though my life has been pretty messy in these past 16 months. I will share more on that after the fic, but until then I just want to humbly thank all of you for your support and hope you continue to support this fic until the end.

Saori was the first to wake. It was a given, seeing as she had to prepare Kaede's clothes and breakfast for the day. Having slept in the same room as Kaede, she carefully got up and prepared herself and wondered what was needed to cook this morning.

It was still considered early, which was why to her surprise she could hear Youichi and Mamori mumbling in the kitchen. After placing Kaede's robes for the day, she quietly left the room.

It didn't take long for her see them by the dining and kitchen, listening to their conversation. Mamori's quiet voice was the first she heard, followed by the sight of Youichi at the dining table, now strewn with papers as he worked on his laptop while talking to Mamori.

"... Even I'm not sure what's going to happen if it does. So if we notice something like that happening again, we'll go along with what I propose as agreed," Mamori's voice was quiet, coming from the kitchen. Her back was facing Saori as she was tending to something on the stove.

"Keh, there's nothing to fucking worry about, Fucking Manager. We got this. Now give me that file," Youichi replied, eating an egg and ham sandwich as he typed on his laptop with one hand.

"Seriously, Youichi, just stop working on that and eat properly!" Mamori scolded as she left the stove and headed to the dining area where he was. "You're going to have crumbs in between the keys... ah!"

Mamori had finally noticed Saori, and seemed almost embarrassed for some reason. Saori smiled in an attempt to keep Mamori at ease. "Good morning!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't notice you there, Saori-san! Good morning!" Mamori quickly grabbed a file from one of the bags lying in the hall, passed it to Youichi who grabbed it with his eyes still glued to the screen, and walked up to Saori to lead her to the kitchen. "It's a little hectic right now, I really hope you don't mind the mess, I'll clean it up right away. I have some rice cooked, I used it to make some bento for the team. If you don't mind, you and Madam Sato can eat that."

"Oh, yes, my dear, that is fine with me!" said Saori, finally welcoming herself into the kitchen to be with Mamori. The sight of a pot with something boiling inside caught her attention. "I see you also made some miso soup?"

"Oh, yes," Mamori replied. "I know you should be doing most of the cooking. But I thought..."

Saori had already placed a little bit of the soup on a small plate for her to sip from. Her eyes shot open. "It's delicious!"

"Thank goodness!" Mamori sighed. "But I really don't know if Madam Sato would drink this if she knew I made it."

Saori smiled. "Don't worry, I'll tell her I made it."

Mamori felt another sigh escape her, one of relief.

Youichi chewed on the last of his sandwich. "Fucking old maid, what time is the fucking old woman waking up?"

"Youichi!" Mamori flustered, bowing slightly to Saori. "Oh, I'm so sorry, he can be so rude!"

Saori laughed it off. "Don't worry about it. She's probably awake now so it's best to prepare yourselves."

"Ah, Youichi! We need to clean the table!" Mamori panicked, taking off her apron.

"5 more minutes."

"Don't give me that, there's no time! We can go once you're done packing up and I set up the table!"

"Oh, have you both had your breakfast yet?" Saori asked.

"Well we both had sandwiches and coffee. Something that stupid fucking old woman won't appreciate," said Youichi, grinning as he folded his laptop.

Saori watched as Mamori packed a big bento box as well as some other side dishes. After Youichi had cleared off the table (Saori had offered but was told that only he or Mamori was allowed to do so as the papers needed to be arranged accordingly), Mamori quickly set up the table for both Kaede and Saori as Saori grilled mackarel and cut pickles for today's breakfast.

The newly wed couple was just about ready to go when Kaede finally left her room, head slightly raised to give a look of disdain. "Leaving so soon, I see."

"We have a game today," Mamori replied. "Madam Sato."

"Is it that awful game Yuuya mentioned?" Her words felt cold.

"Yes, and you're welcome to come anytime," Youichi's reply was just as cold. "My wife can send you a text of the place. Maybe it will open your eyes a little, fucking old witch."

"Youichi, please!" Mamori scolded, but admitted defeat when Youichi sauntered out. She bowed at Kaede. "Please excuse us, we're heading off."

Kaede didn't reply, but sat at the table where her breakfast was instead. Mamori closed the door, and Saori proceeded to sit beside her.

"Do you know anything about that game?" asked Saori, who didn't know anything about it at all.

"Other than it's a wretched, violent game," Kaede replied, picking up the miso soup. "I dread to even imagine what it really is."

"So… will we be going there?"

"I have no interest in such vile activities." Kaede sipped her soup as Saori nodded and proceeded to drink hers as well.

Then Kaede spoke again. "This miso soup..."

Saori blinked.

oOo

It was another stressful game. The Ryukoku Valiants offence was way too strong, and they were winning against the Saikyoudai Wizards 12-0. Mamori took note especially on their Tight End, who was particularly strong and tall, and seemed to give Akaba a hard time too.

"That guy's rhythm... what's going on with that?" he mumbled as Mamori passed him some water during time out.

"Get your fucking asses back together!" Youichi called for the team, machine gun ringing in the air with flying bullets. The team gathered around him as he pulled out a white board and quickly drew out some formations. At this point, Mamori took Hashimoto's video recording and took a closer look at the Tight End's movements.

The moment Youichi was done with the hurdle, Mamori called out to him. "Look here," she opened the camera screened and played back the game. "When we're on the offense, his movements are often erratic, right? But if you look carefully there's a pattern on when his defense is down and Akaba could break through."

Youichi watched carefully. "Do you think you'll be able to catch this moment?"

"I could but..." Mamori bit her lip.

"But what?"

"I'm a little hesitant to use hand signals after what happened."

"Oi, don't fucking worry. Those Mendou assholes aren't here. I just need a quick signal, even before it happens. Understand?"

Mamori took a deep breath and nodded.

The game continued and things were looking a little bit better with Yamato scoring a touchdown, but Mamori had yet to realise two new presence had join in the stands. Saori and Kaede had seated themselves among an especially rowdy crowd that was cheering as loudly as possible. "Such a disgusting display of support," said Kaede, who settled herself at a corner, hoping to keep away from most of the crowd. "But I suppose it's fitting for such a brute sport like this."

"Oh, there's Mamori! She's sitting on the bench! Look at how focused she is in watching the game," said Saori, pointing at the figure in the distance.

And it was in that moment that Kaede kept a close watch on Mamori, who was now deeply focused on the Tight End of the opposing team. The moment they were looking for was close at hand.

"Hashimoto, any updates?" Mamori asked.

He shook his head. "Everything seems to be going as you said. The Valiants will definitely be focusing on Ikkyuu after this. The goal is to stop the Tight End, right? Are the Wizards going to use the same tactic?"

"We'll see." Mamori clenched her clipboard to her chest...

And began to signal.

Youichi replied back quickly, a sign to show that he was about to implement their tactic to attack the Tight End. But in the distance, someone in a black suit was signaling back.

Kurosaki Eric of the Mendou Fighters was on the opposite stands. He looked smug, and signaled something back...

But to Mamori's horror, she didn't understand it. She felt her body turn cold as she did her best to interpret this strange signals, but all she could figure out was that somehow... in someway, Kurosaki Eric figured out her plans. She tried desperately to warn Youichi, but it was too late.

She watched in horror as Akaba attacked the Tight End, but was instead body slammed by the Tight End instead. As the Tight End got up, Akaba laid motionless on the ground.

He was badly injured.

"Akaba-kun!" Mamori screamed out, but the game went on. In a desperate attempt to salvage the moment, Youichi threw the ball as far as he could towards Taka instead of Ikkyuu, who caught the ball without looking back, and with a feint passed it to Yamato.

They managed to score another touchdown.

But Mamori couldn't celebrate. She was already running towards the field with the Medic. She helped them in assessing his wounds. She knew that he had badly bruised his right back shoulder. Could there be a broken bone? How did this happen?

Akaba was placed on a stretcher, and from what little she understood, could have possibly pulled a muscle in his shoulder and it was swelling badly. He needed to be off the game. Youichi called on a replacement. "He may not be the best but he will do the basics," he muttered to himself.

"Youichi," Mamori whispered, as the rest of the team went back into formation. He heard her, turned to look, nodded, and went back to formation as Mamori left the field.

Mamori went back to the bench, sat down and began to write the data she gathered in the last play down. But how could she explain the strange signals Kurosaki showed? Her mind began to swell up with concerns. Is this okay? Should I be worried?

"Anezaki-san, are you okay?" Hashimoto asked, looking deeply concerned.

Mamori smiled at him. "I'm okay, just a little flustered."

Another voice spoke up behind them. "You should be."

Mamori shot up and turned to see a tall, young man dressed in a black suit just behind the bench, black slick hair and thick glasses.

It was Kurosaki Eric, finally appearing before her. "You're not allowed here..." said Mamori cautiously, looking around.

He shrugged. "It's okay, my father and I pretty much have free reign around the stadiums, seeing as we sponsor a lot of its events." He grinned at her. "Did you like having your thoughts read?"

Mamori's pressed her lips tightly together. This man was definitely after her and was playing mind tricks against her.

"This is a strange game you're playing, Kurosaki-san," Mamori stressed on his name. "If you were in the game, these tactics would have been fine. But this isn't even your team, how did they know..."

Kurosaki raised his phone to show a text he sent, detailing exactly what Mamori and Youichi had planned, right down to the hand signals she would send to alert him of that moment. "I sent this to the manager of Ryukoku Valiants, right before the game started. Their entire team knows what you're going to do, and I alert them of any signals you may send to your Quarterback."

Mamori held her head high. "That's convenient. But you didn't answer my question. Why the Valiants? Why not use these tactics when you're playing against us?"

Kurosaki grinned. "Because I want you broken by then."

Mamori couldn't hide her shock. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, and even Hashimoto was audibly choking behind her.

"You see, everyone else thinks Football happens only on the field," he continued. "But I see it differently. I know that support plays a major role too, and the Wizards have the best support I have ever seen. In the form of you."

He was getting closer to her now, and Mamori instinctively took a step back, her mind pulling up the data on his size and weight that was surprisingly similar to Banba and that he could easily overpower her. "So you've been watching me?"

"Yes. Ever since I saw you in the Christmas Bowl. I made sure to get every tape recording of the Devil Bats ever since. Most of them were worthless. They focused on the field when they, instead, should be focusing on you.

But I got them. From every team that played against the Devil Bats, I even got every creeps' recording of you on the bench, those who just want to capture your beauty but somehow captured you at your best. I got them all. Analysed it. Got all I needed to know about your unique signals with your Quarterback."

Mamori clutched her file closer to her chest as he drew closer. "Why are you even telling me all of this? Why not just break me and be done with it?"

"Because I know you're up to something, and I wanted you to know one thing." He grabbed Mamori's left wrist and drew her closer to him, forcing her to look straight into his blue eyes.

"You can't beat me."

SMACK!

Mamori slapped his face, forcing him away from her. Dumbfounded, he touched the side of his face, and turned to see a fire raging in Mamori's eyes. "Intimidate me all you want but don't you dare touch me!" she shouted at him. "Furthermore, go ahead and look down on me but don't you dare look down on the Wizards! Treating me like I'm their biggest weakness is the biggest mistake you'll ever make!"

Kurosaki stared, but eventually laughed. "That's it. Keep fighting. It'll make breaking you even more worth it."

Hashimoto finally ran in front of Mamori, legs shaking. "Leave Anezaki-san alone! The game is still going on, we need to focus!"

"Hashimoto-kun!" cried Mamori.

"Fine, I'm done with what I came here for anyways." Kurosaki turned around, giving them a backhanded wave. "I really am looking forward to whatever little plan you have to defeat me, Anezaki Mamori."

Hashimoto maintained a straight face, but collapsed once Kurosaki was out of view. "Hashimoto-kun!" Mamori cried as she lifted him. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that!" Hashimoto quickly pulled himself together and faced Mamori. "Are you okay? He's horrible for treating you that way! That's not proper football!"

Mamori smiled in earnest, but couldn't hide all of her concern. "Well, he's not wrong. Mind games are exactly what Football is all about. You should know that, seeing how our Quarterback is like."

"But to us managers? That's insane!"

"Yes, but this is the kind of insanity that makes Football interesting. Don't you think?" Mamori shrugged. "By the way, please tell me you're still recording the game."

"I-I left it on the bench and focused on our goal post just as you requested."

"That's good," said Mamori as she reached for the camera and rewinded it. As she watched the video play, Hashimoto looked on with concern.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Hmm?" Mamori looked up for a moment at him.

"Well… aren't you scared that he may actually break you?"

"Hashimoto-kun," Mamori said sternly which made Hashimoto panic.

He gulped. "Yes, ma'am!"

"I have you and the rest of the team supporting me too," she smiled. "It'll be okay. Now let's focus on the game."

Hashimoto stared as Mamori resumed looking at the tape. But feeling assured somehow, he smiled. "Okay!"

oOo

The stadium seemed to have erupted when the Wizards finally won with a score of 20-18. Even Hashimoto couldn't help but scream loudly when they scored with a kick that finally led to their victory. "That was amazing! Anezaki-san, we did it!"

"Yes, we did," Mamori replied calmly, and it was then that Hashimoto realised she was still looking calmly at her notes.

"Aren't you celebrating?"

But she dismissed him and put her notes down. "The team is coming."

The new members ran up to Hashimoto and lifted him up in a comical way, shouting, "We're the best!" as the rest of them went to Mamori to get their towels and drinks.

"Great work today, Anezaki," said Yamato, giving her a charming smile as he took a bottle of water from her.

"Y-yes, great work as always," said Ikkyuu, obviously hiding his bashful demeanour around her as she also passed him a bottle of water.

"You guys did great even with the absence of Akaba," said Mamori.

"How is he by the way?" Banba asked.

"I checked on him earlier. He's fine," said Mamori. "The swelling has dropped after he was treated but he should be all right in a week or so. He claims if Hiruma-kun could heal from a broken bone as fast as he did, it shouldn't be a problem." Mamori laughed and shook her head.

"We may have to worry about his catching abilities after this, though," said Taka, grabbing a towel.

"Keh, he'll get back into his fucking rhythm soon enough," said Youichi as he grabbed another bottle from Mamori. As everyone else was either distracted with talk or heading to the showers, Youichi whispered into Mamori's ear. "Fucking clever you are."

Mamori suppressed her own grin. "I told you it might happen. It's a good thing you pay attention."

"He may be able to read our hand signals but there's definitely no way he can read you when you're eating those damn creampuffs," Youichi cackled.

"Do you know how hard it is to resist eating one of those when it's right in front of you?" Mamori cried. "Having to wait for the right moment and watch the play while my eyes and mouth clearly wanted only the creampuff."

Youichi cackled loudly. "You are amazing, you fucking glutton!"

"Anyways, I guess this means I won't be bringing creampuffs to the game anymore," Mamori sighed. "Kurosaki Eric is going to watch my every move even more from now on."

Youichi grinned. "Tough luck to him trying to figure out your signals. He must have forgotten that your signals aren't just those damn hand signals."

"I'm sure he put his guard down because creampuffs are what I eat on a regular basis and he thought his little intimidation affected me enough to crave one."

"Kekeke, maybe you should, just to throw him off even more!"

"You know, I just might do that," she giggled.

"You're gonna get fat soon, Fucking Manager," Youichi cackled.

She pouted at him. "Oh, you! Go hit the showers!" Then she quietly told him, "We have another challenge ahead of us. Our guests are here."

oOo

Kaede and Saori stood waiting by the entrance as Youichi and Mamori finally exited the place. "I can't believe you actually came!" cried Mamori. "I know I sent the text to this place but I really didn't think-"

"What the hell do you think you're doing waiting here out in the open?" said Youichi, glaring at them. "We had to wait for everyone to leave before we could get out here."

"Well, that was an interesting display of events," said Kaede, as she narrowed her eyes at Mamori, noting that despite the missing wedding rings during the game, they had it back on now. "Don't think I didn't see what happened today at the bench, young lady."

Mamori's face turned a shade of red. "I did what I had to do."

"I will be the judge of that," Kaede raised her head higher and turned to show that she was about to go. "Saori and I are leaving tonight. You can go back to your… ahem… loving ways."

Mamori blinked. "So soon?"

"I believe I've seen enough."

"But what about my mother's ashes?" asked Youichi.

"You will hear from me soon enough regarding the matter. There is an urgent matter I need to deal with before I handle the issue regarding my sister's ashes. Until then, we shall head off first." Kaede turned away, Saori bowing to the young couple and followed suit as they entered a taxi waiting for them by the road.

Youichi and Mamori could only look on with confusion. "Do you think that went well?" Mamori asked him.

"Fuck if I know," Youichi replied. He grinned at Mamori. "Well, I suppose that really does leave us to our loving ways."

Mamori burst out laughing. Youichi watched on, but noticed tears were forming in her eyes. "Come on, it wasn't that fucking funny."

Mamori nodded as she wiped her tears before they fell. "I'm just a little stressed out. That's all. I'm really hoping things with the Sato family goes well."

Youichi could tell something was wrong. This woman had been incredibly strong the entire day despite the challenges she faced, but once in awhile even the finest cracks were showing. "Keh, you have nothing to worry about."

"Hmm…" Mamori hummed to herself. Then they both began to walk to Youichi's car, when in the silence she said, "Let's go back to your place and have nikujaga (meat and potatoes) for dinner."

"Don't you want to go back to your place and get some rest?" he asked, still concerned.

Mamori smiled at him. "Remember that first wish I made? About us having dinner together with no talk about football? I could use that right now."

He stared at that smile. "... Fine. But let's not have nikujaga, I'll take you out for dinner." His pace quicken as they reached the parking lot.

"Eh? What do you have in mind?" Mamori called out as she hastily tried to keep up with him.

"Kekeke, you'll see."

Thank you for reading! So here's what's happened to me in the past year. I was suffering from some really bad bouts of anxiety (to top off my depression) and needed a lot of time to recover from it. During this time I had some therapy, supplements, and a lot of traveling to help me deal with this, and I seem to have regained my ability to write stories again so now I'm here!

With that said, I cannot promise a regular schedule for my fics anymore because I can't say if I can keep this up yet! Things are looking good so far, but life is unpredictable and it's best I not commit to this too much or else I may disappoint you all again. But as I mentioned before, please keep sending a lot of words of support so as to see this fic eventually done. Thanks again for the great support!