The Raimon players were gathered in front of a door with the original Inazuma Eleven logo, with the managers standing across them.
"So, what's the surprise you guys told us about?", Endou asked.
The girls looked at each other before they walked towards the doors and they opened automatically, and the girls walked down the stairs without saying a word.
"I don't like this, it looks creepy to me.", Kurimatsu mumbled.
"If it was, Ran wouldn't have went downstairs.", Shinichi commented before he, Endou, and Gouenji first entered, followed by the rest of the team.
At the end of the stairs, their eyes widened at they were seeing. It was a huge gym with all sorts of possible devices that would push any soccer player not just to his limits, but also break his limits.
"Welcome to Inabikari Shuurenjou, the original Inazuma Eleven's secret gym.", Natsumi announced, "My father had told me about this place when I asked him to build you a gym.".
Endou grabbed Natsumi's hand with a wide smile and said happily, "Arigatou Gozaimasu!".
Natsumi's face blushed, but she did not remove her hands from Endou's, making Sonoko smirk at her and rub her palms together, wondering how she'll set those two up.
"This will be fun.", She said to herself.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's train!", Shinichi cried.
Then they heard something slam, and Ran then explained as she pointed on a timer next to the doors, "The doors have automatically locked and will remain so until the time of the training session is done, which is present here in the timer; 9999 seconds.".
"That means you guys will continue training for 2 hours and 45 minutes.", Haruna clarified.
"And we will be here to guide you and help you recover from the intense training.", Aki added.
Megane adjusted his glasses and boasted, "This training doesn't seem that hard-".
He was interrupted by Somoeka hitting him on the back of his head with a grunt, "Quit lying, will you?".
Endou stood ready in front of the goal, facing a machine that started throwing towards him multiple soccer balls like a machine gun. Endou managed to punch the first couple of balls easily, but the machine started increasing its speed, and Endou found a hard time blocking some of the balls, and he ended up receiving one right in the face.
"I CAN'T DO THIS!", Kabeyama cried. He, Domon, Kurimatsu, Shourin, Kazemaru, and Kageno were running on a device that resembled a roulette but functioned as a treadmill, and the players were trying to keep up with the increasing speed of the treadmill. Kabeyama fell first with a scream, and his body rolled on the treadmill, and the other players tripped over him.
"God... damn... it...", Handa hissed. He, Shishido, Megane, and Max had bungee ropes wrapped around their waists, and they were trying to push themselves to the other side of the field, but they were having a hard time from the bungee ropes. They had done this training before, but these bungees were different and stronger.
Shishido let out cry as his feet slipped, and the bungee rope pulled him backwards, with Megane, Max then Handa following in suit.
Gouenji, Someoka, and Shinichi had the bungee ropes around their waist too, but their training was to reach the middle of the field, kick the metal ball ahead them into the goal.
The three boys were sweating heavily and Someoka reached his ball first, but when he raised his foot to kick the ball, the bungee ropes pulled him backwards.
Shinichi followed him, and kicked the ball, but he hissed in pain from his attempt, and the ball did not even move an inch forward, and the bungee rope pulled him backwards.
Gouenji, on the other hand, had kicked th ball, and managed to push it a few metres ahead, before the bungee rope pulled him backwards.
After 9999 seconds,
The girls looked down at the boys with pity. All of the players of the team were on their backs, their uniforms dirty and messy, and they were panting heavily from their intense training, they could not even feel their bones.
"Can we not do that again?", Shishido asked.
"I second that.", Shourin added.
"How else... are we... gonna win... the football frontier?", Shinichi managed to say between his breaths.
"That's still torture though, not training.", Someoka deadpanned.
"I'm starting to regret my decision to spy on Raimon...", Domon mumbled to himself.
Gouenji, Endou, and Shinichi slowly sat up, and glanced at each other with a smile.
"Mikage Sennou will be shocked when they face us.", Gouenji commented as he wiped his chin from sweat.
"Tatsuya had told me they're literally soccer cyborgs, trained and enhanced by technology, and they've analyzed and studied all the moves that we have performed in the previous matches. That's why no team has ever scored a goal against them.", Shinichi explained, "They even have a device to to analyze the moves in match and boost their powers.".
"Let's see them analyze what they can't see.", Kazemaru slightly smirked.
"Now, that we are done with our stamina and physical training, after our break, we'll work on our Hissatsu.", Endou said with a confident smile, ready to continue training even after what had just happened.
Later,
Near Midnight,
"Where are we going?", Miyano Akemi asked the driver, but he merely glared at her from the mirror.
"Don't try Oneechan... They'll probably have me go back to America again... Making their little drug wasn't enough.", Miyano Shiho spat while she stared at the streets from the backseat's window.
Akemi glanced at her sister, before she let out a heavy sigh. She still did not stop her thinking about where they were going, since it was late at night.
She did not speak up again until she noticed that the man stopped in an empty street, no one was there, and no cameras were present either.
Shiho herself looked at the driver suspiciously, and her eyes and Akemi's widened once they heard the sound of a mask being teared off, and a button being pressed, and then the driver's bulky body changed into a curvaceous feminine one.
Vermouth turned to face the two shocked sisters with a smile, "Surprised?".
"You... how... why?!", Shiho nearly hissed as her sister held her hand to keep her calm, but Shiho was having multiple thoughts in her mind, one that included that Vermouth was going to kill her and Akemi.
Vermouth did not respond just as two cars parked in front of her. The first car had one man come out of it; FBI Agent Akai Shuichi, or known in the Organization as Moboroshi Dai/Rye, and the second car had Mary come out of it, and as soon as Akemi saw her, her eyes widened in disbelief and longing, "Aunt Mary...", She mumbled.
"What are you waiting for?", Vermouth said as she unlocked the doors, "Go say hi to your aunt and cousin.".
Akemi did not need to be told twice before she grabbed a still shocked and now confused Shiho, opened the door, and left the car, running with her sister in her hand towards Mary.
Mary smiled warmly at Akemi and opened her arms, allowing Akemi to embrace her tightly, the latter starting to cry, while Shiho stood in her place, unsure of what to do. Akemi then glanced at Shuichi, and gave him a warm smile, and he returned it with a nod, a smile on his face, before he walked towards Vermouth, who had gotten out of the car.
"I'll admit, I didn't believe my mother when she said you'll help Shiho and Akemi escape.", He started the conversation.
"Well, I'm flattered that I caught you off guard.", Vermouth smiled lazily.
Akemi let go off Mary and looked at Shiho, who still did not know what to do, "Remember when I told you about our aunt, and how Dai-kun is actually Shuichi-kun our cousin?".
Shiho said nothing. Deep down, she was always curious and wondering about where her maternal family were and what were they like, but there were also anger and resentment since they she believed they did not care about her and Akemi, and if they did, then why did they not save them?
But now here she was with Akemi, across her aunt, Mary Sera.
Shiho did not think any more because Mary knelt down and embraced her while saying softly, "I know what you're thinking, and I'm so sorry I did not save you earlier, I can't begin to imagine what you both have been through, but I'm so glad I've finally saved you.".
Shiho felt herself return the hug, with tears slowly filling her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly, still unable to find the words she could say.
She pulled away however once a third car arrived, and Michiya got out of it, making her and Akemi blink at the newcomer who did not look like law enforcement at all.
"You're late.", Vermouth tapped her wrist with her finger, a teasing smile on her face.
"You know how hard it can be to put Asami to sleep.", Michiya rolled his eyes, "I'm ready anyways.".
Mary nodded before she turned to Shiho and Akemi, "Go with Kudou in his car. Vermouth, Shuichi, and I will continue the rest of the plan to fake your death.".
"Can he be trusted?", Akemi whispered, glancing at Michiya, "He is a civilian after all.".
"Yes, he can. We four planned this.", Mary assured her, "Now go, we won't take that long.".
Akemi and Shiho looked at each other in uncertainty but Mary's smile and nod made both of them a bit more certain, even if Shiho was still not as certain as Akemi.
Michiya opened the back door of his car for Akemi and Shiho, and the two entered the car before he closed the door behind them, and then he sat behind the wheels, and drove the car away.
Vermouth looked at Shuichi and Mary, "Are you both ready?".
Shiho eyed Michiya suspiciously and in uncertainty as he placed two cups of tea across her and Akemi, from where they sat on the couch.
"I'm surprised someone like you knows about the Organization, no offense.", Akemi broke the silence with a friendly smile.
"None taken, no one would think a soccer coach would know such things.", Michiya smiled as he sat on the other couch across the two.
"So, how did you get to know?", Akemi asked. Shiho glanced at her before looking at Michiya in the eye, willing to detect any lie he would say if he decided to do so.
"My wife.", Michiya replied, and Shiho noticed how his eyes gleamed for a bit, "Although, I think you fear and hate her for her reputation.".
Shiho's eyes widened, recognizing whom did he mean, and she was in disbelief that he was not lying about what he had just said.
"Fear and hate?", Akemi repeated in wonder before she blinked, a blank face expression appeared on her face, "Don't tell me you mean Vermouth.".
"Yes, I'm talking about Chris.", Michiya nodded.
"Do you have any idea what that woman is?! What that woman had done?! How could you end up marrying such monster?! She's known as the cold witch with thousand faces for a reason!", Shiho could not stop herself from crying at Michiya in both anger, fear and disbelief.
"Could you please lower your voice? The children are sleeping up there, I don't want them to wake up.", Michiya asked.
"Children?!", Shiho repeated in even more shock.
"You have kids?", Akemi blinked.
"3, 1 is adopted, but she's our girl nevertheless. And my nephew and his friend are staying over too, so they're sleeping upstairs too.", Michiya replied with a proud smile on his face.
'Vermouth is married and has children... Vermouth is married and has children...', Shiho blinked as the thought repeated in her mind.
Then, they heard the front door unlock, and in walked Mary, Shuichi, and Vermouth, before the last closed the door and locked it.
"Shuichi-kun!", Akemi said happily as she hopped up and went to hug the latter, who instantly wrapped his arms around her, smiling warmly.
Vermouth looked at Mary teasingly, "How does it feel seeing your son in a relationship with your niece?".
Mary rolled her eyes, "First cousin marriage is not just legal in Arab and some Asian countries, like Japan. It's legal in the United Kingdom, and some states in America.".
Vermouth then looked at the two, as Akemi and Shuichi let go of each other, with the latter checking her over and making sure she is okay.
"Something tells me they knew each other anyways.", She noted.
Mary scoffed, "I used to secretly meet up with Elena, so Akemi did meet my sons, so they definitely knew each other then.".
Shiho blinked as she watched Akemi sit next to her, with Shuichi sitting next to her on the other side, holding her hand, while Mary sat on the armchair next to them, and Vermouth sat next to Michiya.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer, Sherry.", Vermouth teased Shiho with slight smirk, noticing how she was staring at her.
"Drop the codename now, by tomorrow morning they'll believe they're both dead.", Mary said in distaste, disliking hearing her niece's nickname.
"What did you do?", Akemi asked.
"Burned the car and placed two female Black Organization agents dead bodies inside, one of them was short anyways.", Vermouth examined her nails as she spoke nonchalantly, "And the driver, no one will find his dead body.".
"I lured the agents.", Shuichi added.
"And I killed them.", Mary added.
"You guys are all weird and can be creepy.", Michiya commented at their nonchalant demeanor, that contradicted greatly with what they had just done.
"Welcome to our life, love.", Vermouth chuckled.
"So, what are we supposed to do now? You can't just lock us forever until the organization is down, and how can we be sure that Vermouth won't betray us?", Shiho asked suspiciously.
Vermouth rubbed her temples with a sigh, "I still got a lot to do to make you at least think I'm on your side, don't I?".
"I know a friend in the NPA SB, he can help us create fake identities for you, and in public, Vineyard will help you create disguised.", Mary replied, "You don't need to worry about her, we had a deal.".
"Speaking of deals, you had said you wanted to ask me something important.", Shuichi recalled.
Vermouth nodded, "I want you to set up a meeting with Jodie Starling.".
Shuichi remained silent for a few seconds before he said slowly, "You want to meet the woman whom you killed her father?".
Vermouth nodded silently, not explaining anything, and her eyes did not even give a hint of what she was planning.
"Alright, this is easy.", Shuichi nodded.
"You two will live with Masumi and I, from now on. I think she'll be ecstatic to have you there.", Mary said before she rolled her eyes, "Considering my eldest son is busy undercover and my second is busy playing Shogi.".
"Well, I guess we are done here.", Shuichi said as he stood up with his family, nodding at Vermouth, who returned the nod.
"Thank you for your help.", Akemi viewed in respect while Shiho merely glanced at Vermouth.
"We'll invite you guys to a celebration dinner soon, when my son wins his upcoming match.", Vermouth said with a wide smile, making Shiho look at her as if she had two heads.
'I still can't believe she's a mother...', She thought.
The Next Day,
Raimon had arrived at Mikage Sennou's school, and stood ready on the field, with the Mikage Sennou's players standing ready across them.
Shinichi's eyes narrowed at the wires attached to the heads of all of the players of Mikage.
He noticed how Shimozuru Arata had a glaring contest with Gouenji, and how the team's coach who stood on the side, Toyama Shinichirou, was having a very confident smirk on his face.
And then there was the goalkeeper, Sugimori Takeshi, Endou had told Shinichi how he said that Raimon had zero chance in defeating them according to the data they analyzed.
And Shinichi's eyes finally landed on Mikage's second forward in their 4-4-2 formation; Yamino Kageto, AKA Shadow, who was the youngest player in the team, but said to have large potential.
The referee whistled, and Raimon started the kick off with Gouenji passing the ball to Someoka, who started dashing forward.
But not a single play of Mikage Sennou made a move.
"They're not moving.", Handa said from where he sat on the bench.
"I don't like this.". Kurimatsu said suspiciously from where he sat next to him.
Megane adjusted his glasses, "Something tells me this is a move of them.".
Someoka kicked the ball and used his Hissatsu move, "Dragon Crash!".
"Defense Formation Gamma 3!", Sugimori commanded, and the players stood on both sides like a line, the ball passing between them inside an electric field, and it slowed down until it landed in Sugimori's hands.
"I told you you have no chance.", Sugimori reminded.
"The match is still starting!", Endou insisted.
"We know all your attack patterns.", Sugimori scoffed before he kicked the ball high in the air, "Attack Formation Beta 2!".
The players started moving around in different patterns and orders, protecting Shadow who had the ball in the middle, passing the midfielders who did not know how to break the formation.
But Kazemaru did not want to stand aside, so he tackled the formation, breaking the players from each other, but Shadow jumped and passed the ball to Arata, and he smirked at Endou.
He kicked the ball high, and started spinning around himself, his right foot surrounded by fire.
The players and managers' eyes widened once they recognized the moves, and Gouenji narrowed his eyes.
"Fire Tornado!", Arata cried as he kicked the ball and sent it flying towards Endou.
"Heavens Hand!", Endou crying as he used said Hissatsu. The ball struggled with the golden palm, but managed to break through and enter the goal.
"G-GOAL! Mikage Sennou scored their first goal with their player, Arata, using Gouenji's Hissatsu, such unoriginality!", Kakuma cried in disdain making Arata glare at him.
Mikage Sennou 1 – 0 Raimon.
"Remember what I told you.", Sugimori smirked.
"You, remember what I told you.", Endou replied, the goal not wavering his determination, making Sugimori look at him in disbelief.
"Whatever makes you think you'll win?", He said as Endou kicked the ball out of the field, and the referee brought a new ball to start the kickoff.
"Because we want to win, we've trained to do so, and we won't give up until so. That's what soccer is all about! Doing all you can until you win!", Endou cried happily.
Sugimori said nothing, but simply stared at Endou, before he scoffed.
"I worry for that kid that he might end up marrying a soccer ball.", Sonoko deadpanned.
"Come on, guys! Like we trained!", Aki called the team.
The players on the field nodded with a confident smile on their faces.
The referee whistled, starting the kickoff, with Gouenji passing the ball to Someoka, who passed it to Shishido, but Shadow intercepted the pass, surprising the players, and kicked the ball high from midfield.
Shadow then jumped high, spun around himself with his right food surrounded by purple shadows, and kicked the ball as he cried, "Dark Tornado!".
"You should sue Arata and Shadow for copyrights.", Shinichi deadpanned as he glanced at Gouenji.
"I never thought that my Hissatsu would have people obsess over it like that.", Gouenji commented.
Endou slammed his fists together before he punched the ball repeatedly, his fists glowing orange, while crying, "Nekketsu Punch Barrage!".
He then sent one last hard punch that sent the ball flying into the air. And Arata jumped and was about to spin, but he was shocked that Gouenji had jumped and kicked the ball.
Both boys' legs collided with the ball, but Gouenji had greater strength, and kicked the ball away, before he landed on his feet, and started dashing towards the goal.
The ball landed with Shinichi and he passed the ball with blue outline ahead to Someoka, forming a blue line, before he passed the ball towards Gouenji, creating another blue line, just before a midfielder could tackle him.
Gouenji then performed a heel pass backwards to Shinichi, creating a last third blue line as the three cried, "Triangle Pass!".
"What was the use...", Sugimori trailed off with wide eyes once he saw not only Gouenji was running towards him, but also Endou.
"When did he leave?", Shadow asked surprised.
"They tricked us!", Arata cried angrily.
"Endou! Gouenji! You know what to do!", Shinichi passed the ball to them.
Gouenji and Endou ran in sync side by side and quickly spun the ball, both switching places in the process. As both boys volleyed the ball, their legs were surrounded by yellow lighting, and kicked it towards the goal.
"Inazuma Ichigo! (Lightning NO. 1)", Both boys cried.
Sugimori narrowed his eyes before he extended his right arm in the air and put his left arm behind it, gathering yellow energy in the right. As he kept gathering energy, he reeled his right arm back and quickly extended it in the air again, creating a huge yellow fist covered with spark-like energy. He then pointed the yellow fist towards the ball and launched it, akin to a rocket while crying, "Rocket Kobushi! (Fist!)".
But Sugimori's eyes widened, once the ball deflected the fist easily, and entered the goal, passing right by his face.
"GOAAAAL! GOUENJI AND ENDOU USE THEIR NEW HISSATSU TO EVEN THE SCORE WITH MIKAGE SENNOU!", Kakuma cried at the top of his lungs happily.
Mikage Sennou 1 – 1 Raimon.
Sugimori stared at the ball in disbelief, then at his hands, before he looked up at Raimon, to see Gouenji and Endou high fiving each other before they high fived Somoeka and Shinichi.
The referee then whistled, signaling the end of the first half.
"What was that out there?", Toyama demanded to know from the players.
"We did our best, and we already had analyzed the data before the match, we don't know what happened, they caught us off guard.", Arata explained.
"I think they already knew we were going to do this since we keep on telling every team about how we gather data, that'll explain why they used new Hissatsu.", Shadow said.
"They got lucky. Their next shot will be stopped.", Sugimori insisted as he clenched his fists.
After 15 minutes, the teams changed places, and the referee whistled, the kickoff starting with Mikage Sennou this time.
Arata passed the ball to Shadow, who started dashing forward. Max smirked at him before he glanced at Shinichi and both nodded towards each other.
Shinichi started running forward while Max dashed towards Shadow.
"Quick Draw!", He cried as he got past him, drawing the ball and hitting Shadow, sliding with it on his right foot and making him trip, successfully stealing the ball from him.
Sugimori cursed once he saw Gouenji, Shinichi, and Someoka, and now Endou, charging towards him, but the ball was still with Max.
His eyes went back and forth between the players, trying to figure out which one of them will shoot.
Max then kicked the ball high in the air, and Shinichi and Endou knelt down, having one knee on the ground, and once the ball landed between them, they kicked it with a cry, "Inazuma Eagle!".
And a yellow eagle surrounded by lightning charged towards Sugimori.
Sugimori crossed his arms, gathering bright blue energy in his hands. He then release his arms and created a bright blue barrier, making him float above the ground while saying, "Shoot Pocket!".
Sugimori's eyes widened once the ball pierced through the barrier, entering the goal.
"GOALLLL! RAIMON SCORES AHEAD WITH ENDOU AND KUDOU'S NEWEST HISSATSU!", Kakuma cried happily.
Mikage Sennou 1 – 2 Raimon
"How... impossible...", Sugimori mumbled.
"Possible, when you put the effort into it.", Endou said making Sugimori look at him, and he noticed the boy's genuine smile, and it made him realize something very important, those wires and technology, they were all useless.
Sugimori then looked at his team, and removed the wires. Arata and Shadow glanced at each other before they nodded, following suit and removing the wires too, and so did every player in the team.
"Endou, let's play soccer.", Sugimori said with a smile, which Endou returned.
"Gladly!".
The match resumed with both teams giving all they've got to change the score, but the referee whistled, ending the match with Raimon winning.
And as soon as the referee whistled, Gouenji sat on the ground, wincing in pain, making Endou and Shinichi run towards him and kneel down, the other Raimon players and managers joining them.
"I think I got injured during my clash with Arata.", Gouenji explained, "I already felt pain, but ignored it for the sake of the match.".
"You too huh?". The Raimon players looked up to see Arata sitting on the ground too, wincing in pain, with Shadow and Sugimori checking on him.
"I wasn't going to let you score again.", Gouenj slightly smirked.
"I should've not expected less from you.", Arata chuckled.
"Are they complimenting each other on getting each other injured?", Sonoko deadpanned.
"Welcome to the world of soccer.", Aki chuckled.
Sugimori then stood up and approached Endou, who stood up to face him.
Sugimori raised his hand, and Endou shook it as the first said with a smile, "Let's play soccer again someday, real soccer.".
"You bet we will!", Endou cried enthusiastically.
Shinichi smiled at the interaction before he glanced at Gouenji with worry, knowing that this won't go away before their next match.
Unfortunately, their next match will be without Gouenji.