Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clara Lawrence, journalist for the sports section of the Daily News , has a dilemma. With the first match of the official FFI tournament only a few days away, people in the same profession as her have been clambering to get in interviews with the teams, especially the returning ones and the ones with the most popular players like Edgar, Fidio Aldena, Mac Roneijo, Teres Tolue and the Ichinose Kazuya — who, apparently, is not only alive and well but also went abroad to study in a Japanese school for a mere few months before returning to America. 

What was that school's name? Clara swears she's heard of it before, perhaps in passing over the news, though she can't remember the context of it. 

In any case, all this means that most of the popular teams are already booked and no responsible coach would let their players answer dozens of interviews within the span of a few days. And repeated interviews with the same players wouldn't attract that many viewers. Which means that Clara would have to tackle this issue from a different angle. So she turns her eyes on the dark horse of the tournament. 

Inazuma Japan came out of nowhere this year and although no one had expected them to last even a single match, they had somehow managed to win the entire Asia preliminaries. Sure, their name doesn't carry the same weight as Orpheus or The Unicorns or The Empire or The Knights of Queens, but perhaps the novelty would pique viewers’ interest? They’re the only team in the A block the world knows next to nothing about but if spun the right way, that very fact can be used to draw people in. 

With that in mind, Clara contacts the team's coach. It's a gamble but it's one she'll have to take. 

It takes less than half an hour for Coach Kudou to reply with an agreement and ask her for a time and place. Clara is honestly surprised he's even awake at midnight, but whatever. Not her business.

What is her business, however, is getting to know the person she's interviewing. She'd like to be prepared so that she doesn't end up asking redundant questions. 

Typing Endou Mamoru in the Google search box brings up a lot of articles — there are an unexpectedly large number. A local legend perhaps?

She can't read those articles though, and she's not unprofessional enough to rely on Google Translate. For a moment, she tries to power through, to find articles in English but no. It's like no one has heard of this person outside of Japan. 

Which is… Well, fair enough. 

With a sigh, Clara flips open her phone and breezes through the contact list, ending up on the number she hadn't thought she'd ever use again.

Sophie :) 

She never expected to interview barely known people from foreign countries after her first few years as a journalist. Most people knew players like Edgar and Fidio, so no journalist needed to dig so deep into them to prepare for interviews.

Then, she opens up a draft email and types, “Sunday, 2:00 pm. The team's lodgings will suffice. Let me know if you want to do this in a different place.” This one, she sends to Kudou Michiya. 

It's a bit too close to the day of the match, but Clara figures it would take about that time for her translator friend to send her an English version of these articles.

Sure enough, she receives an email from Sophie Saturday evening, linking at least twenty Word documents containing translated articles, with a caption of, “All done! I swear these kids are superhuman or something. No idea how they're alive, but still! I wouldn't have believed half of this stuff if these weren't the most reliable news websites in Japan.”

That's… interesting.

Clara doubts it could be anything so astounding; it's soccer, after all. But Sophie isn't the type to be easily impressed, so there's that too.

Once she's done typing a reply, she opens up the first article. It looks like it's about a local tournament. The Football Frontier.

Heh.

Shocking News! Raimon Defeats Teikoku! 

Teikoku Academy has been the undefeated champion of the Football Frontier for around forty years. They might have just met their match when Raimon, a team no one knew about before the Football Frontier, managed to end their four decades long winning streak.

Even more surprising is the arrest of Teikoku's coach, Kageyama Reiji, just moments before the match began. Rumours state that the construction beams that fell on Raimon's side of the field— “What the fuck,” Clara mutters— was all orchestrated by Kageyama himself. No statement confirming this has been released so far but between decisive evidence found by the detectives at the crime scene and vocal confirmation of the plan from Teikoku's captain, Kidou Yuuto, the cards are definitely stacked against Kageyama.

When asked why the match wasn't cancelled or why Teikoku wasn't disqualified after that, all Raimon's captain, Endou Mamoru, had to say is, “Why would they be? It's not like Kidou and the others had anything to do with it.”

That's exactly the simple-minded and honest logic we have come to expect from Endou!

The article goes on to explain how unbelievable it is that Raimon, a team that apparently had only seven members not even a month ago — “What the hell?” — managed to defeat the reigning champion. Whether it highlights Raimon's prowess or how lacking Japan's soccer is, Clara can't quite say but she's not here to make that sort of commentary anyway. Her job is to get a good grasp of who Endou Mamoru is before she has to interview him. 

She makes a mental note to look up this match though. At least a video about the whole construction beams part because Clara, frankly, can hardly believe it. 

The next couple of articles are more mundane, talking about Raimon's progress as not-the-underdog-anymore of the Football Frontier. Japan has a few… interesting schools, it seems. Teikoku's captain, Kidou, joins Raimon after his team was brutally hospitalized — why is Japan's soccer so violent ? — in the first round of the national tournament. The Ichinose Kazuya joined Raimon? So that's the school he went to study in for those few months before the FFI. 

Somehow, Clara isn't surprised when she reads the articles about Raimon winning the Football Frontier. 

God's Defeated! Raimon Wins the Football Frontier! 

Not The Underdogs Anymore!

From Rags To Riches: Raimon Edition! 

The Zeus Scam! Water of the Gods! 

The runner-up of the Football Frontier, Zeus Junior High, was recently revealed to have been cheating. A specially synthesized drug they call “The Water of the Gods” was discovered in their locker rooms, allegedly by Raimon's managers themselves! However, there's no confirmation on that last bit yet. The water, as the name suggests, gives anyone who drinks it superhuman strength and agility. No wonder all of Zeus Junior’s matches felt like gods decimating mere mortals.

Raimon's captain, Endou Mamoru—

Clara states at the article for a moment. How in the world…? 

She shakes her head. She's not about to ask any more questions. 

The next article truly tests that resolve. 

Raimon Fights Aliens!

What was supposed to be a joyful return for our new champions soon turned into yet another fight when the Raimon soccer team came back to a destroyed school. “Aliens” from Aliea Academy have threatened to destroy Japan, starting from any soccer team that might oppose them. In true Raimon fashion, however, our champions rallied behind their captain, Endou Mamoru, yet again in a war against these ethereal beings. 

Clara sighs. How are these kids — kids! — still alive and sane?

Raimon's New Coach! Who is Kira Hitomiko? 

The Bear Killer Joins Raimon!

Ace Striker Kicked Off the Team? Where is Gouenji Shuuya?

Kageyama Reiji Escapes Prison! Raimon Needs To Be Careful

Shin Teikoku! A Failed Attempt at Recreating the Original. 

The Aliea Scam! They Were Humans All Along? 

Fudou Akio in Inazuma Japan? Controversial Decision by Coach Kudou Michiya

Ex-Terrorists as Representatives

Aliea Kids on the National Team? 

Japan… sure is an interesting place. 

Clara enters Inazuma Japan’s lodgings with more than a little trepidation. She's never felt this nervous before an interview, even including her first few attempts at it. These kids who had seemed so normal and even a bit unimpressive compared to the renowned players they are up against now seem so otherworldly.

Coach Kudou is at the door to greet her. A bit surprising considering she's almost two hours early. At first glance, he strikes her as a man of a few words.

“Coach Kudou, I presume?” Clara says. At his nod, she says, “I'm Clara Lawrence from the Daily News. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for cooperating with us today.”

Coach Kudou nods again. “Thank you for reaching out to us. I assume we'll go over the questions you'll be asking?”

Clara tries not to grimace at the thought. She is in full support of it, of course, but she also doesn't want to know exactly how traumatized the kids are from everything.

“Naturally. My crew will set up the area in the meantime.”

Coach Kudou nods decisively. “Right. I'll take you to the—”

“Oh!”

There's a purple-haired girl near the door who stops short at the sight of them. 

“I'm sorry,” she says with a bow that Clara knows is a custom in Japan. “I didn't mean to interrupt.”

“That's alright,” Coach Kudou says, though his voice barely changes. “This is hardly the best place for conversation either. Fuyuka, could you show the crew where Endou will have the interview?”

“Of course, Dad. This way, please.”

The soft-spoken girl leads the crew away. 

So, this is Kudou Michiya's daughter? 

“Please follow me,” he says and leads her inside. 

Inazuma Japan's lodgings are the same, standard place all the teams have been allotted, the only difference being the team's logo. Coach Kudou leads her through it in silence. 

Yeah, he truly is a man of a few words. He only seems to say as much as he needs to. 

The silence, however, is broken when footsteps thunder down from the stairs with an angry shout of, “Kogure!”

Coach Kudou sighs, much like a tired parent. Clara almost laughs. 

The player in question runs down the stairs, jumping over two or three at a time, with a slightly panicked look in his eyes. Right at Kogure's heels is Inazuma Japan's striker, Someoka Ryuugo. He… hasn't gotten to do much in the tournament yet, but Clara has read and seen enough videos about Raimon to get a general idea of what he's capable of.

It's not hard to see why he's so angry, not with how he's dripping from head to toe.

“Boys.”

Coach Kudou doesn't raise his voice nor does his tone change at all, but it's enough to make both of them freeze. 

Behind them, walking at a much slower pace and wearing a grin that clearly indicates how much he's enjoying the chaos, is Fudou Akio. This one… Clara isn't sure about this one. 

Even the people of Japan can't seem to get a good grasp on him. Some label him as a being of chaos, an unrepentant punk who revels in other people's misery, the definition of a lost cause. Others see a more sympathetic picture, a child manipulated by others and then forsaken by a society that refuses to let him move on from his mistakes. Clara doesn't have enough information to have an opinion either way, but she does have a policy of being nice to people unless they give her a reason otherwise, so she decides to give Fudou a fair chance. What he does with it is his own choice. 

“Oh, it's the interviewer lady,” Kogure says. “Captain isn't here right now.”

“I thought that thing was two hours later,” Someoka says. 

Even Fudou raises an eyebrow.

“It is,” Coach Kudou says. “You, however, have only ten minutes until practice officially starts. Someoka, dry yourself. Kogure, we'll discuss this later.”

Fudou snickers as Kogure huffs to himself. 

Coach Kudou turns to Fudou. “And you, get going. Don't waste time.”

If Fudou is bothered by the scolding, he doesn't show it. Instead, he grins at Coach Kudou and starts to walk to the door. He turns his head to say, “See ya, losers,” to his teammates over his shoulder.

From the way Someoka rolls his eyes and Kogure scoffs, it doesn't seem like an unusual occurrence. 

Coach Kudou sighs as Kogure and Someoka begin to leave. “I apologize for their behavior.”

Clara just smiles. “It's fine. No apologies needed. Boys will be boys after all.”

And frankly, it's nice to see them being children after everything they seem to have gone through. 

“It's a good thing you're only interviewing Endou,” Coach Kudou says once they're finally seated in the living room. 

The crew is almost done setting up the place and will move on to testing the cameras and mics. After that one encounter, Coach Kudou had decided that it was safer to just stay there.

“He doesn't have as many… sensitive questions as the rest of them do.”

From Clara's research, she thinks Endou should have more than anyone else here, considering he was a part of everything . Then again, she supposes Endou is adept at subverting expectations. 

“Anything I should know about?” she asks. 

Coach Kudou frowns as he considers. “I doubt it will come up in an interview, but try not to ask him about the Dark Emperors. ”

That… is not something that came up in her research, so she has no idea what that means.

It must have shown on her face, because Coach Kudou says, “Seriously. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but it does to him.”

“Alright,” she says. She doesn't want to accidentally trigger anything. 

“And don't ask too much about the Aliea situation either. The details were declared confidential information by the government.”

Clara nods but mentally sighs. There go half of her questions.

“That's… about it, actually.” Even Coach Kudou seems surprised by how short the list is. “I'm assuming I don't have to mention anything that might upset an average teenager.”

“Of course,” Clara says. She tries not to sound too indignant. She's been in this profession long enough to know what kind of vultures certain reporters can be. His caution is honestly relieving. 

“Three… Two… One… Action!”

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! I am Clara Lawrence from the Daily News, live here today with Inazuma Japan's captain, Endou Mamoru!”

Endou smiles at the camera with ease. Clara isn't sure if he's given many interviews at this scale, but she doubts it. Still, it must be far less scarier than facing aliens.

“So, Endou. Inazuma Japan has turned out to be quite the dark horse this year. What would you say is the secret to your success?”

Endou doesn't even think before answering, “Training! Lots and lots of training!”

Clara tries not to laugh. What a simple child.

“Yes, but wouldn't you say that everyone trains a lot in the tournament?”

“Well, yeah. But there's really nothing else. We train and train and we just don't give up, you know.”

“So hard work and perseverance?”

“Yeah, those.”

Clara smiles. Endou had seemed so superhuman at first, but now, she just sees another child. 

“And as the captain of Inazuma Japan, what has been the biggest challenge for you so far?”

That makes Endou think a bit. “As captain…” He snaps his fingers with a grin. Clara can almost see a metaphorical lightbulb flickering to life over his head. “Stopping my teammates from murdering each other.”

Clara freezes. What?

In her peripheral vision, she can see Coach Kudou pinch the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

“And stopping Fudou and Tobitaka from fighting other people who aren't even on the team. Actually no, I think Kidou had the same problem, so it's not a captain thing.”

“So,” Clara says, forcing a smile. God, they're live. What is this kid thinking? “Discord within the team?”

“Yeah, something like that. There's just, you know—” Endou waves his hand in a vague gesture— “history between us all.”

Boy, does Clara know . 

“So you all knew each other before Inazuma Japan was formed?”

“Yeah. Well, not Toramaru and Tobitaka, but aside from those two, pretty much.”

“And it wasn't… a pleasant history?”

Endou crosses his arms and seems to think. Finally. “Well, yes and no. It's complicated. The whole Fudou thing was… not great, but everything's alright now. And we fought Hiroto and Midorikawa, like, three months ago, but it ended on a good note.”

“And by “we”, you mean your school's soccer team?”

Endou shoots her a blinding grin. “Yeah. Raimon.” He sighs almost wistfully. “Man, I miss those guys.”

“Several of Inazuma Japan's players are from Raimon, correct?”

“Yep. Kabeyama, Someoka, me, Gouenji and Kidou! And Aki and Haruna! And Fuyuppe said she's going to transfer to Raimon soon, so that counts too, right?”

“Speaking of Kidou, he used to be on the previous Japanese champion team, right? Teikoku Academy? Would you attribute your success to him joining Raimon?”

Not the best way to phrase the question perhaps, but Endou doesn't seem bothered by it at all. “Yeah! Kidou's awesome! We never would have defeated Senbyama and Zeus Junior without him. And definitely not Aliea Gakuen either!”

“I see. You've had a lot of… interesting matches, haven't you? What would you say has been the biggest challenge of your career yet?”

“Probably the time we fought the aliens. At least the gods thing was just one match.”

Clara pauses for a moment. She's not supposed to ask about the details, yes, but surely, she can prod a little. Especially now that Endou has opened that can of worms.

Besides, the world doesn't know Inazuma Japan yet. The purpose of this interview is to introduce these kids to the world and that includes their past experiences.

She puts on her best innocent face. “Aliens?”

Nearby, Coach Kudou's eyes narrow. 

Endou nods emphatically. “Yeah. Aliea Gakuen! I'm sure there's stuff about it online.” He pauses in thought. “You didn't see it?”

“It wasn't featured so prominently in the international media.” For some reason, Clara adds mentally. “But I have seen some of the articles online. I must say, I found it very hard to believe.”

Endou rubs the back of his neck with a laugh. “Yeah, you kind of had to be there.”

Clara chuckles. “I imagine so. And the gods thing? Could you explain that?”

“Well, they weren't really gods. They were just… They had this thing called Water of the Gods. Kidou said it was like a steroid on steroids. It made them like gods.”

“Like gods? You mean like artificially enhanced individuals?”

“Yeah. You know, godly strength and speed and all that.”

“And you won against them? Without any… enhancements?”

That makes Endou frown. Just when Clara was starting to think she'd never see the kid offended. “Of course! What's the point of winning if you're not going to do it with your own power?”

“Quite true. But to win against people like that with your own strength alone… that's quite the achievement.”

Endou seems a bit mollified at that. “I guess.” He laughs a little. “It felt like Aphrodi's hissatsu broke a rib or two. I definitely couldn't feel my hands for a while after that. But then there was the whole Aliea Gakuen thing and…” Endou frowns to himself. “I'm not really supposed to talk about the Aliea thing too much.”

Clara smiles stiffly. “Alright then. Moving on, how confident are you in going up against the Knights of Queens this week?”

“I'm super excited. Edgar's hissatsu was amazing! I can't wait to go against him again!”

Clara raises an eyebrow. “Oh? So you've already met?”

“Yeah, at the party!”

Clara laughs a little. “I see. Looks like the Knights’ tradition of hosting their opponents hasn't gone away.”

Endou tilts his head curiously. “So, they've done that before, huh? Well, it was really nice. And I got to see Edgar's hissatsu! It was so fun!”

“So you had a soccer battle? May I inquire about the results?”

“Oh, Edgar won,” Endou says cheerfully, as if he's not just admitting to losing to his next opponent on the international news. “But next time, I'll be prepared.”

Clara can't help the competitive edge in her grin. What can she say? She's a Knights fan. “Is that so? Any plans?”

It's not the most subtle way of getting information, but that's not really Clara's job. Any captain who doesn't want their strategies leaked will find a way to avoid talking about it. 

But Endou, it seems, is even more simple-minded than she had thought. “Training, of course! I'll practice and practice until I can stop any shot!”

“That's… a rather simple logic. Is that really all you have planned?”

Endou shrugs. “In soccer, there's nothing that gets you results other than hard work.”

“That's true. So would you say that hard work is the most important part of playing soccer?”

“Well, it's definitely one of them. You also need passion. You can't play soccer very well if you don't like it. And you need a ball.”

Clara almost laughs at the joke but Endou nods to himself seriously. 

“Yeah, a ball and a field. Definitely a field. Or something close to that.”

“Uh… right. So, going back to your experience with soccer at a national level, would you say that Japan's soccer is generally more violent than soccer on an international level?”

Endou frowns in thought. “Not really. The stuff that happened with us was kind of an exception. And sure, there was Teikoku, but that was more Kageyama and he's, well, Kageyama.”

“Kageyama Reiji, you mean? The notorious criminal?”

“Yeah, him. But he's gone now, so it doesn't matter anymore.”

“I see. And what are your expectations for this tournament going forward?”

“Well, we plan to win the whole thing. But really, no matter what happens, it'll be a great experience either way. I really can't wait to have a match against Fidio and Ichinose. And that Teres guy. His defense was amazing! And Mark and Dylan were great too!”

“So you've already met all of the teams you'll be facing in this block?”

“Well, not the whole teams. Just some of the players.”

“And Ichinose Kazuya… you both played on the same team for a while, right? On Raimon?”

Endou grins and there's something nostalgic in his eyes. “Yeah! I actually didn't realize Ichinose was that famous till we came here. Everyone seems to know him.”

“Oh? So Ichinose was just another player to you?”

“I mean, isn't everyone?”

Clara laughs a little. “I suppose they are.” She glances at the clock. “Final question. What would you say is your biggest achievement so far?”

Endou tilts his head. “Me or the whole team?”

“Both.”

“Hmm.” Endou crosses his arms and tilts his head towards the ceiling as he thinks. “Well, for me, it's the fact that my team had, like, seven members total at the start of this year. Forget the FFI or the Football Frontier, we couldn't even play a single match. To go from that to here… That's probably the greatest thing ever.”

Clara smiles. How wholesome. 

“As for the team…” Endou still seems lost in his own head, like he's thinking out loud. “Well, no one nearly died, no one tried to kill us, no one tried to take over the world, the police didn't get involved and no one tried to recreate something traumatic and… Yeah, it's been kind of normal.” Endou sounds perplexed by the end of his spiel. 

Out of the camera's sight, Coach Kudou seems to have lost faith in humanity.

Endou turns to her, looking surprised himself. “I think the team's biggest achievement so far is that this whole thing has been normal so far." He shakes his head. "It's honestly amazing.”

“I…” Clara stares at him. “I see. Um…” She shakes herself out of her stupor. “Well, that's all folks! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Endou. It gave us quite the insight on Inazuma Japan.”

Endou grins at her. “No problem. It was fun!”

“I wish you the very best of luck in this tournament. We'll see you again after your first match!”

Chapter Text

Mark doesn't usually watch other teams’ interviews any more than he absolutely has to. Beyond getting a general idea of what a team is like, he has no need to watch one at all.

So, when Dylan practically shoves him in the direction of the TV one afternoon, Mark scoffs.

“You know I don't watch interviews.”

“Yeah, but look who it is.”

Mark does. Next to a familiar reporter, in the living room of standard Liocott Island team lodgings adorned with Inazuma Japan's symbol on the wall, is Endou Mamoru. The kid Ichinose and Domon are friends with. And Fidio apparently.

“Is that…?”

“Endou?” That's Ichinose’s voice. Mark turns around to find him and Domon entering the living room.

Domon smiles and Mark gets the feeling that he's in on a joke the rest of them aren't. “This will be fun. Endou's interviews are always the best.”

Mark shares a look with Dylan, who shrugs at him. Might as well watch then.

He glances at the clock. They seem to have caught the interview in its rather early parts.

Mark settles down on the couch between Dylan and Domon. 

He's not usually one to watch interviews but this is the guy Ichinose and Domon won't stop talking about. Between that and their mock match that one afternoon, well, Mark can't deny that he's curious. 

“As the captain of Inazuma Japan, what has been the biggest challenge for you so far?”

“As captain…” Endou snaps his fingers. “Stopping my teammates from murdering each other.”

Ichinose laughs; Domon manages to control his own for only a second longer before he, too, bursts out laughing.

“He's joking,” Dylan concludes, but he seems to be less sure of it when Ichinose shakes his head through his laughter. “Right?”

“Knowing Endou, probably not. I mean, that team had Hiroto, Midorikawa, Someoka, Kogure and that Fudou guy at the same time,” Ichinose explains, except that explains nothing.

Ichinose is not one to lie, not even for the sake of a joke. If he's saying this…

“Three ex-terrorists, the guy with the shortest temper ever and a prankster,” Domon says. “And that Tobitaka guy didn't exactly give out friendly vibes either.”

Mark shares a look with Dylan. He… heard that incorrectly, right? 

“Well,” Ichinose says, “neither does Someoka at first glance. And Gouenji. And Kidou.”

At the last name, Domon's face goes through a whole journey. “Kidou was a… different case.”

“Fair enough,” Ichinose concedes. 

“Wait, hold on,” Dylan says before they can go off on another tangent. “Can we go back to the terrorist thing?”

Ichinose and Domon stare for a moment. 

“Oh!” Ichinose says, like he'd forgotten all about it. “That. Well, it's complicated. I'm not sure how much we're supposed to say about that.”

“Fudou helped brainwash a whole team to recreate Kidou's trauma and it ended with two people getting brutally injured. They were hospitalised and had to get physical therapy for months.”

Ichinose smacks him on the shoulder. “Domon!”

“What? Hiroto and Midorikawa are state secrets, but Fudou's fair game.”

“He's no—” Ichinose pauses. “Huh. He is .”

Mark's not even going to touch that. What the heck? 

“And they just… let him on the team?” Dylan asks incredulously. 

Ichinose seems to think. “Well, they probably had their reasons. Coach Hibiki was in-charge of recommending players, and if he recommended Fudou then there must be a reason.”

Domon shrugs. “Eh, I'm sure Kidou and the others gave him a hard enough time. But they seem to trust him now.”

“I'm pretty sure Kidou's just going along with it for the good of the team. And I wouldn't be surprised if Sakuma still hates him.”

“Yeah, wouldn't blame him.”

“You guys are way too accepting about this,” Mark says.

How can they just—? None of that is normal . 

“Shh, we're going to miss the whole thing,” Ichinose says, turning back to the TV. 

Mark and Dylan share a look. What the heck? 

The interview has progressed by quite a bit, it seems. 

“What would you say has been the biggest challenge of your career yet?”

“Probably the time we fought the aliens. At least the gods thing was just one match.”

Mark stares for a moment. 

“Oh my god,” Domon says in an awed whisper. “He actually said it.”

Ichinose looks very amused. “I mean, he's not wrong.”

Dylan rounds on them. “You mean he's not joking ?!”

“This is a troll interview, right?”

But Mark has met Endou and even those few hours were enough for him to figure out that Endou is not the type of person to troll.

“Nope. Remember those state secrets we were talking about. That's basically this.”

“The… alien thing? Or the gods one?” Dylan asks, shooting Mark a freaked out look from the corner of his eyes. 

“The alien thing. Why would the gods stuff be a secret?” Domon asks like it's the most normal thing ever.

“Why would the god thing exist in the first place?” Mark asks. 

“Guys, quiet. Maybe he'll explain.”

Endou does explain. Except that much like Domon and Ichinose, Endou's explanation needs an explanation. 

“So, he's already met Edgar too,” Ichinose muses. “Damn, I wanted to be there.”

“We'll get that story out of Aki,” Domon says.

“Not the same as being there though.”

“What the fuck?”

“What?”

Mark turns to Dylan, who has something opened up on his phone. A picture of a team, it looks like, with the most bizarre outfit ever. There's a whole lot of Japanese written in the article's title and the only word Mark can recognize is “Genesis”.

“It's actually true.”

Ichinose shoots Dylan a look. “We just told you that.”

“Yeah, but I thought it was, I don't know, some kind of elaborate prank.”

“On national TV?”

“To be fair,” Domon says, “if anyone would do that, it's Endou.”

“I doubt even he would be that thoughtless.”

“Is that… ?” Mark squints at the photo and Dylan tilts his phone to let him get a better look. “Isn't that the guy from Inazuma Japan? That striker with red hair?”

Dylan takes another look at it. “Oh, shit, you're right!”

“There are pictures?” Ichinose says. “Report the website. There aren't supposed to be any pictures online since they were all minors.”

“I thought the government did the whole clean up thing,” Domon says. “No details left.”

Ichinose shrugs. “Nothing's hundred percent, I guess.”

Dylan reports the site.

Mark, meanwhile, stares at his two old friends who have already moved on. They take this so… calmly. How are they not freaking out?

Slowly shaking his head, he turns back to the TV. The one-hour slot is almost over. 

“Well, no one nearly died, no one tried to kill us, no one tried to take over the world, the police didn't get involved and… Yeah, it's been kind of normal.” Endou turns to the interviewer. “I think the team's biggest achievement so far is that this whole thing has been normal so far. It's honestly amazing.”

“I'm… not even going to touch that,” Dylan says, reasonably freaked out. 

Mark silently agrees. What the heck? 

“Huh,” Ichinose says, like he hasn't spent more years without whatever the heck Japan is smoking than with it. “That is weird. Nothing's happened?”

“Yet,” Domon says. “Endou might have just jinxed it.”

“Don't even joke about that. We already fought gods and aliens. What more is left?”

“I don't know, devils?” Domon says. He seems like he's only half joking.

“Why does it have to be devils? Why can't we meet angels or something for once?”

“Evil angels?”

Ichinose elbows Domon lightly. “Dude, stop it. You'll jinx us at this rate.”

Mark shares a look with Dylan. When Ichinose and Domon had returned from Japan, they hadn't thought much of their time there. Now? 

They need to get the full story out of them.

Edgar only watches interviews when the other player has piqued his interest. That usually does not happen. The last time he sat through a whole interview, especially for someone unknown prior to that, was during Fidio Aldena’s first time in the FFI. Compared to him, no one in Inazuma Japan stands out.

Except, perhaps, Endou Mamoru. The captain is simple-minded and carefree, too much so to be taken seriously. The definition of a kid. And yet…

Edgar remembers his reaction after he saw Excalibur for the first time. Even some of the top players in the world would be at least a little perturbed by being defeated so easily mere days before a match. But Endou had only gotten even more excited. Simple-minded, indeed, but that childlike disposition belied a certain tenacity that Edgar couldn’t help but find intriguing.

Inazuma Japan has a long way to go before they should even be considered a threat, but Edgar believes that perhaps in a few years, they might become a troublesome opponent.

So, when he finds Endou giving an interview on the news while flipping through the channels, Edgar stops to watch. If nothing else, Endou’s sincerity is amusing.

“Inazuma Japan has turned out to be quite the dark horse this year. What would you say is the secret to your success?”

Endou doesn't even think before answering, “Training! Lots and lots of training!”

Edgar can’t help but smile. He doesn’t know Endou well, but the logic seems fitting. Flawed, of course, but fitting.

He’s not really sure why he’s watching this interview — he’s never been in the habit of doing so — but something about Endou’s enthusiasm makes him want to stay and watch. This is as far as Inazuma Japan will make in the tournament, but all things considered, making this far in their first run is a commendable achievement.

“And as the captain of Inazuma Japan, what has been the biggest challenge for you so far?”

“Stopping my teammates from murdering each other.”

Edgar laughs quietly to himself. He’s not sure why Endou would say such a thing on live TV, but it’s amusing nonetheless. Then again, Endou didn’t strike him as the type to think about what he does either — the way he arrived at the party is a testament to that.

But really, Inazuma Japan didn’t strike him as a team with any more strife than normal. If anything, the way they all rallied around their captain shows more loyalty than internal conflict.

“And stopping Fudou and Tobitaka from fighting other people who aren't even on the team.”

It takes him a moment to connect the names to the faces.

Ah, that makes more sense. Inazuma Japan has a lot of players who seem on the more hot-headed side. Undoubtedly, the rest of them are just as rash as their captain.

Edgar watches as Endou tries to explain the history between his teammates without actually giving anything. It’s not really useful information to him, but he supposes he has nothing better to do.

“What would you say has been the biggest challenge of your career yet?”

“Probably the time we fought the aliens. At least the gods thing was just one match.”

That makes him do a double-take. Normally, Edgar would write off such a statement as either an exaggeration or a straight-up lie, but Endou seems too simple-minded for it to be either of those. And the way he says it, so sincere and earnest, makes it seem less like a lie.

But such a statement can’t obviously be true, can it?

He watches closely as the interviewer questions his statement. Is there really information about the so-called “aliens” online? Edgar makes a mental note to check it out later.

“Well, they weren't really gods. They were just… They had this thing called Water of the Gods. Kidou said it was like a steroid on steroids. It made them like gods.”

“Like gods? You mean like artificially enhanced individuals?”

“Yeah. You know, godly strength and speed and all that.”

“And you won against them? Without any… enhancements?”

Endou frowns. “Of course! What's the point of winning if you're not going to do it with your own power?”

Interesting…

Another thing to research. If even one word of this is true, then he may have underestimated Inazuma Japan.

“It felt like Aphrodi's hissatsu broke a rib or two. But then there was the whole Aliea Gakuen thing and…” Endou frowns to himself. “I'm not really supposed to talk about the Aliea thing too much.”

Japan’s soccer seems extremely violent. Definitely not elegant. Perhaps they will need to watch out for rough plays in the match.

“Moving on, how confident are you in going up against the Knights of Queens this week?”

Edgar feels himself straighten in his seat.

“I'm super excited. Edgar's hissatsu was amazing! I can't wait to go against him again!”

He smiles to himself. He should have expected as much. It seems that the reality of the situation still hasn’t sunk in for Endou.

That sentiment only gets validated as Endou cheerfully declares on TV that he lost their soccer battle. He really doesn’t think things through, huh?

“So, going back to your experience with soccer at a national level, would you say that Japan's soccer is generally more violent than soccer on an international level?”

Endou frowns in thought. “Not really. The stuff that happened with us was kind of an exception. And sure, there was Teikoku, but that was more Kageyama and he's, well, Kageyama.”

“Kageyama Reiji, you mean? The notorious criminal?”

“Yeah, him. But he's gone now, so it doesn't matter anymore.”

What does a criminal have to do with soccer, Edgar wonders as he mentally adds that to his list of things to research. Inazuma Japan is not as simple an opponent as they seem at first glance.

Endou recounts how his school’s team had only seven members at the start of the year, which Edgar highly doubts. To go from that to being Asia’s representatives in the FFI in less than a year should be simply impossible.

“As for the team… Well, no one nearly died, no one tried to kill us, no one tried to take over the world, the police didn't get involved and… Yeah, it's been kind of normal.”

Edgar stares at the screen for a moment, which shows Endou’s perplexed expression. That alone is making him doubt that any of this is made up. Endou’s expressions are too genuine for that.

What has Japan been up to all year?

It’s a social media post that informs Fidio of the interview. Actually, no. Mamoru did mention the interview during one of their morning practices one time, remaining perplexed about how the interviewer acted “really weird” about some of the things he said.

But Fidio didn’t know the actual contents of the interview until he came across a social media post about Inazuma Japan’s “insane” interview that he learned of some of the things Mamoru said during it.

So, he digs up an online video of it and proceeds to watch the whole thing. It starts out simple enough, with the interviewer asking about Inazuma Japan’s experience in the tournament so far.

Of course, with Mamoru, things can’t remain low-key. Even Fidio has learned that by now and he’s only known Mamoru for a grand total of two days.

“Stopping my teammates from murdering each other. And stopping Fudou and Tobitaka from fighting other people who aren't even on the team. Actually no, I think Kidou had the same problem, so it's not a captain thing.”

For a moment, Fidio just blinks at his laptop, wondering if he heard that correctly. Surely, surely Mamoru would not say such a thing about his team on live TV without even considering how it would reflect on all of them.

Except, apparently, he would.

Slowly, Fidio shakes his head, unable to help laughing a bit. Mamoru is such a kid, honestly.

“So you all knew each other before Inazuma Japan was formed?”

Interesting. That must have helped with their teamwork and synergy, Fidio thinks. So maybe the statement about murder was a joke?

Mamoru immediately counteracts that thought by stating that there’s history between them, but he refuses to elaborate on what kind of history. Or rather, he does but in a way only someone with prior knowledge can understand.

“What would you say has been the biggest challenge of your career yet?”

“Probably the time we fought the aliens. At least the gods thing was just one match.”

For a moment, Fidio just stares at the screen, blinking uncomprehendingly. THe interviewer asks about Mamoru’s statement but his explanation… leaves a lot to be desired.

He makes a mental note to research alien invasions in Japan — why is that even a thing unironically? — later. But if Mamoru’s responses are anything to go by, it’s no wonder he could catch that enormous truck tire that was bigger than his whole body. 

And no wonder he enjoyed that day with Teres, Mark and Dylan despite not getting anything to do; after fighting gods and aliens — seriously, what the heck? — and apparently getting involved with a criminal by simply playing soccer — how even is that possible? — that day must have felt like a breeze. Not to mention the difficulties Mamoru spoke of with his teammates.

It’s interesting to learn how Mamoru knew Ichinose when he didn’t recognize anyone else from the FFI. Getting to play with the Magician of Field as equals is no small feat.

“So Ichinose was just another player to you?”

“I mean, isn't everyone?”

Fidio smiles. That sounds more like the Mamoru he’s come to know.

“Well, no one nearly died, no one tried to kill us, no one tried to take over the world, the police didn't get involved and… Yeah, it's been kind of normal.”

Fidio’s not even going to touch that.

But… Inazuma Japan, huh?

What an interesting team.