Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anger.

This was the best word to describe Kudo Shinichi's feeling right now after his parents left him and traveled to America. They'd asked him if he would be fine alone and he said he would, but he was 14 years old... He didn't want his parents to think he was a baby if he told them the truth, that he didn't want them to leave him, he wanted them to stay with him in Japan. He expected them to understand by themselves that every child needs his parents.

But they didn't. And they left.

Of course, he still had Professor Agass Hiroshi, his neighbor, and his childhood best friend and secret crush; Mouri Ran. But he didn't want to stay at Agasa's, since the man is inventing strange stuff that explodes, and he didn't want to be a freeloader.

And as for Ran, her father definitely wouldn't agree, and he already causes trouble enough for Ran, especially when he and Eri would argue and embarrass Ran in public as usual.

So, he found himself alone in the living room, dribbling his soccer ball as he walked around aimlessly.

To Shinichi, the best thing next to mysteries and being a detective was playing soccer, and he was the midfielder at Teitan Middle School's team, until he was kicked out.

Because he argued to play on the field when the coach would always place him on the side bench, because he believed Shinichi to be a talentless spoiled brat who just wants to play because his parents are famous.

Shinichi's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone knocking on the door. He raised an eyebrow as he kicked the soccer ball aside and went to open the door.

"What is it now, Hakase...?", Shinichi trailed off, thinking the one behind the door was Agass until he looked up, and a wide smile spread on his face.

"I think it's Kantoku in my case, not Hakase.", The purple haired man smiled down at the boy.

Shinichi immediately embraced the man, "Michiya Ojisan!".

Kudo Michiya chuckled as he returned the hug and ruffled Shinichi's hair, "Hey kiddo, I heard from Agasa that you've been living alone for two weeks now, I thought you would like a visitor.".

Shinichi's smile widened before he ran back in and caught his soccer ball and showed it to Michiya, "Can we continue our secret soccer training in the backyard?".

Michiya smiled, "You took the words right out of my mouth!".

Shinichi thought this would be a regular visit from his paternal uncle, but he didn't know that his visits and training, would change Shinichi's life later on, in the best thing next to mysteries and deduction...

Soccer.

Chapter Text

"HAAA!", Shinichi cried as he kicked the soccer ball towards a dead tree in his backyard. The ball slightly moved upwards, hitting some of the small branches before falling back on the ground.

Shinichi went to get the ball as he said, "I think I've got your husattsu, Ojisan.".

"It's Hissatsu, Shinichi.", Michiya nearly snorted at Shinichi's mispronunciation.

"Whatever, at least I understand the point, strong powerful shot, right?", Shinichi said as he placed the ball at his feet.

Michiya blinked a few times before he pushed Shinichi aside lightly, and stood in front of the ball. "If you think by Hissatsu I mean strong shots, then allow me to show you a real Hissatsu.", He said.

Michiya eyed the dead tree before he raised his right leg and kicked the ball, the ball glowing dark blue in response, making Shinichi's eyes widen.

"Falcon Drive!", Michiya cried as he kicked the ball. The ball charged so fast, almost like a dark blur, and completely destroyed the tree, much to Shinichi's disbelief.

The boy's eyes followed the ball as it dribbled around before it stopped moving, next to the remains of the destroyed tree.

"A Hissatsu is a special move, that can be done by using some of our energy with training. Each Hissatsu is assigned to an Element, and users often are perfect in one element and its variants, and weaker in other elements unless it was a combination technique.", Michiya explained to the still shocked Shinichi.

"First is Wind; weak against wood and strong against earth. Its variants are water, ice, and lightning. The second is Wood; weak against fire and strong against wind. Its variants are Music, Energy, Space, and Darkness. The third is Fire; weak against earth and strong against wood. The fourth and final is Earth; weak against wind and strong against fire. Its only variant is Light. Then there is Void, it's neither weak nor strong against any element, and consists of only Darkness or combination of four elements, thus there isn't a Void User, unlike the other elements.", Michiya finished explaining as he went to bring the ball back.

"So what element are you? Actually, how does one know their element?", Shinichi asked curiously.

"Wind, I was known as Japan's Blitz Falcon for my speed, you couldn't even see my shot.", Michiya said as he started dribbling the ball with his right leg, "Players often stand still, take a deep breath, and imagine an aura around them, focusing on releasing their energy. If it's blue then it's Wind, if it's green then it's Wood, if it's red then it's Fire, and if it's yellow then it's Earth.".

Michiya turned to Shinichi, "You're asking because... you want to... know?", he trialed off once he saw Shinichi standing still, his eyes closed, his breathing was calm and focused. A few moments passed before Shinichi opened his eyes just as a green aura surrounded him.

Michiya smiled as Shinichi looked up at him, the aura around him disappeared. "So, when do I start training on my first Hissatsu?", He asked.

"My wind techniques may not be suitable for you, but you can improve them to fit you, and I can teach you on how to train on Hissatsu. As a Midfielder, you not only require shots, you require dribble, pass, and defense techniques, but let's start with the shots. Your kick made the ball slightly curve, so we'll work on that first.", Michiya said as he caught the ball with his hands before he looked down at Shinichi.

"Yeah... if I end up joining a soccer team, that is.", Shinichi said bitterly, reminding Michiya of what he

"I've been visiting you daily for the past five days, and I've wanted to ask you, would you like to move in with me?", Michiya asked, "So you don't live alone, and as for Teitan and the bullies there, and I can move you to Raimon Middle School.".

"Really? What about your family?", Shinichi asked.

"Our family.", Michiya corrected, "The kids love you, and so does Sharon. And if you're worried about leaving Ran and Agasa behind, it's an hour car ride from here.".

A wide smile spread on Shinichi's face, "When do we leave?! It'll only take me 30 minutes to get my stuff and lock the manor!".

"Tadaima!", Michiya called as he opened the door of his house, Shinichi following behind while holding his soccer ball in an arm and a traveling bag with all of his clothes and items in the other.

"Tadaima!", A 14 year old girl said as she came downstairs with a wide smile. It grew wider once she saw Shinichi.

"Shinichi-niichan!", She cried happily as she hugged the boy, who returned it with a laugh.

"Nice to see you too, Fuyuka-neechan.", Shinichi greeted his adopted cousin as Michiya locked the door.

"Oh look... The Detective Geek is here.", A 14 year old boy said as he walked downstairs to meet Michiya and Shinichi, his hands in his pockets, just as Michiya let go of Shinichi. He had a fair skin tone and a messy, short, seaweed-like gray hair with some bangs tinted white. He also had aqua blue eyes and a blue lightning-shaped tattoo that covered from his left cheek up to his left eyebrow.

"Says the guy with a stupid hair style and tattoo.", Shinichi snorted, "Nice to see you too, Tatsuya."

Kudou Tatsuya smiled lazily as he bro hugged with Shinichi, "You too brother.".

"Ara ara, look who is here Asami.", Sharon Vineyard said as walked towards the group, holding in her arms a four-year-old with long platinum blonde hair, pale complexion, and brown eyes.

"Papa and Shinichi-niichan!", the little girl cheered. Shinichi handed the soccer ball to Tatsuya and let go off his bag before he took Asami from Sharon as he said, "Yeah, it's your best brother Shinichi.".

"Yeah, right.", Tatsuya snorted in disagreement.

"Welcome home, Shin-chan.", Sharon greeted Shinichi by kissing the top of his head, making him flustered.

"S-Sharon-san!", He said embarrassed.

"Thought you got used to it my dear godson.", Sharon chuckled before she turned to Michiya, her eyes becoming much warmer and loving, "Welcome back.".

"Missed me?", Michiya said huskily.

"WE ARE STILL HERE!", Tatsuya cried in horror and disgust, definitely not wanting to see his parents' romantic moments. He handed Fuyuka the ball and Shinichi's bag before he grabbed Shinichi by the collar of his shirt and Fuyuka by her wrist.

"Come on before we are all grounded!", Tatsuya said as they ran upstairs.

"Dude, I'm gonna fall while holding your sister!", Shinichi cried, ignoring Asami and Fuyuka's laughs.

Sharon and Michiya watched the kids while slightly chuckling.

"Shinichi's back to his normal self now, I suppose.", Sharon commented.

"He's surrounded by his second family, so he definitely is. I still need to call Ran-chan, and I need to work on his papers to move him to Raimon Middle School.", Michiya said as he went upstairs, Sharon following behind.

"Not Teikoku?", Sharon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Raimon has no soccer club and I believe Shinichi may help with that. I spoke with Tatsuya and he told me not to transfer Shinichi to Teikoku with Kageyama responsible, and only he will be responsible of gathering data about Kageyama...", He said as they entered their master bedroom, "I wonder why Yusaku and Yukiko left Shinichi...".

"Yusaku didn't tell you?", Sharon asked as she sat at the dressing and watched Michiya remove his jacket.

"He and Toichi disowned me, remember?", Michiya said.

"Makes me wonder about what they will do when they find out what I really I am.", Sharon said with a low voice.

"What? You're a famous American actress married to Japan and Raimon's top Forward now Coach, adopting a young orphan girl, and giving birth to a boy and a girl from him, one of them is Teikoku's Top Forward and works to expose the shady owner of Teikoku, and the other is the cutest four-year-old ever seen.", Michiya argued seriously as he turned to face Sharon.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a wanted assassin codenamed Vermouth,, the favorite of the boss of the Black Organization?", Sharon asked bitterly as she removed the wig that gave her short hair, letting her long wavy hair free. Michiya then noticed that she had already removed the make up and fake glasses, showing her real young face.

Michiya smirked as he went to lock the bedroom door then went to Vermouth as he said, "A gorgeous assassin, I suppose you are, Vermouth.".

"I'm talking seriously now, Michiya.", Vermouth said seriously, but a smile escaped her expression.

"Come on, the kids are busy with Shinichi now, and Tatsuya and Fuyuka will definitely tell Shinichi about Teikoku, and Asami doesn't leave neither her siblings' side.", Michiya said as he took Sharon's hand and pulled her to him, holding her in his arms, him taller than her by a few inches, their faces only few centimeters from each other.

"So why don't we enjoy this private moment now, Christine?", He asked huskily.

Vermouth smiled seductively as her hands cupped her husband's cheeks, "Lead the way, my handsome Falcon.".

"Your room is as it is, untouched.", Fuyuka said as she, Tatsuya, Shinichi, and Asami entered Shinichi's bedroom. Since the cousins were attached to each other, Michiya decided to make two extra bedrooms, with Shinichi's being an identical copy to his original one at the Manor.

"So, you're moving from Teitan as well?", Tatsuya asked as he dribbled Shinichi's soccer ball while Shinichi sat on the desk chair, with Fuyuka sitting on his bed while Asami hopping (with Fuyuka's help) to sit next to her.

"Yeah, everyone but Ran and Sonoko, are bullying me, and the coach doesn't let me play in Teitan's soccer team, Ojisan said he'll move me to Raimon Middle School, who apparently doesn't have a soccer club yet. I'll continue education there next week.", Shinichi explained.

"Not exactly. Last year it was re-created by Endou Mamoru, a goalkeeper, but only then two people joined him; Handa Shinichi and Someoka Ryuugo. I am afraid things will be terrible when Raimon gathers eleven players, because of Teikoku.", Tatsuya explained grimly.

"Teikoku? Your school?", Shinichi asked confused.

"Because of Teikoku's coach; Kageyama Reiji.", Fuyuka said solemnly.

"Kageyama bad guy!", Asami shouted.

Tatsuya snorted with a nod at Asami, "Definitely. Kageyama used to be a player for Inazuma Eleven, the original Raimon 40 years ago, then he moved to Teikoku. And when he faced his old team, he lost. After being abandoned by his deceased father after his loss to the Inazuma Eleven, he developed an extreme phobia of losing and thus does anything in his power to win, even going as far as playing dirty. He even planned an accident for the Inazuma Eleven team on their way for the second match with Teikoku, preventing them from playing soccer ever again, and their coach and former player; Endou Daisuke, was missing then.".

"Now he goes around to challenge different teams as Teikoku's coach, and if Teikoku wins, they close their soccer club. Some players are still in the hospital from what the other Teikoku players did to them with their Hissatsu.", Fuyuka added.

"Kageyama hates how I don't obey him as my friends, but there is no other player better than me to replace me as a Forward, so I investigate while I'm on the team.", Tatsuya finished explaining.

"Forcing you to hear me talk about detectives and read Sherlock Holmes payed off, huh?", Shinichi joked, trying to lighten the dark mood that filled the room.

Tatsuya shrugged with a slight smirk, "Surprisingly.".

Shinichi, however, was thinking about this Kageyama guy and about what Tatsuya and Fuyuka said about him. This man was dangerous, and he was using Soccer as a tool to stomp and destroy anyone who would stand against him.

"I guess I need to train harder and master a Hissatsu or two before facing Teikoku.", Shinichi clenched his fist determinedly.

"Well, you better work hard, because it's impossible to defeat me, the Apollo Striker of Teikoku! The undefeated forward!", Tatsuya declared proudly.

Shinichi deadpanned, "You mean the undefeated clown.".

Asami laughed while Fuyuka covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her snickering, while Tatsuya glared at Shinichi.

"When a match happens between Teikoku and Raimon, I'll rearrange your face with my Apollo Penguin.".

Chapter Text

Very important note:

Due to my religious beliefs, the moves named Divine, God, or related will be changed. Then why will Greek God names remain, because it will be like a symbol for an element or the color of the shot.

Also, this is the update of August, as I'll be busy on 1/8.

My Bakugan crossover will update on 15/8.

Shinichi was lying in his bed late at night, unable to sleep. Michiya had finished his papers and now he can officially join Raimon Middle School tomorrow, but he'd found out from Tatsuya, that tomorrow was the day of the match between Teikoku and Raimon.

"Tomorrow is the match of Teikoku and Raimon, and also the day I officially join the school.", He said.

Shinichi blinked a few times before he got up and sat at his desk, opening his computer.

"I better do some research about middle school soccer players now, not just Teikoku.".

Endou Mamoru wasn't having the best time in his life, sure he reformed the soccer club at Raimon Middle School, but he only has ten players who'd accepted to join Raimon; Someoka Ryuugo and Handa Shinichi being the first, then came Kurimatsu Teppei, Shourinji Ayumu or Shourin, Kabeyama Heigorou, Kageno Jin, Shishido Sakichi, Matsuno Kuusuke, and Kazemaru Ichirouta.

The guys weren't excited to train nor play soccer, while some of them were afraid. And then there was the new kid named Gouenji Shuuya, Endou had seen him kick a ball when he was bullied by players from another school, but he refuses to join the team.

And his new teammates seemed to be encouraged to play soccer after they'd seen his intent and desire to learn a new Hissatsu from his grandfather's notes. The problem was, that right now, Teikoku Academy had challenged them and just arrived, and asked to train on their football field to get used to it.

He and his teammates already knew the huge difference of levels between Teikoku and them, and he was still wondering what he should do about the missing tenth player, especially after he'd just brought back his teammates, who'd ran and hid inside the school building, afraid of facing Teikoku.

"OIIII!". Endou immediately turned around once he heard someone calling, he saw a boy he never met before arriving and stand in front of him.

"Are you... the soccer team captain... Endou Mamoru?", He panted.

"Y-Yeah that's me.", Endou replied surprised.

"My name is Kudou Shinichi, I transferred here today but I arrived late, so I wasn't able to meet you earlier. I woke up late... Can I join your soccer team? I'm a Midfielder.", He explained.

"KUDOU?!", The other players of Raimon echoed in disbelief, making everyone around hear them clearly.

The Teikoku players looked at Shinichi curiously while Tatsuya just smirked.

'Baka... he spent last night researching Teikoku and other middle schools, the Football Frontier, and anything related to Soccer so he could catch up, that's why he woke up late.', Tatsuya thought.

Sakuma Jirou, Teikoku's second forward, walked towards Tatsuya as he asked curiously, "That's your cousin you've been talking about?".

"Ah, he's a real tough guy, so don't underestimate him.", He replied. He heard a grunt and looked behind him to see Teikoku's captain and midfielder; Kidou Yuuto, standing with his arms crossed.

"He doesn't look so special, just a spoiled brat. Our main aim is to bring Gouenji out.", Kidou said, glancing to where Gouenji was watching everything behind a tree, away from the eyes of everyone.

Tatsuya rolled his eyes before he looked at Sakuma, "Your friend is annoying and grumpy.".

"You're just unable to get along with him.", Sakuma pointed out.

"I've tried everything but ever since we were kids he was like that! He seriously needs to learn some communication skills.", Tatsuya huffed while Sakuma sighed.

'You're one to talk about communication, Kudou...', Sakuma thought.

"Kudou?! As in Kudou Michiya?!", Kabeyama asked in disbelief.

"He could be related to Kudou Yusaku and Yukiko.", Kurimatsu pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm their son, Kudou Michiya is my paternal uncle.", Shinichi replied.

"Whatever, he doesn't look good.", Handa scoffed.

"Agreed.", Someoka crossed his arms.

"We have no right to comment considering our condition.", Matsuno sweatdropped.

Endou, on the other hand, beamed.

"Of course you can! We still have some uniforms in the soccer club there, the number 11 and number 10 of the main eleven haven't been taken yet.", He said, shocking the rest of his teammates.

"Give me 5 minutes!", Shinichi cried as he went towards the soccer club.

"But Endou-kun...", Kino Aki, Raimon's manager, walked towards Endou as she asked, "He's the cousin of Kudou Tatsuya, Teikoku's forward. He could be a spy.".

"I don't see why he would spy on a new soccer club just formed, he seemed to truly love soccer.", Endou replied.

Shinichi left the soccer club and spotted Gouenji as he was returning. So he went towards him.

"Do you honestly think this is right?", He asked seriously while Gouenji just raised an eyebrow. "I've read about you, and about the other players in Middle School. I understand how you feel after what happened to your sister.".

Gouenji frowned before glaring at Shinichi then looked away, not saying a word.

"Your sister loved soccer, so she would've loved for you to continue playing soccer.", Shinichi said. Gouenji said nothing, still looking away. Shinichi sighed heavily before he ran back to the field.

"I'm back!", Shinichi called as he wore Raimon's uniform, the number 11 on his back.

"Looking good!", Endou gave him a thumbs up with a wide smile, "Let's do this!".

Out of nowhere, the commentator of the match appeared while holding a desk with a mic on, this was Kakuma Keita from Raimon chess club, who decided by himself to be the commentator.

Everyone from Raimon school started to gather around and observe, Aki sat on the bench when another girl of her age approached her.

"Hi! My name is Otonashi Haruna and I'm a news reporter! Can I sit here?", She asked sweetly.

"Sure!".

Raimon Natsumi, the daughter of the owner of the school, watched from her father's office the match, and was looking with intrigue at Shinichi.

Teikoku's formation: 4–4-2

Goalkeeper: Genda Koujirou (1)

Defense: Oono Densuke (LB/2), Banjou Kazumichi (RB/3), Narukami Kenya (CB/4), Gojou Masaru (CB/5)

Midfielders: Henmi Wataru (LM/6), Doumen Shuuichichirou (RM/7), Sakiyama Shuuji (CM/8), Kidou Yuuto (CM/Captain/10)

Forwards: Kudou Tatsuya (ST/9), Sakuma Jirou (ST/11)

Raimon's formation: 4-5-1

Goalkeeper: Endou Mamoru (Captain/1)

Defense: Kabeyama Heigorou (CB/3), Kazemaru Ichirouta (CB/2), Kageno Jin (LB/4), Kurimatsu Teppei (RB/5)

Midfielders: Handa Shinichi (LM/6), Shourinji Ayumu (RM/7), Shishido Sakichi (CM/8), Matsuno Kuusuke (CM/12), Kudou Shinichi (CAM/11)

Forward: Someoka Ryuugo (ST/9)

The referee whistled with the kick off starting from Raimon. Someoka passed the ball to Shourin who started dashing towards the Teikoku players. Shinichi immediately observed and noticed that the Raimon players were easily passing them, which made him suspicious.

"Pass here!", He called to Shourin, wanting to test something. Shourin looked at him but refused and passed to Shishido, who dashed forward until he reached the end of the field.

"Someoka!", He cried as he passed the ball high to Someoka at the penalty area of Teikoku.

"Take this!", Someoka cried as he jumped and kicked the ball, smirking, thinking that it will enter.

Genda smirked as he jumped and caught the ball with one hand, shocking everyone, but Shinichi.

"Why didn't you guys pass to me?", He asked.

"Like you could've done any better, rich kid.", Someoka snorted making Shinichi grit his teeth, the same attitude that happened at Teitan was starting to happen again here at Raimon.

Genda kicked the ball to Kidou, who smirked before kicking it hard. To everyone's shock, the ball passed every player and reached Endou, who raised his hands to block the ball, but it was too strong, to the point that it pushed him into the net with him.

Everyone around but Shinichi stared in disbelief at Kidou's raw strength as Kakuma recovered from his shock and said,

"G-Goal! Teikoku Gakuen easily scored from midfield by a kick from Kidou Yuuto!".

"There is more from where that came from, and now... we'll bring the death zone, and crush you..", Kidou said loudly for everyone to hear.

Shinichi and the others went back to Endou who managed to stand, "Didn't know they were that strong without Hissatsu.".

"Hissatsu requires raw strength in first place and the stronger you are the stronger it is. These guys have various powerful Hissatsu, no wonder they've remained reigning champions for 40 years.", Shinichi explained as he crossed his arms and looked at the team, "While you, seem to have never even touched a soccer ball in your life!".

"Oh yeah?! And you did?! I never even heard of you at all!", Someoka argued angrily.

"Kudou...", Endou started, preventing any argument from happening, "Do you have any Hissatsu? I'm still... I'm still trying to master Heavens Hand... We can't lose or else the soccer club will be disbanded..".

Shinichi remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "No it won't. Even if we lost I won't allow it. I don't have a Hissatsu yet, but my I do have some good raw skills, but I won't be able to do anything without the whole team giving it their all and passing to me too.".

"Alright, get back in your positions everyone!", Endou cried as he stood up straight holding the ball.

The kick off started again with Someoka kicking the ball to Shinichi and crying with a tone with sarcasm and mockery, "Let's see what you got!". Shinichi received the ball on his chest and ignored Someoka's attitude, before looking at Kidou who was standing at his position with his arms crossed.

"OI! KIDOU!", He cried making Kidou raise an eyebrow, before he kicked the ball very hard.

The ball dashed swiftly, passing Kidou's head by centimeters, who widened his eyes, before it pierced the net, scoring for Raimon. Genda remained frozen with his eyes widened, "I-I didn't see it...".

Kageyama was sitting at his place in Teikoku's special two story bus and raised an eyebrow at Shinichi, "Huh... who would've thought that Michiya's nephew too would have talent.".

Everyone had their jaws dropped even Teikoku at Shinichi's kick and Kakuma regained his composure as he cried happily.

"GOAL! NEW STUDENT AND MIDFIELDER KUDOU SHINICHI SCORES! RAIMON AND TEIKOKU ARE NOW TIED!".

"Listen up, I don't like your 'I'm the king attitude', and now no one will fear as you before since you couldn't see a spoiled brat's kick.", Shinichi pointed at Kidou as he cried before smirking, "Yeah I heard everything... and now, you're looking at Japan's true best midfielder!".

Endou blinked a few times before smiling widely, finally someone on his team who shared his passion for soccer, and he seemed to have a talent close to, if not equal, to Teikoku's players.

"Challenging Kidou head on in your debut? Neat.", Tatsuya smirked in approval.

Kidou remained silent for a few moments, regaining his composure, his arms still crossed. 'Forget about Gouenji, Kageyama may be interested in him but I'm not anymore...', He thought as he smirked at Shinichi.

"You're on.", Kidou accepted the challenge.

Kidou then passed the ball who dashed towards the Raimon players.

"Kidou decides to pass to Kudou Tatsuya, who is charging alone towards the Raimon Midfielders!".

Tatsuya smirked before he clenched his fist before throwing a yellow energy ball high in the sky as he cried, "Solar Flare!", it exploded into blinding sun light that blinded Someoka, Shinichi, and the midfielders.

"Tatsuya uses his trademark dribble Hissatsu and passes the midfielders reaching the defenders!".

"I won't let you pass!", Kazemaru cried making Tatsuya smirk like a predator.

"Try and stop me then!", He cried as he kicked his ball high. He placed his fingers at his mouth and whistled, summoning four penguins from the ground that attached themselves to the ball as he jumped, golden wings forming from his back.

"Apollo Penguin!", He cried as he kicked the ball. The ball flew down towards Endou, glowing gold, with the penguins flying around it, now colored gold.

"What the-", Endou didn't even have the chance to finish his sentence as the ball hit him in the chest, sending him inside the net with it.

"G-GOAL! Teikoku are back again in the lead with Tatsuya's famous Apollo Penguin shot!".

Tatsuya landed on his feet and smirked towards Endou who was trying to stand up before walking back to his place, glancing at a surprised Shinichi and staring at Someoka.

"You call yourself a striker?", He scoffed at Someoka making him angry before he returned back to stand at his position.

The kickoff began with the ball with Raimon. Someoka passed to Shourin who passed it back to Someoka after he dashed away from Henmi.

"Where do you think you're going?", Henmi chuckled as he performed a slide, and several feet appeared around his, and he tackled Someoka hard from behind as he cried, "Killer Slide!".

Someoka cried as he fell on the ground. He tried to sit back up but Henmi kicked the ball right at his face and it ricocheted back to him before kicking it to Doumen, "Sorry, I was trying to pass to my friend.", He laughed.

Kidou then smirked, "Take them down... until Gouenji appears.".

And what transpired next was Chaos. Teikoku didn't give the chance for Raimon players to take the ball and would kick it directly at the players, Shinichi was able to either block or to evade the shots, but none can be said to his teammates. And Teikoku easily scored even more goals against Raimon, reaching 10-1 now.

The first half ended, with the Raimon players lying on the ground while Endou was kneeling down.

"Come on guys, there is still the second half.", Shinichi encouraged the players, he was the only one standing properly.

"Yeah... we can still turn this around.", Endou said as he stood up and clenched his fists.

"I need to go to the toilet...", Kageyama said in fear.

"We can't win this..", Shishido huffed.

"Are you kidding me now?! Why the hell did you join the soccer club if you're such wimps?! I get it you're not trained and still new but at least have some passion for it like Endou!", Shinichi cried angrily.

Everyone remained silent, looking at Shinichi for a few seconds as if he just said something new and unbelievable.

Handa, on the other hand, frowned, "Whatever... that forward over there is your cousin, what makes us sure you're not a spy?", he asked suspiciously pointing at Tatsuya.

"Maybe it's the fact I got us a goal?", Shinichi pointed out.

"Whatever, I'm not playing.", Handa grunted. Shinichi slowly looked down at his ankle as he said, "You don't have to pick a fight with me to leave the team just to hide the fact that you're currently unable to stand on your feet from the Killer Slide Hissatsu.".

Handa's eyes widened just as Endou asked worriedly, "Handa, is that true?".

"H-How did you...", Handa trailed off in disbelief.

"I'm a detective, having a keen eye for details is my main skill.", Shinichi smirked confidently.

"Yeah... I can't stand properly on it...", Handa said as he picked himself up and sat on the bench.

"I guess we'll continue with 10 players...", Endou said in disappointment.

"No way while I'm here!", Someone cried. Endou turned behind him to see a short boy wearing Raimon uniform with the shirt number 10.

"I'm Megane Kakeru! I'm your new forward and I'll lead you to victory!", He cried.

Shinichi deadpanned, 'You're just in this for the popularity... you look like you never even played a sport in your life.'.

"Great! Then let's continue this!", Endou cried, back into his spirit.

And now Raimon played with two forwards, four midfielders, and four defenders.

And Megane's arrival did nothing to the team. He was avoiding the balls being kicked by Teikoku players barely, and whenever he was passed a ball, he'd kick it to any other player to keep himself safe.

Shinichi wanted to charge and get a goal, but he found it much more important to protect Endou and the goal.

One by one, the Raimon team players received hard shots that made them fall to their knees, and even Endou found a hard time, and had 9 more goals scored against him.

Shinichi tried to repeat his shot again, but whenever he'd try to kick, the Teikoku players would line up in front of him to block it.

"Apollo Penguin!", Tatsuya cried as he used his famous Hissatsu.

Endou was kneeling on his knees, eyeing the Hissatsu shot that was heading towards him.

His eyes widened, once Shinichi stood in front of him, taking the ball with its full force right in the face. Shinichi stood his ground as much as he could, before he was pushed into Endou, both of them entering the net, scoring the 20th goal for Teikoku.

"Now they're all down...", Kidou said before he looked at Megane.

Megane started sweating before he ran off crying in fear, taking of his shirt, leaving everyone watching, especially the Raimon players in shock.

"Traitor...", Handa mumbled.

"You okay, Endou?", Shinichi asked as he helped Endou stand.

"I can't let... I can't let the soccer club disband...", Endou insisted.

"Who's that?", Kino asked once she saw someone walk towards the football field, wearing Raimon's uniform but the shirt. He picked up the number 10 shirt left by Megane and wore it.

Tatsuya raised an eyebrow in interest, Sakuma crossed his arms, Genda scoffed, Kidou smirked, Shinichi smiled with a nod while Endou smiled in hope.

Gouenji Shuuya, now number 10 and forward of Raimon, walked into the field towards Endou and Shinichi, with Endou leaning on Shinichi.

"I knew it... I knew you'd come and join!", Endou said happily as he placed his other arm to lean on Gouenji.

"Think you can continue?", Gouenji finally spoke up, earning a nod from Endou.

"So, you do speak.", Shinichi scoffed.

"Did you get the hang of your Hissatsu, both of you?", Gouenji asked, surprising both boys.

"You have a Hissatsu?", Endou asked Shinichi confused, since he denied having one.

"I haven't mastered it, it's a long shot, and it misses more than it works, that's why I've been trying long shots from the beginning... I'm trying to get the hang of it.", Shinichi explained.

"You can do it Kudou! You've got talent and skill, and most of all, determination!", Endou encouraged Shinichi making him smile then nod.

As Gouenji and Shinichi walked to stand at the middle of the field and start the kick off. Shinichi was lost in his own thoughts.

'I've been trying to copy Falcon Drive... but I'm not as fast as Michiya-Ojisan nor as strong as Tatsuya to have something with too much strength... I'm a balanced player.', He thought before his eyes widened, 'That's it! I've been trying to make Hissatsu similar to both or copy it, when their Hissatsu is perfect fort them! Not me! I need to make my own... Like that first time when I tried to copy Falcon drive and the ball moved slightly upward!'.

Gouenji placed the ball as he eyed Tatsuya, who was giving him a challenging smirk. Shinichi moved to stand next to Gouenji as he said, "So you did rearrange my face after all.".

"I'm a man of my word.", Tatsuya snorted.

Shinichi glanced at Gouenji, "You start the kickoff, I'll score.".

Gouenji raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I've figured it out, I can do it now.", Shinichi smirked in confidence, Gouenji nodding back with the same smirk.

The kickoff began and Gouenji kicked the ball to Shinichi.

Shinichi eyed the goal as he thought, 'My eyes are set on the goal like a hunter... I'll reach it no matter what!'.

He raised his leg before kicking the ball as he cried at the top of his lungs, "EAGLE DRIVE!", the ball became covered by blue light as it dashed through Tatsuya and Sakuma.

Kidou moved backwards with the defenders to block the ball, 'Too easy!', he thought.

His eyes widened, and so did his teammates, as the ball curved upwards moving higher, before curving back down, into the goal, passing a shocked Genda.

Silence filled the pitch before Kakuma cried, "G-GOAL! Kudou Shinichi's Hissatsu long shot scores the second goal for Raimon!".

"Yes, they scored again!", Aki and Haruna held each other's hands as they danced happily.

A strange man was watching the match nearby and smiled, "Your nephew too, huh?".

Kidou, however, frowned heavily.

The kickoff started again with the ball with Teikoku, Tatsuya passed the ball to Sakuma who passed it to Kidou.

"Death Zone, let's finish them.", Kidou said as he kicked the ball high, then he, Tatsuya, and Sakuma jumped up.

The ball was in the middle as the three were spinning with their arms outstretched around it at three angles, forming a purple triangle around the ball. The three then kicked it with both their feet towards the goal as they cried, "Death Zone!".

Endou looked up at the Hissatsu that had scored most of the goals as he clenched his fists. He looked at his fallen teammates as he thought, 'They gave what they had for this.'.

He looked up at Gouenji and Shinichi who were looking at him with hope, 'They believe I can do this...'.

A gold aura surrounded Endou's hand as he cried, "And I can!". He raised his palm up, a gold avatar of his palm formed before outstretched it forward. The ball hit the palm, immediately stopping and the palm disappeared afterward.

The strange man's eyes widened, 'The legendary Heavens Hand of Endou Daisuke?!'.

Shinichi and Tatsuya looked impressed while Kidou hid his surprise.

"You got lucky.", was all what Sakuma said.

"Kudou!", Endou cried as he kicked the ball to Shinichi, who received it on his chest.

"That ball is mine!", Tatsuya cried as he performed a slide tackle towards Shinichi.

"In your dreams!", Shinichi cried as he clutched the ball with both of his feet, jumped, evading Tatsuya's tackle, before kicking the ball as he cried, "Gouenji!".

Gouenji received the ball on his chest at the free kick area before he kicked the ball high. He then jumped up, his feet engulfed with fire, spinning around himself, the fire forming a tornado around him.

"Fire Tornado!", He cried as he kicked the ball with his flamed feet, sending a fireball towards Genda.

Genda growled as he jumped up then punched the ground with his right hand upon landing, creating a wall of shock waves as he cried, "Power Shield!".

The ball hit the shield for mere seconds before it destroyed the wall, entering the goal.

"GOALLL! Gouenji's Fire Tornado scored the third goal for Raimon against Teikoku!".

Tatsuya stared at Genda in disbelief. His friend was supposed to be the best Goalkeeper in Japan now but Gouenji easily beat him? He was the only forward capable of destroying Power Shield.

Shinichi walked towards Gouenji, passing Kidou who was standing in his place.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Meitantei.", Kidou said.

"Sooner than you think, Genius Game Maker.", Shinichi replied as he went and raised his fist with a friendly smile to Gouenji.

Gouenji did nothing for a seconds before smiling as he bumped his fist with Shinichi's.

Back at his throne-like seat, Kageyama was watching with interest.

"So Fire Tornado hasn't lost its power yet... and Raimon now has Eagle Drive and Heavens Hand, things seem to be getting interesting now more than ever", He said.

"Let's go, we forfeit.", Kidou called. The referee then announced Teikoku Gakuen's forfeit, shocking everyone.

"They forfeit? Then that means... we won?", Endou asked in disbelief before he cried happily, "The soccer club won't be disbanded!".

The Raimon players did their best to get up and cheer with Endou while Kidou and the other players started walking away, leaving the field.

Tatsuya passed Gouenji as he said, "I'll show you the real striker of Japan.", starting the rivalry between both forwards.

Shinichi nodded at Tatsuya who nodded back before he and his teammates boarded Teikoku's bus, leaving Raimon's school.

"You're a good player, why were you always a substitute player?", Gouenji spoke up surprising Shinichi at the fact that he was starting a friendly conversation with him.

"Being Kudou Yusaku and Yukiko's son and Michiya's nephew made people think I'm a spoiled brat with connections. Even here it almost happened at the beginning of the match, but Endou believed in me.", Shinichi explained as he and Gouenji watched Endou celebrating with the other boys.

"You know, it's his words and insistence and determination the past days with your words today that made me play in this match.", He said.

"Don't tell me you're not playing again.", Shinichi asked seriously, at Gouenji's silence, he knew he was correct.

"Look Gouenji... I'm a Middle School Detective. I've been solving cases, and recently, they changed from theft and simple ones into murder. How do you think I feel when I am talking to someone during a serial murder case and seconds later that person is murdered?", He asked making Gouenji look at him surprised.

"I've wanted at those moments to quit, feeling like a failure... no different than the murderer who killed the victim... but I remembered that I can't save everyone, so I have to do my best... I know it's different than your situation, but they're not so different... your sister would've wanted you to continue, but it's your decision.", Shinichi explained before he motioned his head towards the team who was running towards them, "Let's celebrate with the guys.".

"I'm sorry we ever doubted you!", Shourin cried happily, "It's just whenever we saw Teitan matches you were a substitute, so we thought you sucked!".

"Yeah, I guessed so, it's okay now.", Shinichi forgave them with a smile.

"You were amazing, teach us how to create a Hissatsu!", Kabeyama cried in awe.

"Now you make me want to train every day.", Kazemaru smiled.

"Guess you're the better Shinichi of us!", Handa joked.

"Not bad.", Someoka smirked slightly, "Both of you. Never seen a midfield striker and with the number 11 on his shirt in a while.".

"I did nothing.", Shinichi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head while Gouenji simply smiled.

Endou placed his hand on the shoulders of both as he cried, "You guys were incredible!".

"With you both, Raimon can finally win!".

"Tadaima!", Shinichi called as he opened the door, returning home after celebrating with the team.

"There he is!", Tatsuya cried proudly. He was standing in the middle of the living room with his family sitting on the couch, "Raimon's new midfielder!".

"What's going on?", Shinichi asked surprised.

"Tatsuya had been retelling us the match of Raimon against Teikoku, and how you debuted with your new Hissatsu.", Sharon said, feeling proud of her godson and nephew.

"He says you gave Teikoku quite a shock.", Fuyuka smiled.

"Yeah, Shinichi-niichan was cool!", Asami clapped.

"Weren't you trying to copy Falcon drive?", Michiya asked with a raised eyebrow as Shinichi placed his bag aside and sat on the couch, Asami hopping off her place to go and sit right next to him.

"Well, I figured it wasn't fit for me. So I made one that fits me.", Shinichi said.

"You didn't just form a Hissatsu that fit you, Kidou sees you as his rival now, and that guy never saw anyone as his rival.", Tatsuya pointed out as he sat next to Shinichi.

"And you seemed to start one with Gouenji.", Shinichi recalled.

"I was the only one capable of breaking Genda's defense, so now Gouenji is competing with me for Japan's top forward.", Tatsuya nodded.

"So Teikoku faced Raimon to see how Gouenji is? That's why they forfeited when he scored?", Shinichi deduced.

Tatsuya sighed heavily, "I hate it when you go all detective on me.".

"That's because you're an idiot.".

"OI!"

Chapter Text

The  Next   Day ,

"Everyone, please welcome the new transfer student. He arrived late yesterday and joined the match with Raimon, and now he arrived just as we finished our session... So, you all didn't meet him early on...", The teacher sighed before looking at Shinichi, "Will you introduce yourself please?".

"My name's Kudou Shinichi! Nice to meet you all!", Shinichi smiled at his new classmates, already being liked by them after his performance yesterday in Raimon's match. He waved for the students who were talking to him, greeting them, before placing his bag on the empty seat next to the window, in front of Gouenji, while Endou was right next to him.

"Hey Kudou, how've you been?!", Endou asked, his attitude more excited than usual.

"I'm okay, what about you? You seem very excited.", Shinichi noted.

"He's excited because of what I told him.". Shinichi looked at the girl sitting in front of Endou.

"My name is Raimon Natsumi, I'm the daughter of the owner Raimon Middle School, and the head manager of Raimon's team.", She introduced herself with a smile.

"Nice to meet you.", Shinichi greeted.

"I told Endou-san since Teikoku Gakuen forfeited the soccer's club fate was temporarily safe but now it's on the line.", Natsumi explained, "The Occult Team challenged us to a match in two days from now, and if we lose, the soccer club will be disbanded.".

"We already have a match again?", Shinichi asked surprised.

"Yes!". He looked at the girl who was sitting in front of him who answered.

"Raimon's win against Teikoku spread like wildfire and made several schools want to face Raimon.", She explained, "My name is Kino Aki and I'm the manager of Raimon's team, in Tactics mainly!".

"Oh yeah I saw you yesterday, nice to meet you.", Shinichi recalled before he relaxed his back on the chair, "Guess that means more training.".

"You bet, I'm not gonna stop training until I master all techniques Jiichan had here!", Endou cried as he showed Shinichi his grandfather's notebook.

Shinichi took the notebook, and sweat dropped once he opened it.

'What the hell...', He immediately thought once he saw the awful handwriting, that looked more like a child doodles.

"Yeah...", Kazemaru said as he walked towards the group from his seat, "We all had the same face expressions.".

'Pretty sure Tatsuya is having a much easier time in practice.', Shinichi thought.

Teikoku Academy,

The Teikoku players were training on their football pitch while Tatsuya, Genda, Sakuma, and Kidou sat on the bench resting.

"Our match with Raimon made many schools want to face them now.", Sakuma said.

"Definitely because our forfeit counted as defeat. Now every school will wipe the floor with them.", Genda said.

"Doubt it. That Endou is a tough guy, and with Gouenji and Shinichi on their side, they're a tough cookie now.", Tatsuya said before drinking from his water bottle.

"For someone who hasn't touched the field before, your cousin is very talented.", Genda noted.

"He'd train at home or play somewhere else, since the coach refused to let him play, for being a spoiled brat.", Tatsuya rolled his eyes at the last sentence.

"Your tone says that that is not the real reason.", Kidou spoke up.

"No actually...", Tatsuya trailed off once he realized that Kidou finally spoke up.

"I almost forgot how you sounded like.", Tatsuya snorted but Kidou responded with nothing, so he decided to continue his explanation.

"My father has two older twin brothers; Yusaku and Toichi. Older by three years. Yusaku is older than Toichi by five minutes. They hate my father and disowned him, and kept their sons away from us. We managed to stick to Shinichi through Kaachan's friendship with his mother until he started visiting us in secret, but my other cousin hates us because his parents made him hate us.", Tatsuya explained before taking another sip of water, "Agasa-Hakase, Shinichi's neighbor, once went to ask why Shinichi wasn't playing, and the school told him his parents said he wasn't that good and just wanted a connection with his shady uncle, my father.".

Kidou looked at Tatsuya's hand to see him clenching the now empty water bottle in anger, the opposite of his calm speech.

"Does Kudou know that?", Sakuma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oyaji doesn't want to ruin Shinichi's parents' image in front of him, so he said nothing when he called Agasa-Hakase and found out.", Tatsuya shook his head.

Genda whistled, "Wonder why your paternal uncles hate your father so much like that.".

"Grandfather cheated on grandmother with some random woman and when she told him she was pregnant, he left. He did not even see my father until he was seven, when his mother died. My father's appearance made my grandparents divorce, destroying the peaceful happy life for Yusaku and Toichi, to the point that Toichi took my grandmother's name and lived with her relatives in Ekoda. Yusaku stayed in Beika with my grandmother and often visited Toichi. My father was left alone with my grandfather, who had placed the blame of the destruction of his family on my father.", Tatsuya explained.

Sakuma, Genda, and Kidou shared surprised looks at Tatsuya's story.

"And I thought Kageyama needed therapy.", Kidou broke the silence.

"He isn't not that sane either.", Genda snorted.

"So... where did your father live then?", Sakuma asked.

"Orphanage, but his soccer skills made him able to enroll to Raimon Elementary and Middle Schools then Teitan then Tohto University, but whenever he was in the spotlights as a player, Yusaku and Toichi would deny that that was their brother, while my father would refuse to comment, respecting their stupid wishes.", Tatsuya explained.

"Toichi Toichi Toichi... as in Kuroba Toichi? The famous magician?", Sakuma recognized the name, Tatsuya nodding in confirmation.

"You want my honest opinion? Your father won.", Genda said with a smile making the other three boys look at him curiously, especially Tatsuya.

"He made Raimon breath a bit back in the day, gave Teitan a chance in soccer, lead the Japanese team during his time, won the Asian Cup, and third place in FFI, and almost improved Raimon and Zeus as a coach if it weren't for what happened.", Genda explained, "And he married the famous Academy winning actress; Sharon Vineyard when he was 20 and she was 30, which was impossible to happen considering Sharon's backstory, both of them becoming great parents to you and your sisters, with one of them being adopted.".

"But what about your uncles? One is a novelist, but his wife quit acting and from what you say, have left their son in Japan while they went to America. The other was a world-renowned Magician, not even as popular as Kudou Michiya...", Genda then lowered his voice, "And you said your younger paternal uncle was Kaitou Kid so he was a thief, and no one is sure if he is dead or not.".

"You're just saying that to make me feel better.", Tatsuya scoffed at Genda's comparison.

"You're talking to the most honest person here, honest to the point that he received detention for telling the teacher she looked like a clown!", Sakuma laughed lightly.

"Her make up made her look like clown, I wasn't lying.", Genda defended himself.

"You told the principal he looked like a round potato.", Kidou recalled.

"Because he was very fat, wearing yellow tight clothes.", Genda defended himself again. He crossed his arms as he said, "I never lie.".

"There is a thin fine line between honesty and rudeness, but I assume you believe they're the same thing.", Kidou sighed at his friend's attitude.

Tatsuya smiled, knowing that the three were trying to change the subject since they noticed he was angry and sad from talking about it.

"So... Does Kageyama want us to do something about Raimon now?", Tatsuya asked.

"He said he has his eyes inside Raimon, so there is nothing to be done now.", Kidou explained.

'His eyes inside... a spy then huh?', Tatsuya deduced.

Kudou Michiya's household,

Sharon sat at the dinning table next to Asami, who had a small kindergarten English book in front of her.

"Alright Asami, read this sentence for me.", Sharon said slightly slow in English as she pointed at the sentence.

Asami slowly pronounced the English words as she said, "The boy reads a... pook.".

"Book. It's B for Ball, not P for Princess.", Sharon corrected her daughter.

"The boy reads a book!", Asami read it at once correctly, a wide smile on her face.

"Good job!", Sharon clapped for her daughter with a wide smile on her face.

It was during moments like this that she forgot that she was an assassin and a criminal, or the witch with thousand faces. Her fellow organization members believed happiness was in power, money, and even killing.

But her, she believed her true happiness was in moments like this; Fuyuka winning Art and Drama competitions of the Art and Drama clubs at Teikoku Gakuen, Tatsuya's achievements with the soccer team and his goals, Asami progressing quickly in learning English and Japanese, and now, her godson's success at Raimon's first match.

Sharon looked up to see Michiya sitting in the living room ahead and frowned once she saw the expressionless look on his face, at what he was watching on tv.

It was a report about the latest things happening in Hollywood, with them talking about the success of a new mystery movie, based on the novel of Kudou Yusaku. It showed Yusaku with Yukiko supporting him at the press conference.

And then one of the reporters asked, "Considering the fact that Kudou Michiya retired early from Soccer due to an eye injury that made him replace it with a cybernetic eye. What is your opinion on the drug scandal that caused the FFI to ban him from coaching any team two years ago?".

Yusaku's friendly face remained as it is, but Sharon could easily see the fake smile hiding the anger he felt as he said, "I don't see why I'm being asked this question, as I have nothing to do with soccer.".

"But Michiya is your younger half-brother.", Another reporter pointed out.

"He's not.", Yusaku answered immediately. Yukiko glanced at him pitifully but said nothing.

"So, you think what the FFI said about Michiya handing the soccer players drugs is true?", The first reporter asked.

"That is something to be decided by the police.", Yusaku replied.

"The police proved he did it.", A reporter recalled.

'False evidence.', Sharon thought with her eyes narrowed.

"So, he did.", Yusaku said without a second thought. Yukiko looked at him in disbelief for a second before looking away.

Sharon watched Michiya's face carefully. Nothing changed on his face, but she caught the glimpse of sadness that escaped from his eyes.

"Asami, sweetie,", Sharon started as she placed in front of her one of the notebooks present on the table and opened it for her. "The first two pages of the book, write their sentences. They're just six in total, and they're easy.", She said with a smile, "If you write them correctly with a good handwriting, I'll read you two stories at bedtime not just one.".

"Really?! I'll do it right now.", Asami said in excitement as she picked up a pencil and started writing in the notebook.

Sharon kissed the top of her head, making Asami smile even more, before she stood up and walked towards Michiya.

"Don't bother. We all know the evidence was false to keep you away.", Sharon said as she sat next to Michiya.

"Still... I'm known as the coach who gave his players drugs... And when I tried to call Chikage, she told me there is no way she'd let a drug dealer like me near her son...", Michiya sighed heavily as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Someday, the truth will come out, and you will return back and achieve great things as a Coach. As for the other Kudou and the Kuroba families, they need therapy.", Sharon assured him as she placed her hand on top of his, "And you are an amazing person, in my eyes, and you saved me back then, remember?".

Michiya chuckled, "I still remember when you met me when I went to talk to Toichi 17 years ago and you looked down at me as if I was an emo child.".

Sharon lightly chuckled, "You were very shady back then, and it would have never occurred to me that you'd sweep me off my feet two years later and immediately marry me.".

"Yeah... The news called me a gold digger and you a whore then.", Michiya snorted.

"Hmmm, the news also glorifies producers at Hollywood despite knowing they're sexual harassers, until it reaches the public, then they attack them.", Sharon shrugged before she remembered, "By the way, you said you had a surprise for all of us, what is it?".

Michiya smiled lightly, "You'll see.".

Shinichi stood at the side with Aki as he watched the team practice on the field of Raimon, without Gouenji, who was nowhere to be seen. He was wearing Raimon's soccer uniform like the team while Aki was wearing her Raimon school uniform.

"Why didn't you join the practice?", Aki asked confused.

"I want to analyze the team. We can't depend on a Hissatsu or two if we want to join the Football Frontier, that's after we defeat the Occult team of course.", Shinichi said.

Shinichi then looked at Someoka with interest once he received the ball and stood facing Endou.

Someoka raised his foot as a blue Asian dragon appeared behind him as he cried, "Dragon... Crash!", he kicked the ball, now engulfed by blue energy, towards Endou.

"Heavens Hand!", Endou cried as he used his hissatsu to block Someoka's new shot.

"That was awesome!", Handa cheered.

"We have a new Hissatsu shot!", Kabeyama cheered.

"Were you training in secret?", Matsuno asked.

"Yeah... now we don't need Gouenji since he refuses to play!", Someoka cried proudly. The team looked at Someoka confused and bewildered, not understanding why he would say that.

'Endou is the element of Earth while Someoka is Wood like me.', Shinichi noted.

"I think if we all have Hissatsu, not just I, Gouenji, Someoka, and Endou, we would be unstoppable.", Shinichi said.

"Always the observant one, aren't you?". Shinichi's heart skipped a beat once he heard the familiar female voice.

He slowly turned around to see the new transfer student who was wearing the same uniform as Aki.

"Hi Shinichi.", Mouri Ran greeted with a wide smile on her face.

"Ran...", Shinichi mumbled in disbelief as the girl walked towards him, "Why... when... how?".

"I convinced my parents to transfer me to Raimon. Otousan well... he's too busy drinking... but Okaasan noticed that Raimon in terms of education is better than Teitan.", Ran explained, "Even Sonoko will transfer here, when she recovers from her cold.".

"She's still sick?", Shinichi asked, earning a nod from Ran.

He smiled widely, "You have no idea how glad am I that you're here now! With me...".

Ran slightly blushed at his words but said nothing.

A cough interrupted their moment making Shinichi pale as he turned around. The team was standing across him with Aki.

Aki was gushing at them while Kazemaru, Someoka, Matsuno, Handa, Kurimatsu were giving him teasing smirks. Shourin, Endou, Kageyama, and Shishido were smiling friendly at Ran, while Kageno was as gloomy as he always is.

"Who's your girlfriend?", Kazemaru asked making Shinichi and Ran's face color become tomato red.

"SHE'S/I'M NOT MY/HIS GIRLFRIEND!!!", Both chorused in embarrassment and denial, but their faces weren't helpingthem.

"This is my childhood best friend and former Karate Captain at Teitan Middle School, Mouri Ran.", Shinichi introduced.

The boys and Aki were immediately impressed by Ran as Endou immediately shook hands with Ran as he said, "Nice to meet you! I'm Endou Mamoru, Raimon's Captain and goalkeeper!".

One by one, the players and Aki introduced themselves to Ran, getting easily acquainted with her because of her nice personality.

"I hope I didn't interrupt your training.", Ran said slightly worried.

"Nah, we were about to take a 10 minute break so no worries.", Endou assured her.

Ran sat next to Aki on the bench as the team stood around, drinking some water from their water bottles.

"So Endou, are you working on another Hissatsu?", Shinichi asked.

"Nekketsu Punch. I'm close to getting it right so it won't take that long to be mastered.", Endou nodded.

"I don't think it's just Hissatsu you need to work on.", Ran spoke up, making everyone look at her interest, "You need to work on your physical abilities without Hissatsu too.".

"How did you-".

"She's been watching for awhile.", Gouenji interrupted Aki as he reached the field, wearing his Raimon soccer uniform, much to Someoka's annoyance.

"Gouenji! I knew you'd join us!", Endou said happily and Gouenji simply smiled in return.

"I'm not surprised you noticed that since you're a martial artist and having a keen eye for noticing such things is essential for one.", Shinichi smiled proudly.

"I can design a program for you, but I won't do anything now, since you might not be able to walk after it.", Ran said.

"Not be able to walk? Why? What can your training do to us?", Shourin asked slightly suspicious.

"Allow me to show you the results of my training.", Ran said sweetly as she stood off the bench looking around, until she saw a light pole near the field that needed to be fixed.

She walked towards the pole until she was standing right in front of it, took a deep breath, before letting out a battle cry as she slammed her right fist into the pole.

Everyone's eyes widened as Ran formed a huge dent in the pole, causing it to slightly bend.

"That was... scary...", Kabeyama shivered.

"Now I see why she's the Karate Captain.", Shishido gulped in fear.

"I think the bullies in Raimon will disappear for awhile.", Kageno commented.

"You know, after you told me you're a detective I wondered how come you were never hurt by the criminals... now I know why.", Gouenji commented with an impressed tone, his arms crossed.

"Yeah... Ran's the brawn and I'm the brain.", Shinichi chuckled.

After the break, Raimon practiced a few more times with Shinichi and Gouenji playing on the team this time, giving a chance to one of the players who needed a break to take a rest.

They trained until the sunset, and that was the time everyone left the soccer field to return back home.

"Tadaima!", Shinichi called as he opened the door, the widest smile on his face as Ran entered the house behind him before he closed the door.

Tatsuya was slacking on one of the couches while Fuyuka sat on the other, with Asami next to her watching tv, Michiya sitting at the dining table reading the news while Sharon was almost finished preparing dinner.

"What took ya...", Tatsuya trailed off as he turned to the face door, once his eyes landed on Ran.

He then smirked, "Ohhh! You were busy kissing your girlfriend!".

"Tatsuya, behave.", Michiya scolded as he folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.

Tatsuya's words made Fuyuka at once look at the door, a wide smile spread on her face, before she got up and ran towards Ran, Asami following her.

"Ran-neechan!", Fuyuka cried happily as she embraced the girl who immediately returned the hug.

"Oneechan!", Asami cried as she hugged Ran's legs.

Both girls lightly laughed as they ended their hugs before Ran knelt and gave one for Asami.

"You transferred to Raimon, didn't you?", Tatsuya guessed as Fuyuka and Asami led Ran and Shinichi to the living room.

"It was easy convincing Okaasan, Otousan...", Ran sighed heavily as Tatsuya got up and gave her a side brotherly hug.

"You don't need to talk about it if it's bothering you.", Tatsuya smiled.

"Arigatou, Tatsu-niichan.", Ran smiled gratefully at Tatsuya just as Michiya approached her and ruffled her hair.

"How about you stay over here for a day or two? Some sort of change of scenery you could say.", Michiya suggested with a smile.

"I don't know if my parents would agree.", Ran wondered.

"I will talk to them.", Michiya assured her with a smile just as Sharon left the kitchen.

"So, this is the surprise you were talking about.", She said with a smile once she saw Ran.

"Sharon-san!", Ran said happily as she hugged the elder woman.

"It's been a while, my Angel.", Sharon chuckled.

"Kaaaaachaaaan!!! I'm hungry...", Tatsuya called.

"How old are you? Four?", Shinichi scoffed at Tatsuya's attitude, "Even Asami doesn't talk like that.".

"Because I'm a big girl.", Asami puffed her chest forward making the teens and adults laugh.

Michiya ruffled her hair as he said proudly, "Yes you are!".

"Dinner is finished. I just need help preparing the dining table and placing the utensils.", Sharon said as she walked back to the kitchen.

"I'll go call Eri.", Michiya said as he opened the backyard door.

"I'll go take a quick shower and change.", Shinichi said as he went upstairs.

"I wanna help Mama!", Asami said.

"Alright, come on girls, let's all help Kaachan.", Tatsuya said as he held Asami's hand and he, Fuyuka, and Ran went behind Sharon.

"I guess Ran is at your house since you called me, Michiya-san.", Eri guessed.

"Indeed, and I think she should stay over a day or two here. She needs a breath from Kogoro's antics.", Michiya said as he walked around aimlessly in the backyard.

"I don't mind, but just keep an eye on her and Shinichi...". Michiya chuckled at Eri's stern tone.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen with Asami's super hearing and energetic personality.", He said.

"By the way, I got some news for you about your case.", Eri said, now serious.

"It's been two years now...", Michiya said, feeling slightly hopeless.

"True... but I've got my hands on evidence that proves your innocence, and that Kageyama Reiji was behind this to prevent you from coaching.".

Michiya remained silent for a few minutes, a look of disbelief on his face. He was not surprised that Kageyama was behind this, but he thought because of the man's connections, he would never be able to do anything or prove his innocence and return to coaching.

"So why haven't you done anything yet? Or are you waiting for the right time?", Michiya asked.

"Indeed. There is still one piece of evidence I need to get my hands on before opening the case again. But trust me, before the end of this year, you'll be back to coaching.", Eri assured.

"Arigatou Eri.", Michiya said gratefully.

"Anything for the man who saved my daughter from abduction years ago.", Eri said in the same gratefulness before she ended the call.

Michiya walked back in, and his eyes fell on his family that were waiting for him to have dinner together.

"We've been waiting to you.", Sharon said.

"Come one, Oyaji, I'm starving!", Tatsuya complained earning a slap on the back of his head from Sharon, making Asami snicker.

"Behave.", She scolded.

"Gomen.", He immediately apologized, for he believed that his mom being stern or angry was the scariest thing ever.

Michiya sat at the head of the table, on his right were Sharon, Asami, and Tatsuya, while on his left were Fuyuka, Shinichi, and Ran.

Michiya glanced at his loved ones, the people that loved him for who he was, and smiled as he clapped both his hands and said, "Itadakimasu!".

And everyone chorused after him,

"Itadakimasu!".

Chapter Text

The day of Raimon's match had finally arrived, with Endou deciding early on to play with the formation 4-4-2, and Shinichi decided that Handa should play in his place while he will remain as a substitute player with Megane (who now wears the number 19), who Shinichi doubted will even participate in this match.

And now the team, with Aki, Ran, and Natsumi, stood waiting for the Occult team to arrive.

"This is weird, shouldn't the Occult team already be here?", Matsuno wondered.

"Maybe they got lost.", Shourin shrugged.

"Um... anyone noticed how the atmosphere suddenly became... dark?", Kurimatsu asked worriedly.

"Yeah... I'm getting scared.", Kabeyama said in fear.

"No, isn't it always like that?", Kageno asked gloomily.

"For you.", Handa deadpanned.

"Maybe they ran away because they heard I was on the team!", Megane boasted as he adjusted his glasses, causing every single Raimon player to side-eye him.

"If I had just half of your confidence, I'd be the number one player in the universe, not the world.", Someoka snorted.

"I see someone approaching from the fog.", Kazemaru noticed.

And the eleven players of the Occult team walked out of the fog with their coach leading them.

"You must be Occult's coach, Jikiru Haito!", Endou approached him with a wide friendly smile before he raised his hand for the coach to shake, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Endou Mamoru, Raimon's Captain!".

The coach smiled with a suspicious grin that made Shinichi raise an eyebrow. He crossed his arms before he replied, "Yes, yes... I know. Let's just start this match.".

Endou frowned before he lowered his hand, disliking the man's attitude.

"LADIES & GENTLEMEN! NOW'S THE TIME FOR RAIMON'S SECOND MATCH & THE ONE THAT WILL DECIDE RAIMON SOCCER CLUB'S FATE!", Kakuma cried as he appeared out of nowhere, holding the commentator table.

His sudden outburst made Aki and Natsumi nearly scream and hug each other while Ran eyed him in surprise and bewilderment.

"I've got a weird feeling about this... Not a bad evil, but a bad trick or something like that...", Shinichi mumbled to himself.

Raimon stood in the 4-4-2 formation as the last match while the Occult team stood in the following formation; 4-5-1.

GK: Nata Juuzou (1)

DF: Sanzu Wataru (2), Yanagida Shigeru (3), Furan Ken (4), Shikabane Fujimi (5)

MF: Reigen Michihisa (6), Kinoi Mami (7), Yatsuhaku Tataru (8), Tsukimaru Kenichi (10), Burado Kiba (11)

FW: Yuukoku Hiroyuki (9/Captain)

And the match began with the ball with Raimon.

Gouenji passed the ball to Someoka who passed it to Kazemaru.

"Someoka decides to pass the ball far to Kazemaru! What is he planning?", Kakeru cried as Kazemaru ran across the field.

Yuukoku performed a slide but Kazemaru dribbled sideways before he kicked the ball high, "Handa!".

Handa received the ball on his chest before passing it instantly, "Someoka!".

The ball passed all the midfielders and reached Someoka who stood across the defenders.

"Dragon Crash!", He performed his Hissatsu and kicked it towards the Goalkeeper, who barely even had time to comprehend it.

"GOAL! Someoka earns Raimon the first goal with his new Hissatsu; Dragon Crash!", Kakeru announced.

Jikiru merely flinched but did nothing as he crossed his arms.

The referee whistled as the ball was now with Occult. Yuukoku passed the ball to Tsukimaru before he sprinted forwards passing the forwards and midfielders of Raimon.

Tsukimaru then passed the ball to Burado who sprinted forward.

"Not so fast!", Shourin cried as he tackled Burado, taking the ball from him before he passed it again to Someoka, who had now stood across the defenders again.

"Dragon Crash!", Someoka used his Hissatsu technique again and scored the second goal for Raimon.

"GOAL! RAIMON SCORED AGAIN! PUTTING THEM FURTHER IN LEAD!", Kakeru cried.

"Alright!", Someoka pumped up his fist.

"That's it...", Jikiru mumbled before his face had a gray cross appear on it.

The referee whistled again with the ball with Occult. Yuukoku passed the ball to Tsukimaru before he started moving his hands slowly in a circle then shot his right hand forward, creating a dark purple sphere as he cried, "Ghost Lock!".

"Ma re ma re ma re, to ma re.", Jikiru chanted multiple times in a low voice.

Suddenly, all of Raimon's players, including Endou, had a purple cloud around their legs, and were paralyzed.

"What the?!", Shishido cried in worry.

Suddenly, Tsukimaru passed the ball back to Yuukoku, who easily sprinted past all players, followed the midfielders of his team.

"What the... what's going on?", Aki asked in disbelief while Natsumi silently frowned.

'Don't tell me the rumors about them using magic is real...', She thought in worry.

"Did they use some spell or something? That man is chanting something.", Megane nodded towards the coach.

Yuukoku turned around himself as the ball rose in white energy with purple outline before kicking it, "Phantom Shoot!", and the ball charged towards Endou, who couldn't move to stop the ball, and it went past him.

And at that moment, the Raimon players were freed from their paralysis.

"G-Goal! Occult scores their first goal! Somehow paralyzing the Raimon players.", Kakeru commented in disbelief.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes in suspicion and eyed the match as he sat on the bench, his hands forming a pyramid with his fingers, resting at his mouth.

"Come on! Guys! The match isn't over! Don't give up!", Endou cheered his teammates up just as the referee whistled, and Someoka kicked the ball to Goeunji who ran ahead, and once he saw five players charging towards him, he passed it to Someoka.

Someoka found himself nearing the goal and the goalkeepr gestured his hands around in a circle, creating a transparent, dark purple orb in front of him.

"Someoka!", Gouenji called for Someoka but he glared at him before he sprinted further, surprising Gouenji.

"Dragon Crash!", Someoka used his Hissatsu and kicked the ball.

"Yugamu Kuukan (Warped Space)!", Juuzou cried.

As the ball headed towards Juuzou, the orb drawed the ball in, making him nonchalantly catch the ball in his hands, shocking everything.

"M-My Dragon Crash!", Someoka's eyes widened in disbelief before he cursed.

Juuzou then kicked the ball and Yuukoku received it on his chest.

"Ma re ma re mare, to ma re!", Yuukoku chanted with Jikiru as he moved his arms before using the Hissatsu technique, "Ghost Lock!".

And again, the Raimon players were paralyzed, with Yuukoku dashing towards the goal.

"Phantom Shoot!", and Yuukoku scored the second goal, and the Raimon players were freed again.

And unfortunately, The same thing happened again; Someoka tried to score, his shot was stopped, The Occult team did the same Hissatsu technique again, and they now scored the third goal.

The scoreboard now showed 2-3, Raimon against Occult.

"If... if that is a magic spell...", Ran gulped before shaking her head, gathering her courage to ignore her fear of the paranormal, "Shouldn't it last for a longer time? And be removed by the user? Why does it stop when they score?".

Shinichi looked at Ran for a long time making her look at him confused, "Shinichi, what's wrong?".

The referee whistled, signaling the end of the first match just as a smile spread on Shinichi's face, and Ran knew that face at once.

Shinichi had figured out the trick.

Unknown to them, standing next to a tree were Genda, Tatsuya, Kidou, and Sakuma, watching the match.

"Huh, Raimon's in big trouble now.", Genda snorted with a raised eyebrow, "Not so tough.".

"Occult are doing something, this isn't a Hissatsu technique.", Tatsuya claimed making Sakuma raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you so sure about that?", Sakuma asked.

Tatsuya nodded at Shinichi, "See that look on his face? That's Shinichi's face when he figures out the trick that the murderer used and had everyone else fooled. Something is going on.".

Kidou said nothing but wondered mentally, 'Let's see what you'll do then, Meitantei.'.

The Raimon players with Aki, Ran, and Natsumi gathered in the soccer club, for the 15 minutes break between the halves.

"We just had to face a team using magic, didn't we?", Kageno said gloomily.

"I'm surprised you were affected by them, shouldn't you be invulnerable since...", Kurimatsu trailed off fearfully once he saw the dark aura around Kageno.

"What do you mean?".

"N-N-Nothing...".

"They had us all fooled.", Shinichi said with his hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face, "It's not a magic trick.".

"You sound so sure.", Gouenji pointed out.

"Don't interrupt him now, he has entered his Detective mode.", Ran placed a finger on her lips with a smile.

"Let's analyze what happened. We were scoring and playing normally without anything until The Captain used ghost lock while he and the coach chanted the same thing," Shinichi started explained, "Ma re ma re ma re, to ma re... Notice anything?".

"To ma re... Tomare (Stop)!", Endou realized, "He was saying stop all along!".

"It was no chant, it was just him using the word stop.", Shinichi nodded.

"Then how did he paralyze us?", Kabeyama asked confused.

"They came here with a dark attitude and aura, giving us the feeling that they were like that. And with saying stop like a chant, and using their hands as an illusion, they confused us and made us either paralyzed, or shoot a weaker shot. It's all a mind trick, to make it simple.", Shinichi finished the deduction show.

Everyone looked at him in awe before Megane mumbled, "I was gonna say the same thing!".

The Raimon Players, but Gouenji, cried at him, "No, you weren't!".

"And now on to the next problem. Someoka, why aren't you passing the ball Gouenji?", Shinichi asked Someoka with a frown.

"He left us after the first match and arrived late to training, what makes us sure he's loyal to the team?", Someoka argued stubbornly with his arms crossed, "I'm the true striker here.".

"Are you jealous of him?", Shinichi asked with a raised eyebrow making Gouenji surprised and Someoka snarl.

"This isn't martial arts...", Ran spoke up, bringing the attention to her, "Nor Tennis, nor Badminton, nor Ping Pong, nor any single player games.".

"This is soccer, and the main idea of winning in soccer is team work. How many great teams lost their matches because every player wanted to score himself or have his spotlight selfishly? And how many low teams won because they all worked together?", Ran asked.

"I couldn't have said it better, Ran. Soccer is about fun, fun with friends, and everyone is equal, yet different in their own way.", Endou added his voice to Ran's words with a wide smile.

"I never saw myself as better than you, Someoka. You were always facing the defenders and I wanted to make it easier for you by dribbling past them and pass it back to you if you wanted to score.", Gouenji explained.

Someoka stared at his feet, feeling stupid for his jealousy and his antics, but said nothing.

"Now, you can score with Dragon crash and-".

"No.", Someoka interrupted Endou, surprising him.

"Dragon Crash isn't that strong yet, the goalkeeper easily blocked it with his Hissatsu.", Someoka explained.

"And he might already be prepared for Gouenji's Fire Tornado, actually, maybe all of our current Hissatsu! Or why else did they paralyze you?", Aki pointed out.

The team remained silent, thinking of options and Natsumi wondered solemnly, 'Did I put my trust in the wrong people?'.

"Endou,", Shinichi spoke up, "You got Nekketsu Punch mastered?".

Endou nodded with a wide smile raising his clenched right fist, "It's ready!".

Shinichi smiled, "They'll be expecting Heavens' Hand, so let's surprise them with Nekketsu Punch.".

"Well, they'll start the kickoff this time, so we got the goal covered, but what about the scoring? We need two goals to save the soccer club and enter the Football Frontier.", Kazemaru pointed out.

Shinichi smile changed into a confident smirk, "The Midfielders and Defenders, I want Occult to try to score from the kickoff so we can shock them, but after that one time, I don't want them to reach Endou by any means.".

Shourin and Kurimatsu saluted, "Ay Ay, Meitantei!".

"Hey Handa, you don't mind I substitute you?", Shinichi asked politely.

"I was gonna tell you to take my place after that deduction if you didn't ask.", Handa nodded with a smile before he and Shinichi fist bumped.

"Let's go, the break is over.", Endou said as he left the club, followed by the girls and Megane, then the players, but Shinichi pulled Someoka and Gouenji back.

"Hey guys... I've got an idea.", He said as he explained something to them quickly, before the three left the soccer club, a wide confident smile on their faces.

"They seem more confident now.", Sakuma noted as he watched Raimon's players stand in their formation on the opposite side of the field, a confident smile on their faces.

"Now, the real match begins.", Tatsuya smirked once he saw Shinichi standing in Handa's place.

"I agree.", Kidou smirked once he saw Shinichi too.

"I hope so, this match was interesting until Occult scored.", Genda yawned lazily.

The kickoff started with Yuukoku kicking the ball to Tsukimaru, before he used the same chant with Jikiru, "Ghost Lock!".

The same dark cloud appeared around the players' feet, but they remained calm as Yuukoku sprinted past all the players.

"Ma re ma re ma re to ma re!", Jikiru chanted louder just as Endou took a deep breath.

"BOOM!", He cried out loud, stopping Jikiru from his chant in surprise, and the dark clouds disappeared, just as Yuukoku started performing his Hissatsu shot.

"Phantom Shoot!", He cried as he shor the ball at the left corner.

Mamoru easily dived sideways before he raised his right fist, now glowing yellow with red outline and punched the ball as he cried, "Nekketsu (Hot-Blooded) Punch!".

The Occult's players' eyes widened as Endou punched the ball high and away, and Shishido received on his chest before he passed it to Shinichi who was running ahead.

"ENDOU MANAGED TO BLOCK OCCULT'S SHOT! AND RAIMON SOMEHOW MANAGED TO BREAK THE SPELL!", Kakeru cried happily.

Shinichi easily dribbled past the five midfielders who'd tried to surround him, surprising them.

"Ohhhh! And now Kudou managed to dribble all five midfielders by himself without a Hissatsu! What an incredible talent!", Kakeru cried.

'Not bad.', Kidou thought.

"Someoka!", Shinichi cried as he passed the ball to Someoka.

"Dragon...", Someoka trailed off as he kicked the ball using his Hissatsu technique, just as Juuzou started spinning his hands around slowly.

And suddenly, Someoka's shot went upwards, the ball flying high, shocking everyone but Shinichi.

Gouenji then jumped and spun around himself with a fire tornado around him before kicking the ball, the blue dragon now becoming flame orange as with the color of the shot as he finished, "... Tornado!".

And the fire dragon charged down towards Juuzou.

"Yuugamu Kuukan (Warped Space)!", Juuzou used his Hissatsu, but the shot instantly passed next to him, scoring the third goal for Raimon.

Shinichi crossed his arms proudly as Gouenji landed on his feet gracefully before he went to fist bump with Someoka.

"G-GOAL! RAIMON USES THEIR FIRST 2 CO-OP HISSATSU, A FUSION BETWEEN FIRE TORNADO AND DRAGON CRASH; DRAGON TORNADO!", Kakeru commented.

"He's gonna burst my eardrums.", Ran complained.

"Yeah, and we're not standing close to him, and his mic isn't that good.", Aki agreed.

"His enthusiasm is like no other so maybe that's the reason.", Natsumi shrugged, a hopeful look back on her face, seeing Raimon had a chance.

"N-No way!", Jikiru cried in disbelief, making Shinichi look at him.

"Sorry Mr. Spooky, but that trick won't work anymore!", Shinichi said before he protruded his tongue at Jikiru, making him angry.

"Who the hell are you brat?!".

"Kudou Shinichi, Tantei-sa.", He smirked.

The kickoff started again, with the ball being passed from Yuukoku to Tsukimaru, who tried to sprint forward.

"Coming through!", Shourin cried as he tackled Tsukimaru, taking the ball from him.

"Kudou!", Shourin cried as he passed the ball to Shinichi, who received it on his chest and dribbled it, eyeing Gouenji.

And once he saw Gouenji nearing the defenders, he smirked. He let the ball fall to the ground before using his Hissatsu shot, "Eagle...".

The ball shot forward, now white with blue outline, an Eagle following behind. And just as the ball moved upwards, Gouenji jumped and spun around himself, fire around him.

He kicked the ball, changing its color and the color of the blue eagle into orange flame as he finished, "... Tornado!".

And the ball was so fast that Juuzou didn't even have the time to use Hissatsu and entered the goal.

"GOAL! RAIMON USES ANOTHER 2 CO-OP HISSATSU! THIS TIME IT'S EAGLE DRIVE WITH FIRE TORNADO; EAGLE TORNADO! RAIMON IS NOW LEADING AGAINST OCCULT 4-3!", Kakeru cried happily.

"YES!", Aki and Ran hugged each other as they cheered.

"Alright!", Handa pumped his fist into the air.

"That's my team.", Megane said proudly as he adjusted his glasses.

Natsumi smiled widely. The boys didn't let her down. They didn't give up. While Shinichi was indeed the one thinking for solutions and everything, but she looked at the boy whom she was grateful for and admired now, as he was the one who always held the teams' spirit up high no matter what; Endou Mamoru.

"2 CO-OP shots in one match.", Genda whistled in interest.

"And you want the full story? He just came up with the idea during the half time break, as he never even mentioned the idea of 2 CO-OP.", Tatsuya smiled, feeling proud of his cousin before he glanced at Kidou, "Think Eagle Tornado can compare to our shot?".

"Only a true match with Raimon will tell.", Kidou smirked.

"Well, Dragon Tornado isn't better than Twin Boost.", Sakuma shrugged.

"Guess I need to learn another Hissatsu, can't let Endou beat me.", Genda said.

Shinichi walked Gouenji and fist bumped him before doing the same with Someoka.

"Genius idea of you of us combining our shots.", Someoka complimented.

"I'm honestly considering, after seeing our shots, to have a 3 CO-OP shot of all of ours.", Shinichi said.

"You're eager to create more Hissatsu, aren't you?", Gouenji smirked.

"I'm finally getting the chance to play my favorite game with real friends, so I'll definitely spend my time creating Hissatsu ideas!", Shinichi laughed.

"And I'm in! Who said we should only have one or two or three? Why not more!", Someoka cried eagerly.

Endou watched as the three talked with a wide smile on his face, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but the genuine smile and friendship on their faces were more than enough to make him feel happy.

The kickoff had started again.

"Eagle Tornado!".

And again.

"Dragon Tornado!".

And the referee finally whistled, ending the match, with Raimon winning 6-3 against Occult.

"No...", Jikiru mumbled in disbelief before he fell on his knees.

"Come on, let's go.", Kidou said as he went to leave from the gates of the school, followed by Sakuma, Genda, and Tatsuya.

A boy with gray hair was watching the match while resting his back on the tree, "Huh... Interesting...".

He was unaware of Tatsuya stopping to stare at him for a second before he followed his friends.

Endou had the widest grin on his face as he ran towards his teammates and cried, "WE WON! THE SOCCER CLUB WON'T BE DISBANDED AND WE WILL OFFICIALLY ENTER THE FOOTBALL FRONTIER!".

The Raimon players cheered loudly with them hugging each other, the girls and Megane joining them, while others like Gouenji and Kageno just smiled.

And during all of this, Ran, with her cheeks slight blushing, kissed Shinichi on his cheek, making him blush a deep shade of red.

"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend.", Handa teased.

"Shut up.", Shinichi said, but there was no anger behind his tone, for why will he feel anger about being kissed by his childhood crush?

"Guys.", Endou started, bringing the attention of everyone to him.

"You guys all did well, and you, Kudou, Gouenji, and Someoka... Your shots and team work taught me something now. If one person isn't enough then you can do it if you combine the power of two people, and even better if more!", Endou said before he took a deep breath.

"What I wanna say is, we defeated Occult and entered the Football Frontier because we worked together as one. So, let's all go to the Football Frontier!", He finished the last sentence with an exclaim while pumping his fist up.

"Yeah!", The players but Gouenji cried with the same spirit, pumping their fists upward too.

Gouenji simply smiled and he looked away as he thought of his sister, 'Yuuka...'.

Unknown to everyone and hiding behind one of Raimon's building, was Fuyukai Saguru, a teacher at Raimon Middle School. He was named a coach too (as there was no one else to do so), but he never attended any training nor bothered to deal with the team.

He was covering his mouth and lowering his voice as much as he could as he spoke into the phone, "Occult Team was defeated by Raimon Middle School.".

"Raimon Middle School, huh?", Kageyama Reiji replied from where he sat in his office, before a sick evil grin appeared on his face.

Chapter Text

At moments like this, Tatsuya hated his life. He did not find learning awful all the time, but the problem was that the current teacher was awful. His voice was monotone, slow, and with no passion at all.

Tatsuya rested his arm on the window, as he sat in the middle of the row right next to the windows. He looked ahead at Fuyuka, who sat in the front row in the middle of the class, focused and taking notes of what the teacher was saying.

He smiled, happy to see his sister able to focus, especially with an awful teacher like that. He then looked at his friends. Genda was in front of him, and he was sleeping as usual. In front of Genda was Sakuma, next to Fuyuka, who was staring from the window, finding the outside much more interesting. Next to Genda and behind Fuyuka was Kidou, who one could not tell with his glasses where he was looking, or even awake.

The classroom door opened and someone asked the teacher to come outside. The man went outside, before he walked back in.

"Class! We have a new transfer student!", He announced. No one seemed interested and Tatsuya himself groaned before he slammed his head on the desk, keeping his head down.

He heard footsteps enter the classroom and he knew at once it was a girl, from the absence of the sound of someone wearing pants walking and the footsteps sound and pattern, a few things his mother had taught him while growing up and he used them during his matches often.

"Please, introduce yourself.", The teacher said, and he heard the questioning grunts from Genda and Sakuma, and he deduced they now looked at the student.

Just like his friends, out of respect, Tatsuya raised his head to look at the student.

And as if Cupid had shot an arrow through his heart or a sorcerer had bewitched him with a love spell, Tatsuya's eyes widened with a slight blush on his face once his eyes fell on the girl.

"My name is Sera Masumi. Nice to meet you.", The girl said in a bored but polite tone, before her eyes met Tatsuya's eyes, and her eyes widened in the same manner, a blush appearing on her cheeks from the look of admiration she saw from Tatsuya.

"You can sit in the empty seat behind Yuuto here and next to Tatsuya.", The teacher pointed at the seat next to Tatsuya.

Sakuma and Fuyuka turned around, while Kidou slightly moved to glance at Tatsuya, and noticed at once Tatsuya's expression.

Fuyuka caught her snicker as she looked ahead, Kidou smirked, Sakuma smirked before nudging Genda and motioning with his head towards Tatsuya, and once Genda looked at Tatsuya, he shared the same face expression.

Masumi quietly walked and sat next to Tatsuya just as the teacher said, "Alright class, let's continue the lesson!".

After the class was finished and the break time between subjects had arrived, some students gathered around Masumi with the leader smirking.

"Aren't you a foreigner? You don't look Japanese to me.", He sneered.

Masumi rolled her eyes, "Give the kid a medal.".

Her response made the leader frown heavily before he pointed at her, "You don't belong here! Get out of my country!".

"One of my parents is actually Japanese, so yeah, it's my country too.", Masumi shrugged.

"Why you!", The boy cried as he raised a fist and sent it towards Masumi.

She stood at once in a defensive stance to block but her eyes widened once she saw a hand appearing and catching the boy's fist.

"T-Tatsuya!", The boy cried in fear. Masumi turned to look behind her, and there was the boy who'd stared at her in admiration when she entered the class.

"I don't really see the problem with the whole foreigner thing. My Mother's one you know, so I don't really like the way you spoke.", Tatsuya nearly growled angrily. If there is one thing Tatsuya hated to death, then it was bullies.

"W-Who said foreigners are a bad thing?", The boy stuttered. Tatsuya scoffed before he pushed the boy as he let go off his hand, causing him to fall down on his butt.

"Get lost, jerk.", Tatsuya ordered.

"Right!", The boy cried as he and his friends dashed out of the class.

Tatsuya looked at Masumi, and at her silence and bewilderment he snorted, "So?".

"I didn't need your help, I know Jeet Kune Do, so I could've wiped the floor with them all.", Masumi replied with her arms crossed.

"You're welcome.", Tatsuya rolled his eyes, "I noticed from your stance that you could fight, but I saw it as an opportunity to scare those jerks away, so yeah.".

Masumi blinked a few times before she smiled, her sharp tooth showing, liking Tatsuya's attitude. And the latter slightly blushed once he saw her smiling at him, believing she was cute when smiling.

"I like your attitude, I didn't catch your name though.", She said, and at that moment, Sakuma and Fuyuka got up from their places to move closer while Kidou and Genda simple turned around.

"Name's Kudou Tatsuya.", Tatsuya smiled before he motioned towards his friends and sister, "This is my sister Fuyuka, and my best friends; Kidou Yuuto, Sakuma Jirou, and Genda Koujirou.".

The boys nodded at the mention of their names while Fuyuka waved with a friendly smile, "Nice to meet you!".

"Nice to meet you all too.", Masumi replied.

"So, whatever made you transfer now from Teikoku?", Sakuma asked curiously.

"I got kicked out of school because I beat the school bullies, including the principal's son.", Masumi said with a proud smile.

Fuyuka and Sakuma's eyes widened while Genda laughed and Tatsuya smirked, and Kidou just sighed.

"Reminds me of two people I know would do that.", Kidou said as he eyed Genda and Tatsuya.

"Nicely done.", Tatsuya smirked.

"From that alone, I know you're an amazing person!", Genda complimented Masumi with a wide smile.

"There could've been something else to be done... Violence isn't always the answer.", Fuyuka argued but only Sakuma heard her.

"True, some talking or even tricks would've worked... but some people prefer the high school movies style.", He sighed at the proud smiles of his friends' at Masumi's doing.

"So, your family name is Kudou as in-".

"They're the children of Kudou Michiya and his wife; Sharon Vineyard.", Kidou interrupted Masumi's question towards Tatsuya and Fuyuka.

He knew she was going to ask if they were related or the children of Kudou Yusaku or Yukiko, and knowing how this was a touchy subject to both of them, he decided to interrupt Masumi and clarify for them instead.

Fuyuka was a bit confused by his act as she didn't know that he and the other boys knew the whole backstory of the Kudou family issue, but Tatsuya smiled at him gratefully, understanding why he did that.

And thankfully, Masumi forgot about Yusaku and Yukiko once Kidou said who their parents were.

"Wow! Japan's Blitz Falcon and America's Top Actress are your parents? That's so awesome!", Masumi beamed in amazement.

"Think this is awesome? This girl here is the head of both the Art and Drama Club here while the guy here is Teikoku's Striker, next to me.", Sakuma smirked.

Masumi even seemed more interested, "Okay, you guys have to take me to these clubs to see you in action!".

"Well, the Art Club is every Monday and Tuesday after school while the Drama Club is Thursday and Friday after school, it's Wednesday today, so you can attend the Drama club first with me tomorrow.", Fuyuka explained.

"As for the soccer club, it's everyday. And sometimes we come here even during weekends, especially with the Football Frontier coming up. You can attend our training today after school.", Genda explained.

"You bet I will!".

Raimon Soccer Club,

"Nose Middle School will be our first opponent in the Football Frontier.", Natsumi announced to the team and managers (Ran and Aki, but Aki wasn't present).

Before anyone says anything, a new student entered the soccer club with Aki in front of him.

"Hey guys, we've got a new transfer student who'd like to join the soccer club!", Aki said with a wide smile.

"Name's Domon Asuka, pleased to meet you.", The boy said with a smile.

Endou immediately took his hand and shook him violently yet friendly as he said, "Great to meet you! Welcome to the soccer club!".

"Y-Yeah, thanks?", Domon said bemused at Endou's energy, "I hope I arrived before you guys discussed something important.".

"Nah, we just found out our next opponent will be Nose Middle School.", Kazemaru replied.

"Nose? We'll definitely lose because their good jumping abilities, unless we have a jumping Hissatsu technique.", Domon commented.

"We have good Hissatsu! I have Heavens Hand and Nekketsu Punch and as for shots we have Fire Tornado, Dragon Crash, Eagle Drive, Dragon Tornado, and Eagle Tornado.", Endou insisted.

"That's a lot of Tornadoes...", Domon deadpanned.

"He has a point, Endou.", Gouenji spoke up, "I played against them with my previous school, and they were hard opponents because of that.".

"Guess we need to work on a new Hissatsu then.", Shishido mumbled.

"Hey Kudou! You better design a good jumping Hissatsu!", Matsuno said as he pointed at Shinichi.

"Already trying to think of one, don't worry.", Shinichi assured before he crossed his arms, "Let's just normally train today until I gather some data on Nose and try to think of a way to create a high jump Hissatsu, in order to find one that works properly for us.".

"Until then, I suggest you guys train on the current Hissatsu in order to increase their strength.", Aki said.

"Hey Domon-kun,", Ran spoke up, getting the attention of everyone not just Domon, "What position do you play in?".

"Defender.", He replied.

"Good.", Ran nodded as she pulled out of her back a pile of papers, "After doing some research and watching you guys play, I designed a training program for each position.".

Ran passed the papers for every player in the team as she continued, "Some skills will be essential for every player to be present at certain level while with others it'll need to be more. The program is hard, I know, but it'll be more than enough to face tough teams.".

"Hard... is an understatement for this...", Domon mumbled once he read what's in the paper.

"Yeah... That's hell...", Kazemaru commented.

"Why... why do we have to do the training while wearing weights?", Kabeyama mumbled in fear.

"To increase your stamina and speed.", Ran replied with a smile.

'100 Push Ups, 100 Sit Ups, 100 Squats 10KM Run five times per week... while wearing 10 Kg weights... all the team. For Goalkeeper, try to block the tire with 10 Kg weights on each arm. For Defenders, try to block 100 balls from the ball machine while wearing weights. For Midfielders, try to run for 10 minutes straight while being pulled by Bungee cord and weights on. For Forwards and Shooters, try to create a dent in a metal wall by kicking the ball while wearing weights. No Hissatsu will be used in any of the above.', Shinichi read mentally.

'I told Ran to make a training program, not a punishment one.', He thought dryly.

"This is awesome!", Endou cried happily, and he was the only one who was excited about this, "Thank you, Ran!".

"Did you get a different paper or something?", Someoka asked in confusion at his attitude.

"I know the training is hard, maybe even impossible, guys. But we'll be facing schools who've been playing soccer for years with present coach, everything is okay with them compared to us. We've recently just started and not everyone here had good training or a naturally born talent.", Endou said, "To be honest, I spoke with Ran privately to have her make the program as tough as possible so we can fill the gap between us and other teams, so we can have a chance against them... Don't you guys want to beat Teikoku for real?".

Everyone seemed to digest Endou's words and change their view about the training gradually, until he mentioned the point of defeating Teikoku.

"The caprain's right, if we wanna beat Teikoku, we have to be at their level. No, we have to be better.", Shinichi added.

"We just received a program from a Karate Master, and martial artists are known for their physical abilities, and we've seen what she did with the metal pole.", Gouenji said, "I'll follow that program.".

"Yeah, we're with you all on that.", Kazemaru said, feeling pumped out now.

"Great! Aki and Megane?", Endou said looking at the latter.

"We'll start working on the tactics right away.", Aki nodded.

"I'll show you what my genius mind can do.", Megane boasted as he adjusted his glasses.

"Kudou?", Endou asked as he looked at Shinichi.

"Domon, what's your element?", Shinichi asked.

"Wood.".

"So, after making you guys find your aura, here are the results; Wood Players: Domon, Kageno, Shourin, Megane, Someoka, and me. Fire Players: Gouenji, Shishido, and Kurimatsu. Earth Players: Endou and Kabeyama. Wind Players: Kazemaru, Handa, and Matsuno.".

"Call me Max by the way, we're friends and all my friends call me so.", Matsuno said with a smile.

Shinichi smiled, "and Max. It's up to you guys to start training and coming up for ideas for your own solo Hissatsu techniques. Endou's already doing so for his Goalkeeping ones. For Defensive or Tackle techniques; Midfielders and Defenders will work on them. Shots: Midfielders and Forwards. Dribbles and Passes: Everyone. Alright?".

"Alright!", The rest of the team (but Gouenji) exclaimed.

"Is there anything else left?", Endou asked.

"Leave the management and the dealing with other schools for me.", Natsumi smiled.

"You're forgetting the financial aid and sponsorship.", a new female voice said.

Shinichi snorted at once while Ran smiled widely once they noticed the girl who was standing at the door of the club, "And I can manage all of that for you!".

"Sonoko!", Ran cried happily as she ran to hug her best friend.

"You arrived earlier than you said you would.", Shinichi pointed out as Ran and Sonoko ended their hug.

"Surprise!", Sonoko shrugged, "I decided to surprise you today before I get introduced to the class tomorrow. And since Ojisan is meeting an old friend here, he took me with him, and I told him I'll wait for him here and spend some time with you.".

"Everyone, this my second-best friend from Teitan, who apparently transferred earlier than she said she would here; Suzuki Sonoko.", Shinichi introduced.

"Wait, Suzuki as in...", Kurimatsu trailed off in surprise.

"The Suzuki Zaibatsu? Yup, my father's the head.", Sonoko finished with a proud smile.

"And you didn't want to be bullied in Teitan? Your best friends are literally incredible dude.", Handa joked.

"I guess I now know why everyone at Teitan nicknamed us three the Golden Trio.", Shinichi chuckled dryly.

"Now... let's see if I recall your names correctly from Ran's text messages.", Sonoko said to herself as she pointed at the first player, "Endou?".

"Yeah, I'm the captain and goalkeeper.", Endou nodded with a wide smile.

"The Defenders; Kabeyama, Kageno, Kazemaru, and Kurimatsu.", She got them all correctly, each nodding with a smile (but Kageno) at her correct answer.

"The Midfielders; Handa, Shourinji or Shourin, Shishido, Matsuno or Max as he asked, and the Detective Geek.", Sonoko said.

"Oi...", Shinichi grumbled at Sonoko's nickname for him while his fellow players snickered, earning a glare from him.

"And the forwards; Gouenji and Someoka.", Sonoko finished the team before she pointed at Domon, "And I arrived at the time you were introducing yourself; Domon, and you're a defender.".

Sonoko then looked at the girls, "And my amazing best friend who's Raimon's Physical Training Manager, Aki who's the Tactics Manager, and Natsumi the head manager.".

"Aren't you forgetting someone?", Megane coughed.

Sonoko blinked at him in confusion while Megane started boasting, "You should know the best player in Raimon-".

"Who the hell are you kid?", Sonoko interrupted Megane, looking genuinely confused.

Megane fell on the ground at once in disappointment while the other Raimon players (but Gouenji, Domon, Endou, and Shinichi) burst out of laughter.

"Sonoko! That's Megane Kakeru! Our forward substitute and also a tactics manager with Aki.", Ran said with an admonishing tone to Sonoko.

The latter blinked a few times as she said, "I don't remember him. Maybe you talked about him and described him, but I don't recall anything major he'd done or said for me to remember him.".

The players laughed even harder at Sonoko's words with the non-laughing players (but Domon) smiling while the other girls but Ran couldn't help but chuckle while Megane groaned, "Why do I always get busted?".

Domon, on the other hand, was watching the team with mixed emotions; guilt, happiness, joy and sadness, all at once was present on his face.

Later,

Shinichi and Tatsuya sat on the ground a bit close to the tv, both holding game controllers while playing a console game, with Asami having her English lesson, but this time with Fuyuka at the dining table.

Michiya was nowhere to be seen downstairs while Sharon was in the kitchen, starting to cook dinner, with Ran helping her, despite her insisting that she truly did not need any help.

"Sharon...", Ran spoke up as she took the vegetables out from the fridge and placed them in the sink to wash them, "Am I bothering you by helping you?".

Sharon stopped midway before she can pull something out of the top cupboard and looked at Ran in disbelief, "What makes you say that?".

"It's just... you insisted on me not helping you.", Ran said.

"It's because I wanted you to spend some time with the kids or do your homework, I didn't want to tire you more since you kids come home already tired from school.", Sharon explained before she pulled out two spaghetti packets from the cupboard and closed it.

"Well, it's normal for me to do that at home.", Ran mumbled to herself with a low voice, but Sharon heard her.

Sharon placed the packets on top of the cupboard before clenching her fists. Michiya had told her before about what happened between Kogoro and Eri and lead to Ran being with Kogoro. Sure, both are trying to be good parents to Ran, but their antics with her in public and Kogoro's attitude at home, made Sharon angry whenever she'd hear about it.

Sharon still remembers when she first met Ran when Shinichi happily introduced her when Sharon came to pick him up from school. The little girl was afraid to be herself as she, in her words, said there was no connection for Sharon and Michiya to be her family, until Michiya explained that people don't need to be related to be family.

"Angel.", Sharon said with a smile as she placed a hand on Ran's shoulder, "I won't say anything about your father out of respect to you, but here, you don't have to do what you'd do there unless you want to, alright? And if anything is bothering you and you're unable to talk to your parents, you can talk to me.".

Ran smiled gratefully at Sharon's words before nodding and then she hugged the older woman, "Thank you Sharon.".

"Anything for my top fan.", Sharon joked as she returned the hug, earning a small laugh from Ran

"So, Sonoko surprised you today?", Sharon said as she broke the hug and she and Ran went back to work.

"Yeah! She'll be introduced to our class tomorrow though, she and another transfer student that just arrived and joined our soccer club; his name is Domon Asuka.", Ran nodded.

"Hmmm... I think I heard his name among the names of young players playing in American Soccer Clubs who had potential.", Sharon mumbled.

"The funny thing is, when we met up with Fuyuka and Tatsuya to walk back home, they told us they had a new transfer student too, and Fuyuka kept on teasing Tatsuya about how he was staring at her with wide eyes and a blushing face while he kept denying.", Ran said as she washed all the vegetables before she placed them on the cutting board and took the knife, and started cutting.

Sharon laughed as opened the spaghetti packets and emptied them in the boiling water pot on the stove.

'My son's got a crush from first sight?', She thought before she asked Ran, "So what else did they tell you?".

"Fuyuka said she knows Jeet Kune Do, and that she looks like a foreigner but the girl said one of her parents is Japanese. Her name is Sera Masumi.", Ran said as she cut the vegetables.

For a second, Sharon stopped stirring the water once she heard the girl's name.

"Aha...", She said slowly, "Did they... describe her?".

"Fuyuka said she had black wavy short hair, with light skin, and green eyes. She also said she had a line under her eyes, looking like bags from not sleeping.", Ran explained, unaware of what Sharon was thinking.

Sharon closed her eyes for a second and imagined Masumi with a paler skin and blonde hair, and then she remembered a woman she'd come across and faced often as Vermouth.

'Who would've thought that your daughter would be meeting my son...', Vermouth thought as she imagined the said woman standing across her, 'MI6 Agent, Mary Sera...'.

Mary listened silently while sipping her tea, holding a book and reading, to Masumi retelling her first day at Teikoku, after she had to find a school quickly because her daughter was kicked out for beating up the principal's son (who was a bully and a pervert).

Mary took her eyes off the book often to watch Masumi as she walked back and forth in the living room as she retold the day in details, but she felt no interest while listening to Masumi, but was happy deep down that everything went well.

"And Tatsuya, he seemed to look at me with admiration...", Masumi mumbled making Mary look at her and she slightly raised an eyebrow at the faint blush she saw on Masumi's face, now interested.

"Which is kind of nice, I think?", Masumi said confused before she remembered something, "I forgot to tell you, he and Fuyuka are the children of Kudou Michiya and Sharon Vineyard!".

Mary was raising the cup to her lips while keeping her eyes on the book but stopped midway once she heard the name of Tatsuya's mother.

"Oh really?", Mary said lowly as she looked up at Masumi before sipping the tea from her cup.

"Yeah! He looks like his father I suppose, in having a soccer talent and his own hairstyle, and he told me he was born with purple hair like him, but he dyed it because he just wanted to. But he has his mother's blue eyes. The girl looks nothing like either though.", Masumi said.

'But are they truly her children or adopted? How come Vermouth got married and had children?', Mary thought suspiciously before she sighed, 'Of all the schools that were available and still had a place for another student, it had to be the one where Vermouth's children are present.'.

Chapter Text

"Have you figured it out yet?", Shinichi asked Endou without raising his head off the book he was reading as he and the latter were walking towards Gouenji.

"Nah, I still haven't figured out the drawings behind Inazuma Otoshi.", Endou shook his head.

The first thing the team had done after finishing their practice was try and steal Endou Daisuke's secret notebook, Endou had told Shinichi about how he, Kazemaru, and Gouenji heard about it from a Ramen shop owner. And much to the team's embarrassment of trying to be stealthy, Natsumi had already got the Notebook and gave it to them, while catching them red-handed, trying to break into the principal's office to get it.

The team was dumbfounded once they opened the Notebook and found out it was written with Endou Daisuke's handwriting, so they looked at Endou, in hopes that he could figure it out, but when he tried to explain the drawings, no one understood a thing, and neither did Endou himself.

Another development was that Haruna had moved to Raimon, and joined the Journaling Club while also joining the Tactics team with Aki and Megane. So now Raimon's managing team was the following; Natsumi as the Head Manager, Aki, Megane (also substitute player), and Haruna as Tactics Manager, Ran as the Physical Manager, and Sonoko as the Finance Manager.

"What is that book you're reading?", Endou asked curiously.

"I found it on my desk in my room when I woke up.", Shinichi explained, "I asked Tatsuya about it, he said that Michiya-Ojisan gave it to me to get inspiration for my own Hissatsu ideas, by reading about the Hissatsu he had made as a player and coach for his team.".

"COOL!", Endou exclaimed excitedly, "Did you find something we can use?!".

"Actually yes, Skylab Hurricane.", Shinichi nodded.

"What is that?", Gouenji asked, surprising both boys that they had reached him already in the playground.

Shinichi then continued, "One of the old moves of Teitan School when Michiya-Ojisan used to play there. It's a co-op move, one player kicks the ball high and then handstands and lowers himself, as if performing a push up. The other jumps on his feet, with the first using all his force combined with the second's force to jump, and the player literally flies, before headbutting the ball into the goal.".

"And I thought Inazuma Otoshi was difficult...", Endou mumbled.

"It's not actually, I figured it out.", Gouenji said, surprising both boys. He knelt as he picked a stick nearby and starting drawing with it on the ground.

"Two players. The ball is kicked high and both players jump. The first uses the second player's chest to push himself higher and performs and kicks the ball to score.", Gouenji explained.

"You are going to need a player with a tough chest to withstand that, next to having two players who can jump that high.", Endou said as he placed his hand on his chin, "The player who will kick the ball is Gouenji, but who will be the second player?".

"Kabeyama.", Shinichi said after some thought with a confident smile, making Gouenji and Endou look at him confused.

"I doubt we can continue training after we finished Ran's program today.", Shinichi sighed as he rubbed his back, now remembering its pain.

"The whole team fell face first when we were done, even Domon.", Gouenji recalled the sight of the other players on the ground, with Megane and the girls trying wake them up and keep them alive, even Ran.

"Good thing we started with the high jump training first then, and Fukurabu-san helped us with the equipment.", Endou chuckled with a sweatdrop.

"But tomorrow, we will continue our training, but we will work on four techniques.", Shinichi said while raising four fingers, the confident smirk back on his face, surprising Gouenji and Endou.

"Four?", Gouenji raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Wait a minute... Inazuma Otoshi... Skylab Hurricane...", Endou counted on his fingers before he looked at Shinichi confused, "Those are two... not four...",

"Actually, Skylab is not short on just one Hissatsu, but three,", Shinichi said as he lowered a finger, "The 2-Player Hissatsu: Skylab Hurricane, Skylab Drop, and the 3-Player Hissatsu: Skylab Hurricane Drop.".

The good news was, the team was starting to see some results from Ran's training.

The bad news was... Kabeyama is afraid of heights.

Despite all the team's efforts, including having him blindfolded as Natsumi suggested, it was no use. And Gouenji was training by jumping high and pushing himself of a highly hanged log, but he would end up falling off.

Shinichi was also doing the same training for the Skylab drop technique, but for the Skylab Hurricane...

"AHHH!", He cried as he fell off on the ground for the hundredth time.

"The move looked simple when you showed me...", Kazemaru said tiredly as he rested his legs back on the ground.

He and Shinichi had been practicing for several times the move, but either Shinichi would not be able to balance himself, or Kazemaru would fail at pushing him up.

"We are doomed this way.", Kageno said.

"Will you stop it with your gloominess?", Max complained.

"I'm sorry guys... I disappointed you all.", Kabeyama said, sitting on the ground and lowering his head in defeat.

"You disappointed nobody, Kabeyama. We just hoped you've said something sooner.", Handa pointed out.

"So, what are we going to do, we need to figure out someone else for the Hissatsu.", Kurimatsu said.

"No, Kabeyama will do it.", Sonoko stressed before she turned to Kabeyama, "Haven't you had enough of being mocked at school because you're fat? Everyone at school thinks you don't deserve your position, and now you're just proving them right!".

"Take it easy, Sonoko-san.", Haruna tried to stop her, but Ran raised her hand.

"This is Sonoko's way of boosting someone, and it always works.", She winked at her newest friend.

"Do you know why no one here objected when Gouenji and Kudou said they needed you for their Hissatsu? Because they trust you! So don't you dare betray that trust!", Sonoko yelled the last sentence.

Kabeyama stared at her with eyes wide, initially fearful of her wrath but now he was registering her words slowly.

"I think she's getting to him.", Shourin noticed.

'They all trust me...', Kabeyama said as he stared at his teammates and managers, 'The Captain trusts me....', He stared at Endou before he shook his head and jumped back on his feet, "I won't let you all down!".

"Yeah! That's the Kabeyama I know!", Endou cheered, making the latter even more energized.

"You don't ever lose faith in anyone, do you?", Natsumi asked Endou.

He turned to her as he said with a wide smile, "The first step for a team's success isn't hardwork, but teamwork and trust, even among the managers, and the rest comes next.".

Endou's words and smile had a strange effect on Natsumi's heart, making her lightly blush before she looked away, not wanting anyone to notice.

"That's good and all, but we still haven't learned the new Hiss-".

"Urusei!", Someoka slammed his fist on Megane's head, stopping his speech.

"You've been doing my training for a couple of days now, so that's good actually. I don't know if you have noticed, but you're actually much faster and stronger, even your jumps are higher.", Ran explained, "Granted, you are not as good as Nose since they've been training for years in the jungle, but there isn't that much of a difference in power now.".

"True, but we still need the Hissatsu if we want to score, unfortunately.", Aki pointed out.

"We've been doing it wrong.", Shinichi said all of a sudden, bringing the attention to him, "Who the hell said we have to follow the steps word to word? We can change it and make it our own.".

Gouenji narrowed his eyes, thinking about Shinichi's words before he said, "Inazuma Otoshi has the first player jump on the head of the second and then kick the ball... I can change the kick to overhead, that would be actually better.".

Kabeyama then smiled widely before he pointed at his stomach, "You can jump on my large stomach! You won't slip off it like my head.".

Everyone looked at Kabeyama silently for a few seconds before smiles appeared on their faces as Someoka said, "See what happens when you use your head?".

Shinichi however, was eyeing every player on the team, and he could see the genuine smile of success on their faces after figuring out how to do Inazuma Otoshi and Skylab Drop, but one player... who was faking his smiles.

Domon Asuka.

"Kudou.". Shinichi turned to Kazemaru who continued, "We've been trying to do the step of your legs facing the opposite of mine when jumping, why don't we do it differently? I jump and land on my back, my head facing towards the goal, and you jump on my legs, our feet parallel.".

Shinichi thought for a few short moments at Kazemaru'd suggestions and imagined the scene before he smiled widely, "This actually might work! Maybe the whole issue was with the balance between us because our feet!".

"Alright! we've figured out the issues of our three Hissatsu! Let's train now, for real everyone!", Endou cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"YEAH!".

"What... the... hell...", Shinichi mumbled.

"When they said the school was in the jungle, they weren't kidding...", Shishido mumbled.

The team had arrived at Nose Middle School, but the thing was that the school was in the middle of the jungle, which was eerie and weird, and all the students were cheering for Nose, no one to cheer for Raimon.

And the Nose players were jumping up and down on Natsumi's limousine.

"They're very committed to their name.", Natsumi commented dryly.

"Come on guys! We've got the people cheering all for us!", Endou said excitedly.

"Endou-kun, they're cheering for Nose.", Haruna pointed out, making Endou feel embarrassed.

"Whatever, I'm sure you guys can kick the butts of those animals!", Sonoko scoffed in disgust at the Nose Team's antics before she noticed the wild-looking coach joining them, "Maybe we should call animal rights...".

The teams then stood in their formations on the football field with the managers and coach standing on the side, with Raimon playing the 4-4-2 formation, Shinichi playing instead of Handa while Nose played the F- Wild Formation (4-3-3).

Coach: Tazan Kousuke

GK/1: Inokuchi Hyugo

DF: Torii Ryouta (2/Captain), Uozumi Takato (3), Kaeruda Tatsuhito (4), Shishiou Kou (5)

MF: Kame Reon (6), Oowashi Seiji (7), Saruta Noburo (8)

FW: Gori Shingo (9), Hebimaru Shouma (10), Suizenji Chiita (11)

The referee whistled, starting the kickoff with the ball with Nose, Chiita passing to Hebimaru.

And then the forwards of Nose charged at amazing speed, surprising the Raimon players.

"Woah! Nose forwards show their incredible speeds as they easily pass the Midfielders!", Kazuma commented.

Hebimaru passed to Chiita, who ran as fast as a cheetah, passing the Defenders before they could do anything.

"Goddamn their speed!", Kazemaru cursed.

Chiita kicked the ball towards Hebimaru who kicked it hard, surrounded by purple aura with a snake charging forward, "Snake Shot!".

Endou stood ready before his eyes widened once he saw the ball heading towards the goal's pole from the right, until Gori appeared, swinging with a vine before he kicked the ball again, "Tarzan Kick!".

"Nekketsu Punch!", Endou cried as he punched the ball, sending flying away towards Shinichi, who received it on his chest.

"Gouenj, Kabeyama, go!", He cried, both boys nodding before running forward.

The midfielders of Nose charged towards Shinichi who kicked the ball high with blue energy as he cried, "Drive Pass!".

The ball was heading to out of the field, but it turned around and landed at Gouenji's feet, who kicked it high as he cried, "Kabeyama!".

"Yeah!", Kabeyama cried as he and Gouenji jumped up.

Gouenji's eyes widened once he saw Torii behind him, his jump even pushing him further above Gouenji, and he was about to get the ball until Kabeyama cried, "Gouenji-kun!".

The latter pushed his chest and stomach forward, and Gouenji using his feet, pushed himself off him and above, higher than Torii.

"W-What?!", Torii cried in disbelief.

"Oh! Raimon players have figured out a tactic to defeat Nose's incredible jumping abilities! Looks like training in the jungle isn't everything!", Kazuma commented excitedly.

"Inazuma Otoshi!", Kabeyama and Gouenji chorused as Gouenji kicked the ball overhead.

And the ball entered the goal net, before even Inokuchi could move.

"GOAL! RAIMON'S NEW HISSATSU OF BOTH GOUENJI AND KABEYAMA HAD SCORED THEM THE FIRST GOAL AGAINST NOSE!".

Nose 0 – 1 Raimon.

"Your stomach is tough as steel, you know that.", Gouenji smirked at Kabeyama.

"Wouldn't have done it without your trust.", Kabeyama said with a wide smile.

The kickoff started again, with the ball with Chiita again, but he was shocked that Shourin easily tackled him and took the ball.

"Impossible!", He said.

"Not impossible when you have got the best physical manager!", Shourin cried as he passed the ball to Kurimatsu, who passed it to Shishido, who kicked it high.

And Kabeyama, who had run again towards the goal with Gouenji.

Kabeyama received the ball as he kicked it high before he jumped up, but Gouenji couldn't jump because he was surrounded by the defenders of Nose.

"Let's see you do your Hissatsu now!", Torii smirked.

Gouenji smirked back, shocking him, "Who said I was going to score again?".

And much to Nose's shock, it was Shinichi who jumped high across Kabeyama, and pushed himself higher by pushing his legs on Kabeyama's stomach. He spun in the air before he head butted the ball, green energy surrounding it as he and Kabeyama chorused, "Skylab Drop!".

And the ball moved at amazing speed, slamming Inokuchi in the face and entering with him the goal net.

"GOAL! RAIMON EASILY SCORED THE SECOND GOAL! AND THEY USED ANOTHER NEW HISSATSU, THIS TIME WITH KUDOU AND KABEYAMA! I'VE NEVER SEEN A MIDFIELDER WITH THE NUMBER 11 SCORE AS MUCH GOALS AS THE TEAM'S STRIKER! LADIES & GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT YOU THE ELEVENTH STRIKER!", Kazuma cried at the top of his lungs.

"I fear the Nose Students might murder him.", Haruna said worriedly while looking at Kazuma.

"I'll stop them.", Ran said determinedly.

"You're just one person.", Aki pointed out.

"It's against rules to do anything to the commentator, unless they want to be disqualified.", Natsumi pointed out.

"I can easily close their schools with one call anyways.", Sonoko shrugged.

"Looks like I got myself a nickname...", Shinichi said in surprise.

"You deserve it, Kudou-kun. You've been working hard for the sake of Raimon.", Kabeyama said in admiration.

"And so do you, and so does everyone here.", Shinichi said making Kabeyama smile widely.

The referee whistled, signaling the end of the first half, and the start of the 15 minutes short break.

"I never thought in my life I would've been able to face Nose near their level.", Kurimatsu said with a wide smile.

"Captain, can Handa take my place? I think he deserves to play too.", Max said.

"I don't mind.", Endou shrugged.

"Sorry Handa, if it weren't for my Hissatsu I would've let you play.", Shinichi said sheepishly.

"Dude, I'm so glad you're playing because you're always giving us the edge.", Handa laughed.

Shinichi then felt someone staring at the back of his head, so he turned to face Domon, who was doing so, and asked him in monotone, "Something wrong?".

Domon blinked before she shrugged, "You're just better than I thought or heard of.".

"Really?", Shinichi said suspiciously, staring at Domon before he looked at Kazemaru with a smile, "Ready for our move?".

"You bet! I've got something to show you all too!", Kazemaru said with a smirk.

The team stood in their formation, switching places on the field, and the referee whistled, starting the second half, with the kick off with Raimon this time.

Gouenji passed the ball to Someoka who passed it with his heel to Handa, and he immediately saw the forwards of Nose closing in on him so he passed it back to Kazemaru, who confidently charged forward.

"Shipuu Dash!", Kazemaru cried as he quickly dashed to the right and the left, leaving fleeting bursts of gale behind him. Once he got closer to Hebimaru, he vanished and reappeared behind him.

Nearing the defenders, he kicked the ball high before jumping and falling on his back, raising his legs high. Shinichi let out a battle cry as he jumped on Kazemaru's legs, their feet parallel, before Kazemaru pushed him up as the lather jumped, giving a boost to literally fly in the air, hurricane surrounding him.

"Skylab Hurricane!", He and Kazemaru chorused as he head butted the ball, and it flew with green energy surrounding it, a hurricane trail behind it.

And Inokuchi stood helplessly as the ball entered the goal for the third time.

"GOAL! RAIMON SCORED THEIR THIRD GOAL WITH A NEW HISSATSU! AFTER KAZEMARU SHOWED HIS NEW DRIBBLE HE AND KUDOU USED THEIR NEW HISSATSU SKYLAB HURRICANE!", Kazuma cried, after dodging a tomato being thrown at him.

Shinichi and Kazemaru fist bumped just as the team gathered around them.

"I can't believe you actually created your own Hissatsu!", Handa said in disbelief.

"I was feeling unconfident but now I want to continue training!", Shishido cried.

"That's my friend right there!", Someoka smirked.

Gouenji then looked at Shinichi, "You were very serious about creating more Hissatsu, weren't you?".

"Would you believe me when I say I'm planning another one for us?", Shinichi smirked.

Gouenji smirked back, "I would be very glad.".

The kickoff started with the ball at Nose, but they easily lost it to Raimon before Kabeyama and Gouenji performed their Hissatsu again.

"Inazuma Otoshi!".

And scored again.

The referee was hustled the be of the match, with Raimon winning against Nose, four goals against nothing.

"WE WON!", Endou cheered at the top of his lungs as he jumped high, his team and managers cheering with him.

Domon, on the other hand, was frowning.

'It's not Gouenji and Endou who are an unstoppable force... This Kudou and his plans... and the managers having them get better faster than ever...', He thought before his frown increased as he stared at his feet.

'I had fun in this game, and in training... Am I... Am I doing the right thing?'.

Teikoku Academy Training Centre,

The Teikoku players while practicing, were listening to the radio, hearing about Raimon's match with Nose.

Masumi and Fuyuka were there, sitting on the benches while watching the players perform their drills, but Kageyama was nowhere to be seen.

"Why are they listening to Raimon's match like that?", Masumi asked.

"What do you mean?", Fuyuka looked at her confused.

"When they listen to other teams' matches in the FF, they listen with the intent and focus to learn about the winning teams.", Masumi explained, "But with Raimon, I see ferocity and passion, and now the commentator had just announced that Raimon had won, and they don't seem worried nor bothered, but actually happy.".

"You know how Barcelona and Real Madrid are the top and rival teams in Spain, in the Football Frontier it was always Raimon, formerly named Inazuma, and Teikoku. Until Kageyama did his best to destroy Raimon, to the point that its academy and schools closed, and only the Middle School is fighting to survive.", Fuyuka explained.

"But why? Why did he do that? And if he is such an evil person, why do the guys play under his coaching?", Masumi asked confused and bothered, disliking this Kageyama guy.

"Have you looked at their faces when Kageyama is mentioned?", Fuyuka asked.

Masumi blinked before she recalled, "They were... cold... and Tatsuya showed anger...".

"Before he played at Raimon and Teitan even, Tousan played for Teikoku, and it became his home, as the former principal had saw him play at the Orphanage and gave him a chance to play. But when the principal died from a heart attack, Kageyama had control over everything, and got rid of Tousan because he thought he was weak for not being cruel and bitter like him.", Fuyuka explained.

"Despite being a star in Teitan and then in Raimon, Tousan's was star in his favorite team; Teikoku, and Tatsuya seems to have inherited this love, because he cheered for them when he would watch their matches, so he enrolled him and I here. Tatsuya, knowing what happened to Tousan but also knowing that Kageyama isn't stupid, played the role of the villain.".

"In the matches, he is cruel and evil, so Kageyama keeps him and helps him train, so Tatsuya benefits from his knowledge. And it's not just him, but everyone on the team does that. It's only Yuuto-kun who seems to have a different reason, because he seems to be a bit more obedient than the others. But yeah, every player on Teikoku knows how awful Kageyama is and dislike him, but they use him as he uses them.", Fuyuka explained before a smile appeared on her face.

"And they are happy when Raimon wins, because that means their eternal rival is getting stronger, and the match will much more entertaining when they face each other.", Fuyuka explained.

Masumi then looked at Tatsuya, who was panting and sweating heavily from the drills, before he let out a battle cry and continued the training. She found herself smiling at his determination and resilience, admiring them, admiring him himself.

"Tatsuya will stay behind to train alone by himself and I'll wait for him, by the way-".

"I'll stay and watch, if he wouldn't mind.", Masumi interrupted Fuyuka, surprising the latter.

"N-No, he wouldn't.", Fuyuka replied in surprise.

"We might get in trouble.", Fuyuka said as she, Masumi, and Tatsuya (who had taken a shower before changing into his Teikoku training suit) walked out towards the gates of the Academy.

"Why? I told Kaasan I was going to be late because I'll train alone.", Tatsuya replied with a shrug.

"Not that late, this is a first time...", Fuyuka then noticed Masumi's pale face, "What's wrong?".

Tatsuya noticed too and placed his palm on her forehead as he moved his face closer to hers, making her blush as he asked, "Are you having a fever?".

Masumi moved away from him as she pushed his hand away, "N-No... It's just that I forgot to tell Mama I'll be late today... I'm in trouble too.".

"Welcome to the club.", Tatsuya joked before laughing.

"Masumi!". Masumi winced at the cold stern voice before she raised her head to face her mother, who had reached the Academy's gates at the same time with them.

"Where have you been?", Mary asked sternly and coldly, making Tatsuya and Fuyuka shiver, both starting to feel scared from the woman.

"I...", Masumi struggled to explain.

"Sorry Ma'am.", Tatsuya said as he stood in front of Masumi to take the blame, "I asked her to watch my training and-".

"Liar.", Mary replied, still cold and stern, making Tatsuya wince before he glanced at Masumi as he thought, 'How can a cheerful funny girl like her have a mother like that?!'.

"A mother like what?", Mary asked slowly with a raised eyebrow making Tatsuya pale. He glanced at Fuyuka to see her face palming, and he deduced then that he had voiced his thoughts.

"I'm just making things worse... Fuyuka, you explain.", Tatsuya mumbled before he stood next to Fuyuka again.

"Forgive my brother's attitude Ma'am, he's a bit awful with words.", Fuyuka said with a friendly smile, "If anything, it's my fault. I'm the one who told Masumi that Tatsuya will train alone and then she asked if she could stay and watch, and I told her that he wouldn't mind.".

Tatsuya noted that Mary's cold and stern expression had softened a bit, which made him let out a sigh of relief.

Fuyuka was about to bow and apologize, but a familiar voice had stopped her, "What's going on here?".

Fuyuka and Tatsuya's eyes widened in surprise as they saw Sharon rush towards them, before she knelt a bit to their height and hugged them both while saying in relief, "Fuyuka, Tatsuya, you two had me worried when you didn't come home or even call, are you guys okay?".

Masumi looked in awe at Sharon, since this was the first time she was seeing the famous actress in real life. Mary, on the other hand, noticed the bulge at the end of Sharon's leg.

'A handgun.', She deduced but kept a passive face.

"We are fine, Kaasan.", Tatsuya explained as Sharon let go off them, "I just trained for a longer time, and we forgot to call you.".

"Indeed, never do that again, understand?", Sharon said with a sweet smile but the look in her eye was stern.

"Understood!", Tatsuya and Fuyuka chorused at once.

Tatsuya then pointed at Masumi, "This is Sera Masumi, by the way, my new friend.".

"The one you haven't stopped talking about.", Sharon teased with a smirk, making Tatsuya blush while Fuyuka giggled.

"It's nice to actually meet you in person, Masumi-chan.", Sharon said as she raised hand, and Masumi politely shook it.

"It's an honour to actually meet you Ma'am, I'm a big fan of your work!", Masumi tried to contain her excitement to not look weird.

"Oh, thank you! But let's agree that you call me Sharon or Sharon-san, Ma'am makes me feel old.", Sharon chuckled.

"You are old.", Tatsuya snickered under his breath, but he yelped once he his mother slapped him on the back of his head.

"Say that again and I'll embarrass you in public.", Sharon threatened with a sweet smile, making Tatsuya shiver while Fuyuka snickered.

"We were on our way home, until the scary lady stopped us.", Fuyuka then said, looking at her mother.

Mary understood at once what Fuyuka had did from the look on her face, this must've been some secret cue between them, because she instantly felt Sharon's killing aura as the woman slowly stood up and turned around to face her.

"Really?", Sharon asked slowly, looking Mary dead in the eye.

Mary eyed her with the same intensity before she looked at the kids, a bit softer this time, and bowed, "Apologies for my attitude. I tend to be overprotective over Masumi, since some kids had tried to beat her up away from school once before.".

Masumi seemed surprised, as her mother was not one to apologize, and yet she did. Maybe her mother was not all that cold as she thought.

"We all do that don't we?", Sharon asked rhetorically as she raised her hand for Mary, "You already know me as Sharon Vineyard, but I go by my married name too; Kudou Sharon.".

Mary took Sharon's hand as she replied coldly, "Mary Sera.".

"Well, then, since we cleared this misunderstanding, how about you join us to dinner? And I won't take no for an answer.", Sharon asked sweetly, but she squeezed Mary's hand.

Mary got the message but remained silent for a few seconds before answering, "Alright then, lead the way.".

"Tadaima!", Sharon said as she opened the door and walked in, her children, Masumi, and Mary following her before she closed the door.

"Tatsu-nii! Yuka-nee!", Asami came running out of the kitchen towards the two, both kneeling down to hug her both.

"Someone missed me.", Tatsuya chuckled.

"Meanie! You didn't say you were going to be late!", Asami punched Tatsuya in the shoulder.

"Ow!", Tatsuya faked his pain, "Sorry, Asami.".

"Why don't you say hello to our guests?", Fuyuka said motioning with her head at Masumi and Mary, "This is our new friend, Sera Masumi, and her mother; Mary.".

"Hi! My name is Asami Kudou! Nice to meet you!", Asami said in American English with a wide smile.

"She's showing off her English, since she noticed you're foreigners.", Sharon explained to Mary.

"Don't act like we are friends now.", Mary scoffed, lowering her voice so the kids do not hear her, but she noted how Asami was a spitting image of her mother, but had her father's brown eyes.

"Don't you ever get bored of your cold attitude?", Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Hi Asami! Nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you!", Masumi said with a wide smile, showing her sharp tooth. She knelt down in order to shake hands with Asami.

"I like your tooth. It makes you look cute!", Asami said happily before she pointed at Mary, "And I like your blonde hair!".

"Thank you! You're cute too!", Masumi replied happily.

"Asami, don't point at other people.", Sharon scolded lightly.

Mary, however, surprised her by smiling lightly as she knelt to the girl's height, "And you know that having a blonde hair is one of the signs of being pretty, don't you?".

"Really?", Asami asked in disbelief, and at Mary's nod, she jumped happily, "Then that means I'm pretty!".

"You are pretty.", Sharon confirmed as she picked up Asami and ruffled her hair, making the girl laugh.

"You're back.", Shinichi said as he and Ran came out of the kitchens, placing the dinner plates and food on the table.

Silence filled the room once Masumi's eyes locked with Shinichi's and Ran's.

"IT'S YOU BACK THEN!", Masumi cried in disbelief as she pointed at Shinichi and Ran.

"YOU'RE THAT GIRL WE MET ON THE BEACH 7 YEARS AGO!", Ran cried in the same manner.

Mary blinked a few times before she rubbed her temples, 'How small is the world?'.

"What...?", Shinichi was lost, not understanding what was going on.

"I remember you, Holmes' Apprentice.", Masumi said much calmer now.

Shinichi did remember that day then, when he met Masumi and her family on the beach, but he frowned because Tatsuya burst in laughter with tears.

"H-Holmes Apprentice?! You're such a geek, dude!", He managed to say between his laughs.

"Quite it or else I'll feed you an Eagle Drive shot.", Shinichi grumbled.

Tatsuya stopped laughing and smirked at him challengingly, "Looks like you've forgotten how it feels to be hit by Apollo Penguin, why don't I remind you?".

"Boys, enough.", Michiya said as he came out of the kitchen, placing the last dinner dishes on the table, "We have guests at dinner, so behave.".

Michiya then walked towards Mary and Masumi as he said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kudou Michiya.", and he shook hands with Mary.

"Mary Sera.", the latter replied with a nod.

"I know! You played briefly at Manchester United, but you were amazing!", Masumi said in excitement.

"Oh? I didn't think I'd meet an English fan in Japan, those were the good old days, weren't they?", Michiya chuckled happily before he motioned at the dinner table, "Come on, let's have dinner together.".

Michiya sat at the head of the table as always and on his right sat Fuyuka, Asami, Sharon, and Mary while on the left sat Tatsuya, Masumi, Ran, and Shinichi.

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned.", Sharon whispered once she saw Mary not eating her plate yet.

"Care to tell why you decided to sit next to me?", Mary asked coldly, side-eyeing the assassin.

"In case you want to say anything stuck in your throat.", Sharon shot back calmly.

"So, what are you guys doing here?", Masumi asked Shinichi and Ran curiously.

"I live here now since I moved from Teitan to Raimon. They never made me play soccer since they thought I was a spoiled brat, but I'm a star here!", Shinichi said.

"I chose to live here for education because my father has become a burden. I go back for a few days but his antics make me leave, and Okaasan already knows and has no issue, she trusts Michiya-Ojisan.", Ran replied.

"I can't say I understand since I've never met my father, but sorry about what you're going through.", Masumi mumbled sadly making Mary glance at her before she glanced at Sharon, to see her busy looking at Asami, making sure she is eating.

"It's alright.", Ran assured her.

"Wait, Raimon?", Masumi then realized what school Shinichi was at.

"Yup, I'm in Teikoku's rival team.", Shinichi confirmed her thoughts.

"Former rival team, because we'll kick your butts when we meet!", Tatsuya smirked confidently.

"By the time we meet, we will have gotten stronger, and you won't be able to stop our goals!", Shinichi shot back.

Tatsuya then frowned as she recalled something, "You better be careful though, I heard from Kidou that Kageyama has his eyes in Raimon, and he doesn't like your presence nor Gouenji in the team.".

Tatsuya's words made everyone, but Asami look at him with a frown, even Mary, who was listening intently to understand what was going on.

"It wasn't enough for him to not only replace Tousan as Teikoku's coach but also frame him in that drug case.", Fuyuka mumbled angrily.

"Did you figure out who?", Shinichi asked.

"I asked Kidou, but he said he'd rather have you figure it out, if you're a real detective.", Tatsuya replied, "He takes your rivalry very seriously, and I get that, the guy has not met a genius midfielder like him before.".

"It's the same with me honestly, and I find our rivalry entertaining.", Shinichi shrugged before he nodded, "I'll figure out who that spy is.".

"This Kageyama guy is very obsessed with power... it's creepy.", Masumi commented.

"His position as the manager and coach of the top team in Japan has him earn loads of money, it doesn't matter to him if J. League and Japan's national team is awful, as long as he earns the money, he is happy.", Michiya explained angrily before he looked at Fuyuka, and noticed her playing with her food.

"Fuyuka, what's wrong?", Michiya asked concerned.

Fuyuka's eyes widened for a second before she shook her head, "It's nothing, Tousan.".

"No, Yuka-chan, you look upset. I noticed you were faking your smile since you arrived.", Ran said worriedly.

"Something happened at school, correct?", Mary guessed before placing a spoonful of rice in her mouth.

"I... a few kids called me a worthless orphan...", Fuyuka mumbled before she winced as she looked at her mother, feeling the deadly aura emitting from her, "It-it-it's not a lie, Kaasan! I'm adopted after all.".

"You are?", Masumi asked surprised, and Mary raised an eyebrow at the new information.

"Fuyuka's parents were police officers, and they both died when she was only five months old. They were our friends, so we adopted Fuyuka then.", Michiya explained.

"Fuyuka is our daughter, adopted or not. And I'm not going to let this pass.", Sharon said coldly, trying to control her anger.

Fuyuka smiled at her words before mumbling, "I know that.".

"Point me at the kids tomorrow, I'll take care of this.", Masumi said angrily.

"Join the club.", Tatsuya growled.

"Can we both go and help you?", Shinichi asked with a frown motioning with his head at an angry Ran.

"It's noble of you to want to avenger her, but if you do so, you'll be at fault too. It's better to let Sharon-san handle this, and she'll do what's right.", Mary said wisely.

Sharon side-eyed her before she ate a spoonful of curry rice and said, "What's right... trying to mock me here?".

"Didn't your mother teach you not to talk with your mouth full?", Mary shot back with a smirk, earning a frown from Sharon.

"Say, when is your next match?", Fuyuka asked Shinichi, changing the subject, not sad after seeing her family's reactions.

"Three days from now against Teitan.", Shinichi replied with anger and resentment.

"What about you, Tatsuya-niichan?", Ran asked Tatsuya curiously.

"Tomorrow, against Ekoda.", Tatsuya said as calmly as possible, before he looked at Masumi and Mary, "Why don't you guys attend both matches and see what we can do?".

"You don't even have to ask, I was going to be there!", Masumi said excitedly.

"We'll see then.", Mary replied.

After dinner, Fuyuka helped her mother in washing the dishes while Michiya started making tea. Tatsuya, with Ran, Shinichi, and Ran, started preparing in the backyard the small soccer field, forming the two goal posts.

Once they were all done, the kids went to play soccer in the backyard with Tatsuya, Fuyuka, and Masumi representing Teikoku while Shinichi, Ran, and Masumi representing Raimon.

Upstairs in Michiya's office, Mary sat on one of the chairs present. She took a look around the room, it was like any office desk with a white board and a marker placed on the brown walls, drawn on it some soccer tactics, a small window, a round table with four chairs where she sat, a white desk with a black desk chair behind it, and two black armchairs across it opposite to each other, and a set of drawers next to the window, a small mirror placed on top of them.

Michiya placed the tea tray on the table before he went and locked the doors.

"Should I be worried?", Mary asked sarcastically.

"This room is soundproof, no one will hear us, and we can speak as we please.", Michiya ignored her sarcasm.

Mary raised her eyebrow at him before she looked at Sharon, who stood across the small mirror, and noticed the make up set placed next to the mirror, Sharon's glasses next to them, and finally the latter removed her wig, letting her hair go

"He knows everything.", Vermouth said as she turned to face Mary with her true face.

"Do your kids know that you fake your appearance in front of them?", Mary asked.

"I only started adding wrinkles to my face this year, and I often had long hair as Sharon, and I often told them that I wore lenses when I wouldn't wear the glasses.", Vermouth replied as she sat across Mary at the table, Michiya sitting next to her.

"The tea is not poisoned by the way; I made it myself. I hope you like it, since I know English people are very specific in their tea taste.", Michiya motioned at the cup across Mary before he took a sip from his own cup.

"Do you truly know everything about her?", Mary asked suspiciously, surprised deep down about how calm Michiya was with Vermouth removing her disguise.

"Two words; Black Organization. Is that enough, MI6 agent Mary Sera?", Michiya replied calmly with a smirk, making Mary snort.

"You do know everything.", She mumbled before she turned to Vermouth as she took a sip from her tea, "It does taste good. So, why did you invite me to dinner?".

"Other than the fact that I don't want to ruin my children's new friendship?", Vermouth said rhetorically as she took a sip from her own tea, "I thought we should set the record straight and benefit from each other.".

"Explain.", Mary said suspiciously.

"I can give you information about the Organization, without them being suspicious. In return, you'll protect my family and make sure no law, or anything can charge them anything because of me, I don't care about myself, but I want to protect them.", Vermouth explained.

"Well, I care about you and so do the kids, don't talk like that.", Michiya frowned, earning a smile from Vermouth.

"Ever the gentleman.", Vermouth pecked his cheek, making him smile.

Mary rolled her eyes at the scene before asked, "What makes me sure you're legit?".

"You've met my family, I let you in my house willingly.", Vermouth pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Mary was still not convinced as she finished her teacup before she placed it back in the tray.

Vermouth sighed, "Alright... I can bring Akemi and Shiho to you.".

Mary's eyes widened in disbelief before she looked at Sharon in cold rage, "You're lying...".

"Shiho is here now and hasn't travelled to America again, and Akemi is with her. I can fake their death and have them meet you, it will be much easier than what your son is doing.", Vermouth explained before she smirked, "Did you know he is undercover in the Organization as Moboroshi Dai, codenamed Rye? And from what I've seen the few times I've saw them together; he and Akemi seem to like each other.".

Mary looked at her before a smirk appeared on her face, "Showing off your skills by revealing that you figured out my son, huh? Nice one.".

"How will you fake their death without the Organization suspecting anything? You said that Shiho is important to them.", Michiya asked confused.

"Car crash, engulfs in flames, explodes, bodies are burned to the extremest level. New identities and disguises for the public.", Vermouth explained nonchalantly making Michiya blink.

"You make it sound as if you're describing a cooking recipe.", Michiya deadpanned.

"Welcome to our life.", Mary snorted.

"So, do we have a deal?", Vermouth asked Mary as she raised her hand for Mary.

Mary said nothing for a few seconds, staring at the hand, before she shook it, "It's a deal then, Vermouth.".

"Christine. It's Kudou Christine, formerly Vineyard, but call me Chris when we are alone.", Vermouth said, showing a genuine friendly smile, something that Mary found surprising.

But she was now hopeful, that her search for her nieces will come to an end very soon, and she'll finally be reunited with them.

Looks like moving her was not a bad decision after all.

Chapter Text

"Remind me to thank Tatsuya for his invite.", Endou said.

"Watching Teikoku's match will help us in planning and training.", Gouenji nodded in agreement.

Endou, Gouenji, and Shinichi were wearing their Raimon training trackers (the other players couldn't attend) while Natsumi, Aki, Haruna, Sonoko, and Ran wore their Raimon uniforms. They were sitting at the front row, watching Teikoku's match. Behind them were the rest of the Kudou Family with Mary (who wore a fedora and a pair of glasses).

Kageyama was nowhere to be seen downstairs, but Masumi and Fuyuka were present on the bench, as the physical and tactics managers of the team.

"This match will be interesting since it's against Ekoda.", Sharon said, staring at a certain point in the Ekoda crowds, in the front seat, where Kuroba Kaito and his mother were, but they were ignoring their presence.

Endou heard her and looked behind him, but he noticed Michiya first and his eyes widened in admiration as he said, "Kudou-san, I'm such a big fan!".

"And I'm starting to become your fan too from what Shinichi has told me about you.", Michiya chuckled before he noticed the teams' both ready at the field, "I tell you what, we can have lunch after this match in a restaurant, and talk. What do you think?".

"Sounds great!", Endou exclaimed before he looked at the match.

The referee whistled, starting the kickoff with the forwards of Ekoda, and the number 10 player started sprinting forward and-

"Killer Slide!", Tatsuya performed his tackle Hissatsu, taking the ball and knocking the player out of his way as he charged ahead in the field.

He glanced at the crowds where Kaito and Chikage were sitting and thought, 'I'm going to destroy your school's team and make them wish they never played Soccer...'.

"Kudou!", Sakuma called as he ran parallel to Tatsuya on the field.

Tatsuya then passed the ball to Sakuma, and the latter passed it back, before the ball started going back and forth between them with a purple trail as they chorused, "Boost Duo!".

The one-two pass Hissatsu helped both boys pass the midfielders and defenders easily before Sakuma passed the ball last time to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya kicked the ball high, whistled, summoning the four penguins, before he jumped high with golden wings forming from his back as the penguins flew to attach to the ball, and kicked it, causing the penguins' color change to gold as he cried, "Apollo Penguin!".

And the Ekoda Goalkeeper could do nothing as the ball slammed into his gut and entered the goal with him.

The Teikoku crowd cheered loudly but Tatsuya wasn't satisfied.

"You don't seem happy.", Kidou noted as he and Sakuma met up with Tatsuya.

"I want to destroy Ekoda. One goal isn't enough.", Tatsuya nearly growled, "Kuroba is here... I want to destroy his school's team... I want to show him what I, what my team, what Kudou Michiya's team could do.".

"Revenge isn't the answer, don't let it consume you.", Kidou advised.

"I'm not doing anything, I'm just trying to win.", Tatsuya said stubbornly before he walked past his friends. Kidou and Sakuma shared a look before they walked back to their positions.

The kickoff started again with the ball with Ekoda. The forwards passed the ball to the midfielders then to the defenders then to the Goalkeeper, who kicked it far away, reaching Teikoku's defense where the two Ekoda forwards were waiting.

"Twin Shot!", They chorused as they both kicked the ball together, sending it flying with white energy towards Genda.

Genda jumped and slammed his fist into the ground and used his Hissatsu, "Power Shield!".

The ball ricocheted off the shield into the sky just as both forwards jumped again and cried while kicking the ball together overhead, "Twin Overhead!".

"Basic stupid Hissatsu.", Genda snorted before he placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled, and five red penguins were summoned from the ground and bit Genda's right arm.

"Penguin The Hand!", He cried as he shot his arm forward, the ball colliding into his hand, and he caught it easily.

"That's a new one.", Endou noted.

"Yeah, Genda never had a Hissatsu other than Power Shield. Looks like Teikoku didn't show us all they have.", Shinichi said.

"This match, it looks personal for Tatsuya, he did not seem happy about his goal.", Gouenji pointed out making Shinichi raise an eyebrow and wonder about his words.

Genda then kicked the ball towards Kidou, who started charging forward with Sakuma and Tatsuya before he kicked the ball high from the midfield, and they jumped high to perform their Hissatsu, "Death Zone!".

And Teikoku scored the second goal easily, slamming the ball in the goalkeeper's face while doing so.

"Your son is talented, but he is cold and cruel.", Mary pointed out to Sharon.

"Because of Kageyama, and because this is Ekoda... It's a long story and-".

"Kuroba Kaito is in Ekoda, I know.", Mary said before she yawned as Sharon looked at her, "I did my research on your husband... Still feels weird talking to you peacefully and saying you have a husband.".

"Get used to it, Agent Sera.", Sharon rolled her eyes.

The kickoff started again with the ball with Ekoda, but the forward did not get the chance to do anything as Kidou stole the ball from him easily, sprinting forward with Tatsuya and Sakuma.

Kidou stopped just as he whistled, five penguins rising from the ground. He kicked the ball, covering it with yellow energy and the penguins moving around it in spiral as he cried, "Koutei Penguin (Emperor Penguin)...".

Sakuma and Tatsuya volleyed the ball as they cried, "Nigo! (Number 2)", the ball exploding as it charged forward towards the goal.

And it entered the goal net easily, scoring another goal for Teikoku.

When the kickoff started this time, the Teikoku players did not just steal the ball, but whenever they would see a player from Ekoda, they would kick the ball right in their gut, and Tatsuya would kick it with all of his might, his anger towards Kuroba pushing him to do so.

His anger reached a dangerous level, and he almost kicked the ball right in the face of a defender, until the defender fell on his back while trying to move away, and Tatsuya then noticed the look of fear on his face.

And he hated himself.

At first, he would tell himself he was doing this for the greater good, for soccer, for his father, for his friends, in order to take down Kageyama Reiji, but he knew that all what he did today was out of anger and hate to the Kuroba Family.

Tatsuya performed a back heel pass to Kidou and remained standing in his place, and the latter understood that he did not want to proceed now, so he ran forward with Sakuma.

Kidou backflipped as he kicked the ball upwards and Sakuma jumped, head butting the ball back down as Kidou sprinted forward and kicked the ball.

"Twin Boost!", Both chorused as the ball, now surrounded by yellow energy with purple outline, charged towards the goal.

And entered the net yet again.

Tatsuya looked at the defender before he said, "Get stronger. With Kageyama around, you need to do so.".

He did not wait for the boy to reply and walked away, leaving him with his own thoughts.

The referee whistled the end of the first half and after the 15 minutes break, in which the Teikoku players drank some water and chatted a bit, the second half started.

"Tatsuya-kun had not lost his soccer abilities, he is actually getting stronger.", Sonoko noted.

"He never stops training.", Ran pointed out.

"Tatsu-nii! You're the best!", Asami cried loudly. Her cries reached the ears of Tatsuya, who looked at the crowd and located her and his family, and the Raimon players and managers.

Sakuma, Kidou, and Genda did the same.

Sakuma raised an eyebrow at the number of managers now Raimon had, Genda smirked challengingly and raised his fist at Endou, who stood up and raised it back, accepting the challenge. Tatsuya waved at his family before he locked eyes with Gouenji, and both stared at each other with fierce challenge.

But Kidou, on the other hand, was in disbelief once his eyes met Haruna's sad ones, before he looked away, unaware that his best friends alongside the Raimon players and managers noticed the interaction.

"Something is going on between Haruna and Kidou.", Endou whispered to Shinichi.

"Yeah, and it seems something big.", Shinichi nodded.

Gouenji crossed his arms as he frowned at the scene, recognizing the look Haruna had on her face for Kidou, for he had seen it before.

The look of a sister worried about her big brother.

"Kidou. Let's send a message to Raimon.", Tatsuya said, snapping Kidou out of his thoughts.

Kidou said nothing but nodded.

The kickoff started again with the ball with Teikoku. Sakuma passed to Tatsuya who sprinted forward before he passed the ball with his heel back to Kidou.

Kidou flipped in the air with the ball, and once he landed, two illusions of the ball were created around him as he cried, "Illusion Ball!".

The midfielder across him was confused so Kidou easily passed him, the illusion balls returning back to the original ball.

Kidou then passed the ball to Tatsuya who kicked it high in the air. Tatsuya and Kidou whistled, summoning four penguins around them.

Kidou sprinted forward with the penguins moving spirally with him while Tatsuya jumped high with the golden wings appearing from his back again, the penguins shooting upwards. The penguins bit the ball, changing to gold before Tatsuya kicked the ball towards Kidou.

Kidou then turned and leaned backwards acrobatically before he performed a low overhead kick, the gold ball now changing to a mix of gold and blue, as the penguins that followed Kidou now bit the ball too.

"Koutei (Emperor) Apollo Penguin Boost!", Kidou and Tatsuya chorused.

The ball shot forward, with 8 penguins moving around it in spiral. What was surprising, that the 8 penguins left the ball and targeted the remaining midfielders and defenders, slamming into their face to keep them away from stopping the ball.

And the strong fast soccer ball slammed into the gut of the goalkeeper, sending him into the net with it, scoring the fifth goal for Teikoku against nothing for Ekoda.

"What the?! What kind of Hissatsu is that?!", Shinichi cried in disbelief.

"How did they even master such complicated Hissatsu?", Aki wondered.

"I never saw them use that Hissatsu before in any match...", Natsumi mumbled before she sighed, "It's a good thing father told me about it then.".

Teikoku did not score any more goals but spent most of the time passing the ball or dribbling it, until the referee whistled the end of the match, and Teikoku's crowd cheered happily.

"No way! They must be taking steroids or drugs!", Kaito cried in disbelief at how his school was defeated easily.

Tatsuya heard his words and looked up at him and cried back with a victorious smirk, "This is the result of hard work and training! But a spoiled brat like you would know nothing about it!".

Kaito growled but found himself unable to say anything. He was nowhere near Tatsuya. He was not even in any school club to say he was great in it like Tatsuya, he was just a kid performing magic tricks. Tatsuya, on the other hand, was Teikoku's striker and everyone in Japan saw hope in him in the future if he joins the National Team, and even when he decides to retire and become a coach.

Kaito had to admit, Tatsuya was better than him, and his eyes showed his thoughts, which what made Tatsuya's smile increase, feeling elated at Kaito's admittance at him being better.

"So, what do you think?", Sharon asked Mary, and she could not hide the pride and happiness in her voice.

Mary raised her eyebrows at this, still not used to Vermouth being a normal person before she shrugged, "He is a good player, I suppose.".

"Good?", Sharon nearly snorted, but remembered that Asami was on her lap and said, "My son is the best forward in Japan, rivaled only by Gouenji Shuuya.".

"Fine, he is the best, happy?", Mary sighed.

"Very much.", Sharon replied with a wide grin making Mary roll her eyes at her antics.

Shinichi, on the other hand, tightened his fists. Teikoku's match had given him a chance to see that the team was getting stronger, and they were still far from them, even with Ran's training giving them a boost.

But he shook his head, and thought about Teitan. The next match was with them, and it was time for revenge for his sake, to prove them wrong, and show them his true skills.

The match between Teitan and Raimon had arrived rather quickly in Shinichi's point of view, or maybe because he and his team were pushing themselves harder in training, especially after he and the others relayed to the team Teikoku's match.

The match took place at Teitan with most of the crowds being from said school while very few came to support Raimon. The Kudou family with Mary and Masumi sat in the front rows, in front of them in their Teikoku track suits were Tatsuya, Sakuma, Kidou, and Genda.

"This match will be interesting.", Sakuma said, "Considering your cousin's past with Teitan.".

"Yeah, I hope they wipe the floor with them.", Genda nodded.

"I wonder if they will be able to send us a message like we did with them.", Tatsuya mumbled.

"Let's see if Kudou had improved since the last time we met.", Kidou said.

"Ah, if it isn't the spoiled brat.", Teitan's coach, Fujiro Kenzo, said as he approached Raimon.

"Watch your mouth mister, I won't tolerate any mistreatment to my team.", Endou pointed out.

"This is none of your concern, boy.", Fujiro sneered at Endou.

"It is my concern when it concerns one of my friends and teammates.", Endou replied stubbornly.

"Whatever, you and your team will have the floor wiped with, especially with that good for nothing on your team.", Fujiro spat as he walked back to his team, who were smirking over confidently at Raimon.

Endou turned to his players and said, "Did you guys hear that?".

"Yeah, let's kick their butts!", Shourin cried.

"I say we fill their goal net with multiple goals not just three.", Someoka said as he slammed his fist into his other hand's palm.

"We've gotten stronger thanks to Ran-chan's training, we can take them down!", Kazemaru nodded.

"Not to mention my amazing ideas for Hissatsu-".

"Just shut up, will you?", Domon interrupted Megane annoyed, making him slump.

"Even the newest guy has had enough of your act.", Handa snickered.

"Ready for revenge?", Gouenji asked Shinichi with a smirk.

"You bet.", Shinichi nodded, mirroring his smirk.

"You all know what to do, don't you?", Natsumi asked rhetorically with a smile.

"Win!", The whole team chorused.

Both teams stood ready, with Raimon playing with the same 4-4-2, while Teitan stood in the 4-3-3 formation, with the captain and forward, Nakamichi, and the ace striker of the team; Aizawa, standing ready, waiting for the referee to whistle.

The kickoff started with Nakamichi passing the ball to Aizawa, and the latter sprinted forward towards Shinichi, "Let's see you take the ball from me!".

Shinichi smirked, "With pleasure.". He performed a tackle towards Aizawa, but the latter jumped with a victorious smirk.

Shinichi's smirk grew wider as he used his hand to balance and push himself, turning his whole body around to face Aizawa, blue energy surrounding him, as he raised his leg to side tackle Aizawa, taking the ball from him, "Eagle Claw!".

Aizawa fell face first from Shinichi's new defense Hissatsu, while the latter had already sprinted forward, the adrenaline rushing into his veins.

"Don't give him a chance, break him!", Nakamichi cried as he and the midfielders charged towards Shinichi to tackle him all together.

Shinichi spread his arms as blue aura surrounded him, before he spread them backward and pushed his head forward, a blue flying Eagle appearing above him as he cried, "Eagle Swoop!".

Suddenly, he gained super speed as he dashed back and forth, evading Nakamichi and the midfielders, and when the defenders tried to tackle him all together, he jumped at an amazing height with the ball held between his legs before he landed and raised his leg and kicked it, "Eagle Drive!".

And as usual, the ball charged forwards before curving upwards, and entering the goal, and the goalkeeper did not even have the time to move a muscle.

"GOAL! RAIMON SCORES THE FIRST GOAL IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES FROM THEIR ELEVENTH STRIKER, KUDOU SHINICHI, WHO HAD DISPLAYED HIS NEW DEFENSE AND DRIBBLE HISSATSU!", Kakuma cried at the top of his lungs.

"I'm just getting started by the way.", Shinichi pointed at Fujiro, who was frowning, "You ain't seen nothing yet from Raimon.".

"It was just pure luck... You brat...", Fujiro spat.

The kick off started again but with Raimon, with Gouenji passing to Someoka, who then passed Shishido.

Shishido dribbled past Aizawa before passing to Shourin, who headbutted it towards Domon, and the latter skillfully performed a long pass that landed at Handa's feet who sprinted forward before passing it to Someoka.

Someoka then noticed the defenders closing on him so he jumped high, leaving the ball unguarded, but suddenly, a Chinese dragon appeared out of the ground, clutching the ball in its mouth, and Someoka landed on its head as the dragon slithered past all the defenders as he cried, "Nobori Ryuu! (Rising Dragon)".

The dragon disappeared just as Shinichi sprinted and reached Someoka and both raised their legs, the Eagle and Dragon appearing behind them as they kicked the ball with their might and cried, "Hunter Drive Crash!".

The ball flew at amazing speed as white energy surrounded by blue outline, with the Eagle and Dragon moving behind it, before it curved upwards very high, and then came down like a meteor with the Eagle and Dragon letting out a cry.

The goalkeeper stared fearfully at both animals before he ducked, evading the ball, but letting it enter the net easily.

"GOAL! NOT ONLY DID SOMEOKA SHOW OFF HIS NEW DRIBBLE BUT HE AND KUDOU SHOWED OFF THEIR NEW HISSATSU!", Kakuma cried happily.

Shinichi and Someoka fist bumped as the first said, "Nice dribble, I'm actually kind of jealous since it's cooler than mine.".

"If it weren't for you girlfriend's program, I wouldn't have been strong enough to create that one.", Someoka said with a teasing smirk making Shinichi frown.

"For the thousandth time, she is not my girlfriend!", He nearly yelled.

"Keep telling yourself that.", Someoka laughed.

The kickoff started again and to say Aizawa and Nakamichi were aggravated was an understatement, so they passed the ball to the forward behind them, before he passed it back to them.

Nakamichi kicked the ball upwards as he and Aizawa spun in their place on one leg, and once the ball was near them, they volleyed the ball while crying, "Spinning Twin Shot!".

The ball kept on spinning right and left, confusing the players, and Endou stood ready to block it and-

Domon jumped forward in front of Endou, his right foot surrounded by red aura, and performed a roundhouse kick, making flames erupt from the ground like a volcanic eruption as he cried, "Volcano Cut!".

The ball collided with the flames, before it landed slowly at Domon's foot, who had remained frozen and confused.

Why did he stop the ball? He was supposed to be a spy to take Raimon down, and yet he saved them from a possible goal.

"Nice work, Domon!", Endou cheered, snapping the latter out of his shock.

Domon glanced back at him before he looked ahead, and saw Gouenji already sprinting forward, so he skillfully performed a long pass, the ball landing at Gouenji's feet, but much to Teitan's shock, he kicked the ball high.

And that's when everyone noticed Kabeyama running with Kazemaru and Shinichi. The three jumped up with Kazemaru and Shinichi both pushing themselves further up by pushing their right foot on Kabeyama's own, the latter performing a backflip, and they spun around swiftly, forming hurricanes around themselves, before they both flipped forward, and slammed the back of their heel on the ball together.

"Skylab Hurricane Drop!", The three chorused as the ball charged down like two tornadoes fused together with green energy surrounding it. It slammed in the face of the goalkeeper, taking him with it into the goal's net.

"Did we face the same guys for real? They're so different now.", Genda blinked in disbelief at Raimon's new strength.

"Ran has had them do some hellish training, and Endou was already boosting them forward to create their own moves alongside Shinichi. And as you know, the stronger and skillful you get, the more Hissatsu you can create.", Tatsuya explained.

"I'm more excited to face them now more than ever.", Sakuma said.

Kidou said nothing as he watched the match, wondering about what Domon had done.

"Wow... Raimon is something else indeed...", Masumi mumbled in disbelief.

"Thanks to their teamwork and effort, they're improving fast.", Fuyuka said with a proud smile.

"That's my nephew.", Michiya smirked.

"My godson never fails to impress me.", Sharon smiled.

"Where was his mother's mind when she made you, his godmother?", Mary scoffed with a smirk, that grew larger when Sharon side-eyed her.

"Do you want me to shoot you?", Sharon asked.

"Just try, you'll be sorry.", Mary said as she crossed her arms.

"What are you two talking about?", Asami asked curiously and innocently. She had not heard anything since their voices were lowered, but she noticed them talking and was curious to know.

"We were just complimenting Shin-chan, isn't he amazing?", Sharon said with a smile, patting her daughter's head.

Asami nodded with a wide smile, "Yeah! Shin-nii is amazing!".

The referee whistled the end of the first half, and the 15 minutes break started.

"Anyone noticed the look on the coach's face? His face is going to blow up!", Max snickered as he pointed at Fujiro, whose face was already all red from anger.

"Aizawa and Nakamichi are no different.", Kurimatsu laughed as he motioned at Aizawa and Nakamichi who were the same.

"Losing 3 to nothing with those 3 goals involving the player you used to think is nothing is a hard slap.", Megane pointed out.

"Oh, I'm so loving their faces, I'll make sure to make everyone remember this match.", Sonoko laughed.

"I just want to warn you, don't use all your new Hissatsu.", Natsumi said before she explained, "Our next opponents, Mikage Sennou, I heard they always analyze their opponents' abilities and moves.".

Everyone looked at Natsumi seriously, but they were not worried.

"Our match with Mikage Sennou is a week from now, and we wil have gotten better with our training.", Handa said.

"We haven't showed all our Hissatsu yet too.", Kageno said.

"Still, we can't show off our new ones again that much, you can't analyze anything when it is done once.", Shinichi said.

"They don't look so strong, we can take them down with our old Hissatsu anyways.", Someoka said.

"Alright, everyone, let's win this!", Endou exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

The kick off began with Raimon, and the second half started. And if Teitan was mad at having three goals scored, then they weren't ready for what happened next.

"Fire Tornado!".

"Dragon Tornado!".

"Eagle Tornado!".

"Inazuma Otoshi!".

And the referee then whistled the end of the match, with Raimon winning on Teitan's field, 7-0.

"No... impossible...", Fujiro mumbled in disbelief as he fell on his knees.

Nakamichi looked at Fujiro and said, "You've always said Teitan only needed good players... But it turns out it needed a better coach!".

Nakamichi's words made Fujiro stand up and look at him angrily as he cried, "I made you all!".

"We made ourselves from training and hard work.", Aizawa added before he and the rest of Teitan's team walked towards Raimon, who turned to face them.

"We owe you an apology, for what happened with Kudou, and our coach's attitude.", Nakamichi said before he bowed, his team following his actions, "Thank you for making us wake up, and humbling us.".

"It's alright. You guys have learned the lesson, and who knows, maybe we fill face each other again and you'll be better.", Endou said with a friendly smile as he raised his hand.

Nakamichi stood up straight with a smile and shook Endou's hand, "You bet.".

Shinichi then looked up at Teikoku's players before his eyes met Kidou's both staring at each other challengingly. Shinichi then raised his fist at Kidou with a smirk. Kidou raised an eyebrow before he stood up and raised his fist towards him, a smirk forming on his face.

The battle between the two genius midfielders was on.

Chapter Text

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.

Chapter Text

Masumi rubbed her eyes as she walked downstairs, and she almost asked her mother if breakfast was ready, but her eyes widened once she saw who was having breakfast with them today.

"Shu-nii! Kichi-nii!", Masumi cried happily as she rushed towards her elder brothers who were sitting at the dining table, hugging them both, one at a time.

"Someone's got a bit taller.", Shuichi smiled as he ruffled Masumi's hair.

"When did you two get here? I thought you both were busy.", Masumi asked with a wide smile as she sat between her brothers at the table.

"I had nothing to do today so I thought I should come visit you.", Shukichi explained, "And Shuichi's the same.".

"We've got guests too.", Shuichi said before he motioned towards the two girls sitting across them on the other side.

Masumi then noticed Akemi and Shiho's presence, and the first thing she said was, "They look like Atsushi-Ojisan and Elena-Obasan...".

"A keen eye for details, looks like you're a detective too.", Akemi chuckled while Shiho rolled her eyes.

"It's not that hard to notice.", Shiho mumbled.

"Nice to meet you Masumi, we are your cousins; My name is Miyano Akemi, and this is my sister, Miyano Shiho.", Akemi introduced with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you too! Are you staying here?!", Masumi asked eagerly with hopeful eyes.

"They are staying here.", Mary said as she came and placed the last two plates for breakfast on the dining table, before she sat at the head of the table.

"Yes! More girls in the house!", Masumi pumped her fists up in the air, Shukichi and Akemi chuckled at Masumi's enthusiasm while Shiho looked bored, and Shuichi simply smiled.

"Masumi, remember what I told you about the men I'm chasing?", Mary asked seriously.

Masumi then became serious, surprising both girls and her brothers, "The men in black? Yes, I do.".

"We saved Akemi and Shiho with some help from a friend, so now they think they're dead, but they can't leave the house with their faces and identities.", Mary explained.

"So, they are going to wear disguises and have fake identities, and I have to use their fake identities in public, and keep an eye on anyone who might stare long at them, especially if Shiho goes to Teikoku's school with me.", Masumi deduced.

"Correct you are, and Akemi will look for a job for she insisted on doing so, while Shiho will join your class at Teikoku.", Mary nodded with a proud smile.

"When did you tell her everything?", Shuichi asked surprised.

"She tried to spy on me several times while talking to my MI6 colleagues, so I thought it would be better if I told her.", Mary explained.

"I'm a detective, and Atsushi-Ojisan and Elena-Obasan are my family, so I deserve to be let in too.", Masumi said determinedly.

"You're a brave girl, Masumi.", Akemi complimented.

"Reckless.", Shiho scoffed.

"There is a thin fine line between bravery and recklessness.", Masumi shrugged.

"From now on, Akemi will be known as Haibara Masami while Shiho will be known as Haibara Ai, your distant cousins from America.", Mary explained.

"Understood.", Masumi nodded.

"I feel like I missed a lot.", Shukichi mumbled, surprised by Masumi's new attitude.

"If someone cared about his family and wasn't busy with impressing his ex-girlfriend with Shogi titles, he would've known.", Mary commented dryly making Shukichi chuckle sheepishly.

"There is something, I want to ask you Masumi.", Akemi started, "I really love your big brother, and we are currently together, you won't dislike me for that, will you?".

Masumi blinked at her in surprise before she glanced at Shuichi, "Are you sure about that?".

"Masumi-", Shuichi started.

"I'm worried about you from him, he can be too much with his cold lone wolf attitude, which can make him become a jerk sometimes. Trust me I know; I didn't meet him until I was 7 years old because he was in America, and he was very cold when I met him.", Masumi explained dryly.

Mary snorted, Shukichi laughed, Shuichi deadpanned, Akemi looked surprised before she slightly chuckled at Masumi and Shuichi's expression, while Shiho smirked.

"You know something, I like you after what you just said, your brother had done some stupid things I'd like to discuss with you.", Shiho said.

"As soon as we are done with breakfast, tell me everything!", Masumi smirked.

"Oh great...", Shuichi face palmed.

Later,

Teikoku's Soccer Field,

"You sure this Hissatsu will work?", Sakuma asked as he stared at the notebook in Tatsuya's hand alongside Kidou and Genda.

"Kidou and I worked on this, this Hissatsu will combine all our power, a four-man Hissatsu.", Tatsuya explained.

"Not a single Goalkeeping technique will stop us then!", Genda smirked, liking the idea.

"We still need to continue our training on different Hissatsu.", Kidou pointed out.

"Hey guys!", Fuyuka said as she approached the boys with Masumi, Shiho (who now wore a blonde hair wig and wore black lenses), and Akemi (who who black hair wig with round glasses).

"Who are the newcomers?", Sakuma asked once he noticed the two new girls.

Kidou, on the other hand, found the words stuck in his throat, once his eyes met Shiho's, and he found himself unable to look away, and his heart skipped a beat when Shiho looked away with her face slightly blushing.

Tatsuya noticed this and smirked but said nothing.

"Those two are my distant cousins, this is Haibara Masami, and she recently joined as one of the Academy's Doctors and agreed to be the team's medical manager when I asked her, and I finally convinced her sister; Haibara Ai, to be our tactics manager, because she's the smartest girl I've ever met until now.", Masumi explained.

"For you to say she's the smartest when you are smart, means she's something else.", Tatsuya noted.

"So our managing team is complete! We've got Fuyuka as the Head Manager and the Financial Manager, Masumi as the Physical and Tactics alongside Shiho, and now Masami-san as the Medical Manager.", Genda said with a wide smile, "We are in good hands now!".

"Don't count me in yet, I still have to see if you guys are actually worth my time or not, particularly you.", Shiho said dryly before she pointed at Kidou, surprising him, but he hid it very well.

"You're the team's captain, And I heard you're a midfield genius and a game maker, prove it then.", She said challengingly, wanting to see him play the most, for a reason she did not know yet.

Tatsuya looked away with a smirk, 'She's absolutely Kidou's type.'.

Kidou then smirked confidently, "Then watch me carefully then, I'll show you what you've never seen before.".

Shiho smirked, "Surprise me then.".

Meanwhile,

Raimon Middle School,

"You've gotta be kidding me...", Shinichi mumbled.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to comprehend that information.", Sonoko commented.

The team was sitting on the ground across the managers, who were telling them about their upcoming opponents, Shuuyou Meito.

"How come they were able to defeat Occult 1-0?", Domon asked confused.

Aki shrugged, "We really don't know, they've defeated every team they've faced with that score.".

"I've tried my best to gather information about them and their style, but nothing comes up.", Haruna shook her head.

"I know them!", Megane stood up proudly, "The captain and co-captain; Noberu Raito and Manga Moe, are the authors of the most well-known moe manga in history; Magical princess, Silky Nana!".

The team stared at Megane confused before Somoeka mumbled, "I have never even heard of them...".

"I'm impressed Megane, how did you know that?", Shinichi asked curiously.

"I took Endou with me to a Maid Café so we can meet them early on, once Aki told me when I asked her who were our next opponents.", Megane explained.

"It was a very weird, embarrassing place.", Endou mumbled.

"I honestly doubt we can do anything without Gouenji.", Kageno said gloomily.

"Only the match can prove that, and I've got a feeling we are going to win because of Megane.", Shinichi said making everyone look at him as if he grew another head.

"Then we are doomed...", Kurimatsu sighed heavily.

The day of the match had arrived and the team was warming up before the match, at Shuuyou Meito's field while the managers were on the side.

"Why... am... I... wearing... this?!!", Natsumi hissed at what she was wearing. Since it was Shuuyou Meito's ground, they had insisted that female managers wear a maid costume, hence why the managers of Raimon were all wearing so.

"I'm going to sue them for that when we win...", Sonoko grumbled.

"This looks cool actually!", Aki said happily.

"Yeah, I like how it looks on me!", Haruna said as she twirled around with her skirt, and that's when she noticed Gouenji, sitting on the bench, staring at her.

"Gouenji-kun! You came!", She approached with a wide smile, but said boy looked away for a second, his face faintly blushing.

He coughed before he explained, "I couldn't miss the team's match after all.", he then asked, "What's with the outfit?".

"Shuuyo Meito's coach, Maniya Saito explained that female managers have to wear that costume, so we did, although Natsumi and Sonoko want to murder the man.", Haruna explained, and Gouenji noted how Natsumi and Sonoko were glaring towards a man holding watermelon, who seemed to be ignoring them.

"But I honestly like it though! What do you think?", Haruna said with a wide smile, and Gouenji paused for a second, looking for an answer.

"It... looks good on you..", He said with a smile, trying not to blush this time.

Shinichi, on the other hand, was blushing as he stared at Ran in her outfit, but Kazemaru slapped him on the back of his head.

"No time to waste by staring at your girl, the match's about to begin.", He said.

"She's not my girl...", Shinichi denied.

Raimon's team stood in the formation Aki had suggested, with Shinichi taking Handa's place, Megane in Gouenji's place (now wearing shirt number 22), and Domon in Kageno's place this time.

Shinichi, however, narrowed his eyes at the other team's formation; 2 Defenders, 3 Midfielders, and 5 Forwards.

'Something's not right about this...', He thought.

The referee whistled, and the match began with Megane passing the ball to Somoeka, who instantly charged ahead with a cry.

Somoeka saw a Shuuyou Meito player pass him, but he continued to run, until Shinichi called, "Somoeka! Look down!".

Somoeka did as he was told, and his eyes widened once he saw that instead of the soccer ball, there was a watermelon.

Ran instantly looked at the coach who was standing behind a large number of watermelons, arranged in front of him as a pyramid.

"Oi! That's cheating! You can't do that!", She cried at him, but the man played deaf and just hummed a tune.

"Eagle Tackle!", Shinichi performed his hissatsu and took the ball from the midfielder, before he kicked it high towards Somoeka.

Somoeka received it on his chest before he used his Hissatsu, "Dragon Crash!".

The midfielders and defenders, including Manga and Noberu, stood in front of the goal and moved their feet fast until they created dust that blinded everyone while crying, "Gorimuchuu! (Mystified)".

"Like that will stop my kick.", Somoeka scoffed but his eyes widened once the smoke cleared. The ball was not even near the goal, it had fell off the field.

"Impossible!", Somoeka cried.

The team had their jaws drop, for they knew that Somoeka could never aim wrong at the goal, while Megane adjusted his glasses, and Shinichi narrowed his eyes.

The match resumed again, and the same would happen every time when Somoeka would try to shoot, Shuuyou Meito would use their Hissatsu, and the ball would miss.

And then, in the last minute of the first half, Manga kicked the ball high in the air, before two players jumped up.

The first picked up the second by their ankles, with the latter remaining stiff as he was being held up. The first then swung his partner like a bat, charging the ball with red energy as they head the ball towards the goal while crying, "Dokonjou Bat! (Utter Gutsiness Bat)".

And Endou did not even have the time to react from the speed of the ball, and it moved past him to enter the goal.

"G-G-Goal! Shuuyou Meito is in lead now after scoring in the last minute of the first half against Raimon!", Kakuma cried in disbelief.

Shuuyou Meito 1 – 0 Raimon.

The referee whistled, signaling the end of the first half.

"There has to be something that we can do to break through their block technique!", Kurimatsu argued.

"Something about that technique doesn't feel right to me.", Gouenji mumbled.

"Usually, a defender would feel a bit tired after using that technique multiple times, but they are in pretty good shape.", Domon pointed out.

Shinichi, however, sighed, having figured out what was going on, so he turned to the other person he knew he had figured it out and remained silent.

"You figured out too, huh?", Megane mumbled once he saw Shinichi looking at him.

"You're very bothered about this.", Shinchi noted.

"It's just... They're practically cheating... and this isn't what Silky Nana is about... They've let her down and as a fan of them and their work I feel... disappointed and ashamed...", Megane explained sadly.

Shinichi then placed a hand on Megane's shoulder as he said, "Then why don't you knock some sense into them then?".

Megane looked at him quizzically.

"We aren't into Silky Nana, but I'm sure if those words of disappointment came from you, they'll wake up.", Shinichi explained.

Megane stared at him for a bit before he smiled, "Thanks for trusting me in today's match by the way.".

"Everyone deserves a second chance, and now, it's your time to prove it in the second half.", Shinichi nodded.

The second half started with Shuuyou Meito's forwards passing the ball to each other, but then Shinichi dashed forward, performed a tackle, and stole the ball.

"Megane, you know what to do!", He called before he stared down at his feet, depending on his ears to listen for the upcoming players.

He caught from the corner of his eye a watermelon being thrown towards him, so he turned, giving his back to the Shuuyou Meito's midfielder, clutching the ball between his feet, before he skillfully jumped backwards above the player, the watermelon landing at the midfielder's feet.

The other Raimon players awed at Shinichi's dribble abilities, as he skillfully passed all midfielders, now facing the defenders and goalkeeper.

He raised his leg to kick the ball just as Megane rushed forward, and the defenders started using their hissatsu, "Gorimuchuu!".

But Shinichi dropped his leg, and stared at the goal, waiting for the dust to clear, and everyone's eyes widened once they saw what was truly happening.

The goalkeeper and a midfielder were trying to move the goal post, but Megane had pulled onto the midfielder's shorts, preventing them from doing so.

"They were cheating!", Endou cried in disbelief.

"That explains why no balls were entering.", Gouenji said.

"Are you kidding me right now?!", Handa cried.

Megane let go off the midfielder as he said, "I'm so disappointed in you all.".

Manga and Noberu approached him with the first saying, "We did nothing wrong.".

"And we are going to do everything to win this tournament!", Noberu added.

'If you met up with Teikoku, Tatsuya would've made you cry to your mothers...', Shinichi deadpanned.

"How did you even figure it out?", Manga asked surprised.

"Saw it in an anime.", Megane adjusted his glasses.

"I compared it to Endou's goal post, since they're supposed to be exactly opposite to each other.", Shinichi added.

"As an otaku, you should understand why we did what we did.", Manga pointed out.

"GOALLLL!!!! RAIMON HAS FINALLY TIED THE SCORE!", Kakuma cried, making the Shuuyou Meito's players look at the goal net, and they were surprised to see the ball inside.

Shuuyou Meito 1 – 1 Raimon.

"While you all were being kept busy by Megane, I took my chance.", Shinichi smirked.

"Doesn't feel nice to have a trick used on you now, does it?", Megane nearly spat, "You two are a disappointment to Silky Nana and their fans, I'm so disappointed in you!".

The referee whistled, and the kick off began with the ball with Shuuyou Meito, but Megane tackled the forward, stealing the ball, before passing it to Shinichi, who easily passed all the midfielders, and passed it to Somoeka, and Megane ran ahead of him.

"Dragon Crash!", Somoeka used his hissatsu.

"No, you won't. Goal Zurashi! (Moving Goal).", The goalkeeper cried as he stood beside the left goalpost and lifted his left arm up and down in the air. As the ball headed towards the goal, he crouched and quickly sprung into the goalpost, hitting it with his belly and moving the goalpost.

Megane then jumped sideways, making the ball slam into his face, cracking his glasses, but ricocheting right into the goal this time.

"Megane!", The Raimon players cried worriedly as they rushed towards him.

"This is my... Megane Crash...", He mumbled dizzily before he fell on his back.

"GOALLL!!! RAIMON IS NOW IN THE LEAD THANKS TO MEGANE'S NEW HISSATSU, MEGANE CRASH!!!", Kakuma cried happily.

The referee then whistled, signaling the end of the second half, with Raimon winning once again.

The Shuuyou Meito players became depressed before they all sat on the ground.

"Our dream is over...", Noberu mumbled.

"What dream?". They looked up to see Megane helped by Domon and Shinichi standing across of them.

"The winner of the tournament, one of the things he gets is a road trip to America.", Manga explained, "And-".

"The limited edition of the doll figure of Silky Nana, I know.", Megane interrupted before he smiled, "Alright, when we win this tournament, I'll buy you all the figure.".

The Shuuyou Meito players instantly stood up and stared at Megane in disbelief as Noberu asked, "Are you serious?!".

"Of course, I am! That's what a true otaku does!", Megane smiled at them.

Later,

Shinichi sat in his room as he stared at his laptop screen, looking for some information about Domon, but he could not find anything on the internet.

"Having no luck on the internet?", Sharon asked once she entered his room and sat on his bed, looking at him as he closed his laptop screen.

"Nothing on Domon, other than that he used to play for Los Angeles FC before moving to Japan. If he is a spy for Teikoku, then he was definitely a player then, but I'm thinking that maybe Kageyama did something to him or is threatening him with something so he can spy on us.", Shinichi explained.

"Domon Asuka, Kino Aki, Ichinose Kazuya, and Nishigaki Mamoru are all Japanese-American kids who grew up in the same neighborhood in Los Angeles, playing soccer together in Los Angeles FC with Kino being the manager then, but Ichinose presumably died in a fatal accident, so the three then moved to Japan. Kino moved to Raimon, Domon moved to Teikoku then Raimon, and Nishigaki moved to Kidokawa Seishuu, Gouenji's former team.", Sharon explained with a smug grin on her face.

Shinichi stared in disbelief at his godmother before he mumbled, "H-How did you know all of that?".

"A secret makes a woman, woman.", Sharon slightly smirked in English, making Shinichi groan in annoyance before he noticed something.

"Wait, presumed? So that Ichinose guy is still alive?", He asked.

"From what I heard from my connections, he is, he is still in physical therapy from that accident though, but he did not want to announce to his friends the truth that he was still alive, since there was a possibility that he may never play soccer again.", Sharon explained with a nod.

"If you can gather that much info, can you figure out why is Domon obeying Kageyama?", Shinichi asked eagerly.

Sharon smirked at him with a mysterious glint in her eyes, and Shinichi then knew that his godmother was not just an actress as he had always thought.

"I can, and I will.".

Chapter Text

"Kazemaru! You're too fast!", Kurimatsu cried as he tried to catch up with Kazemaru and take the ball from him, but the latter was indeed too fast for him.

It was another normal day with the team training together, and they were nearing the end of their training.

"Domon, block him!", Endou cried.

"You've got it!", Domon cried before he tackled Kazemaru taking the ball from him.

"Domon-kun is great, isn't he?", Haruna said.

Ran and Sonoko nodded while Aki smiled, recalling the days she played soccer with Domon, Nishigaki, and Ichinose.

Everyone was smiling at Domon, but one; Shinichi.

Endou had invited the team after practice to eat Ramen in one of the nearby shops and Shinichi then heard Domon talking to someone on the phone outside the shop, so he recorded him, just in case.

The next day was another normal day of training, but Domon had a received a call that had gotten him restless. He was ordered by Kageyama to do anything to stop Raimon from arriving to the next match, and he truly meant anything.

He walked away from the team until he noticed Kidou hiding behind a building waiting for him.

He then rushed towards him and said, "The commander is going too far and I won't do this! Does he really want to win that badly?!".

"Shut up, and do as your told.", Kidou replied coldly.

Domon frowned, "Or what?! He's going to hurt Aki?! Or Mai?! Isn't it enough that Fuyukai is going to place a trap on the bus just so the team doesn't make it?!".

Kidou frowned at his words, not knowing how to answer before he finally said, "Go… We'll meet later.".

Domon walked away silently, and Kidou was about to walk away, until he saw who caught him; Haruna.

"Are you here to spy on Raimon?", She asked seriously.

"We should not be meeting.", Kidou replied as he started to walk away. She tried to grab his arm, but he pulled it away.

"Why are you treating me like this?!", She nearly cried and Kidou grit his teeth.

"Goodbye Haruna…", was all what Kidou said before he left.

Neither of the three who were recently present however noticed that Shinichi, Endou, and Gouenji were spying on them from afar.

"See what I mean?", Shinichi mumbled.

"I can't believe Domon turned out to be a spy.", Endou mumbled in disbelief, "He looks like he doesn't want to do this anymore…".

"I wonder what's going on with Haruna and Kidou.", Gouenji said.

"Yeah, that too.", Endou said before he turned to Shinichi, "What do you think we should do?".

"Gather the team, and get Furukabu-san to inspect the van and…", Shinichi trailed off once he saw that Domon was approaching the three of them.

"Kudou, you're a detective, right?", Domon asked uncertainly.

"I'm.", Shinichi nodded.

"So, you've got connection to the police… I need to tell you something.", Domon said seriously.

Shinichi then recalled his last conversation with Michiya and Sharon.

"I've did as you asked and looked more into Domon's past. The guy is interested in Ichinose Mai, Kazuya's younger sister. She's here in Japan and hasn't been in great mood since her brother's supposed death, since he totally disappeared. Domon has been looking after her, and Kageyama threatened him with her life, and Aki's.", Sharon explained.

"And Kidou?", Shinichi asked.

"Kidou and Haruna lost their parents at a very young age and lived in an orphanage before they were taken by separate families. Haruna by the Otonashi family, and Kidou was recommended by Kageyama to the Kidou financial group, since he saw his soccer talent when he was still 6 years old. Kidou then made a deal with his adoptive father, if he gets three consecutive Football Frontier tournaments in his middle school years, he'll get Haruna back. If he loses, he won't, and if he loses in a district match, he'll be kicked out of the family.", Michiya explained.

Shinichi looked at them both in disbelief before he cried, "Is that Kageyama guy crazy or what?! Why has he turned soccer into a war zone?! What is this all about for real?!".

Sharon raised her two fingers together as she said in English, "Money. Everything is about money.".

"Does Tatsuya know about this?", Shinichi asked curiously.

"About Kidou yes, and we've been trying to figure out something to get him out of this. We don't know if his adoptive father truly cares about him or not, so we're still planning something.", Michiya said, "Sharon still hasn't informed him about Domon.".

"So now what?", Shinichi asked.

"Sharon will handle Kidou's family while I'll talk to someone who might help Raimon, and you help Domon.", Michiya said.

Fuyukai eyed the Inazuma Van while smirking before nearly jumping once he heard Natsumi's strict voice, "Eyeing your work, huh?".

"Natsumi-san… That's no way to speak to your teacher.", Fuyukai turned and replied coldly, trying to hide his nervousness, and that's when he noticed that he was surrounded by all team members and managers.

"You still dare call yourself a teacher?", Sonoko asked in disbelief.

"What kind of teacher ruins the breaks of the team's van? Are you trying to kill us all?", Ran cried.

Fuyukai looked at them with wide eyes before he looked eyes with the only person who could've told them; Domon.

"I told them everything.", Domon said sternly, "I've had enough of you and Kageyama.".

"All of this for the sake of money…", Shinichi sighed in disappointment, "We seriously need less people like you in this world.".

"You brats will never understand and-".

"Don't you dare go and talk about how life is hard and how you had to do this! You're a teacher! You're supposed to take care of your students, not try to kill them!", Aki interrupted him angrily.

"Get out. I never want to see your face in my school. Ever again.", Natsumi said sternly while pointing in the direction of the gates.

Fuyukai said nothing as he slowly walked away, leaving the team by itself.

"Thank you for being honest, Domon-kun.", Aki smiled at Domon who looked away in guilt.

"I still was a spy at Raimon.", He mumbled weakly.

"We aren't mad, you exposed the big bad in the team after all, our supposed coach.", Endou said.

"I would've been actually, had I not seen what Fuyukai did. What you did is tame compared to him.", Someoka shrugged.

"That still leaves the issue of having a coach.", Max pointed out.

Shinichi smiled then, "Don't worry, my uncle will handle this.".

Everyone looked at him quizzically.

"And why… would he?", Kazemaru asked confused.

"Michiya-Ojisan wants to train Teikoku again, so Kageyama has to be taken down, and one of the ways to take him down is us winning, so he'll do his best to help us.", Shinichi explained with a smile.

"Have I ever told you how awesome your family is?", Endou joked.

"Maybe all the time.", Shinichi replied before the team shared a good laugh.

Kidou walked into the manor of his adopted home, thinking about his next move, since Kageyama stooped so low, to the point that he didn't mind Fuyukai killing the Raimon team and-

"Kidou-kun, there you are!". Kidou raised his head and his eyes widened once he saw who was sitting in the living room with his adopted father; Sharon.

"Yuuto, sit.", Kidou Hiroshi said as he motioned towards a nearby seat. Kidou still remained staring at Sharon even as he went and took a seat.

"So, Hiroshi-san, I'm aware about the deal you've done with Kageyama involving Yuuto-kun's sister.", Sharon started with a smile, ignoring how Kidou perked up.

"Yes?", Hiroshi said, unsure of what to say.

"Tell me, is Yuuto-kun just means to an end to you? Because no parent would do this to their son. Forcing them to win by any means so they can get their only living family member back.", Sharon's nice tone changed into a cold one, sending shivers down the spine of both Yuuto and Hiroshi.

"T-that's not true… My late wife and I adopted him because we couldn't have kids… It was her desire… even if I had agreed for Kageyama's sake, I still wanted a kid…", Hiroshi replied earnestly, surprising Kidou, who had always thought he was a means to an end to him.

"Then, I suggest you do your son a favor and forget about this deal with Kageyama. As far as I know, you're supposed to be overseas to deal with your business, not constantly staying here to monitor Kidou and see if he will achieve your stupid target.", Sharon literally scolded the man.

Hiroshi hung his head in disappointment and embarrassment as he said, "I suppose you're right… But Kageyama-".

"I'll deal with him.", Sharon interrupted.

Hiroshi looked at her before he looked at Kidou and said, "Yuuto… I'm sorry about everything… I… the loss of my wife made me bitter towards life… to the point that I forgot that I care about you too… You can talk to your sister if you want and do as you please… I'll have to go back to my work and travel overseas, so you're free…".

Kidou remained silent before a smile spread on his face, a smile of a son to his father who finally realized that he does truly care about him.

"Take care of yourself, father.", Kidou replied.

Sharon then got up as she said, "Yuuto-kun, your welcome to stay at my house while your father's abroad if you'd like. My house is big with several guest rooms, so you don't have to worry yourself.".

Kidou looked at Sharon gratefully before he asked, "Did Tatsuya have a hand in this?".

"Who else do you think kept on nagging to help you by any means?", Sharon slightly smirked.

"Tell him he'll be seeing me at his home a lot then.", Kidou smirked.

"I'd like a bowl of ramen please.", Michiya ordered once he entered the small shop before he sat across the table from the cook.

"Coming right… up…", The cook trailed off once he saw Michiya and asked, "Well, it's been awhile, Kudou.".

"I could say the same to you, Hibiki-kantoku.", Michiya smiled at the former Legendary goalkeeper of Inazuma Eleven; Hibiki Seigou.

"So, what can I help you with? Surely you didn't just come for Ramen.", Hibiki deduced.

"We're making a move against Kageyama.", Michiya said, "Sharon has technically freed Kidou, Shinichi has helped Domon and exposed Fuyukai, and there is only one thing left.".

"Which is?", Hibiki asked curiously.

"Raimon needs a coach, and I'd like to ask you to be their coach.", Michiya said as Hibiki placed the bowl across him.

"It's been awhile since I had done this Michiya… Kageyama had become stronger than ever and no one could stop him.", Hibiki sighed in defeat.

"Not this time, I think we've got a chance. Kisaki-san, my lawyer, is working on the last evidence in order to put him behind bars once and for all!", Michiya insisted, "We have to fix what he has done, and that includes helping Raimon.".

Hibiki remained silent before Michiya sighed, "Won't you do it for Endou Daisuke's grandson, at least? That kid is a spitting image of him in everything.".

Hibiki let out a sigh before he smiled at Michiya, "When do I get to meet the team then?".

"Come on everyone! If we keep on practicing, we can master this Hissatsu tactic!", Shinichi cried as he passed the ball to Shourin, who passed it to Shishido, then Domon, then Gouenji, then Someoka, and finally back to Shinichi.

"Go on everyone!", Endou cheered from the goal post, before he noticed two people standing at the side of the field, Michiya, and the ramen cook.

Everyone else on the team and managers also noticed them, so they dropped what they were doing and walked towards them, wondering what's going on, while Shinichi was smiling.

"Everyone, meet your new coach; the former legendary goalkeeper of Inazuma Eleven; Hibiki Seigou.", Michiya introduced Hibiki.

"WAIT! YOU'RE TELLING ME THE CHEF IS THE HIBIKI SEIGOU?!", Endou cried in disbelief and awe.

"Yeah, he does have Daisuke's antics indeed.", Hibiki slightly smirked before he crossed his arms, "I hope you all are ready for what I have in store for you.".

"We are ready!", the Raimon team chorused, feeling excited that they finally got a proper coach who was going to train them.

Chapter Text

"What?! Where is Kidou?! What do you mean you won't listen to me anymore?!", Kageyama cried in the phone as he spoke to Hiroshi, "Fine I don't need you anymore!".

He then closed the phone roughly and rested in his chair, wondering what he will do next. From what he just heard from Hiroshi, Kidou was no longer under his control, thanks to the efforts of the Kudou family.

"Kudou…", Kageyama growled.

"What?". His eyes narrowed once he heard Michiya's voice. He glanced to sideways to see Michiya standing with the police detective Onigawara Gengorou, Endou, Hibiki, Gouenji, Shinichi, Kidou, Sakuma, Genda, Tatsuya, and lawyer Kisaki Eri.

"What an interesting bunch.", He mused.

"I will no longer work under you, I'm free now.", Kidou said determinedly.

"We are the same as him.", Genda answered for him and Sakuma.

"Guys…", Kidou said, slightly touched.

"We were all tolerating you anyways.", Sakuma pointed out.

"I don't think you I need to tell you that I was a spy for my father, correct?", Tatsuya slightly smirked.

"I don't need any of you anyways.", Kageyama told the players before he looked at Hibiki, Michiya, and Onigawara and said, "But you three are a sight for sore eyes.".

"And this sight will put you behind bars.", Eri said coolly as she adjusted her glasses.

"Despite Kisaki-san here gathering enough evidence to put you behind bars, I still want to ask you multitude of questions about what happened 40 years ago, and about the case you framed Kudou-san with.", Onigawara said before he smirked, "And the guy you appointed coach has been taken after Tatsuya-kun spotted him trying to hand some of the players steroids.".

"How desperate are you to win?", Shinichi mumbled.

"You're worse than I thought.", Gouenji said.

"Soccer is nothing of what you do! It's about friendship and competition, not schemes and traps!", Endou cried.

"Foolish children.", Kageyama snorted at their words.

"Be careful of how you speak to my son and nephew, and their friends.", Michiya threatened with a deadly glare.

"Fine, I'll accompany you two.", Kageyama said as he eyed Hibiki even though he was directing his words towards Eri and Onigawara, and the three left the office together.

"So, what now?", Endou asked.

"Due to what just happened, the finals match between Teikoku and Raimon will be delayed, and I received a letter from the Football Association that I can resume coaching again.", Michiya explained before he smiled, "You lot have got a week to train with your new coaches then.".

"Yes!", Tatsuya pumped his fist in the air, "Oyaji is back where he belongs!".

"Now the finals will be even more interesting!", Endou smiled widely before he turned to Kidou and raised his hand, "May the better team win.".

Kidou smiled back at him, a genuine smile, and shook his hand, "May the better team indeed win.".

The evening today at the Kudou Household was gleeful, for not only was Kageyama finally in Police custody but Michiya was back to coaching and was proven to be innocent.

Endou, Gouenji, Sakuma, Genda, Kidou, Natsumi, Haruna, Aki, Sonoko, Hibiki, Eri, and the Akai family had been invited by Shinichi, Tatsuya, and Sharon, but Eri, Aki, and Sonoko declined the invitation politely because they had personal matters to deal with.

They were either standing or sitting and chatting in the spacious living room.

"Where to next?", Sakuma asked with a smile glancing above at Asami, who sat on his shoulders, and he held her legs to keep her balanced. To the Teikoku group, Asami was their little sister too, so they loved playing with her often.

"Next to the dining table!", Asami cried happily in between her laughs.

"Aye aye captain.", Sakuma replied.

Akemi watched the scene and glanced at Sharon, to see a wide happy smile on her face while glancing often with love at Michiya.

"Sharon-san seems genuinely very happy.", Akemi said to Shuichi, who was standing next to her.

Shuichi said nothing for a few seconds before he said, "Will you follow me somewhere?".

"Sure.", She said as he walked outside the house from the back door, following him.

"That Penguin the Hand hissatsu was epic!", Endou told Genda.

"Seriously, the first thing you talk about is soccer when this is the first proper conversation you have?", Natsumi commented in disbelief.

"Come on, Natsumi! He is a great goalkeeper, and I want to know more about his technique.", Endou defended his decision.

"Endou-kun…", Natsumi sweat dropped.

Genda slightly smirked however, for he did not miss the way Natsumi looked at Endou before she approached him. He could tell she had a thing for Endou, but the latter was apparently too dense to notice it.

"I don't mind anyways, but I thought I should come up with a new Hissatsu after I saw your Nekketsu Punch. Pretty badass, I have to say.", Genda replied before he smirked again, "But your team seems very organized, looks like you've got a good manager.".

"Yes! Natsumi is the best head manager ever! She leads the other girls, looks for information about the other teams for us, and speaks on our behalf if anything happens. She's amazing!", Endou rambled on about Natsumi with a wide smile, stating nearly every good quality she had.

Genda glanced at Natsumi to see her blushing before she looked at him and he nodded at her as he mouthed, 'Thank me later.'.

"Kageyama had a strange smile on his face as he was taken away.", Kidou recalled from where he sat on one of the couches.

"A man like him will definitely have a plan B for what happened.", Shiho replied as she sat next to him before she turned to face him and said, "What you did for your sister is very brave.".

Kidou slightly smiled at her, "You think so?".

"I… kind of done the same for Ake-Masami…", Shiho replied slowly, almost exposing her real identity and her sister's.

Kidou did not miss how she was hesitant while forming an answer nor how she almost said another name instead of her sister's, but he decided not to comment and let things as it is.

"That's because you're a good person.", Kidou replied.

Shiho scoffed but said nothing as she thought, 'Good, huh?'.

Kidou then looked up at where Haruna was standing, and frowned that she was talking to Gouenji.

"Haruna, Kidou is your older brother, isn't he?", Gouenji asked straight to the point.

Haruna looked at him in disbelief, "H-How-".

"Your looks and interaction with him told me everything.", Gouenji said.

Haruna sighed with a nod, "But he refuses to talk to me.".

"He was trying to protect you.", Tatsuya said as he approached her before he quickly explained the deal between Kidou and Kageyama.

He then smiled, "So, your brother was pretending to be a jerk, but he was doing the right thing.".

"He could've told me…", Haruna mumbled.

"I wanted to.", Kidou said, and both turned to him, "But if Kageyama had found out, he wasn't going to let you live peacefully. I'm sorry about everything, Haruna. Will you forgive me?".

Haruna started to cry before she hugged Kidou while mumbling, "Oniichan.".

Kidou returned the hug with a smile on his face, before he noted that Gouenji was slightly smiling at the scene, and raised an eyebrow at this.

Masumi approached Tatsuya and asked him curiously, "What's going on?".

"Kidou just made up with his sister, that's all.", Tatsuya smiled.

"Otonashi is his sister?", Masumi asked him surprised.

"They were adopted by separate families after their parents' died.", Tatsuya nodded.

"What's on your mind?", Ran asked as she approached Shinichi, who was staring back and forth at the Akai family members present.

"I don't know Ran, but I think the Akai family is hiding something.", Shinichi said before he looked at Shiho, "Especially her.".

"Maybe because you two weren't introduced properly to her.", Fuyuka suggested before she grabbed both of them and walked towards Shiho, who looked up at her curiously.

"Ai-chan, meet my nephew and his friend; Kudou Shinichi, and Mouri Ran.", Fuyuka said with a smile, "They'd like to be your friends.".

"Umm… Hello?", Shiho said.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you, I hope we can be great friends!", Ran said happily.

"I hear your Teikoku's tactics manager, I wonder how good you are?", Shinichi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You will know a week from now.", Shiho slightly smirked, feeling competi

"What is it, Shuichi?", Akemi asked once she and Shuichi stood in the backyard under the moonlight.

"I've been thinking about whether I should do this or not, considering how dangerous my life can be. But I realized, especially after talking to my mother, that the best way to protect you, is to be by your side.", Shuichi said, "I love you Akemi, I really do.".

"Shuichi…", Akemi said feeling touched from his words.

Shuichi then knelt on one knee, making her gasp in disbelief, pulling out a small box, and opening it to show a shiny diamond ring.

"Miyano Akemi, will you marry me?", He proposed.

Akemi's eyes started filling with tears before she cried, "Y-Yes!".

Shuichi placed the ring on her finger before he got up and hugged her, kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you too, Shu.", Akemi replied with all the love she had for him.

"Someone's happy.", Hibiki noted once he saw Michiya pouring for himself another drink, before he poured for Hibiki.

"I'm finally back doing what I love.", Michiya said with a smile.

"I know you, boy. You aren't just happy for that, something else is going on.", Hibiki pointed out.

"Who knows?", Michiya shrugged with a smirk.

"You really do care about this family.", Mary told Vermouth from where they stood kneeling on the walls, their drinks in their hands.

"You still had doubt about that?", Sharon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your history makes it unbelievable.", Mary pointed out, "But now I can genuinely see that you've changed. That doesn't mean you're off my radar though.".

"Fine by me, as long as our growing family will be safe.", Sharon smiled.

"Growing family?", Mary repeated as she watched Sharon nod at Michiya, and both moved to the middle of the room.

"Everyone, there's a little announcement we would like to make. Our family's about to grow even bigger.", Michiya said with a wide smile.

"What do yo mean?", Asami asked as Sakuma helped her down off his shoulders.

Fuyuka, however, smiled widely, "Okaasan, you're pregnant?!".

Sharon nodded at her with a wide smile. Fuyuka ran towards her and hugged her, feeling elated with Tatsuya following, slowly registering the information.

"I'm gonna be a big sister!", Asami cried happily as she ran towards her mother. Tatsuya and Fuyuka moved away from Sharon so she can carry Asami.

"Yes, you are!", Sharon laughed.

"I told you you were happy because of something else, and it turns out you were happy because of the greatest thing ever.", Hibiki smiled at Michiya before he patted him on the back, "Congratulations!".

"Congratulations, Sharon-san!", The other boys and girls chorused while Shiho blinked as she stared at Michiya and Sharon, still not used to the idea of her being a mother and wife.

"Thank you everyone!", Sharon replied in English.

Kidou noticed her confusion and wondered about what was going on, especially since he noted that Mary had the same facial expression.

"What's going on?", Akemi asked once she and Shuichi returned.

"Sharon's pregnant.", Michiya informed her.

Akemi felt elated and clapped her hands happily, "Congratulations! That's so amazing!".

Mary then noticed the ring on Akemi's finger, "Is that a ring?".

"I proposed, and she said yes.", Shuichi nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Today is just full of happiness, isn't it?", Michiya chuckled, "On my and Sharon's behalf, Congratulations!".

"Hurt her and you're dead.", Shiho threatened coldly.

"Where did that come from?", Sakuma blinked at the tone.

"It's a siblings thing.", Haruna and Kidou chorused.

"Yes! Does that mean I can help with the wedding?", Masumi asked happily.

"Yes, you can! And everyone is invited!", Akemi announced.

Today was indeed, a special day for everyone.

The Next Day,

Teikoku Academy Football Pitch,

"Come on everyone! With this rate we won't beat Raimon!", Michiya cried from the side of the pitch.

"You'll be okay Jimon-kun, you just twisted your ankle while playing.", Akemi assured Jimon as she placed an ice bag on it.

"Arigatou, Masami-san.", Jimon replied with a smile.

Masumi held a small board that had a tactic written on, with he, Shiho, and Fuyuka talking about it.

"Let's change the tactic to this.", Shiho said as she pulled out a marker and changed the tactic.

"This is difficult than the previous one.", Fuyuka noted.

"We are gonna need to push them further in physical training for that.", Masumi noted.

"Come on everyone!", Kidou cried as he passed the ball to Doumen who passed it to Henmi then Sakiyama, Gojou, Banjou, Narukami, Oono, and then kicked it high in the air back to Kidou.

Kidou kicked the ball towards Sakuma and Tatsuya, who both kicked it towards Genda, and the latter caught it.

"Let's work together to defeat Raimon!", Kidou cried, his passion making Shiho look at him in awe, missing how Fuyuka and Masumi noticed her expression and smiled knowingly.

"Yeah!", The rest of the team cried.

Meanwhile,

Raimon Football Pitch,

"Do you call this playing soccer?! Give me the best you've got!", Hibiki cried from the side of the pitch.

"I can already tell from the social media that the match is being watched by all middle schools in Japan! We are gonna have a packed crowd.", Sonoko noted as she scrolled on her phone.

"Worth a story in Raimon.", Haruna nodded before she turned to Shishido, Megane, and Handa who were training outside the pitch, waiting for their turn, "Push yourself harder! Both of you!".

Natsumi, Ran, and Aki stared at the wheeled chalkboard, and Aki picked up the chalk and drew a tactic.

"Let's try this one, it's better to be ready with more than one tactic.", Aki said.

"I'll re-edit the program to push the guys even harder, will the match be played here or at Teikoku?", Ran asked Natsumi.

"Since Teikoku have been the reigning champions, the match will be played at their field.", Natsumi replied.

"Come on everyone!", Endou cried as he kicked the ball, passing it to Kageno who passed it to Kabeyama then Kurimatsu, Domon, Shourin, Max, Kazemaru, and Shinichi.

He dribbled the ball before he passed it to both Someoka and Gouenji, and they kicked it towards Endou, who caught it.

"Let's work together to defeat Teikoku!", Endou cried, his passion making Natsumi look at him in awe, missing how the girls noticed her expression and smiled knowingly.

"Yeah!", The rest of the team cried.

Chapter Text

Teikoku Academy Stadium,

"We are here everyone! The match you've all waited for! Raimon vs Teikoku!", Kakuma cried at the top of his lungs.

The Raimon Managers with the coach stood on the right side of the field while the left side had the Teikoku Managers with their coach.

Both teams walked out and turned to face each other. Despite knowing that the Teikoku players were acting all the time with Kageyama, the Raimon players did not easily forgive the mockery and pain they received in their very first match.

"This will be an interesting match.". Aki turned to the girl who had spoken up. She was talking to a girl that had long auburn hair, brown eyes, light complexion, and was wearing casual clothes, while sitting on a wheelchair.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Aki.", She replied.

"No problem Mai, I know how much you care about Domon and would love to see him play again.", Aki smiled.

At Teikoku's side, and in the front seats, wearing hats and glasses to hide their faces, were Sharon, who had Asami on her lap, Mary, and Shuichi. The stadium was filled with students from both Teikoku and Raimon, and their families.

"I still don't understand why are we attending this.", Shuichi commented.

"You can leave, but then you will be making you're fiancée sad.", Sharon pointed out before she asked curiously, "Have you spoken to Starling?".

"She still doesn't believe it, and she doesn't understand what could you possibly tell her.", Shuichi said.

"Just tell her that it concerns her father, the truth about his death. With evidence.", Sharon replied seriously.

"When will you marry Akemi?", Mary asked seriously.

"Two weeks from now.", Shuichi replied.

Endou and Kidou shook hands, with the latter squeezing his hand and smirked, "May the better team win.".

"You bet!", Endou replied with a smirk.

Kidou then looked at Shinichi, and smirked even more, with Shinichi mirroring his smirk.

"Let's see who's the better goalkeeper.", Genda said as the players moved to take their positions.

"Let's do it!", Endou nodded.

The Raimon players stood on the right side while Teikoku players stood on the left.

Raimon Team

Formation: 4-3-1-2

Coach: Hibiki Seigou

Managers:

Raimon Natsumi (Head)

Mouri Ran (Physical)

Otonashi Haruna (Medical)

Kino Aki (Tactical)

Suzuki Sonoko (Financial & Media)

GK: Endou (Captain)

DF: Kabeyama, Kazemaru, Kurimatsu, Domon

MF: Shourin, Shishido, Max

AMF: Shinichi

FW: Someoka, Gouenji

Substitutes: Megane, Kageno, Handa

Teikoku Team

Formation: 4-3-1-2

Coach: Kudou Michiya

Managers:

Fuyuka (Head & Finance & Media)

Masumi (Physical)

Masami (Akemi) (Medical)

Ai (Shiho) (Tactics)

GK: Genda

DF: Ono, Banjou, Narukami, Gojou

MF: Jimon, Henmi, Sakiyama

AMF: Kidou

FW: Sakuma, Tatsuya

Substitutes: Hyoudou Yuuhei (GK/12), Ena Kazuki (DF/13), Mikamoto Kei (MF/14), Shibuki Shoudai (MF/15), Ookuso Seiji (FW/16)

Sakuma and Tatsuya stood with the ball, waiting for the referee to whistle to start the kickoff. Tatsuya then looked at Shinichi before he smirked.

Shinichi returned the smirk with his arms crossed, "We are more than ready for you now.".

"We shall see about that.", Tatsuya replied.

The referee whistled, signaling the beginning of the match.

Sakuma kicked the ball to Tatsuya who charged forward.

"Solar Flare!", He used his dribble Hissatsu, passing Someoka, Gouenji, and Shinichi.

"Is that what you mean by ready?!", Tatsuya laughed at Shinichi as he passed him.

Shinichi rubbed his eyes to regain the vision before he smirked, "Don't be so sure.".

Max appeared across Tatsuya that point, "Quick Draw!", and took the ball from him, "Shourin!", And passed it to Shourin.

"You got lucky.", Tatsuya scoffed as he jumped back up.

Shourin dribbled the ball, evading Jimon but Henmi was nearing him.

He held the ball between his feet and spun it in the air, releasing the ball off the field. As the ball landed again, it got covered in swirls of wind and raised up a dusty tornado, blowing their Henmi away as Shourin cried, "Tatsumaki Senpuu! (Whirlwindish Tornado!)".

"Shishido!", Shourin cried as he head butted the ball towards Shishido.

"Killer Slide!", Sakiyama cried as he took the ball from Shishido, sending him flying away.

"Kidou-kun!", Sakiyama passed the ball to Kidou.

Kidou then used his dribble hissatsu to get past Max, "Illusion Ball!".

He was now facing the defenders, just as Sakuma and Tatsuya ran beside him.

Kidou passed the ball to Sakuma who kicked it high, before Tatsuya jumped high while whistling, wings coming out of his back, and penguins coming out of the ground, flying high with him.

"Endou! Be careful!", Shinichi cried.

"Apollo Penguin!", Tatsuya cried as he kicked the ball.

"Heavens Hand!", Endou cried as he used his Hissatsu, and he caught the ball, surprising Tatsuya, before he kicked it towards Max.

"Instant Transmission!", Sakuma cried as he disappeared and reappeared between Max and the ball, intercepting it with his chest, before he kicked it towards Kidou and Tatsuya.

Tatsuya kicked the ball and jumped high while Kidou rushed forward, and Endou's eyes widened, recognizing the Hissatsu.

"Koutei (Emperor) Apollo Penguin Boost!", Kidou and Tatsuya chorused as Kidou sent the ball towards Endou.

"Nekketsu Punch!", Endou cried as he punched the ball, but he let out a cry as it hit him in the face, taking him with it into the goal.

"GOAL! Teikoku scores their first goal with Tatsuya and Kidou's epic Hissatsu!", Kakuma cried.

Teikoku Academy 1 – 0 Raimon Middle School

"Told ya.", Tatsuya smirked at Shinichi as he passed him while walking back to his position.

"We've still got time.", Shinichi replied before he looked at Kidou once he heard him grunt.

"Is that all you've got?", He asked.

"You ain't seen nothing.", Shinichi smirked.

Kidou smirked, "I'm waiting.".

The referee whistled, and the kickoff started with Gouenji passing the ball to Someoka.

"Nobori Ryu!", Someoka used his Hissatsu to pass the forwards, before he passed the ball to Shishido.

"Kudou-kun!", Shishido cried as he jumped, avoiding a tackle from Jinmei, kicking the ball towards Shinichi.

"Eagle Swoop!", Shinichi cried, using his dribble to get past Kidou, who was shocked.

"How do you like that?!", Shinichi laughed, making Kidou smirk at him.

"You're on.", He replied.

"Gouenji!", Shinichi cried and Gouenji nodded.

He passed the ball with golden outline before Gouenji passed it back to him with the same golden outline, repeating the one two back and forth as they cried, "Golden Duo!".

"Someoka!", Shinichi cried once Gouenji passed the ball one last time to him.

"Hunter Drive Crash!", Shinichi and Someoka cried as they kicked the ball with their combined Hissatsu.

Genda whistled, summoning the red penguins from the ground to bite his arm, "Penguin The Hand!".

And he caught the ball, before he kicked it towards Sakiyama.

"Eagle Swoop!", Shinichi cried, rushing with his dribble technique to catch the ball before Sakiyama, before he kicked it high.

"No, you don't!", Kidou cried, deducing what Shinichi was about to do.

Shinichi and Kidou jumped, and both attempted an overhead kick, their legs colliding with the ball. A battle for control over the ball happened between the two for seconds as they battle cried, with everyone watching in disbelief.

Neither of them one, the collision's force sending them flying away in opposite directions, while the ball fell down.

"Someoka, Gouenji, now!", Shinichi cried once he fell on the ground, ignoring his pain from the fall.

"Genda! Watch out!", Kidou cried once he landed on his back on the ground.

"Dragon-", Someoka cried as he kicked the ball high towards Gouenji.

"Tornado!", Gouenji finished as he kicked the ball back towards Genda.

Genda did not have enough time to regain his stance for Penguin the Hand, so he jumped and slammed his fist into the ground as he cried, "Power Shield!", creating the energy field around him.

But the ball broke through the shield, entering the goal's net.

"GOAL! GOUENJI AND SOMEOKA EVEN THE SCORE AFTER KIDOU AND KUDOU'S EPIC COLLISION!".

Teikoku Academy 1 – 1 Raimon Middle School

"Hissatsu are indeed interesting.", Shuichi said impressed.

"Your godson is better than I thought, I thought your son was better.", Mary said.

"They're both amazing.", Sharon smiled and then she placed a hand on her belly, "And so will be this little one.".

"Go Tatsu-nii! Go Shin-nii!", Asami cheered on both of her siblings.

"Shinichi.", Ran mumbled worriedly.

"Don't worry, your boyfriend is tough, he's okay.", Sonoko shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oniisan.", Haruna mumbled.

"Oh come on… do I have to repeat the same thing to you?", Sonoko grumbled.

"I think Raimon and Teikoku are even now.", Aki commented.

"Let's not get too happy yet, until we win.", Natsumi said.

"I agree. I think Michiya has something up his sleeve.", Hibiki nodded.

"Oh, come on!", Masumi cried.

"This whole Hissatsu thing is very dangerous.", Akemi mumbled.

"Is he okay…", Shiho mumbled to herself, looking at Kidou who was helped up by his teammates.

"This match… I have a feeling it will be amazing.", Fuyuka smiled.

"We still have enough time to win, don't worry.", Michiya said to himself before he rubbed his chin as he stared at Kidou and Shinichi.

'This collision… this force… if those two were ever on the same team… they'd be unstoppable.', He thought.

"Sorry, Kidou. I failed to protect the goal.", Genda said as he approached Kidou who was helped back up by Gojou and Banjou.

"It's alright, we all make mistakes. We can still win.", Kidou assured him.

"You okay, Kudou?", Someoka asked after he and Gouenji helped him stand.

"Yeah yeah, it's alright I can continue.", Shinichi nodded before he looked at them both, "It's time.".

Gouenji and Someoka smirked at him and nodded.

The players returned back to their positions before the referee whistled, and the kick off started with Sakuma passing the ball to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya rushed forward and cried, "Solar-".

"Eagle Tackle!", Shinichi cried as he rushed forward, using his tackle to take the ball.

"What the?!", Tatsuya cried as he fell face first from the tackle.

"See you later cousin!", Shinichi laughed, before he got past Sakuma easily.

"Not a chance.", Kidou said as he stood across Shinichi.

Shinichi tried to get past Kidou from both sides, but Kidou would move to the side that he would move to the same side. And when Kidou attempted to press and take the ball from one side, Shinichi would dribble the ball between his legs to the other side.

Everyone watched in amazement as the two genius midfielders were facing each other, showing off their dribbling skills.

"Those two are equal in their skills.", Hibiki noted, "Looks like Michiya's genes reached his nephew too.".

"You're good, I never had such a foe before.", Kidou smirked at Shinichi, having fun from this challenge.

"I couldn't agree more.", Shinichi replied in the same manner, feeling the same, and seeing that Kidou was equal to him and nothing could be done, he performed a back heel pass to Max, who passed it back to Kazemaru, who kicked it high.

Gouenji, Someoka, and Shinichi rushed forward, passing the midfielders and facing the defenders.

Shinichi received the ball on his chest, before he and Someoka performed their shot, "Predator…", they cried as their Eagle and Dragon cried but the ball did not move towards Genda, but moved upwards.

"No way!", Tatsuya cried in disbelief.

Gouenji jumped and spun around himself, forming the fire tornado, before he kicked the ball with his foot and finished, "Tornado!".

The Eagle and Dragon became colored orange, surrounded by fire, as the ball dived down at top speed and strength towards Genda.

"Goddamn it!", Genda cried as he gathered gold energy in both his fists before he jumped high while crying, "Full Power Shield!", and slammed his right fist into the ground, forming a more powerful and larger Power shield, twice the size of the first.

The ball collided with the shield and struggled with it, until the Eagle and Dragon let out a cry, breaking the shield, and the ball entered the goal net.

"GOALLLLL! GOUENJI AND SOMEOKA AND KUDOU COMBINED THEIR STRENGTH INTO A NEW HISSATSU THAT SCORED THE SECOND GOAL FOR RAIMON!", Kakuma cried.

Teikoku Academy 1 – 2 Raimon Middle School

"You're impressive, my nephew, but you ain't the only one with a trick up their sleeve.", Michiya said as he glanced at Tatsuya.

Tatsuya whistled as Sakuma moved close to him, "What an impressive shot.".

"Not that creative, it's the same formula as before.", Sakuma shrugged before he faced Tatsuya with a smirk, "Ready?".

"You bet.", Tatsuya replied in the same manner.

The players returned back to their positions just as the referee whistled, and Tatsuya passed the ball to Sakuma who passed it way back to Sakiyama, while he, Kidou, and Tatsuya rushed forward, getting past all players, who were confused.

"Stop them!", Shinichi cried, having a good guess about what was about to happen.

"Flying Pass!", Sakiyama cried as he kicked the ball high, with green aura surrounding it as it flew high in the air.

Sakuma jumped high and head butted the ball back to Kidou, who rushed forward, and kicked the ball, which resembled a normal Twin Boost hissatsu until Tatsuya appeared next to it, spun, and performed a low over head kick, making the ball glow gold with purple aura, charging towards Endou.

"Tri Boost!", The three chorused.

"Nekketsu Punch Barrage!", Endou cried as he rapidly punched the ball, trying to keep it out, but the ball pushed him away, and entered the goal net.

"G-Goal! Teikoku even the score with their new Hissatsu between their top players; Sakuma, Kudou, and Kidou!", Kakuma cried in disbelief.

Teikoku Academy 2 – 2 Raimon Middle School

The referee whistled, announcing the end of the first half.

"You all did your best in the first half, but you've got to push yourself further if you want to win this match.", Michiya told his players before he raised a finger, "One goal is all what we need.".

"Genda.", He looked at Genda in the eye and told him seriously, "No more goals get past you.".

"Hai!", Genda cried.

"Your father's awesome.", Masumi whispered to Fuyuka.

"Thank you.", Fuyuka smiled.

"Masami, are they all ok?", Michiya turned to Akemi.

"None of the players are injured, and Kidou-kun is okay despite the hard collision that happened between him and Kudou-kun.", Akemi replied.

"Ai, bring out the F-Death Zone formation.", Michiya turned to Shiho.

She raised an eyebrow at him before she picked up a clipboard and showed it to the players, showing the formation to them.

"Five Defenders this time. Gojou, Banjou, Sakiyama, Narukami, and Ono, nothing gets past you, by any means, but no fouls or harming. Narukami, you will be a few steps ahead in the middle, to play the role of both defender and defensive midfielder.", Michiya ordered.

"Hai!", The five players chorused.

"Jimon, you're the right midfielder while Henmi is the left. Kidou, you'll remain attacking midfielder, but be ready for any situation that has you become a center midfielder.", Michiya ordered.

"Hai!", The three players chorused.

"Sakuma and Tatsuya, give this match all you've got.", Michiya ordered the last two players.

"Hai!", Both of them chorused.

"Let's do this.", Michiya nodded at his team, and they returned the nod.

"You did well, even more than I expected, and you followed my orders correctly.", Hibiki said before he placed his arms behind his back, "But you're going to have to push yourself even harder if you want to win this match.".

Domon then glanced at Mai, who smiled at him with so much pride and love, so he ended up looking away, his face blushing deeply red, but a smile on his face.

"The players are okay, no one is injured.", Haruna said.

"Are we going to change our tactics?", Aki asked.

Hibiki nodded, and she brought out a clipboard, showing the team their new tactic formation.

"I'd like to call this tactic the F-Three Top.", Hibiki said, "The Defenders will remain the same, but Kageno will take Kurimatsu's place, and I want nothing to get past you.".

"Hai!", Domon, Kazemaru, Kabeyama, and Kageno cried.

"We'll have three midfielders now; Shourin, Handa instead of Shishido, and Max. All of you are center midfielders.", Hibiki said.

"Hai!", The three chorused.

"Gouenji, you're the striker. Someoka, you're the left wing, and Kudou, you're the right wing.", Hibiki ordered, "Keep kicking the ball towards the goal.".

"Hai!", The three chorused.

"I don't want to see a player not moving on the field!", Hibiki ordered.

"Yes sir!", The players cried.

"And Endou, show me what you can truly do.", Hibiki said.

"Hai!", Endou cried.

"We are back ladies and gentlemen for the second half, and it seems that both teams changed their formation, and Raimon changed two of their players. We've got Handa Shinichi in Shishido's place, and Kageno Jin in Kurimatsu's place. Let's see who will win this match to be the winner of the Kantou Qualifiers in the Football Frontier! And remember, the second place would also qualify to the national tournament with the winners!", Kakuma cried.

The referee whistled, and the kickoff started with Someoka passing the ball to Gouenji, and what happened next was a battlefield.

Not a single Hissatsu that any player could use right now, that the players did not use to tackle, dribble, pass, and try to shoot.

The teams were indeed even in strength. Their possession, passes, shots on target were all equal.

Whether it was Gouenji, Someoka, or Shinichi who would shoot, Genda would catch the ball. Whether it was Kidou, Sakuma, or Tatsuya who would shoot, Endou would catch the ball.

The match was filled with excitement, and the players could not help but smile during the play while the students above would cheer them on.

But then it happened, Tatsuya, Kidou, and Sakuma managed to get past the midfielders and use their shot, "Tri Boost!".

"Volcano Cut!", Domon cried as he used his Hissatsu but the shot broke through, now slightly weaker, and headed towards Endou.

"Heavens Hand!", Endou cried, using his Hissatsu, but he struggled to gain control, feeling the ball pushing him back.

"Endou!", the Raimon players cried.

"No… We won't lose… We are going to win this tournament!", Endou cried as he pushed his other hand next the one with the palm avatar, forming a second golden palm as he cried, "Twin Heavens Hand!".

"What the?! Where did that come from?!", Tatsuya cried in disbelief as Endou caught the ball, causing the crowd to go wild even more.

"Kazemaru!", Endou passed the ball to Kazemaru.

"Shipuu Dash!", Kazemaru cried as he used his Hissatsu to get past Sakuma and Kidou before he passed to Handa.

"Kudou!", Handa cried and Shinichi nodded.

Handa and Shinichi slammed their feet on the ball, creating multiple copies of the ball that floated around them, hiding them from the sight of everyone.

And suddenly, one ball was kicked with blue aura, heading with top speed towards Gouenji as the balls disappeared while they chorused, "Shin-Ichi! (Truth One!)".

"Did you just make a hissatsu out of your common first name?", Tatsuya mumbled in disbelief before he narrowed his eyes at Gouenji, "You're mine!".

"Zigzag Dash!", He cried as lightning surrounded him before he moved as a yellow blur in a zigzag motion swiftly, getting past all the players, and appearing across Gouenji, just as the latter attempted to kick the ball.

Tatsuya let out a battle cry as he attempted to kick the ball from the other side, both boys fighting over whose force would be capable of kicking the ball ahead.

If Kidou and Shinichi's collision was impressive, then this was even more impressive, as everyone saw the fire-colored gold and red forming around the ball, before a literal explosion of energy happened, sending both players away, and the ball flying high in the air.

But Gouenji ignored his pain and cried, "Kabeyama!".

"Right here!", Kabeyama cried as he and Gouenji jumped up, but much to everyone's shock, Endou appeared, and jumped up with them too. He and Gouenji jumped off Kabeyama's stomach with a battle cry, before they both kicked the ball in an overhead manner at Genda.

"Inazuma Otoshi Ichigo!", The three chorused.

Genda growled before he jumped and slammed his fist into the ground, creating the shield, "Full Power Shield!".

The ball collided with the shield, struggling to break through, until it finally did, and the ball entered the goal.

"GOALLLLL! RAIMON GOES AHEAD WITH ANOTHER GOAL FROM GOUENJI, ENDOU, AND KABEYAMA!", Kakuma cried.

Teikoku Academy 2 – 3 Raimon Middle School

The referee then whistled, signaling the end of the second match, and announcing Raimon as the winner of the Kantou qualifiers.

"WE WON!", Endou cried, the players now cheering around him, and the managers ran towards them, while Hibiki smiled proudly.

Domon, on the other hand, rushed towards Mai, and knelt on one knee to her height, "Mai-chan!".

"Asuka, you did well this match!", Mai said with a wide smile, "And Aki told me everything about what happened with Kageyama. I'm so proud of you.".

"I did it for you Mai-chan.", Domon said with a smile as he held her hand.

"I know, Asuka… I know.", Mai nodded.

"You were amazing, Endou-kun!", Natsumi cried as she hugged Endou, before she noticed what she had just done, and let go off him, her face blushing.

"W-Well done…", She mumbled.

"Uh… thanks?", Endou said with his tilted, a small smile on his face, liking how Natsumi hugged him

"Finally you're realizing there are some things better than soccer.", Sonoko scoffed with a smirk.

"Gouenji-kun, are you okay?!", Haruna cried worriedly, still feeling worried after his clash with Tatsuya.

"It's alright, Haruna-san. I'm okay.", Gouenji assured her with a smile.

"I'm glad… I don't want you to get hurt.", Haruna mumbled, a small blush on her face.

Gouenji blinked, not knowing what to say. He liked how Haruna was worried about him, but he could not understand why was this important to him.

He smiled faintly, "Don't worry Haruna. With a medic like you on our team, I'll be okay.".

His words made her blush even more, and she looked away in embarrassment.

"You did it!", Ran cried as she hugged Shinichi, and he laughed as he spun with her around.

"With you supporting me, I'm unstoppable!", Shinichi cried with a laugh.

Ran stared at him as he put her down, and she kissed him on the cheek, and instead of turning away, he returned the kiss, making her blush even further as she looked at him in disbelief.

"I love you, Ran!", He cried. His happiness at winning and defeating Teikoku made him even more confident to finally confess his feelings, in front of everyone.

Ran's disbelief changed to extreme happiness before she replied in the same manner, "I love you too, Shinichi!".

"Kantoku…", Kidou mumbled as he and the players surrounded Michiya, all of them feeling sad and disappointed.

"What's wrong with you?", Michiya asked seriously, "You lost one match and now you're depressed? We've qualified despite everything, and one loss isn't going to stop us!".

"Kantoku.", Genda mumbled, as he and the rest of the team felt their spirits being raised at his words.

"Be proud, you played fair and square, and qualified. We've still got a long way to go, if we want to reach the finals and face Raimon again.", Michiya said before he smiled, "If you want to make it to the Japanese representative team.".

Michiya's words made the team smile and nod at each other, feeling their depression change into happiness and pride.

"You did your best, niichan, and I'm proud of you.", Fuyuka told Tatsuya, "I'm proud of you all.".

"With a great sister like you, nothing is impossible.", Tatsuya said before he turned to Masumi with a smile, "And I can't possibly forget our amazing physical manager!".

Masumi blushed at charming smile, and replied, "T-Thank you!".

"We helped too, you know.", Shiho mumbled.

"Let him be, he's trying to impress his crush.", Akemi chuckled just as Kidou walked towards Shiho.

"So, did I prove to you that I'm a great captain and player?", He asked with a smirk.

Shiho blinked before she shrugged with a smile, "I have to say, I have never seen a player like you before, and you were the most impressive player on the field.".

"Well, since I succeeded in impressing you, you'll go out with me tomorrow.", Kidou said, making Shiho look at him in disbelief.

"What?!", She cried, "I did not agree upon that!".

"But you did not refuse now.", He pointed out, making her blink in shock, before he walked away.

The Teikoku players started shaking hands with the Raimon players as Michiya approached Hibiki and said, "That was an entertaining match.".

"Indeed, it reminded me of the good old days when soccer was about having fun.", Hibiki agreed as he shook hands with Michiya.

"I'm impressed with how you came out with Twin Heavens Hand out of nowhere.", Genda complimented Endou.

"Full Power Shield was epic too!", Endou replied.

"You're stronger than I thought.", Tatsuya told Gouenji.

"And you are full of surprises.", Gouenji replied before he turned to Sakuma, "And you're an unexpected player.".

Sakuma shrugged, "I can't let my opponents know my next move.".

Kidou and Shinichi shook hands as the first said, "You're indeed my real rival.".

"Becoming rivals might be the main reason that made me get stronger.", Shinichi said.

Tatsuya then wrapped his arm around Shinichi's head and started ruffling his hair as he cried, "Since when did you become so strong and talented, huh?! I thought you were just a mystery geek!".

"Shut up, you seaweed haired idiot!", Shinichi laughed as he freed himself from Tatsuya's grip, and the players of both teams laughed together.

"I'll admit, that was an interesting match.", Shuichi commented.

"Shin-niichan and Tatsu-niichan were amazing!", Asami cried happily as she clapped.

"Yes, they were Asami, your father trained them both well.", Sharon nodded, staring down at the two boys with a proud smile, before her eyes landed on Michiya.

She did not notice how Mary was looking at her interest, before she slightly smiled.

'Love has truly changed you, Vermouth.', She thought.

Chapter Text

‘What am I doing here again?’, Jodie thought to herself as she looked around. She was sitting at a table in a park, waiting for Vermouth, as this place was her suggestion.

Jodie rubbed her temples, asking herself for the second time, why did she agree for this meeting. She definitely did not talk to Vermouth, it was Shuichi who told her where and when Vermouth wanted to meet her once she agreed.

Now she was starting to regret that she agreed.

She narrowed her eyes once she spotted Vermouth (as Sharon Vineyard) arriving but she raised an eyebrow once she spotted the two girls she was holding hands with, one was a four year old while the other was a middle school-aged girl.

Once Sharon was near Jodie, she turned to Fuyuka and said, “Yuka-chan, take Asami to the kids area and have fun you two, while I have a talk with Miss Starling. Don’t take your eyes off her, okay?.”.

“Okay, Kaasan.”, Fuyuka nodded with a smile as she picked up Asami and walked away towards the kids area, with Asami pointing at the swing, wanting to try it first.

“Sorry I’m late. I forgot that I promised Asami I’d take her to the park, that’s why I asked to meet you here.”, Sharon said as she took a seat across Jodie.

Jodie remained silent, her eyes slowly moving towards Asami and Fuyuka, with the first sitting on the swing while the second gently pushed her, both laughing.

“The little girl looks like you, the eldest doesn’t. They’re your daughters, aren’t they? And the oldest is adopted.”, Jodie deduced, her voice cold and emotionless.

“Correct.”, Sharon nodded.

“So, the whole story of you being married to Kudou Michiya and having three kids is true, I thought it was just a part of your cover story.”, Jodie said, narrowing her eyes angrily, “Does your family know what you really are?”.

Sharon said nothing before she let out a heavy sigh as she pulled out of her bag a flash drive, and placed it in front of Jodie.

“I did not kill David.”, She said.

“Don’t think your little act and lies will fool me!”, Jodie sneered.

“You can ask me about all the people the FBI suspects I killed and I’ll tell you the truth, but David ain’t one of them. When I arrived, he was already dead, and I was checking his pulse, investigating the scene myself, which is why his glasses ended up in my hands.”, Sharon explained calmly, ignoring the scoff she received from Jodie.

“Let’s say your story is correct, where did the files he gathered about you go? And who actually did it? And why are you even helping me?”, Jodie asked suspiciously.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise once she spotted the sadness and anger in Sharon’s eyes.

“It wasn’t enough for my grandfather, the boss, to kill my parents, including my father who left the Organization to live peacefully with my mother, when I was 7 years old and raise me to be an assassin… I fell in love with an American guy named John Walker… We married and had a girl named Hope, and I lived in America back then.”, Sharon mumbled.

“John Walker? That was my father’s best friend, he was an ex-FBI Agent back then.”, Jodie recognized, “He spoke about him a lot.”.

“David Starling, your father, was his best man during our secret wedding, and I started helping the FBI secretly then, in exchange of the protection of my child… but the organization found out… They didn’t figure out that John was an agent, they thought he was a civilian… I came home to find them both dead, bullets in their head… that was a year before your father was killed… When I met the boss, he told me that they were a distraction… that they deserved to die since I did not make them join the Organization…”, Sharon explained. Her voice was filled with emotions, until she mentioned the Organization, and her voice became filled with loathe and anger.

“The files David had that were on me were a diversion in case the files were found, but I actually handed him other files on other members of the Organization, and he hid them well. I took those files before I burned the building, as the Organization sent me to confirm the kill. I already knew you were out of the house, and I had called the emergencies to arrive before I burned down the building.”, Sharon continued before she pulled out a file and placed it next to the flash drive.

“This is the file I took, you deserve to have it.”, Sharon said.

Jodie remained silent, trying to digest the new information while eyeing the file and flash drive. Part of her still believed that Vermouth was lying while a very small part believed her story.

“So, what do you exactly want from me?”, Jodie asked, straight to the point.

“I want to protect my family, and I want to help you take the Organization down. It’s going to take a group effort to take them all down, and we can’t afford having other government agents working against each other.”, Sharon explained.

“Other government agents? You mean there are other intelligence services involved other than the FBI and MI6?”, Jodie asked curiously.

“I have no doubt that the NPA SB or the PSB have placed a spy among us for Japan, and there is a woman I suspect to be from the CIA.”, Sharon replied.

“Think you can actually figure them out?”, Jodie asked challengingly.

“Oh please, I ain’t the boss’s favorite just for being related to him.”, Sharon scoffed with an eye roll.

“Mama!”, Asami cried as she ran towards Sharon, Fuyuka following her behind.

Jodie blinked, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this…’.

“Did you have fun?”, Sharon asked as she got up, placing her bag on her shoulder, before she picked up Asami in her arms.

“Yeah! Yuka-neechan made sure I tried all slides and swings as I wanted.”, Asami nodded with a wide smile.

“As you always do.”, Sharon chuckled, directing her words toward Fuyuka.

“As any cool big sister should.”, Fuyuka shrugged with a smile.

“I’ll see you around, Starling. I left my card in those files, if you need anything or want to ask about anything.”, Sharon turned to Jodie as she informed her.

She started walking away as she said, “I’ll see you around.”.

“Bye Miss Starling!”, Asami said in English as she waved over Sharon’s shoulder with a smile while Fuyuka silently waved, before she walked next to Sharon.

Jodie slowly waved back, a quizzical expression on her face as she thought, ‘What the hell just happened?’.

Suzuki Manor,

Sonoko walked downstairs, wearing her casual clothes, wanting to head to the Raimon Soccer Club, to watch the team practice, and discuss with Natsumi and Haruna some new strategies to attract sponsors to the school and support Raimon on Social Media.

“It’s always good to see you my friend!”, She heard her father say.

She looked up once she reached the end of the stairs to her parents sitting across another man and a woman, who Sonoko noted that she was Korean from her appearance.

She spotted her sister going upstairs, passing by her, so she asked, “Who are those?”.

Ayako turned toward her as she replied, “You don’t know them? This is Afuro Hisagi and his wife Jiyun. They’re friends of our parents and the current owners of the Afuro Zaibatsu.”.

Sonoko rolled her eyes, “Business as usual… Don’t they have any normal friends?”.

She motioned her sister off as she said, “I don’t want to do anything with this. I certainly don’t want my life to be just about business.”.

“Whatever you say.”, Ayako shrugged before she continued on her path.

“I wholeheartedly agree with you.”. Sonoko blinked at the unfamiliar voice before she turned left, in the direction of where the guest bathrooms would be, and she blushed at the sight of the boy approaching her.

She was sure he was her age from how he looked, but she could tell despite wearing casual clothes, that he was some sort of athlete from his height and built, but what caught her interest the most was his long blonde hair, and his eyes.

In short, he was mesmerizing.

“It’s not polite to stare.”, He chuckled.

Sonoko blinked before she shook her head and glared at the boy, “I wasn’t staring. Don’t flatter yourself; whoever you are.”.

The boy raised his hand toward her as he said, “Afuro Terumi, but I prefer to be called by my nickname; Aphrodi.”.

“Suzuki Sonoko.”, She said as she shook his hand, but he surprised her by bringing her hand close to him, and kissing the top of it.

“A pleasure to meet the Financial Manager of Raimon.”, He said as he let go off her hand.

“You know who I am?”, Sonoko blinked. This was the first time she was recognized for being one of Raimon’s managers not the Suzuki heiress.

“I see nothing special in being born an heir of a Zaibatsu, it was all luck. But you made your own choice about being a manager.”, Aphrodi said, “Besides, all of the teams are studying Raimon since we’re entering the serious part of the tournament.”.

“We? Are you a soccer player?”, She asked curiously.

“I’m the captain of Zeus Academy.”, He replied with a tone full of pride as he played with a hair strand.

“First time I see a fashionable soccer player, thought all of you were wild or careless.”, She mumbled honestly.

Aphrodi laughed, “Someone nicknamed the ruler of the skies like me must definitely look the part.”.

“Terumi, come on!”, Jiyun called as she and Hisagi stood up, preparing to leave, before they turned to say their goodbyes to Shiro and Tomoko.

“I’ll see you around then, Princess.”, Aphrodi said as he walked away, leaving a stunned and flabbergasted Sonoko.

‘P-Princess?’, The word echoed in her mind as her eyes stared at Aphrodi, unable to take them off him.

Michiya watched as his team finished practice, and he heard his phone ring in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and answered, “Yes?”.

“I hate to be the bringer of bad news…”, Eri sighed heavily on the other side of the phone.

“What is it, Kisaki-san?”, Michiya asked worriedly.

“Kageyama escaped police custody.”, She said coldly. Michiya remained silent, trying to hide the worry he felt on his face, so his children and team would not notice anything wrong.

“He’ll be after you, so be careful. I’m still working with Detective Onigawara to find him.”, Eri replied, “Kogoro even joined the team, and he’s contacting Megure to help.”.

“Thank you, Eri. Keep in touch.”, Michiya replied lowly before he ended the call.

He remained passive as the team members and managers said goodbye to each other, before he returned back home with Tatsuya, since Fuyuka was with her mother and little sister.

Later,

“So, is there anything you find interesting in your life other than soccer?”, Shiho asked as she walked side by side with Kidou.

“I like reading books and solving mysteries, basically anything that challenges my intellect, I like it.”, Kidou replied.

“And what’s with the cape you often wear?”, Shiho changed the subject, cursing her luck that she ended up with someone smart who could figure out she was using a fake identity.

“It looks cool, there’s nothing wrong in that.”, Kidou shrugged.

“And the penguins?”, She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I like them. Not everything needs to have a philosophy or symbolism in it to be named or used.”, Kidou pointed out.

‘Yeah, I lived my life in an organization that had its own deranged philosophy and symbolism.’, Shiho thought.

“So, tell me more about yourself.”, Kidou asked curiously.

“There is nothing special about me… Nor my family… I just recently reunited with my aunt and cousins, after living in hell with my sister with those who murdered my parents.”, Shiho spat bitterly, “I don’t think you’d understand.”.

“Living in hell? Kind of. Losing both parents? Definitely.”, Kidou explained, surprising Shiho, before he told her his and Haruna’s story, and the truth about him about him being brutal during soccer matches.

“I knew bits of the story, but I didn’t think it would go this far…”, Shiho mumbled, “This Kageyama guy is deranged.”.

“Don’t I know it, Ai-chan?”, Kidou chuckled.

Kidou took Shiho into one of the best cafes in the city, and despite Shiho playing it cool, she actually felt happy while spending those hours with Kidou. She did not have the pleasure of having a friend, let alone a boyfriend, especially whenever she recalled that agent who would stalk her.

But this new life with her aunt, being a manager for Teikoku, becoming friends with Fuyuka, Shinichi, Ran, Genda, Sakuma, and Tatsuya, spending time with Kidou? Shiho was grateful for all of that.

She just hoped the reveal of her new identity would not end up ruining everything.

“Tadaima!”, Sharon said once she arrived with Fuyuka and Asami.

“Welcome back!”, Ran said happily from the kitchen as she fixed herself a snack

She was not surprised to hear from Shinichi and Tatsuya, since those two often sleep after practice, but what shocked her was how Michiya did not respond, especially since he was sitting silently in the living room, so he should have heard her.

“Fuyuka, see if Ran needs any help and fix something for Asami if she is hungry.”, Sharon ordered.

“Hai.”, Fuyuka nodded as she lead Asami to the kitchen while Sharon walked towards Michiya.

“What’s wrong?”, She asked.

“Nothing.”, He grunted.

She frowned at his attitude and the cold tone of his voice, which confirmed her suspicions that something was indeed wrong.

“You’re lying.”, She replied with a serious tone, crossing her arms.

“I don’t feel like talking, Christine.”, Michiya grunted again as he stood up and walked away, but Sharon grabbed his arm.

“You know you can tell me what’s wrong, and we’ve agreed from start to be honest with each other, so what’s going on now?”, She insisted.

Michiya pulled his arm away before he headed upstairs as he mumbled, “I said nothing is wrong. I’m just tired and I need a nap.”.

“Since when do you take a nap after practice?”, Sharon mumbled to herself.

Michiya sat on the bed as he ran his hands through his head, feeling a headache forming there.

He did not make Sharon worry, now that she was pregnant, hence why he wanted to keep this hidden from her. He also knew how overprotective she could be, and she had no issue bringing out her Vermouth persona to protect her family, and this could lead to even more problems, including her getting caught.

He was not going to tell anyone about this, he was going to investigate with Onigawara, Eri, Kogoro, and possibly Hibiki, but none of his family members nor players should ever be involved.

Sharon should never be involved.

Because Michiya had a gut feeling that told him that the upcoming challenges was going to test their family, test their love, test their strength.

But now, his family needed protection, so he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to the only person he knew was capable of doing so.

Mary-san, I need your help.

The day had finally arrived; Akemi was finally going to get married to Shuichi. It was around sunset and everyone they knew were invited in vast park, as Akemi had requested.

Mary had spoken with the pastor about Akemi’s fake identity in order for the marriage to be official between her and Shuichi, and for no one of the guests to know the truth except those who were told.

Needless to say, both Teikoku and Raimon teams were invited and all the boys made sure the best tux they had for the sake of Akemi, while the managers dressed in white dresses being Akemi’s bridesmaids.

And as for the maid of honor; it was Shiho.

And Shuichi picked for his best man to be Camel, who was busy wiping his tears.

Shuichi fumbled with his hands as he waited for Akemi to walk down the aisle toward him, feeling worried about this marriage.

“Is it just me or is Shuichi-san worried?”, Tatsuya noticed.

“He’s marrying his girl, he should be happy, but he’s probably nervous.”, Ran shrugged.

“He’s an FBI agent so maybe he is worried about Masami’s safety.”, Shinichi explained.

He, Gouenji, Endou, Genda, Kidou, Tatsuya, and Sakuma were seated in the front rows on the right side while on the left side sat Michiya, Sharon, Hibiki, and Onigawara.

“Your girl looks great.”, Sakuma teased Shinichi.

Shinichi blushed as he looked at Ran, whom he believed looked the most beautiful out of all the girls standing.

“You mean, their girls.”, Genda teased, noticing how not just Shinichi but also Kidou, Gouenji, Tatsuya, and even Endou were staring in awe at Shiho, Haruna, Masumi, and Natsumi.

The wedding music started playing, and Akemi walked down the aisle, led by Mary. She removed her disguises, which looked to those attending as if Akemi had changed her style for the wedding.

Shuichi’s jaw dropped once he saw Akemi and he did not snap out of it until she was right in front of him and held his hands.

Mary smiled at them both before she walked away and sat next to Sharon, wiping the tears that recently formed.

“Reminds me of our special day.”, Sharon mumbled with a smile at Michiya.

Michiya turned to her and smiled, “The day that made my life better, best day of my life.”, He said as he kissed her hand.

The pastor started giving the speech before he asked Shuichi, “Do you take this woman here as your beloved wife? And vow to stick by her side through thick and thin until the end?”.

“I do.”, Shuichi said with a smile, unable to believe that he was finally going to marry Akemi.

The pastor then turned to Akemi and asked, “Do you take this man as your beloved husband? And vow to stick by his side through thick and thin until the end?”.

“I do.”, Akemi said emotionally, tears of happiness falling down her face.

“Please, the ring bearer.”, The pastor said.

Little Asami walked forward wearing a cute white dress and holding a small, elegant box with both rings.

“Congratulations!”, She said in English.

“Thank you.”, Both chorused back in the same English as they took the rings and placed them for each other.

“And now, I announce you as husband and wife.”, The pastor declared with a smile, “You may kiss the bride.”.

The newly wed leaned closer to each other and kissed, earning cheers from the crowd.

Akemi blushed deeply and mumbled, “I can’t believe it… We are officially married…”.

“Best decision I’ve ever made.”. Shuichi smiled at her.

Shuichi and Akemi slow danced on the floor to slow romantic music, with everyone watching.

“Akai-san and Akemi-san look so beautiful…”, Camel sniffed from where he sat next to Jodie, who remained silent.

She still was not over Shuichi. She had attended this wedding with her other FBI colleagues just to make everything would go well and no attempts would be made on their lives, but seeing this.

This truly hurt her.

But she still considered Shuichi important to her, and if he was happy with marrying Akemi, then so was she.

“Be smart like your brother and propose for your girl.”, Mary ordered Shukichi who looked at her quizzically.

“Yumi-tan you mean? Well…”, Shukichi rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not knowing how to explain his relationship with his girl to his mother.

Mary sighed heavily as she rubbed her temples, disappointed in her son’s act, before she glanced at Michiya, thinking about the phone call they had had.

‘I can’t believe I’m protecting Vermouth’s family from a crazy soccer coach…’, She thought bemused.

The spouses dance ended, before the music started again, and it was time for everyone to dance.

Without even asking each other, Ran and Shinichi shared a look with a shy blush before they went toward the dance floor, hand in hand.

Shinichi glanced at Akemi and Shuichi, who started their dance again before he looked back at Ran, imagining himself and her as adults, getting married.

‘I can’t wait for this day…’, He thought.

Shiho found herself being pulled by Kidou to the dance floor while Masumi was the one who pulled Tatsuya, but the latter did not mind at all.

Domon smiled at Mai before he pushed her wheelchair toward the dance floor as he said, “I’ve practiced our moves, don’t worry.”.

“I don’t want to bother you, you really don’t have to.”, Mai assured him with a smile.

“Nonsense, I want to do this.”, Domon replied, his smile growing wider.

“Haruna-chan.”, Haruna looked up, blushing once she saw Gouenji in front of her with a smile, his hand raised toward her.

“May I have this dance?”, He asked.

Haruna smiled shyly before she took his hand and the two walked onto the dance floor.

Sonoko, Natsumi, and Aki smiled at their friend, since they knew she liked Gouenji, and now they were sure the boy shared the same feeling.

“N-Natsumi…”. Natsumi was surprised to see Endou approach her.

He looked so different without his headband and in a tuxedo and yet, so charming and handsome, and that made her blush.

“Willyoudancewithme?”, He asked quickly, making her look at him confused.

Sakuma sighed while Genda facepalmed and said, “That idiot!”.

“What’s so hard in saying one sentence?”, Sakuma mumbled.

“Will you… dance.. with me?”, Endou repeated slowly, feeling nervous.

When it came to soccer, he was the most confident and knowledgeable guy ever, but when it came to girls…

Thank God, he even knew he feels something toward Natsumi.

“Um… Sure, why not?”, She replied shyly before she took Endou’s hand and walked onto the dance floor.

“So… we are the only girls with no guys interested in us.”, Sonoko grumbled.

“I don’t mind. Better be alone then end up with something wrong.”, Fuyuka shrugged.

“What are you talking about? You have lots of boys who like you back at school, Sonoko.”, Aki said surprised.

“For being the Suzuki heiress, not for me.”, Sonoko pointed out.

“So, you mean to say that no boy has EVER took interest in you just for being yourself?”, Aki asked suspiciously, not believing Sonoko’s words.

Sonoko opened her mouth to answer, but then she remembered Aphrodi, and found herself closing her mouth and remaining silent.

Why did she remember him now?

“Thought so.”, Aki slightly smirked, knowing from Sonoko’s reaction that there was indeed someone.

“Bet you he’s good looking too.”, Fuyuka whispered to Aki and the two shared a small laugh.

“Your cousin looks pretty.”, Tatsuya told Masumi while glancing at Akemi before he looked back at her, “But not gorgeous as the one I’m dancing with.”.

Masumi blushed heavily at how straightforward Tatsuya was before she shrugged, “Well… my brother looks okay, but not as dashing as the Apollo Striker.”.

Tatsuya smiled widely at her reply.

“Never knew you were into dancing.”, Shiho said with a raised eyebrow.

“I should be the one saying that to you.”, Kidou chuckled, “Other than science, I thought you had no interest in anything.”.

“I should be the one saying that to you about penguins.”, Shiho joked and Kidou scoffed lightly.

“They’re interesting…”, He shrugged before he looked in her eye and said, “But you’re the most interesting person I’ve ever seen, and beautiful too.”.

Shiho remained silent and looked away, trying to hide the blush on her face before she mumbled loud enough for Kidou to hear, “I would be lying if I said you aren’t good looking.”.

“Glad to hear a compliment from you.”, Kidou smiled.

“You look stunning in your dress.”, Gouenji told Haruna genuinely.

“You look… amazing in that suit, Gouenji-kun.”, Haruna replied.

“Shuuya.”, He replied making her surprised, “Call me Shuuya. No need to call me with my family name or use honorifics.”.

Haruna nodded with a smile, “As you wish, Shuuya.”.

“Something wrong?”, Michiya asked as he led Sharon to the dance floor, “We left Asami with Sonoko and Aki so-“.

“You know why.”, Sharon replied slightly stern as the two started to dance.

“Sharon… nothing happened with me back then… I was just tired…”, Michiya insisted, willing not tell her about happened no matter what.

“Fine. Whatever makes you happy.”, She replied coldly before she looked at Tatsuya, Shinichi, and Ran, smiling in their direction.

“Nice to see our children having their own romantic moments.”, She said.

“You’re changing the subject.”, Michiya noted.

“Better change it then cause a scene.”, Sharon bit back, “We’ll talk again, but back home.”.

Michiya sighed heavily and said nothing, but he thought, ‘I’m sorry Sharon, but I don’t think you’ll understand…’.

‘I had no one but my mother, and she was taken away from me… I was cast aside by own blood relatives…’.

‘Now, I finally have a family… and I won’t let anyone in this world threaten it, by any means necessary.’.

Chapter Text

“Alright! We won!”, Endou cheered for the hundredth time since they won, but this time, the whole team was present in Hibiki’s shop, including the managers but Sonoko, Aki, and Domon, having a celebration lunch.

“This counts as the hundredth time you’ve said that, Endou.”, Shinichi said dryly.

“Can you blame him? We did defeat Teikoku after all, the number one team of Japan for years.”, Ran pointed out.

“Well, I have to tell you, your win against Teikoku took all Japanese soccer fans by surprise. It’s been a while since Raimon had done that.”, Hibiki said as he cooked, a wide smile on his face.

“If I’m glad for anything other than winning, then it’s for kicking my cousin’s ass!”, Shinichi laughed.

“I can never forget the look on his face when we used our Hissatsu.”, Handa joined the laughter as he and Shinichi fist bumped.

“Can you blame him? That Hissatsu was incredibly weird…”, Natsumi mumbled.

“I think it was creative.”, Max chuckled.

“Although, Tatsuya did tell me they had a four man Hissatsu in the team, looks like we did not give them the chance to use it.”, Shinichi recalled.

“Which means they’ll be using that when we meet up in the finals of the tournament.”, Gouenji added.

“That means more training!”, Endou cried.

“Nice to see you back in spirit after the wedding.”, Haruna chuckled.

“It was strange seeing him calm back then.”, Ran mumbled.

“Calm? Did you not recall how flabbergasted he was when he asked Natsumi to dance?”, Shinichi snorted.

“Wait what?”, Someoka asked curiously, wanting to know more so he did not see that.

“Nothing! Nothing happened!”, Natsumi cried with her face blushing.

“Say, Where is Sonoko? I know Domon and Aki are talking outside.”, Shinichi asked Ran.

“She said she’s got something important to do, but she refused to tell what it is.”, Ran replied.

“Huh, weird…”, Shinichi mumbled.

“How’s Mai?”, Domon asked Aki as they walked together outside the shop.

“You were with her in the wedding, Asuka! You’re such a simp.”, Aki chuckled.

Domon rolled his eyes, “What’s wrong with taking care of your girl?”.

“She’s okay. I personally take care of her when I’m at home, but the doctor says her next surgery will have her walking again, after she undergoes physical therapy of course.”, Aki replied before she smiled, “It feels great doesn’t it? Being capable of enjoying soccer again?”.

“Yeah… spent most of my time here as a reserve in Teikoku but in Raimon… I’m now a main defender, and everyone here treats me like a member of their family.”, Domon nodded.

“We are a family, Asuka. Managers, players, coach, we are all one big family.”, Aki assured him.

Sonoko looked around curiously as she walked into the football field, led by one of the students she found at this new academy.

“And this here is Zeus’s football pitch.”, The student introduced her before he left.

“I still can’t believe someone named an academy, Zeus…”, Sonoko mumbled under her breath.

“Not a fan of mythology, huh?”. She turned back to see Aphrodi approaching her with a soccer ball under his arm, wearing his team uniform.

“You mean those stories were everyone has a child from their sibling? Ewww. Mythology is disturbing.”, Sonoko made a disgusted face.

Aphrodi blinked before he let out a small laugh, “You’re legit the first person I hear you say so, but you do have a point.”.

“So, you asked me to meet you here.”, Sonoko said.

“First, tell me what you think of my academy and the soccer field.”, Aphrodi said.

“I gotta say, it does look incredible. It might rival Teikoku Academy in size, but I don’t think Zeus has been around for a long time.”, Sonoko replied.

“No, it’s younger than Teikoku and Raimon by a year or two, but no one ever cared to improve the team. Until my parents decided to do so five years ago, and here are the results.”, Aphrodi explained.

“But your team still is weak.”, Sonoko pointed out.

“Not this year, I gathered the best players in the academy and we will win the tournament.”, Aphrodi said with a confident smirk.

“Good luck winning against Raimon and Teikoku, especially since they’ve got the best goalkeepers and strikers in Japan now.”, Sonoko said, but she did not say in mockery nor was she fake, she was genuine.

“That strong huh.”, Aphrodi mumbled before he smirked, “Stronger than this?!”.

He threw the soccer ball backward and high before he swiftly turned around and rushed ahead, receiving the ball on his chest.

Sonoko raised an eyebrow at his moves before her eyes widened at what he did next.

Two glowing white wings came out of his back, the ball being surrounded by white aura, flying high with it.

He then kicked the ball as he cried, “Zeus Break!”.

The ball charged forward with the same aura, light yellow lightning around it, entering the goal.

He landed on his feet gracefully as his wings disappeared before he looked back at Sonoko, smiling once she saw him staring at him in awe, and a faint blush.

“What do you think?”, He asked.

“This… this might be the best Hissatsu I’ve ever seen…”, Sonoko mumbled before she smiled, snapping her fingers, “I’ve got a nickname for you!”.

“What?”, Aphrodi blinked in confusion.

“Every great player has a nickname; Kidou is known as the Emperor of the Field for his tactics and penguin Hissatsu, Gouenji is the Flame Striker, Shinichi is the Eleventh Striker, Tatsuya is the Apollo Striker, Genda is the Beast King for his viciousness, and Sakuma is the Iron Mask for his unexpected actions and mask.”, Sonoko explained before she rubbed her chin, “Let’s see…”.

She looked at Aphrodi from head to toe before she said with a wide smile, “Afuro Terumi, Aphrodi, Ruler Of The Skies! How does that sound?”.

Aphrodi’s eyes widened for a second as he repeated, “Ruler of the skies…”, He smiled widely, “I like it. You’re a very creative person, Sonoko.”.

“Thanks for acknowledging that.”, Sonoko smiled.

The two however failed to miss the guy watching them from the top of the stands.

Kageyama adjusted his glasses as he mumbled to himself, “It’s about Teikoku payed for what they had done…”.

The Next Day,

“Did Endou tell you why does he need us tomorrow?”, Ran asked Shinichi as they walked toward the Raimon Football field.

“No, I and everyone else but him left early, maybe he and Hibiki talked, and they asked us to come today.”, Shinichi said.

By the time they arrived, they noticed Endou giving a speech about soccer to old men who wore purple soccer uniform, and Hibiki being the goalkeeper of said team, and Detective Onigawara was the referee.

“Wait… aren’t you guys the legendary Inazuma Eleven?!”, Shinichi asked in disbelief, a wide smile spreading on his face.

Ran glanced at him and coughed to avoid snickering, as she could tell from the face expression that Shinichi had that he was secretly fan-girling.

“Finally, you’re here.”, Hibiki said with a smile, “You arrived just as the match was starting to get serious. Allow me to introduce you to my friends.”.

“Our defenders; Ukashima Kazuto, Kamimura Kirito, Aida Chikara, Batora Manabu, and Nakama You. Our midfielders; Ikari Gengorou, Teira, Tamotsu, Tamiyama You. Our forwards; Sugata Iwao and Biruda Kouichi.”.

“It’s an honor to meet you all, I can’t believe this is real.”, Shinichi bowed in respect.

“I know right?!”, Endou cried.

“I still can’t believe people their age are capable of playing soccer…”, Sonoko commented dryly.

“Sonoko, be nice!”, Haruna admonished.

“I’m being honest.”, She shrugged.

“You can take my place, Kudou.”, Handa nodded at Shinichi as he walked out, and Shinichi walked in.

Onigawara smiled before he whistled, the match starting again.

Gouenji passed the ball to Someoka as the two rushed forward, but Tamotsu took the ball easily from him and passed it to Biruda.

Biruda then kicked the ball to Sugata, who dribbled past Shinichi and passed it to Tamiyama, now face to face with Endou.

Tamiyama then kicked the ball to the side, creating a horizontal trail of light with the ball in it. He then backflipped, creating a vertical trail of light. As it moved forward, it made a plus-shaped cross with the horizontal trail and it headed toward the goal.

“Cross Drive!”, He cried.

“Nekketsu Punch!”, Endou cried, using his Hissatsu to block the ball, catching it.

“This practice match is incredible!”, Endou cried as he passed the ball to Kazemaru who kicked it toward Shinichi.

“Drive Pass!”, Shinichi cried as he kicked the ball high, with a blue trail following it, the ball then curved mid air just as Gouenji jumped high.

“Fire Tornado!”, He cried as he performed his move and kicked the ball at Hibiki.

“Let me show you the original Heavens Hand.”, Hibiki smirked as he performed his move, summoning the same golden palm of Daisuke and Mamoru, “Heavens Hand!”.

Hibiki easily caught the ball, and he turned to Ukashima and nodded, the latter returning the nod.

Hibiki kicked the ball high, and Ukashima received the ball on his chest.

“Biruda!”, He cried.

He and Biruda ran across each other before they kicked the ball high, and jumped. Ukashima kicked the ball overhead just as Biruda kicked it form above. The ball was covered by fiery wings and they spread as they headed toward the goal.

It was faster than Endou, and the ball did not even touch his fingers when he tried to touch it.

Endou stared at the ball before a wide smile spread on his face.

“Time out!”, He requested from Onigawara, who nodded.

The team gathered around Endou who went to get out his grandfather’s notes from his back as he said, “I recognize the move they just used; Honoo no Kazamidori.”.

He opened the page to said move and explained, “It says here both players rush toward with a zoom and jump and kick with a bang!”.

“Bang and zoom… the same mystery we have to crack…”, Aki mumbled.

“Now I see from where Endou inherited his antics.”, Sonoko mumbled.

“Well, it says jump and run, sounds like something for someone who was in the athletics club.”, Kazemaru said with a smile.

Endou nodded, “Great! And Gouenji can be the other player.”.

Shinichi then noticed Kageno, who was sitting on the bench, talking to Ukashima, and rubbed his chin before he approached Kageno.

“Kageno.”, He called. The latter looked up with Ukashima just as Shinichi pulled out a paper and handed it to Kageno.

“This is a Hissatsu I came up with, I hope you can master it before the next match.”, Shinichi said with a smile, “It suits you.”.

“What was I just telling you? You’re important to the team, kid.”, Ukashima chuckled.

Kageno stared at the paper before he smiled up at Shinichi, “Thanks, Kudou. I’ll do that.”.

Gouenji and Kazemaru then attempted to do the Hissatsu, but they failed three consecutive times in a row.

“Would you like us to repeat it?”, Ukashima asked.

“No need.”, Shinichi smirked, “I figured it out. The secret is in the speed and the distance between the players. You both have to be at equal distance from each other, with matching speed.”.

“I can definitely see how that kid is a detective.”, Ukashima chuckled.

“Let’s try it gain, Kazemaru.”, Gouenji said.

“Right!”.

The two repeated it again, the ball between them, rushing at equal speed before they both kicked the ball high.

Kazemaru then jumped and kicked the ball from above while Gouenji kicked it from below, overhead style.

The fiery wings appeared on the ball just as they cried, “Honoo no Kazemidori! (Flaming Weathercock!)”.

The ball charged toward Hibiki, and he did not have time to catch the ball, and it entered the goal.

“Alright! We did it!”, Endou cheered.

The Legendary Inazuma Eleven gathered around as they watched the Raimon players interact and Biruda said, “They’re pretty interesting, don’t you think?”.

“Daisuke would’ve been proud of his grandson.”, Tamiyama said.

“You think those guys will change Soccer?”, Ukashima asked Hibiki.

“I think they’ll return back Raimon to its glory, and they’ll make Japanese soccer famous worldwide.”, Hibiki said, “I’m telling you now, those guys will become legends.”.

Chapter Text

Aphrodi watched proudly as his team members trained on the field, with the tactics and Hissatsu ideas he had provided for them.

He was confident that his team would win, that they could defeat Teikoku in the next match.

“Impressive.”

Aphrodi turned around at the unfamiliar sound, before he narrowed his eyes once he saw the owner of the voice, Kageyama.

“Kageyama Reiji… What are you doing here?” Aphrodi asked sternly.

“Such a rough tone for someone who’s supposed to be elegant,” Kageyama chuckled, “I have an offer for you, something that will make you and your team kings of soccer in Japan, destroying both Teikoku and Raimon.”

“Not interested. I’ll win my way, not yours.” Aphrodi replied as he looked ahead, ignoring Kageyama.

“Oh really?” Kageyama repeated with an evil smirk.

“You can’t threaten me with my parents unless you are stupid, do you know how many bodyguards they have?” Aphrodi deduced what Kageyama was going to say next.

But he was wrong.

“Indeed, but Suzuki Sonoko has no bodyguards here.” Kageyama said.

Aphrodi’s eyes widened before he turned to Kageyama angrily, “Stay away from her or else-“

“What? You’re already suffering from your parents trying to take you away from Soccer, do you think they will believe you? Even if someone did, what would they do? I didn’t say anything, nor do you have any proof, and I do have some good friends out there.”

Aphrodi remained silent, knowing that Kageyama was correct, but he refused to admit it.

“Think about my offer for a day, and I’ll be back here for you tomorrow.” Kageyama said as he walked away.

Aphrodi stared at his back, clenching his fists angrily, before he looked down at his feet.

He had no choice now, did he?

Teikoku Football Field,

The team was currently having a practice match, and Kidou had the ball before he passed it to Sakuma, who passed it back to Tatsuya.

“Genda! Let’s do it!” Tatsuya cried.

Genda smirked before he charged forward, leaving the goal, and the defenders stood in his place.

Genda, Sakuma, Kidou, and Tatsuya ran side by side before Tatsuya slowed down, while Genda sped up, now Sakuma and Kidou between them.

Tatsuya kicked the ball ahead, just as Sakuma and Kidou spun like tornadoes on one leg before they both kicked the ball, which glowed purple and orange, at Genda, who had turned around, and kicked high in the air with all of his might, adding green to the color.

Tatsuya let out a cry before he jumped and kicked the ball, performing a volley, adding a gold color to it.

The ball charged with the four colors, leaving a tornado-like trail, colored silver like metal.

“Full Metal Phantom Storm!” The four players chorused.

The substitute goalkeeper did not have the time to even see the ball to attempt to stop it, and it entered the net.

Masumi whistled, impressed, while Akemi clapped, and Shiho just took notes, from where the three with Fuyuka sat on the bench.

“Not bad, they perfected it this time.” Shiho said, directing her speech at Michiya, who was standing next to them.

“If we had this against Raimon, we may have won.” Masumi commented.

“We will face them soon, but we need to beat Zeus first, whom I wasn’t capable of finding anything interesting about. Their previous matches had very weak opponents, so they got ahead easily.” Fuyuka added.

“There’s a big chance we will then.” Akemi said with a smile.

“If the team has mastered all the Hissatsu I asked them to,” Michiya relied before he cried, “Everyone back to their positions! I want you to show me the new Hissatsu I gave each of you, solo or co-op!”

“Hai!” The team cried.

“I’ll start!” Genda cried as he slammed his fists together.

Tatsuya dribbled the ball before he nodded at Sakuma.

He kicked the ball high before he and Sakuma, now next to each other, spun on one leg like a tornado a couple of times before they kicked the ball together, which charged with an orange-gold tornado trail, as they cried, “Full Metal Phantom!”

Genda smirked as a green aura appeared around him, and a large black panther with red eyes and green aura appeared behind him before he jumped at the ball with his hands shaped like claws.

“Panther Dive!” He cried, clutching the ball with his hands before he landed on both legs, a smirk on his face.

He then gave the ball to the defenders, who each took their turn showing their new dribbles, passes, blocks, and tackles, and the same was done with the midfielders, but they had interceptions instead of blocks.

One of the midfielders passed the ball to Sakuma, but Kidou jumped swiftly like a blur and took it.

“Seriously?” Sakuma deadpanned.

“I’m practicing my interception skills.” Kidou said before he turned to Michiya, “I mastered my moves earlier than them did, should I show them again?”

“No, you’re clear. Pass to Sakuma, he and Tatsuya are still not done, and then show me the team moves.” Michiya replied.

Kidou smirked at Sakuma before he kicked the ball toward Tatsuya.

Sakuma let out a sigh before he charged and jumped, spreading his arms as he intercepted the ball and cried, “Condor Clutch!”

He then turned to Kidou, who simply shrugged, before he charged at one player.

Sakuma raised his right arm across his chest, forming a large cavalry shield as he cried, “Cavalry Charge!”

The shield slammed into the teammate, moving him out of the way.

Sakuma then kicked the ball and whistled, summoning 7 colored penguins the same color as the rainbow. The penguins hit the ball with their peaks, forming colored energy around the ball as it landed at Sakuma’s feet, who kicked it forward, the seven penguins charging behind it.

“Koutei (Emperor) Penguin 7!” Sakuma cried.

The ball entered the now-empty net. Sakuma walked and picked up the ball before he ran with it and passed it to Tatsuya as he cried, “Razor Pass!”

The pass was surrounded by red energy, razors around the ball before it landed at Tatsuya’s feet.

Sakuma then charged at Tatsuya before he landed, rested on one hand, and spun his leg once like a razor, and aimed to push the ball from Tatsuya as he cried, “Razor Blade!”

Tatsuya smirked before he kicked the ball with gold energy, the ball spun around itself and around Sakuma, evading him, before it returned to Tatsuya.

“What do you think of my Trick Touch?” Tatsuya asked as he stopped the ball.

“More impressive than Zigzag dash, I’ve got to say.” Sakuma replied as he stood up.

“Alright! Defense, get ready!” Tatsuya cried once he kicked the ball high in the air.

The four defenders stood together, and Sakuma stood in front of them.

Tatsuya jumped and extended his arms above before he kicked the ball with his heel as he cried, “Apollo Arrow!”

The ball shot forward with a gold-like arrow aura around it.

The defenders and Sakuma formed an X over their chests with their arms as they stomped one foot on the ground and chorused, “The Fortress!”

A large fortress’s wall appeared behind them, which collided with the wall, stopping the ball.

Sakuma charged forward with the midfielders before he kicked the ball up and head butted a midfielder, the ball having a white trail. The midfielders continued doing the same, passing the balls to each other as they chorused, “Airborne Charge!”

And the ball returned to Sakuma’s feet.

“Alright, team, that is enough for today.” Michiya said before he pulled out his phone from his pocket once he heard it ring.

“Excuse me.” He said before he walked away.

Masumi jumped off the bench and ran toward Tatsuya, who was already walking toward her.

“How did I do today?” Tatsuya smirked.

“The Apollo arrow was cool, but the Trick touch is something else.” Masumi said, impressed as she handed him a towel and a water bottle.

“I’m full of wonders.” Tatsuya said proudly.

“Don’t let it get over your head.” Masumi snorted.

“I’m surprised you didn’t show off today.” Shiho said as she handed a bottle and a towel to Kidou, who walked toward her.

“Do you really see everything I do as a showoff?” Kidou scoffed.

“Anyone can see that you like to display all of your skills whenever you get the chance.” Shiho pointed out.

“Good point, but I can say the same to you, always using complex words whenever possible to show off that you are a genius.” Kidou smirked.

Shiho brushed the hair over her shoulder with a smirk as she replied, “I am a genius.”

“So am I, we are geniuses in different areas.”

“Hey, sweetheart, how’s everything at home? Are Shinichi and Ran back yet?” Michiya said.

“No, they are still at Raimon. They are also training for their upcoming match. It’s the same time at Teikoku’s, correct?” Sharon replied.

“Correct. We are going up against Zeus Academy while Raimon is going up against Sengoku Igajima. Must be hard for you to pick a match to attend.” Michiya replied before he cracked a joke in the end.

He frowned once he heard Sharon sigh heavily.

“The Organization needs me on a mission that will take place on that day.” She replied.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Michiya rubbed his temples before he replied sternly, “Do I seriously need to remind you that you are pregnant?”

“What do you want me to do? Tell them I can’t because I’m pregnant? Michiya, I’m already working on a solution for the months I can’t appear when my bump would be visible, but until then, I’m continuing my work.” Sharon replied coldly.

“Chris-“ Michiya frowned once Sharon hung up on him, before he rubbed his temples.

“Pregnancy sure makes a woman snap for no reason…” He sighed, “Speaking of Raimon, I hope they are doing well in their practice.”

Raimon Soccer Club,

“Alright then, team, let’s brush up on some basics related to Hissatsu, not element-related,” Aki started as she held a stick and pointed at the board, “A Player has two important aspects: Hissatsu and Physicality. Physicality stands for his normal skills without any hissatsu, which is important, and that is what Ran-chan’s training is doing to you, and that helps in making you stronger.”

“Now, the Hissatsu are divided into three categories: Offence, Defence, and Saving. Saving is for Goalkeepers only, divided into Catches and Punches,” Aki explained.

“As much as I’m impressed with your skills, Endou, three saving Hissatsu aren’t enough.” Shinichi said, from where he stood next to the board on the other side, facing the rest of the team and managers.

“Don’t worry, I’ve started working on a new Hissatsu Jii-chan left in his notes.” Endou gave him a thumbs up with a smile, missing the deadpan on Shinichi’s face.

“Yeah, well… I’m glad you are doing that, but why don’t you come up with your own, too?” Shinichi suggested.

“What?” Endou asked.

“I don’t want anyone here just to copy moves or take ideas from me, I want you guys to work on your own, use your imagination! No one knows what Hissatsu fits you more than yourself.” Shinichi encouraged as he looked at the faces of everyone, and he caught the sad, conflicted expression on Kazemaru’s face, and knew he had to talk to him.

The team members looked at each other, digesting Shinichi’s words, all but Gouenji, who nodded in agreement.

“The Defence is divided into Blocks, Interceptions, and Tackles. All of you must have tackles and interceptions, while the defenders have blocks,” Aki continued before she moved the stick onto the offence.

“And finally, offence, which is divided into shots, passes, and dribbles. All of you must have dribbles and passes, while the midfielders and forwards should have shots. Now, the team moves; we need to at least have 1 team move in the following: tackle, interception, block, and one-two pass, since we already have lots of co-op shots.”

“I guess that means more training… I’m tired…” Handa complained.

“Talk about yourself, I’m excited to make my own moves.” Domon replied.

“Someoka, I figured out a move for you and me. Are you up to it?” Shinichi smirked at Someoka.

Someoka smirked back, “You bet!”

Kazemaru stood away from the football field, watching in silence as the rest of the team started working on their own hissatsu.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Shinichi asked as he approached Kazemaru.

“An old friend from the athletics club approached me… He wants me back into the club, and I’m conflicted… The athletics club was my home, it was what made me what I am, but now…” Kazemaru trailed off as he looked at the team.

Shinichi understood Kazemaru’s dilemma so he said, “You don’t have to choose, you can be in both for now, and when the time comes to choose, no one will hate you for choosing what you like, it’s not like all of us will become professional soccer players, some of us just want to keep playing until they graduate from school.”

Shinichi then placed his hand on Kazemaru’s shoulder as he said, “But we do need you, Ichirouta. Not because you're the fastest and will be our main card against Sengoku Igajima, who are ninja-like and fast, but because you are our friend.”

Kazemaru smiled gratefully at Shinichi’s words, before he scoffed, “Using my name to convince me, really?”

“Just showing you that you are my friend,” Shinichi laughed before he pulled out a notebook, drawn and written in it in neat handwriting a Hissatsu, “Ready for our hissatsu?”

Kazemaru smirked before he laughed, “Definitely, since I can read this notebook unlike Endou’s.”

Shinichi joined the laughter, feeling elated that he convinced his friend to stay, and that the team is getting stronger to win their next match.

Chapter Text

The day of the match between Sengoku Igajima and Raimon Eleven had arrived, and both teams were warming up for the match. Hibiki was standing outside the field just like Senogoku's coach, Igajima Senichi, a guy dressed like a ninja, alongside Raimon's managers, Aki, Haruna, Ran, and Sonoko.

Natsumi was nowhere to be seen, but she had sent an email to everyone apologizing about not being present, for her father, Raimon Souichirou, was involved in a bad accident and was sent to the hospital.

Raimon Eleven:

Coach: Hibiki

GK: Endou (Captain/1)

DF: Kabeyama (CB/3), Domon (CB/13), Kurimatsu (CB/13)

MF: Kazemaru (DMF/2), Shourin (CM/7), Shishido (CM/8), Max (CM/12), Shinichi (AMF/11)

FW: Gouenji (ST/10), Someoka (ST/10)

Sub: Kageno (DF/4), Handa (MF/6), Megane (FW/

Sengoku Igajima:

Coach: Igajima Senichi

GK: Momochi Santa (1)

DF: Fujibayashi Nagato (LB/2), Kousaka Jin (CB/3), Jiraiya Gamasuke (CB/4), Ishikawa Goeta (RB/5)

MF: Fuuma Koheita (LM/6), Kouga Gen (CM/7), Hatsutori Hanzou (CM/10), Sarutobi Sanosuke (RM/8)

FW: Yagyuu Juurou (ST/9), Kirigakure Saiji (ST/11/Captain)

Kirigakure frowned once he saw the formation Raimon stood in; this was a new one, not like any they had used before, and what was more intriguing was how a defender, particularly Kazemaru, was placed as a midfielder now.

Kirigakure frowned, just yesterday he spotted Gouenji and Endou training, and displayed with two of his teammates their speed to them, taking the ball from them easily, thinking he succeeded in terrifying Raimon or shaking their confidence.

It looks like it did not work.

"I find it interesting how you've become a midfielder now. Who are you?" Kirigakure could not resist and walked toward Kazemaru and asked him this.

Kazemaru tilted his head to the side, remembering Shinichi's words after Gouenji and Endou told him what Kirigakure and his teammates did.

"They are trying to scare us or make us display our cards. Keep it cool and low. Those guys are faster than us, but not Kazemaru, try to keep the ball away from them."

Kazemaru returned to the present, smirking at Kirigakure, "Just the player who will kick your asses."

Kazemaru's words made Kirigakure frown, irritated by the response, so he replied, "Whoever you are, you are just a nobody."

Kazemaru said nothing before he looked at Haruna and Aki. Haruna had managed to bring them all the data and previous matches of their opponents, so they knew their every move, and since Sengoku Idajima thought themselves to be true ninjas and discreet, they had no idea.

As for Aki, she's the one, with Coach Hibiki, who came up with this tactic formation based on every player's skill and new hissatsu, and Kazemaru being the fastest of the team.

In short, Kazemaru was the key player of this match.

As for the commentator, it was not Kakuma Keita anymore since this was the FF tournament, but his father, Kakuma Oushou.

The referee whistled, and the kickoff started with Gouenji passing the ball to Someoka, but Yagyuu rushed forward and stole the ball from Someoka, his speed surprising everyone.

"Don't let it get to you!" Endou cried, making the team focus back.

"Shishido, Shourin, let's go!" Max cried as he rushed forward.

He stood in front of Yagyuu, and the latter smirked, attempting to step back, but he was surprised to see Shishido behind him.

Max and Shishido then jumped a step back, their legs stomping, forming a net around them and Yagyuu, who looked around for an escape, but a cry from above surprised him.

Shourin let out a battle cry as he jumped in the air before he landed on the ball, standing on it with both feet, and sending Yagyuu, toward the net, and the latter was shocked to find it sticky.

It was not a normal net, but a spider-web-like one.

"Spider Leap!" The three cried before Shourin charged the ball, then passed it to Shishido, who passed it to Max.

"What?! They never used this before!" Kirigakure cried.

Max looked up and saw the Kirigakure midfielders charging toward him so he cried as he kicked the ball high, "Flying Pass!"

True to its name, the ball flew high in the air, far away from any player's reach.

Kirkgakure looked confused before his eyes widened in realization, the ball was high in the air for one reason.

"Fire Tornado!" Gouenji cried as he jumped and performed his hissatsu, kicking the ball toward the goal.

Momoshi joined his hands together and backflipped toward the goal, quickly extending his arms in the air in an X-shape and reeling them back, creating two small whirlwinds. As both whirlwinds continued spinning, they kept on growing, moving toward each other, and merging into one big whirlwind.

"Tsumuji! (Whirl)" He cried.

The whirlwind pulled the ball in, draining its power, making it emerge from high up in the air, and Momochi instantly sprang onto it and caught it.

"Despite displaying two new Hissatsu, Raimon's famous Fire Tornado did not get them the first goal." Oushou commented.

Momoshi then kicked the ball toward Kirigakure who found Someoka across him so he smirked, and paused.

He crossed his arms parallel in the air and created a still afterimage of himself. Someoka frowned before he dashed at Kirigakure, but he went through his afterimage instead while Kirigakure dashed forward.

"How do you like-" Kirigakure did not get to finish the sentence because he found Max, Shishido, and Shourin rushing toward him, so he passed back to Kouga while he rushed forward.

Kouga then passed to Yagyuu, who made two clones of himself, appearing diagonally in front of them. He kicked the ball high before the three jumped, the two clones volley-kicked it while the real one overhead-kicked it, charging the ball with bright yellow energy until it covered the whole ball, and then it headed toward the goal.

"Nekketsu (Hot-Blooded) Punch Barrage!" Endou cried as he punched the ball multiple times, before he sent one last punch to send it away, but Kirigakure jumped, receiving the ball instead of Shishido, before he rushed forward.

"I'll score!" Kirigakure cried.

"Shippuu (Gale) Tackle!" Kazemaru cried as he rushed toward Kirigakure

Suddenly, Kazemaru disappeared in a blue blur, tackled Kirigakure, took the ball, and reappeared in the midfield area, dashing.

"Impossible!" Kirigakure cried in disbelief.

Kazemaru then passed to Shinichi who cried, "Eagle Swoop!", and used his dribble Hissatsu to get past the midfielders.

What surprised everyone was how Kazemaru rushed ahead, until he reached the goal, before he jumped, kicked the post, propelling himself high in the air, and then he spun around, creating a wind tornado.

Shinichi then kicked the ball high with blue trail up at Kazemaru, who stopped spinning and kicked the ball overhead, giving it a gray color with the blue, as he started, "Triangle-"

The ball went back down toward Shinichi who cried once he kicked the ball, the blue-gray color intensifying, "- Speed Bullet!"

The ball headed so fast toward the goal that it did look like a bullet, and Momoshi did not even see it as it entered past him and the goal.

Sengoku Igajima 0 – 1 Raimon Eleven

"GOAALLLL! Raimon scores their first goal with a new hissatsu shot performed by Kudou and Kazemaru!" Oushou cried.

Kazemaru landed gracefully before he fist bumped with Shinichi and celebrated with the rest of the team.

"Whose idea was it, this hissatsu?" Kurimatsu asked, amazed.

"Mostly Kazemaru, my idea was me kicking it high and he would headbutt it. He then added the goal post jump and spin, the sequence of his move with the ball move resembling a triangle, similar to Triangle pass Gouenji, Someoka, and me, but he was generous enough to let me name it." Shinichi joked.

"Hey, you are the one who said we should get creative." Kazemaru laughed.

"And creative we did, you guys were awesome!" Shinichi told Shishido, Shourin, and Max.

"Just being real soccer players, Kudou-kun!" Shishido joked as everyone walked back to their place.

"Poor guy never saw it coming!" Shourin laughed.

Kirigakure was mad, at the fact that Raimon scored and they did not, but it was also the fact that Kazemaru was faster than him, and was the main reason Raimon scored.

The referee whistled, announcing the end of the first half.

And after the 15-minute break, the players switched places, and the kickoff started once the referee whistled, with the ball with Sengoku Igajima.

Yagyuu passed to Kirigakure who passed back to Jiraiya, which made Team Raimon surprised, especially when they saw Kirigakure rush with all of his speed toward Endou.

Jiraiya then took the chance and kicked the ball high.

Shinichi understood what was going to happen so he looked at Endou, who nodded at him and motioned at him and the forwards to remain in their positions.

Kirigakure received the ball and reeled back his right leg and shot the ball, making it go through the earth of the field. The ball got covered by the earth, continuing to grow in size as Kirigakure got in position, creating a sphere of bright yellow energy. Kirigakure then gathered enough energy, and thrust himself onto it, beam-lining it onto the earth-covered ball and breaking it, covering the ball with bright yellow energy as it headed towards the goal.

"Tsuchi Daruma! (Earth Dharma)" He cried.

Endou clenched his fists, he could tell from Kirigakure's face that this shot had all of his strength and power, so none of his hissatsu would work.

Or to be exact, none of the known ones would.

Endou raised his right fist, glowing gold, and everyone assumed he would use Heavens Hand, but he surprised everyone once his fist and hand became covered by a diamond layer.

"Diamond Punch!" He cried as he punched the ball. He was confident that this was enough, but Kirigakure's shot was strong, and Endou managed to punch the ball back, holding his wrist in pain.

But Kirigakure was still there, so he jumped and head-butted the ball. Endou did not have time to recover to try to catch it.

But the ball did not enter the net, because Kazemaru appeared and blocked it with his knee.

"What a save! Endou managed to block the first attempt on the goal from Sengoku Igajima but Kazemaru saves the day!" Oushou cried, feeling pumped up from this match.

Kazemaru looked up at his friend from the athletics club who came to see him, Miyasaka Ryou, who did not see why Kazemaru decided to remain in the soccer club instead of athletics, but Kazemaru could tell from the way Miyasaka cheered him on that he understood what soccer meant to him, and he was glad that Kazemaru found his place in soccer.

"You asked me who I was," Kazemaru said as he looked at Kirigakure. He then crossed his arms with a smirk, "I'm the Azure Gale of Raimon Eleven, the fastest player; Kazemaru Ichirouta!"

Kirigakure growled angrily and Kazemaru rushed forward with the ball before he passed to Domon who paused and nodded at Shinichi, while Kazemaru continued rushing forward.

"Curve Pass!" Domon cried as he kicked the ball. The ball moved with a green trail, curving around, making it hard for the Sengoku Igajima players to intercept it, before the ball landed at Shinichi's feet.

"Gouenji! Kazemaru! End this!" Shinichi cried as he passed the ball, "Drive Pass!"

The ball moved high before it turned and landed at Gouenji's feet, who was running with Kazemaru beside him toward the goal.

The two nodded at each other before they kicked the ball high into the air and then jumped. Kazemaru kicked it from above while Gouenji from below, overhead-style, forming an orange flaming bird.

"Honoo no Kazamidori! (Flaming Weathercock!)" The two cried as the ball flew toward Momoshi.

"Tsumuji! (Whirl!)" Momoshi cried, using his catch hissatsu, but the ball went through the whirlwind and into the goal.

Sengoku Igajima 0 – 2 Raimon Eleven

"GOAALLL! Kazemaru and Gouenji score the second goal of the match with a new hissatsu!" Oushou cried.

The referee whistled, signaling the end of the match, and Raimon's victory.

"WE WON! OW!" Endou cried in happiness before he winced, feeling the pain in his wrist.

"Endou, are you okay?" Kabeyama cried as the team gathered around him.

"Yeah yeah, my wrist just hurts. Kirigakure's hissatsu was strong enough that I believe it would've gotten through Heavens Hand and Nekketsu Punch. Good thing I came up with Diamond punch." Endou said with a smile before he looked at the team, "Come on everyone, let's go see Natsumi and her father."

Natsumi walked out of the room and was surprised to see the Raimon team, managers, and coach standing outside.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked surprised.

"We came to check up on you and your father, how is he?" Ran asked worriedly.

"He's okay, he's starting to wake up and getting well. Thank you all, you didn't have to all come here, but I appreciate it." Natsumi replied with a grateful smile.

"Endou insisted." Sonoko said with a smirk, making Kazemaru, Someoka, Shinichi, Domon, and Ran snicker, since they understood what she was doing, while Haruna, Aki, and Gouenji just smiled.

"Yeah, I did." Endou nodded with a smile before he winced while holding his wrist, making Natsumi worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah yeah, don't worry, it will take a day or two for it to get worried." Endou assured her.

Natsumi smiled at him, blushing, as she complimented him, "It's a noteworthy horse that can return its rider to safety."

Endou did not get the saying unlike everyone, so he frowned at her, "Are you calling me a horse?!"

Natsumi blinked in surprise before she scoffed, "I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

The whole team laughed at the scene (but Hibiki, Kageno, and Gouenji, who simply smiled) but Shinichi then stopped laughing at the scene once he heard his phone ringing.

"Who is it?" Ran asked, curiously glancing at his phone.

"It's Fuyuka." He said.

"Oh yeah, wasn't Teikoku facing Zeus at the same time as our match?" Aki recalled, earning a nod from Haruna.

"Hey Fuyuka, how…" Shinichi trailed off with his eyes widening once he answered the call, "What?! How?! Where are you?!"

Shinichi's cries caught the attention of everyone present.

"Kudo, what's wrong?" Endou asked worriedly.

Shinichi remained silent for seconds before he mumbled, "Zeus won… 10-0…"

"EH?!" Everyone in the bus (but Hibiki, Kageno, Gouenji, and Natsumi) cried in disbelief.

"H-How? That's impossible! Teikoku is the best in Japan!" Kazemaru exclaimed.

"Shinichi, that's not just it… Tell us the rest!" Ran cried, feeling something else was missing.

Her words made Sonoko feel worried, what did Zeus do to Teikoku other than defeating them?

Everyone noticed Shinichi's fists clench tightly, his body shaking in anger.

"Zeus did not just win… They hurt every member of the team, in and outside the field…"

"Everyone was injured… Genda and Sakuma have been heavily injured… Kidou, Fuyuka Masumi, Ai, and Masami barely made it out…"

"What about Tatsuya?" Gouenji asked with a frown, "And Michiya-Kantoku?"

Shinichi raised his head, hatred, and anger in his eyes, and this was the first time any of them had ever seen him this mad.

"Ojisan and Tatsuya entered a coma… and guess who was Zeus's coach… Kageyama…"

The name made the aura of the hall darken. Everyone looked at each other, wondering about how the Teikoku players were doing, and what Kageyama wanted now.

"Kudo, the address of the hospital now." Hibiki ordered seriously.

Shinichi told him the address, and Hibiki ordered everyone to get on the bus, and Natsumi asked the girls to keep her notified, as she'll stay with her father for a while before coming to pay Teikoku a visit.

None of the team, however, noticed the horrified and heartbroken look on Sonoko's face.

'Afuro… what have you done…?'

Chapter Text

In all of her years of work as an MI6 agent, Mary had heard of and seen terrorists, criminals, traffickers, and many more commit horrific crimes.

But soccer players and a soccer coach? This was a new level.

"As soon as the referee whistled... the Zeus team weren't playing soccer they were... fighting... every hissatsu was aimed at the players not the goal..." Akemi cried in her hands. 

She, Fuyuka, Masumi, and Shiho were seated in the hospital halls with Mary, Shukichi, and Shuichi standing across them.

"They broke Tatsuya and Jirou's legs... They kept hitting Koujirou until his hands were broken... Yuuto barely made it out..." Akemi sniffed.

Mary glanced at the only remaining Teikoku player outside of the rooms, standing on his feet. Kidou was seated next to Shiho, who was holding his hands.

"But at least... they are all awake... Tatsuya... Tatsuya entered a coma!" Masumi cried, she had desperately tried to hold her tears back, but now she failed.

"Otousan too... After they won the match, Kageyama ordered them to attack us! He shielded us to allow us to escape with Kidou..." Fuyuka cried, hugging her younger sister as Asami, who was quietly crying in her arms.

"What is he, a madman?!" Shukichi cried in disbelief.

"A criminal," Shuichi said coldly as he hugged Akemi, trying to soothe her.

"He's a psycho..." Shiho spat angrily.

"He did not just want to win, he wanted revenge..." Kidou mumbled.

Mary looked at them before she looked at the one person she was truly concerned about for multiple reasons; Sharon.

She was seated further away from them, her face resting in her hands, silent.

"Shuichi, watch them, tell me if someone comes to visit," Mary ordered him before she walked toward Sharon.

"We spent our last couple of days arguing... about something he was hiding..." Sharon mumbled, sensing Mary's presence. "It was this, wasn't it? That Kageyama escaped?"

"He asked me to watch over you and the children, he wanted to protect his family," Mary explained.

Sharon let out a bitter laugh, "All of my life, I thought the day I'd see any of my family like this, it would be because of the Organization... but looks like Kageyama beat them to it."

Sharon slowly rose from her seat and raised her head. Mary's eyes narrowed, she instantly recognized that facial expression, she recognized that aura she felt emitting from her.

"Vermouth, don't do anything stupid," Mary warned.

Vermouth's eyes narrowed, "Is ending this once and for all counts as stupid?"

Mary understood what she was talking about so she grabbed her arm to prevent her from walking away as she stressed, "You think this is what Michiya would want? What would your son want? You going to prison?"

"Save it, Sera, I'm going to kill him," Vermouth growled.

"What about the children inside you? Don't you realize you're risking their lives too?" Mary hissed.

That made Vermouth's eyes soften and look away, unable to respond.

"Exactly, right now, Fuyuka and Asami need you to be with them, and Michiya and Tatsuya would want you to be by their side," Mary said calmly.

It's then that she noticed the tears falling silently down Sharon's face, and Mary thought for a second about her next action before she did it, she hugged her.

Sharon's eyes widened in disbelief and she mumbled, "You..."

"I'm trying to comfort another woman who saw her family get hurt, and was incapable of doing anything," Mary mumbled.

Sharon remained frozen for a second before she returned the hug, quietly crying, thankful that Mary spoke to her while they were away from Fuyuka and Asami, so they wouldn't see her like this.

Shuichi, Akemi, and Shiho, however noticed this but thought nothing of it. 

None of Teikoku's players deserved this. Genda and Sakuma did not deserve this, and certainly not Michiya and Tatsuya.

"Everyone!" Endou cried once he and the other players arrived with the managers and Hibiki.

"Endou?" Kidou asked, surprised.

"Fuyuka called me and told me everything," Shinichi explained. "What happened?"

Kidou told them what had happened just like he told Shuichi, Shukichi, and Mary before.

"No... that's not possible..." Ran gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "What kind of monster is their captain?!"

Sonoko froze, her jaw dropped from disbelief and shock at what Aphrodi had done. She was unaware however, of how Aki was looking at her.

Aki recalled how Sonoko would smile while talking on the phone, or when she said that she had someone interested in her, and she was interested in him, too.

'Sonoko... could it be that the Zeus Captain is the one you were talking about...?' Aki thought in disbelief. 

"And here I thought Kageyama couldn't get any lower..." Hibiki sighed heavily.

"Oneesan!" Haruna cried, hugging Kidou, thankful that he was still standing in front of her considering all that had just happened.

Shinichi remained silent, staring at the ground, before he walked into Tatsuya's room.

Shinichi frowned once he saw that Tatsuya was unconscious, lying in bed, with multiple bandages all over his body.

"Hey... what happened to beating Raimon, huh? Weren't you supposed to win and face us in the finals?" Shinichi said. 

He knew that there was no way Tatsuya was going to respond, but he also knew that Tatsuya could hear him.

"Dude, you..." Shinichi wiped his eyes, feeling tears forming, and continued, "You said you've come up with more Hissatsu with Kidou for your team and that Teikoku was unstoppable. What happened?"

Shinichi clenched his teeth and swore angrily, "I swear, I'll avenge you, we will defeat Zeus, and teach them a lesson!"

Shinichi took one last look at Tatsuya before he left the room, and entered Michiya's room, where Sharon now sat next to him.

"Shinichi? How-"

"Fuyuka called, and Kidou explained everything to us outside. The rest of my team is checking on the rest of Teikoku," Shinichi interrupted, before he looked at Michiya.

Michiya was not just his uncle, he was the man who changed his life. The one who introduced him to soccer and taught him, the one who transferred him to Raimon and made him meet his friends, who helped him learn his Hissatsu, who made him stay with his family instead of being alone.

He was the man who made his life better.

And now, because of a narcissistic sociopathic coach, he was lying unconscious in a hospital bed, bandages all over him.

"He knew that Kageyama was out, he wanted to handle this alone to protect us all," Sharon mumbled, wiping her tears, not wanting to cry in front of Shinichi.

"I understand... I would've done the same..." Shinichi sighed heavily.

He turned to leave the room before he turned to Sharon and said, "I'll avenge him."

"You won't be the only one," Sharon nodded.

At any other situation, Shinichi would've wanted to know what that meant, but now? He did not care.

He walked out of the room and headed toward the other room, where Genda and Sakuma were placed.

He walked in, Gouenji and Endou right behind him, and Genda and Sakuma looked up once they heard the door open.

"So, you heard from Kidou, huh?" Genda mumbled, staring at his bandaged hands and arms. "My hands broke from trying to stop their shots... I managed to block their shots with Panther Dive, but the strength... it put a strain on my hands, until they broke..."

"Wait, you meant to tell me there were attempted shots on goal?!" Endou asked in disbelief.

"If it weren't for Genda, we would've been 20 to zero... they didn't even give us a chance to use our team hissatsu, we couldn't even reach the team's defense!" Sakuma exclaimed in anger, before he winced, feeling pain in his right leg. "Only one attempt on goal with Twin Boost, and that was it."

"They took you down with their shots or tackles?" Gouenji asked, with his arms crossed.

"At first, they took down the other team players, then Genda's hands broke while we were receiving their shots. They then broke my leg with one of their tackles, and Kidou barely made it out of one of them but Tatsuya... Kageyama ordered the captain of the team to take him out with all of his might," Sakuma explained.

"He used his shot, Zeus Knows, and it hit Tatsuya right in the face, and he did not move an inch after it," Genda continued.

Endou and Gouenji shared a look, before they glanced at Shinichi, who was staring at the ground.

"Kageyama ordered him to attack the managers after the match was over but Kantoku took the hit, allowing the girls to go call for help. Then Kageyama grabbed a heavy object and slammed it on Kantoku's head, and he fell unconscious," Sakuma continued.

"This is not a soccer match, this was a crime! That Kageyama has to be stopped!" Endou cried.

"All of them will." 

Everyone turned to Shinichi, who had his hands placed in his pockets, his voice cold and angry.

"This was a crime, Kageyama was the mastermind, and everyone in Zeus was an accomplice, they are all criminals," he said.

"Kudou, what are you implying?" Gouenji asked, narrowing his eyes, for he had an idea about what Shinichi was implying.

"I'll report what happened to the police, and I'll have them all arrested, and I'll ask Kisaki-san to make sure Zeus spends as many years as possible in juvenile prison," Shinichi declared.

He then turned to leave the room as he said, "But first, I ought to pay Aphrodi a visit..."

Kazemaru let out a heavy sigh once he left the room of one of the Teikoku players, before he spotted a girl standing at the end of the hall, pointing at him to come to her.

Kazemaru blinked, surprised. He was used to having fangirls but they usually rushed toward him, not motioning for him to come.

Kazemaru walked toward the girl as he asked, "Do you need something?"

The girl had pale skin, with orange-like eyes, long light grey hair with bangs over her forehead. In Kazemaru's point of view, she was extremely beautiful.

"My name is Afuro Hitomi, but my parents and friends call me Freya," the girl said. "I'm Zeus's Captain's twin sister, and their manager."

Kazemaru looked surprised before he glanced behind him at his team, then he turned to her and said, "You shouldn't be here, my team is not happy with what happened to Teikoku, and I don't want to test if they will react well to you're presence or not."

"I'm aware, that's why I asked you, since I know you're a calm person," Freya said. "Terumi didn't mean to hurt anyone, he never wanted that."

"Tell that to the Teikoku players," Kazemaru scoffed.

"Just listen! He was already helping Zeus get better on his own, then Kageyama appeared, and all that Terumi told me was that he threatened him, but he did not tell me with what," Freya explained before she grabbed Kazemaru's hands, holding them tightly. "Please, help my brother!"

She then let go and ran off, leaving Kazemaru in his thoughts.

"Whoa, who's the girl?" Handa asked as he approached Kazemaru with Someoka and Max.

"Zeus Captain's sister and the team's manager," Kazemaru replied.

"Huh?! What is she doing here after what her team had done?!" Someoka cried angrily.

"Asking for help," Kazemaru replied.

"Are you serious? Because the blush on your face ain't helping," Max said dryly. 

Kazemaur shook his head, trying to remove the blush, but it only increased upon realizing that he was caught by his friends.

"You've gotta be kidding me, seriously?!" Handa cried. "The day you decided to blush toward a girl, it was Zeus Captain's sister?!"

"All of you shut up, before I blow you away, and I mean it!" Kazemaru hissed.

Aphrodi sat on the stairs of Zeus Academy, staring at the ground, a grim expression on his face.

He did not like this. He wanted to win fair and square against Teikoku, he wanted to enjoy soccer.

He did not want to obliterate the team, he did not want to hurt Tatsuya and Michiya like he did.

He thought his shot knocked out Tatsuya only, but he received a text from Freya telling him he is in a coma, and he hurt Michiya, before Kageyama put him in a coma.

Aphrodi slammed his right fist into the ground angrily as he growled, "I can't do anything... after what Kageyama did, especially to the team, I'm essentially his accomplice in everything, and Sonoko..."

Aphrodi then heard the sound of a notification, so he pulled out his phone and frowned at the text he received from Sonoko.

You and me... Tomorrow at the public park... 10 am sharp... Or else I'll barge into your home...

"She hates me... no doubt about it... she hates the monster I've officially become..." Aphrodi sighed heavily, accepting the inevitable.

He ran a hand through his hair as he thought, 'What should I do?'

The Next Day,

Aphrodi walked toward Sonoko, who had a look of heartbreak on her face.

"What have you done?" She asked, hurt. "Do you have any idea what you have just done?!"

"I can't explain, but when the time comes you'll understand," Aphrodi muttered.

"That's it? That's all you've got to tell me, Afuro?!" Sonoko cried.

Aphrodi winced, hearing her say his family name and not his nickname or first name left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Sonoko-"

"That boy you put in a coma, was my childhood friend..." Sonoko mumbled, tearing up, her mind recalling how she would play with Tatsuya, Ran, and Shinichi as kids.

"What?!" Aphrodi cried in disbelief. He did not know that. He thought Sonoko was mad just because of the action itself, but the fact that she knew one of the players.

"I just came to inform you... that Shinichi is onto you and the rest of the team... and this won't just settle with a soccer match... Goodbye, Afuro..." Sonoko replied before she ran away, tears running down her face.

'Why did I fall for that monster?!' She thought.

"Sonoko, wait!" Aphrodi cried, but Sonoko kept going.

He was worried about Shinichi handling things outside of soccer, but he was much more heartbroken, by Sonoko leaving him.

His princess...

'What have I done? What have I done...?!'

Aphrodi returned to his manor, feeling heavy in his heart. He saw his parents seated in the living room and quietly greeted them.

"Terumi, you have a soccer friend waiting for you in your room," his mother said in Korean.

"A soccer friend?" He repeated in the same language, before he went upstairs.

Aphrodi expected to see once he entered one of the Zeus team players, but his eyes widened once he saw Shinichi leaning on the wall of his room.

"Did you really think what you did was going to pass by?" Shinichi asked coldly.

Aphrodi chose to remain silent.

"What? Do you want a lawyer to respond?" Shinichi snorted.

"I don't think you would understand why I did this," Aphrodi replied, calmly.

"I see..." Shinichi chuckled darkly, before he walked away, passing by Aphrodi.

"I'll make sure you are not just banned from this game, but I'll send you and your friends to juvenile prison," Shinichi threatened, glaring at Aphrodi, then he left.

Aphrodi tried to remain calm, but he felt fear deep down inside him from the look in Shinichi's eyes. He did not want to settle this by a soccer match.

He wanted to demolish Zeus, once and for all...

And that left Aphrodi in a dilemma, what was he supposed to do now? Kageyama is threatening him with Sonoko and now Freya, and Shinichi is focused on destroying his whole life.

"What did I do in my life to deserve this?" He mumbled.

Chapter Text

“Shinichi…” Ran trailed off once she entered Shinichi’s room, where she saw him working on his study desk.

“What?” He asked, his voice stiff and cold. “I’m working on new Hissatsu, the Senbyama team is known for their unbreakable defense. We need to win so we can crush Zeus.”

Ran frowned. She knew Shinichi did not care about winning the frontier now; it was all about revenge for him.

“But that won’t happen if you don’t attend the team training, it’s been 5 days since..." Ran trailed sadly, remembering what happened.

"The house is quiet without them, and Asami keeps on crying for her big brother and father to return," Shinichi mumbled.

"Shinichi," Ran started as she approached him, placing her hand over his, and continued, "I know how you feel and what you want, but you know Tatsuya and Michiya-Ojisan would've wanted you to continue playing. First, we win against Senbayama, then the next team, and so on, until we face Zeus."

Shinichi sighed heavily, remaining silent for a few seconds, and then he asked, "Did you notice how Sonoko reacted to this whole ordeal?"

"What do you mean? She was sad like the rest of us," Ran said, confused.

"No, something else is going on, and I want to find out what it is," Shinichi muttered.

"Thanks for coming," Kidou mumbled as he invited Shiho inside his house. "Endou was here a while ago."

"What did you talk about, if you don't mind me asking?" Shiho said.

"I told him my backstory, and we spoke about what happened," Kidou said. "I'm the only Teikoku player standing on his feet, now, and I'm all alone, and I don't know what to do."

"You are not alone, you have the Raimon players, the Teikoku managers, and me," Shiho argued.

"I don't know any of them well except for Endou. Gouenji is cold toward me, and Shinichi cut contact after what happened. As for the managers, I'm only close to Fuyuka, and you... You are hiding something from me, and it's bothering me," Kidou replied sternly.

Shiho remained silent, looking away. She knew she should not get Kidou involved in her mess, or else he would get hurt, but he was closed off now, after what happened.

Kidou sighed in disappointment. He had expected Shiho to speak up, but she did not.

"Miyan Shiho,"

Kidou looked at her, surprised once he heard her speak, but he was more surprised by her removing the wig and her contact lenses, revealing her true appearance, which was a hundred times prettier than before.

"That's my real name, and I'll tell you my story, and what should you do, without interrupting me, understand?" she said sternly.

Kidou said nothing and only nodded.

The day of the Raimon and Senbayama match had officially arrived, with both teams standing ready on the field. Since Senbayama was known for its unbreakable defense, Aki decided to change the formation of the team in order to be capable of stopping Senbayama's attacks, while also trying to break their defense.

Senbayama Middle School

Formation: Iron Wall (4-3-2-1)

Coach: Shinno Kamekichi

Manager: None

GK: Ayano Youichi (1)

DF: Sumino Eisuke (2), Serizawa Kazunori (3), Makiya Hiroshi (4), Shiotani Hiro (5)

MF: Yamane You (6), Ikui Shouji (7), Oogi Noburo (8)

AMF: Harano Tooru (9/Captain), Negami Daichi (10)

FW: Tanushimaru Shigeki (11)

Substitutes: Kusasao Hisashi (12/DF), Yoneyama Uehito (13/DF), Inukai Shigeki (14/DF), Fukui Sakuhei (15/DF), Fuji Chichiro (16/DF)

Raimon Middle School

Formation: Counter Offense (5-2-3)

Coach: Hibiki

Managers: Ran, Aki, Haruna, Natsumi, Sonoko

GK: Endou (Captain)

DF: Kabeyama (CB), Kurimatsu (LB), Kageno (CB), Kazemaru (CB), Domon (RB)

MF: Max, Handa

FW: Gouenji (ST), Someoka (LW), Shinichi (RW)

Substitutes: Shourin, Shishido, Megane

"Huh? Since when do you play offense?!" Harano cried at Shinichi.

Shinichi refused to respond, before he looked at the only player not present on the field and at the coach.

"Kantoku! Why is Max on the field yet?! We want to start the match!" Shinichi cried.

"Because Max won't play this match, a new player will," Hibiki replied.

"A new player?!" everyone chorused, but Gouenji, who slightly smirked.

"That's against the rules!" Harano cried.

"Actually, if a player transferred days before this match, he's acknowledged as a member of the team," Kakuma explained to the players and the crowd, where Akemi and Shiho were seated.

"Who is it then?" Endou wondered.

Hibiki smirked, "Took you long enough."

"Sorry, I was getting ready."

Everyone's eyes widened at the new player who entered the field, and the crowd was in disbelief.

Kidou Yuuto pushed his blue cape backward, now wearing the Raimon uniform, becoming player number 14.

"KIDOU!!!" Endou cried happily.

"I knew he was going to join," Gouenji said,

"Whoa, seriously? He's one of us now?!" Someoka cried.

"Oneesan! You said... You said you weren't going to do anything!" Haruna cried in disbelief.

"Well, I had a change of heart," Kidou shrugged, before he looked at Shiho, who nodded at him.

"What did you do?" Akemi asked her, curiously.

"I just snapped him out of his frozen state," Shiho shrugged.

Endou raised his hand at the referee, asking for five minutes for the team to talk before the match, and he nodded.

The team gathered around Kidou, greeting him, still surprised.

"I can't believe you are one of us now," Kazemaru said.

"It was a long time coming, and I think we all here want to defeat Zeus, don't we?" Kidou said, earning the nods of everyone.

"Then to do so, we need to win this, we need to break their defense," Kidou said. "We will win against them, against Zeus, and win the cup."

"I couldn't have said it better!" Kurimatsu cried.

"Kino-san!" Kidou called, and Aki rushed toward him. "Change the formation to one more midfielder-focused, they'll expect us to focus on the offense and forwards more, they won't see this coming."

"We could go with the 4-4-2, nothing wrong can happen with it, but I have a better one," Aki suggested. 4-2-2-1-1. Domon and Handa will be our DMF, you and Shinichi in the middle, Someoka will be our AMF, and Gouenji our striker."

"I never played as an AMF before," Someoka mumbled.

"Nor I as DMF," Handa nodded.

"There is a first time for everything, guys, and I'm pretty sure we can do this!" Endou exclaimed.

Kidou smiled at Endou's enthusiasm, but he turned to Shinichi, who was silent during the whole conversation, and was glaring at Kidou.

The team returned to the field while Aki returned to the managers.

"Oh! Looks like Raimon changed their formation now that Kidou is on a team, and what a strange formation it is!" Kakuma commented.

Raimon Middle School

Formation: 4-2-2-1-1

GK: Endou (Captain)

DF: Kurimatsu (LB), Kazemaru (CB), Kabeyama (CB), Kageno (RB)

DMF: Domon

MF: Kidou Yuuto (14), Shinichi

AMF: Someoka

ST: Gouenji

"This is the formation that's destined to fail!" Tanushimaru laughed.

"Kidou, how much do you need to analyze Senbayama?" Shinichi asked all of a sudden.

"10 minutes, just like you," Kidou replied. "But, we have analyzed the team before using the records of their previous matches, and I have analyzed Raimon too, so we won't have a problem."

Shinichi said nothing.

The referee whistled, starting the kickoff with Harano passing the ball to Tanushimaru.

He dribbles through Goeunji before passing to Harano, who passes to Ikui.

"Mogura (Mole) Feint!" he cried. Ikui jumped in the air with his right foot raised, stomping the ball with it onto the ground. As the ball burrows through the ground, molehills begin to appear, confusing his opponent, Someoka. Once the ball rose out of the ground, Ikui sprang into the air and trapped with his chest, successfully getting past Someoka.

"Too easy!" Ikui laughed.

"Eagle Claw!" Shinichi cried, using his tackle to take the ball from Ikui and dashing forward.

He saw the midfielders charging toward him, and that's when he saw, from the corner of his eye, Kidou dashing at his side.

The two boys looked at each other, realizing they shared the same way of thinking, the same thoughts, so they nodded at each other.

Shinichi kicked the ball toward Kidou with a blue trail, who head butted back to Shinichi with a purple trail.

Senbayam's eyes widened in shock. Kidou and Shinichi were performing a one-two pass to get past them, using their heads.

"Wow...Those two are indeed geniuses!" Max commented.

"With them both on the team, we are unstoppable!"

"Gouenji! Fire Tornado down!" Kidou commanded once he received the ball.

Gouenji nodded, understanding what Kidou meant, and jumped high.

Kidou backflipped, kicking the ball high in the air.

Gouenji spun around himself, creating the fire tornado, before he kicked the ball with his right foot as he cried, "Fire!"

The ball went down as Kidou wanted, who took a step forward and kicked it, crying, "Boost!"

The ball now had spiraling flames around it as it headed toward the goal.

Ayano got into position, crossing his arms in the air and quickly crouching, reeling back his arms. He then sprang into the air and did a series of flips, joining his hands together and gathering bright yellow energy. As the ball heads towards the goal, he closed in on it and chopped it down.

"Makiwari (Wood-Splitting) Chop!" he cried.

The ball was supposed to bounce off and away, but Ayano's eyes widened once the ball broke free from his hands and entered the goal.

Senbayama 0 - 1 Raimon

"GOAAALLLLL! RAIMON IS THE FIRST TEAM TO SCORE AGAINST SENBAYAMA IN THIS TOURNAMENT! THANKS TO KUDOU'S ASSIST, AND KIDOU AND GOUENJI'S MOVE!" Kakuma roared, his voice louder than the crowd's cheering for Raimon.

"I didn't think you'd do as I say after our encounter," Kidou said as Gouenji approached him, followed by Shinichi.

"I was trying to snap you out of your defeated state," Gouenji shrugged with a smirk. "So, Fire Boost, huh?"

"A combination of Twin Boost and Fire Tornado," Kidou nodded, then he turned to Shinichi, "If you were okay with me, why were you glaring at me back then?"

"Sorry, I am just pissed off with what has happened, and the Senbayama team is nothing but a bunch of arrogant pricks," Shinchi explained.

"Impossible! You only got lucky!" Harano cried angrily.

"See what I mean?" Shinichi said, then he turned to Kidou and asked, "How about we call our one-two pass... Aerial Duo?"

"Sounds good to me," Kidou nodded with a smile.

The players went back to their positions, and the kickoff started with Harano passing to Tanushimaru this time.

Tanushimaru passed to Harano, evading Gouenji and Someoka.

"I meant it when I said you got lucky!" Harano cried.

Harano started jogging on the ball and quickly started picking up speed. The ball then got covered with bright blue energy as he started running through the field, hopping off of the ball as it headed towards the goal, akin to a snake.

"Run Ball Run!" he cried.

Endou slammed his fists together, ready to stop it, but everyone's eyes widened once they saw who stood ahead to stop it: Kageno.

"Shadow Presence!" he cried. Kageno stretched his arms, creating from his shadow a large black wall that the ball hit for a few seconds, before it fell at Kageno's feet.

"WOW! Did you all see how Kageno stopped Run Ball Run with his new hissatsu?!" Kakuma commented.

"Way to go, Kageno!" Endou cheered.

Kageno nodded before he passed to Kazemaru, and Shinichi then cried, "Kazemaru! High!"

Kazemaru nodded before he kicked the ball while crying, "Wind Pass!"

The ball flew high in the air, protected by a wind gust, reaching Senbayama's defense.

"Stop Gouenji!" Harano ordered.

The Senbayama team's defense and midfielders focused on Gouenji, who smirked at them, and that's when they realized Gouenji was not making any move.

When they looked up, their eyes widened. Kidou and Shinichi had jumped up high, and they performed an overhead. Shinichi spun, kicking the ball with the back of his heel, while Kidou spun and kicked it with his feet, the ball glowing a mix of purple and blue.

"Overhead Boost!" they chorused.

The ball rushed toward the goal like a bullet, and Ayano did not even see it as capable of stopping it, so it entered the goal.

Senbayama 0 - 2 Raimon

"GOAAALLLL! THE ELEVENTH STRIKER AND GENIUS GAMEMAKER CREATE THEIR OWN HISSATSU ON SPOT AND SCORE!!! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FEAT!" Kakuma cried.

"And here I thought you were gonna push me to score the second goal by yourself," Kidou joked.

"Why be rivals when we can be friends, kicking asses together?" Shinichi said.

Kidou nodded, raising his hand, and Shinichi held it, confirming the team-up of Japan's best middle school midfielders.

The referee whistled, announcing the end of the first half.

"Dude! You were amazing back there!" Max told Kageno, who only had a small smile.

"Yeah, you didn't tell us you had a new Hissatsu!" Shourin exclaimed.

"I was still working on it," Kageno shrugged.

"So, I guess we won this match," Domon said confidently, earning a slap on the back of his head from Aki.

"Hey!" he cried.

"Don't get too cocky, they can still win," Aki pointed out.

"If you all don't mind... I'd like to send a message to Zeus... Senbayama has a hissatsu named Mugen no Kabe, and no hissatsu can get through it, not even a three-player one," Kidou said.

"So, I suppose they will use it now after we scored two goals, and focus more on the offense," Endou guessed.

"Indeed, but I have a hissatsu we can use, one I made for my team, but we already have a four-man hissatsu designed by Tatsuya, so we can use this," Kidou nodded. "Endou, Gouenji, Kudou, listen carefully to how it should be done."

The 15-minute break ended, and the second half started, this time with Raimon.

Gouenji passed the ball to Someoka, who rushed forward, but Sumino, Seriwaza, and Yamane closed on him.

Someoka came to a sudden halt as he saw all three users encircling him with their arms spread out. As they slowly closed in on him, they quickly jumped in the air and slide tackled him all at once, blowing him away in a dusty cloud, with one of them sliding with the ball and successfully stealing it from him.

"Kagome Kagome!" they cried, before they rushed forward, and Serizawa, who had the ball, passed it to Tanushimura.

Tanushimura hopped off the field with the ball and reeled back his right leg, gathering a harsh shine on his foot. He then shot the ball, charging it with the harsh shine and momentarily blinding Endou as it headed towards the goal.

"Shine Drive!" he cried.

But Kabeyama stood between the ball and Endou, knowing he could stop it even if the harsh shine was blinging him too.

"The Wall!" he cried. He crouched and quickly extended both of his arms in the air, a large wall rising behind him, shaking the ground beneath.

The ball hit the wall, stopped by it, and fell at Kabeyama's feet, who passed to Handa.

"Now!" Kidou cried.

Senbayama's eyes widened once they saw Kidou, Gouenji, Shinichi, and Endou rushing forward, heading toward the goal.

When they saw Raimon's top players heading toward the goal.

"STOP THEM! TAKE THE BALL!" Harano cried.

Handa passed to Someoka, who had a blue dragon appear behind him as he cried, "Dragon Pass!"

He kicked the ball, the Chinese dragon following, keeping any Senbayama player from intercepting it, before it fell at Kidou's feet.

Makiya and Shiotani stood next to Ayano, ready.

Ayano stood by the goal with his arms crossed while the other two moved in front of him in a zigzag pattern. Once the two users in the front came to a sudden halt, they quickly extended both of their arms in the air, making multiple rock walls emerge from the field behind Ayano.

"Mugen no Kabe! (Infinite Wall!)" They chorused.

The ball landed at Kidou's feet, who stood behind with the ball on his foot while the three ran ahead of him, crossing each other. Kidou then kicked the ball in the air, covering it in a purple sphere of energy. The ball came to a sudden halt, making dark purple swirls surround it. As the ball goes down, akin to a lightning strike, it is covered in yellow lightning with a trail of purple sparks. Kidou, Gouenji, Endou, and Shinichi simultaneously jumped, with Endou volleying it from the right, Gouenji from the left, Shinichi kicking it from below, overhead style, and Kidou from above.

"INAZUMA (Lightning) BREAK!" the four players chorused at the top of their lungs, kicking the ball together.

The ball collided with the wall, making Makiya and Shiotani crouch, the wall draining the energy of the ball, but their eyes widened once the ball easily broke through the goal, entering the goal.

Senbayama 0 - 3 Raimon

"GOAAALLLLL! RAIMON'S FIRST FOUR-PLAYER HISSATSU SCORES THE THIRD GOALLLL!!!" Kakuma cried,

The referee then whistled, signaling the end of the match and Raimon's victory.

The players and the managers cheered, celebrating on the field, with Haruna hugging both Gouenji and Kidou, with the second glaring at the first.

"Why is she hugging you?" Kidou asked.

"Ask her," Gouenji pretended not to know.

Haruna broke the hug, just as Endou pulled the two with Shinichi into a group hug.

"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON SPECTACULARLY!" Endou cheered, laughing out of joy.

"Is he always like this?" Kidou joked.

"You have no idea, he has been wanting to play with you since you kicked the ball at him," Shinichi chuckled.

"Just wait until you see him training with the tire," Gouenji said.

"What?" Kidou blinked.

Aki turned and looked at Sonoko, who was putting on her face a fake smile of happiness, but Aki could see the hurt in her eyes. She wanted to ask her what was wrong, but her phone rang.

Natsumi and Ran watched the interaction, glancing at Aki as she walked away, before they looked back at Sonoko.

"You know her more than I. Can you guess what's wrong with her?" Natsumi asked.

"I think... I think Sonoko had feelings for a player at Zeus Academy," Ran said. "I've been watching her ever since Shinichi pointed out that her sadness is weird, and he was right. She was not just sad about what happened, but also about who did it."

"And who would that player be?" Natsumi asked.

"My guess, the captain, the one who put Tatsuya in a coma," Ran replied, making Natsumi sigh heavily.

"We need to talk to her, but we need to figure out how so we don't hurt her in any way..." Natsumi said.

Back at the hospital, Sakuma and Genda nodded at each other with a proud smile, proud of what their best friend had accomplished at Raimon.

In your Tatsuya's room, Fuyuka held Asami while seated next to Tatsuya, Masumi on the other side, Shuichi and Shukichi behind her, all feeling slightly happy at Raimon's win.

In Michiya's room, Sharon sat next to Michiya, Mary behind her, who looked at Sharon to see a faint, proud smile on her face.

Aphrodi watched on TV at his manor the match, with his arms crossed, analyzing the whole match, and staring at Shinichi's face, who was shown cheering with his team.

Aphrodi heard the doorbell ring, and his parents were not present, so he went to open the door, not noticing Freya, who was just walking downstairs.

"Yes?" he said once he opened the door, not recognizing the woman across him.

"You must be Afuro Terumi, my name is Kisaki Eri, a lawyer, and we need to discuss what you did at the match," she said.

Aphrodi put on a poker face, but his heart dropped, realising that Shinichi was true to his words.

Freya audibly gasped, covering her hands with her mouth, alerting both to her presence.

"Freya! Go upstairs!" Aphrodi ordered sternly.

"Please! He's being forced to do this!" Freya cried, rushing down toward Eri.

"Is he? Well, how about we all talk about this before taking any action?" Eri suggested.

Aphrodi said nothing, but nodded grimly, wondering what his fate was going to be.

Aki answered the call, seeing that it was from Mai.

"Hello, Mai, how- why are you crying?!" she asked, alarmed.

"Aki-chan... He... Kazuya..." Mai struggled to respond between her crying, until Aki heard a male voice speak, and the sound of the phone being handed to someone.

"Aki, it's me..."

Aki's eyes widened at the sound of the male voice she had not heard of in years, the voice that always made her heart skip a beat.

"K-Kazuya..?"

Chapter Text

Shinichi lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The house was empty. Asami was with Sharon in the hospital, looking after Michiya and Tatsuya. Fuyuka was checking on the Teikoku players, while Ran was at the Raimon Soccer Field, watching the team practice with the rest of the managers and thinking about the next team plan to follow and improve.

He felt like he did not want to attend the practice, or even play soccer, because it felt wrong doing so, when the man who helped him reach where he is, is in a coma, and his cousin, his brother, is still unconscious.

The last text he received from Ran was from Aki, telling them that Ichinose Kazuya was alive (something he already knew but had forgotten to tell Aki), and was coming to Japan to visit them.

Shinichi let out a heavy sigh as he sat up, pinching the bridge of his nose as he mumbled, “I can’t stay in bed like this, none of them would have wanted that... I have to go to practice.”

Raimon Soccer Field,

Shinichi arrived at the field, and the first thing he noticed was that the players were forming a circle around someone, cheering happily about something. All he could see was that Aki was standing way too close to whoever that was, and Mai was there, too, holding hands with that person, as if she was afraid he would disappear again.

“Shinichi, you came!” Ran exclaimed happily once she spotted Shinichi. Her cry made everyone look at him, and that’s when Shinichi saw who they were surrounding: Ichinose Kazuya.

“So, you came,” Shinichi said coolly, his choice of words surprising everyone, including Aki.

“Wait... You knew Kazuya was alive?” Aki asked, surprised and slightly hurt that Shinichi never told her.

“I wanted to tell you, but I forgot because of what we were going through. Sorry about that,” Shinichi said as he walked toward them, and everyone noticed how his light attitude was gone, now being almost cold. “So, you’re the best Japanese American player everyone talks about? Even more than Domon and Nishikage Mamoru, the Pegasus Magician...”

Ichinose blinked at Shinichi’s attitude. He was excited to meet Shinichi after hearing about him, but his attitude was an instant turn-off. But Ichinose was not turned off, because Aki and Domon had brought him up to speed about everything that was happening with Raimon, including what happened to Michiya and Tatsuya.

“Say, want to see the new Hissatsu we succeeded in, as a memory of my new friendship with you guys?” Ichinose asked with a friendly smile, his response surprising the others who were worried he’d react badly to Shinichi’s attitude.

Shinichi shrugged, pretending not to care, but he was genuinely interested.

The team cleared out of the field with the managers and Mai, Ran being the last to leave, as she was staring at Shinichi with worry.

“Don’t worry,” Kidou said once Ran stood next to him. “I’ll snap him out of this attitude, that doesn’t suit him.

“I hope so,” Ran mumbled sadly.

Ichinose dribbled the ball, waiting for Endou to stand on his right and Domon on his left.

Ichinose then dribbled with the ball while the two others ran beside them. All three users ran in a line each at a time to form a triangle, with Ichinose leaving the ball behind. The trail the users left behind became lit up in blue fire, sending the ball high into the air. A blue, fire-covered Pegasus appeared below the aura-covered ball, and the three then jumped onto the ball one at a time, sending it towards the goal.

“Tri-Pegasus!” They chorused.

Shinichi watched as the ball entered the empty goal, deep down impressed. He wanted to be happy, to be enthusiastic just as he used to be about soccer after he saw this hissatsu, but it was as if he had forgotten how to be happy after what happened to his uncle and brother.

Shinichi zoned out, not hearing Ichinose asking him what he thinks, and that made everyone look at him in worry and-

Shinichi snapped out of his state when the soccer ball hit him right in the face, sending him flying to the ground.

Shinichi sat up shocked, rubbing his face, and he looked at the one who had kicked the ball toward him.

“For how long are you going to be like this?” Kidou said sternly, his arms crossed. “You’ve been skipping training, and you don’t even train by yourself, and now you’re acting like a complete jerk.”

Shinichi frowned, standing up to face Kidou as he said, “And you aren’t one? Just because you became nice all of a sudden doesn’t mean you aren’t one!”

Kidou was not hurt by those words, knowing that Shinichi did not mean it, and he just wanted to say anything to avoid this confrontation, but Kidou was not going to give him that chance.

Shinichi knelt to pick up the ball, but Ichinose rushed and took the ball, dribbling it.

“Why do you want the soccer ball if you were planning on leaving?” Ichinose chuckled, balancing the ball on his head.

“I’ll practice privately,” Shinichi replied stiffly.

“There is no private practice in soccer, pal,” Ichinose laughed. “You want the ball? Come and get it!”

Shinichi snarled before he dashed toward Ichinose, who dropped the ball off his head, onto his right foot, balancing himself as he turned, avoiding Shinichi.

“Come on, Kudou! I know you are better than that!” Ichinose exclaimed, feeling excited about finally facing Shinichi one-on-one.

Shinichi dashed again, and he managed to take the ball this time, smirking at Ichinose. However, he was surprised that Ichinose did not let him pass; both players were equally skilled.

Endou looked back and forth between Ichinose and Shinichi as they had their dribbling match, then he looked at Kidou, who was smirking.

A wide smile appeared on Endou’s face, if Raimon could have Ichinose too on the team, Raimon would be impossible! All three geniuses on one team, how can any team defeat that?

Ichinose managed to get the ball again, and he caught it between both of his feet, backflipping, before kicking the ball toward Kidou, much to Shinichi’s surprise.

Kidou blinked for a second, before he spun on one leg around himself, holding the second leg with his hand, before he let go, kicking the ball in Shinichi’s direction, the same style of kicking as in Full Metal Phantom Storm.

Shinichi kicked the ball high in the air, just as Ichinose cried, “Heel!”

Kidou and Shinichi understood what he meant. The three players jumped high in the air, flipping the process, before they simultaneously kicked the ball with their heels, sending it rushing toward the goal, with an arrow-like blue-purple aura around it.

The Raimon players and managers gasped in awe at the new shot that the three players had just created.

Shinichi stared at the ball, finally acknowledging and remembering the happiness he would get from playing soccer, from succeeding in a hissatsu, from playing with his friends.

“Nice work, I didn’t think you’d help snap him out of it,” Kidou nodded at Ichinose.

“Hey, I was a jerk for faking my death, you were a jerk with Teikoku, now he’s being a jerk. We ex-jerks have to help him,” Ichinose chuckled.

Shinichi let out a heavy sigh and turned to face everyone as he said, “I’m sorry about what happened… about how I treated you all and avoided you… I was… not myself… I was angry, and that anger affected you.”

Endou smiled, placing a hand on Shinichi’s shoulder as he said, “We all have our bad moments, but what matters is that we get back up.”

“If you had continued that attitude I’d have kicked the ball to your face, harder than Kidou,” Gouenji scoffed.

“I’m seriously considering staying, I like you guys,” Ichinose said, placing his hands on the back of his head. “I seriously got nothing to do back in America.”

“You were willing to go back to America and leave me?!” Mai cried angrily, making Ichinose look at her fearfully.

“Uh, Mai… Of course, I was going to “

“Wasn’t it enough that you lied to me too about your death?! What’s wrong with you, Kazuya?!” Mai cried angrily.

“Uhh… Domon… Aki… Help…” Ichinose mumbled.

“I think you kinda deserve that,” Domon shrugged with a smirk.

“Just because we are happy you’re still alive, doesn’t mean we won’t let you face the consequences,” Aki huffed, crossing her arms.

Natsumi received a phone call and answered, lowering her voice while talking, before she ended the call.

“What is it? Was it the hospital? Is your father okay?” Endou asked, genuinely concerned.

“No, he’s okay. He’s getting better,” Natsumi replied with a smile, adoring Endou’s concern. “I just received news from the Frontier about who will be our next opponent; Kidokawa Seishuu.”

Shinichi and Kidou shared a look, before they looked at Gouenji, who frowned once he heard the name.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” Someoka wondered.

“It’s Gouenji’s former team,” Kazemaru reminded him.

“All the more reason for me to stay here, or else how will you guys use Tri-Pegasus and…” Ichinose trailed off, chuckling sheepishly, “I can’t find a name for the new Hissatsu I made with Kudou and Kidou…”

“Tri-Arrow… It’s as simple as that, not everything needs to be complicated…” Shinichi sweatdropped.

Endou shook Ichinose’s hand happily as he cried, “Welcome to the team!”

“Now we are even more unstoppable!” Max cheered.

“Three genius midfielders in one team!” Kabeyama cheered.

“Don’t forget two players in the team are international players, too,” Haruna smiled, motioning at Ichinose and Domon.

“And with me on the team,” Megane started with a smirk. “I, the-“

“Just shut up, will you?” Kageno grumbled, making Megane shiver in fear from his cold tone, and everyone laughed at the interaction.

Ran stared at Shinichi, smiling at seeing him back to his former self, before she turned to Sonoko.

As Ran expected, Sonoko still had a solemn look of disappointment on her face and was silent nearly all of the time.

Ran felt pity for her friend, now she was sure that Sonoko had a thing for Zeus’s Captain, and this situation was terrible for her.

‘What should I do to help her…?’ Ran wondered.

Eri waited patiently behind the door. She had already knocked three times on the door of the Kudou house, waiting for someone to open.

She expected Sharon to open the door since she told her she was at home, but she raised an eyebrow once she saw Mary opening the door instead.

“And who might you be?” Eri asked suspiciously and curiously.

“We can talk inside,” Mary said, allowing Eri to enter, and closed the door behind her.

Eri found Sharon staring at the ceiling until she walked in, and then she looked at Eri.

Eri glanced at Mary as she mumbled, “I see you’ve made a new friend here, a secret agent one.”

“My attitude and posture sold me away, didn’t it?” Mary scoffed, leaning her back on the wall.

“I’m not actually an actress, remember?” Sharon scoffed.

“Well, I don’t exactly have an idea what you are, but what I do know is that you have ties to the NPA SB,” Eri shrugged, glancing at Mary. “Including foreign ones, FBI?”

“MI6,” Mary replied.

Eri raised her right eyebrow in surprise before she turned to Sharon and asked, “When are you going to tell me what you exactly are? You know that someday you are going to need a lawyer to back you up at some point, but I will never be able to do so unless I know everything.”

Sharon remained silent for a few seconds before she looked at Mary, who gave her a surprised look for a second, before she asked, “Are you seriously asking for my opinion?”

“If I’m going to tell Eri everything, I’m going to tell her everything indeed,” Sharon insisted, as she pulled out her phone. “I need to call him, too.”

“Figures we both know the same person,” Mary scoffed before she shrugged. “I don’t mind, she seems trustworthy.”

“I’m still right here,” Eri said dryly.

“Hold on a minute, Kisaki-san, I need to make a phone call,” Sharon said.

NPA SB Headquarters,

An Office,

“I see, and Kisaki Eri has been a family friend for years, too?” Kuroda Hyoue asked as he glanced at the window of his office.

“Hai, she is the one who helped prove my husband’s innocence, too,” Sharon replied.

Kuroda hummed for a second before he said, “Fine, you can tell her. She can be trusted. Speaking of, the NPA SB will get indirectly involved with you even more, I’m assigning one of my best agents to help in protecting you.”

“Kuroda… I don’t need protection… Kageyama needs protection…” Sharon deadpanned.

“Don’t worry, you already know him, although I suggest you keep him away from Mary’s son, or else it might get messy,” Kuroda assured her.

Sharon was silent for a couple of seconds before she deadpanned, “Are you telling me that Bourbon is an NPA SB agent…?”

“So was Scotch, and they were childhood best friends,” Kuroda replied. “Furuya Rei will be excellent for this mission, especially since you’re mentoring him as Vermouth.”

“Oh great… Just what I needed… Fine, just have Sera and me meet him first…” Sharon replied.

“Affirmative, I’ll talk to you later,” Kuroda said, and Sharon ended the call.

Kuroda then turned toward the door once he heard a knock and said, “Enter.”

Furuya Rei walked in, bowed respectfully to Kuroda, and then he looked at the other person in the room, whom he instantly knew from the look that they were a civilian, but not one to be underestimated.

“Good that you are here, Zero. I have two missions for you, and they might be interconnected, since they both involve soccer,” Kuroda explained.

“I figured this would happen with the whole hissatsu thing,” Rei shrugged before he looked at the woman and asked, “Who is she?”

“Allow me to introduce you to Kira Hitomiko, a caretaker at Sun Garden orphanage, and from what she has told me, this might be a human trafficking case,” Kuroda introduced.

Rei looked at Hitomiko, who flipped her hair over her shoulder, and said, “How does she know about that? Just being the caretaker isn’t enough.”

“Funny, I should be asking you that since it’s your job to prevent crime and protect the people,” Hitomiko chuckled.

Rei was slightly taken aback by the response before he smirked, liking Hitomiko’s attitude and finding her interesting.

Kuroda raised an eyebrow at the interaction before he shrugged as he thought, ‘Well, Vineyard wouldn’t have to worry that much about Furuya.’