On The Side Of The Pitch With You

A Farewell For Now

"Kimiko!"

She turned to find Tenma running towards her. Without much thought, she gave him a smile. "Hey there! I heard you won against Teikoku."

"It was all thanks to Tsurugi!" The brunette immediately replied. "He made Ultimate Thunder work, and he scored the winning goal with a new move too! Death Drop!"

"I see. That's great then!" Her gaze went down to his dog. "And who's this fella?"

"His name is Sasuke!" He nudged the dog towards her. "Go on, Sasuke. Say hi."

She kneeled down to his level, letting him sniff her hand before petting him. "You sure are a good boy." He let out a small whine. She stood back up, facing the brunette again. "So, you go all the way to the school when you bring him out on walks?"

He laughed nervously. "No... Usually I just go to the riverbank, but I left my bottle in the clubroom..." His gaze turned to the large building. "But... I think it might already be locked."

"No problem. I can get you in."

"Eh? How?"

"Trust me." She held out a hand and he took it, confusion clear on his face. "Don't let go of his leash, alright?"

"Okay― Eh?!" They were no longer by the gates. She flicked the switch, turning the lights on to reveal the club's locker room. "W-What?!" Even Sasuke was looking around wondering what just happened.

"There it is." He made a move to get it, but stopped. Kimiko, who had pointed at said bottle, curled her finger. The bottle began to float and flew across the room, straight into her hand. "Here you go."

He blinked. "K-Kimiko... How...?" Nevertheless, he thanked her when she handed it to him.

"Honestly, I shouldn't have shown you any of that, but I wanted to help you a little." She shrugged. "It's really weird, isn't it? I think I was born this way, but since I was adopted, no one in my family really knows." Seeing him unsure of how to respond, she gave a wry smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to suddenly throw all this at you. Forget I said anything."

"O-Okay..." When she turned off the lights, he took her hand again and they found themselves outside, by the old clubroom. He patted Sasuke's head in hopes of calming him down.

"Hey, Tenma."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask... What do you think of Kyousuke?"

"Tsurugi? Well..." He hummed as he thought, before a spark seemed to have lit in his eyes. "He loves soccer from the bottom of his heart! I'm even more sure of it after today's match! Actually, I ran into him while I was on the way here. I think he'll start showing up to practice tomorrow."

She chuckled. "I see. Then, take care of him for me, will you?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Are you not coming tomorrow?"

"Some stuff came up, so you won't be seeing me for a while."

"What kind of stuff?"

She nudged his shoulder playfully. "That's for me to know." She gave him a small smile. "Tenma... Please, befriend Kyousuke. He might be a bit of a loner, but if it's you, I'm sure he'll warm up in no time."

"M-Me?" He looked down at Sasuke before slapping his own cheeks. "Okay! You can count on me! I'm sure that, through soccer, I'll be able to understand him better!" He looked at where the sun was setting just a few minutes ago. "It's almost dinner time. I should head back."

She nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you some other time."

He waved as he walked off. "See you, Kimiko! I promise Raimon will keep winning and reach the championship!"