On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Some Truths Explained

They sat back down in silence, confusion and uncertainty thick in the air. It was only when Kariya cleared his throat that they all snapped out of it.

"So... are we not going to talk about who that person is and how she just vanished or...?"

"Who just vanished?" Aoi and the other girls had returned, carrying a large number of snacks in plastic bags.

"If you're talking about Tsurugi, then we just ran into him." Midori pointed towards the gate. "He looked pretty down though."

"Kimiko was here just now." Shindou filled them in on what happened while also telling the newer members what little they knew about her before. "And Tsurugi left after she..." He trailed off, partially because he didn't quite understand what happened at that last moment either.

"She seemed a little bit hostile towards Coach Kidou..." Hikaru pointed out.

"It's not without reason." The coach sighed. "It happened about a year ago. You can say that she had a much worse reaction than Amagi and Nishizono did when I first trained you all, particularly because that regiment was also much harder."

Haruna's eyes widened. "Nii-san, why would you―"

"Orders. Not from just anyone in Fifth Sector." His arms crossed over his chest. "It was a direct request from the Holy Emperor himself. 'Treat her harder than how you would treat any Teikoku soldier. Find her limit and push her through.' ... It was the first time I've seen someone unleash a keshin in person."

They all felt uneasy at the thought. Their training menus were already hard enough. They could hardly imagine what kind of training would lead to the forced summoning of a keshin.

"Although, because of that, she developed a sense of fear of playing on the pitch." He continued. "She can play soccer just fine on her own, but real matches are practically traumatic for her."

Seeing how no one else would, Midori took it upon herself to ask. "What makes you think that?"

"When I sent her back to Fifth Sector's headquarters, they called me saying that she never made it back. She disappeared for about two days, before suddenly appearing in the lobby and demanding to see the Holy Emperor. No one knows what happened between them, but despite how powerful she is even among the other SEEDs, Kimiko was never used."

"Until Tsurugi joined..." Tenma muttered.

He nodded. "Yes. But even then, she never joined the team for practice, or any of your matches, right?"

"That's true..."

"... Okay, but how about how she just vanished?!" Kariya repeated his question from earlier. "Normal humans don't just do that!"

"She said she was born with that ability." Tenma took the reins this time. "When I ran into her that time, she did all kinds of things... She said that no one actually knows how she got them because she doesn't know her real family."

"Which leads back to that training last year." Kidou cut in. "The main reason why she trained under me was because her powers grow stronger the better she gets at soccer, so the harsh training was meant to bring out her best abilities. The keshin was, for lack of a better word, a bonus."

"Abilities..." His sister could hardly even begin to comprehend.

Nishiki suddenly started humming. It got louder and louder before finally, it turned into a frustrated scream. "No good! All I got was that she was adopted by the Holy Emperor! Everything else is too twisty!"

"Nishiki! Read the room!" Midori was about to scold him further before his words processed in her ears. "Wait... Wait, what?! She got adopted by...?!"

"Oh, did we not mention that to you yet?"

"Well... The streaks in her hair make a little more sense now."

~~~~~

That was all he needed to hear. Pushing himself off the pillar, he cut through the alleys to get to the hospital. He let his mind wander as his feet moved upon memory.

Reaching the door, being sure to check if the number on the plate said 315, he let himself in. "Nii-san. I'm back."

"Kyousuke!" His brother beamed up at him. "Welcome back! Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you wear your tracksuit before. At least, not in person. Your headmaster called mom and dad, and told us. How was the training camp?"

"It was alright. I befriended a rival and got him to desert Fifth Sector... The rest of the island too, for that matter."

"Your revolution is spreading like wildfire, then. That's amazing!" Seeing the younger boy only nodding absentmindedly made him worry. "Kyousuke? Is something wrong?"

"... It's... Well..."

"Hey, you can tell me." His tone was gentle. "I know I can't do much for you like this, but I'm here for you if you need someone to listen." At that moment, his smile shined brighter than the sun.

"I ran into Kimiko earlier." How does that work every single time?! He pushed the thought aside as he began to explain. "I found out where she went and what she had been doing... As well as a bit more of her family history."

"She's finally opening up to you? That's great! She'd usually make us guess and make fun of us when we got it wrong."

"Yes, but..." His hand dug into his pocket and he showed him the necklace.

His eyes widened. "She gave that back to you?"

"Nii-san, do you remember last year? That time when I told you about how she came over late at night with a lot of injuries, and it took us the entire weekend to convince her to go home?"

"... What about it?"

And he spilled everything.