On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Children of Fifth

It was done. Raimon had won in the finals of Holy Road. There were plenty of setbacks, the worst being the entire Seidouzan team being replaced by Dragonlink, a team full of keshin users, but they pulled through.

The next day, Endou wanted to call off practice, but due to the adrenaline from the finals still not having run its full course yet, they split themselves into two teams and played a mini match. It was that afternoon that he appeared.

"Gouenji!" The coach greeted his friend with a large smile.

"You dyed your hair back already?" Kidou's tone was only slightly teasing.

The blonde gave a shrug. "I figured that particular blue didn't suit me."

"Neither did those piercings. Or that suit."

"The tan looks great though." Endou gave him a thumbs up. "And you look alright with the tied hair too." The blonde gave a small smile as thanks.

"Great job, everyone! Let's take a break for― Gouenji-san?!" All eyes turned to the bench when their captain squeaked in surprise. Almost immediately they ran over to greet the man.

"Everyone, it's nice to finally be able to properly meet you all." He said. "And thank you for the revolution you brought to the soccer world."

"That's mostly Tenma." Shinsuke nudged his best friend forward, earning a nervous look.

"T-That's not―"

"Yeah! Tenma started it all by himself!" Midori piped in.

"I-I didn't―"

"He blew the wind of revolution into us all." Sangoku nodded.

"Stop it, guys!" They only laughed at his tomato-colored face.

"But Gouenji-san, did you come here for something?" Haruna asked. "Your appointment with Tenma is next week."

"W-With me?!"

"Oh, did I not mention that earlier?"

"This is the first I've heard of it!"

"We can discuss that when we get to it. I'm here for Tsurugi today."

Now, it's the navy haired boy's turn to be confused. "Me?"

Gouenji nodded, his expression turning serious. "I'm not sure if you knew this, but Kimiko went missing after your win at God Eden."

"What?" He blinked. "But we saw her at the park the day we got back."

"Yes. I was the one who brought her back that day, but she said she wanted to meet with you right after. We made a plan to have dinner together that night and check on her injuries, but she never came back." He sighed. "We've just found her yesterday, a couple of hours after the finals. She's at the hospital right now, but..."

"The hospital?"

"It's better if you see for yourself."

The split second where dread flashed across his eyes didn't go unnoticed. Tenma's gaze kept shifting between the two before finally speaking up. "Um... Gouenji-san, can I come too? I know I'm not that close to Kimiko, but I'm also worried for her."

"Me too!" Shinsuke raised his hand up.

"Kimiko supported Raimon before we started supporting ourselves." Kirino stated. "I think we should return the favor." Everyone else nodded at that.

Gouenji eyed them one by one before letting out a small smile. "Thank you, everyone."

They all piled into the caravan, aside Gouenji who brought his own car, and left. At the lobby of the hospital, they found a pink haired girl and a man with the same hair color as Gouenji waiting for them.