On The Side Of The Pitch With You

The Day Off

"Kyousuke! Who is it?"

"People who are just leaving!"

"Oh, come on, Tsurugi. Don't be like that." Kariya said, a devious smile on his lips.

"Yeah. We came all this way just to see you and Kimiko!" Taiyou added with a similar expression on his face.

Or rather, all of them had that exact same expression.

"Turning your seniors away like that is rude, you know." Midori piped in.

Before he could retort, his father came up from behind him. "Oh? Are you all Kyousuke's friends?"

"Yes, sir!" Kinako said, smiling innocently. "Kimiko's too!"

"I see. Then, come on in."

"Dad, wait―"

"Excuse us!"

"Sorry for the intrusion."

"Thank you for having us."

The four, along with Hikaru, Shinsuke, Aoi, Akane, Shindou, and Kirino let themselves in, bowing to both his parents before making themselves comfortable around the living room and introducing themselves.

"Kyousuke, you should have told me you're having friends over. I need to get more things for lunch!"

"I didn't know they were coming either." He muttered.

"Sorry, aunty. We actually also just made the decision to come earlier this morning because we were worried about them." Kirino explained.

"Let us help." Aoi offered. "Akane-san, Midori-san, and I are the soccer club's managers. We often make snacks for the group while they train too!"

"Really? That'll be a big help!" She took out aprons for each of them to put on, smiling wide when they complimented her tastes.

"Um... I just realized." Hikaru suddenly said. "We come to visit both Tsurugi and Kimiko, but I don't see her. Where is she?"

"Still sleeping upstairs." Tsurugi said, pointing up. "Yesterday took more out of her than we thought."

"But it's not good for her to sleep in for this long." His father stated. "Why don't you go wake her up?"

"And be gentle." His mother added. "I don't want to hear her complain about being dragged across the floor again."

While his friends' jaws all dropped, he chuckled. "That was just one time, but thank you for the idea."

"Kyousuke!" She couldn't say anymore to him as he had already disappeared up the stairs. "Honestly, that boy!"

"It's fine, isn't it?" His father laughed. "Kimiko's injured, right? He wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"Well, that is true."

The rest of them exchanged smiles, knowing just how much the two truly cared about each other.

Shinsuke's eyes wandered around the room and landed on picture frames set beside the television. The one at the front was the picture they took when they won Holy Road, but the one behind it... "Is that...?"

The father followed his gaze and a small smile appeared on his face. "Ah. That was Kyousuke's team when he was in elementary school. At the time, he was their youngest member."

"Their best one too." The mother pointed out. "All thanks to Kimiko's weekly visits."

"She told us a little about that." Shindou stated. "That she was the one that taught Tsurugi how to play."