On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Resistance Japan

The field of Teikoku Academy was mostly silent as they waited for their coach. The only sound they could hear was the impatient foot tapping from the bench area. The rest of them were working on their stretches while admiring their new uniforms. Right as they finished lining up, a brunette in a white tracksuit appeared.

"You're all here. I'm your coach, Fudou." He said. "From here on out, you guys will be fighting Inazuma Japan."

"Inazuma Japan?"

"Why us?"

"It was requested by Coach Kuroiwa. Just training them won't be enough. He wants us to crush them by any means necessary."

They all understood the message behind that. Nodding at each other, their white haired captain smirked. "Let's do it, Coach Fudou!"

"That's what I like to hear."

"Oi. You're alright with that, right?" Their goalkeeper turned to the one who was still standing on the side. "We'll be destroying them, so that means no playing nice."

"Whatever." Came the reply. "Can I go now? I hate this place."

"You better keep up on your solo training then." The coach said. "The match will be two days after the semi-finals."

"That far away?" The purple haired striker asked, surprised. "With that team, do they even stand a chance at getting that far?"

"They will." The response came from the side of the pitch. "They can't afford not to."

"'Can't afford'...?"

The coach held a hand up, stopping their conversation. "Right then. First of all, let me tell you the real reason why you weren't chosen as representatives of Japan."

~~~~~

Their opponents for the finals were decided the day after their match. Uzbekistan's Storm Wolf. After that, they continued each of their assignments.

As usual, Minaho and Manabe went to study up on their opponent's moves. As usual, Tenma was watching over most of the team's dribble and pass work. And as usual, Shindou was keeping watch over Tsurugi and Ibuki's training.

Even after catching a dozen of his shots, the ash brown haired boy was still unsatisfied. "We'll continue."

Ibuki was still determined to prove his worth no matter what, so he got back to the front of the goal without protests.

Just as he was about to shoot, footsteps came up from behind him. "I don't get it." Tetsukado's voice. "Why is Shindou always so hard on Ibuki?"

"You should be worrying more about yourself."

His whole body stiffened before giving him a bit of a sour look. But it wasn't completely uncalled for. A lot of time had passed since Shindou offered his advice, yet the ex-boxer still hadn't improved by much.

In the afternoon, Funaki suddenly called them over to the side. He informed them that they'll be having a practice match the next day, but the coach stopped him from informing them what team they'll be playing against. Either that, or their trainer didn't even know who they were and was just fulfilling his job of telling them about said match.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter.

As usual, after most of the others had turned in for the night, he snuck out to practice alone on the yacht harbor grounds. Or so he thought.

When he got there, the field was already littered with balls. Tetsukado was the one practicing his kicks. When one ball bounced off the goal post, right to his feet, he made his presence known by making a light pass.