On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Gardon III

Morning came and still no signs of Shindou or Ibuki. Their coach decided to head for the stadium anyway, leading them to believe the two might've arrived before them, but no, they hadn't.

The match was about to start, and so, Ichikawa and Shinsuke were put as starters for the match. Manuuba was also put in, not that he had much of a choice.

"Guys, we'll hang in there until Shindou-san and Ibuki return!"

"Yeah!"

As they made their way onto the pitch, Kimiko cast a glance around the field. There were strange devices stuck into the ground surrounding it. Her eyes then went to the opposing team. Once again, there was one among them who wasn't a local of the planet.

This one was no taller than Shinsuke, wearing a dark green hoodie that had similar patterns to what the previous helpers wore. His face was as white as paper with the exception of one side being... painted? Tattooed? Whatever it was, it was red. A tusk of black hair was sticking out of the hoodie, and his eyes were of a golden shade that screams mischief.

He looks like a menace. A total gremlin. Kimiko crossed her arms as she leaned back on her seat. What kind of dangerous plays will he do?

The first kick off was Gardon's, and they got pretty far with their attack, but Tetsukado was able to steal the ball. Earth's passes connected one after another (they were lucky Gardon's gravity was similar to Earth's), and after a rather long chain, Tenma became the final receiver.

"Mach Wind!"

Arbega held out his arms and they let out quite a lot of steam as the ball slowed to a stop in his hands. He gave Tenma a smug look as he returned, but soon, his expression fell as he stared down at his arms.

Kimiko squinted. They seem to be... shaking?

His arms are mechanical, but its connection to his organic body seems to be just as good as the regular nervous system... But that isn't a look of someone shaken after receiving a strong hissatsu... She then recalled the amount of steam that was released from them. Was it stuttering because it was readjusting? Can his arms change its power output depending on how much he needs to stop the shot? ... Is that what his monocle is for?

She had to admit, this keeper was a lot more tricky than Sazanaara's. Especially since stamina consumption wouldn't be much of an issue.

But machines have their own flaws. While they may not get tired, they could still break if forced or pressured past its limits. Another option is to catch its user off guard so that it wouldn't have the time to adjust. But they need to find a way to do that without tiring themselves out...

Well, they could all figure it out as the match goes on. For the time being, she relayed her ideas to Tenma, who nodded her way once before focusing back on the match.

"Huh?" Aoi blinked as her eyes darted between them. "Kimiko, did you say something to Tenma?"

"I told him my speculation." She quickly recapped what she had analyzed to her before continuing with, "I could tell the whole team directly, but it might've freaked them out, so it's best to leave it in the captain's hands."

"Well, I get that, but don't you usually tell Tsurugi those things?"

It took everything in her to keep her expression from changing. "True, but I don't want to accidentally give him a headache when he's just recovered."

"Oh, fair point."

She inwardly sighed as her fellow manager turned her attention back to the pitch.

She did the same, just in time to see the ball getting taken from Ichikawa. Yikes.