Inazuma Eleven Surging Storm

Chapter 1 : The Gate to the World

"You're that excited?" a boy with wavy, grey-toned hair asks with a bemused smile on his face while staring at the brown-haired boy who is hopping up and down in the field.

"How can I not be?! Aren't you excited, captain?" Tenma asks with an eager smile on his face.

While the Grand Celesta Galaxy had been fun...Tenma still thought it was a shame that they hadn't been able to fight any of the actual teams, much less the other FFI teams that would've made it to Liocott island...

Thinking about all the strong soccer players they would be able to fight this year, Tenma did his own version of the 'Buttobi Jump'. Jumping so high he became a star in the sky, the fifteen players who had gathered on the field tilted their heads upwards to guess when he would come back down.

"Such an idiot..." Shindou groaned while resting his face in his palm.

"It wouldn't be Tenma otherwise." a blue-haired striker with amber eyes spoke up agreeably from beside the duo.

"That's true..." Shindou muttered under his breath when Tenma finally came back crashing down towards the Earth.

"Is he always like this?" a bespectacled girl asked curiously beside a boy with spiky, bright orange hair.

She had been watching the trio intently since they had begun talking, while writing intently in the small notebook she carried with her.

What she was writing, unknown to the others, but she appeared content nonetheless.

"Pretty much...but then again, that's captain for you." the boy explained with a resigned smile on his face.

"Interesting, interesting..." the girl muttered back, causing the orange-haired boy to cock his head curiously at her.

"It's nice to see you all in person finally." an older woman's voice called out causing the fifteen players who had been scattered around to gather around the bench hurriedly.

"I've been carefully going over your match histories...statistics...even attending your practices and now that I see you all in front of me...you're even worse than I thought you would be."

Lifting a strand of her black hair around her ear, the woman looked towards Endou who had walked in with her and she asked in a disgruntled tone.

"This is really the best that Japan has to offer? I was right to cancel the exhibition match today...it would only be a waste to show the world how weak our soccer is today." she scoffed while gazing disappointedly at the wordless, fifteen players in front of her.

"I see old habits die hard with you, Hitomiko-san..." Endou said with a look of abashment while rubbing his arm behind his head.

"If you selected me as the Coach of Inazuma Japan, then it's only right for me not to go easy on them. Japan isn't the only country whose soccer has gotten stronger, you know." Hitomiko scolded Endou harshly, reminding him of the early days when Hitomiko was his own coach.

Though Hitomiko had aged a bit then, now sporting a pair of glasses and a few wrinkles here and there, the look in her eyes hadn't changed a bit since she was Raimon's captain ten years ago.

Reassured that he had made the right decision, Endou clapped his hands and began to speak in a reassuring voice towards the fifteen players who were still standing silently in front of the two adults.

"Everyone, this is Kira Hitomiko, she'll be Inazuma Japan's coach this year and I can assure you she's the best of the best! So I want you all to listen well to her and trust her like I do, alright?"

"Yes Coach!" the Raimon players bellowed immediately while the others followed up with a slower "Yes Sir!".

And with that, Endou waved a quick goodbye and left the Inazuma Japan players alone with their new coach who was staring at them with a careful look in her eyes.