The Space Between [RanTaku] [MuneTaku]

o n e

Welcome to my book! So my inspiration for this is from my fave ships in Inazuma Eleven GO Galaxy: Shindou X Ibuki. I also love the ship Shindou X Kirino. I think they're cute. I hope you enjoy this story and share it with friends too!

"Hey! Shindou! I've not seen you in ages!" Kirino waved enthusiastically at the screen where his best friend since childhood was waving back.

"Kirino, good news: WE WON!" Tenma's excited voice shouted off screen.

"No way, that's awesome! Congratulations guys, I knew you'd do it!" Kirino cheered along with the rest of the team. He could hear laughter and cheering from the other side of the screen. They were probably having some sort of party. It made Kirino feel a little sad for not being there.

"Hey Kirino! How are things back there? I hope everyone's doing okay." Shindou's cute smile made Kirino's heart race a little faster.

Truth is, Kirino had been looking forward to this call for almost two weeks. It isn't exactly easy to call from another galaxy.

"Everyone's okay! We all really miss all of you." Kirino replied. What he really wanted to say was 'I miss you', but since there were other people listening, it would have been an awkward statement.

"We miss you guys too. We're on our way back now, actually." Was Shindou's reply.

Yes! Shindou was coming back! He could finally tell him how he really felt about him. He'd pictured the moment in his head several times, but he'd never had the guts or courage to tell him.

"That's great! I bet the others would be glad to see you guys." Kirino said.

"Hey, I think I should introduce you to the team!" Shindou suggested. Kirino nodded and watched Shindou leave the screen. He had a clear view of the train now. It was really modern with comfy looking bean bag chairs and a huge fridge. Just looking at the fridge made Kirino's stomach growl.

"I don't wanna see anyone right now, Takuto." Kirino heard a voice say.

Did he just call Shindou by his first name? Kirino felt his heart sink. He'd never gotten to a first name basis with Shindou in all the years he'd known him.

"Come on, it won't take long." Shindou's voice answered back.

Kirino watched Shindou drag a boy into the screens view, it only took a few seconds for Kirino's face to fall. The boy he was looking at had white hair, most of it spiked upwards and some falling down at the sides. On his head, was a black headband. He seemed quite tall, taller than Shindou. He looked at Kirino with his plum colored eyes and gave him a weak smile and a small wave.

"Hey." He said.

"H-hey." Kirino replied with a stutter. Why was this boy making him feel so... strange? He didn't like him much.

"Kirino, this is Ibuki Munemasa. He's the goalkeeper of the team. He's awesome!" Shindou's smile seemed a mile wider than before.

"Shut up." Ibuki nudged Shindou a little, but he was smiling.

"It's nice to meet you!" Kirino put on an enthusiastic voice.

"So you're Kirino, huh? Takuto talks non-stop about you." Ibuki tilted his head to the side, as if he was taking a good look at him.

This didn't really matter to Kirino, he didn't even notice the fact that Ibuki had called Shindou by his first name again. He was looking at Shindou next to him. His cheeks now had a slight pink tint to them. Was he blushing? Even through the camera Kirino could tell that he was.

"We've been friends for a long time." It pained Kirino to say 'friends'.

"Oh, that's cool. Well, Kirino, I have to go now but I hope we can meet when we get back to Japan." Ibuki stood up.

"Sure. It was nice meeting you." Kirino waved. Ibuki walked out of Kirino's view. Shindou watched him leave, with a huge smile on his face. He turned back to Kirino.

"I think you should meet everyone els-"

"Kirino? What are you doing?" Kirino and Shindou both turned. The voice was from Kirino's side: the rest of the team had arrived.

"Hey! Shindou? Is that you?" Shinsuke grabbed the laptop from Kirino and the rest of the team crowded round.

While the rest of the team spoke to Shindou and the others, Kirino sat back, thinking about what he'd seen. Ibuki, Shindou and him seem close. They were already on a first name basis! Shindou had certainly changed since he last saw him. He was a little different now.

Kirino pushed those thoughts out of his head. 'He hasn't changed, nothings changed.'

Back on the train:

"You should've told him." Ibuki frowned at Shindou as he came back from the call.

"I'll tell him soon enough, don't worry." Shindou sat down on the bean bag chair next to Ibuki and closed his eyes. He smiled when he felt Ibuki's hand slip into his own.

"I'll take your word for it." Ibuki gave his had a gentle squeeze.

"Okay."

Shindou sighed. How would he tell his best friend that he had a boyfriend?

I'm sorry if that was a rubbish chapter. I'm new to all this stuff so I think I'll get better at it soon. Thanks for reading and I hope you stay tuned cos I'll try to update as soon as I can.