Life As Teikoku's Manager (an Inazuma Eleven f.f.)

The Return Of Gouenji Shuuya

Yeah, I got people saying that I copied a lot of the dialogue in the last chapter from the anime and I admit I did, but I won't do it anymore after Teikoku and Raimon's practice match. But I might accidently do a little during the Shin Teikoku match, so sorry.

        When Gouenji stepped onto the field, the whole atmosphere of the game changed. Raimon's members crawled back to their feet and Teikoku looked like they were finally starting to get interested in the game. I was too. I wonder whether Gouenji's footwork and Fire Tornado had rusted since last year.

        Teikoku quickly stole the ball from Raimon and activated Death Zone again. Gouenji started running towards Teikoku's goal when the purple ball shot towards Endou. Kidou, Sakuma, and Genda looked shocked at his reaction, but I just smirked. His play style was still the same as before. They thought he was abandoning the game, but Gouenji Shuuya isn't a coward. I knew his plan. But did he really trust Endou?

        Somehow, as if Gouenji's trust poured his fighting spirit into the boy, Endou managed to block it. Yes, he blocked Death Zone when he cou;dn't even block my warmup shoot. I was shocked, but still managed to tear my eyes away from him to Gouenji. Endou tossed the ball across the court, and the platinum haired striker accepted it. Then quickly jumping up, he used Fire Tornado to shoot for the goal. Caught by surprise, Genda was too slow to react. The ball went in.

        No, Gouenji's skill hadn't detoriated at the least. In fact, it looked almost as if it was more powerful than before. Maybe it was just an illusion caused by the spirit of the game.

        Suddenly, the referee announced that Teikoku will forfeit the match. Say what? It was just starting to get interesting, and somebody just had to go and forfeit? Sure, we got 19 more points than them, but I really wanted to watch Gouenji face off against Genda. The other ace striker of Kidokawa Seishuu versus the best goalie of Japan. That would have been "interesting".

            I was walking back to the bus alone behind the rest of the players who were chitter chattering as they climbed aboard. "Wait!" a familiar voice called behind me. A memory instantly flashed in my mind.

       "Come on, let's do this," the voice said. I nodded with an evil smirk. The spiky platinum haired striker running ahead turned around abruptly and kicked his signature flaming shoot in her direction. A "Heh," escaped my mouth before my foot made contact with the ball, sending it flying at the goalie in a typhoon of feathers lit up in flames.

        I pretended not to hear him and kept walking. "I'd recognize those eyes anywhere, Inoue." Hearing that name, I froze up in my tracks. The boy continued, "It's been so long, I thought you left Japan or something happened to you. But why are you..." His voice trickled off, and I knew exactly the reason.

        I turned my head sideways to stare back at Gouenji. My red eyes gleamed warningly. "My name is Sakurai Shizumi," I said slowly, then continued walking to the bus.

        "Inoue..." Gouenji said, his voice a mix of hurt and confusion, "Don't you remember me?"

        I stopped walking again. Then I finally replied, "Of course. I can never forget you. You were my best memory on the team." My voice cracked a little.

        "Then why did you leave? And why are you..." he called out desperately.

        "A lot of things happened that day. Your sister's accident wasn't the only one," I said, my voice steely again, "Now, if you'll excuse me." I continued waking to the bus. By now, only a few of Teikoku's players weren't filed in the bus yet.

        "Inou- I mean Sakurai-san, let's do Phoenix Feather together again someday," Gouenji said. I stopped walking again and said quietly, "I don't play soccer anymore." A wet drop landed on the ground. Then I boarded the bus. Despite my cold response, Gouenji's words had reached my soul. He still remembered me. And he still wanted to play soccer together.

Neutral POV

        Before the bus door closed right when Shizumi stepped onto the bus, Gouenji saw her head turn sideways slightly toward him. That single regretful pomegranate eye and the sad faint smile on her lips told him everything he needed to know.

Kidou's POV

        She didn't notice me watching her through the tinted glass window of the bus. Even though I couldn't hear her conversation, it was easy to tell that she knew Gouenji. And the way she looked at him with one eye confirmed my suspicions. This was the last piece of evidence I needed to solve the puzzle. Now everything fit together. I always had a hunch that she was hiding something. Well actually, not at the start.

        When she first bumped into me and apologized as if her life depended on it, I had wanted to laugh. It really was hilarious the way she looked at me with scared eyes. I don't know what, but something in me made me want to keep her in my life, so I convinced the Commander to make her Teikoku's manager instead of expelling her. Then I walked with my arm around her to our classes from first to fourth period everyday, and made her sit with us at lunch everyday too just to see her squirm. It was pure entertainment. And if I got bored, I could just invent new ways to torture her.

        But then something rose my suspicions about her. The day when I played the clip of Kidokawa Seishuu's match in the Football Frontier, she acted strangely. Even with my sharp vision and quick mind, I couldn't find out what the key to Kuroi Hane Taifuu was, yet somehow she, a girl who had never played soccer before, easily did. Yes there was a possibility that she had talent for spotting details, but I had it too and I didn't see it even with my vision enhancing goggles.

        When she secretly took a soccer ball after class, that just added to my suspicions even more, so I followed her. It turns out she was hiding a lot of soccer talent. But why? With her skill, she could easily join Teikoku's soccer team. And why didn't the Commander know about this? If he did, he will definitly find a way to recruit her, so why was she able to escape the Commander's grasp?

        Another clue showed up when she asked me if she could borrow a soccer ball two days after I played the clip. When she returned the soccer ball, it was scruffed and she didn't have a single scratch on her other than a few bruises and the scape on her face which she already had the day before. Judging by how beaten up the soccer ball was, she must have used it for cruelty like Teikoku does at their matches. There was only one other person I knew existed to ever play soccer cruelly Teikoku style and come out unscathed.

        Yes, I had figured it out. If she knew Gouenji, then she must have had history with Kidokawa Seishuu. There was only one person who went to Kidokawa Seishuu, knew about Kuroi Hane Taifuu well enough they would know the secret, was skilled enough in soccer that they could play on the Football Frontier level, used cruelty in their soccer, looked at people with a slight head turn so that a single ruby red eye could make contact, and suddenly disappeared from the soccer world after last year's Football Frontier. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not gonna tell you. Because then it won't be interesting~

I'm sorry updates might be lot slower now since school is starting, but I'll do my my best to update more chapters.