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

Can I Still Play Soccer?

Am I the only one who finds it such a perfect coincidence that the chapter Death Bringer is the 13th chapter? I didn't plan it ahead of time to be like this, but somehow the timing just lined it up. Updates will slow to one or two chapters a week now.

        I had left the stadium with Kidou in Nikaidou-kantoku's car. He had been nice and volunteered to drive us to Teikoku without us even asking, the same good old coach I had always known. The only other one who used to know my true identity.

        A silence passed between us in the car. It wasn't exactly awkward, but Nikaidou-kantoku kept glancing at us in the mirror to check if we were alright. Me and Kidou sat far from each other, both of us hunched over with elbows on knees. We were both grieving and replaying the previous events in our head, except he was probably thinking of his teammates while I was dreading what was to become of me after my public reveal.

        When we got to Teikoku, we thanked Nikaidou-kantoku and he drove away. We then wordlessly walked into the empty school and down the hall. We both knew where we were heading, and somehow upon some unsaid agreement, we went to the indoor soccer field where Teikoku practiced after school each day. 

        He was the first to break the silence. "Shizumi-chan," he said but his voice cracked. I didn't reply, only kept my gaze on the ground and let my bangs hang over so that they would cover my eyes. "How could we have lost?" the captain of Teikoku asked. He sounded so hollow and broken.

        "I'm sorry I wasn't of any help," I replied quietly. He looked at me as if shocked, then grasped my shoulders and shook me as he shouted in my face, "Don't you get it?! We lost! Teikoku lost! And my teammates are all injured so much worst than my own leg that they all had to be sent to the emergency room!"

        I was silent for a while. This was a new side of Kidou I had never seen before, hysterial, chaotic, and not in control. Finally, I raised my head to look up at him through my bangs. "I'll repeat what I said. I'm sorry I wasn't of any help. Now get a hold of yourself."

        He pulled me closer. "How can I get a hold of myself when my best friends are not okay?!" he shouted. I could tell that some tears probably came out, but I couldn't be sure since I couldn't see past the goggles.

        "Look, you can't change what happened! So stop grieving and pull yourself together!" I finally shout back and slapped his hand away, exhasperated. I instantly regretted it after seeing his hurt expression. My face softened, and I said, "Sorry, Kidou-san."

        Just then, we heard footsteps echo in the large hall, meaning that someone was coming to the field. We both turned out heads just in time to see a confused Endou run in. "Kidou!" the Raimon goalie shouted. Then he drew a breath back when he noticed I was there too.

        "Yo, Endou," Kidou finally replied, his voice bittersweet, "Have you come to laugh at me?" Endou started trembling at the response he got, then quickly shook out of it. "Of course not!" his voice shouted powerful in this gigantic room. The boy then dropped the soccer ball he was holding and kicked it at Kidou. Instead of stepping aside or kicking it back, Kidou just let it knock him backward pitifully. The ball rolled to my feet, and I picked it up. I stared at the shiny surface of the familiar black and white ball. Can I play soccer again? After all the shame of the Death Bringer losing by forfeit and bad publicity that will sure make me infamous in Japan, soccer seemed almost distant.

        On the side, Kidou stood up slowly. "Today we brought the legend of Teikoku to an end. The match was over before we could even touch the ball. When we went on the field, my other team members were already down. The only point we got was from Shizumi-chan."