Flashbacks are in blue(aaaactually Aqua)
Time, place etc are in green(aaaactually Limegreen)
Enjoy~!
Arashi[]
8 January, 16:43
Waterlyn City, Riverside
I stood up as well, then looked at the boy again. He reminded me of someone... He looked so... Awfully familiar... Like a childhood friend I couldn't remember...
“Hey... Arashi, you ok?” Hikari asked me. I shook my head and smiled. “Nah, I'm fine. It's just...” I wondered if I would tell her about that boy. It doesn't really seem important or something but...
“Arashi...? FINISH YOUR SENTENCE OR I'LL SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH!!! Jeez... I've told you a dozen times before, but you still won't listen to me...” She turned to the river and looked with that distant look in her eyes of her again. The look that she always had when thinking about things she didn't want to remember. Her cold look, hiding a hurting past.“You know... You don't have to tell me if you don't want to...” A gentle wind blew through her long hair. “Just be sure not to let it distract you too much.”
She turned around and smiled. “If there's anything I can help you with, just tell me. I know you longer than today, Arashi, I know that there's something bothering you... Well, tell me when you feel like it. I have to head back home by now...” She went ahead of me and was walking towards the road. I glanced back at the tree, but the boy was gone. “Wait!” She turned around. “What?”
I guess, in the end, I couldn't tell her(yet?). Instead I said: “I never thought we would meet eachother again like this...” I scratched my head and looked up to the sky. “You know... From all of the places on this planet, it's here.” She looked up as well, then said: “Yeah... I wonder if it's fate...”
6 years ago[]
15 December, 11:43
Sun Garden
Hitomiko looked out of the window and smiled. It was freezing outside, but the kids didn't seem to care. They just enjoyed the snow and kept playing games. Most of them were playing soccer, just as usual.
“Here! Pass!” Hiroto said, but before Reina could pass to him, the ball was stolen by Midorikawa. “Nice one, Ryuuji-kun!” Arashi said. “Alright guys! Move up! Leave the defense to us!” Then he turned and he wanted to scream some orders to the defenders, when someone caught his eye. The others seemed to have noticed it as well, they all stopped playing and looked at the gate.
“Who's that?” Suzuno asked.
“No idea.” Nagumo said. “C'mon guys, let's resume the game, I want to win this time!” But no one listened. They all looked at the gate. Nagumo looked closer and flinched.
By the gate stood a little girl, around the 7 years old. Her pitch-black hair was braided, but peaked in all directions. Her clothes were rags, and were, at some places, stained in blood. Her whole body was covered with scratches and bruises. In her hand she held something, but it was hard to see. Even with everything that happened to her(you know, she looked like a zombie to put mildly) her eyes were surprisingly calm. And red. Crimson red.
“Hey! You wanna play soccer with us?” Arashi said. He waved at the girl, but she just stood there, like a ghost. A murmur rose up.
“Can we really play with her?”
“She's scary!”
“Ignore her, we've still got a match to finish.”
“Leave her be.”
“Can't you see her wounds? She needs to get medical treatment!”
“What if she's cursed?”
The girl still stood there, doing nothing but watch. Her face wasn't readable, but one look in her eyes, and you understood that if you would hurt her, you'd be dead. But even though that, her aura felt... Well, scared. And uncertain. Like a wounded animal.
Hiroto stepped forward, but was hold back by Midorikawa. He shook his head, as if he was trying to say This is not your business, Hiroto. Let's just ignore her. If she wants to play, she already said so. That was when Arashi rushed up to her.
“You know, you don't have to be scared. We won't hurt you.” He looked at her thoroughly, then said: “I guess... We should call a doctor...”
“No. Don't call anyone.” The girl said with an exhausted voice. “Just-” But before she could finish her sentence, she fell on her knees, holding her head in her hands, coughing. She looked up to Arashi, and her eyes were not crimson-red anymore, but turquoise. “Help me...” she said, then, she fell in the snow, still holding onto the thing she held in her hand. Arashi knelt down to check if the girl was alright, then took a look at the thing she held in her hand. It was a golden amulet. On it stood only one word: Hikari.
Back here~[]
8 January, 17:02
Waterlyn City, Riverside
“Well, that was quite a surprise for me, you know... That help me stuff, and when you appeared and coughed up blood...” I said. She looked at me and gave me one of her innocent smiles. “I guess I did kinda shock you guys the way I came in, but I wasn't that scary, right?” I sighed. She had no idea about how she looked like back then, bleeding, nearly torn to pieces. She could barely stand on her own feet. It was a wonder she was still alive. After she fainted, she was unconcious for nearly two weeks. She didn't know, though. She thought it was the next day...
“Arashi? You ok? You're having that look again...”
She knocked on my head, as if it was a door, then waved her hand before my eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. After all, she was never really the type that would worry about others. Seeing her like this is really rare.
“What have I done wrong now?” she asked with a faked angry voice.
“Nothing.”I replied. “You're just acting out of character, that's all.” I looked at my watch, and saw that it was time to go home. If I came home too late, my stepbrothers will scold me... And Hikari would get into trouble as well... “We should head back ho-”
“Hikari-sensei!!!”
Both me and Hikari turned at the same moment. We saw a girl running towards us. She looked just like Hikari, except the clothes, they were the Ravendale Elementary uniform(and she was slightly taller, but if I would say that out loud, Hikari would kill me for sure).
“Um, Hikari...” I started, but my sentence was broken through by the girl. She reached us, and was now observing Hikari like she was a prey the weird girl was hunting. Then she looked at us and I saw that she had grey eyes.
“Hikari-sensei, you're even greater than the rumors say you are!” She took Hikari's hand and shook it(well, actually she just took it and swung it up and down). She didn't seem to see me at all(or she just tried to ignore my handsomeness, because everyone in the world knows how awesome and handsome I am).
“I am Adina by the way, Adina Sophia Emily Abigail Caelia, but just call me Adina.” She was still only looking at Hikari and I was feeling a bit left out... But then I remembered something. Hikari didn't like admires... Or fangirls... Or anything like that. Uh oh... This isn't good. Not good at all. I have to do something, quick!
“I see, it's a pleasure to meet you, milady Caelia. I'm Arashi Azayaka. How can I assist you?” I knew it sounded cheesy and stuff, but I had to get her attention. If Hikari got angry, she could destroy a whole building(and sadly, yes, I'm speaking out of experience). My words had, however the wrong effect. Adina just gave me a mean look, and continued to talk to Hikari. I sighed. Girls...
“Is it true? Did you re-open the soccerclub? That's amazing! Nothing less I expected from my rolemodel! I heard you even got principal Saigo stuck in your web of awesomness!”
That was it. I knew it. Hikari couldn't take it any longer.
“Let's go Arashi. I need to go home.”
Before I could even struggle back, she already took my arm and dragged me down the road, away from the river(and the weird girl). When the girl saw that, she followed us, and kept talking on and on about how awesome Hikari was, while I tried to sign to her that she had to stop, but she didn't understand(or she still ignored my awesomeness, I mean, me). Hikari suddenly stopped. I looked around and saw taxis, trains and a few buses. We were at the station. She let go of my arm, then said to Adina:“Can you please shut up for a moment?”
I was stunned. Not because Hikari said shut up, but because Adina actually listened. What I tried for the last 30 minutes, Hikari did within 2 seconds. Hikari turned to me. “You want me to call a taxi for you?” I shook my head. “My home's near the station, you should get one yourself instead.”
Adina finally realised that Hikari didn't like her(or she just thought Hikari had to head home), so she didn't say anything about “how awesome and cool” Hikari was. She just said: “I guess you have to go home by now, right, Hikari-sensei? Well, I see you tomorrow then.” And with a last angry look at me, she left.
“She really hates you, hm?”
I blushed. “Sh- Shut up...”
Well, I guess she didn't fall for my charming looks... Too bad for her. I was actually starting to like her, I thought, but then I realised that Hikari looked at me as if I was a weirdo(which I actually am), and I knew that she knew what I was thinking. Like usual, she knew everything what happened to me, while I still knew nothing about her...
“Well, let's call it a day, shall we?” She turned and called a taxi, then she waved at me and said: “See ya tomorrow, if you don't get beaten up by Adina, that is...” With an evil grin she left me at the station, thinking about Adina.
9 January, 12:07
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Schoolgrounds
Lunchtime
“Ya, Hikari-sama~ How're you doing?” I sped up to her, then sat down next to her.
“Hm? Oh, hi Arashi. I'm fine.” She looked at her lunch, decided she wasn't hungry and left it for what it was.(NOTE: it was actually something with fruits, and as you all know, I HATE FRUITS)
"By the way, you that popular kid, Ryuu Valcrux? I want to scout him."
I nearly choked when I heard that name, but could still keep me cool. I hate that kid. He stole my reputation, if not ruined. Let's just say that I'm not on good grounds with him...
"I don't like him. And why should we scout him anyway? The only thing he's good at is singing, and getting fangirls all worked up about him."
She shook her head and laughed. "You really hate him, I know that much... But it's because he's so popular and has so many fangirls that I want to scout him. After all, if we scout him, we'll get more attention. And he has to be skilled in running if he wants to escape screaming, crazy fangirls..."
"Hikari-senpai!" Serra came running to us, next to her stood the girl we met yesterday, still dressed up as Hikari. Great.
"There's a girl that wants to join the soccerclub! Isn't that great?" Serra smiled and wanted to introduce Adina to us, but before she could, I said: "We already know her. You don't have to introduce her." I turned to Adina. "Adina Sophia Emily Abigail Caelia, was it, right?" She gave me an angry look, but nodded. Then she turned to Hikari, and you don't have to be clairvoyant to know what would happen next. I took Serra's arm, and led her to another table, far away from Hikari.
"A-Arashi-senpai! What're you doing?" She seemed flustered, but if I kept her there, she would be hurt, if not be thrown in a hospital if she'd stayed there any moment longer.
"It's for your own safety, Serra-chan. Hikari is in a... Well, in a bad mood. You shouldn't come near her."
Serra still didn't get it, and I wouldn't either if I was her. There was someone who wanted to join the soccerclub, you should be happy! But I knew Hikari longer than today, so I know which kind of people she hates. And people who look up to others, those are the ones she hated the most. I don't know why, but she was already like that when I first met her. I sat down, and explained everything I knew about Hikari to Serra. She might be young, but she was also one of the first members of our team and I had the feeling Serra needed to know, as if the future of Hikari depended on this.
"Listen, Serra, there are some things you need to know about Hikari-san..."
Elizabeth[]
9 January, 12:28
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Schoolgrounds
Lunchtime
What's going on there? I thought. Then I saw what caused the commotion. It was the new kid. She seems to be pretty popular lately. I heard some rumors about the soccerclub being re-opened. I was curious, so I came closer to them, just to hear: "...like you are annoying! Go away, and leave me alone. There's no need to have a ass-kissing puppet in my team. Unless you have something else to-" Before she finished, the other girl ran away, crying.
"That's enough, newbie." I put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her out of the crowd, to a quieter place.
"Why were you doing that? It wasn't like she did something to you, right?" I looked at her, and saw that she had the prefect badge, but she didn't wear the schooluniform. So the rumors are true. There is a kid that screws the rules and does what she wants, while being a prefect. I just didn't expect someone like her. She didn't look like a real fighter or someone that lived life to the fullest, rather a student that gets straight A's.
"I'm both."
I was surprised. Did she just...?
"So what if I can read your mind? Is it really that amazing?" Then she laughed. "Nah, just kidding. I have a lot knowledge of human nature, furthermore, I've seen enough of these looks to know what you were thinking."
"I see. But that still doesn't explain why you did that to Adina-san. She's one of the nobles in our school, you know, you shouldn't treat her like that."
The face of the girl became cold, and I couldn't find a little bit of sympathy. It was completely different from the girl I just talked to.
"I don't care about that little brat. After all, I hate people who look up to others. You've seen her, right? Dressed up like me, she looks like a real- Nevermind that... I'm Hikari by the way. You must be Elizabeth, another prefect in this school."
I was stunned. That girl... She says things so carefree, not thinking about the consequences. "You know, Hikari, it isn't good to just say things without thinking." She looked at me as if I said something really difficult, then she answered: "So...?" I shook my head in disbelief. This girl is much harder to handle than you would think. Much, much harder... She just smiled as an innocent kid.
"Oh, and... Ummm... Elizabeth-senpai, can I ask you something?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Well, do you want to join the soccerclub? I mean, we're pretty short on players, and I need 11 players on the end of the week."
Now it was my time to act cold. No matter how cute, nice, adorable, hot, cool or amazing you are... If you talk about soccer, you're doomed. I lost my brother to it. I won't... I'll never do anything with it ever again. Never.
"Well...?"
I shook my head.
"Never." I turned around and left Hikari standing there, while I walked to my class. The next lesson would start soon anyway.
Haruka[]
9 January, 12:38
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Elementary
Maths Lesson
I looked out of the window while half listening to the teacher who was explaining something about squares. It was boring as usual, but I had other things to care about. I heard that there was a soccerclub, and I'm fed up with the swimmingclub anyway. So I might join and leave the swimmingclub for as it is. On the other hand, it would mean I still won't have enough time to spend with a certain someone... Unless I can persuade him to join as well... I smiled. Yeah, that will do. I'll just tell him he has to interact more with others. After all, Mikeru-kun is my best friend since kindergarten. He was alone all this time, he didn't have friends, except for me... I sighed. He really needs to socialize more.
"And can mrs. Hazuno share us the joy by telling what you are thinking about?" The maths teacher was standing right behind me, and I didn't know... Damn.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I won't let you have that much fun in your life." I answered.
9 January, 15:17
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Main Building
"C'mon Mikeru! We'll join the soccerclub, whether you want it or not. You really need to socialize more, otherwise you'll be alone for the rest of your life!" I sighed. It was like talking to a statue. Mikeru barely responded to anything you would say in the first place, but when he really didn't want something, he pretended he didn't hear it and just stood stubbornly still. If possible, he was even more stubborn than me, and believe me, I'm really stubborn.
Just when I wanted to pull him by his sleeves to the room of the principal, a girl with black hair came walking towards us, talking to a teal haired boy. They seemed to be arguing about something.
"... need more players!" the boy said.
"Not someone like her! She'll get in the way and..." Then she saw us. It must've been a pretty weird look, me pulling Mikeru, while he was standing and tried to struggle out of my grasp, so I instantly let go.
The girl smiled. "I see you two aren't really getting along nicely, huh?" She shrugged. "Well, that isn't really my business. Anyways, you're from Ravendale Elementary, right? What're you doing here, you searching for something??"
"Let's go." Mikeru said, and he walked away.
"Wa- Mikeru-kun! Don't walk away like that, it's impolite!" I wanted to pull him back and ask the girl who the captain of the new soccerclub was, but before I could do so, the boy already sped up and catched Mikeru for me.
"Mikeru, hm? Next time, the girl's gonna walk away from you, and you won't get her back as easily as I do now." He turned to me and handed Mikeru to me.
"There you go, young lady." He bowed graciously, then made a move that looked like he wanted to take my hand and kiss it, but the girl already pulled him by his collar back, next to her.
"That's enough, Arashi. Only because you think you're irresistable doesn't mean you really are." She looked back at me and Mikeru, then said: "How rude of me, I haven't even introduced myself yet. Nice to meet you anyway, I'm Hikari, and this *ahem*moron*ahem* here is Arashi." The boy called Arashi gave her an angry glance, but didn't do anything(maybe he was scared of her?).
"I see, I'm Haruka, and this is Mikeru. Nice to meet you too, senpai." I said.
"And it seems that you 2 want to know something? Just tell me, I won't bite." Hikari said.
"Yeah, we're searching the captain of the new soccerclub. Do you know her?" I asked. For some unknown reason, Hikari laughed. She'd probably wouldn't stop if Arashi didn't cough(even though it was obviously played).
"Hahaha! Hm? Oh... Umm... Yeah, well, you're lucky. I'm the captain of the new soccerclub!"
After that, we talked a little bit about the club, and about the fact that we would be disbanded if we wouldn't get enough players by the end of the week. While talking about that, 2 blond boys came to us. One of them was the half-spanish transfer student(Ryuu Valcrux). I heard he is really popular with the girls, but personally, he's not that amazing to me... The other one was someone I didn't know yet, but he was a student of the academy, so he must be older. He introduced himself as Andy. They told us they wanted to join the soccerclub, which made Hikari really happy. Me as well. Actually, everyone was, except for Mikeru, he was still against joining... After a while a girl(Loretta) came to chat with us. She wanted to join as well. So in the end, we ended up with 7 members in the club. At the end of the week, we would need at least 11 players. I hope it'll work out good.
Elizabeth[]
10 January, 15:32
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Prefect Room
It's been a long day, but we still need to hold a meeting for the prefects. This time it'll be different though, there's that new girl here, Hikari Latowidge. I heard she's a modelstudent, but that she always gets her way when wanted. Furthermore, she's adopted by the Latowidges, a noble family. She's one weird case...
As the meeting went on, my thoughts corrupted me more and more... Then I realised that I was thinking about soccer. What am I doing? I promised him, right? Brother... It was all my fault... There's no way I'll play soccer again... It hurt him too much... And I... I don't... I clenched my fists. Yeah, Hikari will never get me that far. She can't persuade me, even with those rumors, she is still just a little girl. The end of the meeting came nearer, and I had to give the first-year prefects a little presentation about the school. After the meeting ended, I saw Hikari talking to a fourth-year(what was his name again, Sag?). I was relieved. At least she wasn't chasing me trying to talk me into joining the soccerclub...
10 January, 16:07
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Main Hall
"Eliz-chan! Wait a second!" Hikari ran towards me and grabbed my hand. Great. Now I can't escape anymore... Panting, she said: "Hey, Eliz-chan... Would you consider it? I mean my proposal of joining the soccerclub. You know, I heard you used to play as a defender, so maybe you could-"
"No." I looked away. "I don't care about soccer anymore. Go away and leave me alone."
"You're lying. I know. Elizabeth-senpai, listen... It's nothing personal, really, but please don't get mad at me when I say that I looked through your school files and a few other files. I'm really sorry for your brother. But by saying you won't play soccer anymore because it caused your brother to suffer is just wrong."
"Shut up. What do you know about nearly losing someone really important to you? You grew up without parents or any kind of family. You will never understand what it means to lose family, you won't get it until you've experienced it yourself." Surprisingly, she let go of my hand. I can get away, I thought, but why am I still standing here then? Somehow, I was thinking back at the time Braydon and I were playing soccer toghether. Why...? What am I doing...?
"You shut up." Hikari's voice got me back into reality. "It's true, I never had any kind of family. I'm adopted into a noble family, but they don't really care for me as much as a real parent would do. But that's all you know, right? You don't know what happened before all that. I used to be a streetrat. I lived on the street, with a gang of other kids without parents, or they ran away from home. The leaders were a 16-years old girl, and a 17-years old boy. They were the only parent-like people I ever knew. But they... They're gone by now."
She looked into my eyes, and forced me to look back. "You have to move on, accept the reality. Think about it. Would your brother want this? You both loved soccer. And you still do right now, I know it. The look in your eyes tells me enough."
I was too stunned to say something. That girl... Just now... Did she...? I shook my head. "I can't. You can do whatever you want to, I'm not joining. You know the reason." I was about to walk away, when Hikari said: "Running away again? Why do you keep doing that? You can't run forever, one day, all of your troubles will find you. It's better to face them straight away."
"Just stay away from me and leave me alone. You can't change me, Hikari."
"And what would Braydon think, huh? Who was the person who was so proud of you, because you played soccer?! That's right, it was Braydon! Your caring, older brother! If he would see you like this right now... You can't keep lying, saying you hate soccer while you still love it. You want to play, right?! Fine, I'll leave you alone, but don't turn things around 'til you're tired. It won't help you. Face the truth, that's what makes you stronger, what keeps you moving forward. Clinging to the past will only make your burden heavier. I gotta go now, but don't forget that you're always welcome to join the soccerclub." She turned around and walked away, holding up a hand to say farewell.
Adina[]
10 January, 18:42
Waterlyn City, Caelia Mansion
Adina's Room
I stared at the ceiling and thought back at what happened yesterday... I still don't get the reason why Hikari-senpai said that to me... Am I really that annoying? I thought that she'd be happy to have someone who admires her... I guess not... But what did I do wrong? I... I haven't done anything to make her upset, right? I sighed. How can it be that people are so unpredictable?
"Adina, what are you doing? There's a boy here. He says he wants to talk to you."
My mom's voice got me back in reality. What moron wants to visit me? He probably doesn't know me, or he wouldn't come... I sighed again, jumped out of bed and walked down the stairs.
10 January, 18:43
Waterlyn City, Caelia Mansion
Living Room
That was when I saw him. The flamboyant moron who was nearly always by Hikari's side.
"If I recall it correctly, you're Arashi, right? What're you doing here? I'm not interested in guys like you, if that's what you're aiming at."
He shook his head, and looked way too serious compared to the first time I met him.
"I'm here for something else, Adina-san." He looked at my mom, then said: "Can we... Talk privately for a moment? IO don't want others involved in this as well..."
"No way, you pervert! You can't! Never!" I gave him a bitchclap, but he didn't do anything. He still looked serious, and he didn't even scold me.
"I didn't mean it like that, Adina-san. I want to talk about Hikari-san with you... But..." He looked at my mom again.
"Alright, I get it. I'll leave you two alone for now." Mom said. Then she walked to the lounge, and left us alone.
"So?" I said. "What is it?"
"Adina-san, about Hikari... Can you stop cosplaying as her? And admiring her like she is your master or something? She... She doesn't like it..." He said it as if he was scared for her. I wonder why...
"And if I say no?" He shook his head.
"You don't get it, now do you? You see this as a game while it isn't. This is serious, Adina-san."
"I see." I said. "Then tell me why she 'doesn't like it', Arashi." He looked surprised by the fact that I called him by his name, but recovered just as quickly. Then he told his story about Hikari-senpai.
"It started a long time ago, when I first met her. She was in a bad condition, so we took her in. After she got into the orphanage, she was unconscious for 2 weeks. After she woke up, she didn't tell us anything about herself. At that time, we didn't knew anything about her, except for her name. She told us that she ran away. From what is still a mystery. Up until now, I don't know a lot about her, but one thing is for sure, she hates people who look up to others. I don't know why, but she was like that when she got into Sun Garden, and the time before that... Well, she doesn't let go of anything about her past. I don't think Hikari-san is a bad person, but she's always a bit... Different from everyone else. As for my request to you, it's for your own safety. I remember going on a fieldtrip with the her..."
He shuddered at the thought, then smiled. "It's better if you don't know..." I frowned. "Why? You came here to tell me about Hikari, right?" He shook his head.
"Adina-san, I came here to tell you to stop cosplaying as Hikari, and, if you could, stop admiring her like a goddess. Hikari hates people like you, the only reason why she didn't really hurt you yet is because of her status as a prefect... And maybe because she wants to give you a chance. You see, Hikari-sama isn't a really bad person, but her past must've lead to her acting like that."
He looked me in the eye, and I saw a gentle looking boy, not the flamboyant moron I met a few days before. He must've trust me, otherwise he wouldn't tell all of this.
I sighed. "Got it, Arashi, I won't 'cosplay' as Hikari-sensei anymore. As for the other request... I'll try to act normally when I'm around her, but I can't promise anything."
He smiled yet again, then said: "Moving on to the next subject, you said you wanted to join the soccerclub?"
Hayate[]
11 January, 15:34
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Principal's Office
"... should be here soon enough."
I opened the door, and saw them sitting there. A girl, around 13 years old, not wearing the uniform, having a nonchalant look and sitting on the chair as if she rules the school, and not the person in front of her. As for the principal, he looks neatly as usual, but seemed to have a hard time trying to get the girl to sit straight up. When he saw me, he coughed, and the girl turned around, and for the first time in a long, really long time, I saw a familiar face again. Blue eyes, black hair, and a gentle, yet strong look. I shook my head. It couldn't be...
"You must be Hayate Matsuoka, the coach of our team." she said and gave me a big smile. "Nice to meet you, I'm Hikari. And this old man here- Ah! Why did you do that for?!" She looked angrily back at Karasu, then sighed. "Got it, I won't call you 'old man' anymore... I'll just call you 'old geezer'. It suits you much better anyway." She smiled again, but this time it was more like an evil grin.
She turned to me again, and said: "Well, don't just stand there, you're the coach, right? What about trainingschedule or something?" She stood up, and took my hand. Just when she was about to dash away, Karasu said: "Wait." He stood up, and said: "How many players do you have in your club right now?"
"I have 9 members in the club... For now." Hikari answered. She looked defiantly at Karasu, who looked back. They stared(or should I say glared?) at eachother for a moment, then Karasu sighed and shrugged. "Just so you know, tomorrow's the deadline." He walked back to his desk, then sat down and said: "Oh, I almost forgot. Your first match is next week. The opponent will be Sabriel International. They are on a 'field trip' to Japan, they arrive next week, and since we're both one of the 5 most private schools of the world, they requested a match. Of course, I couldn't refuse. I hope you can have a nice match with our guests from America, Hikari oujo-sama." He smiled sarcastically.
"Be sure to win, or your club will be disbanded, if it wasn't already..." He looked through some papers and I understood that it was the end of the conversation. As for the girl, she just smiled at the ground, seemingly interested in her shoes. With a shock I realised that she had crimson red eyes, and not bright blue ones, as I saw a few minutes ago.
"Let's go." She said, and pulled me out of the room.
11 January, 15:40
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Schoolgrounds
"So, you're the captain of the team?" I asked Hikari.
She nodded, then said: "Yeah. I take it that you've heard of the bet? If not, tomorrow's the last day I can scout, and I still need 2 players in my team. If I don't have enough players, the soccerclub will be disbanded."
I flinched. Did she just say 'soccerclub'? That damn bastard... He told me he needed a coach for the baseballclub... I promised myself to never get involved with soccer again... Seems to be I'll break that promise. I can't just let this little girl and her club end up without a coach. And somehow, I felt attracted to this kid.
"Next week..." She looked up. "Next week's the match, right?"
"Yeah, I heard the soccerclub of Sabirel International is a really strong one. They're called the Dark Scorpions, if I remember correctly." I fiddled on my eyepatch. I remember that they won every soccer trophy in the United States for year after year. I hated the thought of it, but no matter how strong her- I mean my- team is right now, we could never beat them. If we were to get enough players before tomorrow, the club would be disbanded anytime soon. In fact it would be next week.
"I don't care if they're strong. They can be no match for us. I know it. The ones in my team are the strongest and the best. They can never beat us!"
Her voice got me out of my thoughts. Surprised by the way she believed in her team so much, I couldn't bring out any words. Maybe... Just maybe, we could win. I smiled.
"Don't get carried away, we still need two more players." Just as I said that, a red haired boy came running towards us.
"Are you Hikari?" he asked.
Hikari grinned, then said: "Correction: one more player, coach."
She turned to the red-haired boy. "I'm Hikari Latowidge, at your service."
"I see, I'm Shitefuda Shuu, but just call me Shuu." Shuu said. He looked at me. "And this is...?"
"I'm Hayate Matsuoka. The coach of the soccerclub. I take it that you want to join the soccerclub?" Shuu nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping I could still join."
I patted him on the shoulder. "Then you're at the right place, m'boy." I turned to Hikari. "If the captain of the team allows you to join, that is."
She just smiled from ear to ear. It was decided. Shuu is the tenth member of the club.
12 January, 15:47
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Main Hall
In the end, we still couldn't get 11 members. I counted the people who were here. Nine players: Shuu, Mikeru, Haruka, Andy, Ryuu, Serra, Sag, Loretta and Hikari. Arashi was missing. I wonder what happened to him. Meanwhile, the team was getting nervous.
"Hey, Hikari-senpai... Are you sure you can still scout a player?" Serra said.
"I don't need to scout." Hikari answered. "We're just waiting for someone."
"Then who's that someone you're talking about, captain?" Sag asked.
Hikari smiled. "You'll see soon enough, Sag." She answered, not lettting go of anything about that person.
At that time, Arashi ran towards us, with a black-haired girl behind him.
"Ya! Sorry if I'm late, guys!" He said, panting. Then he smiled. "I have the eleventh member. We're not going down. Not today." He took a step backward. The girl behind him said: "I'm Adina Caelia. Pleased to meet you." She turned to Hikari, then bowed.
"I'm sorry about everything I did. I hope you'll forgive me and take me in, Hikari-senpai."
"Make that captain, Adina. You're in."
Adina looked as if she couldn't believe what she just heard, but then bowed one more time, this time to the whole team. "I hope we're going to have a good time together!"
"Well, this is it, right? We have eleven players. We're going to principal Saigo and tell him we're not going to be disbanded." Andy said.
Hikari shook her head. "No. Not yet."
"Wait, what? What do you mean, not yet? Hikari, it's nearly 4 o'clock! The deadline's on 4 o'clock exactly!" Loretta said.
Elizabeth[]
12 January, 15:51
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Main Building
You have to move on, accept the reality. Think about it. Would your brother want this? You both loved soccer. And you still do right now, I know it. The look in your eyes tells me enough. Hikari's words echoed through my head.
Running away again? Why do you keep doing that? You can't run forever, one day, all of your troubles will find you. It's better to face them straight away. No, I won't give in...
And what would Braydon think, huh? Who was the person who was so proud of you, because you played soccer?! That's right, it was Braydon! Your caring, older brother! If he would see you like this right now... You can't keep lying, saying you hate soccer while you still love it. You want to play, right?! Fine, I'll leave you alone, but don't turn things around 'til you're tired. It won't help you. Face the truth, that's what makes you stronger, what keeps you moving forward. Clinging to the past will only make your burden heavier. I gotta go now, but don't forget that you're always welcome to join the soccerclub.
I clenched my fists. No. I won't... Clinging to the past will only make your burden heavier.
I sighed, then I ran towards the Main Hall. It was decided.
12 January, 15:53
Waterlyn City, Ravendale Academy
Main Hall
"We waited long enough now, captain!" A blond boy said. I recognized him as Ryuu Valcrux, that half-Spanish transfer student. Popular by the girls, but not really impressive until you hear him sing.
"Fine. We're going, alright." Hikari said. "But first, let me introduce you to Elizabeth-senpai." She smiled from ear to ear, and before I knew it, she already pulled me towards the group of people.
"I was waiting for you, Eliz-chan. What took you so damn long?" I just gave her a weak smile. I didn't really understand what was going on, but I'll hear it soon enough.
"Well, I was thinking... I guess." I said. Hikari gave me a friendly pat, and smiled, as if she was saying 'it doesn't matter, you're here now, that's all what matters' then turned to the team.
"From now on..." She put up her fist. "We're the Black Hawks!"
End[]
Hikari Talk 15:24, May 1, 2012 (UTC)
The end~ Hope you enjoyed~!
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