[ notes/ apologies for the late update, i have lots of things to do lol. plus my other stories, and school and free time and all that jizz. this chapter is also super long, like 2900 words. anyways this is episode 18 of the series, but chapter ten in this story. please welcome the new characters (love interests uwu) tatsuya kiyama and kira hiroto. ]

"Congratulations everyone! You've already beaten Zeus and Hakuren!" Ootani happily clapped her hands, smiling brightly. Currently the Raimon team was in the lounge room to learn about their next opponent. The coaches were present, as well as the two managers; Ootani Tsukushi and Mikado Anna. You sat with one leg crossed over the other, beside Hiura.

"Your next opponent, is Eisei Academy." Your eccentric coach chirped, pointing at the screen behind him. . . Nothing happened. He pointed again, and still, the screen was blank. A very delayed reaction, his assistant with the mask finally pressed the remote. Now, you expected to see some data information, or anything of the such. Except the team was met with beach photos of adult women. Everyone covered their eyes, asides from you - but Hiura immediately helped you with that.

"Wh-why are you showing off my secret collection! Turn it off!" Zhao frantically waved his arms. The photos kept going, but there was one in particular that caught some attention - unfortunately, you couldn't see it. Michinari, Mansaku and Hiura managed to see it though.

"W-was that a picture of [L/n]!!?"

"Huh?" You perked up, moving Hiura's hands from your eyes. The photo was already passed through, and now you were looking at your next opponents. You blinked your eyes in confusion, looking over your shoulder at the blue haired male beside you. His face was completely flushed in red, which he tried to hide with one of his hands.

"Was there actually a photo of me, or are you just joking--?" Nervously, you asked the male.

"D-don't worry, it was just a photo during practice." He straightened up, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his brow. You frowned.

"Anyways!" Zhao clapped his hands to get your attention, playing casual despite literally having a photo of you drinking water at the bench. "This is Tatsuya Kiyama! The prince among the players at Eisei."

There were a plethora of players, but the one girl spiked your interest most. You were ecstatic to see more female players, hopefully you could befriend her.

"He grew up in the Sun Garden with the rest of the members."

". . . Sun Garden?" Asuto asked for the sake of everyone's curiosity.

"An orphanage."

You could have sworn you heard that name before. Maybe when the accident happened, and your parents passed away, you could have been placed there. In that case, you'd have met all of those kids, and maybe even joined their team. So many different things could have happened to you at that point, yet here you are, at Raimon. This must be your fate, but even still, you were happy with it.

"Now! Is Tatsuya would be considered Eisei's light, then their other star player would be considered their darkness. Kira Hiroto, is the son to the Kira Dynasty." Another video started to play at the coach's command. A rather strand looking fellow with a blue marking on his face. He made more than ten goals in one match, but at the same time, was fighting against his own team as well. He treated them terribly, as if they were part of the opposing team. The definition of a spoiled child, in your opinion.

"He sounds troublesome. . ." One of your teammates muttered.

"He hardly attends school, and all his friends are delinquents. He's even been charged by police before." Ootani sighed. How troublesome indeed.

Everyone was coaxed outside for practice, but this was cut short. Coach turned to you, and gave you very obscure orders.

"[L/n]-san! Take a day off!"

"Ehhh!?" The entire team gaped.

"A-a day off?" You furrowed your brows. Why in gods name would you be given a day off, especially with such an important match ahead of you.

"But Coach, we need her!" Asuto piped up, it seemed the entire team agreed with him.

"She's our ace striker!" Michinari nodded.

"She's also our playmaker, we'll be a mess out there without her." Mansaku pitched in.

"[L/n]-chan has helped me so much with my training, I need her as well!" Even Norika had something to say. You could feel your eyes welling up, and noticed your sight was going glassy. Crying here would be a little embarrassing, even though it was out of joy. For so long, you thought your life was meaningless. You were sure that the accident made a mistake, not taking your life as well. You thought Nosaka risked his life to save you for no reason, but soon, he gave you a reason to continue living. Now you had a reason to keep fighting.

"Guys, please stop. . ." You ended up sniffling quietly, and wiping away at your tears.

"[L/n], did we say something wrong?" Hiura gently placed his hands on your arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm more than okay! I'm crying because I'm happy." You spewed out. The blue haired male smiled, lifting a hand to pat your head affectionately.

"Precisely!" Coach Zhao lifted a finger. "[L/n]-chan is our key player to winning tomorrow's match. That's why she needs a day off." This didn't really explain much, but you ended up accepting his offer anyways. Now, the more than you thought about it, you were wondering if he was referring to your health. The doctors told you not to push yourself too hard, so maybe a break was well deserved. Even still, you promised you'd help Norika later at night anyways.

So with nowhere to go, and nothing to do, you made your way to town. Shirou and Atsuya had offered to accompany you, so you graciously accepted. Heaving a small sigh, you slowly walked through the shopping district, eyes scanning each of the quaint little shops here and there. You came to a sudden halt to peer into one of the bakeries, without realizing there was someone standing right in front of you - your head was turned to the side after all.

"Oi, sweetheart."

"Huh-?" Was someone catcalling you? You took a small step back and looked at the male. His hands were shoved in his pockets, earbuds playing music and chewing on some bubblegum. After a moment, you could tell exactly who this was - Kira Hiroto in the flesh.

"All by yourself?" He raised a brow. Nervously, you averted your eyes to the ground.

"U-uhm, no. I'm just waiting for someone." You promised to meet Shirou and Atsuya at the ice cream parlor, which was just a little bit away, you were almost there in fact. They were to meet you in half an hour, but now there was this wall standing in your way.

"Boyfriend stood you up?" Hiroto jested with a low chuckle. You weren't so sure what to say, and remained silent. The dark haired male sighed, reaching a hand out to under your chin, lifting it to force you to look at him. ". . . I don't believe it. You're too cute."

"I-I'm sorry, but I really have to go--"

"Sorry honey, no can do. You're coming with me." Hiroto quickly grabbed your wrist and dragged you down the sidewalk. He pulled you to a stray vending machine and sat you down on the bench while he got you a soda. Casually, Hiroto handed you the aluminum can and sat down beside you, leaning back on the bench.

He eyed you for a while, before cracking his drink open. You sat very polite and proper, probably because you were ridiculously nervous. A random boy just kidnapped you, now what? He wouldn't stop staring, either.

"What's your name, dollface?"

". . . [L/n] [Y/n]." You muttered softly.

"Sweet name for a sweet gal. I'm Hi-"

"Hiroto, right?" With a straight face, you looked over at him. He blinked his eyes in confusion before smirking. Maybe it wasn't so crazy you knew his name, he was infamous after all.

"Kira Hiroto. Striker for Eisei Gakuen. . ."

"You like soccer?" He raised a brow. You nodded, before flashing him a small smile.

"I love it."

Hiroto seemed to freeze for a moment, before downing another few gulps of his soda. You took a small sip, followed by another. Truth to be told, he had no clue how anyone could love soccer. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but all his teammates loved it. They wouldn't shut up about it, and it was pissing him off. That's why he was out here, finding solace in a random girl off the streets - namely you. Except you loved soccer too, so now what the hell was he gonna do. 

After finishing his soda, when you've barely touched yours, Hiroto stood up and gestured you to follow after. You had about fifteen more minutes until you had to meet with Shirou and Atsuya, so you obliged. It could be good to observe Hiroto for a little longer, maybe it could help with tomorrow's match. He seemed to have no idea who you were, so this was good. . .

Hiroto aimlessly lead you into the more expensive stores, specifically a jewelry store. You were curious if he was just into that stuff himself, but he didn't seem to look like a diamond connoisseur. While you sipped at your soda, he looked through the glass display cases. Finally, he actually ended up buying something. Possibly with his father's credit card. You were kind of amazed how he had the money for such a thing.

Hiroto bought a pair of absolutely gorgeous diamond earrings.

"Are your ears pierced?"

You nodded, completely oblivious to what he had in mind. Gently, he brushed your hair behind your ear, and carefully secured the earring to one ear. You were too stunned to move, so he took this as an okay to do so for your other ear. Now, he fixed your hair, and took one last look at you before smiling.

"You look good, babe."

"Wh-. . . O-oh no, Hiroto, I-I really can't take something so expensive. I could never!" You frantically tried to take the earrings off, but he stopped you.

"No, no, no. Take them. I want you to have them." He shook his head.

"Why-? You don't even know me?" Your eyes softened. He was supposed to be a jerk, a troublesome boy. Didn't care about anyone but himself, were you even talking to to the right Kira Hiroto?

"I know enough about you." He scoffed with a small chuckle. Rubbing at your cheek with a hand, he slowly kissed the other side of your face, then whispering into your ear, "pay me back by giving me your number. Let me get to know you."

With an obvious blush that he found terribly adorable, you nodded your head. It was the least you could do, despite still not wanting to take the earrings. They were too expensive, but he wouldn't take them back, he's either ignore you or tell you to stop. There was no reasoning with him, maybe that's what drove his teammates insane. Still. . . What a kind gesture. Maybe he'd bought earrings for every other girl he'd met, but you didn't want to think of that.

You were the first girl who made a fuss about being given an expensive gift. You were the first girl that didn't freak out over him, the first girl who loved soccer. May have even been his first true crush.

"O-oh crap! I'm so sorry, but I really have to go. Someone's waiting for me!" You bowed your head three times before scampering off. Hiroto didn't even have a chance to stop you. He just watched your retreating frame, a small smirk marring his features. He'll see you again for sure, he'll make sure of it.

"Shirou! Atsuya!" You immediately brightened up after seeing the familiar faces. They were sitting outside of the ice cream parlor, waiting for you most likely. Both boys stood up to greet you.

"There you are, we were starting to worry." Shirou chirped, giving you a quick hug.

"What happened?" Atsuya threw himself back down on his seat, kicking his feet up on the table.

"S-sorry, I just got caught up with something. . ." You breathed out with a nervous smile.

"It's alright, I'm just happy to see you. Really." Shirou simpered, pulling out your chair for you.

"Thank you-. Oh, it's really good to see you two as well!"

"Atsuya, would you go buy the ice cream?"

"No."

". . . Okay, I'll do it." Shirou gave up in less than a second. While he went inside, you and Atsuya struck a good conversation. He told you all about Hokkaido and the amount of snow that falls, and that he'd love to take you sometime for ice skating. You let him know you'd be happy to sometime soon, just not with the football frontier taking up so much of your time.

Once Shirou came back, you happily thanked him for the [f/flavour] ice cream cone. Shirou had a vanilla, and Atsuya liked his chocolate. They were such close brothers, yet completely different from one another.

While you were eating, you noticed Shirou was staring rather intensely at you.

". . . Is there ice cream on my face?" You asked. He shook his head with a sweet smile.

"No, I just couldn't help but notice your earrings. They're so beautiful on you." He set two fingers under your chin to lift your face a little.

"Wait, lemme see." Atsuya poked himself into the conversation. He stared at you for a while. How embarrassing. "Yeah, they suit you."

"D-do you think so. . . ?" Nervously you rubbed at your cheek. Both brothers nodded, which only caused you to blush more.

You spent a while longer with the two boys, before saying goodbye. You'd promised to help Norika train so more after all, and it went quite well. The both of you continued for a bit under an hour - that was when you had to go home.

The next day was the well awaited match, Raimon versus Eisei. You you stared at the opposing team at their bench, it seems Hiroto didn't show up. You wondered what he would think, if he'd seen you here. Now, you looked over at the stands to see two special people. Nosaka and Nishikage had come to see you play again, so you had to do your best and make them proud.

"Looks like Kira Hiroto isn't here. This should be an advantage for us!" Ootani clapped her hands together. You passed her a small smile. Maybe that wasn't the case, though. . .

"What advice do you have for us, [L/n]-chan?" Coach Zhao turned to you, as well as the rest of the team. You pondered for a moment before nodding.

"Don't hold the ball for too long, you need to keep passing, so everyone stay as open as possible. If the opponents are close to our goal, mark only Tatsuya Kiyama, Nagumo Haruya, Midorikawa Ryuuji and Suzuno Fuusuke - unless if they're far." This tactic should work well, for now.

Everyone agreed.

It was Raimon's kickoff, and you started by passing to Asuto then moving up. Asuto managed to get past Tatsuya. Asuto passed back to you, and you passed to Kouzomaru. He went for his signature Fire Tornado, but it was stopped. Eisei's goalkeeper, Saginuma Osamu used Worm Hole.

Nagumo Haruya had brought the ball up to your side, but Norika managed to catch his shot. She threw the ball ahead to Michinari, who passed to Kouzomaru. Despite him being in perfect distance, you signaled him to pass to you. After all, his Fire Tornado wouldn't work. Osamu didn't see this one coming at all, and you easily made a goal with a simple kick.

"[L/n]! Good work!" Asuto cheered for you.

"Is that all you've got? You won't get the next one past me. . ." Osamu jested, looking straight at you. You raised a brow.

"We'll see."

Tatsuya Kiyama scored a goal with Ryuusei Blade. It was too fast for Norika to even react, and with you being all the way up at the front, you couldn't help her.

Although, what seemed to be working was diversion, instead of hissatsu. So you continued to lead the team to the goal, make some confusing passes, then goal. The score was now 2-1, in Raimon's favor. For some reason, Goujin and Michinari had other plans - baiting into Osamu's tactics of basically pissing off the opponent. They went for some new hissatsu that you had no idea about, given you weren't present for practice yesterday.

Apparently it wasn't perfected, and didn't even make it into the goal. Kiyama had slowed it down, hurting his ankle in the process, but Osamu caught the ball. You slowly sunk in your place, so much for coming up with strategies. You had to give them props though, they definitely tried.

All attention was on Tatsuya who'd gotten hurt. . . You watched him from a distance, while his friends helped him up. You looked over at the stadium entrance. Maybe this would encourage Hiroto to show up.