The FFI had finally started.

Even before the matches had begun, you were already one step ahead. You knew about Inazuma Japan's little kickabout with Clario Orvan. He completely crushed Inazuma Japan, just like how he crushed the original Raimon team.

When you heard about this, it made your blood boil. You weren't there to help everyone. . . You always wanted to help.

Always.

Inazuma Japan wasn't your team, but some of your old teammates were chosen for the team, and everyone was so sure of the fact that you'd be chosen for it as well. But you had a change of heart. . . No, a change of plans. Your heart will always reside in the same place.

After meeting Irina, you had more hope than ever for the Orion Foundation. It was run by such generous and kind people. People you wanted to learn from, people you wanted respect from, and people you wanted to be more like.

You kicked the ball as strong as you could, sending it bulleting towards the goal. The goalkeeper, Yuri, launched himself to the side to catch it - but your shoot was far too fast, and he couldn't manage to save it. The blonde-haired boy fell to the grass as a result, and you scampered over to him to help him up.

"Here," you reached your hand out. With a gentle smile, Yuri took your hand and rose to his feet again. Subconsciously, you started inspecting him for any scratches or bruises, which made him awfully nervous.

"Are you okay? That was a pretty nasty fall." You began brushing off some dirt from his shorts.

"I-I'm alright. Thank you, [Y/n]." He stammered when you smiled up at him.

"Your shoots are getting better, as expected from our team's second ace." Froy clapped while he approached you. You raised a brow at the 'second' part, but you didn't want to argue, so you left it alone. Besides, you didn't see yourself as an ace at all. . . Even back in your Raimon days, you didn't have enough confidence to give yourself such a high position. The Playmaker was fine, but ace? No thank you.

"Thank you." You straightened up and smiled towards Froy. "I'll keep giving it my all."

"Even when we face Inazuma Japan? Will you still give it your all, then?" Suddenly, you heard Ichihoshi's voice. You quickly shifted your eyes to look at him, and your smile faded a little but hadn't completely disappeared.

". . . I will." You nodded your head. It was a hard question for you to answer, really, but hesitating would only make the team worry for you. So you answered as fast as you could, to give everyone some peace of mind.

"An excellent answer from our vice president." This. . . Was a voice that you didn't recognize. With furrowed brows, you turned to the owner, and your eyes instantly widened.

He was the spitting image of Inamori Asuto. The dark hair and dark eyes. . .

But wasn't Asuto's father supposed to be long gone?

The man had approached you with a gentle smile on his face, but you felt like something was terribly wrong. Beside him was another man you hadn't met before. His skin was brown, and he had black hair pulled back into a low ponytail. He wore a grey suit, while the man who looked like Asuto was dressed casually, for some reason. . .

"A-are you-?" You couldn't find words. Something didn't feel right. Was this man really who you thought he was?

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my name is Inamori Masato." He stuck his hand out to you for a shake.

You could see it in his eyes.

This man knew you.

This man. . .

You looked at his hand but refused to take it.

"You left your wife and son. For what reason?" You narrowed your eyes at him. No matter what his answer was, no matter what his reasoning was, you didn't think you could forgive him. He left his wife all alone on the hospital bed and left his son to fend for himself. What kind of father does that? Perhaps he was just as bad as your own father, or Nosaka's father.

"So you know about me. . . Maybe my reasoning is the same as yours." He responded, still with that smile evident on his face.

"What?" You were running out of patience for this jerk.

"The same reason you left your team."

This made you freeze in your place. Your eyes were burning with fire, your glare was a sharp as knives, but it hardly fazed Masato.

You finally mustered up all your strength. . . To straight up leave.

Little tears pricked at the ends of your lashes as you walked away and soon started to run.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe you had no place to be angry at him when you supposedly abandoned Raimon.

But. . . You didn't really abandon them, did you?

Masato left his wife to die, and son all alone, that wasn't the same thing as you leaving your team to help children in poverty.

Despite repeating this to yourself, you still found yourself feeling so guilty. Especially because of Nosaka. Was he angry with you? Did he expect you to wait for him in Japan? Your phone number changed, your email changed, and you hadn't sent him any of the details. For what reason?

"Miss [Y/n]!"

"Not right now-" You found yourself sniffling a little, and wiping your eyes. You didn't want anyone to see you crying. You were the role model, remember?

When you lifted your head, you saw Malik standing in front of you with the most worried look on his face. You already felt bad for brushing him off. He looked so sad.

"Malik?" You did what you could to keep your composure. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." You stepped over to him and bent down, placing a hand on his head, a small smile on your face.

"Are you crying? Don't lie to me. Please." His puppy eyes were too hard to resist. You weren't planning on lying to him, but you also weren't planning on telling him the truth. You were going to probably dodge all his questions. But that look on his face made you feel so terrible, you had to tell him the truth.

"Come with me, Malik." You gently took his hand and lead him down the hallway. He followed you without any complaints. The two of you left the building, and went outside, where the fresh air was much better than the air on the training pitch. Masato must have poisoned it (not literally). The both of you made your way to an empty bench outside the building, but not too far away from it either. Malik sat down only after you did, he was still worried for you - even though it should be the other way around. He still didn't say what he was doing in the hallway and not in his dorm.

". . . I cried a little bit. Yeah." You confessed, which put a pout on the boy's face. "But there's no need to be concerned for me, okay? It wasn't anything too important." You forced a smile.

"Of course it was important! It made you cry!" Malik piped up. He instantly hugged onto your arm. It seems like your smile wasn't strong enough. "What happened?"

"Malik, I don't want to stress you out with my problems. You're a kid and kids shouldn't have to take care of other people. I'm supposed to take care of you." Your response was kind, but a little blunt.

"Then why don't you tell me instead?" It seems as if Ichihoshi had followed you without you realizing it. The blue-haired boy stepped around the bench and stood beside you, rather than sitting down beside you.

"Ichihoshi. . ." You didn't expect this kind of kindness from him, but you had to thank him for it somehow. Your way of thanking him would be your compliance.

"It's what Masato said. That's pretty much it." You sighed. "He made me rethink my decisions. Did I abandon my team? Things are worse because I know they got creamed by Clario Orvan from team Spain. . . I should have been there to help my friends. I should have been there for Nosaka to come home to-"

"You decided to come here." Ichihoshi interrupted you. So much for letting you talk about everything, but you didn't mind. You wanted to shut up. "Maybe you should just go and say your goodbyes, or explain to everyone why you decided not to join Inazuma Japan. You came here for kids like Malik, right?"

You glanced at Malik. He smiled at you.

"That's right." You nodded before shifting your gaze back to Ichihoshi. "That's a good idea. Thank you, Ichihoshi. I think I'll do exactly that."

Next destination: Japan.