Some Things Are More Important Than Winning

Ahahaha... I'm sorry I made Shizumi sound similar to Fubuki in the last chapter. And also, in case anyone gets confused, Gouenji calls Shizumi "Inoue" because he still sees her as Inoue and she doesn't bother to correct him usually while everyone else calls her Sakurai except for the Teikoku boys who call her Shizumi or the occasion Shizu-chan.

        I don't know how much time had passed before I finally pulled back to consciousness. My eyelids fluttered open, and I saw two figures looming over me. It took a second for my vision to focus to recognize who they were, and another to have the past memories rush back.

          Gouenji ran back to me and held his hand up. I high fived him, and he asked with a smile, "See? You don't have to do it all alone." "Yeah..." I replied, my voice trailing off as I started wobbling and feeling faint. I tried to hide it, but he noticed it and furrowed his brows anxiously. "You're in no state to play. Kantoku! Change players!" he shouted panickedly. Everything they said after that was blocked out of my head as Gouenji made me lean on him for support. The things around me became blurry, but one thing registered clearly. From my peripheral vision, I saw Kidou running toward us with a frantic expression, shouting something that I couldn't make out. My eyelids started drooping. I did it, I scored a goal...

        I crawled up into a sitting position, but instantly felt a whirl of dizzyness. "Don't push yourself!" Gouenji told me as he helped me up slowly. Once the wave passed, I looked around. I was on a couch in a big fancy room I didn't recognize. Kneeling next to the couch I was lying on was Gouenji and Endou. I turned to Gouenji and asked, "Where am I?" "Kidou's personal sitting room," Gouenji responded. Then under his breath, he whispered, "Rich ass kids..." A smile crept up my face. But then I remembered, and my expression changed. He noticed my troubled frown and asked, trying to lighten the mood, "What's the matter? Kidou can always go to daddy and have the room remodeled if if doesn't suit your taste."

        I sighed and hung my head, "I'm sorry, I couldn't win for Raimon. Endou put a hand on my shoulder, making me tense up, then quickly relaxed after hearing what he had to say. "It's alright. Raimon won in the end." "Yeah...but I was placed on the team only to win for them. I let them down..." My voice cracked and a tear fell onto my clenched fists.

        I felt another hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that it was Gouenji's. "No, it was because of you that Raimon won. They were all empty of hope until they saw you pretty much kill yourself just to get a point for them. You motivated them." I turned doubtfully to Endou. "Yeah, Gouenji's right! If it wasn't for you, then Raimon would have gave up!"               

        I was silent after hearing their words. "You once said the phoenix represented strength and rebirth. Just think of soccer from a different angle," Gouenji continued, "Instead of bringing death to the other team, you brought life to your own team. That is a lot more important than any win." Looking into Endou's shining eyes and Gouenji's soulful ones and reassuring smile told me that they meant it. Maybe Gouenji was right, I had been seeing soccer the wrong way the whole time. All along, I thought I was alone and that I couldn't rely on anyone else or they would see me as a failure, when it was them who wanted me to rely on them so that they would feel like I accepted them as teammates instead of dead weight dragging me down.

        The door creaked open, and everyone turned around and froze. There, standing at the doorway staring at us was Kidou holding a tray balancing four english teacups an expensive looking porcelain teapot. "Oh hey, Shizumi-chan. I didn't know you were awake," he finally said awkwardly his voice cracking in the middle.

        Gouenji and Endou exchanged a glance, and they both stood up without a word. Then Gouenji led a confused Endou toward the exit. "Ne, where're you going?" I asked after them. "Err, we'll see you at practice tomorrow. Raimon's field, don't be late," the platinum striker said before closing the door behind Kidou on his way out. "Hey! You didn't even say what time! How do you expect me to be on time?!" I shouted after them, making Kidou flinch. "Right after school!" Endou's voice came from far away outside even though they were still in the Kidou resident, then the naive boy was shushed by Gouenji. Why did Gouenji started acting so weird once he saw Kidou?

        "So um, hey," Kidou said, trying to break the tension, "I brought you tea." He came over and sat down on the couch next to mine and placed the tray on the table. Then he poured tea from the teapot into one of the empty cups and handed it to me. I accepted it graciously, and there was another silence.

        "Baka..." I heard Kidou say under his breath. The teacup I had been holding paused in front of my lips. "I can hear you, Kidou-san," I replied warningly while giving him a glare, then brought the cup closer and tipped it slightly. The instant the warm liquid touched my taste buds, I recognized it as english milk tea, my favorite. I used to drink it at my grandparents' house in Europe. Somehow Kidou got the temperature and amount of sweetness perfect. I was surprised. Maybe all rich people had a magic touch with tea?

        "Better?" he asked me with a smirk as if laughing at me after seeing me drink the whole think in one gulp. "Hai. Arigatou, Kidou-san," I replied as I set the empty cup carefully back on the tray. But right after I let go of the cup, Kidou grabbed me forcefully by the shoulders and swiveled me so that I faced him. Caught by surprise, all I could muster was, "Ah- Kidou-san!"

        "What were you thinking out there on the field?!" he shouted at me angrily, "You could have hurt yourself!"

        His sudden reaction and loud volume scared me. He loosened his grip after seeing me flinch and the tears that had sprang to my eyes. "Gomen," Kidou apologized softly, his tone had changed from angry to regretful. I had never heard Kidou ever say things with this tone, not to me at least. He pulled me closer, gently this time, and stroke my hair, all while whispering, "I'm sorry, Shizumi, I really am..." Not knowing what to do, I let him hug me and whispering soothing words, although I'm not sure who he wanted to reassure, me or him. It seemed as if he was talking to himself, yet he kept saying my name over and over again.

        Now I'm sure that there's a lot more behind that shell I always thought was his real personality. Maybe someday, I won't regret crashing into him in the halls that first day which led me to all this. And maybe....just maybe....I might grow to like him. As in more than a friend.

Just in case: THIS STORY IS NOT OVER! I reread the last few sentences and thought it kind of sounded like I was ending it, but I assure you I am far from it. And I'm sorry this chapter was a little short. It was because I needed to get back into the groove after last Saturday, and it was a teensy bit difficult. I might edit the ending later, but I'll probably be too lazy to.

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