Oh yeah right, you know how in the previous chapter it said that Shizumi had short hair again, right? That was because she cut it since she was coming back to the soccer world. BTW, I put a little bit more of Kidou x Shizumi in this chapter. But don't worry, Sakuma and Genda's turn will come soon. And Fudou's too.

        "Now, the second half begins!" announced Kakuma. Senbayama started the kickoff. "Now all we need is a score! Tie the score!" Endou shouted from his spot. A grin curled up on my lips. A point, that was what I was here for. No, more than one. Enough so that Raimon could come back to victory. That was the soul reason for the Death Bringer to be even placed on the field.

        The members of Senbayama moved the ball toward Endou. "Eh?" a brown haired boy on our team screeched as he saw me run back towards them. Then he became even more shocked when he saw Gouenji run toward the other side, as if already waiting for the pass so that he could attack. I counted the footsteps, one, two, three, now! I dashed across in front of a boy who was supposed to intercept the pass, and stole the ball away. That was my play style, quick dips of speed that let me win. I dribbled the ball up, and was about to pass it to Gouenji, who was already in place for Phoenix Feather, when from behind, Kidou shouted, "Pass it to Someoka!" I hesitated for a moment, my foot still poised. Taking advantage of my pause, three kids surrounded me and started walking around me in a circle. Oh no, this was their hissatsu Kagome Kagome, and once trapped, you can't escape. Think, Shizumi, think.

        Wait, I got it. There's one way to get pass this, but it was risky and all about the right timing. "Pass the ball, Shizumi!" Kidou directed. Now. Thethree kids jumped up and came down at me just as I shot the ball up toward the sky using Kuroi Hane Taifuu. The wind that surrounded my hissatsu blew them away, thus breaking the hissatsu. But all that was unseen, as the dust that had came up from the ground when I used Kuroi Hane Taifuu had surrounded us was too thick to see past.

Kidou's POV

        "Shizumi!" I shouted instinctively in a panic. The dust finally cleared away, and I saw the black haired girl splayed out on the ground propped up by her elbows. Other than the dirt that stained her jersey and the few scapes from falling, she looked fine. The three kids who had tried to ambush her were down on the ground too, also with a few scrapes and messed up hair, as if windblown. It looked like she managed to not let them steal the ball, but speaking of which, where was the soccer ball? It was nowhere in sight, and I had been too alarmed when I thought Shizumi was going to get hurt to pay attention to where the ball was.

        All of a sudden, the black and white ball dropped with a thunk next to Shizumi, who was now crawling up. Before I knew it, I ran over to her. "Ne, are you alright?" I asked, reaching out a hand to help her up. And then I caught myself. Why do I care about her so much? Why did my heart hurt to see her in danger?

Back to Shizumi's POV

        I was a little shaken by the whole mini explosion and falling to the ground that the world felt in a blur. Maybe it was only for a few seconds, but the world was moving in slow motion to me. And I was in my own little world, unconscious of everything around me. In that short amount of time, I forgot that I was back playing at the Football Frontier, forgot that I was defying the gods yet again, and even forgot who I was. I was stepping on that line of hallucination, not quite passing like all who have experienced Chi Sakura Mai had, but not entirely inside the side of reality either.

        A voice that sounded tender and concerned called out to me. "Ne, are you alright?" it asked. Who was it? Why did it sound so familiar? His words were pulling me back to the side of reality, and I finally snapped out of that little world. A pair of pomegranate eyes that belonged to the one who called out for me stared into mine. I realized that it was Kidou. He was reaching out a hand to help me. I was shocked at his behavior, for usually all he did was laugh when I fell, either that or he'd be the one responsible for pushing me into the mud in the first place just for his own entertainment.

        I had a moment of doubt, then finally took his hand. Well, if this was just a trap, it's not like anything worse could happen to me. If he suddenly let go, all that would happen is that I would fall back on to my butt. Yet surprisingly, he pulled me up completely and placed a hand on my shoulder. Not the usual, smug, you-better-do-it-or-you-know-what-happens squeeze, but a gentle, concerned touch. I felt as if I was floating.

        But then my consciousness snapped back, and I took a step away from Kidou. He was standing way too close to my comfort zone, and I became instantly suspiscious, even scared, by his change in nature.

        My eyes scoured the field, and I saw a boy on my team with a knit beanie who was open. I did a quick pass to him, and the game zoomed back. Kidou looked surprised at how I reacted, and I couldn't blame him. I just didn't like boys touching me, even the friendly hugs that Gouenji sometimes gave me back when he thought I was a boy.

        The boy I passed the ball to passed it to the pink haired striker who I had insulted earlier. He then feinted shooting, and kicked it into the air. A boy from our defense who I hadn't notice coming up jumped up, and Gouenji jumped up a second after and used the first boy's chest as a trampoline. Then doing a spit upside down, he shot for the goal. Unfortunately, it was stopped by Infinite Wall and the struggle for a point continued.

        Very soon, Kidou had possession over the ball again. He shouted a name and Gouenji's, then kicked it straight at where the two boys were preparing to use their hissatsu. Now I was more than mildly offended. Just how many hissatsus had Gouenji created without me? It was almost as if...he had forgotten about me and all our time training together and playing side by side.

        I had to admit, their joint hissatsu Honoo No Kazamidori looked strong, though it was still not enough to break Infinite Wall. But seeing Infinite Wall's power compared to a powerful shoot, I could estimate about how strong Infinite Wall was. After that, Raimon tried again with Inazuma One, having Endou run up (which was the first time I had seen a goalie come into the field and shoot) but still, it was unsuccessful.

        From the bench, I heard the boy with puffy orange hair whisper those words that made my body freeze up and everything around me blocked out. "Will we lose at this rate?" Those words echoed again and again in my head. I had to win. Everyone depended on the Death Bringer for victory, and he was responsible for carrying them all on his shoulders without complaint or even worse, failure or mistake. I had to win, I swore in the name of Death Bringer.

        The aura of the game suddenly felt different, and I looked around. All the members of Raimon looked depressed. "Pass the ball to me!" I shouted to everyone on my team. They didn't even bat an eyelash at my words. "Oi, I said pass it here!" I shouted again, this time pissed. How did they expect to win if they couldn't even just punt it over? Ugh, whatever, I'm a libero, I'll go get it myself. I can win with just Gouenji. Good thing this team was only temporary, or else I would have been driven insane soon. Back at Kidokawa Seishuu, everyone had confidence once I stepped onto the field. And they would do anything to support me, and I brought them victory. That was how we played our soccer.

        I stole the ball from a boy of Senbayama and shot at the net with my signature hissatsu. It's speed was legendary, but at the last second, Senbayama's goalie used Makiwari Chop and stopped it. Crap, I forgot he still had this move for faster shots that could beat the time it took for Infinite Wall to form. And even worse, now that he knew Kuroi Hane Taifuu's speed and power by experience, he could easily block it again and again. But there was no better way, I had to keep trying. I stole the ball again and shot. He blocked it with Makiwari Chop. I tried again, and just like before, he protected the goal. Continuous attacks didn't work either, and it only tired me out since I had to run around to steal the ball first which was pretty easy but wasted a lot of energy thanks to my good for nothing teammates.

        By now, I must have tried at least ten times, and my toes were sore. That was why I needed to wear these specially designed cleats. Kuroi Hane Taifuu put a lot of pressure onto the toes especially the big toe, and normal cleats would have been destroyed and would have injured my toes by now.

        I was bent over panting intensely too, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my neck. But I had to win. I had to get a point. The Death Bringer couldn't lose again. I can't. I can't. I just can't. I have to win.

        From behind, Endou, who was still on the field, shouted, "Don't push yourself!" His words made me realize, yes, I was actually close to breaking point. I could probably endure two more Kuroi Hane Taifuus and one Phoenix Feather before I had to stop or my toe would be damaged. But then my eyes glanced over the boy with puffy orange hair, and I was reminded that winning was the only thing that mattered. That was the Death Bringer's duty.