The team was divided. Kirino had decided to join Shindou in the fight for real soccer, while the rest were planning to obey Fifth Sector. Tsurugi had every intention of making sure the score order was fulfilled.

As they got out into the field, a boy with black and white hair walked over to their side, switching pleasantries with Tsurugi.

"That guy's look screams trouble." Midori turned to the blonde on the other end of the bench. "Hey, do you know him?"

She gave a rather strained smile. "Yeah, I do. Unfortunately, his attitude is hard to forget."

"So that means he's a SEED." Aoi nodded to herself. "But Kimiko, is it really okay for you to tell us this?"

She shrugged. "I mean, you're bound to find out sooner or later."

Right after the first kick off, Tsurugi stole the ball. Isozaki charged at him, but he was pushed away as the latter did a back pass. Or so they thought. With the amount of strength he put into his kick, it went straight into the goal.

All jaws dropped to the ground, Kimiko not excluded. She knew he'd try to 'destroy' them, but she didn't expect him to do that. Seeing the navy haired boy's exchange with the skunk, because he really couldn't have dyed it any other color with that style, she was sure things will only go from bad to worse.

It was Raimon's kick off next. Kurama passed to Shindou, who made a back pass to Tenma. He used Soyokaze Step to get past a midfielder, but the ball was immediately stolen by Isozaki. One of them moved along the side, and though it seemed like he was passing to him, the ball curved and instead hit Hamano, who was trying to block him. Luckily he wasn't hurt.

The match continued with Mannouzaka's throw in. Tenma tried to steal the ball, but instead, at the very last second, it was kicked to his stomach. While the brunette was shaking on the ground, he made a pass.

Luring them in to make the greatest damage... She suppressed a sigh. It was Mannouzaka after all.

"Everyone, be careful!" Shindou called. "They're planning to hurt us! Just like last time!" They all knew he was referring to the match against Kuro no Kishidan.

When Shinsuke tried to chase after the ball, he was elbowed on his back. Even the commentator noticed, but the referees didn't. The other players were blocking his view, so no cards were held up.

The experts of foul play... Her gaze went to her friend. Unbeknownst to her, Endou read her expression. She was waiting for something, and frankly, so was he.

Tenma chased after that boy, but got hurt himself. And one by one, all of Raimon got a hit. When Kirino sensed that it was his turn next, he jumped to dodge the slide tackle, but the landing went wrong. Eventually, Sangoku ran into the field, hoping to help his teammates, but he was sent flying back to the goalpost. The ball bounced over to Tsurugi, who passed it to Hayami. With that said, the red head became the next target of their foul play.

It was still the first half, but just about the entire team was down. Kimiko turned her gaze to the stands. Many of them were whispering, while others made faces of discomfort. But none of them moved. Even while watching all of this, not a single one of them made any complaints... Whether it's because they didn't care enough or because of the bystander effect, she couldn't be bothered to peek into their minds to find out. After all, on the sidelines, she was just as powerless.

"Wait! The game... isn't over yet!"

The edge of her lips tugged up to a small smile. Matsukaze Tenma never ceased to interest her. Even when Isozaki kicked the ball at him, he still stood up again... and again, and again, and again.

"Out of the way! The way you guys do things is too slow!" Tsurugi pushed a boy away and took hold of the ball, kicking it into the air. "This is how you destroy someone!"

"Tsurugi!" Shindou's call didn't register in his ears.

Her eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do. "Kyousuke!" But she was ignored as well.

He leapt after the ball and kicked with all his might. It hit Tenma square in his chest and after the momentum's push, it bounced off. Even the Mannouzaka players were in cold sweat. But the brunette stood up again.

Isozaki and their coach nodded at each other. "Okay then. In that case..." The former passed the ball to Tenma. "Just try and protect it. Beat us and protect your beloved soccer."

"I will!" He began to advance, but was nearly cut off by a slide. Not the ball, but his leg. Luckily, it missed and only made him stumble.

Still, it was deliberate. When Isozaki went in for the kill, Tenma was saved at the last possible second. "What the hell?!"

The ball was under Tsurugi's foot. He had pushed the brunette out of the way. "Is this how you bring down others? Don't you think you're going overboard?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. If you got away with that sliding, you would have clearly broken his leg."

"So what?" He sneered. "Someone like him deserves never to play soccer again!"

It was like a switch was flipped in the back of his mind. Kimiko couldn't help a smirk. Should've chosen your words more wisely.

"... You bastard. Are you for real?" All eyes turned to the navy haired boy, whose rage meter was filled to the brim. All it took was a single dirty look from his opponent to seal his decision. He turned towards their goal,

"Death Sword!"

And scored. The first half ended there.

~~~~~

"Drink it while it's cold."

He took the bottle from her hands, but not without giving her a look. "You knew, didn't you?"

"No, but I was counting on it." She turned her gaze to the other team. "You know I never liked that skunk, so I'm not going to complain if you beat him into the ground."

"Believe me, I intend to."

"Shindou, are you keeping this up in the second half?" Kurumada's question got all of their attention. "If you are, then you're on your own. We'll have nothing to do with this match."

"Today's match made it crystal clear. We'll just get punished if we go against Fifth Sector." Amagi stated.

"Like we said, it's unreasonable to think we can take back soccer and whatnot." Hamano added.

"But if we keep winning..."

"You shut up!" Kurama cut the brunette off.

"I understand." Shindou nodded at them. "I apologize for getting you all involved in this. But the rest of us will fight anyway. Even if only five people are left on the team!"

"... Suit yourself."

~~~~~

Kurama, Hamano, Hayami, Amagi, and Kurumada all stood by the touchlines, unmoving as the second half began. It was Raimon's kick off, with Shindou passing to Tenma. When the brunette ran ahead, he passed the ball to Tsurugi, who caught up. Or maybe the latter took it from him. It was a little hard to tell with how close they were running.

His movements were fast. Before they knew it, he was already in front of the opposing team's goal. He used Death Sword, but it was deflected by the keeper's keshin.

The ball bounced back to the center, where a red head was waiting. He too summoned a keshin and shot with Magician's Box. Sangoku tried to stop it with Burning Catch, but it wasn't enough. The score was 2-1, with Mannouzaka in the lead.

There are three SEEDs, and two of them have keshins. One of them is the goal keeper. Well, even if they knew their cards now, they were still at a disadvantage what with the division in the team.

Raimon's kick off again. The ball went from Shindou to Tenma before returning to Shindou. Then, he passed back to Shinsuke, but Tsurugi stole it off of him. He had a single-minded focus. She knew Isozaki's words were still ringing in his ears. However, when he tried to advance, the two SEEDs on the field kept him marked. Eventually, six of them surrounded him.

"Oh no..."

When his back was turned, the ball was stolen from him.

"No, no, no..."

It was passed to Isozaki.

"Kyousuke! Watch―"

She only realized she was standing when the pink haired boy caught her arm. When she turned back to the pitch, her friend was already sent flying, and before he was given a chance to recover, he was hit again. This time though, he flipped and landed on his feet.

"Get lost already! You'll regret betraying Fifth Sector!"

Tsurugi regained his focus. He jumped and caught the ball in a trap, flipping to slow its momentum down, when it was halfway across its course to hit him. "You think a kick like that would take me down?!"

That got her to smile a bit. I should've known. She sat back down, watching as he ran past his attacker. Now, all that's left is...

When Tsurugi got himself surrounded again, Shindou managed to break free from the one marking him. "Over here, Tsurugi! Even if you're a SEED, you can't win against eleven people all by yourself! We feel the same as you! If you really want to win, work with us!"

And not a second too soon. He jumped just in time to avoid a slide, and passed to the captain while in mid-air. "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't consider you to be a teammate."

Shindou only smiled. "Sure."

"Even in a crisis, he still has time for that..." She heard Kirino and the other girls chuckling at her remark.

Tenma finally broke free as well, and the ball was passed to him. The defense used Elephant Press to get the ball back from him. Seeing as there wasn't anyone to mark them, their passes all connected. Shinsuke went in for the defense, but was evaded using Boomerang Feint. Tenma was dodged right after. The ball was passed to the other SEED, who Shindou managed to catch up to with a slide. Tenma and Shinsuke got marked while Tsurugi blocked Isozaki, but one more managed to slip past them.

He shot with Bound Flame and was barely deflected by Sangoku's Burning Catch. Another boy ran up and tried to shoot as well, with Sangoku punching it back. The same thing happened endlessly, and yet none of the other four could do anything.

"Sangoku-san!" Kirino finally snapped when he got hit in the face. He stood, but his injured leg could hardly support him.

"Don't!" Aoi warned. "If you play with your leg like that, you really won't ever be able to play soccer again!"

"I know that! But at this rate..."

That was when Midori left her seat. She walked to the edge of the line, taking in a deep breath, and yelled, "You guys! Don't you feel anything watching them play?! I know you're worried about Fifth Sector and all, but aren't these guys your soccer buddies?!" At those words, they all turned to Sangoku, who was being supported by Shindou, Tenma, and Shinsuke. "You joined the club together, ate together, and you came this far with them around! Those guys are desperately doing everything they can to protect Raimon's soccer! Yet you don't feel anything?!"

In the next kick off, Mannouzaka had Tsurugi, Tenma, and Shinsuke properly marked. Shindou was the only one who could defend, but their striker got past him, trapping the ball his teammate sent his way. Everyone held their breaths when Isozaki ordered him to shoot with a keshin.

"I'll stop it no matter what! Even if I fall apart doing so!"

"Conjurer Purim!" But right before the shadows could fully take form,

"Dash Train!" Kurumada charged in with his special move, stealing the ball from him. "I'm not letting you guys do whatever you like anymore. I don't care who we're up against! We'll protect our soccer!"

"Hamano! We're going in too!" Amagi suddenly yelled.

The boy with goggles smiled. "After what he just said, we can't sit back now."

"You're going?!" Hayami found his best friend running in. "Then, me too."

"Let's go, guys!" Kurumada rallied the defense. "This is where the real game starts!"

"Yeah!"

"Now this feels like a team!" Aoi cheered.

"Took them long enough." Kimiko turned to the red-haired girl. "Nice job, Midori-san!"

The second-year gave her a thumbs up before blinking. By the time she and the other managers, along with Kirino, realized what the blonde just said, her attention was fully back on the field.

Kurumada passed to Tenma, who got past a midfielder with Soyokaze Step. He then passed it to Hamano right in front of Isozaki.

That must've been a hit to his ego.

Hamano used Naminori Piero to get past another, but Isozaki ran back and stole the ball from him. The game of passes, traps, and steals continued on for some time, until Mannouzaka managed to take the ball up to Raimon's side of the pitch. Amagi stood in his way and used Viva! Banri no Choujou to block him. The ball rolled off to Kurama's feet.

Isozaki saw this as a chance and left Tsurugi unmarked. Kurama stayed ignorant.

"Over here!" The navy haired boy was ignored.

"Kurama!" The captain was ignored.

Isozaki sent the other SEED towards the goal.

"Kurama!"

"Kurama!"

"Kurama!"

After Kurumada, Sangoku, and Shindou's call, and Isozaki standing right beside him, Kurama finally made his move. Right at the last second, he passed it to Tsurugi, perfectly aimed for him to trap. With Mannouzaka's field nearly empty, only the goalkeeper was left to defend.

He called out his keshin, and so did Tsurugi. The knight's cape was thrown back, revealing a thick cloud of mist. The ball was surrounded by an aura, and the knight lunged his sword as it was kicked towards the goal. "Lost Angel!"

"Tsurugi..." It was a battle between a sword and a shield. None of the others from either team could do anything but watch.

With the loudest warrior cry she had probably ever heard from him, Lancelot's sword broke Galleus's shield. "Go, Lancelot!" He cut through the keshin itself, and made the goal. The score went back to a tie, sitting at 2-2.

In the next kick off, Tenma got hold of the ball and passed to Shindou, who was already by the opposing team's goal. The keeper tried to bring out his keshin again, but was too tired to. Shindou was completely free, and with Fortissimo, he scored the final goal.

"Tsurugi!" She recognized the brunette's voice calling out to him. "Thanks, Tsurugi." The navy haired boy only stared before walking away, but Tenma's smile remained. "Thanks!"

She couldn't suppress her own grin from showing. Looks like I really can leave it to him...