Even though they managed to prevent Konoha from leaving, Kusaka was still greatly troubled. For good reason. When he tried to approach her during their break, she immediately ran away.

"The reason Morimura is acting like that right now... is because I told her she was irritating."

"What?! You're so mean!"

"Very indelicate."

"Those words are bound to bring 100% damage to Morimura."

With every comment the others made, Kusaka got more and more depressed. "I thought so..." He then turned to Tenma. "I can't keep on like this in good conscience... I have to apologize to her."

"Yeah, that would be for the best."

"So, what do you plan to do?" Manabe asked.

"Well... She is avoiding me..."

"Why not just casually apologize during practice?" Sakura suggested.

"Casually?"

"Like, for instance... 'Hey, the ball is coming your way! Oh, also, I'm sorry for calling you irritating!'... or something."

"Does that count as apologizing?" Minaho asked. It was a little hard to agree that it was.

"You shouldn't apologize offhandedly." Tetsukado interjected.

"Do you think so? But grabbing the moment is important."

"Yeah, I think it's fine." Matatagi said.

"... I guess I'll try it."

But, as expected, it didn't work. The second he walked up to her, she immediately ran away. And so, the group decided to help him apologize properly by creating a scenario where they could be alone.

~~~~~

The moment the brunette took a seat beside him on the train ride to the stadium, Tsurugi could already tell none of it worked out.

"This is eating me alive..." The older boy said with his head in his hands.

"For now, you should focus on the match." Shindou stated from across him. "You can think about Morimura all you want afterwards."

"B-But I... I... I guess you're right..." He sighed in defeat. "I just can't believe I ended up insulting her where it hurt the most..." He then looked up at them. "Have any of you ever done that? Or a mistake as big as that?"

"Uh... Well, when you ask so suddenly..."

"Captain, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for you." He earned a sheepish laugh.

Amber eyes closed as the navy haired boy crossed his arms. "Be frontal about it."

"Eh?"

"If words won't get through to her, then use your actions to show your sorry. Make your intentions clear."

"H-How do I do that...?"

"For one thing, you can support her in this match. And for another..." He paused, picking out his words carefully. "... Let her know that there's an even stronger feeling than irritation that you have for her."

"A-A-An even stronger feeling...?! L-like what?"

Why is he stuttering so badly? "Respect? Admiration? It could be anything as long as that's how you really feel."

"Tsurugi..." He nodded at Tenma to continue. "No offense, but since when were you an expert on emotions?"

"I'm not. It's just something nii-san told me once."

That's a lie.

Shut it.

"But that all does sound right." Kusaka let out another sigh, but this time, he had a more determined look on him. "Thanks. I'll try it."

He nodded at him before taking out his tablet. He poured all his attention on Mach Tiger's plays to ignore the not-so-subtle look Minaho was giving him from the other aisle.

~~~~~

"The Football Frontier International Vision 2's Asia district prelims have reached the semi-finals! The match between Japan's Inazuma Japan and Thailand's Mach Tiger is about to begin! Now, the match will begin momentarily! What sort of fight will Mach Tiger versus Inazuma Japan show us?!"

The whistle signaled their opponent's kick off. Almost immediately, their number 11 was able to get through the midfielders. Shindou had to stop him with Einsatz. He then passed to Tenma, who was going to pass to Tsurugi, but was cut off by the enemy captain's jump. He then made a long pass back to the striker still on their side of the pitch.

He ran past Konoha, who was unable to move. Kusaka chased after him, but was outrun. He then made a shot, which was easily caught by Ibuki.

The game continued on like that for a while. Hardly any of the other Mach Tiger members were moving up, and they were all clearly aiming for pass cuts to make counterattacks.

Tenma grunted. He was already sweating from all the back-and-forth they've been doing. "No matter what offense we use, we're met with a counter."

"We have to break through their last line of defense somehow."

Shindou went up to them. "The only way we can score a goal is by executing Kami no Takuto with higher precision."

"We ought to be able to pull that off now!" Tenma encouraged.

Shindou looked back to all their members. Each of them had a determined look on their faces. So, he nodded.

Tenma stole the ball in the next throw-in and Shindou immediately used Kami no Takuto Fire Illusion. The ball went to Tetsukado, then Sakura, and then back to Tenma, who was already near the defense line. He quickly dodged a Muay Thai-like steal and passed to Shindou.

"Fortissimo!"

"Killer Elbow!"

His shot was blocked.

However, as soon as the keeper threw the ball back in, Matatagi stole it. Two of the defenders ran back, but a path was lined up for him. He used Parkour Attack to try and score a goal, only for the two to block it with Death Scythe Middle. They made another long pass and they once again attacked from the right, where Konoha was unable to guard.

The ball was passed to their striker, who got past all the other defenders. He then used Ivory Crush and made the match's first goal.

"Inazuma Japan's defense fell apart as a result of Morimura's actions! Will they be able to correct this?!"

Wow. That's a gut punch right there. I get that it's his job to comment on everything, but... wow.

Can you please shut up before I start going insane?

You already are.

He mentally rolled his eyes before shaking his head out of it. He and Matatagi made the next kick-off.

However, they were able to steal the ball almost immediately and kept moving up from the right. Kusaka continued to cover for Konoha as best he could and was able to send the ball out of bounds. But then he approached Tenma with the most frustration they've ever seen on him.

"I want to help Morimura."

"Okay, I'm counting on you to cover for her."

"That's not what I mean! What I said so carelessly to her is making her choke up. I want to do something to help her!"

"Kusaka..."

"There's something I want to tell her."

"... Then, now's your chance."

"Now?"

Tenma gave him an encouraging smile. "She can't run from the field during a game."

"... I see... You're right. Okay, captain!"

He started running back to the defense line. That wouldn't be worrying to anyone if he didn't transform to his berserk form. He charged right up until he was in front of Konoha, who was scared stiff. Then, he took a deep breath.

"I LIKE YOU!"

"... Huh?"

"Eh?"

"You have a good heart and a cute face! I'd want you as my girlfriend, so cheer up!"

"Eh... EHHH?!"

Even from as far as the bench, Aoi could clearly see the small girl's face turning beat red. Kusaka then headed back to his position on the field.

"What is he doing, right in the middle of a game?!" Trainer Funaki was beyond baffled.

She could only smile. "There's always someone who sees the good things about you, even when you can't see them yourself."

"Yes."

She didn't expect to get a reply from her fellow manager, but it made her happy nonetheless.

And the match resumed as if nothing happened. Mach Tiger continued to target the right side, but after a yell of support from Kusaka, she gained the courage to step up. She was able to match with his movements, but then she tripped.

Somehow, it made her jump high and roll into a ball of leaves that sent their opponents flying. When the leaves disappeared, the ball was in her possession.

"She stops him! Morimura saves the team from danger!"

A hissatsu! "You did it, Konoha!"

Tenma asked for the ball before calling Shindou to use his Kami no Takuto again. It went to Sakura, then Matatagi, and finally Tsurugi. A defense member came after him just as he was about to shoot, but he smirked and turned around just in time.

"Make it in, Kusaka!"

The currently-still-white haired boy pushed his opponent away and took the ball. "Kyoubou Head!"

He scored their tying goal.

"You did it!"

"Nice reaction."

"Let's use this momentum to keep attacking!"

"Yeah!"

Kusaka then turned to the green haired girl behind him. He gave her a thumbs up. "Nice defense."

That's probably the first real smile we've ever seen on her.

Here's hoping there's plenty more to come.

They only had a few minutes left. Shindou continued to lead them with Kami no Takuto and the defense were doing a much better job now that Konoha's spirit was lifted. Matatagi tried to go for another attack, but was once again countered by Death Scythe Middle. However, Minaho and Manabe were ready. They were able to work together to stop him from shooting.

And the first half ended there.

~~~~~

"... Kusaka!"

The brunette whirled around to find Konoha looking up at him. Immediately, his posture became stiff as a rock.

"Um... uh... Thank you for your feelings, Kusaka. But about me being your girlfriend... Well... I can't! I'm sorry!"

He gave a sigh, and for a moment it made her panic, but he showed her a smile. "Oh well. As long as you're happy, I'm okay with that." She let out her own at that. "Yeah, that's it. Let's go through life smiling."

The boy headed for the bench while the girl stayed back and was approached by their manager. Tetsukado proudly called him a man and they went one to jokingly protest how shocked they made him.

A confession like that was the last thing I expected, though... Tsurugi turned his attention to the two girls talking. And I guess it was also too sudden for her.

Then, his gaze accidentally locked with Aoi's. She gave him a small nod and a knowing smile, which he replied to with a single shoulder shrug.

"Tsurugi?"

He turned around to see his senior giving him a look. "Yes?"

Brown eyes wandered over to the girls before turning back to him. "You two seem close all of a sudden."

"Oh, that." He could only give him a wry smile. "We found a common ground. That's all."

"Well in that case, I can take a guess on what that might be." He handed him a water bottle with a small smirk. "Just be careful not to make either of them jealous. We don't need that kind of drama here."

"There's no problem there." He took it with a sigh. "It'll never work on them anyway."