Ichikawa was the one to open the door and somewhat timidly walk in. He didn't have much of a reaction when he saw her, so he probably expected to find her here.

She was the one blinking instead. "Ichikawa-san? You're still up?"

"I could say the same for you."

"I guess so, but you're not normally out and about at this time." She pointed to the chair. "If you're going to stay, go on and take a seat. I'm sure Kyou won't mind."

"Then, excuse me." He gave a polite bow before sitting down as told.

"So, what brings you here?" She asked, leaning her back to the wall and letting her feet dangle off the bed. "I'd think Shindou-san would be the first to find me."

"I was waiting for you to return."

"Oh?" She didn't expect that. "What for?"

"This." Only then did she notice he was carrying a first aid kit. "I was waiting in the living space of the fourth dorm car with Aoi-san, but you never came. She thought that there's a possibility you might've come to Tsurugi-san's room instead, so I offered to bring this to you in her place as my room is also in this car."

"Ah... Well, thanks―" She made a move to take it, only for her arm to be caught.

"Kimiko-san..."

Shit. She made the mistake of reaching out with her right.

Before she could say anything, he flipped her hand over to show her palm. The burnt bandages were very much visible, and some of it had even chipped off. Her skin below it all was also clearly redder than they should be.

She bit her lip, waiting for him to comment. Or ask. Or scold.

But after a while, all he did was sigh and let her go, opening the kit.

That's... That's new. She couldn't hide the skeptical look she had as he held out his hand again, holding a wipe in the other.

"May I?"

She waited to see what would happen if she didn't move.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.

He just sat there and waited for her, the concern in his expression unchanging. So, she reluctantly gave him back her hand.

Aside from the occasional hiss, the two sat in silence as he got rid of the old bandage as carefully as he could. She bit her lip a second time when he started using the wipes to clean the new wound, occasionally pressing it against a cold compress before dabbing it to her hand. After making sure it was clean and properly cooled off, he began to wrap it up again.

Throughout the entire process, she was tempted to peek into his mind, but she was already far too mentally exhausted after her full-day trip to even try. Besides, if he wasn't going to ask, then she had no reason to try so hard to find an answer.

"There." Once he was done, he leaned back on the chair as she observed her new bandages.

They weren't too tight nor too loose, just enough to stick, but not uncomfortably so. "Nice. Thanks, Ichikawa-san."

"Yes, well, Aoi-san entrusted me with this, so I wanted to be sure she wouldn't have anything to worry about once she's seen it. And..." He seemed hesitant on whatever it was he wanted to say, so she gave a small nod to indicate she was listening. "Kimiko-san, you once told me that if I want answers, I need to ask questions."

That she did.

"But... It seems that no matter how many times I could try to ask, you would never answer any of them. Not directly."

Because they're not something I'm supposed to answer.

"So... I have decided that I will respect your wishes and refrain from further prying."

She blinked. For real?

"However," His eyes, that had been focused on her hand the entire time, suddenly turned straight towards her own. "In exchange to that, can you please stop getting yourself hurt?"

Oh. That was what he wanted.

"It's been one injury after another, and while I know you're only trying to protect everyone, I wish that you would have a mind to think of yourself as well." He paused, taking a deep breath. When he met her eyes again, the worry was replaced by absolute seriousness. "Please, please, please stop running off alone, fighting everything in sight for other people's sake when no one has ever asked you to, and think only of taking care of yourself. You told me that it is unfair that those of us who have Souls are pushed into this position when we all just wanted to live fairly simple lives. That applies to you too, does it not? You are under no obligation to take on such burdens to save―"

"While Professor Aruno might've been the one who asked me to go, it was ultimately my own decision to come back to this timeline." She crossed her arms, her expression mirroring his. "Just like you guys, I chose to go on this trip. I chose to put myself in danger again for you all. I chose to help save the galaxy and the future again." Even if―

"But you do not want to, right?" He interrupted with the exact words that she was thinking of, stunning her. "You are not... You are not here to save the galaxy. That is just a bonus to you. You have another goal that you haven't, and probably will never, share."

She shifted in her seat. No use in hiding it anymore, I guess... "So what if I do?"

This time, he's the one starting to look uncomfortable. "Is your aim... really worth putting yourself through so much pain?"

She didn't need to give it a second thought. "Yes."

A shocked look appeared, even though she was sure he knew how obvious the answer should be. Perhaps the answer itself wasn't what surprised him, but how fast she said it.

He looked down, seeming to consider his next words. Before she could interrupt his thoughts, his head snapped back up again. This time, his expression was unreadable.

"If it was Tsurugi-san that told you all this, would you have listened?"

Her eyebrow raised at this. "Why are you suddenly bringing him up?"

"Please answer. Just this once."

"... You think I care about his opinion more than I do yours and anyone else's?"

"Is that not the case?" His shocked expression returned, making her smile wryly.

"His opinion is the one I have to care about least."

"Wha―"

"Because he's the one I'm doing all this for."

That was as much as she would say on that, and it looked like he understood. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath, once again restraining himself.

She didn't like that.

When he opened his eyes again, he had a small smile on his face. "You... really do love him, don't you?"

"I do, yeah." She gave a single shoulder shrug. "He's my best friend of seven years, after all."

"Very well then." He stood up, taking the first aid kit with him. "I promise we will do everything we can to take him back and return him to you."

It took everything she had to make sure her expression didn't change.

"Yeah. I'm counting on it."

~~~~~

"Where's Kimiko?" were the first words Shindou found himself saying that morning.

"She never came back?" Shinsuke asked, the worry appearing on his face.

"Oh, I saw her last night! She went to sleep before I did." Tenma said, letting them all sigh in relief.

"She didn't return to her room though." Aoi pointed out before turning her head to where the strikers were having breakfast. "Ichikawa-san, did you find her in Tsurugi's room?"

He nodded. "I did. And you were right, she did get injured again, on her hand."

"I knew it." They all sighed with her.

"Do you think she overslept?" Matatagi asked teasingly.

However, the ash haired boy shook his head. "I checked Tsurugi's room before coming here because I had the exact same thought. If she did stay there overnight, she'd already cleaned up and left."

"Did she go back to her own room, then?" Kusaka asked.

"No, Konoha and I checked." Sakura spoke up from her corner of the room. "We were both worried about her, so we knocked on her door. We also uh... barged in when no one answered, but she wasn't there."

"There was no note either." Konoha added.

"What's this? What's this? Is everyone talking about Kimiko?" Their caretaker suddenly came through the door in her conductor's uniform.

"Aunty, do you know something?" Minaho asked.

"Why, yes! Yes! Earlier, she came when I was taking care of some things in the front. I ended up teaching her a lot about the train's technology, and those powers she has are very handy! Very handy, indeed!"

"Then, where is she now?" Tetsukado piped in next.

"Oh, well, she already had breakfast, so she said she wanted to go to the stadium―"

As if it was instinct, he and the rest of Raimon bolted to the window. Right at that exact moment, they saw their friend, with her back to them, glowing in a bright aura before she floated up and flew off.

"She left without warning again..."

"Yeah..."

Shindou's attention, however, was taken by something else. Didn't she say she left her pink jacket at home?

~~~~~

"Attention, people of Faram Orbius. Faram Orbius has now been occupied by me, Bitway Ozrock. The eight control centers of this planet are already under my control, including the 7,000,000 spaceships stored for emergency escape. We announce here the founding of a new nation, Ixal Fleet! Listen to me. If you lose, all of the transportation fleets put aside for escape will automatically self-destruct. Just as you have done in the past to the many planets which you have destroyed. But if you win your match against Earth, I will return the transportation fleets to you. Until then, have a solid taste of the same fear that you inflicted upon the people whose planets you have destroyed."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Don't tell me you've lost your nerve? Way to be the strongest planet in the galaxy."

Eleven pairs of eyes turned to glare at the foreigner in the room, but he didn't bat a single eyelash.

"Protect your home with your very life. That is what I had decided to do from the very beginning."

"... If we wish to protect those who must be protected, then we mustn't forget the Faram warrior's pride." The goalkeeper spoke up, putting a hand to his heart. "That's right! I will burn this life of mine to the end of its wick in this battle!"

"YEAH!"

Good. The foreigner nodded, turning towards the door. Now...

Walking towards the tunnel's exit, he heard familiar voices coming from behind. As he turned to his ex-teammates with a smirk, clad in the number 10 of the purple uniform, the green captain's mark clear on his arm, he steeled his heart for what's to come.

Let it begin!