When they made their way to the yacht harbor, where they were told the residential area was, they found that there was another pitch right in front of it, so they mentally noted if they wanted to save energy, they could just do practice there. Upon entering the information gate, with a large kitchen attached and a cafeteria right across it, they were met by a very cheery lady in an apron.

"My, my, my! It's a pleasure to meet you, a pleasure to meet you! Just look at all that sweat and dirt on you. A bath, you definitely need to take a bath first." She said, pointing to the shower area, before retracting her arms with a clap. "Oh, but your rooms before that, your rooms! Leave your bags in your rooms before you go shower." She then proceeded to point to the back door.

"Um... When you say our rooms...?" Tenma asked.

The lady then pointed to the wall. "It's written on that bulletin board."

Dorm 1: Matsukaze Tenma, Shindou Takuto, Tsurugi Kyousuke.

Dorm 2: Kusaka Ryuuji, Ibuki Munemasa, Tetsukado Shin.

Dorm 3: Matatagi Hayato, Minaho Kazuto, Manabe Jinichirou.

Dorm 4: Nozaki Sakura, Morimura Konoha.

Dorm 5: Managers.

The lady proceeded to introduce herself as Kamata Shizune, though she insisted on being called 'Aunty', before leading them out the back door and pointing which dorms were which. There was also another building right across where they were, the door consisting mainly of tinted glass. She explained that that was the meeting room, where they could discuss strategies or share data with a big screen.

Tsurugi was curious about that place, but not even two seconds after he put down his bag did knocks come from his door. Opening it, he found Shindou there, looking about ready to explode.

"Tsurugi, you and Tenma join me for dinner. After that, we're going to see the coach." He could only give a nod before his senior left.

For a moment, he just stood there, bewildered by the suddenness of it all. But when his left hand fell to his side, an item slipped out of his sleeve.

The Fire Tornado keychain.

With their tracksuits being their new everyday outfit, he had to leave his red, spiky wrist guard at home to avoid ripping it, and so he locked the accessory into his white, plain one that he still keeps with him. Frankly, it wasn't an ideal place for a keychain, but he didn't like having anything hanging from his phone, and keeping it on the zipper of his bag also bothered him in ways he couldn't describe. This was the last available option if he wanted to keep it safe.

Or he just wanted to keep it on him any and every time he could.

Do you even hear how stupid you are, Kyousuke? Before he could retort his own brain, he stopped to wonder why he heard it in her voice.

Because you miss me. And now it's starting to talk like her too.

How are you so sure it's your brain and not me using telepathy? He hated that he knew her so well that he knew exactly what words she'd say if he heard his thoughts.

"Stop thinking, Kyousuke, before you go insane." He scolded himself with a shake of his head. "Our first match is in a week. Stay focused."

With that, he tucked it back into his sleeve and left for the dining hall.

~~~~~

After dinner, Shindou practically dragged both him and their captain back to the Seaside Stadium, where the coach was. Their senior went straight to the point and demanded that the selections be redone, but the coach insisted that the eight had potential. Or rather, he states what he wants in such a clear and confident way that they just couldn't hope to get anything else as a response from him.

Shindou declared that if he insisted on this decision, then the next match would be fought by just the three of them. "Tsurugi will be forward. Tenma will be midfielder. And I will play defense. When the other team shoots, I will block them!"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Tenma's head snapping over to him in shock. He couldn't blame him. He knew they were there to complain, but he didn't think he'd take it that far.

"Do as you please."

And yet another thing they didn't expect to hear. The coach paid them no mind and went on his way, the green haired manager― Mizukawa, was it?― tailing him.

"Shindou-san." Tenma finally spoke up. "By the three of us, you don't really mean..."

"That coach is desecrating soccer!" Shindou replied.

"Cut the crap!" A yell came from the tunnel. Ibuki stood there, shaking in anger. "You, block the shots? I'm Japan's goalkeeper!"

"Ibuki..."

"Don't flatter yourself." Shindou cut him off. "You're a complete beginner."

"That's why I'm here to practice!" The white haired boy argued. "Tsurugi, practice with me!"

He's serious, huh... Just as he agreed, Shindou cut in once again. "I'll shoot. If you can't stop my shoot, then you could never stop Tsurugi's."

"Alright. Try one of those hissatsu shoots on me."

And he did. Shindou used Fortissimo, scoring through Ibuki easily. And they kept on going like that until midnight.

The next day, they started a more serious regiment, with the intention of beating their first opponents. Korea's Fire Dragon had a player who excels in speed, so their menus were made to counter that. Some were starting to show signs of improving, others not so much.

While they were on break, Tenma suddenly approached him with a ball, inviting him to play tag. He responded with a smirk and took the ball for himself first. As he expected, they were an even match.

Improving this much after just a few months. He couldn't help the small smile on his face when the brunette managed to steal the ball from him. "Not bad."

He gave a thumbs up. "Now, it's my turn!"

Without waiting for any signal, he chased after him, their game continuing. As it went on, memories of a certain day came to mind. I wonder if we can face off like that again someday.

~~~~~

A week passed by faster than they expected. At first, he couldn't decide if he was happy or stressed about it. But right after the opening ceremony...

"Matatagi! You did it, didn't you?!"

Definitely stressed.

He left the changing rooms with a straight face, but the moment the doors closed, he broke out into a full sprint, looking for their captain. Luckily, he didn't have to go far, and Shindou was with him too.

"Tenma, come with me!"

They ran back as he explained. Manabe was causing a ruckus in their changing rooms because his wallet was missing. And he was accusing Matatagi for it since, apparently, he had stolen something once before.

"Stop it! We have a game to play!" Tenma reminded. "We are representative players! Everyone has their expectations in us! So we need to fight in a way that won't cause embarrassment, and win!"

Manabe placed his hands on his hips. "But none of us are here because we want to play soccer."

"Huh...?"

"Each of us was hired under certain terms. For instance, Tetsukado comes from a family of fishermen and he is earning the money to repair their broken fishing boat. Nozaki is here so she can study abroad in the world's best rhythmic gymnastics team. Even Ibuki is here to cover the costs of studying abroad in an overseas basketball team, is that correct?"

"Yeah."

"No way..." Tenma stared at each of them, his mouth hanging open. After looking around, his eyes landed on Matatagi last. "Matatagi, is that true for you too?"

He looked down. "I... want to buy a big house for my family to live in."

"No way..."

"Unbelievable..." He, Tenma, and Shindou were the last to leave the changing rooms, unable to say another word about the matter. Even the cheers from their soccer club could only bring them up so much.

When he reached his position in the middle of the field, he turned back to the bench. Their coach, trainer, and three managers were there, each of them with different expressions― Wait, three?!

He blinked and scanned over them again. Just Mizukawa and Sorano... His gaze went to where their friends were in the audience. The only girls there were the two senior managers, their club counselor, and Tenma's relative. Beside their counselor was a blonde haired man.

Her brother.

The man's eyes narrowed on him and nodded, so he returned it with his own. We lost the match against Teikoku. We can't afford to lose again here.

He had a promise to keep.

"Give it back to me right away." He said as the whistle blew. The dark brown haired boy didn't nod nor shook his head, but when he passed the ball, he immediately ran ahead with it. "Matatagi!"

Immediately, Fire Dragon was able to steal the ball from him. It was given to their key player, Lee Chun-Yoon, who made it to their goal in seconds and probably would've scored if Shindou was even a second late to block it.

"Inazuma Japan!" Tenma called. "We'll score the first point!"

He cast a side glance at their opponents, noting their smirks. Even without scoring, they still managed to show off their power in a way that shook them. From the looks of this, we'll have to do as Shindou-san said.

The night before, their senior called for a meeting in their captain's room. Just as he declared in front of the coach, he wanted to fight with just the three of them. While Tenma kept on hoping and pleading otherwise, he kept shooting him down with cold stares. He saw no other way to win.

In all honesty, he sided more with Tenma than Shindou, which was why he was never against helping Ibuki train. However, he also wished that the brunette would open his eyes just a little bit more and see that he couldn't hold their hands throughout the whole match if they wanted to win. Perhaps the coach was right and their new teammates did have amazing potential, but a week is hardly enough time to bring it out in this sport.

They started the next round with Korea's throw-in and Matatagi managed to take the ball before anyone else could, however, due to his unsteady dribbling, it was immediately stolen back. And just like before, none of their teammates could keep up, so it was up to Shindou to block the ball from getting to the goal once again. He ignored Ibuki's complaints, keeping his gaze only on Tenma, who understood.

The ball was passed to their captain and he brought it up the field with Kazaana Drive before passing to him. They worked as a duo to bring the ball closer and closer to the enemy's goal. They were so close, yet the ball was stolen from them yet again with Jibashiri Kaen. Rinse and repeat.

Shindou blocked another shot and this time, Tenma managed to get through the other midfielders, but he was stopped by a double slide tackle.

"Tenma!" He and Shindou both rushed to their friend, letting out relieved sighs when they saw him moving. "Are you okay?"

"Yes!" He answered their senior with a nod, letting him pull him up.

"It's tough bringing the ball up with just Tsurugi and Tenma."

Just then, Matatagi cut in. "I want you to let me fight with you."

"What?"

"I know I'm not anywhere near the level where I can challenge the world, like you guys. But I want to reach your level, even for a little bit. So, teach me how to play soccer!" A wry smile appeared on his face. "I know it's not something to ask during a game..."

"Matatagi!" Tenma grinned. "Okay! Let's do it! You're okay with that, right, Shindou-san?"

"It's worth giving it a try." Tsurugi cut in before their senior could protest. Besides, it looks like he has a strong reason for wanting to fight along with us.

"Fine."

They headed to their positions with a small hope that the next round would turn out differently, but he noticed that, for a brief moment, the runner had a different expression on.