"So it was you!" Kusaka smiled as the train departed. "Thanks a lot for saving my boys, Kimiko!"

The blonde chuckled. "Don't mention it. They're good people. And besides, I couldn't forgive those thugs for interrupting the match like that."

"So you were also the one the letter was from." Sakura said. "Our number one fan!"

"Kimiko-san," Manabe spoke up. "Will you also be joining our trip to space?"

"Of course! And please drop the formal suffix. I'm younger than you all, so it feels weird..."

"If you're a first-year like Tsurugi and captain, then you and Manabe should be the same age." Ibuki pointed out.

She blinked. "What makes you think I'm a first-year?"

"Didn't you say you were part of Raimon?"

"I also said I'm not old enough to enroll there yet, didn't I? I'm twelve. Technically, I'm supposed to be in elementary."

"...WHAT?!" After standing up to scream out his surprise, the white haired keeper fell back to his seat. "I lost... a point... to a child..."

"I-Ibuki-san..."

"Ibuki." Tsurugi called. "If it makes you feel any better, Kimiko went under similar training as me and Hakuryuu. Don't beat yourself up too hard over it."

"I... I don't know if that does make me feel better actually..."

"So Kimiko is a SEED then?" Matatagi asked.

"You guys know what SEEDs are?" Shindou asked, surprised.

"Tsurugi told us about them." Sakura replied. "Kids who undergo special training on the God Eden island to help build up soccer clubs all over Japan, right?"

"That's... not wrong." He muttered. "Raimon did get much stronger when Tsurugi joined, so..."

Kimiko, sensing her best friend's discomfort, decided to change the topic. "Let's not think about it anymore. I want to ask an important question now."

"What is it, Kimiko?" Aoi asked.

"For all those who didn't come from Raimon, can I call you guys without the '-san' suffix?"

They sweatdropped at her. "That's the important question?!"

"I wanted to make sure you're okay with it so I don't make the same mistake with Raimon!"

"What mistake?" Minaho asked.

"I started calling Tenma, Aoi, and a few others immediately by their first names without a suffix even though they're older without asking. It's because I grew up calling Kyousuke... Well, 'Kyousuke', so I ended up getting too comfortable with everyone else his age."

"Well, I don't mind." Sakura smiled. "You can call me by my first name too if you'd like."

"Thank you, Sakura!"

"No problem!"

"I don't particularly mind either." Manabe stated, Minaho nodding beside him. "You're a very casual person, so I suppose I'll also call you Kimiko as you wished."

"Me too." Tetsukado said.

"Call me whatever you like..." Ibuki sighed.

"Same here." Matatagi nodded.

"I'm good with it too." Kusaka said, giving a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" She then turned to the smaller girl. "Morimura-san? Can I also call you without the suffix?"

"I um... Uh..." She nervously blinked up at her before immediately seeming to relax. "Yes... A-And... You can... call me 'Konoha'... if you want."

"Really? You're sure?"

"And I'll... call you Kimiko too."

Purple eyes sparkled a million times brighter. "Yay! More people to be on a first-name basis with!"

Tsurugi rolled his eyes. "You get happy over the stupidest things."

She smirked at him. "It's better than being a killjoy like you."

"Dumbass."

"Bastard."

"Weirdo."

"Asshole."

"Clown."

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

Shindou's choke cut into their banter, and immediately the train car was filled with laughter. Suddenly, the weight of the world didn't feel as heavy as it did before.

~~~~~

"Yuuichi-san!" The second Kimiko laid her eyes on the man, she ran over to give him the tightest hug he had ever received. "You're up! On your feet!"

"It's great to see you again too, Kimiko!" He happily returned it with his own tight squeeze before looking back up at his brother. "Come on, Kyousuke. Join in!"

"No thanks..."

"Are you being shy now?"

"I'm not shy!"

"Yeah, no shy person would threaten to throw me at his mom."

"What?"

"Nothing, nii-san!"

"I hear a familiar voice!" A certain brown haired woman dashed into the room with a bright smile on her face. "Kyousuke! You're home! And Kimiko too!"

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, aunty! It's been a while!"

"It sure has!"

"And I see you're doing well."

"Dad."

"Uncle!"

The blue haired man came from behind his wife. "Nice to see you both again. Though, why the sudden visit? You should be resting after winning such a great match!"

"Oh, that's right!" His mother let out a gasp and immediately went to tackle her youngest son in a hug. "Kyousuke, congratulations on winning the preliminaries! We are so, so, so proud of you!"

He couldn't stop a smile from forming. "Thanks, mom."

"You should know, she cried when you made that third point so fast." His brother called from the hug he was still in. "That was mind-blowing!"

"It was thanks to Manabe and Minaho, who noticed the empty space at that interval. I just did what I had to."

"I see. Those newbies have gotten way better since the Teikoku match, haven't they?"

"They have..." He pulled away from his mother's hug at the same time his friend pulled away from his brother. "But well... The fight is about to get tougher from here on out..."

"Oh? I don't think I've ever heard you being nervous before a match before." His father pointed out. "Is that why you came without any warning?"

"No, nothing like that..." They won't believe a word of it, would they?

You want to keep it a secret?

If possible...

Alright. Leave it to me. She chuckled. "There was a sudden change in plans about the flight, so Kyou and the others would be leaving tomorrow. Right now, the whole team's split up to let their families and friends know about their departure time."

"Oh! That sudden?!" When his mother got a nod from him, she immediately grabbed his and his friend's arms. "Okay, up to the showers you both go! But not together! Hurry down for dinner! We have lots to talk about before you have to leave!"

They exchanged glances as they were pushed onto the steps.

Did she have to specify the 'not together' part?

I don't know what goes through my mom's head, and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.

Yeah, reading her mind might be a bad idea too... Welp! Time to borrow your clothes!

No―

"Oh, and Kimiko!" His mother called again just as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Yes?"

"If you open Kyousuke's closet, there is a large bag shoved into the right side of his clothes. Everything inside is for you, so please, help yourself!"

"W-Wait, for real?" She turned back to him. "You didn't make that up?" Earning a look, she cast her gaze back down the stairs. "Thank you, aunty!"

There were all kinds of items sorted out neatly inside the bag. As she waited for her friend to finish showering, she looked through every single thing. Clothes, souvenirs, books, and toys. She pulled out a pajama set and immediately fell in love with it, deciding it's what she would wear for the night.

It was an understatement to say that his mom was happy to see her in it. His father and brother also complimented how she looked, and they even went out of their way to tell her about why she bought the items. And once every few sentences, the conversation would turn to her friend to make sure he's fully prepared for his departure.

With every lie that came out of his mouth, the heavier his heart felt. At the end of the night, he was first to collapse on his bed, the smile he had mere minutes before completely fading.

"Ugh... Saving the world when you're the second child is hard..."

She sweatdropped as she took her seat beside him. "Do you have to be that specific? Matatagi is the oldest out of his brothers, and I'm sure he's having a hard time too."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't have to lie to his brothers though..."

"Well... Since they're young, they probably would believe him easily."

"Believe what?"

They both jumped before turning to the door. Yuuichi was standing there, supported by his crutches. He had an angelic smile on his face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

They exchanged glances before her friend let out a sigh. "Well, since nii-san knew about our time-travel crisis back then... I guess aliens wouldn't be too hard for you to wrap your head around either?"

"... What?"

So, they told him everything.

The next morning, as his parents' day was already booked for work, they weren't able to see him off. That was a good thing as they didn't know how they'd be able to hide that he wasn't going to the airport at all.

After wishing him luck and leaving, Kimiko called for a taxi to bring them back to Odaiba, insisting to cover the cost no matter how expensive the trip would be.

"Technically, it's Gouenji-san covering it, right?" Tsurugi said with a sigh once they'd gotten off.

"If he gave me the money to use however I want, then no, it is not." She said, sticking her tongue out.

"Well, thank you, Miko." Yuuichi chuckled.

"Hehe! No problem! Just enjoy your time while you're here, Yuu-san! And later, you can ask Shuuya-nii to drive you home too, if you want!"

"I-I think that would be overstepping the boundaries..."

"I don't think he'd mind. But anyway," She gave him another hug. "I'm going to go ahead and prepare my stuff."

"Right, see you then!"

"See you!"

Watching her retreating back made his brother chuckle. "With her coming along, it'll definitely make things lively."

"You're right about that."

"Kyousuke."

"Hm?"

He gave him a smile. "Fight without any regrets and believe in yourself. But honestly, I'm not too worried about you."

"Nii-san..."

Suddenly, they heard laughter coming from nearby. In the front pitch, all of Raimon had gathered, and they were all playing soccer together.

"Everyone..."

"Go on, Kyousuke."

He turned back to him and nodded.

Immediately, he headed for the nearest toilet to change into his jersey. Seeing as it was a free-for-all game, there wasn't any problem with him suddenly stealing the ball from his seniors. And not too long later, they were also joined by the others of Earth Eleven.

It was the funnest game they've had in a while.

~~~~~

"All twelve of you are here." Their coach said.

They had changed back to their tracksuits and gathered at the back of the information gate with the members of Raimon not too far behind them. On the right of the white haired man was Gouenji, Endou, and Kidou. On his left were Mizukawa, Aoi, and Kimiko.

Gouenji began the roll call. "Matsukaze Tenma. Shindou Takuto. Tsurugi Kyousuke. Matatagi Hayato. Nozaki Sakura. Ibuki Munemasa. Tetsukado Shin. Manabe Jinichirou. Minaho Kazuto. Kusaka Ryuuji. Morimura Konoha. Ichikawa Zanakurou. Those are the representatives for Earth, Earth Eleven."

"Excuse me, but I don't see a vehicle that's the equivalent of a spaceship anywhere..." Manabe said.

Then, they heard a strange noise. Suddenly, the four dorm rooms, as well as the meeting room, began to move as three more parts appeared from underground. One was on the front while two more were on the back. They all connected together, forming a rather large train.

"W-What the heck is this?" Tetsukado asked.

"It's a starship shaped like a train called Galaxy Nauts Gou." Mizukawa explained. "This spaceship was built based on the blueprints provided to us by the Council of the Galactic Federation."

The door to the meeting room suddenly opened, revealing their caretaker in a very orange outfit.

"A-Aunty?!"

"That uniform! Could it be...?!"

"That's right. I'm the conductor, the conductor." She smiled proudly. "Now, now, no time to be taking it easy. We're almost ready to leave! Get in, get in! Make sure you have everything!"

"O-Okay!"

After taking a quick look around, specifically at the cockpit, they placed their bags down and took their seats.

"We're finally off."

"Yes."

"Alright... Let's go! To space!"

"Yeah! Let's head out!"

A bright light appeared in front of them, forming train tracks that led upwards. The Galaxy Nauts Gou seemed to have lifted off the ground before following the line, going faster and faster and soon, they broke through the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hi hi! Yesterday, or literally 5 minutes ago for me was Christmas so Merry Christmas, everyone! Let's go to space! :D