The day of the finals had soon arrived. By then, the eight beginners all had cleared at least Level 4 of the Black Room. After getting off the train, Tsurugi made a beeline for the changing rooms and finished before anyone else.

As the commentator made his announcement in the day's opening ceremony, he took a quick look around the area. But I guess it's to be expected that she isn't here. This place is for members only. He forgot she wasn't their manager anymore.

"Tsurugi?"

Speaking of managers... "Hey, Aoi."

She giggled. "You're that excited to see her again, are you?"

He gave a wry smile. "Don't get me started. It took me ten minutes to realize she's most likely in the VIP box with Gouenji-san."

"I don't blame you for that. Knowing her, she'd sneak out just to find you."

"I don't think even she'd do that in a proper tournament like this though."

"No? Well, you do know her best after all."

Before he could retort about her crush, their coach, trainer, and other manager came. The blue haired girl followed behind them and left with a wave just as his ten other teammates came out of the changing room.

As usual, they lined up beside their opponents inside the tunnel. As the commentator continued his opening speech, they walked to the center of the pitch to show their faces to the audience before heading to prepare by their respective benches.

"You all endured your training well." Tenma said in their huddle. "I just know soccer was watching over you as you worked hard. The more you face it seriously, the more soccer answers back to you. The world tournament lies ahead of these finals. Let's win!"

"Yeah!"

Just as they were about to head to the pitch, a flash of blue caught his eye. Right as he turned to the stands, he found a pair of bright purple eyes staring down at him.

"Kyousuke!"

And his own smile came out before he knew it. "Kimiko! You really came, huh?"

"As if I'd miss this! I'm sorry I couldn't sneak out to see you before the tournament started though! I couldn't make too many problems or it's Shuuya-nii who would get in trouble."

"Really? That never stopped you before."

"Shut up!" Though she said so, she was still smiling wide. "By the way, I'll be watching everything from up there!"

He turned to where she was pointing. "The balcony?"

"Yup! It's noisy, but it's got the best view of the pitch! I'm looking forward to seeing how much you guys improved! Good luck and have fun!"

She ran off before he could think of a reply, but he knew he didn't need to. He'll give his answer through his plays on the pitch.

As he got to his position, Matatagi gave him his usual smile. "You seem extra motivated today, Tsurugi."

"I guess I am." Looking down at the ball by their feet, the corner of his lips naturally lifted up to form a smirk. After all, I have a promise to keep.

"Now, the match begins!"

~~~~~

Running into a corridor, Kimiko looked around to make sure it was completely empty before taking out a vial from her pocket. She pushed it into a hole on her belt and felt herself getting more vitalized than before. Closing her eyes, she imagined her destination.

Suddenly, she felt the cold wind and hot sun. Opening her eyes, she smiled.

Made it right on time!

The second the whistle blew, her friend and the other forward, Kaiou's Matatagi, began to move up the field. Matatagi tried to pass the ball to their captain, but it was their opponent's captain that took it instead.

He then proceeded to go through Yuujou's Kusaka, Manyuuji's Morimura, and Tengawara's Minaho. They also had the foresight to block Shindou as he made a pass to a fellow striker.

That striker jumped and spun in the air before kicking the ball into the ground. "Gold Fever!" When it came out again, it was surrounded by gold chips as it headed straight for the goal.

"Wild Dun―"

Gassan Kunimitsu's Ibuki failed to stop their shot.

"Well, that's a start if I've ever seen one." She muttered to herself. Their moves have gotten better, but...

Looking down at them again, they all seemed tense. Especially their goalkeeper. Being right above them, she could hear Oumihara's Nozaki trying to cheer him up, but he wasn't listening at all. Instead, he hit the goalpost out of frustration.

"It's still one point!" Tenma said. "We'll take it back!"

"Yeah!"

The next kickoff was theirs once again. This time, their passes did connect. From the forwards back to the midfielders. It got to the pink haired girl who managed to get through the enemy, but when she got too far into their defense, Storm Wolf used Rolling Cutter to take the ball. Eito's Manabe used Defense Houteishiki to take it right back. With neither side giving in, it was turning into a fun match. However...

What is this feeling? Something is wrong... She heard Tenma's thoughts.

Whoa. If Tenma thinks so...

And he was right to. Matatagi ignored his call to pass and lost the ball to another Rolling Cutter. Not too long after, they made their second goal with another Gold Fever.

"It's still the early stages of the game! We'll take back a point first!" The captain kept encouraging.

But it wasn't going to be that simple. Mannouzaka's Tetsukado was looking back at their goalkeeper, thinking, I'm sorry to be saying this about Ibuki, but I can't leave the goal to him any longer. I'll stop Storm Wolf's attack.

The two she knew to be the brains of the team, Manabe and Minaho, were also planning to work on their own. The midfielders were all thinking of changing the flow by themselves, and so on.

In their third kick-off, Matatagi was called out to by two of his teammates, confusing him and letting the opponent steal from him easily. They got through Tetsukado while Manabe and Minaho accidentally made a perfect opening for them. Luckily, Shindou was able to cover for them.

But even though they were able to stop them here and there, they were unable to take the ball back.

They've gotten better individually, but...

~~~~~

The offense and defense were a mess. At one point there were too many of them moving up, and moments later, there were not enough. Sakura was for some reason in front of the goal, but the enemy got through with Silk Road. Kusaka was the one that cleared the ball instead, and Ibuki was only getting more and more frustrated by the minute.

He heard Tenma gasping. Looks like he just realized it too.

"It's ironic. Their rash way of gaining more power is having the opposite effect." He turned to the captain. "What do we do, Tenma? At this rate, not only will we fall behind, we won't even be able to steal the ball."

His eyes narrowed as he looked down in thought, but they didn't have a lot of time, so his question was left unanswered.

Kusaka managed to take the ball in the next scuffle, but he lost it not too long after to another Rolling Cutter. Luckily, Tenma was there to clear it.

In the next throw-in, Sakura took the ball, but she ignored Tenma's order to pass to Matatagi and was blocked by yet another Rolling Cutter.

They're really not getting sick of that move any time soon, are they?

But since it had worked every time they used it thus far, he supposed he couldn't hold it against them.

Their enemies continued to pass up the field, getting through Tetsukado, who had refused the help of Manabe and Minaho. They used another Gold Fever, which Ibuki was able to stop with his own hissatsu that time, but he was also sent flying and the ball was still in the field.

"Too slow!" One of their opponents was near enough to make another shot while he was down.

~~~~~

"No!"

"He can't block it from there!"

The white haired keeper positioned below her could barely get up. They were going to lose another point.

"... Or so the team thought."

"SHINDOU, HELP ME!!!"

And immediately, the virtuoso moved. "Einsatz!" And the ball was cleared.

And from that alone, the whole team was able to come together. They exchanged glances, nodding at one another. Shindou was even moving back to his original position, while in all the past matches she had seen, he'd stick to his spot in the defense no matter what.

As she watched their newfound understanding, she couldn't help a smile. Reminds me of the Mannouzaka match. Kyou teamed up with them for the first time, and Midori-san's words...

People trusting other people?

Her eyes widened as she searched for the one who's thoughts she accidentally heard. Matatagi.

They have no idea how big of a disappointment it feels when those same people betray you.

"... Wow, who the heck hurt him?" She frowned a little before shaking her head. "No, that's prying. Leave it alone, Kimiko. He's not a friend, so it's none of your business."

Instead, she turned her attention to the other forward. Her best friend was talking with Tenma and Shindou. The legendary trio of Raimon's current generation. They seem to have a plan.

Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please let it involve Kyousuke making the shot. Please―

Her thoughts were cut off by the whistle and the next round started with Storm Wolf's throw-in, which Shindou was immediately able to steal from. He dribbled past the opponents and passed to Kusaka, who responded properly to Tenma's call by giving him the ball.

From that point on, their passes kept connecting, and even if they did lose the ball, they were able to take it back easily, like how Morimura used her hissatsu, Konoha Roll.

The match was getting more and more fun by the minute. But minutes were also what they were running out of.

With very few left on the clock of the first half, Storm Wolf managed to break through once again.

"Manabe! Minaho!" Ibuki suddenly called.

"Yeah!"

"Leave it to us!"

With the two coming at the opponent from the sides, Ibuki was able to concentrate on the center, which he will no doubt be attacking from. Once he was through the two defenders, he used another Gold Fever.

A bright energy wrapped around Ibuki's hand and he ran forward to meet the ball head on. "Rising Slash!" He made an uppercut just before the ball could arrive and slammed his fist to the ground, summoning five slashes to block the shot.

Ohh! A new technique!

Shindou caught the rolling ball with a proud smile. He ran up the field, passing to Nozaki, who then gave it to Tenma. The brunette used Z Slash to get past his opponents, and then...

Yes! Yes! YES!

"Bicycle Sword!"

Before the keeper could react, Tsurugi's shot made the goal.

The first half ended 2-1.

~~~~~

"There's the whistle ending the first half! The score is 2-1! Storm Wolf has a small one point lead! Now there's no telling where the match will go from here!"

"You did great, everyone! You took back a point first!" Aoi congratulated them all before turning to him. "Tsurugi, nice shoot!"

The fact she singled him out surprised him, but when he saw her expression, he gave her a grateful smile. She was saying it in her place.

"Good job too, Ibuki, with your new hissatsu technique." She continued.

He had his own proud smile.

"Ibuki, when did you come up with a hissatsu like that?" Kusaka asked.

"Because of your training, right?" Tetsukado said.

"No, it was thanks to Manabe and Minaho. I was able to concentrate on the ball because Manabe and Minaho blocked his course. As long as I can concentrate, stopping a shoot like that is a piece of cake."

"...Is he being grateful to us?"

"Or is he just bragging?"

The two of them, being very unused to praise from their narcissistic goalkeeper, only stared at him in confusion.

That, in turn, got a look from him. "What?"

They ended up laughing their thoughts away.

"While you're at it, you should thank Tsurugi for training with you all the time too." Shindou jokingly piped in. "And Hakuryuu, and Yukimura, and Mahoro-san, and Kimiko―"

"Okay, okay! I get it, Shindou! Thanks."

"Shindou-san really is the one you should be thanking since he's the one that made you realize what was most important." He pointed out.

"I..." He took a deep breath before letting it out as a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Shindou."

"Just doing a teammate's job."

"Yeah, yeah." Plum eyes rolled before landing back on him. "Tsurugi too. I wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't supported me from the very start. Your shots are the real deal, so keep them up in the second half!"

"You don't need to tell me twice."

"If I'm not mistaken," Manabe said, pushing his glasses up. "Tsurugi's shots have gotten 23.8% more powerful than in our match against Resistance Japan. That's quite a notable increase since you didn't join our training in the Black Room."

"The right kind of motivation can bring out that side of a person." Minaho stated with the smile he usually has when he guessed something correctly. "Is it because you now know Kimiko is here?"

He gave a smirk, turning his gaze to the blonde up in the balcony. She immediately noticed and waved excitedly at him. He didn't care who was watching, and lifted his own hand up to greet her before turning his attention back to the mini-detective. "One time, something possessed her to tell me that I was cooler than my idol. I can't afford to not live up to that when she's watching me today."

"Alright, everyone!" Tenma called, pumping his fist. "We'll catch up to them in the second half!"

"Yeah!"