"EHHH?! KOREA?! TOMORROW?!"

"Calm down. It's only for a little while."

"How long is 'a little while'?! I'm supposed to meet with Kyousuke again the day after!"

"Kimiko... Sorry, but you're going to have to skip this week."

... Those were the last words she wanted to hear. No, she didn't want to hear them at all.

But she didn't have a choice. She was the reason they were going in the first place. It was all because of these stupid abilities she never asked for.

By the time the sun started rising the next day, her bags were already packed for her and her brother dragged her out of bed, making sure they wouldn't be late for the plane. Her one regret was that she couldn't tell her friend about her sudden trip, but eventually, she decided to just explain everything when she gets back.

It shouldn't take too long... Right?

She would only be going for training purposes. Her brother was offered a temporary job to help a friend train their own soccer kids, so he figured it would be beneficial to group her in with them. While she agreed with that point, she can't say she liked it.

But I guess... If I can finish up fast, then I should be able to get back that much sooner.

She just had to behave and do well. She could do that.

A small smile finally appeared on her lips when the plane began to lift off the ground. On the window seat, she could see her city shrinking further and further.

New places means new people... Maybe I can finally make some more friends.

Closing her eyes, her best friend's face came to mind almost immediately.

Hehe... He's going to be so jealous!

~~~~~

"Hi there, I'm―"

"Hello, I am―"

"G-Good afternoon. My name is―"

Gouenji. Gouenji. Gouenji.

That was all she was to them. That was all they saw the moment she uttered her name.

It was fine at first. They would come and talk to her with shining eyes, asking about her relation to the Gouenji Shuuya.

But slowly, those same eyes began to change.

Some of them went,

"Huh? No hissatsu techniques?"

"You can't even use Fire Tornado?!"

"Are you sure you're related?"

While others...

"Why won't you give me his number?!"

"You have to tell me his address! I just want to send a present!"

"If I knew you were going to be this difficult, I wouldn't have wasted my time talking to you."

She grew tired of it all rather quickly. Eventually, she gave up on talking to them and focused solely on her own training. She had a different regiment than theirs anyway, so it wasn't like she'll see them everyday.

But even that began to be a problem.

"Kimiko, is something wrong? Your progress has slowed down compared to when we first got here." Her brother asked during their break time.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Just a little bit tired."

"Tired? But it's only your third day."

She didn't know how else to respond. She couldn't describe the empty feeling inside her.

When they got back to his friend's house, she noticed a particularly clean ball placed on a stand in a shelf. It had her cousin's signature on it.

Oh, right... Masato-nii did say today is the house owner's birthday. He must've just given that to him before we left this morning.

The man was a large fan of the Inazuma Japan versus Fire Dragon match, so of course, getting such a present would make him happy. However, she's seen how they conversed. That man was her brother's friend first and foremost.

A Gouenji Shuuya fan... that's also a good friend...

A certain navy haired boy came to mind.

And her progress just kept getting worse.

The next day, she ignored her brother's look when she walked past him to get to the changing rooms, and she refused to speak a word during their whole ride back. The moment they got there, she didn't bother waiting for her brother to pull out the keys, and instead used her ability to unlock the door. She then stormed into her room and slammed the door shut.

~~~~~

Masato's worry only grew when he neither saw nor heard any sign of his sister's general presence for over an hour. She's had a lot of moments when she was down recently, but this was the first time she was silent about it.

After contemplating it for a little while, he decided to lower the heat on the stove and check up on her.

When he got to her door, he could hear muffled sobbing coming from the other side. He had a short debate whether or not to immediately open the door, but eventually, he chose to knock.

"Kimiko? Can I come in?"

No response, but the sobbing got quieter.

"Then, I'll let myself in."

Opening the door, he found the ten-year-old sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest with her face buried in them. She only seemed to curl in even further when he took his seat beside her.

"Hey..." He trailed off for a moment, choosing his words wisely. "What happened?"

"... I don't wanna play anymore..."

"What?"

"... I hate it here..." She brought her head up, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "I want to say I hate soccer too, but... but saying that makes me feel bad..."

"Kimiko..." His hand reached out and pulled her into a hug. He didn't know what else to do. "You haven't been having fun here?"

She shook her head immediately. "Nothing about this has been fun! Not even soccer!" She buried her eyes on his shoulder and started shaking. "I want to go home... I want to play with a friend... I want to see Kyousuke again..."

Ah... That's why...

He rubbed her back to comfort her and gave her a kiss on her forehead. After a little bit more coaxing, she willingly came out of her room to help with dinner, but immediately left once she finished eating. His friend, who had returned in the middle of it, turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

He sighed. "Yeah, so... I think I'm going to leave earlier than planned."

"Ah... Homesick, is she?"

"Something like that."

~~~~~

They got back on a Tuesday, meaning she still had to wait another four days before she could see her friend again. During that time, she couldn't help worrying about how he'd react. At first, she thought it'll be funny if she told him stories of her time there and made him jealous, but her trip only ended up causing her misery.

Instead of having happy thoughts like she thought she would, she was plagued by the image of him getting angry for leaving without a word. It'd be even worse if he thought she abandoned him.

Saturday came painfully slowly, but also terrifyingly quickly. She went to Inazuma Town with her brother as always and took her class with her cousin.

"Is something wrong, Kimiko?" She asked. "You're not looking as cheery as usual."

"I-I'm fine, Yuuka-nee..." She was very clearly lying, but the older girl thankfully didn't push.

Instead, she suddenly asked, "Do you want to dye your hair?"

"Huh?"

"You saw onii-chan just now, didn't you? The blue looks kinda funny on him, but I was thinking of coloring my hair too. Maybe something like pink?"

"Light pink would suit Yuuka-nee the most."

"I thought so too!" She gave her a grin. "Why don't you do the same? I think you'd like it."

"Well... Maybe not the whole thing..."

"That's fine! Whatever you want, Kimiko!"

Ah... She was... A small smile made its way to her lips when she finally realized what she was doing. "Thanks, Yuuka-nee. I'm feeling a little calmer now."

She got a wink in response. "No problem!"

That afternoon, she arrived at the park at the same time as usual. The difference is, this time, she couldn't bring herself to run straight in. Instead, she hid behind a tree, right before amber eyes went to the gate.

"... Hm." The boy turned away and continued to play alone with the ball.

She stayed there for a while, fidgeting with her clothes.

Should I just walk up to him like normal? What should I say, though? Is he mad? He doesn't look like he is, but he could be! Or maybe he's disappointed? Oh no, that'll be even worse! She let out a sigh. "Kyousuke..."

"What?"

She jumped with a silent scream. Whipping around, she found the navy haired boy raising an eyebrow at her. "S-Since when were you―?!"

"Since 'should I just walk up to him like normal', in which case, yes? You should've?" He gave her a look. "Why are you hiding here? I was waiting, you know."

"W-W-Well, I... T-The thing is..." She tried to meet his eyes, but couldn't. So she gave in and dropped her head. "I'm sorry... I was... L-Last week, I... I had to go with my brother to Korea for a job, so... So I..."

"Oh? Was that it? That's good then."

She blinked up at him. "Wha...?"

He gave her a smile. "I was worried something happened to you, but it looks like it was for nothing."

"You're... not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"W-Well... I thought..."

"It was just one day. I'm not going to think you left me or anything. People have their own lives. It's normal."

At that, she finally managed her own smile. "You're right... Sorry, that was dumb of me."

"Well then, don't just stand there." He took her hand and began to lead her to their usual spot. "Let's play soccer!"