When they returned, it was late in the afternoon, two days after their departure. Finding the others of the club had probably gone home from school, they all called it a night and decided to inform them of the good news the next day.

After visiting Yuuichi, watching him as he went through his rehabilitation regiment, Tsurugi and Kimiko headed back to the boy's home.

She laid down on her futon as he took out his notebook, writing down what he remembered from their journey. He did the same when they came back from the Sengoku Era, and it's likely he'd do it for every time period they'd cross.

"You're really dedicated." She commented.

"You keep saying that." He sighed.

"And I mean it!" She said. "Do you ever have study sessions with Tenma and the others?"

"Sometimes. I'm in a different class from theirs, and so is Kageyama, so it's a little tricky, but we did gather at Tenma's place for the mid-term exams."

"Yeah? How well did you do?"

"Straight 'A's in everything, as usual. Perfect scores in linguistic subjects and biology."

She sweatdropped. "I'm pretty sure if anyone else heard you mention all that like they're nothing, they'd get mad."

He shrugged. "Not my problem."

"True."

She sat up and leaned her back against his bed, watching his movements from behind him as he continued writing. A small light blinked on his phone and he stopped to check it.

Seeing his expression turning from curious to serious to exhausted, she tilted her head to the side. "Is it from the school?"

"Yeah..." He sighed again, handing it to her. "More homework. Some of these are topics I missed because of our first trip."

She read the list and gave a chuckle. "Yikes... These ones, huh..."

"Not that I'm completely clueless about it, but it'll take longer than usual to catch up." He said, clicking his tongue. "I may get a few 'B's at this rate. Maybe even a 'C' or two if this keeps happening for the whole month."

"Not necessarily." She said, patting the empty space on the mattress beside her. "I can teach you if you want."

He looked at her with a bewildered expression before letting out a laugh. "Right. I forgot you're already learning high school level stuff."

"Please direct all your praises to Yuuka-nee, the best home tutor ever." She said, mocking a bow. When she looked up again, she gave him a smile. "We can start now if you want."

"You sure?"

"Well, why not?" She eyed the clock on his desk. "It's not that late yet, so I think we can cover two or three topics before midnight."

"Then I'll take the offer."

He pulled out a few books and placed it on the mattress in front of her before laying down, propping himself up on his elbows. She stayed sitting, hunching her back to properly see the questions.

Before they knew it, hours had gone by.

"And then, for this one, you can use the formula from the one before."

"In reverse, right?"

"Mmhm. Not the full thing, though. Just up until you find the numbers for the question."

"... Like that?"

"Yeah, you got it!"

"Right, that's physics done." He sighed. "Next is― Ack!"

"Ow! Kyou, don't get up so suddenly!" She leaned her back against the side of the bed, resting her head on it while holding on to her forehead.

He was sprawled on the floor, both hands on the back of his skull. "How was I supposed to know your head was right there?!"

"You can hear my voice!"

"As if I'd pay attention to the direction it came from!"

She groaned before blinking her eyes open. They stung. "Ow... Kyou, I think your hair poked my eyes..."

He stared as she blinked away the tears that were gathering. "I can't tell if they're red because of that or because you're sleepy."

"I'm not tired!" She immediately said.

"Kids who say that usually are."

"I'm not a kid either!"

"And now you're getting cranky." He sighed, moving to pick up his books and put them away. That was when he saw the clock. "Looks like we got a little carried away."

02:36.

"...Ah."

"Yeah, we really should get some sleep― Hey!"

When he turned around, he spotted her sneaking onto his bed.

She gave a tired grin. "I'm sleeping here tonight!"

He didn't mind that. They've swapped places many times before. But what he minded was...

"Don't you dare roll off."

If she did, he'd be the one she'd drop on to.

"No promises! Woohoo!" She dove into his blanket and was soon fast asleep.

He rolled his eyes. "Here I thought you said you weren't tired."

He turned off the lights before laying back down on the futon.

He woke up the next morning to the girl laying on top of him.

Just great.

~~~~~

"It's your fault for not waking up."

"But you didn't have to pinch me!"

Midori sweatdropped as she watched the two coming through the doors. "Arguing this early in the day?"

"That's how they always are." Kinako chuckled.

As everyone changed into their jerseys, they told the others about what happened during their time in the France of the past. Kirino showed off his MixiMax while Sangoku took Shinsuke and the forwards to the other goal.

"Come on, don't tell me you're done already!" Kurama taunted.

"One more time!"

Every time they shoot, he'd either not be fast enough to reach it, or, when Tsurugi's the one shooting, he'd be pushed into the goal along with the ball.

"What's going on here, Shinsuke?" Sangoku asked, clearly displeased. "You're lacking force. Use stronger jumps!"

"Sangoku-senpai, am I good enough to keep being a goalkeeper?"

The older boy's frown deepened when he heard those words.

"The opponents are only getting stronger... But I'm not matching up to them the way I want to..."

"...Even so, you're Raimon's guardian."

"Huh?"

"I'll be graduating this year. When that happens, you're the only one who can protect Raimon's goal. It'll be up to you to protect soccer."

"But..."

He kneeled down in front of him. "There's still time. It's okay to fail. Just give it all you've got!" He smiled. "As long as I'm still in Raimon, I'll be right behind you!"

"Sangoku-senpai..." With that, Shinsuke's determination returned, earning a nod from his senior.

"Tenma!"

A ball was suddenly passed to their captain at a high speed. The brunette reacted fast and kicked it back. A figure jumped up and caught it with his chest before landing with a smile.

"It sure feels great to kick the ball!"

"Taiyou!"

When they all noticed the orange haired boy, they went to surround him.

"Long time no see!" Tenma greeted. "Are you back in good health?"

"Yeah, completely!"

"That's great!"

"Hiya! It's been a while!" Kinako saluted at him.

"Yeah!"

"Hm? You two know each other?" Shinsuke asked.

"Is it the time paradox?" Shindou muttered.

Maybe it was, but she didn't let it bother her.

Instead, Kimiko smiled a little before bumping a knuckle to the boy's shoulder. "Good to see you moving about, sunshine."

He chuckled. "Thanks. It's good to be seeing people outside the hospital."

"You've both met?" Tsurugi asked.

She pointed at the orange haired boy with a look. "Back when I was in the hospital, this guy barged into my room when trying to escape from one of the nurses."

Tenma sweatdropped. "Taiyou..."

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "Hey, on the bright side, because of me, your time there wasn't boring! You said it yourself, right? I'm the sunshine that brightens up your day!"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure, alright, I'll give you credit for that."

"And who's idea was it to have movie night every week with Shindou-san and Yuuichi-san?"

"Alright, alright. You're the king of the hospital quartet."

"Nii-san?"

She pointed at him again. "He's barged into a lot of rooms."

"He sure has." Shindou sighed.

"Ahahaha..."

Tenma gave him a look before turning to the green haired boy behind him. "Fei, let me introduce you two. This is Arakumo Academy's ace striker, Amemiya Taiyou, who we fought with in Holy Road's semi-finals."

"It's nice to meet you." Fei said.

"Taiyou, this is..."

"Fei Rune, right?"

"Eh―"

"I've heard the details from Gouenji-san." The orange haired boy said.

"Gouenji-san?"

"Yes. He told me that Tenma is fighting to restore soccer, and I wanted to help in any way I could." He explained before turning back to the brunette. "Tenma. Let's take soccer back together!"

"Taiyou... Okay!"

They then continued on with practice, lending him a jersey. Taiyou showed off his skills while they all got used to working with him and including him in their plays.

This is it. This is that feeling! She heard his thoughts as he got through Kinako and Nishiki. When everyone is chasing after a single ball!

"Good for you, sunshine."

"What was that, Kimiko?" Aoi asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just glad he's got his wish."

"It is a nice sight." A new voice joined in.

She turned to her side to find her cousin walking over. "Shuuya-nii!"

"Hey, you're back!" Daisuke said, floating up to him.

His presence caught the team's attention and they all gathered by the bench to hear what he had to say.

"The artifact this time is Kongming's scroll." He said, holding up a parchment tied with red rope for them to see.

"Kongming's scroll... Which means we're going to the Three Kingdom's period?!" Hayami asked with the largest grin they're ever seen on him.

"That's right!" Daisuke said. "Power number three! A midfielder of unparalleled accuracy, who can see into the future and attack the enemy's weak spots with his analytical reasoning. That would be Zhuge Kongming! Power number four! An iron-wall goalkeeper with the power to control a major country, along with the tenacity and will to carry out his actions. That would be Liu Bei, also known as Liu Xuande!"

"Liu Xuande!!!" Hayami practically squealed. "I'm a huge fan of him!"

"Who is that Liu Xuande guy?"

"...'Who'...? Are you kidding me, Nishiki?! You don't know about the Three Kingdoms?!"

"Nope."

"Neither do I." Kinako said.

"No way!!! I can't believe people who don't know the Three Kingdoms actually exist!" He cleared his throat before beginning to explain. "The Three Kingdoms is the story of how the three states, Wei, Wu, and Shu, came about in China 1800 years ago. Liu Bei is one of the heroes. After he swore brotherhood with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the three of them led armies to fight against the overwhelming strength of Cao Cao's troops. That time, the person who supported Liu Bei as his strategist is the one we're searching for as power number three, Zhuge Kongming."

"I've never seen Hayami this enthusiastic before." Aoyama muttered.

"Me neither..." Ichino replied.

"What sort of person was Liu Bei like?" Shinsuke asked.

"Liu Bei was an honorable man with a very strong sense of duty." Gouenji said, taking over. "He was also very well liked. When Cao Cao's army was closing in on them, it's said that 100,000 people followed Liu Bei in his escape. But because having that many people would delay a quick escape, some of Liu Bei's subordinates advised him to leave those people and escape on his own. But Liu Bei said that he was unable to leave behind those who wished to follow him, and he made sure to the very end that every last person came with him."

"Pretty awesome, isn't he?" Hayami said, earning an excited nod from Shinsuke. "I can't wait! We'll get to see Liu Bei!"

"Sounds like a rather complicated story." Kinako muttered.

Kimiko chuckled at her before turning to her cousin again. "Um... Shuuya-nii, how's Masato-nii doing?"

His expression remained serious. "The only thing that was affected was his love for soccer. For now, he's stopped doing any trainer related work, but nothing else has changed."

"I see..." She swallowed. "And... What does he think about me being here?"

"What does he think?"

"He should know the reason I'm staying in this town is to help everyone bring soccer back, right? Did he say anything about me, or came to town to find me, or...?"

The silence that came afterwards was deafening. He seemed to be at a loss on how to answer.

After pondering for a while, his mouth finally opened. But instead of answering, what came out was another question. "Are you sure you want to know?"

If she really did, she would've just read his mind while he was hesitant.

She gave a bitter laugh. "I guess not..."