"You want me... to where this?" 

I saw that Natsumi was shaking, either of anger or something else. Kino and Otonashi were handed the same thing. Turns out that the coach said that it was a rule that the managers have to wear the maid outfit. I am glad that I was player, otherwise I would be wearing that. Thank god though.

After a few minutes, the three came back after changing. And I admit they looked pretty good. Although I could tell Natsumi was not enjoying it. I wouldn't either if I was forced to wear that. 

"Too bad you aren't a manager. I'd like to see you in a maid outfit!" Kuroi teased.

"So you want a punch to the face?" I asked, cracking my knuckles.

After we got our plan set up, Megane decided that he would be the one replacing Shuuya. Shuuya and Asuka had agreed, but some of the others didn't really wanted him on the field, seeing that he would run away again like the Teikoku match. Yes, I was there, as my brother. I wanted to tell them that, but I figured they would kick me off. Only Kuroi knew though; I told him.

"And Sakuma will be replacing Handa." Shuuya suggested.

"No, no, no. I already played during Mikage." I said. 

"Aww come on, Rena! You really wanted to play, didn't you? Well you're playing now!" Kuroi exclaimed.

"I don't mind it, really." Handa said. "Kuroi's explanation was good enough for us.

I was happy that I was getting to play, but I wasn't that much happy since Kidou or some other ex-teammate of mine would spy on me and then tell everyone in Teikoku how much I've changed after being assigned.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Get away, Nina. Your breath is really stinking up the place." Kuroi glared at the said girl who was approaching us.

Off all times, why did Nina have to appear? 

"She isn't really a good player. She cheats!" Nina shouted, pointing at me.

"I didn't cheat. You were the one that stole my notebook and made the techniques as your own. That was cheating." I said in a monotone voice. I was not in the mood for her words right now, and I never will be.

"Well, let me just say some things before you go on that pitch." Nina placed her hands on her hips. I groaned, and so did the others.

"If it weren't for your family, you and your stupid twin wouldn't even be playing soccer! I'm still mad you for tackling me back to the ground back when we were kids. My dad may have given you a 10 week suspension, but I suggested that he should've given you a year! Girls like you should never play soccer in the first place! And the copy cat? Please! I can copy those moves in a minute or two! Just because you can copy other hissatsus, doesn't mean you can be the only girl playing for a boy's team! I can see why Teikoku's soccer club put you as a sub, you are just a replacement so when your stupid twin gets injured, you'll be the one to get in the pitch! After all, it's your fault why Teikoku chose me as the forward for the team, you are nothing but a replacement that people never think of! You are nothing but a mistake---"

"You wanna know what I think?" I glared at her, cutting her off. "You are the freaking reason why I became like this in the first place! Being the only girl who can copy other techniques is what I did in order to become a better player, and I only did that for fun! Unlike you, you just stole my notebook and used it as your own. And also, it's not my fault I attacked you in first grade! Yamato's the captain, and he was the one who decided that I should be subbed in! You kept saying that you can do it, but we lost that game thanks to you whining! And the reason why you were chosen was Teikoku's forward, was because you told lies about me and Kuroi! And just to clarify, it takes me days to copy the moves, your dad is a kind person that's why he only gave me 10 weeks, Jirou isn't stupid, and I am not a replacement and a mistake!!!"

I slapped her, hard. Everyone gasped at my outburst. I'm pretty sure they weren't expecting it, but I had enough of it. I had enough of her constant lies and teasing. I had to make the stand.

"Y-You... you will pay for this!"

Nina ran off. Kuroi, Endou, Shuuya, and the others looked at me with widened eyes. Then Kuroi spoke up. "Rena, I never knew you could tell her off--- Rena?"

I didn't realize I was crying. I didn't notice the tears falling of my face. 

"Whoa, Rena, you OK?" Kuroi looked at me. 

"H-Huh? Y-Yeah... I-I must've had something in my eye..." I tried wiping the tears off, but they kept on falling.

"Sakuma-san..." Kino gave me a soft expression.

"I-I guess I can't play in this state, huh?" I wiped the tears again.

"Sakuma, when you fight Teikoku with us, we'll be supporting you every step of the way!" Endou exclaimed. 

"When you fight them, I'm always here for you!"

"Y-You seriously..." I sniffed. "L-Let Kuroi in. I-I won't be able to focus."

Kuroi smiled at me. "I'll play in your stead!"

"It's the first time, in a long time, I've seen you break down..." Shuuya said.

"S-Sorry. I-I'll calm down in a while, believe me." I gave a weak smile.

"Now, let's go and win this!" Endou encouraged, pumping his fists in the air, earning "Yeah!"s from the team. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After I've calmed down from the outburst, I managed to watch the first half of the match. Their weird behavior threw them off, and Kuroi was pissed as heck; Even I would if they kept throwing me off like that. 

The first half ended with the score tied 0-0. 

"They're not attacking at all. Even I didn't expect that." Megane said after he drank his water.

"I thought you understood their soccer." Someoka said, looking at him with concern.

"Even so, why couldn't we steal the ball?" Kuroi muttered.

"It's because they threw us off with their weird behavior." Kazemaru confirmed.

"They're mysterious." Kageno said, appearing out of nowhere giving me, Natsumi, and Shuuya shivers. "So are you..." Me and Shuuya muttered.

Natsumi was eyeing the opposite side of us, which was the Otaku team. "What an unreadable team." She said.

"Anyway, we'll create a chance once we've got the ball." Endou said. 

"We'll get our chance once we have the ball."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." I muttered.

The second half started, and the Otaku team had started playing differently. It was like they became serious about the match. "Right. With their stamina, they won't last a whole game." I said. "Why say that?" Handa looked at me. "We've seen them already, right? If they use their all in the first half, they won't be able to last in the second half." I concluded.

Looking back at the match, one of the players tried getting past Matsuno, which he did by suddenly transforming the ball into a watermelon, leaving Matsuno to take the bait. He passed the ball to his captain, and he ran forward with another player. 

"Unbelievable." I mumbled under my breath.

The player that was with the captain, suddenly grabbed him by the legs and the captain went straight as a bat. It was like seeing baseball in soccer, which was clearly impossible!

"Dokonjou Bat!"

Endou couldn't get it in time, so Shuuyou Meito had their first point. How was that even... I can't believe that shoot was even allowed...

The kickoff started again, and all of the Otaku team members all went into defense. Someoka immediately passed the first two players, but the other three went near the goalpost, making their hissatsu technique called "Sandstorm", which involved like a smoke screen bomb, with sand. Someoka used Dragon Crash, but, in everyone's disbelief, it didn't shoot through the goal.

"What. The. Heck?" I muttered under my breath. "T-The goalpost was right in the middle! How did me miss it?!"

The match was again like Mikage, only that the Otaku's weren't connected to computers, and all that they were doing was either giving watermelons or using that move to defend the goal. I saw Shuuya look at his leg; I knew he must've felt bad for injuring his leg at a time like this. Even I would.

"What are you doing?! There's not much time left!" Natsumi said angrily. She was right. There wasn't any time left. Is it possible that we would lose against this kind of team?! That would've been a humiliating defeat!

"Don't shoot!"

The sand disappeared, what all of us saw was in another disbelief.

The goalkeeper, a defender, and a forward were moving the goalpost! So that's why Someoka's Dragon Crash wouldn't go in! And Nina called me a cheater. They've stooped so low!

Soon it was the throw in. Kuroi threw the ball to Megane, and he got past three players in his way. I'm surprised he can even do that. Well, no surprises that he didn't run away during this match. The remaining four were going to use Sandstorm, but Megane said something that might have let them down in the river, because they suddenly stopped. 

Someoka used Dragon Crash, and the goalkeeper moved the goalpost, but thanks to Megane's heading the ball shot into the moved goalpost, earning our point.

Megane had done a huge sacrifice to injure himself like that in order for us to get the point. So Asuka was replacing him while he was dragged off by one of those infirmary guys. 

The match was at another stalemate, and Kuroi had the ball instead of Someoka. Before he was about to shoot, he shouted the words I've never heard from a guy or anyone before.

"This shoot is for Rena! Diagon Shoot!!"

The ball was engulfed in white and blue, and Kuroi's shoot made it in, earning a 1-2. The whistle blew right after the shoot. 

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"So... Genda-san?"

We were at Rai Rai Ken. I was with Kuroi, Otonashi and Endou. Kuroi offered to treat us for the win, and afterwards we'd visit Megane and bring him some dumplings and ramen. Kuroi looked at Otonashi with a mouthful of ramen, then swallowed it. "What is it, Haruna?" 

"When you said that the shoot was for Rena... did it mean anything?" Otonashi asked with a smirk.

Kuroi's face turned red.

"N-No! I mean, it meant our friendship! N-Nothing else! Actually, the original shoot was Stone Goal, b-but I couldn't do it because I wasn't an earth type of person, so I named the shoot Diagon Shoot!"

"But that was good though!" Endou gave him a pat on the back.

"Thanks for dedicating the shoot, Kuroi." I smiled at him, and I saw that his face went redder.

"A-Ah! W-We don't want the food to get to waste!" 

"Ehehe, fine, fine~" Otonashi ate her ramen.

"Sakuma, just a question?" Endou looked at me.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you call Gouenji by his first name?"

"Oh, we're friends."

"Just friends?" Otonashi smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "You can have him."

"E-EH?!"

"Let's just eat!" Endou and Kuroi said, putting a mouthful of ramen.