Axel's POV~

~~~~

The sound of the crowd cheering and our team mates celebrating was by far the most rewarding sound I've heard today. It still felt surreal though, as if I'm bound to wake up later on to realize that this was all just a dream.

But right now, my heart is pounding, my muscles ache like crazy and I could still feel the adrenaline rush coursing through my body. So as far as I'm concerned, this is all real.

"We won!" Xavier said as he and Austin walked up from behind me.

"Yeah, we did." I answered. I then turned to Austin who looked really happy for the match's outcome, "Nice pass by the way, Austin."

"Thank you Axel-san. I hoped I managed to help a lot." He answered with a smile.

"You did." I answered, "But there's something bothering me."

"What is it?" Xavier asked.

"Austin, you could've scored the goal even if that player was tackling you. So why didn't you?"

Austin's expression immediately morphed into a nervous one as he hesitated to answer. I could tell he was hiding something because of the way his gaze couldn't meet mine.

"I thought you had a better chance to score, so I made the right decision and passed you the ball." He answered with his head down. "Excuse me, I have to talk with my sister."

Austin then bowed to us and then started to make his way to Alexi, who was surprisingly smiling at Caleb in a sweet way, while Caleb smiled back to her. When she saw Austin running towards her, she ran up to him then caught him a huge hug and kissed his forehead.

"Does something seem strange to you?" Xavier asked as he wiped the sweat from his chin.

"You mean the fact that Austin still hesitates to shoot or the fact that Alexi and Caleb were smiling at each other." I said only loud enough for him to hear.

"Both."

"Hey Axel!" Marc called from behind. He was running towards me along with Shawn, Nathan and almost all of the team. "You did it Axel! You scored the winning goal!"

I thanked them for the compliments and congratulated them for the effort they all put into today's play. From all around, I could hear how amazed and surprised everyone was for the outcome.

"I couldn't believe it! I was sure we were going to lose because of Australia's tactics." Darren said as he gave Jude a hand.

"I know." Jude added as he lifted his goggles up, "I thought it would be impossible for us to win from our currents state, but because of Coach Travis and Alexi, we've won."

"Speaking of which," Willy said loud enough for almost all of us to hear, "I saw the notebook Alexi wrote on during the game. I was dumbfounded to learn how she was able to make those predictions and countermeasures in such a short time! And trust me, that notebook was empty the first time."

Everyone stayed speechless for a while until Hurley started to talk, "Honestly, I still couldn't believe that she could do all those things. I mean, really?! She actually predicted what can happen in a game! She knew about my new shot and gave me a hint on how I could make it work, she even prepared us for a hissatsu tactic the other team was sure to use!"

"Maybe she did an intensive research about it." Shawn requested, "I mean it's not impossible for her to look up Australia's database and quickly planned for-"

"No, that's still not it." Jude instantly cuts him off, "Willy, did you see any predictions about Australia switching in players in the notebook?"

"Yeah."

"Did you see Alexi talking to Coach Travis during the span of the game? Did they talk about strategies?"

"They talked occasionally, but it was mostly Coach asking Alexi how the players were doing. Whenever there was a time were some strategizing was needed, Coach just scanned the notebooks and gave the orders from there."

Jude waited for those facts to sink in before talking once again, "Then that proves it. Considering how everything happened during the game, it's only logical to assume that Alexi somehow managed to know what they were beforehand."

"You're right." I agreed, "I mean think about it, she proposed to switch Austin in with Jude and that ultimately gave us the leverage we needed to win the game. Not only that, her timing was pretty accurate because at that time, Jude was unexpectedly injured. It's like she knew these things were going to happen; she didn't just predicted them, she knew."

The others tried to make sense in what I just said, but I know most of them understood what I was trying to say.

"'The Oracle of the field'." Xavier said, "You're right. She managed to know and plan out for even the littlest things that happened in the game."

"The question is: 'How?'".

~~~~

Back at the training grounds that afternoon, Caleb was called yet again to accompany Coach Travis with an errand in town while the rest of us were ordered to rest and prepare for tomorrow's training.

Our next match would be decided in two-day's time, that gives us a lot of time to rest up but the tension building around the team still managed to keep us alert.

Everyone was in the dining hall re-watching the game we had with Australia; basically, we heard more of Hurly marvelling at his new technique.

"And it's all thanks to Alexi." He exclaimed, "But of course, if it wasn't for my dedication and hard work, that move wouldn't even be possible!"

"Yeah, yeah." Willy said from behind, "We've already heard enough Hurley, so give it a break."

"At least I was good for something other than naming new hissatsu techniques." Hurley mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. Hearing this, Willy went to a corner and silently wept.

"You didn't have to say it like that..." he kept whispering.

Everyone was amused by his reaction and then went back to watching the game.

While everyone was doing that, I couldn't help but look around to search for Alexi. She's been quiet the whole trip back to the training grounds, except for the few occasions when she was talking to Austin on the bus. And I have to say, it got me worried.

Something was troubling her and I have no idea on what it could be. She was pretty happy when we won the game; but when she got on the bus with us, she looked bothered.

But she wasn't the only one.

I caught Xavier looking around, probably looking for her too. He made it obvious on the bus that he didn't like the way Caleb smiled at her when the game ended. He even looked away, irritated when he caught Alexi stealing a glance at Caleb who shot her a, what seemed to be a comforting smile.

I didn't want to believe that they were dating; and if they were why would they hide it from the rest of us?

I sighed and folded my arms as I leaned on the table.

The real question is, why am I getting so involved in this? It shouldn't matter to me who Alexi dates. But I just can't help it. She can do so much better than Caleb.

She deserved someone who can proudly tell the world that they're dating a one-of-a-kind girl. Someone who'll always stay by her side and comfort her when she's down. Someone who will hold her hand and will never let her go. Someone who can always make the effort to make sure she always wears that bright smile of hers. Someone like-

"MARC EVANS!!!!!!!!!" shouted two familiar and very loud voices resonated down the hallway.

No doubt about it, our old team mate Victoria "Tori" Vanguard came in with Suzette "Sue" Hartland. Tori was wearing her usual tuxedo attire with her signature hat and Sue was wearing her pink sweater over an orange shirt and blue jeans. By the looks of things, they look like they've seen a ghost and just ran from where they were all the way here.

"What the hell was that about?" Willy said reviving from his depressed state. "You're gonna kill someone with that mouth of yours someday Sue!"

Hearing this, Sue shot Willy a deadly glare and was about to say something when Tori stopped her.

"We've got more important things to talk about than Sue's mouth!" she exclaimed then turned to Marc. "Is it true that the 'The Oracle of the Field' joined Inazuma Japan's team?"

Everyone was startled and Austin flinched at the sound of his sister's given title. We all fell silent and looked at each other awkwardly. The coach never really told us what to do in this kind of situation. Should we tell them the truth or should we keep it secret?

"What made you say that?" I asked, trying to assess the situation before things go out of hand. The confidentiality of Alexi's identity as 'The Oracle of the Field' was a crucial part of the team's progress. I thought if other teams found out about her, they might resolve to spy on her...or worse.

"Just answer the damn question already!" Sue said furiously.

"Not until you tell us what made you think the 'Oracle' is on the team." Xavier calmly said. He then looked at me and nodded, as if he was thinking the same thing.

Seeing that we weren't going to answer their question, Tori sighed in defeat and walked towards the tv. She flipped through the channels until she stopped and said, "This is the reason."

The monitor showed a woman anchoring for a nation-wide news program on channel 10. She was dressed casually and her brown hair was tied in a bun. Behind her was a large screen that read the headlines, "Famous 'Oracle of the Field' rumoured to have joined Japan's National Soccer team for the on-going FFI tournament."

Everybody did a double-take when they saw it. Half of them team even gasped out loud and Austin turned ghostly pale.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded, "Is this some kind of sick joke?" I felt angry at the same time bothered about all this. I don't know why, but something tells me that this shouldn't have happened. I mean, there's bound to be a reason she kept her identity hidden all this time right? What will happen when everybody finds out?

I looked at Xavier and knew that he was thinking the same thing. In fact, the whole team seemed bothered about all this.

"That's not all." Tori said as she flipped through the channels again, this time she stopped at a well-known sports talk-show.

"Welcome back sports fans!" the host said. He had neatly-trimmed black hair and was wearing a suit. The setting was a bit formal; some furniture, a huge screen behind him, and some sports equipment scattered all around. "Now going back to our previous topic, Inazuma Japan's first victory in the FFI tournament was really something, wasn't it?"

The audience cheered as footage from our earliermatch filled the monitor behind him. "The goddess of victory was really on their side, am I right folks? They managed to beat one of the best teams in the preliminaries and they got through Australia's fiercest hissatsu tactic, what are the odds right? Yes, the heavens sure smiled on them today." he then smiled and gave the audience a sly look, "But what are the chances that their certain victory was cause by yet another and completely different divine intervention?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, just after Japan's match against Australia, rumours began to spread concerning the free-lance tactician known as 'The Oracle of the Field', joining Japan's National Team. But who is this so called 'Oracle'? For those of you who don't know yet, here's a little something that can help you cope up with us."

A dark silhouette of some random girl with a question mark on her face showed up on the screen as the audience became silent.

"Alright, so here's a collection of rumours, info and theories concerning the said 'Oracle'. First off, we do know that she's a girl." The audience laughed a bit to lessen the tension as the host started to read off the script again, "It also says here that her debut started a year ago, when rumours started to spread like wildfire about a mysterious free-lance tactician with an amazing ability to 'predict' certain events from the game. Evidence of these were the notes they found lying around the arena with these precise prediction written on them; the notes themselves were found just a few minutes after the game started."

The host then loosened his tie and gave out a nervous laugh, "This is getting intense, am I right folks? Anyway, conspiracies have been brought up against the possibility of the 'Oracle's' existence and has been debated by enthusiast all over the country. That is, until the match between Raimon and Cyborg Junior High; where the authorities found out about Cyborg's use of a program that 'predicts' the opponents movements."

"The school's players spilled the beans about what they know about the computer data; they said it was completely accurate and that they were surprised when they found out that the data used were manually inputted by the 'Oracle' herself, strange thing is though, the team reported that they never saw her in real life. Still, the team's coach testifies that she is in fact a real, live person and is responsible for the data inputs they used. He saw her work but never got the chance to know her real identity." A footage of us playing against the said team made the audience gasp, "Yep, you heard me. Considering the advantage their team had here, it's pretty much hard to believe that a single person had the capacity to pull this kind of play-making. That ends the debate on whether or not she really existed. "

"Not only that, it also says here that she's rumoured to have trained the players of the renowned Zeus Junior High." A scene wherein Zeus brutally defeated its opponents flash in the huge monitor, making the audience gasp and talk amongst themselves. "She also was rumoured to have been secretly hired by Ray Dark during his time as Royal Academy's Commander. Some theories say that she's a dark character with no apparent goal. Some say she's a play-maker gone bad and is out to destroy soccer from within, starting from the players and the matches. With her skills, she can train players to be as ruthless as Zeus Junior High and manipulate the matches to decide who gets to be the victor."

"No wonder she's been hired by Dark. She sounds like a baddy to the core! And that's about it, aside from the 'Oracle' being part of Inazuma Japan for the time-being, we still have yet to know who she really is. Hopefully the studio can make an appointment with the team's Coach Travis to find out the answers to our queries. Who is this mysterious maiden? And what is her real motive in the soccer world? For more upda-"

Tori turned the tv off and gave us some time to let it all sink in. The team was silent the whole time we watched it. To be honest, I didn't know that much about her from before. And by the looks of everyone else, they didn't know this side of the 'Oracle's' story too.

Austin was deathly pale as he tried to calm himself down. I could see him actually shake from all that we've seen. It seems to me that he didn't know this much about his sister too.

Everyone was in deep thought; no doubt they're trying to make some sense in all this. Marc was looking down with his hand on the back of his head. Xavier, Nathan, Shawn, Jude and the others seemed to be in a dilemma.

I, on the other hand, am trying to stop myself from doubting Alexi. But after what I just found out about her, I'm having trouble deciding what side is she really on. Just like the rest of the team, I'm starting to doubt what her real intentions are for us. I mean, she's rumoured to have trained Zeus' soccer team and was working for Ray Dark!

But that's so wrong. She doesn't look like she's the type who hangs around with people like Ray Dark. Anyone with half a brain could see that she's as innocent as she is kind. She's caring and thoughtful, you could actually see it in her eyes!

"So tell me," Tori said loud enough to snap the others in their daze, "Is she here or not?"

Nobody answered.

I'm sure they're still debating on whether or not to trust Alexi from now on. Still, I can see it in their eyes that they didn't want to believe all those things they just heard. They know, just like I do, that Alexi is not as dark as they claim her to be.

"I think it's best if you guys leave." Marc suddenly said, "I mean, it's getting late and all. We wouldn't want you gals to get hurt-"

"Don't even think about stalling us Evans." Sue hissed which surprised everyone, even Archer who was silently listening in the corner. She then sighed and said, "Look guys, we're worried about you. Seriously, who wouldn't? If the rumours are true and the 'Oracle' really did join you guys, who's to say that you won't turn out like Zeus Junior High? All destruction and no direction."

"Sue's right." Tori added as she looked us all in the eyes, "If she really did join you, how can you easily trust someone who's obviously suspicious? Honestly guys, why trust a face that's always been hidden? I mean, she could be planning anything!"

"That's right!" Sue exclaimed, "With a shady personality like that, it's hard to know what her real motives are. For God's sake, if she's not what they claim her to be, why did she conceal her true identity in the first place? For all we know she could be a spy hired by the other countries to sabotage you during the tournament! She-"

"ENOUGH!" I yelled. I was really pissed off because of what they're doing.

Damn it! How can they judge a person they don't even know? What's worst is that they're accusing her of something she clearly will never do! I don't know Alexi's whole story, but even if I did, I have no right to judge her nor accuse her of something so farfetched. And neither does they!

"Axel..." Xavier said.

Austin, who was doing his best not to cry at the exaggeration Sue and Tori were talking about his sister, suddenly looked at me. I could see it in his eyes that he's begging for someone to stop all this, he couldn't handle it anymore.

"I've heard enough of this bullshit." I said, still enraged. "How can you believe such stupid things? So what if a guy on tv said it, that doesn't mean that it's all true!"

"Rumours are made for a reason Axel!" Sue retorted.

"Yeah, and it's to cover up something they don't fully understand." I said, "Rumours are just that, rumours. They don't hold any truth unless an evidence or two can be presented. But until that condition is satisfied, then those rumours are just spoken words without meaning."

I felt the whole team's eyes on me. Everyone, even the managers who were quietly listening behind Jack. Guess they were too scared to join in.

Sue looked down as Tori placed her hand on Sue's shoulder. No doubt about it, she was mad at me.

For now, I don't even care if she's mad at me. They had no right to do what they just did back there.

"So you admit that she's here? That she joined Inazuma Japan for the FFI and that she's training you?" Tori asked in a soft voice.

"I'm not admitting anything." I answered, "Except the fact that accusing a person you don't even know of something that horrible, is wrong."

Then I looked at everyone else, "And that doubting something you already know is right just because of some dumb rumour, is just plain pathetic."

Everyone was taken aback of what I just said. They all knew I was right, that Alexi wasn't that kind of person. They've met her and worked with her just like I did, and they know that she's not what the press claimed her to be.

Even Jude and the others who almost believed Sue and Tori, looked guilty as they bowed their heads and refused to make eye contact with me.

"Excuse me, but I'll be taking my leave now." Austin suddenly said. We all turned to him as he made his way to the door with his head down. None of us stopped him because we knew what he just went through. If someone bad mouthed my sister like that and I couldn't even do anything about it, then I'll probably just leave the scene all together just like he did.

A few moments after he left, we heard the door open once more followed by a familiar voice saying, "Care to explain what happened?"

Everyone was shocked to see Coach Travis and Coach Hillman standing by the doorway looking furious. Beside them, was Caleb looking worried at the same time, pissed off as hell. All three of them looked scary but Caleb looked like he was ready to murder someone.

"Now, can someone please explain to me why two of my members are crying?" Coach Travis asked.

"Two?" Xavier inquired.

Coach looked at him and nodded, "Yes, 'two'. We came back from an errand finding Austin leaving the room bumping into Alexi. Both of them had tears in their eyes. As coach of this team, I demand to know what caused those two to break down like that."

Nobody answered. Maybe because they were thinking the same thing as me.

Alexi heard everything.

~~~~

Hey guys! I'm sorry I took so long to update! I was uh going through something, as some of you know. And I was really busy enrolling my sister and cousin for Junior High. They'll be attending my old school so my mom thought it'll be a great idea to give me the stress of enrolling them on my own. But everything went fine.

I also had to enrol myself for the university I'm going to for college. It took a lot of time but I finally got in haha I'll be taking Med Tech as my pre-med course. What can I say? Dad wants me to be a doctor, so I had no choice.

Then we went on a vacation to Ilocos then Baguio. I didn't have my laptop with me back then so I didn't get the chance to make the story.

Anywhoooo..... how's the story? Is it bad? Did it get too messed up and complicated? If it did, then I apologize. But I hope you had fun reading it. I had to think really hard on how to fit Alexi's story into the original plot of the anime. And this is what it turned out.

If you have any questions about this chapter, just post your comment and I'll try to clarify it for you :3

Btw, thanks a lot for all your support and for being so patient with me. I'll try to make it up to you guys I swear!

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