Inazuma Eleven™ Skie

CHAPTER 8

The team were at Rairaiken the next day eating ramen (courtesy of their coach). They had finished practice earlier and it was their captain's idea to go to that specific restaurant.

"Eat up, everyone," Seymore said. "And don't be scared to go for seconds."

"Another round, please!" Mark yelled as he slammed his bowl on the counter.

"Wow, that fast-"

"I'd also like another!" Nathan was interrupted by Ryan's exclamation for another bowl of Ramen.

"What are you guys? Eating machines?" Tristan asked shocked.

The coach just chuckled and refilled their plates. "You both have such an appetite."

"Of course," Ryan beamed like a kid in a candy store. "That practice was amazing, and exhausting but so much fun! It took a lot of my energy, and I can't wait for the next match!" he said before stuffing his mouth with the food.

"Not too fast, you're going to choke!" Brianna warned as she saw the boy repeatedly but food in his mouth. He swallowed the food in his mouth and sheepishly apologized.

"Sure, this practice was hard," Jack said, "but it's nothing compared to the Lightning Training Ground. That was brutal!" he shuddered at the memory. 

"Ugh, don't remind me," Nathan said, suddenly having lost his appetite. "That was a death sentence."

"Oh come on guys." Mark said once he had swallowed his food. "It wasn't that bad."

"Of course you would say that," Axel sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lightning Training Ground?" Clara spoke up before anyone could answer the question. "What's that?"

"Sounds scary." Peter said in a shaky voice.

"It's a special training area that the legendary Inazuma Eleven used 40 years ago." Mark said with enthusiasm and a huge toothy grin on his face. "We used it before. It has very many hard challenges and drills that help us better our skills-"

"And did I mention it's a death sentence?" Nathan interrupted.

"Sure it's hard," Mark pouted, "but it helped us better our skills, didn't it, Nathan?" he said putting extra emphasis on the boy's name making him back down and eat his ramen with his new-found appetite.

"Maybe we train there since it can improve our skills," Brianna said in a way that seemed like she was still contemplating it.

"Oh yeah!" Ryan exclaimed. "Can we?" He turned to the coach behind the counter.

"I don't see why not. But I'll have to check whether it's still functioning well."

Ryan gave a shout of joy before continuing with his meal.

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Mark and Nathan were walking home together after their meal at Rairaiken. The sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful mixture of orange and pink.

"You know, I really like the first years. They're so fun and vibrant," Nathan said, "like a breath of fresh air. I'm not saying we're bad air, but.... Hey are you OK?" He asked once he noticed that Mark was not concentrating, instead, looking at the ground deep in thought. 
"Mark? Mark?" He waved a hand in front of the boy.

"wha? huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts and gave his friend a questioning look. "What did you say?"

"Something's bothering you. Tell me."

"It's just, I can't stop thinking about that match."

"Against Anima Sana?" Mark nodded. "What about it?"

"I don't know. Didn't something seem off to you?" He turned to the defender.

"Well, yeah. They seemed to be acting weird. But you know those guys. They've always been weird."

"Yes, but this wasn't their usual weirdness." He looked at the sky. "When I was shaking hands with Neil, I saw something. His eyes. They were blank, yes, but deeper, there was sorrow, pain and...regret. And after they had scored their goal, they didn't even cheer. Actually, they seemed like they were sad about it. Like they didn't want to score." 

"I noticed so too. Now that I think about it, It's like they were forced to do something."

"But remember after we won, and they were gathered?"

Nathan put a hand on his chin, remembering. "They weren't sad or angry. In fact they seemed relieved. Like whatever was chaining them let go. What do you think about it?"

"I don't know, but I think it has something to do with their number 12."

"Huh? That boy...uh....Adrien Figgins? Why do you think so."

"He was giving the team orders most of the time and it seemed like they were reluctantly following. Come to think of it, I have never heard of him before."

"Do you think that, maybe, there is something going on behind the scenes of the tournament?"

"I think so." Mark said worriedly looking at the sky that was being engulfed in darkness.

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"Hi everyone. My name is Delilah DelRay, and I would like to join as a manager."

The team was shocked when the next morning, a girl with green hair and soft orange eyes walked into the clubroom while the team was about to go out for morning practice.
She stood in front of the team waiting for their response. 

 All heads turned to their coach. "What year are you in?"

"First."

"Huh? I haven't seen you anywhere before now." Mike told her. "And  you weren't there during the induction ceremony. Your name wasn't mentioned."

"Oh, that's because I just transferred here today and I wanted joining this club to be the first thing I did. I watched your match against Anima Sana and I was so intrigued by your motivation to win that I just had to join. I hope you will let me in." She finished with a deep bow.

"Alright. Welcome Delilah."

"Thank you so much, coach. I won't let you down." She then turned to the team. "Please take care of me."

"OK, welcome to the team, Delilah!" Mark said while discretely winking at Jack who nodded in return.

"Uh, Delilah," Jack began walking towards the new manager. "Why don't Celia and I take you to  the field to show you what you are going to do."

With that, the three walked out of the clubroom leaving the rest of the team there.

"Ok, we only have a short time to prepare," Mark began as if he was on a serious mission. "We have to move fast."

" What are you talking about, Captain?" Brianna asked exasperatedly.

"The 'welcome to the team tradition', of course." He said with his signature smile.

"Are you serious!" Silvia scolded him. "You can't pour on her water now! Firstly, it's still early so it's extra cold. Do you want her to catch a cold on her first day? Secondly, what is she going to change into. Remember you didn't remember that detail the last time with Clara! You're lucky it was after school, but now, Delilah can't change into her tracksuit. She still has classes!-"

"OK, OK, I get it, Silvia." Mark said with a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his neck. "We'll just do it after school."

"That's better."

"Well better go tell Jack and Celia," Nathan said. "They still think we're getting the buckets."

Coach Seymore, who had left the room before this whole conversation, came in telling the team to get to the field immediately or else he would triple their laps.

 No one wanted to go through that hell.... again!