Gilded Time (let us exist here) ; inazuma eleven go - time travel au

dandelions; IV

 

Ichino blinks. He tilts his head slightly with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Then he crosses his arm. He hisses and turns around, before going back. Seriously, what is he supposed to do? 

Raimon Natsumi and Otonashi Haruna stand in front of him, just a few feet away from Hibiki's doorstep. He opens his mouth but closes down immediately when his head goes blank. Natsumi dares lift an eyebrow at him, clearly questioning his presence here. Haruna glances between him and the older girl, face showing clear confusion. 

“ What are you doing here? ” Natsumi asks after knowing that none of them would speak up. They had been staring at each for the past 5 minutes and Natsumi is getting tired of looking at 10 different emotions displayed on Ichino's face. Even if she's impressed by it. 

“ Isn't that supposed to be my question? What are you two doing here? ” he asks incredulously, eyes squinting at the two girls. Really, why were they here? It's not possible that they knew where Ichino and the other two were living, right? Right?

Natsumi rolls her eyes while Haruna opens her mouth but closed it before she could say anything. “ We're here to meet with Coach Hibiki, ” she answers briefly and Ichino waits for her to elaborate, but she didn't. He just lifts an eyebrow and mutters 'okay.'

“ Well, come back next time then, ” he responded similarly, leaning against the door. The two girls stay quiet, probably waiting for him to continue his sentence but 30 seconds go by and they realized he won't. Haruna sighs at the behavior of the new guy while Natsumi's lips twitch into a frown. 

“ What's happening here? ” the three perked up at Kirino's voice, making his entrance beside Ichino. He glanced at them in curiosity and Natsumi prays before trying her luck again. Not before throwing a glare at Ichino.

“ We're here to meet Coach Hibiki, is he home? ” Natsumi asked, pointing at the house. Kirino looks back before shaking his head. “ No, he went out to get groceries with Alp– uh, Izumo. ” Kirino cringed at the slip-up while Natsumi's face fall at the information. She shares a look with Haruna who takes a second to think before nodding. The two boys just observe. 

“ Uhm, actually. . . ” Haruna starts but then stops as she grimaced, probably embarrassed at the intense look she gets from them. But she clears her throat afterward and steeled her nerve. It's really awkward to talk to people she doesn't know. 

“ Endou actually asked for you guys. Like, we're leaving for Manyuuji today and the team wondered if you guys wanted to come along. We need all the help we can get so we would, you know, really appreciate it if you guys want to. ” Haruna ends with a clear voice, eyes boring into them with a burning determination like she's trying to convince them. Natsumi has a smile on her face. 

Kirino and Ichino stare at her, dumbfounded for a moment. This is not what they expected early in the morning. Ichino knows that Endou and the team are trying to recruit them, but he didn't think they would go this far.

“ Geez, are the aliens really that insane? ” Ichino whispered but it was loud enough for all of them to hear. Natsumi's eyes narrowed at the words and her fist clenched. “ Of course they are. Insane might be an understatement. You should see what kind of damage they have done to schools and other people. ” Natsumi says heavily, her eyes downcasted with guilt. Haruna moves closer to hold the girl's hand in comfort. Ichino internally winces at his own mistake.