On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Sazanaara I

Kimiko stayed in bed for the rest of the day. She refused to let anyone in, and continued to pretend that she was sleeping until dinner. By then, she had calmed down enough to make sure no one knew what was wrong.

Well, if the real Kyousuke was here, he'd probably know.

But he wasn't, so she was doing an excellent job keeping everything hidden.

... Why was she disappointed?

She shook the thought away and continued to listen to the team explaining all that she missed. Basically, Katora talked to Tenma again through some kind of transmission, and then they got challenged to a soccer battle by the residents of the city. A soccer battle that they lost because the Sazanaarans apparently have the ability to see people's minds. So since then, they spent their training thinking about what to do and worrying about everything.

After they finished eating, she was shown to the meeting room, where Aoi played a recording of the match.

After watching through it once, and replaying certain bits several times, Kimiko nodded to herself. "I don't really have any ideas on how to beat them, but I can at least provide you guys with training menus so that you'll get used to this planet's gravity."

"The gravity?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not surprised you guys didn't notice it since the change isn't as big as Sandorias, but the gravity of this planet is heavier than Earth's, so the ball won't fly very well. Instead, the ball rolls faster." She stretched a little before taking out her friend's tablet. "I'll give you guys the menus tomorrow. For now, go get some rest. Worrying so much that you lose sleep wouldn't do anyone any good."

"You too then." Aoi reminded. "I know you spent all day in bed, but you still shouldn't stay up for too long."

"I know. I'll be back in my room before midnight, I promise."

"Hm... In that case, Tsurugi!"

"... What?"

"Can you stay here and make sure she doesn't sneak off somewhere?"

"I..." The fake's eyes darted towards her quickly before clearing his throat. "Yeah, sure."

"Great! Okay, good night!"

Kimiko kept her smile up as she waved and bid them all good night. When they were gone, and all the lights in every other car went out, she let it drop. Then, she pulled out the ampule gun she had been keeping in her jacket and pointed it to him, just as he held out a strange looking gun to her.

"Never thought an Earth kid would be allowed to bring a weapon around as she pleases." He sneered.

"Implying that you yourself are not 'an Earth kid'." She smirked in return.

"Tsurugi Kyousuke's memories are full of information about you. I know from the start that you wouldn't be fooled. After all, just like those annoying Sazanaarans, you have the ability to read minds too, so there's really no point in keeping up the charade when I'm with just you."

So he doesn't know that I can't read alien minds. Good. "Then you'll know that there's no point in lying to me either. So why don't you tell me, how do those memories help you exactly? Judging from how you've been trying to avoid me since you replaced him, I can conclude that I'm not your target. It doesn't seem like you're here to abduct anyone else, really. Are you here to sabotage us?"

"Sabotaging is one of my specialties, but no, not this time." He moved the gun away, putting both hands up in the air. But even with the gesture of surrender, he still had that smug look on his face. "I'm being paid just to be here and nothing else. My client needed to borrow the real Tsurugi Kyousuke for some business, and so I was enlisted to replace him while he's gone. That way, no one would suspect anything."