On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Faram Orbius VIII

"K-Kimiko...?"

"Yes, Aoi?"

"... Nevermind. I don't think I'll understand even if I asked..."

"Yeah, no, you probably won't."

Ibuki raised an eyebrow at the two girls he was sitting next to. "What are you both talking about?"

"N-Nothing, Ibuki! Don't worry about it!" Aoi tried to laugh it off.

He wasn't buying it. "Did Ichikawa's move mean something to you two?" That was the only conclusion he could come up with, seeing how that was the most recent thing they could've been commenting on. On top of that, he noticed that the three others from Raimon (four if he were to include Tsurugi) had quite the looks on their faces when he did it.

"It does." Kimiko replied calmly, smiling wryly. "But for you to understand it all, we're going to have to go back to the time travel stuff."

... Yeah, no. Not worth it. "I'll pass on that."

"Good."

~~~~~

My inner Okita Souji is acting up.

Is it actually?

No, but you know what I mean.

Yeah... I didn't expect for there to be an awakening at this point of time.

Awakening? Y-You mean Ichikawa is...?!

Of the first generation of the Second Stage Children, yeah. Just like Tenma.

... Just to be sure, how are their lifespans?

No worries. Every child that awakened in this era will grow old like regular people. Their DNAs haven't evolved so far that they would gain the powers that I have. It would take at least another few dozen years before people with just one or two of those superhuman abilities start popping up.

You really studied up on all that, huh...

When you've practically lived in the lab for that long, you'll learn it all involuntarily.

She could see him trying to keep himself from cringing that far down the field. But before he could give another reply, the commentator started speaking.

"We restart with a tied score. Will Faram Dite win, or Earth Eleven?! There's no telling how this match will end!"

Faram's kickoff, and he was the one to start it. The ball went from him to Ryugel, to Gandales, and after getting through, it was passed back to him again. Tenma caught up before he could get very far, and the two clashed fiercely.

And the rest of the field followed suit.

With every attack, there was someone to defend. Neither side would give in to the other, and there were more off-pitch kicks than she had ever seen in any match before.

(Both Aoi and Ibuki noticed how tightly she was crossing her arms. She did not.)

"Hey, hey! Earth Eleven and Faram Dite are fifty-fifty! Who will break through this power game first?! ... Whoa! Looks like Faram Dite will be switching players!"

All eyes went to the bench where Kuroiwa was now standing. However, when their reserved player began to move, the man held a hand to stop him. Moments later, he came onto the field, wearing a uniform with the number 96.

Wha...?!

"Oh my god! The player that Faram Dite is switching in is Coach Kuroiwa himself! Unbelievable!" There was a minute of absolute silence throughout the stadium as the players, audience, and even staff members tried to process this development. Any and all complaints, however, washed away when Ducksgun began speaking again. "Hey! I just received a report from tournament headquarters! Having the coach play for his team is apparently not a problem! As expected from Grand Celesta Galaxy, it's so cool!"