On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Ixal Fleet

When they arrived at the stadium, they found plenty of people coming to watch the match. Many were whispering amongst themselves, but as soon as they saw their uniform, they began cheering.

"Don't lose, Earth Eleven!"

"Please save us!"

"We're counting on you!"

"The whole galaxy is!"

They felt a terrifying balance of excitement and pressure weighing on them, more than they ever felt throughout the entire tournament. They hurriedly made their way to the player's lobby, where they found Katora, Lalaya, and Minel waiting for them right outside their changing room.

"The people all believe in you." Katora said with a gentle smile.

"It's both rewarding and frustrating." Matatagi muttered.

"What was with all the whispering though?" Tetsukado asked.

"I don't like the idea of bad rumors being spread before anything happens." Kusaka added.

"On the contrary, they aren't bad at all." Lalaya was also grinning as she turned to her aide. "Minel."

"Yes, Queen Lalaya." The man stepped forward and began explaining. "The people have reported sightings of a mysterious archer that came to save them during Ixal Fleet's initial raid of our control centers. The descriptions match the one that appeared above the stadium yesterday."

Without a doubt, it was Kimiko's Artemis.

"They believe that the archer is connected to Earth Eleven in some way. And above that, they believe it would be their savior in today's match."

Potomuri frowned. "But the one with that archer is..."

"They don't need to know that." Tsurugi interrupted, his arms crossed. "Even false hope is better than nothing."

"I guess it is better than having them panic." Ibuki said.

They walked into their changing room, and most of them did their best not to stare at the large crack in the TV. Tsurugi was the only one who did, and it took him a second to remember that he was the one that made it.

The last time he kicked something so angrily was that boulder in the Three Kingdoms Era.

... It was no wonder they didn't question his violent tendencies.

Shaking his head, he went to his designated locker and started taking out his jersey to change. Then, a glow caught his eye.

It caught all of their eyes actually.

"What's that?"

"Oh no, not Tsurugi too!"

"It's not me." Taking off the track suit, they could see the keychain on his wrist disappearing the same way she did. In just a few seconds, only his wristband remained.

"B-But why...?"

"History adjusts itself accordingly, remember? The easiest way to erase that entire conflict would be to just never have the soccer ban at all, which is exactly what happens since El Dorado wouldn't exist."

"But our memories―"

"They'll be adjusted over time as well. You'll forget little by little, and eventually, you'll only remember what the world has for you to remember."

Those words rang in his head as the true meaning of those words dawned on him. "If she never existed, then she never came to this timeline. Which means she never went on that trip to America and bought back souvenirs..."