너는 최고야 ! [ You Are The Best ! ]

06. a friend is a friend, even if it's an object

"It's nice to meet you, I hope we can get along!"

. . . There was a very long pause of silence, asides from someone slowly - but loudly crunching on a potato crisp. The club room had never been this quiet since the day it was built, and the white haired girl was sweating profusely. Her suddenly clammy palms fret with the end of her brown necktie. This was terrible, she'd only been so excited because of Endou and Kino's excitement. They made it seem like the rest of the soccer team was just like themselves.

". . . A new manager?" One of the boys spoke up, his hair was brown and rather neat with matching eyes. He was very uninterested, if anything, he was paying more attention to the magazine in his hands than anything else.

"No. . . !" Endou huffed, propping his gloved hands up on his hips. "She'll play with us! Defender, right?" The brunette turned to the female who blinked her eyes, then nodded nervously.

"We're desperate for members, the least you could all do is say hello." Kino frowned, sometimes these boys were a pain in the neck. With their important match against Teikoku coming up, Kino and Endou were ecstatic to have a new member on board, no matter her gender. Though, they'd seen her play the other day, and it wasn't like she was horrendous at the game or anything.

"Give it up Endou, I didn't think you were that desperate." Another one of the members sighed, his skin was rather tan, and a rather strange pink buzzcut. With every word that left his mouth, Park sunk in her place. Really, she'd rather be shot in the head right now than have to listen to another insult. As upset as Park was, she probably was not as upset as Endou was getting.

"Don't you guys even want to go to the Football Frontier!? We have the chance and you're throwing it away, this is our dream!" The keeper piped up, slamming a hand against the wall. It was a poster, one of the only decorations in this sad, sad club room. No one had said anything, but it was obvious they were guilty. Their poor captain and manager had been working so hard, and even when they'd found a new member, they weren't recognized. Defeated, Endou had just left the club room.

". . . Will he be alright?" Park lowered her voice, tapping Kino on the shoulder. The short haired girl managed an apologetic smile and nodded. She quickly coaxed Park out of the room so they could get a chance to breathe properly.

"I'm sorry, you didn't get a very nice welcome." She sighed, linking her hands behind her back.

"That's alright, please don't apologize." Park shook her head, a small simper marring her features.

"We weren't able to borrow a field, so we might not have practice. I'll let you know if we go back to the riverside, if you'd like to join us again" Kino chirped, beaming sweetly.

"I'll look forward to it, thank you!" The white haired girl waved Kino off before heading back to class. While the rest of them team wasn't exactly thrilled about her addition, she was still grateful for Kino and Endou's hospitality. Just those two were enough to make joining the team worth it. Well, the smile on her face had only lasted until she stepped back into her class. The aquamarine haired male was already present - and she was not very fond of him. It wasn't that she just flat out disliked him, he was just too. . . Friendly. The girl didn't mind Endou, but this boy was different for some reason, and Park was constantly a nervous wreck.

He was simply staring out of the window, so as quietly as possible, Park set her bag down and took a seat. . .

"Have you joined a club yet?"

She froze in her place, before slowly looking over her shoulder. He wasn't even looking at her, so she took that as permission to not look at him either.

"If you're into track the-"

"Thank you for the offer, but I've joined one already." Park responded softly, opening her notebook to a blank page.

Kazemaru blinked his eyes, just barely straightening up; "oh, I see." He muttered, dejected. His hazel eyes trailed back to the window.

After school, the white haired girl scampered around in search for Kino. They'd both headed over to the riverside, but it was void of any Endous. She'd then suggested going to the Inazuma Tower, and right she was, Endou was there.

"Oh- hey! You both came!" The brunette chirped, he seemed to be training. . . With a tire? Park furrowed her brows, his bag and a rather old notebook were on a nearby bench that overlooked the town, this place was the perfect spot for watching the sunset. He seemed to have set up a tire with a rope, securing it to a strong tree. At first glance it looked like a swing, but when Endou pulled the damn thing and threw it - she stood corrected.

"Is this a friend of yours?" She chimed with a small laugh. While she was only jesting, Endou had smiled brightly and nodded. His partner in training and maybe in crime, who knows.

"I brought a soccer ball too, we can practice together!" The keeper piped up.

"Oh, no no! That's okay, I'll just kick around a bit with Kino. My shoots won't be as strong as your tire." Laughing nervously, Park waved her hands in dismissal.

"Besides, we haven't gotten a uniform for her yet." Kino lifted a finger. "E-eh? With me?" Her attention suddenly turned to Park who picked up the lonely ball.

"Just a little." The white haired girl chimed. As Endou continued with his friend over there, the two girls had just made a few gentle passes. One of Kino's had went a little wide, but Park managed to stop it with a foot - then immediately winced as Endou hit the ground. She'd have gone over to help him up, but someone already did the honors; Kazemaru.

"That's some pretty messy training," the tealette jested, pulling Endou up to his feet. Kazemaru nonchalantly looked over to Kino and Park. "Oh, hey." Strange seeing her here. Awkwardly, she just waved back with a small smile.

". . . Y-you two know each other?" Endou lifted his brows in curiosity. Given Park had just transferred, she was completely unaware that Kazemaru Ichirouta was pretty popular. None other than Raimon's track star, as fast as the wind, and as handsome as the devil.

"We're in the same class." Kazemaru responded easily. ". . . What's with the tires?"

"Special training! From my granddad's notebook." Endou grinned brightly. "Park-chan! Can you grab it for me?"

"Eh? Oh- sure!" She scampered over to the bench and neatly set the soccer ball down, then picked up the frail composition book, bringing it over to the two boys. Endou gave her a small thanks before opening it to a particular page for her and Kazemaru to see. Both of them had squinted, it looked like some sort of hieroglyphics.

"Can you actually read this?" Kazemaru breathed out, he sure couldn't.

"Yup! My Grandpa wrote it, before he passed away. He used to be Raimon's soccer coach a long time ago!" His hands propped on his hips, Endou happily explained. "We're fighting Teikoku next, and they're one of the strongest soccer teams out there. So, I'll master all the techniques and we'll beat them! Right?" He turned to Park, who eagerly nodded.

Kazemaru shoved his hands into his pockets, the two seemed so excited. He'd been doing athletics for as long as he could remember, and well, that was mostly an individual sport. There wasn't much teamwork in there, even in relay. Maybe he was a little jealous, they both enjoyed something in common - and he didn't. It hadn't even been that long, and they'd already become such good friends. Sure he had made friends on the track team, but they were mostly just in respect or admiration for him. He'd always been the type of person to think over all his decisions, but this one was purely instinctive.

He reached out a hand to Endou.

". . . Huh? What's up?" The brunette asked with a small pout.

"I'll join you. You and that spirit of yours." Kazemaru gave him a determined smile.

"Really-!?" Endou had immediately brightened up, "thank you! Kazemaru!" He quickly shook the other male's hand.

"Let's do our best." The tealette turned to Park, reaching his hand out yet again. They'd already exchanged names, but even still, Park shook his hand.

He was sure he'd find a reason behind his actions soon enough.