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"Grow into a powerful man so you can get back at people".The words still echoed into Akio's head even today, the words his mother told him the day his father had left them in cowardice. It wouldn't have mattered as much to him in any other casual circumstance, but what his father did was able to get to him...get to him hard. Their marriage wasn't perfect, and the family was essentially brought in poverty since the start, they couldn't even afford a proper wedding, but the nerve Akio's father had to put them through all that...all because he couldn't open his mouth and tell his colleagues to fuck off with the overwork...he didn't blame his mother when she kicked him out. He didn't doubt his relief either, the man barely tried to fight for his marriage, never tried to fix things or even earn them an ounce of cash. He just left, and the family hasn't heard of him since. Good riddance.It was funny really, usually the departing of a parent means it was one less role model, the son's father figure, that the kid could never learn from, but not Akio, he got the perfect model for him to live by, a model that showed him exactly how not to turn out like. Weak and pathetic.He will grow into someone powerful, someone stronger than you Dad, for both him and his mother's sake...just you watch. It was the day before the representatives of Inazuma Japan were leaving for their campgrounds near Mount Fuji. The centre was located right in the middle of wilderness, and would be an undisturbed, breath of fresh air for the team to be cited at. They would all be living together for however long they last in the tournament.Fudou Akio, the Number 3 Midfielder hailing from Teikoku Gakuen Soccer Club was within the ranks on Inazuma Japan. He, personally, wasn't thrilled about any of this as he should have been, playing soccer was a hobby of his, but unlike others, he enjoyed...other elements rather than the competitiveness and unity that it brings. He never really was a caring person, even with things he enjoyed, it could even be considered his facade, a flawless poker face to hide any of his true feelings, but either way he didn't pass down the opportunity to officially allow himself to be considered for the selections. And of course, he wanted to win, Fudou was without a doubt an excellent player and asset, and of course they would need someone of his skills if they were to compete against the world, so it was just a little bit selfish of him to try and deny it, especially when it's been clear that Japan is trying to raise the awareness and enjoyment of Soccer, ever since that humiliating match the Raimon Eleven, the 'Strongest', had against Spain's Barcelona Orb.But here he was now, recognised as one of Japan's current youth best and on his next adventure with all the new friends he will make!....Who was he kidding. He and Kazemaru Ichirouta, from the reinforcement committee, were the only ones to make the team from Teikoku Gakuen, something he enjoyed tormenting his passionate 'friend' Sakuma Jirou with, using it as a means to brag to get under his skin, who was still in a little bit of a rut about not being chosen. And that was about it for the people Fudou had known first...however there was another person who peaked his interest into meeting, Teikoku's original captain Kidou Yuuto, who transferred to Seishou in the plan to raise Japan's level of soccer. Kidou certainly helped them, Seishou became the winners of the next FFI after Raimon with ease, effectively crushing Teikoku's chances of winning just like Zeus did the previous year, only this time it was a fair game. Teikoku was in shambles after Kidou's departure and their coach Kageyama's arrest, though that didn't last, because that same Kageyama had actively scouted Fudou with hopes of him filling in Kidou's position in what was the team's strongest weapon, the Strategist. He didn't feel like he replaced Kidou though, Teikoku was an elitist school, they all acted like they were in the military, and Fudou's style of command was much too different for these 'soldiers' to comprehend. But Fudou knew this would happen, he was best as a loner. Sakuma, Genda, and all of the other members would still gawk and wish Kidou was here, which only made Fudou feel more left out, to the point he would consistently mock them about it. He wanted to see exactly what was so great about this Kidou guy, and it looks like he was getting what he wanted.So, what was on the agenda for now? His last day before heading out to the Campgrounds, but how should he do it. Perhaps spend time with his mom? Spend time with his teammates at Teikoku? Spend time with his older 'buddies'?....Nah. They didn't call him the Lone Rebel for nothing, at least he hoped they didn't, he started to like the title, as he merely thought he would spend the day relaxing and getting caught up in his usual mischief. But to start it off, he supposed it was off to the usual place, a secret abandoned balcony roof that he used for his private space. It was easier to use a key to the place, which he didn't have...so instead he merely, dangerously, climbed up on the walls and sills that were present. It was fine, he did it loads of times, with the biggest injury being an elbow scrape. It's been years since the place was even bothered with, and he didn't much mind the smell as he rather freshened the place up at least...still hasn't got rid of the rats in the floorboards though, but that wasn't his job, and they weren't hurting anybody. A family has to get by, and that was something Fudou just...understood. As long as they shut up, then he was in complete peace. With him, he brought a few drinks and snacks, along with a few magazines to read and his cheap phone, to which had only just upgraded from the flip and developed a touchscreen. The most he has spent here is a few hours, not counting the times he's had to hide from a few 'enemies' he's developed, or even the police for a few minor incidents. They still don't know his name, and it's been even luckier they haven't recognised him and his unique hairstyle when Teikoku's matches are broadcast.But now he can enjoy some peace..."Fudou..." , some quiet,"Fudou...", without anyone else...Suddenly a rock got thrown through the dirty window near him, shattering it instantly to alert the dazed boy with a quick curse word. A more audible shout was heard in the early morning,"FUDOU!", a fairly husky, but light sounding voice could be heard outside, yelling the boys name. It was...recognisable as he peeked his head out the window,"That almost hit me you crazy bitch!", Fudou cursed to a pink haired girl, wearing a unique, but trashy look, ripped jeans, denim jacket, tank top. Her hair was shaven short at the left side, which let heed to longer, neck long pink hair, which was twirled at the ends. She gave a smirk, looking like it was amusing her,"Then answer me the first time. So is this where you've been hanging around lately?", the girl scanned the dirty area a bit. Fudou just gave a sigh, his old friend Takanashi Shinobe from the gangs he was in. They grew up together and were close living. She, like him, wasn't in the best area, nor had the most stable family, she was just stuck with her dad and her useless stepmother who she didn't get along with. The two met within the same circles they were hanging around in, notorious junior street gangs. In Fudou's rise to power, he thought that getting his group of lackeys was the first step...y'know, from a business standpoint, and this girl seemed more interestingly to be a good partner. They were quite similar in themselves."And how did you find me exactly?", Fudou squinted at her, knowing how crafty she could be,"I just saw you around and followed you, it's been almost a month y'know...". Fudou gave a shrug,"New phone...you got nothing better to do than to follow me, ey Taka?", he made the excuse, and gave her a little smile, as Takanashi smirked, blowing a bubble from the gum in her mouth,"Not an eventful Saturday morning i guess, plus you don't just become one of the Inazuma Japan players and not be followed by adoring fans, you not gonna come down and be a bit more social Aki~?". She had saw the news of Fudou's acceptance into the team, watching the selections on TV, and just like Fudou, she knew how to be condescending, truly an equal match for him indeed as he gave an annoyed tut,"It's Fudou to you, and why don't you come on up instead?", he challenged her as she gave a shrug, she didn't fall for bait easily, she was one of the most chill people he knew...in a chaotic sense."Eh, wouldn't want to disturb your bachelor pad. Plus these are new jeans.", she didn't trust whatever weird shit Fudou kept up there, and these 'new jeans' were already torn for some punk rock aesthetic. Fudou just rolled his eyes, not thinking it mattered but ultimately admitting defeat,"Fine, if you're gonna be a baby about it...", He jumped down from what would be considered a pretty tall height, down to Takanashi's level, with a few of the drinks he brought.Takanashi leaned against the wall, not really expecting a seat to be laid out for her, as she watched Fudou descend, and gave a small slow clap, she knew he was a bit of a show off at heart."Wow, such a daredevil", she smirked as he just remained silent, he could not confirm nor deny whether it was just a small brag, as he rustled into a bag, taking note of the girls somewhat sense of pride on how she stood."You need some refreshments your majesty?","...Bit early to be drinking isn't it?", she automatically assumed before being ultimately surprised,"Diet Coke...It's still cold", Fudou smirked as he offered one up to her, enjoying her moment needed to comprehend."Can't exactly be caught with booze right before i go and represent Japan...", he gave a shrug, he seemed to be taking it at least a little bit seriously, but then again though he drank at some questionable ages, he always knew the most important thing was not to get caught,"Wow, I'm almost impressed, that's responsible for you", she took the Diet coke with a gritted sigh, she preferred Cherry, as Fudou didn't want the wrong idea as someone responsible,"Did you not just see that reckless jump?", he joked as he opened the can and drank from it, the caffeine in real coke didn't sit with him, plus he had to maintain a suitable shape."Yeah yeah, so you excited? Seems like only yesterday we were playing soccer for ownership of the basketball courts","You're welcome for that...and I guess, but it's obviously gonna be even stricter than Teikoku, so that sucks", despite being a fairly essential piece to Teikoku's soccer, which let Kageyama excuse a bit of his mandatory rebellious nature, he still of course was an odd fit at such an elitist academy and constantly had 'slaps on the wrist'."That's what you get for transferring there", Takanashi shrugged, not drinking her can as much,"Yeah, but it's my best bet at anything good on my record, Teikoku isn't just known for soccer...and well, I suppose the members there can keep up with me", Fudou shrugged, he had to give it credit that he could be at a much worse club. He looked at Taka, but she could never give eye contact when being talked too, it's part of the reason she decided to have some weird hair stripe across her face about a year ago, just for the sake of looking different,"Why don't you come over to Teikoku, be nice to have an old friend to show off, if you know what i'm saying", he smirked, it was times like this he could try and catch her off guard, but she merely scoffed,"Yeah, no thanks, I'm not really the sellout type for those 'hoity toity' places", she shrugged, not liking why Fudou decided to move away...mixed with him not trying to keep in contact, it made her feel a little left out, like he was somewhat trying to forget a bit about his past, him asking her to transfer just seems like him trying to be nice, for Fudou at least, he knew she wouldn't accept...but the again, he brought it up on his own. Fudou gave a tsk,"Hey, I'm exactly the same, but might be less lame with both of us ey? Like old times? You got the grades for it, and I mean, if Kageyama can ignore my record..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a fairly cloudy day, and Fudou was out alone kicking the ball around in his casual clothes at the park. Passersby would stare at him, knowing who he was in such a small area and avert their children's exposure, same old same old, it was like he served a nickel in prison. There was a lot on his mind, lately he hadn't felt he wasn't making much progress with his goals, about as far as he could get at this stage with merely being a popular rogue. He became so popular in fact...the word of Fudou Akio has even spread to the most unlikely of places."Alone here boy?", Came a voice of an older stranger from behind him, Fudou turned to meet a skinny looking, sour man with black specs on, and some awful musky ponytail, sitting down on a bench. When exactly did he get here?. He looked as if he had seen better days, Fudou already got a sense of danger,"Yeah sorry pal, i'm not for it", immediately skipping to the worst assumption which the man had to try to ignore,"You can relax...I only want to ask a question","No, I don't want free candy from your van", he responded fairly rudely, he hoped he was a little politer than this but he wouldn't expect much from a street kid. Seems he was going to have to cut to the chase."Watch it. I was wondering if you knew a player by the name of Fudou Akio...", Fudou stopped the ball in motion to turn his head,"I've heard of him, who wants to know?", The boy asked a follow-up, but still needed to make sure this man wasn't just some creepy geezer. The man gave a pause before blatantly stating,"Kageyama Reiji", he spoke, and for added effect,"I am the Principal of Teikoku Academy. Or you can deem me their Commander, i'm sure you know". The name was familiar to Fudou, practically familiar to the whole soccer community. This guy was in the news for whatever reason, but he couldn't put his finger on it when it was on the crappy television the local takeout shop installed to entertain customers while they ordered their usual ramen. But he did clearly know Teikoku Gakuen, the team that held the title of Japan's strongest for 40 consecutive years, who didn't?,"Oh yeah, that big school known for its now disgraced soccer club...who hasn't heard of it", Fudou gave a light chuckle, but he didn't realise how dangerous a man Kageyama would be, or what lengths he would go to for his twisted goals, this first impression was already making the man want to get this child 'accidentally' injured, but he supposed he had enough patience,"Seems like it's going to need someone to save it then...which is why I'm looking for...apparently a decent player by the name, one who can make some tactical plays and change the majority of gang wars from fist fights to soccer.", Kageyama stood up from the small bench he was on, as Fudou pondered as to what he was exactly suggesting, Fudou had never been in an official league before, the only difference to his usual matches is that they would be healthier competition, and of course set rules to stop him from accidentally tripping the opposition, at his nicest."Hm, and what would be in it for him if he Did consider trying to help out this team of yours..", Fudou knew what he was getting to, as he kicked up the ball to his arms and wrapped it against his hip to directly face the man, who was now close, the sense of unease was still strong."Whatever he needed. A wipe of the record, a decent report at the highest achieving academy in the whole of Japan", Kageyama played along, he could list off many different benefits for the boy to join the team on, and since he was only just appointed as the commander again, he needed to make sure Teikoku didn't decline faster. Mixed with the help of the reinforcement committee allowing the Raimon player Kazemaru to be willingly loyal to him, the hole that was left by Kidou being filled could allow Teikoku Gakuen to thoroughly get to the top again. Fudou smirked, what this man was offering, and judged by his claimed ranking, this situation could be...more beneficial than he was currently being led on with. He dropped the act after they were finally talking."I'm fine with just cash thanks...", he smirked, he himself wasn't too thrilled about his 'education' enough to transfer schools. But then the man"Yes, apparently your poor mother is raising you alone...", the man then dropped the bomb, to which made Fudou glare at him with quite a poison,"How do you know that?", He tried to look less pissed off, make sure he didn't play anything Kageyama could prey on, but it was hard,"I can get my hands on a lot of information, and I have been personally watching a few of your 'matches', if you can call it that", the man was always lingering somewhere he wouldn't be seen, and before he could officially return to his office after the probation, he supposed he had the time on his hands. Fudou didn't know what to feel, but one thing that's as interesting is the fact that he's only showing more of his influence,"And you're impressed?","Impressed? You're a fool if you think you could compete with the bigger competition, just because you can knock around a few street rats like yourself.", Kageyama suddenly got a little rude himself, it seemed to be the only thing the boy would understand. He wasn't impressed by much, but he thought of Fudou as... sufficient, he was nothing like Kidou, but the bridge was burnt on that front,"Hm, well I wouldn't be talking big for your team anymore either.", Fudou was insistent on trying to mess with him, he surely lived up to his notorious title,"That's been because I wasn't there to command them...in fact I was the coach of Zeus Jr. at the time, that ultimately crushed them.", The man knew Fudou would do his research after this, Kageyama's scandals were all exposed...but as if a rotten egg like Fudou would care about that, the kid was just being played into his hands like the rest of the players he comes across, even if it meant cashing in some meaningless money, it was no skin off his back."But now that I'm once again in command, I would like to thoroughly get the team to Japan's new standards. And Beyond. You're welcome to help me on that front, with a reasonable price for now, sent in a cheque to your mother anonymously.", The man pushed, as if he would trust this kid with the cheque alone, but he also wasn't a fool, who's to say Fudou wouldn't just run off with the money, and while Kageyama wouldn't let him get away with it of course, the heavy watch he was under was worth too much the risk. He would also be stupid to pass up any future transactions as well just for this measly starting price.Fudou was understanding what the sour man was getting at, and it was bribery, not only with payments to his family, who he uncomfortably knew an unknown level about, but an overall cleaning of his questionable record, a chance to start anew with the clean slate...it was certainly useful. Fudou could honestly not see any downside to this, after all it wasn't him suggesting with these illegal methods, especially towards a minor. Even if he wasn't to be trusted in the end, it would only take one report to the cops to be clear from the guy and get him permanently locked up, hopefully. He still couldn't underestimate the lows of this corporate."Hmm, you're peaking my interest, not going to lie...might be nice to finally get some good competition too", Fudou shrugged, as Kageyama smirked, it was easier than he thought,"You have a week to decide. If you're interested, then come to Teikoku Academy at exactly 12:15 on Thursday for the club's meeting, and I can get you everything you need to transfer, of course I will need your parental permission..","On it", Fudou smirked,"I can casually bring wanting a transfer up... She was hoping I fit into a 'better' crowd anyway". Fudou was showing off his initiative, he wasn't a stranger to shady business, but the kid was taking a major step up, he just couldn't help himself any other way."Hm, well I suppose I will see you there then if you want something more than the lowly crook for the rest of you life.", With that Kageyama stood up to leave the area, not bothering to say goodbye, and leave a fairly giddy Fudou to appreciate this hint of luck. He was being noticed by higher ups, and it was looking to be only progressive from here on out. It was in that moment that Fudou's nature was shown, his ability to ditch the people he grew up with all because of the higher opportunity. Takanashi wasn't thought of in that moment.... But Fudou was genuinely trying to persuade her, for whatever hope it might be. For starters it does get lonely at Teikoku. He would lurk around Sakuma or others if he really needed to, but you would rather find him hanging around in a tree, and no matter how alone he preferred to be, he couldn't deny it was, well, boring. Even for the short time he's spent with Takanashi now already outclasses all of his free time at Teikoku spent loitering."You mean because you became a member of his little soccer club?", Takanashi replied with a little ice in her voice, as Fudou gave a sigh,"Yeah well...now that they're letting girls in the Tournaments, Teikoku may have use for the 'Queen of the Midfield', y'know". He smirked, bringing up an old name she didn't think would be brought up again.Takanashi Shinobe was indeed one of Fudou's closer associates growing up. They both played soccer together, after Fudou introduced it to her, and perhaps shared a few of his interesting takes on it being more a game of the mind, what with predicting plays and coming up with strategies to ultimately beat out opponents. With her Stepmom being the main reason she spent most of her time around a 'bad crowd', she supposed she couldn't avoid it any longer, and decided to practise, slowly starting out with a mere kick about with Fudou to being known on the streets as the Queen. Once soccer became a bit more proficient as a means of territory rather than straight out fights, mainly thanks to Fudou, her and him together became infamous for being extremely upstanding, technical players. They never played anything official, but it still caught word, though now that they're separated by school, it's harder and harder to find the time or moment where she can play again, until now, of which Fudou was offering."Listen, I practically got Kageyama wrapped around my finger...the guy doesn't show it but he's desperate to become the coach of a tournament winning main team,and he knows I'm his best bet, especially when he's not allowed back at Zeus, and Teikoku was his best shot after he got out. What do you say? Perhaps after the FFI I can drop a good word?". It was hard to call Fudou a nice person, but for a friend like Takanashi, he couldn't help but have a soft spot for, and it's not exactly disadvantageous to his...other plans. Takanashi finally took a sip of her coke, before then just replying,"I think you're barking up the wrong tree Fudou, it's hassle, and I don't exactly think moving away from the gangs is something they'll just let us d-", she was interrupted,"Oh forget about the gangs already, I'm graduating to the big leagues! A man like Kageyama, wealthy, powerful, influential, and willing to get me what i need? It's way better than ties to some low class thugs who can't even kick a ball in a net properly. I think you're better than all that", he was letting out a few honest feelings here, as she couldn't really believe he would just ditch everything he's known as soon as a better opportunity comes up...but then she remembered this was Fudou, it was things like this that made her doubt him a little,"So you'll just abandon them all like that...", she sipped her drink, still not looking towards him as he sighed, trying not to make it seem as harsh"Truth is, I don't need them...and they don't need me. I've made them stronger players, I've got them their precious street cred, but it's time that we just try and...phase out of this stage, and begin the next step...and with Teikoku on the resume, then, what's stopping us?". Takanashi sighed, she knew Fudou always planned ahead while analysing at the present, she can't say he didn't know what he was talking about, but like she would fit in at Teikoku, and all of this made her feel Fudou would just up and forget her once he 'doesnt need her'."...With you heading out to a world tournament, I don't know why you're bringing this up now", she couldn't help but feel weirded out by this fact, Fudou was being fairly open, especially when he's saying Kageyama is 'wrapped around his finger',"Better late than never, have i caught your attention? Careful, you'll have to beg to me if you come off too desperate.", he tried to lighten things up with their usual joking, as Takanashi still wasn't sure. This offer had benefits, and Fudou would be there but, changing schools, meeting new people, new girls to scorn at you, new dress codes, and what would her family think? Either overjoyed she was finally trying for an educational goal, or mad that she wants to leech even more money off of them,"I'm good thanks, unlike you i can at least try and stick by people.", she gave a pout as Fudou couldn't help but feel a little weirded out. Of course, the reasons he moved was essentially to suck up to Kageyama, which it certainly did suck, but it seems that someone as scheming as Kageyama, was someone Fudou could learn from. Especially with...a new mission he had been called upon recently.Should he tell her about this? He was usually calmer through these sneaky things, but this was a step up from anything he's ever done before. He enjoyed the challenge but that didn't mean he could take it lightly. Who exactly was Takanashi going to tell that he knew? And she had no reason to betray him like it anyway but...he had to have some consideration, why would she want to be wrapped up into his, albeit a minor bystander, but if it could ease her from the rut she was feeling about Fudou actively leaving everything they worked for behind. He valued that time but, for him it was onto the next project."Look, I need you not to tell anyone this, it's not meant to be something I should share..". Takanashi started looking at him, somewhat interested, seemed he would be the one begging to her,"Go on...", which made Fudou a little hesitant as she suddenly perked up for whatever reason."I mean it, he's a dangerous guy...","Kageyama? So you're doing something naughty I presume...","Not really....perhaps a little", it was with that Takanashi was ready to hear what he had to say,"Start from the beginning".
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was the day right after the selections ceremony, and Fudou, on a Sunday, had been called into Teikoku Academy, apparently for some 'extracurricular classes', which was what his mother had been told. She was proud of him, he showed the initiative to work hard for Teikoku, and was graciously accepted, he was getting into less trouble, his grades were the same high standards, but he seemed more consistent in caring about it. The poor woman was blind sighted, but despite all this it was clear she was still a depressed mess. She was working extra shifts...she would come home late, forcing Fudou to be a bit more independent around the house, and she would immediately turn to the alcohol, bottles and bottles bought with the money that was being secretly leaked into by Kageyama. She was terrible with money, but she was still managing, Fudou didn't want to call everything off, even though it was clear the cash he was illegitimately providing from the backgrounds, working with a corporate criminal, wasn't going to be put to good use. He'll cross the bridge of fixing that when he got there...And so he made it to the academy. It was obviously quieter than usual,but students still lurked anyway, it was very a active place, swarming with brainwashed chumps. Fudou was notorious wherever he went it seems, as even today the more 'sensible' students steered clear of him. It was a mix of whiny tattletales or stuck up jerks around these parts. He slugged his way to Kageyama's office...that was of course where he was always cooped up in. He was given permission to enter the dark room, where the old prune himself was sitting. It was too spacious for just one man, it was like some monarchs throne room, the egotist.The first thing Fudou did was give him one of those force-able salutes he expects, but in a mocking fashion,"Commander". Kageyama's face was as static as ever, those glasses covered squinting eyes who didn't care for the boys insolence. He ignored it however, he had to be careful how he approached the upcoming requests."Fudou. Congratulations on getting into the Inazuma Japan team.","Aww, you mean it?","Quiet.", He spoke which wiped Fudou's smirk,"Yeah yeah...so what, is that why you called me here early on a weekend? What, did Kazemaru at least get the gracious applause at an even worst time?""That isn't the only reason I called you here. We've got a few more things on the agenda, Take a seat.", That didn't sound so promising to Fudou, looks like he was going to be stuck here, what a bother. He took a seat, there was a large empty gap between the two."How have you been settling into the team?","Fine I guess...you really have some kooks though","I notice that you haven't been easing enough into Kidou's position...like we agreed", Fudou gave a squint, was the guy serious right now?"How do you expect me to do that when you're constantly letting Kazemaru lead the team with your own strategies?...","Oh don't get me wrong boy, I don't expect you to be as good as Kidou, you were a stretch from the start, but even after I take my time to develop you into a much better player, you don't try to use some of this apparent 'strategy by fire'. I'm starting to doubt it was there from the start."Fudou was starting to come across a problem, as he resisted the urge to tell the codger to fuck off. He relaxed into his chair more,"If you knew how my 'strategies' played, you know I would need time to get the ball rolling...shake things up within the team. Of course, that's too difficult to do quickly when you've moulded them into stoic robots.", He looked at Kageyama, trying to keep the best face he could,"Don't tell me i had secret expectations.", Fudou felt he was pushing it a bit as Kageyama stood up and looked out the window, taking a moment before speaking,"I know how you operate boy, it's what leads me to believe you aren't that trustworthy. I do not want half-assed deals. I thought the prompting during your match with that Raimon team would make you catch on." Fudou gave a pissed look to be reminded of the time Kageyama ruined Fudou's favourite match to date with the stunts he pulled. The thing that pissed him off was that it worked in the end, thanks to the help of Fudou's spark to ignite the cannon."What, when you gave us those cheap spikes? Put some wimpy kid protecting the goal? Made us ultimately lose the chance of even getting past the preliminaries.","I made it clear we do not have to win in this preparation state. That match was to make my team stronger for the next time, so we can take back the title easily". Kageyama spoke like it was some necessary precaution, Fudou gave a grunt, there were so many ways they could have made the stronger other than jobbing to Raimon. Kageyama still being the biggest hypocrite he could, trying to destroy the sense of soccer by upping the competition more. The only reason Fudou never questioned it because he knew it wouldn't do any good for him."Oh I heard it the first time, making me lead those poor idiots into rejecting your spikes, act all pathetic like I wanted to play because of 'friendship', just so that you could get them 'united'", he wasn't bothered by much dishonesty, but Fudou for whatever reason was just pissed at what he had to do. You heard it right, he was in on the schemes Kageyama had in that match, as a foolproof way of making his plan to make Teikoku stronger succeed indefinitely to its maximum effect."You're acting like it isn't something you should be grateful for...","Look 'Commander', when I'm on the pitch, I don't want to be rag-dolled and slowed down in your schemes, having to worry more about some facade than winning the game against what should have been an easy ticket to the second stage-". Kageyama turned, it sent a quick chill down Fudou's spine as he adjusted his specs, which led him to stuttering a bit and the end."It sounds to me like you think I got you on this team to enjoy soccer.", The man spoke coldly, a slight grin coming out of his dirty mouth. Fudou had to take a quick pause before responding,"Of course I don't, I kn-", he was cut off by the man"Why do you suddenly have such a problem with lying to people. I was led on to believe you were fine with it all.", He was enjoying the boy hesitating, it was obvious by the pissed tone he was putting on,"As long as it doesn't fuck up my own pla-","Watch your mouth. You're trying to tell me why you aren't disposable.". The man did not care for the vulgar profanity in his presence, and Fudou was starting getting mad, so that was it huh? Kageyama was thinking of dropping him, there was a limit he was exceeding to how patient he could be with him."Your 'plans' are second to mine when you are in my team. Do not forget your place. You can win all the matches you want once I'm done crafting you all into an unstoppable threat."Fudou had to calm down, Kageyama was showing him up and it was only going to get worse for him. Still, that smug pride, it made him seethe. He took a quick breath before muttering,"Fine...". It was true, he didn't want to lose, he hated how he lost that match, especially when he was forcibly unable to get serious with such a...unexpectedly fun team like Inakuni Raimon. Though he would never admit it, he would have to be figured out. With that, Kageyama sighed,"You don't need to worry though, your selection onto Inazuma Japan has saved you." Fudou looked at him perplexed,"What do you mean?""I mean, I have a task for you, a task that seems to tend to both of our needs, no matter how much you want to reject your pathetic feelings about soccer." The boy became intrigued, enough to start ignoring some of the shade and listen,"Well, I'm all ears."."In the upcoming FFI, organised by the usual community, it seems that there is another back-hold company they are allied with that may be...troublesome.". Fudou added in after taking it in,"Troublesome to you?". Kageyama didn't respond to him, as he instead clicked a remote to reveal a large blue screen with a strange symbol on it. Seems Kageyama had been preparing for a presentation."They call themselves the Orion Foundation. A large corporate power that wants to turn the sport of soccer into something extremely profitable, led by a man named Girikanan. He wants a 'Perfect World' with this new profit he will develop", Kageyama stopped to let Fudou take this in, who was certainly going to let him carry on, but Kageyama was expecting a few questions."They plan to control the FFI match-ups, games, and winners by having specially trained soccer players added into as many teams as they can, called the 'Disciples of Orion', and luckily for your team, it seems they have obviously been able to add one of theirs amongst your ranks. I'm hoping you have an idea who.", Kageyama turned to make sure Fudou was paying attention, seems he was getting more quiet from him than he thought. When Fudou was expected an answer, he just shrugged,"What, I don't even know most of them yet!", He barked at a manageable tone as Kageyama seemed unamused by his lack of analytics,"Ichihoshi Mitsuru, Number 13 midfielder, the only member who did not compete in Japan's Frontier tournament, and was obviously sent over by the committee organising it.", A picture of the boy was shown on the screen as Fudou gave a quick scan of the face, not like he's hard to recognise or anything."Right, a saboteur, got it, but what exactly do I need to do?""I'm getting to it", he spoke, seems that he had a while presentation prepared."Naturally, they would seem more like a potential ally for me than something I would be keeping my eye on, we are both against the spread of soccer without any purpose, but if they got their way, then soccer, while taking a decline in its value to people, would only become more depended on to keep profits rising. If I wasn't occupied with the Ares project, which became a huge waste of effort in the end, I could have looked into it sooner, and seeing as the foundation is going to all this trouble to control soccer, I very much doubt they're setting a limit to how much they can create.", Kageyama turned, Fudou was starting to get an idea of what he's being expected to do,"Right...so what you're telling me is that you want me to look into this 'Orion' on my time with the team, and provide you with?", he sat back, now this was something that he could get into."Do you recall Zhao Jinyun, your new coach? Because after doing some looking into of his past, it seems he has come to Japan with many links to Orion, which leads me to believe he became the coach to directly confront Orion. No doubt he will have some very useful information.","Do you expect him to actively tell the members on the team about this?","There's a slight chance he will try not to, however with an Orion disciple and hopes of reaching the finals, it is unavoidable. Do not be the one to bring it up unless circumstances have still got him keeping it from you." Fudou nodded as he leaned back into his chair once again, spectating the small silence, before he thought it was his turn to start questioning."So, gather as much info as I can for you, and what are you going to do with it?". He asked but Kageyama just sat back down."Decide my next move.","Ah, so you ARE threatened by them","They could be a problem in my plans.","And why are you choosing me with this rather than Kazemaru, who follows your every order?","Because he still doesn't approve of my methods, mixed with the fact he will be reunited with a lot of his old teammates from his time at Raimon. Like Kidou Yuuto and that Endou boy. While he is with Inazuma Japan, he is free from my control. On the other hand, you cannot oppose me, and assure me that this sort of thing is somewhat a speciality of yours." Fudou gave an amused smirk,"You would be right I'd say", he was trying to show confidence, this was right up his alley and actually seemed rather interesting. Kageyama however frowned even more,"But I haven't invited you here just to give you this job. If you make things turn sideways, or get caught blatantly transferring information that links over to me, then you can forget everything about our deal, and I'll make sure you have it five times worse.", Kageyama suddenly got offensive, still in his calm, monotone manner, but still. Looks like it was Fudou's play."Yikes, no need to resort to threats...that only tells me that this foundation DOES threaten you", Fudou opened his eyes after closing them temporarily through his 'judgement'."That's not any of your concern, but it will be if it becomes mine. I merely warn you for now, Fudou Akio." This guy really was a principal, a step up from all the others he's had, getting in his face, pretending like they don't want to maul you alive. Fudou had dealt with them all his life, but this was the final boss. High risk, but high rewards, just the way he likes it."So....how much is in it for me.", Fudou smirked, obviously Kageyama had a price in mind, but Fudou was all for pushing it up to his needs. He was pushing way too far, he was sure his 'perfect creation' Kidou wouldn't get this much tension. But then again, Fudou had heard he was adopted into a stinking rich family, so why would he ever need to stoop to this current illegal position he was in. Kageyama already had a cheque written out which he threw out on the desk, that was a Lot of zeroes, Fudou could already see it now, already accomplishing more than his scumbag father could at even below half his age. But he wasn't gonna take a dumbed deal,"Double or nothing!","No.", Kageyama grunted unamusingly, it sucked but Fudou had to call it quits."It was only a joke...","If you want to joke, do it elsewhere of my presence boy. But can I confirm that I have your allegiance? For whatever it's worth,do not forget the consequences if you sell me out." Fudou gave a smirk,"Wouldn't dream of it...I'm in", he smirked as he offered a hand to shake on such a proper business deal, to which Kageyama kept hanging,"You are dismissed. You know how to contact me, but make sure you actually do what you want...and that is win.", He didn't shake hands with trash like him obviously, he just turned around immediately again to look out of the window."Yes sir.", It was obvious there were regrets in the man's mind, as Fudou gave a quick bow and left the man to rot in solitude.This tournament just got a whole lot more interesting.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Takanashi couldn't help but be surprised, this seemed too much even for Fudou, he would usually take things slower, but for how long she figured Fudou had been behind the scenes working with this lunatic, which counted to just under a year, he would always tend to take it slower, but now he was suddenly involving himself with even more apparent lunatic corporations. And from what she's heard of Kageyama Reiji...There was a silence, until Takanashi gave quite a frustrated sigh,"I can't believe you sometimes...", to which Fudou reacted himself with a little hostility, he was already regretting telling her if she was going to start getting pissy. By now, both of the diet cokes were ignored."What's that supposed to mean?","It means, in blatant terms, you're a fucking idiot.", She looked away from him again, but still retaining that collected face. Fudou tried to ease things after calming down himself, like he did Kageyama, and smile"I have all of this under control, you don't have to worry". He tried to lighten things, when Takanashi got pissed, she wouldn't hold any punches, she still raised her voice though,"You really don't think you're getting too big for your britches at this point? It's bad enough you're an associate to THE Kageyama Reiji, but now you want to mess with yet another illegal bunch of crazies! You think you have things under control so casually?","Woah, I'm not messing with them, im merely providing some dirt for Kageyama to go and fuck himself over with them. If anything it's a win win for me.","...You haven't been reading shit have you? You don't know how far that guy will stoop.","I have a fine idea, thanks, I know one false move can fuck me over with someone like him, but if I can succeed on this, by even a tiny degree, then I can-","Become 'powerful'?, You think money alone can get you to power?","No, but it opens my opportunities rather well, to the point where doing this shit in the future won't be needed", Fudou tried to state a few of the side advantages, but by that point Takanashi was on her phone as he gave a squint,"Wow, how social...", he muttered as Takanashi held an article for him to see. The article about the Zeus scandal, but then goes on to more 'unconfirmed' dirt about the guy. Fudou only scanned it briefly before sighing,"Since when did you get into the media...", he was interrupted,"This guy would drug children, this guy would brainwash and manipulate, and worst of all, he is willing to Kill. Despite how old you are."It was obvious she was worried now, worried for the boy she grew up with against the world, the one like minded guy she had known throughout her life, both good and bad, and now he was playing with fire...no, playing with a whole bloody volcano. He was starting to pout, giving a sour face, she didn't know whether it was stubbornness or him not knowing the stakes, and essentially being wrong and frustrated about it. He gave a gritted sigh,"I know...okay", he muttered once again, Takanashi could have sworn she heard...a small crack? From Fudou? No way..."I know but...but do you think I can do this if I'm thinking about all of that", he started to straighten himself out a bit, he was trying to approach this is a manner that would make him function at 100%."You shouldn't be doing this regardless...","I have to, it's the only surefire way for m-...just, for me and her...", he started to look away embarrassed, it was obvious which 'her' he was referring to. Suddenly, Takanashi started to get a little more open in how she stood,"Your mom?", she spoke a little quieter and sincerely, as Fudou gave a hefty exhale."She's had it rough okay...and well, no one else is stepping up to help are they?", his fist was clenching, which made the girl want to start helping him think more rationally in his rare moment of distress"Fudou, this isn't the bes-", but it was Fudou's turn to interrupt her"No, she isn't getting better! She's still the depressed mess she was about 8 years ago. She has no intention on trying to break out of it, and what's worse is she's just fuelling it more with the money that's being fed to us."He didn't say so, but it was upsetting for him, he's had to live with this, and as if a boy as young as he was could stay in a house with her like that. It drove him to the streets, he learnt on his own, and sometimes...he just felt she didn't care. He knew she loved him, he loved her too, she was all he had, but over the years it was just...soulless. He would often feel guilty after a while when she was called into school after Fudou misbehaved, whether it was merely rude behaviour, or he straight up assaulted some punk with just a soccer ball...that punk Ichimatsu deserved it though. Of course, it didn't stop the troubled youth from doing it all again, but at that point she had no new reaction...it was merely at worst being grounded, with a ban from getting McDonald's for about a week or so. That was probably what was keeping her slim too, and the lack of food she could just pig out on. His home life was just...pity. All because of the fucker he had to call his father."Well...I'm sorry you've been put through all that, I really am, but you'd really risk your life, and even hers, for all this. This is illegal business on a true criminals terms! Why can't you see the chances dammit!", She couldn't let him getting sappy deter her from telling him this was all a horrible idea."I've...I've got this okay, you need to trust me...I have plans, I have countermeasures, and the fact Kageyama is on a close watch from the police means this is the safest time I can do this.","And what happens if you fail and you have not only Kageyama, but this 'Orion' thingy after you?","I'm not that big of a concern for either of them in reality, not enough to risk things, especially before I can report it all to the police, which is unlikely they'll take Kageyama's word over mine.","He's got out of prison before, and got back to his original status","He did that by volunteering with the Ares corporation, another now disgraced company, who could get his sentence shortened. It's unlikely he can pull the same thing, and even if he did, high watch and restraining orders","You're assuming the police aren't corrupt assholes he can bribe.","And you're assuming they are. They don't need to bother with one kid regardless","What about if Orion catches you snooping into their business?","My new coach is already leading us into it, they're generalising me as an enemy anyway, while also not focusing on me. It's unavoidable, but also a perfect undercover. Plus they would rather deal with Kageyama who I can refer them too.","And if Kageyama goes back on his word?","Then I merely snitch, mixed with a few lies to hide my active involvement, they all know Kageyama would blackmail." Fudou thought he was well prepared, he always was, and he had to be."Yeah, you HAVING to lie sounds like this plan is completely legal in itself.","Hey, i'm essentially taking down a criminal with this, don't go whining about the illegitimate parts...and since when did you care for the laws?","Since they arrested people for breaking it perhaps?","Wow...you've softened up haven't you Taka.","I can still break your nose little man, don't push me","Aww, you're so cute when you pretend to act tough","Let's see how far you can take it...of course if i do break it, you probably won't be allowed to go in the team and risk killing yourself.", she shrugged, despite the violent talk, she was speaking in a usual relaxed manner with him, this was how they always talked, the two of them could say the worst of things to each other, but at the end of the day they knew they were saying it for the sake of a bit of banter. Some saw it as unhealthy, mainly cause they didn't trust Fudou, but if Taka has stuck by him this long, you had to learn to bite the kid right back.Fudou could start to see though, she seemed generally peeved a little, despite her hidden nature, she really doesn't like what Fudou is doing, and he honestly hates that the one person who he thought would understand why he's doing all this thinks so. She makes him a little more scared of the risks...Kageyama of course has no boundaries like she said, and him and his plans on taking him down, all while lying and spying in forces he may not be powerful enough to compete with, was perhaps pushing an already deep situation. But...he was daring, Willing...and desperate. If he couldn't do this, then he had no chance of becoming any stronger for anyone."Look, i know you're worried...and yeah, i guess you're right, it's dumb but do you doubt i couldn't do it?","I don't care whether you can, or whether you can't, the point is you shouldn't have to be turning to this dammit, these aren't petty detention earners anymore, if this slips up, then who knows what happens. It's a gamble...you can do it for yourself, but can you really do that to the people who care about you...", she looked away again, as Fudou gave a mutter, he was starting to get a faint picture,"Are you one of them then?...", He raised his eyebrow as Takanashi had to say things in a way that somehow this boy would be able to comprehend, she thought it was obvious she cared for him. "Of course i am, I've known you since before that dumb mohawk, and i don't want to see you bite the dust because you started getting into situations you couldn't handle.","I really will be fine...you just need to trust me, i have protection under my team, i have precautions set up, and i know Kageyama can't effectively stop me in his current watched state. I'll get the information, get the money, and perhaps then me and my mom won't have to live in such shit for the rest of our lives...". He kicked the empty can of diet coke he finished, but missed the trash can. It was conversations like these that this lonely boy was glad he had at least one good friend he could trust with all of his venting...even if she didn't approve. He would never be this honest with just anyone.Takanashi just sighed, preparations were already set for him, what could she honestly do to stop him"Don't say I didn't warn you Fudou...In the end, turns out you're just a Momma's boy huh...", she huffed as Fudou didn't think he should deny it at this point. B-but 'Momma's boy' felt inaccurate."I know, you're just another reason why I have to make sure this works...I'm guessing maybe you shouldn't join Teikoku then with Kageyama about huh", Fudou rubbed the back of his shaven head, only tipping the back of his mohawk with his index finger,"I wasn't planning to anyway","Just keep all of this to yourself, if Kageyama finds out i told you, then there really will be a problem...dammit I'm sorry I told you in general.", Fudou tried to sound as apologetic as he could muster as Takanashi just sighed and gave him a small smile back,"Don't worry, I'm glad...things like that you shouldn't keep to yourself y'know, I guess","I guess", Fudou was the one looking away, as Takanashi then went on,"There's another question though, what about your team...you're all in this together but, if this is all behind the radar with you, don't you feel, yknow, bad that you have to lie to them". Fudou gave a shrug, knowing what he was about to say was a little harsh, but he needed to be all for himself,"They just...don't have to know, do they? They should be told the basics of Orion apparently, but a few of them have bad blood with Kageyama, it wouldn't be helpful for them to be suspicious of me". Takanashi smirked,"I thought 'shaken up' is how you liked your team?", As Fudou greeted her smirk,"Not when they're all just against me. Looks like a particular member will be getting that treatment instead to be honest","Just...if there is something they need to know, for their safety, do the right thing...". Fudou sighed, guess it would be a dick move to leave them in the dark if it was important."Yeah yeah...all this Orion stuff aside, I hope you'll be watching me kick some ass out there. I won't be held back this time", ...Huh, for some reason, he's more excited about it all now. That's weird."You're representing Japan, just make sure you don't fuck it up", Takanashi couldn't help but try and get him down a notch, not that it would get him less suddenly pumped,"Oh I won't. The world better get ready to know the name Fudou Akio", he said, after all, winning this tournament would also be something that would boost his rise. Heck, maybe he won't need Kageyama as much as he did if they do win. But it was going to be a tough ride.Eh, he always liked a challenge.After all that, the sense of time flew by, it was getting around lunch time from early morning, they has been chatting for a few hours."So...you doing anything now? I got some cash to burn", Fudou brought up after a while, he forgot how pleasant Takanashi's company was,"Sure, I could eat if you're treating...", she said as the two started walking from the alley together. Not exactly getting close, with their hands in their pockets"Ramen?","For lunch?","Fine, I suppose we can get something else...what were you thinking?","Errrr, how about the burger joint then? You remember that place we went to after the hours detention for the graffiti","Which one? They were all classics".And so the two, who had once again reunited, was out to savour Fudou's last day of freedom, before he carried out his...'responsibilities'. Little did he know, Kageyama wasn't going to tell him the full story...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!A glimmer of eyes were awoken from the sound of a screeching, repetitive sound that took Fudou a while to realise it was his alarm, to which at this point of the day, he went on to feel for the top button and sleep in. It was around 6:30 am, earlier than usual, but that was because there was something extremely important happening today that he had to be up early for...if only he could put his finger on it. Ah well, it was back to bed for him, as he shifted to the other side of the bed, dragging his messy covers with him and hugging his pillow tight.It took about a minute after the alarm until a couple loud thuds from the door were coming from outside his room. The same thud he had been hearing every day, his mother,"Akio! Wake up already, you're meant for the bus in half an hour!", came the voice of his mother, she was his true alarm. Fudou usually stayed up a little late so mornings with him trying to remember things just weren't going to hit. Fudou just gave a murmur in response as it took about ten seconds for him to process. Oh shit.....OH SHIT. Akio practically threw the covers against the wall, wearing his under layers of a vest and underwear, and using every ounce of his strength to get up from the thin, spring stabbing mattress that felt like a deluxe feather cushion at this point. So was the illusion for his tired mind. He sprung up from the bed, looking directly to the large shoulder bag he must have packed last night. At least that was one less problem...wait, didn't he need to be in his new Inazuma Japan jersey... which was, from a quick scan of his room, not thrown around anywhere, so that must mean it's in the bag. Fudou sighed as he quickly threw out the neatly packed clothes.Ew, neat. When did that happen?He eventually found the clothes he needed, at the expense of having to pack his bag all over again, as he just got changed in his room, no shower or nothing. Like there was time? ....no actually, that was gross, he could fit time, what was even the rush? They couldn't just drive off without him.After a fresh shower, Fudou was halfway into his pant legs when he heard another couple thuds,"Akio!","Yeah I'm up I'm up!","Is everything packed?""Yeah Mom....","You sure? You're gonna need a lot...","Like I have a lot to pack? Yeah I've got everything, quit hassling me", he yelled out, it was the morning talking through him, as his mother dismissed it as the regular teenage attitude,"I don't want to go all the way to that training camp after you leave your toothbrush!","Yeah, and I don't either","Too cool to be seen with your mother?","Exactly yeah", Fudou was fully dressed through multitasking getting dressed and fending off his...strangely excited mother as he opened the door to face her. After what he had been talking about yesterday though, it was quite a strange answer for him to make against his apparent depressed mother. But Taka knew, whats told on the streets, stay in the streets. Fudou wouldn't be thrilled if word got out, but judging from the severity of the conversation topic, he doubted she would even do it to playfully annoy him."I mean...I was hoping I could see you off", she said with a small pout he wasn't looking at, like a begging pet, as Fudou gave a scoff,"Yeah, nice try", he immediately rejected as his mother just chose to accept it, there was no getting to that boy,"Right, well I suppose you need funds for the bus then?","...I guess...i could always run it", Akio challenged, he usually did just free run his way through the streets,"And get your nice new uniform ruined? Can't you go a week?", She said, adjusting his lazily placed jacket, to which he tried to shake her off, grunting,"Fine, I'll take the bus, I won't need much though, you don't need to-","Well, I was thinking of going to town afterwards, so we might as well get that duo ticket deal.", She insisted, she knew her way around things somewhat, where else did Akio learn how to negotiate. He gave more of an unimpressed look, knowing full well she was lying just to embarrass him at the send off, but there was no getting to that woman."Look, just...leave me a block away at least", he mumbled as the mother gave an understandable smile,"Alright then, go and finish packing while I find the change", she said as Akio just went back in his dirty room that he didn't bother cleaning beforehand.Truth was, he could sense his mother's excitement, not just for the opportunities but she was glad Akio is out doing what he enjoyed, with hopefully a new bunch of friends. Poor naive mom... as long as it was keeping her happy but, despite how much it appears to be the opposite, he just couldn't trust his mother alone. She had got better, for his sake, but that didn't stop her from the irresponsible use of her money, she never even looked into the cheques she's been receiving...so is a desperate woman's way of living as Akio was thinking of telling her that they were merely rewards for getting good grades, but that might not fly. Besides, she couldn't ask him now, he was about to set off. He wondered if it was even worth the money when she would only use it to buy her own poisons, but with such a large amount, then surely she would have enough for everything, hopefully sorting her priorities straight with the help of her boy's influence. But before he thought about all that, he had to make sure his time with Inazuma Japan wasn't wasted, as well as what to do if Kageyama tried anything funny.His mom was already at the front of the door with her cheap bag that looked like a Prada, lousy knock offs, as Fudou stepped out the door in the blue and yellow track suit, to which he tried to avoid his Mom's gaze, knowing full well she would just be eating this up,"Don't you look handsome","Quit it...", he muttered as she lightly chuckled. That chuckle was about 10 times less hearty than the ones she could do when he was younger, despite all this acting and reassurance, it was the little details like that which made him too uneasy about it all, he didn't want to live like this, live in some dampened down world where they just live and accept rather than try to do something about it, he really was aiming for that 'rebel' title, which then led on to Momma' Fudou questioning,"Now...listen, Akio.", She spoke while waiting for the bus, with just the two of them,"Don't get yourself into any trouble...we both know you want to be there, and you've worked hard to get there but-","I'll be fine, I wouldn't blow my chances like that, what do you take me for?", He folded his arms and looked away, even though he had been 'improving', his mom was always cautious of his cunning, Fudou isn't above straight up lies,"My son?", She smirked with a witty answer, that seemed to be a sufficient one to get her point across, as he just grumbled again before the bus had arrived. He was hoping not to get stares in this suit, many people were watching the selections ceremony and he was easily recognisable, but the few businessmen or elderly people who were on the bus didn't seem like the sports type thankfully, he just wasn't ready for this new 'adoring fans' thing he was told might happen. Did he look like some sort of flamboyant idol?Akio took himself to the back of the bus, to which his mom followed and took the seat in front of him, when he took himself to a corner, it meant he wanted space, she knew him long enough for that to be obvious...as there was a short silence before the bus took off. She looked at her watch, Teikoku was about 10 minutes away to match 10 minutes he had to be there, and this was all before the true rush hour so they should be fine, as she looked back to her son gazing out the window, whatever he was thinking about..."So...are you excited?", She said, trying to start a conversation,"Yeah", he briefly talked back, in the most not excited voice she had heard, Akio never really was good at conversation,"What's wrong?" She asked, acknowledging it might just be too early for him, but this should be something he couldn't even sleep for, ever since he was young Akio had loved playing soccer, and now he was appearing on the big stage."Nothing, I'll be fine", he said, leading her to believe there was something more he just didn't want to talk about, and Akio thinking she would be needlessly worrying again about the things he, hopefully, won't do."I just thought you would be more enthusiastic", she shrugged, but what was there for Fudou to get excited about, well, at least until the team started breaking down with all of the shady business, because it then might just get interesting for him. But still...the fact he wasn't going there just to play for Japan was what put a damper on things, what the fuck did Kageyama mean when he said it would be beneficial for the both of them? Fudou just took it as him being the guys lap dog again, which he hated having to act like, but such is life he guessed. Just grin and bear it for a good month or so at least, and then the world can be yours."It's only going to the camp at the start Mom, the matches don't start for another week or so." he went as his mother quickly tried to think,"Korea, right?", she said, trying to note a few of his upcoming opponents just in any attempt to resonate, as he gave a nod. Fudou hadn't looked into how they play at all, not yet, maybe not ever, because he usually liked analysing his own team first...and i mean, this would be Korea's first team match too, so there is nothing set. Looking at his line up from the team though, they had a lot of strong balance, the coach seemed to know what he was doing, however the coach was also his biggest threat in whether or not he could pull of this information. It wouldn't take long after a single slip up for him to catch on and be suspicious of Akio, so, no pressure there then. While he was thinking of all this, he drew quite a blank, he didn't notice his mom just...looking at him. It should be no surprise why she was suddenly asking,"Are you nervous?", she said, trying to look compassionate, it was quite an emotional day for her too, Fudou closed his eyes and sighed,"Not really no", he said, trying himself to sound as composed as he could,"It's okay to admit it, i'm not even going to be there to tell...i just don't think you want it to be obvious.", she smiled, but little did she know this somewhat sweat of his was rather coming from his planning stages, not the fact he was going to be shoved with a bunch of new people on his team. That was honestly one of the least of his concerns, but then again, he hasn't got that much of a clue on their knowledge of the matter either, but he can adapt once he's there, for now he had to get an actual idea himself. So the only person he should be watching is this Ichihoshi Mitsuru guy...he had an awfully Japanese name for someone apparently Russian. But for the sake of calming his mother he merely gave a small mutter,"Thanks...", he didn't smile back or anything, but any gesture like that from Fudou was rare.Don't worry Mom, we're almost free."And are you going to be alright?", Fudou asked, hoping to address a few problems now so she can at least try and be resilient,"Well, i will miss you of course, but i'll be sure to watch the matches and cheer...","I mean on your own...you aren't going to be...drinking or anything?", he noted her lack of instant response, which didn't feel good. He wasn't going to be there to steal the liquor off her, or simply hide it somewhere she wouldn't know, it was too distressing growing up, she wasn't violent of course, as if she could muster up any emotion about it, she was just...depressing."Of course not...if that's what you want", she tried to talk a little quickly,"I mean it...You need to start saving up", he wasn't facing her at all, he knew she couldn't do it, he doesn't even know why he's bothering as she suddenly came to a 'real' reason why he was acting so distant. She had to take a breather,"Look, I know Akio...I'll get better for you, I swear, you don't have to worry about that", she gave a small frown when his look wasn't changing,"Look at me, please...", she pleaded in a quiet, motherly voice as Akio turned his green blue stare to her. Looking at her poor face, he couldn't deny it got to him a little, he probably shouldn't have brought it up,"Just focus on making us all proud, and yourself"....perhaps he will,"Alright then", he said, forcing a bit of a smile, which led her to give a genuine one...and then maybe his turned a little genuine too.Before they knew it, the bus had stopped and its doors were opening, a block away like Fudou had asked, as his mom was the first to scurry after the old lady was able to press the stop sign while they were talking, Fudou lagging along like there was no big deal as they both got off the bus. Teikoku was visible from the skyline, just past the launderette, as his mom took one last look before he took off with some neutral face."Go to the world...", she smiled as she placed her hands on his shoulders, and tried to lean in for a kiss on the forehead. She took it slowly, making sure it was okay, as Akio just closed his eyes and stood there, letting himself get 'tapped'."I'll call", he gave a wave before he walked off, not trying to look back at the embarrassing parent, and fled her line of vision. He exhaled as he was finally free, only 5 minutes until he had to be there...but there was one thing missing, one thing that made it feel a little too special. He was on time. That just wasn't becoming of the likes of Fudou, he didn't build his precious reputation of being the rebel for nothing Well...he could fix that, and he had the perfect reason, as his stomach growled almost deviously.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Outside of Teikoku Gakuen, the whole team was standing around and waiting, fully in their soccer uniforms for the send off their...apparent two people before they head off to the campgrounds. There was a metal fence, the ones they used at concerts or park events, with one or two bulky guards from Teikoku blocking quite a large crowd of people, and quite a wide variety of age demographic. There were children, their parents, adult fans, heck even a few elders. Yep, Japan has truly grown with its support of soccer, people were starting to lose hope for it after Raimon were humiliated, but once the FFI had provided such a show, then it had evolved Japan's soccer to the next level. It was now stronger than before, and people had hope that the selection of Inazuma Japan would enhance it even further, and show it off to the rest of the planet. But what was weirder was, they were waiting outside of Teikoku Gakuen, the school infamous for a dirty way and a disgraced coach, but that view has clearly changed. It's not that they didn't have fans, they just never had this level of enthusiasm from them. Probably due to their matches at the FFI, though with Kageyama still residing there, it was still under a fair bit on controversy. The fans behind those gates didn't care for that...right now it was not Teikoku they were looking for, it was the two Japanese representatives. Besides...there was another reason there were a lot of fans... specifically of the female gender.Kazemaru Ichirouta, Number 6 Defender, was standing by alongside the Teikoku Gakuen team, waving out to the squeals of girls as his blue pony-tailed hair was shaking in the breeze. He couldn't deny he was a little embarrassed, this felt more like some fashion show than him merely heading out for soccer, some fans even made signs directly of his face. The team was finding it hilarious, and the only reason Kazemaru could be glad Fudou was late was because he would be the worst of all."10 minutes late, Ugh, where is he?", came an annoyed sound from Sakuma Jirou, the captain of Teikoku Gakuen, built with light turquoise white hair and an eye-patch across his left eye, to which no one really knew whether it was just an accessory or not. It was one of the great mysteries of the world, but no one thought to ever bring it up just in case it offended him."I don't know, could we call him?", came Koujirou Genda, the goalkeeper of the team, to which Sakuma gave a sigh,"He hasn't given anyone his number...not that I trust him with mine much either", he grumbled, how could Fudou treat this like it was some game, it was almost like the presence of Fudou was here with how annoyed Sakuma got. Koujirou noticed this, placing a hand on his shoulder with a light smirk. Kazemaru turned from waving to the fans with a heavy sigh,"He better get here soon...", his arm was tired from waving so much as a sudden rush of squeals had abruptly appeared...could it be?Yep, there walked the very own tardy boy himself, guards having to move more towards his position as he was casually walking towards the bus with...shawarma? Sakuma called out at the sight of the entitled ass,"What time do you call this? This isn't even one of the club's practises, this is the wor-", he was interrupted...and flat out ignored."Hey, Kazemaru, what's with bringing your fan club along", Fudou asked blatantly, he was a little unnerved by the large crowd,"Hey, they're for you too you know", Kazemaru squinted out at the oblivious boy,"Oh, and Gojou...", he pointed, to show a posing Gojou fully absorbing the limelight with multiple poses, lord only knows how he got so popular.Sakuma took a deep breath, getting mad now would only fuel Fudou, but as if Fudou would forget such an important tradition like that, giving his captain a quick smile,"So 'Captain', you think it's gonna be quiet while we're away, on this whole representative Japan thing...you know what it's like right?", He gave a shit eating grin as Genda had to fully make sure Sakuma was kept moderate, Kazemaru quickly interrupting,"Alright, that's enough, what's that.", The blue haired boy pointed in Fudou's hand at the meaty snack he was currently munching this,"Oh, they call it shawarma, it's from that new place downtown, apparently popular in America, you want some?", He said with his mouth still full as Kazemaru gave a disappointed shrug,"You had to be here at 7 on the dot remember...". Fudou swallowed his bite,"I got hungry, I didn't eat breakfast today, so sorry, but-", he stopped to take another bite, this shawarma thing was pretty good,"I'm here now, what's the problem?","You've delayed the coach from its scheduled course of arrival perhaps?", interrupted Sakuma, to which Fudou was tempted to just ignore to rile him up again."Ah, so nothing important, gotcha", he shrugged, that did the trick just fine, this was Genda's greatest challenge, trying to stop Sakuma from punching him,"Well you are here now, let's get on quickly and waste no more time.", Kazemaru gave a sigh, anything to stop Fudou and Sakuma butting heads again, as he gave one last wave to the crowd."I call the backseat", Fudou smirked, ignoring the crowd rather as he waved off to his team with another one of those mocking salutes, before disappearing onto the bus, sneaking in his food. Kazemaru followed, but Sakuma quickly intervened,"Kazemaru...", he spoke as the blue haired boy turned his head to listen,"I promise...we at Teikoku will get stronger in your absence, I as Captain will make sure of it, make sure you represent us well too.", He gave an honourable bow as Kazemaru gave a smile,"I'll tell Kidou you said hello.","Of course, thank you", the captain bowed, with Genda giving a nod to which Kazemaru gave back. He had no doubt they would get stronger, despite being originally from Raimon, and once being enemies, he considered Teikoku as a team he was welcome in."Come onnnn Kazemaru, you don't want to 'delay the coach from its scheduled arrival' even further do you?", popped Fudou, to which that last grin was the last direct thing Sakuma would get from the little rat."I'll be seeing you", Kazemaru waved back to them as he got on the bus, and saw Fudou lodged in the left hand corner at the back. He was usually alone but the defender doubted he would want to spend the whole journey in solemn silence, making his was to the backseat."You don't mind if I sit here, right?", he asked as Fudou shrugged,"S'pose". For whatever that strange answer was, Kazemaru took his seat next to Fudou. He usually wasn't a backseat kind of person. Much to his dismay, Fudou was still eating that food he bought to stall,"I don't think you're allowed to eat on here...","Screw that", the rebel blurted, having it not affect his appetite."I mean, probably light snacks but not so much hot food", he relaxed back as Fudou zipped open his bag to reveal a load of different thing for the road."Lucky for us then", He had packets and packets of crisps, a bit of candy, and even a few bottles of carbonated drink. These were all things Fudou sneaked onto the bus as he put his finger over the centre of his lip to signify a shush, and zipped the bag back up. He supposed he could share a bit with Kazemaru, just for the sake of 'team bonding', to which Fudou never got the point of anyway. Their bus hadn't departed yet, as Fudou was the only one visible to the crowd which he was ignoring, Kazemaru fairly glad he could block their vision of him. Fudou couldn't avoid them for too long though"The hell are all these goons doing here?", He pointed out as Kazemaru rolled his eyes, apparently Fudou was smart,"They're here to see off Teikoku's branch in Japan's team of course...though it is pretty overwhelming","For such a pretty boy, I thought you'd adore the attention from all these randoms","Yeah well, I don't. And like I said, you've got your own share of fans you might want to consider being a little more attentive to", he pointed as there were a few signs of him...he particularly wasn't a fan of the giant photo this one girl was carrying of him."Guess we're both pretty boys then...", Fudou looked genuinely disturbed"I suppose.", Kazemaru sighed with a sense of defeated relief as he put his bags in the top compartment. Unlike Fudou, he didn't stash hidden food.Fudou had spotted something interesting though, not from the ground but from up above, through a pane window. It was Kageyama, the man was watching from a high lookout like some creeper, Fudou had to squint to see any further. He couldn't tell if Kageyama could see he had been spotted, but it was best he stayed out with these crowds. Kazemaru quickly met where Fudou was looking at, giving a grunt, he himself wasn't Kageyama's biggest fan,"Don't need to worry about him then at least...","Guess not...you think he'll miss us?", Fudou joked to which Kazemaru laughed along with,"Oh definitely." Despite how much he was forced to respect Kageyama, there was nothing that could make Kazemaru not hate that man, for all the shit he put Raimon and Teikoku through, thankfully the act of his 'secondhand man' could be dropped, especially with Fudou. But that wasn't Fudou's case at all, he was acting quite 'loyal' to the 'commander' with the acceptance to this assigned task, it was rather ironic the roles had been reversed here, but no one had the information to spot that.Kazemaru looked away, and sat back in his seat one again, taking a moment to relax before getting his headphones ready. At least that minimises some socialisation, but as far as guys went, Kazemaru wasn't too bad to hang around. A bit of a suck up at times, and a stickler, but overall they could respect each other.The stutter of the engine was finally detected through the boys feet, finally, they were getting out of here. Fudou gazed out into the crowd once again, to see Teikoku and the people waving goodbye, imagine this sort of reception at a school trip, as they were starting to shift off to the sides as the bus was moving. Kazemaru had to force every last ounce of his tired arm, Fudou as usual just sat back and kept his hands behind his head. This is probably why Kazemaru had the more present fans. But there was someone from the crowd that caught Fudou's eye...if it wasn't Takanashi herself, 'adoring fan' indeed, hands in her pockets and finally being acknowledged by the clueless boy, though she was probably just as late as Fudou. He just smirked and gave a quick salute with his index, to which she had given back once she finally saw he noticed her, it didn't matter regardless, but she hated blending into the crowd. As Takanashi stood there, a few doubts had started to rumble, Fudou was on his own...of course though, the two did exchange numbers, and he promised he would call and talk to her regularly, she even offered to help a bit with a few things if he needed, or just to vent. Anything she could do to make sure this works out for the boy. It was stupid, and she didn't want to get involved at all preferably but...she supposed, just like old times, she would stick by him. He needed her.But the bus was off, leaving Teikoku behind and already an extra 15 minutes late thanks to Fudou. He was fairly impressed with himself about it, there surely was no real downside...except maybe the sight of Kageyama who he tried to forget, as that was someone he was also going to have to be in contact with, just for pleasant conversation obviously."We're picking up the representatives from Raimon since both schools are in sited in the same area, and then Nishikage from Outei Tsukinomiya...do try and at least say hello", Kazemaru urged like an exhausted mom, truth was he hadn't eaten much either, but the junk Fudou brought wasn't exactly on his dietary. Fudou sighed, Inakuni was a good team, and had the most representatives on Inazuma Japan, understandable seeing as they were the coach's original team, and fairly strong themselves but...individually a bunch of amateurs."Yeah yeah, just don't expect me to be the life of the circus.", Fudou tried to absolve as much interactions as he could. He didn't want people clinging onto him, as per usual, but with the background work he would be doing, he would definitely need to be in the shadows...if he does get caught, it will only sting more too, at least what Fudou thought how the team would feel."As long as you aren't being too rude, that's fine","Gee, thanks Mom" he exclaimed as Kazemaru chose to ignore that comment. Speaking of Moms, Fudou had remembered the one he left about a block away, oh lord if she was there with the crowd, he didn't know what he would do, flush all sense of his pride down the toilet perhaps? But still, he was thinking again about her...would she manage? She felt a little more determined than the last few times but...an addiction doesn't go away just like that, and there would be no witnesses for her to disappoint. Tsch, it makes him mad just thinking about it. So, stop thinking about it.The rest of the bus journey to Raimon was short and quiet, Fudou didn't know why Kazemaru even bothered listening to music as the bus arrived in front of a stop with another large crowd and the sound of more squeals and applause. Oh wait, that's why. Fudou was just about to close his eyes and focus on blocking the insufferable noise before he heard some enthusiastic footsteps step onto the bus, it was like a hyperactive toddler, as Fudou opened his eye to reveal an excitable Inamori Asuto. His black, soft spiked hair still as weird looking as ever, and such a random happiness about him, it was these types of people Fudou had to make sure he was tolerant with, as the newcomer has already come on to approaching Kazemaru and Fudou. The rest of his team members had followed from him behind, they weren't really of note to Fudou yet, except perhaps the bushy purple haired one with a surprisingly strong shot in the finals match, it was quite the breath of relief to have that power on their side if he could say."Oh, Kazemaru, Fudou! How have you been?", came Inamori, to which Fudou was hoping he could pretend to be asleep but...it was less believable when he was stretching his legs against the chair in front of him like a delinquent. Asuto sounded like he was about to burst out, what a little kid, couldn't he keep...whatever this level of excitement in?Kazemaru of course was the first one to greet him, he matched Inamori with a cool demeanour and offered out his hand. Unlike Fudou, he seemed to have bothered remembering his new teammates,"We have been well, Inamori. And Hiura, Mansaku, Goujin and Golem right?" he spoke, faintly muttering in the midst of Fudou as the other boys agreed to their names correctly stated. The first person behind Asuto was Kiruna Hiura, a midfielder with some gazing purple eyes to go with ice blue hair, followed by their libero Mansaku Yuuichirou, who was pretty towering with the signature blue cap he wore. The Golem guy was of course the token 'big guy' for the team, every team has to have one, a defender who was lagging behind to try and take less space than he already does, and that just left Goujin, who suddenly rushed to Kazemaru to shake his hand quite energetically, Asuto paid no attention to the small shove he got from, they were all just excitable as Kazemaru put on a brave smile as his tired arm was getting shook pretty hard by Goujin."It is nice to meet you all properly", was all Fudou could hear from the small talk they were having, but it was only a matter of time before,"Hey Fudou!", Inamori burst with a big grin as Kazemaru looked at him, nodding his head to signify 'just play nice',"Yo", he spoke with opening an eye, no effort to smile whatsoever, but Inamori wasn't deterred,"I can't believe we get to play Soccer together! Teikoku was amazing in our match!", He beamed as Fudou gave a nervous nod, that match wasn't the best to bring up, and he couldn't contend with such overwhelming innocence. Kazemaru noticed, but he was debating whether he should try and help out Fudou or rather keep enjoying watching him at a loss for words."Yes, you were quite something as well", Kazemaru decided to nudge in after all to turn Inamori's attention who nodded."You don't mind if we sit around her then do you?", went the blue haired Hiura, as Kazemaru gave an obvious welcoming response,"Of course",...much to Fudou's dismay, dammit Kazemaru, as the bumpkin boys started grouping all around the area, didn't they know the universal law of the hard kids at the back? The Goujin guy took it a step further, as he placed himself next to Kazemaru, just one seat from Fudou who huddled up against the wall, and as if there was a volume control option on him.As one of the original Raimon Eleven, they all had quite a lot of questions for Kazemaru, mainly gawking at how fast he could run, and essentially talking about soccer things. Kazemaru didn't seem to mind, and, as long as he was distracting them, that was fine with Fudou"So Fudou!", Called out Goujin to which he couldn't help but let out a little bit of a sigh, he takes back anything nice he said about him,"Where did you learn your stuff huh? Any advice?", He came on suddenly as Fudou was being looked at by these Raimon kids. He wasn't nervous...just a little annoyed, as he tried to play it off as sternly as he could, with Kazemaru on the ready to take over,"...I suppose at Teikoku...what's it to you?", He spoke, it was fairly obvious but the boy was completely terrible at small talk, to which he instantly closed his eyes again."Don't mind him, he's just cranky", Kazemaru regarded, nudging him a little as Goujin just brushed it off,"Ah, the stoic type, yeah I'm pretty much the same too", he 'bragged', which led the other Raimon kids to laugh at quite the exaggeration, it was almost gut wrenching for Fudou to be at all compared to this clown,"What's so funny?!", He blurted out, being unable to quieten down as Asuto was laughing the loudest along with it. It distracted them from the boy again at least but...he was on this bus for a couple hours as of yet, forcibly listening to all this friendly chatter at uncontrollable volumes. Better strap himself in, his crappy phone didn't have music downloaded on it either so there was nothing really to block it out, and he didn't want to get out the stashed food in front of these Raimon guys. He hated this situation already.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Before they fully set off though, there was one last school to visit, Outei Tsukinomiya, to pick up on of the two Outei representatives, Nishikage Seiya. The 'Commander of the Pitch', Nosaka Yuuma was also on this team, however he was still recovering from an operation apparently, whatever that was about, he didn't care enough to look into what it was in detail, but from what he saw of Outei...well, he couldn't say their tactics were bad, just not very safe or fair. They were under the Ares corporation, the same one Kageyama volunteered under, but once it was found out some unexplained 'issues' had been causing some health and safety concerns, to what Fudou put it at least, the whole team had forcibly disbanded for police investigations. Fudou never got to play them, but even he had to admit Teikoku couldn't hold a candle to that sort of team, not yet at least. And what was better was that the two finals teams were on this very bus, even though the goalkeeper of Outei, Nishikage Seiya, was a bit outnumbered. But Inakuni didn't seem like a very 'competitive team', despite being the winners of the tournament, so they weren't here to brag or gloat. What a shame, Fudou could have done with the travel entertainment. Nevertheless, the coach stopped and Nishikage got on the bus, with somehow the biggest crowd out of everyone thus far, for what a complete 'party starter' he appeared to be."Nishikage!", Inamori yelled out and waved, as he replied with an inaudible nod, and took a seat nearer to the front, away from the big crowd. Lucky guy.And so the bus finally set off through the busy urban Japan, and was now travelling out towards the grounds on a country trail. However, it was still as excitable as when they started off, even Kazemaru was getting a little tired of the over excitement, to which he had turned to his music. Nishikage was still at the front, alone, and Inamori and Goujin were just talking about things Fudou didn't understand and was trying not to listen to. He would be brought up into the talk occasionally so far, but he was just left alone for what he made a little too obvious. The big Golem guy had fell asleep muttering those weird 'gosu' words, and quite frankly that was the only thing that allowed these Raimon bunch to quieten down. So far his team seemed...not like his type of friends, they were all too innocent and goody two shoes for his liking, nothing like the guys from the gang, and at least Teikoku members were a little more prideful in the skill aspects of soccer, compared to before Fudou got to know them at least, while Inakuni contain the sort of liking that just made him purely cringe. He lived in a world where soccer was used as a means of territory and survival, so he couldn't exactly dislike them for it at least based on the background difference. He just hoped there was more like minded people in the mix, a few chaotics like him, but even then Fudou wasn't allowed to stand out too much, not at the beginning, but rather adapt his on levels to the situation.After an hour or so though, they died down, to which Fudou was able to naturally drop off in a catnap for the majority of the way. There were no real dreams, it was all just pitch black silence until a solid few minutes of the coach's engine dying down had alerted Fudou to open his eyes...not that he needed the nudge from Kazemaru."Eh, yeah, i'm up, are we here?", Fudou muttered in response to the nudge, rubbing his tired eyes as Kazemaru gave a quick,"Mhm". It was pretty obvious Kazemaru had too woken up from a small sleep, as the Inakuni kids were staring out the window for a brief second before rushing through the bus aisle to the open door with thunderous stomps that woke him up more, leaving just him and his teammate. Nishikage had left as well."You sure we didn't end up on the kindergarteners team?", Fudou blurted out obnoxiously when they went as Kazemaru lightly chuckled,"They're just excited, aren't you?","If I had 10 Yen for every time someone has asked me that...","I'll take that as a denying yes", the pony-tailed boy was gathering his things from the above compartment as he moved out of the way for the huddled up Fudou to get out. Fudou just gave a gritted sigh, Kazemaru knew him surprisingly well, but not enough to know how far he would stoop."Come on, we should start getting to know our team...I can introduce you to Kidou, but doesn't look like he's here yet", the boy offered, to which Fudou gave a nod. Let's see what the old Teikoku captain was really like...when he gets hereAs the two got off the bus, Kazemaru was already approached by his old Raimon pals, specifically his, and now Fudou's, captain, the legendary goalkeeper Endou Mamoru."Kazemaru! You're finally here!", Endou remarked energetically, as if he had been waiting long, how many of these positive types were there?"Yes, it's been too long, ey Endou?", Kazemaru smirked, there was pure admiration in his voice as Fudou was about to give a cough,"Glad to be playing soccer with you again!", Endou smirked as he then drew his attention to Fudou,"Ah, you must be Fudou, it's nice to meet you", he gave a cheesy grin and offered a hand, only enforcing Fudou's opinion of having a way too excitable team."Ah, so I have been talked about", Fudou said, turning a quick eye to Kazemaru and sluggishly meeting his hand. Endou's grip was harder than he was, what a guy, he wasn't even paying notice to Fudou's more antisocial approach, though of course he was told Endou was the friendliest guy one could meet."Heh, it's great to be playing with you!", He gave one less smile before a smaller, red haired boy had crept upon Endou, to which reminded him,"Ah, Kazemaru, Fudou, this is Sakanoue Noboru, he's from Tonegawa Taisen", the captain introduced the boy who was in the middle of looking nervous and excited. He immediately gave off the little brother vibe,"H-hello, it is nice to meet you both", he bowed with a smile but a stutter as Kazemaru gave a smile,"We have already met Endou", He bowed back, as both Noboru and Endou suddenly gave a dumbfounded expression until Endou slapped his brain,"Oh yeah, completely forgot, the Selections seem so long ago already", he shrugged it off as Kazemaru gave a small chuckle at the classic Endou Mamoru. Fudou didn't bow back to the smaller boy, rather giving a more relaxed wave. He gave Noboru a fairly unsure vibe, the boy seemed cautious when it came to his older peers, with him being a first year, he was the youngest on the team of course, but he seemed unsure more in the sense of which he was being judged already."Well, nonetheless, it's nice to meet you again", Kazemaru smiled to which Noboru seemed more hearty,"Yeah! It's an honour to be playing with you!", The boy suddenly got as excited as everyone else he had met, that was pretty quick, but it was the smaller ones like this that made Fudou feel a little worse that this coach of theirs was pushing them to fight against a dangerous corporation. But if the kid was on the team, he should at least have some sufficient skills with the ball, but Fudou would learn that in action, rather than bothering to make conversation and ask.Fudou gave a look around for Kidou after a while, he was lingering against the unmanned bus as Endou and Kazemaru was catching up, the Noboru kid joining Asuto and friends. A few more teammates from Eisei and the one defender from Hakuren had appeared, including such characters as the famed 'God Striker', apparently another fair 'good boy' he was hoping he could rile up or rile with. And none other than Gouenji Shuuya, the flame striker himself, who Fudou had met on...embarrassing grounds when he was out to get his haircut at the usual place. They both won't be bringing up THAT situation though, it took Fudou a while to get his hair back to its former glory, but they still acknowledged each other with a nod. But just as Fudou was about to stare out into the lake for a while, another bus had pulled up in the drive. Just then, the 'Demon of the Field' Ryouhei Haizaki sluggishly got off, his long hair as messy as always, from what he has seen. Didn't he transfer to Inakuni though? What was he doing with the Seishou bus, must have been allowed to travel with his old team...and that should also mean....yes, it did. A boy with a dreadlocked ponytail, flowing cape and some dorky looking goggles stepped off the bus and began observing his surroundings, that was him, Kidou Yuuto. Kazemaru had noticed the leader's arrival, but before he could properly sink into a hello, Fudou had already stepped in on the scene. ((( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl73eE3_JgE )))The smirk they gave each other made them already feel like they had been playing together for a long time, the guy didn't even seem that bad. Of course...it was probably Sakuma who deemed Fudou the 'problem child', there was a problem if he was going to be known as that. Hopefully though, not only will he see Kidou's actual skills, but also his methodical abilities when the threat of the Orion Corporation comes to his attention. Kazemaru sensed there wasn't a tension, what a relief, as he was hanging from the back. He was worried their differing personalities, and a few similarities, might clash, as he went up toward the duo. Of course, he also wanted to catch up with Kidou."Ah, i see you two have met","Kazemaru, how have you been?" Kidou gave him a friendly smirk, despite being fairly in contact. Truth was, Kazemaru was also monitoring Kageyama himself and informing if therewas anything there was to be concerned about. Once Kidou had found out Kageyama got his sentence shortened, he made it a mission to get that scum back in a jail cell, hopefully once and for all, in order to protect his teammates at Teikoku, and frankly anyone else who got caught up in his schemes..like Fudou has, but voluntarily."I've been well, we have been making sure Teikoku once again becomes the top.","That is good to hear.", he gave a smirk,"Don't think it will be easy the next time Seishou comes to rematch you", he offered out a hand with a hint of a competitive attitude. Truth was, before Fudou had joined, Teikoku had got completely obliterated by Seishou, or more or less, the 'Demon of the Field', who was now lurking around the Inakuni crowd of kids...what an odd fit. Kazemaru took the hand firmly and shook it,"Of course. We are ready for you now." After that embarrassing match, Kazemaru knew he had a lot of work to do...to think this was the overwhelming team he had first played against with Raimon, the mighty Teikoku Academy...who then got obliterated by both Zeus and Seishou. But he was loyal to the Reinforcement Committee, he needed to do his best in his crucial part, even if it meant bearing the likes of Kageyama, for the sake of making Japan's soccer stronger. Fudou felt a little left out now, but these two were old friends of course, and why would he care? But speaking of the devil,"Fudou...you are aware of Kageyama correct?", Kidou asked, just to make sure,"Of course i'm aware of that jackass", Kidou's comment was more ironic to him, but he didn't come here to be lectured once again about Kageyama, he heard enough from Takanashi."Hm, what an understatement", Kidou smirked, enjoying the tame profanity,"I've actually had Kazemaru keeping a close eye on a few things from within...we're trying to get a few inside details that could get him locked for good.", Kidou had heard of Fudou's rebellious personality, and another eye in Teikoku would be effective. Fudou definitely didn't seem like some sort of snitch...and why would he? Kazemaru had reassured Kidou though beforehand, Fudou was rough, but he would be all in for taking the criminal down. Little did he know, that's what he was doing anyway."Well...that's interesting? Don't suppose you would need any 'assistance', would you?", Fudou had felt it was just another formality, what was he doing trying to balance multiple opposing alliances. Luckily this task wouldn't be as relevant for their time against the world, seeing as they weren't going to be even near Kageyama, but Fudou still couldn't help but feel he was just too much of a snake. Probably their fault for trusting him so early."Of course", Kidou gave his own devilish smirk, as a ray of light quickly swiped from his goggles, but he quickly adjusted that twisted side,"But let's not focus on that for now ey? No need for him to spoil the mood." Fudou was actually impressed, giving his own nod."To be continued"Fudou, of course being no stranger to wanting to dump Kageyama in a ditch, was pretty satisfied in potential allies about it. He generally always worked alone or with pawns, but it was best to keep his own 'mission' secret for now, like he was planning to anyway. Think about what trouble it would cause revealing he was actually working with Kageyama right now, needing him in his high power currently to keep 'using him' for financial support. However Fudou had just opened up to...another option, though it wouldn't be pretty. He immediately stocked it into a precaution, but on the rare chance Orion wasn't going to show anything at least the bit useful...he could potentially rat out this little plan of Kidou's as a warning. Not only would it make Kageyama perhaps trust him a little bit more, which allowed for a lower guard, it would at least keep him safe from the chopping block for a while. He was being clear he wanted Fudou gone if he wasn't of use. Fudou didn't want his own feelings to get in the way of things, and they usually didn't, but he would have preferred not to make enemies of Kazemaru, and his new like minded associate Kidou. He tried forcing it to the back of his mind for now, he hated his devious way of thinking sometimes, when even he had to admit it was low. The main problem with it all though was that this is what he wanted to do too.It was only a few more minutes of mingling before Fudou's 'target' appeared, the last to arrive, the Ichihoshi Mitsuru, blue hair, slim build and most importantly a crazed believer of Orion and their ways. He would apparently be around trying to get the team off their game, and make sure Japan doesn't do anything out of Orion's plans of win orders. Which is most likely losing instantly. Fudou himself can't allow Japan to lose, for both his pride and his assignment, so at least he can be along with the team on that. Inamori had already approached the guy, and though it was inaudible for the far away Fudou, it looked as if he was trying to get along with all the naive ones first...real smart. Further analysis would be needed, but from what Fudou has heard, they weren't above unorthodox methods.Once everyone had gathered, their coach, the recently famous Zhao Jinyun himself, had called them all in through their walker watches with a jolly demeanour. That wasn't going to get annoying.The team was gathered in a line, not giving Fudou a chance to blend more into the back, as the coach was saying a few introductions. Alongside the portly Chinese man, was the coach of Seishou, Coach Kudou, who would act as the trainer, and then a smaller...human? He didn't know but he was wearing a large mask with a red and white outfit, who was apparently just an assistant. Fudou played along with what everyone else was saying, in a fairly militant fashion from the practice at Teikoku. The two manager girls were then introduced, from Inakuni, and somehow got here without the need of tagging along on the bus, with then another girl and some small old lady too. Sure, don't judge a book by it's cover but you'd think they could hire a few more...professional looking staff. He kept to himself though, as he was busy trying to listen to these strict rules Kudou was listing off. Ugh...rules, he had to make sure he did follow them, he would be kicked off if he didn't apparently, which wasn't useful. Unlike Teikoku, Fudou was a little dispensable in the midst of equally famous and strong players, he couldn't lie, but that only drove him to show how much he belonged here. Skills wise of course."So, without further ado, we will be selecting dorm fittings.", Trainer Kudou went sternly until the coach gleefully intruded,"By drawing lots!", he was holding quite an unnecessarily large red box with various shapes. Surely everyone's names on a small slit of paper would fit in that about ten fold. Everyone was looking perplexed at each other until they all started going up to the box, notably the coach's previous players from Inakuni. They of course, had the best idea of how this man worked. But surely this was a mere probability game. It was Fudou's turn after a while, letting most people draw what rooms they will be in first. Turns out Haizaki and Hiroto share a room, which was already an interesting combination, as well as other duos such as Sakanoue and Mansaku, Fubuki and Hiura etc. As Fudou lazily reached into the box to pull out a name, he started to wonder out of the few left who he would be with. It didn't matter much but it would be a problem if it was anyone sharp who would be sharing private quarters with him. If it became enough of a bother, he might just find a tree to stay in. It sounded uncomfortable, but for Fudou, it was mind over matter, he could sleep anywhere he wanted.Fudou drew a paper with a sigh, hoping out of the few left he didn't get someone who would hassle him too much...only to the draw a room of which made another pair, with none other than Saginuma Osamu, the...questionably normal goalkeeper of Eisei. Fudou kept up to date with the games Raimon played, dare he say he was even rooting for them, though that was a secret, and that means he saw Saginuma in action while they were fighting Eisei Gakuen. He honestly had no idea why there was 3 goalkeepers, maybe a spare one of course, but Endou was the only one they really needed. Even Nishikage had his few advantages, but it's fair to say Saginuma picked up the pace in the final act of the game, only after letting in about 4 other goals. But hey, best not tell him that, Fudou liked trouble but he tried not to be a dick without any sort of reason. After he drew the paper, he merely collected his key card and trod off to get himself unpacked. He didn't bother saying hello to his temporary roommate yet, not even giving eye contact to anyone else before he left, he needed more time to himself, as he slugged in a lift alone and went up to his dorm. No one really payed notice as of yet, others still had introductions to go through, but Kazemaru merely rolled his eyes.Once Fudou made it to the right dorm, a standard hotel room if anything, but it seemed like luxury to this poor street rat, with two large beds. He wasn't going to be picky but he chose the one closer to the window, just in case he ever needed to sneak out through it. Honestly, they were his favourite way of getting in and out of places, he didn't want to crawl past this Saginuma guy to get there. He threw his bag onto the bed, they only got a wardrobe each, seeing as they would only be wearing their jerseys on campgrounds, so it wouldn't be a pain to unpack later, but after such a loud bus drive, though he fairly had dozed off a bit, he could think of nothing better than to just relax until the first training session between the team. It was of course, still early day, so there was no point in wasting the rest of it. Before that though, Fudou's new roommate had finally entered, he was pretty towering, and that was just from what Fudou saw lying down as he immediately walked in and bowed in perfect order,"I am Saginuma Osamu, it is a honour to meet you". Fudou left it a little quiet to try and understand whether he was being serious with such a dorky show,"Fudou Akio...you don't need to bother with all that you know...", he put it blatant as the poor giant was confused,"Bother with what?","Don't worry about it...", Fudou sighed hoping that was going to be it, as the guy went to the other bed and settled in. He didn't seem as bursting as the other kids, but was certainly up there in the strange aspect."So what position do you play?", He stood up before Fudou could answer,"I am a goalkeeper! Hoping to take on the strongest shoots of the world!", he mixed in a few poses while he was saying so, as Fudou just replied, not even bothering to laugh"Midfield...I'm pretty sure they read out the formations at the selections...","Ah yes, of course, you were from Teikoku Gakuen?","Yup.""What an honourable team!", He gave a smile, seems he was on the other side of socially awkward to Fudou,"I guess you can put it that way", he spoke and didn't follow up with anything after, wasn't useful in keeping the conversation going. The awkward silence had occurred as Saginuma finally got to his own unpacking, he barely sensed it as much as Fudou. But now was the perfect time to send a few texts, it seems his mother had already been giving out a few, to which he just responded with basic answers to each one, not wanting to delve into conversation. On the other hand, he initiated with Takanashi, sending her a quick message,F: 'im here, you missing me?'He made sure his text generated his smug aura, knowing she would be missing him, just a little, but did nothing cringy like send in emoticon faces, or give that much care to his grammar, it was only texting, not school. She wasn't responding yet though.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was time for team practise after a while, Fudou and his new roommate conversed a little more casually during that time, it was impossible to think of them as best friends but if they were sharing for a while, there was no point in not being casual. After he was refreshed, he made his way to the changing rooms and began switching to his Inazuma Japan uniform. It was a stylish ocean blue colour mixed in with red, but of course, he had already wore this during the selections ceremony. It was a little weird for them to just clump in what was essentially strangers at that time to get changed together, but it's not like Fudou cared, much like every other player, he had no trouble changing clothes in front of others, as long as they weren't staring. After slipping into his none-altered spikes, he made his way to the training pitch and leaned against a wall alone, observing the coach who was waiting on everyone to appear with his weird assistant. The team was more pumped than Fudou was, doing their warm ups and stretches, he wondered what the coach had in mind, perhaps a proper practise match, some drills, a 5k run, whatever he made Inakuni do that turned them into FFI winners?Well...Not exactly. ((( https://youtu.be/vcysOFODMH0 )))Clario Orvan. The Captain of Barcelona Orb, the strongest team in Spain who utterly destroyed the Raimon Eleven, had now once again soloed the whole of the Inazuma Japan team on his own. Fudou could barely react to those plays...the technique...it was only now how much he acknowledged the true power of the world. He wasn't at this level, nobody on this team was, what hope could they possibly have to becoming that strong in such a short time frame. And it seemed a few others shared Fudou's exact feelings for once, but others didn't let it deter them as they spouted their encouraging words...everyone on the team was almost instantly inspired after that...what a strong power to have. Of course, it was hard to admit it made Fudou feel a little more hopeful too but, hopefully they could face the reality that this was at least going to be extremely difficult. Fudou gave a small smirk to himself. Maybe for these clowns it will be. He joined in with the hearty cheer Endou had raised, this encounter only made the team stronger and more passionate it seemed. This coach knew what he was doing, of course, if he wanted to prepare them for what lies ahead.After the encounter with Clario, the Coach allowed them to take the rest of the day off from any intense practise, must have felt they all needed to comprehend such an amazing play, but naturally, they were all still lingering around with a soccer ball, it was only really Fudou who decided to take the time off, everyone else was either playing with others or alone. He wasn't bothered quite honestly, it just meant he got the rest of the day to explore, maybe find a few new relaxation spots, check out a few of the stores from the nearby settlements, anything to occupy his time...apart from human interaction it seems. This was his usual pass time for at least the past five years, he found it was a balance of the solitude he liked and the restrain from any trouble he could get into for that of his peers. See, he could be selfless. And he could do this for hours...much like he did once he found the perfect oak with a diverged curve branch that made it less of a pain to relax against the bark, right next to the lakes of Mount Fuji and just outside of the campgrounds, with just a pathway and a bench being the only things unnatural with the stunning view. He caught up on his sleep with another catnap once he climbed up, though he was less tired after the previous events that occurred. It wasn't until he was woken up from his controlled rest by a shout...when he opened his eyes it was already turning dark, and the shouting was coming from Inamori,"FUDOU!!!", he yelled energetically as Fudou forced a face that made it less visible how annoyed he was being disturbed like this. He peeked his head,"Yeah...","We've been looking for you for ages!", Inamori seemed to have the company of Hiura, Haizaki and Tatsuya, what could this odd bunch want with him?"Yeah, I can practise later maybe...or tomorrow", Fudou assumed it was just them wanting another player, despite their even number,"Oh no, it's not that, the coach wants us to go get his ice cream...w-were you not at the cafeteria for dinner?", Inamori asked,already knowing he wasn't but surely he didn't stay in a tree, right? Fudou just sighed, he wasn't hungry when he filled up on those snacks he smuggled,"And he asked me, specifically, to go with you?","Mmhmm!", He smiled for whatever reason, as Hiura added in,"We think though there might be something he wants us to learn along the way...somewhere?", He didn't sound that sure. As much as Fudou didn't want to go, he supposed that he had to follow the rules and listen to his 'peers', but for a man of his size, did he really need ice cream? And as much as he wanted to tell these squares a good no thanks, it just wasn't called for, now was it?"D-do you need help getting down?", Inamori asked based on the silence Fudou left on, as he immediately replied to dismiss any pathetic thought like that,"No, No, I'm coming down", Fudou groaned as it only took a second for him to dangerously jump down from the height, with only a few wall presses against its trunk to land down on the grass. Inamori looked amazed, Haizaki didn't really care and was getting impatient,"Okay, can we finally go now?", The demon tutted, as Tatsuya gave a shrug,"I guess so", they lead the way as Inamori and Hiura tried hanging back with Fudou, who had felt a little strain from jumping down too high, nothing he couldn't sleep on. That would only happen if he WAS showing off."That was so cool how you got down from there!" Inamori gawked, Fudou seemed to be the only one he hasn't gotten to speak to,"Alright", he didn't take the compliment, it wasn't as impressive to him since he was used to even more dangerous manoeuvres, as he tried picking up the pace with Haizaki and Tatsuya instead to lighten the load of positivity Inamori tried giving him. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.It was a silent walk so far, Fudou had learned to relax about with it rather than just rush over to the store as quick as he can, as long as they others were at a bearable level. Tatsuya was casual with his speech, Hiura and Inamori chattered to themselves while Haizaki and Fudou only added a few things in when they could. But it wasn't going to be peaceful all the way... ((( https://youtu.be/W_dbJuD3xak )))As the coach approached the five beaten children, it was Haizaki who suddenly broke the silence,"WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?!", he called, slurring after such a humiliation from a kid half his size. Hiura started getting up,"I don't know...was it some sort of failed random mugging?" he suggested, as Tatsuya slowly followed up,"It can't have been...he knew who we were, and was waiting for us","THAT HAS TO BE ASSAULT!", Haizaki kicked the ground, he wasn't taking it well as he focused his anger on the innocent dirt. Inamori was silent trying to think a little. And Fudou....Fudou just didn't know what the fuck that was, there was no way that was even human! Everyone was trying to decipher what that could have been but...the pieces were aligning way too easy, which he caught onto. And then if none other than their meddling coach had came,"Did you get the ice-cream boys?" He asked cheerfully despite seeing them clearly not holding a bag and on the floor, as they were all trying to figure out a way to explain what happened. Haizaki gave a yell,"AS IF WE COULD WHEN SOME KI-...GUY CAME AND STARTED A FIGHT!", he exclaimed in the least possible embarrassing way, as the coach made himself look sympathetic,"Oh no, what a terrible occurrence, are you all okay?", he went as Haizaki groaned, Inamori came to calm him down. Fudou was staying on the ground trying to think, it was weird but, what did he know?Well, this kid 'Fujimaru', had approached the 5 boys, knowing them as the representatives of Inazuma Japan's soccer team. He could play soccer himself, and had enough skill to kick all of their asses at the same time, but what was weirder was that he was conveniently waiting on the footpath the boys were taking. It was possible he was just picking a fight but, there's no way he would just be waiting there for whenever someone from the Inazuma Japan team would specifically walk past him at the night. He even had plans to break them behind recovery...no, this was definitely a planned event, and who was the one who led them, specifically these 5 he might add, along this way...to get 'ice cream'? This coach really was whack if he planned out all of that, of course though, he couldn't rule out the other possibility of that being Orion having decided to try and strike on the first day. That would be both suspicious, risky and unneeded for them logically thinking, but this Fujimaru kid fit the bill perfectly for an 'Orion disciple', even having the twisted desire to end them like Kageyama said. If that truly was Orion then...Fudou had to improve, and fast, he was only hoping this humiliation of him getting tossed around on the ball wasn't spread around too far, at least the whole team together lost to Clario. The first day on this team, and already Fudou had clear indicators he wasn't going to get anything done in his current state."Er...Fudou?", Came a voice after Fudou had snapped out of his thoughts, and a hand from Tatsuya."Are you okay?", he asked a second later as the boy got up on his own quickly, noting Tatsuya to retract his hand midway,"I'm fine yeah", he quickly dismissed any worry, even if trivial, as he looked out to where this mystery fellow had jumped away from,"I suppose after all that, it would be harsh of me to ask you to go get ice cream you won't even get. In the morning then!", the coach cheerfully chirped as the boys were left in a mix of ticked and awkward laughter. Haizaki was the first to storm off. With that, Fudou thought it was appropriate to take himself off seeing as they were excused from their task, going back to his new favourite tree, but the coach quickly stopped him,"Fudou, the grounds are not that way!","Oh I was just going for a walk...", Fudou was quickly shown a large digital time on the coach's phone...no need to brag,"It is past curfew I am afraid, the rules state you must be in your dorms~~', he smiled before leading off the boy with a nudge, he was surprisingly fast for such a...portly man. Fudou didn't like being told what he can't do, he hated being physically moved nonetheless, but it seems after years of biting back, he finally learnt when to just suck it up, as he changed direction to fit with everyone else. It was also weird how they apparently had to be inside despite being told to do errands so close to apparent 'curfew'. He wondered if Fujimaru would appear again.Fudou made his way to his form, lights off with a slight snoring sound, it was Saginuma...great, a snorer. He was in bed early to Fudou's standards, which he supposed shouldn't be a problem in the future. Despite opening the door in a thuggish way, Fudou altered his approach in the room to a softer tone in order not to disturb him, as he slid off his sneakers and got himself comfy in the bed. He tapped his phone to use as a light source for staying up a little later, definitely not tired after his humiliating attack, as he noticed that Takanashi has replied...fairly recently too, they both usually did talk quite late due to their similar sleeping schedules. He opened the text,T: 'not really sry, how is it?'Fudou got.to replying as the two were having a late night the conversation. He would keep a few things he knew he would get smack for to himself,F: 'everyone is weird'T: 'or they're just normal compared to you'F: 'funny, wish you could see what I mean'T: 'what's exactly so weird?'F: 'everyone is just either happy, overconfident, or completely stupid'T: 'gee you always see the best in people'F: 'I do yeah'T: 'so are you guys just going to be practising constantly until the match next week'F: 'I guess so, today has been pretty chill but I doubt it's a model'...F: 'I was rather thinking about snooping a little on the enemy'T: 'pretty sure you don't need to do that if they're going to blatantly show you later on'F: 'ive gotta get as much as I can, plus I need to learn how this guy operates as thorough as possible, and that won't all be revealed on the pitch.'T: 'whatever, do what you need to, gn'F: 'night'Taka was calling it a night, she was usually the one who went to bed first as Fudou could sense she was still very tense about his business, he noticed she would need a breather every time he brought it up. Guess he would have to wait for her to ask if he wanted to discuss it without off-putting her but frankly, he valued her opinion, it being like minded to his, but also strongly opposing, which challenged him with his choices, only right now, this was a situation more than whether or not they should graffiti some punk's car. With that, he suppose he should start fading off, as he rested his shaved head onto the luxury pillow. It was...of course a better quality to his own, but he didn't know, it just didn't feel the same, it kept him with his own thoughts for a while, before slowly dozing off into a careless slumberHe should be enjoying these moments of peace. This was only the beginning it seemed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a few days after the Inazuma Japan team had arrived, and a few more days before the match against Korea's Red Bison. Everyone had essentially settled in now without any problems, no stirring drama, nothing, ever since that encounter with that crazy hat kid. And it was boring, Fudou couldn't enjoy himself with this, the training was fair enough and allowed him to get a better sense for the team, but this still wasn't the likes of which he wanted. He needed then tougher, he needed them riskier, he needed them more adaptable. It was only after such a boring training session of such perfect organisation that Fudou had received a text while getting changed back, the notification went off, as he went to look at what had been sent to him. It was Kageyama.K: I will be calling in 10 minutes, clear yourself.Man, you could read in it his deep freezing voice, with such security too, it might already be obvious this wasn't going to be a pleasant phone call."Who's that?" asked a shirtless Kazemaru beside him, being a little body, but he never saw Fudou actually text anyone,"No one", he briefly replied,Kazemaru taking the fact Fudou did not want to tell. So probably his mom or something else embarrassing. He put his phone away afterwards to lower attention, it was going to go off in ten minutes, and Fudou hadn't even changed his studs, he didn't like to rush really, and it would only look weird to his fellow Teikoku teammate next to him. But oh well, he upped the pace to which he could hopefully get to his new secluded spot in the woods to take this call. Not even he knew why he bothered, he had nothing to report with Ichihoshi yet, keeping his honourable facade, nor even having a direct interaction. He had no idea if Fujimaru was truly Orion either, so that wasn't really necessary for him to know, but the hypocrite would either get snappy with irrelevant info like that or snappy with withheld info. He will have to see where it takes him when he calls.Fudou managed to get changed with barely a minute to spare,while 'taking a jog' over to the tree, the cover up he was using. It didn't help that he had changed from his soccer uniform, that would have been less weird to jog in, but fortunately no one caught on. He stopped after he cleared eye distance from the training camp through the thick vegetation to which he awaited the special ringtone he had set for the jackass.Just then, the Dora the Explorer theme song rang from his phone. This was worth the risk of it going off mid training session, even though luckily Kageyama didn't call at those times"Hellloooo?", Fudou was the first to confirm that they could hear each other, Kageyama from the other side was only making sure this was him, but with that annoying, unmistakable tone in his voice, it was clearly Fudou."So what do you have for me?", He asked, how impatient could this guy get,"We haven't even had our first match yet, slow down.","That doesn't mean you can't tell me any observations, specifically on your starting lead", he replied fairly relaxed, he was ready for a bit of Fudou's backtalk, but let's see how far it can take him,"What, Ichihoshi? Essentially nothing, he's putting on the nice guy act for everyone sti", Fudou shrugged, truth was he was only observing him mildly for now, there was no reason why he would strike now than try and gain the trust of the team. Not that that was going to be hard with the ignorant kids they call Inazuma Japan."Hm, as to be expected", he didn't follow on as Fudou sighed,"Look, there's barely anything to tell you right now, I'll call you in the future yeah?", He goes to end this early, Kageyama just replied,"I'm pretty sure my schedule is more filled than yours.","Oh yeah? How would you know?", He asked with a little cheek,"I've had a few watchmen keep an eye on the team's basic schedule, why else do you think I called you now after practise?". Fudou wasn't surprised in the slightest at Kageyama's snooping, why did he need Fudou's help if he could pay some actual cronies, not that he was complaining. They probably weren't as good as him for undercover on a youth team."To keep cheering me on?", Kageyama didn't reply."I'll take that as a yes. So yeah I'll keep in tou-,","How is Kidou Yuuto?". He put it out there, how could Fudou forget the man's strange obsession with the likes of Kidou."How should I know?","You were interested in meeting him yes? I'm sure I was brought up", the man hit the nail on the head as Fudou gave a huff, ready to lie,"Haven't spoken to him outside of practise. Get over him already.", The boy sighed now having to listen to his boss go on about how great the first guy was,"I've made sure my teachings have trailed that boy, there will never be a moment in his life now where he can forget about me. It is only a matter of time before he comes crawling back.", Well...this was a bit out of nowhere."Cool story bro...", Fudou could hear a grunt from the other side,"The point being however, I know how that boy thinks. He will figure out Orion and provide a perfect solution for winning to which I want you to fully observe. He will collect info for you when you inevitably struggle.", Fudou sighed as he was being put down. It didn't phase him of course, he would love not to be as adored by Kageyama as Kidou was,"Okay should I tell him you said hi?", He kept on mocking,"You don't want to know what will happen if you do that", he groaned, unamused by what he took as an exposure threat."Right yeah, is that it? You're interrupting my important mission","Of course, unless you have anything else to report. I can find out eventually, and I can't say your rewards won't suffer if I do find out you're keeping things.", Fudou just rolled his eyes to himself, Kageyama wouldn't let him just go from this damn call,"No no, nothing else","Hm. I will contact you again a day after your first match, and you had better win.""Yeah fi-", Kageyama had already hung up, 'busy schedule' it seemed, Christ the nerve of that guyFudou put his phone away, Kageyama wasn't being patient with him, not that Fudou was exactly trying to get him on a good side. But other queries now circled Fudou's mind after the conversation. What if Red Bison didn't have an Orion disciple like they were assumed to have? Well, he supposed Japan would run into them eventually, if they don't lose that is, and work their way up, but Kageyama was still expecting way too much this early, assuming he hasn't already looked into all of the Orion placements, which was unlikely seeing as he gave Fudou this task. He supposed he should start trying to gather a few things now rather than leave it to hoping there will be something in the match, but quite frankly, while he was here, Kageyama would be stupid to give him the sack midway, especially with Kidou around sell, so he was less worried about being booted from the job during his time here. Of course, expelled from Teikoku and having some crazy kingpin after him didn't sound good either, as potentially thrilling as it could be.He scrolled through his phone again, seeing Taka below his recent, who probably didn't want to hear it anyway so there was no point in telling until she asks. Their recent texts were more or less not on the topic. His mom was underneath her, who he called earlier in secret to let her know he was fine, but of course she took it as an invitation to keep him on even longer than Kageyama, though at least there he wasn't being threatened with anything more than a grounding for slipping out profanity. These were the only 3 on this new phone, 4 if you count the pizza place, but he didn't really want to bring a new number up with his past cronies, or even want to give it to the likes of Teikoku so he can hear Sakuma's whining even more. It was a little sad but they all knew what he was about.Fudou made his way back from his quick 'jog', seeing no one around, he would assume they were either out, eating in the cafeteria or in their rooms. Where was Ichihoshi he wondered, in his room? Even if he wasn't, perhaps he could snoop a little, assuming whoever his roommate was was also not present in their dorm. He would get into trouble if he was caught too, so that would be something that requires more planning with everyone away. He was going to have to be careful of course, but right now was the time to plan a few things ahead. With that, he decided to look for the blue haired Russian, first looking in the cafeteria with little succession. It was only the old lady and the extra girl, Aki was her name he guessed?...but he supposed he shouldn't hold his breath as he saw a more masculine looking figure in a white apron stirring a few things. Fudou almost wanted to make fun, if he would have the nerve when it was Sakanoue, the youngest on the team.Kino and Yone saw Fudou enter the cafeteria, giving him polite smiles as he couldn't really return one back."Oh, hello Fudou, Are you hungry?" gave Aki after a small while, thinking that this was reason he was skulking about here,"I'm fine, don't worry about it", he gave indirectly,just checking to make sure Ichihoshi wasn't hiding about."Oh, hi Fudou!", Sakanoue smiled at him with a beam with a wooden spoon in his hand, his apron sadly being plain white, giving Fudou nothing to work with in an insult even if he wanted to. He was curious though, why was Sakanoue helping cook? He made sure to clear himself of Aki and Yone from across the counter before getting closer to whisper to the red haired boy."Psst, you do know cooking is meant to be their job, right?", he thought they could trick him pretty easily thanks to how oblivious he was, despite not seemingly these sweet ladies would do. But looks could be deceiving. Of course, he had only half meant it in the way that because they were girls, it just also happened to be their job to be the culinary presence. A guy could get teased for being in the kitchen here with them. Sakanoue didn't get these implications though,"Oh no, Mrs. Yone offered to teach me the recipe for that delicious stir fry beef bowl she made yesterday for dinner.", He smiled, while Fudou couldn't really relate, since he wasn't there for dinner, rather sleeping in a tree, but the coach already called him out on that and told him to start attending if he was to stay on the team. If Sakanoue wouldn't ask questions about it is course, but still Fudou found it completely weird."Right...but there's, like, nothing better you would want to be doing right now? They aren't keeping you here against your will?", He asked in curiosity. Fudou could cook a little, but even then he knew how boring it could get, why would an energetic boy his age want to be kept in the kitchen with Grandma?"Nope! It's just a really good bowl, do you want to try some of mine when it's done? I'll need taste testers!", He offered with a smile as Kino caught sight of the little interaction going on... and then the rising water,"Oh, Sakanoue! The heat!", she called out,"Eh? EH!", Sakanoue went in shock before Fudou could reply, before quickly turning down the heat to keep the boiling water from overflowing. He gave a relieved sigh along with Kino, it seems like he wasn't exactly Gordon Ramsay, and lucky that he wasn't here right now to see this pitiful culinary display. But seemed like Fudou was merely a distraction."I don't know, I'm not really hungry right now", Fudou shrugged, remembering the covert plans he already made, though was pretty hungry in all honesty. Sakanoue was completely new as well so who knows if the kid might just accidentally poison him. He gave those sad puppy eyes a little before perking up,"When you are? I can reheat it!", it was too difficult to say no when he was clearly desperate, he didn't know why he was asking Fudou of all people, he supposed he just looked more up to the third years, even if they made themselves look tougher with crazy hairdos"What about the Captain? He seems to know more about food than me", he shrugged, trying to divert the sheep to his shepherd, as well as had seen Endou's brief eating habits to which had made the assumption he would be a more willing taste tester."Oh, I was going to offer everyone eventually! If it's good, Endou has already promised he would taste it too", Sakanoue smiled, of course he did, those two seemed more and more alike the more Fudou came into contact, it was obvious he treated Endou like some idol. But if the boy kept pushing, how could Fudou say no here?"Fine then, I guess i can try some later", he hesitated to say before Sakanoue gave another bright beam that could blind him,"Thank you so much! I can call you maybe when it's done!", Sakanoue said, getting out his own small phone with a dorky panda case on it, to which Fudou wasn't sure if he wanted that 4th actual contact to be this kind of guy, for Sakanoue's sake more than his. He found a good way to fit it into persuasive conversation, which Fudou felt he had to give it now. Pretty sneaky. Kino was smiling from a distance while watching the boiling pot, since Sakanoue wasn't doing so right now to talk to his newly made friend."Oh er, I don't have my phone on me right now, I left it in my dorm so...", Fudou lied with no issue, he wasn't going to get one upped that easily,"Oh, that's fine, I can write down my one for you to add later!", He was extremely determined, seemingly on a mission to gather as manyfriends as possible. He was looking for a pen and paper before Fudou quickly went"It's fine, I'll remember it from a quick look", he said looking down at the number from the younger boys phone, hoping it didn't sound sarcastic. Point is, he could say he had forgotten it later, as if this kid would be able to see his lie,"Wow really? That's so cool!" he gawked at the acclaimed prowess of Fudou's memory,"Yeah yeah, I guess I'll be seeing you later then", he shoved a departing gang up,"Okay, see you later Fudou!", He waved back in a kiddish way before finally getting back to the meal. He made a friend!That was probably the longest he lasted with the positive types of people here so far, only mildly avoiding number exchanging, though he felt he was going to be held by that. He felt a little bad he had to repay Sakanoue's kindness with such sour actions, but it was more unfair to lead them on into him being someone anything other than some rebel with secondary motives. He definitely wasn't going to be avoiding the beef bowl tasting though, so he supposed he should get excited for that...Whoopee. Now, where was Ichihoshi?
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That was probably the longest he lasted with the positive types of people here so far, only mildly avoiding number exchanging, though he felt he was going to be held by that. He felt a little bad he had to repay Sakanoue's kindness with such sour actions, but it was more unfair to lead them on into him being someone anything other than some rebel with secondary motives. He definitely wasn't going to be avoiding the beef bowl tasting though, so he supposed he should get excited for that...Whoopee. Now, where was Ichihoshi?Fudou thought he would try going to the higher levels of the campsite to look down upon the soccer fields for a better birds eye view, and then if he wasn't, he would just assume he was in his room. It was possible he was out doing his own shady business too though, which Fudou could try and trace him back to. Something like that would be where he would be directly contacting Orion of course, so with that information, he can plan more ahead. He still promised Taka to make sure no one got hurt too. Just then, he recalled what Kageyama had told him about Kidou, the way he would figure out Orion, which mind you is an unnamed feat, seeing as no one had any idea how good Orion disciples were at concealing themselves, But if Kidou really could figure it all out to help inform Fudou of things he may miss, then he was all for it.As Fudou looked down, he could spot the Russian, right there kicking the ball around with Inamori and co. Perhaps Orion spies were good actors, but true colours never sprouted yet. By dirty tactics, Fudou had been informed they can hurt other players purposely, as well as through his internet digging, found Orion was a company that specialised in the production and enrichment of soccer, making uniforms, studs, balls etc, and of good quality too. This all meant these disciples had a wide range of things in their possession, though with Fudou's own experience of having illegitimate soccer equipment, he could only imagine they assisted these kids with their Orion ordeals. Perhaps it was worth keeping an eye on the feet in the next match. Heck, who knows if the coach had altered the Japanese team's spikes to fight fire with fire, though they didn't feel like anything beyond normal. Fudou kept observing Ichihoshi for a while, it was hard from so high up but manageable on a basic sense, examining his most likely held back skills because he really didn't seem like anyone special. He was alright but he wasn't someone you'd expect would be especially accepted by Japan from abroad to be on the team. Unless the coach had no choice of course, but that only points more to him holding back and forcibly being on the team. Interesting, to say the least. Perhaps Fudou could try and push him to a more meaningful level in training, or better yet, have one of the more competitive players like Kira or Haizaki kick about with him, though Fudou couldn't initiate without getting suspicious perhaps."Ah Fudou, what are you doing up here?", Came a familiar voice as Fudou turned his head in no panic, the perks of being someone not easily startled. It was Kazemaru, catching him with his suspicious actions, but hopefully he won't figure what he's really doing in a blunt scope."Just watching a bit of the training, I should ask the same for you...", he gave a look as Kazemaru nodded his head to the vending machine. That was oddly placed up here..."Would it not be easier to watch from outside the cages?","Not without them seeing me and asking to join...besides I like a bird's eye view","Aren't you here to play soccer?","Yeah, but not casually about with those sorts of guys", he shrugged, coming off as antisocial as ever, Kazemaru sighed,"Don't suppose I'm one of those sorts", Kazemaru folded his arms and smirked, giving the request to play together for a bit,"Not really, maybe we can play a little bit later...im just interested in the new guy.", He thought he would drop, maybe get a few people on the teams opinion about the spy beforehand."Ichihoshi?","Yep...don't you think it's weird he came all the way from Russia to play with Japan?", Kazemaru shrugged, forgetting the water he was going to get from the vending machine,"Player exchanges happen all the time I guess, the coach must have seized the opportunity, never seen one of his games though. He seemed alright in training","A bit clingy though right?", Fudou looked out at him to examine his face for any potential lead on whether he was going to keep things true, though he knows Fudou doesn't care much. Or does he?"A lot of the first years are just eager to learn from us I guess. We should show them some high examples", Kazemaru essentially thought so too, but reminded the guy that this spy was indeed a first year. Seems like he would get away with the nice guy act because of it, unlike Sakanoue though, it rather pissed Fudou off more than lightly peeving him."Guess we do","Oh, and Kidou said that he was going to keep on teaching us a few more hissatsu tactics at the next training session","More? Yikes", he signed, the team had already learnt the Angel Robe this morning,"Yeah, if there's anything about Kidou, he is thorough.","I guess so...was that what he was like at Raimon too?","As our playmaker, yeah, you don't have to worry about him missing anything". Kazemaru admired Kidou much like everyone else at Teikoku, even Kageyama. It made Fudou wonder even more why they all thought he could replace this hole in their hearts, at least in a soccer stronghold way."So I've been told""Are you planning on helping lead too? I can't imagine how strong the team would be if you two work together, plus with Nosaka later on." Kazemaru could sort of tell Fudou felt slightly backed by how amazing Kidou was, but he knew not to sleep on Fudou either. He didn't think so, but the use of Fudou was one of the main reasons Teikoku had got their act back together. He didn't think he fit in,and maybe he didn't personality wise, but he was certainly an asset."I was more or less planning to sit back and watch for now at least... get a proper settled feel.","I see." Kazemaru accepted the answer, not that Fudou needed Kazemaru's okay in this team. The two just looked out and watched their teammates play from above."Huh, you're right, a bird's eye view is pretty good."They lingered there talking for a while before going back to their dorm rooms till the next practise session. Frankly while this traitor was going to be difficult in showing who he truly is, there wasn't much to gather, so he took the time to relax a little before the training in the day. Fudou in particular was trying to perfect his own shoot move, the Maximum Circus, due to the fact that shoot hissatsu were usually the most popular and required within the tournament. No one could deny they were cool to have either, being able to score a goal with something so visually stunning. He was a midfielder of course but a shoot is never a bad thing to have on any player. He wasn't looking for a spotlight either way, but still needed to make sure they could win. After the day training schedules, and a couple of extra hours with Kazemaru and even Kidou, Fudou was ready to call in for dinner this time, with everyone in the cafeteria themselves. Luckily they barely filled such a large eating space so that he could take himself to a corner, maybe text Taka for what it was worth. Then a certain red haired boy caught sight of him,"Oh, Fudou!" Sakanoue waved over, signalling his invitation to the cool kid's table. Endou, Mansaku, and a steaming pot with big sister Aki. They were the only ones in right now, he knew it was a bad call to come early. He gave a fake smile at forgetting his arrangements, quickly trying to think up his excuses, and remembering the phone number,"Ah, Fudou, great skills today!", Endou said for about the seventh time today, and that was just to him, he was always trying to encourage everyone."You too captain", he paid it back less enthusiastically, there was no point in saying 'captain' the same way he did with Sakuma, as he took a seat next to the tall muscular Mansaku. Sakanoue and him shared a room, and he swore with their differing features, it was like something from a sitcom, despite both being the liberos. Of course he was asked to be one of the selected few to eat. Fudou gazed to see the other two were in the process of eating their share, Endou going to be done before Fudou even got a chance to take a sip,"This is really good Fudou, you gotta try it", their captain said, muffling with a mouthful, as Mansaku nodded his head and indulged. Sakanoue was clearly eating this up with a smile, proud of himself, maybe it wasn't so bad...but then again, this could be exactly like one of those times you lie to an infant to make them feel good, 'pretend' you're eating their play-dough spaghetti, or acting like their scribbly drawing is the next Mona Lisa. They could just be sucking it up like men to please the likes of him...which could only mean the possibility of it being gut wrenching is there. Probably not that bad, but Endou seems like he would eat anything. Surely these dudes would let Fudou in on the act though."Oh yeah, sorry for forgetting to send you that text", Fudou looked away a little as Sakanoue had forgot for a moment himself,"Oh, that's fine! You're here now anyway", Sakanoue pushed the bowl, as Kino appeared to pour a bit from the pot for Fudou, it was an obvious fair amount. Sakanoue gave a deep breath,"Okay!", He took out a notepad and a green pen, with a tanooki on its end,"What do you all think?", he looked eager to learn, with hungry eyes that might as well take this bowl Fudou was stalling to eat. 'Suck it up you big baby' he thought to himself as he took the spoon and gave a quick starting sip, wincing slightly at the heat to adjust as he then put the spoonful in his mouth and properly tasted. Huh, turns out it wasn't too bad. Endou just kept eating,"Amazing! You're a natural Sakanoue", he gave barely a critique, elaborating wasn't the captain's strong suit it seemed, he either liked it or, in a rare case, disliked it."Thank you Endou!""Perhaps cutting smaller cuts with the beef, and maybe use more onions for sweetness", Mansaku had a much more useful answer to which the younger boy was writing down eagerly.Fudou was tasting it a bit more, due to his poorer way of living, he hasn't had refined taste buds, but with his small experience on cooking himself, mainly when his mother couldn't, like when she broke her leg...or got too drunk...or just wasn't feeling it."You need more salt", he spoke out,"It dissolves more into the water, if you let it sit it can provide more taste for all the vegetables too, only half a tablespoon extra though.", everyone gave him a bewildered glare as the punk seemed to be the chef."W-woah, okay!", The boy quickly noted that down as Endou gave another gasp,"Do you cook Fudou?", Kino asked out of nowhere, also dazed by this."No...", he lied after realising how weird he sounded, he didn't want to be known as some pansy ass cook. Everyone would eat it up. But it was too late now, they didn't believe him, which was his cue to leave."Welp, that was pretty good kid, keep at it I guess, I'll be going now..","You're not going to finish?", Mansaku spoke up, you could tell by his voice he was trying to get him to consider the young chef. Since when did he care, did this kid just have a legion of older brothers?"Can't, I gotta practise.", He went to turn around as Kino had somehow appeared behind him,"Can't practice effectively on an empty stomach, can you?", She smiled, but it showed no hint of being intimidating, so why did he feel like that?"Are you a manager for this team?", The boy couldn't comprehend this sort of reaction from Kino, as he replied rather snarkily to try and absolve any friendly aura he may have accidentally built up, but she wasn't having it,"On the original Raimon team and within Tonegawa, yes I was, needless to say I know what I am talking about". This sweet looking girl suddenly gave a bite in a polite way, he couldn't deny he was impressed."Shame, if only you could actually tell me what to do huh?", he gave a shit-eating grin directly at her, but then it didn't help that his stomach had rumbled with quite an uproar just seconds after. Whose side was his stomach even on? Everyone at the table giggled as the punk got embarrassed. Endou considerately stopped chuckling first before breaking the ice"Come on Fudou, sit with us some more, we're all friends here!", He gave more of that charm as the boy seemed cornered."Ugh...fine", he growled defeated as Kino stepped out of his way so he can get back to his seat.
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He gave a few extra pointers, and maybe a few suggestions more on the dish, to which Sakanoue took it surprisingly effectively, he definitely showed his gratitude at least. Either way, he kept the subject on the bowl so that it would avoid speaking more about him. Being an introvert was hard nowadays when these sorts of people were around, always asking and interested in what you're doing. Everyone else had eventually arrived shortly after, only Kazemaru giving a quick smug smirk at him, similar to what Fudou had always done in someone else's expense, and got a quick sneer back. From what the secluded rebel had turned into in just a matter of a few days was almost amusing. Once he couldn't stall any longer though, and finished the meal, he tried his best to get out of this social situation."Going off to practise now Fudou?", Endou smirked to him with a determined look...,"Maybe I can join you?", Endou legitimately had been saving goals all day, does this kid do anything besides soccer."I'm not really training my shooting" he shrugged with a white lie to the goalkeeper,who still didn't seem deterred,"I don't mind kicking the ball around either", Endou kept that same smile,"I was only going to go for a run", he was already trying to run away in the form of cool walking,"Suppose we could try in tomorrow's practice.", He reasoned as Endou just let him go,"Alright then, Have a good one!","Thank you again Fudou!", went Sakanoue before their talking became muffles, a quick glance through the cafeteria window showed Endou and Sakanoue making their own excited plans, but he made sure to thoroughly escape their sights, climbing up the stairs, that counted as his 'run' right? Truth was, all he wanted to do was relax for the rest of the day, doing anything he could to run from the likes of friendship.It was a little like this all week, somehow Fudou just wasn't allowed to not have someone ask or talk to him at least once every hour, it was hard to escape sight after practise, and it seemed everyone else was eager to get to know him more. The team was slowly trying to form friendly terms, even the more dangerous players like Haizaki and Kira couldn't escape this sort of routine. It got Fudou peeved that he couldn't even plan in action more how he could spice more things to his liking, because this team still had too much to grow into, and that wouldn't be done in their calm conditions now. He was going to have to ration his time more carefully and create a better balance, for the sake of everything, because really a few of these children had to toughen up.It was Game day. Finally.Fudou and the rest of the Inazuma Japan team were in the midst of changing. A few were nervous, a few were confident, but everyone had their sights set on winning this game. They did not gather, bond and train relentlessly for the whole week just so they could lose in the first match. This was against the Korean team, Korea was never too much the favourite in the tournament either, and unlike Japan, there hasn't been so much as a large movement in their soccer, but they still should not be underestimated. Red Bison was a new team too, meaning they had no idea in which they played, and the coach had no useful advice about any of it, or he simply wasn't going to give it yet.However Fudou wasn't worried. With Kidou leading, a squad of amazing strikers, tight defenders and a goalkeeper who barely let's anything in easy, Korea should be more scared than them. But then there was Orion, 'controlling the games'. How exactly do they do that? Is there any idea on the scores they want? Do they inform who should win? He would imagine Ichihoshi knew what he had to do at least, it's been a week and there has been no break in his happy attitude, the lucky bastard was on the bench anyway so there was ways he could avoid suspicion. It was starting to become fairly believable he wasn't in fact an utter douchebag. But from what Fudou knew already, essentially they would try and resort to 'accidental' injury if they were losing, or a threat had appeared. Keep an eye on the suspicious players, note of any injuries occur, and start analysing. Get some juicy details for Kageyama to work with and work for."Okay everyone! I have the starting line up right here!", The coach gave a joyous expression as his masked assistant showed the placements. Fudou started with who was on the bench...the God striker himself, Goujin, Saginuma, Nishikage, Sakanoue, Golem and... Ichihoshi. Great, one less analytic to go through, of course with the plays he had shown, he didn't blame the coach for putting him as a sub, if that was Ichihoshi's plan or the coach's plan was still unclear. Now he would have to rely on the potential disciples on the opposing team, whoever they were.But Fudou was on the main lineup, in his Midfield position, he would notably be fighting alongside Gouenji, Haizaki, Kidou, Fubuki, Kazemaru, Inamori , Hiura, Tatsuya, Mansaku and Endou. Definitely not a bad team, of course, they still have that mystery individual who Clario had stated was already at a level that could threaten the likes of Barcelona Orb, so frankly, Korea doesn't stand a chance if whoever that was decides to step up.Kira notably tisked loudly as he found out he was benched, going to sit down in a strop, while everyone else, while not devastated, took to their seats. Sakanoue of course still smiling next to Fudou's roommate Saginuma. The two extra Goalkeepers probably expected to be benched from the start."What's the plan then Kidou?", Endou asked him as they all gathered in a circle, of course from what they heard of the coach,he tends to add his own two perfect cents in during the game, allowing his obscure training drills to take heed on their own instincts. He smiled at the teams quick realisation and independence. With that, they turned to Kidou, the absolute leader of the pitch, for their game plan who was gazing out to the Korean team, not really getting much to observe from."For now we should just stick to our main positions and observe their style, I will give the commands for when we will require our own hissatsu tactics and start shooting with Gouenji and Haizaki.", He said with a cool head, no one really having any objections. Fudou was told Kidou could figure Orion out, eventually, so this plan also seemed to fit in with this idea, so there really was no panic."Guys, we're up against the world! With the world before us, lets play soccer!", Gave the, probably not, last vigorous words from their captain, as the match was ready to start, and everyone gave a pumped up"Yeah!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKMjfWgt25g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkKe4ZEoyfw (Basically going to be just giving episode links for the parts i don't really need to write about, or Fudou has no special involvement in)
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Victory. With a score of 3-2, Japan had won their first preliminaries match against Korea and will be advancing to the second match in the preliminaries."Yeah! We won", Inamori yelled out as the rest of the main cheery team. Haizaki and Kira of course, despite being the ones to break any chance of a tiebreaker, weren't like this, they were too busy 'despising' eachother as best buddies. Fudou was pleased, but not completely ecstatic, it was almost like they never won a match before, but the grouch didn't seem to want to show his excitement. This match was still quite an interesting display, he loved learning so much, and hopefully Kageyama will enjoy this share, or not."Hmph, aren't you lucky", the boy took his bag in response to Goujin with a sarcastic quip, and left the area to which the team had gathered.It was after the celebration, Fudou left a little early in general as expected, he could only take so much before he was forced to hermit once again in solitude, whether it was Kira and Haizaki's synchronised squabbling, Goujin's over exaggeration at a picture he was barely in, or the rest of the children. It was one game, and merely the beginning of their towering journey to number one, and here they were reacting like they had already won. He supposed he got it, any victory was sweet, but his reaction wasn't as vocal as them. But not only did he have a victory under the belt, the Orion disciples had already given a feel for how they play dirty, mirrors in cleats to abstract vision, purposeful injury and rough play, and quite essentially, a will that will get rid of anyone who stood in their way, teammate or opposition. Fudou still wondered a little why they needed to injure the captain. Did he know about Orion? Was Korea mainly a team against the organisation, or perhaps he was one himself, crumbling over his own morals after they had injured Gouenji, to the point they took matters into their own hands. But that painful knee to the stomach definitely wasn't an accident, and he thought it was stupid that people would believe that was the case. Either way, it seems others were informed about the likes of Orion, it was only a matter of time before Japan found out, and hopefully not on losing terms.But if there was anything to be peeved at, it was the likes of which Gouenji was out of commission. He was taken to the hospital straight after the match rather than back at the campgrounds, but he made sure to make everyone not worry about him and dampen their first victory, though it was the reason for Kidou's a even more solemn mood. He hasn't really talked to anyone about what Gouenji had said to him, and wasn't exactly being as social as usual. He seemed to be thinking, it was clear to tell somehow...but perhaps Fudou could speed up the process of finding things out when utilizing him, just like Kageyama had suggested. Later though, he was waiting for a moment of which he could go in with, rather than suspiciously being the on to initiate conversation. Kageyama was meant to be told tomorrow an update on the Orion characteristics, and Fudou had plenty to tell, so it was only fitting he should now prepare for the next info dumps.After a while of relaxation, he had a quick talk with his mother, who was allegedly 'doing well', he could never be sure and it's what ticked him off, to the point he couldn't really have a conversation over phone, and just blurted out simple responses. It was sad what their relationship had grown into, but it ought to change soon, he was working on it, but he was only reminded how much of a fine job he needed to do about it. It was after a moment of boredom that he started to hear the door open, it was Saginuma entering his room as he waved bye to Tatsuya and entered,"Oh, I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?", he asked, probably not meaning it sarcastically, but Fudou had no idea where this weirdo got that from when he was still fully clothed and perching against the wall,"Er...no?", he asked, not sure whether he was being pranked or not. Saginuma bowed despite the action,"You played very well today, Let our team flourish victory further on the journey!", he called out, raising his arms in some romantic version, as if he was reciting poetry, which is where he keeps getting these fortune cookie lines it seems,"Thanks, you t-", Fudou stopped as he realised Saginuma didn't reply, trying hamhandedly to hide his futile attempts to repay compliments,"I'm clearing out for a bit anyway, good night", he got up slowly from his bed and put his hands in his pockets, it felt a bit rude to up and leave, but Fudou wasn't done for tonight,"Oh, alright then, good night, May we all hav-", Saginuma's voice dimmed as Fudou had already closed the door and left, it seems most people were hitting an early night, despite not knowing their next opponent yet and just winning their first game, they didn't let themselves get rusty. If only they could adapt. But among these people, he did not see Kidou anywhere, he would perhaps knock on the door but seeing as his roomie Gouenji was gone, he didn't want to look like he had turned up randomly for conversation either. He was most likely on edge, so it would be best not to create potential misunderstandings either. A bad thing for Fudou as well but, it was past the time he could be outside, so while that keeps Kidou in one place, it made it riskier to get a tree's eye view perhaps, though technically they were still within the vicinity of the campgrounds.Fudou looked around for a small while, before coming across the guy still sitting amongst Kazemaru and Endou...great, it seemed he was interrupting a pretty private conversation between the old friends, it would be an awkward fit but he was already spotted by the three,"Oh, Fudou, hey!", Endou gave a wave and a smile, Fudou dreading yet another 'You did great' and 'Good job', but on the more serious note it started off on, could he really break attitude? They were all third years either way, so why treat Fudou like he needed something kept from him,"Hey...not interrupting am i? Just needed some air", he asked, telling fibs as he took the pathway leading to the soccer courts, usually not having the manners to be considerate as Kazemaru shrugged,"Not really, we're just talking about the match", he tried to be blunt as Kidou stayed a little silent and thinking, giving a small nod to Fudou,"Did you notice anything strange about the match today?", he asked, his goggles acting like direct cameras darting straight to his eyes. For such a dorky look and design, Kidou knew how to look fairly intimidating, but Fudou supposed he had to start off with another lie, keeping his cool against that of the king."Don't think so. I suppose Korea was pretty rough...", he didn't lead on with anything after that as Kidou just gave a light grumble to sound like he agreed,"Well yeah, but we won now! Let's carry on with the momentum", Endou persuaded, the conversation was already visually obvious that Kidou was trying to talk to them about his findings,"But Gouenji...it still just doesn't make sense.", Kidou almost ignored the likes of Endou's unhelpful comment, it didn't seem like the point, but it only confirmed they were pondering,"Look Kidou, Gouenji is gonna return, it completely sucks but for now we have to hold the fort for when he comes back","I know, but do you honestly think he would get his guard put off so easily...", he seemed distressed as Endou's face went serious again, and Kazemaru seemingly listening to it...while Fudou just stood there acting like some third wheel. He supposed he was invited enough into the conversation, so he approached,"Talking about what happened with Gouenji?","Yes...I think there was something that actively caused Gouenji to fall like that.". Sharp as always, ey Kidou?"Well we can't assume Korea exactly cheated like that", While Endou stayed ignorant, Kazemaru butted in a little,"But they weren't playing fairly either, and for Gouenji to take that fall right after showing off his new amazing move in a collision seems more than a coincidence.". Good old Kazemaru, acting as the voice of reason, a neutral to the argument, Endou seems to want to believe the best but, Kidou was dead on, Korea was cheating, they were apart of Orion, and it took the Absolute Leader one small incident to figure it, even if he is treating it as a theory based on vengeance.."Maybe it's just the world level for us...a different play style we weren't ready for, and they weren't ready to face ours. The ref didn't call any fouls either.", Endou asked with his hand on Kidou's shoulder, easing him a little, he seemed to think Kidou was overthinking."I guess that's true, but even Gouenji seemed to think there was something going on, i want to look into it.", he spoke with a small silence, Fudou not knowing any of them as well as each other, but now was as good a time as any,"Well...even so, i guess we won, It was Korea's problem they were so dysfunctional, having to resort to the petty things they did.", the three other boys looked at him, they were being attentive,"They even injured their own captain, i guess we are just lucky to be with a team where we know people well enough i guess", he sat down as they all let him speak, Kidou being the only one to duck his head down a little."Essentially everyone took part in the FFI too with fair game, so it's unlikely we got any dickhead saboteurs like that."He looked directly at Kidou, who himself gave a look back as if they had a small, mutual, understanding, a slight telepathic connection to which Fudou had been transferring the fractures of information for Kidou to put together for later. That statement he made was bound to remind Kidou of the likes of their one foreigner, Ichihoshi, in a way to which didn't directly make it seem like he knew what he was talking about. After what happened with Gouenji, he would be making sure something didn't happen like that. But it almost felt like the specific look Fudou gave him may have given it away, despite being subtle in his own opinion."Language please", Kazemaru sighed as Fudou rolled his eyes, he had to keep Endou pure from all curse words it seemed."Yeah yeah.", he shrugged off as Kidou kept his own mouth shut. Endou instead stood himself up with a hefty sigh, seemingly going to his own room,"Well, i'm heading off to my room now to unwind, the world is amazing isn't it?", he tried to end things on a positive note as he places his hand on Kidou's shoulder one more time,"He's going to be fine Kidou, don't worry about it.", he was oblivious as he stated in an attempt of support, to which Kidou seemed fed up with the slight ignorance and nodded his head with a yeah. Endou flashed one more cheesy grin before heading off to the dorms, and then Kidou immediately turning around and took a different way, leaving just Kazemaru and Fudou again,"Where do you think he's going?", Fudou asked a little smugly, but made sure it didn't come off in that way to completely demolish everything he built so subtly, but he was proud, he knew exactly what Kidou was going to do. Research."Who knows, he's a little upset after what happened to Gouenji, probably going to cool his head","Fair enough, speaking of heads, is yours alright after that save?","Yeah, nothings broken. Those Koreans still didn't hold back though","Does Kidou think they were purposely playing dirty or something?", Kazemaru hesitated to answer, but he was sure Fudou wouldn't rile or panic,"I think so yeah, it makes a little sense too. Kidou wouldn't make this stuff up","Yeah well...I guess we'll have to see what becomes of it", he gestured, knowing full well the effects he was creating, manipulating the likes of Kidou was risky business, but it's not like it's anything bad, since Ichihoshi is a legitimate traitor of course.It was after that in which Kazemaru left, and Fudou had decided it might be best for him once again to go to sleep, spying on whatever was going to keep Kidou up might not be effective, and he had the whole of tomorrow to monitor. Not to mention the call with Kageyama that God knows when will happen,but seeing as he took the time to scout Fudou's schedule, it wouldn't be inconvenient to anything but his free time.Next afternoon, after a relaxed practise, with a more entertaining twist now that Kira and Haizaki were apparently best of enemies, constantly calling eachother out and snatching the ball. It was exhausting to everyone there to play organised soccer, but the coach allowed it, they were refining Penguin the God Devil which was currently Japan's saving grace with no Last Resort. Fudou took time to enjoy the show, but it was after about an hour of waiting around until he finally got the text,K: 10 minutes, Clear.Fudou wanted to get this done with as soon as possible, as he immediately called back the saved number himself and waited for a response. It took about 3 tries before Kageyama gave in,"This better be good if you're calling me boy.","Thought I'd get it over and done with, but you'll be pleased to know a few things hopefully", he didn't say it in the most enthusiastic manner, but hopefully it was good enough for his Highness."Before we begin, let me instead first tell you what I could find out after watching their game. The Orion seals were Numbers 9, 10 and 11, correct?". Fudou didn't exactly recall their numbers well, but three Koreans, no other player being as visually rough, then it must have been them. Fudou didn't have a good feeling about this."Yep.","And their tactics were to physically take out Japan's strongholds, such as that spectacular play performed by the flame striker?","Well, obviously, but didn't you want to know details?","I already saw the mirror in the cleats, they had to have blinded him for the likes of the boys skill to trip up like that".......Shit."Wait, so you can already see all of this stuff?","It's broadcast to Japan...did you forget that?", he asked condescendingly, it was that cool voice he kept over the phone,"So what the hell is the point of me being here to tell you all this shit?","Watch your mouth.","Right Right, whatever, just what's the point of me here","This all sounds like complaining...", he groaned as Fudou was already frustrated,"No, i'm just interested in why you needed me so much, if you can apparently get everything with such top notch observational skills, sir?", he said a little mockingly to himself, Kageyama could tell he was being like this though, as he thought he should just try and be progressive to get this over with, it seemed Fudou had nothing useful,"I'd like you to tell me the things that would not show on the soccer pitch, what Zhao Jinyun knows, what methods your seal has to take down players outside the game, anything that allows me to get an approach.","Well i'm so sorry, but Ichihoshi has been laying low and is still continuing his act, all i can do is monitor until he cracks. And the coach has been telling us sh- nothing.", he quickly recalled his words before being nagged again,"Well...i am a patient man. I will certainly utilise you for as much as i can, do not get me wrong.", he spoke, talking as if he was blatantly using Fudou like some sort of tool, the fact he told it right to his face made Fudou feel even more disgust. He didn't like being looked down upon, but that won't matter when Kageyama becomes another irrelevant loser beneath him, it was this sense of pride and his own patience that gave him his cooling edge."I think you'll be pleased to know though, i was able to subtly drop the idea into your precious Kidou's head. He's pretty on edge about what happened.". There was a silence."How?", the man sounded displeased, for whatever reason, it was his idea to have Kidou look into it after all."I just dropped the possibility of a traitor the team wouldn't know well, the foreigner, being around. That's enough for him isn't it? Just as if you were there", Fudou kept on giving a condescending tone back, fuelling into Kageyama's obsession with Kidou. He didn't care if it was the death of him, no one mocks him and gets away without a little blow-back."Huh, that's the smartest thing you've done for me. But then again, you shouldn't take credit for my idea should you. You can leave it to Kidou.","Hey, if it's a paid slack off, then i'm a winner aren't I?""Do not get careless.", Kageyama put it blunt,"Now is there anything else you need to tell me or are we done here.","That depends, what AREN'T you unsure of that happened in that match.","Nothing really. You will be the one to call me whenever you find something useful from now on. Do not text, they can be recalled"."Great, bye boo", Fudou hung up immediately and snickered a little at the ironic comment, he could only imagine how much he got under Kageyama's skin. If only he had someone to share these laughs with. It was sad having something only you could laugh at.What a week. What a match, the first obstacle was gone and he could now progress to the next stage of a long, tiresome ladder to success, with a pawn Kidou unwinding the threads of mystery upon Orion all for him.