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The bright and sunny day actually felt like a mockery to their meeting.
Gouenji, Kidou, Endou, and Fubuki had gathered at one place for their casual meet-up, and no one was actually prepared for what Gouenji said next.
"I am going to infiltrate Fifth Sector." Gouenji dropped the bomb casually and kept sipping the coffee.
"No, you're not." Kidou was quick to shoot it down. Gouenji's sharp eyebrows did the weird, furrowing thing, and Fubuki had to stifle his laughter.
"What do you mean by no? Since when are you my mother?"
"Why would you even listen to your mother, Gouenji-kun? You're an adult," Fubuki smiled softly, watching two of his friends have a stare-down.
Kidou's goggles were equally intimidating as Gouenji's aristocratic eyebrows.
"Guys, calm down," Endou tried to mediate between two of his best friends.
Shirou watched his captain curiously as Endou's face scrunched up in an uneasy smile that revealed a lot, no matter how much he tried to hide. Raising a hellion of a child gave Shirou the instinct that could rival a helicopter parent.
"You came up with this plan, didn't you? Captain?" Fubuki asked, placing his coffee mug down and looking at Endou unflinchingly. Endou wiggled in his seat a little and refused to meet his eyes, and this also grabbed Kidou's attention, which means the goggled glare was on him now.
"You said we needed inside information." Endou was quick to wilt under Kidou's stare down.
"By which I meant, we would need from their side to defect to us. Not send someone to…. Why am I even explaining this to you?" Kidou's disappointed voice was worse than angry ones, and Endou seemed properly chided, but it seemed like he was not done with his tirade, "and why did you think you should be the one to go?"
Not one to be intimidated or back down, Gouenji was quick to match fire with fire. "And who do you think should be the one, you?"
"Uhm, maybe me?" Fubuki tried to interject, "I could do that, I guess. Gouenji-kun is too high profile and… "
But he was cut off by three simultaneous 'NO.'
"I’ll deal with you later, Fubuki. I need to nip this in the bud first."
Fubuki was quick to raise his hands in surrender and wait out the storm that was raining down on Gouenji's blond hair.
"You are literally the face of Japanese soccer right now, the rising star. Why would they even believe that you want to join them?" Kidou's fingers tightened around the cup in his hands, and Endou had to creep in to pry the cup away.
Kidou had a history of breaking things when angry.
Not the loud kind where he would throw things at you.
No
That would have been a better option because they could just dodge the deadly projectile.
This was the quiet kind where he would clutch things so hard that they would crumble or shatter. They had had to patch up his hands a few times already.
"Oh, so you think I am an idiot?"
"Don't put words in my mouth, Gouenji. I never said that"
"Well, it did sound like that. You think I wouldn't think about it? Think this through?"
"Didn't sound like you thought anything at all."
"OK, Time out." Endou stood up abruptly, took out some cash to pay the bills, and literally dragged his friends out. Fubuki apologized to the host and other customers in the cafe and hurried out to join.
Thankfully, they had driven to the cafe in two different cars, so it was easy to keep the fuming two separate until they reached Endou's place.
"If you raise your voice in my house, you two are gonna have to answer to Natsumi," Endou warned both and keyed himself in.
"I'm home," Endou greeted cheerfully, "And I got company."
"I thought you guys were hanging out somewhere else." Natsumi looked up from her computer as Endou approached her for a quick kiss.
"We did, then we decided our conversation was not for public ears and headed here. Is that ok?"
"Is it about the fifth sector?" she asked, looking at the ensemble curiously.
"Yup, and things got a little heated, so we ran before they could kick us out. You know Gouenji can be loud."
"Excuse me?" Gouenji looked at his best friend in shock.
Natsumi laughed a little and got back to her work, "Go ahead. I'll ask Tsubaki-san to make you guys something. You guys better stay for dinner."
And by this point, everyone had learned not to fight with Natsumi. You don't pick a losing battle.
Kidou took off his goggles as soon as they entered the room and threw them somewhere on the couch behind him. Gouenji threw himself on the only available bean bag and kept his eye on his fuming best friend. Fubuki had to take the couch with Kidou, so he took the discarded goggles and put them on the table safely. And Endou closed the door behind him.
Once everyone was seated, things were back to being tense and silent again.
"Can we stop fighting like grade-schoolers and work together?" Endou asked exasperatedly.
"I dunno, maybe I should continue to act like an idiot since that's what Kidou thinks I am," Gouenji replied, huffing and crossing his arms. Almost like a child, but never looking away from Kidou's red gaze.
And how could Kidou back down from a challenge? Even if it was his best friend, "I never said that, and you know it," and straightened up in his seat.
"Oh, really? Then what was that?" Gouenji replied in an equally cutting tone, his face never losing its frown.
"I don't know. Maybe worry for one of my best friends?" Kidou did not understand.
Why can't they see why he is so much against this plan? He doesn't want to put his friends in danger. He has been working on acquiring a mole in the Fifth Sector. He has been working tirelessly, trying to find someone suitable who could be their inside man. Do they not trust him? He just needs a little more time.
"Kidou, it's on me." Endou interjected awkwardly, "When I heard you talking about needing inside information, I guess I thought we needed a mole. I shared this with Gouenji and told him I had to do this, but then he refused, saying I cannot lie, and things just got out of hand, and he said he would do it."
And he gives up.
Endou is good-meaning, but he is a soccer idiot. Lesser than how he was back then when they first met, all thanks to Natsumi, but still that impulsive and blindingly positive guy everyone had come to admire and follow. The same positivity is going to give him an aneurysm someday.
Kidou just rubbed his forehead, trying to stop the incoming headache.
"And I should be happy about it that it did not originate from him?" Kidou's red eyes zeroed in on his captain, all tired but still angry, "And why did you not tell me? Discuss with me before just deciding? If someone has to go anyway, maybe I should be the one; we can't risk Gouenji sullying his reputation. He is on the verge of becoming the identity of Japanese soccer. And the inside man needs to be able to convince them that he is one of them. Who better than the Kageyama's 'greatest creation'?"
"Or maybe I…" Fubuki tried to enter the fray. His voice still sounded as kind and as soft as it was a decade ago.
"Shut up, Fubuki."
"Yep, Shutting up."
"It can't be you, Kidou. We can't send you to the enemy camp like some pig for sacrifice." Gouenji groaned, putting his face in his hands tiredly.
"And you can?" Kidou was also getting tired of this argument. They were just circling back to square one every time, and he was nowhere near convincing Gouenji to stop.
"Well, I am the only logical option. Endou can't lie to save his life. One wrong word about soccer and he will be going 'Soccer is supposed to be free' route and blow his cover. We need Fubuki up north, and we can't risk you going undercover."
And Kidou agreed, at least to a large part of that statement.
Endou is too passionate about his own beliefs, and he would blow his cover instantly. Gouenji was also right about Fubuki being their northern pillar. But what he did not agree with was not being considered. And it left a very foul aftertaste in his mouth.
"Why? Because you think I might fall under their trap again, like in the past? Afraid that I'd go down the villain route? And become Kageyama 2.0?"
He can never escape that man, can he? Not even after the man's death a decade ago.
"And now you are putting words into MY mouth. You know no one thinks that."
Gouenji scowled, but his eyes looked hurt.
Kidou did not want to do that. But he was running out of arguments too quickly and lashed out blindly when he felt betrayed. Even if it had never been a betrayal to begin with.
"Then explain why I am 'not the logical option'."
"For god's sake, Kidou, we need you on the front, leading the resistance. We need someone of your caliber to be the brains behind the operation. We can't risk our Commander being behind the enemy lines where we can't even reach if he ever needed help." Gouenji really, really, needs Kidou to understand because he cannot do this alone.
They have been allies and best friends through thick and thin for years. They have tackled every problem together. He has been so used to Kidou being in his corner, backing their every move like a chess master that moving on with this plan, without Kidou, feels off-kiltering.
Kidou's posture loses its edge, but he is not ready to give up yet. "We have Chairman, Hibiki-san, Kudou-san, and even Natsumi. I think we got brains covered here."
Gouenji looks at him deadpanned, "Chairman has his hands full trying to stop Kinzan Gozou from taking over Raimon, Hibiki-san and Kudou-san are busy convincing other schools that Fifth Sector is bad news."
"More like Filth sector, but go on," Fubuki commented nonchalantly, and everyone turned to look at him, bewildered. "What? Atsuya called it that. It stuck"
"Natsumi is busy working as an investigative journalist to expose them. She barely has any time to head the rebellion. If things don't go in our favor, those guys are going to have to go underground and move in the shadows."
And he looked so tired already.
Has he been eating and sleeping properly? Kidou wonders. But Gouenji is not done with this tirade.
"We need someone to take over once we deal with their managed soccer bullshit. Outing them early puts a target on their backs. So, you have to be front and center with Endou in this thing. We need your face in the frontline, Kidou."
And with that, the fight leaves Kidou's body. Goueji, even Endou and Fubuki have placed the highest form of their trust in his feet. A role they think no one else can fulfill. And from deep within, he knows they are right. But that doesn't mean he has to like it.
He is never gonna be okay with throwing his friends to the wolves. He has faced them himself. He doesn't want the same fate to befall anyone.
But his friends are also capable grown adults, and he can not make decisions for them.
The best he can do is follow logic, and unfortunately, it is on Gouenji's side this time, "I hate it when you start to make sense."
Gouenji's lips curl up to make a ghost of a smile, "I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you. And Fubuki," Gouenji turns to look at the silver-haired man next,"we need you up north. They are slowly starting to spread their influence northward. We need someone smart, reliable, and resilient to lead the rebellion there. And on top of that, you also have Atsuya to look after."
Fubuki's eyes widened in surprise. As if he had never considered that they would take Atsuya into account for this.
Which is bullshit because he had always known how much they adore his brother. Too much if they were to believe his own words.
"I'm sorry, I…I don't mean to sound insensitive, but you guys have already lost your parents. I can't have Atsuya losing his brother as well. Plus, I may also have a… selfish request," he asked tentatively. Gouenji had never looked this vulnerable. Whatever his request is, it is too important for him. Fubuki can not imagine refusing him.
"Ok"
"Can you take in Yuuka?"
"What?"
Fubuki's brain screeched to a halt at this. Yuuka has been Gouenji's greatest treasure all his life. His little sister, as well as the last keepsake of his mother. Yuuka was at least half-raised by her older brother. Gouenji trusting anyone with her safety and care is the highest form of trust one can get from the blond man before them.
"I don't know how long this will take. I don't even know if I will come out of this alive. We don't know the stakes, we don't know how bad this could go. I… I don't want her anywhere near this. Kageyama was bad enough, and I can't do this if I am worrying about her constantly."
And doesn't Fubuki know that? Being a parent when they were a child themselves. Raising children who were never supposed to be their responsibility but doing it nonetheless because the alternative, having them taken away, is too painful to even imagine.
"What about your dad then?" Endou asked him, and Gouenji gave a grimace in return.
"He's an adult and can take care of himself," Gouenji replies with a rueful smile, "Plus, can you imagine telling my dad that he has to move because of 'my soccer'" and asks air-quoting "my soccer."
"Yeah…. Let’s not do that." Endou is quick to backtrack with a frantic shake of his head because Dr. Gouenji and soccer don't mesh well.
"I guess I can take her in, but will he allow this?" Fubuki asked curiously, but he did raise a valid point. Yuuka is thirteen. Still five years away from being considered a legal adult. Legally, she cannot stay anywhere else without parental consent. And knowing Dr. Gouenji, he doesn't like them and could charge them with kidnapping.
"He isn't home most of the time anyway, so Yuuka has been living with me. I have her legal guardianship for ease of purpose. So, it's not up to him anymore. If you agree to it, I'll sign the guardianship transference, and her own preference will also be taken into consideration if dad throws a hissy fit." Gouenji snorted at this, "So, will you take care of her for me?"
"Only until you come back, Gouenji-kun." Fubuki doesn't want to think about 'ifs' only 'when', "I already have my hands full with Atsuya."
Gouenji gives him a grateful smile, and his shoulders rise again. As if his consent has taken a weight off his shoulders.
"I don't like this, Gouenji." Kidou still looks torn over it. He had never been in a position where he had not had a solution at hand. And he doesn't like it one bit.
"Trust me, I'm not jumping for joy exactly myself, but we are running out of options." Gouenji snorts at his irony, and the room plunges into silence for a while.
Each of them was lost in their own train of thought.
About the risks, the dangers, the future, and their hopes.
They just hope it is worth it.
But Kidou will not be Kidou if he did not give at least one desperate try, "Will you at least give me some time to think, to see if we can find another, better way before diving head-first into this madness?"
"Knock yourself out." And Gouenji's laugh sounds hollow.