Title: Forest Fire - Part IV
Author: Viper Inferno
E-mail: viperdvman@gmail.com
Genre: Action Drama
Rated: PG

Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire 
before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide 
quite a bit of the background for this fanfic.

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                                 Forest Fire
                              By Viper Inferno

                                   Part IV


	Azabu Institute of Technology Soccer Stadium, that weekend...

	Kyodai sat in the changing room, leaning back against his locker 
with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together in his lap. There, he 
let his body fall into a meditative state, letting his mind and body join 
together as one. While in his serene trance, very few thoughts entered 
his mind, other than a very dark room lit only by a fire burning 
tranquilly in a fireplace. He felt like he was fitting in a comfortable 
and plush recliner that was floating freely in the warmly lit void. It 
was always his pre-game ritual, ever since he left the Hikawa Jinja to 
live with his aunt and uncle. As little as he followed Shinto, Buddhism, 
or Catholicism, he did learn how to meditate and let his body and mind 
become one through his Karate classes.

	He had already donned his soccer uniform, which consisted of a 
solid red jersey with white stripes down the shoulders and white 
lettering, including the word "Azabu" in Kanji and a small number 21 on 
the front and his surname and number in back, black and red shorts, red 
socks, and black soccer shoes. So he was already prepared and only had 
his pre-game ritual to undertake. The rest of the players, however, 
chatted amongst themselves. Some of the 3rd and 4th year students were 
even hollering a few pre-game chants. Other players, mostly the rookie 
1st years and seasoned 2nd years just acted plain rowdy. However the 
players pumped themselves up for the game, these soccer players did it. 
All the pre-game anxiety, however, didn't break Kyodai from his 
meditative state. However, just as he had joined his mind and body 
together and opened his eyes, the head coached threw the door wide open, 
slamming it against the wall and grabbing all 38 players' attention, thus 
silencing their pre-game antics.

	"Alright you bunch of good for nothings, listen up. During all 
that practice, all that hell I put you through, and all those times I 
busted your chops, I was hard on you for a reason. Some of you first 
years came to Azabu Tech as the best on your soccer team, one of you as 
2-time high school champs," he yelled, glaring directly at Kyodai with a 
stern face during that last sentence, "All that 'I was the best in my 
high school' crap doesn't mean shit on this team. This is college now, 
and all you sorry little excuses for sissy first and second years gotta 
grow up. This is the big league, and you gotta get your heads out of your 
asses and get focused. This ain't no walk in the park. I don't want to 
see any of you rookies, and especially you 3rd and 4th year idiots 
getting too cocky out there. That's how soccer games are lost. Kobe U is 
one of the better soccer teams in Japan. A number of their players 
usually go on to play in the Japan Soccer League. In fact, a couple of 
their players are being scouted for the Japanese National Team. So you 
guys need to get motivated, get out there, and make them look like a 
junior high team. Are you with me Jaguars?"

	Every player in the locker room, Kyodai included, yelled and 
cheered with great motivation in response. "You ladies motivate me," said 
the coach, "Now get your sorry asses out there and play tough. C'mon, 
hurry up!" 

	And with that, all 38 players scurried furiously out of the 
locker room, pumped up, psyched up, and ready to win themselves a soccer 
game. They ran through the halls and gathered at the chute. There, they 
jumped up and down, yelling their pre-game chants, waiting for the signal 
to burst out. It didn't take long for the signal to sound, a jaguar's 
growl playing over the stadium's speaker system and resonating throughout, 
and all 38 players burst out of the chute and onto the soccer field to 
the roar of a crowd of only 13,000 people. It was a normal-sized crowd 
for the game being only a scrimmage, and was only half the size of a 
usual regular season crowd that almost always filled the stadium to 
capacity.

	Once the players had gathered at the bench, waiting for the game 
to start, Yoruno Obake turned to Kyodai. "So Kyodai-kun, I heard you 
found yourself a new girlfriend," said Obake.

	"Yeah, what about it?" Kyodai replied.

	"I can't believe you're actually acting like a real college 
athlete now and actually dating girls," Obake teased, "Since when did 
you crawl out of your shell and started dating not just one girl, but 
now another girl too?"

	"Ha ha ha, very funny," Kyodai sarcastically said.

	"I mean, out of all the girls that have asked you out since you 
first walked onto the grounds of Azabu Tech, you never once went on a 
date with any of them," said Obake.

	"It's not like I asked her out or she asked me out," Kyodai 
responded, "We sort of just clicked, you know?"

	"Yeah, I can understand that," Obake replied, "So, is she here 
now?"

	Kyodai turned back behind them, remembering the tickets he had 
gotten for them a few days earlier, and easily picked Makoto out of the 
thousands of fans in the crowd. She, along with everyone from the Hikawa 
Jinja, sat only about 3 rows up from the bottom bleachers. It was 
perfectly high enough for them to see the whole field, yet close enough 
to the action. They were excellent seats, ones that an Azabu Tech team 
member like Kyodai could easily get for his friends and family, even 
during the regular season.

	"Yeah, she's up there," said Kyodai, pointing in her direction 
to show Obake. 

	"Wow, she's a tall girl. And she's quite pretty too," Obake 
commented.

	"I think so," Kyodai replied.

	Makoto had easily spotted Kyodai and was calling out his name and 
waving at him. Upon her summons, everyone from the shrine, especially Rei, 
caught sight of him and started waving at him and cheering him on. Obake 
and Kyodai both returned their waves before turning back to the other 
players.

	"Are Mamoru-kun and Motoki-kun here too?" Obake asked.

	"They're here," Kyodai replied, "They said they'd be in the 
student section on the other side of the stadium."

	Moments later, the team captain, Hasegawa Yoiichi, gathered the 
players into a massive huddle.

	"Alright guys," said Yoiichi, "It's just like the coach said. 
Don't get cocky out there. I know it's just a scrimmage and it doesn't 
count toward our record for the season, but we need to play like the 
National Championship is on the line. Now let's make them look bad." 

	With his short little motivational speech, all 38 players placed 
their hands in the center, "One, two, three, JAGS!"


	The game...

	Makoto sat with Rei in the 3rd row from the bottom. They were 
joined by Grandpa sitting next to Rei, as suggested by Rei so he wouldn't 
try to pick up Makoto and coerce her into dating him. Behind them in the 
4th row sat Yuuichirou, Romano, and Gabianni. Romano, being the huge 
soccer fan that he was, was more than willing to come to the game. He not 
only came to cheer his brother-like figure Kyodai along, but also to 
watch a real college game for he was only a couple years away from 
possibly joining a college soccer team himself. Gabianni, though, had a 
rather tough time getting everyone from the shrine and Makoto to the game 
with plenty of time to spare before the crowd thickened. He had to make 
two trips to bring everyone since his sedan couldn't fit all 6. He 
brought everyone from the shrine to the stadium and got them into their 
seats, then brought Rei along to pick Makoto up to bring her to the 
stadium. It was a lot of driving, but it was worth it for everyone there. 
Kyodai and Rei were both grateful for it and were going to owe him for it 
later.

	Makoto and Rei watched on as the referee tossed the ball in to 
start the game. Obake immediately took the ball and began to take it 
downfield. Once halfway down the opponent's side of the field, a Kobe 
player stepped up and challenged him face-to-face. Obake passed the ball 
to Kyodai just as the Kobe player attempted to steal it from him. Kyodai 
quickly reflected the ball toward the goal, only to be intercepted by a 
Kobe guard. But before that player could get the ball past midfield, an 
Azabu midfielder stole the ball, knocking it to Obake. He immediately 
passed it to Kyodai down field, who quickly knocked it past the goalie 
and into the goal.

	The Azabu players celebrated on the field as the crowd roared. A 
jaguar growl from the stadium's speakers resonated throughout as Kyodai 
and Obake slammed their chests together and gave high fives to their 
teammates before reassuming their positions on the field.

	"Kyodai-kun's good, scoring less than 2 minutes into the game." 
Makoto commented.

	"Didn't I tell you that he was good?" said Rei, "He and Obake-san 
work well together. I've seen them at practice before."

	"Yeah, we've watched him play back when he was playing at Juuban 
High," Romano added, "Rei-san would invite me along to watch Kyodai-san 
play since I too love soccer. And Gabianni-kun would drive us there, so 
the three of us would watch Kyodai-san play while poor Yuuichirou-kun had 
to endure one of Grandpa's harsh training exercises."

	"Hey now, I was at one of Kyodai-kun's games," Yuuichirou 
objected, "And I was at his second high school championship game."

	"Hey, the game's on again," Grandpa cheered, turning everyone's 
attention back to the game.

	The referee tossed the ball into the field to restart the game 
after Kyodai's goal. Kobe immediately took possession of the ball and 
carried it down Azabu's side of the field, darting back and forth and 
passing to each other in order to keep the ball out of Azabu's possession. 
However, Azabu does manage to keep the ball from reaching any further 
than halfway down their side of the field. In addition, they do not 
provide Kobe with a clear shot of the goal. But at 4:23 game time, 
Yoiichi managed to intercept a pass from one of the Kobe forwards and 
began to take the ball downfield in quick haste. Once he reached halfway 
down the field, he passed the ball to Obake, who then quickly kicked it 
toward the goal. The Kobe goalie leaped toward the ball and knocked it 
away from the goal, sending it flying back toward one of the Kobe 
defenders.

	With Kobe taking back possession of the ball, the defender 
immediately passes the ball away from Yoiichi, and Obake and toward his 
team's midfielders. Ad just as quickly as the midfielder took the ball, 
he passed it to one of Kobe's forwards and immediately sends it toward 
Azabu's goal. Azabu's goalie easily bats the ball away and toward one of 
Azabu's defenders, who passes it to the midfielders. This back and forth 
battle continues for another minute, with possession switching between 
teams quite often, but finally stops when Kyodai knocks the ball away 
from a Kobe midfielder and out of the field, causing a toss-in.

	"Mako-chan, you'd be great at this sport," said Rei.

	"Yeah, I guess so," said Makoto, trying to keep her girlish 
figure, "I just never really considered playing soccer." 

	The girls, as well as the guys, began to cheer as an Azabu 
defender steals the ball and passes across the field to Obake. He 
immediately passed it to Kyodai, who swiftly kicked the ball to Kobe's 
goal, missing it by inches. With the missed goal, Kobe's goalie kicked 
the ball back into play and to one of his defenders. But just as the 
defender took passed it toward one of his midfielders, Yoiichi blocked 
the pass with his head, knocking it toward Obake, who quickly kicked it 
past the goalie and into the goal. The Hikawa Jinja group, along with 
the rest of the crowd, screamed, yelled, and cheered as the jaguar's 
growl resonated throughout the stadium.

	"You go Kyodai," Rei yelled out toward the field.

	"Way to go, Kyodai-kun," Makoto cheered.

	"But Kyodai-kun didn't score the goal, nor was he a part of that 
play," said Yuuichirou.

	"Does it look like we care?" Rei argued, "We're here to cheer 
him on."

	"Yeah Yuuichirou-kun," Romano added, "What do you know about 
cheering on a soccer game?"

	"You're both right," Gabianni butted in, "Kyodai-san wasn't part 
of that play. But we are all here to cheer him on."

	"Isn't Kyodai-kun the only first year out there?" Makoto asked.

	"The program says he's the only first year starter, with the rest 
of the first years being substitutes," said Rei, "But I'm sure the coach 
has sent a couple out since the game started."

	"GO TECH!" the crowd yelled as the referee tossed the ball in to 
restart the game. Kobe's forward immediately took possession of the ball 
and quickly dribbled it past Azabu's midfielders and toward the goal. 
Just before one of Azabu's defenders slid toward him to knock the ball 
away, the Kobe player kicked it at Azabu's goal, missing by a meter. Then, 
Azabu's goalie kicked it to one of his midfielders downfield, who took 
the ball downfield and passed it to Yoiichi. Yoichi passed the ball to 
Kyodai who took it past one defender before passing it back to Yoiichi. 
Once Yoiichi took the ball and set himself up, he kicked it hard toward 
the goal. However, the ball flew wide right and missed.

	This miss caused Makoto's wild urges to come out as she stepped 
down to the empty second row seat in front of her and began yelling. 
"What the hell was that, you idiot?" she insulted, "The goal was a meter 
in front of you. How the hell can the team captain miss? Hey Coach, send 
someone in who can actually kick."

	Although the Azabu head coach heard every word Makoto was 
yelling, with Makoto having hopped down into the second row to throw her 
insults, but he just kept looking toward the game on the field and 
ignored her, concentrating only on how his men were performing. Makoto's 
yelling certainly wasn't the first bout of fan insults he had ever heard, 
nor would they even be his last.

	After Kobe's goalie kicked the ball back into play, they took the 
ball to Azabu's side of the field, dodging both Kyodai and Obake before 
passing it to one of his forwards. Kobe's forward bumps into one of 
Azabu's defenders before sending it toward the goal, only to have it 
blocked by Azabu's goalie. This back and forth trading of possession 
continued on for another three minutes. This trading of possessions 
included a few toss in's, a corner kick, and even an offside offense by 
Kobe. Although it gave Azabu the immediate advantage as they passed the 
ball to Kyodai who reflected it toward the goal. But this attempt was 
blocked by Kobe's goalie. A defender took possession of the ball and sent 
it flying across the field to one of Kobe's forwards, who sent it past 
Azabu's goalie and into the goal.

	Most of the crowd booed quite loudly, filling the entire stadium 
with their resonant jeers, as Makoto's string of insults continued. "Oh 
my god, hello?!" she yelled in response, "What the hell was that?!"

	"It's called Kobe scoring their first point," said Yuuichirou. 

	"Well, somebody should've been there to take that ball from him 
before he scored," Makoto commented, sitting back in her seat in the 
third row and crossing her arms in disappointment, "Those lazy defenders 
were at least 15 meters away from him and should've been covering him."

	"You seem to know plenty about this sport, Makoto-san," Romano 
commented, "You're pretty tall, strong, and athletic enough. You should 
try out for this sport back at your school."

	"Umm..." Makoto paused, trying to regain her modesty, "I would, 
but... my home economics classes and my Karate classes kinda take up most 
of my schedule."

	"You can free up your schedule for it, can you?" Romano asked.

	"Yeah, Romano-kun here studies for his high school classes, works 
at the shrine and takes Karate classes with me, and still manages to play 
soccer for Juuban High School," Gabianni added.

	"Yeah, maybe I'll give it some thought," Makoto meekly said 
before turning back to the game.

	"Hey you guys, we're here to cheer my grandson on," said Grandpa, 
"And the game's starting again."  

	At 12:43, the referee tossed the ball back into play. One of 
Kobe's forwards immediately took possession of the ball from Yoiichi and 
quickly took it downfield. As much as Azabu's players tried to get in the 
way of the Kobe players, they passed the ball back and forth to each 
other across the entire width of the field. This made things difficult 
for the Azabu team as they struggled to regain possession from Kobe.

	"Come on guys, you gotta take that bloody ball from them," Makoto 
yelled, squeezing through the people sitting in the second and first rows 
and hanging out over the railing separating her from the grassy field 
below, "Come on, Kyodai-kun, help your team out and play some defense."

	But her insults and cheers fell on deaf ears as the ball finally 
found its way past most of Azabu's players and closer to the goal, where 
Kobe's star forward kicked the ball past Azabu's goalie by a wide margin 
and into the goal. As the Kobe players celebrated on the field, Makoto 
gritted her teeth at the sight of Kobe scoring again.

	"What the hell is the matter with you, Goalie? You can't see 
either? You gotta block the damn ball," she yelled, loud enough for the 
Azabu players on the bench some short distance in front of her to hear 
her.

	Moments later, after all the players retook their positions on 
the field, the referee tossed the ball back into play to restart. 
Yoiichi beat the Kobe player to the ball and quickly passed it to Obake. 
Kyodai quickly sprinted past most of Kobe's players while Obake handled 
the ball like a pro, keeping it away from the Kobe midfielders. Obake 
then found an opening toward the goal, with Kyodai being in the perfect 
position to score the goal with little opposition. But as he passed it 
to Kyodai, Kobe's defenders quickly sprinted forward. And when Kyodai 
took the ball, the assistant referee raised a flag to signal an offside 
offense, followed by the referee blowing his whistle and pointing his 
flag downward, thus stopping the play.

	"What?!" Rei exclaimed, appalled at the referee's call.

	Makoto, who had already squeezed her way back into her seat, was 
more than livid. "Offside?! What the hell do you mean 'Offside'? There 
were at least two other players between Kyodai-kun and the goalie," she 
yelled toward the field.

	"Didn't you see Kobe's defenders rush forward before Kyodai 
touched the ball?" Romano pointed out, "That's called an offside trap. 
It can be a risky tactic, but it's used to force the attacking team into 
an offside offense so they can get the indirect free kick."

	"What a dirty trick to play on my Kyodai-kun," Makoto commented 
before jumping over the people second row and squeezing through the 
first row people and stopping at the railing. "You cowards," Makoto 
insulted, "How the hell could you play such a dirty trick on my Kyodai-
kun. Didn't your mothers ever teach you to play fair? Why don't you 
idiots learn how to play like real men and not stoop down to such damned 
low plays like that? The great Pelé would be pissed off at you jackasses 
right now."

	Rei only hung her head in disappointment as Makoto's string of 
insults continued as Kobe's player took his free kick toward Azabu's 
goal. "I don't think the Kobe players can hear you, Mako-chan," she 
said under her breath, "Besides, you really should act more lady-like."

	After one of Kobe's players knocked the ball out of bounds, the 
head coach called Obake and Kyodai to the bench to get some much needed 
rest, having played for quite a bit of the game already. In their places, 
he sent in a few substitutes back onto the field just before the Azabu 
defender tossed the ball back into play. Kyodai grabbed a towel and 
joined Obake on the bench to cool off after having run all over the field 
for over 20 minutes. However, Rei and Makoto did not like the coach's 
decision in the least bit, especially with the offside offense happening 
only 15 seconds prior.

	"What?! Put my brother back out there," Rei yelled, responding in 
anger to her brother being benched.

	"Yeah, Coach. We want Hino Kyodai-sama," Makoto yelled, throwing 
more insults, "Why don't you bench those defenders who couldn't even stop 
Kobe from scoring those last goals and send Kyodai back in. He can play 
10 times better than those slugs can."

	The coach only ignored Makoto's yelling as he walked down the 
sidelines, following along with the players on the field.

	"Come on, Coach. I have a dead grandmother who can run this team 
better than you can," Makoto insulted.

	One of the other Azabu substitutes got fed up with turned back 
toward Makoto, "Hey you up there, shut up."

	"What, you want a piece of me?" Makoto yells, putting one foot 
forward and hanging over the railing, itching for a fight.

	Upon hearing Makoto's taunting, Rei quickly squeezed past the 
people between them and quickly grabbed a hold of Makoto's upper arms. 
"Calm down, Mako-chan. Calm down," said Rei, pulling her away from the 
railing, "We're supposed to be cheering Kyodai on."

	Kyodai had heard both her insults toward the coach and her 
taunting of one of his teammates. He only hung his head in disappointment, 
sweat drop hanging and all, and threw his towel over top of his head to 
hide the displeased look on his face. 'She seems awfully brash this time,' 
Kyodai thought to himself, 'This is far from the sophistication she was 
showing last weekend and the giddiness she showed back on Monday.' He 
then let out a sigh after Rei had calmed Makoto down and brought her back 
to their seats. Although he didn't see it, he did hear them. 'Oh well, I 
guess every rose has its thorns. Maybe this is how she is at sports games, 
where she can have a good excuse to throw sophistication out the window. 
But she still should tone it down a little.'

	A couple minutes later in the game, the coach benched two players 
and sent Kyodai and Obake back out onto the field. Makoto, Rei, and 
everyone from the Hikawa Jinja began cheering again as Kyodai ran back 
out onto the field and took his position as an outside forward. An Azabu 
midfielder tossed the ball to the Yoiichi, who immediately passed it to 
Obake downfield. He bounced it off his head toward the goal, but the Kobe 
goalie batted it back and toward one of his defenders. However, Kyodai 
leaped between the ball and the defender and swung his left foot at it, 
connecting with the ball and sending it into the goal. He, Obake, and 
Yoiichi leaped into the air and slammed their chests together in 
celebration as the crowd cheered, the jaguar growl sounds, and the Hikawa 
Jinja group went hog wild over Kyodai's goal.

	"That's my Kyodai-kun," Makoto yells as the two girls cheer and 
whistled and Romano jumped up and down behind them.

	"Way to go, Kyodai," Grandpa yelled as loud as his elderly lungs 
would let him.

	"Kyodai! Kyodai!" Rei cheered before blowing a few more whistles.

	Later on, at halftime, the score was 4-2 with Azabu leading. With 
the players heading back into the locker room to cool off for the half, 
the girls quickly stood from their seats. "Romano, can you keep an eye on 
Grandpa for me while we go to the concession stand?" Rei instructed.

	"Sure thing, Rei-san," Romano replied, "Can you please bring me 
some popcorn?"

	"And can you bring me some green tea?" Grandpa requested.

	"Yes, we'll do that for you guys," Rei replied as she joined 
Makoto, Yuuichirou, and Gabianni in their fight through the crowds. 
Moments later, they beat most of the flow of traffic and made it to the 
concession area. There, they waited in the somewhat crowded line, where a 
large number of fans didn't even wait for the half before flooding the 
concourse.

	"It's a great game so far," Yuuichirou commented.

	"Kyodai-kun's really as good as everybody says he is," said 
Makoto.

	"He wasn't the playmaker on Juuban High School's 2-time 
championship team for nothing," Gabianni commented, "He seems even 
better now than he was back in high school. I'm glad he isn't letting 
his past achievements in the sport get to his head. I think being on a 
college team is helping him to grow even more, and be humble at the same 
time."

	"It's not just his athleticism," Rei explained, "He can read the 
field pretty well, even during fast-paced attacks. It's like he feels the 
aura of the other players around him, and can pick out the best lines to 
attack."

	"I don't think it's quite that," Gabianni commented, "I just 
think Kyodai-san's a good strategist with excellent eyes." 

	"We can argue this all day, Gabianni. But sometimes your eyes 
aren't enough to gain full awareness of the field, and you know that," 
Rei argued back.

	"I can agree with Rei-chan on that a little," said Makoto, "I 
learned about situation awareness in Karate, feeling everything and 
everyone around me. It's all apart of being one with your inner chi."

	"Yeah, you girls are right about that," Gabianni surrendered.

	Upon finally reaching the concession stand, they grab a few snow 
cones, some dumplings, some popcorn, some pocky, and a few cups of tea. 
With enough for everyone to carry, the girls and guys walk more casually 
through the people on their way back to the stands. Once there, they 
witnessed very little going on out on the field as various stadium staff 
worked on the field to clean up any loose garbage that had strayed out 
onto the field and prepped the field for the second half.

	After everyone from the Hikawa Jinja got settled back into their 
seats, they dug into their halftime snacks. Very little was said between 
them, especially with Kyodai being in the locker room and not on the 
field for them to cheer him on. But after another 10 minutes, the 
stadium staff began to clear the field. This struck Romano as quite 
familiar, having watched a couple soccer games himself and knowing what 
was coming up. "Hey everyone, the half's going to start soon," he said, 
getting their attention. Moments later, the commentator began to speak, 
getting the crowd's attention, as the two teams gathered in their 
opposite chutes. Then, the crowd roared as Azabu's team took to the 
field after the Kobe players.

	Kyodai stayed relatively close to the wall which separated the 
playing field from the stands elevated above the field. He finally caught 
Makoto, Rei, and everyone from the Hikawa Jinja waving at him and 
cheering him on. Kyodai waved back with a delighted smile on his face. 
After acknowledging their cheering, he returned to the benches with the 
rest of his teammates. And thus, the second half began.

	For the remainder of the game, Makoto's insults had toned down a 
few levels, with much of her yelling being directed more toward errors 
and fouls committed by the Azabu players, bad calls by the referee 
(albeit in her opinion), and obvious tackles and other fouls committed 
against Azabu Tech. What really ignited her fiery temper was Obake 
getting yellow carded at 78:14 game time for a foul he didn't commit, 
which was the only time she let a rather large string of slurs and 
insults fly.

	Rei was every bit as much into the game as Makoto was, and 
finally decided to give up on quelling her friend's fiery temper by 
letting her own quick temper fly. Although she didn't throw any insults, 
she did scream quite a bit. She screamed at many of the bad plays and bad 
referee calls, and she screamed for Kyodai to cheer him on. She looked 
every bit as much of a fan as every other Azabu Tech fan in the stadium, 
if not more. She was always Kyodai's biggest supporter, and it showed 
even more during the second half.

	The team, however, performed much better defensively, despite 
giving up 3 goals to Kobe compared to the 2 they gave up in the first 
half. Offensively, they scored 5 goals in the second half. One goal was 
Kyodai's, 1 was Obake's, 2 were Yoiichi's, and 1 was by a substitute for 
Obake after his yellow card offense. In the end, the Azabu Institute of 
Technology won the game, with a score of 9-5.

	"Banzai!" the three younger guys cheered as the timer reached 
90:00.

	"Way to go, Kyodai!" Grandpa yelled, albeit with a bit of a 
muffled yell, having yelled off and on as much as his elderly lungs 
would allow him without losing his voice.

	Makoto and Rei jumped up and down, hugging each other in 
celebration of Kyodai's team's win. "They did it," said Rei.

	"Kyodai-kun did great out there," Makoto commented, clapping 
and jumping up and down along with Rei.

	After some on the field celebrating with his teammates, Kyodai 
dashed toward the stands and jumped the wall and over the railing. Once 
there, he flew into his sister's arms, embracing her tightly. 

	"You were great out there, Kyodai," said Rei. 

	"Thank you, Rei-chan," he replied. He then let go of Rei and 
opened his arms to Makoto, allowing her to jump into his arms. 

	"Kyodai-kun, I don't care what those referees say, and I don't 
care if the coach benches you sometimes, you're the best," she said 
before giving Kyodai a quick kiss.

	"Thanks, Mako-chan," he replied as they shared a few more quick 
kisses, "I'll see you all later." He then let go of Makoto and squeezed 
his way through the 2 rows of people in front of him, receiving numerous 
pats on the shoulders and back from the fans as she squeezed through. 
Once at the railing, he hopped over and back onto the field, then ran 
back to his celebrating teammates as they bade their way off the field 
and toward their locker room.

	"I wouldn't expect him home until late tonight," said Rei.

	"Why is that?" Makoto asked.

	"Well, they won. So you can bet Kyodai's gonna party with 
Obake-san and the rest of the team. I hear that's what a lot of college 
soccer players do when they win a game," said Rei. With Kyodai having 
disappeared through the chute, they and everyone from the Hikawa Jinja 
began their long trek out of the stadium, fighting the crowd along the 
way. After a good 10 minutes of making their way out of the stands and 
through the concourse, and subsequently out of the stadium, they began 
walking toward Gabianni's car.

	"Hey Gabianni, I'm going to take the bus with Mako-chan back to 
her apartment so you won't have to make two trips for us," said Rei, "I 
really thank you for going through the trouble of bringing her here to 
see Kyodai."

	"You're welcome, Rei-san," Gabianni replied, "You girls have a 
good time."

	From there, they parted ways, with the guys walking toward 
Gabianni's car, and Makoto and Rei walking toward the nearby bus stop.

	"So Rei-chan, do you want to spend the night at my place since 
we don't have school tomorrow?" Makoto asked.

	"Why not," Rei replied, "It's been a while since we had a 
sleepover. Besides, I'm quite sure it's going to be late when Kyodai 
finally makes it home from whatever partying the rest of the team has 
planned, even if it was a scrimmage."


	Hikawa Jinja, a week later...

	After having finished his chores for the morning, Kyodai 
flopped down on the couch in the living room and rested his head back. 
It had taken him longer than usual for him to do his chores, as various 
thoughts had been on his mind throughout. In all actuality, the thoughts 
had been on his mind for a few days now since his last date with Makoto 
and her visit to an open practice the next day. Thoughts about just how 
tender of a girl she can be entered his mind. Makoto was quite the 
romantic, and seemed to have a good way with words despite her somewhat 
lax dedication to her studies. She had her moments where she was very 
lady-like, taking on the role like that of a housewife, especially at 
her house. She always kept her apartment neat, clean, and well organized. 
In addition, she was an extremely adept cook for a girl her age. The fact 
that such a beautiful young lady could take on so many responsibilities 
all at once, and keep up with school at the same time, reminded Kyodai 
more of Mamoru, which made her seem more his age.

	However, she also had her more childish moments, especially with 
her friendly bickering with Minako over him. In addition, she often 
complained about her harsh trials at school. Whenever he was over at her 
apartment to help her study, Makoto seemed to not take her schooling 
seriously, but rather enjoying Kyodai's presence and gazing at him with 
her twinkling eyes. She also had a bit of a fangirl aura about her, 
displaying a subdued but nonetheless overly giddy nature like the girl 
snagging a date with a celebrity. 'Perhaps she is rather young in love, 
almost like I was the first boyfriend she ever had,' he thought to 
himself, 'But most girls who have asked me out, Minako-chan and Mako-chan 
included, seemed to act like I was their first ever and only love, and 
seemed to enjoy the fact of having me as a boyfriend more than anything 
else.'

	And then, there was Makoto's more aggressive side, the side that 
is quite contrary to how she acts when she is around company and amongst 
a group of strangers. She displayed some of her aggressive side at last 
week's scrimmage, cheering him on, cheering his team on, and throwing 
disapprovals and insults at the game and the referees like a true soccer 
fan. 'She really should go to more soccer games,' Kyodai thought to 
himself, analyzing Makoto's love for sports, 'As much as she knows about 
the game, from what Romano-san has told me, and as huge of a fan as she 
seems to be, I often wonder why a strong and athletic girl like her 
doesn't take up the sport. It would certainly work out a lot of that 
bottled up energy she has.'

	But, she also had an even more aggressive side, which she 
displayed when one of his teammates yelled at her for her insulting 
remarks. The fact that she stepped forward to challenge a bigger and 
older man struck him as rather surprising. Although her short temper 
did bother him a little, it really wasn't that much different from his 
sister's fiery temper. But the fact that she'd challenge a bigger man 
to a fight did show that she was more than capable of taking care of 
herself. That, and the fact that she liked to do everything herself 
proved to Kyodai that she was used to doing everything herself, and 
wasn't used to having a gentleman treat her like a lady and do things 
for her without her even asking. Kyodai was taught by both his 
grandfather and his aunt and uncle how to be a proper gentleman to a 
lady. It was all about doing things for her without even asking, which 
showed how much he thought about her. However, Makoto was quite 
reluctant to let him prove that to her.

	And finally, with all those thoughts, Kyodai came to a somewhat 
grim but nonetheless revealing conclusion. 'Mako-chan. Somehow, she 
isn't quite as sophisticated as she shows. I can tell she is trying her 
best, but her other side, her darker side, has a tendency to rear its 
head when her temper flares up,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'The more I 
think about her, the less she seems like the princess in my dreams. The 
real princess in my dreams was romantic, albeit somewhat reluctant to 
show it. She was rather timid in showing her feelings of love, but not 
afraid to show just how much of a lady she really was. Mako-chan is much 
more sure of herself in many ways, especially with her feelings toward a 
man. She certainly isn't afraid to share her feelings of love and 
admiration toward another. She is confident in her ability to take care 
of herself, and isn't afraid to show it. However, she seems to be hiding 
something somewhat darker, like there is a part of herself that she 
doesn't like to share with any guy, or anybody for that matter. And I 
have a feeling it has something to do with her quick temper and 
aggressive attitude. Then again, she's lived alone for years and 
probably needed it help her cope. Somehow, my heart tells me she's not 
the princess. But then again, it's probably because I have rushed into 
this relationship rather hastily. Oh Mako-chan, I like you, but can we 
be friends before we explore our relationship any further?'

	With those final thoughts, Kyodai rested his head on the back of 
the sofa. "What do I do?" he asked himself aloud, "What have I gotten 
myself into?"

	"Are you alright Kyodai?" a girl's voice asked him.

	Kyodai lifted his head from the back of the sofa to see Rei, 
wearing her red and white miko kimono, wearing a troubled look on her 
face seemingly mirroring his. "You haven't looked this down since you 
and Minako-chan broke up," she added.

	"It's nothing like that," Kyodai replied.

	"Then what is it?" Rei beckoned, sitting down next to Kyodai.

	'She's Mako-chan's friend too. I'm sure she'll understand,' 
Kyodai thought to himself before leaning his head back into the back of 
the sofa. "Well, somehow, I'm not sure if Mako-chan's quite the right 
girl for me," he replied.

	"Really?" Rei responded, confused at Kyodai's remark.

	"Yeah, at least not now," Kyodai replied.

	"What do you mean by 'not quite the right girl'?" Rei asked.

	"Well, Mako-chan seems to be a rather independent and also an 
aggressive type of person. She also has a short temper, shorter than 
yours even," he explained.

	"Humph!" Rei responded in disgust, crossing her arms and turning 
haughtily away from Kyodai.

	"She hardly lets me be a gentleman," Kyodai continued, "You and 
I were both taught to think of others before ourselves. I was taught to 
be a gentleman to a lady, to do things for her without her asking, and 
show her through my actions how much I think about her. But unless she 
asks me, like when I helped her cook that day, she really doesn't let me 
do anything for her. She likes to do everything by herself. Although I do 
admire it, it can also be troubling to someone like me and Mamoru-kun who 
were taught to be gentlemen."

	"She likes to do everything herself," said Rei, "It's not just 
from the fact that she's lived alone since her parents died. Let me tell 
you a little secret. She does it to fit in with some of the other girls. 
Most of the other girls at both her old school and at Usagi's school seem 
intimidated by a tall, lean, and athletic girl like her and immediately 
label her as not being a lady."

	"I can tell she's a little ashamed of her physical prowess," said 
Kyodai, "But I can also tell she tries too hard to be more lady-like 
rather than letting it flow naturally. I already know she is a true lady, 
despite her quick and aggressive temper, but she overdoes it sometimes 
and not enough at other times."

	"I understand," Rei replied.

	"You were right," Kyodai replied, "Perhaps it was too early to be 
thinking about her liking me."

	"Oh?" said Rei.

	"Ever since that night when we were at her apartment, when I 
helped her cook, when our feelings for each other ignited, I had this 
beckoning feeling that perhaps I was rushing into it," Kyodai explained, 
"Especially after having just ended a relationship with Minako-chan."

	"So, what are you gonna do?" Rei asks.

	"I still want to be her friend. She really is quite mature for 
her age, even though she has her moments when she acts like a typical 
teenage schoolgirl. Just the fact that she's taken care of herself for so 
long while going to school makes her seem more my age. You found yourself 
a really good group of friends," said Kyodai.

	"Then tell her," said Rei, "Tell her that you're not ready for a 
relationship and you want to be her friend. Tell her how you feel about 
her. I'm sure she'll understand. Anyway, I'm heading to the fire room to 
do my weekly fire reading. I'll see you later." She then rose from the 
couch and walked toward the fire room, leaking Kyodai to his thoughts. 


	Juuban Park, that afternoon...

	Kyodai had decided to walk to the park as he thought about his 
conversation with Rei regarding Makoto. It gave him a chance to really 
think about what to say to Makoto, as opposed to driving to the park 
which wouldn't have taken him very long at all. He knew Makoto was going 
to be at the park since they had decided to get together on this Sunday 
afternoon. But it was only last night and today that these feelings of 
discomfort had finally taken center stage in his mind. And now, he had 
to think about a way to end the relationship, or at least put it on 
hold, and still leave the door open.

	Moments later, he arrived to the park to see Makoto sitting on a 
bench next to the lakeside trail, facing the lake. As if by instinct, she 
turned back to find Kyodai approaching her and smiled. "Kyodai-kun!" she 
exclaimed as she jumped up from the bench and dashed toward Kyodai. In to 
time at all, she collided with him, causing him to step back quite a 
distance to keep from falling, and then embraced him and kissed him on 
the cheek. "Kyodai-kun, I'm so glad you..." she said, pausing when she 
saw the look on Kyodai's face. Her beaming face changed to that of a more 
worried one when she saw that Kyodai wasn't making much of an effort to 
return her love. Her eyes widened as she let go of him and backed off a 
bit, "What is it Kyodai? What's wrong?"

	"Mako-chan, I'm not sure just how to say this," said Kyodai. "I'm 
really no good at this."

	Makoto's heart started to race at the sound of Kyodai's response. 
Something didn't feel right to her, but she tried not to show her concern 
when she turned back to Kyodai. "Just tell me, dammit. I don't like 
guessing games," she said.

	Kyodai hesitated, once again thinking about how to tell her. But 
he decided to wing it as he gathered up all his inner strength. "Mako-
chan, I like you a lot, and I think we have a great friendship going. But 
somehow, I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for this relationship."

	"What?!" said Makoto, with her eyes widening to about twice their 
normal size in great shock. She took a couple more steps back as a rush 
of adrenaline accompanied her rather abrupt response, burning as it 
flowed through her veins. 'No, it can't be,' she thought to herself, 
clutching her chest with her right hand, 'Kyodai-kun can't be leaving me. 
Dammit, this is just like my last boyfriend. He didn't think he was ready 
either, only for me to find out that he had soon found love with my best 
friend Tomoko.'

	"What the hell do you mean?" Makoto barked. 'No, no, no, he can't 
be dumping me,' she thought to herself as a couple tears began to stream 
down her cheeks, 'And I thought we were really enjoying our time together. 
Why? Why is this happening to me again? Why, when I find a truly amazing 
guy, even better than my old boyfriend who broke my heart, does he break 
my heart too? No!'

	"I somehow feel I've rushed into this relationship and didn't 
give myself a chance to recover from Minako-chan dumping me. I just don't 
think you're right girl for me... at least not yet," he tried explaining 
as diplomatically as possible.

	"Not right?!" she yelled, being the only words she really paid 
attention to. By then, the burning sensation had reached her eyes, 
summoning a few more tears. In addition, the adrenaline rush gathered in 
her arms as she removed her right hand from her chest and swung it at 
Kyodai, connecting with his face with shattering force, sending him 
flying toward the lake by a good 10 meters. She then ran up to him, 
scaring a few ducks away, and gave him a hard kick to the side, sending 
him flying even closer to the lake. She then ran up to him again as he 
was trying to recover.

	"Mako-chan, please..." he strained to say before Makoto picked 
him up from the ground. She then slapped him in the face a couple times. 

	"Why Kyodai, why?" she whimpered, before giving him another 
powerful punch to the face. She then lifted him off the ground and threw 
him toward the lake again, sending him on a hard landing right at the 
water's edge. She then broke out into a fierce weep as she ran away. 
After suffering her wrath, Kyodai only lied there, dazed and confused, 
and convinced himself that it was his punishment for having rushed into 
his relationship with her. Then, the beating he had taken overtook him, 
having developed a large welt on the face and quite a visible nosebleed, 
as he faded in and out of consciousness. 


	Hours later...

	Kyodai awoke to discover that he was no longer next to the lake 
at the park, where Makoto had sent him flying to. Rather he was lying on 
a couch in the Hikawa Jinja. This struck Kyodai as rather confusing as he 
wondered why he was back at the Hikawa Jinja. He distinctly remembered 
taking a walk to the park to see Makoto, and to share with her his 
discomfort with the relationship and desire to keep a strong friendship. 
But that meeting ended rather badly, and now he was lying on a couch at 
the Hikawa Jinja. Was it all a dream? Did he dream about breaking up with 
Makoto and her beating him up pretty badly as a result? 'It had to be a 
dream,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'How else would I be here instead of 
back at the park?' 

	All of a sudden, Kyodai felt a hand squeeze his rather 
affectionately. It was like that hand was always holding his, only to 
squeeze his as he awoke from his nightmare. "Kyodai, are you okay?" 
Rei's voice said to him.

	Kyodai turned his head to see Rei, still wearing her miko 
kimono, wearing a very worried look on her face, much like what he had 
remembered earlier. But as he went to sit up from lying down on the 
couch, a sharp pain struck him in the side, causing him to wince. In 
response, he slowly lied back down on the couch.

	"Easy Kyodai," said Rei, letting go of his hand and placing her 
hands on his shoulders to guide him back down, "Just lie there, okay? 
Yuuichirou's got another icepack coming."

	'No, it wasn't a dream after all,' Kyodai thought to himself, 
'I really did go to the park to see Mako-chan. I really did try to tell 
her that I wasn't ready for a relationship and wanted to stay friends. 
And she really did kick my ass for it.'

	"I guess she took that rather well," said Kyodai, finally 
realizing that Makoto really did beat him up.

	"You're lucky she did take it easy on you," said Rei, "With the 
way Makoto can be, you could've easily ended up in the emergency room."

	"She really is one strong girl if she can kick my ass so easily," 
Kyodai commented, "Even if I wasn't putting up any kind of fight."

	"Yeah, she got kicked out of her old school for picking fights 
with some of the students. So she transferred to the same school as 
Usagi and Ami after that," Rei explained.

	"So that was another thing she was hiding," Kyodai concluded.

	"Believe me, Kyodai, it's nothing she's proud of. So of course 
she's going to be reluctant to admit it. When she transferred to Juuban 
Junior High, she had a reputation for being a rough girl, almost like 
one who belonged to a motorcycle gang. It wasn't until Usagi approached 
her at school when she learned that Makoto really just wanted to have a 
friend, and didn't like the reputation she carried," said Rei.

	"Yeah, now I know she's not right for me," said Kyodai.

	"Don't worry about it, you'll find the right girl someday," said 
Rei, "Just give yourself some time." 

	"What I'm worried about now is my reputation. You know, getting 
beat up by a junior high girl does not look good on a college soccer 
player. At least no one was there to see it," Kyodai babbled.

	"You could always say a car hit you at night, and you couldn't 
see neither what kind it was nor what its license number was," suggested 
Rei, "It explains your bruised side and the welt on your face."

	"Yeah, that might work," Kyodai agreed. Through that whole 
conversation, Kyodai had forgotten about being in the Hikawa Jinja. He 
was just at the park not that long ago. And he remembered being at the 
park when Makoto gave him a thrashing. But now he was at the Hikawa 
Jinja, and it puzzled him.

	"How did I get here anyway? I distinctly remember lying on the 
ground before I sort of dozed off," Kyodai asked, "Weren't you were doing 
your Shinto fire reading?"

	"Yuuichirou found you unconscious next to the lake at the park," 
Rei replied, "With all that harsh training that Grandpa puts him through, 
he found it rather easy to carry you to a bench while Gabianni brought 
his car to bring you home." 

	"I see," said Kyodai.

	Yuuichirou walked back into the living room, carrying a class of 
water and a couple of icepacks. He set the water down on the table and 
handed the icepacks to Kyodai.

	"Thanks Yuuichirou-kun," said Kyodai.

	"No problem," said Yuuichirou, "It's not everyday that someone 
dumps Makoto-san and lives to tell the tale."

	"Thanks, you're reassuring," Kyodai sarcastically said as he 
placed the icepacks on his welted face and his throbbing side.

	"Your side should heal in time for your first game next week," 
said Rei, "I'd take it easy until then if I were you."

	"Thanks for your concern, Rei-chan, but I'm still gonna 
practice," said Kyodai.

	"Come on, Kyodai. I've seen how brutal soccer can be," said 
Rei, "You'll just hurt yourself even more."

	"Thanks Rei-chan, I'll keep that in mind," said Kyodai as he 
removed the icepack from his side and struggled to get up, keeping the 
other ice pack on his face.

	"Geez, Kyodai, you're so stubborn about these things," said Rei, 
hanging her head in defeat with a sweat drop hanging.

	"Thank you, Rei-chan... for everything," said Kyodai as he rose 
from the couch and walked towards his room, "I'm going to relax in my 
room for a little bit before I take a nice, long hot bath. Maybe that'll 
help a little." 

	Rei immediately jumped to her feet, with a thought about Makoto 
hitting her mind, and ran to follow him. "Kyodai!" she called. He paused 
at his doorway, and then turned to his sister. 

	"Mako-chan... she still wants to be your friend," said Rei.

	"Really now?" Kyodai refuted. 

	"Yeah. She called me after she got home, crying," Rei explained, 
"She feels bad for the way she acted, and she feels really bad for 
hurting you. She was crying not only because you dumped her, but she was 
also crying because she's afraid she'll lose your friendship too because 
of her actions." 

	"So now she'll listen to reason, huh?" said Kyodai.

	"Don't worry about it. I told her what you told me," said Rei, 
"She's really sorry she didn't listen to you, and still wants to be your 
friend."

	With that, Kyodai let out a sigh of reassurance, and then turned 
to Rei and smiled. She then gently slid her arms around him, remembering 
to take it easy on his injured side. "At least you still have me," she 
said, giving him a gentle hug. 

	"Yeah, you're right," he replied, dropping the icepack and 
wrapping both his arms around his sister, hugging her very tightly as he 
closed his eyes.

	"I love you, Kyodai," said Rei.

	"I love you too, Imuto-chan," said Kyodai. 'Yes,' Kyodai thought 
to himself as he held Rei close to him, 'No matter how many girls throw 
themselves at me, no matter how few I actually date, they can come and go. 
Not all relationships last. But no matter what, I'll always have a little 
sister who is always there for me, who always listens, who can annoy the 
hell out of me, but who will always support me. That's what family is for. 
No matter what, I'll always have Rei-chan.'

---------------------------------the end------------------------------

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't 
mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for 
creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time 
on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and 
Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' 
more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and 
Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, 
please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but 
his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,
Viper Inferno
   (Y2V)