A/N: Ah, I finally did it. This story idea is at least around two years old, yet I never wrote more than this prologue. I never had much motivation to finish it but then I dreamt that I continued and thought – why not give it a try? I write too much romance lately anyway, need some difference for a change. Yet I probably won't write/update regularly for it, it's an... uh... experiment?

Have fun?

"Mark? Are you all right?" "Ah, yes." For a short moment, not even a blink of an eye, the captain of Unicorn appeared hesitant, almost absent for the lack of better observation. Dylan was aware that Mark had been preoccupied the whole day or rather since they were on Liocott Island. His eyes always wandered around, his hands were never still and all in all he looked like a mess. A paranoid mess, to be precisely. "Sure 'bout that?" Dylan looked at his friend and Captain, concern hiding behind his glasses. It was rare to see him like that – or was he just nervous? Scared to lose an important match and to fail as a Captain? Dylan knew that Mark thought it was his fault that they lost last time, that he did the wrong thing and felt terrible for not realising Kazuya's sickness sooner. But it wasn't. He had assured him that many times now. Maybe not often enough. Or did his words not count at all? "I'm really fine, Dylan." He didn't believe him but was also aware that it was no use to get a confession from him right now. He could be surprisingly stubborn at times. Mark, on the other hand, was thankful that his friend cared about him, that he wanted to help him when he saw that Mark wasn't feeling well. But he couldn't tell him. Not now. It would be too much of a burden for his friend so he rather carried it all by himself. Just a little while longer.

"Fideo?" The young Captain flinched when Marco approached him from behind. "Are you okay? You were staring absently." Fideo laughed lightly, covering his embarrassment, before he smiled at his teammate. "Ah, I'm fine." "Well, if you say so." Marco furrowed his brow, not believing his captain a single word. It was suspicious how the brunet acted ever since they were on this island. It was just the third day but his behaviour was far worse than on the first one. They – not just Marco, also the other one felt his odd behaviour – caught him starring out of the window while breakfast, realised his desperate tries to be mentally present during practise and saw as well as felt his misleading comments on the field. But even so Fideo was capable to be stubborn at times when it was uncalled for and they knew that the wouldn't tell them anything at this moment. The case with Kageyama last time proved as much. And not even Hide was able to reach him then.

"Rococo!" Well, this was bad. Goushu thought that his Captain would turn around and catch the ball when he heard his name, though instead he was hit by it at the back of his head and fell on his knees. "Idiot, what were you thinking?", Windy asked the striker when he knelt worriedly next to their goalkeeper on the ground. "I just wanted to drag him out of his daydreaming", he murmured guiltily before he went to get an ice pack. "You okay?" Windy lay a hand on his Captain's shoulder, waiting for the right moment to pull him up. The goalkeeper needed a second before he registered his question and finally nodded. "It's fine", he said eventually when the concern of the other one grew, asking Windy to help him up. Under his watchful eyes, he scanned his legs, trying to tap of the dirt. Windy looked at the scrapped knee, wondering why the other one didn't even flinch when his hands touched the small wound. "Come, sit down, I'll clean it." "It's nothing. We receive much more damage during training." "Rococo!" Now he did flinch, surprised by his friend's harsh tone. "I'm not asking question, neither of us is. If you don't feel like telling us what's wrong with you, we'll accept that. But don't act like nothing is wrong." Rococo's eyes widened, hit by the truth of these words. "I... thank you. I'm sorry", he mumbled, lowering his head. And Windy had no idea what to say, so he lead him to the bench and started to take care of his wounds.

"Something wrong, Edgar?" The Captain of England's national team turned around when he heard Philip's voice. "You've realised it too, didn't you? The odd behaviour of the other Captains?" The blond seemed to ponder but eventually, he nodded. "Is it that bad already?", he asked, unsure what to think of it as it was nothing he was used to. "I'm not quite sure yet. Do me a favour and keep an eye on them." The concern of his Captain surprised the young boy at first, was it a side he didn't see often from his friend – not that the was cold-hearted, he just thought more about his own people than the ones of other teams first. So his nod was rather hesitant, though enough to show his understanding. "Yes."

"Teres?" The goalkeeper of The Empire turned with slight irritation to his Captain who allowed more balls than usual to pass him – not that he'd complain, as long as he, the goalkeeper, stopped them. "I have the feeling that this years FFI will have similar problems than the last one", Teres said eventually, facing his teammate who expected every answer despite this one. It confused him, all irritation he possessed slide aside. "What are you talking about?" "I'm not quite sure yet, but do me a favour and be careful, Ortega." "Why?" Was there a reason to worry this much? "Because other teams are already affected."

"Roniejo? Did you call me for a reason?" Lagarto sought his Captain out as soon as one player had told him that he was waiting for him. He didn't knew why Roniejo didn't come to him directly, but this question was irrelevant as he was standing by his side. "The time has come", the striker said, turning towards the defender who was surprised by his sudden determinate expression. "Which one?" "To pay back our debt. The others are in trouble, I can feel it." He seemed to understand, or was at least starting to makes sense of his words. And there was only one question now which needed to be asked. "Will you help them just like Inazuma Japan helped us?"

"You can bet on it."