'I'm so bored!' Kogure whined as he lay down on the grass staring at the sky with a blunt expression.

'You just finished practice like… eight minutes ago, and you're bored already?' Touko asked with a raised eyebrow.

It was a blazing day after practice, and the members of Inazuma Japan were sitting in the grass next to the pitch most of them still panting from the new training routine coach Kudou had come up with. The girls were going around handing out flasks and water bottles with some sandwiches brought by Rika and Touko.

'If you're bored, go and run around the pitch once again. A bonus lap for you.' Kazemaru suggested wiping the sweat off his forehead with a towel.

'No way! That training is torture…' Kogure stretched. 'I'm still bored though…'

'Kogure's right,' Tsunami said approaching the others. Touko held out a water bottle to him. Tsunami took it, twisted the cap, but instead of drinking it, he poured its content on his head.

'Much better,' he said relieved then continued his train of thoughts. 'We're done with training for today now, and the rest of the day is off for everyone.'

'Aren't you going to the sea, by the way?' Tachimukai asked as he took off his gloves and followed Kogure's example by lying down on the grass with a content sigh.

'Nah,' Tsunami shook his head water drops flying in every possible direction. 'After this madness which the coach calls training, I can't move a single muscle. The ocean has to wait,' Tsunami said with a little disappointment in his voice.

'What? Tired already?' Endou's cheerful shout came from the field. He was standing near the goal scooping up a ball and tucking it in a bag. Then he closed the bag and made his way to the others.

'Only you can say that after three hours of almost non-stop training,' Hiroto laughed sitting cross-legged with a flask in one hand.

'Yeah. You are insane, Captain,' Kabeyama agreed.

'Just excited about our next match with Fire Dragon,' Endou answered plopping the bag on the grass as he sat down next to Kabeyama.

'Leeet's play something,' Kogure started again.

'Like what?' Tobitaka murmured behind his sandwich.

'Yeah, we could use some entertainment,' Toramaru agreed at the same time.

'You guys are so childish!' Rika rolled her eyes.

'You wanna play something?' Fudou asked, a vicious grin spreading across his face. 'Fine.' he twisted the cap of his almost empty water bottle back and placed it on the grass. 'Let's play truth or dare.' he said with a tone that promised nothing good. All heads nearby turned to Fudou from every direction.

'Now that sounds interesting,' Kogure got up and sat next to Fudou. 'Come on guys, let's play,' he chuckled with a mischievious grin on his face. Slowly, a small circle started to form. First Hiroto, Midorikawa, and Endou sat down next to Fudou and Kogure, then Tsunami and Tachimukai joined. After them, Toramaru entered the circle too followed by a grumbling Tobitaka who was murmuring 'this will not end well' under his breath. Then Kazemaru arrived dragging a struggling Kabeyama along.

'Hey guys, what are you doing?' Aki stepped closer to the circle balancing three water bottles on a plate.

'Truth or dare. Wanna join?' Hiroto asked.

'Why not? I haven't played this game in ages, it might be fun,' she said as she placed the tray down. The boys made some space for her, and she sat down crossing her legs. 'Natsumi-san, would you like to join?' Aki asked the redhead who was standing nearby under a big umbrella because of the scorching heat.

Natsumi looked in Aki's direction, sighed, and closed her umbrella. 'I just might as well do so. It's not like I have anything else to do. But if you guys try something sneaky…' her gaze turned cold and lingered over the group of boys. Kogure and Kabeyama flinched when her icy stare reached them.

'Hey guys, have you seen Sakuma-kun?' Haruna arrived, a flask in her hand with Sakuma's name on it. Fudou flashed an evil smile. 'I saw him getting escorted into the building by coach Kudou.' Kogure chuckled in the background.

'He got sunstroke.' Kidou's quiet but firm voice could be heard a few steps away from the circle. He was sitting in the grass with a notebook in his lap, drawing furiously.

'What a whimp,' Fudou sneered.

'Yeah, running around for three hours and only getting some headache. What a whimp,' Kidou repeated dryly without looking up from his notebook.

'What are you doing anyway?' Fudou asked with a disdainful glare.

'Tactics.' Kidou replied, still drawing in the notebook with great vehemence.

'Just let it go and join us! Scribbling on a piece of paper won't help anyone, anyway,' he said his voice filled with mockery.

'No thanks. You can do whatever you want, but you can be sure I won't be playing some childish prank-puller game when our next match will be against Fire Dragon and Korea's most highly acclaimed game strategist,' Kidou's tone was slightly annoyed now.

'Tch. Your loss, whatever,' Fudou answered then turned back to the circle, only to realize that it has enlarged with a smiling Touku and two more rather confused managers, Haruna and Fuyuka.

'Great. More people, the better,' Fudou grinned vixenly. 'Anyone else? It's your last chance,' he offered.

'No thanks,' Rika said. 'Maybe, if Darling were here, it would be more fun but without him… This is just childish!' Rika answered crossing her arms. 'Though I'm more than glad to watch it,' she chuckled and fished out her phone from her bag.

'I'll leave this one out,' Hijikata said. 'I'm too old for these kinds of things. I think I'll go and make some tea for Sakuma,' he said turning around and leaving the others.

'Well, that's it then,' Fudou sneered.

'Wait,' Toramaru said. 'Where's Gouenji-san?'

Tobitaka jerked behind him with his head. All the others turned their heads in the shown direction, only to find the person in question a few meters away, lying in the grass on his back, eyes closed, sound asleep.

'Well, I guess that's a no from him,' Endou chuckled. 'You sure, you don't wanna join, Kidou?' he asked cheerfully.

'I'm fine,' he answered in a much calmer tone now, but still not wasting a glance on anything else but his notebook. The match was approaching, and Kidou had to be prepared for no matter what trick Fire Dragon had in mind. He turned the page and started to sketch another formation. The outside world almost disappeared to him, the only things on his mind were positions, hisatssus, and combinations. He even missed someone's (maybe it was Tachimukai?) failed attempt at climbing a tree. He only woke from this weird state when he heard a loud thump and Tsunami's snicker in the background but quickly resumed his work. Until…

'It's you, Haruna-san!' Aki squealed and poked her in the shoulder. 'And the one who's asking is Natsumi-san!"

'Ah, this game is so boring…' Natsumi sighed. 'Everyone always chooses "truth" since Tachimukai fell off that tree! And we're out of embarrassing questions already…'

'Then, I'll dare,' Haruna shrugged, and Natsumi's eyes lit up.

'Oh well, what an intriguing turn! I must not waste this chance… What shall I do?' Natsumi seemed to seriously consider this question. 'I mean, what shall you do?'

'Are you sure you made the right decision?' Aki whispered to Haruna who seemed a little bit paler now.

'How bad can it be, I thought. Maybe I was wrong. You know, she scares me a little when she's like this,' Haruna whispered back.

'I got it!' Natsumi shouted and snapped her fingers so loud that even Kidou jumped at the sound of it. A sly grin spread across her face. It was so unlike her that Tsunami closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to erase this bizarre image out of his head.

'Oh, no!' Aki said in a low voice.

'Oh no what?' Haruna said, and her voice now had a little nervousness in it.

'That's the Natsumi-is-bored-and-she-has-just-found-a-solution-for-it-grin,' Aki explained.

'Is there such a thing?' Haruna furrowed her brows.

'Oh, believe me, Haruna-san, there is. The last time it happened in its full action, she convinced her father that the soccer club was unnecessary and tried to shut it down. And we both know how that ended.'

'That's Raimon Natsumi's true power,' Kazemaru, who was sitting on Haruna's other side, joined in. 'She smiles, and we're playing against Teikoku Gauken. She smiles, and we are the best team in Japan. She smiles, and the next thing we know is that we're defending Earth from fake alien soldiers with frightening speed,' he said with a slight displease in his voice. 'No wonder everyone fears her,' he added.

'Hey, you three, what are you whispering about?' Natsumi's loud voice ended their conversation.

'Nothing!' they shouted in unison.

'Well, then. Pay attention, especially, you Haruna-san, since it's you're task, if you hadn't noticed it,' Natsumi said, and Kogure snickered in the background.

'So, what do you have in mind?' Haruna asked resignedly.

'Okay, so, you have to spin the bottle, and whoever the lid points to, you have to kiss them.'

A wave of roars flowed through the members of Inazuma Japan, everyone murmuring something under their breath.

'Oh come on!' Natsumi snapped. 'It's not like half of you don't have a crush on her!' she rolled her eyes.

'What?' Rika asked in serious shock, looking up from her phone. 'I thought I was the one everyone had a crush on!' she protested, looking around among the members, but everyone seemed to avoid her gaze. 'Seriously?' she asked angrily, snapped her phone shut, and left the group.

'She'll calm down,' Touko waved with her hand, like it wasn't a big deal. 'Eventually,' she added, grinning.

'Well, let's resume our game, I suggest. This has just turned much more interesting than I had ever hoped.' Fudou's grin was more vicious than ever.

'Sorry to disappoint you,' Kidou's voice made everyone flinch. He was now standing next to Haruna, opposite Fudou.

'And why's that, Kidou-kun?' Fudou raised a brow, staring right into the other strategist's goggles.

'Because Haruna will no longer participate in this,' he said with a calm voice.

'Won't she?' Fudou asked with an innocent smile and dripping voice.

'Of course not. You crossed a certain line that should not be crossed,' now he was looking at Natsumi, frowning. She just shrugged nonchalantly.

'Oh come on, Onii-chan, it's just a silly game!' Haruna laughed nervously.

'It's not fair if she can refuse,' Kogure protested suddenly.

'Well, I fell off a tree just because of this game,' Tachimukai murmured fiddling with his glove's strap. 'A kiss is not the end of the world.'

'You think falling off a tree is a bigger sacrifice than kissing someone you don't like?' Touko asked, her eyes filled with anger.

'I'm not saying that,' Tachimukai held up his hands in surrender. 'I'm just saying that we all made our sacrifices for this game.'

'Yeah, we heard it, you fell off a tree. What a sacrifice!' Touko rolled her eyes.

'Anyway, I think Kogure's right,' Tsunami added. 'I can't believe I said this already two times this day,' he chuckled. 'Anyway, it's not fair. Everyone took the risk. If Haruna-san chooses to dare then she has to dare. That's the rule.'

'Really, Onii-chan, it's no big deal,' she said, getting more and more uncomfortable with this situation. She really didn't like this much attention.

'Look, Haruna,' Kidou started. 'I'm happy that you started socializing and everything, but I don't think…'

'I don't give a damn what you think!' Haruna snapped. 'I get that you're trying to be the "big brother" for me, but you just have to accept that I'm no longer a kid. I've grown up Onii-chan; there's no need to watch over me any more!'

'All I'm saying is,' Kidou hissed through gritted teeth 'that I'd hate to punch someone from the team just because he kissed my sister.'

'See, that's your problem! You think that you always have to do something to protect me whenever I'm doing something! Just for once, you could mind your own business!' she stomped in an attempt to add emphasis to her words.

'Don't tell me you want to kiss anyone out of these guys!' Kidou sneered, while Tsunami protested with a loud 'Hey!' in the background.

'So what if I do?' Haruna screamed now, her voice filled with anger. For a brief moment, everybody froze holding back their breaths as silence fell on them.

'Anyway, you're too young for these kinds of things,' Kidou said calmly.

'I. Am. Not!' she yelled. 'I'm a teenager, for goodness sake! And this whole thing isn't about me, it's about you, trying to repress your guilt because you weren't there for me in the first place! '

'No, it's not!' now Kidou was the one who lifted his voice up, which was such a rare occasion that the new members of Inazuma Japan gaped at them in awe.

'Oh great. A family quarrel,' Natsumi started massaging her temples. 'Just what I needed.'

'I don't wanna play this game any more…' Kabeyama started whining.

'Shut it!' Fudou's yell rang so loudly that everyone stopped in mid-sentence, even Kidou and Haruna.

'Now,' Fudou said in a calm voice turning to Kidou. 'Haruna-san wants to stay. There's nothing you can do about it, Kidou-kun. You'd better accept that.' Another mocking smile appeared on his face. 'And by the way, the rules forbid leaving the game earlier than everyone else.'

'Yeah.' Kogure joined in, smiling cheekily. 'The number of people start the game, the exact number has to finish it too,' he grinned, but got immediately smacked on the head by Fudou.

'You idiot,' Fudou hissed. 'Why did you say that?'

'Hey, I said nothing wrong!' Kogure protested, putting his hand on the spot where his skull was throbbing now. But then he saw Kidou's smug expression, and now he wasn't so sure. 'Did I?'

Fudou didn't answer, just rolled his eyes in response. He already knew what was on the genius gamemaker's mind before he even said it.

'Then I'll take Haruna's place!' he declared in a stern voice. 'The number will not change this way,' he added with slight mockery in his tone.

'You just don't know when to let it go, do you?' Haruna asked furiously. Kidou didn't even flinch. 'Fine, whatever!' Haruna sighed. 'You already ruined the mood anyway,' she pouted and stomped away.

'Tch,' Fudou sneered. 'Kidou Yuuto, ruining anything fun since eternity.'

Kidou didn't respond, just sat down to Haruna's place, right across Fudou.

'Well then, let's continue,' Hiroto suggested reaching for the water bottle.

'Not so fast, my redhead alien friend,' Fudou chimed in. 'Haruna-san here,' he looked directly at Kidou then continued 'hasn't finished her turn yet.'

Kogure chuckled in the background, while some of the boys suddenly seemed to have caught a cold in this blazing heat, since they started choking.

'It's really not necessary,' Natsumi added quickly and slightly flustered, waving dismissively. She regretted choosing this task as soon as she said it out loud, but she was too proud to back away. But now that the tables have turned, Natsumi wished nothing but to put an end to this game. It started to get more and more radical with every turn. The others seemed to notice it too. Kabeyama had already left for the bathroom, and a weird nervousness started to settle on the group.

'Well it's not necessary… if you're a coward,' Fudou added, his voice dripping.

Kidou didn't even flinch just continued to stare into nowhere with a mildly annoyed expression.

'I'm more than certain that anyone from the opponent teams would be eager to hear that Inazuma Japan's genius midfielder backed away from a simple dare,' Fudou flashed his predator-like grin again.

Kidou didn't answer. With that usual unreadable expression of his, he lifted the bottle, faltering for a moment. He then placed it back on the grass and spun it, still without making a face. Everyone held back their breaths as they watched the bottle spinning, round and round and round, gradually losing its speed. They all stared in shock as the bottle finally stopped, the cap pointing to the one who initiated this whole mess.

'Well, if this isn't karma, I'll eat my hairpin,' Aki whispered.

'Tch,' Fudou sneered. 'The irony,' he commented staring at the blue cap, which was now pointing at him. He looked at Kidou who had a faint smile on his face. 'Don't worry, I won't back away, Kidou-kun,' he added mockingly.

'Very well then,' Kidou said as he stood up, followed by numerous gasps, and with a step he was now standing right in front of Fudou. He sat down crossing his legs, his cape billowing from the sudden movement. He firmly pushed his goggles to the top of his head revealing his glimmering crimson eyes, which caused another round of gasps among the members of Inazuma Japan.

'How… forsightful of you,' Fudou murmured.

'Well, I can put them back if you want me to squeeze your eyes out with them,' Kidou said dryly, his voice emotionless.

'Tch. No thanks,' Fudou hissed, but his tone lacked the usual edge.

'Well, if I didn't know you so well, I would say you had become insecure, Fudou-kun,' Kidou mocked him with a small smile tugging at his lips.

'Tch. You don't know me,' Fudou grunted but averted his gaze. He would rather die than to ever admit to his rival that he started to find this dare a stupid idea. He has never been kissed before, and he started to regret suggesting this imbecile game, which now backfired on him.

'Well-well. I never thought that I would see the great Fudou Akio hesitate about anything,' Kidou murmured in a low voice so only Fudou could hear it. Fudou swallowed hard trying to regain his composure. He will not let Kidou see him like this! He is already mocking him! This is a situation that would never occur under normal circumstances! How does he even dare to make fun of him? And what is wrong with himself?! He is way stronger than to get the wind up because of some simple dare! He will show Kidou!

Fudou lifted his head up, his eyes flaming with anger as he looked into Kidou's ruby eyes.

'Just shut up and kiss me,' he spat.

'If you insist so much,' Kidou answered with ridicule in his voice. He leaned closer to Fudou only to make him involuntarily flinch. They were so close now that their noses almost touched, and Fudou felt heat rushing to his face. He struggled not to jump up and run away, not caring about his dignity or the supposedly laughing teammates. He looked at Kidou's smug expression. He had no idea what the other strategist was thinking nor why he was so calm. It should be his first kiss too (at least that's what Fudou hoped for), so he should be at least a little bit nervous! And Fudou should be able to see it, especially now that there was nothing to cover Kidou's eyes. Damn, he shouldn't radiate this much confidence… something was off…

But every thought of his was swept away as soon as he saw Kidou's eyes flash for a second. Oh damn, here we go, he thought as he closed his eyes. A half second later he felt Kidou's lips on… his forehead? What?

He couldn't even form a coherent thought, and Kidou has already pulled back, leaving Fudou shocked.

'What the hell?' he exclaimed as he tried to gather his scattered thoughts. 'That's cheating!'

Kidou shrugged, smirking smugly again as he pushed back his goggles to his eyes. 'Well, the task was to kiss you. It said nothing about the whereabouts of the kiss.'

Fuduo stared at Kidou, unable to even blink. They stood there eyeing each other for more than a half minute, when Fudou realized that breathing actually helps staying alive. Just as blinking. He took a deep breath and shook his head in disbelief. That cunning fox! He tricked him! And not just him, but he tricked the whole game.

'Kidou Yuuto, always finding a let-out, aren't we?' he asked with a half-smile on his face. Kidou just shrugged in response, turned around, and started to walk back to his place.

Fudou tore his gaze away from Kidou's red cape and started to wonder whether this was his plan all along. To get back at him. But how could he possibly know that the bottle would point at him? Or was this his plan all along, regardless of who the bottle cap would point at?

Or maybe…

'You son of a bitch!' he shouted as the realisation dawned on him.

Kidou stopped in his tracks, turned around, and raised a brow. 'Excuse me?'

'You bastard!' Fudou repeated now with hints of anger in his voice. 'You… you did this on purpose!' he said, stuttering from the sudden rush of annoyance.

Kidou sighed. 'Now what?'

'You planned it!' Fudou said pointing a finger at Kidou, still trying to convert his thoughts into words. 'You spun the bottle such a way that it would point at me!'

'Aren't you a little bit paranoid, Fudou-kun?' Kidou responded in a mocking tone, and he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the end of the sentence.

'But, did you do it?' Fudou asked determined not to drop the question.

'That's impossible,' Touko suddenly said. 'He only lifted the bottle for a second. It's way too little time to calculate the weight of the bottle, the speed of the spinning, not to mention that there is a thing called friction…' she stopped in mid-sentence to glance at Kidou doubtingly.

'It's just physics,' Kidou shrugged nonchalantly. 'The base of every sport.'

'Of course it is,' Fudou sneered still shaking his head unbelievingly. 'You tricked me, Kidou-kun,' he said now in a serious tone staring into Kidou's goggles to find his eyes. 'You are one of those few people who succeeded at that. But let me tell you one thing; none of them ever got away with it. One way or another, this little trick of yours will backfire on you.'

A small smirk crept its way to Kidou's face. 'I'm sure you'll think of something,' he said. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I have tactics to figure out,' he turned around and left, his red cape billowing dramatically at the pace of his steps.

'Wait!' Fudou shouted, and Kidou stopped walking. 'You can't just leave the game! That's against the rules!'

'You're quite fond of rules, even though you're the most likely to break them,' Kidou said without turning around. He waved dismissively and continued his way to his place in the grass, leaving a snickering Inazuma Japan and a rather flustered and fuming Fudou behind.