OH MY GOSH I'M NOT DEAD!

Hi everybody! Wuz up? I've finally returned from the grave! Well, college, but you get the point. Anyway, I'm really into Inazuma Eleven right now, so you might be seeing a bit of that for a while. Then again, by the time I get around to posting again, I'll probably be into something else.

It's funny how my first fanfic for IE is with my second favorite pairing and not my first. Oh, well. Maybe next time. I also have a Karakuridouji Ultimo fanfic in the process, so keep an eye out for that! Also, please keep in mind that I might be a little rusty cause I haven't posted in so long. Constructive criticism is appreciated! Flames will be given to Gouenji!

Beware the yaoi!

Inspired by this picture (no spaces or parentheses):

http : / (/) static. zerochan . (net/full/10) /36/ (516810) .jpg (though his hair is down in the fic)

~ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inazuma Eleven or the characters from it. I only own the plot of this fic. I am in no way making any money off of this piece of literary work. I also do not own the fanart that this story was spawned from.

If I did own the series, my fav couples would be declared canon by now and not just hinted at!

*8~8~8~8~8~8~8*

The red haired captain of Gaia walked down the brightly lit hallway of Aliea Academy, his thoughts far from focused on his location.

"We have to win. Do you understand that, Gran?"

"Yes, father."

"And you need to be prepared to do anything to achieve victory. Is that clear?"

"…Yes, father."

Gran clenched his hands into fists. He knew what his father had been implying. He wanted him to be ready to release the limiter. The only thing between his team and the power that threatened to tear them apart.

Gran cursed under his breath and slammed a fist against the wall. If it really came down to that…he wasn't sure he could do it.

"Ouch!"

"Hold still!"

Gran looked up ahead, eyeing the door to the locker room where the voices were coming from. He walked ahead to the locker room door and pressed a hand against the wall, leaning in to peer through a crack between it and the door. Desarm sat on the bench in the locker room, nursing a deep cut on his arm. Reize stood in front of him, holding a soaked cloth in one hand. A med kit was open next to Desarm.

"I keep telling you that hissatsu is too dangerous. You always end up like this." Reize scolded, dabbing at another scrape on Desarm's face. The captain of Epsilon hissed and struggled not to pull away.

"We're so close. Just a little longer and this hissatsu will be unbeatable. It will be worth it, you'll see." Desarm winced sharply when Reize pressed down on a cut.

"And until then, you'll just keep looking like you came out of a blender. You need to be more careful!" Desarm opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped. He wasn't going to win this one. He sighed in defeat.

Gran smirked. Only Reize seemed to possess the ability to talk Desarm down without pissing him off. Any of the higher captains would have to give him a direct order for him to listen. But Reize, placed under Desarm and unable to give him such orders, had to use logic and emotion to get him to listen. Desarm would undoubtedly obey if he believed he was upsetting the greenette. Speaking of which, said green haired boy was suddenly getting much closer to the door…

Gran didn't have enough time to realize what was happening before the door slid open and Reize walked straight into him, sending them both to the floor. The med kit hit the floor and clattered loudly, dumping its contents across the hall. Gran groaned and rubbed his head as it throbbed painfully. He heard a sharp gasp and looked up to watch Reize instantly get on his knees and place his forehead to the floor.

"Go-gomenasai! Gran-sama, I-I didn't see you! P-please forgive me!" the greenette stuttered. Gran could see how flustered the greenette was despite his refusal to raise his head. Desarm seemed to have disappeared from the locker room. 'Probably went back out to the field.' Gran thought. He turned his attention back to the shaking boy in front of him.

"It's alright, don't worry about it. I'm fine, really." Gran assured him. Reize hesitantly rose from his position and began gathering the supplies back into the med kit. Gran moved to help as well, but winced sharply when pain shot through the back of his skull. Reize's head shot up.

"Are you alright, Gran-sama?" he asked tentatively. Gran nodded, the motion making pain go through his skull. "My head just hurts a little, that's all." He reached up a hand to brush the spot where the pain was strongest and winced. He jumped slightly when Reize's hands came up to pull his away. The captain of Gemini Storm gingerly touched the spot himself, brushing away the red hair to get a better look.

"There's a bump. I have an ice pack if you–" Gran raised a hand to cut him off. "Do you mind if we go to my room? It looks a little silly to just be kneeling here in the hallway and I have things to do."

Reize blushed (he looked so pretty when he did that) and nodded vigorously. He quickly gathered up the items on the floor and shoved them back into the med kit. Gran stood and began to walk down the hall, Reize hastily following.

The walk to the Gaia department was quiet and uneventful. The halls seemed to be deserted and Reize wasn't making any attempt at conversation and they arrived at Gran's room quickly enough. Gran moved sat on the bed and Reize immediately opened the med kit and took out the ice pack.

Gran winced once when the cool item touched the smarting bump and moved to take it from the greenette. Reize jumped back slightly and moved to clean up and leave.

"What's the status on the other teams?" he said quickly. He didn't want the other to leave, but simply saying so would cause problems. And he might as well find out how the other teams are doing.

"Epsilon is still training to perfect their new hissatsu, and Prominence and Diamond Dust are working to advance their skills as well, as separate teams and as chaos."

"And Raimon?"

"One of their members has left the team, but otherwise they remain prepared to face Genesis."

"And what about your team?" Reize paused now. He fidgeted with the fabric of his uniform nervously.

"We want to continue to aid the other teams." Gran nodded. He'd noticed recently that the members of Gemini Storm seemed much happier in their self-proclaimed "relief squad" position than they had on the front lines.

"You're doing a good job. You team is happy and they perform their tasks well, youself included." Reize blushed at Gran's words and looked to the floor, mumbling a quiet 'thank you'.

Gran lifted the ice pack slightly. "Can you come look at this?" he asked. Reize nodded quickly and pushed the med kit aside. He leant one knee on the bed and kept his other foot on the floor for balance while he moved to look at the bump.

"The swelling has gone down a bit. Does it still hurt?"

"Only a little….Reize…can I ask you something?" Reize looked at him curiously and nodded, sitting back on his leg.

"Am I a good captain? I want you to be honest with me. Am I doing something wrong?" Gran averted his gaze from the greenette to the floor. He chewed his lip nervously, waiting for the answer.

"Of course you aren't doing anything wrong! Why would you think that?" Gran jumped slightly and let his eyes flicker over to the other boy for a second. In that second, he caught a quick glimpse at the little five year old boy he remembered meeting so many years ago, crying behind the supply shed. For just a second, Reize crumbled away and Midorikawa Ryuuji took charge.

And then Reize was back, looking shamefully at the sheets because of his outburst, and Gran realized he had been asked a question.

"I just don't know how I can be a good leader if I can't even fight decisions that could jeopardize my team. Father says I should be prepared to have us release our limiters during the match with Raimon but what if it's too much? We could hurt them and ourselves!" Gran clenched his hands into fists, his thoughts and fears finally pushing to the surface. He completely forgot about the bright black eyes locked on him. "How can I call myself the captain of Genesis when I can't even protect my own team from themselves? Releasing so much power at once could be disastrous! Father could be going way too far with this and there is nothing I can do about it!"

Gran let his head drop into his hands and hunched forward.

"Reize, I…I don't think I can handle much more of this." He couldn't possibly take his team into battle against Raimon. If he did, there was a good chance he would be forced to release the limiter and the possible damage it could do to his teammates was too great for him to risk it.

"Gran-sama…" the sound of shifting and a hand on his thigh brought the red haired captain out of his thoughts. Reize had dropped to his knees in front of his superior and was looking at him with a slight blush dusting his cheeks. They locked eyes for a moment before Reize quickly diverted his out of respect. The greenette bit his lip lightly and shifted nervously. Gran reached down and cupped the boys face, turning it to him.

They locked eyes again and Gran leaned in to press their lips together.

*8~8~8~8~8~8~8*

Damn sun.

Hiroto frowned, defiantly kepping his eyes closed. He wanted to continue sleeping, but was discovering that willing the sunlight streaming in through his curtains away wasn't quite working.

Hiroto opened his eyes slightly, tightening his grip on the warm body in his arms. Memories from the previous night came flooding back almost instantly. His inner turmoil, Reize's silent offering of himself, the events thereafter. Hiroto reached up a hand to run it through the greenette's hair. It had long since fallen out of its "Alien" style (as had his own) and fell around his shoulders in long, green waves. Midorikawa was still sleeping soundly, undisturbed by Hiroto's moving around. Hiroto watched him for a moment. Midorikawa's offer had come as a surprise to him, but he couldn't say he wasn't happy to know that the younger boy trusted him so much.

In truth, his rank would have allowed him to have the other boy any time he desired. In fact, Reize was prone to the commands of every other captain (and even some of the other team members), as he was the captain of the lowest ranked team. There were only two reasons the greenette had remained untouched.

The first was the fact that some weren't interested. Burn and Gazel, for example, were secretly an item (this was commonly known despite their attempts to cover it up with their constant fighting). On more than one occasion, Hiroto had caught Gazel sneaking into Burn's room. Heat and Nepper were together as well.

The second reason was that no one, not even the headstrong members of Prominence, wished to provoke Hiroto's temper. It didn't show its face very often, but when it did, it could even make Burn shut his mouth. And this was, for some, the only reason they didn't approach the captain of Gemini Storm. Hiroto knew for a fact that Grent, the goalkeeper of Prominence, desired the small boy greatly, but was thankfully smart enough to leave him be. It also helped that Desarm practically viewed the greenette as his own child and anyone who wanted at him would be forced to go through the entire Epsilon team too (Hiroto included, but he'd worry about that later). Everyone within Aliea Academy knew that Midorikawa was important to the two captains and that messing with him was a definite mistake (the idea of having two super powered soccer teams after your balls would deter most people).

Hiroto paused in his stroking of the younger's hair. Though he himself could have taken the boy by simply giving an order, he never did and never would have. The greenette was too precious to him to even consider it. That's why the boys offer had made him so happy. Midorikawa had willingly consented to being with him and had even been the one to initiate things. This gave Hiroto hope that maybe the younger boy returned his feelings.

For a long time, long before Aliea Academy, Hiroto had harbored feelings for the captain of Gemini Storm. He'd hung around him every chance he got. He was sure it was obvious to everyone else how he felt but he didn't care. All he cared about was being with his Midorikawa.

He couldn't even begin to describe his fury when Midorikawa had been placed as the captain of Gemini Storm and sent to the front lines of their attack while he was placed as the leader of one of the top three teams. It became nearly impossible for him see his Midorikawa anymore and when he did, it was as Gran and Reize. He worried constantly whenever Gemini Storm was sent to attack the other schools. What if something happened to Midorikawa? He would never forgive himself.

Hiroto had nearly been ecstatic upon Gemini Storm's exile. While Midorikawa was still treated as Reize and continued to treat the other players the same as well, it meant he was ejected from the program, and thus no longer had to obey them. Granted, he still did, but now obeyed of his own volition rather than necessity. The players of Gemini Storm were now regarded as civilians rather than soldiers, though Midorikawa had taken it upon himself, as he still wanted to be useful, to act as a sort of paramedic to the other players, teaching himself basic medical techniques.

A small yawn broke him out of his thoughts and he looked down at the boy in his arms. Midorikawa stretched and twisted in Hiroto's arms a bit before lying back and looking up at the redhead.

"Hi." He said softly. Hiroto marveled for a bit. Midorikawa's dark eyes had seemed so hard and cold during his time as Reize, now they seemed soft and innocent in comparison.

"Hi." He whispered back. He reached forward and brushed a hand down the side of the greenette's face. Midorikawa blushed slightly and averted his eyes. Hiroto opened his mouth to say something when a knock interrupted him.

Hiroto groaned. He wanted to let this moment last, but his duty as captain of Gaia, The Genesis and the highest ranking team of Aliea Academy, refused to allow it. He took a moment to harden his expression before sitting up, tugging the sheets up to better cover Midorikawa. Hiroto didn't share.

"Yes?"

"I need to talk to you." Hiroto relaxed. It was Reina. "Come in." He said, ignoring Midorikawa's shocked squeak. The door slid open and the blue and white haired girl stepped in. She took in the scene in front of her for a moment before smirking.

"Well, I was going to tell you Desarm is running around like a headless chicken because Diam told him he can't find Reize, but I see there's nothing to worry about."

Midorikawa squeaked again and reddened considerably, bringing the sheets up to cover from his nose down. Hiroto smirked back.

"I just borrowed him for the night. Tell Desarm he can relax before he gives himself a heart attack." Reina chuckled.

"You know he's going to give you hell." Hiroto shrugged.

"I'll worry about that later." Reina shook her head then smiled and winked.

"I'll have some breakfast sent up for you two. It'll probably only be a couple minutes so don't get too frisky, okay hon?" Hiroto chuckled and Midorikawa squeaked again and yanked the sheets over his head. Reina giggle and slid the door shut.

It was silent for a moment before Midorikawa rose, clutching the sheets to his chest. "I should go. I won't trouble you anymo–" he was cut off when Hiroto grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.

"Stay. She said she's sending up food for both of us. I can't eat for two." Hiroto smiled and Midorikawa nodded weakly. Hiroto released him and sat back on the bed. He watched the greenette wrap the sheets around his body in a little cocoon and draw his knees up to his chest. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Why did you let me do that to you last night?"

Midorikawa jumped slightly, startled by the question. He gripped the sheets tighter to his body. "What do you mean?"

Hiroto shifted, drawing up a knee and supporting an arm on it. "Last night. Why were you so willing? What were you hoping to gain?" The greenette seemed hurt by the accusation and buried his head in his knees.

"I just wanted to make you feel better." He said quietly. Hiroto cast him a look.

"A little extreme, don't you think? Do you sleep with everyone who tells you a sob story?" The question was meant as a joke but came out far harsher than Hiroto had intended. Midorikawa flinched sharply and rapidly shook his head.

"No, of course not! I've never…I mean…last night was…I've never wanted to before but…" Midorikawa took a couple breaths to try and calm himself. Hiroto was beginning to feel bad about the accusation and considered retracting it when the greenette began to speak.

"I've had the opportunity before. People have offered but…I just wasn't interested. But…when I'm with you, I want to. I want to be with you, to help you. But when you were upset yesterday, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know how to make you feel better. I tried the only thing I could think of. A lot of the other players seemed to want it, so I thought it could help. I wanted to it too though, so I guess it was actually selfish of me. But…"

He paused for a moment. His breathing had become shallow and raspy, like he had just run for a long time. He pulled the sheet tighter around himself.

"I want to say near Hiroto. Even if you don't feel the same way, I won't mind if you just want to use me. As long as it's Hiroto, it doesn't matter." Midorikawa looked away, trying to hide the tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. He gasped suddenly when Hiroto grabbed his face and forced him to look at him before capturing Midorikawa's lips with his own. He held the greenette there as they kissed then broke away, still holding the others face in his hands.

"I don't want this to be about sex. I want this to be about us. I love you. I want you to stay by my side forever." The younger boy's eyes widened at the declaration and the tears began to spill over. Hiroto rested his hands on the green haired boy's shoulders and leaned in to kiss away the tears. He pulled back to rest his forehead against his love's.

Hiroto cupped his face again and pulled him close, pressing their lips together. Midorikawa responded hesitantly at first then with more vigor. Hiroto released his face and wrapped his arms around the greenette.

He would make sure they would win tomorrow. For his father, for Midorikawa. Raimon wouldn't stand a chance. They would beat them flat before they could even get the ball. There would be no need to release the limiter. Whatever happened tomorrow, he'd be ready as long as Midorikawa was by his side.

"KIYAMA HIROTO!"

Hiroto jumped as the voice boomed throughout Aliea Academy (somewhere in a broom closet, Burn and Gazel flinched).

Damn.

He'd forgotten about Desarm.

He really should start running now.