AN: Hello to everyone, and thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read this fanfic! It took me around two days to write, actually. But I kept procrastinating, and well, here it is now. It's a little on the short side, but I hope you enjoy it. It's Christmas break over here in Hong Kong, and I have lots of time to write now. I'm even entering a few writing competitions! Hopefully this'll get me into a few free writing courses, that would be nice. Because, you know, the amount of critique you get partially depends on the fandom you write for.

Now, without further ado, please enjoy Of Memories and Almost Confessions!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inazuma Eleven.

He wasn't jealous.

No, Kazemaru wasn't jealous.

Of course he wasn't. No, not at all. Nope. Nosiree.

He wasn't jealous, dammit! Sheesh.

But he couldn't tear his eyes away from the two. Endou and Fuyuka.

Fuyuka, her blue eyes sparkling with joy, looking like the happiest girl in the world.

Endou, full of enthusiasm, a smile on his face, just like always.

Just like always.

Together, they looked...

He hadn't noticed, and probably wouldn't have, but what Rika had said to him earlier, with a mischievous look on her face:

"Hey, don't they look like a couple together?"

He preferred the days when there were no girls to fawn over Endou.

No Touko. No Natsumi. No Aki. No Fuyuka.

Just him and Endou.

Play, laugh, laugh. Play some more. Scold Endou for getting hurt with a soccer ball or something like that.

It was so very like him.

"Okay!" Endou ran over to the team. "Everyone ready for more soccer practice?"

"Yeah!" yelled everyone, sans Kazemaru.

Time passed, and Endou and Kazemaru slowly grew apart.

They were still friends, but it wasn't as close a friendship as before.

Honestly, Kazemaru hadn't even noticed. He was too busy with his activities as the track team's rising star. Endou was busy with the soccer club, too.

He wasn't very successful with it, Kazemaru had noted. They didn't even have enough members for an official match. But that was none of his concern, right?

Right?

Suddenly, he wasn't quite sure anymore.

Kazemaru allowed his attention to stray from practice, as he continued to think some more.

He remembered, when Endou had asked him to join the soccer team. The team was having a match with Teikoku, and they still had not had enough members.

He had said he would consider it, at first. He knew, though, that he didn't have time for things like that. He didn't want to quit the track team.

But then he saw Endou's smiling and determined face as he asked other people to join. His unwillingness to just give up.

Kazemaru saw the same boy he had played with for all those years.

The track team had enough members, anyway. The year's recruits seemed promising.

They would do fine without him.

The track team's rising star joined the soccer club on the day of the match.

"Alright. Everyone, practice is done for the day!" shouted Coach Kudou.

Everyone started to part, heading their respective ways. Goenji to discuss something with Kidou and Fudou, Kogure disappearing to do who-knows-what, the managers going to prepare dinner, Hiroto and Midorikawa off to chat with each other. Kazemaru rather envied those two. They were close and always at ease, happy, content. Unlike him at the moment.

Endou was going to practice some more, as always.

Kazemaru stayed behind, lost in his thoughts.

Miyasaka asked him to rejoin the track team.

Kazemaru refused the offer.

The defender found himself walking to the beach.

It's nearly Christmas, he realises. There's red and green everywhere, and people are cheerful and merry.

Then Aliea Academy came. They completely obliterated the Raimon Eleven.

Kazemaru practiced hard, for the sake of his injured teammates, as did the rest of the team, both old and new.

But he couldn't catch up. There was always someone better. Someone better at stealing the ball. Even someone faster, his primary advantage.

He began to lose confidence.

In that time, Endou tried to cheer him up. Always smiled. Always encouraged. Always stayed optimistic. Never gave up.

Then they fought Genesis.

Kazemaru gave up. Decided to return to Inazuma Town.

He would never forget the soul-crushing look that Endou gave him when he decided to announce that.

Nor would he forget the look of utter happiness that Endou had when he snapped out of the meteorite's control.

There, Endou was practicing his goalkeeping skills with the aid of a tire.

Same old, same old. Even though they weren't in Inazuma Town anymore.

As the saying goes: If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Or something like that.

Damn it, he was starting to sound like Midorikawa. The green-haired boy's speech patterns were rubbing off on him.

Endou spotted him, and smiled, his attention diverted from the tire. "Hey, Kazemaru, what's-OOF!" Endou crashed to the sand as the tire slammed into him, knocking him down.

"Endou! Are you alright!" Kazemaru rushed over to him, extending a hand to help him up.

"Yeah, thanks." Endou gratefully took his hand and used it to stand up.

"So, why are you here?" asked Endou.

"I don't know. Just taking a walk, I guess." mumbled Kazemaru, randomly spouting out an excuse.

Kazemaru fell silent, then started to speak.

"Hey, Endou, remember when we were kids?"

As all these events happened, Kazemaru wasn't sure if his feelings towards Endou were friendship, or perhaps something else.

"Eh?" said a confused Endou, "Yeah. Just the two of us, right?"

"Yeah. You would insist on playing soccer all the time..." Kazemaru trailed off, a wistful look on his face.

"Before we met anyone else." Endou picked off where Kazemaru left off.

"Hey, Endou?" Kazemaru spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I think I-"

Images of Endou with Fuyuka, Natsumi, Touko, Aki, Haruna, even, rushe through his mind.

He didn't hate the girls. He certainly didn't want to hurt Endou, either. Or cause unnecessary drama.

"-nevermind. It's getting late. Let's go back." Kazemaru said, as he started walking back to the dorms.

"Oh, okay." Endou followed after him.

"-love you."

The unspoken words hang in the air, never to be heard.

AN: GUYS I WON'T DELETE THIS STORY I SWEAR. I'm sorry for deleting my other ones! They were pretty terrible… I'll just stick to oneshots for now, alright?

Please leave a review, it could really help out with my writing style. Don't hesitate to inform me of any mistakes in my writing, okay?

Well, I'm going on holiday tomorrow, go good night and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!