The girl in front of her was Sacchan, her friend. The one she hurt at the soccer match, the one whose eyes had been chasing her in her nightmares for so long. Natsume was in shock, frozen in place, without saying anything. Sacchan stood up and looked at Natsume, noticing she was holding a mask on her hands. Scared, she took her own hands to her face and confirmed she was not wearing her mask anymore and that one belonged to her. And then she knew her old friend was seeing her face clearly. Seeing Natsume’s reaction, Sacchan extended her hands and said softly:

-Natsume, please… Calm down. Let me explain…

But Natsume wasn’t listening to her. She realized what she did, how she attacked her old friend… And all those memories went back to her head. The field, the ball, Sacchan on the ground, with tears in her eyes… Realizing what just happened, Natsume felt horrified and she began crying.

-No… No, no… not again… I… you… not again… NOT AGAAAAAAAAIN!

Natsume screamed with all her might and fear and run away.

-Natsume, wait!- shouted Sacchan, chasing her friend.

Natsume run through the trees and bushes, with her eyes full of tears. She couldn’t see clearly. Everything around her seemed blurry, but the girl didn’t care. All Natsume wanted was to keep running. Run and hide. Run and forget. She kept running as fast as she could until she found a cave and got inside. The interior was a bit dark, except for some color crystals with a faint light. Tired, she knelt down on the hard ground and, resting her hand on the wall, she cried.

-Natsume! Natsume, please! Oh, there you are- said Sacchan.

Natsume didn’t turn around, but she could hear her friend’s footsteps inside the cave. She was scared of looking at her and her whole body trembled.

-Please… please, leave...- begged Natsume.

-Natsume, I’m sorry- apologized Sacchan. -I know I should have told you, but…

-Please! Don’t get closer. I don’t want to… harm you…- said Natsume while crying.

-But I’m OK, really! It’s just a little pain, but it will wear off- said Sacchan. -Really, I’m…

-I’M DANGEROUS!- screamed Natsume.

Sacchan looked at her friend with sadness. Natsume crouched on the ground, crying and shaking.

-No, you’re not- said Sacchan calmly. -Someone dangerous wouldn’t be crying like that… Please, just let me…

Sacchan took a few steps slowly towards Natsume. The girl on the ground kept crying with her eyes closed… until she heard a click and the cave began shaking. Natsume looked around and saw some rocks on the ceiling of the cave moving, right were Sacchan was standing.

-Sacchan!- shouted Natsume as she jumped and pushed her friend back.

In just one second, rocks and dirt fell from the ceiling and blocked the path. Natsume coughed and stood up in the dark, with the only light coming from the rocks in the cave. All she could see in front of her were rocks of all sizes, but she was more worried about her friend.

-Sacchan! Sacchan, answer me! SACCHAN!- screamed Natsume as she desperately removed rocks from the wall.

Her efforts were in vain. She couldn’t see any gap. But then, a few rocks moved a bit away from her and a small gap opened, showing a hand.

-Natsume! Are you alright?- asked Sacchan at the other side of the wall.

-Sacchan! Are you alright, Sacchan? Are you hurt?- asked Natsume worried.

-Yeah, I’m fine, you… you saved me. Thank you- thanked Sacchan.

However, Natsume didn’t say anything. She just sighed in relief and sat down on the ground, resting her back on the wall of rocks. She was so tired after running that she didn’t have the strength to move anymore.

-Natsume, are you all right?- asked Sacchan.

-Yeah… I’m not hurt...- answered Natsume with a weak voice.

-I don’t mean that… Are you all right?- asked Sacchan again.

Natsume understood her friend’s question and cried.

-No...- answered Natsume.

None of them said anything. Sacchan sat down on the ground as well.

-Did… did Elima bring you here?- asked Natsume while sobbing.

-Who? You mean… your commander? No, no- answered Sacchan. -I was invited just like you. One night, one of those MAI appeared in my room and told me about the tournament and the wish and… I wanted to take part. What a coincidence, right?

-And why… why are your wearing… that thing?- asked Natsume.

-Oh, this…- said Sacchan and sighed. -When I got here, I found you. I was surprised. I thought you would run away if you saw me so I asked Zion to give me a disguise. Zion is my commander. I took all these things from a box with lost items.

Once again, there was silence in the cave. They didn’t know what to say, or more like thoughts jumped through their minds. It was Sacchan who resumed the conversation.

-Natsume, I… I wanted to talk to you for so long. I’m sorry I didn’t- apologized Sacchan. -Everybody told me to stay away from you and didn’t allow me to get close, and then you stopped coming to school and… you got into that trouble… All this time, all I wanted to say is… I’m sorry.

-What?- asked Natsume in shock. -Why are you apologizing? It was me who harmed you! I did something horrible!

-No, you… it was just an accident. I know it. I know you never meant to hurt me...- explained Sacchan. -But for my fault, you got kicked out of the team and… everything that happened to you… it’s all my fault…

-No! Stop saying that!- exclaimed Natsume crying. -It’s my fault! I did all those horrible things! I harmed you! Everything is my fault, because… because… I got obsessed with winning, with… not losing…

-So… was it that? But… why?- asked Sacchan confused. -You never cared that much about winning before, but when we began preparatory… something changed, you… suddenly turned the top student. Was it… the pressure? The pressure of studying?

-You… It’s OK, you… I don’t want to trouble you...- murmured Natsume.

Sacchan put a sad face when hearing her friend saying that.

-Natsume, we’ve been friends for so many years. We have helped each other when in need. We always talked about our problems, don’t you remember?- said Sacchan with melancholy. -Please, you can talk to me… like you always did…

Hearing her words, Natsume saw those images clearly in her mind. All those moments they spent together, talking happily about the things they enjoyed or listening to each other when the other was in trouble. She missed those moments, but the girl knew why she didn’t talk about that with Sacchan. Still, there she was: after everything that happened, she wanted to hear her.

-OK...- answered Natsume. -Do you remember… the last day we met before preparatory? I was at your house, like always, and I left home. When I got there, my father was already inside. I was surprised, because he never got home that early. Then…

“-Natsume, can you come here?

My father asked me to talk to him. That was also weird, we didn’t talk that much. He was waiting me in the dining room, while my mother was cooking.

-Hi, dad. What’s wrong?- I asked.

-We need to talk. Sit down- said my dad.

I was nervous. He never wanted to talk to me, but he was quite serious. I worried I did something wrong. I looked at my mom, and she was also a bit worried.

-You are beginning preparatory now- said my dad.

-Y… yeah, next week- I said nervously. My dad made a tusk humph.

-As you know, preparatory is much harder that what you have studied so far. And honestly… your grades are very disappointing- said my dad.

-What? What do you mean?- I asked surprised.

-Katsuhiro, you are not fair- interrupted my mom. -Her grades have been good so far…

-No college will let her in with these lame grades!- exclaimed my dad. -The job market in Japan is tough. If you don’t excel, you will get nothing. And for that, you need to go to the best college in the country.

-That’s not fair!- I complained. -My grades are not bad, but I can make them better. I don’t get why you are telling me all this.

-Really? Your grades are low because you spend all your time playing that stupid game with your friends- said my dad.

-It’s not a stupid game. I’m part of the soccer club and we take it seriously- I complained again. -We have won tournaments and we plan to do more when preparatory begins.

-No, you are not- said my dad. -You are not joining the soccer club again in preparatory.

For a moment, I thought I misheard. But he was serious. I was… horrified. My mom tried to intervene:

-Wait, Katsuhiro! That’s not what you told me!- exclaimed my mom.

-Enough, it’s my decision- insisted my dad.

-Wait… that’s… that’s not fair! Why is it your decision?- I asked in shock.

-If you forget about that club, you can spend more time in your studies and improve your grades. It’s for your own good, so you will do as I say- said my dad.

I didn’t know what to say. And my mom didn’t either. I just… didn’t want to quit the club. Why did I have to do it? I tried to think… There had to be something I could do… And then, I came up with an idea.

-Wait… Wait a minute… What… what if I improve my grades while staying in the club?- I asked.

It made sense to me. If my grades were the problem, all I had to do was… fix them. It couldn’t be hard. My dad remained silent for a minute.

-Explain yourself- said my dad.

-If I improve my grades while I keep playing soccer in the club, there won’t be any problem, right?- I asked nervously.

-Natsume, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It may be too much...- said my mom worried.

-I can do it! I’m sure I can- I insisted.

My dad thought about it for a while. He then smiled.

-OK, I’ll take it, but with one condition- said my dad. -I only expect perfection. If you are doing this, you need to be the best in your class and you must win every single soccer match. No losses or ties. Just one fail and you’re out of the club. Got it?

I just nodded and left to my room, thinking “I can do it. I have to do it”. I just wanted to stay in the club, it sure wouldn’t be that hard, right?

Then classes began and I worked hard. I made sure to get the best grades from the beginning and we began our training too. All I had to do was… to work hard. That’s what I did. In the afternoons, I would study and then train after dinner. And the days we had training at school, I would study at night. It was tiring but… rewarding. I saw results! I was the top of the class and we won matches. I was doing it! I could… remain in the club. Every time I got the results, I felt… relieved. But there was always that threat. One fail and I’m out. That threat was always chasing me, so I had to make sure I won every single time. And that’s how I started acting that way, always hogging the ball, always pressured to win. I wasn’t aware, but… the thought of quitting the team was scary. And then… I harmed you. And that was the end of everything”