2. numb fingers (memories in the snow)

Kurama is found. He's given warmth, care, and a home.

He can't afford to accept it.

Raimon meets Hakuren, and Kurama sits by the side, watching. He basks in the nostalgia, but it only reminds him of how much he wants to go home.

-

-

-

"What on earth is his problem?!" Someoka yells, fist at the wall, "we saved him! Brought him to the hospital! And without even a thank you he just leaves ?!"

"Calm down, Someoka," Kidou has his arms folded, "we don't know what's going on with him. He might have been delirious."

Everyone is silent. The tension is high-- they knew nothing of that kid, but he was hurt. Bad. And this was Hokkaido in the harsh winter.

No one liked the idea of someone their age, dressed in thin clothes, out facing the snow. Much less someone with as many injuries as that.

Megane felt like he was freezing already, and he was dressed thickly.

"He'll freeze to death out there," Touko reminds them. She always was the one with a very strong sense of responsibility. "I think we should go and look for him."

"Don't be rash," Natsumi cuts her off sharply, "we aren't familiar with this land, if we search blindly, we'll be the ones running out of resources next."

"Then we're just going to leave him?!" Touko snaps.

"I- I didn't say that!" Natsumi stumbles out of surprise. She stands firm, "I'm just thinking we should do something more logical, like-- like calling the local police!"

Kurimatsu winces, and everyone sinks.

Then Coach Hitomiko says, "she's right." And everyone turns accusingly to her. "But at the moment, we have no sort of identification for the boy, other than his appearance. It'll be hard for the police to take action if they can't even tell if he's truly Japanese."

"You're saying he might be an illegal immigrant?" Kidou asks.

In the background, Endou and a few others turn to Haruna for an explanation, and Haruna whispers back the definition of the term.

When Coach Hitomiko stays silent, Megane speaks up. "What if he's an alien?"

And everyone gasps. Even Coach Hitomiko's eyes widen, taken by surprise.

"I mean, he fell from the sky!" Megane raises his arms to prove his point, "and he had no idea where he was or where he came from."

It really did make some kind of sense. Maybe the aliens had a falling out?

"And he wasn't as injured as we initially thought, too," Kazemaru points out, "he didn't have any broken bones."

"That's right--"

"And what sane boy would tear out an IV?"

"He jumped out of the window in this snow!"

"Did he have shoes?"

"He's gotta be insane to run out when it's snowing and he doesn't have a coat."

The more they debate over it, the more it seems plausible. Someone is making whining noises in the background-- we saved an alien! We're all gonna die! And someone else is trying to assure them, maybe since he owes us a debt now he'll pay us back later! And then someone else says he's not a crane!

Natsumi sighs. Coach Hitomiko thinks to herself.

She hasn't told the crowd that the boy insists he's from Sun Garden, simply because Sun Garden is all the way a few hundred miles back, and no one except the youngest children are there. Everyone near the boy's age was in Mt Fuji with the Aliea project.

And even then, Hitomiko doesn't recognize the boy. She knows all of them by heart-- there's no way there could be a face she doesn't remember among her kids.

So the boy is lying. Why would he lie?

(Unless he really was an illegal immigrant or something...)

And thus, he can't be an alien, either. It's something else-- something unrelated to the current Aliea mess... he could be a normal kid with unfortunate luck, for all they knew.

"The police and locals will keep an eye out," Hitomiko decides, "for now, what we have to do-- is to head to Hakuren Junior High, and look for Fubuki Shirou."

There's no sense in worrying for a child that doesn't want to have his origins traced.

And Hitomiko knows, because there are plenty of children in the orphanage that are like that, too.

-

"Come on, hurry, hurry," the strange girl pulls him by the arm, "god, your hands are freezing even through my gloves. Guys! Go prepare the hot tub! Bring a hot water bottle, and uh, plenty of blankets!"

Kurama is frankly freaking out.

He drifts off for two seconds, then wakes up to a screaming little girl. She then yells at the adult with her, Coach Takayama she calls him, to drive them back to wherever .

Kurama's danger sensors really say he shouldn't enter a stranger's car-- but the girl has a grip of a freaking claw as she tugs him inside, sets the heater to full blast, and they zoom off into winter craziness.

(What's this trend of tiny people with bone-crushing grips? Shinsuke was like this too.)

Kurama barely has a few minutes to contemplate that he's been kidnapped before he finds himself before Hakuren Junior High.

"Sorano-kun, lend us your spare jersey! And whoever feels like a man today can lend us their winter coat while they're at it!"

The girl that instigated the kidnapping was small, but not smaller than Shinsuke. She had a traditional straw hat over her head, like a Zashiki Warashi. Or like a yukinko, or like a Snorunt... you know, the Pokemon?

Kurama is going to stop questioning it.

Kurama finds himself wrapped in a myriad of hot towels and warm blankets. He sips on his mug of hot chocolate, and for a moment he really just felt alive.

Wait, no.

"Uh--"

"Are you still cold?! Guys is the bath ready yet?? Close that window!"

"No, I mean--"

"Don't get up! Ohhh, if only Fubuki were here! He knows what to do with injuries..."

"Wait, listen to me--"

"Matoro, could we borrow your hat?"

"Listen, dammit!" Kurama yells sharply, and the girl squeaks, everyone collectively shooting back. Kurama spends a horrid moment to realize he'd yelled at a girl, then he flushes, "I mean-- I'm sorry for yelling. Sorry for troubling you guys... uh, thanks."

They stare at him curiously at his sudden change in attitude.

Then one of them just swoons, "he's just like Atsuya-san!" she holds her face like she's eating something superby sweet, "don't you think so, Konko?"

"He is!" they agree, "spiky and kinda angry but a total Tsundere!"

"Don't call me a Tsundere!" Kurama blushes bright red.

-

Hakuren Junior High has dorms by it, so there's a dorm bath right around that they can use to warm up. Having locker showers in weather like this was just asking for frostbite, after all.

Kurama was a little grateful. He could finally have a moment to really take in the current state of his body. Ailing cuts and scrapes, a particularly nasty one at his left elbow.

There are bruises all over the place, but the main problem came from the one at his side, purpling out. Kurama wonders if he got it from the bus crash, since it's around the same area-- but the doctor said it was nothing vital.

(Could it be that the time travel healed the original wound, just not fully?)

(It doesn't line up with the logic of the time travel they know, so it must be something else. Something like time travel, but isn't. Technology even further into the future?)

He can move only three fingers on his left hand, starting from his thumb. His palm is numb and prickly, not cold and not hot. He's lost his sensation in that palm.

In his right hand-- he can still move the fingers, but the wrist is significantly less flexible, which makes his fingers tremble. He can't hold things without shaking badly.

So this is the price of hitting his spine? No... he felt it shatter. Whatever it was that healed his side healed his spine as well, and this is what's left. It could've been worse. He could've lost everything from the neck down.

(Whatever the fuck this is, he's grateful.)

(Because at least his legs are fine and he can still play soccer.)

-

Sorano Rebun's clothes are a little big on him (height difference, ugh, this was the closest they had) but it's comfortable. The Hakuren gym jacket is green, with dark blue cuts. It's a strange difference from Raimon's blue and yellow, and it's so many times warmer.

But why didn't their jacket match their jersey in its blue and white theme? Because it'd look like camouflage against the snow? Maybe.

Kurama wonders if he looks weird in Hakuren colours.

(Heck, this place is really different in the future. He's only been here once in the future, but this place looks like a run-down mountain ski lodge.)

No, he's not being ungrateful, he's just impressed by the passage of time, he swears.

He gets his hair blow dried, and then everyone's fussing over all his injuries, setting new balms over the wounds and wrapping new bandages over it, to his utterly embarrassed dismay.

When he's finally fresh, clean, wrapped in blankets and holding onto a new cup of hot chocolate again, Kurama wonders if this was heaven.

Wait, no.

"I... don't mean to sound ungrateful, but..." he speaks up, "why are you guys helping me? I have no way to repay you guys."

The little girl that looks like a yukinko huffs, hands on her hips.

"In this harsh winter, everyone helps everyone!" she declares, and everyone nods, "and you're too young to be left in the cold like that! You're not Shirou-kun, after all."

"But I don't even know you guys," Kurama insists, "and... Shirou-kun? You mean... Fubuki Shirou-san?"

"You've heard of him? He's our ace striker!" she grins, "if he ever learned that we left someone out in the cold, we'd all get whupped in the butts by Atsuya-kun!"

Kurama blinks.

So such honestly helpful people existed? Kinda reminded him of Tenma... well, Yukimura was kind of like that after the whole Seed business. Hopelessly motherly and cranky... especially when it came to Tokyo people in the cold.

Who's Atsuya, anyways?

Fubuki Shirou, one of the famous forwards of Inazuma Japan. Tsurugi inherited Wolf Legend, so they all know how strong Fubuki is... speaking of which, Amemiya and Yukimura said they were going to try and master Crossfire after they finally got Fire Blizzard down... I wonder if they got it down before the finals?

(Ugh. The Holy Road finals.)

Regardless, Kurama bows.

"I can't thank you guys enough for this," he says, truthfully, "I owe you guys."

And the girl giggles, "it's fine, it's fine! The school has fully equipped facilities for a reason, after all. You can rest in one of the rooms until you're fully recovered."

He could've died again, but he didn't.

And beyond anything, that means that Kurama isn't supposed to die here. Not here, not so pointlessly-- he has to live, especially after cheating death twice now.

And that had to mean something, right?

(He's lost in time. Surely, Fei is doing something about it.)

For now, he has to focus on recovering. He's got a temporary lodging for now, but he can't feed off Hakuren's kind gestures for too long, either.

He needs to think in the long term, the bigger picture.

What would... What would Tenma do in this situation?

Ugh, the world must be ending if he thinks Tenma's methods are his next go-to.

-

He can't write.

He can't fucking write!

He never thought through the consequences of losing full mobility in his hands, cause he was too happy about being able to move his legs-- but this, this is ridiculous.

The yukinko girl-- Araya Konko-- looks at the paper, and she squints.

"You have really bad handwriting," Konko says, and Kurama screeches into the void.

He has to hold his hand over his wrist, and he's squeezing the pencil so hard, but it's hopeless. This is like trying to write with his left hand while doing the plank. It's just plain impossible and startlingly pointless. Ugh.

He pulls off the velcro strap of his left brace, and tugs it back on tighter. He's going to have to give up. He slides the right brace into his wrist, and makes sure it's on tight.

He's gonna have to get used to having both on at all times.

Maybe he should've stayed in the hospital to get further instructions... ah, nevermind. He's going to live alone now! Without interfering with time!

(Actually, wouldn't making a mess of things make it easier for Fei to find him?)

(But then again, if he messes with too much, Raimon soccer club might not exist and they're all back to square one of the history's strongest eleven bullcrap again.)

(Speaking of which, can he still Miximax?)

"Kurama-kun, I think we have some guests, so I'll be going to the hall, okay?" Konko says to him, getting off the chair and leaving his side, "just stay in the club room, but call us if you need anything!"

"Ah-- don't worry about me."

Kurama feels like a freeloader. He needs to find a way to pay them back before the guilt eats him inside and out. Damn you, my conscience.

Okay, alone time. Where are you, depression and suicidal thoughts? We had like, an appointment or something.

He looks in the mirror. He's younger-- if he had to put a guess with his height, cause lord knows he had a growth spurt in high school-- he's about junior high age again. And judging by the scar above his brow, he's in his second year.

Ugh.

(He can't even feel his Keshin.)

Does that mean he's just as weak now?

That sucks.

Kurama stands up with a sigh. There's no use moping about it at this point. Maybe he should start training again to regain his physique. That fall can't have been good for any of his physical abilities. Even if he can't use a hissatsu, he should at least jog or dribble or something before his muscles soften up.

-

"You."

The word is spat out with such malice, Kurama wonders if it's poisonous. The entire Raimon (former, Endou generation, squishy teenager Raimon) is staring at him like he's a ghost, eyeing him with various degrees of anger to exasperation to confusion.

It seems that Raimon is here to recruit Fubuki. But for now, they're building snowmen, having snowball fights, and generally being a bunch of children.

Kurama sort of envied them. They could have times like these, even in their worst peril. The Raimon of the future didn't have things like these...

"Me," he mumbles, and he wants to run, but he knows that they'll definitely catch him before he gets anywhere.

"You were a member of Hakuren?!" Someoka points at him, gawking.

Is this really that cool as a cucumber, unnecessary white coat and fedora, Someoka Ryuugo? Kurama doesn't see it.

"Uh, no... I--"

"Why did you run from the hospital?" Kazemaru cuts him off, "with all your injuries, you could've frozen out there!"

"Do you remember things now?" Megane asks, fixing his glasses as if to inspect Kurama's fresh bandages, "I see you've cleaned up and made yourself cozy here."

Kurama held his hands before himself, not too sure where to start. Endou is looking at him with those eyes that meant 'I do not hate you, but boy do I not like what you just did', and Kidou is frowning right through his goggles.

That's impressive. Both are signs that you're in for a full lecture after all this. Geez, they're like that even as teenagers?

"Hey!" and god bless, there's Konko. The girl that's at least two heads shorter than all of them marches right up, face scrunched with displeasure. "I don't know what's going on, but no bullying Kurama-kun!"

It's kind of hilarious, kind of endearing, Kurama isn't sure.

All he knows is that Someoka looks really flustered being stood up to by a small girl, and his face is really laugh-worthy.

"Apparently, Konko-chan found him by an alley and brought him back," Fubuki explains to the crowd, "so we're keeping him in the dorms for now."

"Keeping-- he's not a pet, you know?" Endou can't resist the retort. "Well, I guess that's fine..."

Yes, yes. Let the bullshit logic clear him of his troubles for now...

"That's great, but what will you go from now?" Hitomiko speaks over them, "you can't possibly intend to live in the school forever. Do you have parents? Where are you from? If you're from an orphanage, you'll have to contact them and get back, or child protective services will take action."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Curse that they actually have an adult here... isn't this lady Kariya's mom or something? Kurama thinks he's seen her around during Parent-Teacher Conferences.

"Are you an alien?"

Everyone falls silent when Kurimatsu speaks up, hidden behind Kabeyama. Attention is turned to the boy-- then they all dramatically swirl to Kurama.

Kurama's jaw drops.

"The fuck?" he says on instinct.

There's a gasp at his choice of words, and Kurama dryly reminds himself that he's not in the future, Sangoku isn't around, and he's actually fourteen right now, so he should really mind his words.

Or not. He doesn't give a shit.

Frankly, he's offended. He's seen an alien before and okay, maybe the fact that he always only shows one eye makes people call him a cyclops, and some people call him a snake because they're uncreative bastards, but alien ? That's where he draws the line. He is not that ugly!

...okay, but compare him to Tsurugi, who apparently looks like an alien princess' dad!

Kurama pinches the bridge of his nose.

Where does he even begin?

"I'm not an alien," he establishes first and foremost. Then, "I'm sorry for leaving the hospital, but the doctor was really nosy about everything and I... can't answer anything about myself."

Everyone visibly deflates when he says he isn't an alien, but tense up again at what he says after that.

So Kidou steps up. "And why is that so?"

Konko has her hand in Kurama's-- although she doesn't get the situation, she's stubborn in the matter that she will put her trust in Kurama and stay on his side. And the boy is really grateful for that. She's so kind... kinda like Aoi, huh.

"It's not important," Kurama says, looking away.

He can't tell them he's from the future, there's no reason to, and there's no way they'd believe him. It's not like the Bakumatsu era or Medieval France, where they'd believe in fantasiacal technology or have a serious perception of witchcraft. They won't take him seriously if he doesn't have any way to prove it.

"I'm not supposed to be here, to begin with. So I'll find a way to leave soon. And then you guys can forget I was even here," Kurama lets go of Konko's hand. He puts his hands back into his pocket, because he doesn't have gloves. "So just... stop associating yourself with me. Please."

This time, when Kurama walks away, no one can find a reason to stop him.

-

After that, Raimon and Hakuren had a practice match of sorts to ascertain Fubuki's skills. Kurama's heard horror stories (yeah, Coach Endou had a sense of humour) about Fubuki's Dissociative Identity Disorder, but he really hadn't thought he'd see it firsthand.

He watches from the bench, (because at first, he watched from the snow and Coach Hitomiko said he'd catch a cold and then the managers dragged him over,) amusing himself with the manager's notes.

Aki, which he's pretty sure is Tenma's dorm mom, introduces him to each Raimon member, and gives him a brief rundown of the alien situation easily.

It helps a lot, because she's giving him many details that are left out in news reports-- like the fact that the girl in the team is the prime minister's daughter, and the fact that they're looking for a new striker because their old one had to quit.

"Then, Someoka is angry because Fubuki is going to be Gouenji's replacement?" Kurama sums up the situation, and for some reason, he senses deja vu. So he chuckles, "that's nostalgic."

"Nostalgic?" Haruna enters the conversation, interested.

Kurama hums. "It was quite a while ago," he reminisces. It's really been so long since Minamisawa left Raimon, hasn't it? "My best friend quit soccer too, once upon a time."

Aki doesn't question, she doesn't chase.

Instead, she asks, "and what happened after that?"

"At first, I was just angry." He lifts his hand, and sets his palm against the sun. For winter, the sun was so bright. "I hated everything, and I didn't accept anyone else to stand beside me. I was moved to a midfielder's position, and I stayed there out of spite. Childish, right?"

He laughs, but Aki doesn't return it. Her gaze is firm and full of pain-- she really wasn't in the mood for such tasteless jokes, apparently.

"It took a while, but he came back," Kurama assures her, and he's relieved to see how her expressions brighten at that. "And then we promised to play on the same side of the field again."

"That's great," Aki says, a smile on her face.

"Yeah," Kurama agrees. "That's why-- if you guys believe in him... and if he truly, really does love soccer-- he will definitely come back. We just have to wait." he smiles for a moment, then he rubs a bashful hand over his face, "oh, look at me. I'm spewing sentimental bullcrap now. Please, forget I said that."

And Aki giggles in response. That's the same short giggle Akane always gives him before she calls him cute, so Kurama swears in his head.

Kurama picks up a spare soccer ball, and he holds it firmly in his lap.

"I'll definitely make it back home," he tells himself, though he's sure Aki can hear him. He lets his fingers tighten around the ball, and his brows furrowed with conviction. He balls his fists, "it was a promise, after all."

He doesn't turn to look at Aki.

The practice match is called to a stop, and Kurama stands up. He's seen enough, so he's going into his room to rest.

-

Fei can't come any sooner, so maybe Kurama can go to them instead.

They've time travelled so much, surely there's a time frame Kurama can cut into, to make sure Fei knows he's here where he doesn't belong...even if it's not the Fei he knows, anyone from El Dorado would do. They had an inter-time communication system, after all.

The founding of Raimon's soccer club. No, that's already past. Then... when they went to visit Raimon after FFI? It's a little far away. Is there nothing nearer? Tsurugi and his brother's accident! But Kurama doesn't know where that is...

"Okinawa," he realizes suddenly, "Tenma's soccer interruption point!"

That's right-- Alpha comes by there and stops Gouenji from saving Tenma... then Tenma meets Fei and they begin their time travel nonsense.

But would the interruption point still be there? Tenma fixed it, but surely the brief time stop situation will still be there... even if it is, there's no guarantee Kurama will be able to talk to them. He doesn't have a time bracelet.

(But right now, that's his best bet.)

(Surely Fei is trying to search for all of them right now. Kurama needs to make some sort of sign to tell Fei he's around-- a way that attracts attention, but doesn't alter important bits of the future.)

Kurama's never been one to place his hopes in a 'maybe' situation.

But if you try hard enough, it'll be fine, somehow!

Oh, Tenma is really a horrible influence on all of them.

-

It's nighttime.

Kurama can't find himself an appetite, even though he doesn't remember eating anything since he first came here.

So he steps out into the moonlight.

He finds himself before the skating rink, feeling a little nostalgic. It's harder to run up here in the cold, but a little practice never hurt.

Kurama came here in his Raimon jersey. It was torn and too ragged after his fall, so the hospital disposed of it-- but he was wearing his spikes when they crashed and he's still wearing them now. They're his only shoes for now, and it's a relief.

He steals a soccer ball from the storage, and lowers himself into the rink.

It's cold, he doesn't have gloves-- but the coat he borrowed from Mafuru is warm. He'll warm up if he exercises, anyways.

The Snowland Stadium taught them how to run with their spikes as heels.

His muscles are weakened, but his body remembers how to do things at least in theory. It takes a few tries, but he begins to skid along the ice rink easily, dribbling the ball along the way and making firm practice with all the space he can get.

He remembers practice sessions for Snowland Stadium, where Kariya would teach everyone the way of the screw everything just defy logic , and he can't help but smile to himself. Kariya and Hamano were always the most capable members on this field.

(Ah, he's getting sentimental. If he keeps thinking like this, he's going to start missing Raimon.)

He slaps himself on the cheeks.

(Don't think about it, don't think about it.)

If he thinks about it, he might just cry. And crying really isn't a Kurama thing.

(He'll get home soon. He just has to focus on not getting any weaker.)

He dribbles across the field again. There's no goal on the ice rink, but he decides a branch on the other side works just fine as a marker.

He dodges an invisible opponent-- and skids on one heel. He swirls the ball with a foot, then does a backflip, flinging the ball into the air. He flips, and with both feet, twists the ball into a sharper spin.

"Strike Samba!"

He lands, leaps-- and kicks the ball hard. Green and yellow energy swirls around the ball, but it bursts, flickers-- and dies out. It hits the branch, snapping it in half-- then it sinks into the many-inch-thick snow and buries itself inside.

He can't help but whine, a little disappointed.

"I can probably do Sidewinder, but Strike Samba is still a little early, huh..." he sighs to himself, skidding over to retrieve the ball.

And to think he's finally gotten it up to V3. Guess he'll have to start over now... maybe he should try Sidewinder instead? But with his arms like this...

"Oh bloody hell," he whispers to himself, suddenly realizing something important. "I probably can't do a handstand anymore, can I?"

Kurama's strongest points, even stronger than Hamano in this aspect, was his flexibility. He could do somersaults and backflips and handstands over breakfast and anywhere, on any platform, over any burning fire if he wanted to.

In fact, only Matatagi could compete against Kurama in parkour. Kurama even mastered Parkour Attack just to spite that guy. In fact, they were closer to mastering Parkour Duel than Matatagi and Tenma were...

But with his hands like this? Forget Parkour Attack , can he still do Sidewinder ? Both moves needed him to shift into a handstand for the necessary momentum. Unless it's already got the momentum, like a shoot chain or something...

"Hey!"

He freezes.

There's a sharp "shh!" from another voice, so Kurama can quickly tell it's not just one person interrupting his nighttime practice session.

He turns in the direction of the school, and Endou is there, along with Kazemaru.

"You're Kurama, right?" Endou smiles at him, because strangely enough, he doesn't seem to care where Kurama's from or what even is he anymore, "were you practicing a hissatsu shoot?"

Ah, he was watching?

"Sorry, we were on top of the caravan, so we saw you," Kazemaru is a little more polite, "we didn't mean to spy."

"It's... fine," Kurama assures them, keeping his face straight, voice uninterested, and turning away to dig the ball out of the snow. "I'm just trying to see what I can still do."

There's a moment where the two former adults blink at him, as if wondering why Kurama was being such an unsociable jerk at this hour of the night when it's just a harmless question.

Then Endou speaks up, "so you play soccer too, huh?"

"Why are you practicing on the ice rink instead of the field out back?" Kazemaru asks, "it's dangerous."

Kurama notes that the two are carefully not stepping onto the ice. At least they were aware of it. Tenma would've probably stepped on it and started sliding around helplessly by now, as clumsy as he was...

"It's practice, in a way," Kurama explains simply. "Dribbling on an unstable surface improves your balance. You guys are practicing on the ski slope, aren't you? It's the same concept, slightly different."

"I see..." Endou observes, "that sounds cool! Can I join?"

"Huh?!" Kazemaru panics, then Endou is leaping into the ice-- only to slide right out and hit his head like a genius. Kazemaru turns away in shame.

Kurama's reaction is almost the same, except, he throws the ball into the air in a panic. He tries to catch Endou, then at the last moment decides to dodge him, and turns away when the captain smacks face-first into ice.

He winces. Why is young Coach Endou such a Tenma?

Endou laughs, rubbing the bump at his forehead sheepishly. "It might help me with my keeper techniques!" he insists, trying to stand up, only to land hard on his butt again.

Kurama finds himself sighing, reaching a hand out to Endou and helping him get up. Defeatedly, he lets the boy hold tightly onto his arms and elbows.

"Don't put your energy into your toes," he says, "you're wearing spikes, so lean on the sides, and skid forward in large movements, like you're skating."

And that is the story of how Kurama ended up teaching Endou (and somehow in extension, Kazemaru) how to play soccer on ice.