Sitting in front of the unconscious brown haired girl lying down on the hospital bed, I was still only a shell of a person. The clock read 4:30, half an hour after we had left the stadium after the game. Kidou had managed to drag me off the field and onto the bus earlier, but for some reason I had stepped off at the Inazuma Hospital, much to a surprised Gouenji. Even I didn't know why, and I didn't remember what I was thinking back when I did it. Or maybe I didn't think at all, rather acted subconsciously, as all my movements since the end of the game.

The only thoughts that circled my brain as I had sat through the bus ride silently earlier was that we won, yet no matter how much me or anyone else on the team tried to convince me, I was still unable to bring myself to celebrate. After all, even if "it was meant to be" or "it was for the best" as people had said, in the end I had still became the Death Bringer once again. It was a name I had once prided in, though it became a name which I carried with guilt after leaving Kidokawa Seishuu. When I joined Raimon, I had thought that perhaps the world would give me a second chance, and the Death Bringer could be good and play pure soccer. But no, the name Death Bringer left a trail of taintedness behind no matter where it went. As long as I carried it, I was bound to wreak havoc. And no matter how I try, I couldn't shake it off, simply because I was the Death Bringer.

Win or lose, blood will be spilled behind my tread. That seemed to be the one message which had never changed even after I met Teikoku, Raimon, and everyone else.

The door behind me slid open, and I heard familiar footsteps. "Here," a tanned hand placed a can next to me, though I gave no indication that I had noticed him. The boy who had placed the soft drink on the small table sighed. "C'mon Inoue, you can't hog the chair forever."

Gouenji Shuuya. Wordlessly I started to rise, but he just sighed again, shook his head, and pushed me back onto the chair. "Fine, keep it. Just stop moping already, will you?"

No response. After an awkward silence, the platinum haired striker asked, "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be going to Kidokawa? Or at least visiting your old Teikoku buddies in the hospital?" Still no reply, but his words stirred up thoughts in my mind.

Ah, Sakuma and Genda, how could I almost forget about them? I had tried to push them out of my mind, though there was always a spot of guilt each day I delayed to see them. Looking back, I hadn't even ask them if they were fine after the Zeus versus Teikoku game. They must hate me by now, adding on to all that time I had been lying to them and hiding who I really was. And I'm sure they couldn't forget the fact that if I had came on the pitch earlier, I might have saved them from needing to be hospitalized. I made a silent vow to myself that I would face them honestly, and if they forgave me, a big if, I would do everything to make it up for them.

"Yuuka-" I realized that the words had just slipped out of my mouth, at the same time that Gouenji had spoken his sister's name. For the first time since the end of the game, I turned to Gouenji and said something more than just two words. "You first, you're his brother."

"No go ahead," he gestured, "You haven't visited Yuuka in a long time anyway, and she likes you, remember?"

A memory flashed in my head. We were leaving the stadium and walking in the parking lot after we had won a match. Yuuka was holding Gouenji's hand and skipping along next to him. A thirteen year old me with short black hair was holding the little girl's other hand. "Onii-chan, Shizu-onii-san, you guys won!" the little girl cheered hapilly. The two of us exchanged a glance and a small smile. "That was so cool! The last shot you used was super cool!" the young girl continued, "It's the first time I saw it!"

I bent down a little so that the little girl could see my smiling face, an expression that most people didn't believe the Death Bringer to be capable of. "It's called Phoenix Feather, a move that we created by combining our signature hissatsus together." Yuuka's eyes shone. "Someday, I want to be like a phoenix! Just like what you and Onii-chan did! That was so pretty!"

"Hey Inoue, aren't phoenixes supposed to be powerful like fire and symbolize life instead of 'pretty'?" Gouenji joked. "Maybe," I had replied, "But this is just the beginning of our Phoenix Feather. It will be at least ten times stronger by the time we perfect it. By then it will really symbolize rebirth. Look forward to it Yuuka."

"Hai!" the small brunette exclaimed., "Daisuki, Shizu-onii-san!"

"Whoa whoa back up a bit. Did you just say 'daisuki' to Inoue?"

Gouenji kneeled down at the base of the bed, since I had taken the only chair in the room. Taking a breath, two voices weighed the scale inside my head even though I had thought I made up my mind. Finally, I decide to just spill it out.

"Yuuka-chan...I hope you can forgive me for the car crash. It was because of me that you lost part of your childhood, and your family was tossed into depression. It was because of what I did to you that your brother stopped playing soccer, and it was because me that you might never wake up and see the sun again. I'm sorry. And even if you are never able to open your eyes again, I hope you can still forgive me for what I did."

Finally after all the words had tumbled out, I felt a lot better, but at the same time a lot more repulsed at myself. It was scary and disgusting, how all of this was really caused by me, even if I meant none of it. What was more shameful, was that Gouenji had silently waited, listening to this respectfully, and had let me talk to his sister before him.

There was a silence, the only sound Yuuka's soft breathing. Her face, set so calmly and serene, so full of innocence yet also with burden. She didn't deserve any of this. How could I have taken everything from her?

"Yuuka," Gouenji finally started, "Onii-chan won. I won." I swore I saw the little girl flinch, and her eyelid twitch. Could be? Or was it simply my imagination? "No," Gouenji kept going, his voice cracking with emotion, "We've won."

Tears sprung to my eyes, and I felt like warm rays of sunlight were shining into my dark corner. It was as if I could touch the world again. Even after everything, Gouenji still forgave me. He still saw me as a friend, and I was still the other wing of our phoenix. Phoenix Feather wasn't just about symbolizing life, rebirth, or power, our Phoenix Feather was about trust, forgiveness, and having each other's back no matter what. Because that was what friends were for. Even if you have done bad things, a good friend will never abandon you for it, and they are willing to forgive you and give you second tries as many times as you need.

The little girl's eyelids fluttered for real this time. My eyes widened, and I quickly tapped Gouenji. He looked up and gasped. For on the bed was now his sister's warm brown eyes staring back at him with a happy, content shine.

"Yuuka!" we both shouted, and the tears that had been filling my eyes earlier really did come flowing out this time. Looking at Gouenji's face, his cheeks were tear streaked too, and his expression one of wonder and amazement.

After one whole year, Yuuka awoke. It was as if the this was the true trophy of the Football Frontier, and it was much better than any silver metal cup anyway. It seemed that this was God's message of saying that I had finally made it. Even if there were hardships along the way, sacrifices that needed to be done, and times that made me question myself, I still came this far. My happily ever after, if it could even be called that, was far from one of that of a fairytale, but I would never wish it to be anything else. Even if you offered me the life of a normal girl, the one that everyone had been fooled into thinking which Sakurai Shizumi had, I would just laugh and shake my head. Because every part of this journey was worth it. Through the rain, mud, and snow, I had survived, and that was what mattered. I remember back at Teikoku when we had been learning physics, our teacher once told us that according to Newton's third law, for every motion there is an equal and opposite reaction. Perhaps this miracle was God's gift to the earth after everything with Eris.

Slowly, I started laughing. Not because it was ironic and funny, but because I finally saw the world in a new light now. I was laughing because of the sun, of the moon, and of the stars. I was laughing for the land, its sorrows, its smiles. And I was laughing because of the neverending sky that symbolized us soaring on to the endless possibilities ahead. No matter what, there are always new roads and new chances, as long as you just keep going. It didn't matter if Sakuma and Genda most likely hated me, or if perhaps I wasn't ready to sort out the mixed feelings I had for Kidou yet. There would always be a way to make things right somehow, and if we can't, we'll just make a way. I was only human, who in the end, just needed my own forgiveness.

Yuuka started giggling, and Gouenji joined in onto our laughter. The three of us created a perfect circle, and at this moment I knew for sure that they were definitely part of my karass. I was living in a fate I didn't know how will role out, but one which I will most definitely face it forward with a smile because I had all of these people in my life. Not just Gouenji and Yuuka, but Mama, Papa, Nikaidou-kantoku, Yakata, Nanzan, Sakuma, Genda, Kidou, Endou, Someoka, Kazemaru, Hinata, Shishido, and everyone else.

Our laughter echoed through the hospital. Pure, innocent, and wholehearted.