Chapter 8

Axel’s POV~

~~~~

It was no surprise when I saw everybody hyped up and ready to go in the dining hall. Since today was the first official day of training camp, everybody must’ve woken up early, and was eager to start training right away.

“Morning Blaze.” Xavier greeted as I took a seat across him.

“Somebody’s happy today.” Marc said seating beside me. “Had enough sleep last night Xavier?”

“I wouldn’t say so. I was too excited about today that I barely even slept!” he answered with a faint blush.

“How did you sleep Axel?” Nathan asked me. He was sitting on Xavier’s right side while Jude, who was peacefully eating his breakfast, sat on Xavier’s left.

“Pretty good I guess.” I answered back as I started to eat. It was a simple breakfast, some scrambled eggs, sausages and fried rice.

“Well that makes one of us.” Xavier joked and we all laughed.

We chatted a little more as we continue to finish our food. A few moments later, Austin walked in looking as timid as ever. I could tell that despite his confidence on the field, he’s still nervous around us. Good thing Hurley was there to invite him to seat and eat breakfast with him along with, Darren, Shawn and Thor.

After eating, Austin stood up to set aside his plate. As he passed by our table, he greeted us a good morning and we greeted him back.

“How’d ya sleep Austin? Excited for today’s training?” I asked.

He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and answered, “I actually didn’t sleep much. I was too excited to sleep that my sister had to check up on me two times before she convinced me to go to bed.” He laughed a little, “But the truth is, I’m really thrilled to see what new training methods onee-san would make us do today. I bet she’ll plan something that would really bring out our very best and-“ he paused and smiled at us apprehensively, “I’m sorry, I’m blabbering aren’t I?”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Xavier said smiling.

“Yeah. Besides, we all feel excited on our first day, right?” Marc asked and we all nodded.

“Plus, it’s only natural for you to show off your sister’s talents. “ Jude added.

“You and your sister are very close huh? She must be really important to you.” I asked with a little amused laugh.

Austin’s eyes brightened and his smile got wider, “Yeah, me and one-san are really close! And she’s really, really important to me! She’s the best sister in the world!!! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be standing here today!!!”

“So does that mean the coach was pertaining to you when he said, only a ‘handful’ had been trained by her?” Nathan asked.

Austin shook his head, “It wasn’t just me that she trained, there was also-“

“Listen up!” Willy’s voice cuts off Austin midsentence.

All our attention landed on Willy as he made his big announcement.

“Alright, before we start training today, Coach Travis ordered us to conduct a health test; basically it’s just taking your vital statistics and whatnot. So, after you’ve finished your breakfast, please remain inside the dining area and wait for your turn.” He adjusted his glasses, “It is only after your examination when you are free to do some warm up practice outside. Any questions?”

“Yeah, I got a question.” Scotty asked from his seat. “Why do we have to take health exams? Can’t we just go outside and play already?”

“I agree,” Todd added, “Won’t it take too much time to get all of us a health test? I mean we have to get to the nearest hospital which is pretty far from he-“

“A health examination is necessary for players like you,” Coach Travis cuts him off as he entered the hall, he was wearing his usual purple tee shirt and green coat, “we have to make sure that you’re in prime health to face the world. And as for the time, we don’t need to go to the nearest hospital. I’ve asked Ms. Knight to get your vital statistics herself since she already has experience with this kind of thing.” He then turned to Austin, “Am I right?”

“Y-Yes Coach!” Austin answered back.

Coach eyes us all carefully, “Are there any more questions you’d like to ask?”

When no one dared to answer back, Coach Travis grinned a little and said, “Now that that’s settled, we’ll start off with Blaze, and then next off is Bunyan and then Evans and so on and so forth.” He then turned to me, “Axel, you go on ahead to my office. Ms. Knight will be waiting for you there. As for the others, wait for your turn. I’ll be meeting Coach Hillman downstairs if you need me.”

And with that he left.

Of course, him leaving was my signal to go on ahead with my check-up, so I stood up and calmly made my way to Coach Travis’ office.

Now, I know it might sound crazy, but I felt as though I was walking to my death sentence. I felt jittery and my heart was thumping really loud, it’s as if I’ve been running for miles and miles nonstop. I have got to calm myself down. This could totally affect my vital statistics.

With great effort, I managed to calm down before arriving at Coach Hillman’s office. There, I found Ms. Knight wearing her standard tracksuit, checking on some records while busily arranging the equipment she was going to need.

Seeing her move gracefully from one place to another felt like watching a ballet. Her movements are so refined and her poise is absolutely astonishing. When her gaze landed on me, I could feel my heart jump.

“Axel Blaze,” she said with a smile, “please come in.”

As I entered, she motioned me to take a seat on one of the hospital beds that was placed on the left side of the room. Next to it was Coach’s table and on it, were some folders, a sphygmomanometer, an oral thermometer, a stethoscope, a penlight and other medical equipments.

As I sat down, I noticed that she took a folder from one of the file and opened it. While she was reading, a small strand of her hair slid down her face; she sighed and tucked those few strands behind her ear. It made my cheeks feel warm again.

I was about to get angry at myself for all those crazy notions my body was making, but I can’t. My eyes were too focused on Ms. Knight and how dazzling she looks.

“Alright, let’s get started shall we?” she chirped, snapping me back to reality.

I managed to act normal during the whole test. We didn’t get to talk much, but that’s only because I didn’t know what to say. I could only watch as she checked my eyes, ears, and reflexes professionally, then write something down on the folder. It was like watching a real doctor.

“Someone’s silent today…” she said loud enough for me to wake up from my faze state. “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, uh nothing’s wrong.” I quickly answered.

“Really?” she asked while taking my blood pressure, “You seemed a bit fazed, like you were in deep thought. Is there something wrong?”

Crap, I have to get myself under control. “Believe me nothing’s wrong. It’s just… you pretty much act like a professional doctor, it surprised me.”

She gave out an adorable laugh, “I’m far from being a professional. I just know my way around the clinic is all.”

“That could’ve fooled me.” I said smiling, “My dad’s a doctor you see, so I’d know how a doctor’s supposed to perform. And I could tell that you, Ms. Knight, have a future in the arts of medicine.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” She smiled a bit. “Alright, all we have to do now is to get your normal body temperature and you’re ready to go.”, then she took out a thermometer and placed it near my lips, “Now say ‘ahh’.”

I don’t know what caused it, maybe it’s the way she said it or the fact that she was really close to me and I was beginning to get lost in her eyes again; but it really made me feel all confused and warm. Once I managed to open my mouth, she gently placed the thermometer inside and asked me to close my mouth. She then turned away and started scribbling on the folder.

A few moments later I heard a small beep and thought it was the thermometer when I saw Ms. Knight placed the pen she was writing with on her other hand, revealing her bandaged wrist. With the other hand, she took out her phone, read the message and then started to reply.

Some seconds afterwards, the thermometer beeped and Ms. Knight set down her phone beside me and took out the thermometer. While she was writing on the folder again, her phone beeped. And since I was closer to it, I decided to hand it to her.

“So, who’s it from?” I asked. I knew it was private, but the question just popped out of my mouth.

“Oh, it’s just Austin. He’s asking me if I wanted something to eat.” She laughed a little bit, “I know it’s embarrassing, but I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”

“You didn’t eat dinner last night too.” I frowned, feeling worried. “Aren’t you afraid you’d get sick? I mean, your wrist is already injured, so we can’t have you getting sick as well.  Austin might get worried for you too.”

“ ‘too’?” she asked raising a brow.

Great going Axel…

“Well, if the team finds out, they’ll definitely get worried. Here at Raimon, we look out for each other… besides, you’re part of the team now.”

She smiled despite my lame answer, “That’s great to hear. Anyway, don’t worry. I asked Austin to try to bring me some scones later on. So don’t worry ok?”

There it was again; my heart going overdrive because of her.

“A-Alright.” I said standing up from the hospital bed. I then made my way out but turned to face her, “Thank you for your time Ms. Knight.”

“Alexi.”

“What was that?”

“There’s no need for formalities here. You can call me Alexi if you want. Besides, you did save my life and all.” She answered with a nervous smile.

I was surprised by what she said but I still managed to smile back, “I guess, I did. I’ll see you around then Alexi, it was great talking to you.”

“You too Axel.”

As I made my way outside for some practice, I had a warm feeling in my chest and I felt a little… well, happier to put it frankly.

I should really talk to her more often.

~~~~

Caleb’s POV~

Breakfast was a little unnerving.

Alexi hasn’t shown up yet and I don’t know if she already ate. I was getting worried for her and I could tell that Austin was too. He was talking to Marc and the others, but kept glancing at my direction in which I smile at him as reassurance that it’s all gonna be alright.

I don’t know if I’m just paranoid or something, I did know that I needed some air. So after eating a decent meal, I walked to the nearest window and opened it, feeling the soft breeze clear my thoughts. Behind me, the other players were laughing and joking around, except for that Archer guy; he was staring out the window for some odd reason.

To my left, I heard Austin tell the others how he and Alexi went home after realizing they left something important; and when they were out the door, the telephone rung so they had to answer it. Turns out, grandpa just called in to check on us. The conversation lasted longer than they thought and that was the reason they came back late.

I should’ve been there with them, what if something happened to them while I was gone? I asked myself. Luckily, nothing bad happened to them, but that still can’t ease my conscience.

Last night, I was accompanying Coach Travis to Coach Hillman’s place at the “Rairaiken”, he said there was something we had to discuss with the old Coach.

“Glad you’re able to come.” Coach Hillman greeted us.

“Thank you for inviting us.” Coach Travis replied.

The old coach nodded and motioned us to sit down. He then closed the door of the store and flipped the sign that said, “Sorry we’re closed.” He then took a seat across us and eyed us carefully.

“Let’s get down to business shall we?”

The discussion lasted for almost an hour and a half, and its contents kept on bugging me up to this very moment. The explanations, the plotting, the whole thing was revealed; and it makes me uneasy to know that more and more people will know these things sooner or later.

“We’ll wait. If we need to feed them any information, we’ll have to give them only part of it.” Coach Hillman’s words echoed in my mind, “We’ll give it to them little by little until we’re sure they can take it all in. This is a big thing, and therefore must be planned out perfectly, do you understand?”

Honestly I didn’t understand. How do you expect to protect an important secret by telling other people about it? Whatever happened to anonymity and discretion?

Of course, I couldn’t voice out my reasons last night because I was afraid they might not trust me with any information anymore. So I just nodded my head when Coach Hillman made the final preparations.

Still, whatever happens, I’ll make sure I’ll be there to protect them.

~~~~

Heyyyy!!! Ya liked it? I’m sorry if my writing style sucked or if I made any errors in grammar, quotations and whatnot. I’m getting real psyched up about the story progression haha… it’s getting more interesting. Oh, and which pairing do you support by the way? I’m still deciding haha!!!

Oh yeah, can anybody start making ship names for them? Haha that would be soooooo awesome!!!

Anyway, I’m sorry if I messed up a lot. Or if I’ve gone too far with the alterations. I’ll try to update as much as I can, but Preliminary exams are just around the corner and not to mention I have this huge Press Conference to attend to… plus, I have to practice for the Radio Broadcasting thing and… let’s just say this will be one hell of a week. That’s why, I’m going to do my best to update faster… so please don’t get mad at me…

So, COMMENT what you think, VOTE AND SHARE!!! Please continue to support me despite my late updates and crappy work J!!!

watch out for Chapter 9!!! And SHARE THE INAZUMA LOVE !!!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!