Phew!  Fifteen minutes before kickoff!

A double header tomorrow will wrap up our fanfics in group play.  I have
made a schedule change, and that is tomorrow's first fic will be the UY
fic I promised last Sunday.  The Mini-Goddesses fic remained as scheduled
for USA's third and final group match.  That leaves us with eight fics to
go, with the final one taking place during the final match.  What's in
store then?  oooo... ^_^

Give me your best shot, please!  Until then, I'm gonna go run off and, you
know, sleep. :)

Have a good morning!
---
Caught in the Sun
A 2002 World Cup / Anime Fanfic Series
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)

Episode Eleven: Soft Touch
Group G: Mexico v Italy @ Oita
A Vampire Princess Miyu Fanfic

She watched over them all, moving about here and there, getting to
wherever it is they were going at the moment. They scrambled about like
little ants, almost ready to topple over each other. For all the trouble
man has been spared up to this point, Miyu let them play their innocent
and trivial games, not expecting anything in return. Actually, there was
something. She thought she might join in the festivities.

It was true that all the action they faced in their so-called lives
amounted to very much of nothing, compared to the terrors that Miyu
encountered. Nights like these - mock battles that took the place of war,
a war whose result had no meaning or significance - paled in even
attempting to impress her anymore. Still, she let them play. She required
a brief diversion herself every now and then, and the world to which she
ultimately belonged offered no such comforts, save for the company of
Larva.

They called this the Big Eye, a grand structure with a roof that opened
and closed and supposedly resembled what the name suggested. Miyu watched
it when the rain came down and they had to close it up. It was quite
amusing.

So, there she was, walking among what she used to believe was her own,
taking part for a time in their pursuits and actually enjoying herself,
after being brought down to their level. Something very basic about it
all, as she walked past all the little shops and stores inside the
stadium. Something that, perhaps for the first time in a long time, gave a
glimpse into what it is to be this innocent and carefree. Something that
offered a chance to feel the tiniest bit alive.

A child ran into her, breaking Miyu's brief moment of peace. He was
carrying a toy in one hand and a beverage with no lid in the other, until
it spilled all over her dress. Miyu couldn't help but burn his face into
her memory.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, more upset that he lost his drink than having it
lost on his victim.

Miyu stood unfazed, saying, "Don't worry about it." The sight of his deep
brown eyes, as she stared into them, was the memory she took before the
little one ran away without another word. He faded into the crowds,
becoming just as indistinguishable as the rest. But she held onto to the
sense of his presence for as long as she could.

"Children," Larva said behind Miyu.

"It's nothing, really," she replied, "If only their parents could learn
from them."

"What do you mean?"

She turned around, looking up at him, "Hmm? Nothing. Let's go."
---
"Folks, we have a real battle going on here, as Italy struggles to catch
up with Mexico in their final group game. Italy needs only to win here to
win the group to become the favorites against whoever becomes the second
place finisher in Group D. But Mexico, perfect after two games, wants to
complete the sweep and ensure its place in the round of sixteen. Make no
mistake, the winner of this match, regardless of the other score, will
move on from group play. So far, they have been going toe to toe with each
other in the first thirty minutes of the match. Both sides have been
aggressive with the ball and have been successful in their attacks on the
net. The defenders for both nations have been put to shame at this point,
and as we close in on the first half, the scoreline is already four-four!"

Miyu sat in a section filled with the most partisan of fans, too engulfed
in their own little games to be worried about anything else. She kept to
herself the whole time, contrasting with the raucous crowds that rose to
their feet each time the score increased. But there was a certain grace to
this, she observed, and perhaps there existed all the fascination. Move
around a ball with your feet, and hopefully it goes where you want it to
go. And the...goals...so far, each and every one of them were perfect. She
watched all of them sail into the net, in plays that were executed with a
style and accuracy of which humans were not capable.

"Do you see it, Larva?" she asked her partner.

"Yes," he replied as the ball moved about. To the naked eye, the players
controlled the ball, and it moved about as they did. But Miyu and Larva
knew better, once the cross led to a volley and a shot that flew high
above the defenders and, despite its prolonged time in the air, found its
way past the goalkeeper and into the webbing of the net.

Those all around Miyu shot up from their seats in unison, celebrating the
ninth goal in an inordinate amount of time. This is where their innocence
shone through, when such unnatural physicalities were undoubtedly mistaken
for excellence and perfection.

"Something is wrong," she said above all the noise.

"Then perhaps he has something to do with it?" Larva asked, pointing out
one from the neighboring stands.

Miyu looked. He was some distance from where they sat, and one might not
discern him from all the rest had he not been sitting quietly, despite all
the rowdy emotion around him. A clever smile played across his face, but
he remained perfectly still.

"The boy," Miyu said, "The boy from before!"

"Yes."

"Interfering with humans. Perhaps I should go have a talk with him."

"Is it that easy?" Larva asked, watching her rise from her seat.

"No, I suppose not," she said, "Still, wait for me, Larva."

"Always, Miyu."
---
The stadium was larger than its appearance betrayed, as she took to
traveling from one crowded section to the next, towards the boy that now
caught her attention. He was disturbing her one night of freedom! Miyu
would not stand for that!

Up the steps of one part of the stadium and down the steps of the next,
Miyu slowly marched to the source of the trouble that those around her did
not notice. And while no one of any real consequence had moved from their
seats, when she got there, there was no one to greet her. Only an empty
seat left unoccupied where a boy once sat.

"The child," Miyu said the next person, "Where is he?"

"Ain't no one here," the man said quite plainly, "You must be mistaken."

Miyu looked all around, and sure enough, no one of the image that she
recalled from memory was in sight. A moment of silent frustration, drowned
out by all the noise, vexed Miyu, moreso when, then and there, another
goal on the pitch easily floated into the net, causing those around her to
erupt in a roaring ovation. This one had time to toy with humans AND with
her all at once.

She had left Larva alone all this time. It was best for her to return.
---
Miyu walked down the steps of her own section in the stadium, having
returned fruitless from her brief expedition. She had thought her partner
to be the first to greet her back. Instead, she would do the task for him.

"He's gone, Larva," Miyu said as she sat back down.

But Larva, to her surprise, remained motionless, fixated on the match, as
much as he did when he waited for her to return. She sat right next to
him, looking at him, but still he did not move.

"Larva!" she commanded, "What are you doing?"

"He can't hear you," Miyu heard someone say. She turned her head.

"You!"

"Yes," the child said, "From first I saw you, I guessed that you might
want to spoil my fun. And I can't have that."

"Larva," she said, moving about in front of the silent Shinma, "Help me!"

"He can't see you, either," he said confidently, "In fact, no one can.
It's just the two of us."

The child waved his hand, and in that instant all the noise and all the
emotion of the crowds fell silent. Miyu looked about her, and while they
continued to wave about in an electrifying atmosphere, their voices were
removed from her ears. Only that of her own and the child remained.

"What do you want?"

The child shrugged, "The same as you. Peace and quiet to do as I please."
He put on a sly smile as he raised his hand. Miyu knew not the
significance of his gesture, until the match ball came sailing in her
direction. She gasped, and ducked underneath both of her arms, as a fan
behind her grabbed a lucky souvenir.

He laughed in wicked fashion, saying, "I can move what I desire with my
own free will, do you not think I can do much more?"

Miyu picked herself up, angered by his arrogance, "You are quite the
treacherous Shinma."

"But you can't stop me, Miyu!" he cried, citing her name most
unexpectedly.

"I must."

"And for what? Letting these silly mortals play their games as they see
fit?"

He moved his arm, and the ball moved with him, again bouncing off the foot
of a striker, touching nothing but the back of the net yet again.

"I entertain these innocents as much as I entertain myself," he said,
"What have you done except seal our own into the darkness?"

"It is exactly your amusement that must be stopped," Miyu replied
defiantly.

The child laughed yet again, mocking her in the worst way, "Not likely.
You see, you are quite powerful and very dangerous, but you are nothing
without your pet Shinma there."

Miyu looked over to Larva, and called to him with all of her energy.
Still, he would not respond, and remained just as he did the moment she
left him.

"Why do you bother?" the child asked, "In a way, you are just like us,
interfering with them by protecting them from your kind."

"I do not wish to toy with them for my own pleasure!" Miyu retorted.

"You simply don't understand! What does it matter, Miyu? Man has not
controlled its own destiny since the dawn of time, why should they start
now?"

His eyes then lit up, and a wave of his hand pushed Miyu down onto the
concrete steps. As the child stepped over her, she felt the weight of his
powers against the pressure of the surface beneath her. It was then that
Miyu realized that, for once, she had desperately underestimated the might
of this particular Shinma. The force of his hand was felt on her neck as
he slowly tightened his invisible grip.

"You arrogant little creature!" the child said, angered for the first
time, "To think you have any true hold over any of us?"

Miyu tried to reach for air, but his choke hold was just too strong, all
the while Larva sat in plain sight, unaware of anything that was going on.
She struggled and panicked, and still she remained under his grasp. She
gagged and choked, and still she remained under his grasp. She had felt
the edge of what she couldn't possibly conceive before - defeat - and had
a moment of weakness.

The child released his grip, leaving Miyu to have her first breath of air
on the pavement. He turned away and contemplated. Then he asked, "What did
you just say?"

Miyu staggered her breaths, replying, "I said, 'I'm sorry.'"

He looked at her with a peculiar expression across his face. His arrogance
had all washed away, replaced with a slight sense of satisfaction and a
great feeling of misunderstanding. Miyu sought to wonder why, as force
replaced gentleness in the Shinma.

"Any lesser creature would not have capitulated," the child said softly,
lifting Miyu up by the hand, "Yes, your pride would have been the end of
you, Miyu. Perhaps you will learn in time."

"This was a test?" she asked.

"Hardly. You were merely my amusement until then."

The child lifted his hand once more, and all around Miyu, the cheering and
celebrating rang in her ears again, as the creature smiled to her.

"They're in good hands, I think," the Shinma said, "I shall return to our
realm. I have had my amusement."

A ball of light swirled all around him, and as he begun to fade, he said
his parting words for Miyu, "You may let them play now."

The Shinma disappeared of his own free will, just as Larva turned around
to see. "Miyu," he said.

"Yes?" she asked, picking her head up.

"Did you find him?"

Miyu nodded, sitting back down in her seat, "It's over."

"So what happened?"

"It was nothing."

"But, what--"

"Please, I just want to enjoy the rest of the night."

END.

Next matches:
Episode Twelve: Belgium v Russia @ Shizuoka
An Urusei Yatsura Fanfic

Then:
Special Episode: Poland v United States @ Daejeon, Korea Republic
An Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses Fanfic
---
Roehl Sybing
"The past is gone but something might be found to take its place" - Gin
Blossoms, Hey Jealousy

Infinite Deferral - http://www.infinitedeferral.com/
 - stories, fanfic, politics, j-pop, and some curling
every-now-and-then-when-it's-in-season


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