A/N: So how many of you like the addition of Koharu, eh? Now this chapter will explain several things that make my novel’s world slightly more…different –if that were even possible…- than our regular reality.

Chapter 5: The Silver Lining

Would it be logical to say that splitting the atom was no longer possible in this world?

Would it so farfetched as to claim that nuclear fusion and fission was no longer a scientific possibility?

One man made that thought a reality.

Dr. Hideo Kadowaki discovered something so groundbreaking that it’s very realization to the public meant the off-set of the world’s most prominent superpowers.

He discovered a way to nullify nuclear energy. A way to prevent the possible outcome of an all-out nuclear war.

Naming it the Neutron Disruptor System, he shared this information with the entire world, urging the world’s superpowers to use this device as a way of means to prevent any and all nuclear threats.

His request falling upon deaf ears, Dr. Kadowaki proceeded to take matters into his own hands, and activated the device himself.

It set a molecular chain reaction specifically targeted for only the 3 most infamous isotopes know to man. Uranium, Plutonium and Radium.

Nullifying their radioactive properties, a lump of plutonium was as harmless as a lump of copper. This is turn, made nuclear weapons a dud. However, nuclear power sources such as power plants were also deemed useless too due to the effects of the device.

This devastated the balance of the world’s superpowers, leading to many arrest warrants for the doctor.

But arresting would’ve done no good, because when the device activated, Dr. Kadowaki was within 15 meters of the initial blast radius, and his frail 90-year old heart wasn’t able to withstand it.

Foreseeing these events, Dr. Kadowaki intentionally left behind his designs for an alternative to nuclear power.

In initial tests of the Neutron Disruptor System (NDS), Dr. Kadowaki discovered that even though the 3 isotopes were non-lethal any longer, they gave out a special energy frequency, that when harnessed, was statistically 30% more powerful than nuclear energy. He immediately invented a machine that could harness its power for energy.

Naming it the Deuterium Nuclear Generator (DNG), Dr. Kadowaki spread the schematics for the device everywhere on the Internet.

Just as he foresaw, the world’s superpowers tried to salvage as much of their reputation as possible by dismantling all know nuclear weapons in their possession, using their isotope warheads as DNG Reactor cores, hence providing ‘free energy’ to many parts of the world.

Dr. Kadowaki’s legacy lived on. His vision of a utopia without nuclear war was made a reality, but one question lingers. Was it for the better?

With the introduction of a harmless energy source that causes no pollutants whatsoever, the usage of fossil fuels now come into question as the DNG project continues to prosper with many new variants; From humongous power plants to generators small enough to power individual homes.

Many have wondered whether the future seems brighter with the existence of the DNG. Tensions between countries may have decreased or ceased entirely, the environment may have taken a turn for the better, the world economy may have rose, but does it guarantee a better future?

Only time would tell.

-Phoebe Adele Gates on her Advanced Atomic Studies thesis based on the 1st and 2nd Kadowaki Nucleonic Law.-

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Chris knew a lot of things. He was academic and street-smart at the same time. Living in the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur often demanded some amount of knowledge in both fields.

But the only thing he ever regretted on not brushing up was his knowledge about the opposite gender. Especially now, when he has a rather attractive fox-girl hugging onto his arm.

“Please, let me have it? Please?” Koharu pleaded, asking sweetly for the one small bar of chocolate Chris was going to eat. He held it away from her in arm’s length, adamant in not letting her have it. He was thankful that the lecture hall was virtually empty, save for them. He couldn’t bear to face the embarrassment of a crowd.

“Leon, can you tell your sister to get off me?” Chris asked, trying to swing her off his left arm.

Leon, who was sitting next to a laughing Jason, raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms, a typical Leon-ism reaction.

“First of all, she’s not my sister. Second, I advise you to give her that bar, Chris. She’s not the type to give up. At all,” Leon said as Chris clicked his teeth in annoyance. He looked down to be snared in Koharu’s misty blue eyes, almost bedazzled by them.

Dammit! Snap out of it, Chris! She must be using some genie power or something! Chris yelled to himself, still not letting Koharu have his chocolate bar. He was saving it for later, and the anticipation only made him hungrier for it.

“You’re…not gonna give up, are you?” Chris asked, narrowing his eyes. It was like he was dealing with an overactive puppy –or fox cub.

“Nope,” Koharu said, swiping her hand at Chris’s outstretched one. “Just give it to her, Chris. Be a gentleman,” Jason quipped, Chris glaring at him.

“Well, I’m hungry. I didn’t have anything for breakfast, mind,” Chris snarled at Jason.

“Aww…really?” Koharu said, tilting her head. “Come here. Let me make you feel all better.”

With that, she tip-toed forward, placing her hands on Chris’s shoulder as she gave him a warm peck on the cheek.

Chris’s motor functions ceased to function there and then. Gaping wide, he practically froze on the spot while Koharu smiled and swiped his chocolate bar.

Jason was utterly lost for words, but smiled rather ridiculously at Chris. Leon on the other hand, pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. It was only after seeing the rather silly expression on Chris’s face then did he stifle a snort.

“H-hey! T-That wasn’t fair!” Chris stuttered when he managed to get back his composure –well, most of it, anyway.

Koharu, who was taking her own sweet time to eat the 1-inch bar, smiled rather slyly at Chris. “Well, I saw an opportunity, and I took it. It’s not my fault you have a weakness to girls,” she said, Jason almost falling back as he laughed.

“Well, I guess Vivian has some competition now, eh?” the broadswordsman asked, earning yet another death glare from the bespectacled archer. It was Jason’s 5th one for this week alone.

Koharu walked over to Leon, bending over to whisper to him.

“Who’s Vivian? His girlfriend?” she asked, Leon withholding yet another snort. “Girlfriend? Wow, I wouldn’t imagine what he wouldn’t give to make that a reality…” Leon scoffed, Koharu tilting her head sideways in curiosity again.

“So she’s not his girlfriend?” she asked, Leon shaking his head. “He likes her. A lot. But she doesn’t share the same feelings with him. I don’t think she even knows about Chris’s crush on her…” Leon said, looking off into the distance, apparently lost in thought.

“It’s too bad, y’know, Koharu,” Jason said as leaned his body near Leon’s seat. “They’d make quite a lovely couple. She’s all kind and sisterly and all that jazz,” he said, batting his palm.

Chris then sat down in front of Leon and sighed, taking off his glasses to wipe them clean.

“Ah, I’ll never get her at this rate,” he mused, breathing out audibly.

“Why? You’re not so bad yourself,” Koharu said nonchalantly, Jason snickering again. ”Hear that, Chris? At least one girl thinks you’re not so bad. There’s hope for you yet. Imagine what Vivian might think about you?” he said, Chris only raising an eyebrow at Jason with a transparent pout.

Raising his hands halfway, Jason then got up and slinged his back over his shoulder. “Harmless banter, Chris. Don’t take it so seriously, dude,” he said, beckoning the rest to leave as well. Classes were over for the day but there was an inter-college football match later, and all 3 of the boys were representing their year.

“We’ve got another 20 minutes till it starts. What do you suppose we do in the mean time? I already had lunch,” Jason suggested as they made their way to the campus field.

“Hmph. I don’t even know if I have the energy for the game. My only source of food was snatched away, after all,” Chris muttered bitterly, leering at Koharu, who stuck her tongue out playfully. “Sorry, Chris,” she said in a singsong manner.

“How ‘bout you play as the right wind defender, then? Let’s give Joash a chance to play midfield. Then you won’t have to use so much energy,” Leon suggested, taking out his jersey from his bag.

Chris replied with a shrug. “We’ll need to talk to the rest about it, I guess. Hey, I didn’t get the memo on who we’re up against.”

“We’re up against some folks from UCSI. I’m not sure how well they play,” Jason replied as the group of 4 walked out of the main building and nearer to the field.

Leon’s heart was already racing slightly normal then usual. He always got nervous when it came to anything regarding competitions. He wasn’t even sure how he managed to be on the squad. Many were rather skeptical whether he could pull it off for the team as the mid-defender.

“Hey, onii-chan? What’s wrong?” Koharu asked, tugging at his arm. She noticed him staring off blankly into space even as they kept walking.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing,” Leon said, lightly rubbing his eyes with his jersey.

The field was already starting to fill with people. Chris gathered that one side of the field was occupied with the college’s supporters while the other was filled with visitors from UCSI.

Spotting a bunch of red blurs on the field’s sidelines, the group sprinted towards them for the remaining distance.

Among the red blurs was Ken –one of the team’s strikers, who was brushing off some stray grass from his red football jersey. He balled his fists to his sides as he spotted the 3 boys and 1 girl running towards them.

“There you are! We’ve been here since class finished!” Ken said, not the least amused.

“Sorry,” Leon said tossing his bag onto the nearby benches. He then joined Jason and Chris in removing their tops to don on their jerseys, Koharu watching with interested vigor.

Being trained in how to fight made sure that the boys’ physiques were well-toned. Koharu couldn’t help but giggle as several of the spectators wolf-whistled at them playfully, generating quite some appreciative laughter from the crowd.

“Hey, is Vivian in the crowd?” Chris asked his brother softly, not wanting the others to hear him.

Ken only shrugged as he stretched out. “I didn’t see her popping out of the crowd to search for you, if that’s what you’re asking,” he simply replied, Chris swatting him on the arm.

“So those must be the UCSI guys, right?” Koharu asked, indicating the blue-clad players on the field who were all warming up.

“Yeah,” Peter, who was playing as the left-wing midfielder, said as he secured his shin guard. “From what I heard, they’re quite good. But we’re even better,” he said, the other players sounding their approval to Peter’s comment.

Koharu noticed that most of the crowd was now whispering or staring –at her. “I’m still a hot topic, eh?” she asked Leon, who was stretching his legs to warm up.

“Yeah,” he muttered bitterly. “The gossip’s not something I appreciate either.”

“Gossip?” she asked, prodding her chin in curiosity.

“It’s the fact that we’re almost always side-by-side. Most of them don’t believe the fact that you’re my ‘god-sister’, if you know what I mean.” he said.

Koharu only smirked at that. “Well, shouldn’t that work to your advantage? It should make her jealous, right?” she suggested, Leon narrowing his eyelids at her.

“Oh, very funny. Now go and sit somewhere. I think the match is gonna start soon,” Leon said.

“Okay then. Good luck, darling,” she sang with such a mischievous tone, earning another glare from Leon as several of his teammates snickered at him.

Consisting of friends he’s know since elementary and high school, his team knew better that Leon wouldn’t be dating Koharu. They all knew who he really had a crush on.

“Just give up on her and take Koharu already,” Benedict Au, one of the strikers, said with a grin, nudging Leon on the shoulder.

“No way. I don’t like Koharu in that way,” he replied as the right wing midfielder, Jimmy Lim patted Leon on the shoulder and said “Poor guy. Stuck in such a dilemma,” before running off with a friendly grin.

The crowd cheered as all 11 players made their way to the field’s inning, lining up to their positions. It wasn’t a formal competition per se, rather being a string of friendly matches.

Eric, the left-wing defender rally-called the team as he crouched at his positioned, earning back several roars of approval from his teammates.

Koharu, who was rather lost at whom to sit with, found a waving hand and saw Rose beckoning the fox-girl to sit with her and some friends.

“Thanks,” the auburn girl said with a rueful smile. Rose just grinned and shrugged. “It’s alright. Popcorn?” she offered, handing Koharu a packet of buttered caramel corn.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling sweetly at Rose as she accepted the packet, lobbing a handful into her mouth.

“So Koharu, has Leon used up all his wishes yet?” Rose suddenly asked as the referee whistled the kick-off, Benedict taking immediate possession of the ball.

Koharu shook her head as she chewed on the popcorn. Rose was the only other one besides the boys that knew the true story behind Koharu’s addition to the class.

“He only made one wish: For me to be a student here on a course of my own choice. He still has 5 more to go. He’s sure taking his time,” Koharu said, laughing along with Rose.

They followed the crowd in sighing audibly and then laughed as Terry, another one of the strikers, almost scored a goal, if not for the fact that his shot had not deviated off course, flying over the goalpost in an almost comical 60% angle.

“Oh, come on! That was an open shot!” Koharu complained, several of the crowd nodding or voicing out their agreement.

“See? You’re fitting in rather naturally. The gossip’s bound to dissipate soon,” Rose encouraged, earning an appreciative smile from Koharu. “Thank you, Rose. You’ve been so kind to me throughout,” Koharu admitted, Rose shaking her head.

“It’s alright, Koharu. You’re among friends here. Besides,” Rose said, taking hold of Koharu’s tail. “You’ve got to tell me how you keep your hair so healthy.” With that, both girls continued to chuckle and watched the rest of the game.

*

“Eric! Slide!” Leon yelled as one of the UCSI strikers was approaching the goalpost rather fast, Eric being the closest defender.

Following Leon’s suggestion, Eric targeted the ball and slide-tackled, praying the striker wouldn’t trip over Eric’s leg.

Jumping over Eric, the striker then passed the ball over to another one of his teammates, who shot the ball roughly towards the goal keeper –Ng Eng Hoe- who easily catches it despite his slightly round body.

“Good catch!” Eric said as Eng Hoe threw the ball at Peter’s direction, giving Eric a thumbs-up after that.

Benedict intercepted the ball halfway and sprinted over towards the goal, dodging several midfielders along the way. Anticipating a pass, Joash and Jason made their way up to out-flank the defenders.

Now almost surrounded by other players, Benedict kicked the ball over Joash, who didn’t manage to receive it as a defender head-butted the ball away.

Swearing under his breath, Joash then stood there to catch his breath as the midfielders from both sides battled over the ball.

“Now that was quite tough…” Terry said, stopping next to Joash, who nodded in return.

Chris, who was standing vigilantly at the right wing, observed as Ken slid to maneuver the ball away from a spiky-haired UCSI midfielder, allowing Jason to get it.

Chris stole a glance at his watch. It had been almost 30 minutes since the matched started, and it was still a stalemate of 0-0. He fathomed that he was running on pure adrenaline now to keep him from being hungry. His stomach still grumbled every now and then, though.

“Hey,” Leon said as he ran towards Chris. “What?” Chris asked. It must’ve been something important for Leon to leave his post. He was the team’s most trigger-happy slider, and often never missed the ball.

“I saw Vivian cheering from the 3rd row. Don’t worry, she’s with a bunch of girls,” Leon winked as Chris pushed him gently away. “Go back to you post lah,” he said with a gruff voice. Leon did however notice a small smirk on Chris’s face as he turned back.

*

“I really shouldn’t have had those hot dogs for lunch…” Terry cringed, clutching his stomach. “Aw, don’t you even think of puking on the field,” Benedict said, pointing an index finger as a warning gesture.

“Calm down, Ben. My stomach’s not that weak,” Terry replied as the lanky Benedict chuckled.

“Incoming!” Joash yelled as the ball was flying straight for Terry’s immediate position

“Terry! Bring the ball up!” Benedict said as he sprinted forward, leaving Terry to catch the ball.

Timing a header, Terry could have managed to hit the ball, if it wasn’t for the fact that some unknown force rammed him into the ground.

Not even able to focus straight, Terry only heard the crowd’s loud disapproval and the constant whistle blows from who he knew was the referee.

Then several hands brought him up, helping him to get up on his own 2 feet. “You okay, man?” he heard someone –Peter? Jason? - ask, patting his back.

“What happened?” Terry asked, rubbing his eyes. His chest was hurting like hell, and he couldn’t stop clutching onto it.

“Some UCSI midfielder rammed into you when you tried to give that ball a header,” Peter said, checking to see if Terry had any bad injuries. So far he found none.

Terry then noticed that the whole game stopped for him. He’d seen it so many times in the EPL, but never had he dreamed the same would happen for him.

“Are you feeling okay?” the referee asked, Terry giving a nod. Then a player from the opposing team came up to Terry, looking quite guilty.

“Man, I’m really sorry. I was concentrating on the ball and I-” he said, stuttering along the way. Terry merely waved in return with a smile on his face. “It’s fine, man. Accidents happen,” Terry said, putting one hand on his head. He still felt a little dizzy.

Nodding curtly, the player then walked away to his position as Terry shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could already hear the obligatory claps from the crowd.

Waving back at them with a forced smile, Terry made it back to his post and bent slightly. No way was he going to give that ball another header any time soon.

*

“I’m really beginning to hate this guy,” Chris muttered bitterly as he slid to try and get the ball away from the looming striker. Missing the ball by a mere foot (pardon the pun), the striker gritted his teeth as he spun around to try and catch the ball, Chris already kicking it away to Jason’s area.

Jason head-butted the ball away towards Benedict, who easily caught it and lined up his shot. There were 2 defenders coming in from both his flanks, and that made his timing far more crucial.

Praying he would score a goal, Benedict shot the ball, which went in a totally different direction. In this case, it hit one of the defenders neatly in the face.

Gaping wide, Benedict froze on the spot as the referee’ whistle blared for the second time, puncturing through the loud disapproving ‘boo’s from the UCSI crowd.

“Benedict! You killed him!” Terry said as he rushed over to Ben’s side, observing the body of the defender as it lay motionlessly still on the pitch.

“I-I didn’t mean to! My entire posture was leaning forward! This defender was coming form the left!” Benedict defended.

Already he could feel the cold stares the UCSI players were giving him. One of them even yelled at him. “What are you playing at, eh? Are you that desperate as to clip one of us out just so you can stand a chance?”

“It was an accident, fool. You must’ve been bloody blind as to not see that,” Ben retorted, glaring at the person for a fraction of a second before turning around to shake his head.

“Hey! Don’t you walk away from me!” the player yelled, Ben turning around to see the enraged player heading toward him in a rather sped-up pace. Honestly, Ben didn’t want a commotion.

Several UCSI teammates held the player back, telling him this is not worth the red card.

Seeing that the injured player was ok, the referee rushed over to the point where Ben and the player were going to unleash a squabble.

“Hey! Hey! What’s all this, then?” the referee said, pushing both players away. “This was purely an accident. I saw with my own 2 eyes that he had been aiming for the post,” the referee said before breathing in, blowing his whistle once again.

Silently mouthing something, the player then stormed off into a different direction, the rest moving back to their formations. So far, the last thing the boys wanted was a commotion. They had enough of that every other day.

*

How does one feel sleepy during a football match? Chris had no idea, but right now he wanted nothing more than to lie down on the lush green grass that surrounded him.

He would have too, if not for the fact that the match was still on and the others would not appreciate him taking a snooze at their expense.

“When is this thing going to end?” Chris whined to Eric, who moved back to a defensive position.

“15 more minutes. If all goes well, this match ends with that goal Joash scored earlier and we win,” Eric replied.

“Remind me to treat him for a drink, then,” Chris said bluntly, cracking his knuckles out of a force of habit.

Keeping a wary eye on the ball, Chris leaned against himself as the mid-field was a warzone of tackles and steals. So far the ball has strangely enough been there for the past few minutes without any attempted shots to either goals.

“Hmph. They might as well just give up now,” Chris said, crossing his arms. Eric, who continued to linger in his position next to Chris, chuckled as he stood by with his hands to his side.

“Hey, have you done anything to impress Vivian yet?” Eric asked, Chris choking on his own breath.

“N-No! Why should I?” he retorted, Eric hiking his eyebrow.

“You’re worse at this than Leon!” he said with a lighter chuckle. “Go make the winning save or something. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

Chris just shoo-ed Eric away and stole a glance at the crowd. Among the small sea of people, he could see only one face. Hers.

Vivian was by far the most beautiful girl Chris had ever known, even if she was 2 years older than him. He had feelings for her for a long time now, but so far she only treated him like a younger brother. Chris honestly wished for more, but he had to take their relationship delicately. One false move could have led to disaster.

He noticed that she was watching the match rather coherently. A small part of his mind wished she would just pay attention to him instead, wishing those rich dark eyes of hers would gaze at him so lovingly the same way he always did for her….

Realizing that his mind was starting to wander, Chris shook his head and looked forward. Winning this match seemed to be the top priority at this time. Vivian just had to come at second place. For now.

The stalemate between the mid-fielders seemed to be breaking. The ball was now heading for the one direction Chris dreaded. His.

“Fall back! Fall back!!” Chris heard Leon shout as a UCSI striker was now heading for him. Straight for him.

Knowing the striker could be planning a cross, Chris decided to stay his ground, knowing that charging ahead was exactly what the striker had in mind.

“Someone get him!” Eric yelled. From his peripheral vision, Chris could see that the striker was the only one from the opponent’s team to breach the line of defense.

The other players were just too far behind to catch up. Even Eric and Leon –both who were defending the left and right wings- were sprinting futilely towards the striker.

Chris knew that besides Eng Hoe the keeper, he was the only line of defense left.

It seemed to take forever for the striker to come in contact with Chris. Already being pumped with adrenaline, Chris’s mind now played a thousand scenarios and thoughts all at once. Among them were thoughts of Vivian. And for the first time in his life, he resented having thoughts about her.

Y’know Chris, there’s this saying that goes in the military about girls. How they affect a soldier in battle.

Chris’s eyes widened as a certain memory about a certain advice Leon once gave him.

You can become preoccupied –or even obsessed- and let them take your mind off your work, and that can get you killed in battle.

The striker was almost within striking distance from him. Chris could see the raw determination on his face. It was so much similar to his own.

However, there’s another way to look at it altogether.

Chris remembered what the next part of the advice was, and he decided to put it to good use.

You can keep that girl in you mind, keep her in your thoughts.

Chris leaned his body forward, ready to try something different altogether. Combat training granted his body far more superior capabilities than normal people had.

Focus on her being who you’re really fighting for.

If Chris can defend this goal, the match is theirs for the taking. It all depended on him. And Eng Hoe. Well, mostly on Chris, anyway.

Draw strength from those thoughts. Keep them in your mind as you look at death right in the face.

Chris bent lower. The striker surely had to go either left or right to overcome him. He was going to make sure that would never happen.

Fight. Win. Know that when all’s said and done…

The striker turned left. Chris then uncoiled himself like a spring, lunging himself bodily ahead of the striker before using his left leg as an anchor, his right leg knocking the ball away from the striker.

Kicking the ball behind him, Chris then spun with his left leg remaining as an anchor, avoiding a collision between him and the striker.

…You’ll come home victorious because you know she’ll be there waiting for you.

The dumbfounded striker couldn’t do anything but watch as Chris then kicked the ball straight into the mid-field, the crowd roaring their approval at Chris’s complex save.

Swearing aloud, the striker then ran back to the mid-field, Eric and Leon tackling Chris. “That was awesome!” Leon said, pulling Chris into a one-armed hug as Eric ruffled Chris’s hair.

From the mid-field, Chris could see several of his teammates giving him thumbs-ups, some even clapping as they continued to bring the ball up for another shot at the opposite goal.

Chris looked at the large clock on the campus building. There was only 3 minutes left, and the UCSI team has lost whatever leverage they had for a goal.

Staring into the crowd, Chris could see the crowd still clapping at his rather flashy save. Among them was Vivian, who was clapping for him with a radiant smile on her face.

Even from that distance, Chris felt that both of them shared a rare connection, one that felt like it could have lasted forever, even if it really was only for a second, at most.

Chris then smiled to himself as he looked away with a new fleeting sense of pride within him. He wasn’t tired any longer, and he knew why.

No, it had nothing to do with the adrenaline.

He finally knew who he was fighting for.

And that was all that mattered.

A/N: There. Surprisingly enough, my Internet isn’t down like I thought it would be. Yay!

Now do tell me what you think about this chapter, won’t you?

Cheers.