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teikokusuffering · 7 years ago

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Headcanon Rambles: Genda and Kidou

This is going to be a long, brace for a lot of words in teal colored herds.

So anyone who has played a persona game or seen that one meme back when hiimdaisy was big likely knows where I’m about to go with this, but look me in the eyes and tell me that anyone from Teikoku isn’t at the social link rank where they would die for Kidou. I’ll wait for you to realize the truth of this statement.

Genda is no exception to this, and while Sakuma is the one that from season 2 on who gets the most screen time to actually express this, I am dead certain everyone from Teikoku would be the same way. Everything from the moment Teikoku was shown until the end of the original series was chock full of tells and signs that Teikoku would follow Kidou even after he stepped down as captain and joined Raimon.

I could go for pages over this, but we need to put the focus less on Kidou and his stupidly high charisma stat that manages to overpower his horrible ability to never talk about important topics of feelings with people, and more on the dynamic between Genda and his former captain.

Considering canon takes place in the second year of junior high, that means we never really got to see that first year where Kidou and Genda had to feel one another out as classmates and teammates. So it’s hard to really pin down the exact path taken as Kidou learned how to be captain (Because let’s face with how Kageyama was pulling strings and building his perfect team, he likely made certain Kidou became captain the moment he was placed on the team. Or at least had it planned out for Kidou to unofficially be the captain while someone else was the figurehead captain.) and Genda learned how to trust and take orders from Kidou. With how much Inazuma puts an emphasis on the dynamics of the players at various times, and with how Teikoku was very much about unity and each member knowing exactly where and how another will move without even looking, that likely meant a lot of coordinating and learning one another’s habits. For the team as a whole, but also heavily on the defense working seamlessly without Kidou having to actually micromanage them.

I believe this is where the foundation of Genda’s loyalty to Kidou likely started. I could see Genda having been on teams before Teikoku where (remember elementary kids and likely teams that were more about having fun then being competitive with soccer.) the team was focused on making goals and being awesome with Hissatsus and not actually on tactics and having a good defense. So Genda likely was resigned to just being told to defend the goal and never be noticed again. So, with how earnest Kidou is in everything was probably a bit of a shock to Genda because here is this fellow first year actively working with the defensive line and the goalkeeper like they actually have a bigger role then just to be there when the midfielders and forwards can’t keep the ball. Not only actively working with him, but actually observing and planning for how everyone moves and responds to things as they play. As let’s face it Kageyama pulls the strings, but he also tended to give enough to make the team work to reach the level he set, leaving it up to Kidou to translate such into a plan of action, observe his teammates, and make certain they can work together.

These talks and practices leading to where Genda realized that Kidou was working to make certain that he could trust Genda and the rest of the defenders to protect the goal while making certain they in turn could trust and depend on the front lines to do everything to keep the ball in their possession and away from Genda’s goal as much as possible. Something that a lot of other captains likely wouldn’t have done for Genda, and instead would have just been upset if he did miss a goal due to constantly having to defend said goal. This more than anything in those first few months was what sparked Genda to do everything to prove that trust isn’t misplaced. Especially when it becomes apparent that this is the motto the whole team is taking up. “I trust you to play your position the best you can, and I’ll play mines just as well.” Which of course created a feedback loop which led them to practicing and perfecting themselves to the point they just inherently believe and trust that everyone else on the team is where they are supposed to be at the right time.

This, and the fact that even while in a position of power and command over his team, Kidou still treats them all well and respectfully and isn’t using such to do more then lead them as well as he can to victory is a bit surprising. Add in that off the field Kidou still actively checks on them and talks to them, even when they are not in the same classes is just not something Genda was expecting when joining Teikoku, doubly so considering Teikoku’s reputation. Which would make one expect a very out of reach sort of captain/playmaker that you would never be able to actually talk to and are just expected to obey and follow due to their ability to lead. Yet, here is this kid in goggles and a cape that while he acts as if he is standoffish and untouchable is the one everyone knows will be the first one out the gate if you need help.

From what is seen with Inazuma Everyday and the few glimpses we see of Genda and Kidou in Teikoku, the two are close enough that they have had some form of casual conversation; however taking in Teikoku conditioning and the fact Kageyama is basically micromanaging Kidou’s life during all of this it’s less of a friendship and more Genda devoting himself more and more to Kidou and Kidou having to remain Captain even when he wants to just be a friend instead.

Now we swing into the more serious aspects of this relationship when you let yourself remember just how much Kageyama has ruined Kidou in regards to dealing with people, especially those that he is in charge of.

No one can ever deny that Kidou would sacrifice a lot for his teammates, Shin showed us how far he was willing to go in regards to doing whatever he could do to apologize to Sakuma and Genda and make them come with him and thus away from the clear danger of being harmed due to a Kageyama scheme. However, a lot of that got lost in translation between Genda and Kidou during most of their time together on the same team, all due to the fact that Kidou is firmly placed in the role of Captain and thus is above Genda in various way. Both in regards to respect via rank, but also in the fact that Kidou is supposed to be out of reach socially due to how Kageyama runs the soccer team. Prior to the elimination match there is a glass ceiling, so to speak, between Kidou and the rest of the team (Genda included) regarding just how much he actually is allowed to show he cares for them and just be their friend without having to be their captain as well. A barrier that wasn’t being broken down between them all until after that elimination match when for a time Kidou thought he was now allowed to actually be such a friend.

Even though we never really saw it on screen, you can tell that Kidou was starting to relax around his team before Zeus happened. A relaxing that would have lead to Genda and Kidou actually acknowledging on all levels they are friends and not just Genda being loyal and devoted to a captain and Kidou only allowed to express in muted ways his care for Genda, since captain and subordinate was the only thing they were really allowed to have before this. Zeus and the subsequent decision of Kidou to transfer to Raimon put what was shaky ground into even more unstable territory.

Think about the circumstances and keep in mind these kids are at most fourteen so they have all of the fun teenager emotional control that does not help this situation at all.

Elimination match: Kidou and the rest of the team break away from Kageyama, they still lose but that just has them more determine to find and play their soccer instead of Kageyama’s and thus grow closer as a team. The first match in the tournament and everyone on the field is hospitalized. Kidou joins another team, to avenge them yes but he still went to another team.

That sequence is enough to make even Genda doubt and wonder if maybe he did something wrong that caused this separation. (Remember they are still kids and until this point they had only started to be a close team like Raimon naturally is.) During the tournament it’s easy to ignore these worries, and hold hope that maybe once everything was done Kidou would transfer back to Teikoku. Add in that we had canon confirmation that during the tournament Kidou was going to see and talk to Genda, and likely the rest in the hospital. The shaky ground was just that, shaky and could have easily been fixed. Aliea happening when it did and with Genda and Sakuma being the only two still left in the hospital...well we all saw how this insecurity and doubt festered into what was then used by Fudou and the space rock to bring them over to Shin. Thus turning shaky ground into patches of quicksand on unstable ground.

More so I think with Genda and Kidou then Sakuma and Kidou since Sakuma is more, well open is the only way I can phrase it. Genda and Kidou both internalize a lot of their emotions and thoughts so they both don’t really have as much freedom in their communications, thus why it seemed that it was more Sakuma than Genda that Kidou was reaching easier during that match. Of course you can also argue that it was this way also due to field positions since it was easier for Kidou to attempt stopping Sakuma then it was Genda due to what position they were playing. The aftermath of Shin is also very telling in a way in how Genda hasn’t allowed himself to try and reach Kidou on even ground friendship wise as he remained silent and unobtrusive when they were being loaded into the ambulances in order to let Sakuma be the one to speak with and ask for forgiveness over what they had done.

While I hope that off camera Genda got an opportunity to ask such, we never actually get to see it. (A true tragedy is that Level 5 didn’t even give us just a throwaway line or such to infer that Kidou was actually staying in contact with his friends from Teikoku. Let us get a few moments of such guys really.) So we can only guess that at some point during one of the few breaks the caravan got Kidou and Genda had at least a phone call between one another when Genda was released from the hospital. I can have a strong hope that the entire set up for Teikoku to be there when Kidou was showing Endou and Domon Death Zone was also done via talking to Genda, but again we are never giving anything concrete regarding this. Just suddenly everything seems better and happy between Kidou and Genda as if Shin didn’t happen.

Personally I think a lot of that is a lie, not that neither are happy to see the other and play on the same field. No you would have to destroy both of them a lot in a lot of ways for either to not want to share a field together. More in that everything is sunshine and rainbows between them is the lie. Something like Shin isn’t exactly something one can get over easily and since the foundation of that entire incident was due to Genda and Sakuma feeling horrible at being weak to lose to Zuse and betrayed that Kidou left them. It is not something easily talked about and gotten over. Especially since Genda is still completely loyal and devoted to Kidou and actually admitting why all of that happened is just not something Genda would easily want to talk about when he’s afraid such a talk could destroy what friendship there is there between the two of them. It’s hard to admit to yourself let alone someone you see as a friend that you got swayed into something like Shin because you felt like you got traded in for a better model.

Some of the hurt from this had to of been eased between the end of the aliea arc and before the FFI arc even started, but again it’s all off screen so how much or how little is a mystery~ and thus something I have to play by ear depending on the rp situation. Only for this slowly healing cut to get reopened and a little salt poured into that wound when the selections were made and Genda didn’t even get an invite to try for the team. Oh he was happy and supportive of Kidou and Sakuma for getting an invite, but still that thought in the back of his mind was likely once again of the variety that “I’m still not good enough to share a field with Kidou.” on a small loop.

I also see that while Kidou hopefully learned from the caravan, and thus still keeps some sort of contact with someone in Teikoku it’s not hard to figure that with how Kudou coached and how much focus was on each match, that Kidou once more fell out of touch a bit with Genda and the rest of Teikoku during all of this, which doesn’t help at all. Especially as Genda is likely trying to not fall back into patterns that caused Shin because he really is happy for Kidou and actually is glad that Kidou has a team he fits with so much. It’s just that, once again these are teenagers so while they mentally are a lot more mature in some things they still have the emotional ranges that have made a lot of us look at our teenage years and wince in how things that were not as bad seemed horrible at that time. (10 years from now Genda looks back at his younger self and just shakes his head at how much he let himself get completely hung up on this belief that he had to play soccer to a certain level of perfection to be Kidou’s friend.)

That hang up over his inability to catch up to Kidou strength wise on the field I am certain is what fueled 90% of Genda’s decision in joining NeoJapan when it was offered to him. Because he saw it less as an opportunity to be the team to compete in the FFI, but more as a means to improve and show that he could be just as good of a goalkeeper as Endou and thus not be completely forgotten by Kidou in time. Which isn’t as baseless of a fear for any kid when you think about it, because we all have friends we thought we would always be friends with in school that we suddenly never see or speak to again and you don’t know how it happened. With Kidou being in Raimon now it’s a very real fear that Genda would look up one day and realize he’s graduating high school and hasn’t spoken a word to Kidou since junior high. Not that, that is likely to happen considering how possessive Kidou is in regards to holding on to any and all bonds he makes and refuses to let any of those bonds go. Though, kids being rationale is kinda a funny joke to make when emotions are involved okay.

The entire InaJapan vs NeoJapan match is a bit painful to watch when looking at it through the filter of Genda and Kidou interacting, because there hardly is any. Genda seems to be actively doing everything to not actually speak directly to Kidou. He’s practically mute through the match outside of calling out Drill Smasher when it was needed. A far cry from every other instance where Genda and Kidou had been on screen together. It’s a very telling thing that this happened since it pretty much sends up a neon sign that Genda is likely feeling guilty and waiting for Kidou to be angry at him for being on this team the entire match. While it never comes to that, it’s now something else that we have to assume gets worked out off screen, or just ignored because they don’t have time to do so because of the rest of the FFI tournament.

A lot of things are just left unresolved or handwaved as done off screen regarding how much or how little was patched up between these two, which is sad in a lot of ways as season one had such a nice set up of them being potentially very close friends when allowed to breath away from Kageyama. While seasons two and three left a lot of this same friendship up in the air regarding just how much is resolved and how much still waits to be talked about between the two of them.

The only thing concrete I can say regarding Kidou and Genda is that despite everything they have gone through they’re still devoted to one another, it’s just a bit battered and worn, but I can believe that in time it got buffed back out to something a little better, and both are happy to have that friendship no matter how lopsided it is at times.

That got really heavy there at the end and to keep up the trend, like with Sakuma just random everyday things I think could happen between these two outside of what canon gave us.

Genda was actually prepared to hate Kidou out the gate, he was expecting some burly and smug third year as captain who would only interact with him and the defensive line just to bark at them to do their jobs and not let anyone score.

Then suddenly here’s this first year in a cape and goggles actually talking to him like he has a brain and with understanding there is actually more to defense then just block the ball if it comes at you and he doesn’t know what to do.

Then he shared classes with this kid and Genda is even more confused because he wasn’t ignored like other captains had done to him in elementary and he’s doubly confused.

It took like a month for him to develop a puppy crush on Kidou, but he then promptly attempted to smother that to death because, no self this is your captain do not do this it leads to ruin.

He’s still in denial of that crush to this day, Sakuma can have that problem of pining for someone as dense as a black hole.

By the start of second year if Kidou were to call for a favor, Genda (and most of the team too) would clear his schedule, grab his keys, and be heading out the door before Kidou even finished asking if he was busy.

Next time, if work doesn’t kill me too badly, Genda and Fudou. (That one is going to be fun to breakdown considering how little actual screentime they got together that wasn’t horrible.)

#inazuma eleven #genda koujirou #kidou yuuto #headcanon #Genda will go to the grave denying he ever had a crush on Kidou #in adulthood Genda just sees Kidou's number on his caller id and he's already cancelling every plan he has #Kidou likely never even realizes this is a thing #no one ever tells Kidou his teikoku teammates do this #they just let him think he has good timing

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