Chapter 9: The Promised Match (With The Surrounding Characters Before The Match)


TL: Akabane


***


"Makishima, good luck with your practice."


"Oh. You too, good luck with your report."


"Yeah."


We part ways with Sasaki in front of the library building and head to the practice field.


On the way there, I saw a guy with the familiar natural perm walking around looking a bit listless, so I called out to him.


"Yo, Azaki."


"......Oh, hey. Makishima?"


A scrawny face, dark circles under his eyes.


Today's Azaki was noticeably listless.


He was still thinking about yesterday, wasn't he?


After that, he said he failed to take home the girls, right?


"Could it be that you're depressed because Aihara rejected you?"


"Oh, of course I am!　I saw Aihara-san again yesterday and understood. Her face is cute as hell, she smells nice, and her tits are moderately big!　She's definitely going to be Miss High East!　I wanted to take her home and f*ck her!"


"Oh, you wanted to fuck her, you mean you really wanted to f*ck her?"


"Well, when you've got a girl as good as Aihara-san, other girls look like a blur. That's why I'm not giving up yet, I'm going to make Aihara-san my woman!"


When it comes to women, Azaki's fighting spirit is on full display.


All but Aihara seem to be in a haze, huh?


The "Sasaki" who was out of your sight is called a national treasure in the world.


He judges girls only by the size of their breasts.


"Hey, what happened to that extra girl with the glasses and black mask?"


"Sasaki?"


"Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's her name?"


If this guy didn't have a talent for soccer, he would definitely be just a bum. How could he forget the name of someone he just met yesterday?


"So, how did it go?　In fact, did you already take her to your room and f*ck her?"


"Nothing, man. Like I said in LIME yesterday, it was just used as an excuse to get out of the party."


"Pfft, you can't even hit on a plain girl like that, you're a soccer fool at its finest... Makishima!"


Azaki pats me on the shoulder and gets annoyed with me.


Yeah, it was a good thing I blocked his LIME account.


"I'm going to set up another blind date just for you!　You should look forward to it."


"I'm done. I'm not interested in that."


You've been under a lot of stress, you know. You should get yourself a woman who can heal you and take it easy on the soccer team.


A woman who can heal you....


--- "Thanks, Makishima."


The first thing that came to mind was Sasaki's face. I'm just being pushed around by Sasaki.


"Hey, Makishima. How about I tell you why I came to this university after kicking off my professional career?"


"What about......?　You kicked out the pros to come here?"


I want to know why?


I had thought that Azaki was one of the better first-year players from the pre-college training, but I didn't think that he had kicked his chance for a high school diploma to come here.


I bet I'd love to hear why. ......!


"Tell me, Azaki."


"Oh ...... I am."


Azaki stopped and looked up at the sky.


"I wanted to f*ck a highly educated boin girl from Koto University." he said.


"Huh?"


I was absolutely mortified when I heard the less-than-trashy reason.


I'm going to stop calling this guy my best friend at all costs.


***


When I came to the field with him, the other players had already gathered and were practicing on their own.


After that, the afternoon practice held under cloudy skies consisted mainly of game-style practice.


With the game the day after tomorrow, everyone's motivation was at its highest. To be selected for the starting lineup, I had to show the coach how well I was doing. ...... I sat on the bench and watched my fellow players in action on the pitch.


After four hours of intense afternoon practice, all the first-year students except for Azaki, who was part of the starting lineup, had to clean up.


I was in charge of counting the equipment, and after checking the number of cold sprays, I peeked into the ball basket to see how many balls there were.


......Huh?　One ball is missing.


I remember when the keeper, Tanaka-senpai, kicked a punt kick during a game, it seemed to fly off in the direction of the day after tomorrow.


It would be bad if it went straight past the entrance and out to the perimeter track, and I should go check to see if it got stuck in the gutter or something around there.


"Huh. ......."


I lifted my heavy shoulders and started walking in that direction, relying on my memory.


"Ball ball~ where the hell is that ball~"


I began my search, using the light on my phone to illuminate the path inside the university that connects the outside to the ground.


"Makishima, kun?"


As I walk along, looking only down and singing in a whisper, I hear a voice calling me in front of me.


"Aihara, isn't it?


It was Aihara, who happened to be passing by the perimeter along the grounds.


Her hair was side-up, swaying in the wind, and she was wearing a citrusy perfume.


The only difference from yesterday was that she was wearing black-rimmed glasses.


I wonder if she was wearing contacts yesterday.


"That was a good mood song. Did something good happen?"


I'm embarrassed ...... that she heard me earlier.


As I smiled shyly, Aihara tilted her head.


"What's wrong?　It's this late, and practice is already over, right?"


"We're done, but we're missing one ball and I was looking for it."


"Oh my God!　If you lose even one ball, your seniors will yell at you. You had to do 100 laps around the track and 1,000 sit-ups!"


"I don't think the punishment would be that severe."


"I'll help you, too."


"What?　I'll help you, too.


"No, no, no. I'm okay."


"But....."


"Don't worry, I'm used to looking for the ball."


Aihara was adamant that she would not give in.


In the end, I started walking along the gutter with Aihara, turning on the light of my phone.


"I thought about this when I talked to you yesterday at the party, but Aihara, do you maybe have soccer experience?"


"Yeah. I played from elementary school all the way through high school."


"Heh ...... you've been playing longer than me who started in middle school."


"Hehehe. But, I was so bad at it that I was always on the bench, and when I couldn't even get on the bench, I picked up the ball. That's why I'm so good at finding the ball."


Aihara is cheerful, but she speaks candidly about her past, which she doesn't want to remember.


"Didn't you ever think of quitting soccer because you couldn't play?"


"No, I didn't. Because I love soccer. No matter how much pain I'm going through, no matter how unreasonably I'm treated, as long as I can play soccer, that's all that matters."


I thought Aihara was just plain awesome.


I've never thought I liked soccer before.


I took the Jr. Youth test in junior high school on the recommendation of a friend, and from there soccer has always been a struggle for me, as I started competing in the name of soccer.


"I dreamed that one day I would become an absolute striker like Oshiro, the player I admired so much."


"Oshiro....!"


"Even with this, I've always been a FW. I'm ashamed to admit that I was a pathetic FW with zero goals in official games, but I was working hard to become a striker like Oshiro."


Takato Oshiro - at 28 years old, he is the absolute ace striker of Japan and the world, carrying the number 9 jersey for Spain's mighty Barcelona and last year winning the World Player of the Year award over Haaland and Mbappe.


I admired him as much as Aihara admired me.


He is the kind of player that every Japanese would aspire to be like.


"But finally, I quit soccer in college. I wanted to live like a normal girl and find something fun to do as a college girl. Besides, soccer is fun to watch as well as play, so I don't regret it anymore."


"I see......."


I had taken the liberty of thinking that Aihara had good style, was cute enough to keep a charlatan like Azaki quiet, and had come this far without any trouble.


Like Sasaki and Aihara, I guess the prettier the girl is, the more trouble she has to go through.


"Well, I'm kind of sorry!　I was gross talking about myself, wasn't I⁈"


"No problem. Aihara is admirable. You know yourself very well."


"Yeah, I guess?"


"I've never been able to figure it out, you know."


"Makishima-kun......"


I can't imagine how easy it would be if I could just quit like Aihara.


Somewhere, I may be searching for my own limits.


"Hey, hey!　Let me change the subject."


Aihara begins to speak in a brighter tone of voice than before, perhaps to change the atmosphere.


"Yesterday's party. Makishima-kun left early, didn't he?　Did something happen?"


"Well..."


Everyone there knows that I left with Sasaki, so I have to mention Sasaki to some extent.


"Sorry. It's just that Sasaki and I hit it off."


"You guys hit it off?"


Oh, I hadn't thought of an excuse for this question.


Why did I hit it off with Sasaki, whose hobbies are so different from mine?　......No, we didn't. We didn't hit it off.


"That's ...... a secret."


"Hmmm."


"......"


"......"


Aihara gives me a suspicious look.


"Hey, Makishima-kun, you and Sasaki--"


That's when it happened.


The moment I pointed my light at the gutter under the green wire fence, I saw a ball hooked into it.


"Ah!　There it is......."


"Ah, good for you!　Now you won't get yelled at!"


"Oh, oh. Thanks for looking for it with me, Aihara.


After thanking Aihara and parting ways, I headed back down the darkened night road and worked hard on my own training.




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Next: The Promised Match.


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