Chapter 11: The Promised Match (Kick-off And Goddess Cheering)
TL: Akabane
***
When I pulled up to the locker room after the pre-game warm-up, the manager was getting the uniforms ready.
Hanging in the locker was the traditional crimson uniform of Koto University.
A single white line runs down the shoulder, and on the chest is the brand of the uniform and the logo of High Eastern University.
My number is 18.
Normally, this is the number worn by the semi-ace, but in our case, it has no particular meaning because the coach seems to have chosen the numbers after 11 at random.
Azaki, in the locker next to mine, wears number 10.
The ace of the B team is lying on the bench, lazily playing with his phone.
"Azaki, you're a starter, right?"
"Hmm? Yes, but..."
"Are you sure you can afford to be so relaxed?"
"It's fine. If you can't afford it at this level, you won't be able to make a living playing soccer in the future."
"If you're going to make a living playing soccer in the future, you should have graduated from high school and gone pro."
"Shut up! I wanted to eat women too!"
This trashy guy is our ace. It's the end of the world.
"That's enough. Talking to you irritates me."
"Makishima, don't be so cold."
Just as I was about to leave Azaki, the coach came into the locker room.
"Everybody sit down."
It's Minei, the coach in charge of the B team of the High East University soccer team.
He is a 70-year-old veteran coach with gray hair that almost covers his eyes and a long white beard.
"Today," he said, "go from the front, and never drop the last line. And leave the balance between the lines to Azaki."
"As you wish."
Azaki responded to the high-pressure coach in his usual tone.
Is this guy a daredevil?
After the five-minute meeting, everyone packed their bags and headed out to the field.
I put on the green bib the manager gave me and sat on the bench.
Sasaki's guy is here to watch the game.
The distance between the pitch and the bleachers is close, so surprisingly I can see the faces of the people sitting in the bleachers.
I looked around the bleachers and saw a girl with medium short hair and a black mask on the edge.
"......Well, she's coming, isn't it?"
Even though I was strong in front of Sasaki and said I would score as many points as I could, somewhere in the back of my mind knew that I didn't want Sasaki to be the only one to see me.
Is that Aihara sitting next to Sasaki?
Were those two ...... good friends?
The whistle sounds and the match finally begins.
The match between Koto University and Komagome Senshu University, the third section of the Independence League, where the B teams gathered, started off with both sides calm in the early going, but Koto, with its high line and fast vertical soccer centering on Azaki in midfield, began to take control of the game.
Azaki, who was grinning while playing with his phone earlier in the game, showed his clever side when he took the pitch.
He is not afraid to give precise instructions to his seniors, and he also has a way of getting fouls in a maricia (cunning) way.
The game was dominated by Koto, but today they lacked a decisive edge.
Four mid-range shots by Asaki and a total of 11 shots by the entire team failed to find the back of the net, and the first half ended 0-0.
When I returned to the locker room, the manager himself was talking to Azaki with a white board.
I was helping the managers distribute squeeze bottles and watching the conversation, when I noticed a strange look in the manager's eyes.
What on earth are they talking about?
After a while, the manager walked up to me.
"That son of a b*tch Azaki has started to get impatient."
"What do you mean?"
"Makishima, start the game in the second half."
I looked at Azaki and saw him laughing.
This guy can do whatever he wants.
***
[Sasaki's POV]
This was my first time to watch a soccer game in the stands. (I mean, I don't know much about soccer even though I am the manager of a championship team.)
The game was boring, with the ball just being passed around, and more than anything else, my attention was drawn to Makishima, who was behind the bench, getting ready for the game, rather than to the pitch.
Makishima, you are preparing well.
It seems that soccer is not like basketball, where you can't switch players as many times as in basketball, so I wonder if Aihara is right, and if he will come out in the second half.
Hmmm... To be honest, I don't really understand the rules either. （I don't really understand, especially the one about offsides.)
After the first half was over, I was looking at the pitch with my eyes rolled back in my head when Aihara poked me on the shoulder.
"Do you watch a lot of soccer, Sasaki?"
"Well, not so much (I watched the championship final once from the studio)."
"I see, so do you have a favorite team?"
"Well..."
I don't know anything about soccer teams!
Yeah, anything is fine, squeeze it out, me!
That's right.
"Hoshigami Gakuen or Seishin Gakuen, something like that?"
"I didn't expect you to be a high school soccer fan!"
"Ah, hahaha."
What is a high school soccer fan? Is there such a category of soccer fans?
"......I see! That's why you left the party with Makishima-kun!"
"Heh?"
Why are you talking about that party now?
"Makishima-kun is from Hoshigami, and Sasaki is a fan of Hoshigami, so they hit it off, right?"
"......Eh? Well, yeah."
"I see. Makishima-kun said it so meaningfully that I mistakenly thought they had a strange relationship. I see."
I don't know, but maybe he was just trying to be nice?
What on earth did Makishima mean by "meaningfully"?
"Oh, the second half is about to start."
"Second half......?!"
The number 18, who had just taken off his green uniform and was wearing a bright red one, appeared on the stage.
I let my mouth relax under the mask.
I had lived my whole life being guessed at, and I didn't know it, but the excitement I felt when my guess appeared on stage was probably similar to this.
"Sasaki, you finally came out, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Makishima stepped onto the pitch while talking to the number 10 afro.
Something ...... different from the usual Makishima.
He is slender and tall.
His face was serious, his eyes sharper than usual, and he looked a little cool.
This is Yutaro Makishima, who has been at the University of Tokyo for three years without having made it all the way across the country.
"Go for it, Makishima!"
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