Chapter 34: Goodnight Call For Training Camp


TL: Akabane


***


After finishing a light run before practice with Azaki, we head to the indoor practice field next to the field for agility training.


Then, there it is...


"Long time no see, Makishima. I'm glad to see you're doing well."


"Ah, Aihara?"


In the center of the indoor practice field, Aihara is laying out a ladder.


She's wearing the red jersey of the Koto High School soccer team, and what the hell is this?


"Why is Aihara here ......?"


"Azaki invited me on my way home from the hospital the other day, and I became the manager of the soccer club. I didn't join any circles, and I hadn't been looking for a soccer club manager until now, so I never thought I'd be able to become one."


I see, so that's how it is.


Aihara had said before that she wanted to be involved in soccer even if she wasn't a player, so she seemed quite happy.


As manager, Aihara's hairstyle was different from usual, with her hair flowing down her side up.


And the jersey she was wearing also seemed to have been chosen to be larger, taking into account the size of her chest, but this made the whole jersey too bulky.


"Makishima, what's wrong?"


"Nah, it's nothing. I'm looking forward to working with you from now on, Aihara."


"Yes."


Azaki's doing a good thing now and then, isn't he?


"I've laid out a ladder for you. Good luck with your agility training."


Aihara seemed accustomed to her work after that, and was doing it briskly.


"Aihara-san's moe-sleeved jersey is great, right?"


Azaki spoke to me while training on the ladder.


I don't hear about moe sleeves these days.


"I thought all you cared about was going to parties and getting laid, but you're surprisingly capable of making decent advances."


"That's not a compliment, is it?"


"Well? I think you did a good thing for a guy with a lousy personality like Azaki."


"Why ...... from above. Listen, Makishima, Aihara-san is mine. You just concentrate on that girl you're interested in, got it?"


"Yes, yes. I'm sure you're not the only one who's interested in her. ...... You were getting along well with Aristo's sisters at the party the other day, right?"


Azaki gives a thumbs up.


"It was great."


This guy ...... is the worst.


"If you're a man, you have to do what you can do. You're going to love your true love, Aihara, for the number of times you've done that."


"You, that's what I'm talking about."


Azaki's stock, which had just risen, dropped dramatically.


I kicked his ass and returned to the ground.


It had been a week since the club had been banned from practice.


I changed from up-shoes to spikes, stepped on the turf, and rolled the ball under my feet for the first time in a while.


"What's the matter? Are you impressed by a ball you haven't played with in a while?"


"Of course I am. And it's not just the ball. The smell of the grass and the sound of the wind. I'm impressed by everything.


"You're as green as ever, Makishima."


As I was touching the ball with deep emotion, the coach sat up and walked over to the field.


"Hey, you guys, gather around."


The coach gathers the players and tells them about today's menu.


"These are today's practice menu. The A's coach will be there too, so make sure you leave your mark."


The first-year students in ignorance were in an uproar when they heard this, and the seniors looked ready to go.


Me and Azaki were already prepared, as were the seniors.


He's a scumbag and a creep, but his soccer talent alone is already pro class.


If I can get this guy to ...... carry me to the goal, I can play to my strengths.


"Hey, Azaki, let's add to our pattern before training camp."


"Hey, hey, can you go the full distance after your injury?"


"We'll just have to do it. ...... We're both going to the first team."


"......You're right."


Thus began the practice leading up to training camp.


Azaki is a rotten son of a b*tch, but this guy always believed in me and gave me a pass.


So I had no choice but to trust him, too.


His passes lead to the first team. 

It's up to me whether I can handle it or not.


***


-- The night before training camp.


With the camp coming up tomorrow, I was packing my bags in my shoulder bag.


I packed three days' worth of stockings, practice clothes, and uniforms, checking them one by one.


"Oh sh*t, I forgot to buy a portable toothbrush."


I reach down to get a new toothbrush, which should be on the vanity shelf, but then I remember I'm out of toothbrushes.


"I see, I opened one for Sasaki the other day......."


I looked at Sasaki's toothbrush, which was next to the one I always use.


...... Sasaki.


I won't be able to contact her once the camp starts. Should I call her ......?


On my phone, I sent her, "Can I call you?" and Sasaki called.


"Hello?"


||  "M-Makishimaaa? Did you call me because you miss me?"


"No, I'm not. I'm going to a training camp from tomorrow. I won't be able to call you or contact you later."


||  "You mean you miss me, right?"


"No, I'm not. ......"


||  "Then why did you want to call?"


"Well, it's ....... I'm going to start working hard tomorrow, so if I make it to the first team, will you ...... you know, praise me?"


What am I talking about ......?


This is just like being a cunt.


||  "Of course I'm going to praise you! I can definitely go up to Makishima! I'll make a reservation at a restaurant!"


"Hey, hey, don't be hasty. What if you don't get your hopes up?"


||  "Then, we'll have a meeting to reflect on the situation together."


"We'll go to ...... together."


||  "I'll make a reservation for you. Which cafe should we go to next?"


"Sweetness again!"


But I was relieved to see Sasaki as usual.


The next time we can talk is in four days.


In order to get Sasaki to turn her back on me, I'm definitely going to join the first team and defeat Kanagawa.


||  "Hey, where's the training camp?"


"Chiba."


||  "What about the match?"


"Yeah, I'm gonna play."


||  "Where's the venue?"


".......I didn't think you'd come to watch."


||  "Of course yes! I want to see it! Yes, I want to see the game. I'm thinking of going on a trip and staying in Chiba for three days."


"Ha ...... sounds like an easygoing way to go."


I look at the clock on the wall.


Now that I've heard Sasaki's voice, it's time to go to bed.


"It's still early, but I'm going to bed."


||  "Yeah! Tell me where the game is!"


"Okay. Okay, good night. ......"


||  "Good night."


I hang up the phone and plug my phone into the charger.


I have to go up to the first team, and Sasaki is coming to watch .......


I can't show her any more of my pathetic appearance like the last time.


"From ...... here on out, we can't lose a single game."


Survival in the name of training camp begins.



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