Chapter 37: The End Of The First Day Of Training Camp And The Hot Springs?!
TL: Scaramochi
***
The whistle blows to end the game, and the players line up, breathing heavily.
When the game was over, it was an overwhelming 3-0 victory.
I scored again in the second half with an assist from Azaki, and as a result I had two goals.
Azaki had one goal and two assists. As usual, I felt I was being taken advantage of by Azaki's ability, and I can't deny that, but...... results are results.
And besides....
I turned my attention to Sasaki, who was sitting on the bleachers.
I'm glad I was able to show Sasaki that I had a decent goal this time.
"Good job, Makishima!"
Azaki patted me on the back and Aihara brought me a towel.
I took the towel and put it on my head.
"You scored two goals today, the first one was great and the second one was beautifully played."
"The second goal was like a Takato goal, though."
"No, it wasn't! The assist was from Azaki's position, and it was a goal that was made possible by Makishima's positioning."
"That's right, Makishima. You should be proud of yourself since Aihara praised you."
Saying this, Azaki pinches my cheek and gives me an earful, "Hey, give me a (romantic) assist while you're at it."
"Oh, Aihara? Azaki was good, wasn't he?"
"Umm, yes! He made a lot of chances with his passes, and he and Makishima were perfect together."
"That's right, Azaki was great."
"That's good for you, Azaki. Hey, Aihara, if you don't mind, would you like to have tea or play a game in my room this evening? (dirty, handsome guy)"
"Um, I don't think I'd like that."
Azaki peeled his white eyes and disappeared somewhere else.
How could he get results in a game and not get results against his true love?
"That said, I'm relieved you're not hurt."
"You still care about me?"
"Of course, the manager and I were on edge, wondering if you'd break your promise and do the diving head again!"
"I see, I'm sorry for worrying you so much. And thanks for the towel."
I folded the towel and handed it to Aihara.
"Good luck in the rest of the matches, Makishima."
I nodded confidently, but due to the time constraints after my concussion, I had to play only a short time in the remaining two games.
The first day of the Golden Week training camp ended with two goals.
***
The first day of the training camp was all over, and we took a bus from the stadium to the hotel where we were staying.
From what I heard, the hotel seemed to be quite nice, with a swimming pool and hot springs, and the food was good.
When I think back to my high school training camp, I was put in a place like a seaside school facility and slept on the floor with about 10 other people.
Compared to that, this time we had a room with beds for three people, so we could rest without stress.
"I thought so," I thought.
I put my shoulder bag on my shoulder and entered the room, where I found a tall man and an idiot named Azaki, who was adjusting his hair, spreading out their luggage and relaxing comfortably.
"Why the hell do I have to be with Azaki when the room assignments are decided at random!"
"That's fine, Makishima. Let's get along."
"......And one more person."
"Oh! Maki! Long time no see!"
A tall boy speaking a few words of Japanese gets up from the bed and hugs me.
"Chacha, Jang-senpai, it's been a while."
"This useless big guy, did you know Makishima?"
"Hey, Azaki! He's my senior."
"Don't worry, don't worry. We're all friends."
"But Jang-senpai..."
Jang Geumin, a 200-cm tall sophomore, is the regular goalkeeper for the Koto University A-team.
Jang is half-Korean, half-Japanese, and was a mainstay of the Tokyo Frontier Jr. youth team when I was a junior high school student.
Unlike me, Jang was promoted to the youth team, but growing pains and injuries prevented him from starting for three years. After leaving the youth team, he came to Koto University, where he had reigned as the regular goalkeeper since his freshman year, making dynamic saves with his overly large physique.
"I see that the room assignment is a mix of the A and B teams...... even more so that it's a set up to be with Azaki."
"I ain't doing nothing! ......But that doesn't matter, let's go, Makishima."
"Let's go to the hot springs."
"Hot springs!"
***
Me and Jang were taken by Azaki to the hot spring.
We put our undressed clothes in the basket in the changing room and wrapped a towel around our lower body.
"Jang-senpai."
"What is it?"
"Gonyogonyo."
This guy must be thinking of something bad.
"Azaki! You can't peek!"
"Why are you talking? Jang, you're talking!"
"Huh........ I thought you were going to say something like that anyway."
"Because, Aihara doesn't dominate me, so I'll just have to look at her with my own eyes now!"
As far as I'm concerned, he's not thinking straight.
"I've got a two-meter tall Senpai here, this is like asking me to climb over the fence and take a peek!"
"Jang-senpai, you can punch this guy."
"Yes........ But Maki, if I really hit him, I'll break his nose!"
"Jang, you're so scary!"
Leaving Azaki behind, who still can't give up peeking, I go inside first.
The open-air bath is dominated by the steam, and the floor is cobblestone pavement.
Looking up, there is a beautiful sunset sky.
There is a soda fountain, too.
Taking care not to slip, I rent a space in the shower and a row of bath chairs.
The players from Koto who had arrived earlier sat down on the chairs and washed themselves off.
Well, some of them seemed to have the same idea as Azaki, and some of them were planning some kind of strategy in front of the wall on the border between the men's and women's baths.
I picked up the shower head while looking at them with white eyes.
***
After arriving at the hotel, we managers brought the baskets containing the uniforms used by the players to the laundry room.
Once we put it in the washing machine, we turned it on with the detergent and had a little girl talk for a while.
I was talking to a senior manager who was my good friend, and the senior manager who came in after me came over to talk to me about something.
"Hey, what are you going to do this year?"
"Oh, you mean the hot springs? Well,...... last year, someone managed to get over the wall using Jang, and we were almost seen."
"What do you mean, 'being seen'?"
I was tilting my head, wondering what he was talking about, when one of the seniors who came later explained.
"There are a lot of idiots in my house, right? Last year, there was an idiot who tried to peek into the girls' bathroom."
Peeping......? At a hot spring?
"There was, wasn't there? This year, I think it's going to be Azaki."
"He was staring at me the other day."
"Me too. It's really creepy, isn't it?"
The seniors were saying all kinds of bad things about Azaki.
But, it's true, Azaki is a bit of a jerk.......
"Oh, um!"
"What's wrong, Aihara?"
"Oh, Azaki is...... is a little creepy, but...... but!"
"............it's weird, isn't it?"
""Right, right!"""
Sorry, Azaki, I can't excuse you!
"Then I'll use that hand to deceive and mock Azaki and the others."
"That move?"
"There's another hot spring near here. So why don't we use that one this year?
"That's great! Aihara will be there too, right?"
The seniors are right, Azaki might do something like peeping....... So I'll do that.
"Yes, I'll go."
***
[Sasaki's POV]
After Makishima's game was over, I checked into the hotel I had reserved.
I wanted to talk to Makishima, but I couldn't because Aihara was nearby.
I wish I could be a manager too.
I could go there...... but that's impossible.
If my face was revealed, it would be the end of me.
"But that's not the point! It was pretty hot during the day today, and I want to take a bath."
I think I'll go to the outdoor bath on the first floor for a change.
But if there are too many people, it's not a good idea.
"Hmmm. I'll go check it out for now, and if there are too many people, I'll use the bath in my room."
I packed up my luggage and left the room.
I wonder how many years it would be since I've been in a hot spring...... if I could get in.
I've been in a footbath a few times on location.
"I hope it's not too crowded......."
I was about to enter the hot spring on the first floor just to check it out when.
"Hey, Sasaki!"
The voice coming from behind me made my body react with a jerk.
This voice...... Aihara?
I turned around and there was Aihara, wearing a red jersey and carrying a large bag.
"Is this girl a friend of yours, Aihara?"
"Yes! She's my friend!"
"Well, we're going ahead of you, aren't we?"
Two girls wearing the same red jersey as Aihara were the first to enter the hot spring.
"You came too, Sasaki? Are you cheering for Makishima by any chance?"
"Um, something like that, I guess."
"I see. I'm glad you're into college soccer as well as high school soccer."
Aihara's pure, innocent, dazzling smile turns to me.
"Sorry, Aihara. It's not that I'm into soccer......."
"Sasaki, you came to this hot spring too, right?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by that."
"Let's go."
Aihara pulled me by the hand and we went to the women's bath.
Oh, this is bad, isn't it?
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