Chapter 7: Left Out, Locked In!

Chapter 7 - Left Out, Locked In!The sun had just risen, casting a soft glow over the park which was enveloped in a peaceful silence. Everything seemed still, undisturbed. "Harumaaaaa!" A loud voice called out, breaking the silence. It was Masaru who was walking inside the park, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a hint of confusion. "Harumaaaa!" He called again, his voice echoing as he continued his search for Haruma. Walking a bit further, his gaze landed on a wall ahead where Haruma used to train, seeing the wall caused him to freeze in his steps, his eyes opened wide in utter disbelief. The wall ahead was covered with multiple crushed spots, each spot a sign of sheer force. Masaru stood frozen, staring at the wall with complete disbelief. "How... How did this happen?" he wondered, his mind racing as he was trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Suddenly, a thought hit him like lightning. "Haruma?" he thought to himself, his eyes widened with astonishment... Masaru was now sprinting down the road, his expressions still etched with disbelief, his breathing heavy and uneven. "It can't be," he muttered to himself, while running. "But if not him... then who?" his expressions hardened, confusion mingling with shock. "That's the spot where Haruma trains every night! I've never seen such brutality or power before! How can he generate such power!" Masaru, driven by urgency, quickly entered the football field of Hanaka High School, where all the players were already immersed in practicing under the supervision of Coach Kenta who was standing on the sidelines. Masaru's eyes desperately scanned all the players but Haruma was nowhere to be found. He then quickly ran and stood behind Coach Kenta calling out his name in a rush. Coach Kenta turned around to find Masaru bending down holding his knees, gasping for air. "Masaru?" Kenta called out with confusion. Standing straight, Masaru managed to ask, "W-where... is Ha-ruma?" His breaths still laboured. Kenta frowned slightly, then pointed towards the far end of the field "He's over there bringing water for the team" Masaru followed the direction of his gesture, and saw Haruma jogging towards his gathered teammates. He was carrying a tray of water bottles in both hands and towels were draped over his shoulder, his demeanour calm and collected. Masaru watched Haruma with a bit of sadness, as Haruma quickly stood among his teammates, silently distributing water bottles and towels, his expression focused and serious. Coach Kenta's firm voice breaks through Masaru's thoughts, "Masaru! go and join the training! you're already late!" Snapping to attention, Masaru quickly straightened and gave a respectful bow before rushing onto the field to join the practice... A group of girls, including Rukia, were sitting in the stands, watching the team practice. "Ahh Rukia, don't mind, but Toru is incredible!" One of the girls remarked with a cheerful smile. Rukia returned the smile warmly and nodded, "He sure is" she agreed. "So Rukia," Another girl chimed in with clear excitement, "When are you two planning to get married?" Rukia's cheeks flushed a deep pink, "What? noo... no!" she stammered, her voice flustered and hurried, "We haven't planned it yet, and right now he is focusing on his football career." All the girls smile teasingly at Rukia, "Oh come on, we know Toru is planning to reveal his relationship with you very soon." Rukia's cheeks grew more redder, her embarrassment growing. Another girl chimed in, "Yeah, Toru's friend is my boyfriend and that dork accidentally spilled that Toru is planning to propose to you in front of the entire school!" Rukia's eyes widened, her cheeks flushing even deeper. "Yeah, right." the third girl added with a dramatic flair, "And I guess he will do it after winning the Trophy of All-School Cup! How romantic it's going to be." All the girl's burst into giggles, while Rukia's struggle to hide her flustered face, keeping her gaze lowered, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "Yeah, just imagine the scenes" Another girl chimed it with her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Toru, holding our school's first All School Cup Trophy, then proposing the most beautiful girl of our school! Ah, a perfect couple, a perfect love story!" she sighed dreamily. All the girls erupted into laughter teasing Rukia who couldn't help but blush. Amid the laughter... One of the girl's gaze instinctively landed on the field and with a sudden burst of excitement she said, "Oh look! They are practicing long free kicks." All the girls' eyes turned to the field, where all the players were in position for a free kick. Shino was about to take the free kick, and all the other players were ahead inside the box, seeming ready for the kick. Coach Kenta firmly declares, "You just have three minutes, All the attackers try to score, and defenders try to defend!" with that he blows the whistle. With a sharp run-up, Shino shoots the ball sending it flying towards the nets, just as it seemed to bound for a goal, the goalkeeper came diving, deflecting the ball with his forearm causing him to lose his body balance and fall on ground, and the ball rolled straight into the feets of Haruma. Everyone's eyes shot open on Haruma's perfect positioning. Haruma was standing very near the fallen goalkeeper, in a position of a simple goal as the other side of the net was clearly exposed. Seeing Haruma in front, the goalkeeper desperately tried to stand but it was not enough. Haruma gracefully moved his foot towards the ball, his face etched with intense focus. All the players on the field including Masaru stood frozen, their eyes wide with disbelief fixed at Haruma. Rukia's mouth hung slightly open, her eyes locked on Haruma in amazement. Haruma's feet reached the ball, but instead of taking a shot he gracefully passed the ball to his left behind. The ball rolled just far enough for Toru to charge in and shoot it, sending the ball smoothly into the net. The girls watching erupted into smiles and applause, cheering for Toru. The players quickly surrounded Toru and began praising him. Though Toru himself appeared a bit surprised at first, but then he accepted all the praises with a wide smile. Masaru was standing nearby, his expressions clouded with confusion. He turned to see Haruma silently walking back to his position. "What an amazing goal it was!" A girl exclaimed, clapping in admiration. Rukia frowned in confusion, "Yeah, but why did Haruma pass instead of scoring that simple goal?" The girl next to her, quickly replied, "There was no way Haruma would've scored that. The goalkeeper was just too close, he would've easily stopped it. So to avoid the embarrassment he decided to give the ball to Toru, which was a smart move." Rukia, still uncertain, watched Haruma kneeling on the ground, drinking water.... As the sun was about to set, the practice session came to a close. All the players gathered at the sidelines, preparing to leave, some changing into casual clothes, some chatting. Haruma was sitting next to Masaru both packing up their things. Suddenly Coach Kenta came walking, with two boys walking behind him, each carrying bags in both hands. His presence immediately captured everyone's attention, all eyes locked on him. "That was a brilliant session!" The coach said with authority, "And In two days, we will face Tsubasa High School in our first game." All the players were listening intently as the coach continued. "And for the All-School Cup, Hanaka's playing jerseys have arrived!" the coach Kenta declared, sparking a wave of smiles and excitement among the players. Masaru was beaming with excitement and happiness, while a slight smile was on Haruma's face. The coach then gestures to the boys behind him, who began handing out the jerseys. One of those boys then handed a jersey to Masaru, who eagerly held it up to his face, admiring the beautiful white fabric with red stripes along the sides. He excitedly spun it around and saw his name on the jersey with number 5 written beneath it. Masaru's eyes lit up with excitement as he quickly held it up for Haruma to see. Smiling softly, Haruma smiled and gently patted his shoulder. One of those boys then handed a jersey to Haruma, who quickly took it only for his eyes to widen in disbelief as he saw it was just a new training bib. Haruma stared at the bib with his eyes wide with shock. Masaru equally stunned, stared at the training bib Haruma was holding.