Chapter 77 - 404 11

All the players’ smiles began to fade, all their earlier excitement dulled as everyone turned to Kurogami with blank eyes, who stood unshaken with his expressions unchanged. Minato sensei pressed forward, "Raya as the first first player, the others will be, Jingo, Subaru, Nagisa, Izaya, Makoto, Haru, Rei and Toru!" All the called out players’ smiles appeared pleased and excited, while Nagisa smirked confidently before turning to Kurogami, knowing he’ll get his chance against him. Minato sensei’s gaze moved calmly across the players before he spoke up, "And Kurogami’s team will have Haruma, Tezuka, Itsuki, Kabuto, Zora, Ichimaru, Naoya and Jiho!" Jiho’s eyes snapped open, frustration flashing clearly in his eyes. "But sensei I-" "No questions Jiho!" Minato sensei cuts in sharply with a firm and final voice. Though clearly frustrated, Jiho lowered his face and gave a reluctant nod, falling silent under his sensei’s command. Minato sensei carried on, "As you can notice I’ve assigned the teams, but their roles will be decided by the captains!" Both Kurogami and Raya sharpened their focus, their eyes firmly locked on Minato sensei "You’ll have to choose three forwards and five defenders," He said, locking eyes with Kurogami and Raya. Raya and Kurogami nodded in agreement, both seeming calm and confident, ready to face the challenge. Now the two teams stood apart, each on their sides of the field. Kurogami was facing his teammates, who were focused on him except for Jiho whose gaze was elsewhere, with a flicker of annoyance clear on his face. Kurogami let out a quiet sigh before speaking, "Our forwards will be Haruma, Tezuka and Jiho, others will defend." Jiho let out a mocked scoffed, "Tch. Like that wasn’t obvious, don’t act like you made some genius move here!" Kurogami gritted his teeths, "Jiho! If you’ve got a problem with me then get the hell out of this team!" Jiho clenched his fist, "Yeah, like the fuck If I wanna stay!" He stepped forward, tried to reach Kurogami but Haruma placed a firm hand on his chest stopping him in his tracks. "What is wrong with both of you!" Haruma snapped with his voice low yet sharp with restrained anger. "Can’t you just put your egos aside for a goddamn minute?" Itsuki quickly stepped in, backing him up, "Haruma is right, just drop the grudges and let’s play as a team." Jiho, still appearing annoyed, took a few steps back, and stood with his arms crossed. "The Opposing team is too strong!" Itsuki added with a slight concern in his tone. Glancing up to Kurogami he added, "We need a plan." "Plan?" Kabuto chimes in with an unsettling smile tugging on his lips. He casually slid an arm around Haruma’s shoulder, "With Haruma on our side, we’ll definitely score and I’ll dust away their every single shot!" Haruma looked at Kabuto with a serious face, and quietly shrugged Kabuto’s arm off and took a step away from him. Still unsure, Itsuki turned to Kurogami, "Do we actually have any plan?" Kurogami looked across the field at the opposing team, already planning. Taking a breath he began, "I’m pretty sure, Raya alongside Jingo and Nagisa will come up to attack." He paused then continued with focus, "Raya himself is an amazing striker! He can shoot, he can score, and most importantly... he has already scored against me. That alone gives him enough confidence to try again. Izaya chuckled, "Yeah, my family and my sisters are planning to blow the stadium up with my chants!" "My Family and friends will be there too!" Raya said with a grin, "Not just my family but my relatives and even the family friends they’re all coming, it will be a heck of an atmosphere!" All the three of them laughed together. Raya then smiling, instinctively turned to Haruma who was stretching in silence. "Hey Haruma." Raya called out casually, "Your family and friends will be there too right?" Haruma paused mid-stretch, and replied with a low tone, "Yeah, my mother will be there." Raya, Izaya and Jiho exchanged glances, sensing something off. Jiho slightly tilted his head, "And about your father?" he asked. "He’s Dead!" Haruma replied with a firm tone. The air shifted, the trio stood still, taken aback by the unexpected words. "Ohh, I’m sorry!" Jiho said softly, his voice lace with surprise. Haruma sighs slightly, "It’s alright," he murmured, "The only two people to support me... will be my mother and Mio, and they are good enough for me." Jiho, Izaya and Raya were silent, looking at Haruma with sad and concerned gazes. "Heeeeyyyy!" Just then a voice called out loud from the gate, catching everyone’s attention to find the waitress Shiori standing behind the main gate of the field. Dressed in a casual outfit and a baseball cap, appearing slightly nervous but determined. Raya’s smile widened, shooting a teasing glance at Haruma, "Well, well, I guess not two, it’s actually three!" He walked towards Minato sensei, leaving Haruma who was watching Shiori with slightly wide shocked eyes. Raya smiled and approached Minato sensei and said, "Sensei, that friend of mine is here, the one I told you about." Minato sensei glanced towards the gate, finding Shiori standing there, visibly nervous, but waiting patiently. Giving a nod, Minato sensei turned to Raon, " Go welcome her, and make sure she is comfortable on the stands." Raon nodded in agreement, jogging off towards the gate to let her in. From a distance, Haruma was watching quietly as Raon opened the gate and welcomed her with a warm smile. She stepped inside, her nerves softening and followed her to the stands. Once seated she looked out at the field, a gentle smile playing at her face. Chapter 55 "Under The Setting Sun" Haruma was standing still, his eyes locked on Shiori as she settled into the stands. She caught Haruma’s gaze and offered him a warm smile, giving him a thumbs up with both hands. Looking at her, Haruma got flashbacks of how Mio and his mother cheered him on during the finals of the All-School Cup, their voices echoing in his mind. Just then, Minato sensei stepped forward and called out, "Alright everyone! back to your positions, let’s keep going!" At his commanding words, all the players quickly dispersed across the field, taking their positions. But only Haruma remained rooted in his spot, his eyes still locked on Shiori. Noticing Haruma frozen, Minato sensei called out, "Come on Haruma, move!" Haruma clenched his fist, and without any words he turned around and began jogging toward his position. From the stands Shiori watched him with quiet admiration, her eyes filled with anticipation... Haru’s eyes widened as he outstretched his left foot further to the left, ready to block his path. But just as he committed, Haruma caught him slightly off balance and swiftly pulled the ball back and in one swift movement he cut the ball from Haru’s right side, shifting his body and gliding past him from the right. Haruma from a distance fired a powerful shot, sending the ball soaring through the air with a perfect curve before slamming the back of the nets. Cheers erupted from the sidelines, as his teammates burst into applause. A big proud smirk tugging at Minato’s lips. From the stands, Shiori sprang to her feets, applauding out loud with visible joy and excitement. Haruma with a smile offered a hand to Haru, who returned the smile and clasped his hand as he pulled himself up on his feets. Both exchanging smiles and nods, sharing a moment of genuine respect... Later on, Raon was now sitting on the grass sipping water and bobbing his head to an invisible beat, "That’s it, keep going, thirty more is what I want!" he called out with playful energy. Lined up in a row, all the players were shirtless, pushing themselves through the sets of pushups. With their faces and bodies drenched in sweats, and faces etched with fierce determination. Jiho with fierce expressions was powering through his pushups, every rep was driven with raw intensity and energy. Izaya and Kabuto looked worn out, sweats pouring out, yet they kept going. Raya and Itsuki were breathing heavy and uneven, yet showing no sign of quitting. Nagisa’s face was set with hard glare, eyes wide and intense, arms moving with controlled aggression. Haruma’s teeths were clenched, and eyes blazing with a mix of fury and determination, matching everyone’s pace with the same energy. With a smirk, Raon rose to his feets and roared, "That’s right! We are going for Realizing everyone’s shocked eyes on him, Raya let out a nervous chuckle, smiling hesitantly, "Hehe... I mean there is no need for all of us to tag along, it’s Haruma’s reward after all!" Kabuto raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Haruma’s reward?" he asked. "Yep," Raya replied almost instantly, "I mean come on, there’s no doubt that today Haruma was the best, so we should give him a reward, and there is no better reward than giving him an opportunity to walk Shiori home." A brief silence settled over everyone as they were looking at Raya with slight confusion, who was flashing a hesitant smile.