Chapter 78 - 404 12

Haruma’s expressions shifted to one of deeper confusion, trying to remember what happened last night. "I brought you inside and make you ly on the bed," The mother continued, "And after half an hour you woke you and left for your training" "I don’t remember." Haruma replied, his voice tinged with confusion, "And my football is missing too, since this morning" The mother got a bit worried, her brow furrowed in confusion. Meanwhile Haruma stood in silence, his head lowered as he was trying to remember his last night. Chapter 10 "The Beginning Of All-School Cup!" Two days later. Inside the kitchen, Haruma carefully poured soup into a bowl, placed it on a tray, and carried it out of the kitchen. knocking softly on the door, Haruma stepped inside a room to find his mother sitting on bed, smiling at him. Haruma walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and handed her the tray. "Make sure to finish it up," Haruma said gently. His mother glanced at the soup with a smile, before looking up at him, "Have you eaten?" she asked kindly. Haruma nodded with a faint smile, "I’ll be going now, they’re probably waiting for me." His mother’s expressions dimmed as she looked down. "I want to see your game" she murmured, her tone low and soft. Haruma slowly shook his head in denial, "No, absolutely not! There’ll be too much noise, which you should avoid" he said, his tone calm yet firm. She gave a small nod, then looked up at him with a warm smile, placing a reassuring hand on his cheek, "Good luck Haruma, and I’m sure you will get your chance." Haruma smiled faintly before giving a small nod, both exchanging warm smiles... Now walking down the road, wearing casual clothes with his sports bag slung over his shoulder, Haruma reached his school and saw two large buses parked outside, surrounded by students buzzing with energy. The coach and the team were standing near one of the buses, ready to depart. Masaru was standing there with a group of Toru’s friends, Rukia among them. When Masaru’s gaze caught Haruma, his face lit up with a bright smile, raising his hand he called out loud "Harumaaa!" drawing the attention of everyone nearby. Haruma walked over and stood before the group. "Hey, you’re late buddy!" Masaru teased with a playful tone. ’Kurogami stopped the canon!’ Toru was stunned, gazing at Kurogami with his eyes wide with shock, while Kurogami was shooting him a sharp, serious gaze. Spotting his teammate nearby, Kurogami casually tossed the ball to his feets, who collected it and moved on. Rukia remained still in shock, her gaze fixed on Toru, who was still standing in his place. "How can he stop that!" One of her friends exclaimed, clearly astonished. "That might be the first time I’ve seen Toru’s shot being stopped like that!" another friend exclaimed. Rukia, however, stayed quiet, gazing at Toru with worry creeping in her eyes. "Father, he was like a superhero!" Mio remarked with a smile, sitting a bit away from Rukia’s seat. Mio’s father, Kento, was watching the game with a focused gaze, "Indeed, it’s unbelievable how fast and accurately he moved." Haruma’s mother was watching the match with a look of concern, her eyes fixed intently on the game... As the game progressed, one of the Hanaka had the ball which he passed to another player who began advancing cautiously, noticing opposing players around him, he sent a beautiful pass ahead which was collected by Shino, his face set with determination. "I have to step up," Shino thought. "If I can make a perfect assist to Toru, I’m sure he’ll score!" his eyes darted desperately across the field, trying to figure out the positioning. With swift feet, he pushed the ball forward, heading towards the nets, when out of nowhere a defender appeared blocking his path. Shino froze, his eyes wide, startled by the sudden challenge. As that defender lunged forward for a tackle, Shino displayed his flawless footwork by sidestepping and surging past that defender, earning a big roar of cheers from the crowds. ’Wow! That was a display of some serious skills by Shino, he’s going for the nets!’l he’s going for the nets!" Shino, with his face set with intense determination sprinted towards the nets. Meanwhile that defender with blank expressions glanced over his shoulder watching Shino heading towards the net. Haruma was watching the scene with wide confused eyes, "Shino was that fast?" his mind raced "No... to me it looked like the defender just let him go!" Shino, charging with the ball, spotted Toru near the nets, who gave him a confident nod. Fueled with determination Shino launched a long pass towards Toru. The ball was sailing through the air with Toru getting in position to control it, but suddenly, a defender came jumping, intercepting the pass with a powerful header just before it could reach Toru. The ball landed at the feets of a Ryugen player who was about to charge forward with the ball, but suddenly Masaru stormed in fiercely tackling the ball, causing the ball to slide away from both of them. As the ball rolled into the open, the Hanaka winger surged forward ready to fire it towards the nets, but suddenly a furious voice cut through the air. "Nooo! give it to Toruuuu!" It was Shino. The winger’s gaze snapped on Toru, who was positioned not far from the nets. Without wasting any another second he deftly passed the ball straight to Toru’s feet. All the Hanaka crowds rose to their feets in anticipation, their eyes locked on Toru. With his back to the net, Toru slightly placed his feet under the ball, tapping it up into the air. Then with a powerful leap, he twisted mid-air, positioning himself for a perfectly bicycle kick. The crowds held their breaths, watching Toru’s beautiful form in the air. Rukia watched with eager anticipation her eyes fixed on Toru, while her friends’ eyes were sparkling with admiration. However, Haruma was watching with stunned silence, his eyes opened wide. Toru’s foot struck the ball with deadly precision sending it hurtling towards the nets where the Black Kallor stood! Kurogami dived into the air with his one arm outstretched, deflecting the ball with a tap of his hand, sending it back to the game. Both Toru and Kurogami crashed on ground at the same time, the only difference was Kurogami rolled and stood back up in no time, while Toru kept lying on ground staring at Kurogami in utter disbelief. Ryugen crowds burst into a roar of celebrations, while Hanaka crowds seemed frozen with a mix of shock and frustration. Kurogami with a serious face, causally passed the ball to his teammate who resumed the game. Haruma was staring at Kurogami with wide, stunned eyes, "That was some heck of a reflex!" he thought. Rukia’s gaze dropped in disappointment. The crowds around her sinked back on their seats, heavy with frustration. "How could he stop that!" One of Rukia’s friends shouted, frustration raw in her voice "He must be cheating! no one can stop Toru’s shots like that!" Another friend added, her words heavy with frustration. Shino rushed over, and helped Toru to his feet, "You Okay?" he asked with a steady voice. Toru stood with a hand of Shino, he nodded, still dazed, "Everything was true! He really is a keeper no striker would ever want to face!" The boy landed effortlessly on the ground, settling in a crouched position with both feet firmly planted on the ground, his back displaying the name Haruma. The striker, Toru, Shino, Masaru, and the rest of the Ryugen high players were frozen with their jaws dropped and face frozen in disbelief. Meanwhile, Kurogami watched the game with cold serious eyes. Tears of overwhelming emotions streamed down Haruma’s mother’s face, and with a trembling smile she let out a big chant of "Ha-ru-ma!" Immediately after her, the entire Hanaka crowd erupted, jumping to their feets in thunderous roars of cheers. Mio was enthusiastically bouncing up and down on her seat over and over, cheering for Haruma with pure joy and uncontainable excitement. Her father, sitting beside her, was watching Haruma with a bright, wide smile. Rukia was momentarily frozen with shock before her emotions exploded and she joined the others in the storm roars and cheers. ’It’s Haruma, once again at his very best!’ ’Where did he even come from? I didn’t see him anywhere near when the shot was taken’ The commenters voice filled with amazement. Haruma rose to his feet, and glanced back, over his shoulder, spotting that striker down on one knee, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, his face etched with utter disbelief. Haruma?" Masaru muttered, puzzled by the unexpected move. Haruma then glanced over his shoulder and with a sharp tone he coldly began, "I’m not here to enjoy! I’m here to win! and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do, with... or without any of you!" Masaru, Toru and Shino’s eyes shot open in disbelief, gazing at him with wide stunned eyes, feeling the raw intensity emanating from Haruma...