Chapter 82 - 404 15

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... Itsuki fired a sharp pass down the right side of the field, where Izaya collected it with ease. Remaining calm and composed, Izaya kept his focus on the ball when suddenly Haru closed in on him, covering him tightly, not giving him space. Minato sensei was standing nearby the play, energetically shouting out instructions about their positioning and game awareness. All the players were having a friendly match. Izaya, having the ball, moved to the side trying to dribble past Haru. But, Haru kept his focus firmly on the ball, cutting off his every angle denying every Izaya’s chance to break through. Izaya clenched his teeth in frustration before firing a pass to Jiho, who collected it and instantly sprinted forward towards the nets, where Subaru stood ready. "Push! Forward! Keep moving!" Minato sensei roared out loud. Jiho quickly scanned the field to find a few defenders closing in on him. With no clear gaps, he kept moving forward, eyes still locked ahead, searching for even the slightest opening. "Keep your eyes on center mids Jiho!" Minato sensei guided instructions. Jiho’s eyes swiftly swept across the field only to find Nagisa in a fine position ahead of him. A smirk tugged at Jiho’s lips, as he took a step back and launched a long, lofted pass over the heads of everyone. Sensing the pass in his direction, Nagisa burst into a sprint towards the ball, with Kabuto and Rei hot on their heels, scrambling to intercept. The moment Nagisa brought the ball under his control, he spotted Kabuto charging straight at him. Instinctively Nagisa turned his back on him, guarding the ball with his body. Kabuto didn’t hold back and came slamming his shoulder on Nagisa’s back trying to muscle him off the ball. But Nagisa stood his ground and kept his hold and footing balanced. "Push him Kabuto! don’t let him get past you!" Minato again shouted, voice cutting through the air like a whip. Fired up Minato sensei’s command, Kabuto pressed harder, towering over Nagisa like a wall. With wide eyes and no space to turn, Nagisa slightly nudged the ball forward and tapped it upwards, sending it overheads, arching towards the net’s area, hoping any of his teammates would be there to meet it. But the place was guarded by the opposing defenders, Makoto and Zora. Makoto and Zora, while tracing the ball, began positioning themselves to shut it down. But out of nowhere, they felt a sudden burst of energy, making their eyes wide. Between the opposing defenders, Haruma came sprinting forward, gliding past between the narrow gaps like a flash of lightning, breaking through the defending walls, positioning himself perfectly at the ball. Makoto remained frozen in his stance, stunned by the sudden appearance. His eyes wide slightly looking back. "Haruma! what the fuck is he doing here!" Haruma’s eyes flared open, glowing with a fierce golden aura. Watching the ball he took a sharp breath before slightly spranging upwards, lifting his foot with precision. Minato stood stunned, eyes wide with shock unable to believe the brilliant positioning and speed by Haruma. Besides him, Raon was staring at the scene with his jaw hanging open, eyes wide with anticipation. From the stands, Shiori was watching Haruma in complete awe, breath caught, completely mesmerized by what she was witnessing. The ball floated down perfectly at Haruma’s feet, who with a smooth touch, tapped the ball in the air sending it straight inside the nets, where Subaru’s dive wasn’t enough. Haruma landed smoothly and without showing any emotions he began jogging back towards his position, getting patts on the back and nods of appreciation from the teammates along the way. Minato sensei began clapping out loudly, his voice boomed, "That was great Harumaaa!" Next to him, Raon joins in, grinning from ear to ear, applauding out loud. While Shiori from the stands was still in awe, eyes fixed on Haruma... The ball was resting on the center when Haruma gave it a slight nudge forward, beginning his jog forward. 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. Breaking the pin, Itsuki smiled, "Ahh, yeah yeah, Haruma really was the best, let him have this honor." Everyone suddenly began nodding, a low murmur of agreement passing between them, making Raya take a sigh of relief. Shiori was standing silently, eyes cast downwards with a soft blush coloring her face. Haruma seemed equally flustered, avoiding eye contact, his own face tinged faintly red. Kabuto let out an exaggerated sigh, turning to Haruma, "Alright fine... enjoy your reward!" He said, standing straight on his feet. Haruma took a steady breath and gave a small nod, "Alright, I’ll make sure she gets home safely." He then puts on his sleeveless hoodie, adjusting it quietly before gesturing for her to take the lead. She nodded gently and started walking, he silently followed her. Behind him, his teammates watched him go with soft, warm smiles. A little off to the side Kurogami stood slightly apart from the group, eyeing them leave while licking on his popsicle... Now walking side by side, Haruma and Shiori moved in silence. As they were walking, Shiori, appearing slightly nervous, glanced up at Haruma, "So, In four days you’ll be playing a big match, must be feeling nervous, right?" Maintaining his eyes ahead, Haruma gave a small, calm smile, "Not really." he replied softly. Keeping her eyes on him, she asked "Aside from the All-School Cup, how many tournaments have you played?" Still looking ahead, Haruma responded with not an answer, but a question, "Why were you there in the All-School Cup?" Looking down, Shiori answered softly, "I mentioned I’m a big football fan, so I heard about the tournament and decided to go watch it." "Did you watch all the matches?" He asked almost instantly. She shook her head lightly "No, just the final. My job and distance made it hard to watch all the games, so I decided to watch the one that mattered the most." Haruma nodded, processing her words, then after a pause he asked, "You really liked my play?" Shiori’s face lit up with a bright smile, as she quickly stepped in front of Haruma, walking backwards so she could face him. "Of Course I did!" She began enthusiastically, "The moment you got subbed in, no one weren’t actually expecting you to be that good, but you really pulled out a blinder of a performance. You alone led your team to victory! that bicycle kick save you made was absolutely stunner, I was literally jumping on my feets watching you play and-" Haruma kept his eyes on her, walking steadily with a big warm smile on his face. He couldn’t help but be drawn in by her energy, the way she spoke with such excitement, reliving the match left him smiling at her. Giggling with excitement, she kept going, "And then that final volley kick of yours followed by that final roar! I’ve never felt such intense goosebumps in my entire life!" She suddenly stopped walking in her tracks, causing Haruma to stop as well. "My home is here." She said gently. keeping eye contact, Haruma nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving her. She was holding her gaze too, before moving her hand at him, "I’ll be there watching your every game, expecting the same performance." Haruma’s smile grew warmer. He reached out and took her hand, "I’ll give my absolute best and that’s a promise." He gave her hand a gentle shake, with both exchanging warm smiles, holding hands for a moment longer. She gave him a small nod then took a step back before turning around and walking towards her house. Haruma stood still, watching her go with a soft smile on his face. Just as he turned to head back his way, a light downpour started, then quickly getting heavier.