Chapter 85 - 404 18

With a powerful swing of his leg the striker was about to connect the ball when Nara surged in determined to block his shot. However the striker completed his swing with ruthless force hitting his foot at Nara’s ankle, just as Nara screamed in agony, the striker aggressively shoved him aside. Nara cried out in agony and violently crashed to the ground, tears streamed down his face, and his ankle appeared to be broken. Meanwhile the rest of the team including Toru, Masaru and Shino were standing still, feeling chills run down their spines, their faces hardened in nothing but fear! ’That’s another red card for Ryugen, and this time the victim is their best defender. Can they recover from this loss, is there any hope left for the broken Hanaka?’ The Hanaka crowds were gazing at Nara with wide, stunned eyes, unable to believe their hero, Nara being brought to tears and helpless on the ground. Rukia lowered her head, her face crumbling as she broke into sobs, and soon her friends, along with several other female supporters were also overwhelmed with tears. The coach took a deep sigh, his shoulder sagging in defeat. He then turned to a benched defender who appeared terrified, shivering with horror. "Taka," the coach called in a low tone. Taka, the defender, with wide terrified eyes turned to face the coach. "You’re up!" The coach urged, his tone low and depressive. "They’ll kill me, coach!" Taka replied with a trembling tone, "I’m sorry... but I just can’t!" The coach still standing with a blank saddened expression, began to speak "Alright, I think we should give u-" A figure stepped forward, standing right between the coach and that defender, facing the coach. The coach slowly looked up and saw Haruma standing before him, his face lowered, eyes darkened with shadow. "Haruma?" the coach muttered in a confused tone. With his gaze still lowered, Haruma began "Let me... play... coach." His tone was firm, surprising both benched players and the coach. "But you are a striker?" the coach replied, still baffled. Haruma looked up at Coach revealing his eyes burning with determination "It doesn’t matter, I just want to play!" The coach’s eyes widened, momentarily stunned by Haruma’s words, who was standing with a focused and determined face. ’And here comes the substitution for Nara!’ Taking off his training bib to reveal the name Haruma on the back, stepping into the field, with each deliberate step, Haruma slowly made his way towards his position. "Haruma?" One of Rukia’s friends whispers in a low, confused tone. Rukia’s tear stopped abruptly as she quickly lifted her head up, with her eyes brimming with tears, she saw Haruma walking towards the defensive position, "Haruma?" she whispers softly. Toru, Shino and Masaru appeared confused too, unable to comprehend why Haruma was heading towards the defense. A frustrated Hanaka’s fan jumped to his feets, "Get lost! We don’t want to see you play anymore! just give up!" his shout rang out with bitterness. Another fan followed the suit, springing up with anger, "Yeah! give up!" he yelled. Soon most of the Hanaka supporters were yelling "Give up!" "Give up you brat!" "Get Lost!" Rukia, however, kept her soft gaze locked on Haruma, her eyes reflecting deep sadness. Haruma, with his face blank and lowered, was walking quietly towards his position, surrounded by the harsh voices of a few fans who were cursing and shouting at him, his heartbeat rising, his confidence shattering. A small pair of feets slowly climbed up onto the seat, a pair of tiny hands raised enthusiastically overhead before coming together in a sharp, resounding clap, silencing and shocking everyone. "Harumaaaaaa!" A chant echoed joyfully, voice full of excitement and energy. Haruma paused mid-steps, his eyes shot open in utter disbelief. Slowly, he turned to the voice and saw Mio, her face shining with a brightest smile, jumping excitedly on her seat, clapping, chanting Haruma’s name with pure enthusiasm and uncontainable energy. "Ha-ru-ma" "Ha-ru-ma" "Ha-ru-ma" Mio’s infectious enthusiasm, laughter, radiates through the crowds, making her shine brightest among the sea of crowds. Mio’s father sitting next to her was watching his daughter with a proud, bright smile. The rest of the crowds including Rukia and her friends were gazing at Mio in stunned silence, their eyes wide with amazement. Haruma stood frozen in his spot, his mind reeling in disbelief, gazing at Mio who with uncontainable joy was clapping, jumping and laughing, her voice ringing through the air as she kept chanting Haruma’s name over and over. Haruma was gazing at Masaru in disbelief while Masaru was gazing at the sky, his face expressionless. "What did you just say?" Haruma asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Looking at the sky, Masaru began, "When I first saw you playing football, It was obvious that you were the worst striker I ever saw... But now after a year of playing with you..." Masaru slowly looks at Haruma and smiles. "I can finally say that you’re not the worst... Congrats you’ve gone from worst to bad." Haruma’s eyes widened, and within moments tears began falling down his cheeks, as he burst into loud sobs. Masaru kept smiling, watching him cry, "To celebrate your promotion, let me give you a ramen treat." he said, standing up with a big smile, "Lets gooo!" he excitedly announced, while Haruma kept crying... The next day, Haruma arrived at school, standing in front of his locker, as he began to swap out his shoes. "I’ll definitely be there watching every game." A female voice reached his ear of one of the two girls standing nearby. "It’s unbelievable that our school will actually play in this tournament." The other girl said, her excitement was evident. "It really is! And it all happened because of Toru, he’s just awesome" the other girl added, her face glowing with admiration. Staying quiet, Haruma shut the locker, the sound catching those girl’s attention. Without a word Haruma turned and walked past them, completely ignoring their existence. "Isn’t he also part of the team?" one of those girls asked, watching Haruma go. "Yeah," the other girl replied, "He’s a substitute striker, his real job is being the waterboy and undoubtedly he’s the worst striker." Haruma kept walking and disappeared into the distance... Haruma was now walking through the corridors with his expressions blank, his eyes shadowed as the words of those girls were relentlessly echoing in his mind. Haruma reached his classroom and swung open the door, only to stop dead in his tracks. There, on a bench, was Toru kissing a girl... Both Toru and that girl’s faces were close and lips pressed together. Keeping the lips locked, Toru subtly side-eyed Haruma, watching him from the corner of his eyes. That girl quickly pulled away, her face was red as she avoided Haruma’s gaze looking anywhere but at him, clearly embarrassed. Haruma stood frozen in the doorway, his wide eyes filled with disbelief. Looking at Haruma, Toru let out an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head, "Ooh, hey Haruma, how are you buddy?" he said, forcing a casual tone and smile. Haruma let out a sigh, and with a blank expression, he quietly walked to the back of the class and took his seat. The girl hurriedly walked and sat on her own bench, still avoiding Haruma’s gaze. Toru sat down at his bench, a nervous energy hanging around him. The room fell into an awkward silence. Haruma slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes landing on that girl. She sat in silence with her long beautiful black hair cascading down her back. For a moment Haruma just kept looking at her hair, his face unreadable. Suddenly a wave of students flooded into the classroom, their chatter and laughter filling the once quiet room with life and energy. As the day progressed, the classroom erupted into thunderous applause, as all the students were clapping with immense enthusiasm, while Toru was standing proudly, a big smile lighting up his face. The female teacher inside the classroom was also brimming with pride, before raising her hand signalling for students to quiet down, and the students gradually complied. "After some amazing qualifying matches," The teacher began, her smile widening "Our football team has earned a spot in All-School Cup!" A wave of broad smiles spread across all the students’ faces, their excitement lighting up the entire classroom. Turning to Toru, the teacher gestures towards him and adds, "And it all happened because of this young man. The pride of Hanaka High school, Toru Aokawa!" The applause erupted once again, with all the students murmuring praises about Toru among themselves, While Toru remained standing, his posture confident and proud, basking in the admiration. The teacher raised her hands once more, calming the class, as the claps gradually subsided. The teacher, with a warm and genuine smile, turned to Toru. "Toru, we all are honored to have you between us." she said, her voice filled with pride, "And I’m sure, that one day, you will represent Japan on the biggest stage of the world." Toru’s demeanor softened as he smiled gratefully. Bowing his head before her teacher he paid respect to her words. Smiling proudly, the teacher turned to the class, "And I’d like to congratulate the other players representing this class," she announced warmly, "Masaru and Haruma, please stand up." Masaru shot to his feets with enthusiasm, his energy peaking, while Haruma rose slowly, his face devoid of any excitement. "Congratulations to both of you as well." the teacher said with a kind smile.