Chapter 459: A Break after the Game
"Ah... This is life..." Higo sighed as he let his body sink deeper into the comfortable bed in his room after a quick shower. "Playing full-time, not having to jump around too much, and finishing the game with a solid win? Is there anything more perfect than this?"
Well, it should be, if only Kumiko answered his chat. Unfortunately, the boy had sent so many messages in the last couple of minutes, and yet, none of them managed to reach the girl.
’Maybe, she is still in the middle of a meeting with the coaches...’ He thought inwardly.
Soon enough, Naoya also came out of the shower. He found Higo looking at the phone longingly, and the boy couldn’t help but tease him. "What? Waiting for the praise from your girl?" He asked playfully.
Higo choked for a moment, glaring at the boy slightly before smirking widely. "So, what? I played amazingly, and she watched it, so at least I can expect something good, right? Not like you understand, since you don’t have any girl watching you here."
This was definitely enough to trigger the boy here. "Say what?! Just one good game, and you dare to tease me about a girl?! Man, you seem to be bored with living! Don’t cry later if your girl is in my arms, okay?!" He asked while also holding Higo in a chokehold.
"O—Okay! Okay! G—Get away!" Higo struggled to escape from the sudden attack. After he got released, the boy took a relieved sigh, glaring at his roommate before saying, "Also, what do you mean by a good game? I have an amazing game, you know?! If not for me, the team’s defense wouldn’t be that strong today! Just ask Teme or Ito-san, they would agree with my words!"
"Even Ito-san?" Naoya sneered sarcastically. "You think I am a fool here?"
"Yeah, especially Ito-san!" Higo nodded in conviction. "That Teme might still want to play big and say that it was all him, but Ito-san is a more honest person! He would rather commit Seppuku first rather than claim credit from his capable junior like me!" He smiled smugly.
"Yeah, yeah, just as you like..." Naoya waved it off nonchalantly. It was clear that he didn’t believe his words at all.
"Anyway, do you know why we hold the meeting so far after the dinner?" Higo asked while still playing with his phone. "I mean, a post-match meeting is usually held right after the match is over, right?"
In return, he just got the ’Are you stupid?’ Gaze from Naoya, which only made the boy blush in embarrassment. "What?! That’s a valid question!" Higo tried to defend himself.
"It seems you really forget about this, huh?" Naoya sighed helplessly. "Today’s game is the last agenda item in our camp. Tomorrow, everyone can start going back to the original team, and the only thing we have to do is to wait until the coach and the federation announce the final list of the team to go to the World Cup two months later."
Higo was stunned when he heard that, before checking his phone immediately. Indeed, today was April 16th, the last day of the camp. He was too focused on today’s game and everything that happened at the camp that he forgot about it. Now, though, as realization hit hard, somehow, Higo couldn’t help but feel melancholy.
’10 days sure is a very short time, huh?’ The boy couldn’t help but sigh. ’Kumiko-chan is right. I am not here to make a friend. The time is too short to even get closer to anyone other than my roommate. Fortunately, I decided to put my focus completely on training, or I would waste so much time in this camp.’
In fact, he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Makino was on the same boat, as this was his first-ever national camp.
"Why are you so down like that, Brother?!" Kyosuke Tagawa, the boy’s roommate, patted his shoulder quite hard. "With your performance today, there is no way this is going to be your last camp! Cheer up, we will meet again sooner!"
Makino just smiled wanly at his new friend here and said, "Yeah, I will wait for that time to come, Tagawa-senpai..."
Time passed quickly, and before anyone knew it, they had already done their dinner. Based on everyone’s reaction, it was hard for Higo to think that this was going to be their last day here. Everything was treated so casually that it didn’t look like something special was about to happen.
’Yeah, only me and Teme get bothered by that. It seems we finally show our true colors here, just two rookies among the veterans.’ He smiled wryly.
Soon enough, everyone was finally in the meeting room, complete with all of the coaching team and the girls who had been helping with their training for the last ten days. Right after they entered the room, the atmosphere turned somber, followed by a deafening silence from the players.
"First of all, congratulations to the team today. It was a beautiful win, and I couldn’t be prouder than that." Kageyama-sensei opened his speech with the win earlier. "3-0... That is not just an empty score. Everything worked flawlessly, and no mistake could be seen on the pitch. You showed a level of dominance that we know you are capable of, and for that, we will put today’s performance as a big factor for the next part."
Those who played in today’s game clenched their fists secretly in celebration, while those who didn’t also did the same, but more in frustration. At this point, all the arrogance they brought to the camp was gone completely, knowing that their spot could be taken by anyone in the final selection.
"Lastly, before you go back to your own team, we have a present for you guys." Kageyama-sensei continued, not caring about the heavy atmosphere he created. "In fact, this is the homework that the girls have done since the beginning of the tournament. Open your phone and see my private messages. You will find the file there."
Well, they didn’t need to be told twice, as 33 phones came out into the light instantly. Silence followed for a moment, with the two girls on the front standing nervously as if they were being judged.
Higo was also doing the same, and the moment he read the title of the file...
’Fuck! This is what she has to do for the camp?!’
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