One Week Later

Huff Huff Huff Huff

Yuka grabbed his knees in pain and continued panting in exhaustion after the daily practice set given to him by Coach Aphrodi. As the sweat dripped down from his forehead, his laborious breathing could also be heard from the other members on the field.

"Is that all you got rookie?" yelled Akuma from across the field.

"You've been talking big this week considering how you can barely dribble the ball. Is there even any point in practising if you don't improve? In fact, I think you're somehow getting worse, if that's even possible. I almost don't want to make fun of you, because you're just making it too easy!"

Akuma continued to mock Yuka with his hyena-like laughter while some of the other members in his posse could be heard sniggering along with him.

"Oh knock it off Akuma. You're going to make the poor baby quit...and I'd hate to miss out on my daily dose of seeing his face twist in pain and agony..." called out another girl as she licked her lips as if preparing to eat a delicious meal.

Yuka turned to see who had spoken up and he could see a girl with lilac-coloured hair walking towards the group, holding the arm of a green-haired boy. Looking at how close they were, Yuka guessed they were likely a couple.

Meanwhile, a look of disgust quickly came over Akuma's face as he scoffed watching the approaching couple.

"If it isn't the toxic weed and her grimy little insect. I'm surprised you actually paid attention to anything other than yourselves for more than 5 seconds"

"It seems you're going blind already Akuma-san. Only you would mix up a weed and a beautiful flower like myself, right Naoki?" The lilac-haired girl gave a mirthful laugh that had a touch of derision before turning to the boy next to her.

The boy quickly replied "Of course, Nariko. Your beauty shines like a brilliant Nerium oleander that blossoms in a field of garbage " giving a dirty side eye to Akuma and his group when emphasising the last word.

Akuma simply acknowledged the quip with a snort before motioning to the rest to leave. Seeing the fun had ended, Nariko and Naoki similarly left together leaving behind Yuka and a few others.

Watching his teammates leave, Yuka wrapped his backpack around his shoulder and got on his bike before heading over to the riverside field where he always practised in the evening. After arriving he proceeded to sit himself down along the river and sighed before getting lost in thought.

6 Days Ago

"So, –um... Ganeko-senpai, I was thinking that soccer is a team sport... so it's more fun when we all work together to make the goals right? And, when one person scores it's like we all score and we all become the best together... so I think we should invite Mika back to the team because it'll be more fun to—

oof

Yuka made a small wheeze as a soccer ball came slamming into his abdomen. As he was bent over, breathing heavily on the field he saw Akuma walk over, blocking the sun looking more menacing than usual. He didn't bother to say anything before going back to practice on his own.

Sigh

5 Days Ago

"Um Aihara-senpai. With Holy Road coming up I think Raimon could use strong players like Kuroha-senpai—"

"I'm going to stop you right there Fukunaga-kun. While I would never agree with the methods of a brute like Ganeko there is no incentive for me to go against his orders. I only care about the results and based on my analysis the strength of Raimon changes minimally with or without Mika Kuroha."

"Huh? But Kuroha-senpai is an awesome striker! She—"

"Yes, you are correct Fukunaga-kun. Kuroha-san was indeed ranked quite highly for her performance last year and her capabilities are easily in the top ranks at Raimon but...

Kuroha-san is only one member of the Raimon team, with her as a part of the team I calculate that the overall performance decreased by 53.54% due to the animosity from Ganeko-senpai and his group. Ganeko and his supporters currently make up 54.54% of the first string team so even if you convince me and the other neutral parties your efforts would still be in vain."

"... That doesn't mean we shouldn't try! Even if we just start one-by-one..."

"Fukunaga-Kun. I trust the data, not blind faith. Now if you'll excuse me"

Sighhh

2 Days Ago

Determined to not give up, Yuka slapped his cheeks lightly before reciting a chant to himself

"As long as you don't give up, it will work out somehow!"

Repeating that a few times to himself, he ran up to the only senpai he hadn't spoken to before among those who regularly attended practice.

"Yozora-senpai, do you have a minute?"

The tall, blonde boy blinked a few times before a warm smile appeared on his face.

"You can just call me Galahad, Fukunaga-kun, that's what everyone else does"

After his numerous failed attempts to get closer to any of his senpais the past week, Galahad's welcoming and pleasant aura was a blast of fresh air for Yuka and overwhelmed he began to tear up a bit. He nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down before giving confirmation

"Gotcha, Galahad-senpai!"

"So, what's up?"

"You must know Kuroha-senpai, right Galahad-senpai? You guys are both 2nd years, so you must've been on the team together last year right? That must mean you know how amazing of a player she is. We can't let someone so talented just not play soccer! Soccer will be so sad if we don't do anything! Think about how sad you would be if you lost a close friend senpai! That's how soccer AND Mika feel right now senpai!"

Galahad's eyes were usually a bright emerald green but listening to Yuka's passionate speech his face continued to darken, his eyes quickly trembled and lips twitched a little before regaining control and putting his smile back on his face. He replied back

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"And how would you know that Fukunaga-kun? Not everyone can love soccer as much as you do and sometimes the things we did as children we simply... grow out of... Fukunaga-kun, the world isn't as simple as liking soccer and not liking soccer. Mi– I mean, Kuroha-san is a brilliant girl who knows what's best for herself. Sometimes it's better to not intervene in the private lives of other people and trust that the decisions they make for themselves are the ones made in their best interest... If Kuroha-san says so, then this decision was for the best...for everyone. Now I understand how you feel but we should get going now. Practice is over, you should head home"

Galahad grabbed his things before getting up to leave while Yuka trembled in place, not moving from the spot where they had their conversation.

"Soccer doesn't lie!!!"

"..."

"Kuroha-senpai might say she's fine, she's fine, she's fine but I met her! When I mentioned soccer... her eyes changed! The shoots that she shot... you can't shoot like that if you don't truly love soccer! I'm sure Kuroha-senpai is as desperate to play as any of us, so how can we just ignore those feelings!"

"..."

With trembling hands, Galahad refused to look back and continued to walk away until Yuka could no longer see him.

Sigh

Present, Along the Riverside

"Hmmmmmm."

"No"

Shaking his head and slapping his cheeks until they were completely swollen like a pufferfish, Yuka cheered himself on in characteristic fashion "Worrying won't do me any good. If I just keep playing soccer, I'm sure the answer will reveal itself somehow..."

Yuka picked up the ball next to him but was having a harder time than usual cheering himself up after a week-long series of back-to-back defeats and continued to stare at the ball in his hands for a while.

*************************************************************************************

"Oh?"

Mika stopped running to watch the black-haired boy along the riverside. She had been seeing him practice soccer by himself the past week but it was strange that he was just standing there unlike usual. Mika weighed her options and while she knew it would be a waste of time to engage in conversation with him, she justified her decision by rationalising that she was going just to verify that she was victorious in their little bet.

"So, Mr.Number One Fan. Is our bet giving you more trouble than you thought?"

"Yeah... How'd you–"

"Hey! WAAA—"

Yuka spun around so quickly in surprise that he lost his balance and fell on his butt on the soft grass below.

Mika narrowed her eyes and looked downwards with a mixture of disdain and possible amusement and commented

"Loud as always I see Mr.Fukunaga"

"Oh hey Kuroha-senpai!!" Yuka responded with his characteristic bright smile but quickly frowned again with a downcast expression. He then looked back up and appeared a bit apologetic and opened his mouth to speak

"I'm sorry Kuroha-senpai. I worked really hard to try to convince the other members this week... But I'm not going to stop here and I'm definitely not going to give up anytime soon! Just you wait–"

Yuka stopped in the middle of his speech looking at Mika's face in front of him. For the first time since he met her, albeit only once, she had a complicated expression on her face and as he stared back into the intense, amethyst eyes that were watching him he had a strange sense that she was analysing him.

"You're quite awful at this you know"

"What–?" Yuka didn't understand and tilted his head in confusion.

In response, Mika just pointed at the ball in his hands.

Yuka laughed a bit embarrassed and put his arm behind his head

"Yeah, I know. I'm not very talented it seems but Coach Aphrodi showed me some drills to practise and as long as I don't give up it'll be more fun when I succeed right?"

"..."

Mika just sighed in her head at the predictable response she got from the boy. She glanced at her watch and thought about it for a few seconds before motioning to Yuka to pass her the ball.

"Really?? I knew it! You do love soccer! Yeah, let me just put my stuff away..."

Hearing Yuka jabber while he was organising his things next to his bike, Mika didn't even want to waste the energy to correct his misunderstanding and responded

"There's no point in doing drills if you don't do them correctly. You're too focused on speeding up while you're dribbling so you're losing your precision. Keep the ball closer to your feet for now then build up speed as your ball handling improves..."

Mika then gracefully began to kick the ball around the field in demonstration around the cones Yuka had set up, looking like a deer bounding through a forest, losing no speed on any of the turns.

"Wow Kuroha-senpai..."

Yuka wanted to say more, but he was so moved that for once he was rendered quite speechless at Mika's swift dribbling.

After Mika had finished her demonstration, Yuka went up to talk to her

"Thanks Kuroha-senpai, I really appreciate the guidance. I'll make sure to follow your instructions!"

"..."

"I was just fixing something that wasn't working optimally. It was bothersome to see you practise so inefficiently so there's no reason to thank me Fukunaga-kun. Now, I want to see you do it to ensure I never have to see such ugly dribbling again. Go"

Mika gave him a stern glance and passed the ball to him and motioned her head to him to indicate he needed to get started.

"Yes Ma'am!"

Yuka gave a little salute before heading towards the field with the ball.

3 Hours Later

Mika needed to update her analysis of the boy Yuka Fukunaga. She was wrong. She had never met someone like him before...

He was the absolute worst soccer player she had ever met. Well... she had seen poor players before but no matter how hard she tried to correct him, he somehow didn't seem to be improving at all. He had zero sense of ball handling and his feet didn't seem to be connected to his eyes.

Despite Mika's exhaustion, Yuka had a wide smile on his face as he ran up to her and she was shocked by what came out of his mouth next

"Thanks Kuroha-senpai! I think I really improved a lot today and it was all thanks to you!"

Even someone like Mika who had extremely tough mental fortitude needed to sit down after hearing that. She had underestimated him…His ability to cause emotional damage was higher than she had anticipated.

Tired after all the practice, Yuka laid down next to Mika and despite her distress, Yuka was instead feeling rather refreshed.

Having always avoided bright, loud, and what she perceived as rather brainless personalities, Mika couldn't help but be curious as to where the boy's boundless optimism seemed to come from so without thinking she turned to pose a question to him

"Fukunaga-kun, why do you like playing soccer so much? According to my cursory research, reasons often cited by players include : a relative who enjoys the sport, having your life saved by a soccer ball, having a player who you greatly admire, a deceased mother who tells you soccer will guide you to your lost father..."

Yuka sat up and seemed to be thinking about it for a few moments before shaking his head and laughing.

"Haha, nope, nothing crazy like that. You're funnier than I thought Kuroha-senpai"

"..."

Mika forced down the temptation to throttle the laughing boy's neck before giving him a dirty look in dissatisfaction, bad enough that even the oblivious Yuka caught on.

He turned a bit more solemn before thinking again and replied

"It's true that there were a few players on TV that I really liked... but I guess I'm not really sure myself?"

"..."

Mika supposed that by now she should be used to this, but she was still stunned into disbelief.

"So you're telling me that you wanted me to rejoin the soccer team so badly without even having a reason to like soccer in the first place?"

"Well if you put it that way..."

Yuka looked at Mika with a bit of a wronged expression as if she was unjustly accusing him of a crime.

"......"

"Hahahahaha"

Yuka was stunned to hear a chime-like laughter come out of Mika's mouth as she attempted to cover her mouth with her right hand. While the beautiful laughter didn't suit her cold appearance he thought if fairies really did exist, their laughter would sound something like this.

"Alright"

"Huh?"

Mika got up and stretched her arms before replying

"I suppose it can't be helped. I'll rejoin the Raimon Eleven"

"Really??" exclaimed Yuka also leaping upwards from his sitting position.

"I thought you said it wouldn't be optimal if–"

"I don't have memory loss Fukunaga-kun. I remember what I said..."

"It's different now. Before I didn't have anyone on the team who wanted me there... but now my number one fan is there... so I guess we'll just have to start with one and work our way from there"

Mika knew that she was being completely irrational and going completely against her teachings but for some reason... she wanted to bet on this chance. Having always been told to completely control her emotions by her etiquette tutor she wasn't sure what sort of emotions were bubbling inside of her but she thought rationally that if she wanted to do something daring, now was the time before she entered high school.

Ignoring the blabber from Yuka who was hopping around like a kid who needed to use the bathroom in excitement she sighed wondering if she was making the right decision.

"Welp, if I'm going to commit to something, might as well be the best like I always am"

Turning to face Yuka, a sinister smile seemed to be creeping on her face

"If we're going to do this, we'll be doing this... efficiently... and optimally..."