The team stood in a line, first in line was a darker-skinned boy.

"Matsushima Okubo, Central Midfielder, Nice to meet you," Matsushima said. Next was a younger kid who looked about 5 feet 11 inches with long black hair in a wolf cut and bangs that covered his eyes. Hiroki Nuguchi stood there at 5'11, with flowy black hair in the middle part.

"Hiroki Nuguchi, Forward Right-Winger, I wear the number 7 on this team..." Nuguchi said. Yuki looked at Nuguchi, before moving on to the next player. The next player was younger than Nuguchi but an inch taller at 6'0". He had messy black hair with freckles under his eyes.

"I'm Makoto Isobe, Central attacking Midfielder, nice to meet you!" Makoto said. Masaki smiled, waving. Makoto waved back. The next player was a taller boy of African descent with curly hair in a high-top fade.

"Minoru Kubo... I stand at 6 feet and I play center back..." Minoru said. The next player was a substitute goalkeeper standing at 6'3". He was darker-skinned with braids tied in the back.

"Masayoshi Tanaka, it's a pleasure to play alongside you, I play goalkeeper," Tanaka said. Next was a Korean boy who stood at 6 feet.

"Ho Dong-Sun, I play striker, I enjoy scoring goals and I'll assist you if you're an asset..." Dong-Sun said. Yuki looked at Dong-Sun,

"How do you become an asset...?" Yuki internalized. The next player was a shorter boy about the same height as Yuki with messy blonde hair.

"KENJI TOMOYA, I PLAY LEFT BACK, PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!!" Kenji shouted. Everyone looked at Kenji in shock.

"N-Nice to meet you, K-Kenji..." Masaki said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Another kid who looked about 6'1" with a buzz cut and glasses looked down at Kenji, raising a brow.

"Why're you being so loud...?" He asked. Kenji shrugged, looking up at him innocently. He shook his head, sighing.

"I'm Yoichi Kanada, I play center back, and I'm a part of the team for the credit," Yoichi said. Araki sighed,

"I'm the captain of the club, Araki Nakajima, I play center attacking Midfield, this is my last year playing for the school, so I hope we can make it to nationals," Araki said. Araki nodded,

"I'm Hiroki Yokota, this is also my last year for the club as I will be graduating with Araki and Ichirou," Yokota said. The next was a taller boy with light brown spikey hair that covered parts of his face.

"Eiji Watanabe, I play midfielder... I want to become the greatest midfielder..." Eiji said. Masaki looked at Eiji for a second before moving on to the next player. He was around the same height as Yuki and Kenji with messy black hair.

"The name's Ichiriou Ban! I play right back and like Araki and Hiroki said, I'll be graduating at the end of this year!" Ichirou said. Hiroki ran over to Araki, whispering in his ear. Araki sighed,

"Alright, Yuki, Masaki, introduce yourselves," Araki said. Masaki nodded and Yuki raised a brow,

"My name is Masaki Sano, I played center midfield for Shinukana Kaze, I can't wait to play along with you guys," Masaki said. Yuki looked up in slight surprise,

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"O-Oh, uh, My name is Yoshiyuki Nakamoto, I played right-winger for Shinukana Kaze... My dream... My dream is to lead Japan to the World Cup in 2030!" Yuki said. Everyone on the team looked shocked. Nuguchi scoffed,

"Good luck..." Nuguchi sneered. Suddenly, a man ran over to the pitch holding a piece of paper.

"Excuse me!!" The man shouted. It was a man with short spikey black hair. He wore a beige sweater and grey cargo pants with vans. Araki walked over to the man.

"Iwata-Sensei, what're you doing here?" Araki asked. Iwata handed Araki the piece of paper,

"I just got off the phone with Ryuma-Sensei from Sendai Daiichi, they agreed to a practice match!" Iwata said. Yuki raised a brow,

"Sendai Daiichi!? Did I hear that right?" Ichirou asked, running over. Araki nodded,

"Yep, Sendai Daiichi." Araki said. Yokota walked over,

"Aren't they a top four school in our prefecture...?" Yokota asked. Araki nodded. Yuki's eyes widened,

"A top four school...? Is willing to practice with us...!?" Yuki internalized. Masaki nudged Yuki's shoulder,

"Ryo's not so far away as we think..." Masaki said. Yuki looked up at Masaki, nodding.

"Alright everyone, I'm going to pick the starting 11 for our practice match against Sendai Daiichi," Araki announced. The team walked over to Araki.

"Ho Dong-Sun will play the striker position," Araki said. Dong-sun nodded crossing his arms as everyone clapped.

"Yokota will play in the left-wing position," Araki said. Yokota nodded,

"And now the right wing position..." Araki said. Both Yuki and Nuguchi both focused on what Araki was about to say.

"Hiroki Nuguchi," Araki said. Yuki looked at the ground in shock. Everything around him went black. Ryo and Nuguchi would be walking away from him, toward a bright light. Yuki clenched his fists as Masaki put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, we'll get starting positions soon," Masaki said. Yuki nodded, looking back up at Araki.

"At center midfield, it'll be Me, Okubo, and Eiji."

"Kenji and Ichirou will play left and right back."

"Yoichi and Minoru at center back."

"And Tanama in goal. Now every get some rest, we'll hand out jerseys before getting on the bus tomorrow." Araki said. Yuki and Masaki would walk back into the school, walking over to their lockers. They changed their shows, walking out of the school and over to their bikes. The two got on their bikes, biking down the road. They then arrived at the convenience store next to the school. The two got off their bikes and walked in.

"Welcome in!" Sawa said.

"Hey," Yuki said. Yuki and Masaki grabbed two beef jerky sticks and placed them on the counter. Sawa raised a brow,

"Why're you getting those, you only eat those when..." Sawa said, looking up at the two boys. Yuki nodded,

"Yeah, we have a practice match against Sendai Daiichi..." Yuki said. Masaki nodded,

"What made you two want to play again?" Sawa asked. Yuki shrugged,

"Me and Masaki made a promise about us and Ryo," Yuki said. Sawa raised a brow,

"And what's that?" Sawa asked. Yuki's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Masaki.

"We should go tell Ryo, no?" Yuki said. Masaki nodded,

"Yeah, probably," Masaki said. Masaki places money on the counter, grabbing the sticks.

"Keep the change!!" Masaki shouted. The two rode down the street on their bikes, entering the neighborhood. They then arrived at the Tamaki house. Yuki and Masaki got off their bikes, and walked to the front door. They knocked on the door, waiting there for a bit. The door then opened and Aya stood there. She raised a brow in confusion. Her hair was in a messy bun and she wore shorts and a big grey shirt.

"What do you want?" Aya asked.

"Is Ryo here?" Yuki asked. Aya shook her head,

"No... He doesn't live here..." Aya said. Yuki and Masaki tilted their heads in confusion. Aya sighed,

"He has a dorm at his school, you'll find him there," Aya said. Yuki and Masaki nodded,

"That's good info but uh, where does he go to school?" Yuki asked. Aya sighed,

"Yuguretaka Private Academia." Aya said. Masaki's eyes widened,

"Y-Yuguretaka!? That's the best school in our prefecture, how'd he get in there!?" Masaki asked. Aya sighed,

"Just go talk to my brother, you're bugging me." Aya said. Masaki smiled,

"Our apologies, thank you for telling us." Masaki said. Yuki waved. Aya waved, raising a brow. She then closed the door.

"Alright... Let's go!" Masaki said.