During lunch break—
“You’ve still got it, huh?”
It was Kuki who said that.
He must’ve felt some kind of spark after seeing my performance in P.E. class. The recruiter blood that always tells me to “come back to the club” was clearly boiling again.
“Don’t be stupid. If I went up against an active member now, I wouldn’t even stand a chance.”
And who was it again that yelled, “Quit already!” after seeing my lousy pass?
Sure, I held my own earlier, but that’s only because it was against classmates who’d never played soccer before. If I joined a nationally ranked soccer team again, I’d probably be worse than even the first-year rookies.
“Such a waste.”
Kuki sounded disappointed, but I knew this wouldn’t stop him. He’d definitely keep bugging me about rejoining the team whenever he got the chance.
“It really is a waste.”
This time, the voice came from Yukari.
“Look what I found.”
“Found,” huh? That sounded a little childish for someone like her. Wasn’t she worried about ruining her image or something?
She handed me her phone.
On the screen was an old online article from a local newspaper. It was about a middle school soccer team making it to the national tournament for the first time.
“That’s you in the picture, right, Sakura?”
The attached photo showed the team—about twenty members in all—posing together in two rows, kneeling and standing with their arms around each other.
Of course, it was my old middle school. And right in the center, as one of the key players who led them to nationals, was me.
“Ugh, how embarrassing…”
That was already two years ago. I looked way younger back then—like a total kid.
“Huh, what’s that?”
“What’re you guys talking about?”
Some nearby girls came over, curious. When they all started peering at the phone, I quickly set it down on the desk, as far away as possible. Letting everyone see my childhood photos felt like some kind of cruel punishment.
“Wait, that’s Aoi, isn’t it?”
“Wow, national tournament! That’s amazing!”
Voices of surprise popped up all around.
“Ohh, Aoi the soccer prodigy! His popularity’s skyrocketing!”
“Shut up.”
The only one who actually knew about this was probably Kuki. Around this time last year, I was still full of pride, bragging to everyone that I was the one who took the team to nationals.
I looked over at Yukari.
“I knew your middle school made it to nationals,” she said. “After you moved away, I was curious how you were doing. But back then, I never thought to look it up online.”
So she’d been searching for it just recently, huh.
“I saw you in P.E. today too. You should come back to the club.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
Dragged back into memories of my past self, I gave a halfhearted reply—part lip service, part deflection.
“Wait, seriously!?”
Kuki instantly took the bait. With a huge grin, he leaned across the desk, so I grabbed his face in silence and shoved him back.
That evening, after classes ended, I got home and started taking in the laundry a little later than usual.
“Hot as hell…”
The words slipped out the moment I stepped onto the balcony. The lingering heat of this unseasonably hot day hadn’t faded even now.
“Guess it won’t cool down until the sun’s completely gone.”
“Yeah, probably not.”
The sudden reply made me jump. It came from above.
“Minase?”
I leaned on the railing and looked up.
“Yup. Oh, and—uh, just a heads-up, I’m in a miniskirt right now, so… careful where you look.”
“What!?”
I jerked my head back down in panic. Her face, just before I turned away, was totally calm. Why was she acting like it was nothing? Shouldn’t she be the one being careful here?
In the end, I just rested my arms on the railing and stared at the view. Nothing special—just an ordinary scene. I could hear an ambulance siren in the distance, but it had already become part of the evening soundtrack. It wasn’t loud enough to interrupt our conversation, so I spoke up.
“It was hot today.”
“Yeah.”
Minase agreed with a tired smile.
“I took a shower as soon as I got home. Look—fresh out of the bath. Totally sexy, right?”
“I can’t see you anyway.”
Seriously, why was she trying to make me look up? Wasn’t she the one who said to be careful?
“If only we didn’t have P.E. today…”
Just my luck—it had to be scorching hot on the one day we had P.E. right at noon.
“But you looked like you were having fun, Sakura.”
“Well…”
I trailed off, not sure what to say.
“I guess that made me realize… I really do like soccer after all.”
Just like how Minase kept looking for ways to keep acting, maybe I should look for a way to play soccer again. Somewhere I could do it casually, seriously—but without burning out this time.
To that, Minase only said softly, “I see…”
§§§
The next morning—
While changing shoes at the school entrance, I overheard a conversation that caught my attention.
“Hey, did you hear? Someone got taken away in an ambulance after school yesterday.”
“For real? Who was it?”
“No idea. But they said it was someone from the soccer club.”
I froze for a moment, doubting my ears. But the rest of their conversation confirmed it—I hadn’t misheard.
Quickly finishing with my shoes, I rushed past them and headed straight for the classroom.
That ambulance yesterday… was it that one? And if it was someone from the soccer club—don’t tell me…
As I hurried down the hallway, anger started bubbling up inside me. When I finally reached the classroom and looked around—there he was. Kuki.
He sat at his desk, looking unusually down. A few classmates were nearby, but he wasn’t talking much. It was odd—today was a day when the soccer club usually had morning practice. The fact that Kuki was even here right now was already strange.
Still holding my school bag, I walked straight up to him.
“Kuki!”
“Oh, Aoi. Morning.”
Even his greeting lacked energy.
“No morning practice today?”
He realized right away that I must’ve heard the rumors. With a self-deprecating smile, he answered,
“Of course not.”
So they’d canceled it because of what happened yesterday.
“What exactly happened?”
“Same as what happened to you last year.”
His tone was bitter, maybe even guilty.
“You’re telling me they’re still doing that crap!?”
I slammed my hand on his desk before I even realized it. Every classmate in the room turned to look at me.
“Same as last year” meant one thing—another first-year had collapsed from the brutal training. Yesterday was scorching hot too, and even without the hazing-level workouts, new recruits at a powerhouse school weren’t used to that kind of intensity yet.
“To be fair,” Kuki began, “they haven’t been that bad since your incident last year. And, well, that kind of tough training is what makes us strong, you know? You get that, don’t you?”
I went silent.
Yeah. Kuki’s the type who still believes in that “no pain, no gain” mentality.
And sure, I used to think the same thing. That kind of training was what made our team strong—or so I told myself. But it broke me. My mind snapped, and I quit soccer. That’s why I couldn’t agree with him anymore.
“…How’s the guy who collapsed?”
Arguing here wouldn’t help. I just needed to know.
“He’s okay. Got sent home yesterday.”
“Good.”
At least it wasn’t serious. That much was a relief.
“Aoi, why don’t you come back?”
“You seriously think now’s the time to ask that!?”
I snapped at him. Totally unlike Kuki to read the room so badly.
“No, listen. Because of yesterday, the upperclassmen who were supervising the newbies all got kicked out. The ones who caused trouble last year too. They’re gone. It won’t happen again.”
He said it with conviction.
It was true that those brutal initiation sessions had always been done behind the coach’s back. If all the seniors involved—including the ones who got away last year—were forced out, then maybe things really would change this time.
“They’re calling me the next captain, so I’ll have a say in how things are run. We’ll do it right this time. So come back, man.”
Kuki’s expression was dead serious.
“…Let me think about it.”
Honestly, I was shaken. That was all I could say for now.
When I turned around, every classmate was staring at us—including Minase. She looked worried.
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