——The final whistle rang out, and the players lined up, catching their breath.
When all was said and done, it was a dominant 3–0 victory.
I scored again in the second half off an assist from Azaki, so I ended the match with two goals.
Azaki had one goal and two assists. As always, I can’t deny that I’m making the most of Azaki’s ability—but results are results.
And besides—
I turned my gaze toward Sasaki, who was sitting quietly in the stands.
I’m glad I was able to show her a proper, respectable goal this time.
“Good work, Makishima.”
“Nice job, Makishima-kun.”
Azaki slapped my back, and Aihara brought me a towel.
I took it and draped it over my head.
“Two goals today. The opening goal was amazing, and the second one was calmly finished too.”
“The second one was basically a tap-in, though.”
“Not at all! From Azaki-kun’s position, there wasn’t much of an angle. Your positioning really stood out, Makishima-kun.”
“You hear that, Makishima? Aihara-san’s praising you, so just accept it and melt already.”
As he said that, Azaki pinched my cheek and whispered, “Hey, give me a romantic assist too while you’re at it.”
“Ah, Aihara? Azaki did great too, right?”
“Y-yeah! He created so many chances with his passes, and his chemistry with Makishima-kun was perfect.”
“See? Good for you, Azaki.”
“Heh. Hey, Aihara-san, if you’re free tonight, wanna have tea in the room or play some games? (sleazy cool voice)”
“Umm… I think I’ll pass.”
Azaki rolled his eyes back and wandered off somewhere.
Even when he delivers results on the pitch, he still can’t deliver with the girl he likes.
“More importantly, I’m relieved you didn’t get injured.”
“You were still worried about that?”
“Of course! The coach and I were both nervous you’d break your promise and go for another diving header!”
“I see. Sorry for making you worry. And thanks for the towel.”
I folded the towel and handed it back to Aihara.
“Do your best in the remaining matches too, Makishima-kun.”
I nodded confidently, but because of concerns after my concussion, I only got short substitute appearances in the remaining two matches.
Golden Week training camp, day one, ended with two goals.
✳︎✳︎
With all of day one’s schedule finished, we headed by bus from the stadium to the hotel where we’d be staying.
From what I’d heard, it was a pretty nice place—there was a pool, hot springs, and the food was good.
Thinking back, training camps in high school meant getting shoved into seaside facilities and sleeping on the floor with like ten guys.
Compared to that, this time it was three people per room with actual beds—no stress, plenty of rest—or so I thought.
“Or at least, that’s what I thought…”
When I entered the room with my shoulder bag slung over me, there was Azaki, the idiot fixing his curly hair, and a tall guy relaxing with his luggage spread out.
“The rooms are assigned randomly, so why do I have to be stuck with you, Azaki?!”
“Come on, Makishimaaa. Let’s get along, yeah?”
“…And who’s the third guy?”
“Ooh! Maki-chan! Long time no see!”
The tall guy, speaking broken Japanese, jumped up from the bed and hugged me.
“C-Chan-senpai, it’s been a while.”
“This unnecessarily huge guy is someone you know, Makishima?”
“Hey, Azaki! He’s a senpai.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone friends, okay?”
“But, Chan-senpai…”
Chan Gumin-senpai, a second-year with a towering height of 200 cm, is the starting goalkeeper for Koto University’s A team.
He’s half Korean and half Japanese, and back when I was in Tokyo Frontier Jr. Youth, he was a key player one year above me.
Unlike me, Chan-senpai moved up to the youth team, but due to growth pains and injuries, he never secured a starting spot.
After graduating, he came to Koto University and, with his massive build and dynamic saves, claimed the starting GK position from his first year.
“So the room assignments mix A team and B team… That makes it feel even more like being stuck with Azaki is intentional.”
“I didn’t do anything! Anyway, let’s go, Makishima.”
“Go where?”
“The hot springs. Hot springs.”
✳︎✳︎
Chan-senpai and I were dragged to the hot springs by Azaki.
We placed our clothes in baskets in the changing room and wrapped towels around our waists.
“Chan-paissen.”
“Yes?”
“Whisper whisper.”
This guy’s definitely thinking something bad.
“Azaki-kun! That’s not allowed—no peeking!”
“Why’d you say it out loud, Chan-paissen?!”
“Sigh… I figured that’s what it was.”
“Look, Aihara-san won’t even look at me, so the only option left is seeing it with my own eyes!”
This guy never thinks of anything decent.
“We’ve got a two-meter senpai here—this is basically fate telling us to climb the wall and peek!”
“Chan-senpai, you can punch him if you want.”
“Eh… but Maki-chan, if I punch him seriously, Azaki-kun’s nose will be completely broken.”
“Chan-paissen, you’re terrifying, seriously.”
Leaving Azaki behind as he stubbornly refused to give up on peeking, I went inside first.
The open-air bath was filled with steam, the stone floor stretching beneath my feet.
Looking up, a beautiful sunset spread across the sky.
There was even a carbonated spring. I’d wash up quickly and soak.
Careful not to slip, I took one spot among the row of bath chairs and showers.
Other Koto players were already seated, rinsing off.
Some idiots clearly shared Azaki’s mindset, whispering plans near the wall dividing the men’s and women’s baths.
I shot them a cold look and grabbed the shower head.
✳︎✳︎
After arriving at the hotel, we managers brought baskets filled with the players’ used uniforms to the laundry room.
We loaded them into the washing machines with detergent and, while waiting, chatted away like usual.
As I talked with a manager senpai I was close with, another senpai who arrived later brought something up.
“Hey, what are we doing this year?”
“Ah, the hot springs? Hmm… Last year someone used Chan-kun to try getting over the wall, and we almost got seen.”
“Seen? Seen doing what?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and the senpai explained.
“You know how many idiots we have? Last year, some idiot tried peeking into the women’s bath.”
P-peeking…? At the hot springs?
“Yeah. This year’s first-years? Azaki seems like the type.”
“Totally. He stared at me so hard the other day.”
“Same here. Seriously gross, right?”
The senpai freely badmouthed Azaki-kun.
I-I mean, he is kind of like that, but…
“U-um!”
“What is it, Aihara-chan?”
“A-Azaki-kun is…”
It’s true, he’s kind of creepy… but.
But!
“…Yeah, he really is creepy.”
““Right?””
Sorry, Azaki-kun. I can’t defend you…!
“Then let’s use that method this year, to trick Azaki and the others.”
“That method?”
“There’s another hot spring nearby. How about we use that one instead this year?”
“That’s a great idea! Aihara-chan, you’re coming too, right?”
Honestly, Azaki-kun might really try peeking… so yeah, that’s probably best.
“I-I’ll go.”
“Okay, let’s head out after the laundry’s done.”
✳︎✳︎
After Makishima’s match ended, I checked into the hotel I’d reserved.
I wanted to talk to Makishima, but Aihara-san was nearby, so I couldn’t approach him.
A manager, huh… must be nice.
I kind of wanted to try being a manager too.
…But that’s impossible.
If my face gets recognized, it’s over.
“More importantly! It was pretty hot today—I wanna take a bath!”
Maybe I’ll go to the open-air bath on the first floor to refresh.
But if it’s crowded, that’d be bad.
“Hmm. I’ll check it out first. If there are too many people, I’ll just use the bath in my room.”
I packed my things and left my room.
A hot spring… how many years has it been if I can get in?
Since becoming an idol, I haven’t gone to public baths at all.
I’ve done foot baths a few times during shoots, though.
“I hope there aren’t many people…”
Just as I was about to check the first-floor hot spring—
“Huh? Sasaki-chan!”
My body jerked at the voice from behind.
This voice… Aihara-san?
When I turned around, there she was, wearing a red tracksuit and holding a large bag.
“Is this girl your friend, Aihara-chan?”
“Yes! She’s my friend!”
“Alright, we’ll go on ahead then!”
Two girls wearing the same red tracksuits as Aihara-san headed into the hot spring first.
“So Sasaki-chan came too? Are you here to cheer for Makishima-kun?”
“Uh… something like that.”
“I see! I’m really happy you’re enjoying not just high school soccer, but college soccer too.”
Aihara-san smiled at me with pure, radiant innocence.
I’m sorry, Aihara-san. It’s not that I’m into soccer…
“You’re here for the hot spring too, right, Sasaki-chan?”
“Eh?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Aihara-san grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the women’s bath.
W-wait… this is bad, isn’t it?
✳︎✳︎
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