Inside the glass-walled elevator, it’s just Aihara and me.
During the ride up, there’s nothing else to do, so even if I just stand there blankly, that sweet, vanilla-like fragrance tickles my nose.
It smells… like Sasaki?
Did she just happen to use the same shampoo or conditioner as Sasaki?
Sasaki and Aihara are friends from the same seminar, so maybe they talk about cosmetics and stuff and recommend things to each other.
“What’s wrong?”
While I was lost in thought, Aihara peeks into my face.
As the distance between us closes, Sasaki’s scent grows even stronger.
“I–it’s nothing.”
I answer awkwardly and shift my gaze to the scenery outside.
“There’s another match tomorrow, but is your head really okay?”
“Yeah. No problems at all, and the coach said I’m allowed to play full time in both matches.”
“Really?! Then tomorrow’s the big one, huh.”
Aihara says that with her big eyes sparkling.
“It seems they’ll announce tomorrow’s schedule at the meeting later, but do you think we’ll play against working adults again?”
“From what the senior managers said, if it’s like every year, we might play against a high school team.”
“High schoolers?! I don’t know about that…”
Playing against a younger age category always kills motivation.
If you do well, people say, ‘Well, they’re just high schoolers.’
If you mess up, it’s, ‘You lost to high schoolers?’
From the perspective of the older side, there’s nothing to gain.
Well, since we’re Koutou University’s B Team, we don’t really get to complain.
We head to the hotel’s seventh floor by elevator and arrive at the large meeting room.
Most of the players are already there.
Among them, I spot Azaki Seiichi.
“Azaki got here before us? That’s rare.”
At the front of the room, lined with long three-person tables, Azaki is sitting quietly by himself.
Aihara and I take the two seats next to him.
“Hey, what’s up with you, Azaki?”
“……”
“I get that you saw something shocking in the hot spring, but even you don’t need to be this depressed.”
“Makishima… shut up for a bit.”
Azaki narrows his eyes as he looks at me.
He doesn’t seem annoyed or angry, but this definitely isn’t the usual Azaki.
What’s wrong with him?
Aihara and I exchange glances, noticing something’s off.
“A–Azaki-kun?”
“……”
Azaki’s face is more serious than I’ve ever seen, to the point where he doesn’t even respond to Aihara’s concern.
Before we can figure out why, the coach walks in and the meeting begins.
“Looks like everyone’s here.”
The coach strokes his white beard as he checks the headcount.
“Tomorrow, we’ve suddenly decided to play a match against Team A.”
Against… A?!
Opportunities for the first team and second team to play directly have never come up before.
“Originally, tomorrow’s match was scheduled for the afternoon, but the morning practice will also be changed into a match. Team A’s coach wants to see you B Team players. Especially Azaki.”
“…Yes.”
“This match is ninety percent for you.”
Figures.
The only freshman who’s been consistently playing is Azaki.
That’s how big Team A’s expectations for him are.
Is that why he’s been acting strange?
“The rest of you should think of it as using Azaki as bait and show what you’ve got. Those of you who aren’t freshmen already know this, but after Golden Week, Team A’s lineup will change drastically. Especially the fourth-years—if you fail here, there’s no next chance.”
The looks in the fourth-years’ eyes sharpen.
Being stuck on the B Team in your final year… of course they’re desperate.
But I have no intention of backing down because of that.
After that, we reviewed tomorrow’s schedule and watched footage from today’s match, and the meeting ended.
“Azaki.”
I call out to him while he still has that serious look.
Aihara watches worriedly from beside me.
“You knew we were playing against A, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I heard it from Chan-senpai.”
“…Are you scared?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m ridiculously excited… More than fooling around with girls, I’m way more excited about crushing Team A.”
Azaki suddenly breaks into a grin, his serious look gone.
“I knew it.”
Azaki isn’t just a pervert in the sexual sense.
He’s a pervert in everything.
That includes soccer.
In matches, he deliberately draws defenders to himself just to dribble past them, and even in training he constantly pushes himself to the limit.
That abnormal obsession is exactly why he’s strong.
Disgusting—but strong.
“Just imagining blowing past Team A’s monsters gives me chills.”
“You make it sound easy, but they’re the team that’s won the university league two years in a row.”
“We’ll do it. You and me, Makishima. We’ll destroy Team A’s back line.”
With confidence filling his face, Azaki presses his fist against my chest.
“Besides, we’ve got that signal play, don’t we?”
The signal play that guarantees a goal by catching the opponent off guard.
We do have it… but are we really using that in front of Team A’s coach?
“Hey, is that signal play the one you mentioned on the bus, Makishima-kun?”
“That’s right, Aihara-san. The ultimate signal play we practiced for this camp—one only ‘M-type Makishima’ can pull off.”
“I’m not an M!”
“You are. This guy hides—”
“Don’t say unnecessary things, idiot!”
And with that, the first day came to an end.
The all-or-nothing deadly battle of day two was about to begin.
✳︎✳︎
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