The morning after Wushia High School’s decisive match against Itou High School ca as a relief to the players.
The exhaustion of the ga was still weighing on their muscles, but it was accompanied by a feeling of satisfaction and euphoria that was slowly settling into their minds. The dramatic end to the ga and Tsuyoshi Nishida’s spectacular goal had secured their passage to the next round of the Chubu Region Sumr Championship.
Now, they had the morning off to rest, because their ga was the last of the day, towards the end of the afternoon, but so of the team wanted to watch the official opening of the championship at Asset Minato Stadium.
Lucas Tanaka was carrying a bucket of popcorn and a large soft drink in his other hand. His mischievous smile indicated that he was looking forward to watching a live match.
In his past life, there had been few chances to watch high school teams play live, because the Wushia High School club had lost a lot of strength with Nishida’s departure for England and they never got very far in the championships.
When Tsuyoshi Nishida saw him approaching, he frowned and crossed his arms.
"Lucas, you know you shouldn’t eat those things on a match day..." he said with a tone of disapproval.
Lucas shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, relax, Nishida. It’s just a bit of popcorn. It won’t kill ." He took an exaggerated bite, chewing slowly while keeping his gaze fixed on his friend.
Sitting next to Nishida were Yukihiro and Kuwabara.
Lucas sat down and noticed that Yukihiro still had a bandage around his ankle. "What’s up, Yukihiro, is your ankle any better?"
Yukihiro shook his head affirmatively. "Yes, it’s much better. I talked to Mr. Yamamoto earlier, and he decided that I won’t be a starter in the ga later. It’s the sensible thing to do, I think."
"Yeah, it makes sense. Better to recover completely than risk a more serious injury. Besides, you can still play in the second ga."
"I hope so. But the important thing is that we stay in the league."
Kuwabara, who had been silent until then, looked at Lucas with a curious look. "Do you think this afternoon’s match will be difficult?"
Lucas chuckled as he tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "It always is, Kuwabara. But after what we went through yesterday, I think we’re ready for anything."
As the group chatted, the stadium’s stands beca more and more crowded.
The sound of animated conversations, laughter and distant shouts mixed with the music playing from the loudspeakers, creating a vibrant atmosphere.
The opening ga would be between Hanrahan High School, one of the most famous schools in the province, and a lesser-known opponent called Gramma High School. Even before the ga, everyone knew that Hanrahan High School would be the center of attention.
Ti passed quickly, and soon the players from both teams began to take to the field.
Hanrahan High School appeared first to warm up, their players wearing impeccably white uniforms with blue accents, a striking contrast against the green of the pitch. Confidence exuded from each of them, as if they knew they were destined for victory.
The opposing team’s players followed close behind, a less imposing but determined group. They wore black and orange uniforms.
The real shock ca when the coaches of the two teams approached the pitch to observe the warm-up.
The Gramma School coach was what everyone expected: an older man with gray hair and a serious expression, typical of soone with years of experience in school soccer.
However, it was the coach from Hanrahan High School who really surprised everyone. Instead of a seasoned veteran, a young woman of around 17 or 18, with blue hair tied up in a high ponytail, walked in confidently. She was wearing a technical uniform from Hanrahan High School and had a cool deanor.
Her presence imdiately caught everyone’s attention, including Lucas, who almost dropped his bucket of popcorn because he recognized her.
"Do you see what I see?" muttered Lucas, nudging Nishida with his elbow.
Nishida finally looked at the young technician. "Yeah, I don’t see that every day."
Kuwabara imdiately rembered that girl. "Hey, isn’t she the girl from our first day here?! The one who brought order to those slacker guys?"
"Now that you’ve said it, I think she is." Yukihiro tried to rember if he had ever heard of a young technician like that. "Is she a prodigy?"
Kuwabara shrugged. "I’ve never heard of her, but if she’s running Hanrahan High School. She must be good."
Lucas, still impressed, rembered the girl’s words that day they t in the corridors near the locker room. If he wasn’t mistaken, her na was Hasumi Seiya, and she said that Lucas played like an animal and that he wasn’t suitable as a number 10 because he wasn’t elegant.
"You know, I really want to see how her team performs," Lucas comnted, putting a hand to his chin with an evil look on his face.
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