On Monday morning, Hideki sat at his desk, staring absentmindedly at the open notebook in front of him. His mind kept replaying his outburst on Thursday. The way he'd lashed out at Ryo and Ren, and how all that frustration had burst out before he could stop it.
Ever since, he'd been racking his brain over every word he'd said. He wished he could take most of it back. During practice on Friday and the game on Saturday, he couldn't help but notice how quiet Ryo and Ren had been. Sure, the team had won, but Hideki hadn't felt happy at all.
He unfairly got angry at them just because he wasn't good enough—and then he ran away before they could even say anything.
His first few classes all passed in a blur, and before he knew it, lunch had already rolled around.
"How was the game on Saturday?" someone behind him asked.
Hideki turned around, only to realize the question wasn't addressed to him. Instead, it was addressed to another student who played on the first team.
"It was really good!" the boy said. "Coach subbed me in after the half, so I actually got some time on the ball."
"That's awesome! Did you make any nice plays? Did you score?"
"Haha, don't be ridiculous—how can I score as a defender?"
"Well, did you at least win?"
"Yeah, we won. Ishikawa-kun and Aoyama Ren-kun each scored one goal."
"Ishikawa… Taiga-kun? Isn't he a defender, too? Didn't you just say a defender couldn't score?"
"He's not a normal defender, though. I can't compare myself to him at all."
"Tell me about it. With the kind of strikers the first team has, I don't think I'll ever be promoted."
Oh, right, Hideki thought. He's one of the strikers on the second team.
"Yeah, Aoyama-kun is on another level."
"I agree. His shots, his passes, and his dribbling are all amazing. I wonder how much he practices to be that good."
"I think he practices a lot."
"Really? I always thought he was just crazy talented!"
"Yeah, me too, but apparently—he's not just naturally good; he actually puts in tons of extra practice."
"Who told you that?"
"That's the thing—I saw it. Or well, sorta," he took a breath for dramatic effect. He leaned in closer and spoke more softly, as if he was scared of revealing a secret. "You know how my house is close to the school, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, two weeks ago, I was coming back from cram school in the evening. And on my way back, I passed by the school gates like I usually do."
"Uh-huh."
"But that time, as I walked by, I saw Aoyama-kun and his younger brother apologizing to the security guard."
What? What is he talking about? Hideki was pretending to look at his notebook, trying not to be too obvious as he listened in on the conversation.
"So what did you do?"
"Of course, I hid and spied on their conversation!"
"Wow, you're unbelievable."
"Anyway, apparently, the security guard was scolding them. When doing his last check around the school, he saw both of them practicing on the football field."
"Seriously? But that would mean that—"
"Yes. They kept practicing for over two hours after club practice ended."
Hideki did his best not to jump out of his seat. They practiced that much after the club practice? Do they do that often?
"That makes so much sense! No wonder they never leave with the rest of us after practice."
So they actually practice that long after everyone's gone? Hideki's mind was racing. If Ren and Ryo actually practice that much, then they are probably more dedicated than anyone else.
Hideki began feeling guilty for what he said to them last Thursday. He had judged them unfairly, thinking that they were fooling around without putting any real effort in.
Then why did they just take it? They could have said that they practiced extra after school.
He sighed loudly, drawing a few curious glances from nearby classmates.
I really am an idiot.
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Ren slowly walked to the football field alone after classes ended. Ever since Hideki had confronted him, he had become slightly estranged from his teammates. He'd become very conscious of how he was behaving at practice—how he talked, how much he laughed, and how much he joked with Ryo.
How many of them thought the same thing as Hideki? I've always taken practice seriously… but did the way I interacted with Ryo make it look different? Should I apologize to everyone today?
Before he realized it, he was already standing on the pitch.
"Oh, Ryo's already here," he muttered to himself. For once, he'd walked so slowly that his brother had beaten him to the field.
The moment Ryo spotted him, he came running over.
"How was school, Ren-nii? Did you have fun today? Are you ready for practice? What drill do you think we're doing this week?" He fired off question after question, following him to the sidelines.
Ren smiled faintly. It looks like Ryo's in a good mood.
"C'mon, Ren-nii, hurry up! If you take forever, we won't even have time to warm up!" Ryo continued, nudging Ren's shoulder as he put on his shin guards and his cleats.
"Alright, alright," Ren answered, pushing him away gently, "Let me finish putting these on first."
The moment Ren tied his second shoe, Ryo yanked him to his feet and pulled him onto the pitch with a ball tucked under his other arm.
They began to pass the ball back and forth while Ryo talked about his day. Ren, although he was listening, lacked his usual enthusiasm.
"—And when Kazuki-kun answered so confidently, I almost burst out laughing! I had to put my head down so Ichida-sensei wouldn't see," Ryo said, gesturing animatedly. "But that's not even the best part! After lunch, in math class, we were doing a group activity, and Kazuki-kun—"
Ryo's voice trailed off when he noticed Ren's gaze focusing on something behind him. Ren's eyes didn't move as Ryo stopped the ball at his feet and turned around.
A meter away stood Hideki, his hands fidgeting in front of him and his eyes looking down at the grass. As the two of them looked at him, he timidly opened his mouth.
"Uh… Ren-kun, Ryo-kun," He said, his voice shaky. "I-I wanted to a-apologize for what I said on Thursday… I said things I shouldn't have. I'm very sorry, please forgive me!" He bowed deeply.
"I realized that you two probably work harder than anyone else," he continued. "I was angry that I wasn't improving, and I took it out on you guys. I'm sorry."
Ren instantly jumped in, flustered at the sudden apology. "Please raise your head, Eguchi-senpai. You don't need to apologize; you did nothing wrong."
If anything, you were right. Ryo and I should take practice more seriously.
"You're wrong," Hideki said firmly without looking up. "I yelled at you two for no reason. I have to apologize for that."
Ren didn't know how to respond. He believed that if anyone was at fault, it was him. However, seeing how insistent Hideki was, Ren couldn't just turn down his apology.
Right as Ren thought that the silence was becoming too uncomfortable, Ryo finally spoke up.
"Thank you—we accept. You probably had a good reason to get mad at us, so you didn't need to apologize. But now it's all behind us. Let's just have fun together." He turned to look at Ren.
"Right, Ren-nii?"
"Y-Yeah."
Wow, Ryo is so impressive. He just moved forward without any hesitation.
"Ah—" Hideki's words caught in his throat. "T-Thank you very much."
"Oh, and Eguchi-senpai," Ryo said suddenly, "you said you wanted to get better, right? If you want, you can practice with us after the club ends. Is that okay with you, Ren-nii?" Ryo asked as he turned around to face him once again.
"Yeah," Ren said simply. At this point, he was just following along with what Ryo was saying.
"Really?" Hideki asked, his apologetic tone completely gone. "I'll have to check with my mom, but I can probably do a day or two each week."
Ryo smiled, "That's great! Just come whenever you can; we'll be happy to practice with you."
The two of them kept talking, and Ren found himself watching from the side.
It would be nice to have someone else join once in a while. And since Hideki plays right behind me, it might help our coordination, too. But… is he really not mad at us anymore?
"Ren-nii, why are you still standing over there?" Ryo called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Coach is calling us over. We need to go now."
"Ah—right. I'm coming."
As Ren jogged over, he glanced around the pitch. He saw his brother laughing happily as he talked with Hideki. He saw his teammates talking excitedly to one another. He saw the coaches murmuring to each other, watching with small, approving smiles.
Right, football's supposed to be fun for everyone. It's alright if I have fun too.