Two Birds With One Stone

After Chizuru haphazardly announced that today's practice would mostly be them 'messing around' because of the arrivals of two new players today...

"Oh yeah, I had like...a detailed session today on how to play the game out from the back rather than just clearing the ball high and hope for the best. But because we have two newbies here today...let's just take it easy and have some fun huh?"

So after they finished warming up and some technical passing drills that was led by Saya (who looked like she would rather be anywhere BUT up there teaching), the Blossoms were allowed to spread around and have fun playing with each other.

With the sole conditioning being they are not allowed to leave early unless they have an emergency - Shion complained about this, naturally.

Madoka, however, was more concerned about talking to Natsu about...well, WHY she was here in the first place.

"Akikawa-san..."

"Yeah?"

Madoka thought about how to phrase this without sounding incredibly rude. "Why are you here? I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it...it's just I thought you would be playing volleyball or something."

Natsu shrugged with a grin.

"I just thought it would be fun to try something new."

"Eh...? Is it seriously that simple?"

"Yup! The school's girls volleyball team really wanted me, so I feel a little bad for them...but I think it's fun to try new things while I still can!" Natsu ran to grab a ball nearby and bounced it off her arms before sounding it to Madoka's foot. "Ishikawa-san is good at football right? Can you teach me the ropes?"

Coincidentally, Chizuru was walking by at that exact point. "She's right, Ishikawa."

Madoka was APPALLED "What?!"

But she ultimately relented after seeing Natsu's hopeful eyes. Madoka bounced the ball around and passed it back to Natsu who received it, but Madoka spotted it going slightly harder than it should and the orange-haired girl had to adjust her position to send it back.

The ball took a small bounce and rolled to Madoka's foot.

"Akikawa-san, could you maybe try doing this when you receive the ball next time?" Madoka pointed to her hips "When you receive, can you open up your body a bit more and play the ball in the direction you want to play it?"

Natsu just stared back at her, looking incredibly confused. Oh right, Natsu was not a native football player, she had to translate it back in a way she could understand.

"So umm...do you notice how every time you receive, you have to adjust your balance to kick it back? When you open up your body and like...use your foot as a guide your ball in a direction."

Madoka demonstrated it, perfectly controlling the ball as she did.

"Even when you're not sending it far away, you have a stable base for you to dribble, shoot and pass from there, you know?"

Natsu's eyes suddenly widened as if it was a moment of realization for her and Madoka felt a tiny twinge of pride inside of her seeing that.

"I think I get it...can you play it to me?"

Madoka passed, and Natsu controlled it nicely without fumbling or looking awkward. Success! Natsu learnt it much faster than Madoka did when she was starting out...perks of being an athlete, she supposed. But Natsu still had questions...

"What about if I feel like my pass aren't clean? Like mine keep bouncing around..."

She looked to the team that was playing rondo - Saya, Hina and Tsubaki were playing with Yaichi in the middle...and every time the ball reached Saya's foot, it basically lasered to the other two's foot. Madoka had no idea how Saya managed that either...

"Well...Saya-senpai is really good at it...I don't think I'm anywhere near her level. But Akikawa-san, I think the reason why it keeps bouncing is because where you hit the ball."

"Huh...? Oh, so you mean like I'm lifting the ball because I keep hitting it from below?" Natsu clicked her fingers and Madoka nodded eagerly - it was expected that Natsu could understand such a concept.

"Yes! So when you pass, you want to use the place with the large area, being your instep, to push the ball forward at the center of the ball. Hit it at the bottom and usually it lifts up into the air. And then there's spins like side spin, top spin, back spin....b-but we can get to there at your own pace!"

Calm yourself, Madoka, before you begin ranting again! So instead, she tried to hit a pass back...and to her crushing embarrassment, she made the same mistake as Natsu and just booked it over her head.

"Sorry-"

But then Natsu...soared. She just looked up at the ball and exploded from the ground itself as Madoka watched with a gaping mouth. She kept rising and rising and rising...and she managed to touch the ball with her head, knocking it down to the ground.

"Got it!"

But Madoka did not care, she just ran over and grabbed Natsu's hands in awe like she was some goddess.

"H-How did you do that?!"

"Eh?"

"Y-your vertical insane!! How high did you jump there?"

Natsu just looked at her and grinned with a silly smile. "I actually don't remember?"

But before they could talk for much longer, Hina had already called for Natsu to join her fellow first year in some silly football drill that she had invented on the spot...and so, Madoka was alone again. Not for long, however, when Chizuru beckoned her over while she was typing something in the laptop.

"Ishikawa, come here for a moment."

"Chizuru-senpai..."

Peering at her computer screen, Madoka saw a spreadsheet detailing everyone's names, conditions and notes and their positions on the field. She briefly saw hers as 'Forward/CAM?' but then Chizuru tabbed out to another tab with a screen of a football field and its diagram.

"What do you think about the newbie? Akikawa, I mean." Chizuru asked, all without looking up from her screen. "Good or bad things, both works."

Madoka seemed to think about it for a moment before giving her own verdict on the matter.

"Well...Akikawa-san is raw, but I think you know that already. But she's really athletic, she learns really fast and she seems receptive to advices. Oh and...she jumps REALLY high."

Chizuru nodded along. "Interesting...if you have to pick, where would you play her?"

This time, Madoka had to think about it for a moment...her tactical mind would put someone with Natsu's trait into a DM - her aerial ability made for a good weapon in winning battles in the air, and she was light on her foot and athletic enough to be a ball winning DM. But then she needed to consider the reality of Natsu's game knowledge right now.

"Mm...Centerback?"

"Interesting, why that specific role then? I would have put her as a defensive midfielder right?" The captain leaned back and put her laptop aside.

Madoka nodded. "I would too...but I think for her, putting her in a role like centerback where she can get help from both Tokigetsu-senpai and more senior players like...you, up front would be better. I think if she was a more experienced player...DM would be the best choice. But...why ask me this?"

Chizuru did not reply for a moment. At first, she thought it was because Chizuru was leaving a cryptic silence for her to fill in again, but then, Chizuru's face looked like she was trying to choose her next words carefully again.

"I want for everyone to understand football...and this was my own attempt at doing so. Just a year ago...Hanamura Blossoms was blessed with the best generations of first year we have ever seen...Tokigetsu, Shikimura, Inari...even the Yukimura twins were talented and fast learning players. And of course, we have Nishijima as our greatest spear."

Chizuru looked at the other girls playing and messing around in the distance - Hina had apparently kicked the ball into the air and it landed on Shion's face so now she was hunting the laughing girl down.

"And for what it was worth...we were successful. We won prefectures...and we made it to regionals." Chizuru stopped. "But regionals was another playing field in general...we pretty much got stomped in the group stage of regional. Lost a humiliating 5-1 in our last game and went home. But from it, I realized something...at that point, we were playing relying entirely on our strongest spear...but alone, even the greatest weapon would shatter in front of the pressure. now that I am captain...I don't want for that to happen anymore."

Madoka thought about it for a moment...

"Then everything we did...everything you taught us...and the way you trained us."

"Was so that when we walk out there on the field, everyone is our greatest weapon, not just one girl. I'm sorry, Ishikawa...I know that you joined the club just to...have fun, have a chance to play football. But I...I made a promise, that I'll keep this club going, and for that to happen, I want to climb further than we have ever been. It's a lot of pressure but-"

"No." She spoke up. Something in her heart pounded with an emotion Madoka could not explain, like what Chizuru said had just reached out and scratched a previous imperceivable itch inside of her. "I'm in it with you, Chizuru-senpai...you let me join the team, and so, I'll do my very best as long as I'm still with Hanamura Blossoms!"

Chizuru's eyes widened - she looked shock...but the kind of shock that came from seeing someone who could look the way Madoka look. But then she grinned, standing up from the bench and gave a ruffle to Madoka's red hair. Without saying anything to Madoka, she walked forward to where the other girls were hanging out.

"Everyone, I would like to make an announcement. I know this is sudden, and I know we just had two newbies joining us...but I've managed to contact with Nadeshiko High School, one of our future opponents going into the Prefecture group stages...and next weekend we will be having a 7v7 scrimmage with them."

W H A T ? ! !