The Samurai Blue, Round of 16

After I changed, I gave our school’s irregularities some deep thought. Let me start, first off. We hadn’t really interacted with our senpais that much. They were relatively insulated within a comfy building that’s really just a copy-and-paste office building from downtown, only obviously scaled down. There was little incentive for them to walk amongst us, peasants. Meanwhile, it appears there was not much difference between Year 1 and Year 2. It’s very distressing to know that they don’t really call us senpais. A breakdown of Japanese culture, again.

Another thing is that we had to move classrooms for most subjects. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but we might be the only school in Nagoya that does this. A lot of this school is somewhat based on international norms; I think half of our board of directors had experience in the UK? Probably? As a result, we walk 40km a day. Yes. That is true. Ok… maybe that’s a total lie. Perhaps that was the total km walked for the entire class in a day. It really totals to essentially 1.3 or 1.4km a day, per person… so kind of normal.

And finally, but not really finally since I just don’t care anymore so it should be thirdly…

Thirdly, why did we have our gyms and sports facilities in the same building as Block D? There are several vantage points where students in the walkways could see us! I hate that! How is no one here insecure about that? Or are they so confident or self-absorbed to not care what people think? My kit is terrible! It doesn’t favour me, at all! I don’t know how but I feel weird in a Nike T-shirt and joggers.

Aren’t they meant to be comfy?

It appears we would be playing indoor football. The rain was striking down on the roof, like a hyperactive child with a percussion instrument. So much for a peaceful spring. Class A, B and C. The trifecta. Personally, I think we’re on the normal side. Classes D to F were like the wild west. Lawless. Savages. Kind of like Tatsuya. As to be expected, they segregated the classes into genders. Our hall was big enough to fit two matches at once.

With deepest regrets, that’s not enough.

Others would likely have to go to the other two halls. Last week, I don’t even remember PE. Now, I’m out here biting my nails and with restless leg syndrome! Another one to add to my lengthy list of issues.

As we all finally entered, the classes all sat on the benches. You could get a splinter by looking at them. These benches must’ve been handed down from the old gym. Similar to taking ownership of your older sister’s bike. That really did happen, by the way.

The old gym got demolished to make way for… this modern-day cathedral. An exquisite sight for the senses, I could concur. Same cathedral using benches that looked like life was returning to the wood. So old, it’s regenerating. Couldn’t they have like… added wax to it? Or whatever it is that makes the other benches glossy. All of the boys from Class C were kept in the hall we were in. Both Class B, that’s us, and A had to split into halves. Me and Tatsuya stayed. So did Minoru-san. It was a quick au revoir to my rock, my foundation, and my hero - Yusuke. I say that… it was more like, “See you at lunch.”

As for the girls? Well, the same setup went for them too. For the sports hall, one side would be for the boys and the other side girls. Anyone that wasn’t playing that match could spectate freely any match they wanted to. I suspect both sides will have the opposite sex watching them as they play.

Our PE teacher kept giving out commands like a police officer. Unlike the police, I just wasn’t listening to him. Then, he called out the captains. Minoru-san and Kenji.

At least I know which captain I’m facing.

Kenji had the first pick.

“Then… I choose Honzo.”

It might be a surprise to you that I got picked first. The sad truth is I have a reputation for being a good defensive player. Call me… who's a good defending midfielder? Nemanja Matic. Yeah. It might be because of my height? I am being positively discriminated against! Stop it!

After a few picks, the first two teams were settled. The… well leftovers, I mean people who weren’t picked were free to watch the matches. Once we finished, they’d have to pick their teams and we’d become the spectators. Sadly, for them, I’m going to embrace my inner demons and watch the girls.

Here are some notable names in Kenji’s team.

● Me (I’m important.)
● Kenji (Always up front.)
● Maruta Kai (He was fast. That’s it. A pace merchant.)
● Isaac Osei (I have a lot to say but just know he’s as good as Minoru.)
● Everyone else. (Self-explanatory)

Tatsuya wasn’t picked at all. He’s a bit frail, plus a lot of people seem to dislike him. I don’t think he cares. Is he even capable of thinking about other people?

Maruta Kai was a member of the track-and-field club. Or is it the running club? Did they just change the name recently? He was quick. I could quantifiably prove it… is that a word? It is now.

He ran the 100m at 11.03 seconds. That was his average time. They'll probably just keep getting lower! The Usain Bolt of our nation. He had a normal average look to him, just your simple man. Lightly pronounced jaw, deeply dark brown eyes with a nice oak wood type hair colour. Wait, is oak wood brown? I got it from Minecraft. I assume so. Whether you think it’s bad or not that I don’t go outside often, especially in referring to nature, let me just tell you something.

We have phones now.

Isaac Osei. He… well he stuck out, to be frank. Originally, he’s from Ghana. Here's a very sad and embarrassing fact to admit - I always thought Ghana was just a chocolate brand. To be fair, it is, but I mean I didn’t even know they were a nation. Now I know their capital city is Accra. That’s a step toward improvement! Also, a complete boss on the pitch. Or should I say floorboard since it’s indoors? By the way, why are the indoor lights so blinding! Surely, that breaches some safety.

Anyways, back to Isaac Osei. Osei-san. He was scouted by Nagoya Grampus. It also helped that his parents were well-monied. Aisaihashi is still an elite school, it’s just that half of its students are from Takabata and other surrounding areas… which are not ‘elite’ areas to say the least.

To make things easier, let’s compare him to Ronaldo. And Minoru-san is Messi.

The PE teacher gave us the go. His name was Naoya. Skinny and with glasses. An older version of Tatsuya, I suppose. Once we congregated, we obviously waited for our leader and captain, Kenji, to speak. There were no real tactics to speak of. It was Kenji saying, “You three defenders just mark Kikuchi.” I was a midfielder, but he strongly suggested me to “Cut back whenever you can, and if you get the ball just pass it to me or whoever is safe, and we’ll try to feed Isaac chances.”

We put our hands together. I internally cringed. My hands also touched Kenji’s. He was once proud of watching a 5-hour-long JAV. I might need to wash my hands later.

It was an 11-a-side match. As to be expected indoors, seeing 22 people run in half a sports hall might be a bit too crowded. Instead of a normal ball, we were given a more… softer football. Not the weird bouncy ball, but it was certainly soft. Naoya-sensei told us not to try super-powerful shots. Safety reasons, I suppose. The crowd certainly was perhaps more than the other side of the hall.

It was our kick-off. We would be playing for 30 minutes. Afterwards, a 15-minute break and just the teacher… actually teaching us some sports science. I don’t mind the sports science break, actually. Physical education still needs some education.

Quickly, I gave a glance at Minoru. Minoru Kikuchi. He looked crazy in focus. Come to think of it, half of the players on the pitch were all starters or substitutes in the soccer club. A scary sight. Perhaps, this was likely to be the best match in terms of quality. All because of my excellent ball-to-ball passing and superior defending. Yep. All me.

The game went as Kenji planned. We got dominated. Osei and Kenji were good, but the quality of the other two beside them was… left to be desired. Me, being a defensive midfielder, I couldn’t really push any more forward. A glorified defender, really. I gave a few tackles and a good pass. But that’s it. The match and the momentum were clearly against us.

To give credit, where credit is due, our goalie stopped several powerful shots from Minoru-san. Why did he crack some shots that could kill an animal? What a troublemaker. Then again, apparently so am I. Our defenders tried to mark, but Minoru really walked over them with ease. His dribbling was insane. It’s a tired phrase, but he must’ve had the ball stuck to his feet like glue. It had been a few minutes, and surprisingly no one scored. These games usually go like 5 - 8 or something, especially since it’s indoors and small.

I only noticed that the crowd was getting bigger. Several names that were high on our school caste system were staring at me. Unusual. Strange. Perhaps my unique presence as a tall player mesmerised them. Yeah, I’m getting too big for my boots. I’m not even in the top 10 percentile in height. We played like a vintage team in black and white.

Suddenly, an opposing player, Katou Naoto, burst into life. Class A. His creativity and sprints were unmatched, even Minoru-san was not starring as much. Maybe, he told Katou-san to do his thing.

Kenji screamed.

“Do something Honzo! He’s literally going to shoot!”

Well, calm down Kenji. Do you think I like standing there and letting him score? I may be immobile and listless for the entire day, but I am certainly a competitive person. Without a shadow of a doubt, I want to win this game. As such, I took on his command. But on my terms.

I ran towards him. He did a backheel stop. Aggressively, I kept coming onto him, trying to pressure him into killing the momentum and passing back. He didn’t do that. Whatever. It was honestly still in my favour. He kept trying to do skills to throw me off the ball. And luck may have it, he stumbled and fell. I didn’t even tackle him. He fell.

A huge rambunctious roar came from the crowd.

As for me? I ran like hell. So fast. In my mind, I thought of passing it to Maruta-san, but he was marked, plus surprisingly he had noodle legs. We would’ve lost possession. I had already passed the midpoint of the court. Each step was making a sweet high-pitched noise. Similar to basketball. Then, it happened. A chance illuminated in front of my eyes. Osei was right in the open. Luckily for us, we had no offside rule. The defenders must’ve been so confused.

He screamed “Pass!” but in English. Luckily for him, I knew what that meant. The defenders knew it was too late. I lobbed a pass at him. It was serviceable. To excuse me, my target-finding skills weren’t good - this was not my role. It really should’ve been Kenji doing this. But he just watched me play.

Then I tripped. Some laughter occurred from the spectators.

“Disgusting.”

That was an out-of-the-blue comment from someone? Maybe I misheard. Either way, I also don’t care. Nope.

I looked on as my ball finally landed towards Osei. It was one-on-one against a keeper. He won. 1 - 0. Just walked around him and tapped it into the net. There was a loud cheer. Our side had supporters? Next, I gave a glance at Nishi-chan playing on the other side who screamed “Wooo!” as it went in. Her classmate Yua lightly pinched her cheeks whilst telling her to get back in the game. I guess she wasn’t focused on her own match. So typical. And very cute. Too cute to be real. Clearly, Nishi-chan was a character produced by a Sanrio artist.

We celebrated for a few seconds, and it was back to the game. Their kick-off. I was feeling so proud of myself. People finally know who I am!

“Hanzo, stop moving so forward and keep defending!” screamed a spectator. It was Yamaki Shiori. She was in my class, and we rarely talked but she loved soccer. Last year, she brought a PS5 to school in the last days, just to play FIFA. Incredible. Also, she was watching with the misc group. Mai and Shibuya.

“It’s Honzo! Get it right!”

“Sorry!” At least she seemed apologetic.

Perhaps, this is the beauty of high school? Youth, eh. Wow. I’m standing there like a spectator. This is a slight episode of depersonalization, I think.

Reality strikes.

Minoru-san just scored a hat trick in two minutes.

The first was a straight kick-off goal. Yeah. I know. It’s so absurd, that I’m not really going to talk about it. Secondly, it was a penalty because one of our defenders tugged him down. The whistle was given and a simple touch occurred. What about the third you say? I marked him and he just teleported straight through me. At least that’s what it felt because it was inhuman. Boom, one loud thud and into the bottom left corner.

1 - 3.

How did we lose possession that quickly?

Then Osei got into an argument with one of the opposing defenders. Minoru-san was watching from afar. I’ll be honest, I do think the defenders may have been a bit racially insensitive. It kicked off from there.

What is wrong with these nameless losers? I think he called Osei an animal. I’ll leave that up to what you think he said. Normies. I hate saying that word, and I really despise seeing people use it online because it’s all jealousy. They want to be normies. Even the original term was strange. Real things? Why do we call people who enjoy socialising ‘real things.’ It doesn’t matter. I hate both of them. Otakus are proud for no reason. And Riajuus are racist.

Well, that’s quite a broad brush to say. Specifically, this particular Riajuu was racist.

Whoever this loser was, Minoru came quickly to the defence of Osei, despite not being in the same team.

“Apologize,” Minoru yelled in a firm, but still polite way.

The defender was not having it. He pushed Minoru.

Naoya-sensei was looking at it, but he did nothing until he pushed Minoru. He was silent about the racism Osei faced, which he was a witness to. Why do I even care so much, to be honest? If he stopped it there, no fight would have occurred.

Minoru fell, but he went straight back up and kept giving this guy combos. Clearly, he’s had experience. Suddenly, half the crowd rushes in to stop the fight. The defender was on the floor, but he went up and straight walked out into the reception area of Block D. I assume he was probably going into the infirmary. All of it happened with such speed, it was exactly how Minoru scored that hat trick.

I gave a chat with Minoru.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Think about what you’re saying Fukaze-san. Look what happened to the other guy.”

That was Minoru-san’s response. He knew he was going to be in trouble. That was assault. Our school has a no-tolerance approach to that. Including self-defence. I think you’re meant to just get hit? No wonder why bullying is such a severe issue in Japan.

Minoru quickly put his T-shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face. The shock hit me more than any punch Minoru could do to me.

He had tattoos.

Minoru had a tiny tattoo of the Buddha on his chest, where the heart is located. I assumed he was Buddhist since he’s Cambodian, but I guess this is confirmation enough. Well… Cambodian-American. There were three faces with the word RIP over them. I think that’s a memorial-like thing? Probably?

Then, he must’ve realized and dropped it. I didn’t have a good view of the faces. It also was somewhat crude, like someone in prison tattooed them.

“You saw that Honzo?”

“I did.”

“Do not tell anyone.” He warned me. After seeing the evidence earlier, this is no empty threat.

“Of course. See you whenever.”

We both nodded at each other. Several teachers came and asked Minoru to come with them. The match was cancelled. Minoru’s team won.

I looked at Osei, and I apologised to him. I felt second-hand embarrassment watching what unfolded. He told me that I didn’t really need to, but he appreciated it. He mixed in English but Japanese. Thankfully, some of those English lessons from Lewis-sensei came in clutch.

The situation died down. On the other side, the girls never stopped playing soccer, so people were already walking towards them. I scratched my head, as I spoke with Mai about what even just happened. Come to think of it… that disgusting comment came from Mai. Hey!

This is the reality of high school. I can’t believe we lost that match! Ridiculous!

As we watched the girls play football, I saw Nishi-chan score. Internally, I screamed my heart out. The match ended. 15 minutes later, we waited with Naoya-sensei, who probably seemed a bit shaken. Fair enough, he still failed when he didn’t stop to discipline the defender. Or intervene quickly enough.

Come to think of it, where’s Tatsuya? Wait. Saeka was in one of the other halls. He probably snuck in and begged the PE teachers there to let him in. Successful, I suppose.

Nishi-chan approached me.

“You alright Honzo? That was unexpected, to be honest.”

I had to let her know that could’ve been easily avoided.

“Not really. That whole escalation was unnecessary.”

I spoke in a tone, lamenting what had happened. It was slightly sombre. I was more worried for Osei-san and Minoru-san. Although, Osei-san would likely not get into trouble. Arguments happen after all, and it appears that he was defending himself from racism.

Surprisingly, I found myself chatting away with Nishi-chan whilst we watched the girls play the 2nd match after the break. Yep. I wanted to watch the boys, but after seeing that, I think there’s just too much toxicity in that area.

Another disappointment. I was as disappointed as I was in December during the World Cup. Still can’t believe we lost in penalties.

The PE lesson ended. Onto the changing rooms or classrooms. Luckily for me, I won the earlier race. Lunch soon.