In The Limelight 12

“Mhm…” Reo’s eyelids fluttered open, against the harsh morning sunlight gradually sipping into his room. It took him a while to accept the fact he had to leave the comfort of his bed.

Today was… Monday. Alas, though, not just an ordinary Monday. His slightly sore leg muscles spoke volumes of what transpired the day before. Hinami’s match against Kame Hama… the party afterwards.

He still remembered being showered in praise. Being so high up, the spotlight feeling almost like sunlight against his skin.

Yet he also remembered… that.

Reo slipped out from beneath his covers, and stretched out, the memory of that particular thing still fresh as ever.

Right after the frantic celebrations on the pitch, off by one side of the stands, was a lone boy. A hazy, gray figure. He was clutching a soccer ball, his pitch black hair short and his brown eyes downcast. Until they landed on Reo. They locked on him, studying him and seemingly stripping him of all defenses. During the rest of the celebrations, the boys’ eyes never left Reo from their grasp. Their iron grip holding on like a vice.

What even was that? Reo thought at first. It looked weird. Out of place even. Why did the boy look so sad? And who was he?

But the more Reo thought, the more he remembered.

The boy was him. A younger version of Reo. A copy of what he used to look like at the age of 10.

Then it was clear that this boy was utterly cut off from the fabric of reality. He was a hallucination.

Or so Reo hoped.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Itekimasu.”

With a wave, Reo closed the door behind him, and descended the few steps out of his family’s establishment. With a small exhale, he breathed in the morning air.

The sun peeked through the sparse clouds adorning the azure canvas of the horizon as Reo pedaled his way to school. The day appeared unusually radiant, brighter than the typical Monday, he observed, taking in the beauty of his surroundings.

Children eagerly bounded towards school, their youthful energy palpable in each hop, while men and women, dressed in their workday attire, strode confidently along the streets, heads held high.

When Reo made a stop in a nearby bakery to grab a late breakfast croissant, the old lady serving as the shop keeper smiled at him warmly.

“A good day to you, young man!”

“Good morning.” Reo gave back a smile of his own, ”Could you pack this for me?”

“Oh…” After the lady behind the counter nodded and moved to retrieve the delicacy, she paused momentarily, her expression freezing in place before erupting into an even broader display of joy “My! You’re Yuusaki Reo-kun, right?”

“Eh?”

“The number 10, right?!” Her smile and excitement were a little contagious, and so Reo instinctively flinched.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I knew your face was familiar!” She nodded vigorously, and handed over the wrapped croissant. “Here you go!”

Reo couldn’t help but smile at her energy, and went to retrieve some spare change.

“Stop!” She raised a hand, and gave a wink. “It’s a treat from me, for your amazing performance.”

“R-Really? But it was just a match…”

“There is no such thing as just a match!” She wagged her finger a little, before returning to her kind demeanor.

“Now get going. And here’s to many more great performances!”

Unable to have another say in the matter, Reo gave a firm bow, and mouthed his gratitude before retreating out of the small corner store.

“Haaah…” As he mounted his bike, his lips were still curled up in a smile.

There is no such thing as just a match, huh.

Her words lingered in his mind, clinging to his thoughts like stubborn vines. Suddenly, the strange atmosphere made sense—everyone was simply overjoyed about yesterday's victory.

It’s like the people of Hinami were under some sort of spell. They loved their team deeply, and it in return represented a part of their life in the island.

Reo thought back to Totori telling him something along those lines.

It wasn’t long before he found himself just outside his school gates, as he pushed his bike along consumed with such thoughts.

“Oh!”

A familiar figure of a person in his peripheral vision however, was what pulled him back into the present.

“Reo-senpai!” Maemi, Toraichi’s younger sister, and the school sports journalist smiled sweetly at him, as she thrust her arm out.

"Here! Fantastic performance yesterday!" In her hands was a large piece of gray paper, adorned with bold, striking letters and smaller headings.

"A newspaper?" Reo accepted it, a playful wink from Maemi accompanying the exchange.

“And check who’s on the front page!” She pushed back her shoulders confidently, “Written by yours truly, of course.”

Reo’s eyes widened unexpectedly at the sight of a very cheesy, but empowering headline.

“YUREI: HERO OF THE HOUR!”

Below that was a picture of himself celebrating the first goal, his arms stretched out wide in triumph, undoubtedly captured by the cameras strategically placed around and within the stadium.

While the majority of Hinami's population watched the game from the stands within the stadium, those unable to gain entry relied on the island's television broadcast.

Reo didn’t think he’d be the front page article, though.

“Yu… rei?” Reo's face contorted in perplexity at the mention of such an unusual name. As far as he remembered, his name bore no resemblance to that of a Japanese folklore ghost.

“Hehe…” Maemi, the culprit, gave a sly grin. “Amazing, right? I thought of it myself after the announcer’s speakers malfunctioned! Thus, this will be your new nickname!”

“Nickname?”

“Yep! All our top players have one. Like Kaoru Nakatani’s called the speed demon, or that idiot Onii-chan, is nicknamed Tora…”

“But… why Yurei?” Her replies thus far still hadn’t cleared Reo’s perplexion.

“Yu from Yuusaki, and Re from Reo! Yurei-desu!”

“What?” Reo’s face stiffened from how dry that pun felt to him.

“…He dribbles so fast, it’s almost like he’s passing through the defenders! He’s a Yurei!” While Maemi pretended to be a person in the crowd, and fake gasped, Reo’s deadpan face intensified.

“Uh-huh…”

“What?! Everybody’s taking a liking to it!”

“I see…” Reo shook his head dismissively and looked up.

“Was it that big a deal for Hinami that I’m getting a nickname right off the bat and an article to boot?”

“Of course it was!” Maemi nodded vigorously at his words, and gave a hearty grin, “I even have your pre-match comment saying you’ll score! This was a scoop that couldn’t be topped!”

“I’d forgotten about that…”

Reo counted himself lucky for not making a fool of himself.

“Anyway, I’ll see you Reo-senpai! Or should I say… Yurei-san? I’ll be waiting for your comment on the next game!”

More interviews? Reo felt the urge to sigh, but managed to suppress it. With her business concluded, the energetic Maemi proceeded to approach more incoming students, distributing additional copies of the newspapers she had stored in a crate nearby.

The young man almost wanted to question her high energy levels this early in the day, but ultimately remembered how everyone had been acting since morning. It really means that much to them…

It had been a while since Reo had strolled to class, he thought, as he stowed away his indoor shoes. The reason, of course, was that ever since he joined the team, he had been attending morning practice sessions that commenced an hour before class. However, on the day following an official match, that training session was typically called off to allow for quicker recovery.

As he slipped on his indoor slippers, he glided down the hallway. It was also the first time somebody wasn’t nagging him; a clear indication of Totori’s absence. Weaving through the crowded hallway, some schoolmates of his—more like a lot—turned their heads toward him, their expressions somewhat wide-eyed.

“Oh, it’s Yurei!”

“Yeah, the number 10, right?”

Some gave him a few waves, while others passed him a smile and thumbs up. It seemed the weird nickname had stuck with most of the student body. Even a certain, eccentric red haired playboy by the other side of the hall, who was chatting it up with a cute girl from another grade, gave him an acknowledging nod.

“Yo.”

“Yo.”

Reo simply returned Akihiko Hatate’s greeting. It wasn’t that the players actively ignored each other during school hours, but a certain amount of time away from each other would do them some good, considering how frequently they all saw one another.

Housen, for example, was a 3rd year, which meant he occupied an entirely different floor. The others were all assigned to the second class of their grade, except for Reo, Totori, Toraichi, and Sekine.

Yurei, huh?

As Reo walked, he pondered the new nickname he had been given. It was peculiar. Yurei were malevolent spirits in Japanese folklore, akin to ghosts. His dribbling did make him appear more fluid and elusive, but also...

Maemi had hit the mark with a whole new depth due to his past. His previous experience with football had left such a profound scar on him that he felt like a shadow of his former self. Perhaps the nickname wasn’t too far off from what he was willing to accept.

As he rounded the corner to his classroom door, a few of his classmates’ eyes focused on him specifically.

“Good morning, Yuusaki-kun.”

“Good morning, Yu-rei!”

Others cheerfully, and others more cheekily greeted the young man who seemed to have risen in fame. Scoring an important goal for Hinami made you an overnight celebrity, Reo deduced, still visibly surprised.

“If it isn’t Yurei!” Totori grinned a little, as he emerged from the front of the class.

“You too, Toto?” The blonde teenager didn’t know if he liked the nickname yet after all, but with how everyone was adapting, it didn’t seem he had a say in the matter.

“I’m just joking, par’ner!” Totori smiled, “It is catchy, you have to admit.”

“Sure you’re not saying that ‘cause Maemi-chan made it up?”

“W-W-What?! How is that related?!”

Totori’s flushed face was all Reo wanted to see. He snickered evilly. As he did so, from the corner of his eye he saw a familiar face entering class.

“Good morning Shuna-chan.”

“Yo, Tsukimi.”

Reo gulped a little, and sent a small wave her way as they locked eyes. The calm beauty reciprocated the greeting, before another familiar face slid into view.

“It seems the ghost has found its prey…”

“Oye!”

It was Toraichi sneaking in with some characteristic teasing.

“Hey, you better keep your head in the game, dude! We don’t want you being preoccupied with Shuna during the next match!”

“Keep it down, dude!” Reo hissed, causing the two to lower their heads in response to everyone’s quizzical staring.

“…Wait, another match so soon?”

“But of course! The league’s about to begin! Ah, the thrills!” Totori’s face seemed to light up like a candle from the thought alone.

Of course, Reo affirmed, last year Hinami Pirates had missed out on the league altogether. Reo’s performance yesterday secured a win that meant the island would see many more matches this season.

“We play the Mizushima Clovers, though…” Toraichi’s face stiffened slightly. “It won’t be easy.”

“It’s not like you to be pessimistic, Take.” Reo narrowed his eyes at his friend, who’s usually a lot more up and at ‘em.

“He’s not, It’s just that Mizushima Clovers are one of the strongest sides in the Shinrin Championship.”

Totori of course referred to their league by its name.

“One of the strongest, huh?”

Reo muttered to himself, as he looked out the window. Facing some of the best might just be what he needed to gauge the league's skills, as well as his own...

A/N:

Hey everyone! Did you like Shuna's visual? Next up, Gonda or Kaoru?

Thanks for reading!