Set Sail 13

“Hm… Hm… Hm…”

“So sleepy…”

“Is everyone here?!”

Totori hummed, Toraichi yawned, but in the end Gonda’s booming voice overpowered anything standing in its way. And of course that goes double for the grumbles, and whispers that spread around the Hinami team.

Everyone stood in groups of three before the man, always clad in his black tracksuits and sporting his Hinami cap. Beside him stood his daughter, flipping through a list with her usual cool demeanor.

“Let’s see…” She tapped her chin with the pen, and raised her voice.

“Totori Shuichi?”

“Here! Here!”

“Pipe down…” Toraichi complained, as the short young man hopped and jumped above the rest of the team, attempting to catch Shuna's attention. Admittedly, Reo sympathized with his brawny friend. It was far too early for this level of energy and noise.

“Right… how about… Kaoru Nakatani?”

“Present.”

The young man smiled coolly through the procedure.

“Ayase Ishiguro?”

“Here!”

The mountain of a midfielder, and part-time farmer saluted like the soldier he was on the field.

“Takasaki Housen?”

The captain simply raised his hand. Naturally, he was tall enough to be visible even if he weren’t first on the line.

“Yosh, seems like everyone’s here.”

After everyone was accounted for, Gonda turned his back and led the way.

The massive steel vessel before them seemed to welcome them, its wide gate serving as the bridge between dry land and the renowned ferry.

Naturally, the days had come and gone, and the weekend was in full swing. Meaning, it was time for Hinami to head to Mizushima, the second largest island in the Shinrin archipelago, to face the Clovers.

The trip was a typical two-hour venture by ferry, with teams heading to away games usually setting sail in the early morning. Since the games were scheduled for the evening, there was plenty of time to spare, but teams were obligated to arrive on the island at least five hours prior to the match.

Apart from the Hinami team, only a small handful of people embarked on the journey alongside them. Of course, this didn’t apply to the evening trips, where normally at least a couple of hundred fans used their Sunday day-offs to come and cheer for their favorite team from the away end of the stadium.

The rest would just have to make do with the TV coverage in local pubs, or view it from home, much like the Yuusaki family.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Aaaah!”

Totori stretched overhead as the ferry blew its horn in the distance, signaling its departure. He, Reo, and Toraichi stood leaning against the ship's railing as the first morning light slipped deftly through the clouds, much like a nimble Argentinian dribbler.

The saltiness and the taste of the sea danced in the atmosphere as the ferry departed from the small docking bay of the island, carrying the Hinami team on its back for the opening match of their footballing season.

“That’s… Bushijima, right?”

Reo pointed at the island directly ahead of them. Frankly, it was so close to Hinami that it felt like you could just reach out and touch it. This proximity was also the reason why, instead of ferries, a single bridge facilitated passage from one patch of land to the other.

Totori raised a sneaky brow, “Heh, you know your stuff, newbie, eh?”

“Stop talking like that…” Reo sighed.

“It’s the island closest to us. And it’s also where Ozoku are from.” Toraichi pointed out, as they all gazed at the neighboring isle.

“Ozoku? That’s bound to be a team…” Reo didn’t even need to ask at this point. Every other talk was always football this or soccer that. Naturally, Reo's understanding of the island was limited to nothing more than a passing comment his sister had made as the ferry was docking on the day they arrived.

As the Hinami football stadium, the pirate statue and the school grew all the more distant in their view, Totori cleared his throat.

"Ozoku... the Hinami Pirates' sworn enemy," he spoke somewhat ominously, curling his index finger into a pirate hook. "In short, they are our local derby."

"Derby was the term used when two teams with a longstanding rivalry faced each other in a match. Reo, being an ex-football prodigy, was naturally all too familiar with the term.

“But why?”

In football, derbies existed for a reason, not just by chance. There was always underlying tension between the fans, and sometimes even disputes between the associations themselves.

“Well you know we’re the pirates, right?”

The three briefly checked their T-shirts. Sure enough they could see the skeleton on their badge as clear as day.

“And they’re…”

“Ozoku… Ozoku, huh? Royalty?”

Reo muttered to himself.

“Bingo!” Totori winked. “Long ago, Hinami was an island that was under the reign of a pirate fleet. And as you can imagine, the island next door was under the reign of…”

“Samurai.” Toraichi continued plainly, ruining the suspense Totori had built through his narration.

“So we’re the pirates and they’re the samurai?”

"Hinami was apparently an island that resisted any form of rule, while Bushijima next door served as an outpost for powerful samurai loyal to the shogun. Naturally, conflicts arose, but when Toyotomi Hideyoshi*, the shogun, intervened, the two islands ceased fighting, and the pirates either perished or abandoned their rebellious ways." Totori seemed to possess a penchant for history, particularly when it intersected with discussions about football teams. He concluded with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Well, that's if you believe the records of the island and the hearsay of the townsfolk."

(*Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a Japanese ruler who managed to unify Japan, completing his predecessor’s life-long commitment, Oda Nobunaga.)

“Still, some citizens still don’t see exactly eye to eye, when it comes to football.”

“Yeah…” Totori nodded along to Toraichi’s words. “It doesn’t really go beyond football, but both islands are strong believers of their history. So naturally, the conflict has left the realms of killing each other no matter what and ventured into winning no matter what.”

“I see…” Reo nodded. “That’s interesting.”

Reo knew all too well what derbies meant for teams and their people, so naturally he couldn’t help but look forward to the day Hinami would face Ozoku. Yet for now, he only had to focus on beating the Mizushima Clovers…

“Wow, that’s the first time you replied to football info with more than a shrug!” Reo’s uncharacteristic reaction caused Totori to bounce around, “Are you sick?! Or are the Pirates winning you over?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say the latter…” Toraichi shrugged his shoulders smugly.

As the silence filled with the cries of seagulls and the rising wind, Reo's eyes swept the deck. Most of his teammates were inside, so other than Kaoru and Sota, hardly anyone was out on the deck. Except for one pair that caught the attention of the eccentric teenager.

It was Housen and Shuna, talking animatedly next to the ferry canteen.

For some reason, the sight didn’t exactly sit right with Reo who narrowed his eyes at the scene.

What was their deal?

He thought at first glance.

“Ho, snooping are we?” Totori snickered by the side, as he followed his friend’s line of sight.

“I-It’s not like that! I’m not even snooping.” Reo managed to catch himself and refocus.

“Falling hard for the coach’s daughter, are we?” Toraichi, who seemed to know when to jab for maximum effect, looked over the two of them with a grin.

“Guys it’s—“

“We know, we know…” The tall young man waved, “See, a lot of people are smitten by her, mostly because she’s attractive and partially because she’s an oasis amidst a sausage-fest but…”

“But what?”

“Well, she’s mostly cold towards anyone who tries to get too close. Or so I hear.”

Toraichi’s words hung in the air, before Totori broke it with a chuckle.

“Well, she DID reject Junya and Akihiko, the top two playboys of the school more than a few times…”

“She did?” Reo’s posture seemed to reflexively straighten out at the sound of that new information.

“Yeah… Not to mention she’s so unapproachable for the rest, Sekine made a weird cult worshipping her instead of actively talking to her.”

“His skills when interacting with the female population are also to blame for that.”

“So that cult thing… really is true?”

“Please don’t ask…” Toraichi grimaced at the mere recollection, so Reo decided to let it slide.

He furrowed his brows.

“What about… Takasaki?”

“Heh.”

“Cut it out.”

Catching Reo’s glare, Totori wiped the smirk off his face, “Well… they’re childhood friends. So they’re comfortable around each other. There’s not many people Housen-senpai actually chats with anyway.”

“Is that so?”

Reo had heard some of that before but for some reason he wasn’t quite sure that was all there was to it.

"Let's head inside, it's getting chilly out here," Toraichi suggested, rubbing his arms, prompting the trio to venture into the interior of the ferry lounge.

❖ ⚽ ❖

Within the lounge, apart from those who decided to catch a few winks after their brutal 6 am awakening, a select few were gathered around, looking up at a TV. It was a very early Sunday morning, what could they be watching?

Compelled by their curiosity, Reo, Totori and Toraichi moved over and looked up at the flashing screen as well. Within it, there were a set of characters, kicking and punching, weaving out of blows and charging up an array of energy blasts.

“Hey, it’s DB!” Totori cried, his eyes sparkling.

“Really?” In return, Reo furrowed his brows, “This early?”

DB was probably the most popular piece of animation known to Japan, and despite it running from the 90s, it was still going strong in both fame and revenue. It was about fighting, and never giving up.

“They’re just rerunning some old episodes, that’s why they’re airing them this early.” Toraichi explained.

“Oh…” Reo found himself nodding, and turned back to the screen.

“Vegenda is such an ass for siding with Majon, man.”

“What?! Don’t you remember what he did next AFTER that?!”

“After what? Blasting half a stadium full of people?”

“Hey, that was Majon’s influence!”

“Sure, sure. Kogu should have wiped the floor with him at this point.”

“Hey, guys…”

Even if Totori’s attempts at making Akihiko and Umio stop fighting over their favourite characters were met with failure, Reo and Toraichi joined in the session around the TV.

A lot better than doing nothing, Reo thought.

A/N:

Hey, everyone. I was thinking of postponing today's chapter out of respect for Akira Toriyama, who's been a huge inspiration for me and surely countless more people, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, I thought a tribute would be more fitting, even if small. With that said, rest in peace legend. 

As for football Island, we'll be getting an extra chapter on Sunday since this one was admitedly short. Thank you for reading!