To Catch A Cloudy Feeling 18

Through her swaying curtains, the morning sun managed to filter in, and cast a light on the sleeping girl’s face. Shuna, the sleeping beauty, tried to fight the urge to open her squinting eyes, but the alarm that went off soon after put an end to her slumber for good. Not if she could help it.

She thought, and chose to snooze for another 5 minutes instead. Or more like 10.

“Shuna?”

Her door soon creaked open, and in came a woman with short black hair, and a tall yet astute figure.

The girl beneath the covers groaned, realizing it was time for her to awake from her sleep, and face this Monday morning head on.

“Mgh…”

After yawning to her hearts’ content, she sat up on her bed, eyeing the woman leaning against the door frame.

“Come on Shuna, your father’s already off to the school.” Despite her seemingly strict demeanor, Shuna’s mother, Hina, smiled at her daugther. “Breakfast’s ready for you downstairs.”

Shuna nodded in response, rubbing her eye till it was sore. Despite the somewhat diligent and composed aura she gave off at school and during football practice, she was actually not a morning person. She had trouble waking up too early, and especially for school at times like these.

Nevertheless, she got up and went about her usual routine.

As she brushed her teeth however, and looked at her sluggish face in the mirror, a certain event from last night graced her memories like a recap episode.

She squinted her eyes involuntarily, remembering a certain talk she had, with a certain classmate of hers.

Yuusaki Reo.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest enigma presented to her in years. He was weird in a unique kind of way. He sometimes appeared aloof and carefree, while other times simply plagued by something inconceivable. In her mind, she regarded him as a peculiar edgelord detached from reality, but also a common over-eccentric hotshot.

Yet there was something about him that didn’t fit any kind of mold. He was peculiar yet also… interesting.

That’s what she thought at first, for that matter. After yesterday’s talk though, she found herself…

Agitated.

“Hmph.”

She let down her toothbrush with a thunderous click, letting her nerves get the better of her.

She didn’t have a clear picture of him in her mind. He was still a mystery. There was definitely more to him than the circumstances and he himself let on, Shuna was convinced. And she also had a feeling this wasn’t the first time she had seen his face.

But after yesterday she also learnt he could also be undeniably egotistical. Selfish, even. He put himself over the team in situations where he shouldn’t have, as Shuna remembered vividly. Of course, yesterday’s defeat wasn’t entirely his fault, but…

“Agh…” Shuna groaned, as she buttoned up her shirt.

The weirds feelings she harbored for the newcomer were a mess. Just like her jumbled thoughts. It was probably safe to say, she wasn’t particularly fond of him either.

After all, he had something she didn’t, but took it for granted. He almost seemed to… deny it even. That was something that made Shuna furious at the thought.

Despite her weird train of thoughts however, Shuna finished her breakfast, and bid farewell to her mother. She wouldn’t be walking to school with her father today either, since he mostly went on a little earlier than any student. He was after all, one of the two P.E. teachers of the school in addition to the Hinami Pirates’ coach.

❖ ⚽ ❖

Reo’s walk to school on that same Monday morning was quiet. Oddly quiet, as even the newcomer himself noticed.

The few people milling about the island as he walked down the usual path seemed to be in a rush, moving about hectically, while others made their way sluggishly in contrast. There was something weird in the air that really gave him the impression of a heavy Monday morning. Even the bakery he typically visited for his late breakfast had a sign up, declaring it closed until noon.

Well that was a bummer…

Reo found himself waking up late once again, after all. As he observed the island's uncharacteristic lack of liveliness, he couldn't shake that weird feeling of unease. Was this subdued atmosphere because of yesterday's disappointing performance and result? It seemed unlikely, but Reo couldn't help but wonder.

As he approached the front gates, Reo noticed the familiar sight of his schoolmates shuffling towards the school like a herd of zombies. However, his attention was quickly drawn to a notice posted on a board just outside the gate.

That certainly wasn't here before. Reo seemed to think, edging closer and squinting at its contents.

With a typical plain font, a number of results were displayed, as well as a table full of team names stacked atop each other. Names of which Reo could only recognize a few of.

The details of the table read:

Inazuma VS Hanazaki Sakura: 4-0

Mizushima Clovers VS Hinami Pirates: 3-0

Nagareboshi VS Kujiroshima: 1-0

Washizora VS Inari Foxes: 1-2

Tetsudo VS Ozoku: 1-1

Nagashima Mariners VS Kaihime: 2-2

It was a list of 6 fixtures, featuring 12 teams in total. Before Reo had the time to connect the dots, a familiar female voice spoke from dangerously up close.

“It’s the results from this weekend’s matchday. We post all of that and the table on Monday morning every week.”

“Woah!”

Reo jumped at the sudden proximity of the speaker, who snickered evilly in response.

“Hey there, no need to get all surprised Reo-senpai!” The culprit, a twin-tailed menace going by the name of Maemi stretched out a newspaper copy to her upperclassman.

“Here. And good morning.”

After Reo mouthed another greeting in response, and took the newspaper that was basically shoved at him, the cheerful journalist bounced around and continued delivering her quota of the reading materials she had prepared.

The young man looked on in silent admiration, realizing it was actually a relief to see her unaffected by the weird aura hanging in the air since yesterday’s defeat.

Lowering his gaze, he caught a glimpse of the headline, and shook his head at the memory.

“Bitter defeat for the Pirates in Mizushima.”

Without another word, Reo left the notice board behind and made his way to class. When he finally reached his intended destination, Toraichi and Totori were there to greet him as usual.

“Aha, Reo my boy!”

Well Totori wasn’t exactly on the usual side. He had his legs propped up on his desk, and was hiding his face behind a spread out newspaper, no doubt the exact one Maemi had been giving out in front of the school gates.

“The hell?” Reo murmured, squinting, as he took his seat. “What’s with him?”

“Ah, don’t mind. He likes to think he’s some middle aged father of 3 when he reads his newspaper.” Toraichi waved the matter off nonchalantly.

“Hm, what do we have here? Inazuma scoring 5?” Totori started playing with his nonexistent moustache as he commented, “Can’t say I’m surprised…”

“Are Hanazaki Sakura that… bad?”

Reo couldn’t help but ask, remembering the results on the board.

“I think Inazuma is just THAT good instead…” Toraichi sighed. “They got our best player in the middle of the season last year and casually use him as just one of the many they already have, after all…”

Reo vaguely remembered how he was told about them yesterday. They were supposed to be the best team in the league according to what he heard, but scoring 5 on opening day made him question just how fearsome they really were.

Then again Hinami was second in the conceding chart…

“I see you’re well educated kids.” Totori grinned, and sipped on his mug and made a face. An invisible mug, might we add.

“Nagareboshi beat Kujiroshima…” The young man with the newspaper murmured in a low tone.

“What about it?”

“Nagareboshi are typically a mid-table team. Kujiiroshima typically fights for relegation, so the result makes sense.”

Reo nodded along as Toraichi answered his questions one after another. What was meant to be just a few minutes before homeroom had turned into an impromptu crash course on their upcoming opponents.

“Inari Foxes beat Washizora, huh? Tight, I’d say.” Toraichi pulled out his own newspaper and joined in.

This time it was Totori to give the information.

“Both mid-table clubs. Although I heard both have new young coaches and are aiming higher this year.”

“What about that one…?” Reo pointed to the draw between Kaihime and Nagashima Mariners.

“2-2? Oh man, wish I could have seen that…!” Totori broke character and sighed longingly. Unfortunately for football lovers, some of the games were played around the same time across the islands.

“Kaihime is probably the second strongest team in the league so that’s a bit of a surprise. However, Mariners have been in the top 5 in the last years, and they are the biggest team in the BIGGEST Shinrin Island so…”

“So the strongest teams are Clovers, Inazuma, Mariners and Kaihime?” Reo counted on his fingers as he asked.

“More or less. Hinami used to be there in the top a few years ago, in place of Inazuma and alongside our rivals Ozoku. Next to the Inazuma-Clovers derby, the one between us and them was up there too.”

“And who is this… Tetsudo, who drew against our rivals?” Reo cocked his head and thought about the meaning of the name. Why would they be named with the characters for railway?

“That’s the second team of Nagashima, the biggest island in Shinrin.”

“Yeah, their school is owned by the train company that built the tracks around the island.”

“Oh…” Reo nodded. That certainly explained the name. “Is the island big enough to have… a railway though?”

“Eh… typically, no.” Toraichi interjected. “Instead of local buses like us though, a private company built the railway as a means to show their wealth. They even funded a second high school in the island, which then created the team of Tetsudo.”

“Ah, there’s always a rich team story in football…” Reo sighed, having being reminded of a few such tales in modern European football.

“Well, they may be rich, but they’re not THAT good.”

“Case in point, they didn’t even beat Ozoku.”

“The manager as well as the players are fairly passionate, although they’re below what the fans would want them to achieve. They typically lose in local derbies were they face Mariners, but sometimes they actually give them a run for their money…”

“Ah, point is?”

Reo felt slightly confused by all the backtracking and information he had just received.

“Point is you never know who will win in a Shinrin derby… That’s the magic of football, I guess.”

“Okay, class is about to begin, everyone.” The teacher spoke in her outdoors voice as she entered the classroom, commanding attention across her students.

“And Totori, feet off the desk!”

“Ah crap, I forgot! Yes ma’am!”

Reo and Toraichi snickered at their friend’s expense, as homeroom was about to be underway. It looked like the briefing on Shinrin football history had ended for the day.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Come on… move it faster dude!”

“Hey, will you put a sock in it? You weren’t even unmarked!”

During the first training session following the Pirates' defeat, the players clearly didn't have their heads in the game. Some still had lingering frustrations to air out. Being a fan of the team you played for was undoubtedly a double-edged sword, amplifying the sting of defeat exponentially.

As Akihiko and Umio glared at each other, Housen tried to break it up, like the captain he was.

“Hey!”

However, Gonda took it upon himself and blew on his whistle, glaring like never before.

“Cool it you two! Now!”

Upon hearing their usually cheerful coach speak to them like that, the two bickering players stood at attention and looked away from their stare-down.

Gonda sighed, as training resumed.

“Father?” Shuna caught on, and looked up at her dad.

"It's good that they're passionate, but at some point, they'll need to learn to understand each other a bit better," the tall man remarked, pushing his glasses up his nose before offering his daughter a reassuring smile, “Maybe I’m worrying too much. They’ll probably do just that when I’m not looking.”

“You think?” Shuna’s smile only worked on one side as she looked back at the business end of the brief practice match, “...I wish.”

“Well for now…” Gonda raised his arm and blew on the whistle once more. All the players stopped, and turned to their coach.

“Training’s over! Gather round!”

The players naturally did as they were told, and formed a circle around coach Gonda and Shuna, while performing a few stretching exercises for their still-recovering muscles.

The sky would normally be coated in orange by now, but today the horizon was oddly gray and dull. A few clouds had begun to form over the island and the wind too, was also growing a tad more frantic. It kind of looks like rain is on the cards.

“Guys, I know losing sucks. I’ve been there. But no one individual here should shoulder the blame or look for someone to. We’re all in this together.” Gonda looked around searching his players with his gaze, as the culprits of the earlier argument lowered their heads in shame.

“Hinami Pirates is a team. And we need to act like one. If you can’t do that, I won’t hesitate to put you on the bench.”

Akihiko, the star man in midfield, gulped at the sound of such a threat.

“…But I’m positive it won’t have to come to that.” Gonda gave a reassuring smile, and clapped his hands. “All in all, good work today. We have a match against Nagareboshi on Sunday. If some of you thought Clovers away was a tough hurdle, Nagareboshi is a team we HAVE to beat, here in Hinami. So no excuses.”

Prompted to look to the future, the players nodded with conviction. Even Reo followed suit. That loss on Sunday wasn't something he'd wish to repeat.

“With that in mind, we’ll begin preparing accordingly come tomorrow. I’ll see you all in the morning, so have a rest, and a good dinner. Dismissed.”

Silently, the players absorbed their coach’s words like sponges in water and dispersed from the circle.

“Reo, can I have a word?”

Before the young man in question could follow along, his coach made the inquiry. Reo looked briefly at Toraichi and Totori and motioned for them to go home ahead of him, before following Gonda to his office.

The walk there was silent, save for the wind that was picking up outside and their footsteps echoing in the otherwise empty hallway.

“It won’t take long.” Gonda exhaled, as he drew back his office chair and sat across from the young man.

“Well… what is it?”

Reo sounded a little bitter, probably remembering the words the two had exchanged the last time he was there.

“No need to be so alert. I didn’t call you here to threaten you, so relax, will ya?” Gonda kicked back in his chair, and lit up a cigarette as he talked. He really loved smoking, didn’t he?

“It’s not like you have done that before, right?” Reo joked, causing Gonda to laugh out loud. Like he wasn’t the one responsible for it in the first place…

“…Anyway…” The man stopped laughing, and shuffled around his drawers for a bit, before sliding something across to Reo. “Here.”

“What exactly… is that?”

The young man of course, looked very confused. He was sure he’d get another lecture for some reason or another, much less be given something.

The item in question was a book featuring a retro photograph of a team posing on a football pitch. The photo was so old that it had turned grey, with only black and white hues remaining.

“The History of the Pirates…?” 

Reo hesitantly read the title of the black book aloud.

"Since you're still a newbie, I thought it would be good for you to get to know the team you're playing for. All the other players have heard tales from all these times written in there since time immemorial."

Reo narrowed his eyes, as he picked up the book.

“You want me to read about… Hinami Pirates?”

“Exactly.”

The young player inadvertently narrowed his eyes further.

“What for?”

“It might help you in more ways than you think.” Gonda produced a toothy grin.

“Well, thanks but—“

“No buts.” Gonda straightened up, and put out the cigarette on one of the less packed ashtrays before him.

“You’re not walking out of here if you don’t take it, young man.”

“Haaah…”

Reo sighed. His coach’s gaze was easily able to convey his conviction all too clearly. Without another word, and book in hand, Reo went on to get changed.

“Attaboy.”

Gonda gave a thumbs up, as his player closed the door behind him.

❖ ⚽ ❖

After Reo changed out of his training gear, and slipped into his school uniform, he made his way to the front entrance of the school.

As he walked, the sound of rain gradually grew closer and louder. By the time he had finished talking to his coach, it was really coming down outside.

Thankfully, he had heeded his mother’s advice to pack an umbrella.

Someone that didn’t, however, stood before the entrance, looking in silence.

It was Shuna.

Involuntarily, Reo started feeling anxious.

She looked like she had been avoiding him the whole day, and during practice too, she didn’t address him even once. Maybe it was him being self-conscious after yesterday, but he knew those subtle details to be true, nonetheless.

He still hadn’t found his answer either.

Despite the negativity clinging to his mind, Reo took a step forward. And then another.

“Hm?” Shuna turned, as she sensed his presence next to her. She was looking out to the rain, her mind seemingly clouded.

“…Forgot your umbrella?” Reo produced a small smile at her, which caused the girl in question to turn away and cross her arms.

“Nah, just thinking.”

She was probably blatantly lying, but Reo shrugged it off.

“Then you’re not just waiting for your father to finish up so you can go home together? Since you don’t have an umbrella...”

Shuna grimaced. His guess was spot on.

“Here.” After a brief pause in the air lingered, and the rain got louder, Reo pushed his rolled up umbrella towards her.

“What?” She was taken aback by the gesture, but she finally looked back at him.

“I didn’t get a good jog in during practice, so might as well…”

“What? Wait!”

As Reo shoved the umbrella into her hands, he lowered himself and prepared to sprint.

“See ya tomorrow!”

Before Shuna could stop him, the young man dashed down the road ahead, amidst the rain and wind. Just like that, his silhouette grew more and more distant.

As Reo ran towards shelter, his family’s pub, all he could think about was the days’ events.

The weird defeated aura in the air. The tension. Shuna’s inexplicably forlorn gaze. He didn’t want a repeat of all that.

❖ ⚽ ❖

For a few seconds, all Shuna could do was stare out to the street were her classmate had just disappeared to. His silhouette only faded further and further out of view.

“We could have… shared it, you know?” She muttered to herself, looking at the umbrella.

No. She was speaking in a roundabout way because she didn’t want that. She was actively avoiding him after all. Had he somehow noticed her sour mood?

“Haaah…” Finally she released a big and weary breath, in hopes that it would ease her tension. Why was she being like this? And why did the seemingly egotistical Yuusaki Reo do something so noble?

Maybe he had misjudged him. Or maybe she was just too quick to form opinions about others.

“I should just go home.” Finally resigning herself to the fact she wouldn’t be getting answers today, Shuna opened the umbrella wide and stepped onto the rain.

A/N:

Like Yoru requested, this week we have Yuusaki Mahono's visual! Who else have we missed?

Thanks for reading!