Found You 22

“I’m sorry… Shuuji-san...”

Nozomi lowered his head, as he spoke to his friend inside the dressing room. The shooting stars were definitely dejected but they hadn’t experienced a small amount of defeats thus far. They were a united team that knew how to move on.

Despite that, Nozomi couldn’t help but be ashamed that he had let Hinami’s number 10 get the best of him back in those last moments. Maybe if he were faster, or if he had trained his perception more…

“Don’t worry about it, Nozomi.” Shuuji smiled back at his friend, causing his negative thoughts to halt for a second. His friend’s natural smile helped quell the demons within him.

“And that applies to everyone.” The captain who still had the band displaying the C strapped to his arm, turned to every one of his teammates.

“I’m proud of you today. We defended well. These things happen, so hold your head up high, okay?”

“Hoshina…”

His teammates’ dejected faces soon turned livelier, looking at their kind and strong captain. With him, it seemed like they could keep getting better without pressure.

He did believe in them, after all.

“Shuuji…”

Nozomi gave a small grin in response. He knew he couldn’t wallow in self-pity for any longer. He had a job to do, and more training drills to go through.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Oh, Jolly Roger...”

“Waving true…”

“Oh, Hinami, we fight for you!”

In the Pirates’ dressing room, a late goal for the first win in the league in 2 years meant a mini party. The Futatsuki twins stood arm in arm, with Umio in the middle as they sang, while a grinning Totori clapped in the rhythm of their anthem. In the middle of the cheering, was the biology skeleton Totori has hugging, as if he were a cherished comrade. Their very own mascot.

“May our spirit never break…”

“In stormy seas we'll find the wa—“

“Yep, here comes the storm.”

“Wha?”

Suddenly the music was cut off, as their coach turned down the volume of the radio. Despite the act, he remained smiling.

The chattering and liveliness in the room seemed to die down, as the players in the room sat back onto the bench and awaited their leader’s words.

“You did a great job today.”

“Aye!”

The players cheered.

“…And that win was very important.”

“Aye, aye!”

“But that doesn’t mean we can relax.”

“Oh…”

Shuna laughed as the players jokingly whimpered.

“A win is a win. Tonight you can celebrate. But from tomorrow, we begin working once again, for the next game in a week.”

Everyone nodded at those words, while Gonda motioned for the captain to rise.

Housen caught on quickly and soon everyone had their hand stacked atop the pile on the table.

“Great work today, guys. And remember, this is only the beginning.”

“Aye.”

“1… 2… 3… HI – NA – MI!”

❖ ⚽ ❖

“AAAH! I’M DEAD!”

Totori stretched as soon as the three friends emerged from the back of the school building. The fatigue was clearly setting in, and after a few more cheers in the dressing room, the players dispersed one by one. There was no training tomorrow morning again, so naturally, most of them were delighted for the chance to sleep in a little longer.

While everyone was about to leave though, Reo, the man of the match, stopped in his tracks before the building that had a single light on still.

“Reo.”

Toraichi spoke, as he turned around, hands in his pockets. “You know we never did ask…”

“What REALLY made you so averse to losing today?”

The tall teenager’s question caught him off guard, and a normally air-headed Totori was quick to latch onto that this time.

“Heh, getting in the spirit, are we?”

The short young man grinned cheekily, but Reo shook his head instead.

“You could say that, but…”

With a breath he looked back at the dressing room, and Gonda’s office.

He had finally deciphered some of those weird feelings swirling around in his heart. And maybe, he was just a little light headed from the match, and began speaking without his usual filtering doubt.

“I wanted to win it… for her.”

“Eh?” Bewildered, Totori’s eyes widened like saucers, yet Toraichi seemed to catch on.

“You mean… Shuna?”

“Well, yeah.” Despite the slight tint redness to his cheeks, Reo nodded. “I saw what it means to everyone here. What winning and losing does to them. And you too, guys.”

“…But most importantly. I didn’t want to see her making a face like that ever again.”

“Heh…” Toraichi chuckled. “Love can change a man, huh?”

“Wow, I didn’t know Reo could be so… bold!” Totori was so shocked he was almost ready to start shouting, so Reo in return sealed his mouth shut.

“Shut up! Don’t broadcast it!”

“Haha!” Toraichi laughed. “We better get going then, right?”

“Going?! But he needs to tell us how, when and wha—“

“Let’s go.”

“Eeeeh?! Waaaait!”

The taller, stronger Toraichi, didn’t have any trouble dragging a kicking and fussing Totori away from the scene, as he waved goodnight to Reo.

“See ya, tomorrow. And good luck.”

“Good luck for whaaat?!”

While Toraichi got the hint and left a man to do his job, the same couldn’t be said for their other friend.

Behind the wall, a single blushing coach assistant emerged. Of course, she was there all along, waiting for the right time to appear. But as the seconds ticked, that moment fled further and further away from her.

Toraichi had probably realized long ago. And probably Reo too.

And so, he didn’t hide it.

Shuna was the reason Reo had tried so hard today. He now knew what those feelings within him were.

There was no grand romance story between them. No trials and tribulations. But love was simple. Reo had been struck speechless since the very first moment he saw her, and with each passing moment, that feeling only intensified.

He may have been foolish, and hasty. Even too hopeful for his own good. But he wanted more than what they currently had.

“Shuna.” Reo chuckled a little, and looked away.

“I… ah… Hey?” The fidgeting girl seemed flustered beyond words for the first time since they got acquainted. She was normally a lot more forward. A lot more composed. Mysterious even.

Before letting the silence stretch between them, the short haired girl tucked a brown strand behind her ear and spoke.

“You did great today. Congratulations.”

“Thanks but…”

“But?”

As Reo’s voice trailed off, he managed to swallow the lump on his throat and speak.

“I’d like for you to cheer me on as more than just a friend.”

His choice of wording aside, Reo’s declaration didn’t fail to reach Shuna loud and clear. Her heart was beating strangely in response, and amidst the silence, and the last cheering voices of the fans leaving the stadium, it seemed even louder.

“You… mean?”

“I wanna know more about you Shuna. Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

Despite the nerves and anxiety, Reo pushed through it all. He left everything behind and gave it his all. His one shot at goal, was suspended in the air, its trajectory unknown yet.

❖ ⚽ ❖

It was a simple summer day like any other when, a small young boy first set foot in the little island, cast away in the blue. An island that a certain young girl was proud to call home.

A football-loving expanse of land. A land called Hinami.

With her son and daughter in tow, a woman named Hikari made the trip to the island for a single purpose. Her beloved aunt had contracted an illness. An illness that sadly was bound to be the end of her. The old woman though, asked for her niece by her death bed.

She had no children of her own, and during young Hikari’s short stay in the island one summer in the past, she came to love her as her own.

Although Hikari’s mother, and sister to her aunt, couldn’t make the trip, the young mother spared no expense in doing so. When she had passed away with her dear niece and grandkids by her side, she gave the woman a single key.

The key to her shop, and home.

Naturally, the mother tearfully accepted the gift.

The same day, before she and her children departed, their mother stayed by her side. The kids however, strayed off the house, and opted to explore the small island.

One of them, the boy, separated from his sister, and followed the cries of a few other children playing in the small town’s square.

To his surprise, a group of kids was playing nearby, using a gray, old, and weathered ball, and makeshift goalposts made of poles. The setup was basic, with no clear lines marking the game space. Even so, the kids played their hearts out.

Intrigued by the game they were so invested in, the young boy walked up to them, and stopped the ball with his foot as it bounced towards him.

“Can I… join?”

Despite his out of the blue request, the kids playing shrugged. One bright brown haired boy even smiled.

“Sure, we were short one anyway!”

He stretched out a hand, and the young city boy shook it like some kind of CEO.

“I’m Kohei.”

The island kid introduced himself.

“Suit yourself.”

“The grumpy one, is Housen.” Kohei smiled as he pointed at the kid sitting next to the goalkeeper.

“The one in goal is Kyogo.”

“Nice to… meet you.”

Although timidly, the taller of the bunch nodded.

“And that here is Shuna.”

Soon, the young boy realized that the kid next to them was the only girl playing alongside them. Without thinking too much of it, the young city boy nodded at her silently.

“Finished? Let’s get this started!”

“Yeah, you’re gonna lose anyway!”

“Nee-san…”

Kohei, who seemed to be the leader of the group sighed, as a young girl from across the game area cupped her mouth and taunted them. It appeared to be his older sister, even if only for a couple years.

“Do you know how to play?”

“No… not really.”

The young boy from the city replied somewhat hesitantly.

“Do you know the rules?”

The boy again shook his head. While Kohei gave him a quick rundown, the opposing team didn’t care one bit and quickly kicked off.

“Hey!”

“Shoot!”

“GOAAAAAAAAL!”

“Hey that’s not fair!”

Catching their opponents unaware, the kids on the opposing team managed to score a very fast goal. Something that didn’t resonate with Shuna, the silent girl.

“Can it! Girls aren’t supposed to be playing football anyway!”

“Yeah that’s a boys’ sport!”

While the girl spectating from the other side taunted her, and the team joined in, Shuna clenched her fists and remained silent, her jaw setting in anger.

The young boy from the city observed, and shook his head.

“Let’s play!”

“Eh?”

“Kohei! Let’s go!”

“O-Okay!”

Reluctantly, the leader nodded and their team was soon back into it.

At first the young boy wasn’t doing too well. It was difficult for him to dribble, shoot and even pass.

“Heh, that’s all you got?”

But soon, he improved.

“Hey, newbie! Here!”

At an alarming pace too.

“Damn it!”

“GOAAAAAAAAL!”

Without needing more than half an hour of game time, the city boy was the best player amongst the kids, and scored more goals than they could count. But the opposing team was still winning.

“Shuna, are you okay?”

“Hah, we told you it’s a boys’ game. You should just quit!”

“Nee-san…!”

While Kohei’s sister was still taunting the poor dejected girl, all the leader of the team could do was hang his head and look down at his feet. They were still losing, and he was still unable to help his distressed friend.

At this rate…

“Who are you to say what she can and can’t do?!”

The young city boy with the black hair shouted back at the bewildered older girl.

“Wha?!”

“She can do whatever she wants! And she’s way better at this game than all you lot combined!”

“Y-You…” Kohei looked on in pure shock, as the previously timid boy had a fire burning within his eyes now.

“Shuna, don’t listen to them.”

Finally, for the first time, the brown haired girl turned to look at the city boy. His fiery eyes were burnt into her memory and his words would probably stay with her for years to come.

Nobody had ever sided with her after all. In Hinami old customs died hard. Football was primarily a men’s sport…. But Shuna couldn’t help but love playing despite that.

And after all those years, somebody had finally stood alongside her. Of course her friends played with her, but the feeling of being finally accepted, even from an outsider…

Blossomed in her heart.

The passionate young boy looked back at Kohei, and continued speaking.

“Don’t worry. There is no way we won’t win as long as I’m here. Give me the ball and let’s show them, Kohei, Shuna!”

Bewildered by the sudden passion he displayed, the leader of the team could only stare as the city boy singlehandedly lifted everybody off their feet and resumed the match.

He was confident. Almost too confident. But his words, and his eyes made you believe… he could actually turn that into reality.

Shuna began playing with more confidence, the silent Housen defended more thoroughly, and even Kohei himself felt more motivated.

The final goal was scored by none other than Shuna, and their team won it in the end.

“Hmph! You were just lucky. Come on, Kohei we’re going home.”

Kohei’s sister called, as the kids panted heavily from the rigorous exercise.

“Oh, I need to go too…”

The city boy realized, as he looked at the dipping sun across the vast horizon.

“The ship’s about to leave!”

“Hey, wait!”

As Shuna stood kneeling on the ground, utterly exhausted, her outstretched hand only caught air. The silhouette of the young city boy only seemed to grow more distant.

And that would be the last time she ever saw him. Nobody knew where he came from, or who he even was.

Soon, his appearance faded into the back of everybody’s memory.

Everyone but Shuna’s.

The only person that had supported her. The only person who had stood by her side. And she couldn’t even learn his name.

But even still, she would always keep his words close to her heart. And continue playing to her heart’s content. Naturally, the young city boy grew up away from the island, and that moment was but a small tiny memory to him.

His name was Yuusaki Reo, and after that small incident, football was all he could think about too.

❖ ⚽ ❖

Reo stood in wait, as Shuna was frozen in place still as ice.

Her mind wandered to the distant past. It took her on a trip to days long gone. To years before time had ran its course and set the things she now knew as fact, in place.

Shuna wanted to laugh at that stupid coincidence. At that odd stroke of luck. That weird working of fate.

She knew who the boy before her was. And he had grown into a peculiar young man. Even if he didn’t remember, his face seemed familiar to her since the time they met after all those years.

And finally she had found her answer.

She wasn’t sure of how she felt just yet. But from all the boys vowing for her attention even somewhat halfheartedly through her days, in Reo’s eyes she saw something oddly…

Right.

Shuna couldn’t make heads or tails of her heart. But she knew one thing.

She wanted to get to know this mysterious young man better. Maybe make up for all the time she kept yearning to meet him again.

And thus, with a slight tint to her face, the young coach assistant smiled.

“I’m a handful, you know.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I am one too.”

“And… I may not be what you think I am.”

Reo was the one to chuckle this time. “Fine by me.”

“Then, if you’d have me…”

Reo gulped as he watched her bright, bashful smile. With a nod, he smiled back.

“Glad to be… working with you?”

“Working?”

“Uh, dating? I mean… what should I say here?”

Shuna’s laugh reverberated around Reo’s ears as she tucked another strand of her hair away.

“Glad to be dating you too, then.”

A/N:

Reo visual is up in showcase!