The Eagle & The Pirates 26

The night was still, and the many passengers aboard the peaceful ferry were asleep, as the giant vessel cut through the waves.

Yet one person was restless. Clicking and typing away at his laptop, the blue light of the screen reflected off his round glasses.

He pushed his blonde fringe away from his face, and readjusted his eyes across the screen. Numerous plans, tactic boards and analytics lay before him. His screen laid bare before him, tabs upon tabs upon tabs being utilized to their fullest. His face was young, concave and sharp, and his brown eyes even more so.

Completely absorbed in his work, he made no sound, and showed no sign of stopping either. Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a silhouette of a petite woman.

“Sazami-san… I figured you’d still be up.”

She murmured, a knowing smile on her face. Her expression didn’t show surprise, nor reprimand despite her tone. Instead, she looked on in silent admiration.

“Ah… what time is it?” The man finally turned to meet her gaze, smiling somewhat apologetically himself.

“It’s almost the break of dawn, you know…” She replied, passing him a hot mug.

“Really?” The man accepted the token of kindness, and furrowed his brows.

He had been so caught up on analyzing his opponent time and again, that he had evidently lost all track of time.

That was his nature, good or bad. Always thinking, always planning. Crafting and weaving his way through the gaps in every soccer team he’d face.

Tanatsu Sazami. The newest coach of Washizora, and the youngest coach in the history of the Shinrin League. Being an official coach in as young an age as your early 30s, was a fit difficult to accomplish, and evidently, Shinrin coaches were too tough to be replaced by someone so inexperienced. But when the old-timer of Washizora saw Tanatsu’s skill…

He couldn’t help but stand down.

This young man was too talented for anything less.

“Did you go through all of Hinami’s data from the past seasons?” The woman beside him, only younger than him for a couple years, sat beside him on a couch, and brought her own mug to her lips.

Ayumi Shinonome. Coach assistant and star of the female team back in the day.

“I’m positive we have everything we need… Just ironing out the finer details.” Tanatsu nodded equally to his assistant, as much to himself.

“Do you think we can win?”

“There is a posibility.” Tanatsu leaned back, and sipped his hot black coffee. “…There is a single unplanned variable that we don’t have enough data on, though.”

“Unplanned variable?”

“Hinami’s number 10. I’ve never seen nor heard of him before. He’s… he’s difficult to handle.”

As a silence stretched between coach and assistant, Tanatsu shook his head, and went back to his screen, eyes narrowing and brows crinkling back into gear.

“Some more planning, won’t hurt, right?” Ayumi filled in the gaps of the conversation herself, as she sat beside her coach, and looked at him work.

There was something more than admiration there. A silent feeling that kept growing by the day. Alas, it wasn’t time for any of that.

Washizora faced Hinami in a few hours. And while their players slept soundly through the ferry ride that spanned for more than 5 hours, the eagle’s coach was working hard to ensure a positive result all throughout.

Washizora, the black and white eagle, was ready to face the pirates.

❖ ⚽ ❖

The sun was up, the clouds were few and far in between, and the Hinami bleachers were filled to the brim with black and white flags, welcoming this early kick off.

In Sunday evening, the island of Hinami beat as one black and white heart once more.

The dressing room was as lively as always, and the players came off a good result last weekend, and a productive week of training.

Shuna unfolded her glasses, and looked at her clipboard, while the players hydrated themselves.

“Washizora has a new coach this year, and we don’t have enough data to analyze their tactics at length just yet. The only thing we know about is their best player…” Shuna nodded to herself, before flipping over a few papers.

“Niyuki Matsuno. He’s agile, fast and tireless. He covers the right flank of Washizora’s play and can defend as well as attack with the same intensity all throughout the match.”

Shuna tapped at her chin, “There is also a player who’s scored a few goals for them already…His name is Minoru Usui… I see here he used to play as a striker, but was converted into a number 10 instead. I’m thinking we ought to keep our eye on him too.”

“Perfect.” Gonda concluded his daughter’s technical analysis, and gave a hearty grin.

“Today we play OUR football, in OUR home. I want maximum effort from everyone. Here’s the starting 11…”

Incidentally, the 11 players Gonda fielded were the same as the ones who started against Nagareboshi last weekend. A winning team shouldn’t be replaced, was maybe what the Pirate coach thought last night while making the preparations.

The players were ready. Reo was ready. Totori was excited and Housen looked on in silent anticipation.

“1…2…3… HI-NA-MI!”

The pirates were ready to set sail.

❖ ⚽ ❖

When the two teams positioned themselves on the pitch, the pirates were applauded, and the black and white fans sung their anthem to their heart’s content, the referee stood ready to blow the whistle. There was a palpable tension the air, as the teams stared each other down, and the coaches shook hands.

“May we have a great match.”

“Good luck.”

Gonda and Sazami exchanged pleasentries, yet their eyes remained challenging all throughout. They were about to go to war, after all, and both of them undoubtedly shared the sentiment.

Washizora was a team based on one of the smaller Shinrin isles, that went by the name of Sorajima. Their crest was a bald headed eagle and their colours were the exact same as those of Hinami. To that effect, the visitors wore a kit half black, and half burgundy, making their white crest stick out proudly.

Washizora. Sky of the eagle, it meant, combining one of the most prominent predators in the island with the name of it.

But was that predator ready to face the pirate fleet?

“HI-NA-MI! HI-NA-MI!”

The fans were ready, and so were the two teams. When the whistle was blown, the ball glided across the grass with charged electricity.

The ones in possession were the eagles, as Hinami got to pick which goal they would be attacking after winning the coin toss. And naturally, the choice was easy: attack the goal in front of the loudest stand. A great way to boost morale, Gonda thought when he saw his captain’s choice.

Washizora seemed calm on the ball, composed, and calculating just like their young coach. For a team that was supposedly good at defending, they didn’t seem any less lacking in knocking the ball about.

The first chance came early, when Minoru Usui, the ex-striker, and now playing in attacking midfield, came off the Hinami box to receive a pass.

“Junya! Damn it!”

Housen clicked his tongue. His defensive partner took the bait and followed his opponent, leaving a space open in the box.

“Coming through!”

The right winger of Washizora, Niyuki Matsuno stepped onto Hinami’s danger area like a freight train devoid of brakes.

The stadium was silent, as the attacker took the shot, and the ball was deflected by Haneda and out of play for a corner kick.

“Oh!”

The fans could breathe again. That was a close call.

“Nice one Haneda!” Housen patted his keeper on the back, and assigned roles for the corner kick. In the meantime…

That guy’s good. Reo wiped the sweat off his brow, and looked at the false nine of Washizora.

False nine was a term used to describe players that acted as strikers, but were mostly used outside the box, to draw away opponents and open up spaces.

And that was exactly what Minoru Usui seemed to be doing. He was also the…

Captain.

The armband wrapping around his bicep was testament to that.

Washizora were not JUST another team, the experience within Reo seemed to tell him.

And it was true. No matter how fast Hinami ran, how patient they were in attack or how aggressively they pressed, Washizora was like a solid rock.

The fans kept signing, chanting for their players, but the Eagles were evidently in control.

“WASHI-ZORA! WASHI-ZORA!”

And the exactly 200 fans who made the journey were delighted by what they were seeing today.

“Damn it!” Shuna clicked her tongue, realizing how much of a disadvantage Hinami was in for no reason in particular. They simply appeared outplayed.

Her father next to her was also looking skeptical. He knew close to nothing about his young opponent, but he never would have dreamt he would be in such a disadvantageous position. Tanatsu Sazami had plenty of data to study on Gonda, while the same was not true for the Hinami coach.

Yet football was a sport that could be defied in a single moment. And Gonda still held hope on a single person who couldn't be contained by tactics on a whim.

“It’s all according to plan!” Ayumi Shinonome beamed next to Sazami, who simply looked on, unreadable frown etched on his face.

“Hm…” The coach rubbed at his patchy beard, “Almost, according to plan.”

“Almost? But they don’t even have a shot on target yet.” The coach assistant turned to look at the game, her brows furrowed.

“There is still that…”

Unplanned variable.

Washizora was strong and sturdy. They were aggressive when needed, calm in other instances, and fast in the counter.

But there was a gap Reo could exploit.

The young number 10 was running for people other than himself up to now, but the next time he got the ball, he would try out something of his own.

Washizora attacked once more, but their delivery seemed shallow in midfield. A hard fighting Ishiguro tackled an opponent to the ground and left an opening to Hatate to receive the ball.

“Hatate!”

Reo ran forward, arm raised.

“Hmph.” The red-haired maestro grinned, and delivered a pass that cut through the grass like a razor. Still running, Reo received the ball, and controlled it with the outside of his foot. Even so, he easily brought it forward and ran at the opponent’s goal.

He was still far away… But he didn’t mind it one bit.

Their quick interception left Washizora in a manner of disarray, and their sturdy defense was now scattered all over the place.

Following textbook procedures, two defenders close to him closed in to stop the ball, or even Reo himself if they had to. Sazami surely preferred both, but…

Reo knocked the ball over their feet and sprinted away. His every touch was like a cat’s caress, light and feathery. The ball barely disconnected away from his boot.

The young 10 looked up, and saw Toraichi prowling about the area. Totori had dragged one opponent away with his off-the-ball movement, and now it was a clear 2 on 2.

Reo kept driving it up the field, and when one of two defenders came up to stop him, he put the ball between his feet, leaving him dead in the water.

“NOW!”

Gonda roared from the bench. Toraichi disconnected from his marker and made a run for the goal, albeit a little to the side.

But that had to be enough. Reo passed it ahead of him, and the Tiger dashed down towards the open space.

“GOOOO!”

The crowd rose to their feet, flags stopped waving, and breaths were held.

Toraichi made contact, the keeper came out to stop the striker, but the ball was shot right over his head.

The whole world seemed to stop, as the ball soared freely across the air. Tora’s left foot was never his strong suit, but it HAD to work now.

Clink.

“AAH!”

The crowd breathed out sharply in an instant, as the ball ricocheted off the post.

Heh.

But the magical 10 hadn’t said his last word. No. Not yet.

The ball dropped from the air, and bounced right in the heart of the box. The keeper having come out, was nowhere to be found, and Reo having made the run towards goal…

Simply headed it into the empty net.

“GOOOAAAAAAL!”

The pirates roared, limbs flying up into the sky.

“Yes!” Gonda punched the air, Shuna's arms shot up, and the bench ran to the touchline.

All the players came up to celebrate, as Reo turned back around towards the bench and roared,

“YOSHAAA!”

“You little devil!”

“Tutu, Ferrari coming through!”

Akihiko smiled and patted Reo, Totori simply joked with a goofy grin. Like after every goal, all the pirates were a big hug near the touchline.

“Goaaaal for Hinami! Number 10, YUUUU-REEEI!”

As everyone split back into position, and while the announcer was having fun in the meantime, Reo passed a glance towards his…

Inspiration.

And of course she smiled back.

After the gaze lingered, the star man simply retreated.

While the fans had a hard time calming down, Sazami’s stony façade didn’t break.

Instead he simply muttered…

“Hello... unplanned variable.”

And jotted down on his notepad.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Keep it up! Their defenses are tough, but now THEY need to come at us! Keep your wits about you, and we can do this!”

Spirits in the Hinami dressing room at halftime were expectedly high after their 1-0 advantage. Of course they weren’t where they wanted in terms of performance, but hanging onto the lead had to be easier than trying to break the deadlock.

Washizora on the other hand…

Had work to do.

And Sazami knew what his team needed.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Let’s go!”

"We can do this!”

Washizora and Hinami cheered respectfully, before the first whistle of the second half was blown.

The eagles came out even stronger than before, and focused less on defense as was easy to see. Maybe if Hinami could find a bit more space…

However Reo was pinned in the middle of two taller midfielders, the likes of Sazami subbed in at halftime. A less tall and muscular one stuck to the young man and followed him all round as if he were his shadow.

However that was the least of their problems.

Hinami had to hang onto a lead, and not attack. But that proved to be even more difficult than their initial task.

“Usui!”

Their strong winger, Matsuno, crossed the ball perfectly into the box, but Housen jumped higher than everyone to clear it.

“Leave it!”

However, a Washizora player called out, and the midfielders ready to prowl swayed away from the ball. Neither an attacker, nor a winger made the call.

Instead it was a center back, the deepest lying defender, who run up field.

With his curly black hair almost forming a crown around his head, his red eyes locked on the ball.

With a thunderous left, the ball sailed off his boot, and went straight towards goal, force akin to a homing missile.

Haneda, the keeper with feline-like reflexes though, had a knack for fast shots. He jumped, hands outstretched ready and locked to stop the ball and save the day.

That’s when it happened.

Mine.

The simple purple eyes of Minoru Usui reflected the light of the sun in them, absorbing its very energy. With agility and wit unmatched, the ex-striker jumped to the ball, as if to clear it.

That’s not what a teammate should do, Housen thought, as he too put a foot to intercept.

But if there was one thing Reo knew about football as he watched was that you could take the goal scorer out of the box…

But you can never take away his awareness and hunger for goals.

Usui jumped forward, and tapped the ball away from the direction Haneda faced. With one touch, the round goddess spun in an entirely different direction and with the keeper defeated, all it had to do was nestle into the net.

And it did.

The ball smoothly found its resting place in the Hinami net, and the hundred eagle fans cheered to high heaven.

“GOAAAAAAL!”

The clearly less enthusiastic announcement came soon after, while the Hinami team and fans alike stood shell shocked.

“Goal for Washizora. Number 9, Minoru Usui.”

The scorer went over to his supporters to celebrate, while the eagles embraced each other as one.

“Maru, that was a great shot!”

“Great touch there, cap'n!”

The two focal points of that attack joked, as they shared a hearty handshake, and went back into position.

On the other hand, a still poker faced Sazami nodded and sighed in relief, next to an ecstatic Ayumi.

“Sazami-san! Telling Maru Doan-kun to push upfield and shoot worked in our favor!”

“Maru has a great left for a defender, and Minoru has great awareness…” Tanatsu Sazami smiled slightly, before turning back to the field.

“Great work! But don’t lose focus just yet!” He gulped and trained his eyes on the opposition’s coach for a second.

“Our work is just getting started.”

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Damn it!”

Akihiko clicked his tongue, as his shot sailed over the goal, and the crowd standing on its feet, sat back down dejectedly.

The songs were still going, and the cheers although helpful, didn’t mean much in the face of Washizora’s solid defense.

It wasn’t long after Akihiko’s attempt, that the referee blew a resounding whistle, to signal the end of the match. An exhausted Reo hunched over and supported himself on his knees, panting.

The final score was ultimately 1-1. The teams shared a point going forward, and despite getting equaled after a great goal, the Hinami fans applauded all the same.

Nobody however, was entirely satisfied.

Nobody except Sazami who shook hands with Gonda, smiling a challenging smile.

“Thank you for a great match.”

“Likewise, kid. Not bad for a newbie.”

After the war had been fought, there were no hard feelings between the two. Talent recognized experience, and that was the end of that.

“Good game, Reo.” Toto patted his friend on the back, as Toraichi came over too.

“That was… hard. But, good job you two.” The tall striker breathed in and nodded.

As pleasantries between the two teams were exchanged, Reo craned his neck to look for his girlfriend. She didn’t look exactly pleased, but not irritated either.

And frankly, he felt the same.

After the game against Nagareboshi he felt like nothing could stop them, but Washizora…

Was too good at defending. They left zero spaces for him to dribble past them. Sure, he had a few decent runs, but other than the goal, he couldn’t contribute more to the score line.

“Good game, number 10.” Suddenly, a figure emerged before Reo. It was Usui, Washizora’s captain. His purple eyes bore at him with less intensity, and his easy smile prompted him to shake back his hand.

He was Minoru Usui, there was no doubt, but he looked different, Reo observed. Sure enough though, the young men shook hands.

“Yu…rei, was it?”

“Well, that’s just a nickname.” Reo shook his head, “It’s Yuusaki Reo.”

“I see. You were pretty good.” The captain pointed out. Upon closer inspection, his undercut dark hair had a purple hue to them too, although the black roots were already showing. Dyed, huh?

“You too… Minoru Usui, right?”

Reo played a dumb, despite remembering clearly who he was, even before the game had began.

“Yep. Good luck to your team for the rest of the round.”

“You too.” Reo eased back too, as Minoru Usui took his leave.

“Until we meet again.”

Minoru Usui muttered, his eyes regaining their sharpness. “Yuusaki Reo.”

“What didja talk about?!”

While Reo thought everybody was out of earshot, a certain reporter with a notepad and a camera around her neck, held her tongue out as she scribbled with her usual fervor.

“Maemi-chan…?” Reo’s eyes narrowed.

“You’ll have plenty of time to interview…” Shuna emerged behind her soon enough, and grabbed Maemi by the back of her collar, “…Later.”

“Go pester my father for his thoughts instead.”

“I CAN?! Oh, thank you, Shuna-sama!”

While Maemi trotted off to interview the Hinami coach, Shuna trained her eyes on the number 10. And her boyfriend.

“Good effort out there.” Finally she eased back into a smile.

“Thanks, I just…”

“Wish we could win.”

There it was. As Shuna finished his sentence, a wry smile crept across her features.

Today’s match was undoubtedly difficult, but not winning stung even for Reo, never mind someone as passionate as Shuna.

“We’ll get them next time.” Reo straightened up, and attempted a grin.

“Trying to cheer me up?” Shuna laughed.

“Exactly… Trying.”

“Well, you get an A for effort.”

Laughing, the two of them retreated to the dressing room, applauding their supporters all the while.

❖ ⚽ ❖

On the way back to their home island, Tanatsu Sazami closed himself off into his cabin, eyes trained on his computer yet again.

“Yuusaki Reo…” He sighed, and cracked a smile, “Or should I say… Jyutani Reo?”

As he clipped a few files together in a folder, he eased back into his seat.

“Now how exactly did you find yourself in Hinami of all places?”

A/N:

Washizora visuals are up in the showcase! Thank you for reading!