As Ooura Higashi and Nitsuta Middle School lined up to conclude the match, the gathered audience wholeheartedly clapped. Many felt that the Ooura #17 was incredible but unlucky to have such an unreliable team, especially the #10. Some were simply moved by such an intense match between youths.
A select few, namely Yuki and Anna, could barely suppress their displeasure.
“They lost…”
“Yeah…they lost… There’s never been a match Ryu-chan’s been in where he couldn’t turn it around. Even if he scored and played well, I bet he’s frustrated….”
“…”
- - -
‘If only I didn’t make a blunder back there.’
Miyazaki’s self-contempt was interrupted by his teammates’ excited voices.
“Man, they were strong!”
“As expected of the top 2 in the district.”
“And we only lost by a single goal.”
“Yeah! That’s pretty good.”
“We put up a good fight!”
“Yup! Yup!”
“I actually tried back there!”
“Me too! I’m pretty satisfied! I got a sense of accomplishment!”
Seeing the joyful atmosphere, Miyazaki began to doubt why he even felt so hung up about losing in the first place.
‘Yeah. We did our best to hang on.’
However, when he turned towards Ryuu, who was sitting, the #10’s expression and thoughts froze. Leaning against the fence, drenched in sweat, was Ryuu, who was breathing heavily. It was only then that Miyazaki felt even guiltier than before.
“Ryu-chan…You played really well. If we had made a few more chances, the outcome might have been different.”
“That’s not the point, Yuuto. It’s the fact that I failed to score in the chances given to me. Soccer is a game of who scores more than the other, and as the sole striker, I failed, and that’s no one else’s fault but my own.”
Yuuto tightly pursed his lips as he lowered his head. The boy didn’t know what he could do to help his best friend.
Miyazaki stood rooted to the spot. To his left, teammates who were simply satisfied with having put up a “good fight.” On the right was a teen who tenaciously yearned for victory. And at that moment, the #10 had a revelation.
.
.
.
“I see…So Ryu-chan had that kind of loss….”
Oume Yuichi, the twins’ father, carefully took in his son’s retelling of today’s match against Nitsuta Middle School.
“Ryu-chan feels responsible for us not winning. And…even though we lost, I’m confident that he inspired someone on the team.”
Walking to the kitchen after a bath, Yuki, who heard Yuuto’s subsequent story about a particular #10, quickly left and went to Ryuu’s house.
.
.
.
‘Did losing always feel this bad.’
Ryuu, dressed in a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, stared at his ceiling. Then, instances of when Cameron lost matches flashed through his memories. Ryuu noticed that those memories were quite somber, especially the losses in international competitions and large tournaments.
‘Ha. Losing definitely feels awful.’
A few moments later, he heard a knocking on the door.
“Ryu-chan?”
“Sure, come in.”
The teen wasn’t surprised when Yuki, wearing a jacket over thin pajamas, took a seat on the side of his bed.
“Today must have been disheartening. But I heard from Yuuto….”
- - -
“THIS IS WRONG!”
At the end of the match, Miyazaki addressing the team, interrupted Ryuu’s internal revision of the game.
“We may have managed to keep the score close at 1-2. But! Did anyone even try to win? Despite only having two chances, Ichijyou managed to tie the game. What did we do? What sort of accomplishment?! How can we sit around laughing and smiling when we…when we didn’t even put in any effort!
WE DIDN’T TRY AT ALL!!!”
- - -
“It’s surprising to hear about a guy like Miyazaki saying such things. And that’s because of you, Ryu-chan. You want to shoulder all the responsibility, but you still need a strong team, and you managed to move another person’s heart with your incredible play.”
As Yuki turned and leaned toward Ryuu, she gave him an affectionate smile.
Without warning, Ryuu pulled Yuki towards him, so their faces were mere centimeters apart.
“R-R-Ryu-chan! What are you doing?”
The boy in question adjusted his position and wrapped an arm around Yuki’s waist, making the latter blush an even deeper shade of red.
“Do you seriously think you can come here wearing such thin pajamas and get away?”
Ryuu took a quick peek downwards, and he quickly noticed Yuki’s alluring form. The girl also realized what her crush had done, and she had to fight off the steam from coming out of her ears.
“Just stay here tonight.”
The teen pulled Yuki in closer.
“Wrap your arms around me, Yuki.”
With faux-reluctance, Yuki slowly embraced Ryuu and pressed her head to his firm chest. She felt Ryuu’s hand gently caressing her slightly damp hair as his hold on her waist tightened.
“Thank you for trying to comfort me, honey~.”
That was the last straw, as Yuki proceeded to faint.
“Hmph. Unless you plan on being devoured, you should be more careful.”
The following day, Yuki woke up still in Ryuu’s arms and could only pry herself out when the latter woke up. And despite her words of reprimand for the following days, it was evident that she was only saying it to keep appearances.
.
.
.
At the rehab center, Anna’s grandfather, Mirko Kovac, smiled encouragingly while watching his granddaughter perform a set of leg exercises.
“Three. Four…Eight. Nine. Okay last! Ten!”
“Haaa…”
“Okay. Let’s do one more set.”
“One more?! Any more is impossible!”
“Anna-san!”
Anna boldly refused the nurse while pulling her legs close to her chest.
“NOPE, WE’RE DONE!”
“Sheesh, are you slacking again?”
Anna turned at the familiar voice and saw Yuki dressed in a school uniform.
“You can’t be cutting corners for rehab.”
Pouting, Anna responded, “Yuki…What you came again? How bored are you?”
“How rude. I came along with Ryu-chan for his examination today.
“AH!”
It was only then that Anna realized that to the side of Yuki was Ryuu, who wore a calm expression. Yuuto was obviously ignored
“WH-WHY? Is there something wrong?”
“Just a standard inspection. Everything checks out, right, Dr. Takano?”
“Yup. There weren’t any problems.”
“That’s good….”
“Eh? Why are you panicking so much?”
Yuki was surprised by how red Anna’s face turned and her seemingly random arm-waving.
“Be-because yesterday, he had to keep colliding with that guy. I was worried, that’s why….”
“Right. You came to cheer yesterday. How considerate of you, but more importantly, you can already walk with a crutch. Looks like you’re making incredible progress, Anna.”
Anna felt as if she had been injected with stimulants and nearly exploded in joy when Ryuu addressed her.
“Even without a crutch. I can walk. Watch!”
Despite the protest of her grandfather and her nurse, Anna was determined to demonstrate to Ryuu the fruits of her labor.
The nurse, Yuki, Yuuto, Dr. Takano, Mirkov, and Ryuu watched as Anna took slow but steady steps forward. After she crossed three meters, Yuki and Ryuu were the first to cheer.
“Oh! Anna-chan, that’s amazing! Way to go!”
“Incredible progress.”
Anna turned and gave the two, really Ryuu, a dazzling smile.
On the other side, Mirkov shed tears watching his granddaughter as Dr. Takano tried to comfort the older gentleman.
“Yuki, you know Anna-chan seems like a good girl.”
“If you met the initial dark Anna. You might have been intimidated, Yuuto.”
“Ehhhh? I can’t really imagine….”
Ryuu listened attentively to Anna describe all the work she put in to start walking with a gentle smile.
“Look! Even a turn….”
Anna proceeded to do a spin but quickly tripped due to her overexcitement. Fortunately, Ryuu was there to catch the recovering figure skater.
“Waoh! Careful now, princess.”
He led Anna back to her chair.
“You’ve already taken the first steps. But stay strong. You’ll need even greater mental fortitude from here on.”
“Do you…ever get disheartened? Despite losing yesterday, can you still aim for Japan’s representative?”
“…Pfft. Not a representative. I plan to become Japan’s ace and lead us to a World Cup.”
“Ah…”
“Anna, don’t you know? Ryu-chan’s the type to go through with his plans!”
{…I really like you!} (A/N said in either Serbian or Croatian? I can’t be sure.)
Yuki was puzzled at those words, but Mirkov felt his legs go weak. Ryuu leaned in close to Anna and patted her head while giving her a subtle look.
“Get better, Anna. See you soon. Bye, everyone.”
After a quick bow, Ryuu led the twins towards the hospital’s exit.
.
.
.
“Being able to hug a cute girl, why you….”
“Huh? It certainly won’t be the last.”
“So bold! Aren’t you happy it happened?”
“Naturally. As I would be with any cute girl, wouldn’t you?”
“…True.”
“Don’t worry about it, Yuuto. I’m sure there’s a girl out there for you.”
“Yeah, yeah…But I wonder what she said at the end?”
“She didn’t look keen to explain.”
“It was probably something like, ‘I’ll do my best.”
“Sort of…”
Yuki, lost in thought, finally reacted when Ryuu gave a non-committal response to Yuuto’s question.
“What do you mean, Ryu-chan? Do you know what she said?”
“Yeah! Spill!”
“Who said I knew. I’m just as clueless as you guys.”
“…YEAH, RIGHT!”
“When you guys speak in unison, it seriously emphasizes that you guys are twins.”
“Argh! Ryu-chan, tell us!”
“Nah.”
They continued to light-heartedly pester Ryuu throughout their journey home.
- - -
Anna, with renewed vigor, continued with her exercises back at the rehab center.
“Five. Six. Anna-san, don’t push yourself too much.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“This girl. Fine, but take your time, or you’ll ruin your efforts…Seven. Eight.”
Contrasting wildly with Anna’s excited and slightly flushed expression, Mirkov was in deep turmoil.
‘{I really like you}.’
“Let me do one more set!”
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.
As the first rays of the sun illuminated the city, Ryuu found himself completing another set of agility drills. With laser focus, he performed each routine, ensuring that every movement was efficient and concise.
Nearly an hour later and Ryuu had moved on to shooting drills. He sought accuracy first, then power with each shot. The teen aimed at the targets placed inside the goal for a few hours. Eventually, he began practicing his free-kicks.
As the afternoon sun hung in the sky, Ryuu quietly ate his lunch as he blankly stared at the field. In his eyes, he saw an illusory figure, performing the same drills that he had just finished but with sharpness and fluidity that neared the level of superhuman.
The young man had wild and wavy dark-brown hair that was neatly trimmed. Light brown skin helped to accentuate his rugged yet handsome features. He stood at an impressive 6’2 ½ but had a streamlined and toned physique. As he proceeded with each routine, his hazel eyes looked uninterested, but his body language showed how meticulous he was with each movement.
“I know it’s not real, but it feels real….”
Ryuu heaved a sigh before hefting his duffle bag onto his shoulder and walking home.
From the moment he returned to regularly playing soccer, his memories of Cameron often resurfaced. Ryuu was thankful to whatever higher power or cosmic force had erased all personal information about his life as Cameron apart from his name and his soccer experiences. Having to live as an intruder in someone’s body would only worsen if he earnestly desired to return to his old life.
Truthfully, he found his situation to be ideal. He felt like a 14-year-old but had the mental maturity of a 23-year-old. It was also why he had no qualms about teasing Yuki and Anna. If he ever met the divine being that transferred his soul into Ichijyou Ryuu, he would have to thank him for doing an excellent job and then sock the deity in the jaw.
If he died as Cameron, why not just let him pass on? Whether it was eternal slumber or paradise that awaited him, at least it would be his intended course. If he hadn’t died as Cameron, then why was he here?
“I’m home.”
Entering his home, Ryuu shelved those thoughts for a later day. He stretched out his toes once they were liberated from his slightly too small shoes.
Ever since that match against Nitsuta, he had experienced another growth spurt and was now 180 cm tall. According to Dr. Takano, he should expect to be between 182 – 184 cm by the end of his first year in high school.
Despite his vertical growth, Ryuu had no intention of becoming a target man style forward. While he didn’t mind playing the role on occasions, he felt more at ease with the ball at his feet.
“How was your training?”
“It was good, mom. How was work?”
“Same as always.”
“Better no news than bad news. I’m going to wash up and head over to see Yuki and Yuuto.”
“That’s fine. Are you going to eat dinner there?”
“Yeah. I’ll probably sleep over too.”
“Make sure to thank their parents for their hospitality.”
“I will.”
After that brief conversation, Ryuu bathed and quickly went over to see the twins. The door, as usual, was open, so he strode in, making sure to take off his shoes.
“Excuse me.”
“Ryu-chan.”
Yuuto and Yuki came to greet him, and he couldn’t suppress his lips from morphing into a smile.
“Hey, you two.”
“How was your training?”
“Tiring but satisfying.”
“Yeah, tell us about it in the living room. The game has already started!”
Whatever worries he had today, he’d just have to overcome them one step at a time. With a lighter heart, Ryuu followed behind the eager twins.
