Tension Among The Team

All eyes were on Kurogami who ate his meal calmly, unaffected by the tension in the air.

Jiho, appearing annoyed and furious, said, "You think you are better than us, huh?" His voice was a low growl of rage.

Kurogami chewed his meal before looking up at Jiho with a serious gaze, "I am!" he declared.

Jiho's anger mounted and he tried to reach Kurogami but Raya held him back by placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Jiho shot a glare at Raya, who was smiling calmly. Raya then turned his gaze to Kurogami, and with a smooth voice he said, "It's nice to hear that. You being the best will be beneficial for us."

Kurogami kept eating his meal in silence, not even acknowledging Raya. Meanwhile, Raya's smile remained steady, while Jiho was still furious.

Suddenly Izaya, the youngest, spoke up, his voice loud with excitement, "Yeaah, if our goalkeeper is the best then no one can stop us from winning!"

Jiho shot an irritated look at Izaya, "Why are you yelling?"

Izaya's smile didn't waver as he met Jiho gaze, "Well, Kurogami's right to some extent, even I am better than you!"

"Huhhh!" Jiho's frustration boiled over, "What did you say, you young brat!"

With that Jiho and Izaya quickly fell into a playful banter, easing the tension in the room, with everyone watching them with amused smiles.

Haruma was watching them with a smile, when he shifted his gaze to Kurogami who was eating his meal without showing any interest in them...

Inside the gym, a loud chorus of cheers was echoing, as everyone being shirtless was surrounding Jiho who was also without a shirt was amidst lifting a heavy weight, his own screams of efforts echoing, his face a mask of fury and determination as he was struggling to lift.

Haruma was standing some distance away, watching them with wide eyes because the weight Jiho was trying to lift was 300 kilograms, way too much for him.

The rest of the Tokyo Wolves surrounding Jiho were cheering him on with intense fervor. Raya, however, stood apart from the chaos, watching them with a calm smile.

Sweats pouring down his face, muscles straining, Jiho let out a roar before finally lifting the weight, causing the others to burst in enthusiastic cheers and celebrations, while Haruma watched him with wide stunned eyes.

Izaya, caught up in excitement, jumped up high and gave a big slap at Jiho's back, causing Jiho to lose his balance resulting in weight to drop and he himself fell forward landing on the ground, face-first, causing everyone to go silent.

Izaya with a sheepish smile rubbed the back of his head, "Oops, I guess I made a mistake!"

"You little brat!" Jiho muttered under his breath before lifting his face up to reveal his red nose with a small trickle of blood.

With his face etched with rage, "I'll kill youuuuu!" Jiho screamed and jumped to his feet.

Izaya with a big chuckle turned around and bolted out of the gym, his laughter echoing as Jiho seething with a furious scream ran after him, chasing him down.

Izaya's laughter rang through the corridors chased by Jiho's furious screams behind him.

Haruma was still in surprise, kept his eyes locked on the entrance of the gym, just then an arm casually draped over his shoulders.

"Hey, Haruma!" a lazy voice murmured near his ear, the speaker's warm breath reaching against his skin.

Startled, Haruma turned his eyeballs to his left to find Kabuto, his half-lidded eyes and a creepy smile was far too close to comfort.

"I saw you play." Kabuto drawled in a low, lazy tone, "You are an interesting one… I'm a defender. So how about one-on-one?"

Haruma appeared both confused and surprised, keeping his eyes locked on Kabuto.

A hand rested on Kabuto's shoulder and pulled him back from Haruma. It was Raya.

"Hey Kabuto." Raya said with a smile, "I'd appreciate it if you start your training and let the others train too. Three sets of lunges with ten reps each."

Kabuto let out a sluggish sigh, and with his shoulder dropping he turned around and started walking away.

Raya turned to Haruma with a smile, "Haruma, start with three sets of push ups with fifteen reps each, I hope you can do that."

Haruma nodded with a smile, and as he was about to turn away, Raya called him out, causing him to turn back to him.

Stepping closer, Raya stood right before Haruma, "Haruma I'd appreciate it if you talk with your friend. Ask him to coordinate with us, it would cost us if he's not willing to show teamwork."

Haruma turned to Kurogami who was doing pull ups with his headphones on.

Turning back to Raya, Haruma said, "He's not exactly my friend or anything, but don't you worry I'll try to talk to him."

"Great," Raya replied, "Let's give our best in serving this team." He extends his hand for a shake.

Haruma smiled and shook hands with him, both exchanging smiles...

On the training grounds everyone was fully immersed in cone dribbling, each player giving their best, pushing their limits. Dressed in their Tokyo Wolves training bibs except for Haruma and Kurogami who were still in their casual attire.

Raya, with his face etched with focus, started dribbling through the cones, moving forward. His movements were smooth and perfect, making everyone praise him under their breaths.

As Raya was done, Izaya was next. Biting his tongue in concentration, he began dribbling his focus unwavering.

The coach Minato was standing near them, observing everyone closely with sharp eyes.

After Izaya, Jiho came next and with his face etched with fury, he let out a shout before performing the dribbling with intensity, though his dribbling was not that good.

Then came Haruma, who came and started dribbling. His movements were fast and accurate, every touch was controlled with accuracy, making everyone appear slightly taken aback by his speed and skill...

With a fierce shout, Jiho burst into a sprint tearing through the running track, passing through the coach who was standing, holding a speed measuring gun.

Coming to a stop, Jiho swiftly turned to the coach, still catching his breath, "Coach, how was it?" he asked eagerly.

The coach nodded and said, "That was impressive Jiho!"

Hearing the words, Jiho looked up and let out a triumphant yell...

Raya came running forward and shot the ball, sending it soaring through the air cutting cleanly through the huddle before striking the target hung at the corner of the net, leaving everyone to watch in awe.

Next up was Nagisa, the boy with purple hair, who fired the ball with immense strength which struck the target in no time. Causing everyone to break in murmurs of his praise but Nagisa remained stoic.

Now, Jiho took the shot sending the ball which went past the huddle but instead of hitting the target the ball hit the post, causing a frustration groan to escape from Jiho's mouth, pulling his hair in frustration with Izaya laughing at him in the background...

With a big sigh Jiho falls backwards to the ground, lying flat with his arms spread out.

The sun was about to set, and all the players were gathered together at the corner of the field.

With a big smile Raya announced, "Great job today everyone! That was an amazing day at training, now make sure you all rest up well, tomorrow's training is going to be even tougher."

Exhausted, everyone sluggishly raised their hands in agreement, lacking the energy to respond.

Haruma with a smile picks up his training bag, preparing to leave.

"Wait just a second!" Jiho called out, his voice suddenly full of energy, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Jiho pushed his body up, sitting up straight on the grass with a look of determination crossing his face.

"Before we go, I wanna prove myself!" Jiho exclaimed with a determined voice, "I want to challenge someone who thinks he's the best!"

With that he turned to Kurogami, who was staring back at him with a serious face.

A heavy silence fell over the scene, with everyone caught off guard by the sudden challenge. Izaya was excited, while Raya and Haruma were taken aback.