Chap6: Inter-Club

The match kicked off, with Inubishi taking possession and moving the ball forward through quick, clean passes.

Our team stayed compact, holding our shape. Then, an opening. Soda stepped up on the left flank and intercepted a loose pass. Without hesitation, he passed it up to Nakai in midfield. Nakai controlled it, looked up, and switched the play, sending the ball toward me on the right wing.

I took the ball under control. "I hope you're ready." I said to the player who had tried to mess with me before kickoff.

I advanced slowly at first, measuring him up. Then, boom, I exploded forward. A sharp cut inside, and before he could react, I slipped a nutmeg right between his legs.

"No!" I heard him groan behind me.

I kept pushing forward, pace rising with each step. "Stop him!" I heard someone shout from their back line.

Another defender came at me. He didn't overcommit, he was cautious, trying to read me.

No fancy moves this time. Just a quick shift to the side and a clean dribble past him. He hesitated for a split second, and that was all I needed.

I was through, surging down the wing with space opening up ahead.

I flew down the right flank, adrenaline kicking in. Another defender stepped up to block me, too slow. A quick feint to the left, I shifted right and breezed past him.

One more came charging in aggressively, perfect. I tapped the ball forward just out of his reach, slid my body between him and the ball, and let his momentum carry him past me. Now I was in full stride, closing in on the edge of the box. Without even looking up, I whipped a first-time cross with my right foot toward the penalty area.

The ball curled beautifully, arcing past the goalkeeper's reach into the heart of the box.

Ide was already there.

He rose above two defenders with perfect timing, thump, his forehead meeting the ball cleanly, redirecting it low and hard into the bottom corner of the net.

GOAL.

"Let's go!" Ide shouted, pointing toward me as we ran to celebrate.

I nodded, barely smiling.

[ Coach Ryosei's POV ]

I hadn't expected this.

That number 7 from Azumaichi, he was something else.

Orochi Shin, if I caught the name right.

His footwork, his vision, the way he dictated the tempo… He was dangerous every time he touched the ball. Even when I made adjustments, swapping defenders, tightening the lines, they adapted almost instantly.

'We've got work to do.' I thought to myself, arms crossed on the sideline. Still, it was a valuable experience for my boys. They needed to see this level.

[ Shin's POV ]

The final whistle blew.

4–0. Victory for us.

I glanced toward the guy who'd talked big before kickoff. I was this close to walking over and teasing him, return the favor with a grin and a little jab. But honestly, the scoreboard said it all.

I decided to let it go.

But then, he surprised me. He walked up, eyes serious, and said, "Good game."

That's it, no sarcasm. Just a simple acknowledgment.

I nodded. "You too."

We lined up and shook hands with our opponents. Win or lose, respect was part of the game.

As we packed up, Coach Ikeda turned to our hosts. "Thank you for having us."

Coach Ryosei responded with a small bow. "No, we should be thanking you."

And with that, we were headed back to Osaka.

Back in Osaka, I finally arrived home.

"I'm home." I called out, taking off my shoes at the door.

"Welcome back! So, how was Kyoto?" my grandmother asked. She was sitting in the living room with a friend of hers.

I stepped in to greet the guest politely, then answered her question.

"It was great. We won our match, 4–0. I scored twice and gave an assist."

"Well done!" she smiled, clapping lightly. Her friend congratulated me as well before they went back to their conversation.

I headed upstairs to my room, dropped my bag.

Then I laid down on my bed.

"Now it's time for the Inter-club tournament… against Naniwa Elementary, our rival school." I murmured to myself.

Back at school, the atmosphere had completely changed. Every club was buzzing—everyone was talking about only one thing: the Inter-clubs.

It was finally the day.

This year, the event was hosted at Azumaichi, so we got to witness all the competitions up close. One by one, clubs from our school faced off against those from Naniwa Elementary, the air was tense, every win and loss shifting the balance.

Unfortunately, when all the points were tallied… Naniwa was ahead. We had lost the overall competition.

But the main event, our football match, was still to come.

We stepped out of the changing rooms and walked through the tunnel, heading toward the field. As we emerged into the sunlight, a roar met us—the stands were packed to the brim.

'This is crazy…' I couldn't help but think, glancing around in awe.All of this… just to watch a match between two elementary school teams.

My grandparents were in the stands. I spotted them and gave them a small wave from a distance.

"Soda, put this on." Coach said as he tossed him the captain's armband. Soda caught it and slipped it around his arm proudly.

"Alright, get into position!" the coach added firmly.

We lined up, with the opposing team in front of the packed stands. After a respectful bow to the crowd and each other, we took our spots on the field.

Then a voice boomed over the stadium speakers. A commentator had begun to present the match.

"Both teams are now lined up on the field for what promises to be an exciting showdown!

On the home side, we have Azumaichi Elementary, featuring Mihashi, number 10, on the left wing, Ide, number 9, as center forward and Orochi, number 7, on the right wing."

He continued.

"—the captain, Soda, number 11, holding down the left defense and of course, in goal, the ever-reliable Tsuji, number 1!"

With the same energy, he introduced each member of Naniwa Elementary's team.