The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 48: The Gameday!

"So, Ryukkun is playing in the middle of such cold weather like this? Outside?" A girl, two years older than Higo, walked with both hands in her pockets, shivering slightly at the breezing wind. "Man, I cannot believe this happened. Are you sure that this is really him, and not an impostor?" She joked lightly.

"Oh, don’t be like that, Aya-chan! Have some trust in your little brother! Also, this is quite warm, you know? It seems being in Tokyo for a year is enough to make your body forget about your Hokkaido identity." The older woman next to her chided playfully.

"Come on, Mom! Only you would be so proud of having a cold resistance like this!" The girl rolled her eyes exasperatedly, yet those eyes were sparkling lively.

Those two were a pair of mother and daughter, Minami and Ayaka Higo. They were here, of course, to support the youngest member of their family, Ryusuke Higo. The big sister, to be more specific, came secretly from Tokyo, really wanted to know the change that her ’I am a salty fish’ brother had over the year she was away from home.

Of course, Higo—or in this case, Ryusuke, to make it less confusing—didn’t know that his sister would come. It was common knowledge in every household for siblings to conspire against each other like this.

Just like in the first game, Minami, the mother, came with a camcorder in her hand, ready to immortalize everything today. Like her mother, Ayaka also had her smartphone in hand, snapping photos here and there. Honestly, with the sunglasses they wore in such chilly weather like this, they looked far more suspicious than they thought they would be.

Fortunately, some people—one of the three kind seniors who greeted Minami in the last game—noticed their presence. That boy was Ojiro, the bald head, and he couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation when he saw Minami like this.

"Obaasan, I will not say anything about you supporting your son, but can you just dress normally, not like someone from a spy movie?"

"Ufufu... That would make me more obvious, right?" Minami replied with her mature giggle, enough to make the boy blush. When he turned around, the boy got flustered more, not expecting that she would come with another beauty. "Oh, so, you notice her too? She is Aya-chan, Ryukkun’s older sister. Aya-chan, this is Ojiro-kun, the kind senpai who helped me the first time I watched the game." She introduced those two quickly.

"Wait, older sister?!" Ojiro was so shocked that his jaw dropped a few inches. He blinked in disbelief for a second before muttering unconsciously, "What the hell... All the good-looking genes should be flowing through you both and failed to get to your son, right?"

In return, Ayaka snorted, finding the remark to be funny. "That’s a good one. Still, thank you for helping my mother in the past." She bowed politely.

"A—Ah! It is nothing!" The boy stammered for a moment. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

As they exchanged pleasantries, Minami’s eyes wandered around, and she found that they were not the only spectators today. "A lot of people also come to watch, huh?" She couldn’t help but mutter.

In total, there should be around fifty people here, which, while it might not look much, compared to the first game, where she was basically there alone with the three boys from the club, it was definitely a major improvement.

"Yes... I mean, some local dudes and alumni who are the team’s supporters want to show their support." Ojiro explained. "I mean, this is the third round of the tournament, a crucial game for the team. One win away, and they are going to play in Sapporo. So, it is a big deal for the supporters as well."

Minami nodded silently, while Ayaka’s gaze drifted to the pitch, especially to the other side of the pitch where a familiar face was warming up. The boy, even if he was short, had a huge presence there, shouting, laughing, and even punching the other boy, albeit playfully.

Hell, she even winced at the sight of her brother diving on the ground, rubbing her forearms slightly as she felt the pain even just by watching from afar.

"Incredible, right?" Her mother suddenly spoke again, her tone was soft. "I myself have never thought that my boy would be willing to do this kind of activity. I really have to thank that girl for that, you know?" She laughed, wiping a single tear on the corner of her face.

"...Somehow, I can see how Ryukkun is getting dragged by Kumiko-chan, you know?" Ayaka snorted. "That girl is so formidable when she sets her mind to something. I don’t know how Ryukkun is so lucky to have a friend like her."

As they were lamenting at Higo’s incredible luck, the situation on the pitch also changed. The referee finally led the players from both teams to make a line, as they started to shake hands with each other before the game began.

Higo also took a deep breath, his eyes shifting to the area outside of the pitch. The boy didn’t know that his sister was there, but he was so sure that his mother would be there for him.

’Oh, well, it doesn’t matter where she is. As long as she is here, I cannot show an embarrassing performance here.’ He clenched his fist in determination.

After some more formalities, the game was finally about to begin. Ritsumeikan High won the coin toss and decided to start the kickoff. At this point, all the Hakodate Nishi players had already set their eyes on their opponents, especially the number 14 on the other side of the pitch.

Takuro Iwai.

’He is a beast that could only be stopped by Sappotani’s monster defender. If we could do the same, at least, can we say that our defense level is there already?’ He couldn’t help but mutter.

Fweee!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Ritsumeikan players kicked the ball quickly. All the Hakodate Nishi players with black-and-white jerseys also moved, wanting to initiate their plan to mark Takuro Iwai to death.

However, much to everyone’s surprise, Takuro Iwai didn’t stick with the ball for too long.

The boy suddenly became a maestro in the midfield, raising his hand slightly as a signal to his teammates on the frontline.

BAM!

Once Yuji was close enough to do anything, the boy had already launched a precise long ball, a pinpoint pass straight to the opponent’s striker, who managed to sneak behind Jun’s defense. Seeing this, Higo only had one proper reaction here.

’Oh, fuck!’

Before that, the striker slammed the ball, and then...

BAM!

Hell broke loose.