The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 63: After the Game

"FUCK IT! WE FUCKING DID IT!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Higo threw the ball in his hand as far away as possible, crying with laughter as he kneeled on the pitch. Following him, Makino rushed, slamming into the boy with teary eyes.

"You fucking bastard! You crazy, crazy—!" He choked, not even able to think of any coherent sentence that could describe his feelings right now.

This was not the isolated case. All the Hakodate Nishi players also cried, all hugging each other with some having tears flowing down their faces. No one noticed it at first, but the moment everything was over, all the players with the black-and-white jersey realized just how crazily difficult the game was.

"Damn, Ishinori~! You are soaking in sweat right now!"

"Ha! That means I work harder than ever! What about you, still having your jersey tugged in like that?! Lazy ass!"

"Hey, I have you to know, that this lazy ass scored an amazing free kick that gave us the lead, okay?!"

The atmosphere also turned into a cheerful one, what with each one of them supporting each other with so much laughter echoing throughout the pitch. People outside, even though the number wasn’t much, also gave a round of applause, cheering for the team’s crazy win today.

"Damn, you did a fucking great job, Makino!"

"Hiroshi, don’t worry! Tomorrow’s lunch in the canteen will be a discount for you!"

"Hey, Higo! Fuck it, you are the best goalkeeper I have ever seen!"

"How about Miyashi?"

"...Damn, we are so blessed with a goalkeeper, huh?!"

Miyashi, the team’s retired goalkeeper, just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as people started comparing him with Higo. Still, it would be a lie if he said that he wasn’t ecstatic here. After all, he witnessed with his own eyes how the team fought tooth and nail to become the ultimate winner today.

"What? Envious of them?" Ojiro, the bald guy, nudged teasingly.

"...Yeah, you can say that." Miyashi sighed in remembrance. However, that somber expression was gone quickly, replaced by a huge grin on his face. "Damn! I really miss that sweaty and satisfying feeling after the game is over like this! Once the university begins, I cannot wait to play football again!"

"Atta boy! That’s the spirit!" Junya laughed, slapping the back of his friend’s head quite hard.

Of course, while one side was basking in cheers and glory, the other side was in a complete hell.

Most of the Ritsumeikan players were still on the pitch, some sitting with empty gazes, while the others couldn’t hold back their tears anymore. Iwai himself, the man who had done everything, from trying to keep the team alive to the one who buried the team’s dream with that penalty miss, just stared at the opponent’s side in a complicated mood.

He just sat quietly on the patch, his hand covering his face as he tried to catch his breath after ninety exhausting minutes. Sweat soaked his jersey, and the weight of defeat lingered heavily in his chest, leaving only silence, disappointment, and the bitter feeling of a hard-fought loss.

"So, this is it, huh..." He muttered under his breath, words stuck on his throat.

"Yes, this is it, Iwai." Someone suddenly spoke, snapping the boy from his own thought. When he turned around, Iwai could see the captain, the midfielder with the jersey number 8, extended his hand for him. "Come on, Iwai. Get up. The quicker we leave, the quicker we can cry on the train later."

Iwai choked, not expecting the captain to be so cruel like that. "Don’t you feel sad about this defeat?" He asked, feeling the corner of his lips twitching. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Of course, I am sad. Don’t misunderstand me as someone who doesn’t care here. I am the one who has trained the hardest in the last couple of months." The captain retorted.

Iwai just nodded silently, knowing that the captain was right. Compared to him, who was lazy since he had already secured one spot in the main team, the captain still had to prove that he belonged there. Even if he inherited the captain ban from the retired senior, the coach would never allow a not-so-capable player to go to the pitch just because the senior members vouched for him.

So, yeah, the captain was always the one who worked the hardest, coming in first to the pitch while also leaving it the latest every day. If there was anyone who deserved to be sad, it would be him here.

"I am so gutted right now, Iwai, but don’t get me wrong," The boy’s eyes were full of fire as he hammered the image of his teammates’ disappointed reaction inside his head. "We still have the winter tournament before retiring. Both Sappotani and Hakodate Nishi... We will repay this debt a hundredfold in the future. Get that in your thick skull, Iwai."

Iwai was still grieving, but seeing the captain as ready for another round of torturous training to get the revenge, somehow, all the negative feelings were slightly alleviated inside his heart.

Then, he started to join the captain in helping his teammates get up quickly. Of course, he didn’t forget to apologize, still thinking that half of the responsibility for this defeat lay on him. However, no one really blamed him, because all of them knew that they reached this stage mostly because of Iwai’s effort.

"Senpai, don’t say it like that! We are so grateful to you!"

"Yeah, Iwai! Don’t worry, we will repay the favor tenfold next winter!"

"Come on! Why the hell are you apologizing here?! It should be us for being useless, okay?!"

After another round of emotional outburst, all the Ritsumeikan players were finally ready to leave, yet not before shaking hands with the Hakodate Nishi players first.

It was a bittersweet feeling, and honestly, Iwai didn’t really want to do it right now. If not for the procedure, he would’ve run away quickly after the game was over, choosing to cry silently where no one could watch his weakest moment.

As Higo came to offer a handshake, their eyes met for a moment, and a spark of rivalry burned in Iwai’s eyes. He had to admit that Higo’s performance today was out of the world, and if it were another goalkeeper, the boy was confident that he would be able to bag one or two goals today.

Still, the game was the game, and now that he had lost, he could only think of the ’what-ifs’ scenario inside his head.

With a little sigh, he gripped the boy’s hand tightly, quietly muttering, "You have beaten us today. Don’t you dare lose embarrassingly against Sappotani, okay?"

Higo was the only one who heard that, and the goalie also tightened the grip of the handshake immediately. "Don’t worry, I don’t intend to suffer even against them."