The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 8: Higo’s First Game!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch...

"So, that’s Hakodate Nishi, the runner-up of the prefecture last year, huh?" A fierce man with a long scar spanning across his cheek snorted in disdain as he watched the home team warming up. "I don’t see anything special in them."

"Um..." All of the Esashi players just stared at each other awkwardly, knowing that their head coach always looked down on all of their opponents.

"What? Don’t believe me?" The man noticed his players’ gaze. "The only reason they managed to get to the final last year is that other than Sappotani and us, Hokkaido has no strong school! Honestly, if not for us getting bad luck in drawing against Sapotani in the semifinal last year, we would have been able to reach higher!" He lamented his luck last year. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The man was Jirokichi, the head coach of the Esashi High. His words might seem a bit boastful, but the reality indeed was so close to it. Well, not the part where he thought Esashi was on par with Sappotani, of course, because it was full of delusion. But his words about Hokkaido having no strong school were indeed true.

After all, Hokkaido was far from the center of the country, and the harsh weather there made it difficult for the school in this prefecture to develop a good team. The only one who managed to thrive was Sapporo Otani High, or as people commonly referred to it, Sappotani, a prominent school in Sapporo that had a collaboration with the J-League club Consadole Sapporo.

The school received a lot of benefits from that team, from technology, knowledge, and experience, so it was no wonder they were able to dominate Hokkaido for so many years. This was the cruelty of football in this barren place, as only those with strong backing could thrive further.

While Sappotani was able to sit comfortably on top of the mountain, though, the second place was still open for everyone, and it usually became a dog fight between five or six teams to get into that spot. Esashi was one of the teams that always fought for that spot, and they could be considered a powerhouse in this prefecture.

However, the appearance of Hakodate Nishi last year, who somehow managed to snatch the second place from anyone’s grasp, stunned the top team like them. That was why Esashi’s head coach felt a little bit of grudge here, wanting to prove that this Hakodate Nishi was just a flash in the pan.

"Anyway, let’s get this over quickly!" He clapped loudly, gaining his players’ attention. "You see their goalkeeper?" The man pointed at Higo. "He should be a new addition to their squad. However, his height is not ideal. Ideguchi, Harao, Tetsuo, you know what to do, right?" He glanced at the three attackers of his team.

Those three boys stared at each other for a moment before giving a solid nod. "Bombard him with the aerial cross, right?"

"Yes! Since they are giving us a glaring weakness like this, they don’t have the right to blame us if they cry later!" Jirokichi nodded in approval. "Okay, everyone! Let’s show them what it means to be a powerhouse! Don’t disappoint me, okay?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

-0-

After the warming-up session was done, the players from both teams were finally ready. The referee—someone who the school rented from the federation—also took a glance at the clock, signalling that the game was about to begin.

"Nervous, Chibi?" Makino suddenly asked, his tone mocking.

Higo rolled his eyes sarcastically, tightening the gloves on his hand while saying, "As if! Don’t think you can act superior just because you are more experienced!"

Inwardly, though, the boy was shaking and sweating like bullets. This was going to be his first-ever game, and honestly, the only thing he wanted to do right now was to run as far away from the pitch as possible. He also started regretting his weak conviction, always wilted under Kumiko’s request.

However, he would never show that in front of Makino. No, Higo would rather die than give the captain a chance to mock him relentlessly later. So, even with him having to swallow all of his negative feelings, showing weakness was never an option in the first place.

"Good, at least, you are calm enough in your first game." Makino nodded in approval. "Just listen to me and watch the ball closely. Protect the goal, and leave the rest to us." The boy said before walking away and chatting with the other players.

Higo clicked his tongue in annoyance, staring at Makino in disdain. However, he had to admit—albeit begrudgingly—that the man was quite charismatic on the pitch, enough to make him willing to listen to the captain’s command. Of course, he would never say something so embarrassing like that out loud.

’Tch! I’ll let you show off for now. But later, this game will become my show.’ Higo mumbled under his breath.

A moment later, the referee finally blew the whistle, signalling the beginning of the game. The kick-off started with Hakodate Nishi having the possession, so Higo had quite a free time watching his teammates pushing forward.

He kept strolling around awkwardly, wondering what he should do. For all the knowledge that Kumiko imparted in their daily conversation, everything disappeared instantly from his brain when he needed it the most.

To make it worse, before he could even panic, the first test finally arrived.

Somehow, his bald midfielder—Fujinaga, if Higo remembered it correctly—accidentally tripped the opponent’s player, resulting in a foul. Soon, the ball moved into the left wing, and with two tall players running into the penalty box, his mind suddenly went blank.

’Damn! What should I do here?! What should I do here?! What should I do here?!’

Then, in such a crucial moment, his clairvoyance suddenly sent a signal into his brain, and before his consciousness could process everything, his body moved already, rushing forward and plucking the ball in the air.

Thud!