Kicked Out of the Bottom Soccer Team, I Found My Strength Thanks to My Beautiful Junior Manager. What Began as a Simple Act of Kindness Turned into Her Coming Over Every Day.

Chapter 45: A Classmate Complained About My Play.

The next day, Haruhiro showed up for club activities.

Whenever his eyes met Takumi’s or Kana’s, he awkwardly looked away.

Takumi felt a sense of relief, sensing that Haruhiro wouldn’t be trying anything else for the time being. Kana, on the other hand, was indignant, grumbling about why he couldn’t even come over to apologize. Takumi calmed her down, suggesting that such behavior was just a part of being an adolescent. She nodded, though her face remained clouded with dissatisfaction.

Just as Captain Nihei had mentioned three days prior—the day Takumi was promoted to the second string—they finished a light practice menu and moved straight into a scrimmage.

Whether by coincidence or design, Takumi was placed on Team A along with Nihei and Haruhiro. They finished the first half against Team B with a score of 0–0. Takumi focused on working with his teammates on defense to avoid being a burden, while on offense, he concentrated on observing his teammates’ habits.

“Good work, Senpai!”

“Thanks, Shirayuki-san.”

Kana handed Takumi a drink. When he gave her a small smile of thanks, she beamed back before moving on to distribute drinks to the other club members.

“Hey, Takumi.”

“What is it, Kotarou?”

Yamada Kotarou, a fellow second-year, was wearing a clearly irritated expression.

“What the hell are you doing out there?”

“About what?”

“Don’t ‘about what’ me! You missed your mark on those passes and cost us two chances at a fast break!”

Takumi knew exactly which moments Kotarou was referring to.

“Those weren’t misses; I shifted them on purpose. If we had pushed a fast break then, it probably wouldn’t have worked.”

“What…? You’re trying to justify a mistake?!”

“No. Think back. At that time—”

“Haruhiro was pushing the flank, and Yuuta was marking him. Haruhiro has the height advantage. If he had secured the ball, it would’ve been an instant chance. It’s that simple,” Kotarou snorted.

“Exactly. But Kashiwagi-senpai, their center back, was positioned to help immediately, and Haruhiro didn’t have any support nearby. If he’d lost the challenge, it would have guaranteed a turnover.”

Takumi knelt down and drew the player positions in the dirt to explain.

“Y-You’re just making that up on the fly, aren’t you?!”

“—No, he’s right.”

The first one to back Takumi up was Haruhiro.

“Wha—?!”

“In those two situations, it’s just like Takumi-san said. Kashiwagi-senpai was watching me, and I didn’t have any backup. It likely would have been a struggle even if I’d received the ball then.”

(…Huh.)

Takumi was surprised. Not because Haruhiro had defended him, but because the boy had accepted the reality that he would have struggled to handle the ball.

“Looks like we’re settled, then. I don’t mind you guys clashing over opinions. Kotarou, Takumi, Haruhiro—if you think a teammate’s judgment is wrong, speak up. That goes for the rest of you, too, got it?”

At Nihei’s words, the teammates who had been watching with bated breath responded with a chorus of “Yes!” and “Got it!”

(Impressive. By addressing everyone else at the end, he left us no room to keep the argument going.)

Takumi was impressed; Nihei truly was a captain. At the same time, Nihei was feeling impressed by Takumi.

(To be able to state his opinion that clearly, despite just joining and being technically and physically inferior to the others… he’s got guts.)

But simultaneously, Nihei felt a flicker of dissatisfaction.

(The first half wasn’t bad. But at that rate, he won’t be a starter for the second string. Coach Kawabata and Miwa both praised him. You can do more than that, Takumi. You should have finished gathering your intel in the first half. Show me your true worth in the second.)

Nihei looked at Takumi. Takumi gave a small nod. Without a single word being spoken, it looked to Nihei as if Takumi were saying, “Leave it to me.”

***

(What on earth is this—?!)

Throughout the second half, Nihei was in a constant state of shock.

It didn’t look like Takumi had changed anything drastically. At most, he was playing slightly more aggressively than in the first half. However, whenever he got involved in a sequence of passes, lanes to teammates that were supposed to be closed suddenly opened up.

After observing for a while, Nihei realized the truth. Through subtle movements, fakes, and passes that carried a specific “message,” Takumi was manipulating both allies and enemies exactly the way he wanted them to move.

“Is that even possible…?! How far ahead… how many moves is he seeing…!”

Nihei was also good at reading the intentions of others on the field, but Takumi was on an entirely different level.

You might just end up captivated by Takumi—.

That was what Miwa had said when they were discussing him.

“…Looks like you were right, Miwa,” Nihei muttered to himself as he sent a sharp vertical pass through a lane to Haruhiro that had opened up before he even realized it.

(Nice pass, Captain.)

The moment the ball reached Haruhiro—no, even before that—Takumi was already moving. Haruhiro bypassed one defender with a dribble.

“Haruhiro!”

Takumi received the ball at his feet with perfect timing, faked a direct shot, and instead slipped a pass just ahead of Haruhiro. A classic one-two. The opposing defender and keeper, having reacted to Takumi’s shot feint, were powerless to stop Haruhiro.

The ball shook the net.

“Nice goal, Haruhiro.”

Takumi gave him a quick word and walked away.

“…Nice pass.”

Hearing the muttered reply behind him, the corners of Takumi’s mouth twitched into a tiny smile.

***

“…Shirayuki, Takumi-san. Can I have a moment?”

After practice, Takumi and Kana were approached by Haruhiro.

“What is it?”

Takumi turned his whole body to face him, but Kana only turned her head to give him a sideways glance.

Haruhiro bowed deeply, his body bent at a right angle.

“I… I’m sorry about yesterday and the day before.”

“It’s fine. Just be careful from now on.”

Takumi accepted the apology. Truthfully, he had been quite angry, but he believed it was a senior’s duty to correct a junior’s mistakes. If the boy came to apologize of his own volition, Takumi felt he should forgive him.

“Yes… Shirayuki, I’m sorry too. I was only thinking about myself.”

“…Anyone can apologize. Show me through your actions from now on.”

“Right. I understand.”

Haruhiro nodded submissively even at Kana’s harsh words. Takumi thought that perhaps the boy wasn’t bad at heart; he had just been in a poor environment until now.

***

After offering one last apology, Haruhiro departed from Takumi and Kana.

Watching the exchange that had unfolded before his eyes yesterday, and reflecting on their interactions up until now, he had finally realized it. The idea that Takumi was stalking Kana was nothing more than his own delusion. And just as they had told him, he had been chasing an ideal of how things should be, while turning a blind eye to reality.

Of course, he hadn’t been able to accept reality right away. He’d thrown a bit of a tantrum in his room.

But anger doesn’t last forever. In a moment of sudden clarity, Haruhiro had been able to accept his mistake. He was an impulsive person with heavily biased thinking, but he wasn’t warped to the core. Once he accepted reality, the rest was just a matter of processing his emotions.

And today, during the scrimmage, he had seen Takumi’s greatness. The more Takumi was involved in the play, the more Team A’s offense came alive. Recognizing Takumi’s skill was the final trigger that led him to apologize.

“Even without thinking too hard about it, it was obvious that Shirayuki has feelings for Takumi-san. She doesn’t show favoritism during club activities, but the kind of smile she has for that man is clearly different.”

Haruhiro was exasperated with his past self, and at the same time, he felt the terrifying power of confirmation bias.

“Anyway… ‘Anyone can apologize. Show me through your actions.’ She’s right.”

If anything, he was lucky they let him off with just that. Haruhiro allowed himself a bitter smile.

***

“’Anyone can apologize. Show me through your actions’… Kana, you’re pretty tough.”

Watching Haruhiro walk away, Takumi gave a wry laugh.

“You’re just too soft, Takumi-senpai.”

“Well, he is a junior.”

“You really are soft on your juniors, Senpai.”

Kana shrugged as if exasperated. With her looks, even a simple gesture like that looked polished.

“If you’re unhappy about it, I can be tougher on you, Kana.”

“Is there a free trial period?”