~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contact:Akihiko⚽

Akihiko:

I'll be taking a week off from school starting Monday. Thanks to you, I want to return to Oreha as soon as possible and help Sakurai with his training. I should be back by the end of the week or so, and maybe I can also send you pictures of Oreha's luxuries? Anyway, I'll see you the week after the next, Gotou-san!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm worried about Hitori-chan. Why you may ask? Well.....

Something is clearly down with her. Earlier this morning, when I waved as a greeting to her when we miraculously crossed paths as we made our way to our respective classrooms, she walked by me, not returning the greeting-- err, well it didn't even seem like she noticed my existence! But hey! Maybe that's just normal Hitori-chan being lost in her own thoughts again, right?

Wrong.

Her eyes looked deader than usual, and her posture was terrible. She looked like the pink haired version of the hunchback of Notredame with that back of hers! Throughout the morning classes, I couldn't help but worry about her. The thoughts just won't leave me alone and I knew that as soon as morning classes were over that I'd go and have lunch with her so she could tell me what's wrong.

But that brings us to the present, where I did stop by her class, and am currently staring at a very pitiable sight.

Hitori-chan was fully slouching on her desk, hiding away her face from the world. The aura of sadness radiated off of her and it garnered a few concerned looks from the classmates in her vicinity. I glanced around, searching for another certain someone and quickly found who I was looking for, Mayafumi-san. Who was also clearly worried for her, shooting the biggest act of concern of all by approaching her and tapping her table.

" Gotou-san? It's lunch time." I could hear her say.

" Mghm...." A demotivated groan was Hitori-chan's response.

I frowned. This definitely wasn't right, it's clear to me that something is indeed bothering her to the point where she couldn't even utter a usual socially anxious response to another human being like she always does. 

I, Kita Ikuyo, shall get to the bottom of this!

Steeling myself for the task before me, I marched in the classroom with the most motivating of all motivations! As I approached her, Mayafumi-san also took notice of me and a look of relief washed over her expression.

I stopped by Hitori-chan's table and tapped her shoulder.

" Hitori-chan, it's time for lunch." I gently said, but she also responded to me with the same demotivated groan.

" Is Gotou-san okay?" Mayafumi asked, worringly.

I waved my head dismissively. " Oh yeah, she's totally fine."

" I think." I added after a pause.

" That's not reassuring at all..." Mayafumi muttered, but I ignored that.  It seems like words will not make its way into my friend, thus, I have to resort to other means.

" Alright! Haven't done this in a while, but I'm still up for it." I hyped myself up, patting my cheeks.

" Huh? What do you mean? Haven't done what?" Mayafumi looked at me, confused.

I smirked, winking at her.

" Just watch."

" Watch wha--"

" HURAGH!" 

" KITA-SAN?!"

I let out a loud grunt as I lifted Hitori-chan off her seat, my knees buckled with the weight coming onto me at once, but I stood my ground. I've carried her before, this is no sweat at all! At least, that's what I kept telling myself as I shakily made my way to the classroom exit.

" D-Do you need help?!" Mayafumi rushed to my side, watching me with bewilderment as I princess carried my friend to the courtyard where we usually have our lunch nowadays.

" Nah, please don't worry!" I said, though my voice was kept pressured due to the 50kg introverted girl that was currently on my arms.

Mayafumi-san still looked worry. She's too kind, but seriously, there's nothing to worry about. At least, that's also what I'm hoping.....

" I'll eat with you both." She finally decided.

There was no reason to reject her, so I just nodded and we quickly made our way to the courtyard as fast as we could. A secret understanding was shared between us, and that is to get to the bottom of whatever is making Hitori-chan so depressed today!

~~~~~~~

" Phew..." I released a soft, nearly exhausted breath after I sat Bocchi on the bench.

Mayafumi-san poked my arm, and I turned to her. She handed me her handkerchief. It was anime themed, with characters I'm not exactly familiar with but it had a mature looking guy with eyebags on him. Aw, she's so sweet! I quickly wiped away my sweat as fast I could before handing it back to her.

" Thank you." I said, and she smiled.

" Now," I sat on the right side of Hitori, while Mayafumi sat on her left. " Let's eat!"

" Itadakimasu!" Both Mayafumi and I uttered before opening our containers.

~~~~~~

Bocchi's dead eyes, as if being revived by the daylight, slowly blinked. She slowly scouts her surroundings without saying a word and realizes that she's outside in the school courtyard. She looks down to see her lunch container sitting on her lap, unopened. Getting more confused by the second, she turns to her side and finally notices Kita and Mayafumi's presence, they were currently eating and sounding out their comments about their day, lunch, or things she couldn't really relate to....

But, a feeling ached deep within her. Like something was missing in this usually wonderful view she's now used to.

She pondered on what it is....

And then it clicks. 

She sunk to her seat again, sighing in defeat. Shutting herself down for the second time today, creating concern for the two people seated beside her.

" Hitori-chan?!"

" Gotou-san!"

She tuned out their voices, minding herself in that somber lullaby playing inside her head as she continued to think about that missing piece.

~~~~~~~~

( Meanwhile...in Oreha.... )

" Mom, I'm back in town for a bit."

......

" Seiji? Oh. he's still back at Shimokitazawa. He can take care of himself. I'm only staying here to help with Kenji's training."

......

" Yeah, let's eat out."

.......

" Alright then. Good luck at work, mama. And please don't overstress yourself."

.......

" Mm, love you."

Akihiko places his phone back in his pocket, releasing a deep sigh before breathing it all back in. Oreha's air had a distinct difference to Shimokitazawa's, he didn't think he'd end up missing it so much but he guesses that's what being away from " home" does to you. You notice certain things that can only be found in that home and nowhere else.

It's a bright sunny day... Akihiko smiles. Shimokitazawa was a quiet, comfortable, little district with the occasional noise here and there. But Oreha was the opposite, it was boisterous and filled with clusters of people walking down the street, to the malls, to the park-- almost everywhere really. 

Working adults, rambunctious teenagers, and playful children. These were the typical streets of this buzzing city, he hasn't been here in so long that he honestly felt a bit overwhelmed by it all, even though he was born and raised here.  But well, it's still nothing compared to that fulfilling sense of home. Maybe he should take a picture.

Akihiko takes out his phone and snaps a picture of Oreha's buzzling atmosphere.

He chuckles to himself quietly.

" She would've hated this." He mused.

He could already imagine Bocchi dispersing herself at the molecular level if she were here...

~~~~~~~

" Alright, place her down!" Kita instructed.

" R-Right!" Mayafumi sits Bocchi down, leaning her against the dusty box.

Kita closes the door and switches on the lone lightbulb illuminating the cramped space. The dusty debris was made semi-visible, and unfortunately for Mayafumi ( who is not used to these spaces ) sneezed in reflex.

" Achoo!" 

" Sorry, it's a bit dusty here. But it should settle down for you in a bit." Kita assures with a smile.

" A-Ah, I don't mind but.....why are we here?" The short haired girl asked.

" 3...."

" 3?"

"....2...."

" Kita-san?"

".........1."

" Why are you counting down--"

" FUWAH!" Bocchi returns to life.

" AH!" Mayafumi screams, falling back and hitting the back of her head against the boxes. 

" Ow,ow,ow..." She whimpered as she rubbed her head in pain.

Meanwhile, Bocchi's eyes started blinking again, her chest heaving up and down due to the deep fast breaths she's taking. She was in a daze, not really sure where she was, and not exactly confident with who she was with. 

" Hitori-chan, you've awoken again." Kita greets her view.

" K...Kita-chan?" Bocchi blankly recognizes. She slowly turns her head to the side and recognizes the second person.

" Mayafumi-san.....huh?" Things were slowly starting to piece itself together, but she needed a good final boost.

" This place..." She mumbled, it was familiar and comforting. Like a second home to her in a strange way.

" This dark place....it's so comforting.....where are we? What is this wonderful place? " Bocchi asked, mystified by her environment. Completely entranced by its peacefulness. Like a place you can retreat to whenever you're stressed, a place you could just lose yourself in and be yourself without prying eyes. She wondered what type of heavenly aura this place is, the joy she feels, the invigoration welling deep inside. It was almost magical--

" The supply closet." Kita said with a blank smile.

.....

".....Okay, now I know why..." 

.

.

.

.

" I...I see..." Bocchi was frowning after being caught up with what's happened today-- with herself. 

" Did something happen?" Kita asked.

"...." Bocchi didn't answer.

Mayafumi narrows her eyes, generating an inkling of an idea as to what this could be related to.

" Is it....related to Akihiko-kun?" She curiously asked.

"...."

~~~Gloom~~~

~~~Gloom~~~

~~~Gloom~~~

She was right on the money.

" Judging by your even gloomier expression, I'm guessing I hit it right on the spot?" Mayafumi awkwardly chuckled.

" But what's going on between you two?" Kita asked, narrowing her eyes. " Don't tell me you two are avoiding each other again." She said.

" N-No...it's not that..." Bocchi denied.

" Speaking of which," Mayafumi interjects. " Where is Akihiko-kun? Did he catch a cold?"

"...." Bocchi sighs.

She shakily takes out her phone, goes to the messaging app, and shows his message. The two girls held quizzical expressions for a moment before the idea reached them that Bocchi, without uttering a word, is giving them the green to read it.

.

.

.

Contact:Akihiko⚽

Akihiko:

I'll be taking a week off from school starting Monday. Thanks to you, I want to return to Oreha as soon as possible and help Sakurai with his training. I should be back by the end of the week or so, and maybe I can also send you pictures of Oreha's luxuries? Anyway, I'll see you the week after the next, Gotou-san!

.

.

.

" Oh, so that's why!" Kita nodded in understanding.

" Eh? So I don't get to see him for an entire week?!" Mayafumi's whole world shattered.

Kita, hearing that, turns to the girl with a questioning but not suprised look. " And here I thought you're over him." She smugly said in tone.

Mayafumi blushes in embarrassment, covering her face in shame. She's right, she DID say that. But c'mon, give the girl a break. :(

" Well, that aside." Kita sighs, turning to Bocchi. " What's the problem though? It doesn't seem like you two are in a fight." 

" I....I ghosted him." Bocchi explained.

"..."

It didn't explain much.

" Okay, and?" Kita nonchalantly asked.

" Why are you not suprised...?" Bocchi asked.

" Hitori-chan, do you realize that you're our group chat's main lurker and ghoster? Wait, actually the ghoster would be Ryo especially in dm's-- but the point is!" She returns to the matter. " I don't think it's a bad thing if you don't respond. I'm sure Akihiko-kun will understand, so why stress over it?"

" I-It's not that simple!" Bocchi shakes her head vehemently.

" It's just..." Bocchi places a hand on her chest. " It doesn't feel right.....like, if I don't respond to him with a specific message, I'd stay like this. It's like....bubbling inside of me but it doesn't burst....or like my stomach is dropping and my throat feels like a frozen mess, or like my fingers know what to type but my mind just won't catch up!" She vented.

" I....literally got nothing from that. Sorry." Kita apologizes.

" Yeah..." Bocchi goes back to being depressed. " That's why..."

" Ah, I think I get it!" Mayafumi perked up.

" You do?" Kita asked.

" yes, I--"  She paused as if a realization had smacked her in the face.

Suddenly, Mayafumi's shoulders droop down as an empty smile was worn on her lips.

" Oh no. I get it." Mayafumi's tone turns dejected.

" Get what?" Kita asked again.

Mayafumi doesn't respond, instead she assumed the same position Bocchi was in from the entire morning. That depressed, puppy-kicked-in-the-face, candy stolen looking face.

" Akihiko-kun..." She mumbled to herself with a gloomy demeanor.

Don't tell me she's now depressed too?! Kita thought with utter disbelief. Seriously, these two girls may be of different worlds but they have one bridge that is Akihiko Asahi, and when he's not here to bridge the relationship, these two girls are the saddest existences for society to view their eyes upon--

Wait. Kita's eyes widened.

She gasped. Loudly.

" HITORI-CHAN ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT YOU MISS HIM?!" She excitedly asked.

" W-What?" Bocchi looked up, to see the Kita-aura blinding her blue eyes as if she were hit by a random flashbang.

" It makes sense now! You just miss Akihiko-kun!" Kita said with certainty.

" H-How?!" Bocchi asked, feeling stupid that she herself couldn't figure out her own jumbled mess of emotions.

" You won't be seeing him for a week, thus you're going to be Akihiko-deprived. Add to the fact that you clearly want to pursue a romantic arrangement with him, which clearly is going to lead to eventual marriage-- but let's not go there. So anyways, if we also take in consideration your personality of second-guessing every little thing you do especially in relationships......then it all equates to you wanting to say this specific message."

" What is it...?"

Kita smiles.

" ' Akihiko-kun, I miss you.' "

~~~~~~~~~~

I've still got a few hours left till' Sakurai should be over with school and practice. Akihiko thought to himself. The schedule for today was to explore the new stores that had opened up in Oreha while waiting for Sakurai to finish with school and practice. Though the excited giant constantly hounded on him saying he could just skip school so they could start immediately-- Akihiko wouldn't let that slide and threatened that if he were to do that, then the boy will just go straight back home to Shimokitazawa. As expected, the bluff paid off.

However, that introduces the other problem; What can he do to fill in the space?

His mother is still at work, and it'd be rude for him to have her take a pause, she'd happily oblige but Akihiko can always tell that his mother would feel anxious deep down that she's wasting another second of not doing work and sending her child to a better education out of Japan. 

"..."

Akihiko quickly puts that topic at the back of his head. He's at home. He shouldn't be thinking about...that.

Cherish what he can now. Leave no regrets. Is his ultimate goal.

And so he continues busying himself by going around town, making sure to avoid anyone he recognizes or recognizes him. And then taking pictures of whatever might catch Bocchi's interest, or just beautiful sceneries and delicious food. 

Though he felt his boredom would've been quelled if she were there, standing right beside him.

If she were there in the scenery, he'd take plenty of pictures to save that image.

Hm, if she does reach stardom one day....then I wouldn't mind being her licensed photographer. He mused.

~~~~~~~

It's dismissal...but I didn't really feel like getting up. But I also wanted to go home.

Ah, but today I have to go to Starry's too...

Nijika-chan said the place needed some rearrangements, new boxes, new furnitures. I don't know how that happened, in fact, it's been a good 3 weeks since I last visited the club. There was really no reason for me to go there unless they wanted to meet up, or for work. Is it too late for me to bail?

" Hitori-chan!" I hear Kita-chan's voice.

I look up from my table to the door, where she was waving me over.

" It's time to go. Let's hurry!" She said.

" Coming..." I begrudgingly lifted myself up and slung my guitar case over my shoulder.

Guess I can't bail, like always.

Heaving a sigh to myself, I left the class with Kita.

~~~~~~~

" I'm a bit excited, y'know? " Kita starts a conversation as they walked. " I'm super duper curious as towhat are all the brand new furniture and menu items have been updated at the club!"

" Yeah....it's a bit out of nowhere, though, don't you think? " I expressed my opinion, lately, it's easier for me to do that now. Maybe distracting myself with these topics can help me pull through.

" Hm, you're right about that." Kita nodded. " I never imagined our boss to be someone who....would suddenly make a big renovation like this. She seemed fine with the way things are, or maybe it was a money issue."

" Maybe...they won the lottery?" I suggested.

" That would be insane luck!" Kita laughs.

" Yeah it would be--"

" Excuse me! Please move aside!" We hear a man call out to us from behind.

" Huh?" The both of us turned to see a group of men carrying brand new looking equipment, making its way towards our direction.

" Please move aside, young ladies!" The one at the lead strictly, but formally requested of us.

Kita-chan and I quickly excused ourselves to the side, freeing the path for them, as they marched ahead. For a few seconds, we could hear the men's grunts and complaints about their truck breaking down before they could reach their destination, and that this had turned into an annoying hassle. But I was too frazzled by the sudden strict tone of the leader that I needed breathing time to understand what just happened.

He sounded...so intimidating!

" Could it be...?" I hear Kita drawl out.

Could it be what?

That those buff men would've stampeded right through us had we stayed in their way? Because I think so too...

It was clear to me, my life flashing before my eyes, before I get turned into roadkill by buff middle-aged men in worker clothes.

My thoughts were interrupted when Kita-chan grabbed my hand with a sense of urgency.

" Let's get to the club, quickly!"

~~~~~~

" I'm glad you girls made it!" Nijika said in relief before placing her hands on her hips.

" Oh? It's been a while, you two." 

Ijichi elder and Ijichi younger both greeted them as they entered the club. Kita, as usual, was the first to shoot the questions.

" When you called us to help out with rearrangements.....WE DIDN'T EXPECT THIS BIG OF A REARRANGEMENT!" Kita exclaimed.

Seika smirks, crossing her arms.

" It's quite a change isn't it?" 

' Quite ' was an understatement. Brand new stage equipment was brought in, and it's modeled to the latest release and mechanics. The bar noticeably expanded, with brand new drinks added amongst the rack, pretty expensive looking ones that you wouldn't usually find in a club like this. 

" S-Since when did you guys get the money to buy all of this...?" Bocchi asked.

Nijika visibly sighs in annoyance. Kita and Bocchi immediately wondered what that was about, but Seiki answers them.

" That Sakurai brat decided to ' invest ' in our business by sending half a million yen into my bank account--" 

" --Without notice." Nijika interrupted and stressed her words. A sense of bitterness made way from her tone, which suprised both the lead singer and lead guitarist.

" Wait, didn't he send you 100,000 yen? How did that turn into half a million yen all of a sudden?!" Kita asked, recalling Nijika's previous rant back in the group chat a week ago when Sakurai " gifted " said 100k yen.

" He's so irresponsible, I swear!" Nijika visibly fumes, smoke coming from her angry dorito ahoge. 

" Hey, Nijika. You shouldn't talk bad about your future husband like that." Ryou suddenly popped up from behind the bar counter, and everyone turned to her-- not the slightest bit suprised that Ryou just manifested behind the bar like that.

" For the record, who says he's going to be my husband?" Nijika asked.

" I did." Ryou pronounced, " I gave him permission to marry you, therefore you shall--"

BAM!

Seika packed a punch as she rattled Ryou's canonically tiny brain all over the place, the sound could easily be mistaken for an actual instrument of hispanic origins; the maracas.

" Yamada," Seika's eyes were cold. " Don't try to assume any sort of control over Nijika's future plans. Got it?"

" U-Understood...." Ryou nervously nodded.

" Besides, the only person who can allow that is me. And I'd wait till hell freezes over than ever allow that in this lifetime." Seika spoke with utter repulse at the thought of him marrying her little sister.

" You're not doing any better, Big sis...." Nijika muttered, face palming.

" Kenji-kun really needs to stop sending money out of nowhere." Nijika sighed. " It makes me wanna pull my hair out of my scalp...."

" But Nijika-chan isn't this good though? Ryou-senpai has a point where you shouldn't talk so low of him....I mean, he must really like you if he's willing to invest this much in the club!" Kita reasons.

"....He doesn't have to do that." Nijika mumbled, her eyes lost in a daze for a moment. She was thinking deeply at the moment, tuning out Kita's next words just like that.

" Nijika-chan? Are you listening? Hellooooo!" Kita tried to get her attention after being met without a response for a good few minutes.

" Oh, sorry." Nijika blinks out of her thoughts and returns to the real world.

" Ahem," She coughs, trying to go back to the topic. " Look the main point is that he shouldn't invest in something like this half-heartedly!" Nijika huffed.

" He's being irresponsible with his money and I, Ijichi Nijika, will not stand for his nonsense! Just because he's rich doesn't mean he can just throw away all his money like that--"

" Um, Ms. Ijichi, where would you like us to set up the Tama Starclassic Walnut molten brown finish? "

" Oh! Please put it in the studio down to the right!" Nijika enthusiastically directed with visible stars in her eyes.

" Alright, ma'am."

" Oh my gosh-- oh my gosh-- oh my gosh!" Nijika was chanting to herself, swaying left and right due to her excitement.

Bocchi was silent...

Kita raised a brow....

But then Nijika quickly realized.

She blushes ashamed, quickly snapping away from her fulfilled dreams and turning to them with an ' You saw nothing' expression.

" L-Let's help out with the rearrangements now, yes? We shan't get distracted!" She shamelessly dragged them to the waiting boxes.

~~~~~~~~

" Still got half an hour, huh..." Akihiko said aloud as he checked the time on his phone. He releases a sigh, filled with boredom and impatience as he swung his arms behind his head and sinks deeper into the bench.

Sakurai's practice should be over in thirty minutes, but what can the boy do while he waits? He's currently stuck in the scenario in which boredom slows down the time insufferably. He's gotten tired of re-exploring the city, and his mom is still at work, and going to Oreha High himself to see what's going on is an absolute no go for him.

Nobody else should know he's here. Besides his mother and Sakurai.

Akihiko sighs, still he's going to get super bored. And Bocchi hasn't responded to his message yet, leaving him on read. He didn't find it weird at first since he's not the type of person to really care about these sorts of things but he couldn't help but feel there are words unsaid from her side. Heh. Wouldn't that be the same from his end too?

He misses her.

He'll be back after the week.

But then after that, he'll miss her again.

And by then....he won't be able to...

His thoughts came to a halt when he felt a familiar object made contact with his foot. He blinks, suprised, before looking down to see what hit him and lo' and behold it was a soccer ball. he stares at it with a quizzical expression before being called on by a group of young boys.

" Onii-san! Can you pass the ball back to us, please?" The boy, who seemed to be the leader, kindly requested.

" Sure!" Akihiko waves with a soft grin before getting up and smoothly kicking the ball back to them.

The kid easily traps the ball with an inside kick, cushioning it down towards the ground. Akihiko raises a brow, this caught his interest, the way the child received the ball is not what you'd usually see from any other ordinary kid who played soccer. It looked mechanical, which was good, it means he must've practiced the basics over and over to get this far.

But that's just receiving the ball, you can't make judgement based on that alone. An idea suddenly pops in Akihiko's mind; a way to temporarily free him of his boredom for the last 30 minutes.

" Thank you, Onii-san!" The boy said before turning to his friends. " Let's continue playing!"

" Alright!" Everyone agreed and they all ran back to the soccer field. It was a 6v6 and it seemed like they were definitely all a group of friends, with each side's 6th person being the goalkeeper. 

Akihiko chuckles after seeing the goalkeeper's pouting expressions. It was nostalgic to him. Nobody at their age wanted to be stuck with the goalkeeper position, he wasn't exempted from it. But after playing in competitions-- goalkeepers are technically the keepers of the scoreboard from decreasing or increasing. They were essential, though, it's fine if these kids don't know that yet.

" Game begin!"

Akihiko was sitting by the side as he spectated the game. The field wasn't that big, completely suitable for their numbers since the running along with the length of the field is just right and the stamina endurance won't completely kill them. He recognizes the field, it's where he spent most of his childhood playing soccer.

Fun times, he muses.

" Pass it here!" The boy from earlier called out to his teammate loudly, waving his hand, trying to signal the ball to a certain spot. His friend dribbled past his defender and spotted a clearing to which he passed towards the ball to.

" Nice one!" The boy, instead of trapping it completely, softly propelled with a kick to the ball towards his tunnel vision to where the goal was.

" Nice one, indeed..." Akihiko muttered, almost confused. The kid was something else, he performed the best move at the moment within a second. By propelling the ball softly, it can lose less momentum while still being in the dribbling range of the kid, but it's not that simple. The kid has to match its speed too.

And boy, was the kid fast.

" Hey, someone defend him!" The goalkeeper yelled in panic.

Luckily enough, there was a defender who managed to catch up with the kid and quickly attempted to steal the ball via a tackle.

Wrong move. Akihiko noted.

To his expectations, the boy took advantage of the tackle and maneuvered the ball off to the side but not too far that he couldn't reach it within a heartbeat. The slide tackle completely failed, and all the defender got from that attempt was merely dirty clothes his mother would probably scold him about. Akihiko feels a deep sense of relatability with that.

" T-Try me!" The goalkeeper decided to engage head-on, vowing to defend the goal with his life.

The boy took that challenge to heart and immediately positioned himself for a kick. His gaze was directed to the top right corner, and the vision was that the ball would go from a curved direction starting to the left but gradually to the right where it'd hit right where he is aiming.

Filled with confidence, he made the kick.

Akihiko, however, stood up shaking his head. That's not it, he thought.

His form was off, if he really was trying to make a shot like that, his foot should've kicked the bottom part of the ball, with his open foot acting as a guide by facing in that direction. Also, his hips needed to twist a bit more and chest leaned back to give the ball that air time and curve. The kid was impressive for his age, but still a rookie, at least that's how plenty of coaches would've described him.

As predicted, the ball hit the top of the goal with a loud clang!

" Aw, man!" The boy whined, looking disgruntled with the result as the ball was up in the air.

" Phew..." The goalkeeper sighed in relief. " Guess you still suck at kicking, huh, Haru?" 

" Oh shut up! I was close!" Haru blushed in embarassment. The boys laughed, but without maliciousness.

Good sports, Akihiko mentally remarked. He looks up to see that the ball was actually heading towards his direction somehow, his instinct immediately took control as he expertly trapped the ball with his left foot completely, despite it not being his best trapping foot, he trained it just enough to receive balls like this and more.

" Onii-san, it's you again?" Haru looked at Akihiko with confusion, but that was quickly put aside as the boys charcoal eyes focused back on the ball. " Can you pass it please?"

Akihiko silently entered the field and approaches the boy with the soccer ball in hand. The boys looked at him confused, they wondered why he'd been watching them for the past 10 minutes. Could it be that he's a pe--

" Your dribbling is impressive, I must say." Akihiko comments. " How old are you?"

T-This guy is suspicious.... The other boys immediately thought, but Haru calmly answered.

" I'm 11." Haru answered.

" You were playing great for an 11 year old, it was unusual seeing middle school competition tactics being used on the field like that at your age. That was some mighty fine leadership you've got." Akihiko compliments, handing the ball over.

Haru smiles and takes it. " Thank you, Nii-san. Have you played soccer too? You seem to know so much about it!"

" Well, I guess you could say I've dabbled myself in the sport here and there." Akihiko shrugs. 

" Though your dribbling is good, your kicking form was off. You see, I took notice of the shot you were trying to take. You were aiming for the top right, am I correct?" He asked.

" Y...Yes. Woah, how did you--" The kid's amazement was cut off.

" Here." Akihiko's finger was placed on the bottom part of the ball, just within breath of the boy's palm where the ball rested. On that imaginary line.

" Use your inward kick on this spot. It's how you get the ball in the air. But to get that sweet curve, it all depends on how you positioned your body. Which is what I want to critique you about the most." 

Haru's charcoal eyes sparkled in wonder as he listened to what the older boy, who seemed to know a lot more than plenty about football, had to say. He was nodding enthusiastically, taking mental notes, and even asking questions himself to get an even better understanding.

The boy's friends watched, bewildered for a moment, but they all gradually huddled around the duo and lend their ear as well. Akihiko shared some of his experiences, though he kept it vague but detailed enough so that they can get the point. He never told them about what team he belonged to or if he even joined a serious competition like high school, or in his case, the last competition being his middle school year.

But Akihiko didn't notice a hunger building in Haru's young eyes.

Soon, he'll realize that he unintentionally sparked a flame.

~~~ To be continued... ~~~

Long time, no update!

Sorry for the 2 week absence. I was once again swamped with homework so I couldn't find the time to write.

Not only that but i've been playing Honkai Star Rail as of late too, and that contributed to my late nights sleep-deprivation too--

But that aside, I just wanna say that....this chapter is complete but incomplete. You see, the whole day I was glued to my laptop writing my ass away and before i realized it; I've unintentionally reached the word count of 14k.

I'll have to tell you that this chapter was supposed to be ' short ' but my imagination just kept going and going till i eventually finished it at that....and after reviewing the ENTIRE chapter...I've decided...

TO SPLIT IT!

For pacing reasons, of course. In my opinion as both a reader and an author, I do consider long chapters to be good so long as the pacing is done right. Because sometimes you might accidentally ' overstuff' the thing with content yk? which, imo ( again ) is not very good!

It's important to save ideas and cut things that need to be cut. That way, you won't burn out so quickly, it can help you manage your pace a lot easier and more productively. Though that depends on each person so....maybe i'm just spitting bullshit :D

As for this chapter, I decided to split it since the later segment was overwhelming the main theme i was trying to go with. So imma have to redo it. But don't worry! i'll only change and shorten a few things, or completely delete the useless stuff and then publish it right away!

So stay tuned for that!

See you in the next chappie~ ( and if it doesn't come out soon as promised then i give you my absolute consent into deep frying me-- )