10 Making Connections
With his back to his defender, Ryuu received the ball, using the momentum to perform a half-spin. He quickly found the space, but instead of entering the box, he pushed the ball to the side and took a curled shot at the goal, which unfortunately deflected off the crossbar.
Blowing a raspberry, the no. 9 gave his teammates a thumbs up before jogging back to his position.
- - -
"Ahhh!"
"So close!"
The Oume couple, along with their daughter, lamented the missed opportunity.
{It missed, but… he's starting to become like he was in elementary school. Right, grandpa!}
{Nope, not even close. He's completely unrecognizable from how he was in elementary school.}
{Grandpa! Aren't you being too pessimistic?}
{I'm only saying my opinion from a neutral position.}
{So mean! Despite knowing what Ryuu went through! What's up with you?}
Mirko kept a justified expression even at his granddaughter's complaints.
"Is something wrong?"
"Grandpa's just being harsh with Ryu," replied Anna to Yuki's question.
The latter gave Mirko a sideways glance before harumphing and looking back on the pitch.
- - -
Again, Ryuu received the ball right outside the penalty box before sending a pass to Miyazaki, who sent it to Yuuto, who was making a run on the flank.
"Don't let him cross!"
The no. 3 who stuck to Ryuu called out to his teammates.
"Yuuto!"
Ryuu made a break for a position deeper in the keeper's box, and the defending no. 3 followed.
"I won't let you free!"
The stalwart defender pursued the prodigious no.9. As he looked back to check how the play continued, he failed to notice Ryuu slipping into his blind spot and making a dash towards the near post.
On cue, Yuuto sent a cross towards the center forward.
Ryuu twisted and ferociously volleyed the ball straight into the goal.
[GOOAAAALLLL! Another goal for Ichijyou Ryuu!! What an incredible volley!]
- - -
"YAY!"
"Yuuto and Ryuu are in complete sync."
Anna, Yuki, and the Oume couple, Yuichi and Yuu, celebrated the goal.
The rehabilitated ballet dancer turned toward her grandfather with a smug expression.
{Do you have any criticism?}
{Hmm…It was brilliant. Placing the cross perfectly where the boy was running to…brilliant.}
{Isn't that just complimenting Yuuto!}
Anna felt both frustrated and confused by her grandfather's actions.
- - -
Fukui Hiroari, the Ouura coach, openly cheered as he watched Ryuu once again score a spectacular goal.
"Okay! We got the goal!"
The rest of the bench was just as excited and continued to praise Ryuu and Yuuto to a lesser extent.
"Moroboshi! Get warmed up!"
The first year's bland expression softened as he nodded and proceeded to go through a few exercises in anticipation of subbing in.
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.
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"Alright, we won!"
"We're in the best 8!"
"If we win tomorrow, we'll be in the district tournament!"
Moroboshi fist-bumped Ryuu, who had just finished exchanging words with the losing team's no. 3.
"Ryuu! We'll definitely win tomorrow. Let's go all the way and win the city tournament too!"
Ryuu smiled in response and continued towards the bench but was once again stopped, this time by Moroboshi.
The latter just stared into his eyes before slightly creasing his brows.
The no. 9 quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise, his expression remained unreadable. The scene attracted the nearby club members, who tentatively looked between the two as their stare-down extended.
As the tension peaked, Moroboshi broke the silence.
"I'll make sure to coordinate better…next game."
"… I'm looking forward to it."
After a quick nod, Moroboshi walked off, leaving everyone except Ryuu in a daze.
- - -
Mirko pointedly ignored his granddaughter, still cheering as he reflected on the match.
The boy had grown. He still lacked the delicate touch and surgical control, but he made up for that with pure soccer sense.
That, in itself, was utterly absurd.
If he could categorize Ryuu's playstyle before his accident, it would be the fabled trequartista.
An Italian term literally meaning "three quarters". The player is technically positioned between the central midfielders and the forwards but has a free role. At their essence, they are highly technical playmakers capable of scoring goals.
Now he was more of an out-and-out striker. A player who is a pure striker who does not do any defensive work and is not expected to focus on linking up the play.
Yet…Mirko knew there was more.
The angles, the change-of-pace, the timing…Ryuu revealed more and more of his aptitude as a forward in every game.
.
.
.
After the match, Ryuu, the Oume family, Anna, and her grandfather joined to discuss the game.
"That attitude isn't good. Even if Moroboshi couldn't do the plays, he wanted."
Yuuto was exasperated as he retold the exchange between Ryuu and Moroboshi.
"So that first year has quite an ego," responded Yuichi.
"Yuuto's bad with those types of people," jeered Yuuki jokingly.
"Hmph. Who cares about me… It's about team unity! Right Ryu-chan…"
"I actually like his attitude."
"Eh."
"That stubborn desire to perform at your best every time is a good trait. However, he should at the minimum pretend to be happy when his team wins."
"Ryu-chan, what do you mean by pretend?"
"In a way, I sympathize with Moroboshi. I am also someone who cares significantly about their own performance. That said, the team won convincingly,
"Yeah! The team is looking much better than it was last year!"
"Everyone is making progress."
Ryuu, Yuuto, and Yuki continued to talk about the details surrounding the team, but they were eventually interrupted by Anna.
"Hey, Ryuu! Since you're looking good. Are you not going back to your old position from elementary school? I want to see you handle the ball more.
"As of right now, center forward is the best position for me to contribute to the team."
"Is that so?"
"That touch is slowly coming back, but my soccer sense has further developed in place of it. A 1-on-1 exchange against a defender, staring down the goalkeeper and driving a shot into the goal. As of right now, I'm going to sharpen myself as a goal scorer."
As Ryuu explained, Anna had a starstruck expression.
"I'll decide the game in front of the goal. I'm confident that my touch will return, and I'll have to see from there when it does."
"Cool…"
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{So, for the time being, he won't be returning to the striker role?}
{What about it?}
{He really is carving out a new path…}
{What do you mean, Grandpa?}
{Nothing…just thinking…}
Anyway, you don't have to come tomorrow!}
{No, I'll be going.}
{Then just stay quiet!}
