Football Street Showdown (2)

After searching for ten minutes, the duo still hadn't found their last teammate, and were now negotiating with a man in his twenties in charge of the registration booth.

"I'm sorry, but we can't change the rules. You missed the registration deadline and won't be able to participate in the tournament," the man said firmly.

"Yo, come on, cut us some slack," the youth pleaded, his voice oozing with streetwise charm. "We've been in this tourney every year, and we even crushed it with a third-place finish last time."

His teammate nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're not just some scrubs off the street. We've got real skills."

After persistent pleading from the duo, the man let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, five minutes. But make it quick. And if you're even a second late, you'll be disqualified with no chance of a second try."

"No sweat, man. We'll be back before you know it." Renjiro flashed a confident grin. Then he said to his teammate, "Let's go, Haruta. We'll find someone to replace that idiot."

As they walked away, Haruta looked around him. There were many people their age among the crowd, so he couldn't make his choice. "Who do we ask to join us?"

But soon, his teammate's words alleviated his worry. Renjiro's eyes were fixed on someone, and a smile appeared on his face. "I think we have the perfect person for this."

Sitting in the seats prepared for the spectators of the tournament, Tanaka and Natsumi were watching the players warming up for the upcoming matches.

"What?! You joined that Raimon football club?!" After learning the news, Natsumi raised her voice in shock.

"Endou-kun invited me yesterday."

"They're just a bunch of players with no talent! It would be a waste of your talent to go there." Natsumi tried to convince her childhood friend.

"Hmm..." Tanaka didn't reply immediately. Instead, he re-watched the match from the other day in his mind. He could clearly see everything: the position of every player on the field, their expressions, their physical abilities, etc. He could clearly see their defeated expressions as their opponents destroyed them. "You're right. The majority of the players' skills are not that great."

Hearing this, Natsumi smiled in approval. "Then why-"

"However, in the club, there are two players that I want to play with." From her expression, Natsumi had an idea of who he was talking about. Tanaka continued, "Gouenji-san's son, Gouenji Shuuya, is a formidable player. I was impressed by his powerful and accurate shooting ability. His fire tornado shooting technique still gives me chills when I visualize it. As for Endou, that passion for football in his eyes reminds me of my older brother."

"Now you understand why I accepted his invitation."

Natsumi couldn't retort him since she had also watched the match against Teikoku Gakuen and agreed with what he said. Both Endou and Gouenji stood out from ordinary players. Besides with Tanaka in the team, she was sure that the team would be able to go far in the future. In the end, she just sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Fine, I won't stop you from joining that club."

"Hi there!"

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, they turned their heads towards the stranger. It was the boy in the football uniform from earlier. Didn't he have something better to do than come and say hi to strangers?

"I wonder if you would like to join our team for the competition?" the boy asked.

"Why me?" Tanaka wondered. They had never met before, as far as he could remember.

The boy smiled as he explained, "A few years ago, when I was passing by, I saw you playing football with someone your age. The skill you displayed back then was impressive. If you join us, I'm sure you'll perform even better than our absent member."

Tanaka thought, 'He must have seen me playing football with my brother back then.'

"If it's just a few matches, it should be fine," Tanaka nodded.

"Perfect!" Renjiro exclaimed. "Come on, we need to hurry and register before it's too late!"

Before leaving, Tanaka said to Natsumi, "I'll finish things quickly and be right back!"

As he left with Renjiro, Natsumi simply gazed at him with an exasperated smile. She didn't try to dissuade him, knowing that once he decided to do something, no one could change his mind. "You never change, Yuu..."

"Sir, we're back!" Haruta said.

The man glanced at his wristwatch before looking at them with a nod, handing them a registration form. "Quickly fill this out."

As they were filling out the form, a boy walked towards them with a grin on his face.

"Oh? I see you've found someone to replace Ayato. I thought you wouldn't be participating in the tournament."

Renjiro glared at the boy. "Bastard! Are you scheming behind this?"

"Who knows? You don't have any evidence anyway. Since you were short on time, you must have chosen a random guy in the street," the man replied, shrugging his shoulders before leaving. "I bet this year, you won't even be in the top five."

Kicking a trash can beside him, Haruka had a fierce expression, and a vein could be seen on his forehead. "I will beat that bastard up after this tournament!"

Tanaka simply observed the situation with a calm face. It wasn't his problem. He had only accepted the invitation because he wanted to play football.

After registering, they went to warm up.