The test

In the blink of an eye, two weeks passed, and Hiroto found himself sitting in front of the computer, accessing the Tokiwadai High website to see if he had passed the entrance exam, with his mother and father behind him, urging him on.

"Did the results come out yet?" asked his mother.

"I'm refreshing the page. When it's out, I'll see it. Stop rushing me, I can't do anything about it."

"Hey, don't talk to me like that," his mother said angrily.

"Leave him be, dear. Hiroto is also nervous about the results."

"IT'S OUT!!! Hiroto Fukuda, accepted in third place!!!" said Hiroto excitedly.

"Congratulations, son," said his mother, hugging him.

"We have to celebrate. Let's have a barbecue for lunch," said his father, putting his hand on Hiroto's shoulders.

Hiroto and his parents spent the rest of the day celebrating his acceptance, and as night fell, he was in his bed when he received a message from Kei saying he had been accepted into Eikou High, a school known for its good education and relatively strong football team, which made Hiroto very happy. Hiroto's vacation continued as before, focusing on his goalkeeper training with the help of his father, who was also a goalkeeper in his student days and has been helping Hiroto improve since he was a child. Besides the training with his father, Hiroto also kept up his physical training, doing calisthenics and running around the block. Following this routine daily, the days went by and his vacation ended.

Hiroto's first day at Tokiwadai High was about to begin. Despite being a new chapter, it started similarly, with his mother waking him up to get ready and put on his new uniform, which consisted of a long-sleeved white dress shirt, a tie, black pants, and an optional blue blazer, which Hiroto opted not to wear this time. As he left the house, Hiroto could only think about trying out for the football team. If he could make it, he'd have a great chance of going far in the nationals. However, Tokyo's league is very competitive and only two spots are available for the nationals, and his new school was undoubtedly one of the strongest. Upon arriving at the main gate of Tokiwadai High, the white-haired boy immediately noticed the huge difference in size compared to his old school, which had few classrooms and limited space for clubs. Now, at Tokiwadai High, there were three fields for football, baseball, and athletics, four courts, three pools, and a large cafeteria. Hiroto remembered that he was in class 1-A, which was in the first building near the main gate. As he walked, he noticed some people looking at him and whispering, which was normal due to his good looks, a gift from the gods. He didn't think much of it but didn't complain either. When he got near his classroom, he could hear some students whispering.

"That's Hiroto Fukuda, who passed the exam in third place," said a random boy.

"Bastard, besides being good-looking and tall, the guy is smart. God should have nerfed him a bit."

"He must have a small weapon," joked one of the boys, laughing.

"If only they knew..." thought Hiroto as he entered his classroom, noticing that there were only a few people inside, but most looked at him when he walked in. He hurried to his favorite spot in the back of the room near the window that overlooked the athletics field.

After a while, the rest of the class filled in, and soon their relatively young-looking math teacher arrived.

"I'm your math teacher, Hana Murakami," the woman said.

After that, the class proceeded normally, and the next was history, taught by an older man named Kaito, who seemed friendly despite his class not being the most exciting. After those classes, an announcement was made, but before the students could leave, a beautiful girl with pink hair entered the room.

"Good morning, I'm Sakura Inoue, the basketball club assistant. I'm here on behalf of all the clubs to announce that sign-ups are open for those interested. There's a noticeboard here with all the clubs and the respective person you need to speak with to sign up," said the girl, who then left. Hiroto quickly went to the noticeboard and saw that he needed to talk to the football club coach, Yukimura. He went to the room indicated on the noticeboard, where he saw a middle-aged man drinking an energy drink.

"Excuse me, I'm Hiroto Fukuda. Nice to meet you."

"Good morning, I'm Coach Yukimura. How can I help you?"

"I'm here to sign up for the football club tryouts, Coach Yukimura."

"Alright, can you tell me your position and height?" the man asked while looking him over.

"I'm a goalkeeper and I'm 1.92 meters tall," said Hiroto.

"Okay, come tomorrow after class for the tryouts," said the coach.

After school, Hiroto returned home and answered his mother's questions about his new school before going to sleep, eager for the football club tryouts the next day. Another day passed, and after classes, Hiroto arrived at the football field where the club practiced daily. There were about 30 players present.

"I'm here to announce that today we'll be testing the new first-year students. Those who show good qualities will join our club," said Coach Yukimura. Two teams were formed, the first-years versus a mixed team of reserves and starters. The match ended 1-0 for the veterans, but Hiroto had an excellent game, making several difficult saves and conceding only because his

defender mistakenly passed the ball to the opposing striker. After the match, the coach announced the names of those who had made the cut, and Hiroto's name was called, making him smile with a mix of happiness and relief. After the tryouts, the coach dismissed those who didn't make it and gathered the remaining members, explaining the day's training plan, which was the standard first-day training. As the players started getting up, a reserve team player approached Hiroto.

"Good morning, I'm Daichi Watanabe, the reserve left-back."

"My name is Hiroto Fukuda, I'm a goalkeeper."

"Goalkeeper, huh... I feel a bit sorry for you, you seem like a nice guy," said Daichi.

"I don't understand..." said Hiroto, confused.

"It's because... our starting goalkeeper is Yukito Shotoku, a second-year. He's the principal's son and the team's golden boy. Plus, he's a good player," said Daichi, whispering.

"Why are you whispering?" asked Hiroto.

"Because if he hears me, I'll be in trouble. He's not the most easygoing person on the team and acts like he's a king," said Daichi.

The training continued normally, with physical drills and specific training for each position. For goalkeepers, it was a penalty shootout against the outfield players. In the end, Hiroto conceded far fewer goals than Yukito, who then approached him.

"Hey, rookie, I don't know what your deal is, but just know that I'll never lose my starting position to anyone, got it?" said Yukito, bumping Hiroto's shoulder as he walked towards the locker room.

"What's that guy's problem? I was just better than him in one practice, and he's already acting like this. What a hassle," thought Hiroto as he finished training and went home.

P.S. This isn't just a football story. Follow the next chapters to see what happens to Hiroto.