Team White

The hustle and bustle going on in the gymnasium seemed to find no end. It was boisterous, to the point even a voice coming from a speaker could be easily drowned. That was what sunshine had said. He seemed confident in his claim. Nevan had simply looked at him with a rather stiff smile.

Instead of discussing further with that guy, he decided to take a look around. There were three fields here. According to a quick look at the plan hanging at the eall, Team White would be playing at the middle one.

The positions had been chosen, the awkwardness slowly dimmed. A look around the hall was enough to tell that every team seemed uncoordinated. Everyone was unfamiliar with each other but some had found familiar faces among even those strangers. Others were simply eager to find friends even at a place full of rivals, just like sunshine. Or rather Minato.

"Can everyone hear me?" And just like that, the assumption that a voice coming from a speaker would be drowned that had come from Minato was wronged.

Despite his cheerful demeanor, this guy didn't seem to like when his assumptions were proven wrong. He wanted to be right in every aspect of his words. His smile had wavered when the voice had sounded, clearly annoyed. He quickly regained his composure.

He looked back at his team. Minato had been in the middle of explaining his strategy when the voice had sounded. "Let's just do it the way I said." He spoke one last time.

Only a few seemed to agree while the others ignored him completely, knowing they would do whatever they deemed fit on the field. One in particular grunted. Even without looking in the direction, Nevan knew who it was. The black-haired guy whose name he had forgotten already after he had watched the screen intently for a while. His jersey-number was 3. That would be enough for now.

"Ah, perfect. Please, pay attention to me now, folks." The voice continued coming from the speaker. The hall was completely quiet now. It was a surprise how fast it had gotten this quiet.

Nevan tilted his head in various directions to get familiar with the gymnasium once more. He cocked his head upwards. After about twenty-five meters, the wall was replaced by a window. His eyes stopped wandering and analyzed the window where he noticed some silouhettes. Who might they be? They were wearing suits or blazers. He couldn't recognize them very well.

"Many people, right?" Suddenly Minato spoke to Nevan. He seemed to have noticed Nevan's eyes lingering there. He flinched ever so slightly.

"I wonder, who they are." He explained and gave the orange-haired a quick glance before looking back at the outlines of those people.

"First of all, I want to thank you for showing such interest in this selection. It is a great pleasure to see the youth of today showing such ambition for sports such as soccer." The voice continued. It belonged to a man who was probably young. Nevan could tell without even seeing the face. It lacked the tone of experience and wisdom which would be typical in a voice belonging to an elderly person.

"Now, for the rules." There was a pause. The playfulness in the tone slowly vanished, leaving room for something opposite to that. Seriousness. "It is simple, really. Show us your talent. If you pay attention to the lobby up here, you will notice many people standing. These are the evaluators.

They are experts who have been given a few players each. They will watch these individuals and determine their abilities. Therefore, they have been given a list of criteria. At the end, you will receive a level. The level will decide whether you made it into SPC or not."

There was a pause. The people started to talk again, this time in a more hushed tone. The excitement and nervousness could be clearly heard in the voices.

"But let me be clear." The man spoke up again. Silence came back to reign over the people. "Even if you don't make it, this is not the end. Yes, this club helps you achieve your dream of being a professional in this field in lesser time but this is not the only way. There will be many more chances. The most important thing is to enjoy this game and just show us your all. SPC is just a bonus to all the fun, you hopefully have here."

Someone clapped. Reluctantly the others followed, including Nevan. Enjoy this? Everyone was on edge. Only a few might enjoy it. In Nevan's mind, these were people who had no intention of actually become professional athletes. Or those who were confident in their abilities.

"Thank you, thank you. I don't want to bore you further with my speech. Now please take your positions, the selection will begin in ten minutes." The speech seemed to have found its end. Nevan looked at Minato who was grinning from the excitement he felt. Since he had first laid eyes on this person, he had only seen his smile stumble in two situations. Smile seemed to be his etiquette.

"Let's get in our positions like the man just said." Sunshine chirped, addressing the team.

"You don't get to boss me around." Grumpy spoke and simply went to his position. Centre-forward. Nevan followed and stood at the same height as him.

It seemed like they were going to play against Team Purple. His eyes scanned through the players. He didn't know any of them. Nevan could only imagine what their abilities might be or how good they might be. He paused as his view stumbled upon someone. He looked back again, wondering if he had mistook someone. The tall frame, the tanned skin. So, Nevan would be playing against Ryota? He was a midfielder, they were bound to clash onto each other.

"The height might be a problem." Grumpy narrowed his eyes at the sight of Ryota. "He has a wider range. Try to keep the ball close to the ground, and even closer to your body."

Nevan glanced at the pale-skinned boy. He seemed to analyze this situation perfectly. "It's no use. I played against him once. He steals the ball like it is his natural talent. It almost seems like the ball is glued to his feet."

"I will see that for myself." A pause from the other side. Then a small nod. "Don't engage in a 1v1 with him then. We need to get past him to score any goal and to show what we got."

Try get past Ryota? Even Keisuke had admitted, a play against this guy would be hard. Encountering his skills the last time he played, he knew what was awaiting him to some extent but Ryota hadn't used any of his prominent skills back then. How far could he go? What were his abilities? How much would he use his height?

The referee made his way to the field. The game would start soon. Nevan got ready. It was only a matter of time. A whistle sounded. The players came in motion. The game began.

Nevan ran towards the ball but grumpy had already cut his way and taken the lead. He was the one to get hold of the ball. A sigh escaped Nevan's lips but he moved towards the other half of the field. He followed the ball as good as he could.

He would avoid Ryota as much as possible while trying to score a goal. As he watched the ball being taken from grumpy, he felt a sense of irritation. His legs moved towards blonde player who was currently holding the ball. The ball was being directed right to Team White's goal. It hadn't even been passed to any other teammates, the player already kicked the ball to score a goal.

Nevan's heart stumbled. This early in the game already? Sunshine was able to block it off and pass it to a midfielder who took the lead. The opposing team's players moved towards the one holding the ball but he kicked the ball in the air, free for anyone to catch it, if anyone wanted. Why did he do that? Nevan looked up, he jumped to catch the ball with a headshot but missed it.

"What are you doing?!" Grumpy yelled at the guy. He gave grumpy a nonchalant expression before following the direction where the ball was headed with his eyes. He didn't seem too interested in the game.

Ryota's laugh echoed. He jumped and dimmed the force of the ball with his head. It fell right at his feet. "Now, now. That was great! Thank you!" His voice was laced with mockery. His red eyes deliberately scanned through the field, despite knowing he had no time to do so.

All of them were aware of the lack of chemistry in their own teams. Playing with teammates you had never met before was definitely a hard nut to crack. The lack of informations about your teammates' abilities made it harder for one to determine the true potential of one's team.