Promising First Years

Aoi could never be more thankful for having Izumi in his life – although it was still difficult to accept the fact he still has a mind and memory of a middle-aged man, he was slowly integrating his current self.

Has he experienced love before?

No, never in his almost thirty years of life.

Has he experienced hugging someone like this? Someone who loved him more than himself? Someone who knows a lot about him, who was willing to do anything for his sake?

No – though, there was Oka.

Loving someone was a very unique feeling – at least, from Aoi's point of view. He felt more alive having this feeling; he felt his life was meaningful, giving him a reason why he must stay alive and continue to do so.

Love transcends – beyond any external reason, attempting to break the two parties apart.

Aoi's new life had finally begun… not when he scored his first goal or his first hat trick, but when Izumi confessed her feelings towards him, and he accepted it.

Of course, it was by accident because he thought he was dreaming, but then again, he had already accepted it… his feelings, he meant.

For someone to cry for him because he scored a hat trick… Who was there for him even before he accomplished something in his life…

'So, this is love?' Aoi hugged Izumi tightly even more.

Aoi continued to embrace Izumi while closing his eyes – he did not want to see Izumi's friends for now, as they were obviously teasing them.

Slowly, he pulled Izumi from his embrace, and his breathing finally stabilized as he stared at her directly through her enchanting pitch-black eyes.

For some reason, Izumi appeared prettier than before… no, as time slowed down and passed by, she became prettier in his eyes.

Suddenly, a desire sprouted in his heart, but he quickly hesitated.

However, before he knew it, his head moved forward as he closed his eyes.

Izumi closed her eyes, and her heart pounded heavily, as though it was attempting to leap out of her heart.

Startlingly, instead of feeling a soft touch from her lips, he could feel the cold yet somewhat warm, cozy feeling touching her forehead.

She slowly opened her eyes and met Aoi's face so close to her she could only see his chin.

She closed her eyes once again, enjoying the feeling of Aoi kissing her forehead while trying her best to ignore the giggling of her friends.

Furthermore, their tittering was so loud that it caused her to feel so embarrassed she badly wanted to hide in Aoi's embrace.

However, she could not move yet, not yet until Aoi stopped kissing her… hoping it would last longer.

Izumi enjoyed it, even though she was being distracted by her pounding heart, giggling friend, and the idea that they were doing it in public.

Even so, she let it be.

As seconds passed by like an eternity for both lovers, Aoi finally stopped kissing Izumi's forehead and pulled her into her embrace again.

At this moment, Aoi could even hear Oka's exhilarated clamor, accompanied by the other football players on his back.

Furthermore, now that he was facing Izumi's friends, he could clearly see them, watching them with bashful expressions, feeling embarrassed by what he did in their place.

He smiled at them and waved a hand, to which they dazedly responded with the same greeting.

He turned his head below and gazed affectionately at Izumi's hair, caressing it as gently as possible, enjoying the intoxicating scent of Izumi's shampoo.

Aoi appreciated Izumi's embrace for a while until he was startled by the whistle echoing behind his back.

He turned his head and saw it was Nakahara standing near Kaga, who was now standing.

However, Aoi had a feeling that the Kaga he was staring at was exuding a different vibe, as though he had become more serious than before.

Aoi could only half-understand his sudden change.

'He must be heartbroken.' He thought inwardly.

He shook his head, trying to get those unnecessary thoughts in the back of his head.

'I can't do anything about it. It will depend entirely on him. Still…'

He cast a glance of pity at Kaga, shaking his head in lament.

'I might not be able to harvest more Ego Points from him.'

"I will now conclude the practice match. I have already assessed everyone's football skills, from technical skills to mental and emotional evaluation… I had it all now. To be honest, I'm really glad that this year's team, supposedly based on each of everyone's potential, far surpassed last year's team."

Nakahara swept his gaze until it landed on the bald player and smiled at him.

"Last year, we lacked the best defender… the center back who shall lead the defender to stop any attempts of scoring a goal, but now… You, Kuduo, a first-year student, have shown a very satisfactory performance."

Nakahara complimented from the bottom of his heart, causing the bald player to have a light smile on his face.

His calm temperament finally returned, but still, whenever he glanced at Oka, his facial expression twitched.

It was still an unpleasant feeling, remembering he failed to stop Oka in the last minute of the game, even though he had been successful many times prior.

In fact, if compared to the ratio of stopping Oka and failing to do so, the former would prevail.

Nonetheless, he was not satisfied with his performance.

Nakahara's eyes darted everywhere again until they settled on the curly right eyebrow, tilting his head sideways while opening his eyes, also letting his tongue out.

'He's an odd fellow.' Nakahara evaluated and then shook his head.

"You! Ogata! You have a good vision, always one step ahead of your opponent. You can easily grasp their intention, making it difficult for strikers to dribble past you. If you work together with Kuduou, our defense will be impenetrable!"

Nakahara could not help but shout the last word.

He appeared grandeur, making it even for other football players to be struck with thrill.

After all, in their mind, Nakahara was correct as they witnessed it themselves.

Meanwhile, the curly right eyebrow did not act the same as theirs, as he was tilting his head on the right side even more.

He turned and stared at the bald player, who responded with the same gaze and smiled.

The curly right eyebrow maintained his ambiguous expression, not leaving his stare on the bald player.

Nakahara caught their strange interaction and sighed.

He thought.

'I guess I have to work on their chemistry first before attempting to make them work together in the field.'