[12] Meeting

"Make sure to not leave anything behind, got it?"

Izumo sternly reminded his team as he kept an eye on them, watching them pack their belongings inside their bags.

"Yes, Captain"

His team answered back, jokingly saluting as if he were some military commander which got Izumo to roll his eyes in response.

"Enough jokes, just hurry up. The bus won't wait for you"

With one last reminder to the team, Izumo exited the locker room, leaving them to their devices as he headed toward their school bus.

"Izumo! Wait up!"

Haruto yelled out in the distance, running toward Izumo with a bag strap on his shoulder.

After a few seconds, he soon caught up and walked beside Izumo with a big smile on his face.

"Oh, right. Where is that fuc- cough... I mean, coach of ours?"

Izumo asked and turned his head to glance at Haruto, wondering if he knew where that guy was.

Meanwhile, Haruto ignored Izumo's slip of the tongue and answered back with a question.

"You don't know?"

"No, he just disappeared after delegating his tasks to me"

"Oh... I think I saw him talking to someone earlier"

"I see"

Izumo nodded and didn't care about the topic anymore.

After all, whatever his coach does is none of his business, he was merely asking out of formality.

It's not as if that guy was of any help to him in the past 10 years anyway.

Even without his guidance, Izumo was confident enough to become a pro, the same with Aiku as well.

The only reason he enrolled in Aoba Academy was due to its relaxing atmosphere and its facilities.

Frankly, Izumo was more surprised and impressed at how Aiku managed to tolerate such an incompetent and overbearing coach.

As for him, he had his share of pompous superiors in his past life so he was more used to this.

"Hey... isn't that?"

Haruto suddenly asked and had his eyes lit up, seeing a familiar face in the distance.

'Well, well... speak of the devil'

Izumo smirked and looked amused as he stared at the man who he was just thinking about seconds ago.

Without a second thought, Izumo mischievously smiled and increased his pace, leaving behind Haruto to catch up.

"If it isn't Mr. Captain of the U-20"

"..."

"Now, what brought such a famed player such as yourself to a humble place, may I ask?"

"Haha... I see you're still as cheeky as ever, Izumo"

Aiku chuckled and smiled dangerously, letting out an intense pressure as his eyes glowed with a strange light.

Not to be undone by him, Izumo stood his ground and flashed a crazed smile as his eyes too glowed in a strange light, letting out the same pressure as Aiku.

Meanwhile, Haruto who was behind Izumo formed a helpless expression as he felt heavy by the aura the two were giving off.

And for a while, both Izumo and Aiku were at a standstill with neither side backing off until the two of them suddenly laughed, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the air.

"It's been a while"

"Indeed"

Both Izumo and Aiku shook hands and smiled as if their earlier confrontation hadn't happened at all.

On the other hand, Haruto bitterly smiled at the sudden change before he shook his head and ran up toward Aiku.

"Senior!"

Haruto waved his hand and greeted with a bright smile which Aiku responded with a pat on his shoulder.

"It's good to see you, Haruto"

Aiku kept his smile and greeted back as he then stared at both Izumo and Haruto.

"Say... mind if we chat for a bit?"

|

|

|

|

"How nice~"

Izumo muttered, feeling satisfied after sipping a can of cold refreshing koka-kola.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Izumo asked, looking toward Aiku who sitting on a bench with Haruto on his right, sipping on a can of pepzi.

"Can't a friend just ask to hang out?"

"I doubt that"

Izumo instantly answered back, not convinced at all since he already knew what kind of person Aiku was.

He had, after all, spent a considerable amount of time with Aiku when he was still at Aoba Academy.

So, it was only quite natural for Izumo to figure out that Aiku had an initial purpose for coming here.

"You got me"

Aiku smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he jokingly raised his arm in a gesture of surrender.

"I did come here with an objective..."

"..."

"It's to meet you two"

"...?"

Hearing Aiku's words, both Izumo and Haruto paused and felt confused for a second, not exactly comprehending his intentions.

After all, Aiku had already expressed that he didn't come here just to hang out but now...

He suddenly declared that his goal was actually the two of them which puzzled them both.

"What... exactly did you mean by wanting to meet us both?"

Izumo asked, staring at Aiku with a questioning look which Haruto did as well.

Meanwhile, Aiku hearing his question, smiled in response and took out two envelopes which he proceeded to give to the two of them.

Seeing this, both Izumo and Haruto accepted the envelopes and simultaneously opened them as they carefully read the contents inside.

"I see, it's an invitation"

Izumo stated, putting back the letter inside the envelope as he finally understood the situation after reading its contents.

It was an invitation offer to join the best youth academy/club in Japan, the Tokyo Conquest.

Indeed, from what Izumo knows, this club was founded in the 1900s, making it the oldest club in Japan with countless trophies already in its belt.

Additionally, It's famed for housing a large pool of talent with some players even becoming national representatives.

And one of them happened to be in front of him...

"How about it?"

"..."

"You two up for it?"

Aiku asked with a smile, observing both Izumo and Haruto's expressions after they read the invitation offer.

And from what he could see, Haruto had an excited smile, seemingly delighted at the invitation.

On the other hand, Izumo had a calm and passive expression, looking as if he didn't care about the offer at all.

"It'll be my pleasure, senpai"

Haruto smiled brightly and extended his arm toward Aiku for a handshake, expressing his acceptance of the invitation.

Naturally, Aiku accepted the handshake and was quite happy that a familiar face would soon become his clubmate.

"Please take care of me from now on"

"Of course"

Aiku responded with a nod and smiled before he turned his head to face Izumo who standing there, looking quite proud of Haruto.

"What about you?"

"Oh, me?"

Izumo was slightly taken aback by surprise before he calmed down and contemplated on what to say.

"It's a tempting offer, I must say but..."

"..."

"Unfortunately, I have to refuse"