Future Prospects

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[Stats]

⇢Possession percentage - 36 % (Lv. 1)

⇢Pass accuracy - 56 % (Lv. 2)

⇢Shots on target - 3 % (Lv. 1)

⇢Ball control - 6 % (Lv. 1)

⇢1v1 defending - 36 % (Lv. 1)

[i: Stats are available after every match.]

[Teams]

Team 10

[Teammates]

Noé Kimura - 386

Nevan Kimura [Host] - 387

Akimitsu Hagiwara - 388

Ichiro Hayashi - 389

Koushi Yoshida - 390

Minoru Akiyama - 391

Kento Kuriwara - 392

Shoei Fujimoto - 393

Keijiro Hanami - 394

Shouji Shima - 395

Kazuo Hiromi - 396

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His brain was just focused on that test. Why had he been unable to make it? He always did. Why not now? Honestly, since he was on his own, it had gotten bad enough that he started to doubt on his abilities. Even if it was just very slightly.

"You actually are better than me now?" Akimitsu yelled out, almost annoyed. They had decided to go train for a bit as they wanted to congratulate Noé on his new position.

"Come on." Nevan muttered as he walked down the hallway with the bodybuilder. He was thinking about this in an objective way right now. "I can't even grasp the way he is assessing the things. Like, what are the criteria?"

There was a pause but then Akimitsu hummed as if he was true thinking about it. "You are right. If it was about the time who got the ball in their grasp, you should be #1." He admitted. "Noé was more in the background and yet got a better placement than you."

There was a mutual silence after that in which both of the boys thought about that. Then the other one shrugged it off. "Whatever. At least, you got a better meal now."

At this, Nevan let out a relieved sigh. "Yeah. It will most likely be better than what I had the last time."

This was something that lifted his spirits. He had not even thought of this fact before but now it was this exact fact which made the area around his heart a bit warmer. Finally, good food.

As they entered the hall where Noé was most likely training, they were met by hasty footsteps accompanied by panting which came from the guy they were looking for.

"Hey!" The man beside Nevan spoke in a cheerful voice while raising his hand in a greeting manner. "Training, aren't we?"

A smile had spread on Noé's face as he saw the two enter the place. He didn't stop from doing his training. He seemed to be wanting to complete it before he finally let out a breath and approached them.

"Hey, guys!" They were greeted in a cheerful way. The guy approached them while dribbling the ball between his feet and stood in front of them. "What are you doing here?"

Nevan and Akimitsu looked at each other. Noé was very cheerful. There was no denying it.

"Just wanted to congratulate you on your new rank." Nevan responded.

It seemed to surprise Noé a bit. He let out a small laugh, as if in disbelief. "Yeah? Until now, I only got jealous glares." He admitted.

He could relate to this. Nevan had gotten more jealous comments than actual congrats. The only one who had showed some sort of happiness for his achievement was Akimitsu. In fact, congratulating Noé was an idea which came from the bodybuilder.

"I didn't even know, I would make it to the #1 in Team 10. Not when I did nothing at all." He continued.

"We know. This doesn't make any sense." Aki spoke and patted Nevan's shoulder. "I mean, he was the one who had the ball all that time and yet didn't manage it."

They had only talked about it for a few moments. Suddenly the screen where usually the points were displayed turned on to show Mr. Tachibana's face. This had been something which threw them off for a small moment.

"... connected just now." The man was in the middle of a sentence, talking to someone else. His head turned to the display very quickly, showing his face.

"The first selection stage was successful. Everyone in your team has now a new rank. One thing is for sure. Many don't understand the criteria being included in the selection. You don't need to."

"And here I thought, he was going to reveal something." Nevan muttered under his breath. As a response he got a laugh from Noé.

The camera zoomed in just a little, making sure to capture the serious expression that was laid bare on his features. "You might have expected a break. Especially Teams A to H. Yet, there is no time for a break. Despite thinking, we have over a year to select a perfect team for U20 World Cup for Japan, this doesn't mean, we will slack off."

Akimitsu sighed. "He is intense."

"Can't say, I don't like it." Nevan heard Noé speak. It was a voice which sounded excited for what was to come.

"And that is why in about three hours the second selection will begin." The exhausted voice of Mr. Tachibana continued. "It will be a test of your coordinating skills, focusing on your teamplaying skills as well as communication skills. Your team will play against other teams in your group."

The three guys looked at each other. Nevan didn't know what the others were thinking but he was thinking of the formation that would be good for them already, including thoughs about the right strategy.

"Before the matches start, you will have time to practice, of course. You are also allowed to come up with a strategy together." They were informed in a rather neutral voice. "Each team will play three games." The man leaned back ever so slightly before getting a grip of his behavior. He leaned forward and continued. "You will be notified when the first games start. Good luck to all the participants."

The display turned black. None of the three talked as they were processing what the man had said. Another selection in three hours. That was the time they had to come up with a right formation and a strategy.

[Creating a plan for the training phase.]

His eyes graced the words written on the display. Good thing, he had something that assisted him in these moment. He probably would have been completely lost and would not know where to start.

"Then..." Akimitsu started and moved a bit. "I guess, we should meet up with the others and think of a plan which will help us succeed in this." The others agreed. Of course. That was important. Only if they found a way to play together and still shine in a unique light, they could master this and move forward.

Noé took the soccer ball in his hands and put it away. "Let us look for the others then."

"Right. How about, we split up and meet here again?" Nevan suggested. Maybe, they were all spread somewhere. It would be hard to gather them all if they sticked together. They had to split up. There was no other choice in this matter and he was sure, not everyone had the same thoughts as them.

"Good idea. See you later, guys."

That was how all of them made their way to the other corridors as well as the rooms just to gather them all. It was somewhat annoying. Was there no other way to gather his teammates than to walk around like a lost puppy? Texting or calling would habe been more efficient.

After a while of wandering around, he finally saw a few from his team. Their names were floating above their heads, thanks to the system.

After a small talk, he ended up leading them to the hall where some were already waiting. Seemed like Akimitsu and Noé had played their part well, already.

"Are all of us here now?" Nevan asked and looked around, taking in each of his teammates for a few seconds.

"Seems like that. Let's go in, right?" Noé spoke up.

This made all of them move into the hall where they ended up sitting right in the middle while forming a circle. Everyone knew, what it was for. There was no need for any explanation.

Everyone seemed to be consumes by their thoughts so that no words had fallen yet. At some point, Nevan did get annoyed.

[Your training plan is available. You can check it out under the task menu.]

He ignored this notification and sat a bit straighter as he thought of how to approach the matter at hand.

"How about we first tell each other what our 'special' skills are?" He spoke then. "Anything that might be helpful for the upcoming matches?"

The manner of the silence that followed was different from the one that had just reigned. Everyone was thinking. About their best skills which could help them score a goal and move forward.

"I can jump really high." Keijiro was the first to talk. He leaned back with his legs spread out in front of him. "Mostly, I play in a defending position. Sometimes as a goalkeeper too."

The talk had lasted for half an hour. Surprisingly, they didn't take too long to think of a good formation. Their skills were enough and no matter where they were, they could use their skills to shine.

"So, our strikers will be Nevan and Shouji." Noé spoke, confirming.

Everyone nodded. "Shouji has a good control over the ball. We all know that." Shoei spoke. "Okay, expect for Nevan."

This was somewhat confusing. Nevan looked at the pink-haired guy who he had met earlier. Their only encounter hadn't been very welcome.

"But we all saw how Nevan strikes. He will be perfect since we are aiming for an offensive play."