Author’s note: Special thanks to Crazyjr_96 for the continuous support toward this story! I really appreciate all the Golden Tickets that you give! Also, I want to thank all of you for keep sending this story your Power Stones! For the first time since this story was released, we finally managed to cross the 150 threshold!

Thanks a lot for any reader all around the world! For that, I will add two more double-update days in the future! Tomorrow, I will update the list.

Thank you!

-0-

It was the night after everything was over, and after experiencing such a hectic day, from winning the game to witnessing a roller-coaster that was Sapporo Otani’s game, everyone was so dead tired. They didn’t even hold any meeting, going straight to their own room after checking in to their hotel.

However, they couldn’t sleep right now. They just shifted their body on the bed restlessly, so desperate to get a good sleep, just for their brain to keep recalling everything that happened today. The worst one was definitely Ritsumeikan’s players after they lost, which was enough to make all the Hakodate Nishi players feel uneasy.

They could still remember the wail...

The cry...

And even the lonely back of their captain, Iwai, as he left the pitch...

Everything was etched into their brain, and somehow, they couldn’t help but think that it would be them who were going to take that position next game.

This couldn’t be helped. No matter how confident they were, the dreadful fear of losing the game would always appear in the worst situation, especially when they were closer to that fateful day. That didn’t mean they enjoyed this feeling, though, as added to the physical exhaustion they suffered from today’s game, the night became more torturous for them all.

’No, I cannot do this.’ Higo shook his head strongly, waking up from his bed. ’This will drive me batty. I need to find something to distract my mind.’

"Senpai? Where are you going?" Suddenly, a voice called him before Higo could leave the room. When the boy turned around, he saw two pairs of eyes staring at him. Those were Takaaki and Sano, as it seemed, those two also suffered from the same problem here.

"Just strolling around for a moment. The silence will drive me crazy." Higo answered truthfully.

"Oh, wait! I want to join!" Takaaki asked, putting his glasses on and jumping out of his bed immediately. "Sano, come on! You will not get any sleep, anyway! It is better to use the time with the others rather than suffering alone!" He didn’t forget to invite his kouhai.

Sano himself was stunned by the invitation. However, seeing the genuine smile on Takaaki’s face, he couldn’t help but nod, accepting it happily. Soon enough, those three tightened their jackets, trying to combat the cold outside.

However, it seemed that he wasn’t the only one who thought the same. No, Makino and Kazawa were also on the same page as they found each other in the hotel’s lobby.

"What? Cannot sleep?" The captain asked, his tired eyes were dull.

"Take one to know one." Higo retorted, but there was no heat in his tone. "You drag your kouhai as well? How about the others? They should also be on the same boat, right?"

"Oh, I heard Kenji, Jun, Fujinaga, and the others decided to play games till they drop later. I wanted to remind them, but I could see that they are not doing that to have fun and forget time, but to force themselves to their limit. I don’t know why they decided on this torturous method, but if it works well for them... Well, good for them, I guess."

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching, somehow imagining a bunch of teenagers playing games with their eyes so dark like zombies, while the only thing they wanted was to get a nice sleep.

In the end, all five of them just strolled around, buying a warm bottle of milk from the vending machine to help them ease their mind. They didn’t say anything during their escapade, making the air awkward among them. Everyone had their own mind right now, getting entangled with their own problem inside their head.

In the end, it was Makino who spoke first. "You know what... I really don’t want to lose this final." Unlike his usual imposing tone, he sounded so vulnerable right now.

"Well, who wants to lose, Teme?" Higo retorted casually, taking a big gulp from the bottle in his hand.

"It is not just because I hate losing, or that this is my final year, or nervousness after watching Ritsumeikan’s defeat. If anything... I want revenge here." Makino just ignored Higo’s sarcastic remark, continuing his story. Still, this only made the others confused about what he was talking about.

"Is it about our losses against them in the last two tournaments?" Kazawa asked cautiously.

"... Yeah, that is one, but more than that, I have a deep grudge against them," Makino answered with a wry smile, as if he was remembering a painful memory. "Do you know that when I was in middle school, their scout approached me for one spot on their team?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

This stunned all of the people around him. Eyes snapped at his direction, looking at the boy as if he were an alien from another world.

"Ridiculous, right?" Makino laughed bitterly. "Me, a mere defender from the barren Hakodate land, bragged about being scouted by Sapporo Otani in the past? If I didn’t experience it myself, I would even say that I had a fever dream. However, that’s the reality. You might not know this, but I was a big talent in the past."

"Then, what happened?" Takaaki asked, curiosity flashing behind his glasses.

The others also looked at their captain curiously. Hell, even Higo himself couldn’t help but listen here. After all, the boy had never talked so openly like this about his past, so no one knew that his life was full of twists and turns. Honestly, it was as if they were listening to a movie plot right now.

"Then? I trained hard, running non-stop every day to the point of self-destruction." Makino’s gaze wandered far to his bitter past. "I couldn’t help it, you know? Sapporo Otani really painted a clear image of how I could go pro from their connection, of how they would go to the National Tournament, where all the top scouts would gather. Me, being a naïve boy I was, believed it straight away, wanting to prove myself by doing everything harder than anyone else. Until..."

"Until..." Everyone held their breath unconsciously, knowing that this was the climax of the story. After pausing for a while, Makino’s tone turned somber with eyes full of regret, as his words sent a shiver down everyone’s spine.

"Everything was good, until my knee finally gave up, forcing me to let go of all my ridiculous dreams."