Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V1 Chapter 3.6

Chapter 3 - Their Encounter

Before long, the first match between the two schools we had invited was over. I took my blue and white school uniform and went out to the field to warm up.

Izumi was sitting in a pipe chair in the corner of the parents' tent, looking at me. When our eyes met, she gave me a small hand wave.

I somehow raised my hand up in return as I stretched. Then I noticed that the other members around me were looking at me. "Who is that? Sakamoto's acquaintance?" one of them asked, and I replied that she was a relative of mine. Since he was not a guy I talked to very often, he did not pursue the matter further, but they looked at me and Izumi alternately for a while with suspicion, which made me feel uncomfortable.

When it's time to start the match, the starter players line up by the side of the field and have the first-year players, who will act as referees, check their equipment before entering the field.

The two teams faced each other across the centerline, greeted each other, formed a circle, and then spread out on the field. As I took my position as a defensive midfielder and waited for the opponents to kick off, I glanced at Izumi.

Then I was surprised by an unexpected sight.

Yuriko, who was supposed to be on the bench earlier, is sitting next to Izumi, who is sitting on a pipe chair amongst the parents. The two seemed to be exchanging some words. Yuriko was smiling and moving her mouth, and Izumi was in a posture with her hands on her knees, her face turned toward Yuriko, listening to what she was saying with a consoling smile.

---I wondered what they were talking about.

For a moment, all of my attention was focused on the two of them when the whistle sounded, signaling the start of the game.

All at once, the players around me started to move, and I came to myself and returned my gaze to the ball.

They follow the ball's path, look around the entire field, and take their positions in anticipation of what is coming next.

I tried to put the two of them out of my mind and concentrate on soccer. I tried to keep abreast of the constantly changing situation on the field, and when I received the ball, I would pass it to where the opponent's defense was weak, then, when I saw an opportunity, I would attack up, get into a supporting position to create a path for my teammates to pass, and run to cover for a defender who had just moved up. I continued to play the same defensive midfielder-style play that has become so ingrained in my body.

Even so, when the ball crossed the field, I couldn't help but notice Izumi and Yuriko out of the corner of my eye.

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