On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Black Room, Updated

And it did.

Manabe pressed on a few more keys and the option disappeared. "There doesn't seem to be a 'delete' function, so for now, I've moved the information to a hidden folder. This decreases the chance of any of us using it to 0.01%."

He gratefully nodded at him and watched as they all headed back to start practicing again.

Suddenly, his phone beeped in his pocket. Aoi, who had left the room not too long ago, had messaged him, asking if Tenma was with him. Apparently, he wasn't answering her texts, telling him that their caretaker had long-since finished making their lunch. And so, he replied that they were on their way.

The brunette was standing by the door, a hand on his chin as he lost himself in his thoughts. He tried to snap his fingers in front of his face, but when that didn't work, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tenma."

"W-Wha― Huh?!" He jumped, quickly looking around before his eyes landed on him. "O-Oh, Tsurugi... Sorry. What's wrong?"

"Aoi's been texting you for the past ten minutes, but you weren't replying so she went to me instead. Says our lunch is ready and Shindou-san's also waiting."

"Oh, okay. But what about everyone else?"

"Apparently, they've already eaten before we came here."

"Eh? Really?" He blinked at them before giving a nod. "Alright then. As long as they've eaten, I guess it's fine..."

Still worried, huh? He patted his back. "You're hungry. Think about it after we eat and it might come to you."

"Ahahaha... I hope you're right."

~~~~~

When they got back, this time with Shindou in tow, they found that only Ibuki was still going strong with the training. But even so, he looked like he was barely able to stand.

"Ibuki, it's time you took a break, yeah?" Kusaka asked, being the one controlling the panel this time.

"I'm fine! I don't need a break against a shot like this!"

Having trained with him longer than anyone else, Tsurugi used the trick he learned that would work. Mock curiosity to get him to talk about himself. Being the narcissist he is, it works every time.

"Ibuki, I heard that you volunteered to be goalkeeper. Why did you choose that position?"

"Because..." He let down his guard and that was cue for Kusaka to switch off his hologram sphere. "There's only one goalkeeper on the field. You're able to fight using your own abilities, without having to depend on anyone else. I chose to be the goalkeeper because I was attracted to that. I've been training all this time. My power and force couldn't possibly lose to anyone right now. I should be the perfect goalkeeper! Just like basketball!"

That confidence is nice and all, but...

"No. You don't belong here." Shindou stated.

"What?!"

"Someone like you isn't fit for the goalkeeper position. You never will be."

"Say that again?!"

"Shindou-san, that's not very fair." Kusaka interjected. "He's been training really hard in his own way. It's time you acknowledge him."

"... Having a hissatsu technique doesn't mean you can block shots all the time. Soccer isn't that simple." Was all he said before he walked out.

Well, not that he didn't understand what he meant. The only question is, would Ibuki realize it for himself any time soon?