The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 15: Higo & Makino’s Past

"Urgh... This is terrible..." Higo yawned as he felt his whole body aching. "How could someone enjoy doing something that would affect him badly the next day?" He couldn’t help but ask himself.

It was Monday already, two days after the game against Esashi High. Even though Higo had one whole day to rest his body, he himself was not a sporty person in the first place, so it would take a longer time for him to recover. Even as he walked to the school right now, he was like a zombie, staggering a little from the remaining pain in his body.

’Still...’ Higo stared at his hand, clenching it several times to remember the feeling that day. ’Being a goalkeeper... It seems that it is not as bad as I thought, huh?’ Of course, he would never say he enjoyed it, but at least Higo was not as resistant to the thought of football as before.

As he entered the classroom, the boy suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulder, and before he could turn around, a familiar, annoying sound had already greeted him.

"Yo, Chibi! How are you doing? I thought you wouldn’t be able to wake up from your bed at least for three days in a row." Yeah, it was Makino, the team captain, who greeted him with a little hint of mockery.

The first to react was not Higo, but the other classmates who were already there. The gasp was loud and full of surprise, as all eyes turned at them in disbelief, as if they had just witnessed an alien. Those gazes were enough to make Higo squirm uncomfortably, as he got rid of the hand on his shoulder forcefully.

"Go away, Teme! Don’t you see you are making a scene here?" He hissed in a whisper.

"Oh, let them do whatever they want! What are they going to do, anyway? Reporting to the teacher?" He scoffed, yet also in a barely whisper. "Anyway, don’t think too much about them. If anything, try to get used to it, okay?"

Higo could only roll his eyes in exasperation. Talking was easy, but doing it was a different matter. He couldn’t ignore the whispers around him, especially when he was the one people were glancing at right now.

’That should be Higo-san, right? How did he know Tomoaki-kun?"

"Psst! Don’t you know that Tomoaki-kun was rejected by Shishida-san from the next class last year?"

"What is the correlation?"

"Oh, you don’t know about it! Shishida-san and Higo-san are childhood friends, and some even said that they are items right now!"

"Really?! No wonder..."

"This should be the classic case of the love triangle in Anime, right?"

The more he listened to the gossip, the more speechless Higo became. Secretly, he also regretted how he could lower his guard like this, allowing Makino to approach him out of nowhere. Before this, they both lived in a completely different world, with Makino being a popular and smart guy in the class, while Higo was an NPC whom people overlooked most of the time. No wonder, when they suddenly got closer like this, the others thought of any juicy gossip that could possibly happen.

However, there was something that the gossip hit the nail on the head, and that was about the complicated love triangle between Higo, Makino, and Kumiko. Well... Not that complicated, per se. Higo could still remember, albeit vividly, what happened that day.

-Flashback a few months ago-

"Kumiko-san, please, go out with me!"

Higo froze instantly as he overheard that confession, not even daring to take a glance in that direction.

It was a rare sunny day in Hakodate, and just like the usual, after school was over, Higo would wait until the football team’s training was over before he picked up Kumiko from that place. He himself didn’t mind that—a simp, yeah—usually waiting back in the classroom with a phone in his hand.

However, today was different, as the confession came out of nowhere. Higo narrowed his eyes slightly, somehow feeling complicated. Due to his close relationship with Kumiko, he knew all the football players on the team, and right now, the boy could figure out who the person confessing his feelings toward his girl was.

’Tomoaki Makino...’ Higo hissed venomously.

Makino was the school’s idol, the one who received a love letter almost daily. He was one of the smartest dudes in the school, humble, kind, funny, friendly, and handsome. He was the epitome of a male god, so perfect in every aspect. He was everything that Higo yearned for, yet would never be able to achieve.

’And now... He wants to snatch Kumiko-chan from me? How dare he...’

Now, Higo was in a dilemma. On one hand, he wanted to barge in, grab Kumiko’s hand, and run away rudely without giving the boy any chance to answer. However, that would be rude, and they themselves had never talked about their relationship other than being best friends. So, he didn’t have the right to say anything else about this kind of scenario.

Fortunately, before he could choose anything, Kumiko’s answer sent relief through his body. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I am sorry, Makino-kun. I am honored to receive your confession, but I am afraid that I cannot return that feeling." She said it so politely, not wanting to hurt the boy too much.

Even though Higo couldn’t see his exact reaction, he could imagine that the popular boy froze on the spot with a stupid expression on his face, and Higo couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle for that. Unfortunately, it was still quite loud enough for the two teenagers there to hear, as they snapped at Higo’s direction instantly.

"Who is there?!"

-Flashback a few months ago-

To put it shortly, after that, Higo got caught overhearing the confession, and for the first time ever, Makino witnessed how close he was to Kumiko. This sparked the hostility between them, as Higo saw Makino as a perfect student who he wanted to be, while Makino saw Higo as a love rival who was close to the girl he fancied.

That was why, up until now, they were still quite hostile toward each other.

"Anyway, Chibi, don’t go back too soon after the school is over, okay?" Makino suddenly whispered again, snapping Higo from his thoughts.

"Why?" Higo couldn’t help but ask.

"Well, it should be obvious, right?" Makino grinned boyishly, eliciting dramatic gasps from the girls around them. "As our new goalkeeper, you should greet your predecessor first and ask for a blessing!"