The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 7: The Team’s Captain - Tomoaki Makino!

"Stupid ass me... Why do I think it is a good idea to accept the request to go out in such cold weather? Playing football in such weather should be illegal, right?" Higo mumbled grumpily as he kept tightening the scarf on his neck.

Honestly, the situation wasn’t really that bad. Hakodate, being the southern part of Hokkaido, had quite mild weather, not as extreme as Sapporo or any other cities in the far north. Also, it was almost March already, and the temperature was about to touch 6 or 7 degrees Celsius, which was warm enough for the Hokkaido people to go out and leave their cave.

That was why, along the way to the school, Higo could see people walking around, either trying to stretch their stiff bodies, hanging out with friends, or just walking their dog to get a little bit of sunshine outside.

Still, as a person who spent most of his time at home, Higo was quite resistant to going outside and playing football in this situation. Hell, as he walked, the boy kept grumbling in a foul mood, starting to regret his decision to accept this request.

’Why would I accept this shit? Goddamnit!’ He cursed once again. ’Oh, yeah, I forgot that I decided to be the biggest simp on earth. What a loser...’ The boy mocked himself mercilessly.

Fortunately, the match was held on the school’s pitch, and it wasn’t too far from his house. After walking through the port for about five minutes, he finally arrived just to find out that the pitch was already filled with people starting to warm up. At the scoreboard, he could also see the names of the two schools that were about to fight.

Hakodate Nishi High – Esashi High

The opponent’s team wore the dark green jersey, and honestly, based on their players’ expressions, it seemed that they were treating this game seriously.

’What the hell? Are they a strong team?’ He couldn’t help but mutter.

"Ryukkun! Here!" Kumiko’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the pitch, and all the eyes immediately turned to him. Higo was flushed in embarrassment, scampering quickly to the team’s bench.

"Kumiko-chan, lower your voice, please! Be a little bit lowkey!" He hissed.

"Ahaha... Sorry, sorry, I am just a little bit too excited." Kumiko rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, trying to act cute to escape from his glare. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Wait, is he the one that all of you said to be a good goalkeeper?!" Suddenly, a boisterous voice attracted their attention. Not just those two, but the other Nishi High players as well. When they turned around, they could see a boy with a rough appearance and a slightly muscular body staring at Higo mockingly. "I know that we need a goalie, but we are not desperate to believe his lie to be a good one, right?!"

Higo narrowed his eyes dangerously, having to hold back the urge to punch the boy straight to the face. The boy’s name was Tomoaki Makino, and he was one of the few second-year members on the team and, coincidentally enough, was also his classmate. Moreover, the boy was also the captain of the team, so his opinion held some weight here.

However, that didn’t mean Higo would back down. If anything, he just stepped up to challenge the boy further.

"Listen to me, Makino-teme, because I will not repeat myself. I don’t have to be here, and if not for Kumiko-chan, I would rather watch a TV show at home rather than be here. It is not me who wants to be here, but your team that needs my presence. So, shut the fuck up and be a good boy, okay?" He hissed venomously.

The temperature dropped instantly, with most of the players being dumbfounded by Higo’s harsh remark. Some even started to spread apart, ready to escape if a conflict broke out. Makino himself seemed to have all the blood drained from his body. His face turned pale, and his fist was so red from clenching it too tightly. It was clear at this point that they both had a bad history, yet no one really knew what was going on between those two.

"Okay, that’s enough, you two!" Kumiko suddenly popped up out of nowhere, hitting their head playfully with a small board in their hand. "Tomoaki-kun, you are the team’s captain! Be a little bit mature! Also, Ryukkun, don’t provoke him relentlessly like that! You know that he will react that way, right?!" She scolded them both sternly.

"... Yes, Ma’am..." In the end, the two troublemakers could only nod obediently, although they still glared at each other secretly.

"Good." Kumiko nodded in satisfaction. "Makino-kun, I invite Ryukkuntoday because everyone has already seen his quality a few days ago. Even if you are not willing, at least, just for this game, okay? Or, would you rather let Jun be a goalkeeper again?"

Makino winced unconsciously, glancing at his tall and clumsy kouhai, who was a disaster as a goalkeeper. "... Fine, he could stay." The boy said reluctantly. Although Makino hated Higo to the core, he was still rational enough to consider which was the best choice for the team. Also, he didn’t want to have another disastrous game due to a terrible goalkeeper.

"That’s for the best, Tomoaki-kun," Kumiko said. Then, she turned to Higo, who was looking at the captain gloatingly before dropping the bomb that was enough to freeze the boy to death. "As for you, Ryukkun, you still don’t know a lot of things, right? Don’t worry, Tomoaki-kun is a very strong and communicative defender. If you have any questions, just ask, okay?"

Higo pouted sourly while Makino showed a malicious grin. It was clear that the captain wanted to use this as a reason to bully him later.

"Just follow my command, Chibi! I assure you that everything will be fine!" Makino patted his chest proudly, yet the grin on his face was full of mockery.

Higo narrowed his eyes dangerously, loathing the nickname that the boy in front of him gave. However, under Kumiko’s gaze, he could only nod, but not before sending another warning. "Just make sure you don’t hold me back, okay?"