FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

Right after Hiroshi kicked the ball back for the next kick-off, the referee blew the whistle immediately, ending the dramatic game straight away. Well, at least, he ended the normal time, since the game itself was far from over.

"Damn! A draw? This should be the first one in this tournament, right?!"

"Yeah! So, what’s going to happen next?"

If it were the summer tournament, once the game ended in a draw, they would continue to the extra time first, a short game of 2x15 minutes. However, due to the harsh weather in the winter, to avoid injury, any draw result would go directly to the penalty shootout.

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Kuroki and Kumiko stepped onto the pitch immediately, not even asking nor waiting for the referee’s permission. The boy brought a box full of bottles of water, with the girl shouting at her players all around the pitch. "Okay, everyone! Gather up!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The players didn’t talk too much. They just shuffled into the girl, their face showing clear exhaustion. Not just in a physical form, but mentally, what happened at the end of the game really took a toll on them. No smile or laughter could be seen as they just fell on the ground, letting their body cool down a little bit right now.

"Replenish yourself first. Don’t forget to get a banana for each one of you; you will need that later." Kumiko spoke. The others complied, with Kuroki taking a bunch of bananas from the same box before spreading them to everyone else. "So, first things first, I know that this is not an ideal situation for us. We’ve been robbed by that stupid penalty, and nothing can change that matter anymore. So, I want you to put that anger aside first and focus on the shootout, because we still need to survive this."

Even though some players were still so frustrated, they couldn’t help but agree here. Anger could be relieved later, but right now, they still had a game to win.

"Okay, I will announce the taker for this shootout. The first one, Makino-kun, I need you to step up your game."

Makino was startled for a second here. However, as the team’s captain, the boy knew he needed to show an example, so he just gave a big thumbs-up. "Leave it to me."

"Second one, Usami-kun."

This was a risky one. After all, Usami’s shyness could get into his head in a crucial moment. However, the boy was the most stable player emotionally on the team right now, so Kumiko gave the responsibility to the boy.

"Third one..." Kumiko looked around at her players while biting her lips. Somehow, she regretted taking off Kenji and Takaaki earlier, feeling like she didn’t have a lot of options in this situation. "Denji, you are quite experienced in a high-level situation like this, and you know well enough about their goalkeeper. Give me your best shot, okay?"

"Don’t worry, Senpai! I have never missed a penalty before!" Denji boasted strongly, eliciting a snort from his jealous twin.

Kumiko smiled weakly before taking another deep breath here. "For the fourth and last taker... This is interchangeable." The girl said solemnly. "The decisive shot will be taken by Hiroshi-kun, so if we need you to step up as the fourth, you have to be ready, okay?"

"Sure, Senpai." Hiroshi nodded, knowing that he would get this role.

"As for the other one..." Her eyes somehow landed on the boy who had just come to the pitch for a few minutes. Even though this was a gamble, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth here. "Sano-kun, you are the freshest player on our side right now. I need you to kick the ball as hard as possible, but don’t let it float too high. Is that doable?"

This really came as a surprise. Even all the players there were taken aback by the decision. After all, no matter how good Sano was, he was still new at football, having only learned everything in the last six months. To give him such a big responsibility, especially in a matter that he had no business in, was indeed a big gamble.

However, Kumiko still didn’t hesitate to pick Sano. Besides his terrible social skills, the boy was probably the calmest one on the team, probably even better than Makino or Higo. He was steady at any moment, and more than that, his appearance could give an intimidating effect to the opponent’s goalkeeper.

Also, her instruction was clear. Sano didn’t need to do a complicated thing- just whack the ball with his power and don’t let it float too high. Kumiko believed that this would be enough for the boy to get the job done.

In the end, even though he was still a bit nervous, Sano gave a little nod, saying, "I will try my best."

Kumiko nodded satisfactorily, turning around to the other players. "There will be a chance that the penalty shootout will run for more than five takes, so I need any of you to step up when the time comes. Don’t slack off, and get ready at any time!"

"YES, MA’AM!"

"Good! Ryukkun, come here with me!" The girl called her childhood friend.

Higo nodded silently, getting up with a little groan as he felt his knee buckling. Kumiko saw this, so the girl couldn’t help but ask, "Is everything okay? You don’t feel any pain, right?" Her tone was full of concern.

"Don’t worry, just too exhausted from having to go up and down all the time." Higo waved off the concern nonchalantly, trying to look strong.

"...Sorry about that. Even after your big performance, we still have to rely on you one more time." In the end, she smiled apologetically at her friend.

"Eh, don’t worry about it. Anyway, what is going on?"

Seeing that the boy was ready for the main topic here, Kumiko didn’t waste too much time. She took out a small note from her pocket, giving it to Higo. At the goalkeeper’s questioning gaze, the girl said, "This is all of the data I gathered about all the Shohei players today; read it quickly and try to remember as much as possible. Who knows, maybe some of them will be useful later."