On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Two Shades of Blue

Aoi watched excitedly as the team practiced that afternoon. Compared to how they were at the start, the team before her eyes right then were genuinely doing their best in both attack and defense.

They all keep improving by the minute. They're even able to coordinate with each other now. Back at Raimon, she'd always been able to share her excitement with the other managers. But there, she could only frown as she looked back to the meeting room. If only Mizukawa-san didn't stick by coach's side all the time and stayed with us. I'm sure she would find that much more fun...

"Kusaka!"

Her attention was pulled back to the field by Tenma's yell. However, his pass was cut by Tetsukado, who then gave it to Konoha. Or at least, he tried to.

The ball went far over her head and out of bounds.

Sakura let out a sigh. "Not again..."

The smaller girl almost seemed to curl up. Still, she got the ball back and they started again. The offense managed to get through in an instant, especially with Ibuki telling Minaho to let Tsurugi shoot. And of course, the striker made the goal.

Even with the weight on his mind, Tsurugi is in top form today as well... Her gaze turned to the sky as she thought about what Minaho had told her the day before, not too long after getting home from their match.

"It's the manager's job to look after the members and talk to them if they are troubled, right?" He had said. "Then, I think you should go talk to Tsurugi. He doesn't seem like it, but he's frustrated about something. Or rather, someone."

At the time, she feigned ignorance, pretending to be surprised by his deduction. But in truth, she, Tenma, and Shindou all knew what was bothering him. How could they not? The person he was constantly thinking of was their friend too.

Back then, even when it's just practice, she'd cheer for him and it'd always make him smile. It really doesn't feel the same without her...

But there was nothing they could do. The blonde will only return when she can afford to, meaning when she's healthy and well without the fear of death hanging above her within the next eight years. They can only hope the day of their reunion would come soon.

"Okay! That's the end of today's practice!"

As soon as Tenma made the call, they began to flood over to the bench. She pushed all the sad thoughts aside and plastered on a smile as she handed them all their towels and drinks.

"Tetsukado." Shindou suddenly approached the ex-boxer, earning a surprised look from him. "Your movements have gotten much sharper, but you're able to do better. Your speed is dropping. Move up more to the front."

"O-Okay..."

With nothing else to say, the ash brown haired boy left for the showers.

A smile made its way to her lips when she realized what just happened. "Shindou-senpai gave advice... Tenma!"

Tenma's expression mirrored hers. "Yeah! Shindou-san..."

Even Tsurugi was smiling.

The rest all had shocked expressions, but they eased to proud smiles for finally getting at least a little acknowledged from the playmaker.

~~~~~

As the team went to take their showers, Aoi stayed out on her own to tidy up the field. She gathered the balls on the side, making sure all 20 were accounted for. Then, she packed all the bottles into the cooling box before checking over the whole field quickly to make sure there were no lost items dropped on the grass.