The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 303: Hiroshi’s Story

No one really knew who spoke that. However, all the Hakodate Nishi players figured it out immediately. Shohei High, their next opponent, came from Saitama, which coincidentally enough was the hometown of their three best players here, the twins and Hiroshi.

’No wonder they are so quiet...’ Higo couldn’t help but mumble. ’If they came from the top middle school in their prefecture, does that mean they are going to face some of their friends, right?’

He got the answer immediately from Kumiko, even with a pinch of salt in it.

"Denji-kun, Denki-kun, Hiroshi-kun, you recognize the school’s name, right?" She muttered softly. The voice was so gentle, but in the long silence in the room, everyone could hear it clearly. "Shohei High, after all, is the school that offered you three a scholarship in the past."

A pin-drop silence followed as all the heads were snapped in their direction. Some even had an exaggerated reaction, like Kenji, with his jaws dropping low to Jun, who rubbed his eyes in disbelief. After all, the news was so unexpected, like a bomb getting dropped into the room out of nowhere.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Let me get this fucking straight!" Kenji asked with eyes wide, still in shock. "You mean to tell me you three got an invitation to join the best team in Saitama, and you guys decided to go to Hakodate? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Even though some were surprised by his sudden outburst, all the Hakodate Nishi players also agreed with the sentiment. They just stared at the three boys as they had just grown a second head.

"...The decision is not as easy as you might think, you know?" In the end, Hiroshi let out a deep sigh, somehow looking like he had just gotten ten years older in one breath. "At that time, my father had just died from cancer, and my mom was not in the right mindset to continue living. I couldn’t just leave her alone, and the atmosphere in Saitama started to suffocate her. So, I just threw everything away immediately, accompanying her to go back to Hakodate, which is her hometown. But I can tell you that it was not an easy decision."

The tone was laced with bitterness, clearly showing that he was still reluctant to make peace with his choice at that time. This silenced everyone immediately, realizing that in every stupid-looking decision, there was always a painful background that triggered everything. Some smarter dudes here might think that his choice was clearly far from the best, but no one dared to speak out loud.

"Is that also related to why you were so eager for the trial chance to Albirex Niigata?" Higo suddenly asked, remembering how the boy had requested everyone to help him get the MVP award in that tournament a few months ago.

"Yeah, you can say that." Hiroshi nodded weakly. "I thought that no scout would ever turn their head to Hakodate, and that tournament was the only chance for me to get into professional football. I know that if I couldn’t get an offer until graduation, I would never go to university on the normal route. No, my mother doesn’t have that much money to afford that, and high school is my only chance to get me closer to my dream. So, I thought that was my only chance, and when I saw Higo-senpai win it, I was so devastated."

Higo could only rub the back of his head awkwardly here, realizing that he had almost buried his kouhai’s dream unconsciously. "Well, fortunately, with us being here, this should give you another chance, right?" He spoke weakly.

"What about you guys?" Makino suddenly turned to the twins immediately. "Hiroshi, I can see why, but you? You both are talented as hell; why would you go to a barren land like Hakodate?"

"Ah, it is not as sad as Hiroshi-senpai’s story..." Denji rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "You see, we are just two kids from a small orphanage in Sugito, Saitama. However, Ojiisan and Obaasan, Hiroshi-senpai’s parents, have been taking care of us since we were children."

"Yup! Yup!" Denki nodded enthusiastically. "They were so kind, always inviting us for lunch, dinner, and even allowing us to have a sleepover whenever the orphanage was too much for us! Hell, they even treated us as their own kids, giving us a red envelope during the New Year session!"

"Hiroshi-senpaiis also very kind!"

"Yeah, he treats us like his own brother!"

"So, when we heard our surrogate family was having a problem, we said, screw it!"

"Yeah, yeah! Screw everything! We are going to support them!"

No one knew how things started to develop to this point. The twins suddenly spoke in a ping-pong-like way, as any twins were portrayed in a story, and how they smiled so proudly after telling the rest of the team about their so-called ’sacrifice’... Let’s just say that everyone was speechless about this.

"I mean, I get Hiroshi-kun’s reason; she is his mother, after all, and they have to go through thick and thin together. But you..." Takaaki twitched his lips in exasperation. His smart brain seemed to be short-circuited here, not knowing what to say. "Out of all the ways to repay their kindness, how could you choose the worst one?! You just threw away your future! You would be able to help them more when you are successful, not like this!"

"Hey, hey! No need to be disrespectful like that!" Denji frowned.

"Yeah, I mean, we still had to give up our scholarship for that decision!" Denki added, also frowning.

"That is why I said it was the worst one! You could’ve just accepted the scholarship and supported them in the process, for God’s sake!" Takaaki cried more in frustration.

The others just secretly laughed at this scene. Out of everyone else, Takaaki was probably the one who couldn’t stand stupid decisions the most. Well, he was the smartest among the boys, so this wasn’t really the first time he reacted so strongly like that.

"Anyway, since the little background class is over, I think it is time to start talking about our real opponent, right?" Kumiko coughed, re-announcing her presence to the boys. "Shohei High is not an ordinary team. They have one of the best players in this generation, which coincidentally enough is also our friend’s senpai here. I am sure you know quite well about Hiroki Kawabe, right, Hiroshi-kun?"