The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 101: The End of the Tournament!

"Hell, yeah! That’s the Sappotani that I know!"

"Good job, Yuwell! You show them who is in charge here!"

"Rin-sama! Please, smile here!"

"Kyaaaah!"

As all the Sappotani players greeted the supporters, Higo watched from afar, and a sweat couldn’t help but drop from his forehead when he saw a bunch of girls squealing at the team’s captain. This was exactly how things usually turned out to be with Makino, and this gave him a déjà vu feeling here.

Still...

"Hey, Teme, don’t glare at him like that, or you will attract hostility from those crazy girls." He whispered to his own captain, whose face was so sour right now. "Or... Do you feel envious since he is more... Handsome?" He smirked a little, especially when the boy saw his captain stiffen at that.

"W—What the hell?!" Makino sputtered, not expecting the accusation at all. "W—Who the hell feels envious over something so... So... Frivolous like that!" He tried to defend his dignity, just to look even more guilty here. Some of the players in the vicinity even snickered, finding the captain’s unusual behavior to be amusing.

Yeah, somehow, the two captains here, Makino and Rin Mito, were the same kind of student, the popular ones who always got the loudest cheer from the girls. However, not only was Rin Mito’s school more prestigious, but the boy was also more handsome here.

Kumiko just sighed helplessly as she watched her boys’ antics, shaking her head in exasperation. "Okay, that’s enough. We still have to go down for the closing ceremony. Let’s go."

Yeah, there was a reason why they didn’t just go back after their game was over. It wasn’t just because they wanted to see Sappotani’s game, even though it was one of the strong reasons here, but more importantly, the organizer required the top three teams to attend the closing ceremony.

"Damn, that organizer sure is a bastard who doesn’t know people’s feelings, huh?" Higo couldn’t help but mutter. "He forces Esashi High and us to attend the coronation of the team that beat us? Are they so desperately in need of more audience?"

Only Kumiko could hear his mumble, and the girl’s lips twitched unconsciously. She also felt the same way, but the girl couldn’t just reject the offer. This was also the same last year when they were losing in the final, so there was no reason not to come here.

"Still, I pity Esashi High, you know?" Kuroki suddenly spoke. The tall striker’s words attracted the others’ attention here. "I mean, after getting beaten six goals like that, they should be devastated, right? This is exactly what happened to us last tournament, and even though they are our opponent, I would never wish them to face that humiliating scene just like us, you know?"

The atmosphere turned solemn instantly, because out of all the people here, everyone besides Higo experienced the humiliating defeat in the final last year. Even after the game was over, they still had to attend the closing ceremony, applauding the winning team for humiliating them 7 – 0 without mercy.

Honestly, at that time, some even had an extreme thought like it was better to die than be forced to bow and lower their dignity like that. Now, they had to witness another team having to suffer the same fate, and honestly, just like Kuroki said, they pitied Esashi High’s players here.

Higo, who wasn’t involved in the game last winter, just stood silently, observing each one of his teammates from behind. He could see Makino’s fist clenched, Hiroshi’s smile dropped, and even Yuji’s body stiffened, and while he wasn’t really there, the boy knew based on this reaction how devastating the blow that day was to their pride. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Anyway, let’s go down first. We can think about the other things later." Kumiko coughed again, forcing them to move.

Once they went through the tunnel and stepped back into the pitch, the atmosphere there was awkward.

Some of the insensitive jerks from Sappotani were still celebrating crazily while the other senior members just stopped and smiled reservedly, while on the other side, all the Esashi players were still frozen on the spot, probably questioning their life choices. Some of the Hakodate Nishi players flinched unconsciously, being so familiar with that gloomy expression.

Still, Kumiko didn’t let them get too close to that depressing scene for too long. No, she led the team to one corner of the pitch while also waiting patiently for the organizer to arrive. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before an old man, probably around 50 to 60, stepped forward with a microphone in his hand, coughing a little to gain everyone’s attention.

"First of all, congratulations to Sapporo Otani High, as they have just won the 45th Inter-High Tournament for Prefecture Hokkaido, the 53rd in their history."

While everyone clapped, Higo had his jaw dropped at this tidbit of information. "23? Fucking hell... They only lost 22 times in such a long period? Talk about domination, geez..."

Makino nudged his waist a little, hissing for him to shut up.

"Then, before the trophy handing ceremony, I know there is something that you all have been waiting for..." The man suddenly smiled mysteriously.

Higo was taken aback when he saw the others around him tense. The feeling turned into confusion as the entire stadium went silent out of nowhere, and he could hear the nervous breath from all over the pitch. Hell, even some of the Sappotani’s players looked eager, and the only clueless ones here were him and Yuwell Carlson.

"It is here..." Makino hissed quietly.

"I swear, if I am not there, this is a blatant robbery..." Hiroshi added, his fingers fidgeting in anxiety.

"The individual award of the tournament..." Kuroki nodded solemnly.

Higo was still confused, wanting to ask what was going on here. However, before he could do that, the organizer had already continued his speech again.

"So, the individual award of the tournament... Starting from the goalkeeper, let’s give a round of applause for Ryusuke Higo from Hakodate Nishi High!"

The boy froze on the spot when he heard his name being called, and before his brain finally connected the dots, it disconnected instantly, especially with the cheers and applause echoing all over the stadium.