The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 102: Back Home Again
Without anyone noticing, all the Hakodate Nishi players were already back on the bus, ready to go back home. Their eyes were still staring at the Sapporo Dome longingly, the memory of the last couple of days lingering in their head.
At this point, gone was all the craziness the crowd brought to the dome, as a cold silence descended there. Some people were still there, laughing and chatting, but most were already back and had had enough of the excitement today.
Higo himself stared from outside the bus with blank eyes. His eyes were on them, but his mind was definitely wandering afar. In his hand, though, two shiny trophies lay, both of which were awarded by the organizer for him.
Golden Glove of the Tournament. Hokkaido Inter-High Tournament 2018
Best Newcomer of the Tournament. Hokkaido Inter-High Tournament 2018
Yeah, at the end of the day, Higo didn’t just achieve one, but two individual awards at the same time. No one also really complained here—even though Hiroshi grumbled, thinking that he deserved the latter one—since the boy showed a huge promise in his short time at the dome.
The only controversy, though, was the best newcomer one, since some people argued that Yuwell Carlson was still a new person here. However, the Swedish striker arrived in Japan for the National Winter Tournament a few months ago, and while the boy didn’t really play in the prefectural tournament, he still had the experience in the national tournament, putting him out of the nomination instantly.
Still, the Swedish striker didn’t really mind it, especially since he got the MVP award of the tournament.
With his achievement of scoring 18 goals in five games he played in this tournament, including four goals in the final, not a single player really came close to him. The boy also got the top-scorer award, which was just the icing on the cake for his amazing performance.
"Hey, Chibi, what are you daydreaming about?" Makino’s voice suddenly snapped Higo from his daydreaming. "What? Not satisfied with two awards?"
There was no malicious intent in his tone, just full of curiosity. Well, there was also a slight hint of envy here, but it was understandable since, besides Sappotani’s players, only Higo earned the award from the organizer.
Before this, all of his teammates were also the same, taking their sweet time inspecting those two trophies, as if they were just a bunch of country bumpkins staring curiously when they saw a phone for the first time. It was only when they knew that the trophies themselves were just made from plastic that they sighed in disappointment, going back to their own seat while grumbling around.
"Oi, Chibi!" Makino raised his voice, snapping Higo from his daydreaming again. "You okay?" This time, the boy could see concern on his captain’s expression. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"No, no, don’t worry, I am okay." He shook his head quickly, trying to clear away all of his messy thoughts. "Just... Still bewildered that I could get these awards, you know?" He chuckled wryly while showing the trophies on his lap.
If it were any other time, Makino would think that Higo was trying to brag here. However, right now, that was the farthest from reality. No, he could see the confusion and self-doubt in his friend’s eyes, truly showing how in disbelief the boy was at this.
"Why are you so gloomy like that?! I tell you what, you deserve them all!" Makino punched his shoulder quite lightly, enough to get Higo’s attention. "Don’t overthink too much about it! You deserve it, and no one can take them away from you! Better prepare for a shelf in your living room so that you can show them off to everyone, okay?"
Higo couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard that.
Honestly, it wasn’t just that he didn’t expect he could win an award, let alone two, here. Deep down, the boy also felt guilty, since he himself wasn’t really trying that hard in this tournament.
If anyone could hear that, though, they would bash his head on the ground mercilessly. After all, Higo had been amazing in front of the goal, flying left and right to protect it from rain and storm. If those were considered as him not trying his best, how monstrous he would be once he tried better?
Still, Higo himself still believed that he spent a lot of time slacking off in the past, only training seriously if Kumiko was there. So, to see players who worked harder than him crying and staring at the trophy hollowly, there was no way he wouldn’t feel guilty about it.
’Oh, well... Maybe, Mom is right. I need to try better in the future, train harder and search for my own purpose, not just following Kumiko-chan blindly.’
While Higo’s mind was wandering afar, the journey back to Hakodate was quite smooth. Most of the players inside were already half asleep at this point, with some snoring quite loudly there. After three eventful days in Sapporo, they were too exhausted to start a long conversation, and instead chose to go to sleep again until the bus arrived at their own school.
It didn’t take a long time, though, as the bus finally started to slow down. It was already dark in Hakodate, and since it was spring break, the school was basically empty. The moment the engine stopped, all the players inside were awoken, with some groaning from the stiff necks they suffered after sleeping in a bad posture.
Higo himself just shook his head quickly. During four hours of the journey, he didn’t even sleep for once, getting his mind contemplating over everything that happened in his life in the last couple of months.
After spending so much time in the quiet bus, though, the boy felt whatever it was that had been bothering his head finally disappeared, and with a smile on his face, he stepped out of the vehicle, taking a deep breath while also enjoying the night in his hometown.
’Yeah, I might still not know what my own purpose here is, but I have just done one journey in my life. Now, let’s move on and get ready to start a new one!’
