After his mood finally settled down a little, Fukatsu returned to the dormitory.
Kawata, who was lying on his bed, glanced over and said,
"You're finally back. I thought you'd already gone back to Akita."
"How could I?" Fukatsu replied casually.
"My luggage is still here."
He walked to his bed, tidied it up briefly, then lay down flat.
"Have you eaten?" Kawata asked.
Fukatsu stared at the ceiling, expression blank.
"I had ramen outside."
Kawata sat up, gripping the bed frame.
"Why were you so impulsive today? That didn't feel like you at all."
Mikio and Matsumoto, who had been resting with their eyes closed, both opened them.
The room fell silent.
After a while, Fukatsu spoke again.
"Don't you think he's a lot like that bastard Sawakita?"
"Arrogant. No sense of teamwork at all."
Matsumoto cut in carefully.
"So… you're still angry about Sawakita?"
"That's right."
Fukatsu glanced at him, his voice calm but firm.
"Just thinking about Sawakita walking away makes me furious."
Kawata shook his head slightly.
He wasn't completely happy with Sawakita's decision either, but it was for his future. There was nothing they could really criticize.
What he hadn't expected was how deeply Fukatsu still cared.
It seemed that failing to defend their title at the National Tournament had left a much deeper scar than he realized.
Kawata sighed softly.
"Sawakita should already be in America by now, right?"
No one answered.
After a moment, Matsumoto asked,
"Do you think he can really make it over there?"
"Who knows?" Kawata replied, then lay back down.
When Sannoh traveled domestically, Sawakita had been unrivaled. But overseas, he would be facing completely different monsters.
Kawata wasn't optimistic.
At the same time, he hoped Sawakita would succeed—
rather than return to Japan defeated and broken.
"Sleep early," Fukatsu said quietly.
"We've got training tomorrow morning."
That's what he said—
But none of them actually fell asleep easily.
Nango poured Mitsui a glass of water with a grin.
"Senior, I'm thinking of buying a motorcycle. Do you know what procedures I need?"
Since he had promised to pick up and drop off Kano every day, Nango had no intention of going back on his word.
To save time, a motorcycle seemed like the most efficient option.
He lived simply, spent little, and his allowance wasn't small.
He had more than enough saved.
Mitsui frowned.
"Why are you asking me?"
Nango licked his lips, amused.
Didn't you have a pretty wild phase back then? Of course I'd ask you.
But he couldn't say that out loud.
So he answered tactfully,
"You know more people, senior."
Mitsui rolled his eyes.
"No matter how nicely you put it, that still sounds like you're saying I've done shady stuff."
Then he snapped,
"Just go to the shop and pay. Can you even ride a motorcycle?"
"I… probably can?"
Nango hesitated, then asked cautiously,
"Won't anyone care? I'm only sixteen. What if the police confiscate it?"
"Ha!"
Mitsui scoffed.
"Nobody cares about your early romance either!"
"..."
"What do you plan to do about what happened today?"
Coach Kawasaki took a bite of his apple, then pushed the plate away.
"Should we kick them out of the training camp?"
Anzai Jitsurei picked up an apple of his own and chuckled.
"No need. It was just a normal argument."
"But their starting lineup qualifications—those won't be affected."
Because of the incident, Anzai had already finalized most of his selections.
Over the next few days, he only needed to observe a handful of borderline players before completing the roster.
The training camp's mission was nearly finished.
Coach Kawasaki nodded.
"But Fukatsu wasn't wrong. Morishige Hiroshi is playing too selfishly. You should keep an eye on him."
"That's not entirely accurate,"
Anzai shook his head slightly.
"He's been with Meihou Industrial far longer than with the Youth Team. There's only so much I can change."
"That's true."
Coach Kawasaki paused, then raised his chin.
"You know Coach Sakaguchi from Aiwa Academy, right?"
"We've met. Why?"
"During the National Sports Congress," Kawasaki said calmly,
"let him give Morishige Hiroshi a proper lesson."
Anzai pushed up his glasses, surprised.
"That would make Aiwa Academy an enemy. Would Sakaguchi agree?"
Coach Kawasaki waved his hand dismissively.
"Doesn't Aichi Prefecture want good results?"
"Let's contact him first."