Ummm… How did we get into this situation?
Ryo stood frozen as dozens of voices overlapped around him, questions and excited commentary flying in every direction.
He and Ren had barely stepped through the school gates before a small group of students rushed over. At first, it was just enthusiastic remarks about Saturday's game, but before the group dispersed, more people had joined in. This cycle continued, with Ryo and Ren at the center of it, until students from every grade had gathered.
With so many people speaking at once, Ryo didn't even try to respond to them. Ren, on the other hand, attempted to answer some of their questions, but his voice was simply drowned out among the many.
Elementary Schoolers are scary… Their excitement is completely overflowing.
Ryo looked around for an opening to leave, but didn't find any. Seeing he had no other option, he decided to wait out the wave.
Why are they this excited? It was only the first game of Regionals; it's not like we won the finals.
While Ryo stood there calmly, wondering why so many people were gathered, Ren began shifting uncomfortably. As the crowd showed no signs of thinning, Ren grew increasingly restless, and before long, he finally spoke up loud enough to be heard over all the other voices.
"Sorry, everyone! We need to get to class!"
His voice finally cut through the chaos.
Before Ryo could say anything, he felt himself being pulled away from the crowd.
"Wait—slow down, Ren-nii," Ryo said after he almost tripped over his own feet. "They're not following us."
Upon hearing this, Ren finally stopped and turned to him in alarm. He also let go of Ryo's wrist, which he had impetuously grabbed when escaping from the crowd.
"Sorry, Ryo!" He said in a panicked voice, "I didn't hurt you, did I? I thought you were uncomfortable, so I pulled you out of there."
"I wasn't really uncomfortable, though," Ryo said calmly.
"Huh? But you were looking around and not saying anything…"
"Don't worry, it didn't bother me. We still had a lot of time before class, and they were keeping their distance, too," Ryo continued. "So I was just going to wait them out; they were going to get bored eventually."
"Oh…" Ren's shoulders drooped.
How adorable. He went through all of that trouble because he thought I was overwhelmed… And now he feels bad after I said I wasn't bothered.
"But the way you spoke up to them was so cool, Ren-nii," Ryo smiled cheerfully, "Thanks to you, we made it out early."
Ren looked up instantly, all traces of his previous gloom gone.
"Let's go quickly, Ren-nii, before more people notice us," Ryo added, as he started to move towards the main building.
Ren quickly nodded and caught up to Ryo, walking next to him all the way until they went their separate ways for class. Even then, a few students stopped Ryo on the stairs to talk. By the time he reached his seat, he let out a long breath and rested his head on his arms.
I'm already tired, and classes haven't even started. At least it's still pretty quiet in here.
However, Ryo had just jinxed himself, and not even a second later, the door slammed open with so much energy that the walls seemed to rattle. Ryo didn't even have to look up to know who it was.
"Ryo! Ryo!" Kazuki ran towards him. "Your game was amazing! You guys crushed Alto! Your goals were so clean! You went whoosh, then whoosh again, and passed their whole team, then BAM! You hit the ball straight into the goal!"
Kazuki vividly reenacted Ryo's plays with exaggerated gestures, barely pausing to breathe.
He's so spirited. He must've had the time of his life watching the game.
Ryo smiled, listening to Kazuki as he kept droning on about the games he watched on Saturday. Although Ryo felt bad for his other classmates who possibly wanted some peace before school, quite a few of them were listening to Kazuki as he monologued.
"... But Suzume-nee still said that Ren-nii's goal was better. Can you believe that? Even after seeing your last goal, she didn't think it was as good as Ren'nii's goal. Even after I tried explaining, she wouldn't listen. She kept saying that 'Ren-kun's goals are the most beautiful,' but that's not true! The goal he scored was good, but yours was much better. And you also assisted Taiga, too, and—"
Kazuki kept going.
During that time, nobody in the class, not even Ryo, dared to interrupt him.
Sunday must have been torture for him. If he hadn't had to go out yesterday, then Kazuki would have definitely shown up at my house at sunrise.
When Kazuki had finally exhausted all he had to say, Ryo saw a chance to ask something that had bothered him since he got to school.
"Hey, Kazuki… did something happen that I'm not aware of?"
Kazuki looked at him as he finally sat down, though he wore a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean, Ryo?"
"Well, this morning at the gate…" Ryo leaned in closer and lowered his voice, recounting the events that happened earlier. "... It felt like everyone had watched the game when they approached us earlier? I mean, it's not like it was the finals, so I didn't expect that many people to have watched the game."
"Oh, maybe they saw the highlights?" Kazuki said.
"Highlights?"
"Well, you know how the Japanese Football Association streams all of the regional tournaments? They posted a 'Best of the Weekend' video Sunday afternoon. And your last goal was in it."
"Wait, Kazuki, what do you mean? Are you saying that—"
"Good morning, everyone," Ichida-sensei said, entering the classroom with her impeccable timing, closing the door behind her. "How did you all feel about the homework? Easy? Difficult?"
Ryo subtly gestured to Kazuki that they'd resume their conversation later. But he was still completely shocked by what Kazuki said.
So the JFA put me on a highlight reel? That would explain why so many people came up to us at the gate, but it's still surprising.
Ryo knew that the difference between a game being livestreamed and being featured in a curated highlight video was astronomical. In football, highlight reels condensed entire games into just a few minutes, often only including goals, some nice saves, and maybe some flashy plays. This served to bring attention to a match by showcasing the best moments, hoping to attract attention to the players, the teams, and especially, the tournament.
But if his goal had made it into a national compilation…
Then, a run-through of only their game would pale in comparison
It was a difference akin to appearing in a Portugal vs Spain match recap and being featured in a "The Best of World Cup 2026" montage.
So if what Kazuki was saying was true, then Ryo had just landed himself on one of the most-watched football YouTube channels in Japan. And once other students saw Ryusei featured there, of course they'd go back to watch the full match.
I guess I should be thankful to the JFA for putting me in the video; it's sure to bring a lot more attention to our school.
And when it came to football, more attention was almost always better.
—————————————————————————————————
"You know, Kazuki," Ryo said as they walked to practice. "I kind of want to see the video now."
Every time he had left the classroom that day, someone recognized him. So naturally, after an entire day of it, Ryo's curiosity piqued, and he wanted to see how great the video was.
"You should! It's so good!" Kazuki answered enthusiastically, "Your goal was the best, but some of the others were good too."
I doubt my goal was the best one, but I don't mind Kazuki being a bit biased.
"Ryo, come to my house after practice and watch it!" Kazuki continued.
Ryo thought for a second before answering, "I'm not sure, Kazuki; I have to go to the restaurant after practice."
"Just come with me to my house first! The video isn't too long."
If it's not too long, I should be fine… But I don't want Ren to leave alone… But I really want to watch the video.
Ryo grappled with his thoughts, switching between wanting to go and not wanting to go. But eventually, his impulsiveness won.
"Alright, Kazuki, I'll go. Come find me after practice, then we'll leave together."
"Okay!" Kazuki beamed, "See you later, Ryo!"
As the two of them went onto separate fields, Ryo approached his teammates, all gathered on the sidelines. Coach Matsumoto was already there, alternating between talking to players and the other coaches.
But Ryo didn't focus on anyone else. Instead, he had his eyes locked on The System's interface hovering in front of him.
Anchor, huh? It's time to test how good this skill is.
Coach Matsumoto called everyone together and offered a quick congratulatory remark for their win on Saturday. Since it was their first day back, he decided not to push them too much.
"Today's main drill will be a 7–on–7 scrimmage," he announced. "That leaves behind two subs for each team."
Oh, this is a perfect drill to test my skills.
"Alright then, look here for your positions," Matsumoto pointed to the writing on the white board, " and grab a bib corresponding to your team color."
How smart, he's making everyone wear bibs so that nobody can complain about having a disadvantage.
Although Ryo didn't like the stuffy feeling when wearing a bib, he felt grateful that the coaches properly cleaned them after each practice.
"I guess we're facing off against each other, then," Ren said as he put on his red training bib.
Ryo looked down at his blue one, then at the board before it clicked. I'm playing against Ren? How awesome.
With the way the mini-game worked, both teams, except for the goal keeper, were arranged in a two-by-three grid. And this time, Matsumoto had put the two of them as the center forwards of their respective teams, so they were quite literally playing against each other.
Ren's smile faltered as he noticed a sinister grin show up on Ryo's face.
"Yeah, let's have fun."