As the entire Ichinan team went wild in celebration, the defeated Aramaki team fell into Despair. Most of them collapsed to the ground in tears. I was no exception. I fell to my knees, pounding the floor with clenched fists in frustration.
"We had them beat!! We had them dead to rights!! How?!! How did this happen?!!!!", I screamed into the floor in Rage and Defeat. But that was how it was. We were going to lose. All that was needed was the Referee's final Whistle to end the match and seal our defeat.
The final Whistle didn't take long to come and when it did, Ichinan's entire team along with their Away fans went ballistic with celebration. Us, we stayed silent, heads hung in Shame and Defeat. I took off my Jersey and hung it on my shoulder as I made my way into the Tunnel and into our Dressing Room to take a shower.
Soon enough, the rest of the team made their way into the Dressing Room, no one said a word to each other. A loss this big shook every single one of us to the Core.
It was over. We lost. At home too. Our Coach started addressing us but honestly, no one was listening and no one was in any mood to hear anything related to Football for a long time. At least, until the sting of this loss had healed up from our minds.
That day, I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, my mind was blank, the ride back home was completely silent. Even Mitsuki, known for her boundless energy, couldn't utter a single word. Flashes of Rage ran across my face but I managed to force everything down. I went to sleep late that night with an empty stomach but really, I couldn't care less.
Back to the present with Shizuka, I thanked her for cheering me up and went for Practice and actually put in a lot of work before finally heading home.
An hour of walking later, I managed to get home and pushed open the door. "Yo, I'm home!!", I called out while taking off my shoes and socks and finally stepping into the Living Room where i almost got tackled to the floor by Mitsuki. "Welcome back, big brother!!! How was Practice today?!!" she asked excitedly. I got on one knee and gently rubbed her head with a big smile and responded "It was very good, Mitsuki. Everything went smoothly and everyone gave it their all today." Happy with that response, she asked again, "When will I be able to come watch you play again, big brother? You were so awesome in that last match!! You were running everywhere, so fast and dodging everybody and, and, and-".
"Alright, that's enough, Mitsuki. At least give your brother a few minutes to clean himself up and then you can bombard him with questions later, okay?", my Mom, Takumi Mai, gently admonished Mitsuki who begrudgingly let me go. "Welcome back, dear. How was school today? How was Practice today? I hope no one went too hard on you today?", she asked in concern as she looked down on the scars on my leg from some accidents I once had in Training from my clashes with others.
"Don't worry about it, Mom. We went easy today so we didn't have any problem. Did pretty good today too." I replied as I took off my Backpack and headed to my room. Mom smiled at that response and nodded, saying "That's good to hear, son. Just keep giving it your all, okay? You still remember your dream, don't you?" I smiled back and responded "Of course. I'm going to be the greatest player to ever exist." Mom, keeping her graceful smile nodded again, saying "That's good. That's why you have to give it your all no matter what. No half measures. It doesn't matter where you are, Practice, Matchdays, Finals, it doesn't matter. Fight with everything you've got and the results will handle themselves. I believe in you, son. We all do."
Her words almost moved me to tears but I steeled myself and my resolve increased. "I won't let you down, Mom. I promise." And that was a Promise I would rather die than break. Mom, noticing my increased drive nodded again and after a few seconds of a warm hug finally let me go to help Hana in the kitchen.
Minutes later, after I had freshened up and was playing with Mitsuki, the little energetic Gremlin perked up and said "Hey, big Brother, a letter came for you in the mail today. It was from the JFU." I took a few econds to mull over that. 'The JFU? Weird. What would they want to do with someone like me?' I thought to myself before asking her "Well, did you open it? See what it was about?". She readily answered negatively so I asked where the Letter was and she got off the Couch and retrieved a white Envelope from the top of the old TV for me. I tore it open and brought out the letter, skimmed through it's content and was absolutely gobsmacked.
Apparently, I've been chosen to become a certified Athlete and undertake a Special Training Program in a Week's time. Not to mention, this Training Program was meant for Strikers only which I found oddly specific but hey, I'm not the JFU so what do I know?
I told my Family about this and they immediately showed their support for it, urging me to take this Opportunity of a Lifetime. A training program meant to make me an even better player than I already am, who could pass up that chance?