Yukinoshita Yukino walked away with complicated feelings.
As she rejoined the crowd by the sidelines, Shirase spotted that beautifully made-up, short-haired figure.
Yukinoshita Haruno was also looking directly at him, even lifting a hand to wave gracefully, a dazzling smile blooming across her pretty face.
If someone didn't know her, seeing such a charming expression, they might mistakenly believe she was truly a gentle and refined beauty.
Shirase couldn't quite figure out why Yukinoshita Haruno would go out of her way to send him intel. He had absolutely no interaction with her, not even having officially met once.
Was it possible Yukinoshita Yukino had asked her sister to help?
Shirase dismissed this thought as absurd; after all, his relationship with Yukino was nothing special. Even though Hiratsuka-sensei had introduced them previously, they still couldn't even be considered friends.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shirase noticed Hayama Hayato also looking toward Yukinoshita Haruno. But as soon as Shirase turned his head slightly, Hayama quickly withdrew his gaze, returning to warm up as if nothing happened.
Shirase pretended not to notice.
Among the spectators, Yukinoshita Haruno saw her sister returning and greeted her gently, "Did you deliver my gift?"
"It's delivered." Yukinoshita Yukino looked at her sister with undisguised distaste. "You're really fixated on Shirase-san?"
"Not fixated, just a bit interested," Haruno corrected.
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"Of course not."
Haruno laughed softly, her voice clear and melodic. "You wouldn't know this, would you? After that day when we bumped into him on the street, I called Shizuka. Her description of Shirase-san matched yours perfectly."
"So?" Yukino's face stiffened, disliking her sister's deliberately cryptic manner of speaking.
Haruno tilted her head innocently, eyes fluttering cutely. "But his behavior that day on the street completely contradicts the image both you and Shizuka described. So it got me thinking, maybe he has multiple personalities at such a young age?"
"Tsk." Yukino sneered dismissively. "You certainly have a vivid imagination."
Haruno wasn't bothered at all, laughing softly once more. "Well, if he doesn't have multiple personalities, that means he's always putting on an act."
Eh?
Yukino paused, caught off-guard by that idea. Before she could fully process it, her sister added meaningfully, "Or maybe he only reveals his true nature in front of those close to him. And that, right now, is precisely what interests me most."
...
While the Yukinoshita sisters quietly talked, the supervising teachers from both schools finished their brief conversation, signaling the match was about to begin.
Koshigoe High was playing an away game today, and only a handful of their classmates had come to cheer them on. But Shirase spotted the couple Yukino had mentioned—the parents who'd paid tabloids for media coverage.
They stood by the sidelines, chests puffed out arrogantly, proudly boasting to anyone who'd listen about their son's greatness—claiming he'd practically secured a pro-player spot even before graduation.
Shirase also noticed someone on the sidelines filming with a camera, probably the tabloid reporter those parents had hired.
"Aren't you nervous, Shirase?" The captain quietly approached him, curious at Shirase's consistently calm demeanor.
"Why should I be?" Shirase asked back.
"Well...because this is a do-or-die match for our soccer club."
"Then just win it. Don't you also want to end your high school life without regrets?"
"You're right."
The captain laughed awkwardly, his expression slowly turning serious. "Yeah, I don't want to leave regrets behind."
"Then isn't that enough?" Shirase suddenly turned, looking at the opposing team's warm-up area.
Because that "genius," Fujita Shuu, was walking towards them.
The captain immediately straightened up, ready to greet him, but Fujita spoke first with a smile, "I've heard about your school's past few years of results. Honestly, against a team that can't even win qualifiers and constantly fights amongst itself, we're feeling zero pressure."
The captain's newly formed smile instantly froze.
Shirase stayed completely calm. Trash talk was just another part of competitive sports.
Hayama Hayato stepped forward, speaking gently, "Is that supposed to be provocation?"
The student named Fujita Shuu was momentarily startled. He instinctively glanced at Shirase, then at Hayama, and inwardly wondered: Why does each member look more handsome than the last? Is this a soccer club or a modeling club?
Quickly recovering, he replied with a smirk, "Not exactly provocation. After all, I'm just stating the facts."
The captain's face darkened. "You think you've already won?"
"Hah, isn't that obvious?" Fujita chuckled arrogantly. "Let me think…since it's a friendly match, we'll go easy. How about we just score four goals on you today?"
Observing Fujita's openly arrogant look, Shirase suddenly spoke: "Did the female player who invited you into Earth Online quit the game? Is that why you decided to uninstall your face and come here to spout nonsense?"
Hayama blinked, caught off guard, then quickly recovered and laughed quietly. "Hey, hey, isn't that insult way too harsh?"
Fujita Shuu stared suspiciously, clearly not understanding at all.
The captain scratched his head, "I got the 'uninstall your face' part, but what's Earth Online?"
Hayama smoothly explained, "It means that from birth, everyone automatically joined a game called 'Earth Online.'"
"So Shirase said the female player who invited him into the game..." the captain repeated thoughtfully, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. "That's brutal."
He laughed without restraint, thoroughly enjoying Fujita's embarrassment.
Shirase spread his hands innocently, as if to say it wasn't his fault.
"You bastards...wait until the match starts. You won't be laughing then!" Fujita Shuu, now thoroughly wounded by critical damage, turned grimly pale.
Unable to come up with a retort on the spot, he could only glare hatefully at Shirase before storming away.
Hayama glanced sideways at Shirase, whose expression remained perfectly calm, and quietly spoke, "Our overall strength is definitely below theirs, so for this match's breakthrough point…"
"I'll lead the attack." Shirase instantly understood.
Hayama smiled. Indeed, he still had a pretty reliable teammate in the club.
The captain played as a defender, while Hayama and Shirase both played forward positions. Usually, both forwards shouldered the task of scoring.
However, they'd previously agreed that since the opponent's genius player looked weak, Hayama would mark him directly.
Expressed in high-EQ terms: Apply constant physical pressure.
Expressed in low-EQ terms: Make this little bastard feel Daddy's love.
Since this was only a temporarily approved friendly match, there was no announcer, and teachers familiar with the rules had volunteered as referees.
As the two teams entered and shook hands politely, the main referee raised his hand while holding a whistle, indicating everyone should take their positions.
With a crisp blow of the whistle, the match officially began.