Day 1 — Evening Practice
The session was light. Just basic passing and conditioning.
Yuki jogged in with someone trailing behind him — a quiet boy with messy hair, clutching his school bag like a shield.
Gen looked over.
"Who's that?"
Yuki straightened up a little.
"Ah— captain. He's my classmate. His name is Domon. He… wanted to watch practice."
Gen glanced once at Domon.
Domon stiffened like he was being inspected.
"…As long as he stays off the field and doesn't get in the way, it's fine."
Domon: "I'll just watch, thank you."while
Yuki smiled and nodded. Domon dipped his head awkwardly.
He stood near the sideline, watching with wide eyes.
Whenever balls rolled too far out, he jogged and brought them back quickly, almost nervously — like someone afraid of doing something wrong.
Sera noticed once.
"Thanks."
Domon only nodded.
No one pushed him to play.
No one questioned him yet.
When practice ended, Yuki waved goodbye, and Domon followed him out quietly.
Day 2. Same time.
Yuki showed up early again.
Domon followed behind him, still just watching.
Halfway through practice, two voices popped up from behind the bench.
Akira and Jirō.
"Oi—who's that kid?"
"New recruit already?"
They walked straight over to Domon.
Akira crossed his arms.
"So. What position?"
Jirō leaned in.
"How long have you been playing?"
Domon froze.
Akira frowned.
"Striker? Midfielder?"
Jirō cut in, "Or defender? You look like a defender."
Akira clicked his tongue, "Don't interrupt me."
"You interrupted first."
They started bickering while still firing questions at Domon, not even letting him breathe.
Domon's eyes darted around, panicked.
Yuki stopped juggling, hurried over to Gen.
"Captain—uh, those two are… kind of bullying domon."
Gen turned.
You two, great scouting. Cornering a spectator. Now go be useful on the field."
Stop pestering him.
They stopped.
Akira pointed at Jirō.
"He started it."
Jiro:"You walked up first."
"You asked the dumb question."
"Yours was worse."
Gen sighed.
"Just move."
They shuffled back, still muttering under their breath.
Domon let out a silent exhale.
Day 3 — Morning (before class)
The field was quiet again.
Yuki was already out there, practicing shots in the cool morning air.
Domon stood by the sideline, holding a bag of balls and watching half-nervously, half-curious.
A faint footstep from the walkway.
Tenma passed by on his way to class.
Yuki noticed him.
He stopped, slightly out of breath.
"Ah — good morning. Yesterday… that tip helped a lot. Thank you."
Tenma slowed a little.
His eyes flicked to the ball at Yuki's feet.
He gave a short nod. "...I'm just passing by. I have something to do."
He turned to leave.
"Um— actually," Yuki called again, "I'm still slipping when I try the follow-through. Am I doing it wrong?"
Tenma paused.
A moment of hesitation.
He didn't really want to get involved — but he looked anyway.
After a small silence, he pointed lightly with his chin.
"You're hitting fine. Your plant foot is late. Adjust earlier. The rest will come."
No expression.
Just matter-of-fact.
Then he started walking again.
Yuki tried the adjustment immediately — swing, contact, clean — but still slightly off.
He turned around.
"Ah— excuse me, is it better if—"
Tenma was already gone.
Yuki blinked.
Domon scratched his cheek.
"He… left right after saying it."
Yuki exhaled, half confused, half impressed.
"Fast…"
Then he reset the ball, and tried again.
Domon sat on the bench, half-asleep, hugging his water bottle.
Yuki started shooting practice — same spot, same run-up — but the ball now traveled cleaner. but something is missing.
Gen reached the field a little later than usual, stretching his shoulders as he walked in. He paused for a second, watching Yuki hit three shots in a row that landed almost identical.
"…you've gotten sharper," he said.
Yuki straightened a little.
"Ah— good morning, captain."
Gen nodded.
"Morning. Ball's coming off your foot cleaner than before. Something click?"
"Mm… just practiced more," Yuki said, a bit shy.
Domon glanced over and nodded weakly in agreement.
Gen didn't press further, but there was a small shift in his expression — mild surprise, maybe even hope.
"Keep that up," he said simply.
Yuki bowed lightly.
"Yes."
Gen walked off to start warm-ups. Yuki went back to his touches, a faint smile on his face. Domon watched him like he was watching some kind of progress story unfold.