Thump.
The ball arches its trajectory, and is sucked into the corner of the goal. The season has turned to winter. Even after becoming the best in Japan, Rin's days are still the same. After practicing at the club, he works on his shooting by himself.
Thump.
"Good work. Are you staying today too?"
"It's freezing. We're heading out first, Rin."
"Yeah."
His teammates are leaving one after another. He can see his breath from the cold.
He won the Japan Club Youth Championship, clearing one of his goals. In those three minutes, he felt like he was one step closer to Sae. Manipulating others, putting them to good use, furthermore, making them obey you.... Those were Rin's new weapons.
Thump.
"Looking good!"
Once he had settled on a shot that satisfies him, he looked at his phone to check the time then, the online news headline popped out.
...ITOSHI SAE, TEMPORARILY RETURNED TO JAPAN. A FULL OFF-SEASON, WHAT WILL HE BE DOING IN JAPAN IN A LONG WHILE?...
"Hehe."
Involuntarily, he laughed without knowing it.
...It's been four years. Tomorrow, Nii-chan's coming home. It's been a long time since I've seen him.
When he thinks of his Nii-chan, Rin goes back to being a little kid who thought, "Nii-chan is so cool!". For the past four years, he has almost no contact with Sae in Spain. Sae didn't come back either, and he felt it was not right to talk about his troubles to him, who was working hard to become the best best striker in the world.
What should I tell you when we meet...? I always watch the news. You're awesome, Nii-chan. I also worked hard and became the best in Japan. I'm coming over there, too. What kind of quys are there overseas? I... can now make passes like you. I wonder if you can praise me a little just like back then.
He's been fantasizing about a lot of things, and the last one came out from his voice.
"Nii-chan will be the world's No. 1, then I'll be the No.2 Best Striker in the world, I want us to win the World Cup."
That reminds him, he thinks he said the same thing now in the essay he read out at Parent's Day when he was in grade school.
"Okay, next is Itoshi Rin-kun!"
The teacher asked him to stand up and read.
"My dream for the future is to become a soccer player like my Nii-chan. Then he will become the best striker in the world and I will be the second best striker in the world and win the World Cup."
He laughed again, finding it funny that he hadn't changed since then.
"...Okay, let's do it!"
For the sake of his dream, he resumes his shooting practice.
Fwosh.
It was a bit off.....
The accuracy of Rin's shots is the result of his uncompromising image and strict practice. His hands and feet are freezing from the cold, and his nose is already red, but he won't allow his shot to be off. However, it will be much colder tonight.
"Ah... Snow."
If you feel cold, it's the snow. White snow is falling from the night sky. Rin, who grew up in Kamakura, rarely sees snow, so he couldn't help but look at it.
"Wasn't that shot naive?"
While he was entranced by the fluttering snow, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
"Ah." When he turned around, Sae was there. The falling snow reflects the lights on the ground and sparkles. In the snow that shimmered beautifully, as if like an illusion, Sae was standing. His heart leaps. It wasn't an illusion. He was carrying a large suitcase, and he could tell he had come here straight from the airport.
"Nii-chan..."
He thought he would just shout out loud "I'm the best in Japan!" and hug him, but in reality, that didn't work out that way. Sae's expression was grim and looked terribly worn out. He wasn't the kind of person to smile, but even so, he had never shown this kind of face to Rin.
"Welcome back "
"Yeah... I'm back."
He wonders what's wrong. Is he tired from the plane ride? Or is he not feeling well?
"It's been four years, huh... but weren't you supposed to return tomorrow?"
...He wonders if he isn't glad to see him after so long.
"Yeah. I came ahead of schedule."
The snow continues to fall. He doesn't know why, but his brother seems so far away. It's sad and scary.
... The story of Rin, who longed for and only chased after Itoshi Sae, ends here.