My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 11

　Once upon a time, there was a boy.

　He had been good at physical exercises since he was a child.

　His parents gave him a gift.

　It’s a black and white striped sphere.

　It was called a soccer ball.

　This was the first encounter between the boy and soccer.

　On that day, the boy began to play soccer.

　He started by kicking the ball in the yard.

　It was difficult for him to kick the ball, which was much bigger than his feet, but after a while, he got the hang of it and could make the ball fly straight.

　From there, he absorbed the dribbling, juggling, and other skills his parents had taught him, and soon he was at a level that could never be taught to an amateur.

[ What’s next? ]

　Then, his parents, unable to do anything more with their son, who innocently asked them, decide to enroll him in a soccer club.

　They chose a soccer club that played every Friday at the neighborhood soccer court.

　Although it was not rumored to be a very strong club, it was chosen because of its good teaching method and good reputation among the neighbors.

[ Stupid ]

　The first day at the soccer club.

　The boy showed overwhelming talent.

　He skillfully dribbled past his opponents, guided them with his eyes and allies, and finally forced an overhead kick off a teammate’s miss at the last minute.

　He is clearly out of their league.

　He may become a future player of Japan.

　The coach, who thought so, advised the boy’s parents that day that the boy should be placed in a more serious club instead of here.

　The parents were surprised that their son had such a talent, and they were pleased with his talent.

　The boy joined a soccer club that was said to be the strongest in the area, and a few years later, the club won the national championship.

　Won the national championship only because of the efforts of a single boy.

　As a result, the boy was inundated with offers from famous foreign professional soccer clubs.

　He left for foreign countries at the young age of junior high school and showed great promise for the future.

　However, his soccer career soon came to an end.

　One day, a player who did not like the fact that a Japanese player younger than himself was playing in a highly competitive professional soccer club in a foreign country angrily pushed the boy.

　The boy was pushed to the middle of the street. Moreover, he was at a pedestrian crossing with a green light.

　A car passing by was startled by the boy’s sudden appearance and braked suddenly, but it could not brake in time. The boy was critically injured.

　Miraculously, the boy woke up after being unconscious for about four years, but his right leg had partially malfunctioned due to the accident.

　He can lead a normal life, but he cannot play soccer or other strenuous sports.

　The boy, whose life as an athlete had been completely cut off, seemed to despair.

[ Well, it’s a good thing because I would hate soccer if I kept playing. God told me to start something else. ]

　He laughed as if nothing had happened.

　After a year of rehabilitation, the boy returned to Japan and enrolled in a correspondence high school.

　After graduation, he attended a university with a fairly high deviation score in the prefecture. He spent a busy but fulfilling campus life while working part-time and studying.

　While in school, he had a lovely girlfriend and married her soon after he started working. After that, he built a happy family.

　Such a boy is rumored in some circles.

[[ The Lost Genius ]]

　He was a lost genius who would have been active in the world with the Japanese flag on his back if he had not suffered from an unfortunate accident.

　His real name is Saito Minazuki.

* * *

“Hey, Saito, what about your club activities? “

　At the cafeteria, when Saito was eating his ramen, Riri, sitting next to him, asked him what he would do about his club activities.

“Hmm… I haven’t decided on anything in particular. I’m thinking of getting a part-time job at the moment.”

　After swallowing the noodle in his mouth and thinking for a while, Saito answered that he had not decided on anything yet.

“Heeh〜why not? Why don’t you play tennis as you did in middle school? “

　It’s this Saito who likes sports. She is surprised to hear that he would not join any club activities.

　Riri asked him why.

“I don’t know. Tennis was fun, but I couldn’t beat the strong guys no matter how hard I tried.”

“Then, maybe judo. We did judo together in elementary school.”

“I only started that because you were playing with me.”

　Saito hates to lose in a competition.

　Therefore, he cannot continue to play sports or games that he cannot win no matter how hard he tries because he gets stressed out.

　He played tennis in junior high school, but he wasn’t motivated to play it continuously and only continued it half out of a sense of obligation.

　The thought that it would be the same as that made Saito not want to start club activities in high school.

“Hmmm. I see. But Saito is athletic, so I think it would be a waste for him not to join a club. Maybe the next sport you take up will be the one that suits your talent, you know? “

“Hmmm. Well, if something gave me a flash or inspiration, I might take it up. Whoops… Thanks for the food. “

　Knowing Saito’s high physical ability, Riri complains that it would be a waste if he didn’t join any club.

　Saito, however, was still not in the mood, and after slurping and eating his ramen with an indescribable expression on his face, he got up from his seat.

“Wait a minute. I haven’t finished eating yet.”

“I’m not leaving without you. I’m just going to return the dishes. I’ll be right back.”

　Saying this, Saito takes the tray and goes to the return counter.

[ Uuh waaahーーng! Saitoーーー! It was scaryーーー]

　As he was walking, an old memory suddenly came back to him.

　It was more than five years ago.

　It was when he was in elementary school.

　One day, Saito visited Riri’s house on a whim, and he witnessed her being bullied.

　At that time, she was surrounded by four boys and girls who kicked her school bag and threw things at her.

　Naturally, Saito was furious.

　He attacked those who were bullying Riri.

　A big fight broke out, with Saito barely winning and getting rid of them.

　Saito then asked Riri why she was being bullied, but Riri was adamant at first, saying that it was nothing.

　However, he held her in his arm and told her that he would not let her go until she talked about it to Saito, and she eventually gave up and confessed that she was being bullied because of her hair color.

　After that, she must have been very pent-up.

　Riri hugged him, crying out that she was scared.

　Saito remembers how helpless he felt when he realized that his childhood friend was being bullied unreasonably without his knowledge.

　If he had been there, he wouldn’t have let this happen.

　If he had been there, he could have protected her.

　He is from a different school, so he can’t protect her.

　He felt so frustrated and dejected.

　So he learned judo with her so that she could at least protect herself without him.

　Titles are important when you are a child.

　If they know you have learned martial arts, they will be afraid and won’t attack you.

　Still, there are a few idiots who will try to beat you up, but there is a clear difference between amateurs and those who have learned martial arts.

　You rarely lose a fight.

　With the start of judo lessons, Riri’s bullying gradually stopped, and by the time she reached the upper grades, it had completely disappeared.

　However, this is because of Riri’s efforts and not his own.

　He helped Riri once when she was being bullied, and they learned judo together.

“…I have to protect her as long as we’re in the same school, at least.”

　At that time, he was too far away to do anything, but now he is close to her and can protect her.

　In that sense, he thinks it is possible to start judo again.

　However, Riri has been practicing judo from elementary to junior high and already holds a black belt.

　Why should he protect her in the first place?

　Isn’t it impossible for him to beat someone whom Riri can’t beat?

　The more he thinks about it, the more the little bit of motivation he has shown begins to slip away.

“I don’t care about club activities.”

　Anyway, he doesn’t feel motivated right now.

　If he wants to do it, he will start it later.

　Saito concludes to himself and returns to his childhood friend, who is still eating udon.

　But alas, ten years later.

　He is still unaware that he will be kicking a ball on a big field.

TN: Remember on ch 9, the guy said [ I’m twenty-six. I’m still a college student after some things that happened long ago… ]