"An internal game? Sure." Higo nodded as he took a big gulp from his bottle of water. "Still, this shouldn’t be on the schedule, right? Does that mean I am doing well?" He grinned cheekily.
"More than well, you have done superbly so far." Koisuke Fujita gave a big thumbs-up, having to hold back his laughter here. "You don’t know this, but the coaching team seems to have a big debate over you. The head coach wants to sign you straight away, while the others just try to bring down your value by nitpicking so many weaknesses in your game."
"Weakness?" Higo couldn’t help but frown.
"Yeah, but you don’t need to worry about it." The man waved off the concern casually. "They are just nitpicking things up from your ability with your feet, your habit when controlling the ball, to your awkward distribution skill. I would say, though, that even without that, you would still be able to survive in a top league, so don’t think too much about it."
Well, the man could say that easily, but that didn’t mean Higo wasn’t bothered by it. He just clicked his tongue in annoyance, somehow remembering Zion from the national team.
’Yeah, maybe, I should’ve asked for some tips from him when we meet again in the future.’ He put that thought on the back of his head.
Then, as he tried to relax before the internal game began, the boy caught his sister staring at him intently, and he couldn’t help but show a cheeky grin. "So, what do you think, Aya-nee? It has been a long time since you saw me in an action like this, right? Am I getting stronger or what?" He flexed his muscle playfully.
In return, Ayaka just snorted back, throwing a towel at Higo playfully. "Well, I thought that you looked different, but at the end of the day, you sure still are my little brother." The laughter broke in her tone, voicing her amusement. "Don’t worry, I have already sent the trial footage to Kumiko-chan. I am sure she would be ecstatic about your performance."
"Why, of course! I have done this well, why wouldn’t she be impressed with me?" Higo fixed his hair narcissistically.
The big sister just snorted once again before turning the conversation to anything light. She knew that this rare recovery time was important for Higo to regain his energy, so the woman just tried to help create a relaxed atmosphere so that the boy could loosen the muscles in his body.
Soon enough, the head coach blew the whistle again, and the man also signalled Higo to come and join the meeting. Seeing this, the boy jumped from the ground immediately before shouting, "I have to go first! Wish me luck, Aya-nee!"
As she watched her little brother getting ready to spread his wings once again, Ayaka just shook her head in exasperation. "Why would you need luck when you are already this amazing? Just go and show them all the hard work you put in the past!"
Of course, Higo didn’t know that his big sister was mumbling at him earlier. Right now, he just stood among the players here, waiting for the team’s instruction.
Still, even though his posture wasn’t quite tall, as a new player, especially with his superb performance during the trial, he had gained people’s attention. Even though Higo tried to shrink his presence, people still glanced at the boy, looking at him with curiosity—and hostility, for some.
"Okay, after this, we will have a red-and-white game again." The assistant coach announced. "The red team, wear this vest! Ahler! Becker! Can! Lubbers!"
More names were thrown, and one by one, those who were called stepped forward to pick the vest. Since Higo knew that this was a test for him, the boy didn’t need to worry that he wouldn’t get picked. If anything, he just spent this time observing people’s reactions, and the boy had to say that he had a bad feeling here.
’Yeah, if the goalkeeper has already been chosen for the red team, that means I am going to be on the white team, right? Based on their reaction, it is clear that our opponent is strong. Does that mean we are going to fight against the main team? If so, this is going to be troublesome.’
Soon enough, the names for the red team were complete, and the assistant coach started to call out those who were on the white team.
"Higo! Jordan! Mercan! Hempel! Saho!"
Higo didn’t really pay attention to those names. He picked the vest for himself, walking to the other side of the pitch while also watching his teammates gather one by one. This was the first time he was in such a diverse team, as he had teammates from Germany, Turkey, Spain, and Africa.
"So, you are the goalkeeper who makes this game happen, huh?" Suddenly, a muscular man with broad shoulders and long, blonde hair approached with a big smile on his face. "Fabian Reese, nice to meet you." He offered a handshake.
"Ryusuke Higo from Japan, nice to meet you as well." Higo nodded, slightly relieved that the man spoke good English here. "Also, I don’t know anything about making this game happen. I just accepted the trial and am going along with the flow, so don’t blame me for this." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Soon, another man came. This time, he was dark-skinned with dread hair, clearly showing his African origin. "Ha! I like your casual answer! Confident and don’t give a shit about any other nonsense outside! Name is Gyamenah from Ghana, nice to meet you!"
The man put on some sort of hand sign as if wanting to show off his Naruto knowledge, which was enough to make Higo laugh in amusement.
"Well, it is good that you guys have time to laugh, but we still have to discuss our arrangement for this game, right?"
This time, another man came. He had the olive-brown skin with the facial features resembling Arabic, making Higo think of Northern African immediately. He just took a glance at Higo lightly before saying, "This is your trial, right? So, show your best performance in the next game, because the main team is never going to show any mercy toward us."