Yuga looked to see another player walking into the party, one he would never forget in his life even if he tried, this young man stood at 6 foot 2 with a lean build but a muscle toning and density that surpassed even bodybuilders, jet black hair that was left to grow high and spiky with red eyes that entrapped all onlookers who met them, this was none other than the Sole and undisputed Best player on Asura Youth team having already secured a pro contract at fifteen and waiting till he was of age though currently being 18 years old, the main striker of Asura Youth, Zhu Longwei.
Longwei: I see you lot are having fun here, what's the occasion??
Tantai: We're welcoming the new kid is all
Longwei: {humoured scoff} Is that so?? I didn't know this team's recruits were weak-willed enough to need pampering like this
Hunter: Lay off it man, it's a harmless party
Longwei: A party sure but calling it harmless is beyond retarded, I can't believe I'm hearing nonsense like this from Gareth's little brother... It's disappointing really
Vergus: You're killing the mood man, lay off it and leave if you hate it so much
Longwei: I would if I couldn't hear it from my room, it's past midnight and we have a qualifying match for the winter cup later this week, do we have time to fuck around like this??
A ball flew quickly towards Longwei from behind and it hit him on the back of the head
Mo Xu: Oi, shut up and fuck off, you aren't captain nor are you an absolute necessity to this team so you have no authority over any of us...if you hate the noise so much keep it to yourself and rent out a hotel room, I'm sure they won't mind housing the Great Zhu Longwei
Silence filled the hall as Longwei stared at the usually timid Mo Xu who was seething in anger, Mo Xu wasn't a particularly notable figure in the team but he had his uses, even someone as arrogant as Longwei could see that... When came down to absolute necessity, the head coach would pick Mo Xu over Longwei in an instant regardless of talent or skill. Mo Xu's position was more vital and he had a better soccer sense.
Longwei: And who the fuck are you to order me around?? {Eyes begin to glow}
Mo Xu: [Walks up to stand Infront of Longwei] I could ask you the same fucking thing... No one gives a shit about your criticism so get off your high horse and fuck off
Longwei: Finally grow a pair and use it on me eh?? Fine, I'll be out of your hair for now, but if you mess up on that match this week just get the hell out of Asura Youth... We don't need useless shits that are all talk
Longwei left with a bad taste in his mouth, regardless of how he put it, partying not long before a vital match was stupid for many reasons and he was genuinely pissed off that Their captain was among those partying, and worse of he couldn't fathom why someone Like Tantai would approve of this for anyone.
Following his introduction to the team Yuga agreed not to debut until the actual winter cup started so for the entire qualifying round for the month after that he sat on the bench paying attention to everyone's movements. He also noticed that other than him other usually crucial players weren't starting as well; these included Li Tantai, Zhu Longwei, Hyung Ji, Vergus Lict, and Gareth King who is away on international training until the season starts so he wouldn't be coming for the winter cup at all. The upside was that Yuga's confidence in the team's strength rose exponentially, they were able to dominate the qualifying matches without having to show Their prowess, they simply applied Their basics so effectively that none of the teams they encountered could keep up, Like that after two months they were in the group stages and qualified for Group B, though they still checked the full tournament bracketing for good measure.
The entire team, excluding Gareth, was gathered in the meeting room looking at the list of all the groups that qualified for the Winter Cup, alongside the main league the Winter Cup had the densest and heaviest gathering of strong teams looking to test new talents and this year was no different as the best Teams across Asia were seen, just as follows:
Group A-
Day-tech Highschool
Velmo Academy
Starlight Academy
Yufeng Highschool
Group B-
Astrakhan Youth
Asura Youth
Sabre Academy
Silvio Academy
Group C-
Hainz Highschool
Crestel Highschool
Malmö Youth academy
Onigiri Academy
Group D-
Day-tech B team
Yuqing high school
Haigun Youth
Yinan Youth
Tantai: This year's winter cup, is brutal not just for its tightness in competition but also for the rumours going around, some of which I'm sure you've heard
Longwei: You'd have to have been living under a rock not to have heard of those rumours, despite having both its main and B teams present Day-tech High is favourites to win with both the A and B teams taking the finals
Hunter: it's not all that far-fetched either, both the main and B team have successfully moped the floor with every single team in this tournament quite recently, regardless of who was present for it, and that includes us
Yuga: they aren't our problem now are they though?? If we spend all of our time with our eyes on them we will miss the threat in front of us... It seems you all forgot that the very first match we play in this thing is against Astrakhan Youth, a team with Main league experience for more years than us, not to mention the coach hasn't been here for quite some time now
Vergus: We don't exactly need the old man, go with it for now
Yuga: It's the winter cup though, those who win this may not have any "real credentials" but the hype invites attention from pro clubs, I thought you all wanted to go pro??
Julius: You know, he's not wrong about that...however, going all out and exposing team tactics for your personal growth is naïve as there is no guarantee that you would go pro anyway, then you would have meaninglessly given your team's weakness away
Yuga: I was starting to respect you all for your exceptional strength, but if you don't think your strength is enough to risk going pro even on a stage like this {eyes glow intently} then I have no reason to waste my attention on slackers like you [Walks out]
Longwei: {smirks} (It was bound to happen, after all, you are already one who can access that realm... A subpar spirit will disgust you a lot more than even weakness does) Hilarious, I think I'm going to like this Kid