A month had passed since the victory SEIRAN had over OSAKA. Things were now peaceful, quiet...to quiet even. It seems we're forgetting something, but what could it be, how could I, the narrator forget something so important that it affects the course of the story. Well enough of my rambling, let's see what our protagonist is doing, maybe he'll remember what has slipped our minds, hopefully our protagonist remembers as well... right?
The sun's ray shone on the land, a call for the day. The gentle breeze swept through the lands, carrying a fallen leaf with it. The leaf travelled through the air, a helpless passenger to the wind.
It flew over some children, their joyous laughter feeling the streets. It passed over a keenel of dogs, they barked playfully as they tried to chase down the leaf, but the wind carried it higher, saving it from the jaws and saliva of the muts.
The leaf danced and turned in the air, like a ballerina. It's next destination, a humble orphange. A sudden gust found the leaf picking speed, an open window it's destination.
As it fluttered through, the breeze gently landing it on its final destination, the head of a boy, curly brown hair, and a wide smile on his face. It seemed like he was having quite a good dream.
As the leaf landed on the boys head, he shifted in his sleep, hoping to go back to the land of dreams.
"Wake up!!!" A voice boomed out with a sense of urgency in their call.
The boy jolted awake, purple eyes darting around frantically. "Huh, what happened?" He questioned groggily, still trying to shake off the haze of sleep.
"You're going to be late!!!" Alina spoke, as she hastingly wore her uniform, hurling her brother's clothes towards him.
Neron looked at her in confusion, the gears in his head turning, before his eyes widened in realization. "The cup, oh damn." He said, and 'oh damn' indeed. He was late for the opening ceremony of the cup, he had slept late the night before; xcited of course and unfortunately he woke up late.
The boy frantically got up, wearing his school uniform and putting his School kit in the bag. He turned his head towards his sister to see whether she was ready, but he yelped as she dragged his hand, running.
The two passed the other orphans, as well as Emma, who smiled as she watched them leave. "We'll be cheering for you Neron!!!" She said, but the two had already left.
Alina had let go of her brothers hand, reluctantly though, but that was not the focus. Now the two we're running to school.
On their way, a surprise face was also running with them. Of course that was Baro.
Neron gave a teasing grin, "Couldn't sleep as well, huh?"
Baro scoffed, but there was a grin on his face as well. "Look who's talking." He quipped.
"Guys, let's hurry up." Alina said, bringing back the urgency of the situation.
"Let's take a shortcut." Baro said, the other two nodding in response.
As they took a sharp turn, a market area came into view and it seemed quite busy. Stalls lined the sides of the streets, vendors selling various goods and the buyers selecting their choices.
Alina and Neron turned to Baro, an accusatory stare in both their eyes, I thought you said this was a shortcut, were the words conveyed. Baro scratched his head, avoiding their gaze. "Oh, yeah, it seemed today was a market day." He confessed.
Alina looked back towards the market, "We can't anymore waste time, let's just go." She said, before moving forward.
"What, you don't mean we're going through all that." Baro asked, before turning to Neron, but to already see the boy running in to with his sister. "This two are crazy." He said, before a grin made way to his face, as he took of running as well.
Neron leaped over a crate of tomatoes. Two vendors were ahead, carrying some sacks above their ahead. Neron rolled between them, before leaping above a crouched person.
A cement site laid ahead, the trio stopped momentarily. Neron's gaze landed at the side, he then looked towards his sister, a smirk on his face. A small grin on her face as she understood what he was insinuating.
Neron leaped for the bar, he turned towards his sister. She leaped as well. He grabbed her hand, using her momentum to fling her to the other end. Alina grabbed a pole on the other end, used her momentum as well to take Neron with her, landing at the other side.
Baro's jaw dropped at that, before he shook his head. He's gaze flashed through the scene in front of him, before he's eyes landed on a bamboo pole. Quickly picking it up, he took a stance before running. He jammed the pole into the mushy ground, pole voting over to the other side.
The trio countied running, the school just in sight. The trio picked up their pace.
After a few seconds, there had finally made it to the bus. Sophia stood beside the bus, her hands folded over her chest, her foot hitting the floor in impatience. "You guys are going to be the death of me." She shook her head, "C'mon already, we're going to be late."
Alina bid goodbye to Neron and Baro, as she went for her classes.
Baro and Neron quickly entered the bus, seeing their teammates already seated, they greeted them.
Baro and Neron found themselves at the backseat. Hayato sprung up from his seat, "Slept late?" He asked, though the answer was obvious.
Neron chuckled nervously, while Baro just looked the other way, unwilling to admit it.
Hayato chuckled, going back to his seat. Sophia entered the bus, standing in front of the team. "Okay guys, today is the opening ceremony of the SHINSEI CUP. Do be on your best behavior when we arrive." She said, earning nods of confirmation from the team.
Sohia seeing this nodded, before she sat down at the front, Ryoji beside her. The bus driver seeing that everyone was seated, started the bus.
Hayato propped up again, "Hey, care for a game." He asked, phone in hand.
Neron just chuckled nervously, "Well I don't really have one." He confessed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Hayato widened his eyes at Neron, "For real. Well, that's a bummer." He said
"Yeah." Neron said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Hayato then reached into his bag, bringing out another game console. "You can borrow mine." He handed the boy.
Neron was about to refuse, but Hayato already shoved it to him before seating back.
"C'mon let's start already." Baro said impatiently, his game console already out.
Daichi and Shin also had theirs out, waiting for Neron to start.
Neron smiled, happiness emanating from him, as he started to play as well. Though the others had to reach him, he still enjoyed every minute.
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It took the bus roughly around an hour to reach the venue.
As the team dropped, other school buses greeted their view. They quickly navigated their way to the place, a football stadium.
They had quickly found where they were to seat, the stadium was quite packed.
A platform laid in the center of the pitch, the president of the cup. The crowd fell into a hushed silence as the camera zoomed in on the man standing at the podium. Mr. Khan Sakamoto, the Director of the SHINSEI Cup, stands tall in front of the grand stage, overlooking the teams and spectators in the packed stadium. The energy in the air is palpable. Khan's voice rung out clear and strong.
Standing at the podium, Khan smiled at the players and crowd.
"Welcome, everyone, to the SHINSEI Cup. Today marks the beginning of an incredible journey, where young talent from all over the world will come together to compete, push their limits, and chase their dreams. This tournament is not just about winning, but about showing the heart and dedication it takes to get here.
He glances at the players, his tone growing more serious.
"Each of you has earned your place, and now it's time to leave it all on the field. Play with honor, play with passion, and most importantly—play with everything you've got. To the fans, thank you for being here to support these future stars.
He raises his hand to signal the excitement building.
"Let the SHINSEI Cup begin!"
The crowd erupted in applause, the energy vibrating the very stadium itself as the opening ceremony came to a close.
The next series of the cup, the most anticipated and important parts, the brackets, was up next.
A project was set up with a screen just behind the podium. Five boxes were displayed on the screen, side by side, with four empty slots in each.
A bowl with multiple spherical balls laid inside was set up Infront of Mr Khan. He shuffled them, before picking one. Opening it, a paper was seen inside with a name on it. Mr Khan looked at it, before turning it to the crowd. "Shizuka High." He said.
The holding champions were in the first group. The name Shizuka appeared on the first slot on the first group.
With that, each of the four Groups were filled. The usual big five were called, with each of them occupying a group. At least that's how it was supposed to be.
The last group was left. Mr Khan did the usual shuffle, "Kyoto Fc." He said.
The name appearing on the last group.
Mr Khan shuffled again, "Nagoya High." He said.
Mr Khan shuffled, the last name. "Seiran High." He said.
Seiran had dumbfounded looks. They were in the group of death, two out of the big five were in the same group. The consensus that those two would advance, now the hill to the cup seemed that more steeper.
Sophia clasped her hands Infront of her, swear trickled down her face. Takeshi sat beside her, a nervous smile on his face. "Well, that was not expected." Takeshi said, hoping to brake the downed mood, but he himself was also quite shook.
The brackets finishing. Seiran decided to go back, since their game wasn't today.
On their way back, they were met with a wall. No, it was just their first opponents, Kyoto FC. Almost all the players seemed to be on the tall side, but two of them stood out. Giant of men, both of them standing at 6 foot 4. Short black hair that he seemed almost bald, sharp eyes that seems to stare them down. They looked identical to one another, indicating that they were twins. The only way you could differentiate them was by their eye color, as one has blue eyes and the other had red eyes.
There was a tension in the air, but that was not noticed as Neron walked up to the two.
The two looked down at the Neron. Neron smiled, his hands outstretched. "Let's have a good game." He said innocenty.
The two looked at the outstretched hand. A few seconds passed, before they walked passed Neron. "Zis is not a game. If ze bring that's attitude to ze pitch, exceptz a slaughter." The one with blue eyes spoke in a heavy Russian accent, as he and his team walked past.
The one with red eyes just grunted, following his brother.
Neron stood still, he looked at his outstretched hand. 'What's with people not shaking hands these days' The boy thought.
As the team went back to the bus, the brackets were still fresh on their mind. If there was one of them in the same group, they would have a chance, but two teams. Could they even have hope of going through?
"C'mon guys, if we just sit around and mope, the other guys are training. So what if we're in a group of death, will make it sweeter when we win it all." Neron said, confidence flowing from his words.
"Huh, who's moping around. I'm going to crush them." Said Baro with confidence.
The mood of the team increasing positively.
The team reached the school, not wasting time and immediately going to the pitch to train against their opponent in three days.
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A/N: Well that's this chapter wrapped up. What'd you guys think of the beginning part with the parkour part, would love to know your thoughts. Well, SEIRAN gave found themselves in the group of death, but their not giving up. Will they go through, will they not. Well read to find out. Of course, please do tell me your thoughts on the chapter
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Stay Blessed people 🙏