Tetsuro gradually settled into Classroom 2-C. The first few days were marked by cliques, but over time, he started to connect with a few of his classmates. The first to approach him was their class representative.
The class representative was Mai Nishida. With her striking beauty, it made sense she had so many friends and admirers in the class. Her blonde hair flowed effortlessly down to her waist, complementing her well-proportioned figure, which only added to her allure. Her nails were always immaculate, perfectly maintained. Most captivating of all were her enchanting green eyes, which seemed to mesmerize anyone who met her gaze. It was clear why Mai was undeniably popular amongst her classmates.
As soon as Mai took the initiative to speak with the transfer students, everyone in the class quickly followed her lead. Tetsuro couldn't help but be amazed by the authority and influence she seemed to possess. Then again, it made sense, she had been chosen as the class representative by her peers for a reason.
"Are you still doing well?" Mai asked as she made her way around the class, checking in on everyone.
Tetsuro was honest with himself; he hadn't been very attentive to her question. Today was his first day with the hockey team, and Mina had reminded him about it constantly over the past few days. Her persistent nagging had only made him more nervous. His hands were clammy with sweat, a feeling that took him back to his hockey tryouts in Canada.
"Yes, everything is fine," Tetsuro responded without looking at her. He was busily attempting to distract himself from his nervousness.
Trying out for the youth hockey teams in Canada had always been nerve-wracking for Tetsuro. His hometown was filled with so many talented players. On top of that, even if you were good enough, a wealthier child's parent could often buy their way onto the team. That was the downside of hockey: it was slowly becoming a sport only the wealthy could afford to play. The cost of hockey sticks and skates was astronomical, especially for teenagers. As they grew, they constantly had to size up their skates, which meant buying new ones nearly every season. Additionally, there were fees to pay, especially if it was travelling hockey.
Mai was unconvinced but moved on to the next student anyway. As she did, she glanced back at Tetsuro, noticing Masashi trying to comfort him. If she was being honest, it had been a good idea to place the two second-year transfer students in the same class. Moving from something familiar to something completely unknown was daunting for anyone, herself included.
"Hey, man, you, okay? Just relax. It's only for the weight measurement and fitness testing," Masashi reassured him.
"I'm not nervous. What makes you think that?" Tetsuro replied.
"Tetsuro, you're fidgeting. You've been bouncing your leg since you sat down," Masashi pointed out.
"What can I say, man? Hockey Tryouts have always made me nervous," Tetsuro confessed.
"We'll be fine. Didn't you hear what Oshiro said? She mentioned they're struggling to find players. We should make the team," Masashi said hopefully.
"We'll see." Tetsuro replied as their conversation was put to an end. The teacher was readying her materials to commence class.
For the remainder of the class, Tetsuro forgot about his anxiety. To be in a sports club, you had to maintain excellent grades. If your grades were subpar, you couldn't play on the team. So, he focused on his studies instead. With that shift, it became easier to put his attention on class rather than hockey.
The day passed quickly. Tetsuro and Masashi ate lunch together, but in their homeroom instead of the cafeteria. His mother had packed him a generous lunch, so he shared it with Masashi. Without realizing it, they were slowly becoming best friends with each other.
They walked to the building behind the main campus. The cold breeze kissed their cheeks, leaving them slightly tinged with red from the biting wind. Tetsuro couldn't understand why the rink was located so far from the center of the campus. They had to walk quite a distance to get there.
The practice facility was modest, a weathered building with faded paint on its exterior walls. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by a slightly warmer temperature, though the air remained cool enough to keep the ice smooth. The rink itself was smaller than the one near Tetsuro's house, with bright overhead lights that buzzed faintly, casting an almost sterile glow across the ice. Tetsuro couldn't fully take in the interior of the practice rink, as his attention was drawn to distant yelling. Tetsuro noticed that Mina was already busily barking orders to the players about changing in their locker rooms.
"Locker rooms are to the right of the entrance. Come on guys, can't you read?" Mina busily mouthed off.
Masashi took a glance at Tetsuro before smirking and then laughing. Tetsuro joined him in laughing as it was pretty funny. The laughter and joking helped Tetsuro relax, easing some of his anxiety. They quickly made their way to the locker room to avoid hearing Mina's constant nagging.
The locker rooms were decorated to reflect the colors of the school's uniform, with the walls painted in bold crimson and white. At the center of each room, the school's crest stood proudly. Each stall was labeled with the last name of a tryout player, personalizing the space for the team.
"The practice jerseys are pretty neat." Masashi pointed out as he unfolded his crimson-colored jersey
"They really are excellent quality," Tetsuro agreed, running his hand over the smooth fabric of his white practice jersey.
The jerseys came in two colors: crimson, which Masashi had been given, and white, the one Tetsuro was given. From his experience, this suggested there would be two teams for a practice match during practice. He wondered how the teams were divided but had no doubt that Mina played a key role in advising the coaches on the best balance.
"Guess we're going to be on different teams," Masashi said, pulling his practice jersey over his shoulder pads.
"Looks like it." Tetsuro replied.
"By the way, I never asked how good your team was in Fukushima? You told Oshiro you used to play, but you never went into details." He continued, tying the laces on his hockey skates.
"Oh yeah I did say that." Masashi mused.
"Well, we never made it to the championship, that's for sure," Masashi replied, standing up to grab his helmet. "But we were consistently in the semi-finals of the regional tournament in Fukushima."
"I also wanted to ask how getting into the championship works here?" Tetsuro was curious if the process was different.
"Back in Canada, it was based on a point system. The teams with the most points would compete in a series of best-of-seven games until only one team remained." Tetsuro explained.
"Sounds like a lot of games," Masashi said, intrigued. "Here, we do things a bit differently. In each prefecture, they hold regional tournaments to determine which team will represent them. The winner of those tournaments goes on to represent the prefecture." Tetsuro listened, surprised, as Masashi continued to explain.
"There are 47 prefectures in Japan," Masashi explained. "Tokyo and Hokkaido each send two teams, as they are larger prefectures with many schools competing for a spot in the championship. The other prefectures only send one team."
"So, two teams will be sent from our prefecture?" Tetsuro asked for clarification.
"Yes," Masashi nodded. "We're in southern Hokkaido, so we'll compete in the southern regional tournaments to represent South Hokkaido."
"The team that advances to the All-Japan High School Hockey Championship will compete in elimination matches," Masashi explained. "If you lose, you're out. No second chances."
Tetsuro felt a chill run down his spine. Winning a championship would be incredibly difficult. They couldn't afford to lose even once, or they'd be out of the entire tournament. In Junior Hockey, at least, there were multiple games to earn points and secure a playoff spot. But in Japan, there was no such system, one game would determine their fate.
"Everyone one the ice!" A deep voice commanded inside the locker room.
Tetsuro looked up at the man he presumed was the team's coach. His salt-and-pepper hair was neatly combed back, and his face was marked by age, with deep wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Though his physique was still robust, it wasn't as strong as in his younger years; however, the years of hard work and training were evident in his older frame. His expression was serious and stoic as his eyes scanned the players gathered in the locker room.
On cue, all the players quickly filed out of the locker room and onto the ice. Tetsuro scanned the rink and noticed there were exactly the right number of skaters to form a team, nineteen in total. Ideally, there should have been more players to account for potential injuries, but Tetsuro couldn't help but internally applaud Mina for managing to gather exactly the number needed.
Tetsuro dropped to his knees and began stretching, moving his legs and hips in slow, circular motions. The stretch was one of the exercises Mina had recommended in the training regimen she gave him a few weeks before school started. He had followed the regimen to the letter, though he had to look up videos to make sure he was doing the stretches properly.
Mina turned to look at Tetsuro, and a smile crept onto her lips. She quickly covered it with her clipboard, hoping no one noticed. It was hard for people to take her seriously, but Tetsuro was the first to truly commit to her training regimen. She knew her personality could be difficult; she had no filter and often delivered her criticisms in the bluntest ways possible. However, she always believed that honesty was the best approach, even if it stung. Some players didn't appreciate her criticisms and ignored the training regimens she specifically designed. It brought her great joy to see someone actually take her recommendations seriously.
"Those boys look like they could be molded into something," the coach observed, watching Tetsuro and Masashi as they stretched and began skating.
Mina followed his gaze, her eyes lighting up. " Both of them are transfer students."
The coach stroked his chin thoughtfully. His previous teams had always struggled with a similar pattern: one strong player, and the rest were either castoffs or newcomers. He had nothing against them, but it was always challenging to build a competitive team with mediocre talent. Having seen enough, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Welcome, everyone. It's a pleasure to see you all," the coach began.
"My name is Coach Takamatsu, and I've been the coach here at Kenryoku High for the last four years. All of the teams I've coached have been known for their hard work. That means every shift you take, you give 110%. I will not tolerate laziness. Understood?" His tone was firm and challenging, ensuring his message was clear.
"Understood!" came the resounding response from the students in front of him.
"I wish our captain could be here to give his speech, but he has a more pressing matter to attend to," Coach Takamatsu said. "Now, let's get started with the speed tests and physical measurements."
"Please make two solid lines. The other specialty coaches will be assisting in measurements." Coach Takamatsu ordered.
Tetsuro walked over to the line where Mina was standing. She held a clipboard while the other instructors were busy measuring the height and weight of each skater. They called out the measurements as Mina quickly jotted them down. Tetsuro couldn't help but notice she was wearing a crimson track suit that fit her athletic frame perfectly. She looked exactly as he had imagined a manager would: focused, efficient, and effortlessly composed.
"Next!" the instructor shouted as Tetsuro stepped up.
"Tetsuro Arbour" Mina said as she began scribbling into her clipboard once again.
The instructor pulled out a tape measure and lowered it to the base of Tetsuro's skates, then stretched it up to the top of his head. Tetsuro realized he hadn't been measured in about a year and wasn't sure if he had grown or remained the same height.
"1.87 meters with skates on. Without them, we can estimate he's about 1.8 meters." the instructor called out. Mina nodded and quickly scribbled the measurement onto her clipboard.
"Get on the scale" The instructor ordered. Tetsuro took off his skates and quickly stepped onto the scale.
"He's around 64 kilograms, slightly light for your height. You'll need to put on some muscle," the instructor advised Tetsuro.
Tetsuro stepped out of line as the instructor called the next skater to step up. He remembered being around 1.75 meters tall last year, so he had grown slightly. That was a win in his book. Growth meant he could also add more weight to his frame.
The physical measurements portion of the afternoon concluded, and Tetsuro found himself among the taller ones in his group. It turned out that Masashi was exactly the same height as Tetsuro, though he weighed slightly more.
"Alright, we will now do some agility and speed tests. Please make one line!" Coach Takamatsu ordered.
The first person to take the speed test lined up on the centerline of the hockey rink. Tetsuro noticed they had placed cones in the faceoff circles on both ends of the ice. The whistle blew and the skater made his way around the rink careful not to hit or go inside of the cones.
The coach watched intently, his expression slightly dissatisfied. The first skater to take the speed test had choppy strides and appeared clumsy. While his time wasn't particularly bad, it took him longer than expected to reach full speed. In a game where every inch counts, those extra seconds to hit top gear could mean the difference between scoring a goal or allowing one.
The next skaters were similar. Some had decent skating mechanics but lacked top speed, while others had both speed and good form but skated too upright. The coach watched on, his dissatisfaction growing, until Masashi reached the center line.
As soon as the whistle blew, Masashi moved with flawless form. His edgework was exceptional, especially when it came to cornering the rink. His skating was smooth and controlled, with no sign of clumsiness. He made the lap around the ice look effortless.
"Not fair, Mizuno, you said you weren't that good at hockey," Tetsuro pouted as Masashi skated by.
"I said I was decent at hockey," Masashi replied with a signature smirk. "But I'm a pretty good skater."
Not long after Masashi, it was Tetsuro's turn. He felt a bit anxious, recalling the critiques Mina had given them the day they first met. He had followed her training regimen diligently, hoping his hard work would finally pay off.
As the whistle blew, Tetsuro lowered his head and pushed his legs as hard as he could. He felt the familiar thrill of skating, his adrenaline kicking in as he powered through the corners of the rink. The adrenaline allowed him to focus solely on his skating. Before he knew it, he reached the center line, signaling the completion of his lap.
"It looks like I wasn't the only one hiding something," Masashi teased as he skated by.
Before Tetsuro could respond, the coach commanded everyone to begin the next skating drill. This drill focused on changing direction. The coach wanted the skaters to skate forward at full speed and then quickly transition in the opposite direction. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement. Most of the skaters lost their edges and toppled onto the ice. Tetsuro struggled slightly with the edgework required for the turn, but he managed well enough to avoid the coach's scorn. Masashi, on the other hand, transitioned effortlessly.
The next drill didn't go much better. The instructors placed four cones in the corners of the rink, and each skater was required to skate around them while handling the puck. The performance was, in fact, worse than the previous drill. Some skaters displayed decent puck-handling skills, but they struggled to balance both skating and puck control. Even Masashi had difficulty. While his skating was strong, his hand-eye coordination when controlling the puck wasn't quite there. Tetsuro was the only one to complete the drill, but barely. Mina's criticism echoed in his mind, he was still focusing too much on the puck.
Coach Takamatsu's patience was wearing thin. With each drill, the skaters' performance seemed to decline further. Not wanting to scare off any new recruits with his frustration, he decided to end the practice early.
"Alright, we're ending practice earlier than expected. We have a lot to work on. The next session will focus solely on puck handling and skating. Until then, there will be no practice matches" Coach Takamatsu announced. He didn't linger, leaving the practice facility with a hint of frustration. While there were some positives, he couldn't shake the feeling of urgency. He was determined not to repeat the embarrassment of the past four years at the regional Hokkaido tournament.
Coach Takamatsu had been offered a coaching position at Chitose Tech, one of the powerhouses of hockey in Hokkaido. However, his pride told him that he could turn any high school into a contender. He was determined to restore Kenryoku High to its former glory. But now, he saw how unrealistic and arrogant that dream had been.
His focus shifted to finding a way to build a respectable team and avoid further embarrassment. In the end, would he even be able to do that? He questioned whether he was the coach he thought he was. He would have to dig deep, finding a way to hide, or better yet, manage, the team's deficiencies to a level where they wouldn't hinder their performance.