The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 302: The Morning After

Unlike Kumiko, who was currently having a headache, Higo spent the rest of the night with a big smile on his face. No, it wasn’t because of his dream. He hadn’t even fallen asleep yet here, just scrolling through his phone while waiting for the notification to pop.

There, on his social media, the boy had just uploaded a group photo with the others. Besides memes and shit-posts that he shared, this was probably the first time Higo uploaded something personal, and honestly, the boy enjoyed reading all the positive comments that people left there.

Marugamechan: Damn, so you are telling me that you are a national-level athlete?! This is insane!

Hikki00: At least, this tells us all that even an internet addict like us can do something big, huh? *Laugh in self-deprecation.

Jintan15: Wait, you are playing in Yokohama?! I live there! I will come to your game next!

Of course, Higo himself didn’t really know those commenters. However, the boy was quite a living legend in the community, what with him always debating over the silliest thing on the Internet in the past. While the boy had already decreased the intensity a lot in the last couple of months, his followers still remembered, and the post just dug out all of their memories of Higo’s legendary shenanigans on the Internet.

’Oh, God, if I knew that the response would be this positive, I should’ve just posted all of my awards in the past, right?’ He cursed silently while also rolling around on his bed, staring at the rooftop with a blank gaze. ’No, that won’t do. Too much bragging will only get me targeted. At least, the scale today is not that big, just the first round of the tournament, so it is okay to post one picture like this.’

Indeed, just like what Higo said, the intensity of the National Tournament’s first round was lower compared to that of some of the finals in a few strong cities. It wasn’t something that the boy made up, as everyone would also feel the same way on the pitch.

As for why the boy didn’t really post a personal photo before... Well, with how fierce the internet was, Higo didn’t really dare to reveal his life, worried that this would affect his social media life. After all, he had made so many enemies in the past, and if people on the Internet knew about his private life, they would’ve gone into a frenzy immediately.

Hell, even with this photo, there were still some hate comments there, mocking him for touching grass, lusting over Kumiko’s beauty, and some even laughing at the not-so-good-looking players on the team. However, Higo didn’t really read them, just scrolling past those mean comments like it was nothing.

After scrolling for a while, the boy finally fell asleep with a huge smile on his face, just to find himself waking up with pain all over his body.

"Urgh... What is going on here?" The boy groaned, feeling like he had just gotten stomped by a whole elephant. "I... I cannot move..."

"That’s what you get from sleeping with your hand on the phone, Senpai." Takaaki’s voice could be heard out of nowhere, as the boy helped him get up without even being asked to. "You were lying on your back last night, and your right hand was also getting suppressed all night. It is no wonder your right side feels numb right now."

"Urgh... Really?" Higo groaned weakly, finally having a clear sight of his surroundings. There, Takaaki and Sano just shook their head exasperatedly, as if knowing that he would get this problem with how he slept earlier. "I swear, I have never felt that way before..." He grumbled a little, starting to stretch his stiff body.

"Maybe because you have never done that after the game?" Takaaki shrugged. "Anyway, Shishida-senpai asks us to gather first to discuss the next match. You good to go?" Asked the glasses boy.

"Give me five minutes, and I will follow you later."

"Well, if you are sure..."

In the end, the others went out first, leaving Higo alone to process everything. Only after he was truly awake did the boy get up from the bed. He also didn’t go straight to the meeting room. No, Higo went out first while also tightening his jacket, getting a nice onigiri from the closest Konbini to fill up his stomach before walking down the hotel corridor to reach the room where everyone gathered.

"Oh, you are finally here!" Kuroki perked up when he saw Higo coming. "Kumiko-chan has been waiting for you for a while, you know?"

Higo blinked for a moment as he took a seat, processing what his friend said. "Waiting for me? To do what?" He asked confusedly. Inwardly, the boy also tried to dig into his brain to check whether there was a message that he had missed on his phone this morning or not. "I swear, she didn’t even text me anything last night."

"Maybe she found your burner account and tried to question you about that." Makino chimed in cheekily.

"Hahaha, very funny, you dolt." Higo just rolled his eyes sarcastically. Then, his gaze swept across the room, and the boy found something amiss here. "We just beat our opponent yesterday, right? How could the atmosphere be so grim right now? Why do the others look so solemn?" He asked in a barely whispered voice.

Indeed, the atmosphere there seemed like they were mourning someone’s death. Even though the dress code was far from being all black, no shouts could be heard from the usual loud-mouthed boys like Kenji or Jun. If anything, Jun was quite depressed on the corner of the room, while Kenji was still half-asleep between Hori and Fujinaga.

Interestingly enough, Hiroshi and the twins could be seen whispering at each other, and this was probably the most serious expression that all of their teammates had ever found them to be. No one really knew what they were talking about, but soon enough, when Kumiko stepped onto the front of the room and the projector was on, everything finally clicked inside their head.

Hakodate Nishi High (HKD) vs Shohei High (STM)

"Wait, we are going to play your hometown team?"