On The Side Of The Pitch With You

It Takes More Than Three

When they made their way to the yacht harbor, where they were told the residential area was, they found that there was another pitch right in front of it, so they mentally noted if they wanted to save energy, they could just do practice there. Upon entering the information gate, with a large kitchen attached and a cafeteria right across it, they were met by a very cheery lady in an apron.

"My, my, my! It's a pleasure to meet you, a pleasure to meet you! Just look at all that sweat and dirt on you. A bath, you definitely need to take a bath first." She said, pointing to the shower area, before retracting her arms with a clap. "Oh, but your rooms before that, your rooms! Leave your bags in your rooms before you go shower." She then proceeded to point to the back door.

"Um... When you say our rooms...?" Tenma asked.

The lady then pointed to the wall. "It's written on that bulletin board."

Dorm 1: Matsukaze Tenma, Shindou Takuto, Tsurugi Kyousuke.

Dorm 2: Kusaka Ryuuji, Ibuki Munemasa, Tetsukado Shin.

Dorm 3: Matatagi Hayato, Minaho Kazuto, Manabe Jinichirou.

Dorm 4: Nozaki Sakura, Morimura Konoha.

Dorm 5: Managers.

The lady proceeded to introduce herself as Kamata Shizune, though she insisted on being called 'Aunty', before leading them out the back door and pointing which dorms were which. There was also another building right across where they were, the door consisting mainly of tinted glass. She explained that that was the meeting room, where they could discuss strategies or share data with a big screen.

Tsurugi was curious about that place, but not even two seconds after he put down his bag did knocks come from his door. Opening it, he found Shindou there, looking about ready to explode.

"Tsurugi, you and Tenma join me for dinner. After that, we're going to see the coach." He could only give a nod before his senior left.

For a moment, he just stood there, bewildered by the suddenness of it all. But when his left hand fell to his side, an item slipped out of his sleeve.

The Fire Tornado keychain.

With their tracksuits being their new everyday outfit, he had to leave his red, spiky wrist guard at home to avoid ripping it, and so he locked the accessory into his white, plain one that he still keeps with him. Frankly, it wasn't an ideal place for a keychain, but he didn't like having anything hanging from his phone, and keeping it on the zipper of his bag also bothered him in ways he couldn't describe. This was the last available option if he wanted to keep it safe.

Or he just wanted to keep it on him any and every time he could.

Do you even hear how stupid you are, Kyousuke? Before he could retort his own brain, he stopped to wonder why he heard it in her voice.

Because you miss me. And now it's starting to talk like her too.

How are you so sure it's your brain and not me using telepathy? He hated that he knew her so well that he knew exactly what words she'd say if he heard his thoughts.

"Stop thinking, Kyousuke, before you go insane." He scolded himself with a shake of his head. "Our first match is in a week. Stay focused."

With that, he tucked it back into his sleeve and left for the dining hall.

~~~~~

After dinner, Shindou practically dragged both him and their captain back to the Seaside Stadium, where the coach was. Their senior went straight to the point and demanded that the selections be redone, but the coach insisted that the eight had potential. Or rather, he states what he wants in such a clear and confident way that they just couldn't hope to get anything else as a response from him.