"Head or tail?"

"Head."

"Tail."

It was before the game began, and the referee asked the captains of both teams to come for a coin toss. Makino came prepared here, observing the opponent in front of him carefully.

’Kei Murakami, third-year captain.’ He recalled everything about the boy inside his head. ’A classic box-to-box midfielder, always fills the gap in the midfield and has good positioning skills. Even though he is just 165 cm, his strength cannot be underestimated. He is like a bulldog when chasing the ball, never going to give up on one and will hunt it till the end of the world. Definitely an engine in the midfield.’

Little did Makino know, though, that Kei Murakami was also observing him from head to toe.

’Tomoaki Makino, the team’s leader on the back.’ The boy narrowed his eyes subtly. ’His role is overshadowed by Ryusuke Higo, but his anticipation skill, game reading ability, and command are top-notch. If we want to break his defense, the only way to do that is with the aerial battle. Coincidentally enough, Jui is in his hot form, so he shouldn’t be a big problem, right?’

While they were observing each other, the referee also did his job here, tossing the ball in the air. The man caught it swiftly, showing the coin to both captains.

"Head, Hakodate Nishi High gets the first kick-off." He announced.

Makino nodded slightly, but also clenched his fist inwardly. This was definitely the best-case scenario here. After all, the blitzkrieg attack was at its most effective when they did it in the first half, right after the game began.

Kei Murakami also frowned a little, shifting the captain’s armband on his sleeve slightly to hide his annoyance. ’This will not matter too much against anyone else, but Hakodate Nishi’s strongest attacking scheme always comes from this scenario. Losing the first point right after the game begins will be bad for the team’s morale, so we have to prevent that.’

The referee also noticed their subtle reactions, but he didn’t say anything about that. If anything, the boy stared at Makino a little bit longer before emphasizing, "I will try to lead the game clearly and objectively, so please, cooperate with me to follow the rules. If any of your teammates want to complain or question my decision, do it for them. Don’t let them make a big fuss or do anything stupid, okay?" His tone was half-begging here.

Kei Murakami was slightly confused when he heard this. After all, this was the first time the referee said something so desperate like this, and he didn’t know what prompted the man to do that. Makino, though, was bashful at the reprimand. It was clear that the words were aimed at him, with the man hoping that he would control his teammates better.

"I cannot promise you anything here, but I will try my best," Makino replied weakly.

That was when Kei Murakami realized that the words were not for him, and coupled with his knowledge of Hakodate Nishi’s last game, he couldn’t help but snort in amusement.

"Don’t worry, Sensei, I know my teammates, and while they are a bunch of rascals, they know their limit quite well." The boy reassured the referee for formality.

The man just smiled wryly, inwardly saying, ’I am talking about Hakodate Nishi here, not you!’ Unfortunately, this was the best he could get, and asking Makino to do more before the game could even begin was a little bit too much, as if he was targeting them maliciously.

After exchanging some words with them, the referee finally let both Kei Murakami and Makino go back to their own team. As the former walked, he felt like his step was lighter, probably coming from the confidence that they got the first kick-off here.

"So, spill it out, Teme, what is the result?" Higo asked impatiently.

"Ha! Who do you think I am?" Makino smiled, patting his chest smugly. "Of course, I win the toss! I washed my socks three times last night, so don’t you dare underestimate my luck here!"

Higo had a big sweat drop when he heard that, not expecting his friend to be this superstitious. However, the rest of the team didn’t care too much, as they were too excited by the news from their captain.

"Fucking hell, Captain! You finally won something!"

"Come on, Takaaki-senpai! I will wait for your pass on the front line; don’t mess this up, okay?!"

"Usami, get into the pocket area. Their full backs are quite strong in defense; we will need your help in the second line."

Within a few seconds, all the attacking players started to get busy, thinking of how to break their opponent’s defensive line. Being ignored completely by his players, a thick vein popped on Makino’s forehead as he coughed loudly, attracting their attention. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Can I have some words first, please?" He said sarcastically. After getting a bashful nod from some of them, he took a deep breath and said, "The referee warned me earlier, hoping that any conflict could be resolved with me as the mediator. So, while I still say that you can defend yourself, don’t do anything reckless like what Fuji did in the last game, okay? We don’t need to have a reputation as a bunch of delinquents here!"

As he said that, the boy’s eyes darted around some emotionally unstable players like Jun and Kanji. Those two seemed to be self-conscious, rubbing the back of their heads awkwardly.

After saying some more words, Makino finally put his hand in the middle of the circle, followed by the rest of the players who put theirs on top of his. After looking around, finding them all ready for the game, Makino took a deep breath, gathering all of his strength before shouting, "HAKODATE NISHI!"

"FIGHT!" The others shouted back before running to their own position.

Higo himself walked toward the goal immediately, kissing both goal posts as his pre-game ritual. As he glanced at the stand, though, the boy was dumbfounded by what he saw there.

’What the hell... How could the stand behind the goal be so full of people?’