"AAARGH!"

For a moment, silence descended on the pitch, and all the players there stared at the crime scene in disbelief. Everything happened so fast, from a rocket that Takaaki launched a few moments ago to the solo run that Makino made deep into Hakodate Nishi’s defensive territory. Right now, though, all the eyes were still on that juicy spot straight in front of the penalty box, the spot where Makino committed a foul just a moment ago.

There, Mamoru groaned while also rolling on the grass, feeling the pain from Makino’s grab. As for Makino himself, Hakodate Nishi’s captain, as he was currently lying on the ground, his breath spiked up with his chest rising up and down violently.

In the end, the one who snapped their attention was the referee’s presence, as after chasing from behind, the man finally arrived in the scene, showing a red card to Makino without hesitation.

"Oh! A straight red card!"

"Fucking hell... This is a nightmare for Hakodate Nishi!"

"Still, he deserves it! That grab to the jersey is nasty! I mean, he is also the last person standing, right?"

"Now, it is settled: Shimizu Higashi will win today’s game."

The whispers on the stand became louder right now, with everyone getting restless at the scene they had just witnessed on the pitch. Somehow, though, after seeing Makino getting a direct red card like this, Mamoru got up instantly, bouncing around as if there was no problem with him.

’Yeah, his acting is good.’ Ishinori couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his lips right now.

Unfortunately, even knowing that wouldn’t change anything. No amount of complaint would make the referee reverse the decision, as Makino indeed committed a professional foul here. Not wanting the team to get down by two goals, he grabbed Mamoru’s jersey lightly.

Yeah, it was a light contact, but Mamoru was still at his top speed, a state where even a slight disturbance would shake off his balance. As a result, the boy got thrown instantly, and even if he was not the last player standing, Makino was ready to get a red card just from that foul alone.

Still, it was one thing to get prepared, but once things were on the board, with the referee raising a red card at him, the boy still had a hard time accepting this. He covered his face with his jersey, somehow feeling like crying right now. This could be his last ever game in this team, and yet, he ended things up with a fucking red card?

"Hey, Teme, you okay?" Suddenly, a familiar voice snapped him from his thoughts. When the boy turned around, he could see that not just Higo, but the rest of the defenders were looking at him concernedly. "Stupid question. Of course, you are not okay." Higo mumbled lowly.

The captain took a deep breath, trying his best to hold back tears from falling on the corners of his eyes. "Sorry, Chibi. I mess this up." He smiled wryly.

"Indeed, you did." To everyone’s surprise, he didn’t even mince his words, being so blunt with his usual wry tone as well. "You know I can handle that shit alone, so why would you take that stupid action? Being down by one player will make everything harder, you know?"

This should be the least thing to say to a player who has just been sent off the pitch, as this was enough to destroy that player’s spirit instantly. Still, Higo knew Makino the best, and he knew that while it would take time for his friend to get over everything, the boy would still be okay, if not stronger in the future.

In return, Makino just laughed awkwardly, somehow feeling guilty at the mess he left to the team. "Sorry, Chibi, but after this, you are going to be the team’s leader. Make sure that everyone listens to you and you are the first one to approach the referee if something bad happens, okay?" He asked, handing the captain’s band to Higo.

The goalkeeper stared at it for a moment at that captain’s band. Usually, it would fall to the second captain, which was Kuroki in this team. However, since the striker was still on the bench, Higo didn’t have any choice but to accept the responsibility as he nodded solemnly. "Don’t worry, leave the rest to me. Just sit tight and wait outside for the result."

Makino took a deep breath; his expression was heavy. The guilt crept on his back, but the boy still tried to hold his head high. At the end of the day, he was the team’s defender, and his task was to prevent the worst thing from happening on the team.

In that split second, the boy believed that a red card would still be better than conceding the second goal, and if he were given another chance in the same scenario, he would still do it again. His only regret might be that he couldn’t accompany the team until the end, but the heaviness in his heart was alleviated slightly as he realized that Higo would be able to handle the mess easily.

’Come on, Chibi... You are the best goalkeeper in the country right now; don’t you dare let them score one more goal, okay?’

Well, Higo couldn’t care less about Makino right now. After all, he and the other players still had the game to fight on, and with one player less, things would be more difficult for them. Right now, though, his attention was fully on the free kick, as Mamoru had already put the ball on a sweet spot just three meters in front of the penalty box.

"Make a wall! Jun, get closer to Kazawa!"

"Kenji, shift a little bit to the left! Don’t block my view!"

Right now, he was busy shouting instructions to his teammates, sweat rolling on his face. This was a perfect spot for the right-footed player to take a shot, and Higo couldn’t afford to lower his guard. He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the person in front of the wall.

’Now, Mamoru... Where are you going to aim?’