The Rise of the Iron Wall!
Chapter 414: Departure Day
Time passed by so quickly, and without anyone noticing, two days had passed since the fateful game against Shimizu Higashi. At this point, the mood had already been stabilized, and while some were still lamenting the ’what-ifs’ scenario, no one really thought about it with a heartache anymore.
Coincidentally enough, the tournament was also in a storm. So many things happened, and from what people said on the Internet, it seemed some big upsets happened in the tournament. Well, not that Hakodate Nishi cared about it anymore, since they had already been eliminated.
Right now, they were all in the middle of their preparation to go back home, trying to make sure that nothing was left behind.
"Come on, everyone! Check again!" Kumiko instructed, checking the room one by one. "Don’t make a mess in your room! If you still have trash there, throw it out! Don’t bother the staff with your messiness, okay?!"
"Yes, Ma’am..."
While folding the blanket on his bed, Kenji couldn’t help but grumble. "Coming far from Hakodate to become a superstar, why would I still do this kind of a mundane job?" It seemed that his mood had already bounced back as well after his failure a few days ago.
"Don’t act like a fucking princess, Brat! This mundane job is your responsibility as well, don’t try to shy away from it!" Hori retorted irritably. The boy could be seen picking up the remaining trash on the floor into the trash bag that Kumiko gave them.
The others also did the same without complaining. This was the education they had received since their childhood. The essence was one thing. Your mess, so you fixed it. At least, this taught children a sense of responsibility, not having to wait for any staff to fix everything for themselves.
After carrying the trash bag outside, Makino couldn’t help but wipe the sweat on his forehead before asking, "When will our train board from the station, Kumiko-chan?"
In return, Kumiko checked her watch, calculating silently before answering, "The train will board from Yokohama at 16:32, arriving at around 16:50. Then, we will have to go to the Narita Airport, and the plane’s departure time is 19:25. So, we still have the whole morning today."
Some ears perked up when they heard that. "Good! At least, we can still have some fun outside!"
"Come on! I found a good arcade nearby! Who wants to go there with me!"
Kumiko just shook her head in exasperation when she saw the boys’ enthusiasm. Well, not that she could blame them, since almost all their time in Yokohama was spent doing one training after another. Now, all they wanted was to enjoy every moment here before they had to go back to the cold and boring Hakodate again later.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Her phone suddenly buzzed, snapping the girl from her daydreaming. She arched one of her eyebrows lightly before checking on it. However, the moment the girl read the message, she couldn’t help but frown; her expression turned serious.
"Kuroki-kun, can you supervise everything here for me?" She asked the striker quietly.
The boy just did the same as the girl earlier, raising one of his eyebrows slightly. "Sure, but why me, though?" What he meant by that was that Makino was there, making sure that everything went alright.
However, Kumiko just shook her head here. "No, he and Ryukkun have to go with me right now. We will be back before noon."
Even though Kuroki was curious, he just gave a nod, reassuring the girl that everything would be alright. The boy also knew that once everything was over, he would get the full story at the end of the day.
Once everything was settled, Kumiko didn’t wait any longer. She dragged the two boys immediately, walking for about ten minutes with the guidance of Google Maps to find a location where they were meant to be. Well, at least that was the girl’s words, since those two didn’t really know what they were doing here.
"So, care to tell me what is going on, Kumiko-chan?" Makino asked, trying his best to hide his exasperation. "We have been walking around like three headless chickens, not knowing where to go, for God’s sake!"
"Because I myself don’t know where I am going right now!" Kumiko snapped, slightly irritated. "Care to help me find this damn InterContinental Hotel?!" She gave the phone to the boys before huffing annoyedly.
Those two just stared at each other awkwardly, with Makino never expecting that the girl would be so bad at reading the map. Well, Higo knew about it since they were childhood friends, but he decided not to bring it up right now.
"Well, it should be around this place, right?" Higo leaned slightly toward Makino’s side to see the phone, zooming in on the map there. "We should be two blocks too far from the hotel. We forgot to take a turn to the left road about two minutes ago."
"Yeah, that should be it." Makino nodded, confirming the boy’s guess.
With that in mind, the guide role changed hands from the girl to the boys, as they turned back to the road they had passed through earlier. True enough, soon, they found themselves standing at a massive hotel that was probably the best one in the town, with a sea view straight in front of the building.
Hell, as they stood there, Higo and Makino just stared at each other, unsure whether this was the place they were about to go or not.
"Are you sure we are meant to be here, Kumiko-chan?" Higo couldn’t help but ask.
Kumiko herself was also unsure about it. However, after checking her phone once again, she gave a slight nod before putting it back in her pocket. "Yes, come on. The person in charge has been waiting for us."
Well, this changed the nature of their demeanor right now. The boys coughed a little, clearing their throats immediately before fixing the collar of their winter coat for a moment. The fact that whoever they were going to meet decided to ask them to go to this place showed that this was not an ordinary man.
Once they were in the lobby, a man suddenly perked up, his face beaming in enthusiasm.
"Shishida-san, it is so nice to meet you!"