"Hello, I'm Tsukino Fujieda and I would like to visit Genzo." I must have seemed terribly naive, but as I later discovered, that was exactly the right tone to talk to Momoko, the housemaid. Momoko didn't know me, but she let me in and took me into the living room.
"I'll let the young gentleman know, he's in training right now, I'm sure he'll be here soon."
I nodded politely, just feeling awfully out of place. It had rained for the past few days, I slipped in a puddle and got dirty, I cried a little and now I must have looked terrible. And so here I sat, in the Wakabayashis' house, in the neatly tidy and well-kept living room, waiting. Certainly I hadn't waited very long but it felt like an eternity before the door finally opened and a stern-looking man entered the room. I didn't know him and had the feeling that I was getting a few centimeters smaller under his gaze. but before he could say anything I heard a familiar voice.
"A little girl?"
"Yes, madam," answered Momoko outside in the entrance area, "she is waiting in the living room." The next moment the stern-looking man was pushed aside and Mrs. Wakabayashi entered the room. On my second visit here, Genzo had just dragged me along so I could get to know his parents, I had found them both very nice and was now just happy to see a familiar face that also looked at me beaming with joy."Tsukino, little one, how nice to see you!" Genzo's mother shouted effusively, hugging me regardless of how I looked. I had politely got up when the stranger entered and hesitantly returned the hug.
"Mr. Mikami, this is Tsukino, you have already heard a thing or two about her here." She introduced me to the stranger.
“Tsukino, this is Mr. Mikami, he has been training Genzo for some time.” She said something else, but I didn't notice it anymore, I was speechless. Over the past year, of course, I had also trained myself in football, and the name Mikami simply couldn't be ignored. After all, he had been the goalkeeper of the Japanese national team for years.
"But child, how you look!" Mrs. Wakabayashi took me back from the amazement and looked me over critically.
"We'll fix that now, Genzo has to change his clothes after training and then you can watch the final of the Junior National Championship together." whole face beamed.
It took forever until she was done with me, but she hadn't let me go back and put me in the bathtub and clean it up properly. In the end, the finale had already begun when I came back into the living room wearing some of Genzo's old clothes, where he and Mr. Mikami were already sitting on the sofa and looking at the television.
"Now hurry up, you've already missed the first quarter of an hour!" Genzo called to me when he noticed me.
Of course I didn't have to be told twice and the next moment I sat next to him on the sofa.
Mr. and Mrs. Wakabayashi also kept company as long and often as they could, because every now and then Momoko would come and tell them that they were required on the phone.
At halftime it was two to one for FC Nankatsu and we were happy
of course big. I was particularly proud of my brothers, both goals were scored by Haru and Natsu was able to prevent several shots on goal by the opponents.
When half-time began, Genzo immediately pulled me into the garden, not much had changed here, only now everything was geared towards professional goalkeeping training. We trained in silence for a few minutes, he was in the goal, I shot. However, Genzo broke the whole thing off quickly.
"You shoot horribly, but you could do that better in the past."
“I haven't been training for six months.” I justified myself.
Genzo looked at me blankly.
"I'm at Shirahara School now, where I have lessons all day, normal school in the morning, then a lunch break in which I can go home and then there are four more hours of workgroup, that means choir and flute for me."
"Does that mean you don't exercise any more?" he asked me in shock and I couldn't blame him.
I shook my head in dismay, I hadn't even noticed that it was the same.
"Not really, just a little bit of training when Natsu is home and Dad isn't."Now Genzo looked concerned too, but before we could deal with this issue any further, Mr. Mikami called us back into the living room because the game was going on. We watched the game in silence, but I still knew Genzo well enough knowing it was working behind his forehead, I just wasn't sure what he was thinking.
FC Nankatsu won, my brothers were both able to achieve several brilliant performances and in the end won by five to two.
After the broadcast, I was invited to dinner and watched Genzo's further training, I had to admit that not even the goalkeeper from FC Nankatzu was as good as my best friend, and he was already in sixth grade. I was sure that Genzo would soon play in the school team, and I was very proud of him too.
After all, I had to go home, even if my family wanted to be back late, I wanted to be home before them. My mother would probably not have bothered that I was not at home, only that I hadn't left a note where I wanted to go, there could be trouble but my father would certainly be angry with me, after all I evaded his punishment.
My dirty things had been washed and were already drying, Momoko gave them to me in a bag and Genzo came over with his old children's soccer ball tucked under his arm.
"I'll bring Tsukino home." He simply announced and pulled me out of the house again. I could just shout "goodbye" over my shoulder and then we were already out of earshot. Genzo pulled me with him to the nearby park and I let it happen without resistance. Once there, he let go of me and began to dribble the ball in front of him. At some point he matched it to me and now I ran a few meters with the ball before I passed back.
"You're on the Shirahara because you're not allowed to play football, right?" Genzo asked me when we had left the park behind us, we were still playing the ball to each other.
I just nodded in response to his question.
"And today you are only here and not in Tokyo because you still played football." This time it was more of a statement than a question.
"Something like that." I mumbled and just passed the ball back, we weren't far from the house I lived in now and Genzo stopped the ball with his foot.
"Actually, I only played a little with my little brother, and that with a ball," I explained.
"Your father is also getting more and more exhausting." He just said, shaking his head.
I didn't know what to say to that, so I was silent until it occurred to me that I had to be in the house when my parents came.
“I have to go in now.” So I said and looked at Genzo uncertainly. He was half a head taller than me and eyed me critically.
"I'll pick you up from school tomorrow." He then announced resolutely, "I'm probably in absolutely no condition."
"Really?" I asked surprised, at that moment I couldn't believe my luck.
"Of course, you know if I say something I'll do it too, moon child."My heart skipped a little when I heard the familiar nickname, only Genzo called me that, unless my mother didn't even know one of the nicknames that Genzo once gave me when he went on vacation with us.
"Tomorrow I have the afternoon off." I told them quickly. “Come and join us for lunch first, Mama will be happy and then we'll see.” I just gushed out and made him smile.
"With pleasure." He answered simply. "You should go now." He warned me immediately afterwards and I had to agree with him, it was starting to get dark and it was surprising enough that my parents weren't home yet, they had a six year old and not even one one year old baby with you.
"See you tomorrow, then." I said quickly and turned around. After a few meters, Genzo called me again.
When I turned around, the blue ball flew towards me. I took him in my chest and looked at Genzo, who just grinned.
"It's for you so you don't look so sad anymore."
I looked at him in disbelief. The ball had meant so much to him in the past, and even if he wasn't the most nostalgic person, it meant a lot that he just gave away this memento. It was immediately clear to me that I would cherish the ball, it was an important gift from my best friend and the first football-related gift I have ever received.
"If you get the chance you have to play something on the flute for me." Genzo demanded before he winked at me and turned to go home.
I just stood there for seconds, staring after him, until I heard a car and pulled myself out of my freeze. I hurried to our house and opened the door, frightened I realized that I had forgotten to lock, but I couldn't change that now. I carefully locked the door behind me, hid the emergency key again and ran up the stairs to the room I shared with my sister.
There I didn't have to think twice, I immediately ran to my wooden chest and put the ball in it. The chest was a present from my mother, I was supposed to put the things in there that were particularly important to me, the ball was definitely one of them.
I heard the door being closed for you downstairs and hurriedly closed the chest, put the padlock on and kept the key on the cord around my neck. That wasn't really necessary, but since I had heard two older students talking about a book in which the protagonist's parents read her diary, I preferred to back up my things directly. I peeked carefully out the door and finally ran downstairs when I heard my mother calling for me. I tried very hard not to show that I was, firstly, overjoyed and had a great day, and secondly, I already knew how the game had ended.