Game Changer | Petalz Ðÿœ¸ÐÿƑ Chapter XX

 Kazuha…

“Hey, where are you going?”

Chaewon appears before Sakura’s eyes, seemingly out of nowhere, and Sakura realizes she was following the medics until the midfielder stopped her, blocking her way.

Right… we’re still playing…

Looking around the field, she notices how there’s commotion taking place with the referee at its center. Players arguing and among them…

“Kaname,” she spits out the name like it’s venom.

The debilitating fear she felt just seconds ago morphs into burning rage, reaching its boiling point the moment she sees Kaname trying to convince the referee not to give her the red card. Her fists clench at her sides, and she ignores Chaewon calling out to her as she charges at the defender.

“The fuck is your problem?!” she snaps, shoving Kaname aside roughly. The woman stumbles a few steps back, and Sakura advances again. “Why the fuck would you do that?!” Another shove.

The referee steps in between them, and Sakura knows he’s saying something, but she can’t hear him over the ringing noise in her ears that only grows louder when Kaname smirks at her. Blinded by her rage, Sakura ignores the man, ready to lunge at the defender again, but someone locks their arms around her waist and pulls her away.

“Let go of me,” she seethes, struggling against the iron grip, but the arms don’t budge in the slightest.

“Drop it. She’s not worth it.” It’s Yunjin. Her voice is unusually stern, and she lets go of Sakura only once they are at a safe distance from Kaname. “Keep your shit together.” The goalkeeper fixes her with a pointed stare.

Sakura looks up at the dark sky and takes a few deep breaths. Then her gaze falls onto the scoreboard. The referee added five extra minutes; she got a yellow card, and there’s a substitution call for Kazuha.

Kazuha…

“Hey.” Yunjin takes hold of her arms, forcing her to look into her eyes. “She will be fine,” she assures, as if she’s reading her mind.

You don’t know that is what Sakura wants to say, but instead she only shakes her head, swallowing the tears that threaten to spill.

“Yunjin.” Chaewon runs up to them, a serious look on her face. “Take the free kick—”

“Haa?! Me?!”

“You’re the only one who can score from that far,” Chaewon says, calm and collected. With Mei off the field, she’s the one wearing the captain’s band on her arm. “I saw you do it during practice.”

“But if they manage to counterattack, that’s almost a guaranteed loss.” Yunjin’s forehead creases worriedly. “Is this even worth the risk?”

Kaname made sure to foul Kazuha just outside the penalty area. They could go for a cross, but Frontale’s players are all taller than them. They didn’t stand a chance against them when it came to header battles.

“Do it.” Sakura cuts in, her eyes following Kaname as she leaves the stadium, accompanied by whistles and boos. Someone even throws a bottle at her. Sadly, she dodges it. “We’re not settling for a draw.”

“And they say I’m the crazy one,” Yunjin mutters under her breath as she trots towards the ball while Sakura and Chaewon leave to join the rest of the team in the penalty box.

Frontale’s goalkeeper shouts directions to the four players that form a wall, and once they’re ready, the referee blows his whistle.

The entire stadium falls into a hush of anticipation. With a few steps back, Yunjin takes a run-up and shoots. The ball soars above the players’ wall, then dips and swerves, hurtling toward the top corner of the goal. The goalkeeper can only stare helplessly as the ball strikes the net.

As the crowd erupts into a frenzy of cheers and applause, Chaewon and Yunjin run to each other.

“Holy shit! Did you see that?!” the goalkeeper shouts over the noise.

They meet halfway, with Yunjin scooping Chaewon into her arms and lifting her into the air, as if it were Chaewon who scored the goal and not the other way around. Soon, they are surrounded by the rest of the team. Everyone is showering Yunjin with praise and words of amazement over the beautiful goal.

Sakura walks up to her only after the rest of their teammates disperse.

“Thank you,” she mutters, emotions clogging her throat.

Yunjin smiles and pats her gently on the head with her gloved hand. “Cheer up. She’s gonna be fine.” She throws her arm around Sakura’s shoulder and pulls her into a side hug as they return to their half of the field.

But as much as Sakura wants to believe Yunjin, her words bring her no comfort. All she can think of is Kazuha’s face contorted with pain. The dreadful image overlaps in her head with flashes of her dad being carried off the field on a stretcher, creating a bizarre collage that starts to make her feel dizzy and nauseated.

Once the final whistle blows, she doesn’t waste any time and runs off the field towards their coach.

“Where’s Kazuha?” she asks.

The man stares at her, clearly taken aback by her frenzied state that she sees reflecting in his wide eyes. “They took her to the hospital for an x-ray.”

“Which hospital?”

He tells her the address; it’s just half an hour walk from the stadium, and so she runs. The way she ran years ago down the stands towards her dad, until her mom stopped her, right when she was about to jump over the barriers. But today, there’s no one to stop her.

She bursts through the hospital door and makes her way to the reception desk. The woman sitting behind it stares at her, dumbfounded.

“Nakamura Kazuha…” she pauses, gasping for air. “Which room?”

“I’m sorry, Miss. Are you a family member?” Judging by the woman’s skeptical tone, she already knows the answer.

Sakura is ready to beg the woman to let her see the girl, but then she hears a familiar voice behind her.

“Sakura?”

She turns around and sees Daisuke, his brows furrowed as he looks her up and down.

“Daisuke.” She rushes over to him and grabs his arm. “Please, you have to help me. Do you know where I can find Kazuha? She was supposed to be admitted for an x-ray.”

“Okay, calm down, Sakura.” He gently places his hands on her arms. “You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

“No, listen.” She recoils and makes a step back. “I have to see her. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

“I understand,” Daisuke says, gesturing for her to calm down. “But please, take a seat and wait here. I promise I’ll be right back, okay?”

Sakura shakes her head because nothing is okay, and she feels like she’s about to lose her damn mind.

“Did you win?” the man asks, a kind smile on his thin lips.

Sakura blinks and swallows the lump in her throat. “Y-yeah. We did.”

“Good. I’ll tell her, okay?”

She nods and lets the man sit her down on one of the plastic chairs in the hallway. Then she watches as he disappears in the maze of hospital corridors.

With each passing minute, she finds it harder and harder to stifle the rising panic within her. She chews on her lips, her right leg bouncing incessantly as painful memories come back to her in flashes.

When after hours spent in the waiting room, she approached her father’s hospital bed and couldn’t recognize the man laying in it. His face was hollow and wrinkled, like he had aged ten years within those few hours spent in the operating room. His eyes, devoid of their warmth, stared somewhere ahead, not even acknowledging her or her mother’s presence in the room. She knew right then and there that it was over for him. That he would never play soccer again. And it killed him—crushed his soul. And maybe that day, in that cold hospital room, some part of her died too.

And now Kazuha…

She hangs her head as tears spill from her eyes. She can’t bear the thought that something like that may happen to the girl. That she may never celebrate another goal. That they may not win the World Cup together. That her eyes may lose their softness and warmth. That she may… lose her…

“Sakura?” She looks up, and through her blurry vision, she sees Daisuke’s smiling face. “Room 18. Down the hallway.”

“Thank you,” she mumbles as she jumps to her feet and runs past the man.

16… 17… 18…

With a pounding heart, she flings the door open, and Kazuha’s eyes meet hers, confused but familiar. She’s sitting at the edge of the hospital bed, with her right foot not in a cast, as Sakura has imagined, but simply bandaged.

“You’re still in your jersey?” The girl chuckles, and the sound immediately fills Sakura with relief.

She shuffles to the bed, her cleats squeaking against the rubber floor. And as she sits down, Kazuha’s eyes roam her face worriedly.

“You’ve been crying?” The girl lifts her hand and gently cups Sakura’s cheek.

Eyes closing, Sakura leans into the warm touch.

I thought I’ve lost you…

She lets out a shaky breath before she reaches out and wraps her arms around Kazuha, hugging her tightly like she wants to make sure that this is real, that Kazuha won’t disappear, won’t leave her.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Kazuha whispers with a hint of a smile in her voice.

Stifling her sobs, Sakura tucks her head beneath the girl’s chin, seeking more of her warmth and comfort. Kazuha responds by holding her close against herself, gently stroking her back. And finally, the heaviness squeezing her chest fades away entirely, and her shoulders relax.

“What did the doctor tell you?” she asks, not breaking the embrace.

“My ankle is badly bruised and swollen,” Kazuha says wryly. “But they’ve found no fractures, and tendons are intact, luckily. Still, I’ll have to skip a match or two.”

“Two?” Sakura huffs out a groan against Kazuha’s shoulder. “I’m going to kill Kaname.”

“Please don’t.” Kazuha laughs. “I don’t think they play soccer in prison.”

Sakura lets out a chuckle. “Fine. I’ll reconsider.”

“So tell me, did I do good on that spin?”

Sakura lifts her head, her face scrunching up in thought. “It could have been better.”

“Ah…” Kazuha lowers her gaze dejectedly.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura gently flicks Kazuha on the forehead. “I’m joking, dummy. It was perfect. When did you even learn to do it? I haven’t seen you practice that during the training.”

The girl looks away, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

“I-I’ve been watching video compilations of you doing it. I’ve watched them so many times that at some point… she trails off, her face and neck now flushed. “They started playing in my dreams.”

“Oh…” Sakura feels her ears turn red.

Was this what she was dreaming of when we were in Seoul? She briefly wonders, but then Kazuha clears her throat, catching her attention.

“Anyway, Daisuke said you won. Have you scored?”

Sakura shakes her head. “Yunjin did it, from a free kick.”

“Yunjin?”

“Yeah, it was Chaewon’s idea. You have to watch it. It was pretty awesome,” Sakura says, then adds, “Come on, let’s get you home. I hate hospitals.”

Kazuha nods with a chuckle, and Sakura helps her stand up, locking her arm firmly around her waist.

After the girl takes care of all the formalities with the doctors, Sakura reattaches herself to her side to help her walk, and they go back to the main hall where, to their surprise, they find Chaewon and Yunjin waiting for them.

“Finally! What took you so long?” Chaewon scowls, her arms crossed over her chest. “Daisuke told us you should be here any minute, but we’ve been waiting half an hour already.”

“Heyy, it’s okay, Wonnie,” Yunjin interjects her girlfriend’s rant. “No need to get so upset. Anyway, how’s your leg, Zuha? We worried that maybe something had changed and you had to stay longer.”

“It’s all good,” Kazuha assures with a smile.

Sakura frowns. “No, it’s not. She may have to pause for two games.”

“Ouch… Yeah, that does suck, but hey! Could have been worse, right?” Yunjin remarks, as always, trying to keep the spirits high.

Sakura’s gaze shifts to the floor, but before she slips into her over-thinking mode, Kazuha pulls her closer against her side, and she looks up at her, taken aback.

“Yeah. I’ll be back to playing in no time.” She winks at Sakura before turning to Yunjin. “Though I may have to leave the free kicks to you. Sakura told me about the goal.”

“Ahh.” Yunjin smiles, looking somewhat bashful. “Nah, that won’t be necessary. Although I have to admit, it was a pretty awesome feeling to score against Frontale.”

“All’s well that ends well,” Kazuha sums up with a toothy grin.

Sakura shakes her head at her endless optimism, yet she can’t help smiling as well.

“Okay guys, let’s go.” Chaewon chimes in, twirling her car keys around her finger. “We still need to go back to the stadium to pick up Sakura’s stuff. By the way, the coach wants to see you first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

Sakura winces. Coach Takahashi will most surely demand an explanation for her erratic behavior—running off the field like a madwoman. But she’ll worry later about that. What’s important now is to get Kazuha home safely.

However, as Chaewon mentioned, first they make a stop at the stadium. Sakura changes her clothes quickly, and it’s only when she’s back in the car that she notices there’s an unread message on her phone.

Dad
that defender did you a favor
don’t waste this opportunity

Her stomach churns with nausea as she reads the callous words. She cannot comprehend why her dad would become like this. Sure, he was strict with her sometimes when she was a kid, but heartless and cruel? Never. And it scares her again—just how much a person can change.

She closes the phone without texting him back. She can’t imagine how she could possibly reply to his words, anyway. But jokes on him…

She looks at the girl sitting beside her, and as if sensing her gaze, Kazuha turns to stare at her questioningly. But Sakura just leans her head on her shoulder and takes her left hand into her right, loosely intertwining their fingers together.

Because yes, Kaname did her a favor.

She made her realize just how much Kazuha means to her.

🌸🍃

It’s close to midnight when they finally arrive at home. Sakura leads Kazuha to the living room and sits her down on the couch. She then picks up Hana-chan, who just came in to check on them, and places her on the girl’s lap.

“I heard cats have healing properties,” she says in reply to Kazuha’s and Hana-chan’s confused stares.

Squinting, Kazuha puckers her lips in thought. “Does this also count for cat-like people?”

Puzzled by the odd question, Sakura blinks, but as the meaning of Kazuha’s words slowly sinks in, she feels her entire face turn red.

“Idiot ,” she mumbles, watching as Kazuha’s lips curl into a cheeky grin. She then stalks off to the kitchen and opens the fridge. “What would you like to eat? We have some onigiri. And I can make us omurice if you want. There’s also leftover curry rice.”

“It’s okay. I’ll grab myself something.”

Sakura frowns, closes the fridge, and marches back to the living room. “Sit. Down,” she orders, seeing how Kazuha tries to stand up.

The girl freezes, then plops right back onto the couch. “O-okay,” she chuckles. “Then curry rice is fine, I guess.”

Sakura nods and returns to the kitchen to prepare their meal. When it’s ready, she goes back to Kazuha and helps her with walking to the kitchen and sitting on the stool. They’re eating in silence, but Sakura can’t help but notice how Kazuha’s eyes keep veering to her face.

“Do you want to talk about something?” she asks offhandedly without looking at the girl.

“I guess I’m just curious.”

“About?”

“Why have you reacted that way? Running to the hospital the second the match ended. Not even changing your clothes.”

Sakura tenses up. She didn’t expect the girl to question her about that. Just sort of accept it and move on. Maybe bring it up some time later, but surely not so soon and not so bluntly.

“But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Kazuha assures, giving Sakura an easy way out of this conversation.

She doesn’t want to take it, though. There’s already too much stuff between them that’s left unspoken.

“When I saw you being carried off the field on a stretcher,” Sakura begins, her eyes staring absently at her empty plate, “I remembered my dad’s injury. And I…” she trails off, the heaviness of her emotions clogging her throat.

“You thought I wouldn’t be able to play soccer again?” Kazuha prompts tentatively.

Sakura exhales shakily, nodding.

“But that’s not all,” she fiddles with her chopsticks as she continues to speak, “You see, my dad hasn’t been the same person ever since his career ended. He’s cold and distant. Harsh, at times. Because of that, my mother divorced him, and my relationship with him has also deteriorated. And I was afraid it’d happen again. You’d change, and… I don’t know… We’d grow apart, I guess.”

“Sakura…” Kazuha breathes out, voice faltering. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”

Sakura looks up at the girl with a sad smile. “Don’t be. None of what happened was your fault.”

“I won’t change,” Kazuha says, startling Sakura as she reaches across the table to grab her hand. “I promise. No matter what.”

Sakura’s breath hitches. “…Why?”

“Because I…” Kazuha falters and looks away. “I don’t want us to ever grow apart,” she admits in a small voice.

Sakura smiles, giving Kazuha’s hand a gentle squeeze. Their eyes meet again. And it isn’t curiosity, fascination, or desire that she sees reflected in these soft brown eyes. It’s something far deeper and stronger, yet tender at the same time.

But still, it remains unspoken.

🌸🍃

Jogging without Kazuha is a miserable experience, somber and dull even despite the sunny weather. There’s no one to look at; no one to distract Sakura with the way too happy for this early hour smile. And to make matters worse, today, the entire park seems to be full of couples—occupying benches, strolling along the riverbank, and even jogging together. Their blissful, love-struck expressions seem to be mocking Sakura, and when a girl passes her by with her fluffy Samoyed prancing happily beside her, she decides she has had enough of this. She swivels around and starts running back home.

Entering the apartment, she’s taken aback by a sweet smell wafting from the kitchen and immediately goes to check what Kazuha is up to.

“Oh, good morning, Sakura. You’re quite early,” the girl greets her as she sets a plate full of pancakes on the kitchen island.

Sakura feels her heart swell, but only for a moment, because then she notices Kazuha limping while moving around the kitchen.

“Zuha, what are you doing?” she asks sternly, frowning at the girl. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

Kazuha shrugs. “I was hungry,” she says, sitting down on a stool and grabbing a pancake.

Sakura looks at the amount of food prepared. It’s a lot, even for someone with as voracious appetite as Kazuha’s. Shaking her head, she makes her way to the kitchen island, takes her seat across the girl, and grabs a pancake. It’s delicious. Sweet, warm, and fluffy. Just like Kazuha.

“Do you like it?” the girl asks, eyebrows raising in anticipation.

“Yeah,” Sakura admits, but quickly adds, “but tomorrow I’m making breakfast, understood?”

Kazuha nods, beaming.

After they finish eating, Sakura does the dishes and then gets ready for her meeting with the coach. But before she leaves, she tells Kazuha to just lay down on the couch or in her bed, watch some series, and limit her movements to the absolute minimum. The girl promptly promises to do just that.

The meeting with the coach doesn’t last long. And that’s mostly due to the fact that Sakura doesn’t really have any explanation for him. She simply promises that it won’t happen again, and he reluctantly lets her off the hook this time.

On her way home, dad texts her about training. She honestly would prefer to stay at home today and keep an eye on Kazuha, but she hasn’t seen him in over a week, and she also wants to tell him that the girl is actually fine and nothing serious has happened to her.

When she returns home, she’s glad to find Kazuha laying on the couch, scrolling through her phone with Hana-chan curled up on her stomach, purring.

“How did it go? Was he angry with you?” Kazuha asks as Sakura brings her a glass of water from the kitchen.

“No. More concerned than anything,” she says, sitting down next to Kazuha’s outstretched legs. Her foot is still swollen, and red skin can be seen around the bandage. “Have you applied the ointment the doctor gave you?”

“Not yet.”

“Where is it?”

“In my room, on the nightstand.”

Sakura goes to grab it and comes back to the couch, gesturing for Kazuha to lay down her feet on her lap, which she does.

With slow, careful movements, Sakura unwraps the bandage and grits her teeth at the sight of a large, angry red bruise that covers Kazuha’s entire ankle and a bit of skin above and below it.

So maybe she won’t kill Kaname, but she can’t promise she won’t punch her in the face the next time they meet each other. And maybe she’ll even ask Yunjin to help her. She’s sure the blonde would comply while Chaewon and Kazuha could give them alibis.

“I swear it looks worse for what it actually is.” Kazuha’s reassuring voice pulls Sakura out of her scheming thoughts.

She nods and starts applying the ointment, rubbing it in gently with her fingertips. “Does it hurt?” she asks, looking up at the girl.

Kazuha shakes her head. “It feels nice, actually.”

Feeling her cheeks heat up a little, Sakura focuses her attention back on the task and gingerly bandages Kazuha’s foot.

“Done,” she says, closing the tube and tossing it on the coffee table.

Kazuha thanks her and examines her foot from each side while still keeping it on Sakura’s lap. “You’re really good at this.”

“Well, thanks, but I’d honestly prefer it if I didn’t have to do this.”

“I know.” Kazuha smiles. “So. Do you have any plans for today?” she asks.

“Training with dad,” Sakura replies, watching how the girl’s smile dims in disappointment. “But that’s in the evening, so until then we can watch some movies, if you want.”

Kazuha perks up. “That’d be nice. And we could order some kimchi jjigae later.”

“Sure.” Sakura chuckles at the girl’s enthusiasm, which reminds her of the happy Samoyed from the morning.

And that’s how they spend the afternoon—on the couch, with Hana-chan, just watching anime while enjoying food and snacks. They talk, laugh, and even shed some tears, and the peaceful domesticity of it all makes Sakura’s chest swell with warmth and affection she hasn’t experienced in years. She almost forgets that she has to leave for training until Kazuha reminds her of it.

“Right,” she mutters, standing up from the couch after Kazuha retracts her legs from her lap. “See you later then.”

Holding Hana-chan’s paw, Kazuha waves at her. “See you.”

The cat meows, disgruntled, making them both laugh.

🌸🍃

“Kazuha’s leg is okay. From what I’ve heard, only her ankle is bruised, and she may have to skip one match,” Sakura tells her dad after he asks if she knows how ‘eleven’ is doing.

The man clicks his tongue. “That’s unfortunate.

Sakura’s jaw shifts in barely contained anger. “Why?” she questions. Her dad stares at her, visibly caught off guard. “Would you prefer if something worse happened to her? Something like what happened to you?”

“It’s not about me, Sakura,” the man snaps, making Sakura flinch. “I want what’s best for your career. And I thought you wanted to win the World Cup, but right now, you cannot even make it into the team. If you’re planning on breaking your promise, tell me now so that I can stop wasting my time with you. You’re making me regret that I’ve even contacted you in the first place.” He turns around and starts walking away.

The same way he did years ago, after the divorce had been finalized. The day before, she’d argued with her mom about quitting soccer, and the next day, she came back from school to find her dad’s suitcase packed. She didn’t know where he was heading or if she was ever going to see him again. Fear gripped her heart as tears streamed down her cheeks. She already knew she’d lost her mom, and now she was losing her dad.

And it’s happening again—the same fear twisting her insides as she watches her dad’s retreating figure.

“Wait! Don’t leave!” she yells, her words echoing in the empty hall. “I want to win. I have to win.”

I have to make it right…

The man stops, and after a moment of silence, which for Sakura seems to stretch into eternity, he says, “One last chance. I give you one last chance, Sakura. Don’t disappoint me.”

🌸🍃

When Sakura comes back home, she wants nothing more than to just throw herself on her bed and fall asleep. Her dad had decided to remind her just how torturous his training routines could be. As a result, her legs and arms throb with pain like she hasn’t felt in weeks.

But there’s one more thing she needs to do before she goes to sleep, so after she takes a shower and changes her clothes, she goes to knock on the door to Kazuha’s room.

The girl opens, visibly perplexed to see her. “Sakura?”

“And who did you expect? Leo Messi?” she intones sarcastically, a natural side effect of her exhaustion. “I came to check on your foot. Have you changed the bandage?”

Kazuha bows down her head meekly. “A-ah, no, not yet.”

Not waiting for an invitation, Sakura shuffles inside, sighing, and grabs the ointment from the nightstand, then plops down on the bed, gesturing for Kazuha, who still stands by the door, still perplexed, to join her.

The girl finally gets the hint and goes to make herself comfortable on the bed, letting Sakura take care of her injury.

“Sakura?”

“Hm?”

“Would you go with me on a trip once I recover?”

Sakura’s brows knit together as she stops unwrapping the bandage and glances at the girl. “A trip? To where?”

Kazuha grins, her eyes twinkling with giddy mischief. “It’s a secret.”

“You’re being weird again.” Sakura rolls her eyes tiredly.

“Please?” The girl puts on her best puppy look, as if she exactly knows that Sakura can’t say no to it.

“Fine. Whatever,” Sakura concedes with a sigh as she’s left wondering just what on earth Kazuha is planning.

🌸🍃

The days leading to the next match pass by uneventfully, but after everything that happened, Sakura greatly appreciates the simple monotony of life. Although she has to admit that training without Kazuha feels a little bit depressing, especially with how affectionate Chaewon and Yunjin act towards each other, hugging whenever they can and stealing kisses when no one looks (or so they think). She cannot blame them, though. They’re trying to catch up on the time they’ve lost. But all that sadness (and maybe envy?) dissipates the moment Sakura walks through the door of her apartment.

“I’m back!”

“Welcome home.”

It’s so simple. So mundane. And yet, the smile on Kazuha’s face when she says those two simple words never fails to make Sakura’s heart flutter.

They have dinner together, during which they talk about how their day went. Kazuha tells her about another anime she watched and what a crazy dream she had, and then they somehow end up discussing whether people actually have two butts, and Kazuha insists that they do. Sakura has no idea how the topic was brought up but just rolls with it, providing counterarguments to the girl’s ridiculous claims. In the end, they agree to disagree.

And as Sakura’s doing the dishes, feeling Kazuha gazing at her from her seat by the kitchen island, she catches herself thinking that although all of this feels so right, there’s still something missing. And she knows it’s that unspoken part.

Because after they say their good nights and retreat to their separate rooms, that depressing feeling from earlier returns.

Twice as painful.

🌸🍃

The match day arrives. It’s an away game, but their rivals, Kashiwa Reysol, are from Chiba prefecture, so thankfully, they don’t have to travel far.

Coach Takahashi has decided that, with Kazuha’s absence and their rivals not being the most demanding ones, Sakura will be the only striker. Funny how, not so long ago, she’d be happy to hear this, but now she only thinks about Kazuha and how she hates the fact that the girl isn’t here. Nevertheless, she’ll make sure to do her best. Kazuha promised she’d cheer on her.

She thinks about it when their team enters the field, and that’s when she hears a familiar voice shout her name.

“SAKURRA!”

She looks up, and she’s left speechless. Because there, at the stands, among their supporters, is no one else than Kazuha herself.

The girl takes off her jacket, revealing their club’s jersey underneath, then turns around and, with her thumbs, points to Sakura’s name on the back and the number nine. Seeing this, Sakura lets out a sound between a chuckle and a sob and lowers her head as tears well up in her eyes.

“That dork,” she mutters under her breath and gives a small wave.

Kazuha waves back ten times harder.

Sakura shakes her head, and out of the corner of her eye, she notices Chaewon smiling at her. The midfielder gives her a meaningful look, like she tries to tell her, ‘ now you know, how I felt ‘. And indeed, now she knows.

The match begins, and Sakura quickly assesses that it won’t be the most challenging one. Her predictions confirm when she scores the first goal just ten minutes later. She jumps into the air, pumping her fist in a celebration reminiscent of Kazuha’s. She looks towards the girl’s section and sees her cheering with the widest grin on her face.

And that grin is what keeps her going. She just can’t get enough of it, so she makes sure to give Kazuha more reasons to cheer. And that’s how she scores a hat-trick and an assist. The match ends on a 4:0 score, but Sakura knows that if Kazuha played with them, they might have scored twice as many goals.

When they finally leave the stadium, Sakura sees Kazuha waiting for her by the entrance gate while leaning on her crutch. And her first instinct after she approaches the girl is to pull her by her jacket and kiss her, but instead she goes for a hug.

“I see you’ve taken a leaf out of Yunjin’s book, hm?”

She feels Kazuha’s smile against her temple. “Please, you know I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It was fun cheering on you again like that. And before you ask, this trip has been approved by my physiotherapist.”

Sakura pulls back from the hug, looks into Kazuha’s shining, happy eyes, and wonders how something that’s unspoken can be heard so loud and clear, thumping in her chest and in her ears.

But now’s not the time nor the place to get an answer to this.

“Come on,” she says, sneaking her arm around Kazuha’s waist. “The team must be waiting on the bus already.”

🌸🍃

They’re arriving in Tokyo when Sakura’s phone lights up with a message from her dad. ‘Good job,’ it says. Two words. Two simple words that she hasn’t heard from him in years. And if she received them after any other match, she wouldn’t be able to contain her happiness. But today, that happiness is tainted by bitter disappointment.

He only said it because Kazuha wasn’t there.

She looks down to her shoulder, where Kazuha’s head rests after she dozed off, then to their loosely intertwined hands that occupy what little left of the space between their seats. She’s not sure when that even happened, but it doesn’t bother her.

She switches off the phone, sinks her palm further into Kazuha’s, and tries to forget that tiny flicker of joy her dad’s message sparked in her.

🌸🍃

“So? Are you going to tell me where you are taking me?” Sakura asks when she’s approaching the train station with Kazuha in tow.

Kazuha’s foot healed enough for her to resume the training, so when they finished today a bit earlier, she told Sakura she wanted to take her on that trip she mentioned over a week ago. It was a bit odd how impatient Kazuha was about it. She didn’t even want to wait for their day off, but Sakura felt no need to challenge her about it and simply agreed.

“Patience, Miyawaki-san. You’ll know soon enough,” Kazuha replies with a wink.

Sakura rolls her eyes at the girl’s insistence on acting all secretive. But then she’s left with even more questions as their train arrives, and she realizes it’s destination.

It’s Osaka—Kazuha’s hometown.