I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GRAND BLUE!

8man POV

Living beings have a tendency to create so-called 'safe zones' or 'comfort zones' for themselves. Like, take for an example, the cave of a bear. The bear snuggles up inside the cave during winter for 'hibernation' in order to protect itself from the harsh, biting winds that blow outside relentlessly that only the most strong willed members of the animal kingdom would dare to go against. Obviously, that behaviour is shared by the majority of intelligent species who have succeeded in overcoming Darwin's "Sudden Death" shootouts whenever pitted against the other members of the animal kingdom. As we go up higher on the "Species listed by descending order based on their Intelligence" list, these "comfort zones" and habitual tendencies come under two categories; one being the primal instinct and inbuilt mechanisms of the species as a whole and the other in which these are devised on-the-go whenever presented with an obstacle which would have been pretty much unsurmountable if not for the fact that the species have problem solving abilities.

Another example being the hunting territory of a carnivorous animal. The animal might try to go outside the confines of his territory, but it makes no sense for territorial creatures to wander out of their territory looking for their prey when they've already worked so hard in order to gain possession from the previous owner. After the animal wins over the area, in case the area was occupied by a community of its own kind it takes over the pre-existing harem and rules over the "worker" lot, as in case of a pride of lions. These 'zones' aren't necessarily actual zones nor are they meant to be taken literally, but in essence they may refer to certain habits or routines or places which someone..

*Peep*

The game commences with the ball set rolling.

Wait, when did we have a whistle?

Oh, it was Tobe. No surprises there. Riajuu-ness at its finest

And while I was having these inconsequential thoughts in my mind, Hayama flashes past me. Rather, leaving a red carpet open for him would be the more appropriate phrase for this moment.

Now, I am the kind of person who usually lets people have their way. Even if someone cuts in line before me at the mall, I never go on making an issue out of it and simply settle for a scowl and stare at the aforementioned miscreant. But nothing makes feel more disgusted than being one-upped by the Charming Prince Hayama. Even though I had made it a rule to not get sucked into a competition with him, something about him still ticks me off.

As he is getting mobbed by Wakamatsu senpai and the other guy Hiroshi, I slip in behind them to prevent them from advancing towards the goal. Hayama beats Hiroshi but is completely covered by Wakamatsu. But he somehow finds some space to thread a through ball to Nii san. And now I'm facing him.

'Hey Hachi, facing me so soon?' teases Nii san, as if he thinks that is going to get me riled up. I take some distance from him, trying to cut off all possible dribbling lanes. He rolls the ball to his right with the underside of his boot. I shift a bit towards him but he drags back the ball and hits it with his other foot, nutmegging me in the process.

'Geh' I wince internally as I realize I've been had for. But I've played against too many flashy players during my stint in the middle school team that I remember that getting nutmegged is almost never the end of the world.

Unless your opponent is Messi or Suarez. Then it would almost certainly result in a goal.

Track back immediately. Caught Nii-san near the corner. Not falling for another trick again. Sure, my reflexes might be slower than before but Nii-san rolls the ball again, lifts the ball with his other foot and flicks over me…..that can be easily handled.

Or so I thought.

Rather, it's a lob towards Yoshitake who takes a volley on the first time and the ball finds the back of the net. Opponents – 1, My team – 0.

It took me a little while to interpret what had just happened. He did skill moves that are easy to practice with oneself but require extreme precision and timing to get it right. The first one especially got on my nerves because I wasn't aware enough of an opening in my defence and I obviously had overestimated my reflex speed. I bit my lip in dismay of what I had allowed to happen.

Wakamatsu senpai came up to me and said 'Heh, looks like Kazuma pulled a fast one over you, though this is to be expected, and I'm not even talking about your rustiness. Don't mind Junior, although if this had happened while you were in the team, you know what your fate would have been' smirks Wakamatsu with an evil grin.

(Five minutes pass)

The score is 4 – 2, with Nii-san's side dominating in possession and number of shots. We were barely putting up with some largely ineffective counter attacks and just my luck, I got pretty tired.

'Hey Nii-san, I'm subbing out for five minutes'

'What? We've barely started and you're down!' exclaims Nii-san with a surprised and disappointed face and motions me out of the field.

Don't show me that face. I've already seen enough dejected faces from my family members, don't start off a new trend in my extended family. Very soon I'll be bestowed the title "Most Disappointing Member of the Hikigaya Clan" at a family reunion party in the near future.

As I was getting out the cage, I hear another voice from the field. 'Uh, I'll also sit out temporarily as otherwise, the number of players would be unbalanced' chimes in none other than Hayama, which elicits a dreamy reaction from Miura. Seriously woman? That's all it takes for you to fawn and gush over your crush?

As I make my way towards the stands, sweat dripping from my brows, I'm greeted by the faces of my club-mates. Oh my, I am in for a verbal beating from our beloved club-president.

'Hikigaya kun, I advise you to start getting accustomed to society as I know you sweat buckets while talking to strangers, almost twice the amount while talking to the female sex. See, you're already out of the field in almost five minutes. Better replenish yourself with fluids.' she says as she tosses a bottle of Gatorade towards me. No need to act Tsundere on me, m'kay?

I strut off towards the empty seats in the makeshift stands and see Hayama going towards his group where he starts chatting up a storm with Tobe and Miura. Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were discussing some trivial topic as ascertained by the non-involved face of Yukinoshita.

'Dammit. My stamina is nothing compared to before when I used to regularly play. Also, there is nothing more irritating than not being able to stop something that you correctly predict. If it were the me from years ago, I would have easily taken possession of the ball that went through my legs.'

What am I even thinking, huh.

If this were an actual match, Nii-san wouldn't be so loose on the ball. He is the kind of player who only attempts the 'Panna' on opposition players who are advancing towards him so that they don't get a chance to repossess the ball. And he is someone who likes to keep the ball near his feet, not someone who randomly shoots or lobs it over the defence.

And correct I was, as I viewed the game from the sidelines. Nii-san had improved his deftness of touch, and it was impossible to get the ball off him without using a second defender. Even though possession of the ball means nothing if you aren't able to break through the defence of your opponent, he wasn't a one trick pony. He had an excellent eye for picking out short to medium ranged passes, ranging from lobs, through balls, backheels, etc. Pair him up with a speedy striker or winger, and you'd be sure that the other team would be on their nerves, especially their goalkeeper, after seeing his play in the first twenty minutes.

But as this is just a recreation match, I am not able to see what skills he had developed and perfected in those years when I was away from the game. Not that I am sure I will ever be able to see him play on an amateur or professional level again, but I am happy that he still enjoys the game that he has loved so much from his childhood days and has strived to be a part of on an amateur level, working on his skills and stamina daily.

Unlike me.

Flashback

Practice match between Hikigaya's middle school and a nearby rival school.

The score is 1-1 at the 88th minute. Wakamatsu senpai is out injured, and since the senior members have left, the first years are out playing. The other team is completely dominating the possession with us relying only on counters to even just get shots to the other side. But the main problem is that we don't have a midfield engine who is pressing the opposition into forcing a mistake. Our interim captain Yoshitake is currently barking out orders even though he is visibly exhausted, panting heavily. He is trying to hound the ball-playing centre backs for the ball, but his efforts obviously aren't coming to fruition. The newer members of our team on the field are just letting the opposition players dribble through them and aren't tracking back enough. Even though I would have liked to press the opposition players for the ball, but in case I'm found out of position we would most certainly lose control in the middle of the park and we would be overrun by the rival midfielders.

Suddenly, we gain control of the ball. Negima, one of my popular classmates (a winger) who has a bad habit of keeping the ball to himself and losing it in the process, sprints forward with the ball ahead of me. Seeing that there weren't any teammates in our vicinity, I decided to take a risk by moving down the wing in support of Negima.

I see an opponent defender covering his escape route, and I remember the guy to be one of the best defenders in the prefecture. Seriously, the guy is 6ft tall and heavily built, and the guy is dominating the area whenever we get the set pieces, rising over everyone else and clearing the ball at the first opportunity. And he also has that tremendous burst of acceleration that is required in the modern full-back in order to start attacks down the wing from your own half. That's too damn unfair that they not only just have 6 feet tall centre-backs, but they also have a wide back of a similar build.

'Negima, don't rush! Pass the ball to me. I'll spray it towards our forwards' I shout but Negima turns a deaf ear to my advice. As he is covered by the gigantic hulk of a player, he rolls the ball to his left, performs a stepover and knocks the ball forward but the opposition player intercepts the ball and puts the ball through Negima's legs in the process. As he stands there dazed, I shout 'Fall back, fall back! It's a counter!' but the guy gives up on tracking back.

I decide to take matters in my own hands. Seeing the relative position of the opposition players in support of the player carrying the ball alongside the touchline out of the corner of my eyes, I motion to Fujisaki, a third year playing as a right back, to execute the defensive routine we had been following since last year whenever these kinds of situations cropped up. He went up to face the player, covering all the passing lanes ahead of him and to his side. Using 'Stealth Hikki', I adjust my position. As Fujisaki makes a fake charge towards the guy, he purposely opens up his legs in the process. Seeing the 'opening', the opposition defender nutmegs Fujisaki in order to get away from him.

All according to plan.

I quickly move up towards the rolling ball, take possession of it, and beat the currently steamrolling opposition player by inches to his right after performing a quick feint. I then initiate a one-two passing sequence with Fujisaki, and after receiving the ball in open space, I decide to drive diagonally towards the middle. As I near the opposition team's penalty box, I spot an unmarked Negima on the left flank who is onside, to whom I pass the ball through the two defenders marking me. He takes on the opposition centre-back who is pulled out of position, cuts inside by knocking the ball and is probably taking a shooting stance..?!

Don't go solo, Negima, pls. We know you suck at shooting and there still is a defender in front of you. I'm there outside the box, pass, please! I'm unmarked!

But he goes for glory.

The ball goes a mile over the crossbar. The seniors show disgusted expressions at that little display of selfishness. Even I shot a glare at the player accountable. The whistle is blown as soon as the goal kick is taken. Everyone shakes hands with the opposing players and move towards the changing rooms. No one is satisfied at the result, not with so many mistakes committed by both teams relating to possession, tactics and defensive stability.

Thankfully, our coach wasn't there to supervise our team today otherwise we would have been chewed out thoroughly.

Even I had half a mind to confront Negima regarding all his solo plays and berate him for his decision making; but what good it be to vent out my frustrations on a single player when the whole team was playing such lacklustre and uninspired football. Seriously, Toshiro shouldn't have given that one week break after the end term exams. He shouldn't have been lenient with those members who made excuses to skip the training sessions. He should have stamped his authority on the slackers just like Nii-san had done it the year before.

But something had to be done.

The last upload ended with a cliffhanger, so will this one. Muaaahahaha!...

….Ahem.

Juggling college studies, exams, studies, projects have made me into a person who stopped watching anime (Except for seasonal ones, though) and started me on reading manga. And I honestly forget about the fic from time to time.

If you think this is a shitty chapter, this is because I didn't bother to update the chapter I'd written 2 months ago. Don't expect regular updates.

Also, thank you for your kind comments, everyone.