(Manga spoilers ahead!!) 

For those who may get confused later on. 

Hakuho: Reo's team

Aomori (Dadada High school): Nameoka's team. 

Ayo Nameoka: The captain of Aomori high school

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

Chapter 1: A different Path

Through the busy hallway of students, glancing out the window, and watching their half-assed soccer team with their usual training session, Reo Mikage, a promising star, he couldn't help but feel he could do something about his school team. He paused and brushed his finger against the glass. 

He really did want to play, show the other school what he was made off, but it didn't seem right. What could be the thing he was missing? A personal trainer? A coach? A partner?

He blinked a few times; his hand had stopped tracing a line over the glass. Just as he turned to leave, his phone buzzed in his pocket. 'A message?'

He pulled it out and he scanned the screen. It was a message from a friend of his, from the soccer team. He peered back outside to see their soccer team, and no doubt, his friend was outside, holding his phone in the air and waving back at Reo. 

He looked back down and at the message and read. 'You in for the game this weekend?'

Reo stared at the message, his fingers hovering over his screen. 'What should I say?' He thought. 

Though he would have answered with 'Yep! Of course! I'm in!', he hesitated. Maybe today wasn't such a good day, nor were the following, nor the days afterwards.

"Sorry," Reo said aloud as he typed in his message. "I won't be coming this time. I'll have to pass." And send. Even if he hated the feeling of not playing soccer with his friends, a sensation in his head had told him to 'wait' and 'this isn't the right time yet' feeling. 

He took a deep breath, turned and headed straight for his next class, but before he could take another step, his phone buzzed once again. 

'Wait, what? You serious? You never pass on a game!'

He though back once more, questioning if he should have explained himself. But, his friend probably wouldn't understand. He turned off his phone and placed it back into his pocket, making his way down the hall. 

Just as he was about to pass the stairs, a though had entered his mind. 'I'll just tell him why I don't want to come. I'm sure he'll understand it better than writing it through text.' 

He let out a quiet sigh and headed towards the stairs, 'maybe I can even meet some of the other players from the team. Or even better, I'll recruit more players into joining the team!' 

A second before his foot had reached the first step, his classmate had called out to him from the end of the hallway. 

"Reo! Hey, Reo!" 

He froze, then turned slowly towards his left. His classmate, Hinoto, jogged over to him with a grin on his face. "Yo! You alright? I've been looking for you all over, man. We're supposed to go grab lunch with the others, remember?"

Reo blinked, still processing what he'd just said. Hinoto raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, confused. "Hello? are you alright, Reo?" He waved his hand in front of Reo's face. 

Reo gazed back at the stairs one last time before answering. "No, it's nothing," Reo said, shaking his head and forcing a smile. "Let's go grab something to eat. I'm starving." 

Hinoto gave him a curious look, but didn't bother Reo any further. The two of them walked off together, leaving the stairs behind. As they walked away, Reo didn't look back. But he felt as if he missed something important, maybe something that could have changed his destiny, and something worthwhile.

That night, as Reo sat in his room, he found himself watching the soccer highlights from the World Cup again. What was this feeling that kept tugging on him? 

Rewatching his favourite moments all over again, trying to shake off what was bothering him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder, 'why was I feeling so hesitant when Hinoto came over? I did promise him we'd have lunch with the others, but why was I so, out of place?' 

Just a few days later, he had a match against a powerhouse, Aomori Dadada High school. 

It wasn't just any regular game. This match had been arranged by his father as a test to see if it was really worthy chasing his goal, or if it was just another short-lived dream. 

"We're gonna take this naive, pampered little prince's dream and smash it into pieces." Aomori's captain, Ayo Nameoka spoke with confidence as his team walked into the field. "Nice to meet you, silver spoon."

Reo didn't flinch. He held his ground, locking his eyes with Nameoka's. "you're the naive ones, you stupid jock..." he said, voice steady. He smirked, tying his hair and declared. "You still don't know what a true prodigy looks like!"  

Kick Off!!

The match had started, with Nameoka's team securing the ball. 

Reo observed the match from afar, carefully calculating the perfect time to seize control of the game. 'Their go-to strategy is getting the ball to their striker, captain Nameoka, then using his physique to control the field with raw strength!' 

Nameoka was caught in a triangle formation, a technique Reo and his team had been practicing the last few days. 

"Ha! I get it..." Nameoka sneered, glancing around. "These weaklings are trying to swamp me with their numbers! ...Think again losers!!" 

Almost within a blink of an eye, Nameoka sent a quick pass to his teammate, who trapped the ball with their foot before returning it to him. He signalled his teammates to close in forming their own little triangle formation. 

He passed the ball to his teammate, who passed it to his others teammates and so on, one player to the next.

They were getting closer and closer to the goal post the more they passed, and Reo's teammates had started feeling the pressure. 

"Haha!" Nameoka snickered, "Looks like you pampered princes are nothing but small fry! You really though you could beat us with one play?!"

.

"That pass for you? I'll just help myself." Reo flew in and snatched the ball that had been heading towards Nameoka. Reo peered to his teammates and they all immediately started running back to Aomori's goal post. 

"Now then, lets go Hakuho!!" 

'Now that I stole the ball, we pull the trigger!' Reo's teammates sprinted towards the outer wing of the field, creating an open gap in the center of the field.

'First we'll head up both wings and spread out, to make a wide-open space in the center! We'll use short passes to move the ball up the field while making it harder to steal!' 

Just as the ball was passed back to him, two of Aomori's defenders had close up, trapping Reo between the two. 

"Look out Reo, behind you!-" His teammate called out. 

But, Reo was already a step ahead. In a blink of an eye, he swiftly dribbled the ball between one of the defender's legs, then quickly circled around him to get himself behind the defender's back. Before anyone could process what had just happened, He took control of the ball once again. 

It was all too quick for anyone to even realise, and Reo was already racing toward the goal, leaving his opponents scrambling to catch up.

"Do whatever you gotta do! Just crush him! Our rep's on the line here!!" Nameoka roared, rushing back towards his post, desperately trying to catch up to Reo. 

His plan had worked perfectly. Just a few more yards until he could get into the goal box. 

"Almost there, Reo! Don't give up now!"

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

Hey hey hey! 

Finally released the first chapter for my second fanfic I've ever written! I hope you guys enjoy it, and make sure to vote on it!