CHAPTER 54: "The National Team"
The alarm blared at 6:00 AM.
Takeshi woke up in the unfamiliar bed. Sato groaned across the room.
"What the..." Sato muttered.
The bare walls. Two beds. Two desks. Not home. Not Tokyo FC. National team.
Other players walked through the hallway toward showers. Everyone looked messy and tired. But the feeling was different from Tokyo FC. Nobody was joking. Nobody was relaxed.
Everyone was watching each other.
The facility tour started at 7:00 AM.
A staff person led all 30 players through the complex. It was huge compared to Tokyo FC. Four big fields. A professional gym. A medical center. A nutrition center. A film room with screens.
Everything said: Professional.
Sato whispered: "This is crazy."
Takeshi just nodded.
Some players looked impressed. Some looked bored. One player yawned and said: "My club has better."
It was clear: not everyone here was the same level.
At breakfast in the dining hall, 30 players sat at tables. Groups formed naturally. Players from the same clubs sat together.
Takeshi and Sato sat alone at the end.
Watching. Listening. Outsiders.
This was different from Tokyo FC. There, we were family. Here, we were just competition.
The meeting room filled at 8:00 AM.
All 30 players sat in rows. Then Coach Koji Saito walked in.
He was in his 50s with grey hair and sharp eyes. He was famous. He played for Japan before. He had World Cup experience. Everyone got quiet right away.
His presence was powerful.
Three other coaches stood with him.
"Thirty of you," Coach Saito said in a rough voice. "You are the best U16 players in Japan."
He waited.
"In three weeks, twenty-three will be picked for the World Cup."
"Seven of you will not be picked."
He let that sit.
"I do not care where you trained. I do not care about your reputation. I care about who plays well here."
He walked down the rows slowly.
"You represent Japan. You represent 127 million people. Only those who earn it go."
He came back to the front.
"You will train six days a week, eight hours each day. You will do fitness tests. You will do tactical work. You will play practice matches. Every week, I will rank you."
He held up a paper.
"I already have a list based on what you did before. But that will change based on what I see here."
He looked at each player.
"Any questions?"
Nobody said anything.
"Good. Go change. Training starts in thirty minutes."
He left.
The locker room made everything clear.
Thirty players with assigned lockers. Takeshi was number 28. Sato was number 24. Both changed quietly.
Then the door opened.
Someone important walked in. The room got quiet.
Daichi Suzuki came in last.
He had locker number 1.
He was fifteen. Maybe 5'9". Thin but strong. His face was nice but cold. His eyes were empty.
He moved perfectly. No waste.
Other players whispered.
"That is Daichi."
"He scored 47 goals."
"He is the demon."
Takeshi felt sick.
The one who beat us 5-4.
Daichi changed his clothes. He did not look at anyone. Then his eyes passed over Takeshi.
For a second he paused.
Did he remember me? No.
Nothing. He just looked away.
He does not remember. That game meant nothing to him.
Jin Nakamura came in next. Total opposite.
Loud. Happy. Big smile. Sixteen years old. 5'8". Nice hair. Osaka accent.
"Yo! What is up, future bench guys!"
He laughed.
Some players laughed nervous. Some rolled their eyes.
Jin saw Takeshi and Sato.
"Oh? New people!"
He walked over close.
"Where are you from?"
Takeshi: "Tokyo FC."
Jin's face went empty, then he laughed.
"Tokyo FC? The team that got sent down?"
"We did not get sent down—"
"Oh right, you finished ninth?"
He smiled but like it was nothing.
"That is cute. Welcome to the real level, kids."
He walked away.
Sato made his hands into fists. Takeshi's jaw was tight.
Cute. He said we were cute.
Then Kaito Hayashi.
Takeshi had not even seen him before. He was already dressed and sat in a corner.
6'0" tall (tall for fifteen), strong body, sharp eyes.
Reading a paper about tactics.
Not talking to anyone but watching everything.
His eyes met Takeshi's for a moment.
Like he was reading him. Thinking about him.
Then he looked away.
The dangerous type. Quiet. Knows what everyone will do before they do it.
Haruki Tanaka burst in loud.
5'10", very strong, fire in his eyes.
Right away: "Daichi! You ready to lose your starting spot?"
Daichi did not say anything.
Haruki smiled. "Quiet? Classic."
He and Daichi knew each other. They had history.
Haruki saw Takeshi.
"You! New guy!"
"Um, yes?"
"You fast?"
"Kind of?"
"Good! We need fast guys. These academy kids are all technique, nothing else."
He hit Takeshi's fist.
First person who was nice to them.
He walked away to talk to Daichi again.
Issei Kojima came last.
6'1", strong presence, confident smile.
"I hope you strikers are ready to lose today."
Jin laughed: "Issei! You ready to let in ten?"
"From you? I will catch them with my eyes closed."
They were friends. They joked together.
Issei saw Takeshi looking.
"What? You never saw a great keeper?"
Takeshi: "Just looking."
"Look at this: you will not score on me. Ever."
He laughed. Not mean. But totally sure.
At 9:00 AM, all 30 players stood on Field 1.
Coach Saito had his whistle.
"Warm up. Two kilometers. I will time you."
Everyone started together.
Right away the group split up.
Front: Daichi, Haruki, Kaito, Jin, and some others. They ran easy and talked.
Middle: most players, steady speed.
Back: Takeshi, Sato, and three or four others. Fighting to keep up.
His body was still tired from Tokyo FC season. These guys trained all year for this.
Times at the end:
Daichi: 6:45 (fastest)
Haruki: 6:47
Kaito: 6:50
Jin: 7:05
...
Takeshi: 7:38 (22nd)
Sato: 7:52 (28th)
Coach wrote it down.
No comment. Just writing.
At 9:30 AM, technical drills started.
Passing work. Control work. The gap became even more clear.
Jin's touches were smooth. Crazy good.
Daichi's shots were perfect. Every one.
Kaito was always in the right spot for defense.
Haruki was explosive and strong.
Issei made saves look easy.
Then Takeshi and Sato.
Good but not special. Clean but not flashy. Did the job but not amazing.
Coach watched everyone. He yelled at the top players.
"Good, Jin!"
"Perfect, Daichi!"
Never: "Yamamoto." Never: "Sato."
Like we did not exist.
At 10:30 AM, they played five on five.
Takeshi's team versus Daichi's team.
It was a disaster.
Daichi scored three times in ten minutes.
Jin set him up every time.
Takeshi barely touched the ball.
Final: 5-1. Takeshi's one goal came from someone else's work.
Walking off, Daichi passed Takeshi.
He did not even look.
To him, I do not matter. Just another player at practice.
Lunch was at noon.
The dining hall showed the levels clearly.
Table 1: Daichi, Jin, Haruki, Kaito, Issei, and top players. Loud. Confident. They owned the space.
Table 2: Middle players. Quiet. Watching Table 1.
Table 3: Takeshi, Sato, a few others. Bottom. Everyone knew it.
Sato: "We are nobody here."
Takeshi: "Yeah. We are."
"What do we do?"
"What we always did. Prove them wrong."
"How? Did you see the skill gap?"
"I saw it. I am studying them."
"They are way better."
"Everyone has a weak point. We will find theirs."
"What if they do not have any?"
"Everyone does. We just have to look."
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⚡ Day 1 Analysis Complete ⚡
Threat Ranking:
Daichi Suzuki: Extreme (Your past demon)
Jin Nakamura: High (Better at everything)
Kaito Hayashi: High (Reads the game)
Haruki Tanaka: Medium (Very strong)
Issei Kojima: Medium (Great keeper)
Your Rank: #22 out of 30
Sato: #28 out of 30
Reality:
At Tokyo FC: You were the best
Here: You are near the bottom
The gap is real and huge
What will you do?
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Back in the room at 6:00 PM, both were exhausted.
It had been a hard day.
Sato: "I think I will get cut."
Takeshi: "Do not say that."
"Did you see me? I was bad."
"It is only day one. We will get better."
"They trained their whole lives for this."
"We just fought relegation three weeks ago."
"Right. We do not belong here."
Takeshi sat up. "That is wrong."
"We do belong. We earned this spot."
"But—"
"Listen. Tokyo FC taught us something these guys do not have."
"What?"
"How to fight when you are the weak one. How to never give up even when it looks hopeless."
"They have more skill than us."
"Yes. But we know how to suffer and keep going."
"Let us see what matters more."
Sato was quiet for a bit.
Then: "You really think we can beat them?"
"I know we can."
"Even though Daichi just crushed us?"
"Because he crushed us. He does not even know I exist. That is good."
"Good? How?"
"When I beat him, it will hurt more. Nobody likes losing to someone they did not even notice."
Sato almost smiled. "You are crazy."
"Maybe. But we came too far to quit now. Tokyo FC fought from 13th place. We can fight from 22nd."
Takeshi lay in his bed. He had photos. The Tokyo FC team. Akari at the beach.
I promised to make you all proud.
I did not come here just to survive.
I came here to win.
Daichi does not remember me?
By the end of this, he will remember.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow: we start climbing.
Tonight: we are just the underdogs.
Tomorrow: the real battle starts.