Chapter 368 A short talk
Chapter 368 A short talk
Thud!!
Among those 20 shots fired his way, he saved 16 of them. But, falling and rising without any rest to make those saves had left him utterly exhausted.
Huff!! Huff!!
Even so, while his body was drenched in perspiration and he was panting heavily while lying on the ground, he had an unusual spark in his eyes. It was almost as if he was desperately trying to prove something, even though there was nobody on the field besides him.
"F*ck...., it won't do," he cussed as he forced himself to stand.
With great difficulty, he then tried to stand on his feet. But just as he stood straight, he staggered as he got a feeling of noddle legs.
"Hah..., Can't even stand straight huh?" he murmured as he revealed a subtle mocking smile on his face while looking at his wobbling silhouette on the floor.
But somehow, he brought himself to stand straight. And, the moment he finally stood firm, his gaze landed on the distant horizon where the sun was casting long golden rays almost as if a divine being was casting its blessing from behind it and the sky had transformed into a breathtaking canvas of pink and orange hues.
For some while, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off of the sky. It was as if that picturesque scenery had charmed him. Forgetting all those emotions swirling within him, he stood firm lost in the beauty of the setting sun.
While he was absorbed in the scenery, a person walked towards him. Though, Taki didn't even notice his presence.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" spoke the person upon getting close to Taki.
Upon hearing the sudden voice of the person who had walked close to him without getting detected, Taki was startled by his voice, "Ahh!!"
But the moment his eyes landed on the person to whom that voice belonged, he immediately calmed down. It was none other than Manager Haruki.
Immediately upon finding out the identity of the mysterious person who had walked so close to him without getting detected, he began to apologize, "Sorry sir...,"
"Sorry for what?" Manager Haruki asked with his eyes fixated on the distant horizon where the sun was setting down.
"It was supposed to be rest day today....., but I disobeyed you, " Taki answered earnestly.
"Don't fret over it? It's no big deal," Unbothered by Taki's words, Manager Haruki responded while still looking at the distant horizon, "But when I walked into you, I asked you a question, didn't I?"
Even though he had broken the rules, Manager Haruki wasn't upset about it. Not only that, but he wasn't even going to reprimand him. Was he for real? That stern coach who was the epitome of professionalism was okay with him breaching the rules?
Those responses of Manager Haruki left him dumbfounded.
If he was okay with breaching the rules, then why should he care about it or dig deeper into that matter? But why was he so fixated on a completely irrelevant question? Was there some hidden meaning behind that question? But, what had he even asked him?
Taki who was so lost in the moment that he didn't even notice his presence until he heard his voice, how could he even remember what he had said to him when he first walked into him?
But seriously what had he asked him?
Even while trying his best to remember, he wasn't able to remember what had he asked of him. Almost as if by a stroke of luck, after thinking about it for a while, it came to him.
'Right, he had mentioned about something being beautiful. But...., what was it?'
Why was he putting so much emphasis on such a simple thing? If he didn't remember about it, he could have just asked again, or so one might say. Sure, he could have done so and saved himself from that unnecessary trouble, trying to remember what he had spoken.
But, he didn't want to seem inattentive. The reverence for the coach and the desire to play had pushed him to such a point that he didn't want the coach to see even a tiny flaw in him.
Thus, he was going to such a length for such a simple thing.
Then, he noticed Manager Haruki looking into the far horizon. From the beginning, he had been staring at the distant horizon.
"Yes sir, it's very beautiful and calming," Taki answered earnestly upon figuring out the question Haruki had asked him.
"But, you won't get to see it at any other time of the day, would you?" Manager Haruki asked in a rather calming tone.
Of course, you won't get to see it any other time of the day. What type of question was that? After all, the sun only sets once per day.
Taki was left dumbfounded by Manager Haruki's nonsensical question. Inwardly he was making faces but, outwardly he kept his composure as he answered, "No, we won't sir. After all, the sun only sets once per day"
"That's right everything has its timing and so, does everyone,"
All along while conversing with him, he didn't even glance at him for once. And, neither did he change the tone of his voice, nor did he change his expression. It was almost as if, he was muttering to himself.
But, this time upon hearing the coach's response, he could tell that it was directed towards him. Even though he hadn't bluntly pointed it at him, he could tell that he was trying to assure him by telling him that his time would come, so he shouldn't get impatient.
'Since, how long had he been observing me?' Taki thought as he jolted his eyes toward Manager Haruki, staring at him with eyes glistening with reverence.
Even though he wasn't being forthright about it, hearing such remarks from him soothed his concerns about being neglected. Now, at least he got to know that he wasn't getting neglected and there was still hope for him.