F.C. Tokyo signs rising soccer star Nakamura Kazuha

F.C. Tokyo fans are buzzing with excitement as the club has just announced the signing of a young rising star, Nakamura Kazuha. The 19-year-old forward has already made a name for herself and may prove to be a real game changer for the team…

The signing of Nakamura is particularly noteworthy given the recent return of Miyawaki Sakura (24), the team's star striker who had been out for several weeks due to an injury. Miyawaki is widely regarded as one of the best players in the league, and her absence was keenly felt by the team that finished second last season.

Of course, the question on everyone's mind is how Nakamura will fit into the team's existing lineup, and how she'll work with Miyawaki up front…

As the Japan’s national team gears up for the World Cup qualifying stage, fans are already speculating who will make the final lineup. Just a few months ago, Miyawaki was the top contender for the striker’s position, but now with her form uncertain…

Sakura's lecture is interrupted by the sound announcing Tobitakyū station. She tears her gaze away from the newspaper being read by the man sitting across from her, stands up from her seat, and adjusts the strap of her duffel bag before stepping off the train.

Although it's still early in the morning, she can already feel the sun's warmth on her bare arms, exposed by the short sleeves of her t-shirt. But despite the pleasant, sunny weather, her mood is far from bright. 

She knew she shouldn’t have read that damn newspaper. It was an old issue, anyway. But she noticed the headline and curiosity got the best of her, as usual. Now, the word uncertain keeps echoing in her mind, annoying and mocking.

It doesn’t make sense to be so bothered by one, stupid word. The new season hasn’t even started yet; they’ve only played a few friendly matches. And while it's worth noting that she has scored in every single one of them, she understands that those non-competitive games, in which she didn't even play the full 90 minutes, cannot be seen as true tests of her post-injury form. 

So, no matter how she looks at it, there’s no better word to describe her situation than with the word uncertain. But maybe that’s exactly why she hates it so much. She hates how everything was so certain until, in a matter of seconds, it all became un-certain.

And so it also happens to be the exact word that has been plaguing her mind for the past several weeks. It reminds her of the excruciating pain, shooting through her leg, of hours spent in the hospital room, waiting for the doctor’s diagnosis, of weeks spent on treatment and rehabilitation, of—No. 

She cannot let herself become so hung up on the past. What’s certain right now, and what matters the most, is that she’s back to playing. And because of that she needs to regain her focus. No more wallowing in misery. No more distractions. Her goal, her dream, the promise she made - they all remain the same.

…Miyawaki was the top contender for the striker’s position…

She’ll prove them that it’s not was but is. After all, the only thing that matters to her, the only thing that ever mattered to her, is winning the World Cup.

“Kkura!” 

A loud, familiar voice interrupts Sakura’s thoughts. She looks up and spots Yunjin, their goalkeeper, as she stands beside the stadium’s entrance.

And where’s Yunjin, there’s Chaewon, their midfielder. She waves at Sakura with her cap as if afraid she won’t notice them, which would be impossible given that Yunjin’s long, blond hair are noticeable from a mile away.

The two are the only Korean players on their team and are basically joined at the hip. Sakura sometimes feels like she’s third-wheeling, which is funny considering that she and Chaewon knew each other first with Yunjin joining the team a year later. Given that her grasp of Japanese was limited when she first arrived, the goalkeeper naturally gravitated towards Chaewon. Despite their quite contrasting personalities, the two clicked right away and now, they even live together. 

“Hey guys,” Sakura greets them both with a fist bump and together they enter the stadium.

They walk through a long corridor lined with the club’s photos and trophies while Yunjin recounts the latest episode of an anime she has been watching recently. Both Sakura and Chaewon listen to her, chuckling when she starts imitating  the characters’ voices. 

“Next episode is gonna be insane,” Yunjin finishes her detailed recap just as they reach the locker room, and she opens the door, letting Chaewon and Sakura go in first.

As they enter, Sakura is taken aback by the loud and animated atmosphere that fills out the room today. The conversations are so loud that hardly anyone seems to notice their arrival.

“Have you seen her score that goal…”

“Yeah, and did you know that she broke a record…”

“Well, I heard that…”

From the snippets of conversations that continue to float around the room, Sakura concludes that apparently, their fans aren’t the only ones buzzing with excitement over the young rising star joining their team.

But Sakura doesn’t have much interest in jumping on the hype train. She already knows everything that she needs to know. And so, she tunes out the incessant chatter as she opens her locker in the corner of the room and sets her duffel bag on the middle shelf.

“The new girlie is a hot topic, huh?” Yunjin says as shoves her bag into the locker next to Sakura’s.

Sakura offers a noncommittal hum, sheds her t-shirt and puts on her blue and red striped jersey that has her last name and a number nine on the back.

“Why is she joining so late, anyway?” Chaewon asks, leaning out from behind her locker’s door. “The new season starts in just three weeks.” 

Sakura curses the fact that she has her locker right between these two, as now she cannot help but to listen to them. 

“Rumor has it that it’s due to some contract issues. Seems like her previous club didn’t want to let go of her easily.”

“She’s that good, huh?”

“She isn’t just good, Chaewon. She’s like a freaking genius, a Golden Child of soccer. Like Captain Tsubasa, right Kkura?”

Nakamura Kazuha... 

As much as Sakura tried not to think about the girl, because right now that’s just another unnecessary distraction she cannot afford, her gossiping friends successfully forced her name into her head. And now, she’s reminded of the stuff she read about the girl.

Nakamura Kazuha — not only did she lead Japan to their first-ever U-20 World Cup victory, but she did so in style as the tournament's Top Scorer and Most Valuable Player. After the tournament, she continued to shine in the Dutch Eredivisie. Despite playing for a team that typically hovered in the middle of the table, she propelled them to their first championship in thirty years. Her achievement was even more impressive, as she became the youngest Top Scorer in the league's history. 

Yes, Sakura had already done her homework on Nakamura Kazuha, hence her lack of interest in the current buzz around her. 

The first rumors of Nakamura being signed with their team appeared when Sakura was still recovering from her injury. Since she had plenty of time on her hands, she decided she might as well find out more about that new rising star. She started reading articles, watching interviews and even analyzed Nakamura’s game footage. 

In Sakura’s humble opinion, her technique left a lot to be desired; Sakura and Chaewon easily outperformed her in both dribbling and passing. However, the young girl was fast and athletic, often utilizing her height to score headers. She also knew exactly how to capitalize on the mistakes of the defenders. 

But to call her some kind of soccer genius? Sakura could only scoff at that. Success in soccer came down to hard work, practice, and sacrifice. Even the most talented players had to put in the effort to hone their skills. 

And even they could fall apart in a matter of seconds…  

With a shrug, Sakura finally replies, “I haven’t read nor watched Tsubasa.”

“Huh?!” Yunjin almost stumbles from the shock while she puts on her yellow jersey.

“What? I just don’t like the art style. Besides, Blue Lock is like way better.”

“Blasphemy,” the goalkeeper gasps, maintaining her wide-eyed expression, which Chaewon apparently finds amusing as she snorts a chuckle.

“But then why does she want to play in a Japanese team that finished second last season? I bet she had better options than us.”

Putting on her blue shorts, Sakura rolls her eyes as she hears Chaewon come back to the topic.

“Maybe she heard about that beautiful, talented, y goalkeep—” Yunjin isn’t allowed to finish as Chaewon reaches around Sakura and shoves her arm, causing her to stumble and crash against the lockers in a fit of giggles.

“Or maybe she just misses Japan,” Chaewon deadpans, lacing up her cleats.

Sakura scoffs at that. Hampering your career because of what? Homesickness? If that’s the case, the girl may as well just quit soccer right away.

“And what do you think, Kkura? Not afraid she’s gonna take your striker position on the team?”

Sakura slams her locker shut, startling both of her friends. “She won’t,” she says with contrasting to her actions calmness.

Has she thought about it? Of course. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the rumors of signing a new striker, a rising star no less, appeared while she was still undergoing rehabilitation. And even without taking into consideration Sakura’s injury, Nakamura, with her strength and height, simply fit the role of the center forward way better than slender and smaller Sakura.

So yes, initially, Sakura had thought that was the case — the coach had written her off and Nakamura Kazuha was to replace her. 

But upon returning to the game over the summer, she was able to reassess her situation with a clear and rational mind, something that eluded her during those days spent at the rehabilitation center.

Sakura knew that she still had the upper hand over her younger counterpart in terms of movement, technique, and creativity on the field. And no matter what those news articles stated about her form being uncertain, she proved in the friendly matches that she hadn’t forgotten how to score goals.

Nakamura won’t replace her, but their team’s formation will most likely change. Sakura will most likely stop being the sole striker for the team.

…the question on everyone's mind is how Nakamura will fit into the team's existing lineup, and how she'll work with Miyawaki up front…

They were right about that. Even Sakura wonders how it’ll be to play with Kazuha.

“Now that’s our cool Sakura!”

Once again Yunjin’s loud voice pulls Sakura out of her thoughts. But this time, it’s even more startling as the goalkeeper throws an arm around her neck and leans into her. 

Staring wide-eyed at the blonde, Sakura flushes at their sudden proximity.

“If you keep acting like that, I may just fall for you one day, ya know?” Yunjin teases with her signature silly grin plastered on her face.

“Yunjin, leave poor Sakura alone,” Chaewon scolds and tugs at Yunjin’s ear which successfully detaches the goalkeeper from Sakura.

“Geez, do you have to be so violent?” the blonde whines while her abused ear.

Chaewon frowns, crossing arms at her chest. “I wouldn’t have to if you knew how to behave yourself,” she retorts. “You’ll traumatize Sakura, and she’ll transfer teams.”

“You’re being over-dramatic, Pupu.” Yunjin tugs at Chaewon’s sleeve, pulling her in for a back-hug. “I was just teasing.” She rests her chin on the midfielder’s shoulder and puts on her best puppy look.

Sakura has a theory that Yunjin always teases her only to get a reaction out of Chaewon so that she can later charm her with her big, sparkly eyes and pouty lips like she’s doing it right now. But as to why she does it? That’s a whole separate theory, labeled in Sakura’s head as - not my business. 

“Whatever,” Chaewon mutters, averting her gaze to the side, but it doesn’t escape Sakura’s notice how the corners of her lips twitch, trying to fight off a smile.

“C’mon, Pupu. Stop sulking.”

“I’m not sulking. And stop calling me that.”

“Then what’s this wrinkle between your eyebrows?”

“I’m just wondering who do you remind me of with these hair and your yellow jersey.”

“A golden retriever? A cute, little newborn chick?”

“No, more like that huge bird from Sesame Street.”

“Heeey!”

Tying her hair into a ponytail, Sakura shakes her head at the bickering duo. “I’m heading out,” she says, leaving the two behind.

As she opens the door to leave, Sakura feels a sudden jerk as if her foot caught on something. Looking down, she sees that her left cleat unlaced somehow. Unfortunately, that momentary lapse in attention causes her to collide with the person who was just about to enter the locker room. 

Sakura lets out a startled yelp as she stumbles backwards, her foot slipping on the untied shoelace causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the floor, landing on her backside. 

The whole locker room goes silent as all eyes turn to her. But just seconds later, the first chuckles break through the tension, and Sakura feels the growing heat on her cheeks.

She looks up to apologize to whoever she bumped into, but the words get stuck in at the sight before her.

There, standing in the door, staring at her in equal shock, is none other than Nakamura Kazuha. She’s wearing jean shorts and a white, cropped hoodie that shows off her toned abs. Her black hair are long and shiny, as if she has just stepped off the set of a shampoo commercial. And for all Sakura knows, she might have as well, since the aura she exudes is more akin to that of a model than a soccer player.

“I am so sorry!” the girl says panicked, as she drops her duffel bag to the floor and kneels on one knee beside Sakura. “I was not paying attention. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Here, let me help you—”

“I’m fine,” Sakura cuts her off, tone harsher than she intended, but the way Kazuha began fussing over her only further embarrassed her.

Ignoring the reached out hand, Sakura stands up from the floor and dusts off her shorts. The girl still lingers beside her, gnawing at her lower lip, and Sakura isn’t sure what she’s waiting for.

“Uhm, see you on the field,” she mutters awkwardly, and without as much as sparing the girl another glance, leaves the locker room.

Out on the field, Sakura first makes sure to properly tie the offending shoelace, before she makes her way to the few other teammates that are already there. She sits down near them and kicks out her legs to begin stretching. 

The blue sky above now covered with wispy clouds drifting lazily across the sun's path, creating a soft filter that makes the bright light feel more pleasant on the skin. Taking steady breaths, Sakura tries to calm her frazzled nerves, but only becomes more anxious as she spots a familiar, stoic face on the stands.

She supposes she shouldn’t be surprised by his presence. He often comes to monitor her practice, but something tells her that today, he isn’t here only for her. 

“Now that was an entrance,” Yunjin says as she enters her line of vision, blocking her view of the stands. “You had her on her knees the moment she stepped in.” The blonde grins and plops down across from her.

Sakura glowers at her. She’d hoped to stretch in silence without anyone reminding her about her earlier humiliation, but of course, the goalkeeper had to come and ruin that for her.

“Damn she’s pretty.” Yunjin leans back onto her elbows as she stares ahead. Sakura follows her line of sight and sees Kazuha at the sidelines talking to some reporter, number eleven displayed on her jersey under her last name. “Have you seen her abs? They have like…”

“Waves,” Sakura blurts out.

She did see them; it was hard not to thanks to that stupid, cropped hoodie Kazuha was wearing earlier.

Yunjin whistles, startling Sakura and snapping her attention back to her. 

“Well, well, well. Someone has been checking out the new girl already, huh?” The goalkeeper wiggles her eyebrows in that annoying, suggestive manner.

Sakura widens her eyes, scandalized. “Wha—? I didn’t,” she sputters.

“I mean I don’t blame you. She looks like a goddamn super model with those long legs and long hair.” 

“Ugh, you’re embarrassing,” Chaewon groans as she joins them and sits down next to Sakura.

“Aw, don’t worry, Pupu. There’s nothing cuter than your bob.”

The midfielder scoffs, “As if I care what you think.”

But something tells Sakura she does care, because the moment Yunjin’s eyes aren’t on her, she runs fingers through her short hair and adjusts her headband.

Catching Sakura’s stare, Chaewon frowns. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Not my business, Sakura reminds herself and returns to stretching. But just as she’s about to bend over her legs, Kazuha approaches them, and for the second time today, her tall frame looms over Sakura.

“Uhm, hi,” she begins in a small voice, not meeting any of their curious stares. “Is it okay if I join you? Or are you still mad at me?”

Yunjin furiously nods while Chaewon rolls her eyes at her. 

Sakura just sighs. She feels bad that that was the first impression she gave the girl. It was never her intention to come off as hostile towards her. They are on the same team, after all. It would be counterproductive to start some kind of petty rivalry with her.

“I’m not mad at you,” Sakura says, looking up at the girl. “I was just a little bit frustrated, I guess.”

“And butthurt,” Yunjin snickers.

“Ha-ha,” Sakura deadpans, looking at Yunjin unimpressed then swats Chaewon’s arm as the girl snorts a giggle. “Traitor,” she mutters.

“Hey, you have to admit, that was a good one.” Chaewon raises her hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Anyway.” Sakura looks back to Kazuha, the girl clearly holding back a grin of her own. Well, to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t the worst of Yunjin’s dry jokes, so Sakura gets it. “Sure, you can join us.” She points to the empty patch of grass between her and Yunjin and watches how Kazuha’s entire face lights up with a smile.

The sudden change in the girl’s demeanor stuns Sakura for a moment.

“By the way, I’m Kazuha,” the girl says as she plops down on the grass, decidedly closer to Sakura than to Yunjin, and stretches her legs out.

Sakura stifles an urge to reply with yeah, I know. She guesses it wouldn’t sound too friendly.

“I’m Yunjin.”

“Kim Chaewon.”

The goalkeeper and the midfielder say at the same time, just that one sounds much brighter than the other. Kazuha doesn’t seem to notice though, as her eyes are trained on Sakura.

“Miyawaki Sakura.” Sakura offers a friendly smile that slips a notch the moment she hears Kazuha’s next words.

“I know,” Kazuha admits, beaming then without providing any further context begins stretching.

Confused, Sakura turns to her friends, wordlessly asking them what the hell was that just now?. But Chaewon looks just as stumped as Sakura, while Yunjin grins, apparently finding the whole situation funny for some reason. 

The four of them lapse into silence and continue to stretch.

“Okay, team! Gather up!” Coach Takahashi calls out to them.

Sakura jumps to her feet at the exact same moment as Kazuha does. They look at each other in mutual surprise that quickly changes into embarrassment, their gazes drifting in opposite directions.

Kazuha is first to move and walk away to join the coach and the rest of the team. Sakura waits a few paces before she follows.

The team gathers in front of their Coach in a half circle with Sakura squeezed between Chaewon and Yunjin. Kazuha stands beside the goalkeeper, and the two share some kind of wordless conversation exchanged via a few glances and shy smiles. Sakura ignores it and focuses her attention back on the coach. 

Coach Takahashi gives his standard welcome speech, adding a few extra bits about great hopes and high expectations for the new season. Then he goes through everyone’s faces, as though checking if everyone is present, before his eyes zero on Sakura.

“Sakura and Kazuha.” He points with his clipboard between the two of them. “You two will be playing together at the front. I’m counting on your cooperation as we’re going for a much more offensive style this season. Kazuha will take the left side while you, Sakura, will take the right. We’ll talk about this in more detail during our team meetings.”

That’s the change Sakura has expected to happen. She glances at Kazuha to gauge her reaction, surprised to find the girl already looking at her. There’s an easy smile on her lips that only grows wider when their eyes connect. 

Why does she looks so… pleased?

Frowning, Sakura averts her gaze back to the coach.

“Alright, take a couple warm-up laps,” the man says, and the team runs off to start laps around the field. 

The rest of the practice continues as usual. Once they are done with their laps, they run some standard drills, practicing long and short passes. Sakura tries to keep her focus on her own performance rather than pay attention to how well Kazuha is doing, and for the most part, it works. But there are a few moments when she catches a glimpse of the girl’s smile, and she cannot shake off the feeling of already seeing it somewhere. 

After the drills comes the time for the scrimmage. As expected, their coach puts Kazuha on the same team as Sakura. Chaewon wins rock, paper, scissors, and so they have the privilege to begin the game. Facing Kazuha with the ball between them, Sakura finally remembers where she’d seen that smile.

It was during her analysis of Kazuha’s game footage. Whenever the girl chased after the ball, her eyes would lit up and cheeks dimpled. And as Sakura passes the ball to her, that’s the exact expression that appears on her face.

The game begins and although it’s just a scrimmage, Sakura notices that everyone seems to be trying a little bit harder than usual. She isn’t sure whether that’s because the new season is just around the corner, or they all just want to impress the new girl. She hopes it’s the former, though. 

Either way, Sakura cannot be worse than them, so when Chaewon delivers the ball right under her feet, she starts her sprint along the right sideline. She dribbles past the defending midfielder and immediately two defenders come rushing at her. She can try and outplay them or… 

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Kazuha rushing through the center, so the moment the two defenders try to tackle Sakura, she makes a long pass into the penalty area.

For a split second, it appears as if she has used too much strength —  the goalkeeper will easily clear the ball — but that is until Kazuha lunges forward with a final burst of speed and leaps high into the air, heading the ball directly into the net. 

It all plays out exactly how Sakura has predicted. The goalkeeper was confident she would catch the ball, so she didn’t even pay attention to Kazuha. She underestimated her speed and acceleration, unlike Sakura, who knew what the girl was capable of after watching her matches. 

With a booming woohoo!, Kazuha fist pumps and jumps into the air again.

Sakura stares at her bewildered by the celebration. It’s just a stupid goal during a practice match. Nothing to be so excited about. Yet the girl must think otherwise as she runs up to Sakura with her hands raised, awaiting a high five.

“Nice pass,” she says, and Sakura swears her smile rivals in its brightness the sun above.

“Uhm, thanks.” She high fives the girl because that’s actually less awkward than leaving her hanging, and together they come back to their half of the field.

The game continues and Kazuha scores two more goals, both thanks to Sakura’s precise passes. Each time she celebrates as if she just won the World Cup final and each time Sakura wonders just what the hell is wrong with her.

The last goal of the scrimmage is scored by Sakura. After Chaewon makes a cross into the penalty area, Kazuha lets the ball pass between her legs so that it lands right under Sakura’s feet the moment she runs into the goalie’s box. A light touch is all it takes for Sakura to direct the ball straight into the net.

“Nice!” Kazuha beams at her, giving her a thumbs up. 

Sakura groans inwardly, feeling grateful when Coach signals the end of practice. After giving them some positive feedback, most of it directed at Sakura and Kazuha, he finally dismisses them.

Sakura’s relief is short-lived though when back in the locker room, once she leaves the shower and changes her clothes, Yunjin announces, “We’re going to the pub.”

“Ugh,” Sakura groans as she opens her locker. “Do we have to?”

She would much rather go home and read some manga. Tuesday afternoon is her rare leisure time, and it’s already kind of ruined because she knows she still needs to meet him. 

“Team Captain’s order, meaning, you’re going with us.” Chaewon gives her a pointed look.

Sakura sighs, “I have to take care of something.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Yunjin scoffs. “Let me guess, is that something a new volume of whatever manga you are currently reading?”

“Noo,” Sakura denies but doesn’t elaborate. 

Yunjin’s assumption is only partially true, anyway.

“Well, whatever it is take care of it and join us later then. We have a new teammate, and Mei wants us to get to know each other.” 

Sakura acknowledges Yunjin’s words with a hum as she combs her still slightly wet hair.

“Okay, take care.” The goalkeeper pats her on the back and follows the rest of the team as they leave the locker room.

Meanwhile, Chaewon finishes packing her stuff, slings her bag over her shoulder, and with a rushed bye runs to grab Yunjin’s arm.

“Missed me already?”

“You wish.”

Sakura shakes her head at them, watching as they lapse into another banter.

Kazuha is the last one to follow, but before she leaves, she stops by the door, glancing at Sakura. Her earlier confidence displayed during the scrimmage nowhere to be found as she avoids Sakura’s gaze while chewing on her lip, a sight reminiscent of their morning encounter.

“Uhm, see you later,” she says, but it comes out more like a question rather than a statement. 

Sakura gives a small nod.  “See you.”

Kazuha’s lips curve into a hopeful smile that catches Sakura off guard. And when the girl finally leaves, and she stands alone in the empty locker room, she wonders why that exchange just now felt more like making a promise than bidding a farewell. 

She runs fingers through her hair, exhaling in frustration then grabs her bag and goes back to the stadium.  The man still sits in the same spot, looking like a statue made of stone. Slowly, she approaches him and takes a seat.

“Hi, dad.”