#touin

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“Aiba, I want to tell you something. Now you are thinking and worrying about your future as a professional player, about offers, contracts, the right club to choose, and it’s right. It’s right to think about it because it’s an important decision, without any doubts. But listen to me Aiba. Don’t focus on your future team. Focus on your present one. 

Time flies. I’m sure that now you are thinking that you still have a full year ahead… preliminaries, Interhigh, then preliminaries again, Nationals… a lot of matches to play with your teammates and a lot of time. That’s not how it really is, Aiba.

Touin has represented Tokyo at Interhighs and Nationals 5 times in a row for 3 years. In other words, we were always present. And we were sure that we would have been present also this time, at our last championship. And yet we dreamed so much about it that in the end we didn’t even reach it, we lost earlier. 

That preliminary final had to be the match that would have brought us at Nationals, but it turned out to be our last match. The last one, Aiba. And we didn’t even realise it. 

This is how my career at Touin reached the end. Six years I played with my teammates, six years. 

And the end appeared in front of my eyes suddenly, in an instant. And believe me Aiba, it breaks your heart.

This is why I’m telling you to think about your present. Don’t waste any moment, enjoy your teammates, enjoy every minute in a match, every kick, every dribbling, every goal. 

Cherish your team, Aiba. Because you never know when the last match will be. And even when that day will come, when you’ll realise it it will be already too late. Cherish your team and don’t hold any regrets. And then you’ll be able to begin your professional career with serenity.” 

Me:

Those same enemies some chapters later